Cruise to the Edge 2017

[Renee]

I didn't even get off the ship in Key West because of the weather. Too much to do on the ship to miss it for bad weather in a tourist town. I did get off the ship in Nassau just to get some different food though. I do look forward to Cozumel. I know exactly where I will be headed. Other than that, it is more about the music because onkelsam69 is right. The cruise is where to see the European bands since the ridiculous visa process makes it too difficult for them to play on land. That process needs a serious overhaul.

[JKL2000]

I didn't even get off the ship in Key West because of the weather. Too much to do on the ship to miss it for bad weather in a tourist town. I did get off the ship in Nassau just to get some different food though. I do look forward to Cozumel. I know exactly where I will be headed. Other than that, it is more about the music because onkelsam69 is right. The cruise is where to see the European bands since the ridiculous visa process makes it too difficult for them to play on land. That process needs a serious overhaul.

I got off at Key West early, and the weather cleared up nicely after about a half hour. It was worth it as a) I'd never been there, b) I had my only good coffee of the week there, and c) I had a beer with Steve Rothery and his wife, and some friends of mine. I think the only band I "missed" was Anglagard, except I think that show ended up being cancelled due to weather and I saw both their other sets.

[Mstove]

I'd love some better beer on board too. Some people who went in 2014 and before were bummed there was no all inclusive drinks package in 2015 - it was my first time, and because the drinks were so lame to begin with I didn't care much about that, but it might be nice if they had it this time. Since Norwegian Cruise lines allowed it, I bought a few bottles of cheap-ass wine in Miami and Nassau - you pay the cruise line $10 per bottle I think to bring it aboard.

I thought the buffet was adequate given, as others have said, most meals are eaten very quickly. I thought there was enough variety that I didn't have a problem - I was doing my best to eat healthy and moderately because I just didn't like the idea of eating from a buffet for four or five days.

My only real problem with missing shows or having to leave shows early to get to another show, because the sound checks sometimes took so long. It was my first time at a "festival" with multiples stages. I know those are common in Europe, but not here in the US. I found that whole aspect a little stressful as I also wanted to get decent seats for the shows. Overall I did well, but had to make some tough choices and bail on some shows I really wanted to see the rest of.

I don't really want more port calls if, as they did last year, going on the port calls means you miss performances and Q&A sessions on board. Again, I managed pretty well last year, and Key West was fun. Nassau wasn't really enjoyable except for a quick drink with some friends, and picking up the aforementioned cheap-ass wine.

The nice thing about the drink package was that you had tickets to hand over instead of giving them a card and waiting for them to deal with it and hand it back. It was a significantly easier process with a package considering the goal is to get whatever you want and get back to the music. Also, overall it was faster because many, if not most, were doing the same thing. Just a lot simpler.

[Mstove]

I got off at Key West early, and the weather cleared up nicely after about a half hour. It was worth it as a) I'd never been there, b) I had my only good coffee of the week there, and c) I had a beer with Steve Rothery and his wife, and some friends of mine. I think the only band I "missed" was Anglagard, except I think that show ended up being cancelled due to weather and I saw both their other sets.

Their cancelled show was at night (Sunday, the sail away day), not when we were at Key West. They played a full set when we were at the Bahamas and another one indoors.

[Mstove]

So does this cost even more than a typical cruise ? I.e., how much is the premium to get all those bands? Is it a nice appearance fee for the groups? Or do they just get a free cruise?

What are the economics of these things ? Cruise gigs used to provide jobs for regular working musicians. Have those dried up too?

There are a zillion cruises going all the time with regular working musicians. These are charters.

A friend of mine has made a nice living for at least the last 12-15 years as a singer in a group that intermittently works periods on cruises (they are fairly long stretches so they don't do them all the time) as well as other avenues like regular touring and even having a theater in Branson for a year. I know he liked it when he was younger, but I don't think they've done one in a couple years now (I believe that is why they tried the Branson avenue).

[JKL2000]

Their cancelled show was at night (Sunday, the sail away day), not when we were at Key West. They played a full set when we were at the Bahamas and another one indoors.

Anyway, I caught both their sets. I guess I missed something else when at Key West.

[Mstove]

We caught the partial set and the full set on the pool stage but had a conflict for their second full set (I don't recall what). I was very happy to see they are going to be on the next one.

[JKL2000]

We caught the partial set and the full set on the pool stage but had a conflict for their second full set (I don't recall what). I was very happy to see they are going to be on the next one.

They took a long-ass time to soundcheck for the second full set. They went on very late and only played for about 40 minutes. A frequent problem on CTTE 2015. It's too many bands, IMO, for it to work well. Also, they needed to use the main theater a lot more, and somehow they never seemed to figure that out.

[Mstove]

They took a long-ass time to soundcheck for the second full set. They went on very late and only played for about 40 minutes. A frequent problem on CTTE 2015. It's too many bands, IMO, for it to work well. Also, they needed to use the main theater a lot more, and somehow they never seemed to figure that out.

It was a similar setup in 2014 on a different boat and they didn't have half the soundcheck issues they did last year. And, from people I know who've been on other cruises run by OTB it isn't a regular feature on those, either. So, I agree that there were a bunch of soundcheck issues last year but I don't attribute it to too many bands or OTB's crew. They did use the theater a bit more the year before on the Divina. However, the only stage that had problems running really late that year was the theater with just every band starting late on the last day of the cruise, to the point that Marillion started so late we got to see a second set from Electric Asturias we thought was going to conflict entirely. I'm not worried about it and I certainly don't want them to cut back on the number of bands - I love getting to pick my own program from a bunch of groups and there will no doubt be a few I don't mind skipping this year (one so far).

[rickawakeman]

on these things?

[Casey]

No Nektar? Were they ever booked for this tour?

[JKL2000]

They've only announced some of the bands so far.

[miamiscot]

Spock's Beard. I wonder if Neal's going to be onboard...

Roine should be there with Steve Hackett and we know Portnoy is confirmed. Too bad Marillion can't make it or else we'd have ourselves a little Transatlantic action. In the Caribbean.

[Mstove]

Spock's Beard. I wonder if Neal's going to be onboard...

Roine should be there with Steve Hackett and we know Portnoy is confirmed. Too bad Marillion can't make it or else we'd have ourselves a little Transatlantic action. In the Caribbean.

I'm hoping that Pete will make it by himself so that can happen. I know Marillion is really busy around that time, but I could see him getting away for a bit and doing this. Maybe. Please?

[Proghound]

Electric Asturias, Scott Henderson added

[ScottAM]

Spock's Beard. I wonder if Neal's going to be onboard...

Roine should be there with Steve Hackett and we know Portnoy is confirmed. Too bad Marillion can't make it or else we'd have ourselves a little Transatlantic action. In the Caribbean.

Doesn't look like Roine will be on board. I talked to him a few nights ago and he doesn't plan on being part of Hackett's band at that point. Some opportunity might present itself, so I'm not totally counting him out, but at this point it doesn't look likely.

[ytserush]

Not a cruise (experience) guy, so these things never interest me.

If it were just a big boat out on the water or something, I'd probably change my tune in a hurry but it's a non-starter the way they are set up.

[adap2it]

Not a cruise (experience) guy, so these things never interest me.

If it were just a big boat out on the water or something, I'd probably change my tune in a hurry but it's a non-starter the way they are set up.

I'm a regular cruiser and I DO NOT consider this a "cruise experience"at all. This is the reason why I don't go on CTTE.

[ytserush]

I'm a regular cruiser and I DO NOT consider this a "cruise experience"at all. This is the reason why I don't go on CTTE.

Not a regular cruiser either. There is nothing about a cruise ship that even remotely appeals to me. Even the music can't save it. But obviously you feel differently.

[adap2it]

Not a regular cruiser either. There is nothing about a cruise ship that even remotely appeals to me. Even the music can't save it. But obviously you feel differently.

Well each to his own...but cruising has afforded me the opportunity of visiting many places in the world that I've always wanted to go. In addition, cruising can be very stress relieving and having had a very stressful working life, it provided me with a way of totally relaxing. My point was that having to see 15 or 20 bands in 4 days, does not meet my criteria for going on a cruise.

[Mstove]

I've visited a bunch of places around the world and I have no desire to do it by cruise ship. I also never take tours. However, I have loved the two CTTE experiences I've had and am signed up for the next one. It is basically a floating music festival and your hotel room is in walking distance.

[Yodelgoat]

So, not too many people enjoy this for the cruise experience? The price must be fairly high - so its like paying $750 for a 4-5 day concert with lots of sitting around? I would think that most people would enjoy the cruising aspect of the experience. I'm surprised that the fact that its a cruise seems to be lost on those who are in attendance?

Do the bands actually mingle with the passengers? I went on a cruise with Art Bell 20 years ago(my dad was a fan), and we ran into him all the time. but we also really enjoyed the cruise. I would think that going on a cruise only because you can see a band play is overkill. I mean, I would much more enjoy seeing Prog bands playing far more than the crap that passes as entertainment on most cruise ships. Its like Vegas with double the cheese and half the talent.

I need to look into going. This may be a real treat for me and my son who is a big prog fan. I saw other threads about it, but I never paid much attention.

[JKL2000]

CTTE 2015 was my first cruise, and also my first music festival with multiple stages with different bands playing at the same time. That aspect was very new to me, and it seems to be the reason why a cruise ship makes sense as a venue. Multiple stages. Also, no one needs to drive home, so events can go late, and no one needs to worry about drinking too much (although it didn't seem to me that anyone really drank out of control). Maybe because the beer and cocktails are weak.

The set up, and the fact that there were delays in setting up and soundchecks for some sets, made for a lot of booking from one show to another to get a decent seat, maybe grab a drink before, etc. It wasn't possible to see all bands, and some people skipped shore excursions so they wouldn't miss events on board. I managed to fit in the shore excursions. One thing is that overall the weather wasn't good at all on CTTE 2015, so you didn't really feel like you were missing out on the cruise aspect so much. It really was more just like a floating collection of stages and a cafeteria, and some meh bars.

I would have preferred a floating prog festival with one main stage (the indoor theater, which was nice), but I did get to see a lot bands, which was good. But sometimes I missed partial or full shows that I wanted to see.

It's a more expensive way to go than ProgDay for instance, but since I'd never been on a cruise I was interested to go. It added a different aspect. I think I would enjoy a regular cruise, because I like to have a lot of time to just read and loaf, but overall I would probably prefer to be somewhere like a resort where I wasn't so tied down. Glad to answer any question you have about it.

[SteveSly]

CT.

It's a more expensive way to go than ProgDay for instance, but since I'd never been on a cruise I was interested to go. It added a different aspect. I think I would enjoy a regular cruise, because I like to have a lot of time to just read and loaf, but overall I would probably prefer to be somewhere like a resort where I wasn't so tied down. Glad to answer any question you have about it.

Never been on a music cruise yet (on my bucket list), but have been on several regular cruises and we have always had a blast. Regarding being tied down, one of the advantages of a regular (non-music) cruise is that you are in a different port every day. We have also done all-inclusive resorts which are great too, but there you are tied down to wherever you are at.

[JKL2000]

Never been on a music cruise yet (on my bucket list), but have been on several regular cruises and we have always had a blast. Regarding being tied down, one of the advantages of a regular (non-music) cruise is that you are in a different port every day. We have also done all-inclusive resorts which are great too, but there you are tied down to wherever you are at.

I've been at Club Med a few times and really enjoyed it. Never really felt tied down because of the choice of activities, and also because all I really want to do is read on the beach or by the pool.