They started announcing bands yesterday. So far (and I'll probably forget one or more):
Yes
Stick Men
Curved Air
Alex Machacek
Kansas
and...
John Wetton!
Cruising from Tampa to Cozumel!
They started announcing bands yesterday. So far (and I'll probably forget one or more):
Yes
Stick Men
Curved Air
Alex Machacek
Kansas
and...
John Wetton!
Cruising from Tampa to Cozumel!
Hopefully the announcements today at 4:00 PM EDT will be more interesting.
The Prog Corner
Mike Portnoy has already been tweeting about his special show which will highlight his entire career as he approaches turning 50.
I guess FB-followers should be looking for this one: https://www.facebook.com/cruisetotheedge/
They just announced it. Not a big surprise! I like Portnoy, but I actually don't care if he's on the Cruise or not. I really don't get these people who are HUGE Portnoy fans and are now commenting on the Facebook page, "Oh, NOW I know I'll be going." Not that there's anything wrong with it, he just seems to be on EVERY prog cruise. I AM waiting for Marillion, I have to admit... Not that I wouldn't go if they weren't going, just hope they are.Originally Posted by Richard
Actually, there's a lot about the CTTE crowd that surprises me. They seem to want to see the same bands every year, while I'd actually prefer different bands every year, although I wouldn't mind Marillion or Yes coming back.
Also, for a lot of them the participation of a certain band is a make-or-break deal. I just saw someone commented that she wasn't impressed with what was announced so far, and if Lifesigns wasn't playing she wasn't going. Really? If you like Lifesigns, fine. They weren't for me, really, though they were quite affable. But even if you love them, why would it all hinge on one band that was there last year? That's not the way us NEARfest and Progday goers were brought up!
Last edited by JKL2000; 03-23-2016 at 04:25 PM.
I could not agree more. The Lifesigns love I absolutely do not get. They were on the last 2 cruises and just meh as far as I was concerned.
It's almost like every time I read a post from somebody suggesting a certain band I wanna say, "Please NO."
Don't get the love affair with Kansas either. They are decent enough but it's not like you don't get plenty of opportunity to see them (I guess for those of us in North America that is.)
Oh well, still waiting for a band that will make it worth it for me. (Marillion already declined stating their preparation for their conventions, but you never know.)
I actually thought I had read a cooment that made it sound like it wasn't possible. No biggie as I'll see them in October.
I like Kansas and have only seen them once, though it was just last year. Hopefully they'll do some good songs like Song for America. Plus it'll be funny to see those guys hangin on the ship.
Anathema is another band people push for again. I've tried some more and just still don't get it.
Even Anglagard, which I like a lot, I've now seen three times. A lot of people want them back, but IMO they're actually better on album than live.
Thank You Scientist I wouldn't mind seeing again - they were a hoot!
Doh! Anglagard and Haken are both returning. Oh well, at least I like Anglagard. I missed Haken last year, so never seen them.
I would also like Saga back, as seeing them last time was my first time and I've gotten much more into them since.
Lucy has previously written that Marillion won't be on the cruise this time. Too close to all their weekends.
Looks like they just announced Steve Hackett.
How many people typically attend these things(for each cruise that is)? Also, is it mostly prog fans or just people who go for just one or two bands(like YES)?
Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)
It's prog fans, but you do get people who are very involved in one or two of the bands. But since sometimes one of those bands is Anglagard, or Three Friends, or the prog jams, they're prog fans - around 2000-2500 people on board, but I don't know how many are the bands themselves, and crew. But they're pretty well attended. I saw an amazing variety of prog t-shirts last year.
They will end up having the same names I think, because a fair few bands I know aren't interested in doing them, don't like sailing etc
Sonja by the pool might be cool.
I went on the first 2 Cruise To The Edges, and skipped the last one, mainly because there are too many repeat bands. Don't get me wrong, it was a great time both times, but I would like to see more newer bands (and not the same ones every time). It is also not cheap. And since the bands already announced are mainly repeats (except for Curved Air, I don't count Kansas, as they tour constantly) it is looking like I will probably skip this one as well, unless they pull some bands out that I haven't seen for a while. From what I can see from the Facebook page, most people don't seem to care too much about that.
Yeah, I'm sort of thinking trying to get to the Marillion Weekend makes more sense, since while it's still Marillion they do mix things up a bit. BUT, since I've only been on one CTTE (last year) the whole setting is still novel to me. It does seem strange to have as unchallenging a band as, say, IO Earth, there AGAIN, but on the other hand, since they have multiple stages, I might be able to catch some bands I missed last year, like Haken, and if Bad Dreams comes back, them. And Airbag I sort of ditched on, but would like to see a full set of theirs. So I could see doing another CTTE, but all the repeat bands isn't a good recipe for longtime attendees, I think. Most other festivals put in a lot of work to try to get different bands each year, and that's part of the appeal for most fest-goers, I think.
Also, being my second time there, there would be people I'd like to socialize with a bit, so repeat bands makes socializing easier because you're not missing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Definitely ups and downs.
BTW, I found out the ship (Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas), is the one that experienced huge f'ing waves during a storm last December. Nice!. It's always something... Not that those things affect my decision.
As you know, I feel the same way. However, many on cruise seem to feel exactly the opposite. They WANT the same bands that they've enjoyed on previous cruises and are disappointed when they are not chosen. Personally, I've enjoyed NEARfest's and ProgDay's policies of only limited repeats (except for Discipline in PD's early days). There is no right or wrong on this subject, of course.
I've never been, so it would be worth it to me to check it out, but with all the repeat bands they seem to get, it would probably be one and done.
neil
It really is a solid lineup... and they aren't even close to being finished with the announcements. Most likely you would enjoy it. I'm certainly not trying to discourage anyone. Heck, I might still end up going myself.
Yea, still a lot of bands to go... I found the whole multiple stage thing a challenge - I didn't want to miss anything. I did a pretty good job but felt like it was a busy few days! And because some bands went on late, I had to make several snap decisions. But returning bands might make that a bit easier for me, as there'll be less pressure to see bands I've already seen, or to get a good seat.
Without wanting to get on either side, because I don't even understand the divide, can anyone shed some light on what's going on with the AHEPJ (After Hours Electronic Prog Jam) on the cruise? It seems two people who've usually organized it have been displaced. I'm definitely not getting involved either way, just curious what the root of the disagreement or regime change is.
It's not public knowledge, so we don't really know, but with a bit of conjecture here's the (relatively) quick version: JoJo and Rael put this on last year and really did an incredible job organizing it ahead of time and on the ship. Hundreds of hours of prep time was put into it. It was such a success that they recently investigated bringing a version of AHEPJ to other music cruises. While on board the Moodies Cruise recently, while getting much interest and support from attendees and staff alike, apparently one of them got into some sort of disagreement with one of the promoters on that ship. Reportedly things said were taken out of context or misunderstood, but tempers flared and some feelings got hurt. I don't even know who the promoter was or if they are connected to the company that runs CTTE. But regardless, now JoJo and Rael appear to not be part of AHEPJ (or future CTTE's???) and thus CTTE is planning a similar but newly-named after hours music event. I can't really speak to who is more to blame for this communication breakdown, but it seems a shame. Most everyone was very supportive of JoJo & Rael and are thus upset that they're not being invited back, and are skeptical whether or not the new version will be as thorough and rewarding...it's hard to imagine that it would be given all the work that went into making it a success last year.
Not to be a naysayer, although that is part of my nature, and as I've enjoyed the last 2 cruises and would probably like to go again regardless of the line-up, but.....
The ship, Royal Caribbean's "Brilliance of the Seas," gets rather mediocre reviews, especially for music themed cruises. I read a few complaints from folks who say they will never go on a music cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship again. Not sure of the specifics but I will dig deeper. This is an older ship, and many say the food is way below average, the beds uncomfortable, and the crew not always friendly. Supposedly the buffet, "The Windjammer," is very small, making finding a table difficult, and even closes for several long stretches during the day. Since CTTE is a charter cruise, I would hope that part of the negotiation with RCL would be to keep the buffet open all the time since that's pretty much where everyone eats, but you never know. I have also read reviews from several people that the internet really sucks, even by cruise ship standards. This would be a major bummer for me as my work requires me to get online every single day and I found the internet service on both of the last two CTTEs, on the Norwegian Pearl and the MSC Divina, to be quite good actually. Expensive, but very usable. So overall it seems like the ship is a serious downgrade. I thought the Norwegian Pearl was fantastic, but I guess On the Blue are looking to save money.
What's up with the AHEPJ, the After Hours Electric Prog Jam? On the last two CTTEs the late night stage for musicians to sign up and play prog music with other musicians on board, including some from headlining acts, has been fantastically organized and run by Rael and JoJo Razor. I was blown away on CTTE 2014 by how much effort had been put into creating a very fun and professional environment for the late night sessions. In fact, their organization blew away everything else on the ship and the AHEPJ ran like clockwork. The cruise organizers, On The Blue, could learn a lot from the AHEPJ. Unfortunately, instead of hiring the Razors to run the entire cruise (my dream) they've been fired as hosts of the after hours stage. Supposedly this is due to an unfortunate overheard remark from one of the AHEPJ organizers. They've even been blocked from the CTTE Facebook page (which seems really petty). We have been told the after hours stage will continue this year, but wow, they have some really big shoes to fill and based on all the problems On The Blue has communicating and organizing the cruise itself, I'll be very surprised to see them pull this off.
And thirdly, and this is a big one for me, I realize not everybody, but definitely for me: There simply MUST be decent craft beer served on the ship. If I'm going to fork over a lot of money to go on vacation at sea for several days, I must be able to enjoy good beer. Since you are not permitted to bring your own beer on the ship, you are at the mercy of what is served. For CTTE 2014 we were told many times by On The Blue that definitely yes, there would be craft beer. But there was not, and it was a serious let down. They promised again this year for CTTE 2015 and actually delivered!!! We had Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Cigar City Pale Ale, Left Hand Milk Stout, and I believe one from Oskar Blues. It was fantastic having these, however the Sculpin kicked after just 24 hours, and the others didn't make it all the way til the end. So hopefully there will be even more craft beer this time, but as this is a different cruise line, who knows what they will negotiate, and as always, seeing is believing.
Rich
We just went on a regular Royal Caribbean Cruise back in October (we were celebrating some friend’s wedding anniversaries), and yea they still have a long way to go when it comes to beer. They did have an English Pub on board that had some decent imports, but other than that about the best you could find was Sam Adams lager or Rebel IPA. I was disappointed with that aspect of it. I have been to quite a few Caribbean islands and although many of them have breweries, all they appear to brew is rather light lagers, and the concept of a micro brew does not appear to have taken hold much.
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