I am always on the lookout for that 鈥渟ea change鈥� kind of idea 鈥� you know, one such as 鈥淎h, yes, this is the one I can bet on to be such a success for one cruise line that others will jump on the bandwagon.鈥�
A great example is Norwegian Cruise Line when it introduced freestyle cruising to the industry 14 years ago on the Norwegian Sky. Freestyle cruising means having a choice in the main dining room beyond the two traditional fixed times for early or late seating. Soon many other lines were out with their own version of Norwegian's innovation.
Princess Cruises was the first to show movies on a pool deck and today has the largest screen at sea, on the new Royal Princess.
Now, Carnival Cruise Lines has come up with what I think could be one of those 鈥渟ea change鈥� ideas.
Dubbed Carnival LIVE Concert Series, it will feature big name performers entertaining on some Carnival ships. The catalogue of stars range from current popular acts to past hitmakers. Don鈥檛 confuse this with the current trend of entertainers on chartered ships for theme cruises that last anywhere from four to seven days and turn ships into music festivals at sea.
Carnival鈥檚 concept is different.
It calls for the entertainers to board the ship in port, play a concert that night and leave right after the show.
Ports that Carnival's performers will visit are Cozumel, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; and Catalina Island, Calif. Passengers lucky enough to see them will be on cruises ranging from three to six days.
Jennifer Hudson, who started her career before American Idol on a Disney ship, hosted the event in New York where Carnival announced the LIVE Concert Series. She will be among the first group of entertainers in the 49 performances scheduled for this year.
Others in the first wave are: Chicago, 38 Special, Daughtry, Foreigner, Gavin DeGraw, Jewel, Kansas, Lady Antebellum, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, Olivia Newton-John, REO Speedwagon, Styx and Trace Adkins.
The best part is the low prices for tickets. They will range from $20 to $40, a bargain at any venue. However, if you want to kick it up a notch, Carnival will have limited tickets in the $100 to $150 range that will include meet-and-greets and 鈥渇ront-of-the-house鈥� seating.
All details and the selected cruises can be found at Carnival.com.
Speaking of entertainment, have you ever thought you had enough talent to strut your stuff in front of an audience or behind the scenes as part of a cruise ship鈥檚 entertainment? Cruise ships devour talent for their own theatre productions and lounge acts, giving you a chance to show off your talent while seeing the world at the same time.
If you think you鈥檙e a talented singer, dancer, or singer/dancer, or qualified to be on a youth staff, an activity host or a behind-the-curtain technician, auditions are being held in Toronto from Feb. 23 to 25, and in Montreal from Feb. 27 to 28.
For more details, go to Carnivalentertainment.com/auditions.
Phil鈥檚 Pick of the Week:
Leaves Nov. 11
Miami to San Juan: 12 days, with only two sea days on Oceania Insignia.
Free airfare from selected airports, according to Oceania
Ports: St. Maarten, St. Barts, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Nevis, British Virgin Islands. Starting price: $2,499 per person, based on double occupancy.
The price shown was available at time of writing. See Oceaniacruises.com or a cruise travel agent for more details.
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Visit portsandbows.com for updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and stories from the industry. Phil Reimer can be contacted at [email protected].
