Friday - Feb. 24, 2012
- The cruise kick-off party is tonight. It was a long flight to Ft. Lauderdale, and a tedious ride to the hotel, but I made it! My room wasn’t ready, so I found Sydna and left my bags in her room while so we could get lunch over at the Bahia Cabana restaurant. It was so nice sitting by the water. I miss that, although I don't miss the humidity. It was very warm and sticky already in south FL, which made me appreciate AZ even more. After I finally got my room and rested up a bit, I headed back over to Sydna's room where everyone was gathering. She had made plenty of jello shots (which were very tasty, especially with poprocks on top) and everyone was partaking. I only had a couple, since I was supposed to be working.
We walked over to the venue where the pre-party was being held. The place was crammed full of people, and the wait to get a drink at the outdoor bar was ridiculous. Seriously, this is a bunch of rockers on holiday. Who scheduled the bartenders for this event? Atomic Punks were already playing inside, and it was even more packed there. They sounded great (after seeing the originals recently, I have to admit that Atomic Punks were more entertaining), and even looked the part with the spandex and big hair. Since there was no way I was going to push myself to the front for some photos, I tried upstairs. Not much luck there either. Times like this, I really hate being short! Between the crowd, the noise and the heat, I was starting to get a migraine by the time Kix came on. Since it didn't look like I would get many good pictures, I decided to head back, get some sleep and try to get rid of the headache. Unfortunately, there was a band playing disco right outside my door. About the time they stopped, the safe in my room started beeping. Why, I don't know. The front desk was useless, telling me that maintenance had left for the day. Really? So I just have to live with this? Fortunately, as I was about ready to consider sleeping on a pool chair, it stopped as mysteriously as it had started. Please don’t let this be an omen for the rest of the weekend!
Saturday - Feb. 25, 2012
- The first shuttle to the port was at 11:30, so I had plenty of time for a good breakfast and a lot of waiting. Thank goodness the migraine went away! We were damn near the last to board the ship, but at least I was there. I found my cabin. My bag got there pretty quick and I was ready to go. I set off in search of the Management office, so I could pick up my credentials. As excited as I was when I first booked, I was even more excited when I found out that Classic Rock AOR would pick up the photos for an upcoming issue. Concert photography is a blast, but doing such a big event, and getting paid for it to boot, is just awesome! When I first contacted the cruise folks, it sounded like they were going to take good care of the media on board. Well, maybe that was wishful thinking. The management office I was told to find didn't exist - it was being used for merchandise. They told me to try the Production office around the corner. The bands were checking in there and it was quite busy, so I decided to wait until things cleared out a bit. I roamed the ship, getting familiar with it again.
Later, I tried back at the production office and was able to get my media pass. The lady that checked me in had no clue about the photo passes that were supposed to be given out to allow early access to the pool and main theater stages. She also didn't know where the Situation Room was, where they were going to have the press conferences. She took my info and said she would get in touch when she found out something. I had my doubts about that, so I planned to check back later. During my next round of roaming, I saw two guys with different credentials - photo passes for the theater and pool. Not wanting to wait, I went back down to the production office and asked about what I had seen. The lady still didn't know anything. She said she had just gotten a copy of the email that had been sent out to us - indicating we would have photo passes - and she hadn't been the one to give out the passes I saw. Once again, I was told I would hear something back once she found out. I decided at that point that I would never hear anything, and I would just have to fend for myself. Either they were too disorganized to know what was going on and who was doing what, or they had decided to only give these passes to a privileged few and didn't want to tell the rest of us that. Didn't look good for the production team either way. Hopefully, this is not an indication of how the whole cruise will be run.
I wandered into the VIP party with my roommates, since our email said to check in at the VIP desk. We didn't pay for VIP, but hey! Turns out that MOR made a mistake and wouldn't let us have the credentials. Oh well - we tried! At least we got some free drinks and food out of it!
There was time to grab something to eat, barely, before the Tesla show. Now, I've been on a few cruise lines, and MSC's buffet is less than stellar compared to others. I've heard that the main restaurant is good, but these cruises don't allow much time to find that out, so buffet food it is. At least they did keep the line open much longer than the first Shiprocked.
Up on deck, they covered one of the pools to accommodate more people for the shows there. Unfortunately, they had already released the hounds, so it was packed around the stage, and every other place that may have been a good shooting spot. Fortunately, Sydna was right up front, so I used that and my media pass to squeeze in. The stage was pretty high, however, which made it hard to shoot. I got a lot of "up-the-nose" shots or shots with people's heads in the way. They were having trouble getting the sound right - kept buzzing and cutting out - so the show was delayed for quite a while. Finally, Tesla decided to play anyway. Thank goodness for that because I'm not sure they ever got the sound right on that stage. Tesla put on a fantastic performance, as always, even with the sound problems, and the cruise was off and running.
After seeing the schedule, I had a plan to maximize the number of shows I could see. That went out the window pretty quick, especially once photo passes were a no-go. I tried the first main theater show - Cinderella. They were supposed to overlap Tesla, but were really late going on. I asked about getting in early to get a spot to take pics and I was told I could go in after the the VIPs. It looked like there were about 500 of them waiting in line already, so I knew getting a good spot down front would be difficult, and I didn't have a long lens to use in the balcony. So, I gave that up, and ended up at John Corabi's set. That room was about as dark as a cave - not conducive to photo taking without flash. He was very good, though, even playing an acoustic version of Hooligan’s Holiday that everyone sang along with. Caught a little of XYZ later that night, but I didn't stay long thanks to some rain.
Sunday - Feb. 26, 2012
- We hit Key West bright and early. Luc Carl, who I listen to often on Hair Nation sometimes, was supposed to do a Drunk Diet Workout in the morning. He has a book out called The Drunk Diet, which he was promoting and signing copies of on the ship. This event was supposed to happen on the pool deck, and it sounded entertaining, so I waited for it - and waited, and waited. Finally gave up and decided to head into town for a little bit. Stryper and George Lynch did not make it on the ship before we sailed, thanks to a snowstorm, so Stryper's Sunday morning show wasn't going to happen. I enjoyed Key West for a while and made it back in time to see Bill Leverty. He did songs from his Southern Exposure album. What a talented, and humble guy. I thought about hitting the meet-n-greet, but found out that they weren't allowing autographs and photos were only to be taken by their professional photog. So much for getting any of my photos signed, at least in a controlled setting, and I wasn’t in the mood to play paparazzi. I sat down to listen to DC4, and my writer, Steve Mascord, finally found me. DC4 had a heavier sound than some of the other bands on board, but were quite entertaining.
Kix did the sail-away show, and I was able to get a good spot to shoot from. Kix is always high-energy and a lot of fun. The sound was still wonky, and the wind was really whipping up, but everyone had a good time. By the end of the show, the press conference was probably over, but it didn't matter - I still couldn't find the situation room! Maybe Steve did.
Caught Night Ranger later. Brought the long lens, which really wasn't meant for low light photography, and shot from the back of the house. The pictures turned out all right, and the show was great. Jack Blades was full of energy and the whole band was playful and just having a good time. Brad Gillis even launched into a little Ozzy! It bothered me until I figured it out later, but Jack Blades looks a little like Richard Simmons to me. LOL I had never see them live, even though they played our high school grad night at Kings Dominion outside Richmond, VA. I was glad I had the chance to catch them on the ship. After a quick bite, I got in line for Cinderella. They were about an hour late again, but I got a good spot in the balcony to shoot from. I've seen them multiple times over the past couple of years, and the show really wasn't any different. They were good, but I have to confess that I had more fun at other shows.
The wind was wild, the seas were rough and we were having some rain again, so they moved the prom inside. I went up to snap a couple of photos of the dresses and costumes - some folks really got into the spirit - then went out on deck to enjoy the wild weather. Ended up talking to Dave, the security guy, for a while. Told him I'd be at Firehouse later, but I just wasn't in the mood for work. Firehouse is another band I've seen quite a few times over the past few years. They put on a good show, but it was more entertaining at this point to watch people. Unfortunately, I forgot Rhino Bucket was playing after the prom, and I missed them too.
Monday - Feb. 27, 2012
- We had plans to go over to Paradise Island for the day, and so would miss several more of the onboard events - including Stryper's rescheduled show. I have to say that I didn't like that. People pay a lot of money for these cruises and to see the bands they love, but many had never been on a cruise before and had never been to the ports of call. It really isn't fair to make people choose, especially when some had made their plans long before the cruise schedule came out. Some of the bands only played while we were in port, and some of the events only happened then also. If I were running the thing, I would put fewer bands on the ship and allow for downtime while in port. Just my rant.
Paradise Island was a blast, though. We did a package deal with one of the hotels. They provided use of the pool and beach, lunch and free drinks. Our waitress treated us quite well in the drink department! Back on board, later than expected, I found Steve again. He had forgotten about the second press conference, and decided to just do phone interviews later. I rushed thru a shower, and grabbed a bite to eat, but still missed the start of Night Ranger's acoustic set. So, I decided to wait so I could get a good spot for UFO - another band I had never seen. These guys were amazing! What a treat! I felt bad for Phil Mogg, though. It was obvious he was having some pain - probably his back - but he continued on with the show!
From there, I ran to catch Faster Pussycat. Talked my way up onto the side stage in front of some other folks for a song or two. Of course, they didn't bother to turn the lights on, so my experimental shots with the fish eye lens were pretty much useless. Then I wandered over to the other side where Sydna and her gang were watching the show. I couldn't see a thing, but the show was fun, as always from these guys. They even did Poison Ivy and You're So Vain - songs you don't normally see them do live. At one point Eric Brittingham was standing behind me. He asked me for the time. LOL I shrugged my shoulders and showed him my Movado with the black face and no numbers. You could almost see the reflection of the gold hands in the dark Eric just laughed. A bit later he took Danny's place on stage for a song.
Y&T was the only other show that night. I should have gone to get a few pics, but I was content to call it a night. All-in-all, it was a fantastic cruise. The schedule flowed smoothly, for the most part, despite how tight everything was. Band members were out around the ship, meeting fans and just hanging out - which is what makes the experience memorable for people. It was good to see old friends (there is now a cruise family), and meet new ones. Their lack of coordination regarding the media was a good lesson in adapting, improvising and overcoming. The magazine won't have shots of all the bands, but will have good shots of a fair number of them. Next year's cruise has already been announced - 4 nights instead of 3. I hope they are doing that to spread things out more, instead of adding more bands. We shall see!
