The image cruises conjured for years has not been very appealing. There was the Titanic, which went down, literally, as the worst cruise ever. In more recent times, illness, particularly the Norovirus, overtook 475 people this January on a Royal Caribbean line, killing the trip. And then there are the negative age associations, with many folks believing you have to be approaching octogenarian status to board a cruise ship.
However, that’s not so, and these days, cruises’ “cool” quotient is rising like the tide. There are a number of entertaining and even edifying cruises slated. Here are a few that prove there’s way more to life at sea than the elderly clad in Hawaiian shirts running off to catch a ventriloquist after gorging at the buffet table.
JOIN HIGH-PROFILE RECORDING ARTISTS ON THE HIGH SEAS.
You would think it wouldn’t be a big deal for a Beach Boy to take to the high seas, but Mike Love is more excited than usual about his iconic band’s gig on the Flower Power Cruise. “It’s a really cool gig,” Love says. “It makes sense for us.” The Beach Boys, Jefferson Starship and Tommy James and the Shondells are hitting the seas March 30-April 6 courtesy of Celebrity cruise line in search of some good vibrations (flowerpowercruise.com).
There are a variety of music cruises that depart from ports throughout the country; it all depends on what floats your boat. There’s a disco cruise (ultimatediscocruise.com), a Soul Train romp (soultraincruise.com) and even a Kiss Kruise (thekisskruise.com) featuring the cartoonish metal act. Fans enjoy music cruises since they are laid-back and there is typically ample time to meet the musicians. Even the occasionally moody Lucinda Williams, who was recently featured on the weeklong Country Outlaw Cruise (outlawcountrycruise.com) with the Drive-By Truckers, might lighten up under the sun.