Carnival’s LIVE concert series a first
With $20 tickets, these performances are a steal
Iam always on the lookout for that “sea change” kind of idea … you know, the one where you say, “Ah, 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.”
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 “sea change” ideas.
Dubbed Carnival LIVE Concert Series, it will feature big-name per- formers entertaining on some Carnival ships. The catalogue of stars range from current popular acts to past hitmakers.
Don’t 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 fests at sea. Carnival’s 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, The Bahamas; and Catalina Island, Calif. The 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’ll 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 … 15 in all.
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 “front-of-the-house” seating.
All details and the selected cruises can be found at Carnival.com.
And 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’s 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’re a talented singer, a dancer, or a singer/dancer, qualified to be on a youth staff, or an activity host or a behind-the-curtain technician, auditions are being held in Toronto from Feb. 23-25, and in Montreal Feb. 27-28. Go to Carnivalentertainment.com/auditions for all the details.