THE BOAT THAT ROCKS:
All at sea with music royalty
AS YOU join the queue at check-in you get your first clue that all is not run of the mill here. “Woah, you’re halfway there!” a notice exclaims. Somewhere in the back of your mind, something stirs, shakes off cobwebs and takes up residence.
Before you know it, you’re livin’ on a prayer. And didn’t Tommy used to work on the docks?
But then this is the queue for the boat that rocks, the Runaway To Paradise, all at sea with rock royalty.
We’re setting sail from Barcelona for a rock festival, literally, on the Med with Jon Bon Jovi and pals. For the best part of five days, we’ll eat, drink, live and breathe the brand.
Billed as an “immersive” experience, it’s chance for 2,300 fans to get up, close and personal with one of the world’s most recognisable rock and roll stars.
Everyone is high-fived as they step on board. It sounds tacky but it isn’t in the slightest, such is the friendliness of the staff.
This, you begin to appreciate, is a cruise with a difference. A party, yes, but without going overboard, either in the metaphorical or literal sense.
NCL cruise ship Norwegian Pearl, already noted for its entertainment, enters a different league altogether and is suitably transformed.
The Bon Jovi brand is everywhere, from the giant pictures in the atrium right down to the logos on the poker chips and paper napkins at the buffet; there’s priceless memorabilia at every turn, from iconic stage outfits to platinum discs; Bon Jovi hits play in the background; Jon’s Soul Food Kitchen raises cash for charity; famous gigs roll on TV screens in public rooms.
Even in your stateroom, there’s a Bon Jovi TV channel, playing live concert films and videos. If you’re not a fan, you’re on the wrong ship.
And d’you know, whatever your tastes, you slip into the musical mainstream within minutes. You’re humming that song in your head; you’re completing choruses; you’re strutting to the beat.
More than that, you’re making friends. On most cruises it takes a while to break the ice but here’s it’s like you’re one big family, united by a passion for music.
Conversations break out; back catalogues are compared; people help each other out; confidences are shared – “I bought this cruise as an anniversary gift for my wife,” New Yorker Tony tells me. “But she ran off with another guy so I thought ‘Hell, I might as well come along anyway .... ” Well, it is the Runaway cruise, I venture.
It’s a global family, too. On this voyage to Palma and back, no fewer than 59 nationalities are listed, a veritable United Nations of rock. If only the rest of the world could get on like this, it’d be a better place. At the end of the day, pun excused please, we’re all in the same boat.
At the heart of the matter, of course, is the Bon Jovi family. Jon joins us at Palma, big brother Matt is on hand to make sure it’s all plain sailing, Jon’s son Jesse is leading tastings of the family’s Hampton Water Rosé, produced in France and flowing freely on the Pearl.
They’ve done ‘Runaway’ events before but they were always on land in hotels and resorts before Jon set to sea earlier this year in the Caribbean and loved it so much that he’s back for more. Whisper it quietly but, if it can be slotted alongside Bon Jovi tour dates next year, there may be a third helping.
Joining Jon on board is Johnny Rzeznik from Goo Goo Dolls, the unstoppable Grace Potter, US radio rockers Collateral, Brit blues blaster Kris Barras, Spanish chart star Antonio Rivas, indie darlings Hannah Wicklund and Steppin’ Stones; London singer-songwriter Stewart Mac; pop chanteuse Betsie Gold and The Kings of Suburbia.
The Kings, who play both under their own name and as Jon’s band, are a stellar collection of New Jersey’s finest session musicians (they get so busy they had to say no to Springsteen), including violin virtuoso Lorenza Ponce, a regular and remarkable part of the full Bon Jovi tour band.
Oh, and did I mention Bon Jovi tribute band Slippery When Wet? You can’t get too much Bon Jovi for this crowd, believe me. Besides, they have Jon’s own stamp of approval.
The line-up is completed by silent disco Shut Up And Dance and rock and roll DJ Dave, with his inexhaustible collection of 1980s rock hits. Between gigs, Bon Jovi producer Obie O’Brien, tour photographer David Bergman and movie director Phil Griffin take part in revealing Q&A sessions, and Jon’s movies play.
It’s enough to make you turn to a Have A Nice Day Daiquiri at the Sky High Bar.
There are as many as six gigs a day – a handy phone app helps you build your own schedule – with each band playing a number of times, changing up the set lists so each is fresh. A stunning acoustic set by Kings Of Suburbia, with immaculate three-part harmonies on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tom Petty and Beatles classics, will linger long in the memory.
But it’s Jon Bon Jovi that we’re here for. A thunderstorm and torrential rain move his first show indoors, and into the Starlight Theatre where he performs in semi-plugged storyteller mood, taking questions from the fans between songs and offering a first preview verse of a new song from next year’s Bon Jovi ‘2020’ album.
Band hits are stripped back and given laid back new keys and rhythms. There’s a gorgeous version of It’s My Life and a cover of George
Harrison’s Here Comes The Sun. Afterwards, we meet Jon, who graciously poses for a photo and hints that his new album will have a lot to say about Trump.
Next night, however, he’s in full Jersey Shore mode, out on the pool deck stage and backed by the 11-piece Kings, including a punchy horn section. “This is a rock and roll jukebox,” he tells the faithful. “These are songs I love to play.” The set list boasts not just Bon Jovi staples, but also covers including Stevie Wonder’s Superstition.
He pulls fans up to duet on It’s My Life and Livin’ On A Prayer, and wades out into the audience – to the apparent surprise of his security and musicians – to embrace a disabled youngster.
It’s a great night, a rare chance to see the whites of a global rock star’s eyes amid one of the smallest audiences of his career. You know that 7ft tall guy who always stands in front of you at gigs? Well, there’s enough space out here on deck that even if he does turn up, you can still see the band.
Sixthman, the Atlanta company that puts together music cruises, is big on detail. Eighteen months planning goes into each five-day cruise. They want everybody to have a good time and sightlines are carefully managed to ensure everyone gets a good view. Little wonder they have a 60% re-booking rate.
Staterooms, restaurants, bars, gym and spa on the Pearl, meanwhile, are all to NCL’s usual high standards. You return home having enjoyed a good cruise, and perhaps a day off the ship looking round Palma. But make no mistake: it’s the music, specifically Bon Jovi music, that floats this boat.
Have a nice day, y’all.