the curse of grand cayman continues…while the island was in sight, we did not stop (thank you, mother nature.) while this seems like a total buzz kill, it has hardly made a dent in the spirit on this ship. we all woke early, knowing this missed port was a possibility, and quickly lined up new activities and extra shows to make the day extra lively. speaking of, i think i hear guitar hero calling my name…..

Day 2 on the Rock Boat means three things to me right now; lobster, football and music.  When I think lobster I sometimes think of fancy restaurants, classical background music and chardonnay, but more so, I think of my first lobster roll on a pier off the Atlantic.  When I think of football, I think of burgers and hot dogs with a cooler full of beer and my Dad in the garage with the game muted on TV and the radio tuned to a station picking up the Buffalo Bills game announcers. I know the Bills haven’t made the playoffs this year, or the past few years for that matter, but that football feeling is all the same. The Patriots just beat the Chargers while the Packers and the Giants are a few minutes from kickoff.   We hit some rain and rocky seas today and had to move the Lido Deck shows inside; so the boat is crammed with great music. The blending of football, lobster and music is not the most common, but for some reason it fits and reinforces that anything and everything goes on The Rock Boat!

We’ve been on board now for just under 24 hours and I’m already exhausted. My arms are tired from lei’ing hundreds and hundreds of people at the “Get Lei’d Party” last night. My legs are tired from running back and forth from the ship to the port about ten times. My ego, dignity, and overall self-esteem are hurting from skipping around in a hideous tacky-tourist costume (I was the only Sixthman employee courageous/stupid enough to put it on). My throat hurts from singing along to every Sister Hazel song in the Dynasty Lounge. My wallet is lighter from spending too much time at the craps table. My eyelids are heavier because I just don’t feel like going to sleep.

Despite all of this, I’ve never felt so good, and I’ve never been so alive.

Man I love this cruise.

I went on TRB 03 five years ago as a guest, and was fortunate enough to work myself up the chain and finally score a job with Sixthman (hello dream job).  I’ve been on so many of these now that I’ve gotten to know (or…can at least recognize) nearly all of the guests, and I love meeting newbies on each sailing.

There is something so special about all of Sixthman’s new cruises and adventures, but it feels so amazing to come back to a family that just makes you feel comfortable.  To turn any corner, and instantly recognize the person around the bend.  I can’t wait for our other events to reach this level.  It’s nothing short of remarkable.

P.S.  Miami and the Caribbean make my hair look like Monica’s.  I hope you know what that means.  And I hope you don’t judge me because of my hair for the next three weeks.   Sorry to be random.  I just saw my reflection in the window.

so…we got held up from leaving miami this afternoon by more than two hours. Pat was playing on the deck and everyone was ready to see the sun set as we sailed away from miami.

well, that didn’t happen. why, you ask?
there were rumors about us waiting on people, and there were rumors about gear not making the ship, and rumors of a ‘stowaway’.

but i thought i would let you know that i am incredibly proud to say that the only reason we did not port at 4pm est is because Carnival was still loading beer onto the ship. There were 100 palattes of beer on the ship’s dock at approximately 4:40pm.

Yep, thats right…
welcome to The Rock Boat.

“It’s like 2000 best friends you just haven’t met yet.”

My new friend Jim from Colorado chose this sentence to best describe the Rock Boat experience; after about 15 minutes at tonight’s pre-party, I’d certainly have to agree with him. It was great to watch as people who haven’t seen each other since last year’s cruise strike up conversations as if they hadn’t missed a beat. Hugs were exchanged, stories were swapped, jokes were told, and infectious smiles spread like crazy.

I felt famous walking around with my co-worker Lauren (who is queen of the Sixthman Message Boards and a celebrity at these things) as every single person she walked by stopped her for a hug/picture/story/etc. Most of them she had met on previous excursions, but others had only known her through message board postings and Sixthman emails; it didn’t matter. She amazingly recognized almost all by name (or screen name) and those she hadn’t met were immediately befriended. I think she might be more of a celebrity than any band onboard.

On more than one occasion, I introduced myself as “Steve from Sixthman” and watched as eyes opened wide and mouths opened to reveal massive smiles: “Ohhhhh, so you’re the new guy! We all read your blog last week, and just wanted to let you know, you have no idea what you’re in for, Rookie. Get ready.”

After a few of these encounters, I just started introducing myself as “Steve the New Guy,” and was immediately accepted into the Rock Boat family. It was great to see people who have been on this cruise since its inception bring their friends, who I’m sure have heard about the experience, and let them experience this for themselves.

If I had to describe tonight’s pre-party, I’d have to say it best resembled a huge happy family reunion, except with a lot more alcohol. Although my knowledge of mafia related business is limited to the Godfather movies and the Sopranos, I have to imagine that going on the Rock Boat and becoming a Sixthman Pioneer is a lot like joining the mob (without the violence, murder, corruption, and track suits): once you’re in, there’s no getting out. It’s not that you can’t get out, it’s that there’s no good reason to. I’m sure there has been a Rock Boater who might have partied too hard or spent too much time in the casino and walked off the boat saying “there is NO WAY I can do this again next year,” only to be the first in line to reserve a cabin for the next one as soon as the music line-up is announced. I’m just glad to finally see for myself what the Rock Boat is all about.

Thanks for having me guys.  Now let’s get started.

We arrived in Miami last night and the usual wave of anxiety wasn’t here waiting on us. At dinner, we realized it was because that the twenty five hundred guests arriving this afternoon and sailing with us for the next 5 days are our friends. They look out for us as much as we look out for them like any good friend does. We have so many amazing memories from the last 8 years but the ones we are most excited about are the ones waiting for us this week.  So travel safely down here today and know we are ready to catch up with you all and create some new memories that will rival and surpass the dozens of them we have already made together.

Sitting here in Mexico thinking about all the amazing moments I have witnessed since we left Miami two days ago and just wishing their was a way to bottle them up and share them when I get back. There have been some great performances by the bands so far but one in particular stands out above the rest.At the pre-party on Wednesday night I was walking around saying hello to people and within the course of a few minutes, I met several guests who claimed to be members of Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute bands from all over the world. I quickly ran back to grab them all so they could meet eachother and then challenged to see if they could piece together an entire band to perform on the ship. An hour or so later the newly elected band leader, Keven, pulled me aside to tell me they had a full band ready to go and could do a few songs if we needed them.

The next day when we boarded the ship, I began looking at the schedule to see if any slots were open to present the International Skynyrd Tribute Band to our 2,000 guests. I noticed that we had a Talent Show scheduled and Ricky, Billy, Gary, Dale, Ean and Michael were going to be judges, so I asked our production team if we could have these guys play while the judges were tabulating their votes. We found a few guitars on the ship for them to borrow and they rehearsed for 30 minutes before we kicked off the competition.

Finally, the time came for this group of guys from England, Barcelona and the United States who had known one another for only 1 day to stand in front of their idols and perform some of Southern Rock’s biggest anthems. They broke into Gimme Three Steps and delivered it with a heavy British accent and received a rousing applause and commentary from Lynyrd Skynyrd before they left. They rattled off a few more classic renditions while the crowd danced and cheered.

It blew my mind that these people from all over the world who spoke different languages could, in a matter of minutes, find a language they could speak fluently.

I tracked down a guest walking down Promenade today and asked him if he’d share a few words about his trip with me. Luckily, he obliged. Here’s what he had to say…

Coming to you live from the Promenade Deck of the Carnival Ship the Imagination I can only describe the Sixthman Simple Man Cruise like this, if you want to know what Heaven is really like you got to take this Cruise at least once and than I will promise you that you will be hooked or should I say BOOKED for a Lifetime. What more could you ask for if you love music. The music is non stop whether you are an early riser when they have non stop all the hits that you love over the speaker system or once the LIVE music starts it seems to never stop. The last couple of nights I went out on the Lido deck and there was the Backyard Tire Fire WAILING away. Before that the Georgia Satellites and before that on the Main Stage of the Dynasty Lounge The Marshall Tucker Band made believers out of all of us. Did I forget to mention that Lynyrd Skynyrd was there in FULL FORCE and play to a house that was packed to the rafters with stowaways hanging off the side of the boat just trying to get a glimpse of the KINGS of Southern Rock.

Now lets talk about ALL the food you could ever dream of eating on the boat for NOTHING. Activities include a Swimming Pool, Waterslides, 9 hole golf course and a Gym to work out in. The NICEST part of the trip though is developing lifetime friendships or see old friends that ya’ll haven’t seen since who knows when. Now the best part of the trip is that you get to mingle with the band members while on board. They are not Supergods who fly out the windows. They have to eat just like you or me. Imagine eating breakfast and having Doug Gray or Rickey Medlocke sittin at the next table. They are MORE than happy to take pictures or sign anything that you put in front of them if they are not busy. The SIXTHMAN EXPERIENCE is as close as possible getting to Heaven without really being there.

Hooty Has Spoken

Eddy Kamont

Thanks, Eddy!

L

Yesterday was a good day.

During the year, I’m in charge of any onboard activity that doesn’t involve music. When we are on the cruise, I attend most of them to make sure they all run smoothly.

The first activity of my day was a Guitar Hero competition. We had about 16 participants take part, and they rocked out – 80s style. We encouraged everyone to wear wigs and dance around while they were playing, and they answered the call. My favorites were a young guy and girl who spun around, fell to their knees, and ended up kicking over chairs for their big finale. Needless to say, they made it to the finals.

Then I helped judge the door decorating contest. This year’s theme was Skynyrd Songs, and people had some amazing doors. The most random door of them all, I think, was a door with lights, garland, old concert tickets, and a singing beaver. Singing a song about beavers. And not the kind that make dams. As strange as it was, we were highly entertained, and awarded them “Most Original.” Hard to dispute, eh?

Over the last few months, a bunch of couples on the event message board decided it would be awesome to renew their vows onboard the ship. They wrote the vows, organized it all, and I witnessed the ceremony last night. Everyone had red roses with confederate flags tied on…what a trip. The ceremony was really cool – with 20 couples or so involved. Our photographer and film crew got footage, so I’ll see if I can dig some up and post it.

Then the talent show. I gotta tell you…we were sweating about the talent show. We announced earlier this year that members of Lynyrd Skynyrd would be judging, and thought that would be enough to get participants. The opposite happened. Before the talent show started, we had 7 people signed up, and only 4 ended up coming. We were so nervous that it would flop.

We could not have been more wrong.

We expected 3 members of Skynyrd to come judge, and we ended up with Rickey, Gary, Dale, Billy, Michael, and Ean. It was an incredible was to start; we were thrilled that so many wanted to come be part of it!

First up was a kid named Bobby, who has certainly earned a name for himself on this cruise. He played electric guitar to honor his idol, Gary Rossington – guitarist from Skynyrd. And let me tell you, that kid can wail. He is so, so talented. It was a special moment when Gary told him how great he thought he was. Everyone could tell how floored Bobby was to play for his idol. We all wondered how in the world someone could follow his performance.

Turns out, it was possible. After Bobby, a kid named Ian did a martial arts demo, and then a kid named Brandt followed him with another martial arts demo. They really wowed us; Ian’s demonstration was more strength and dance-centric, and Brandt’s involved a big stick. Both were loved by all members of Skynyrd.

Last but not least, a lady named Laura who clogged to Skynyrd’s song “Gimme Three Steps.” Though – she didn’t play to a cd. She was backed by the international Skynyrd Tribute Band…which was cool in itself. In fact, before this cruise, none of the members of each tribute bands knew the other existed. They all met onboard, and their first rehearsal was an hour before the show. They were a great addition, and impressed a lot of people.

In the end, Brandt took the cake as grand prize winner, and we were so happy that the Talent Show turned out way better than we could ever imagine.

After that, I took Steve-O to play a little game called “beer buckets in the glass elevators.” We bought a couple buckets of beer and left them in the glass elevators in the atrium with a note saying “Please take one. Love, Sixthman.” Then we ran up to the top deck to watch the events unfold.

Somebody snatched up the first bucket right away. Yes. The whole bucket. It took people longer to take beer from the second bucket…they all just looked at it like it was sketchy. Which it probably was. When there were three beers left, someone on the housekeeping staff snatched the bucket and took it away. I followed her and got it back The rest of the time, people played nice…taking on beer at a time until everything was gone. It was pretty funny to watch. I think I’m gonna play again tomorrow.

To round out the night, most of the Sixthman staff ended up at the late-night promenade stage hanging out with guests and listening to great music by Scott Munns and friends. At one point (around 3am), Billy Powell from Skynyrd came out and played piano with everyone. Very, very cool.

This blog ended up way longer than I ever intended…but I didn’t want to leave anything out! Of all the cruises I’ve been part of with Sixthman, yesterday was one of my favorite days ever.

Cheers to Skynyrd for being incredibly accessible. And cheers to all our guests for rocking out, going with the flow, and making this trip so memorable for all of us.

L