Last night I had the biggest argument I’ve ever had with a coworker. It was dramatic, loud, and very public. It was also one of the funniest moments for me so far on the cruise.

Tonight is 80’s night on VH1 Best Cruise Ever. In preparation for that, we were discussing our plans for dressing up (have you seen our awesome SIXTHMAN SAY RELAX t-shirts? Picture coming soon!)… then we got into memories of the eighties and our favorite movies. Jodi was the first to mention the Goonies, and Sonia proudly proclaimed the fact that she had seen Goonies more than any of us.

We all chimed in with the best lines and our favorite scenes: “That’s what I said – boody trap!” and “Hey you guuuuuys!” I believe Will even demonstrated the Truffle Shuffle. I made the mistake of conjuring the octopus scene, which I mistakenly believed was in the original movie and had been deleted for the TV versions. Sonia corrected me that it was actually NOT in the original version, and had been ADDED to the TV versions. After much debate, I conceded. Today I looked it up on YouTube, and she was right.

Goonies Octopus Scene

If you haven’t seen this scene yet, check it out. It really makes Goonies better in my humble opinion.

Sonia, Mike, Jodi, Will, May and I were able to laugh about our debate, and I realized that was the biggest argument I’d ever had with anyone at Sixthman. I’m so lucky to be with such a cool group on this ship and back home in Atlanta, that the most passionate disagreement is about deleted scenes from an eighties movie.

Today on VH1 Best Cruise Ever we are dressed in our SIXTHMAN SAY RELAX t-shirts and 80’s garb for theme night solidarity. I have to say we look radical and pretty authentically 80’s. What was your favorite part of that bodacious era?

-Becki

I just filmed this video about an hour ago from the Lido Deck of the Carnival Inspiration while on Simple Man Cruise 2010.   Don’t let Ship Envy happen to you.  It’s kind of tough to hear me in the beginning (due to the ROCK CONCERT happening right behind me), so make sure your volume is turned up.

Ship Envy – Don’t Let it Happen to You

Still got another big night, and a full day tomorrow left on SMC 2010. This is awesome.

-Steve

The Rock Boat is full of once in a lifetime moments.

These moments are unpredictable and unexplained, can last for a second or for hours, and will stay with you forever.  These are the moments you’ll look back upon next week when you go home and try to explain how great The Rock Boat is to your friends.  It’s these moment you’ll go to when sitting at your desk counting down the days to The Rock Boat 11.  It’s these moments that you’ll dream about for years, and it’s these moments that you’ll tell your grandkids about one day.

I had one of those moments while on The Rock Boat X, so I’d like to try and explain in words how incredible it was while it’s still fresh in my memory.  On the Rock Boat, we’re so used to things going wrong (weather, missed ports, etc.) that nothing surprises us any more.  We lost two whole days of Lido Deck shows due to weather, we had to cancel the beach party we had worked so hard to prepare, and practically every show on the last two days had to be rescheduled for a new time and location.  None of that is new.  What did surprise me was how many things went right on Friday night for Gaelic Storm’s St. Patty’s Day show up on the deck.

Although the weather gods generally frown upon The Rock Boat (it must be jealous), they did give us one single night of reprieve, where it wasn’t too cold, didn’t rain, and the ship was sailing through calm waters.  Because the weather held up, it seemed like all 2000 people on the ship were up on the deck wearing green and chomping at the bit to watch Gaelic Storm make their first official performance on TRBX.  Anticipation for this concert began WAY back in march, when Gaelic Storm swung by the Sixthman office to make a video announcing the theme night and threw their full support behind it.

Fast forward to Friday night, January 8th. The whole Sixthman team took the stage to raise a glass and “cheers” our hosts for that night.  We could have said anything into that microphone and the crowd would have still loved us – that’s how excited they were.  After we left the stage, Gaelic Storm walked out while their intro music played…I’m On A Boat.

Whenever an irish folk band walks onto the stage while a fake rap song is playing, you know you’re in for a treat.

What transpired over the next two hours was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever been a part of.  After everything had seemingly gone wrong in 2009 (the economy tanking, people losing jobs left and right), this show felt like a huge pressure release valve had been opened.  The crowd danced and sang at the top of their lungs, and Gaelic Storm fed off of this energy to give one of their most spirited performances in memory.  To borrow a quote from my favorite movie The Shawshank Redemption:

“I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”

Sure we might not have been trapped in a prison like those guys in Shawshank, but we certainly allowed ourselves to feel free of any sorrows for those two hours.  There was a small contingent of us Sixthman employees standing way at the back of the deck, and after two days of unfortunate weather (plus the announcement that our beach party the next day would have to be canceled), we needed to blow off some steam.  We all began doing some variation of the Irish Jig and danced around in a tight little circle like little kids, laughing and smiling and taking a break from the pressure that comes with coordinating a 2000-person floating music festival.  As others walked by to see what all the commotion was, they saw how much fun we were having and decided to join us.  Within a few minutes, it seemed like half the deck had turned into a human-whirlpool of fancy footwork.  It was awesome.

I will never forget this night, and the way it made me feel.  If you were on the ship and at this show, you know what I’m talking about.  This was my favorite moment from any Sixthman cruise because so many things had to go right for it to happen the way it did.  It was a perfect (Gaelic) storm of weather, crowd interaction, performance, release, happiness, and enjoyment of life.

I want to know your “moment,” from TRB X or from ANY cruise you’ve been on.  When did time stand still for you?  What’s the memory you always go back to when you need a pick-me-up?

-Steve

Oh, and Simple Man Cruisers – I can’t wait for you all to have a “moment” coming up this weekend on SMC 2010!  See you soon.

1. Having every artist onboard in record time – no one flying into ports or chasing the boat as we pull away from Tampa

2. “Happy Birthday Rock Boat” being sung by thousands on the Lido Deck as Sister Hazel kicked off TRBX! And yes, there were confetti cannons.

3. Pajama night was in full swing. I doubt that you could classify the majority of “outfits” as legit PJs but hey, anything goes on The Rock Boat.

4. Watching all of our artists reunite and make new friends at the artist party. It was like the first day of summer camp, with beer.

5. Hearing the chatter and love for the TRBX memory book. Ash, Lauren and Steve made a lot of people cry, the good way.

6. Although not a huge fan of college football, it was very entertaining watching the ‘Bama and Texas fans taunt each other all night. I played squares, and lost. I am now really not a huge fan of college football.

7. I love the Rock Boat because no one wakes up before 12pm. Therefore we get to sleep in. I love the Rock Boat.

8. Watching Green River Ordinance host Bingo, when no one had played the game since 2nd grade. Can I get a X4? X4…anyone?

9. Gaelic Storm redeeming their Flip Cup champion status against The Bridges. It was close; too close considering they’re Irish and the girls had never played before.

10. It’s St. Patty’s day on The Rock Boat. Sixthman is wearing “Kiss Me I’m Sixthman” t-shirts. Either the best or worst idea ever. I’ll decide tonight.

It’s finally hit me.  I’m going on the Rock Boat today.

Two years ago, I went on my first Rock Boat as an employee of Sixthman; just a few months prior to that, I didn’t even know music cruises existed (I was out of the loop, okay?).  In the five days that followed, I listened to more music, watched more concerts, and witnessed more happy people than I had seen in my entire life…I was hooked.  Which is a good thing when you think about it, because this is now my job.  Yes, I realize I’m very lucky.

So…after two years, 10 cruises, and hundreds of hours of preparation, am I any less excited for this particular Rock Boat than any previous adventure?  Is all of that initial wonder gone?

Nope.

Although nothing will match the feelings of discovery I felt on my first Rock Boat (and I’m sure none of you have forgotten your first cruise), it’s still a brand new experience on each and every event, and I can’t freaking WAIT to get on this ship today.  I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve,

I can’t wait to:

• Watch the faces of Rock Boaters as they discover what their guest gifts are this year. This is something our whole company is extremely proud of, and something on which we’ve worked super-hard for months.  Big props to L.C. for her leadership on this.
• Stand on the deck of the ship this afternoon and listen to Sister Hazel play their first ever kick-off party. For the first time in the 10 year history of the company, the band that started it all will be getting the party started themselves.  Love it. 
• Get to hang out with my friends for a few minutes here and there. After I got off my first TRB, I came back to Atlanta and told my friends how amazing it was.  Last year, eleven of them came on the cruise as booked guests, and almost all of them (plus a few of their friends) are coming back this year.  It’s always fun to share something like this with those close to you.  Glad you’re back, guys.
• Sleep way too little and stay up way too late. The Rock Boat is full of spur-the-moment collaborations, once-in-a-lifetime concerts, and more spontaneity than you can imagine.  I’m one of those people who HATES to miss out on anything (it drove me crazy to miss out on The Elvis Cruise), so I absolutely destroy my sleep schedule on this cruise to make sure I see as much as possible.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.
• Watch Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers in their element. Not only are these guys some of the nicest individuals I’ve ever met, but they have quickly become one of my favorite hands thanks to their past The Rock Boat performances – they’ve taken this ship by storm.  From their spirited cover of Sweet Caroline on TRB VIII to their piano-less cover of Piano Man on TRBIX, SK & the Sixers always bring a seemingly-impossible level energy and passion to every single song.  I’m so excited that they’re back this year, and I can’t wait to see what they have planned.  They deserve all of the good things coming their way.
• See some of my other favorite musicians. Carbon Leaf, Tyrone Wells, Gaelic Storm, Sister Hazel, Pat McGee, Marc Broussard, and on and on.  I can’t believe how many incredible performers are on this cruise.  Add in the fact that they all hop on stage with each other is just icing on the cake.
• Catch Augustana’s performances. I have been a huge fan of Augustana for years, so I was ecstatic when I found out they were added to the Rock Boat lineup.  They put on an great live show, and I have no doubt they will turn lots of heads while on board.  Welcome to the Sixthman family, we’re glad to have you.
• Expect the unexpected. Although this cruise is packed to the gills with scheduled performances (going well into the early morning hours), it’s the stuff that happens OFF the schedule that make the event so special.  I’ve spent the past eleven months helping plan The Rock Boat X, and I know there are still hours and hours of surprises that will knock everybody off their feet.
• Finally see the results of our work. The Rock Boat team has spent the better part of the last year devoting our free time to making The Rock Boat X the best it can be.  I’m so proud of our company, and I’m so proud of what we have planned for this cruise.

I can’t wait for tonight to start.  Rock Boaters, get ready for the best four days of your life.  Sixthman Community, we’ll do our best to pass along as many stories as possible through this blog, so stay tuned over the next few days.

I can’t wait!

-Steve

That’s right, I’m talking about holiday travel.  Travel, as you may imagine, is a part of my job.  So, actually trying to plan my own travel gets put on the back burner.  It’s kind of the last thing I want to do when I get home at night.  ”Hey, you’ve been on the computer all day booking cruises, why don’t you now get on the computer and book flights and rental cars?”  No, thanks.

Between my boyfriend and I, even the talk about how and who we are going to visit becomes exhausting.  You see there’s a mom and step dad, a brother and niece, a father and step mom, a sister and her partner, another mom and dad, and our poor dogs who are left at home. You can’t visit one without the other and you definitely can’t visit two without the third, and so on.  I’d feel guilty, even though I know our loved ones would be fine.

So, I’ve become my own travel agent. I’ve made arrangements to visit three different states in a period of four days.  I also forced some family members (my sister) to join me in some of the excursion.  With two flights, one car rental, and one hitching of a ride, we will visit and gift with  three different families.  I will be exhausted, but at least I will hopefully feel those Publix Commercial moments with, although brief, everyone.

I have a new found respect for travel agents.  And thanks to Clark Howard I’ve learned a thing or two about getting the best option for my buck.  So, here’s to next year’s holiday where everyone will have to come visit us!

Happy and safe travels,

Lisa

As the year starts to wind down, it’s time to start thinking of Christmas break, holiday shopping, and a bunch of Sixthman Cruises right around the corner!

With the economy being the way it is, I’m sure everybody is trying to save money.  After all, you need to be able to afford that Carnival bar tab (Simple Man Cruisers and Rock Boaters, I’m looking in your direction), and make the occasional/frequent donation to the on-board casino (Mom and Dad, I’m looking in your direction).

I figured we could use today’s blog to come up with various ways everybody can save money at this time of year, inspired by this great post over at the Simple Dollar:

Eating in Rather Than Going Out - Rather than taking two hours of your night to go find a restaurant and pay big bucks for it, why not learn how to cook a few really great meals yourself?  Save a bunch of money, acquire a new skill, and eat healthy.  As a fitness nut I cannot condone cutting back on food funds by increasing trips through a drive-thru window.  Don’t do it!

Cable - All of the great internet TV services out there are really making me start to question our hefty Comcast cable bill.  Rather than spend an extra 60, 80, or 100 bucks a month on HD cable with the sports package, dvr, HBO…cut out the TV, keep the internet, and watch your favorite shows the next day on Hulu.com or any of the other awesome internet TV sources online.  Now that you can get video in higher quality for free online, I have less and less reasons to pay for this every month.  Even if you NEED your cable, why not cut it out for three months and then start it back up after cruise season?  That could be 100+ bucks right there.

Get rid of the stuff you have but don’t need - books, dvds, videogames, etc.  All of the stuff that you own but never are going to play again, step up and get rid of it!  Your life will be much less hectic, and you’ll have more money.  Jackpot.

Library - Hit up your local library to rent DVDs for free rather than hitting up NetFlix.  Sure it’s only 15 bucks a month, that’s still an additional 45 dollars (assuming you stop it for 3 months) that you can use to bet on the pass line at the craps table…not that I would do such a thing. I’d put $15 on the pass line and $30 behind it.  If this doesn’t make sense to you, save your money and don’t play craps.

STOP BUYING STUFF! I used to buy everything, all the time.  Luckily, I’ve been much better lately, but I still struggle with buying things I really don’t need.  I’ve saved 100 bucks recently by getting a library card rather than buying a shopping cart full of books on Amazon.com.  Once you have your priorities in order, it’s easier to stop these types of purchases.

What am I missing? How else can everybody save money to get ready for the upcoming holiday and cruise season?  Found a way to save money while cruising?  Post in the comments below.  If you’re looking for more great long term and short term solutions to saving money (and staying out of debt), check out my buddy Baker’s blog over at ManVsDebt.com.

-Steve

I found one today on the beach!

We are ported in Cozumel on the Elvis Cruise and a few of the staff took a trip to “Isle de Pasion”. The package included a 20 min boat ride on the “Twister” to the island, open bar, an authentic Mexican lunch, water trampolines, paddleboats and comfy beach chairs galore. The “Twister” earned its name from the 180º+ turns it takes at 50mph, that leaves it’s passengers soaked from head to toe, which is ok because the weather is 80ºF and sunny. The island itself is gorgeous – picture the Corona commercials, because that’s where they film them! This sounds like I’m bragging, which I am a bit, but it’s mostly to get you to the part of when I find the “Message in a Bottle”. (This blog is better if you listen to The Police at the same time).

The reason for going wasn’t all for pleasure, about 50/50, and the other half was to figure out if this would be a good place to host some of our guests and artists on future cruises. It is. It’s a good place to take anybody and guarantee them a good time. And this is being there a few days after a hurricane. We’ve been told the water is normally glass and the sand as white as snow. Today it was a bit choppy, which made for a better boat ride, and the sand had been tossed around a bit because of the hurricane winds, still gorgeous though, and certainly nothing to complain about. I decided to go for a walk down the beach to take it all in. That’s when I found it. A “Message in a Bottle”. For real! I picked it up dusted off some of the sea life it acquired and got really excited because I could just barely see the writing inside which seems to be German. Could this be from Germany? Or did someone toss it off a cruise ship yesterday? I’m not sure but we’re going to find out tonight at the staff meeting when we pop it open. It’s been like Christmas morning staring at your presents that you can’t open yet!

Anyways, I wanted to share this with you because A) messages in bottles are pretty cool, B) I wanted to brag a little about my day and C) I have had the song stuck in my head all day! I’ll update you all with what I find inside when we pop it open tonight!

-melissa

Hi my name is Joy, and I’m a last minute packer. I’m not joining most of my co-workers en route to Tampa for the Elvis Cruise tomorrow, but if I was I know what I would be doing this morning. I’d be starting think about maybe beginning to pack. I’ve always been chronically last minute. Heck, I started writing this blog a few hours before it was due.  But, I realize that not everyone throws caution to the wind and that there may be some of you out there not sailing with us until January who’ve already begun packing.

Although I’m usually just happy if I remember to bring a change of pants and my laptop, there are a few key items I always try to remember to pack:

Emergen-C packets – These have helped me stay healthy through out the last two cruise seasons. Whether they actually work, serve as a placebo or just encourage me to drink more water remains to be determined, but I won’t travel with out at least a whole box.

Bottled water – Yes, there is perfectly safe filtered water available to drink on the ships. Personally, I think it tastes gross. Usually I try to limit my bottled water consumption (save the earth, blah, blah, blah), but I need water that doesn’t taste funny to put my Emergen-C in. Because I always get asked this: There is no official limit on the amount of bottled water you can bring on board, as long as you’re not bringing on so much that security thinks you’re going to try to sell it.  And yes, there is bottled water available for purchase on the ship.

Portable Alarm Clock – In what I guess is an effort to encourage guests to sit back and enjoy their vacations, there are no alarm clocks in the staterooms. They can provide a wake up call to prevent you from sleeping through your favorite band’s set, but it can be discombobulating to wake up in the morning or the middle of the night and not know what time it is (especially if you are in an interior cabin).

Digital watch –Like most people these days I depend primarily on my cell phone to help me tell time on land. On my first cruise I quickly realized that this wasn’t practical and bought a cheap plastic watch from the gift shop. Unless you want to be responsible for roaming charges from calls and texts received from people who forgot you were out of the country, it’s best to keep your cell phone turned off. I prefer a digital watch that lights up in the dark (comes in handy when in a dark venue) and that has an alarm to use as a back up to my portable alarm clock and wake-up call.

Hoodie sweatshirt – Hopefully there won’t be any unseasonably chilly weather on your cruise like there was on The Rock Boat IX, but you can always count on the air conditioning on the ship freezing you out at some point. Before you ask, no you cannot buy my Sixthman sweatshirt off of me just because you forgot to pack a hoodie.

Luna bars – Of course there will be more food on board than God ever intended one person to have access to, but I like to make sure I have some nutritious and filling snacks in my carry on in case we’re stuck in the airport going to or from the cruise or if I get a sudden case of the hungries on board the ship and don’t have time to stop for a meal.

Beach bag – When you head into our port of call, you’ll probably want a beach bag to carry around you towels and sunscreen or at least to hold the duty-free Tequila and tiny sombreros you will probably end up buying.

Cash –Although you can’t use it on the ship (except in the Casino), all of our ports of call accept US dollars. Although most restaurants and shops will take credit cards, that’s not always a guarantee. Also, if you want to grab a taxi, you’ll need cash. Cash also comes in handy to pay off any bets you lose to one of your co-workers (or co-cruisers). Just don’t forget that in Mexico prices will be listed in pesos. Pesos are not equal to US dollars. Someday I’ll have to tell you about the time I accidentally bought a $17 bottle of sunscreen.

Stuff You DON’T Need to Pack: beach towels or bathrobes (both are provided by the cruise lines although NCL only has robes in the suites), more than one formal outfit (or none at all if you don’t want to), liquor or illegal drugs, laptop computer (unless of course you are working for Sixthman.  You’re on vacation, and the ships have internet cafes if you HAVE to check your email), local money (we’re only in port for 8 hours and most if not all places you will go to accept US dollars and or credit/debit cards).

Do any of you Sixthman cruise vets out there have any advice for newbs wondering what to pack?

See you on the flip side,

Joy

PS: Happy Veteran’s Day! My love and appreciation goes out to all troops past and present today and every day.

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

I have so many things I want to say about Bridge Day 2009, but I’m not sure where to start. How do you process the spectacle of hundreds of people jumping off an 876 foot tall bridge over a river, in the middle of Fayetteville, WV, with nothing but a piece of nylon to catch the wind and hopefully glide them safely to the ground?

I’m not averse to adventure sports: I’ve bungee jumped and even once dropped out of a plane with a large Russian man strapped to my back. I am the type of person who will try anything, even if it scares me, just to say I tried it. However, BASE jumping is a sport I can honestly say I’m not anxious to add to my list of missions accomplished. I do respect BASE jumpers, though, and one only needs to observe their community to truly admire the BASE jumping lifestyle.

Quick fact: BASE is actually an acronym for Buildings, Antennas, Spans, and Earth (i.e., the things from which the jumpers jump). BASE jumping became a somewhat organized sport about 30 years ago, but today BASE jumping resources and guidelines are widely available. This doesn’t mean it’s widely accepted, though- in fact, BASE jumping is illegal in most of the world, and therefore often done under the cover of night or quickly and secretly. BASE jumpers make up just a tiny percentage of the population, but they are a tight community, and will travel the world together, risking jail, injury, and even death, for the thrill of the free fall.

At Bridge Day 2009 (it was the 30th Anniversary!), hundreds of jumpers came from as far away as India for the one day a year the New River Gorge Bridge (the longest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere) legally allows jumping. The Bridge closes for about six hours, and 200,000 spectators come out to watch. This year it was freezing cold, windy, and rainy, but the jumping went on all day. The camaraderie amongst the jumpers was immediately evident as you watched the jumpers in line preparing to fly. These people were having the time of their lives, their faces painted with perma-grins. No one could take that moment from them, not even the park rangers making a list of names and faces for their database of BASE jumping “suspects”….

We can all be this happy if we learn to live a little bit dangerously. Have you taken a risk lately?