Cruisin' With the Ladies, Take Two

Joe and I went on a BareNaked Ladies (BNL) cruise this past week; it was the second BNL cruise that we have been on - see our January 26, 2007 blog to compare the two trips. It was a 5 day cruise that went to Cozumel (see the previous blog entry for info on this stop) and was supposed to go to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, but was instead rerouted to Key West, FL, due to bad weather in the Bahamas.

This cruise was an absolute blast...even better this time around due to me not being seasick the entire time (I am now a firm believer in ginger pills for nausea). There was always something happening on this ship, from BNL to Great Big Sea, from Gaelic Storm to The Odds/Acid Wish, from Sean Cullen to Kids in the Hall (Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald), from Sloan to Boothby Graffoe, and from Sarah McLachlan to our new favorite Mike Evin. There were so many concerts that once again we were unable to attend every performance that had wanted to (plus some started at 1:30am...way past our bedtime!).

As by tradition, BNL opened the cruise with a sail away concert. Basically it is a mad dash to the pool deck after your safety instructions are given to you. We were lucky and had a great position - center and about 5 rows of people from the stage. We actually saw BNL perform in 5 concerts (not bad for a 5 day cruise). Joe caught one of Tyler's (BNL's drummer) drumsticks at this concert which was a big deal for him as I had caught one on the previous cruise and there was always a big debate as to who could actually claim the stick.

Here is BNL at their "Snacktime" concert. Basically this was a concert of their songs written for kids. Olivia would have truly loved this show and was the one moment on the cruise that we wished we would have brought the kids. However, they would have been a logistical nightmare the rest of the time (concerts started late and ended late and some were definitely not kid appropriate). So, a big big big thank you to my mom and dad for watching the kids for 8 days! Not to mention that Ethan learned how to crawl out of his crib during this time which made things interesting for grandma!

Sarah McLachlan opened for BNL in their main concerts. It was a lot of fun to see her even though her voice was not great - she had been suffering from laryngitis for the past 8 weeks.

Great Big Sea (GBS) was basically the 2nd highest profile band on the ship. We had never heard a single song of theirs prior to this cruise and we attended 2 of their concerts. We enjoyed their shows but not to the point that we will become super fans (because believe me, there were plenty of GBS super fans there).

One band that we really did enjoy was Gaelic Storm. And I can guarantee that everyone reading this blog has heard them play. They were the Irish band in the movie Titanic when Leo took Kate to "a real party" and she stood on the table and danced. This band was hilarious...basically a good old Irish band with a lot of drinking (in their songs and in person) and they always ended their concert with a bang...either body surfing into the pool or buying shots for random people, or a 2 level conga line that ended in the pool (in 50* weather). This band tours most of the year and if you have an opportunity to see them in concert we highly recommend that you do so!

Here is a shot of Boothby Graffoe (comedic singer from the UK), Mike Evin, Brian MacMillan (part of Thinbuckle), Ed (BNL), Alan (GBS), and Chris Murphy (from Sloan). This was part of a "Songwriters Workshop" that Joe was able to attend due to being a "double dipper" (meaning we have been on 2 of the 3 BNL cruises). I included this picture to show Mike Evin (on accordian here, but he typically is a pianist). We accidentally discovered him on this ship - we happened to walk by one of his concerts and stopped to listen. We then attended the remaining 3 concerts he gave and Joe bought all 3 of his CDs on the spot. Again, he is planning a tour later this year and we highly recommend seeing him if he comes to a town near you!

Just a shot of our ship...The Norwegian Jewel. These accomodations were a huge improvement over the previous cruise. We opted for a balcony room, the food was much better, and we have no complaints about our experience.

Joe relaxing on the balcony with room service before "the photo". Yes, once again we participated in the naked photo (see info in our 1/26/07 blog). Because of the band's name...BareNaked Ladies, they had thought that it would be funny to have a barenaked photo on the pool deck, and have done this on each cruise. BNL fully participates in it as well. This year was known as "the year of the floater" - people who floated naked in the pool with the band. Let's just say that Joe is a floater. And no, you may not see the photo! We are now considered "Double Dippers, Double Strippers".

One of our good friends is a huge fan of Great Big Sea (yes, Nicola, that's you!). It was our mission to attempt to track down members of this band and get a picture with them. It was not easy and we ultimately failed as we only found their lead singer Alan wandering the ship. Sorry we missed out on Sean for you!

Joe hanging out with The Kids in the Hall (Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald). And by hanging out, I mean just that...we watched the GBS sail away show standing right next to them.

On the first cruise Joe was able to track down all of the BNL band members and get his picture with them. I did not have that luck. I was only able to get one with the bass player, Jim Creegan, before a Brothers Creegan show. Everytime that I saw another member of the band they were too busy for me to approach them.

I'll just end with a scenic shot from Key West. Even though the weather was lousy (we did not put on a swimsuit the entire trip due to the cold and high winds) we still had this view to look at every day and not one of Springfield in the winter! If you think that you might be interested in attending one of these cruises, well, you will have to wait awhile. It sounds like BNL is going to take a cruise hiatus to tour and rest. But Joe and I will be ready to attend "Ships and Dips VII" when it is announced!