Later tonight, actually early tomorrow morning, most of us will be turning our clocks back one hour to reflect the end of Daylight Savings Time and the beginning of Standard Time. Not every state abides, and most foreign countries have no idea what we are doing when we do this. The ability to change the time of day by ordinance fascinates me. We are incapable of doing some of the smallest things, but adding or subtracting an hour of time seems to be doable. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Savings Time year-round, has stalled in Congress. Evidently, protecting sunshine is not a priority in Washington, D.C. Talk about a leading comment!
Since tonight’s time change is the “fall back” alternative, the penalty for forgetting to do so is dramatically reduced. Worst case, you show up one hour early for whatever appointments you may have. All Jazz Cruises’ programs sail during Standard Time which makes going from Time Zone to Time Zone much easier. Years ago, we worked off “Ship Time”, which often conflicted with local time. Now that was a recipe for disaster. Missing the ship’s departure due to not knowing what time it was became a frequent occurrence. Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, we try to work from local time when docked.
“Fall back” is open to many interpretations and usages. There are some negative connotations, for sure. No one wants to “fall back” in a race or a contest and those words seem to beg for an “into bad habits” ending. But, in our little corner of the world, that being the production of our jazz cruise programs, “falling back” is comforting, appropriate and celebrated. Why? Because what we are falling back on are the steps and procedures that we must accomplish for our January and February cruises. Now that Daylight Savings Time returns in early March, the four or so months of Standard Time mirror the final preparation months for and the sailings of our programs.
By now, the programming for the cruises has been completed, meaning those charged with the duty of determining which shows are performed when and where and which musicians will be participating in various events are sharing their ideas and proposals with the musicians directly. This process is interactive as musicians may wish to modify the requests for their time and talent or suggest different show ideas. There are 100 musicians on The Jazz Cruise, nearly 60 on The Smooth Jazz Cruises, and the same number again on Botti at Sea. Yes, every musician has a say in his or her performances. Completing that task would be daunting enough, but most changes have a ripple effect with other performances both in terms of personnel and timing. Keeping it all straight and up to date is a huge undertaking. For those who have seen The Imitation Game, we would love to have a computer system dedicated to making this process easier.
We use a program called “Team Up” that can spit out an individual’s performance schedule from the data used to create the overall performance schedule for the cruise. Like most software programs, the results are only as good as the information inputted, so the human error factor is alive and well. The program is also sensitive to proper spelling. It will pull up “Wycliffe Gordon”, but if you drop the “e”, it will not recognize “Wycliff”. Again, in and of itself, this is not a big deal, but multiply these over hundreds of musicians and 28 days of programming, it can be frustrating.
Customarily, we are frantically working on the final schedules now so that we can insert them into the Souvenir Program which each guest receives upon boarding the ship. The deadline this year is November 20th, a full two months before The Jazz Cruise sails and 81 days before Botti at Sea sails. Historically, the number of performance changes that occurs during that time render the Souvenir Program’s version of the Performance Schedule useless or worse. We have decided not to “fall back” into this bad habit again for the ’24 Cruises. Instead, a week or so before each sailing all booked guests will be provided a live link to the Performance Schedule for their cruise. The link will be live and any updates will be included in real time.
Once on the ship, you will be provided with the most up to date schedule (hard copy) and you will have access to the live file (information to be shared later). Of course, each night you will receive a schedule as part of the Daily Program and, finally, any last-minute changes will be broadcast on the onboard public address system. If that is not enough support to “fall back” on, a Performance Schedule will be posted at the Main Desk on Deck 3!
Jazz Cruises may not have the power to change the time of day, but we can make sure that our guests will have the best information possible as to what is happening on the ship. We know that missing your favorite musicians is not a “fall back” position for any of our amazing guests!
By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Botti at Sea and The McDonald & LaBelle Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at [email protected].
Gregory Porter’s Christmas Wish
This week Gregory Porter, who will be sailing with us on Botti at Sea ’24, released his first holiday album, Christmas Wish, that is a tribute to his favorite time of year and to the great songwriters, singers and interpreters of that songbook, including Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Dinah Washington and Nat King Cole (one of Gregory’s earliest inspirations).
Gregory makes his own additions to the Christmas songbook, with three originals of his own, including the first single off the album, “Everything Is Not Lost.” Gregory says that song reflects his upbringing in a big family. “I’m always thinking of balance” he explains. “That has been instilled in me and it keeps coming up in a lot of my music. At your highest, at your greatest, at your most pleasant time, don’t forget about other people who are suffering.”
Fellow Botti at Sea ’24 artist, Samara Joy, makes a cameo appearance on the classic “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve.” Gregory will perform special holiday concerts at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans (Dec. 20), Fox Theatre in Atlanta (Dec. 21), Detroit Opera House in Detroit (Dec. 22), and a New Year’s Eve performance at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC (Dec. 31).
Exit Zero Jazz Festival Returns to Cape May
The fall edition of the Exit Zero Jazz Festival, held in the rustic seaside town of Cape May, NJ, will feature several artists who have sailed or will sail with us on The Jazz Cruise and other Jazz Cruises programs.
Among the performers at the three-day festival on November 10-12 are Jazzmeia Horn, Sean Jones, Etienne Charles, Harold Lopez-Nussa and Isaiah J. Thompson. Artists also appearing in concerts at that town’s Convention Hall over the weekend include Abdullah Ibrahim, Omara Portundo, Meshell Ndgeocello, Vijay Iyer and Steve Turre.
In addition, there are numerous acts doing shows at clubs around the town each night
Mug Shots
Each guest on the cruises received The Weekender mug, which we hope you will use with your Saturday morning coffee while you read the latest edition. Please share a picture of yourself & your mug with us so that we can include it for the 100,000+ folks who receive The Weekender each Saturday. Tag us @thejazzcruise @bottiatsea @thesmoothjazzcruise #jazzcruises and #theweekender. Email your photo to [email protected].
Getting Ready to Cruise!
You will continue to receive more Get Ready emails from us that will help you plan your cruise.
On our webinars we discuss all aspects of the cruise and share insights as to the best way to prepare for the trip. So far, we have hosted two webinars that you catch in their entirety on the links below.
On Thursday, October 19th, the Botti at Sea ’24 webinar was held. You can watch / listen the webinar it is entirety by clicking here.
On Thursday, November 2nd,The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’24 webinar was held. You can watch / listen the webinar it is entirety by clicking here.
On November 16, we have The Jazz Cruise webinar planned. We will be discussing all aspects of the cruise and sharing insights as to the best way to prepare for the trip. You will be able to submit questions in real time and we will do our best to answer them during the call. We encourage you register.
The Jazz Cruise ’24
Live Guest Webinar
Thursday
November 16, 2023 • 3pm ET
Hosted by Executive Director Michael Lazaroff
2024 Cruises
The Jazz Cruise ’24
The Jazz Cruise ’24 is 99% reserved. Fewer than 15 Staterooms remain available, equally divided among Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Staterooms.
McDonald & LaBelle Cruise ’24
Join superstars Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle for a 4-day/3-night getaway unlike any other. Marcus Miller is your host. Comic George Wallace will bring the laughs. The cruise is more than 70% reserved. Balcony, Ocean View and Inside Staterooms remain available.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’24
Both sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’24 are fully reserved. To be contacted in the event of a cancellation, you should add your name and preferences to our waitlist.
Botti at Sea ’24
Botti at Sea ’24 is fully reserved. The cruise does not sail until February 8, 2024, so there is a strong likelihood that cancellations will occur. To be contacted in the event of a cancellation, you should add your name and preferences to our waitlist.
2025 Cruises
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25
25.1 February 11-18, 2025
25.2 February 18-25, 2025The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25 has launched and guests are encouraged to complete a Pre-Sale Reservation for that sailing (see link below). Completing a Pre-Sale Reservation is the best way to establish your priority for a stateroom on The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25.
COMING SOON
The Jazz Cruise ’25 – January 28-February 4, 2025
Botti at Sea ’25 – February 4-11, 2025