Piano Forums Cruise Anyone?[/b]



This is just a thought right now, wondering
if anyone might be interested in a Piano Forums Cruise?

My sister was/is a professional tour guide and worked with the cruise lines for years.
We were talking the other day about cruises and I jokingly said we should have a Piano World Piano Forums Cruise.

She thought that was a great idea and would be a lot of fun.

Before I turn her loose to work out some details (too late, I think she already started), I thought I'd better ask if anybody would even be interested.

Of course, it would somehow have to be built around music and the piano, although I don't know how that would all work out (Sis?).

Any interest?

Your sis should have no problem arranging for several performance venues with all of the tier one and two concert grands available for our selection right? Perfectly tuned and prepped goes without saying.....Hmmmmm...could be fun!

Best,

Steve O.

sounds like a great idea! of course, i'd have to have details before i'd know if it was feasible for me.

what if we cruised to san juan, pr in time for the casals festival?

or met in seattle, had a party at classical grands, and then got on a cruise ship to see the inside passage in alaska?

the cruise ship actually could be going anywhere, but it would have to have at least one high quality, in tune, perfectly prepped grand piano so that we could have nightly piano parties.




we could have an east coast cruise that begins in maine and heads down the coast with ports of call in boston, new york, baltimore, washington, the carolinas, georgia, and florida, and then back, picking up and dropping off forum members along the way.

could do the same thing on the west coast from southern cal. to vancouver, b.c.

hey, maybe we could just charter a private yacht for the whole thing.

The New York times radio station, WQXR, offers a similar cruise...It is for classical music lovers, and various high-class performers go along and have concerts each night. It might be a good idea to check that out and see how they do it!

Certainly is a fun idea. I'm not sure I could get my Cruise-o-phobic husband on board, however. I'm picturing a big pink or white grand piano. Time to hone our piano lounge skills.

I'd be interested, but there'd have to be two or three tier 1 grands on board for our constant amusement.

I feel that a TRUE PianoWorld cruise should never leave the Keys. :rolleyes:

Bob

Steve O. said what I wanted to say.

But surely if we all met in person we'd actually have to be polite to each other?

Steve C and Larry in one cabin........

norbert

and apple and tomk in another....

I think its a great idea.

the cruise? or apple and tomk?

Uuhh, the cruise.

I think that's possible. I bet the biggest meanies wouldn't show, anyway.

Hmm! Sounds wonderful, but we are already booked on a cruise for May. So I'm pretty sure I can NOT talk my husband into another one. 2006 looks pretty good to me ...

penny

And why is yor husband "cruise-o-phobic?"

jf

I am definitely cruise-o-phobic. Big boats with lots of people, in cold deep water. Yikes. But hey, I'll wave to all of you as you sail from Anacortes on your way to Alaska after a big send off party as Classical Grands!

Jodi

I was thinking more of floating luxury hotels, in warm water, with lots of friends:-)

"I was thinking more of floating luxury hotels, in warm water, with lots of friends:-)"

i definitely like the warm water part. where's the warmest water we can find? winter is getting a bit long here.....

Hey, they even offer dialysis cruises these days. That of course is one of the few ways that I can travel without a lot of hassle.
If you pick a cruise line that has the big D on board, then I might be into it.

Sounds like it would be fun! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, but fun.
What would the cost of this trip be anyway, and when would it take place, and where?

Good question and I don't know. It's just that everytime I mention the word "cruise" I seem to lose him -- POOF -- he's gone.

Ooh, er missus! hehehe...

Imagine all those great cabin sharing suggestions. It would be like Death on the Nile. Frank you could be Hercule Poirot

Sounds like a pretty cool idea. If you don't like the idea of being on a ship......

Maybe we could all just share a motel room in Wildwood, NJ and shove an old Wurlitzer spinet in there with us.

It would be really neat if we could get the public to pay to be with us...Alternatively, we could rent a little Mexican resort for a week, have a couple pianos shipped in. :rolleyes:

(chuckle)

Chris

Sorry, but count me among the cruise-o-phobes.

The whole notion just sounds boring to me, although the company of piano-lovers might help. Friends and relatives love cruises, though. I guess I just don't get it. My wife feels the same way, although she loves the water.

If I'm vacationing, I prefer something more active.

i actually share joe's sentiments about cruises in general. it just seemed like a piano world cruise was unique enough and the attraction of being with forumites might overcome my general sense of claustrophobia about being stuck on a ship with crowds of people. knowing the people i think would make all the difference.

but to be more practical, rather than starry-eyed, i think the cost of the whole trip is a very big factor in whether or not it is feasible. it isn't how i would normally spend my vacation (i'm usually bicycling, hiking, backpacking, or sea kayaking), so it would have to not wipe out my vacation budget for the year.

Frank... this is a great idea. My wife has been chomping about going on a cruise. This could be a tax deductible seminar/convention/training event . Several of the members of my PTG chapter have been talking about this idea. There are some guidelines to making it legitimate for a tax deduction. I would also like to see an inclusive
prices so that children can come. Might be able to get a good deal if the technicians agree to tune and regulate the pianos. May even be able to get some of the big name companies to provide some pianos just for the cruise. It would be good advertising for them. I have been on cruises to Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Us Virgin Islands and Tahiti.

I would go but I doubt my wife would be open to the idea.

maybe I could get a job on the ship at the same time PianoWorld travels. I could verk in ze kitchen.

Cabin sharing?

Close quarter encounters?

YIKES!!

If worst comes to worst..... there could even be some serious "fooling around" going on!

That's why only the really steadfast and reliable need apply......

norbert

If this was set up, and the price was decent, I'd DEFINITELY be attending! Only if there were to be pianos present. I'd take my entire sheet music collection.

Apple, I vant to verk in ze kitchen! All ze beautiful morsels, zey vuld be my pleasure to serve to ze piano dvellers!

So, Frank, any new news on the subject yet?

Seriously, I'd consider it, it sounds like fun

I have more information then I know what to do with:-)

I need to weed through it all, will post an update soon.
Obviously, the more people we get to go, the better the "group" rate.

If we could interest some folks from the PTG, all the better. We might be able to put on some seminars, do a little playing, and have some fun!

Well, I think it was a wonderful idea...

This summer hubby and I will be joining a Mediterranean cruise (we already had the Caribbean cruise experience). Unfortunately not organized by Piano World.

Any other member joining a cruise this summer?

Elle

Frank, I think this is a great idea and a wonderful way to help support PW. When you get the specifics, I'll make every effort to attend.

I'm not to the level where I would play piano in public, but I'd definitely be interested in the cruise. I very much enjoy listening to good piano music as well as meeting more of the PW members.

Guys, I am new to the Forum, a piano and music lover and an adult that did not persued the love of his life, to become a concert pianist, although I still practice about 2 hours a day or three.
I have been around the cruise industry for about 20 years. No, I'm not a lounge lizard as they call them. I do mostly a one hour comedy show in the main thater which includes some piano playing (parts of pieces I can play which I either learned when I was rather young or recently).
Given my extended experience, aloud me to humboldly tell you what you could expect in the real world of cruising. If you need a Model D, unless someone ships it to the specific vessel and preps it after it arrives, you will not have that. You will find Yamahas model C in relatively good shape, sometimes pretty much in tune. Some of them are rather new, depending on the ships age or how recently they have been totally refurbished. Only some of the better cruise lines with the most expensive world cruises which sometimes feature an unknown concert pianist, and I don't mean this in an irreverent way at all, might have a decent instrument but doubtfully a D.
Depending on how many of you manage to go, once you are there you might be able to gather some of the people that (although unaware of your plans) to come to your gatherings and truly enjoy what you all can do and love. For this to happen, you can only book a cruise where the people are somewhat older, 35/ 40 and up, maybe older than that. I only mention this because the kind of passengers that would be on the vessel with you will have an impact on your experience one way or the other. You do not (trust me) want to be subjected to a large group of youngsters and not so young having "Snoop Dog" (a rapper, for the ones of you that have not been polluted) as a role model, rather than Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (or any other of the greats).
Either gather a large group enough that you can go and have your functions in a closed door situation, very privately, or make sure you take a cruise to Alaska or Europe. You will have to share cabins if you travel alone, unless you are well to do, there is no other way. My personal favourites speaking of routes are, Alaska, any of them, and the cruises that depart from Barcelona in Spain and go thru France, Italy (Venice...you will never want to come back...)etc. It's not as expensive as you might think considering it could be truly an unforgettable experience. Trust me, I have done it plenty and I'm just an artist, I get no retribution for this recommendations, nor will I tell you the name of the company. There are many out there doing it.To drink hot chocolate wrapped in a blanket while watching the gorgeous views of the Inside Passage in Alaska and be able to go to a room with a great concert grand and hear or play a Chopin Nocturne it would be my definition of Heaven. Make sure, if you decide to do it, you think about this very carefully and choose wisely.
Your project is a bit unrealistic but extremely close to my heart. Go for it and do it, but do it right. I personally think it's a wonderful idea. If I can be of any help informing you of details I may have, just ask. And excuse the possible error in my writting. English is not my first language.
Have fun!!!

Wow, that's an awesome idea! I don't know if I, a minor, could go, or if I have the money to go, but it's a neat thought!

Thanks for the info gaucho...

As you can see, I've been tossing this idea around for a while now.

The challenge is to get enough people to agree on the timing, and departure/destinations, and of course they need to agree on the pricing.

Still, I think it would be a great time!

My sister worked in the cruise business for a number of years (meet and greet in Fort Lauderdale). She and her husband have taken lots of cruises and always have a wonderful time.

If we could get a gang of Piano Forums members together to share the experience and play some music... How much fun would that be ? :-)

My wife feels that way too...claustrophobia on a ship