Rock The Boat was AWESOME!

Nov. 07 2016 at 2:35 PM By: Tracy Albright

Rock The Boat with Melissa Etheridge and Friends



Where do I start….how about a blanket statement? The cruise was so unbelievably awesome!!!! And if you couldn’t hear me shouting that let me say it again but louder. THE CRUISE WAS SO UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME!!!!! I can’t begin to tell you how exhausted we were when we got back. But at the same time so completely satisfied and elated. I think we lived on adrenaline for 5 days. Between the music, the people, the ports, the activities, the interactions with Melissa & Linda and the entire crew, it was pure heaven. I can honestly say that Melissa is one lucky lady to have Linda by her side. She is a sweet, kind, funny, generous soul and I’m so glad we were able to interact with her as much as we did.

Some highlights from the cruise for me were:

-Holiday Trio rehearsal: Fan club members were invited to attend a rehearsal in the theater for Melissa’s upcoming Holiday Trio shows. What a treat! Those shows are going to be fun! Special thanks to Kat & JQ from Wonderful Union for organizing the fan club mixer, swag and the fan clubs attendance to the rehearsal. A lot of work went into this and they put their hearts into it. It was amazing to meet both of them as well. Wish I got a picture with them.

-The Halloween Party: Being picked to compete in the best original costume category during the Halloween party. We didn’t win but it was still fun.



-Crystal Bowersox’s performance both by the pool and in the theater – that young lady has an incredible voice!



-The jam sessions at night at the R bar were so freaking cool. Some of the artists came out to the bar around 11:30 PM and all jammed together. That was cool for sure!



-The Q&A poolside and Breast cancer talk in the Colony Club with Melissa and Linda were both really amazing. The Q&A was fun and silly and they were both so adorable. The breast cancer talk was very informative and turned into a really great health chat. Loved it!



-Delta Rae is completely awesome and I would definitely go see them live again. Powerhouse voices for sure.



-Jamming outside & sharing an awesome bottle of champagne, on deck 12, under the stars with Ruth Dunn & Joshua Napier. Some of the other bands had come up and were hanging out, another woman joined in using my guitar and she sang. It was just so cool.

-Our excursion on Cozumel was so much fun! We did one called Salsa, Salsa & Margarita’s. We learned how to make 5 kinds of salsa, made 2 kinds of margarita’s, drank & ate and then learned how to do the salsa dance. It was hilarious and great fun! Afterward we had one hour at the beach! I swam with some gorgeous fish, saw sea urchins and snails! Wonderful day!





-Melissa’s guitar clinic. We got to play “Come To My Window” all together with Melissa. Holy crap that was surreal. I think this is one of my top highlights from the trip. Dream. Come. True.

-Melissa’s performances: The sail away party was an hour and a half concert by the pool! It was so frigging awesome! And HOT! We were lucky enough to be able to attend both shows in the theater. Both were so different so I am glad we got to go to both.



The first night was so emotional. There were Pulse Nightclub survivors and breast cancer survivors in the audience and Melissa sang a special song requested by one of the Pulse survivors “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. That song led into Pulse and then into I Run For Life. It was very, very moving. I was so honored to share the stage front with the Pulse survivors. What a really amazing group of young people.



The woman responsible for all the survivors on board was Robin Maynard, founder of Libby’s Legacy. We spent some time speaking with her and she too is such an inspirational and incredible woman. The second show the following day was completely different with Melissa digging in and pulling out some lesser played songs. The set list was awesome. Still wish she played My Backdoor. Hopefully one day.

There was so much interaction with folks, fun meeting new people and making new friends, meeting people you swear you’ve known for decades and finally get to hug, and all around true happiness to be sharing this amazing experience. As soon as the next cruise is available to book, do it. It's March 12-19, 2018. We already did and are really looking forward to it. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.



Thank you so much Melissa & Linda for your kindness, generosity and spirit. You are both amazing women. The cruise was incredible and we will carry those memories with us forever. Much, much love.

  1. On Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 12:55 PM, BBrown said:

    I so wanted to make the cruise. If I could just get over some fears I have I will be onboard for the next. My wife and I enjoyed reading your write up. You always do a fantastic job writing and sharing with everyone. We appteciate all you do!

  2. On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 4:31 PM, Lmarti1410 said:

    Looks like sooo much fun! Rosie and I will be on the next cruise....can't wait.

  3. On Wed, Nov 16, 2016 at 11:22 PM, ZaubererMoya said:

    Hi Tracy, what a review. Thank you so much. I love to read your posts about ME. And thanks a lot for sharing your cruisehighlights. That's amazing. Everytime I read about I am smiling. Peace and love
    Rita

  4. On Fri, Nov 11, 2016 at 11:55 PM, SandiJ said:

    I am in complete agreement with Tracy! My wife Janie and I were there and had the time of our lives. Melissa (WOW), the music and all the amazing people we were blessed enough to spend five wonderful days with made memories we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. I can't hardly wait for 2018!!! It may take me that long to get rested up for it. We dance a lot, but we have never have had the chance with all the great artists to just keep dancing!
    For of you who could not make this cruise, I truly hope you can make the next one. You will never regret it!
    For those of you who did, you know what mean. I know we will get to Rock The Boat Together Again!
    Love and Light to you all,
    Sandi

  5. On Fri, Nov 11, 2016 at 11:45 PM, tuffrd1 said:

    Grate review...thanks!!

  6. On Thu, Nov 10, 2016 at 9:23 PM, Lea Porter said:

    Awesome review! I plan on doing one myself after I get over this cold and Laryngitis ????I got it b/c I won big in the casino!
    Went today to my radiological oncologist and once again I remain cancer free! My phone got wet in the hot tub just as I was uploaded photos to FB so got some of that done! Glad to see you posting and that you signed up for the next cruise I 2018 a 7 day cruise! I'm sure others did too. We plan on heading back to Daytona for the 60th Anniversary of the Daytona 500. Now Melinda my wife can fit in a race car so she has the need for speed! The Richard Petty experience! Glad you both had a great time so did we! Swimming with the dolphins was amazing and in our group was Charlie & Brandon and Suz a former Marine and Inge came with us on the same plan into the quality inn where about 80 fans stayed, Met a lot of nice people plus I comment in the breast cancer talk with Melissa! (The first person to raise my hand) I said thank you for the 9 minute conversation you HD with me on the phone when I was at Mercy Medical center! Plus I talked about the acidic vs alkine she discussed when she was on the phone with me!

  7. On Wed, Nov 9, 2016 at 10:11 PM, Laura Holden said:

    I had such a great time. Things worked out quite well. Started my day with fresh squeezed orange juice and was busy all day. So many things to do. Loved all the shows. Kate Clinton was so funny. Swam with the dolphins in Cozumel. Got a kiss too. Joan Jett rocked the pool deck. Gotta go again. All signed up

  8. On Tue, Nov 8, 2016 at 4:50 AM, Theresa Betsko Szasz said:

    Thank you for sharing your experience. It all looks and sounds so amazing. I'm heartbroken that I was unable to attend and so excited there will be another one in March of 2018. I can feel the love and admiration shared on that ship. ????

  9. On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 10:00 PM, Kehaulani Haydon said:

    Wow Tracy! I wanna be you when I grow up. Sounds like you had an amazing time. Can't wait to meet you on the next cruise. (My birthday is March 16th so I've decided to give myself the cruise to celebrate!) Thanks again for all of the posts and videos. I eagerly checked my twitter feed several times per day to see what you were all up to...

  10. On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 4:23 PM, PCook said:

    Wow! Thank you, Tracy! I am currently trying to talk my wife put of her fears to attend the cruise in 2018. I definitely lived vicariously thru everyone's twitter and Facebook feeds. Fingers crossed that she will overcome her fears and participate in thearly 2018 experience. Would love to meet you and share this experience with our fan club.

    Thanks again for sharing,

    Pauline

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