Okay, the Cruise

I can't believe I've been home for almost a week now. The Weezer Cruise was amazing. We all had a great time. We paid a huge sum of money to leave a day early and we are so glad that we did. Seattle got socked with snow then an ice storm. We took a red eye Tuesday night and arrived in Miami early on Wednesday. We got to our hotel around 7:30, I think, to drop off our bags. Check in time was 3 pm but by some miracle our room was ready. We went up and all fell asleep for a few hours then spent the day exploring a tiny bit and grabbing things we forgot or didn't have time to buy at home. We even snuck in dinner at Joe's Stone Crab which was a favorite of my family when I was little.

Thursday we had breakfast and got ourselves checked in for the cruise right at noon. Rooms were not ready yet so we explored the ship. The stage on the Lido deck was already set up and people were staking out spots for the Weezer show that was set to begin at 5 pm just after we cast off. Then they announced that we would all have to leave anyway for the safety drill so we relinquished our spot and explored more.

The cruise was set up like a music festival. There were four stages, the Lido deck which was open-air, the Criterion Lounge, the Palladium Theater and a very small stage next to the casino. Weezer played a great opening night concert on the Lido with lots of favorites and the Blue Album in its entirety. They did a midnight screening of Young Frankenstein on the Lido hosted by Brian Bell of Weezer, but we were all too tired.

Friday we were at sea so there were shows going on on multiple stages all day plus activities with a rock show twist. Yoga was hosted by Star of Ozma. Bands hosted bingo, a flip cup tournament, taught people how to make a martini, etc. We just floated around all day catching performances. This was the day we found Wes's favorite band, Yacht Rock Revue. It does them a disservice to say they are a 70s/80s cover band. They are more like reenactors. They performed pitch perfect renditions of the most delightfully terrible music. Pina Colada song, Hall and Oates, Billy Joel. Great stuff.



Friday was the Ugly Sweater theme night. The sweater I posted for Thursday was created for this event. There was no contest or anything but let me tell you, I totally won. People stopped me and complimented me on how hideous my sweater was all night. At 10 pm we and half the guests on the cruise got our second Weezer show. This one was inside in the Palladium Theater. We had seats in the first balcony RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAGE. Truly, the best seats in the house except for the few lucky fans who got to stand right next to the stage. The did B sides, favorites then the Pinkerton album in its entirety. Weezer frequently performs covers of other bands songs. I've heard them do Nirvana, MGMT, Lady Gaga and Radiohead before but this night they made my whole year by performing Wheatus's Teenage Dirtbag. It's my go-to at karaoke and they were so great with it. I can't find any video of it but a search on Youtube shows they have performed it several times in the past year.



Saturday we spent the day in Cozumel. We did a little snorkling and swimming and got lunch at a cheesy restaurant. Then Dinosaur Jr. took the stage as we cast off.

Older son and I looked on as J Mascis rocked the hell out.



Saturday was also 80s Prom Night.



Those shades I'm sporting are vintage 80s purchased in Greenwich Village when I was in junior high school.

Sunday we saw the Doug Loves Movies podcast record. It was a very funny show and a really good time but I don't know if I would have taken the children if I knew there were going to veer so off color. The kids loved it. You can hear our show via iTunes (1/24/12 episode).

Wes and I also got to renew our vows in a ceremony presided over by Scott Shriner, Weezer's bassist. Younger Son grudgingly filmed us and stopped the camera the moment he felt the ceremony had ended. It's a bit shaky but I think it's pretty sweet.



Sunday's theme was mustache night. At the last minute I asked the kids if I should knit them mustaches. Fortunately I had some brown yarn with me. I made two seed stitch trapezoids and sewed them to chop sticks. Use what you have, right? This shot is before they were entirely done.



Then it was over. We had so much fun and rocked so hard. All while rubbing elbows with great rock stars. We got to have a family photo taken with Weezer. I wore my ugly sweater. The children were horrified. Wes got to chat with Josh Freese while getting a glass of water about how great it was that he sat in with Yacht Rock Revue for a rendition of Steely Dan's Peg. It was so cool seeing all these artists coming to check out each other's shows. I saw the bassist of Ozma taking pictures of Dinosaur Jr. I saw Dinosaur Jr. shooting video of Yacht Rock Revue. Hell, J Mascis saw Wes sing a Spandau Ballet song at 80s karaoke! It was a big, squishy lovefest of rock and I'm so glad we went. Others may have partied harder but we all had a blast.

There are many more great videos from the cruise on Youtube if you're interested. There's also a great photoset from Weezer.