Journey of Jazz Sails in 100 Days
We are 100 days from the inaugural sailing of Journey of Jazz! Signature Cruise Experiences has been eagerly waiting for this program since it was first conceived more than a year ago.
The excitement and anticipation are due to three amazing elements of the program:
- Special Itinerary (Vancouver-Victoria-San Francisco-Los Angeles)
- Curated Excursions in Victoria and San Francisco
- Superstars of Jazz Lineup
In this edition of Jazz Notes, we will explore each of those topics in detail. For those who are sailing on the cruise, this information will be helpful for your planning.
And, for those who are not sailing on the program, first, there are a few staterooms available (information below) and second, hopefully you will find the information of interest, particularly since both Botti at Sea ’26 and The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3 will have similar itineraries and curated excursions.
Journey of Jazz ’25
Legends, Superstars & Amazing Land Excursions Sailing in 100 Days!
Some Staterooms are Still Available!
In 100 days, Journey of Jazz ’25 will begin its inaugural sailing. It has been more than 10 years since Signature Cruise Experiences (SCE) sailed in the Fall or on the West Coast.
The Itinerary
At that time, both The Jazz Cruise and The Smooth Jazz Cruise sailed from San Diego, with stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. Those sailings were in the Fall and were enjoyed by all. Fall in the Pacific Ocean produces calm seas and lovely weather.
We did not repeat a West Coast sailing immediately. Alternative itineraries were scarce and to do so would have jeopardized our “standard” sailing times in January and February in the Caribbean. For various other reasons, though we discussed circling back to the West Coast, we did not do so.
But, when we learned of a 7-day/7-night cruise on our favorite ship, Celebrity Summit, which was sailing from Vancouver to Los Angeles with stops in Victoria and San Francisco, we jumped! So did our cruisers,
The Excursions
Though SCE has offered some Artist Hosted Events when docked from time to time, only The Jazz Cruise ’18 offered a variety of on land events while docked in a particular city. In that case, the city was New Orleans and the experience was amazing! Spoiler alert…rumor has it that The Jazz Cruise ’27 may be headed back to New Orleans for some more gumbo, jazz and fun.
With an itinerary that included a full day in Victoria and an overnight stay in San Francisco, SCE decided to see if it could put together some first-class special excursions just for our guests. Included in those events are:
Victoria
• Concert at McPherson Playhouse featuring Warren Wolf
• Various Sightseeing Tours of Victoria
• Whale Watching
San Francisco
- Trips to wineries in Napa
- Trips to wineries in Sonoma
- Napa Valley Wine Train (chartered)
- Concert at SFJAZZ featuring SFJAZZ Collective
- Concert at SFJAZZ featuring Ron Carter Quartet
- San Francisco Culinary Experiences, curated by Michael Bauer
The San Francisco Culinary Experiences can now be reviewed and registered for at the below links:
Guests on Journey of Jazz are invited to select the Culinary Experience(s) that interest them and add them to their reservation. Final pricing and menus will be confirmed and announced approximately two months before sailing.
You may also view details of all Excursions offered, some of which are fully subscribed at this time.
These excursions are being presented at cost with no fees or commissions to SCE. Our goal was to make this cruise program as special as possible and it is our pleasure and honor to curate these events for our guests.
The Talent
Every SCE Jazz Cruise program is scheduled to present at least 200 hours of onboard entertainment. Journey of Jazz goes beyond that threshold, highlighted by a nighty main show lineup of superstar after superstar.
The hosts are Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter, Diana Krall is the Special Guest in Victoria and the world-famous Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra is the Special Guest in San Francisco. Cécile McLorin Salvant joins for the last leg of the cruise and NEA Jazz Masters Dee Dee Bridgewater and Chucho Valdés are sailing all week along with Ravi Coltrane, Brubeck Brothers, Emmet Cohen, Benny Benack III and Bria Skonberg. The Journey of Jazz Bands, led by Music Director Eric Marienthal includes Julian Pollack, Sullivan Fortner, Russell Gunn, Sean Jones, Jon Hamar and Anwar Marshall. Great, great lineup.
The few remaining staterooms (around 50) and the final prices are on the website. Still time to join the fun.
Christian McBride’s World at Sea ’26
Jazz Notes Special Patron Pricing Offer Expires June 30
As we shared with you last week, with all the excitement surrounding Christian McBride’s World at Sea ’26, we forgot to offer our Jazz Notes readers an introductory offer for the cruise. Normally, when a cruise is launched, those guests who sailed on the program before are provided with special privileges and pricing. With this being the first sailing of Christian McBride’s World at Sea, there are no past guests, so we have decided to make this offer to our loyal supporters who read Jazz Notes!
The accolades and interest for Christian McBride’s World at Sea ’26 are amazing. To make this new program available to everyone, for a limited time, readers of Jazz Notes can reserve selected staterooms at the lowest price that will be offered.
| Stateroom | Current Price | JAZZNOTES* Price |
| Concierge (C2) | $4,825 | $3,700 |
| Veranda (V3, V4) | $4,375 | $3,450 |
| Oceanview (O4, O5) | $3,125 | $2,500 |
| Inside (I2) | $2,975 | $2,000 |
*Prices are per person, based upon double occupancy and are non-commissionable. This offer may not be combined with any other offer, promotion, or promo code and is available only for new reservations.
Here are the simple steps to reserve a stateroom on Christian McBride’s World at Sea ’26 and do so at JAZZNOTES Patron Pricing.
STEP 1:
Either go online to www.mcbridesworldatsea.com or call the office during business hours (toll free @ 888.852.9987).
STEP 2:
Select a stateroom either online or with the assistance of our representative.
STEP 3:
Utilize the Promo Code: JAZZNOTES.
STEP 4:
Get Ready for the Most Amazing Week of Music Ever!
This offer will expire on June 30, 2025 and may not be used with any other offer, discount or pricing promotion.
David Foster: The Hitman Cruise
Signature Cruise Experiences is the most accomplished presenter of jazz at sea in the world. No doubt about that.
Over the years, we have produced cruises outside that format, sometimes way outside that format. Star Trek: The Cruise, NASCAR: The Cruise, Elvis: The Cruise and several other music genre driven programs that were outside the world of jazz have dotted our agenda from time to time.
For months, we have been promoting our country music cruise, Top Shelf Country Cruise, which features Keith Urban, Lee Brice, Scotty McCreery, Parmalee and LeAnn Rimes. Country music’s top radio personality, Bobby Bones, is the host. We are excited about this program, though we do not expect many of our jazz folks to hitch their wagon to this event.
Our latest cruise is closer to our world of jazz, by far. World renowned producer, composer, arranger and musician, David Foster, is hosting a cruise program that bears his name and his style. The 16X GRAMMY® Award winner has invited Michael McDonald, Babyface, Peter Cincotti, Take 6, Pia Toscano, Daniel Emmet, Emmet Cohen, Nathan East, Noah East, Frederic Yonnet and others to join him for a 5 day/5 night/5 star cruise.
Also appearing with Foster is Katharine McPhee, a superstar singer and actress, who is also Foster’s wife.
The cruise sails immediately before Christian McBride’s World at Sea, both on Celebrity Summit. It may not be jazz, but it is great, great music and entertainment. Try it, you will probably love it.