Sails and Sales
This time of the year is a mixture of activities and emotions. Summer is ending. School terms are starting. Vacations are nearly complete and business plans for the rest of the year are under way.
For us, this time of the year usually signals the beginning of our detailed planning for our January/February sailings. Not this year. We have a sailing in a few weeks (Journey of Jazz ’25) and our January/February ’26 season now includes five sailings, another cruise in March and two more in September. Nine sailings in a little more than a year.
Preparing for the programs will be challenging and exciting for us. Every step of the way is governed by one basic principle…making sure that every guest has a great cruise! Part of that process includes providing value to each guest and extending opportunities for everyone to enjoy our cruises. When possible, we offer sales so that everyone can sail.
Check out some interesting opportunities in this issue along with our customary deep dive into the world of jazz.
Michael Lazaroff
Executive Director
Signature Cruise Experiences
michael@scecruises.com
In This Edition of Jazz Notes
In this edition of Jazz Notes, Executive Director, Michael Lazaroff, provides some cruise information about Journey of Jazz ’25, the ’26 Cruises and a glimpse into the plans for the ’27 Cruises. Our jazz guru, Lee Mergner, highlights the history of Birdland and updates several programs, together with an insider’s look at our Comic-in-Residence, Alonzo Bodden.
Signature Cruise News:
Journey of Jazz ’25
The inaugural sailing of Journey of Jazz ’25 sets sail from Vancouver on 9.12.25. Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter host this program that features Diana Krall, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chucho Valdès, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Cècile McLorin Salvant and many more of the world’s top jazz artists. JOJ ’25 calls on Victoria and San Francisco where special excursions and shows will be available. Winding up in Los Angeles on 9.19.25, the cruise will not only traverse the West Coast of Canada and the United States, but it will provide a deep dive into the history of jazz.
Journey of Jazz ’25 was fully reserved, but a few staterooms are available due to guests forced to cancel their reservations. The list of available staterooms varies daily and the Cruise Prices for those staterooms are based upon individual cruise histories, making sharing that information on this site impossible to do.
What we can share is that these staterooms are being resold at favorable Cruise Prices and, if you are interested, please call the office (888.852.9987) and a representative can assist you. Given the quality of this cruise and the savings available, the call is worth the effort.
January /February ’26 Sailings
Our first three sailings in ’26 do differ a bit. They visit different ports-of-call and their musical centers of gravity are unique to their program.
But the programs share a lot in common as well. Each sails on Celebrity Summit. Each starts and ends in Ft. Lauderdale. Each has an amazingly talented lineup of instrumentalists and vocalists.
Perhaps the most important shared item is that each cruise is offering an End of Summer ’25 Cruise Pricing. 9.22.25 is the last day of Summer. From until then, guests may reserve any remaining stateroom at this Cruise Price. To learn what your Cruise Price will be for the stateroom of your choice, simply go online, click BOOK NOW and follow the prompts. When they ask for your promo code, type in EOS25.
Cruising in ’27
With one more cruise program in ’25 and a full slate of eight cruises in ’26, it seems silly to be taking time to talk about our cruise schedule in ’27, but, as we know, the planning of a cruise on our part and the planning for a cruise on the part of our guests requires time.
Rather than roll out all the plans for ’27, we will take them in sequence of going “on sale.” First out of the box, as always, will be the two Winter sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise. The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.1 is scheduled for 1.31.27 – 2.7.27. The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.2 sails the next week (2.7.27 – 2.14.27). Our departure and return port for both sailings will be Tampa, for the first time, and we are finalizing the rest of the itinerary.
Marcus Miller and Boney James return as the hosts of both sailings and our lineup features the deepest list of “smooth jazz” A-Listers ever!
The key date for the Reservation Process is September 5, 2025. On that date, guests sailing on either The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1 or ’26.2 can begin to REBOOK their current stateroom for ’27. And, those who are not sailing in ’26 may complete a PRE-SAIL RESERVATION which establishes their priority for selecting a stateroom after the conclusion of the current guests REBOOKING period.
The activation date for PRE-SAIL RESERVATIONS has not been set but should be soon after Thanksgiving. PRE-SAIL RESERVATIONS are activated in the order submitted, so acting early will enhance your priority when selecting a stateroom.
Next week, we will preview The Jazz Cruise ’27.
The Jazz Cruise
Birdland – On Land and Sea
For more than ten years, the presence of Birdland has been an important cornerstone for The Jazz Cruise program. Every night during the cruise, the Cosmopolitan dining room is transformed into a beautiful nightclub featuring performances by artists that appear regularly at the NYC club during the rest of the year. Hosted by the club’s owner and impresario, Gianni Valenti, Birdland at Sea has become the preferred late-night hang for both our artists and guests. Among the featured performers there are Catherine Russell, Kurt Elling, Emmet Cohen, John Pizzarelli and Ken Peplowski. Birdland’s people are our people. The club holds an iconic place in the history of jazz, although there really were three Birdlands.
The original venue, located at 1678 Broadway, opened in 1949 just as bebop was getting started and it was named for that genre’s principal innovator, Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, familiarly known as “Bird.” The club, owned by brothers Irving and Morris Levy and operated by Oscar Goodstein, dubbed itself “The Jazz Corner of the World,” and over the next 15 years lived up to that moniker with shows by virtually every prominent jazz musician on the scene, as well as numerous live recordings from artists such as Art Blakey, John Coltrane and Count Basie. George Shearing’s composition paying tribute to the club, “Lullaby of Birdland,” became a jazz standard and a hit record for Sarah Vaughan. Beset with financial problems during the growth of rock and roll, the original Birdland closed in 1965.
In 1985, Gianni opened a new edition of Birdland at 2745 Broadway on the Upper West Side, where it remained for 10 years, hosting shows by more than 2,000 artists. Gianni opened the current edition of Birdland in 1996 at 315 W. 44th Street, not far from Times Square, where it has become one of the most iconic jazz clubs not only in New York City, but in the world. The New York Times called Birdland “close to perfection for serious fans and musicians,” thanks in large part to its top-notch programming, production values, sightlines and food. In 2018, Gianni expanded by adding the state-of-the-art Birdland Theater to present both emerging artists and resident bands like Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, The Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night, and the High Society New Orleans Jazz Band.
Catherine Russell, a host of The Jazz Cruise who performs at Birdland regularly, says about the prestigious venue: “Birdland is one of the best music venues. I love it because of its comfortable atmosphere. It feels intimate. Good sound, good sight lines and welcoming staff. Artists and audience can really share an experience that is inspiring!”
We’re proud to partner with Gianni and Birdland to provide our guests on The Jazz Cruise with genuine late-night jazz club experience.
– Lee Mergner
Christian McBride’s World at Sea
McBride’s World of Comedy
Since Alonzo Bodden first came aboard The Smooth Jazz Cruise back in 2017, comedy has always been a part of our programming. With his lifelong affinity for jazz, Alonzo very quickly became the comedian-in-residence for all our cruise programs, not only bringing his own bits, but also providing laughs at the expense of our artists, many of whom now beg Alonzo to roast them during his sets. Over the years, Alonzo has become close with several of the artists, including Christian.
“Christian McBride loves funny,” Alonzo told us. “From his big deep laugh to his curiosity about the process, Christian loves comedy. He can also play jokes with the bass. I don’t know what the jokes are, but the band is laughing, so I know he must have played something funny. Funniest thing I remember from Christian was one night he had to follow Dianne Reeves and he kept joking about who planned that order.”
Blessed with an excellent sense of humor and a larger-than-life laugh, Christian himself is a big fan of comedy and has a large collection of comedy albums. “I’m a real student of the history of comedy, especially as it relates to jazz,” Christian explains. “Back in the day, comedians and jazz musicians played the same clubs and shared the same stages. I’d like to bring that tradition back to life.”
Christian even once tried stand-up himself in a small club in his hometown of Montclair, NJ. He calls it one of the most terrifying and embarrassing nights of his life. Now he keeps the humor to his onstage patter from the bandstand and to his interviews with guests of his radio show, The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian on SiriusXM. For his 40th birthday, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presented a celebratory roast, that was hosted by George Wallace and that also featured Alonzo and roast legend Jeff Ross. “What an honor to be roasted by my friend Alonzo and by George, who is one of the greats in comedy,” Christian says. “The highest level of any art or profession is Doctor,” Alonzo adds. “George has been known as Dr. Wallace for as long as I’ve known him. He’s also made a lot more money being funny than I have. A fact he reminds me of regularly.”
George will be joining Christian and Alonzo on McBride’s World at Sea in January.
– Lee Mergner
Signature Cruise Experiences’ Programs
SCE ’26 Jazz Programs
DAVID FOSTER: THE HITMAN CRUISE
is in Open Booking
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S WORLD AT SEA
is in Open Booking
THE JAZZ CRUISE ’26
is in Open Booking
THE SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE ‘26.1 & 26.2
are Fully Reserved
THE SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE ‘26.3
is in Open Booking
