Last week, I shared thoughts about the conclusion of David Foster: The Hitman Cruise and the start of Christian McBride’s World at Sea Cruise. This week it’s a quick wrap up of the McBride cruise and a “welcome” to the first few days of The Jazz Cruise ’27.
The McBride cruise continued its amazing combination of top vocalists and the ensembles of Christian McBride right up until the end of the cruise. As expected, Jazz Vocal Icons, Samara Joy and Cécile McLorin Salvant performed brilliantly. Samara was backed by Christian’s Remembering Ray Brown bandmates Benny Green and Greg Hutchinson, while the amazing Sullivan Fortner supported Cècile. Truly magical.
The finale was another performance of Christian’s Big Band with both Angélique Kidjo and Melissa Walker handling the vocals.
But the week belonged to Christian McBride. His talent, laughter, insights and love of people and music was the #1 takeaway of the week. Though our schedule of cruises for ’27 does not include his cruise, we are fortunate to have Christian relocate his “World” onto The Jazz Cruise ’27.
As Emmet Cohen, host of The Jazz Cruise ’27, said upon learning of the addition of Christian, “the amazing talent level of this program just went up a notch, actually two notches.”
Tuesday saw the beginning of The Jazz Cruise ’26. Started in 2001, this program continues to be the first and only full ship charter cruise in the world dedicated to “straight ahead” jazz. Being the first program in our history and being created by my mother, The Jazz Cruise is special in every way!
The annual Welcome Show, performed on the first night every year, epitomizes why this cruise is so special. After I welcomed the crowd to the show, Lewis Nash took the stage and began laying down an amazing drum groove. He was soon joined by John Clayton, our Big Band Director, on the bass and host Emmet Cohen sat down at the piano and began playing Oscar Peterson’s arrangement of “Tonight” from West Side Story.
For the next hour, Emmet had the likes of Shelly Berg, Randy Brecker, Paquito D’Rivera, Wycliffe Gordon, Sean Jones, Ken Peplowski, John Pizzarelli, Herlin Riley, Catherine Russell and our Music Director, Eric Marienthal coming on and off the stage in various configurations performing fabulous tunes like “A Night in Tunisia,” “So What” and others. Fabulous!
In between those shows, the Jeff Hamilton Trio filled Rendezvous Lounge and later that night Dee Dee Bridgewater and Niki Haris took over The Theatre, followed by John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey into the wee hours.
Each day and night thereafter have been filled with music from the nearly 100 musicians on the ship. To view the complete schedule of performances visit The Jazz Cruise ’26 Performance Schedule below.
Singling out individual sets among the more than 220 hours of music during the cruise is both difficult and arbitrary, yet I would be remiss if I failed to highlight the amazing efforts of John Clayton, leader of Anita’s Big Band. The sound of a big band is unique and, in today’s world, rare. With John at the helm and “leaders” in every seat, Anita’s Big Band would have held its own with the great bands of all time.
Two other gems of The Jazz Cruise which I wish to tout are Wycliffe Gordon’s Gospel Hour featuring Niki Haris and Shelly Berg’s Sing, Sing, Sing, a vocalist extravaganza featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Niki Haris, John Pizzarelli, Catherine Russell, Janis Siegel and Benny Benack III. The Theatre was overflowing with guests for both shows!
Between us, I love all our programs, each providing special memories in their own way. Sometimes the key memory is a musician or an event or a particular conversation with a guest. For The Jazz Cruise, the memories are a mosaic of so many different things, including, of course, the work of my mother and the beginning Signature Cruise Experiences.
The Jazz Cruise is our Rose Bowl, the granddaddy of cruises!
By Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Chris Botti at Sea, Christian McBride’s World at Sea, Journey of Jazz, David Foster: The Hitman Cruise and Top Shelf Country Cruise. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at michael@scecruises.com.
Save the Date: Step Aboard! A Live Look at Chris Botti at Sea 2026
We know the lineup is stacked and the onboard experience is lush. Now it’s time to find out how Botti at Sea III’s once-in-a-lifetime West Coast excursions will turn dreams into memories.
Join SCE Director Michael Lazaroff for an exclusive live online event with tantalizing details on what awaits you once you step off the ship and into our incredible ports-of-call, San Francisco, California and Victoria, British Columbia.
And, if two of the West Coast’s most beautiful and historic cities isn’t enough, attendees will be treated to a special visit from our cruise visionary, superstar Chris Botti himself!
Date: February 20, 2026
Time: 3PM ET
Topics:
Extended Port Stays
Excursion Previews
Live Q and A
This is one you won’t want to miss!
David Foster: The Hitman Cruise ’26 Photo Gallery Now Open
Take a peek inside David Foster: The Hitman Cruise ’26 with our newly released photo gallery! Captured by our professional photography team, these moments showcase the music, magic and energy of the sailing. All photos are available to view and download at no charge.
DON’T MISS WHAT’S NEXT!
Inspired by what you see? Pre-Sail is now open for David Foster: The Hitman Cruise ’27, offering the next opportunity to be part of this unforgettable experience from the very beginning.
Signature Cruise Experiences Upcoming Programs
The Smooth Jazz Cruise
’26.1 (2.3.26 – 2.10.26) ’27.1 (1.31.27 – 2.7.27)
’26.2 (2.10.26 – 2.17.26) ’27.2 (2.7.27 – 2.14.27)
’26.3 (9.11.26 – 9.18.26) ’27.3 (10.13.27 – 10.20.27)
6 Sailings of “The Greatest Party at Sea”
Known as “The Greatest Party at Sea,” The Smooth Jazz Cruise has sailed over 30 times since 2004. Year after year, there is a waitlist for staterooms and the cruises hit “fully reserved” earlier and earlier.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.1, ‘26.2 & ’26.3 are fully reserved. The Rebooking and Pre-Sail Reservation procedures for The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘27.1 and ‘27.2 have been completed and both sailings are in Open Booking and are more than 80% reserved.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.3, which departs from Quebec City on 10.13.27 and sails through Canada terminating in Boston on 10.20.27, has been announced. This program will be an exciting combination of our customary great music, Fall colors and other special events.
Currently, guests sailing on The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’26.3 (’26 Guests) have the exclusive opportunity to reserve their ’26 stateroom for The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’27.3 through 3.31.26. Those who are not ’26 Guests may establish their priority for selecting a stateroom for that cruise by completing a Pre-Sail Reservation.
Botti at Sea III (’26)
9.18.26 – 9.25.26
Chris Botti hosts a West Coast Cruise with Amazing Talent
Botti at Sea III (’26) is in Open Booking. Anyone may select any available stateroom and complete a reservation.
The lineup has been set for a few months. Joining Chris will be Elvis Costello, Boz Scaggs, Melody Gardot, Peabo Bryson, Regina Belle, Emmet Cohen, Candy Dulfer, John Splithoff, Morgan James, Benny Benack III, Kandace Springs, Harold Lopez-Nussa Trio ft. Gregoire Maret and more. The cruise will sail from Los Angeles to Vancouver, with calls in San Francisco and Victoria.
The Jazz Cruise ’27
1.17.27 – 1.24.27
Still the Greatest Jazz Festival at Sea
The Jazz Cruise is the first program that Signature Cruise Experiences ever produced. Since its first sailing in 2001, The Jazz Cruise has been the world leader in presenting “straight ahead” jazz at sea.
The Jazz Cruise ’26 Guests are invited to rebook their current staterooms for The Jazz Cruise ’27. Others may establish their priority for the ’27 sailing by completing a Pre-Sail Reservation.
Botti at Sea IV (’27)
10.6.27 – 10.13.27
Chris Botti Takes His Cruise from Boston to Quebec
A Canadian itinerary in the Fall is one of the most popular cruise itineraries in the industry. Fall colors, beautiful scenery, hands on adventures in famous ports-of-call. If nothing else was taking place on the ship, a cruise with these features would be in high demand. So, when Chris Botti decided to take his amazing cruise program from Boston to Quebec City, with a full complement of the entertainers and performers that you have grown to love and expect, not only was he gilding the lily, but he was creating one of the top music cruise experiences ever offered.
Stay tuned for more programming and reservation procedure details. As is always the case on a Signature Cruise Experiences program, guests on Botti at Sea III (’26) (’26 Guests) will be able to rebook their current staterooms and those who are not ’26 Guests will be eligible to submit a Pre-Sail Reservation which will establish their stateroom selection priority after the ’26 Guests complete their rebooking procedure.
Look for most of this to happen around 8.15.26!
Journey of Jazz ’27
1.24.27 – 1.31.27
Now in Open Booking
Journey of Jazz ’27 will be an amazing cruise program featuring hosts Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter, a full lineup of great musicians and vocalists, a special two days in New Orleans which features Wynton Marsalis and a group of his hand-picked musicians.
In its second season Journey of Jazz proudly combines the very best music with opportunities to live the jazz life and learn more about the history of jazz. As an example, Journey of Jazz ’27 will present Ledisi as a main show performer on the ship. In keeping with the theme of the cruise, Ledisi will perform her universally beloved Tribute to Dinah (Washington) program.
Journey of Jazz ’27 is in Open Booking