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Princess announced a series of cruises with an 80s theme in September 2021. I was intrigued by the theme, of course, and lured in by the relatively cheap prices for them. Three were on the west coast (4 and 5 days), but I decided to take the one that sailed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was closer to home, a more familiar port, and it was the longer 5 days instead of 4. It also had the best tribute band of any of these cruises, which was…
80s tribute band #1 – Rich Girl
Rich Girl, the Daryl Hall and John Oates tribute act, did a fantastic job. They had great material, of course (I really like the boys from Philly), but they also performed it well. The crowd was into it, as much as they could be; I think the theater was about a quarter full. Overall, the ship had slightly fewer than 1000 passengers, for a ship that could hold about 3600. COVID-19 and its effects were still keeping people away a few months after cruising was opened up.
80s rock trivia
After I saw Rich Girl, I went and did some 80s rock trivia in the Princess Live lounge. There were a total of 15 questions which required us to guess the band and release date for each song – one point for each part. I got 23 out of 30, which I didn’t think was all that great. But no one did better. Yay me! One duo got the same score. No tiebreaker, so we both won the offered bottles of champagne. As a non-drinker, I asked for a substitute and got a swag bag. There was some nice stuff in there – a keychain, a diary, a tote bag, and a coaster – all with the Princess logo.
The mask police and the Carlos Oscar comedy show
Just before Carlos Oscar came on for his show (which I thought was good), a member of the mask police decided to loudly confront a gentleman who wasn’t wearing a mask. Harsh words were spoken, and fortunately it fizzled to nothingness without security getting involved or delaying the show.
80s tribute band #2 – Slippery When Wet
Slippery When Wet, the Bon Jovi tribute band, was better than expected. I liked their enthusiasm and I really liked their drummer. They also tried to get the audience to sing along. Perhaps this wasn’t quite the right time for that. Aerosols, viruses, indoor room with questionable ventilation… you probably know the drill. They had a slightly bigger audience than Rich Girl or Carlos Oscar; the theater was maybe 40% full.
80s movie trivia
I followed the Slippery When Wet concert with some 80s movie trivia. I did OK with matching songs with movies and did surprisingly well at identifying movie posters (one of which was Xanadu, of all things!). But I bombed hard on the general trivia questions. Overall I got 14 out of 20, and the winners had 17. Better luck next time?
80s music trivia
A few hours ago we had straight 80s music trivia. This was my best chance to get a second win. And I did it! My 25 out of 30 proved better than anyone else. I declined the bubbly again and got a water bottle. This was fine with me. The win meant a lot more to me than some fizzy grape juice.
Overall I had quite a fun time. Princess should do more of these.