Cruise News

** Huge Success
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Well, that was a doozy! I'm back from all the touring and cruising and just, sheesh. Thanks to everyone who came out to all those shows with Aimee - I got to play a song on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, which is bananas. I have no new shows to post now, but wheels are turning, and I'll be out there again soon.

SINCERITY WARNING

Thank you also and especially to the amazing group of people - performers, attendees, and staff - who made this year's JoCo Cruise (https://jococruise.com?mc_cid=82c70ec3b4&mc_eid=UNIQID) kind of the best ever. It's hard to explain what makes the cruise so great, but it starts with the people. There's a spirit of generosity and kindness that's infectious, and it's just...fun I guess is the word? But it's spelled more like, FFFFUUUNNNN: fun in an intense, focused, ridiculous way. I could give you many examples, but I think my favorite story from this year happened in Grand Turk.

There were a couple people who missed the ship because of travel delays. They looked into flights that would let them catch up to us, and I guess decided that there was a better option: another Holland America ship was leaving Ft. Lauderdale the next day, and would be arriving at Grand Turk the same day we did. They checked with Holland America to make sure this would work, and then they bought passage on that week-long cruise, so that they could leave it and come to ours for the rest of the week.

We told the Holland America staff we wanted to do something special for these people and they said, "Yes, we have some ideas." But they wanted to keep it a surprise. We knew we would be parked right next to the other ship that day, so they told us to have everyone come to the port side of the ship to watch and welcome the stragglers. This is what they set up for us:

When our late-comers arrived, all those Holland America staff played music and banged pots and pans, ushering them down the receiving line, while onboard we all cheered and waved, and both ships blasted their horns. I've never seen anything like it. Something about this level of over the top ridiculousness on a massive scale is very moving to me, in no small part because everyone you see is just grinning like an idiot. Stuff like this creates a kind of unchecked joy in me that I don't get to feel that often.

And that's just one example, there are many moments like these over the course of the week. For me in particular, watching the performers and the audience meet each other and figure each other out is always a big part of it. We have that kind of joy onstage, and in the wings watching each other, and in the audience laughing along. I'm always so grateful to the attendees for creating this vibe so that I can share it with my fellow performers. It's why we do what we do, for a taste of that feeling, and so getting to swim in it for an entire week is a real privilege.

Here's the class of 2024 (I miss them already):

Cabins are already moving quickly for 2025, but you can still book here (https://jococruise.com?mc_cid=82c70ec3b4&mc_eid=UNIQID) if you so wish. I'm so lucky that I get to do this, and I can't wait to get back to it.

More news after I have slept for about 60 days.

-j

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