The On the Blue: New Horizons cruise took place April 5-10, 2024 aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pearl, an ocean liner that has been custom outfitted to accommodate music cruises. The Pearl sailed from Miami to the sunny ports of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and Nassau in the Bahamas with fans grooving to classic rock sounds the whole way thanks to incredible performances from the likes of Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, Al Stewart, the Zombies, Vanilla Fudge, Little River Band, Jimi Hendrix tribute artist Randy Hansen, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame, the Alan Parsons Live Project, Starship with Mickey Thomas, and many others.
Every act performed at least two times during the cruise with some like Chicago-based jazz rockers Marbin playing a whopping half dozen times. With such a stellar lineup there were magical moments galore during the five-day sailing.
Here are some of the highlights from the high seas festival.
It was a Saturday, not a Tuesday, when former Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward played the first of his two shows. But he began his set with the Moody Blues chestnut “Tuesday Afternoon,” immediately endearing himself to the crowd in the Pearl’s amphitheater-like Stardust Theater. With a crack band that included guitarist Mike Dawes, keys player and singer Julie Ragins and flutist Karmen Gould, Hayward gave fans a chance to reminisce as he played Moodies hits and favorites including “The Voice,” “Never Comes the Day,” “Your Wildest Dreams,” and of course “Nights in White Satin.”
After leaving the stage briefly after “Nights” Hayward and his band returned for a three-song encore featuring “Blue Guitar,” a cut he wrote with his Moody Blues colleague John Lodge, and boisterous cuts “The Story in Your Eyes” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.” As he likes to do, Hayward also peppered his set with amusing stories about some of the songs.
Australian mainstays the Little River Band had the privilege of playing on the Pearl’s big Pool Stage for the sail-away show that took place as the ship headed out of Miami. For a crowd that was aboard to relive the heyday of classic rock it was only fitting that the band included their big hit “Reminiscing” during their show. Known for the effervescent harmonies that make their songs so memorable, the guys played a hit-filled set that featured “Lonesome Loser,” “Take it Easy on Me,” “Happy Anniversary,” “It’s a Long Way There,” “Man on Your Mind” and many others and adoring fans didn’t need any encouragement to sing along.
If you maybe think that Vanilla Fudge has been forgotten or that they have lost their chops all these years on, their performance aboard the On the Blue: New Horizons cruise easily dispelled both of these thoughts. With three of their four original members intact (Vince Martell on guitar and vocals, Mark Stein on keys and vocals, Carmine Appice on drums), and with bass player Pete Bremy, the foursome was a big crowd pleaser as they rocked through covers like Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” the Zombies hit “She’s Not There,” the Doors standard “Break on Through,” “Shotgun” by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars and “Gimme Some Lovin’” originally done by the Spencer Davis Group.
Vanilla Fudge had their biggest hit with a take on the Motown classic by the Supremes, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and they got a massive response from the audience when they played the cut late in their set. Journeyman drummer Appice played a jaw-dropping drum solo just like it was 1969.
Stewart has played a lot of acoustic shows lately but for his sets during the On the Blue: New Horizons cruise he played electric shows backed by his frequent collaborators the Empty Pockets and with the addition of flute and sax player Chase Huna. Fans were in attendance not just to hear Stewart’s big radio hit “Year of the Cat” but also to enjoy many of the folk-oriented cuts that predated that stardom, such as “Broadway Hotel,” “The Palace of Versailles,” “Sirens of Titan,” “Antarctica,” “Modern Times,” and “On the Border.”
Early in his set Stewart performed his big hit from 1978, “Time Passages,” where the band rocked hard and Huna played a sax solo that was mesmerizing. Al saved “Year of the Cat” for his finale and the joy-filled crowd filed out of the venue with huge grins on their faces.
Parsons had emergency surgery on his spine a couple of years back and still suffers from the resulting condition, causing him to have limited mobility. He made his way around the ship using a wheeled walker and with a person assisting him, and for his performances he sat on a drum riser-like platform at center stage, with the band’s drummer moved off to stage right. And while he was surely feeling his injury, the show was as phenomenal as you would expect from such a master.
Parsons sang a bit and played acoustic guitar but singer P.J. Olsson took the spotlight on lead vocals for many songs including the delicate “Time.”
Among other favorites performed were “Standing on Higher Ground,” “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” “Don’t Answer Me,” and a ferocious version of “Psychobabble.” In one stunning mash-up the band played “Breakdown” from the I Robot album and morphed it into ominous cut “The Raven” from the first Alan Parsons Project album Tales of Mystery and Imagination.
It was hit after hit as Thomas led Starship through “Find Your Way Back,” “Jane,” “We Built This City,” and “Sara,” during which Thomas got choked up. Thomas uncharacteristically turned his back on the crowd during the song’s instrumental break but quickly regained his composure and finished the song strongly. During an earlier Q&A session Thomas explained that “Sara” is about his ex-wife and that singing it sometimes, all these years later, still gets to him.
Thomas also performed “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” from his days with Elvin Bishop and sang a stunning duet with Cian Coey on “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Starship’s biggest hit. Coey did an excellent job of handling the vocal part that was originally sung by Grace Slick, and when the band paid tribute to their roots Coey also rocked perfectly on Jefferson Airplane super oldies “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.”
Besides all the usual fun of being aboard the Pearl, like tons of food and beverage options, spa, gym, casino, arcade, duty free shopping and more, fans aboard the On the Blue: New Horizons cruise could take painting classes with the artists, meet them in photo sessions (and around the ship), participate in Q&A sessions, indulge in late night karaoke, renew their wedding vows and possibly party ashore with the stars when the ship made port in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The dates and lineup for the next On the Blue cruise will be announced here. here.
