So if you or a loved one is a fanatic for the rock band KISS, can there be anything better than the first ever KISS KRUISE presented by Sixthman and Carnival? Heck no!
Shout It Out Loud!!! KISS KISS KISS KISS!!!
I'll try to give an unbiased review so that others can consider these music cruises by Sixthman.
The Cruise left the Port of Miami on October 13th and returned on October 17th on the Carnival Destiny.
Approximately 2000+ KISS fans were on the boat, we heard that the cruise sold out in the last few weeks (our family signed up Day 1, we are sick, sick people).
The cruise was put on by Sixthman out of Atlanta. They put on a series of these fantasy musical cruises. The personnel from Sixthman are young and energetic.
Sail Away Day
At 5pm on the 13th, KISS held a unplugged, unmasked concert on the Lido deck for everyone. The band was supposed to play for 45 minutes, ended up playing for 75 minutes. Completely relaxed, they played a number of tunes that they hadn't played in years.
Then the band held a Q&A with randomly selected audience members who had submitted questions prior to the cruise. Very good event, the band took far more questions than I thought, almost an hour's worth.
Concerts
Probably the highlight for us were the concerts in the Palladium Lounge. Every cruiser was given at least one ticket with assigned seating. It was a great venue. Paul Stanley made the remark it was like taking them back to playing in a club. Not many KISS fans have seen the band in this type of venue, and it paid off. KISS played mainly songs from the 70s, and with 1000+ screaming fans who knew every word, it was quite the atmosphere.
We were fortunate enough to be selected to get tickets for the second show as well, and the band mixed up the set list, again going to some songs they had never played live before. The sound on the second show was improved from show one, but both were equally good. Great venue to see your favorite performers.
Other Bands
Sixthman does a good job of rounding up other bands to come along on cruises and you really couldn't walk through the halls without some old favorites (Skid Row) and new and upcoming bands playing throughout the night. Just depends what your taste in music is like, but you had multiple opportunities to see the 4-5 other bands on the ship.
Comedian
Craig Gass from the Howard Stern show performed two shows, we attended both. Impressed with both shows, we had never seen him before. Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance. The second show had an opening comic that was horrific in our opinion, I think the name was Skippy Greene, just not up to snuff.
Other KISS Events
I won't do this section justice, but Sixthman arranged a number of events for KISS Fans such as:
KISS Pajama Party
KISS Halloween Party
KISS Movie Night (Detroit Rock City)
KISS Trivia
KISS Karaoke (multiple nights)
KISS Kasino Night with the Drummer Eric Singer
KISS Miniature Golf with the Guitarist Tommy Thayer
KISS Tatoo contest
All well attended from what I could tell, some challenges with the Pajama party being a bit chaotic and the fans acting like children. But you had your share of events to attend.
KISS Photo Opportunity
Every person was granted a chance as part of a group of 6-8 to get their picture with KISS. They spread this over two nights for the entire ship. In every fan's mind it could have been more personal, but with 2000 plus fans, the logistics make it difficult. We were one of the last groups on the second night and it was like being shoved into the picture then yanked out with a shephard's crook. We could have had Abba stand behind us and not known. But the picture came out ok, just wish my 12 year old had a better chance to meet the band (so did 1997 others).
Days on Shore
We stopped at Half Moon Cay and Nassau, standard cruise excursions, although I loved Blue Lagoon Sea Lion Adventure in Nassau.
Overall
You pay a premium to be near the folks you idolize which we did for our 12 year old. He loved it, was actually worn out by the last full day. Again, wish it would have been more personal, but that's a wish.
We were actually impressed by Carnival Destiny. Maybe we expected the worst having never been on a Carnival cruise, but they exceeded our expectations. Everything was very smooth.
The Sixthman group has something good going. They are young and energetic, and with that comes some immaturity amongst their staff. I've shared that feedback with them after the cruise, but they keep it lively, not only on the ship, but with communications prior to the cruise.
Rumor has it that the KISS Kruise will continue on next year. We might go back depending on what's new and different about it.
YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST, THE HOTTEST ROCK BAND IN THE WORLD.
