The Broadway Cruise 2

Jen McGurn

My daughter and I took our second Broadway Cruise 2 this past Spring and it was even better than the first one!

The sailings are organized and run by Sixthman, who according to their website, “has set the stage for moments that make life rock, serving over 300,000 guests on over 150 unforgettable vacations on sand and at sea with their favorite artists, athletes, actors, comedians and brands.”

While the first Broadway Cruise in 2022 was an unforgettable experience, Sixthman made several changes that made this cruise even better than the last- including changing the port of departure. While it made sense that a Broadway Cruise would sail from New York, there were several issues with rough seas last year. Moving the cruise to Miami completely eliminated those issues.

This year saw the addition of ticketed shows. The headliners (Norm Lewis, Christian Borle, Kerry Butler, and Abby Mueller) performed two shows on their designated night. Your tickets to one of the two performances were assigned at the time of booking. Instead of having to line up hours in advance to make sure you didn’t miss the one show that the performer was going to do, you knew that you had assigned seats to a show and could go and do other things without worrying about missing out.

Other Broadway performers offered shows on the pool deck or in the Spinnaker Lounge daily throughout the sailing.

Sixthman created a set schedule and shared a printed schedule, as well as updates in the app so you could see ahead of time who was performing where and when. For events such as panels or themed concerts, like the Duets concert on the first day or A Day in the Life of a Broadway Professional, Sixthman shared who you would see during that event.

There was definitely time to see every star onboard, as opposed to the previous sailing where there were some things that you had to miss. It was also a great idea to add extra ways to communicate with the stars. For example, there was an ice cream social with Norm Lewis on the first night, where he was scooping out your ice cream for you. That was so simple and so fun.

Christian Borle hosted a Whiskey Tasting on Saint Patrick’s Day. While that did cost extra, it was a great offering. There was also a game show where Norm Lewis and Abby Mueller competed with guests. Events like that made the cruise feel so much more personal and gave the guests an unforgettable experience.

Sixthman included three official theme nights. The themes were a pajama night, a night to dress as your favorite Broadway characters, and Jukebox musical night. All three of those theme nights were incredible, but the Broadway Character night was definitely a guest favorite. Seeing all of the guests in their costumes around the ship was awesome and there were so many great costumes. People got really creative with their favorite Broadway character and it was impossible to stop smiling the entire night.

One final thing that made this cruise so special was the stars on board. Last year’s stars were great. However, due to the rough seas from going out of New York, a lot of them weren’t feeling so hot most of the cruise. That meant that you didn’t see them out and about around the ship. This year, you totally did.

Whether it was running into Matt Doyle at the bar and chatting with him, or playing slots next to Cheyenne Jackson at the casino, or riding a tender boat over to Grand Cayman with Norm Lewis, the stars were everywhere. You’d pass them on the stairs or in the buffett or walking around the upper decks. You’d find yourself standing in line for Starbucks behind Reeve Carney and his mom, or waiting for the elevator with Ali Stroker. Or maybe Christian Borle, Santino Fontana, and Hamilton choreographer Andy Blankenbuelher would smile and say hi to you as they passed you in the hallway on the way to a panel.

Both this cruise and last, the stars talked about how much they appreciated the fans and how great it was to be in a place with so many like-minded people. But on this cruise, you felt it. The celebrities were just like you.