The Elvis Cruise Day One = Rock at the Dock

Hi all: after an uneventful flight, my husband John and I made it to Tampa, where we found ourselves in line waiting to be let in the doors to the cruise ship terminal, so we could board the Carnival Inspiration, and begin the Elvis Cruise. While we waited, I took note of the crowd. While I expected to see a lot of people from Elvis’ generation, there were also plenty of younger people, and even a few “three generation” groups of Elvis fans.

To my amazement, almost everyone was wearing an Elvis T shirt or hat, or carrying an Elvis tote or handbag. I couldn’t believe how many Elvis accessories I saw! I suspect I will see a lot more of them as the days unfold on this cruise. And, there will be Elvis merchandise being sold on board at various times as well.

We were among the first to get on the ship and our stateroom wasn’t ready, so we made our way to the buffet (not bad, except for a few pesky seagulls who were intent on eating our pizza before we got it). We were offered “Blue Suede Booze” drinks of the day (how appropriate) and listened to Elvis songs in the buffet area.

Out on the Lido deck (that’s usually the name of the main, outdoor deck with the pools on cruise ships), Elvis was crooning the crowd’s favorite hits through loudspeakers. But serious band equipment was being set up on the pool deck. A woman bolted away from her friends to get up and dance with a drinks waiter, just to get in the spirit of things. *11/17/09 note: the Elvis music on deck never stopped–even at breakfast we had Elvis singing in the background. Also note that the passengers, primarily women and mostly over age 60, were rockin’ out all day and night long…these are NOT what you might think of as “grannies!”

Elvis Tribute Artists (I think most of the ones scheduled on the program won contests to be on the ship) are going to be performing later in the afternoon. A quick glance at the schedule shows me that there is going to be an awesome amount of great music day and night — something going on nearly all of the time. It is a whole lot of Elvis going on here…but that’s what the Elvis fans have paid for–all Elvis, all the time. And from the looks of things, it will be a fun time for all.

Actually, it’s pretty awesome!

The sun has broken through and I haven’t looked around the ship yet, but the Inspiration is glitzy and showy, like a Las Vegas Casino in the 1980’s. Elvis, I think, would have approved!

We got up at 4am so I’m not sure how much, besides the main stage show tonight (A Memphis tribute) I can report on tonight. There’s an Elvis disco at 11 pm….well…maybe?