Carnival Breeze seemed a bit out of place in Cozumel, still in port after other ships had departed. We stayed late, until 1AM, for Carnival LIVE, the concert at sea series from Carnival Cruise Lines that has been selling out show after show. After an hour-long show by rock music legends Styx, I can see why.

Carnival must have been reading cruise industry’s own playbook, immerse travelers in a themed environment so different than real life that they come away changed, when they thought of CarnivalLIVE. Here they already have travelers on a fabulous Caribbean itinerary, on a nice ship that they have been having fun on. They could have left well enough alone, called it a day and invited those happy campers to tell their friends.

No, instead they add an amazing concert experience on top of the Fun time already provided by Carnival. Brilliant. …and safe, and a good value, and can you see where they are going with this?   A double-wammy of pleasure.

But let’s back this up a bit. The sold-out Styx performance capped off an extra long day in Cozumel that began with lunch on the beach at Pancho’s Backyard, a favorite place to linger, right on the beach.

Ok, back to the concert, because that pretty much dominated the day. By early afternoon it was apparent who were the Styx fans; popular songs by the band could be heard and were being sung from stateroom balconies. Starting a bit after 9:30, the show ran about an hour and treated the die-hard Styx fans to one of the best concerts we have seen at sea.

Extra bonus: The show was over before 11PM and Carnival Breeze stayed in port until 1AM; still plenty of time to walk off the ship and spend some time at a pier-side bar. The best of both worlds.

CarnivalLIVE is back for 2015 with new bands announced while we were on board. Journey, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town and Smokey Robinson make up the roster for the Spring 2015 season along with Styx who will be returning.  Better yet, no driving home after the show.

 

Follow Along
Twitterverse followers, check in on #CarnivalLive, @STYXTheBand, @CarnivalCruise and me (@OrlandoChris ) throughout the event for the very latest information.

Also check in with us on

• Instagram  and Tumblr for live photos throughout the event, Internet cooperating
• Facebook for live photos and photo albums from each port and event along the way
• Flickr PhotoStream for all our photos from the entire event
• @exposure photo story books
• Carnival Breeze and Carnival LIVE Pinterest Board

Our posts here at ChrisCruises.com:

• Back To The Dance With The One Who Took Us There
• Welcome Back, Now Define Your Fun
• A Lovely Day At Sea, Just For Me
• Two Friends In Ocho Rios

Facebook Photo Albums-

• Welcome Back
• Ocho Rios With Carnival Breeze
• CarnivalLIVE Styx Album
• Grand Cayman with Carnival Breeze

Flickr Photo Stream– all photos, unedited