By Jan Sessions Walker
On a hot summer night back in 2016, I ran across an ad on Peter Frampton’s Facebook page, promoting a “Rock and Romance” cruise. On a lark, I sent it to my friend and fellow lover of 70’s music, Pattie, and suggested we should go. She replied within minutes and said her husband Jimmy had already chosen their cabin and were we signed up yet? Yikes! Thankfully, my husband Danny was a sport and agreed that we should go, as well. This began our lasting romance with the 70’s Rock and Romance Cruise!
Impatiently, we waited for the departure date. Pattie and I found ourselves wishing we could chat with our fellow cruisers—if only we could find them. Along with another future cruiser, Hillary, we started a Facebook group, the Original 70’s Rock and Romance Cruise Chat. We rounded up members bit by bit and grew from there. What fun we had (and continue to have) talking about the cruise, music, 70’s trivia, and more!
The months flew by, and with glittering disco costumes packed along with our jeans and t-shirts, we headed to sunny Orlando that March, not knowing what to expect. We were already aflutter with anticipation when we hit the airport in Florida, and then we recognized some of the band members who would be on the cruise. How exciting! Yet we had no idea how much better it would get. The adventure had barely begun! Fast forward to that evening at the host hotel bar. There were so many Rock and Romance cruisers there that we took over the place, and the poor guy hired to sing and play guitar finally left.
Then, the moment hit me. What a special week this was going to be! As a few of us from our group were standing at the bar waiting for drinks, we spontaneously burst into song—“Wildfire”, by Michael Martin Murphey, to be precise. Right then, I knew I was amongst my tribe and what we were about to experience would be like nothing I had ever been through before.
I would need a book to describe every incredible experience I had that week, so I’ll save most of them for another time. But there is one thing I must share here and now.
Picture this: It’s the evening of day one, and it has been fun and festive from start to finish. It’s nearly time to go back to the cabin, but Pattie and I decide that maybe we’ll have one last cocktail. We head to the casino bar, where we find several of our new friends. Oh, and Wayne Nelson from Little River Band is there, too, hanging out with us. He sings “Happy Birthday” to our friend Cash, even though it really wasn’t her birthday. WHAT a night, and it was just the beginning. On what other cruise are you gonna find THAT?
It's an understatement to say that I’m a fan of Star Vista’s 70’s Rock and Romance Cruise. And we just can’t wait to do it again in 2023!
Song of the Day: Show Me the Way – Peter Frampton
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