The Perfect Cruises for Music Lovers

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100% Recommended

Ted Blank

Woodbury, MN
Tailor-Made Journeys

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Mozart's Birthplace in Salzburg, Austria

Going on a luxury cruise with a theme is a great way to combine your favorite type of vacation with one of your favorite interests. Music is a perfect example. 


On a music-themed cruise, you can take advantage of special excursions, programs and performances. You’ll also find all of the elements that make a cruise such a wonderful way to see the world — you unpack once and then relax, taking in gorgeous scenery and visiting places steeped in history. Here are a few examples. 


Cunard, a name synonymous with luxury transatlantic travel, has been sailing around the world for more than 100 years. A regular favorite on the cruise line’s calendar is a voyage featuring Anthony Inglis, one of Britain’s most popular conductors, and the National Symphony Orchestra. The seven-night cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s flagship, sails from New York City to Southampton, England. Passengers will be treated to two spectacular concerts in the ship’s Royal Court Theater — an evening of American-themed numbers and a second showcasing the best of British music. Inglis will participate in a Q&A session and passengers will have an opportunity to audition for the choir that performs with the orchestra. 


American Queen Voyages offers a variety of cruises that include excursions to some of the country’s most noteworthy music cities, from New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis to Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland. 


A nine-day trip from Nashville to Memphis will take you along the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. Nashville highlights include Music Row, the heart of the city’s music and entertainment industry, and the Grand Ole Opry, the world-famous home of country music. On a post-cruise stay in Memphis, you can stroll along historic Beale Street, a melting pot of blues, jazz, rock, R&B and gospel, and tour Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion. Or, you can choose a nine-day New Orleans to Memphis cruise along the Mississippi. In New Orleans, you’ll have a chance to hear some great jazz played in the bars and clubs of the French Quarter. In Memphis, AQV’s Great DeltaMusic Experience includes a visit to the GRAMMY Museum in Mississippi, a blues performance and the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. 


An 11-day Great Lakes cruise from Chicago to Toronto is also a great choice for music fans. If you spend a couple extra days in the Windy City before the start of your trip, you’ll have time to take in some of Chicago’s terrific blues, rock and jazz clubs. In Detroit, the birthplace of Motown, you can go on a guided tour that explores the city’s rich musical heritage and visit the Motown Museum. And in Cleveland, you can tour the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 


A European river cruise is a great choice for classical music buffs. AmaWaterways has a seven-night cruise along the Danube from Budapest to Vienna that includes visits to sites associated with renowned composers and a performance in a concert hall. In Budapest, you’ll get a guided tour of the exquisitely designed Hungarian State Opera House, with its dramatic marble staircases and ceiling frescoes. In Salzburg, you’ll see Mozart’s birthplace and the Basilica of St. Michael, where the wedding scene from “The Sound of Music” was filmed. In Vienna, you’ll walk in the footsteps of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, from their homes to museums to grand monuments. 


How about a music festival at sea? Ponant offers several, in partnership with the French classical music station Radio Classique and Marseille Jazz. Along with sightseeing you’ll be treated to a carefully curated lineup of guest speakers and performances, from pianists and violinists to composers, saxophonists and singers. For example, the eight-day Piano Festival at Sea will take you from Venice to Athens along the coastlines of Italy, Croatia, Montenegro and Greece. Other musical journeys include an eight-day Jazz Festival at Sea beginning in Venice and sailing to the island of Malta before ending near Rome; and a 10-day cruise on the Baltic Sea from Copenhagen to Stockholm. 


If you’re looking for a unique cruise experience, a music-themed voyage is definitely something out of the ordinary. Whether your tastes run to classical, rock, rhythm and blues, jazz or country, there’s a cruise for you. I can help you find one that sets exactly the right tone.

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