Photos by Laura Carbone
Imagine this vacation: A first-class blues cruise for three days and two nights from Oslo, Norway to Kiel, Germany and back again—on a first-class ship that is also a ferry. Yes, a ferry, the affordable transportation that allows you to take your car from one place to another.
Don’t expect the stained seats and plastic tables of U.S. ferries. This is Europe, where people travel with style, comfort and class at a cost that is not extravagant. The ferry is equipped with a spa and fitness center, several high-end restaurants, bars, bistros, duty-free shopping, a casino, a water and kids’ park, a golf simulator, a 650-seat show lounge, a late night disco as well as comfortable and spacious cabins.
For the last 17 years in mid-October and now also April, the “Blues” boards the Colorline Ferry along with pre-booked music fans, some accidental tourists and ferry travelers for this musical party at sea. This fall voyage was on the MS Color Fantasy, currently the world’s second-largest cruise ferry, weighing in at 75,000 tons, 735 feet in length and she carries up to 2750 passengers and 750 cars.
Hold on to your paddle for a unique, entertaining and affordable vacation cruising the North Sea. The fall cruise featured soulman Curtis Salgado, Canada’s “Queen of Blues” Dawn Tyler Watson, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Josh Smith, Florida’s Backtrack Blues Band and Norway’s favorite and hardest working band, JT Lauritsen and the Buckshot Hunters.
As the ship slipped out of the port of Oslo, the Backtrack Blues Band, led by Sonny Charles started the party with tunes that had the audience up and swinging on the dance floor, and JT Lauritsen and the Buckshot Hunters performed in the night club. Music could be found all over the ship, from the fine restaurants, piano bar, the promenade’s Irish pub, the crow’s nest, to the upstairs two-story night club with a Viking castle and dungeon theme. The Nordic band Buckshots is a European favorite led by the soul drenched voice of JT Lauritsen, who also the promoter and curator of this musical ferry boat and has been running the show with his team since 2001.
This fall, headliner Curtis Salgado, a three-time winner of the 2018 Blues Music Award for Song of the Year, Best Soul Blues Album and Best Soul Blues Male Artist, returned to Norway after a six-year absence. Also on board was Dawn Tyler Watson, the 2017 winner of the International Blues Challenge. Packed with vocal power and stage charisma she’s backed by a horn-driven band of Ben Racine. The Illinois-based Kilborn Alley added the soulful voice of Andre Duncanson and blazing guitar skills of Josh Smith to this musical voyage. Past performers have included Sugaray Rayford, John Nemeth, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Southern Hospitality as well as a host of other US and European bands.
The 2019 Spring voyage runs April 4th through April 6th and features the Traveling Brothers and Michael Wallace on its showcase roster. The cost varies with cabin type and food but averages around $500 USD with the full dining package.
—Laura Carbone
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