Guest / Entertainment Announcement

edited August 2014 in JoCo Cruise
So ... when should we expect the first announcement about special guests and entertainment?  I'm trying to convince friends to go, but it's rather difficult without any idea of the entertainment until (what's rapidly becoming) the last minute.

<sigh>

Comments

  • A review of last year's cruise shows that the first announcement was made on October 3rd.  In the past, whenever the Home Office was pushed for an answer that wasn't ready yet, the official answer was "I am Groot!", er, I mean Soon™.

    It does suck not knowing, but they really don't want to announce something that isn't set in stone.  There are entertainers that you can count on (JoCo, P&S) and few very likely (David Rees, John Roderick, John Hodgman).  You pretty much need to trust that the Home Office will invite interesting additional entertainers.  They have a very good track record so far.

    Ultimately, people that go on this cruise are going because JoCo and P&S are awesome, they invite equality awesome performers, and most importantly, you are amongst your chosen tribe on an amazing ship floating through the warm Caribbean during the worst part of winter. 
  • It seems like the "When do we get an entertainer announcement?" topic comes up sometime in the summer/fall before each cruise. I don't actually remember how many entertainers had been announced when I booked before the first cruise. It could have been all of them. It could have been none. What I remember is mostly "A JoCo cruise? Sounds awesome! Wait ... con crud and norovirus in the same place!?!?! Whatever. Worth it!"

    (AT least, after I talked myself into it financially, having saved a tiny bit out of my paycheck specifically for vacation purposes for months at that point, but never having taken one.)

    I absolutely get that specific entertainers can be a big selling point for people when it comes to a vacation this big and expensive. I really, really do. But the comparison I always draw is MaxFunCon. MaxFunCon generally goes on sale on or around Black Friday. It occurs in the late May/end of June timeframe. It costs $800 or so per person, plus travel to the L.A. area. And, normally, it is sold out before any entertainers or instructors at all have been announced. The actual class lineup is maybe a month out, which is months after all the tickets have been sold.

    People pay that much money, up front, without knowing who is actually going because:
    1. The atmosphere and attendees of MaxFunCon are a huge selling point, just like with the JoCo cruise.
    2. Everybody trusts the MaxFunCon staff to source and book a selection of people who are amazing ... just like with the JoCo cruise.
    That's how I look at the JoCo cruise as well. The entertainers and the nightly shows are a tiny part of the whole experience, and at this point there's a proven track record of their being great.
  • I think the concern is more about people who haven't been on a JCCC before than those who have. Returning Sea Monkeys *know* it's gonna be awesome no matter who the entertainers are, but I've found when trying to explain it that the level of awesomeness can be difficult to convey to non-Monkeys. So being able to give a specific list of entertainers helps in that regard.

  • I know it's more about people who haven't been on it before ... that's why I made the post. To explain to people who have not been on it.

    I'd like it if the cruise reached the point that MaxFunCon has, where it's just a given that many to most people decide to go in advance of the performers, with the performers not being people's deciding factor most of the time.
  • I'm pretty sure that it's already there, villicious.  If guests are announced in June, they'll drive ticket sales.  But guest announcements in October for a January cruise?  People are either going to be huge Joco fans to begin with, returning Monkeys, or gamblers.

    ...I guess there IS a casino on board.
  • If guests are announced in June for a January cruise, entertainers are inevitably going to have to cancel because legitimate conflicts come up. Then, people who bought a non-refundable cruise in June because they wanted to see a specific entertainer are going to be angry about it. Really, REALLY angry about it.

    When guests have to cancel now (as they do, and as they have before, sometimes at the last minute) there is way less risk of that, because most people bought their tickets before it was announced that the now-canceled entertainer would even be on board. People will still be disappointed, but there will be no "OMG I can't believe I WASTED $2,000 on a cruise to see Bubba Bo Bob Brain and Bubba Bo Bob Brain ISN'T GOING TO BE THERE."

    The entertainment's awesome, but it's such a tiny part of the cruise as a whole. An individual entertainer's set is going to be maybe an hour out of the whole thing. Making buying decisions based on entertainers is a road to disappointment.
  • An individual entertainer's set is maybe an hour, but they'll usually participate in other entertainers' sets, or events such as Q&A or their own office hours, and you will probably encounter them around the ship and have the opportunity for casual conversations/hot tub sessions with them. It's still a tiny part of the cruise as a whole (because the cruise as a whole is huge), but not quite that tiny.
  • This is true, but it doesn't take away from the fact that deciding to come because of a particular entertainer's announced presence, especially if that presence is many months in the future of the cruise actually happening, is a road to disappointment.
  • I know it will come as a relief to you all that I am announcing today the confirmed presence of Mr and Mrs Chetman, as I just paid off the cruise balance. 

    Hey, we're entertaining. That counts, right?
  • Woohoo! The Chetmans! But wouldn't Mrs. Chetman be Chetwoman?

    I can confirm the presence of one half of the band Crazy For Jane, who just signed up without so much as checking the dates or location or really anything on the cruise website or the work of the known entertainers, purely on the strength of my enthusing about it being a cruise full of geeks and music. I meant this more as a chetman-style 'entertainment announcement', but in context I guess it can also function as a 'see, you don't need to know about the entertainers!' example, though of course with limited vacation time and budget it's a good idea to read the details of location/time/pricing/etc. before booking.

    Now I live in the same city as a pre-monkey, and that is very exciting! Later, I will get to have sea monkey reunions without even crossing a country! But that's a bit off-topic.
  • >Woohoo! The Chetmans! But wouldn't Mrs. Chetman be Chetwoman?

    Good question, but I think based on (at least American) social nomenclature norms (yes yes patriarchy), no. 

    If we treat "Chetman" like we might treat a surname, the idea of a "Mrs Chetman" is sort of like there being a "Mrs John Smith" -- it's a title, not a name. Royals get to be styled lots of ways; why shouldn't us filthy commoners? 

    In any case shifting a proper to nonstandard plural forms isn't cricket. I have also, in recent years, heard of husbands being "styled" similarly in such contexts -- ie, referring to the name-unknown but known-to-exist spouse as, for example, Mr Zoe Keating. I think this is probably equally useful. 

    And now I am guilty of excessively nerdy literalism again, mostly because questions of name and identity and tradition are interesting.

    Anyway: She was Erin! on her badge for JCCC4, complete with exclamation point, and that's how I think of her. :)

    149 days.


  • Once upon a time someone next to us in line for the evening's entertainment called Patrick "Mr. Famous Tracy."
  • edited September 2014
    Oh, sure, you call her Mrs. Chetman if you treat Chetman like you might treat a surname. But this is JoCo Cruise Crazy we're talking about, where we're all on a first name basis and the level of formality is 'moustache'. Why not treat Chetman like you might treat a superhero?

    Although, I suppose it doesn't really convey much information, given that Wonder Woman and Wonder Man are not actually married to each other. On the other hand, I don't think Mr. Do is married to do. Maybe Mr. Do is a formal way of referring to a to-do list.

    Anyway, I bet all the men are glad not to be Mangelastic or Angeladtic.
  • @villicious, that is hilarious!
  • @villicious: That is how I think of him...
  • "Why not treat Chetman like you might treat a superhero?"

    Why indeed!

    "The level of formality is 'moustache'."

    I'm stealing this.
  • Is there a Mrs. Do? Or a Mr. Don't?

    Complicating matters further, I'm pretty sure his name was "Mr. Do!" including the trailing exclamation mark. And yes, that means later games sometimes had graphics calling them things like "Mr Do!'s Castle"

    I can confirm the expected presence of nerd-folker Glen Raphael. Does that help? :-)
  • Now that Glen's confirmed... I'm definitely coming!  ;-)
  • On the subject of names with integrated punctuation that make them difficult to mention in sentences, is Hello, The Future! coming? :)
  • edited September 2014
    1. I can personally vouch that Chetman is entertaining
    2. That the entertainment comes with an extra bonus of literacy, common sense, and serious wickedness And, most likely, fine Scotch will be somewhere nearby.
    3. Do not treat Chetman like a Superhero. As my my grannie used to say he'd get too big fer his britches.
    4. Erin!, on the other hand, should be treated this way. :-)


  • ^^^^

    Can confirm Sparky's general wisdom, including and especially #4.
  • edited October 2014
    Seriously, how can I help get Puddles on the entertainer list.



    He lives in my town and I have some minor connections with him.   
    Would be MORE than happy to help facilitate it.  

  • edited October 2014
    @Angelastic : I believe Hello, The Future! is, alas, not planning to come this year.

    @Oboewan : Awww, shucks. The real question is how to make the next "Glen Raphael & Friends" event top the last one. I mean, we could JUST add more cello and harmony and swap in some newer songs and give Ryan more room for a drum solo, but that would be TOO EASY. *steeples fingers like Mister Burns* *chuckles maniacally*.
  • I'm fairly certain you didn't have oboe last time... that's it... yeah....
  • More cowbell!
  • I have a Swiss cowbell I could bring.
  • If you bring a cowbell I'm sure Ryan could play it!

    @Oboewan: Are there any of my songs you find in particular need of oboe?

    ...and if so, would I get to say "It's in B; watch me for the changes and try to keep up"? Because I've always wanted to say that. :-)
  • You know what should be mentioned in this thread? The three actual announcements of guests/entertainment we've had so far.
  • @glenra imho ALL songs are in particular need of oboe imho  ;)      you can totally say that!   I do B
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