Last weekend we missed sending out The Weekender for the first time since its inception. Most of you know why, but for those who do not, I spent March 9-14 on Celebrity Infinity preparing for what should have been The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘20.2. Of course, the cruise was famously cancelled at 4 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 13! What happened, how it happened and when it happened was surreal. I want to share that process with you, while the memories are fresh, though I doubt that any of us will ever forget what transpired.

The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘20.2 was to have sailed from March 14-21, 2020, from Miami. We always board the ship in advance of a cruise so that we can meet with the staff of the ship, set up the venues and load in our materials. When we boarded the ship on Monday, March 9, the alarm about the coronavirus was beginning to mount, though responses did not seem as immediate as they turned out to be. From the very start, I questioned both the “whether” and the “should” of our sailing going forward. Twice on the ship I met with cruise line officials inquiring as to whether or not our cruise would sail and asking them to please cancel the cruise altogether.

The response was clear and adamant. We were told that we would be sailing. Based upon the information, reluctantly, my mission was to ensure that the cruise would be “fun, exciting and safe.” We secured additional performers to cover those who simply could not get to Miami due to travel bans or other limitations. We worked on the ship to review all the heath precautions being undertaken. We shared those updates with our guests every day.

My #1 fear was that we would sail, guests would become ill or there would be an incident that would cause us to remain in quarantine. My #2 fear was that our artists, musicians, staff and guests would come to Miami only to learn that the cruise would not be sailing. We avoided #1, but ran right into #2. We learned of the cancellation almost precisely 24 hours before we were to set sail. We were among the first cruises to be cancelled.

I want to be very clear on the next point. I was very pleased to hear that our cruise was cancelled. In terms of the safety of our guests, the flexibility available to us to provide them remedies and our ability to provide the correct cruise experience, cancelling the cruise was the absolute right thing to do. I only wish that they would have done so sooner. Having said that, given how swiftly all this took place in real time, I understand why it happened the way that it did.

I have been asked why I did not unilaterally cancel the cruise. The thought crossed my mind on several occasions, but if I had done so, and there was no travel ban issued, no artists, musicians and staff would have been paid, and our ability to assist guests who did not purchase travel insurance, an alarming number quite frankly, and our future ability to produce great cruise experiences would have ended.

As it stands now, The Smooth Jazz Cruise ‘20.2 will sail from February 13-20, 2021! Our lineup is fully intact and this rescheduling will give us the opportunity to present the quality cruise experience that has made Entertainment Cruise Productions the Worldwide Leader in Live Entertainment at Sea.

There are some valuable lessons to be learned from this experience. I will share those with you over time. Granted that this situation may be unique, but several inequities popped up, some of which I find perplexing.

Did you know that you can listen to dozens of the conversations that have taken place on our jazz cruises? Our Jazz Cruise Conversations podcast series features interviews with many of the great artists who have sailed with us in the last two years. 

We just kicked off our second season with conversations from our 2020 cruises, as well as a special episode featuring Blue Note at Sea ’21 headliner Chris Botti and Blue Note at Sea Co-Host Don Was. Every Tuesday morning we’ll post a new episode. Some of the artists you’ll hear from in the next few months are Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Kamasi Washington, Gregory Porter, Candy Dulfer, Joey DeFrancesco, Catherine Russell, Ramsey Lewis, Melody Gardot, Arturo Sandoval and many more. Our extraordinary interviewers include Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, John Clayton, Mark Ruffin, Eulis Cathey, Dick Golden, Alonzo Bodden and others.

The episodes are edited, produced and hosted by our own Lee Mergner and feature theme music by Marcus Miller. You can find the episodes wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify, as well as on each of our own websites. Subscribe to get the latest episode and you can also go back and listen to some amazing past episodes as well.