Who are the "legends" that will be appearing? the real thing - or just a bunch of cover groups?

Made me look.

None of those bands are the least bit interesting to me.

Ugh. Too many old washed up/reformulated bands, too much booze.

Looks like the cheap berths are selling out. Better hurry.

Just curious if anyone had actually been on one...

Why was my post removed.. Do you only want negative comments on here? I Just was telling everyone what a wonderful cruise it is.. SMH !

Nina_Z: It appears the monitors thought you were advertising since 5 brand new members registered one after after the other to post glowing reviews.

If you weren't advertising - you can click the triangle next to your name and the monitors can probably re-place your post (what they take away they can reinstate if they think it is legit)

oops-that should read >>one right after the other<<

I am in no way affiliated with this cruise or the cruise line, just a passionate fan. Please reinstate my comments

Yall might be busy for awhile, I know about 2-3000 people that can put in glowing reviews for this cruise - yes it is THAT GOOD!

I am in no way affiliated with the cruise.. I just heard through friends that negative comments were being said about it and I wanted to set everyone straight. I am a big fan of all the bands on this cruise and had the time of my life on last years.I frequently go on music cruises and regular cruises and was pleased with every aspect of last years Rock Legends Cuise. i would like my previous post reinstated. if not.. I will just say.. yes.. I was on last years.. and yes.. I wouldn`t miss January`s for the world.

janisj - Lake Como, Scotland & Jersey - quite a coincidence. Contact me on bladnoch@gmail.com if you want to know why these three places are connected!

Ah, thank you JanisJ; I see where that might look a bit funny to have 5 new members post immediately. I agree with Nina though, we (RLC1/RLC2 cruisers) heard through the grapevine that a "somewhat" negative comment was posted on here, and being the passionate fans that we are, we rallied to defend our favorite cruise. We are not "advertising" but, in reality any "recommending post" on any topic is a slight form of advertising isn't it? Cruise On and Rock On!

The grapevine? Sounds odd, but hey, rock on.

At NewbE - lol. Believe it or not, those of us who met on RLC1 and communicated via a "Discussion Forum" (such as those on here); dubbed ourselves "D.F.ers" for Discussion Forumers and created a Facebook page so we could all keep in touch with each other. That is how word spread about this topic on Fodors.

I hadn't heard of Fodors before, but when I read Jayne1973's post asking if anyone had done one of these cruises before, well - I had; so I replied. Unfortunately, the moderator removed my post. C'est la vie.

We went on RLC1. We had the time of our lives. So much fun. As soon as they announced RLCII we booked that day AND this time we are bringing 8 more people with us. Rock Legends Cruise II really needs to be on your bucketlist!

If you've never been to a concert in the middle of the ocean, on a warm breezy night, on one of the finest ships in the world, sharing a drink and a huge smile with 3000 new friends then you aren't living life to the fullest.

As far as some one saying "washed up performers", thats just wrong. These are talened artists (rock legends)that so many people love. "

And yet the first-time glowing tout posters continue to post.

Based on prior experiences with first-time tout posters, this cruise is advertising heavily and should be avoided at all costs for violating posting board rules.

One should also consider whether you want to give your money to a company that encourages fraud on such a small scale. Not a good way to do business.

My wife and I were on Rock Legends Cruise the first, as an anniversary gift to ourselves. We had access to the bands (I personally sat with guitarist Bryan Bassett (Foghat), and his wife, watching George Thorogood & the Destroyers), and met so many people who have become fast friends. The charity involved with this cruise is top-flight as well, making these cruises well worth the time. We will be on board for RLC II,...can't stop rockin'!!

@ Marginal - Please understand that the first RLC cruise is the FIRST and ONLY cruise I have ever been on; yes - at 53 years old; first one. Didn't even have a passport till then. So, I'm curious, how am I committing fraud?

I admit to being a new poster on here so I haven't read through the other forums. Is it so unusual to have people praise something they really liked? Or are the typical responses on here negative reviews?

Is it so hard for you to believe that so many people could all have a positive experience on a cruise? If you think we are all "fake", visit our FB page and see where many of us continue to make plans to attend concerts together, visit each other, and countdown the days to when we will all be together on our next cruise adventure. No sir! Not fraud - just friendship, fellowship and fun.

Try it; you just might like it.

We are not fools you guys.

We see this sort of crap all the time.

Any company that has to find touts to advertise is not worthy of anyone's trust.

@ Jayne1973 who started this topic; if you enjoy classic rock, I feel you would enjoy this cruise and I'd be pleased to meet you. Please look up the RLC DFer group on FB for more information and updates.

@Marginal

tout (tout) v. tout·ed, tout·ing, touts v.intr.
1. To solicit customers, votes, or patronage, especially in a brazen way.

As I am an office manager living and working in Upstate, South Carolina, I'm not sure how my posting in this forum is soliciting customers, votes or patronage for the EP&C company I work for. I, nor my company, stand to benefit from this "touting".

However, I know I will not win this argument with you. I would like to "un-tout" this cruise as far as you are concerned. You would not like it, I don't encourage you to go; in fact I really, really don't want you to go. As for joining Fodors.com for the first time today - thanks to you, Member Marginal, I will not bother to peruse any more of this website. If first-timers are subjected to such ridicule by the long-standing members, I don't want to be a part of this "club".

Too bad, there are probably a lot of nice people posting on all sorts of interesting subjects - except for you of course. SMH - it must suck to be you.

Hi Jayne1973,

I am not affiliated with this cruise or cruise line but wanted to make sure that you got your concerns addressed. The sites that I'll add below are for your reference and information only.

I was on this cruise last year so if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them but first let's make sure we are talking about the right cruise.

There were two "Rock Legends" cruises last year and it looks like there will be two again this year.

The "Legends of Rock" is currently at www.nittanytravel.com 2-10-2013

The "Rock Legends Cruise" is at www.rocklegendscruise.com 1-10-2013

I went on the latter so I can help with that one only.

In regards to some of the other comments on here, the current lineup of all of the bands and their Bio's are posted on the website above. So if you see Bachman & Turner on the site, there should be no confusion as to who you will see and no possibility of fraud.

I'm 54 so unfortunately, many of my "Rock Legends" have moved on to bigger stages. This leaves the remaining members to make a living without them and they are in no way trying to deceive you into thinking that they are the whole original band. They are just trying to keep the music that they helped to create and love alive and feed their families with the job that they know and love. I fully support them for that.

Regarding the cruise itself, it is a charted cruise. That means that the whole ship is dedicated to this one event and the activities on-board are managed by the charter, in this case, the Native American Heritage Association. You can find out more at their site: www.naha-inc.org. Part of your ticket on this cruise will be donated to them and you will receive a charitable deduction receipt for your US taxes.

I have been on several cruises and traveled around the world and if you love 70's and 80's classic and southern rock, you will love this cruise as I did. Many, not all of the artists will be mingling with the crowd and if treated with respect, will be happy to talk with you and have a picture made.

The ship, Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas is a newer ship that is just beautiful. You can see the ship at www.royalcaribbean.com. A few of the ships normal attractions were not available because of the stage locatios etc. but I didn't miss anything. Stages? Oh yes, there were three full time stages with bands on them pretty much non-stop from around 1pm to whenever. Sometimes as late as 4am -ish.

I would be wary of any negative comments from posters that were not on the cruise. Some people just refuse to let others enjoy themselves.

I have already booked my cabin for next year and I hope to see you there.

Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have.

So 9 first-time posters on this thread and it's just a coincidence?

Go tout on CruiseCritic.

Buyer beware.

@ Marginal

I'm sorry but I didn't realize that you had to be a member since 2008 for your opinion to count.

No it's not just a coincidence.

Just to help ease your (suspicious) mind, one of our members on the http://www.facebook.com/groups/212556962145877/ group thought that we could help by sharing our experience on the cruise. That was Jayne's question wasn't it? And prior to our input, no-one had been on it and the only posts that were being offered were ones like yours from people who knew NOTHING about the subject. No less, no more.

Sorry if you feel intimidated or deceived by a few of us who were actually on the cruise and who gain nothing but possibly a new friend by telling someone else about it.

I guess, as a new member on Fodors, that I don't understand your defensiveness. What is there for the buyer to be aware of? Do you get a lot of people on here that lie about a cruise just to get you to go on it and be disappointed? Have you been duped into falling for one of these "touts" or are you just protecting the rest of the Fodors forum?

Advertising in all it's forms is prohibited on Fodors, and other posting boards.

Rock Legends Cruise I was the best vacation my wife and I have EVER had; and that's after 43 years together. Great music, food, fantastic ship, and fellow cruisers. As soon as RLC II opened we booked.
All indications are 1/13 will be as good or better. Most of the band members on the first cruise were enjoying the music of others and mingling with the people on board - a gig (vacation) they could have fun with too.
We've recruited 3 more couples to join us this year and have been looking forward to it for 7 months, so far.

I went on the one last year. It was my first cruise ever, and I had the time of my life!! I was on board a beautiful ship watching the most awesome southern rock bands non-stop the entire cruise. I met some of the most dear people I now consider my tribe....all of us are going again! The bands were a lot more relaxed than at other venues....you ate breakfast with them, drank beer with them, then went and watched their shows! I booked the one coming up the VERY DAY NAHA announced it. And to think. You can do the right thing by helping the Native American Heritage Association, and by doing so have more fun than you can even imagine! You should book now: http://www.rocklegendscruise.com
Peace, and hope to see you there! --Nanci

I followed the link to the Facebook page. Here's one of the posts there - "Rock Legends Cruise sorry guys, but thanks. I just wanted them to know about us, geez." "Rock Legends Cruise" is pretty clear about wanting to advertise here on Fodors. In RLC's own words ^

And "Jayne" appears to be "Rock Legends Cruise" on that Facebook page. Pure advertising, confirmed by the Facebook page -
Rock Legends Cruise

Can you help me? I know I am a needy soul.

Legends of Rock Cruise | United States Forum | Fodor's Travel Talk Forums
www.fodors.com
Has anyone here done one of these? I heard one advertised on the radio yesterday. It leaves from Fort Lauderdae in January. I was intrigued... Posted in the United States forum.

Share · 12 hours ago.

Stephanie Calcavecchio I just posted on Fodor's so hopefully that will clear up some of the mystery for those poor lost souls...

12 hours ago..

Rock Legends Cruise Thank you so much, I love our passengers. I say help & they are on it!

I have recently seen Molly Hatchet & they are still good, So is Charlie Daniels. I'd love to see 38 Special & who doesn't want more cowbell from Blue Oyster Cult?

OOOPs not Charlies Daniels but Marshall Tucker.

@starrs and @Marginal: Jayne is NOT Rock Legends Cruise on Facebook. RLC on FB just mentioned to cruisers from last year that this question was posted...and we responded. Many of us haven't officially registered here, tho' I have lurked on these boards before, when I plan on traveling and need some advice. Now, because of you two, I will think twice before taking anyone's advice from these boards. Obviously everything that frequent posters say is the gospel truth, and first time posters lie. -sigh- I am a public school teacher, I do not work for any companies or NAHA, the charity which benefits from RLC. My husband and I went on the cruise because we love live music, love rock and roll, it happened to fall on our 1st wedding anniversary, and was right before my 50th birthday. Please forgive me for planning something, enjoying it, and then spreading the word that I had a good time! -sigh-
What I have gained from this cruise: lifelong friends, a social life (again!), good friends in the bands (yes, they do mingle with us), and the knowledge that others my age do still get it that live music is amazing, and enhances our lives! If you don't get it, please do not presume that you know what's best for others. The question was, does anyone know about the cruise. We do. We were on the boat. You weren't. Case closed. None of us work, or were recruited to advertise, as you put it, for RLC. RLC doesn't make money on the cruise anyway-the charity Native American Heritage Foundation (rated A+) does. Do you have a problem with donating money for charities? Do you have a problem with helping others? Then please do not come on the cruise. We are there to have a great time, and we don't need pessimistic, paranoid people to spoil our good times. Jayne-hope to see you there, and if you do register, please join us on Facebook. We would welcome you with open arms.

@Marginal,...and therefore @Fodor's,...it's a cryin' shame, that those of us who actually bought tickets to, went, on ENJOYED, and come here to talk about, get deleted on what seems to be the regular, by Fodor's admins, yet every NEGATIVE post by this 'Marginal', who obviously IS, in ALL aspects, just as his tag suggests (yep, read this fast, folks, it calls him out yet again),...marginal. I have no memory of any persons on board this cruise package who had totally bad experiences (I will say that yes, there were folks who said that they expected more from the formal sit-down dinners,...but this is the only complaint I heard). What I have to say, in reference to the original question from Jayne, is, that YES, these bands are the actual touring article, not 'bar- or cover-bands, and YES, they make themselves accessible to you, the passenger, and YES, it is a once-in-a-lifetime type experience, and YES, I firmly believe @Marginal to be a stick-in-the-mud- horse's-patoot. Delete away,...after all, Marginal gets to TOUT his/her opinions, without supervisory edit,...it's just US--the happy repeat customers--who are deleted.

Well philateech, I'm guessing that as a public school teacher you'd be wondering too (or in your words, pessimistic and paranoid) if a dozen of your students turned in work on the same topic at the same time. Fodors is a good place. I checked and confirmed that jayne and I had discussed travel plans in the past (note the thank you from Jayne) http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/need-atlanta-midtown-hotel-help.cfm. Thanks for the additional information, but it doesn't change the fact that Jaynce posted a question on Fodors about a fairly obscure question, and then this popped up on the Facebook fan page

Rock Legends Cruise
Can you help me? I know I am a needy soul.
Legends of Rock Cruise | United States Forum | Fodor's Travel Talk Forums
www.fodors.com
Has anyone here done one of these? I heard one advertised on the radio yesterday. It leaves from Fort Lauderdae in January. I was intrigued... Posted Call us "pessimistic, paranoid people" if you like. There's a very good reason to doubt the coincidence. Oh, wait. As one of the fans said above "No it's not just a coincidence." We (folks at Fodors) welcome folks with open arms as well. Not necessarily when when there's reason to suspect a setup. I'm sure you can understand that.

OK -- all you Rock Legends acolytes who have posted on this thread (including the ones who were nuked and didn't come back):

Your 'strategy' is totally backfiring. "Rock Legends Cruise Thank you so much, I love our passengers."

It is obvious Rock Legends solicited you to register and post here about how WONDERFUL/Hunky Dory the cruise is. Maybe it is, maybe not. But spamming a thread is not the way to make friends or influence people.

OK, @janisj,..believe what you wanna believe. Came on here to respond to a question about a cruise I had personal (and, in this case, really good) experience with. If you and marginal choose to ignore my recommendations, so be it. Our experience was as amazing as we say it was. I'm not any kind of TOUT, or anyone who is affiliated in anyway other than as 'satisfied customer', with the Rock Legends Cruise. Thank you.

Bill, you were sent here by "Rock Cruise Legends" on a Facebook fan page. The link to the thread was provided on that Facebook page. As janis wrote "It is obvious Rock Legends solicited you to register and post here..." If one person posted, it wouldn't have been noticed. When about a dozen people show up to register and post at the same time, it's noticed. You found your way here - no, you were given a link to here - via a request that said "Can you help me? I know I am a needy soul (Rock Cruise Legends)". That's solicitation.

I went and read the FB fan page due to a link from another thread here discussing the sudden promotion going on here. I don't cruise, I don't listen to that much oldie music (except when the whim hits for nostalgia) and so I don't have any strong feelings on the company either way.

But as an observer, and an someone who uses social media, I don't actually get the sense that this group is directly in contact with or representing the company in question. I think they just got to know each other on a party cruise and stay in touch. That's nice.

One thing to think about though. Most of us are sort of devout travellers with a lot of miles on us. And we're used to sorting out good from bad and applying our own tastes. We can see if we're getting advice we can use or just a random opinion. And if a bunch of people sign on as a blitz from a fan site, one thing you're missing: people who *didn't* enjoy the cruise probably didn't go join your group. I could be wrong but surely everyone you've ever seen on a cruise isn't now in your FB group, are they? So by setting us straight, you as devoted fans are still only able to relate one side... valuable though the opinion may be. (the the tradition here is to offer a bit more than variations of "It rocks!!! Ahhhh!!"

The reason, as has been said, for the suspicion is that like your own, this is a *community* who enjoys each other's company (sometimes) as well as talks travel. It's not about whether you're good enough to post or anything... but some posting in this thread haven't ever contributed anything at all to our community, but want to use it to be heard all the same. For a very specific purpose. So that, of course, is going to put a few people off. I imagine you wouldn't appreciate if it was the other way around.. bunch of people all joining your FB group to talk about Fodors. Maybe anyway. You might think it was kind of strange. But if you wanted into the community, saw some value in it besides what you could "defend" (in other words, do battle)... and liked to talk about cruises or other kinds of travel, then sure... people will see what you're about.

I hope that happens. Seems like a fun group who likes they're form of travel.

It is a shame y'all are looking at this like we are trying to advertise. A groups of us became friends on the cruise, and part of that group is the wonderful people at NAHA that put the cruise on last time. The cruise opened my eyes to the needs of the Native Americans, and I have been doing what I can since the cruise to help them. I am not affiliated in any way with them, except that I love them and the cause.
I am not well-traveled....at least from a cruise perspective...so I can see where my comments might be dismissed. Maybe it was a fluke of nature, but I met some of the most amazing people on that cruise that I continue to keep in contact with (almost daily!) It was all about love, peace, and rock and roll. If you aren't in to any of those things, you will have a miserable time on board and should stay away so as not to spoil the cruise for the rest of us. If you ARE into love, peace and rock and roll, then I hope to see you there!

My apologies for intruding on your forum. I saw Jayne's question pop up on my google alerts and thought it would be inappropriate for me to answer. So I asked our passengers to respond to Jayne's question. So I guess my final answer is Jayne give me a call and I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. I don't want to "advertise" my phone number but I'm sure you can find it on the website listed above. Thank you.
Pam/NAHA

This is one big ad. I've asked the mods to remove it. Rock on.

Larry, did you ask them to remove the whole thread?

Yep.

@Clifton - thank you for taking the time to research this. I think your assessment is pretty darn close. And, no, people who did not enjoy the cruise probably are not linked to the FB page - good point (of course they may also not be members here ?)

Jayne asked if anyone had been on this type cruise and one of the first responses was:

"None of those bands are the least bit interesting to me.
Ugh. Too many old washed up/reformulated bands, too much booze.
Looks like the cheap berths are selling out. Better hurry."

That response didn't seem very constructive at all, and maybe some of us RLC faithful took offense - our bad.

In all sincerity though, I do have what I think is a valid question. If, (IF) the cruise was already sold out, and we had come on here "touting" it, would it still be considered "advertising"? I'm curious and trying to understand the rules. I may not give up on Fodors.com just yet. My family and I are considering a trip to Scotland and this may be a good site for advice.

To those who offered their insight and tried to help enlighten us "newbies", I thank you. I am not, by any means, a seasoned traveler, but I hope to be one day.

Judy - for what it's worth, we around here even argue about whether Paris was any good or not. And one of the things we (well, a lot of us) have come to learn is to distrust the "we hated it!" rant AND the breathless "nothing EVER goes wrong in the magical land of Paris" posts. Very few others are that likely to be completely swept away, even if the very positive person doesn't understand why. It helps to have some more pragmatic info - and THAT I think everyone would see was useful.

Neither really, really pro or con turn out to be as useful to a newbie as the one that says "great vibe but the sets were a bit short. Dinners pile it on but it's a little cold by the time it comes out" Stuff like that. So a slew of breathless (designed, of course, to pay homage to the folks what sent ya, but in a caring way).... well.. you probably see where the conflict came in. Also, a bit of background - travel sites like TripAdvisor are notorious for business owners loading up reviews with unrealistically favourable numbers as it is and it always turns out some hotel operator is making up logins or calling all his in-laws to stack the deck.

I see what you're saying about what you felt compelled to respond. But we could see the "it looks like" in the posts, so everyone knew it wasn't an actual testimonial or an attempt to provide a review.

bunfrey: "You can keep your janisj . . . Miserable as they are. not my type of people. miserable bastards."

Whoa! What on earth did I do??

I (nicely) explained to Nina_Z why her post was probably deleted and even told her how she could get it reinstated.

Then I posted why if the cruise is so good, it isn't such great strategy to pile on like all you FB friends did.

What was wrong w/ any of that???

(And IF your post is deleted it will only be because you cursed/personally attacked other members.)