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Music Boat - Day 4

Today was our day at sea.. a chance to sleep in and relax with new friends we've made. We sailed along Cuba watching the shadows of the land from a distance for quite some time. Artists who had been performing on the Music Boat had their opportunity to lay out on the sun deck and take in some sun before returning to land and regular touring.
Premier Christian Cruises offered a gift incentive to anyone who booked their stateroom for next year (payment plan available) giving Music Boat 2011 guests first dibs. 250 cabins were booked so I imagine 2012 will fill up fast (already confirmed for next year: Sanctus Real, Brandon Heath, Mandisa, Classic Petra, and many more top Christian artists!
After one final dinner with the servers serenading us farewell, it was concert time once again. First, Pastor Tom Richter (of New Hope church in Queens, NY) delivered a message (very dynamic speaker!) and artist Jared Emerson painted a portrait of Jesus to music which was auctioned off immediately following for $6,000 (for World Hope) then Israel Houghton and New Breed hit the stage. I always love seeing them live! And they really brought the house down. Brandon Heath followed with his third concert this week... fans just can't seem to get enough of him!
From there, all 2,000 guests gathered on the main sun deck sitting on the edge of the pools, in chairs, on loungers with a blanket.. all to be part of the Farewell Concert to close out this memorable experience. A return appearance from Heather Williams, Bellarive (a new band from Florida) and Israel & New Breed once again. .. We could've gone all night, but I bet all the artists were spent. When the concert ended, the party wasn't over.. the bitter-sweet celebration moved into the casual dining area where the late-night snacks (it was now almost 1:00am) were pizza, ice cream, deli sandwiches and French fries (it felt a bit like our last night at summer camp).
We realized we needed to debark the ship when it arrived in Miami Port at 8:00am so we decided to get some sleep. We said our goodbyes to new friends we made, exchanged phone numbers and Facebook info, and returned to our cozy stateroom for one last time (the beds were really comfortable, by the way).
Imagine taking a regular cruise that isn't chartered by Christians.. The empty casino's would be full at all hours, the music on the deck would be secular party music instead of top current Christian Contemporary, and there would be a lot less for the kids to do. Again, a great way for families to vacation (and singles too!).
A shout out one more time to CHRI listeners who joined me!
More photos to come...

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