There are so many fun ways to have a truly, unique experience while on a cruise. I’m a music lover and my favorite event is Carnival’s Carnival LIVE concert series.

On our recent sailing, we had the opportunity to see rock legends Journey perform on-board in the Venetian Palace theater, as the first Carnival LIVE 2015 concert.

What is Carnival LIVE?

On Carnival LIVE sailings, the ship has an extended stay in one port for the night of the concert. On our voyage, we were docked in St. Thomas until midnight and Journey played that night in the ship’s theater. (They were only on the ship for the concert, not the entire voyage.)

When booking a cruise, you have the opportunity to purchase concert tickets (similar to booking an excursion) along with the option to upgrade to VIP tickets, which includes meet and greets and a seat in one of the first few rows.

Depending on the artist, tickets range from $35 to $60 for general admission with VIP tickets available for $125 to $250, offering seating in the first few rows, an artist meet and greet, a souvenir photo with the artist and a commemorative concert pass.

Things to Love About Carnival LIVE

The night of the concert, we had an early dinner in the dining room with our kids and then took them to Camp Carnival for a night of fun with their friends. My husband and I stopped off for a pre-show drink at the Alchemy Bar and then made our way to the theater.

There was no need to worry about additional costs for parking, dining, transportation and childcare – it was all included within our cruise. Our concert tickets were delivered to our stateroom the night before the show and seating was on a first-come, first-serve basis. It was convenient, easy and a unique night out for us.

While we chose to have the concert as a ‘date night,’ it was neat to see teens and tweens enjoying the show with their parents. The family behind us was singing along to every word and I loved seeing them having a fun night out together.

Besides the fantastic music, it was thrilling to think we were seeing such a huge band in such an intimate setting with just over 1,000 fans. The week before our sailing, Journey played a show at our local arena with a crowd of over 15,000 people. My friends were all jealous when we got home from our cruise and I told them about our experience. We had been rocking out to “Don’t Stop Believin'” on the ship!

Experience Carnival LIVE in 2015

The 2015 Carnival LIVE lineup released thus far is set to feature quite an amazing group of performers. The spring shows include Rascal Flatts, Smokey Robinson, and STYX.

The entire 2015 list of performers is set to be released soon and I’m excited to see what big names complete the lineup for the rest of the year.

What Carnival LIVE show would you like to see?