Calling all fans of Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy fans…particularly if you live in the Baltimore area…or can get there easily!

It’s getting down to the wire but here’s still a week left – you can still make a reservation and come with us on the cruise!

Author Sharon Rich will be on hand to answer questions.  If you have questions about the lives or films of Jeanette MacDonald or Nelson Eddy, you can get your questions answered. We will also watch New Moon, Sweethearts and Rose Marie along with rare private footage and interviews with people that knew Jeanette or Nelson.

Escape the cold winter weather and sail to the Bahamas with us!

Right now there are still inside cabins and some suites available. The ship is nearly sold out but you can still go if you want to, and at a good price.

You must book with our group, via our website. You will also get $100 per cabin shipboard credit to spend!

At the Jeanette MacDonald Nelson Eddy cruise website you can the registration form and we’ll call you immediately to get your cabin booked with Carnival. If you are a U.S. citizen you can bring adrivers license AND birth certificate.  Your passport or new passport card will work fine as well.

If you are a fan and want a last-minute trip this month, join us!

Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy fans: Click here to see the entire cruise gear line of Jeanette and Nelson shirts, mugs, tote bags and other items! You don’t have to be actually joining us on this year’s cruise to be with us in spirit!

Nelson Eddy & Jeanette MacDonald in their first Technicolor film, Sweethearts (1938)

Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy fans…join us on our second annual Valentines Week cruise. If you’re a singer, bring your sheet music and join our talent night! If you have some memories to share, you can be interviewed on-camera for an upcoming documentary!

TCM’s press release on the event can be read at the link.

Carnival Pride Inside Cabin sample

Just a reminder! If you are interested in joining us on our Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy cruise but have not yet made a reservation, please fill in the registration form at this link today. A $250 deposit will hold the current cabin price for you and final payment is not due until November.

We are now at the point where we have just about filled our first block of rooms and have to inform Carnival as to how many and what type of cabins we still might need for our cruise!

So – Let us know if you need a roommate or have any other cruise questions. These issues can be sorted out in the next week or so – the main urgency is for you to freeze your cabin price.

PS: If you know someone that is interested in the cruise but has not yet reserved, please alert them that they should get their reservation form filled out ASAP.

Link to all the cruise information!

If you sing, bring your sheet music and join our talent night show!

I have updated the “fyi” section to answer your questions, and the online registration form is at the link.

Link

Carnival Pride

Ahoy Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Fans!

We have finalized plans for our 2010 Valentine’s week cruise – a 7-day on the Carnival Pride, sailing from Baltimore, MD. Date: February 7-14, 2010!

I have set up a separate informational website with all the cruise details in one place. You also need to make your reservations there – fill in the registration form online. A $25 deposit will hold your cabin. The cruise website: http://www.maceddy.com/cruise.

Your reservations need to be made in the next week or so, to get the prices that are quoted on that website.

Last time, the Convention Fee was combined into the overall price. This time, we will collect the convention fee separately on our main website, at this link.  We will process your cruise payments for you directly to Carnival.

We are excited about putting this cruise together ourselves, and definitely want your input about which 3 films to show, talent night and any other activities you’d like to do during our time together.

Link

Let me say that we knew the Valentines’ Week Cruise would be wonderful but it apparently surpassed everyone’s expectations because by the second day, folks were already asking when the NEXT one would be scheduled!

We had planned to screen three full-length movies but I brought a lot of other “short subjects” just in case. It was a good idea, since it quickly became evident that three days of Mac/Eddy events planned was not enough for our gang. Many of them had been on several cruises and had no interest in the port excursions. Others were physically unable to participate in excursions. And even those that went on excursions wanted more Mac/Eddy time! So, we arranged for a private lounge to set up more morning screenings on port days. The ship was pleasantly empty those days and so it was more leisurely for us! After meals, some folks met up in a somewhat quiet area of the Lido dining room to continue chatting and visiting. We learned a lot about each other’s lives, dreams and goals.

K.T. Ernshaw’s talk was an eye-opener for the group, most of whom had never met her before. She was especially candid and answered questions that she had not previously discussed on a public forum. As soon as I can figure out how to get the video uploaded, I’ll let you know the link so you can watch it.

For many, meeting Ms. Ernshaw was a highlight. There is no better way to “research” for yourself whether Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy had an off-screen relationship than to talk to one of their friends, who was there in those years, and actually discussed it with Nelson at the time. In fact, Ms. Ernshaw’s decision to leave the U.S. and study acting in London was based in no small part on the fact that by 1949, Nelson was going through emotional turmoil with Jeanette and there looked to be no end in real future with Nelson. His life was too tangled emotionally. So apparently Ms. Ernshaw finally headed to London the following year without knowing that the Jeanette-Nelson breakup was “final.” Ms. Ernshaw was a young woman with her life ahead of her…would she have left America for 8 years had she known that Jeanette was soon to be out of the picture…at least, for the time being?

If I may digress for a moment, that is why I find it particularly sad that some folks questioning the Jeanette-Nelson relationship, didn’t avail themselves of the opportunity to meet Ms. Ernshaw. Hallie Neill, who coordinated and booked our cruise, later told me that one woman contacted her, saying that she and others were interesting in joining the cruise but could the part about the Jeanette-Nelson relationship be left out? These are the same folks that loudly proclaim there is no documentation or evidence that any Jeanette-Nelson affair ever happened, or that none of my sources are alive and therefore I made up all the quotes, etc., etc.

The musical production of “A Scandalous Affair” as an eye opener as well. The cruise group director saw one rehearsal and realized this was a class act with excellent singers. She immediately began to help us promote the show on the ship, informing a senior’s group and others about the show which took place on Thursday afternoon. In a lounge that held 400 or so people, it was very well attended. Afterwards one woman came up to tell me that this was the best event she’d attended on the entire cruise! I asked her to pass that on to the cruise group director who was standing right there – and she did. Brownie points for us – it was a real success!

That evening, we adjourned from dinner to another lounge for a book signing and CD signing (of “A Scandalous Affair”). It had been a long day with a screening of “Maytime” in the morning, the show’s rehearsal, the show itself, and me typing up programs and other notes on my laptop that had to be printed for the show. I sat by myself for a few minutes in the lounge before our group started trooping in. It was one of the few moments I had to sit quietly by myself. Awhile later Hallie and Ted joined me. Hallie was at last able to relax, with the show behind her. We talked about all the hard work it took to put the cruise together. We watched our group now filling the room, sitting together, chatting and laughing, good friends now.  I watched people that had been very shy at the beginning now outgoing and beaming…just a pleasure to observe. Hallie and I discussed it and decided yes, this trip was really worth it.

Our last day at sea, Saturday, Darryl Winston worked with the other singers and put together an entertaining show of singing, comedy and anecdotes. He himself was a bit under the weather, suffering from an allergic reaction that gave him sinus problems. But always a trouper, he rose above it and sang a few numbers along with singers Maria Nazarenko, Carrie Renwick and Liz Wells. We will upload this show for you as well to watch.

Raymond Hughes, the excellent Metropolitan Opera pianist, accompanied both musical shows. He was not really a Mac/Eddy fan before the cruise. He had also never seen “Maytime,” so we all joked that he was a “Maytime” virgin. (He loved it, obviously.) After watching the films and asking questions along with everyone else, it wasn’t long before he felt compelled to read “Sweethearts.” Took it back to his cabin and later told me he stayed up half the night reading it and couldn’t put it down. For me, that was a validation that Jeanette and Nelson still sell themselves as artists – all one needs to do is watch a movie or two and you’re hooked! The off-screen story just adds to the interest.

One exciting outcome of the cruise was Hallie was a connection made that would allow “A Scandalous Affair” to have its New York City debut on April 19. There’s more exciting news about this but this post is lengthy enough so…watch for an from me tomorrow morning. In fact, there’s a lot going on right now, so stay tuned!

We’re having a great time…watching Jeanette and Nelson films, singing and preparing our talent show with the singers on our cruise, and just hanging out, swapping stories and eating 10 meals a day whether we need to or not!

I’m enjoying seeing that some of the first-time cruisers who were a bit timid on the first day – are now “part of the group” – laughing and making new friends. It’s just as I hoped it would be!

More updates and posting of photos later…or when we return. The internet connection is V-E-R-Y  slow onboard so may wait till Sunday to give you pix. I have to say, it is a wonderful thing seeing Jeanette and Nelson on the big screen on a cruise ship. But very, very satisfying!!!!!!!

Talk to you soon.

Sharon

Here is the updated schedule of events for the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy cruisers!

Feb 8 (Sun) Hospitality Desk 2:00 – 4:00 pm on the Lido deck in front of the glass elevators, 9th floor, for meet and greet, goodie bags and ID’s.

We will set up another short orientation meeting for everyone after dinner to coordinate the week’s events. Those wanting to sing on talent night will meet with Darryl Winston to help put together the talent show program and schedule rehearsal time.

Feb 9 (Mon) Lecture/Film 10:00 am to 1:00 in the London Dining Room. Film: Naughty Marietta. Sharon Rich will speak and answer questions.

Monday night is the Captain’s Formal Night – -all are invited.

Feb 10 (Tues) Ocho Rios

Feb 11 (Wed) Grand Cayman

Feb 12 (Thurs) Lecture/Film 10:00 am – 1:00 in the London Dining Room. Movie clips, special short subjects and filmed interviews will be screened. Guest speakers are Sharon Rich and K.T. Ernshaw, close confidante of Nelson Eddy. This is also the time for folks to share scrapbooks or memorabilia and tell personal stories.

A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR show is 4:00 – 6:00 pm in the Club Rio Lounge (this event is open to the public).

Book and CD signing/sale is in the Venezia Lounge 8:00-10:00 pm (open to the public).

Feb 13 (Fri) Cozumel

Feb 14 (Sat) Lecture/Film 10:00 am – 1:00 in the London Dining Room. Film: Maytime.

Talent Show and Sing-a-long screening of Rose Marie in Club Rio at 8:00 – 11:00pm.

Dinners for the group are set for 6:00 PM each night.

The schedule is still subject to revisions…stay tuned!