Following the overwhelming success of the sold out 2025 voyage in only its second year, StarVista Live’s Big Easy Cruise will set sail again January 18 – 25, 2026. The ship will depart from Ft. Lauderdale and will stop in New Orleans and Cozumel, Mexico aboard the luxurious Holland America Line m/s Eurodam.
Celebrating the spirit of New Orleans music, food, culture and community, The Big Easy Cruise will feature performances by Little Feat, Samantha Fish, Galactic Ft. Jelly Joseph (*special appearance at famed club Tipitina’s while the ship is in New Orleans), Anders Osborne, Marc Broussard, Cyril Neville with Omari Neville and The Fuel, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, The Soul Rebels, Cowboy Mouth, BeauSoleil Avec Michael Doucet, George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Chubby Carrier, D.K. Harrell, John “Papa” Gros, Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band, Honey Island Swamp Band, Susan Cowsill, Helen Gillet and more for a musical gumbo of more than 75 live performances. A multitude of special activities will be experienced by all including live artist interviews and songwriter sessions, themed parties, cooking demonstrations, Burlesque shows, wine tastings and much, much more. The Big Easy Cruise is a joyous celebration of all things New Orleans at sea featuring artists across R&B, blues, rock, jazz, swamp pop, and brass bands all thoughtfully curated to deliver the sounds of the Crescent City, day and night.
“The sold out 2025 Big Easy Cruise proved to be a special voyage this past January,” says Mike Jason, President of StarVista LIVE. “Along with stops in Key West, Belize City, and Cozumel, the community of guests, artists and staff shared stunning performances, both planned and spontaneous, great music, a luxury ship, and the food, culture and non-stop parties that New Orleans is famous for.”
This year’s performers included Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Keb’ Mo’, The Allman Betts Band, Tab Benoit, Anders Osborne, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Marcia Ball, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Blind Boys of Alabama and so many more. Not only did guests revel in the musical environment, but they did so with genuine reverence for the history of New Orleans and Louisiana and the spirit of giving back to its community.
Through onboard fund-raising initiatives that included wine tastings and auctions of signed musical instruments, guests helped raise money to support important music-based non-profit organizations, such as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation (Foundation), the nonprofit organization that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell (aka Jazz Fest). The work of the Foundation is vital to New Orleans and Louisiana cultural communities with their year-round efforts made possible by the support of grants, donations, and funds raised from their numerous events. A very inspiring and moving discussion took place in front of a captivated audience that was hosted by the Foundation’s Director of Development, Jonathan Solari, and featured a panel of artists who received the great support of the Foundation as they were coming up. StarVista Live is proud to partner with the Foundation and help spread the word about their incredible ongoing mission and encourage others to do so as well. Please visit http://www.jazzandheritage.org to learn more.
Other beneficiaries of the generosity of The Big Easy Cruise guests were the Americana Music Association (AmericanaMusic.org), whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world, and the Trombone Shorty Foundation (TromboneShortyFoundation.org), which delivers a broad range of programs to the youth of New Orleans. StarVista Live and The Big Easy Cruise are honored to have partnered with these two amazing organizations to help support their missions.
For further information, please go to www.BigEasyCruise.com and sign up for the email list, follow Big Easy Cruise | Facebook or contact info@bigeasycruise.com.
