2008 ABA Cruise Report
The Golden Princess left dock in Los Angeles/San Pedro on Saturday, January 26th, for the Third Annual American Bop Association Cruise. This year’s ports included Puerta Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas, along the coastline of the “Mexican Riviera.”
Gary Chaney and Maureen Bradley taking a break
Cruise week started off early with a big Friday night dance party at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro for over 200 dancers. There, the cruisers enjoyed mixing with old friends, making new ones, dancing, and grazing on the complimentary hors d’oeuvres. The fantastic duo of Maureen Bradley and Bob Ratke also handed out specially designed cruise shirts, ABA pins, and lanyards to be used for identification and entrance into the ABA’s daily onboard events.
The ABA was represented by nearly 400 cruisers, or the equivalent of lots of folks who swing dance (think about 1/5 of the cruise population!) and with the ability to set the tone for the cruise. Wherever you went, you ran into ABA cruisers – pool, sundeck, spa, sea, or shore – proudly wearing their 2008 lanyard and carrying dance shoes. Altogether, there were boppers from 29 organizations, some not even in the Bop Association, and the cruise was a hit with every one of them.
Two great lady DJs getting together. DJ Party Doll (Arlene Waschke of the Chicago Jitterbug Club) and Joanne Johnson swap stories during the ABA Cruise.
ABA President, Gary Chaney, Maureen, and Bob supervised cocktail parties, dance lessons, and open dancing both day and evening either on-deck or in our own shipboard hangout (the beautiful Vista Lounge). Handling the duties as DJs were some of the best in our dance world: Linda Huebner (St. Louis), Larry Huff (Birmingham, AL), Joanne Johnson (Charlotte, NC), Harold Martin (Nashville), Bud Waters (St. Louis), and Larry Wheelis (St. Louis). And if you think these are great names, check out this list of instructors and ABA Hall of Famers: Bill Breithaupt & Gail Planer (St. Louis), Gary & Charlotte Chaney St. Louis), Tony & Myra Griemel (St. Louis), John & Shirley Krauss (Nashville), Bill Smith & Ro Moehlenkamp (Lake of the Ozarks, MO), and Jim & Virginia Stanton (Hot Springs, AR). All offered first-rate lessons in everything from East to West Coast Swing, Imperial Swing, Swag, River Waltz, and fun line dances! If you don’t know about the Funky Chicken (Canadian style), you haven’t a clue about what you missed!
Students enjoying Jim & Virginia Stanton’s lesson
When one considers the occasions and locations that provide these teachers and musical artists a venue for their talent, having a group of them on a cruise, at the same time, one must acknowledge the leadership of Gary Chaney and Linda Huebner for their organizational abilities. Just Cruisin’ deserves an honorable mention, too. Maureen and Bob planned some sensational private beachside events, shepherded us about, kept tabs, and were available at all functions for questions and answers, assistance, and even served as bouncers! Their contribution was immeasurable, and I can’t wait to see what they plan for 2009.
Next year, the ABA returns to the Caribbean. This time the Princess will head further east than previous trips. We’ll be leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and cruising to Princess Cay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Turks & Caicos. Maybe we’ll run into a movie star or two!
With such a great itinerary, dancing, workshops, etc., another large contingent of ABA people, the trip should be a hot item and something to look forward to so as to get us through another cold winter. Even if you’ve visited some of the islands, you still can’t beat the annual ABA Cruise. It’s a great winter vacation at a reasonable price that also helps your home club raise money. Start getting your group together now – I have it on good authority that cruise sign-up week (with $100 deposits) will be here shortly.
