The Best Moments of The 80s Cruise 2025!

March 27, 2025

Was it all a dream?! For seven days and nights, we left our problems and politics (save for the random Reagan/Bush tee) on the mainland and took Eddie Murphy’s advice, literally partying all the time — and we looked pretty awesome while doing it. (I’m especially looking at you, couple who used yellow yolk to “glue” halved egg shells over your eyes in order to get the bugged-out looks of Homer and Marge Simpson!)

Below are some of my favorite big and small moments on The 80s Cruise. Please keep in mind that I didn’t see every show, try my luck in the casino or do the silent disco this year. Oh well, there’s always 2026!

For me, prom is always memorable, but this year, when DJ Travis Bell played the Gen X anthem “Don’t You Forget About Me,” I was verklempt. From the balcony I marveled at the sea of age-less, phone-less folks on the dance floor below, singing along to every word and punching the air in unison at the appropriate moment: “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!” People danced like no one was watching on TikTok because, well, no one was watching on TikTok — or Instagram, or Facebook. Everyone was living in the moment, and it was one of unabashed joy and unity. All that mattered was the music. Similarly, there were times when I was busting moves at Christopher J.’s late-night party, and watching the crowd be wowed by Brian Wilk and Brad Heron’s dueling piano-playing, that I caught myself thinking, “People back home have no idea how special this is.” For real: You had to be there! It wasn’t just Fat Tuesday — in every waking minute on the cruise we laissez les bon temps roulez! (Or, to quote The Cars, we “let the good times roll”!)

The hoard of Helen Ropers returned in 2025 in even greater numbers to pub-crawl on the promenade; Meanwhile a Flamingo Flash Mob second-lined (it’s a New Orleans thing!) around the top deck in all their Bubble Yum-colored glory. These events are completely cruiser-conceived and carried out, but someone at ECP might’ve gotten the memo. How else to explain this year’s pretty-in-pink, official 80s Cruise t-shirt?! By the way, to get on board with what the cruiser crew has planned for 2026, join the unofficial 80s Cruise Meet and Greet group on Facebook.

We learned A LOT about the relationships of Downtown Julie Brown and husband Martin, Erasure’s Andy Bell and husband Steven, and Larry the Duck and wife Suzanne. Chalk it up to those backstages shots of Patron! This needs to be a recurring event.

After taking a year off (that’s code for nobody asked me to do it in ’24), I delighted in rejoining Steve Spears and Brad Williams for the best costume contest I’ve ever witnessed. How, how, how do you cruisers top yourselves year after year?! Oh, the details! Milli Vanilli cradled their Grammy. The McDonald’s crew served up original 1980s-era Happy Meals. The Airplane characters brought an inflatable Otto! And the Swatches brought it, period!

I cannot un-see the two guys ordering drinks at the bar while dressed as tutu-ed, water-skiing Go-Gos’s on “Vacation” during Video Killed the Radio Star night. Thanks, dudes, for my favorite photo.

Tiffany dancing up a storm at another act’s show in Studio B. Members of Information Society playing a board game in the library. Carol Decker of T’Pau, drink in hand, checking out Men At Work. Sheila E. entering the Pop Icon contest dressed as…Sheila E.! How I love seeing artists in the wild! And how about Clive Farringdon of 2024 cruise act When in Rome returning as a passenger, then getting on stage to sing his song “The Promise” with cover band The Reflexx?!

Thank you to everyone who stood in line so I could sign their copy of my book, Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s. Each cruise, this is a cherished time for me, when I get to meet and greet cruisers old and new. Among the latter was an autistic man on his first 80s Cruise with his sister and mother. It was a delight and my honor to meet them, and to hear how much the music of our favorite decade means to them as a family. His sister told me that whenever he’s stressed, Nile Rodgers’ opening guitar riff from “China Girl” calms him down. Hopefully, she can tell Nile that story herself when Chic plays the cruise in ’26!

I also loved hosting the Taste of Royal Caribbean — and crashing Mark Goodman’s special sushi lunch…Seeing the Seniors walking the ship in their caps and gowns…Introducing Andy Bell from Erasure on the last night with my fellow hosts, Alan Hunter, Larry the Duck, Mark Goodman and Downtown Julie Brown, then singing my heart out to every single song…Singing a “Grease 2” song with the Pink Ladies in the Pop Icon contest…Seeing a t-shirt that read “Make America Wang Chung Again”…

Sharing a bottle of wine with Pete Byrne from Naked Eyes…Perusing all the decorated doors (and graciously accepting the swag)…Laughing until I cried with Corinne, my cabin-mate/bestie from high school…Eating pizza on the promenade whenever I damn well pleased…Marveling at the sheer number of hits by Squeeze…Wishing I could be the Marie Antoinette behind the drums at Adam Ant, Jola…Turning on the TV to see what JT Watters has in store for us today…Cheering for the 2026 line-up, including the return of Berlin!…Plus, many, many more!

Whether it was your first voyage or you’re already counting down to the next, one thing is certain—The 80s Cruise is more than a trip; it’s a full-throttle experience you’ll never forget. Until next time, we can’t wait to see you on The 80s Cruise Year 10 in 2026!