Cruise to the Edge Day 3 – Mark 6, 2026

3/6 – Day 3 – Marillion day, and the great Strawberry conundrum

The day started off simple. I took things slow, had my coffee and breakfast at the Garden Cafe buffet, and then went to the Wheel of Prog game in the atrium, which Crown Lands and Randy Mcstine at in on with host Roie Avan of The Prog Report. The game was dedicated to ranking the best epic tracks in prog, those exceeding 15 minutes in length. The winning tracks were The Gates of Delirium by Yes, Supper’s Ready by Genesis, Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull, and Tarkus by ELP. Great choices, but I was dismayed to see 2112 by Rush get downvoted to a B level rather than an A. Nonetheless, it was all in good fun. PS, the entire game is available to watch on The Prog Report’s YouTube channel!

After that, I headed up to the back of the pool area to get in line outside the Spinnaker for the photo session with Adrian Belew, Crown Lands, and, of course, my beloved Marillion. The VIP pass holders were granted access first to the photo sessions, which forced the rest of us to stand in direct sunlight for well over half an hour. That said, it was a joy finally getting to get a photo with the entire band, since Pete Trewavas was absent in 2024 due to having surgery. H pulled me in close so I could put my head on his shoulder. At the end of it, I put a gentle hand on his shoulder and took Pete’s hand for a moment, and gave each member as sincere a look of appreciation as I could.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of wandering around the ship and hanging out in the pool stage area, running into friends here and there. On a whim, I decided to attend the I Know That Song gameshow hosted by Mike Dawson, and even took the extra step to enter a raffle ticket to actually participate in the game, but I was not selected. This turned out to be for the best, though, as I would have not been able to guess the majority of the song titles. Song titles and artists were guessed based on “deadpan spoken lyrics” that Mike Dawson read out loud. I caught one that belonged to “Supper’s Ready” by Genesis, but for the most part, was glad I was not up on that stage embarrassing myself. 

 Tonight’s Marillion show  was for those with blue laminates, but, as I learned on the 2024 cruise,there is a designated spot outside the Lotus Garden restaurant on deck 8 (assuming you’re on the Norwegian Pearl like we were) where guests wishing to attend a show that isn’t their color, can line up for a chance to receive a wristband that grants them access to their show of choice, once the VIP and people with the correct colored laminates are let in first. Being near the front of the line, I was surprised that this time, a certain number of people were allowed to be in seats in the section where we had gathered at one of the balcony sections.I ended up three rows from the front of the section, but I had brought along my binoculars for this exact scenario. Sorry, but I just couldn’t stand the idea of a Marillion concert happening right above or below me and me not being there, since this cruise remains my best chance at seeing them. 

So, the show was, well, as expected, wonderful. Delightful. Before they took the stage, DJ Will came on to introduce them, and the way he did so really struck a chord with me. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, welcome to the stage, the majesty of… Marillion!” I don’t think there’s ever been a better way to build them up, so major kudos to DJ Will for such a beautiful introduction. 

My binoculars gave me as close to a front-row experience as I could get. The entire band is a joy to watch, especially H, in the way he not really “sings” the songs, but rather “performs” them. You can tell he feels every word, even when performing the older Marillion material from the Fish era. The set was heavy on their longer compositions, with the biggest surprise for me being their choice of opening song: Gaza. I’d never heard that one live before except in videos on YouTube or Marillion’s VOD service, The Space. Other featured songs include “This Strange Engine” as the closer, and “Care,” which got some tears out of me towards the end. They threw in a few of their “Bigger hit” songs like “Kayleigh,” which I personally could have done without, but they nailed it, of course. Like a typical Marillion show, there were numerous standing ovations.

I also gave out a few more of my blog business cards, first two of them to a couple that I spoke with at the breakfast buffet, and then one to Lari Basilio, whom I regrettably did not see perform. I caught her Q&A session and thought it’d be great to introduce myself and offer her a card, which she happily accepted.  

I stuck around in the atrium to watch another band called The Beach Fusion Band, which was a lot of fun. I was struck by this year’s cruise being seemingly more jazz-forward then previous cruises. I slipped out, ready to find a bathroom, only to run into my good friends Rachel and Jeanie Flowers. The environment was much too loud for us to have a conversation, so we took the elevator up to deck 12 and sat in the mostly empty Garden Cafe to catch up. 

I also gave out a few more of my blog business cards, first two of them to a couple that I spoke with at the breakfast buffet, and then one to Lari Basilio, whom I regrettably did not see perform. 

To wrap up the day, a guy stopped me and asked me a very pressing question: Do you like strawberries? I responded with “sure,” confused about the trajectory of this conversation. The guy simply replied “Ok, thanks. Have a good night,” and passed through the automatic sliding doors leading to the pool area. That is all.