Gabriel F.
I laughed..I cried..I left the island soaked but ALIVE! It took 4 hours to load everyone onto the island and we were closer to the end, but we still ended up only 3 rows from the front of the stage. The night started out dry with Dave and Tim! Dancing Nancies and Jimi Thing really got things smoking. I was at the Giants Stadium show from June 11 2002 when the storm rolled in for the encore Two Step and the band kept right on playing and we all went CRAZY on the floor! When Dave started playing Gravedigger in the Bahamas it was right up there. I only have one word..Unbelievable!! By the end of Gravedigger we were all singing as the skies opened up and started pouring. I believe someone on the island heard us! I cried the entire song. A real show highlight! I only have one question. Did anyone check the weather report for the night of the show for February 4 2006? I know I did a week before the show...40% chance of showers the night of the show. Turned out to be right on. There was only one problem, did anyone think getting 5000+ people off a private beach in a RAIN BLOWING SIDEWAYS storm would be easy. I can answer that NO! Our efforts were rewarded when Dave and Friends came aboard the Sovereign of the Seas and played into the night. Two Step and #41..Unreal! I had to pinch myself to believe this was happening! I can't wait to hear it again.

Bill R.
All in all one HELL of a time. My first cruise, and what a way to do it. Most of the other bands on ship(s) rocked the boat...Ozomatli and Soulive stuck out, and Mofro and North Mississippi kicked ass as well. On to the island......Amazing. For those of us who were dedicated enough to stick around to catch round two......I've seen Dave and Timmy in Amherst 96..and again in 2003.. The two step, the 41, and warehouse were probably the best i've seen. Its still all a little fuzzy, due to the rum drinks, and Nassau brand cigarettes :)....I was on the Majesty,so the whole after show for us was amazing with Dave, Trey,Timmy, and Bob Weir on stage at one time....it was like seing a show in Heaven. Dodo, Grey blue eyes, and Good Good time jammed. All I can say to all that were with me...Got to get back on that boat next year...Cant wait. I hope all of the scheduling mishaps dont affect the decision to have future jam cruises. I know everyone that partied their asses off on the majesty with me had the time of our lives...literally. Smooth Rider acoustic was the best. Not as intense as Red Rocks,but Timmy Timmy Timmy....each and every song timmy took solos on he absolutely blew us all away. It was very obvious that Dave Matthews is one CLASS ACT...as if i didnt already know it after 11 years,and 59 shows. He knew what Hell we all had gone thru staying on the island thru the storm. He came back on and thanked us all several times...then played those 4 or so songs with more passion than ive ever heard. I really feel bad for the people that left early. Oh...did i mention...GOT TO GET ON THE Boat....and latenight by the pool and closed down hot tubs...they played the warehouse 5 cd's over and over...to the seven somewhat LOADED people enjoying that, We JAMMED. The after-show on the boat was in an extremely small venue. Thank you to Trey for improvising the on the boat off the boat songs. We all will be singing that forever. Everyday was sweet..with the 700 of us screaming 36, again, Dave was nice enough to let us, and sang back-up to our off pitchness. During bathtub, dave forgot some of his verse, so he scatted his way thru it, then trey reminded him, and the song went on. Acoustic Nancies and Bartender were sung beautifully, again, with Timmy just blowing us almost off the island. Sorry for this review being all over the place, im recovering in Fort Lauderdale for a few days to dry out a little...I know what we saw, just forgot some of the order of the songs. Once you see the full setlist you'll know what i mean. Open bars mean fuzzy memories. Cant wait to get the pics back for some refreshers. For all those who did not attend, or thought it wasnt worth the price. Guess again. There was no shortage of mindblowing jams. hopefully the bands that were there had enough fun too, and will return. Its so cool just walking thru the boat,and bumping into Krasno, or (cant remember their names, but), sitting at the bar at 3 in the am drinking with ratdog...or beautiful women. Hot tub parties, football passes (YEAH PITTSBURGH), too much to put into words. So i'll stop now, oh yeah....got to get off the Boat!! and a "good good time". Cant wait to see y'all this summer at shows..and already started saving in case we get to get back on that boat next year. PEACE!!! (took the casino for a cool couple hundred to make my drink bill a little easier....hahaha)

Brandon
Wow...what a show what a show. Dave and Tim opening up was earth-moving for me. For some reason Dave and Tim do it more for me than the Band ever has...that's just me. I was adding to the water works with ya there Bill Robertson. I had my head down, bare feet in the sand, goosebumps all over my body with tears rolling down my cheeks for the whole song. Highlights of the D&T show were Dodo, So Damn Lucky, (Obviously Gravedigger with the rain!) Oh, and Trouble. I felt Tim's playing was some of the best I've ever heard (And I've listened to a lot of recorded shows all the way back to Prizm Coffee House). I saw him at CMU for the 2003 tour, and listened to almost every show from that tour on recording and couldn't help but feel that Tim just didn't play like he used for that Tour. I had to question whether or not they had kind of "lost it" as a duo (I know it's sacreligious.) Man, were any such feelings stamped out this night. God did he play awesome!! Smooth Rider was also a highlight for me, Bartender was bar none the best for me. I also agree with Bill on his "Sentiments" to those who left the island early. I would have waited around for another 4 hours in the rain had need be to see that little "private" acoustic set we got. I dont see how ANYONE could have left. Not to mention the Sublime & Beastie Boy's sing alongs were a blast!! It just felt good to know we were sticking it out with everyone else that stayed. We moved to the 2nd row simply because everyone else had left!! Probably the most disconcerting thing about everyone leaving was that EVERY taper left as well. That little acoustic show will remain only in the memories of those of us with the gusto to wait out the rain. Just one of those songs would have made the time in the rain worth it, let alone 7! Brady coming out mid-way through Warehouse and banging on the bongo's was great. The crowds #36 "honey, honey...come and dance with me" made me smile ear to ear, and dave's improvisation with it gave me goosebumps. I am still very much in awe of this show and think it will be hard to EVER top that night for me. I am dying to get my hands on a copy of the show.

Back to the show on the Majesty...It was awesome to see them in such a LITTLE venue, the place was packed. Probably the smallest venue I'll ever see Dave play in. For me, the best song on the ship was when Bob Weir came out and played "Iko Iko", with the audience chant back of Hey Now "HEY NOW" Hey Now "HEY NOW" Jock-amo fee na-né. I thought that was fantastic.

I was upset at what this cruise cost me, but looking back on that night, I would have paid 10 times that if I had to!!

Matt H.
First off, It does suck that many people missed this show. Without lingering on a painful topic, let's dig right in. Back on the Boat was an amzing improv jam...very Phishy. The crowd was just so energized and pumped that the chorus was yelled by everyone. The kind of sing along that gave you goose-bumps as Trey plowed the way through. The band went right into Good Good Time, and boy was it. It took a second to process but then it came to me, It's "Thing" from the Bonarroo set in '04. With new lyrics but the same overall message that rang out back in Tennessee. U.O.Cripple Creek, what can you say? Always great as Trey led the folks through the chrous. Grey Blue Eyes was amazing as well. The end of the song always just sneaks up on you with the heavy almost symphonic part...just crushes me everytime. W.I.G.R.I.C. - still getting used to this old tune being re-done. The boys always do a great job. Too High - just kept piling on the intensity. This song is one of my fav's from Some Devil, and in a room with less than 1,100 people, it was incredible. Now for the standout!!! I got the setlist from the sound guys, and had to check this song out. Many people on both boats just referred tot this song as "drop the devil to his knees"...however to set the record straight it's called "Ayhee" and everyone...LOOK OUT! This song it freaking amazing. Dave gets great accompaniment as he shouts a threating song of destroying the devil. The lyrics are very intense and it's not a "true-to-Dave-form song...but more of a rock song and it f'ing rocks!! (just wait til the show makes it's way around...it's coming I assure you!) "Hey Bulldog" was a great closer and to end a show with the Beatles just keeps everyone in good spirits. The whole crowd gave all the boys the feedback they needed chanting at the end "hey bulldog" After a brief chant of "ONE MORE SONG" they came back out and played a what can fairly be described as a down and dirty "Rocky Mountain Way." If the crowd heads had not already split open from the fact that there would be an encore, then this song just insured that everyone would leave mind-f'd!! In the end, it was a very classy act to come aboard and give the eager crowd a nice session for an hour and change. Plus the fact that I don't think anyone will see Dave perform at such length in a smaller venue. Plus, it was not a full house as the appearance was just as surprising. It was a delicious treat to top off Saturday and get into some great stuff on Sunday! Cheers to all who made it in, and I hope all enjoy the show when it comes around in the near future!

Melissa
Still drying out from the rain...did anyone else notice how ridiculously intense the rain became during Gravedigger? Blew my mind for sure. I cried throughout Bartender - I will never be the same after that...from the 3rd row with my "Some Devil" hat on I was entranced by Tim's mindblowing performance. Dave and Trey really were troopers in all that rain and the band was in danger of electrocution but kept on playing (until Dave finally let on that the popping noises were making them all s&#t themselves and took a long break). It was a once in a lifetime experience in so many ways...sitting on a coral sand (ouch!) beach for 4 hours to see them and then the heavens opening up on us. No food or drink unless you were willing to stand in 3 massive lines (food tickets line (dumb idea, folks!), food line, drink line - ugh!) for hours on end so we sucked it up and let our stomachs growl to the jams. I couldn't stay for the second set, I was so cold my lips were turning blue - I guess I am getting to old for this...and I am kicking myself for missing 41. Dave is a class act for coming by the Majesty and putting on another terrific show - yes, it is worth staying up until 4 AM at this age - it was amazing. The venue was small and half the ships passengers were in bed - no announcement until 6 minutes before they took the stage. That was a shame, since I heard of tons of people who missed it. Luckily, my penchant for gambling had me near the Chorus Line Theatre entrance as the rumors began to spread...another front row seat - AMAZING. It was a show like no other and I am honored to have been there!! I hope someone can tell me how to find copies of the performanced - any help wouold be appreciated - see u all at the next show!!

Bill K.
After being shuttled about 1/4 mile from the cruise ship to our "secret spot" we encountered a 400 person long line (this is not exaggeration) to buy "tickets" for food and beverages. After the 400 person line, we waited in a 200 person line for beer. Only after this, were we able to sit at the "secret spot" about a half mile from Atlantis. (How secret can it be?)

The weather became disasterous after a really good show by Dave, Tim, Trey, etc. Dave truly tried to keep the momentum going even though the sound system was ready to melt-down under the gail-force wind and rain.

A rebound came when Dave showed up on the main stage on both cruise ships. He did one of best shows I have ever seen because of the close atmosphere and his rain-soaked "do or die trying" attitude toward the fans.

All in all though, I am truly angered at the "Dave Matthews Marketing Machine" that upset a lot of fans on the cruise. There was apparent mis-management on all levels.

If given the choice, I will go see Dave at any show in the country rather that put myself through another Dave and Friends "Cruise".

Steve &.
still cruising in our minds. what started out as a tough journey turned into an unforgettable weekend.

as for the island show, the waiting and suspence was torture on all. however, once it got underway; it was magical. dave and tim's accoustic set was on fire. one can never consume TOO MUCH of it. smooth rider accoustic stood out. then we have the rest of the friends. dave flanked by trey and tim.... allstar stuff. the outtro's to all songs where intense. THEN THE RAIN AND WIND! one would not think you could freeze in the bahamas but think again... thats when the show moved to the ballroom stalls. the only shelter on the island.

Will, A.
As a young person, my time aboard the ship was a life changing experience. Mingling with the chillest people and listening to the music i did will be a memory i will share always. Being a deck 5 member i was shuttled to the "secret island" last, and consequently i was amongst the last to arrive missing (from what i hear) three classic DMB songs performed by Dave and Tim and certainly missing the many to come had the monsoon subsided. Back aboard the ship i was one of the lucky ones to catch the performance dave put on afterward. This was truly Woodstock on the water and i hope that there is more to come.