VINCENZO MARTINELLI – APRIL 28TH - 29TH

I haven’t written much about the entertainment during this World Cruise because there really isn’t much to say.  The one problem with having been on this particular Cruise more than once is the obvious comparison between this time and last time.  There are several passengers that have been on the World Cruise upwards of ten times and will continue to do so in the future – many have already booked 2020 AND 2021.  The comparisons must be striking for them.  This is the last one for us….but more about that later on.

To get back to the entertainment, I’m not sure if it’s logistics or monetary concerns – probably a bit of both – but the entertainment has not been comparable to last time.  There are a lot of sea days so it’s difficult to have performers come and go as easily as when we’re in different ports almost daily.  We had a couple of really great entertainers early on – particularly a guy who did a Billy Joel tribute show – but other than him and a few others, no one has been quite as memorable until this past week…

At the beginning of a segment of the cruise, the Princess Patter will announce the list of entertainers we can look forward to in the coming days.  When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, I was thrilled to see a familiar name on the list.  Vincenzo Martinelli.  We had the pleasure of meeting and watching him perform a few times and I’ve since become friends with him on Facebook.  He is an internationally acclaimed Latin and Spanish guitarist and creates, both visually and aurally, a stunning performance.  www.vincenzomartinelli.com

 

For a real treat, cut and paste the following youtube clip to hear and watch Vincenzo play "El Samba,"one of my favorites. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqAiSi1MAdI

His latest song, one of my absolute favorites from one of my absolute favorite movies, “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” from “Don Juan DeMarco” was performed with a background montage of beautiful recognizable film stars including Michael’s all-time favorite, Sophia Loren, who he was able to capture on his camera.  

The following night, we had the pleasure of dining with Vincenzo in the Crown Grill and surprised him with a celebration of his birthday (which was the night before, the day of his performance onboard).  Not only is he a world-class guitarist but he is a fabulous showman and all together really nice person.  We spoke of many things and he and Michael were able to talk about their shared interest in opals.  We spoke of his somewhat recent move to Dallas and he graciously invited us to visit him in Texas.  I’ve already informed him that we’d have to pick a time when it is relatively cooler!  

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:   Although unfair to compare, earlier in the cruise there was a young man who was billed as a flamenco guitarist and, while, technically a good guitarist, his show was incredibly boring.  Then comes Vincenzo, an entertainer at the top of the game, not only technically proficient but a great showman and by that I mean he spoke and explained the idea behind each of his songs, while displaying photos and paintings in the screens behind him synced to his melodies.  At dinner, Leona asked about the complexity of playing Spanish guitar and Vincenzo laughed and said, “some of it is done for show and not so much as for the necessity of actually playing the guitar.”  Clearly, he understands the importance of making the performance “big” so that the audience actually pays attention.  He is a great guy and a great performer. 

LEONA’S FURTHER OBSERVATIONS:  Having just written Michael’s observations, I’m going to add a few of my own. 

In addition to the beautiful women displayed on the screen behind him during his final song, all the pieces he plays are accompanied by an exquisitely-synced display of wonderfully colorful photos he’s taken throughout the world as well as brightly-colored impressionistic paintings of beaches, dancers, and other deliberately coordinated displays.  His performance is not only wonderful to listen to but is visually a masterpiece. 

While playing part of a melody with his left hand on the fret of the guitar and removing his right hand from the strings – which looks incredibly difficult – he revealed that it wasn’t all that difficult (easy for him to say) but looks “really good.” 

One last thing.  Aside from his enormous talent, and according to one of the dance instructors, Roz, onboard, “he’s got the look!”  When told, he graciously accepted the compliment.