Ken Griffey, Ed Herrmann, Gary Peters, Gorman Thomas, Larry Parrish, Dave Campbell, Bill Russell, Juan Marichal, Ellis Valentine, Rico Petrocelli, Cookie Rojas, Stan Bahnsen, Tommy Davis, Jesse Barfield, Glenn Beckert…
Okay, enough.
If you recognize even three of those names, you're a baseball fan. If you recognize all of them, you're a fanatic. Either way, we've got your attention, right?
These are ex-major leaguers, now retired and looking for ways to make a few bucks and have some fun on a cruise ship. This winter there were five such Baseball Greats Cruises scheduled to depart from Fort Lauderdale this winter, and the next one leaves Port Everglades for the seven days in the Eastern Caribbean on February 9th.
While there's a myriad of activities during the cruise, they're basically a chance for passengers to mingle with and get autographs from major leaguers they never dreamt of meeting. It's somewhat amusing that all this is happening
The interesting thing is the cruise line to bite on these baseball-themed cruises is MSC, which operates mostly in Europe and for Europeans and in North America is a little-known commodity, usually with the good ship Poesia.
Bahnsen is the host. As a pitcher, he was much more than the journeyman he became at the end, an American League Rookie-of-the-Year with the Yankees and a 20-game winner with the White Sox. As a cruise host, he's clearly just as successful, at least, because his cruises aren't going away.
He's been at this for nine years.
Celebrity Eclipse
13 nights
April 20, 2013
Fort Lauderdale (return): Nassau, San Juan, St. Maarten, Southampton
Inside: $699
Cost per day: $53
www.celebritycruises.com