By now, The Beatles must have almost as many impersonators (okay, tribute acts) as Elvis. This, despite the fact half of The Beatles are still performing, proving that you don't have to die to have lesser talents play you.
At one time or another every city in the nation must have been host to a Beatles show that didn't feature the real thing. From New York — where they've been on Broadway (Beatlemania) — to small-town North America (pick one), the Fab Four have spawned a "Revolution" unlike the one they sang about all those years ago.
Anybody who passed through the sixties and didn't get left behind has eagerly chased the ghosts of The Beatles. Guilty, as charged. We've gone on a Beatles bus tour in Liverpool, their hometown, and seen a variety of acts that have dared to play John, Paul, George and Ringo in too many places to mention.
Now, it's Cunard.
In a few weeks, The Beatles Experience will board Cunard ships to perform "A Day In the Life"…or maybe that should be "A Life in The Day." It's unclear how they'll entertain as many Cunard passengers as promised, given that they're scheduled to be on the Queen Elizabeth somewhere between Hong Kong and Dubai on March 29, on the Queen Victoria between San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale on April 1 and on the Queen Mary 2 "Back in the USSR" (oops, Far East) on April 2.
Even The Beatles themselves couldn't have handled that schedule, so maybe the clones have been cloned and there's more than one copy of The Beatles Experience. Actually, there is but that's another story, one for the copyright cops.
One thing is certain:
There's no cruise line more British than Cunard and no Beatles more British than the originals, so these shows are likely to be as good as it gets.
Carnival Conquest
7 nights
March 30, 2014
Miami (return): Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk
Inside: $359
Cost per day: $51
www.carnival.com