Our day at Great Stirrup Cay began with a late breakfast at the Local restaurant, overlooking the new Monster Feud game in the Atrium, which was hosted by comedian Courtney Cronin and Kip Winger (Winger).
Then, Rare Hare kicked things off at the pool stage and Pretty Maids performed their theater show a day later due to technical delays on Tuesday. The show was well worth the wait, but delay definitely split the crowd with a photo experience happening at the same time up in the Observation Lounge.
While we spent a good bit of the day soaking up some vitamin D on the private island of Great Stirrup Cay, there were plenty of shows to enjoy when we returned. We caught a bit of Nerd Halen who were getting some laughs on the pool deck and later watched a bit of Shiraz Lane. Their set included one of my favorite’s, their cover of “To The Moon & Back” by Savage Garden, which had everyone in the atrium jumping in synch.
While I hoped to time things right, and catch a bit of Extreme and a bit of Ted Poley’s only show on the boat, the evening went off the rails when Extreme started very late and as I noted in my pre-party coverage, Ted’s drummer Paul Del Boccio had a medical emergency just after their show. So, as Extreme was just kicking into K Figg’s drum solo, an emergency announcement interrupted the house sound in response to Paul going into cardiac arrest. But, we didn’t find out the cause for the interruption until hours later when bassist Marc Dube explained how he had to resuscitate his bandmate.
So, Extreme played on, and delivered such a fun set including all of our favorites, old and new. This has been their third back to back Monsters of Rock Cruise, and I enjoy them more each time. Was thrilled to have time down close to really take in the theater show, and I even caught a pick from Pat Badger!
Later we returned to the theater for the show that blew me away like no other. Michael Monroe truly set the bar high that night. At one point he had scaled the seats in the theater and nearly stepped on my camera bag, which I thought was safe so many rows back. So, we can now add him to the list of frontmen who should be watched at all times along with Gary Cherone, Erik Gronwall, and Jocke Berg…and coincidentally, Hardcore Superstar was our next stop at the upper deck Spice H2O.
The audience was pouring out into the walkway. So, I didn’t attempt to shoot the show. Instead, I enjoyed the band and grabbed a few fun crowd shots including a group photo with members of The Cruel Intentions, Eclipse, Chez Kane, and Tyketto. And, even got Robin to show off his “You Can’t Kill My Rock ‘n Roll” tattoo.
After a fun hang at the Hardcore Superstar show, we crossed the ship once more to the theater where Queensryche was performing their second show sometime after midnight. The late hour didn’t dissuade the audience, who leaned in for some classics like the opener of “Queen of the Reich” and kept their fists pounding throughout the show.
Check out our coverage from the pre-party, sail away, and first day at sea, and check back soon as we wrap up our Monsters of Rock Cruise coverage for 2025 with our time in Nassau.
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Live Photos by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen for The Pure Rock Shop. Posted on 4/7/2025.