This is a great catch… Jools.
SAGA has pulled of a real coup signing Jools Holland OBE, Crown Appointed Deputy Lieutenant and Squeeze star. The big phrase is ‘young at heart’, and bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter Jools Holland is still very young at heart and over 50, the SAGA target market. The over 50’s spent roughly £2.1 billion on cruise holidays in 2015! So what does this mean?
It means an onboard club that is his style, his inspiration, like his TV late and live show, it will bring together musicians old and young who share a love for music which we certainly look forward to tasting. ‘The Club by Jools’ restaurant and bar sound a little like the Limelight on the Britannia and new Iona. He will also guest on occasions. Start dates are being fixed for July and August 2019 in what is a five-year contract.
Nigel Blanks, COO of Saga Cruises commented “Our decision to bring two new boutique cruise ships to the market by 2020 will be truly transformational for us as a business. We want the on-board entertainment to reflect this and we are delighted to be able to announce our first ever endorsed on-board venue ‘The Club by Jools’. I have grown up watching ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ and many of our customers have too. His love of eclectic music really does transcend the generations and we will use this inspiration to bring something genuinely new and different to our steakhouse and late-night bar on the ship.”
Jools Holland will be the face of ‘The Club by Jools’ restaurant and bar on the company’s first-ever new-build cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery. This classic style cabaret lounge by Jools at sea reflects in many ways his childhood in the East End of London when that area was still very much part of docklands. Jools, born in 1958, has lead bands of all size and all music, his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra plays to 250,000 people per year and sells millions of records.
CHAT GROUPS – ADULT ONLY
The Club by Jools will be one of Spirit of Discovery’s three speciality restaurants, serving a choice of sumptuous meals to appeal to all tastes, but will specialise in classic steaks from fillet and t-bone to ribeye, plus more unusual cuts such as tomahawk steaks. But much more than a restaurant, it’s another of the ship’s vibrant and fun entertainment venues too – the place to enjoy live music and cocktails in the evenings, with resident and guest musicians entertaining until late.
Saga’s new ship is due for delivery in the Summer of 2019 with her inaugural sailing in July selling out in record time and further cruises for her first season well ahead of expectations. In addition the company announced that it would further increase capacity with confirmation that its second ship, Spirit of Adventure, would join the fleet in 2020 and a phenomenal number of customers are already pre-registering to be amongst the first to hear about her inaugural cruise season.
