On the plus side, your crowd is already at the venue, so to speak. All you have to do is be more appealing than the casino or the buffet. No "I'd consider going, but I have to work the next day, it's a 2 hour drive, etc..."
I know members here have been on these types of cruises.... any thoughts from them?
Nick has more experience than I do, but I went on Cruise to the Edge last year and had an absolute blast. Four days of waking up and bouncing between an all you can eat buffet and concerts, all surrounded by people who love the music at least as much as you do. It definitely helped that the lineup was stacked for my particular tastes as Portnoy's Shattered Fortress/birthday bash, Neal Morse Band, Pain of Salvation, Haken, Spock's Beard, and Frost* are all bands that I'd happily go see at a normal concert venue. That averaged out to three sets a day from bands I like/love, plus then the headliners (Yes, Steve Hackett, Kansas), the other bands on the ship, and the other events they have going on (Q&A sessions, photo ops, a daily late night covers jam session for the passengers). Is the sound as pristine as your normal concert venue? No. Do bands sometimes not have their full production going on? Yes. But you can't relax in a hot tub with a beer while watching Spock's Beard at a normal concert venue either, and being outside on the pool deck late at night jumping around to the breakdown in Haken's The Endless Knot is up there with my favorite live show memories. I probably wouldn't do a cruise again unless it was as great a lineup as CttE 2017 was for me, but if I did see a lineup that good I'd book it in a heartbeat.
Really looking forward to the SoA show on Thursday, I think it's going to be great to see these guys live in a super small venue.