Tom In January 2023, when the booking for Klove Cruise 2024 was opened without any Christian artistes announced, we decided to book an interior room for $699USD per person. In faith we booked for Klove Cruise 2024 and as it turned out, we loved all of the artistes who were eventually announced. In particular, Big Daddy Weave and Chris Tomlin were the ones that we really looked forward to since they are afterall, the original singers of popular Christian songs such as “The Lion and the Lamb”, “How Great is Our God” and “Holy Forever” which are often sang by churches in Singapore. We also loved that Danny Gokey was in the line-up (Kate’s favourite) along with Colton Dixon whose “Build a Boat” was one of our favourite road-trip song during our NZ North Island trip in 2023. But the biggest surprise was actually the swap between Crowder and Matthew West, which to the dismay of many, was a welcomed surprise to Tom. This is because of Matthew West’s many heart-felt songs such as “Hello, My name is”, “The God who stays” (which supported Tom through COVID-19), “Truth be told”, “Broken Things” and more recently, “Don’t Stop Praying” – all of which were firm favourites with Tom as reminders of God’s love for us.
Hence, when the eventual list of artistes for KLove Cruise 2024 were announced as:
1. Chris Tomlin
2. We The Kingdom
3. Matthew West
4. Big Daddy Weave
5. Danny Gokey
6. Tasha Layton
7. CAIN
8. Mac Powell
9. Micah Tyler
10. Colton Dixon
11. Caleb and John
12. Cochren & Co.
13. Jared Emerson
We were sharing with our friends and were so looking forward to the trip. To reduce any possible jet-lag during the cruise, we stayed at the Hotel Ponce de Leon for 2 nights so that we’re properly accustomed to the local timeline – choosing a hotel close to the Port of Miami so that we’d be right on time (aka early) on embarkation day to our Klove Cruise 2024 onboard the MSC Divina!
KLove Cruise 2024 Day 1 – Embarkation Day
On Sunday, 28 January 2024 (Sunday), we woke up at 630am and had breakfast before eventually leaving Ponce de Leon Hotel at 9:30am. Using Lyft as our transportation app of choice, we chose the “wait and see” option for a cheaper $16USD trip from the hotel to Port of Miami, saving $3. Even though the Miami Marathon was held on the same day, the Port of Miami Tunnel (that leads from Miami city to the port) was still open. There was still a jam though. The Lyft ride took 45 minutes, instead of the usual 20 minutes to reach Terminal C at the Port of Miami…
Although we reached at 10:30am, earlier than the expected time of embarkation at 11am, there were already many KLOVE Cruisers waiting patiently in line already. Thankfully, the entire check-in process was a breeze (especially if you have done up all the forms such as health declaration beforehand online).
As we were early when we embarked, the room key cards were not yet ready. Thankfully, the room stewards allowed us to place our luggages in our room before we headed up to Deck 14 for our buffet lunch – the first meal of our 5 days 4 nights KLOVE Cruise 2024!
The first meal onboard MSC Divina at Deck 14’s Calumet buffet restaurant, comprised mainly of western food selection such as burgers, sausages and fries…
We thought that the burgers were actually not too bad as you can include condiments such as onions, cheeses and lettuce. The only thing was that the beef patties were a tad bit salty. The pizzas were not too bad as they were fresh from the oven. As for drinks you can choose from coffee, tea, iced tea and water. Soft drinks are not inclusive.
After our meal, we took the liberty to check out decks 14 and 15 of MSC Divina…
We also checked out the gym which was located inside the MSC Aurea Spa. When we arrived at the spa, we found that quite alot of people were actually queuing up to schedule their massage – wondering if everyone were queuing up for the complimentary 15 minutes treatment or signing up for actual treatments? The gym of MSC Divina is well-equipped and even comes with a section where spin classes can be conducted…
After checking out decks 14 and above, we returned to our room to change up. At this point, our room key cards were ready and placed inside our room. As mentioned earlier, for KLOVE Cruise 2024, we booked an interior room for $699USD. Although there were no windows, we found the room to be adequate for our shower and rest each night. Since we would be spending most of our time outdoors for the rest of the KLOVE Cruise, we found the interior room to be of the best value for this trip.
After changing up, our tour of MSC Divina continued from Deck 7…
Back at our room, we also took time to take photos of the MSC Divina Daily Program which shows the opening hours of the various venues, the activities throughout the day as well as the highlights for the day including Colton Dixon, Danny Gokey and Micah Tyler for our first night at sea…
After all the photo-taking of MSC Divina were done, we headed back to our room to rest for a while till the emergency drill at 3:15pm. However, we made a boo boo and headed down to our assembly area after watching the safety video in our room. Turns out that you will have to stay in the room and press 881 on the phone after the video is played, before you can head down to your designated assembly area. This was why Tom was sent back to our room to press 881 while Kate waited at the Black and White Lounge. After our emergency drill, we headed back up to Deck 15 to overlook the sail away party. It was supposed to start at 4pm but started closer to 4:45pm instead. There were no artistes during the sail away party but the MSC entertainment team was there. We also bought our own Mai Tai as our own “sailaway cocktail” ($13++ or about $16USD/$20SGD). Love it that the bartender was a little heavy-handed for our first drink onboard…
For meals, we were designated The Black Crab Restaurant and this evening, we met Don/Shirley as well as Jean Paul – nice folks. Dinner this evening was rather good as well…
We especially liked the baked grouper which was fresh. Hence, the advice to always hit the seafood on the first couple of days of cruise. The waffle chicken and appetizers were ok. We enjoyed the cheesecake though there was no coffee served this evening. After dinner, we collected our tickets for the VIP Luncheon with a couple of the KLOVE Cruise artistesvip…
When we first booked the KLOVE Cruise 2024 in January 2023, we did not know which artistes would be onboard during the cruise. When the list of line-up was made available, the VIP lunch was then announced through KLOVE radio station. As we had already purchased our tickets by then, we checked back to see if we qualified for the VIP Lunch and surprisingly enough, we did! What’s more, the photo taking session during VIP Lunch would be with Big Daddy Weave, Danny Gokey and Micah Tyler! Hence, we headed to the staff desk to collect our KLOVE Cruise VIP Lunch tickets before heading up to Calumet Buffet to have some coffee and find out what’s for dinner at the buffet lines…
For our concert timing at 8pm, we started queuing at about 7:15pm – which by this time, there was already a rather long queue by now. At 7:30pm, the 5:30 session just ended which means that you’d have to cater about 2 hours for the concerts each evening. When the doors eventually opened, we entered at about 7:45pm and were able to snag the first few rows of the middle block where we had great views of the stage.
The concert started first with an introduction by the emcee, telling us about some highlights for the day before introducing the first artiste this evening – Colton Dixon…
Colton Dixon sang most of his more well-known songs including “Miracles” and “Build A Boat”. Before singing “Build A Boat”, there was a clip that came on, with verses from the Bible from Noah’s time. Loved the song and the lyrics which spoke about trust in the Lord regardless of the circumstances…
For the 2nd half of the concert, Danny Gokey was introduced and he too sang many of his well-known including “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again”, “Love God Love People”, “Haven’t Seen It Yet” and “Jesus People”. Really enjoyed Danny Gokey’s worship because you could feel his genuine heart and love for God. Our favourite song was “Be Alright” and we were also pleasantly surprised that he took the opportunity to share a new song called “My America”.
After the concert ended, we went for a quick toilet break and rushed across the ship, up a deck (From deck 6 to 7) to queue for the photo-taking session with Danny Gokey, Colton Dixon and Caleb and John this evening. We reached the queue at about 10:10pm and the session started at 10:30pm. Just before the session, Danny walked past us and there were actually screams as he walked past – apparently, he was third place on the 8th season of American Idol in 2008.
Before we entered the area for photo-taking, there was a brief that reminded us that there would be no small talk with the artistes so as to ensure everyone has time for their photo moment. What we had to do was to hand over our handphones to a staff who accompanied us and they will take photos for all 3 artistes before handing the phone back to us. One of the younger volunteers approached us and chatted with us before we reached the artistes. Turns out, she’s the daughter-in-law of the owner of the management company. She then helped Kate with her back and it was also then that Kate noticed the exceptionally large engagement ring that she wore – putting Tom to shame 😅
When we approached Danny Gokey, we mentioned that we flew 24 hours from Singapore to catch KLOVE Cruise. He was surprised and mentioned that he would want to one day travel to Singapore and listen to Ps Prince (you have a friend in Singapore Danny – contact us through our website!). We then thanked him for speaking Jesus during his concert earlier on. Colton was a nice gentle giant who Kate thought was really handsome. Finally, we also took photos with Caleb and John who were very down-to-earth and super friendly. They’re also very anointed with the worship sessions in the mornings before the sermons for the next couple of days.
To round up the evening, we quickly headed up to the pool deck at deck 14 to see if we could catch Micah Tyler…
And we were just in time for our favourite song, “Walking Free”!
It was a wonderful start to day 1 of our KLOVE Cruise 2024. Excellent ship, great food and of course the amazing worship sessions with Christians from around the world. To us, KLOVE Cruise was starting to look like a church camp at sea!
KLove Cruise 2024 Day 2 – Sea Day
On day 2 of our KLOVE Cruise 2024, we woke up at 6am and started the morning with a walk on the jogging track on deck 15…
Originally, we wanted to capture our run on Strava but the GPS was not able to locate where we were at sea. Afterwards, we went to the gym and did a 2km walk with 15% incline. Besides exercising, we also decided to have healthy breakfasts each morning during the KLOVE Cruise. This meant having a healthy mix of sunflower seeds, dried raisins, grounded nuts with yoghurt. Another fellow cruiser even remarked that we managed to find the healthiest foods in the buffet line at Calumet. Speaking to another fellow cruiser during breakfast, she also remarked that flying from Singapore would officially put us as the “furthest” passenger onboard KLOVE Cruise 2024.
At 8:30am, the daily devotion started with worship by Caleb and John. Always enjoyed their worship because they were so anointed. There was to be no lyrics. Hence, they had to choose songs that would be easy to sing along to. Reminded us of Christian Fellowship days where we’d sing with just the guitars and voices, just that the guitars were played by world-class worship leaders and the voices were by the thousands of fellow Christians onboard – which was spiritually lifting.
We were also very privileged to hear from RT Kendall who served at Westminster Chapel in London for 25 years. This morning RT Kendall shared from Genesis 45 on Joseph, one of our favourite characters from the Bible (on the topic of Forgiving Others)…
– Joseph after being sold by his brothers and overcoming the challenges to become the Governor of Egypt, he eventually made himself known to his brothers 22 years later. The last time they had met, the brothers were filled with jealousy and wanted to kill him. Also, Joseph was able to interpret dreams and one of it was interpreted that his brothers would one day bow to him. This made them very angry as well. After selling Joseph, the brothers didnt think they would see him again. However, Joseph would eventually interpret Pharoah’s dreams of harvest and famine and be placed in charge of the land.
– Joseph thought that when this moment finally arrived, he would gloat or say “got yah!”. But in this verse, it showed that Joseph was actually heart-broken and had totally forgiven his brothers.
– RT Kendall then moved on to share a personal testimony where his Romanian friend told him, “You must totally forgive them, for until you totally forgive them. Otherwise, you will be in chains. Release them and you will be totally released. You can and you must”. Whether you have suffered, been abused, been betrayed, release them and you will be totally released. RT says that his 25 years of service was condensed into this 15 minutes conversation with his Romanian friend – Joseph.
1. Don’t Tell Anyone What They Did to You.
– Genesis 45:1. Joseph asked everyone to leave before he revealed his true identity to his brothers. Even the interpreter would have been surprised. Joseph wanted to ask his brothers to bring his father to Egypt because of the famine – which was to last another 5 years. Now, he did not want anyone to know what they had done to Joseph. Otherwise, every Egyptian would naturally hate Joseph’s brothers.
– Total forgiveness is when nobody knows but Jesus. However, the trouble is that everyone wants everybody to know and to side with them. However, there are exceptions to circumstances that you should reveal what had happened – for instance, for therapy such as with rapists where crimes need to be reported.
2. Don’t Let Them Be Afraid of You.
– “Come Close to Me” (v.4)
– Tear up all records of wrongdoings.
3. Don’t Do Anything to Make Them Feel Guilt.
– Joseph told his brothers, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry” (v.5)
– If you want more anointing from the Holy Spirit, total forgiveness is key. Pray for those who had harmed you, in such a way that they do not even know.
4. Let Them Save Face.
– “…because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead”
– Sent by God and not by the brothers
5. Protect them from the Darkest Secrets.
– God had made him Governor of all Egypt. He gave them the script.
6. Pray for Them.
– Genesis 50:15-17
– Joseph reassures them
7. Bless Them No Matter What They Did
– v11, “I will provide for you”
– RT Kendall ended with a testimony that he forgave a woman who did him wrong. Not only that, the Lord asked him to bless her, adding her to a prayer list. Today, she owns a very successful, thriving business.
After the morning devotion, we headed to deck 14 where KLOVE DJs Amy and Carlos played games such as Karaoke and Family Feud. There were some sharing of embarrassing moments for the DJs as well. The much-anticipated VIP Luncheon was up next!
During the luncheon, we shared a table with Kim and Rick as well as Chris and Priscilla along with their kids Averie and Julie. We had a great time of sharing and Rick said grace for us this afternoon. For photo-taking, Danny came by first and he immediately recognised Tom, saying hi to us. Thereafter, it was Micah Tyler, followed by Big Daddy Weave. All the artistes were surprised that we flew 24 hours from Singapore to take the cruise. As for the rules of the luncheon, one camera per table would be used to take photos for everyone. We exchanged email with Chris and he sent us the photos after the cruise which we were thankful for. These were what we had for lunch:
To catch Caleb and John for the afternoon 1pm concert at the pool deck, we changed up and got into the hot tub at deck 15. During the session, it was nice and sunny. “Hallelujah Feeling” was definitely the most popular song this time. As for Micah Tyler at 2:30pm, it became cloudy again and the session was similar to the night before where he ended the session with “Walking Free”.
We also found out that we had a 24 hours floor limit which ended and we had to reconnect a credit card again. Thereafter, we ordered the Mango Magarita (at 20% discount) that came up to $8USD or $9.44USD after taxes…
We went back to the hot tub for a little bit more before heading back for showers and returning for dinner at about 6pm. Yes, food again! 😅 As it was formal night and we didn’t bring our formal outfit for cruise this time, we checked out the buffet line at Calumet restaurant (Deck 14). The selection this evening was quite limited though. The only difference was probably the Jamaican beef stew. Everything else was pretty much the same, including steak, burgers, sausage, salads and desserts.
For the 8pm concert, as Big Daddy Weave and Matthew West were on this evening, we queued earlier at 7pm and we managed to inch a couple rows forward to 3rd row on the 2nd block which was not too bad…
The concerts this evening started with Big Daddy Weave…
Love it that Mike was so humourous! Despite losing his brother Jay Weaver 2 years ago, Mike wrote a song Jay Bird that spoke about his ascent or “fly”. He then joked about how Big Daddies flying would be a sight to behold. We were so blessed by all the songs that Big Daddy Weave led and we were surprised by the duet between Mike and his daughter for the song “God is in this story” where she was able to sing with such a mature voice that one would not think that she was just 12 years old!
The humour continued to Matthew West’s session. We not only enjoyed all the songs but also his personal rendition of buffets on cruises. Thankful to have worshipped together with Matthew West, especially for his new song “Don’t Stop Praying”. Unfortunately, by this time, the cruisers had stood for over an hour and many were already sitting down.
During the photo-taking session this evening, it was a little rushed with Big Daddy Weave, Matthew West and Micah Tyler as Amy and Carlos used a little more time to introduce the 2025 KLOVE Cruise line-up as well. Nonetheless, we had great shots with the artistes but didnt have enough time to thank them. Especially to Matthew West, thank you for songs such as “The God who stays” that really helped us through the challenging times during COVID-19. Also, “Broken Things” never fails to get us – especially the last line that there is a table just waiting for us all. The new song “Don’t Stop Praying” is very encouraging as well. Don’t stop composing these great songs Matthew!
KLove Cruise 2024 Day 3 – Nassau, Bahamas
Today is a shore day! Having sailed to the Caribbeans before and visiting Belize with Norwegian Cruise Line, we were still fairly excited to visit Nassau (Bahamas) because of the attractions that we’ve seen online. Also, one of the great things about having a port-of-call at Nassau is that you don’t have to join an excursion, you can walk right off the ship and explore the city by foot. Yup, we felt rather safe during our walk about today.
This morning, we woke up at 6:15am and jogged for about 3km. We got our tropical attire ready and headed to breakfast at 7:30 – continuing our “eat healthy” theme…
Caleb and John led us for worship at 8:30 once again. Since there were no lyrics shown, they went with mostly Chris Tomlin (Good Good Father) and Phil Wickham (Living Hope) songs which were quite familiar with KLOVE Cruisers. Soon it was time for message by RT Kendall. Always great to start the day immersed in God’s word brought about by His faithful servants.
After covering “Forgive Others” yesterday, the topic today was to “Forgive Ourselves” – Robert Tillman (RT) Kendall.
RT started with a sharing that after serving the church faithfully for 25 years at Westminster, he had actually failed at being a father. He recalled the times when his kid would ask when they would be going back to America when he first took on the job. He would tell them soon but the months soon became years and he realised that he could not get those years back now. Reflecting what his supervisor in Oxford said about not forgetting the family, he found that forgiving ourselves is actually more difficult than forgiving others.
Here are the reasons he shared for forgiving ourselves:
1. This is what God wants us to do.
– RT remembers how the blood of Jesus had satisfied God’s judgement. The problem is that we forget to apply it to ourselves as well. We need to honour the Blood of Jesus and if we fail to do so, we are displeasing God. When RT saw this, he was able to forgive himself.
2. Because the devil don’t want you to do that.
– What the devil want you to do, you do the opposite! After he forgave himself, people noticed that he preached better. It is important to remember that forgiving ourselves is a matter of physical, emotional, spiritual health that are at stake.
– He also noted that there is a difference between real sin (sin against God – 1 John 1:9) and “false guilt”(not sin but can get you down). Nonetheless, “false guilt” can become sin and devil will take advantage of it.
– The blood of Jesus cleanses us of all our sins. ALL. That is why Paul is able to say “forgetting what lies behind” – Philippians 3:13
Then RT went on to talk about the Twin Sins of
1. Self-Pity. Sorry for yourself for going through something and the devil takes advantage of this.
2. Self-Righteousness. Competes with the righteousness that comes from what Jesus had done.
Hence, it is important to see the methods of the devil. Turn away, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
– Referring to Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” The “We” here refers to those in the family – the church. And this “family secret” is shared to the church so that we won’t feel guilty – including our pre-Christian past and post-conversion past.
– During his years in Oxford, TR, his son, would be teased because of his height and accent. TR wanted to go home. After RT completed his PhD, it started with 6 months at Westminster which became 25 years as we knew today. But thank God. Today, TR travels with RT everywhere he goes, in a way, recapturing the years lost.
– King David was a “man after God’s own heart”. However, he had the worst moment of his life written at the start of Matthew. “David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife”. It is written in 2 Samuel that David saw Beersheba and had relations with her and even sent her husband, Uriah to the front lines so that he would die. An afternoon of turning away from God, led to adultery and murder. But at the start of the book of Matthew, God works all things for good. Despite the sin, the lineage from David, eventually led to Christ. Remember the family secret – Romans 8:28!
After devotion, we went to take pictures at Deck 14/15 of the surrounding since we had already docked at Nassau…
As we had the full day at Nassau Bahamas (departure was at 11pm tonight), we decided that we will only go out for the afternoon. Hence, we participated in some activities onboard such as cornhole throwing, (more) ice cream and belly dancing.
The Belly Dancing class was actually quite difficult (for Tom). It was not easy to coordinate the moves, moving from right to left and back. Nonetheless, it did work up an appetite for lunch. Sadly though, as it was shore day, the lunch was rather “meh”. The dishes were rather salty. Thankfully, we were able to enjoy views of the clear blue waters of Bahamas while enjoying our lunch…
At about 12:45pm, we exited the ship and headed to our first stop by foot – Queen’s staircase
The Queen’s staircase is, as the name suggests, really just a flight of stairs. But what makes it unique is the height of the stairs as well as the walls and vegetation next to it that makes it rather rustic.
From there, we walked back to the Nassau town center where there were shops selling souvenirs and rum cakes – a popular souvenir in the Caribbean islands. We recall getting some during our last trip to the Caribbeans. However, the prices have seen soared post-COVID. Hence, we just took photos as we went along
Visiting several souvenir shops and convenience stores, we found that many things were pretty expensive here. Including daily necessities. Perhaps most of the visitors to these shops are cruisers with higher spending power. Hence, the price. Coming from Singapore (ranked the most expensive city in the world), things aren’t cheap here people. But it could also be probably due to the cost of import since Nassau is essentially an island.
Leaving Downtown Nassau and Bay Street, we headed west towards Margaritaville. A few steps away is Western Esplande Beach…
While the waters of Western Esplande Beach (Nassau Bahamas) was beautiful with its really fine sand, we felt the layout of the beach to be a little weird. If you take a look with Google map, you’ll realise that the beach area is “encased” by piers on both sides of the beach. So it is not an “uninterrupted beach” where you can walk all the way along the waters from east to west of Western Esplande Beach. Also, the water’s a little cold when we were there. There are also bars nearby where you can get some magaritas and cocktails while enjoying music by the beach.
As for us, we wanted to stay out of the sun (read: enjoy air-conditioning), we headed back to Magaritaville and see what was available on their menu at Changes in Latitude Bar…
Magaritaville has a couple of venues inside where you can chill and enjoy some drinks. By the pool, we chose to try out the cocktails at Changes in Latitude Bar. We had the Chocolate Banana Colada ($14++) and Kalik Light Beer ($8++). Both drinks were pretty good and the gratuity was 15% and VAT at 10%. The total came up to $27.5USD. A little ex but the premise was a great place to chill with comfortable sofas, views of the swimming pool as well as a pretty heavy-handed cocktail. During this visit, we also saw Danny with his 4 kids at the lazy pool of Magaritaville. He was probably leaving the ship today and checked into Magaritaville for his next flight out. Really sweet to see that despite his busy schedule, Danny still made time to spend with the family. A great example!
On route back at 4:30pm, we wanted to check out Senor Frog but unfortunately, it was closed. Nearby, there were touts that wanted to place some charms on us which we politely declined. As we entered into the port area, we sat on one of the benches, enjoying the sun, clouds and waters with MSC Divina in the vicinity. Just before returning, we also shopped around souvenir stalls within the port area – which are a little more expensive but could aid those who want to get some last minute buys.
Upon returning back to the ship, we went straight for dinner at 5pm. This evening, we ordered steak and wine (Pinot Noir – $9+ / $10.62)…
After dinner, we showered and chilled a little. Kate stayed in the cabin while Tom went to queue at 6:50pm (for 8pm show) as it was Chris Tomlin’s concert this evening. Turns out that Tom was already waiting at the shops – the same position when we were waiting for concerts on the previous nights at 7:15pm. Hence, people were queuing earlier this evening as well. This time, Tom met another fellow guest – Tom (short for Thomas). Tom was cruising quite a bit and enjoying retirement, hanging out with friends, helping at daughter’s and also serving in church. During this conversation, Tom shared how his church Liberty Church in Tampa grew from a small church into a megachurch. As we were there chatting for 30 minutes or so, we landed on these few points on how the growth came to be
1. Young and energetic pastor who was strong in the word.
2. Reaching into the community, being known to the community for their works as a window to the Gospel.
3. Finding needs and meeting them (e.g. helping the Spanish speaking community in Tampa)
Concert this evening started with We the Kingdom…
Then it was Chris Tomlin for the 2nd hour…
One thing Chris did right was to flash the lyrics. Instead of being a “concert”, the whole session became a huge sing-a-long and worship. As everyone were so familiar with the songs, we could see that most were just singing and worshipping the Lord. We could also feel the Holy Spirit filling the entire theatre during this Spirit-led, Spirit-filled worship.
Also, Chris joked quite a bit during his session. While asking for songs to be sung this evening, he remarked that there would be some songs such as “How Great is Our God” and “Holy Forever” that would be sung. Otherwise, the organisers would kick him off the ship 😅 He also joked that we would be singing a song that he wrote “in the 1900s”, showing how old he was. The song was “We Fall Down”. A really great time of worship this evening. Thank the Lord!
As we did not see Chris at sea before arriving at the Bahamas nor did we see him after, we speculated that he had likely flew into the Bahamas and left on the same night since we had a late departure of 11pm, after his concert had ended. Also, he was not part of the photo taking session.
After the concert, we headed up and saw Tasha Layton. Her testimony was powerful about how the Lord blessed her with the house, her kid and trip to Africa with her husband. This evening, we also heard “Never” and “Look What You’ve Done”.
Supper had the Mexican theme this evening. Hence, we dropped by for tacos and added loads of sour cream and guacamole. Was actually quite good. This evening, we also met Kevin and Tasha who introduced us to Mary and Bob who spoke to us about their retirement and daughters. From Detroit, they were looking forward to We The Kingdom and Crowder (which unfortunately was swapped with Matthew West – but a good switch for us :))
KLove Cruise 2024 Day 4 – Sea Day
On day 4 of our KLOVE Cruise 2024, we woke up at 7am for breakfast, followed by devotion at 8:30am. Thankful for Caleb and John for worship each morning. They’re so good in leading and worship in the Spirit. Anointed group. A little sad that it would be our last morning worship this time.
As for our message with RT Kendall, the message was about Finishing Well (2 Tim 4:6,7)
From the various morning sessions, we noticed that RT always prayed for his message to be very clear and simple. To be an instrument and nothing more, for God. After learning about how to forgive others and to forgive ourselves in the last 2 mornings, RT shared the 10 points on how we can finish well…
1. Put Yourself Totally Under Scripture
– The Bible is the word of God. The Bible not only contains but IS the word of God. Psalms 138:2 says, “…for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” This is a reflection of how much God esteems His own word.
– If you do not take the Bible seriously, you will not finish well.
2. Be Accountable to Reliable People
– If someone says he is only accountable to God, then it is probably his last words on finishing well.
– Find someone that can hold you accountable in your walk with God.
3. Be Squeaky Clean Regarding Money
– Those who want to be rich will fall into a snare. God will provide what we need.
– Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. God will supply all our needs but we need to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
– Pay your income tax and pay your tithes. The tithe is the Lord’s. He puts you on your honour to give the tithe to him.
– Remember, you cannot outgive the Lord.
4. Maintain Sexual Purity
– Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. If you lust, you have committed adultery.
– Pornography will destroy you and your marriage.
– If you are thinking or in an affair – STOP IT!
5. Come to terms with Jealousy
– Proverbs 27:3-6 “…who can stand against jealousy?”
– Saul became afraid of David than that of the Philistines when people started to say “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands”.
– We will need to recognise these jealousies in terms of looks, popularity, riches, gifting, anointing etc.
6. Be willing to not get credit for what I do
– Get your satisfaction in knowing He knows.
– John 5:44 “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
– Hebrews 11:5 “Enoch…was commended as one who pleased God.”
– You pay a price and may not please other people but you’ll finish well.
– To hear from God, “Well done, good and faithful servant” is the more important thing.
7. Always Keep Your Word
– Do what you promise to God and to others.
8. Live in Total Forgiveness
– Partial forgiveness is possible when living with others superficially.
– Total forgiveness does not keep a record (refer to earlier message)
9. Be a Thankful Person
– Always show appreciation for what someone has done for you. Be thankful to God.
a. God loves gratitude
b. God hates ingratitude
c. Gratitude can be taught because we forget
– Philippians 4:6,7 “…with Thanksgiving…”
– God had told RT that he was from Kentucky but was put in Westminster for 25 years. Are you thankful?
– Thank the Lord for 3 things everyday before going to bed. If you look for things to thank God for, you will find it.
– Research finding: Thankful people live longer.
10. Have a Strong Prayer Life
– How much time do you spend alone with God?
– RT used to see his father on his knees every morning before he left for work.
– Children spells love “T.I.M.E”. What if God spells it the same way?
– Martin Luther, John Wesley prayed 2 hours a day. However, an average pastor today prays way less.
To end off, RT shared a story about a missionary who served in Africa for 40 years. He eventually retired and took a boat back to New York. When they were about to reach NY, a band was playing. The wife thought, “oh they shouldn’t have.” The pastor was about to leave the ship first but was stopped. Turns out, Teddy Roosevelt was hunting in Africa for 3 weeks and was on the same ship home. The band was for the President. When the missionary left the ship, there was nobody. Nobody there to pick him up nor welcome him. He checked into a third rate hotel and prayed,
“God, I served you for 40 years in Africa and Roosevelt goes hunting returns home and gets a band welcome. Why God?”
God said to him, “You are not home yet.”
He then asked us to do a mental exercise. If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven”, what would you say to God?
After a few minutes of contemplation, he said that if you have not written something equivalent to “Jesus saves.”, he wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. This morning, about 100 people accepted the Lord as their personal saviour after praying the sinner’s prayer.
Immediately after, there was a Q&A session with RT Kendall with regard to almost anything. One of our biggest takeaway from this session was another perspective on how we can view Israel – that it is not about the nation of Israel, not about the land of Israel but the people of Israel. From this perspective, we might have a better understanding of the prophecies regarding Israel in the Bible.
Thereafter, we dropped by at the theatre to see Jared Emerson paint live. Each painting was about 10 minutes. You could see that he was already able to picture the finished product in his mind because when he first paints and even mid-way through the painting, you might not be able to see what the end result would be. While he paints, there would be Christian music in the background while he encourages the audience to clap along. For the picture that we witnessed, he drew a picture of Jesus, holding a lamb and wearing a crown of thorns.
We went for lunch at 12pm sharp and we met Gabriel as well as Laurie. For lunch, we had
Enjoyed lunch today as all of the above were pretty good. Especially the Conch Fritters. Thankful to have tried the Conch Fritters onboard as they were sold at several restaurants when we were in Nassau the day before. Both the pasta and Philly Cheesesteaks were pretty tasty as well.
After lunch, we returned to the deck chair at deck 15. The afternoon sessions started with Caleb and John as we soaked in the not-so-hot hot tub – which was actually a little chilly when the cold wind blew. We got up halfway and changed into something more comfortable to listen to the last parts, including “Hallelujah Feeling” which was amazing. Such a blessing to have Caleb and John onboard KLOVE Cruise 2024!
After Caleb and John ended with “Hallelujah Feeling” where they would ask the audience to sing a harmony to the chorus of “Halle-Lujah, Hallelujah”, Cochren and Co. came on next. The band was full of energy and rather “entertaining”. “Church (Take Me Back)” and “Running Home” were played as expected. Had a really great time but our conclusion was that there were some bands that were more entertaining while other artistes like Chris Tomlin, Danny Gokey, Cain, Caleb and John as well as Big Daddy Weave that led people in worshipping the Lord.
Went back to rest for a bit after the afternoon concerts and went for dinner thereafter…
Dinner was ok but the conversations were good. Actually, Tom failed to “heed” Kate’s advice to get a 2 pax table. Hence, we sat together with Bob and Karen which turned out to be an excellent time of fellowship where we shared about our testimonies and how things are like in Singapore – Hot and Rainy. Cars are expensive due to Certificate of Entitlement (COE). Thankful that they shared with us about Buc-EEs – a petrol station with 100 pumps and a huge “shopping mall” inside, touted as the “largest petrol station convenient store in the world”!
At 6:45pm, the queue turned out to be similar to yesterday. Could this mean that Cain and Mac Powell are more popular than Chris Tomlin?
Prior to the concert, we had the Ultimate Mai Tai (aka Hip to be Square) with 20% discount at $12.27 – about $4 cheaper than when you purchase without discount. At the Sports Bar, we had the whole premise to ourself and also watched the Jeanette Lee documentary about her life in 8-ball pool.
For the final concerts, it was Mac Powell and Cain. Mac Powell sang some rather old songs but noticed many cruise members knew the lyrics to. We recognised “God of Wonders” though.
For Cain, they were actually quite popular with the teenagers, seeing them knowing many of the songs and singing along. We actually like their remix of I Surrender All – “Honest Offering / I Surrender All”. An anointed worship song. During this concert, we also sat with Bob and Mary. After the concert, Bob also prayed for us both. Thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ on the ship!
We had a short game of table tennis prior to the final farewell concert. We also missed the opportunity to thank Amy, Carlos and Laurie for hosting KLOVE Cruise during the entire trip. Wanted to let them know that we listen to Klove in Singapore as well. Hope you guys get to read this post. Love you guys!
The farewell concert was a very solid time of worship led by Tasha Layton and with all the remaining groups onboard – Big Daddy Weave, Caleb and John, Mac Powell. As familiar songs, such as those by Phil Wickham and Chris Tomlin were sang, it was really just a time of worship and praises as a Church at sea. Carlos then closed in prayer for the cruise. Cool Cool Cool.
Check out this video coverage of our KLOVE Cruise 2024 Review!
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As fast as KLOVE Cruise 2024 started, it too ended all too soon as well. During the cruise, we were rejuvenated by the messages, the worship sessions as well as the love of the brothers and sisters shown to us as well. We were able to feel the Holy Spirit moving throughout the cruise and we didn’t feel like foreigners at the cruise but a member of this international Church family that our Lord Jesus Christ had inaugurated some 2000 years ago. Indeed, KLOVE Cruise is a gathering of His people, a Church camp at sea. If time and money permits, we would love to be there every year. But since both are limitations that we face, we hope to be back again some day, perhaps when Kate’s favourite (Phil Wickham) would be onboard as well. Thanks to Premier for organising such an excellent church camp at sea with KLOVE Cruise 2024! May brothers and sisters continue to be blessed by KLOVE Cruises in the years to come!
Related Posts from KLOVE Cruise 2024 USA Trip
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 1: Flight from Singapore to Miami via Doha
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 2: Flight from Doha to Miami Ponce De Leon Hotel
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 3: Immersing in the Cuban culture at Little Havana Miami
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 8: Disembarkation and Drive to Jacksonville…
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 9: Checking out the Food and Craft Beers in Jacksonville!
2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 17: Returning Back from Miami to Singapore
Miami
Hotel Ponce De Leon Miami Review: Where to Stay for Cruisers departing from Port of Miami?
Sanguich Little Havana Review: Amazing “Cuban Sandwiches” in Little Havana Miami!
Havana Classic Cigar Little Havana Miami Review: Be Educated in Cuban Cigars and Coffees!
Jacksonville
Crispy’s Springfield Review: Fresh Pizzas in the heart of Jacksonville!
Springfield Scoops Review: Rich, Creamy scoops of ice cream in Springfield Jacksonville!
Hyperion Brewing Company Jacksonville: Cozy venue with an outdoor beer garden…
Our Experience at Aardwolf Brewing Company Jacksonville…
We went to Bold City Brewery in Jacksonville: Here’s what we found out…(A Review)
Engine 15 Brewery Review: Continuing our Craft Beer Journey in Jacksonville…
Artessence Coffee Shop Review: A Casual Venue in Jacksonville to Chill, Chat and Appreciate Art…
Ruby Beach Brewing Review: Craft Beers & Thai Food Takeaway in Jacksonville Florida!
Charleston
Discover Charleston South Carolina: Top 5 Experiences You Can’t Miss!
Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum Review: Visit the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier!
McLeod Plantation Charleston Review: Learning the truth about lives of slaves on the plantations…
Magnolia Plantation Charleston Review: For beautiful gardens and wildlife!
Old Slave Mart Museum Charleston Review: Tracing the Origins of American Slavery…
Gillie’s Seafood Charleston Review: Soul Food served up at Grandma’s…
Charlotte
Billy Graham Library Review: The Simple Message of The Gospel…
Bojangles Review: Really Salty Fried Chicken but Rather Good Legendary Iced Tea…
Legion Brewing Charlotte Review: Great Craft Beers at Plaza Midwood
Whiskey Warehouse Charlotte Review: Affordable Daily Specials in a Cozy Sports Bar Atmosphere
Atlanta
Exploring Atlanta, Georgia: A Guide to the Top 5 Must-See Attractions
The Darwin Hotel Review: A Beautiful Boutique Hotel in Atlanta…
Georgia Aquarium Review: A Beautiful Encounter with Sea Creatures Await!
Fernbank Museum of Natural History Review: Science, Nature and Fun does make history here!
Mary Mac’s Tea Room Review: For Authentic Southern Comfort Food in Atlanta!
Minero Review: Excellent Mexican Food at Ponce City Market Atlanta
From Charlotte to Atlanta: Our first visit to Chick-fil-A…
Orlando
Park Royal Orlando Review: Newly renovated rooms with a heated pool!
Spicy Girl (辣妹子) Review: What We Had during Lunar New Year in Orlando USA
Airport Lounges
Turkish Airlines Lounge Miami with Priority Pass: Squeezy little lounge during peak hours…
Al Maha Lounge Doha International Airport Review: Try Out Some Local Middle Eastern Delights Here…
Others
Ole Times Country Buffet Review: Southern Food and BBQ Buffet at an affordable price…
