On Sunday Star Trek: The Cruise VIII voyaged back to Miami as fans enjoyed one final day tropical fun, cosplay shenanigans, and celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager. With a full day at sea, there was plenty of time for one last round of karaoke, trivia and cocktails. We have our last log to point out the highlights.
Voyaging with Voyager
Continuing the celebration of Voyager into the final day, STTC hosted a second panel, this time with Kate Mulgrew joined by Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Roxann Dawson, and Brannon Braga, moderated by Dr. Erin Macdonald. Almost immediately after being introduced and starting the panel, the cast noted that John de Lancie was on board, and recalled the bubble bath scene in the season 7 episode “Q2”… to which Robert Picardo informed Kate Mulgrew of some additional context:
Bob: I was there too.
Kate: What were you doing?
Bob: I was handing you the soap.
Kate: Were you naked?
Bob: I’m a hologram. I’m not anatomically correct.
That kind of fun banter set the tone for the fun panel of friends recalling their time in the Delta Quadrant. And yes, if you want to nitpick his joke, in the season 4 episode “Message in a Bottle,” when the EMH Mark II noted how their design was “not equipped,” the Doctor said he “made an addition to my program.”
Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Kate Mulgrew Roxann Dawson, Brannon Braga, and Dr. Erin Macdonald on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
There were also more sincere moments, such as when Roxann Dawson’s made the observation about how her time on Voyager helped her gain an appreciation for the subtleties of science fiction as a whole, something which became very relevant to her career as she shifted to directing. Dawson notes that, even though the gap between her time as an actor and as a director was fairly short, TV production changed considerably in the interim. So much so that, coming from a show made in the 90s, her experience sometimes allows her to see possibilities where here colleagues do not:
Just even directing… the visual effects have changed so much, in your capability to do things. It’s actually really exciting. And something that would help me sometimes is, when they’d run out of money, I could sometimes come up with ideas that are very simple. And I could bring that to the table, and go “Oh my Gosh, we can actually do it that way.”
At an event intended to celebrate Voyager, noting its influence continues in the work of the actors today is a very welcome sign.
Kate Mulgrew Roxann Dawson and Brannon Braga on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
What could have been with DS9
The last day also featured a Deep Space Nine panel with series stars Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer along with recurring guest stars Jeffrey Combs and Chase Masterson, moderated by Lolita Fatjo. One of the topics noted by Fatjo (a producer on Voyager) was an appreciation for the creative freedom the DS9 team had, relative to TNG or Voyager. Visitor agreed, but voiced a wish that they could have had a chance to present the show as an opera. Continuing the musical train of thought, Casey Biggs recalled:
It’s interesting you say that, because Ira and I talked about it, and I flew in a composer from New York to meet with Ira about doing a Broadway musical version of… who knows if it they could have used DS9, but it would have been Star Trek. But then Ira said “You know, it takes two years to write these things.” So he was a little wonky with it.
Nana Visitor, Jeffrey Combs, Chase Masterson, Nicole de Boer, Casey Biggs, and Lolita Fatjo on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
As amusing as it might be to imagine a musical Star Trek episode thirty years before “Subspace Rhapsody,” Nana Visitor had a revelation of her own, and it involved Bigg’s character, Damar. She told Casey:
Wait, wait, I just had this thought. I just had a memory drop. The woman who talked about what show would be a movie, or something… There is a storyline for our two characters. Because the last time I saw Rene [Auberjonois], he said “You know what? Really, yours and Casey’s characters should have gotten together.”
In addition to playing Odo, Rene Auberjonois was a celebrated actor on stage, screen, as well as being an accomplished voice performer. He directed several DS9 episodes and narrated multiple audiobooks. If he had strong feelings about the direction a storyline, he was probably on to something.
Nana Visitor and Casey Biggs on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
Planetary Society auction
Throughout the past week, STTC passengers enjoyed a ship fully decked out in Trek-related décor. Every restaurant, bar, and lounge was decorated to look like a clever reference to the show. From “Tuvix Transporter Repair Services” to “Viidian Organ Exchange”, being surrounded by Star Trek references is one of the most immersive parts of the trip. On the morning of the last day, many of the décor items are auctioned off for the benefit of The Planetary Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing space science and exploration.
Borg Co-op sign is one of many that Trekified the ship for Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
Hosting the auction was Robert Picardo, who also happens to sit on the Board of Directors. Following a week of celebrating space exploration, in both fiction and reality, the theater filled with eager fans happy to bid to take home a little piece of the floating convention. Works of art and ship décor sold in prices ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, and to make them even more interesting, the one-of-a-kind items were signed by various Star Trek cast members while on ship.
Robert Picardo at Planetary Society auction on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)
The Cruise IX celebrates 60th
Star Trek: The Cruise completed its seven-day mission on March 2nd, 2025. Star Trek: The Cruise IX has been announced for February 20-27, 2026. On board Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas Cruise IX heads to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. The event will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, with William Shatner, Walter Koenig, Sandra Gimpel, Bobby Clark, and Sean Kenney already announced as guests. In addition, Noel Wells from Lower Decks will be making her first STTC appearance, while STTC regulars like Nana Visitor, Denise Crosby, and Todd Stashwick have also already committed. Open booking for Star Trek: The Cruise IX begins on March 7 on StarTrekTheCruise.com.
More cruising
That’s it for our cruise logs. And if you missed them, check out:
Nana Visitor’s comment about the possibility of a Kira/Damar relationship reminded me that IRL, Roxann Dawson & Casey Biggs were a married couple (before their time on Voyager/DS9).
A bit of news seem to be lost here but according to a few sources, Kate Mulgrew said on the cruise that Janeways return to live action is “being pursued” with talks with Secret Hideout.
Her words directly. It may not lead to anywhere (as Jeri Ryan proved with a proposed Seven return) but she has been dropping this possibility for awhile now.
I could see them doing a Janeway streaming movie if the Section 31 movie performance has not killed that format.
DS9 already did at least two musical episodes: His Way and It’s Only A Paper Moon. Both leagues better than Subspace Rhapsody which tried to come up with a strait laced reason for the singing, dance routines and instrumentation coming out of thin air (“the anomaly did it”).
There was also that episode on VOY where the EMH became a rockstar on a planet that was unfamiliar with music.