It’s the cornerstone of Concerts at Sea, a subsidiary of Harmon Travel, which was founded by Earl and Eleanor Harmon in 1957 as a wholesale travel company selling motorcoach tours from the couple’s kitchen table in Boise.

“It’s been a very fulfilling and interesting project,” said Harmon. “We’ve certainly rubbed shoulders with different people and we enjoy that. We also get rave reviews from satisfied customers.”

Harmon added: “It’s ultra-critical in the Internet age to offer something unique. So much of the travel product we sell is the same as other agencies, so offering a unique product is one way of differentiating ourselves.”

Concerts at Sea was started 14 years ago when the musician Paul Revere -- the founder of Paul Revere & the Raiders -- was approached by Norwegian Cruise Line with the idea of hosting oldies theme cruises. Revere, a Boise native whose string of hits included “Indian Reservation” and “Kicks,” contacted Harmon about partnering on the project.

After six years, NCL decided to stop offering theme cruises, and the agency was faced with a decision. “We had such loyal clients who had been traveling with us,” said Tammy Selee, the producer of Concerts at Sea. “The artists had become friends of ours and wanted to continue. That’s when we decided to form a company and make it a wholesale product, as well.”

Concerts at Sea then signed with Costa Cruises and has remained with that line since. Typically, Concerts at Sea books about 700 passengers on the theme cruises on the Costa Atlantica, which holds 2,114 passengers. Agents, who receive 10% commission, book about 20% of the theme cruise passengers; the rest come direct to Harmon and Concerts at Sea.

The company has expanded with other music theme cruises, including a country music cruise and big band cruise.

Concerts at Sea creates the entertainment packages, signing the performing artists and arranging all the extras. Much of the promotion is done by the bands themselves, who continue to tour regularly.

“If you go to a Paul Revere concert, you’ll hear Paul mention the cruise and Harmon Travel on stage,” Selee said.

The company charges $400 per person for the program on top of the cruise price. Participants receive a sticker on their cruise boarding card that allows them admission to concerts and special events onboard.

Movies are shown from the 1950s and 1960s, there are gentlemen hosts, interview and autograph sessions with the musicians, dance lessons, trivia games about music of the period, a sock hop and appearances by an Elvis impersonator. Cruise passengers who aren’t part of the Concerts at Sea program can buy into the package onboard.

The bands are paid their normal fee “as if they were doing a concert at a county fair,” Selee said. “It comes to about $100,000 worth of entertainment costs for a typical week-long cruise.”

On the January 2007 cruise, Selee has signed on Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Original Comets (who, as Bill Haley & the Comets, had hits with “Rock Around the Clock” and “See You Later, Alligator”), the Grass Roots (“Midnight Confessions”) and the Buckinghams (“Kind of a Drag”).

Selee works closely with oldies radio stations around the country, offering them cabins in exchange for air time to promote the cruise -- or a way to earn money on bookings that come from their market. “I also try to find an aggressive travel agent in a particular market and try to get the travel agent and radio station together. It’s worked successfully because people like to call a local travel agency.

“We always give passengers the opportunity to book onboard for next year’s cruise and, those that do, we give them preferred seating in the first six rows. We came home from the last cruise with 200 passengers for next year.”