The Groove Cruise – EDM Experience at Sea!

What follows is my review of the Groove Cruise submitted to Cruise Critic for publication...

About Me: I’m a 33 year old, gay male who sailed solo (roommates flights were cancelled due to a blizzard back home) on the Groove Cruise (GC) on Norwegian Pearl from January 28 to February 1, 2015. I’m an avid cruiser and lover of House music but this was my first time attending an electronic dance music (EDM) event. I have never done EDC, WMC or other major EDM events. I, however, am not new to cruising. The Groove Cruise would be my 31st cruise and my 21st with Norwegian Cruise Line. It was my first time sailing on the Norwegian Pearl but not on the Jewel-class of ships which she belongs to. Other cruise lines I’ve sailed with include Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and once on Carnival. I’d done five Atlantis Events all-gay charters where nightlife centers on House music under the stars and wondered how this would be different when my friends approached me to book it. Enough about me… let’s get to this life changing experience…

Groove Cruise Pre-Party – January 27, 2015 – Clevelander Hotel, South Beach, Miami, FL

The folks at Whet Travel put together a little sampling of what was to come on the world’s largest floating EDM festival at the Clevelander Hotel, which was also their host pre-cruise hotel. I didn’t stay on-site at the hotel but the Miami pool party concept is very interesting. The pool is just for decoration and quite small. More than half of it was turned into a dance floor which was actually more purposeful than the pool itself. I arrived around 2:30PM when Shannon Williams was spinning and grabbed a drink and hung out at the bar and met two wonderful ladies who were also GC virgins.

The party really got started around 4PM when a lot more people started arriving and the beats were provided by Louis Dee and Bam Bam Buddha. I had noticed the attention to detail on this event as female dancers were in the lagoon along the outside wall of the bar dancing to the passers-by. Some friends joined me at the Clevelander I had made from earlier in my trip to Florida and then I started dancing to the beats of ScottyBoy, followed by the one and only Officially Addicted branded Dean Mason. The pool space was amazing to dance over and the intelligent lighting picked up as the sun had set. A nice LED wall augmented the backdrop to the club experience and it ended as a great time with the remaining artist DJs featuring Funkagenda, Feenixpaul and Bynon. The beats were awesome and definitely wet my appetite for more during the actual cruise. Groove Cruise DJ line-up ended at 10PM.

GROOVE CRUISE MIAMI – EDITION XI: January 28 to February 1, 2015

DAY 1: Embarkation Day – Miami, FL

Embarkation: I arrived to the terminal at 10:30AM which is much earlier than is recommended by the cruise line and the folks at GC. As a result the terminal was not ready to accept passengers and there seemed to be a large amount of confusion as to what was going on, where to stand, queue and how the queue should even form! Time would pass and still lots of confusion as to who was supposed to be doing what, where and when. Finally around 11:30AM, a decision was made to let passengers beyond security to the check in counters. Security was super tight at the terminal, the most I’ve ever experienced on any cruise I’ve ever taken. DEA drug dogs were sniffing me, my hand luggage and my case of bottled water for contraband before I was allowed to actually reach the check-in counter. On the five Atlantis charter cruises I’ve never experienced anything like this. Shortly after the noon hour I was on the ship and enjoying a leisurely lunch while getting to meet some of the people who helped to make the Groove Cruise happen and to network with other members of the cruising community on the sailing. It was a pretty rough embark and probably one of the worst embarks I’ve experienced with Norwegian Cruise Line since they changed their shore-side port operators.

After a brief lunch, it was time to throw the bags into the cabin which was announced as available sometime around 1:30PM and then head around the ship for a behind-the-scenes look of how the ship is transformed from the Norwegian Pearl to the Groove Cruise – the World’s Largest Floating EDM Experience. The ship truly transforms itself for this and other charter events. Years ago the pool deck was modified and the ship’s water slide was removed to free up deck space for a staging area. The pool has a fitted, scaffold staging area to cover it. The actual staging area itself where the artists perform is two-decks high, spanning the pool deck up to just beneath the Haven villas. During embark day they were still in the process of assembling the staging so Cato K and later Bam Bam Buddha along and Louis Dee would be playing out on an elevated platform in the middle of the covered pool.

The ship tour continued with the transformation featuring the Spinnaker’s Lounge which customarily has a stage but is enlarged for the charters. This cruise the Spinnaker’s Lounge would be used as the VIP party and BFM party space during the daytime hours and transform into the Electric Jellyfish Lounge from 10PM to 4AM. What is the Electric Jellyfish you ask? It’s a concept of lower beats per minute, think of a chill lounge. A large white parachute is setup in the middle of the dance floor suspended in the air by a small chandelier hung to the light rigging. The parachute is kept inflated by an airblower and you crawl in and out and sit on blow chairs and sofa beds. Black lighting is used from the intelligent light already in the Spinnakers and it creates this neat place to calm yourself down. I loved this lounge and you’ll see more of why later on.

Next stop was the Stardust Theater, which I was more than excited to see how this venue would work out. When I found out it was going to be used as one of two primary venues on the ship (the other being the pool deck), I was a bit concerned on how I would be able to dance in there. Problem solved! The first six rows of chairs were removed from the theater, the air conditioning vents were covered but still used and poles to stand by were added on the places where the seats affixed to the floor preventing trip hazards. Nice job Norwegian Cruise Line on making this a more dancing friendly space.

Other ship modifications included a stage setup in the casino on Deck 6 from 8PM to 2AM every night featuring the beats of the Groove Cruise DJ competition winners with Keith Christopher (aka #ManPretty), Mix Masterson and Ruben Prince. The two deck LED wall built into the atrium came in handy as this venue would be used as an in-between venue at night from the pool deck to the theater opening while some would grab dinner. The shore excursion desk was turned into a bar and the shore excursion desk would be moved to the far right of the guest relations area. The rest of the ship was the same as any other Jewel-class ship. The Bliss Lounge would be used for a few events later in the week but nothing was changed to accommodate GC.

STATEROOM 4541: The cabin itself is situated down a dead-end hallway mid-ship on deck 4. This was an interior triple cabin with a fold down bed affixed to the right cabin wall. The beds were separated as there were supposed to be three guests. Since they all missed their flights, I was alone and had the beds pushed together. Both mattresses were so worn you could visibly see the imprint of where people’s mid-sections had rested. I didn’t plan on sleeping much on this cruise anyway but the bed surely didn’t help. That was the only drawback to the cabin. The rest of the cabin was in working order, clean and loaded with towels for three guests. Plenty of storage space available for three guests and all the more for one guest! The luggage had arrived so I quickly unpacked before heading back up topside for the cast off and Groove Cruise virgins meet up.

For months Groove Cruisers both veterans and virgins talk online in social media groups. It was finally nice to meet some of the faces and in real life. The ability to connect prior to the cruise made it seem like I was meeting long lost friends, if only for the first time. I met so many people within the first few hours being on the ship my head was spinning from all the names! Everyone was so friendly and finally it was time to say bye to Miami, head to the turning basin with aerial shots of the ship being taken by helicopter and then out to sea we went with the beats of Oliver Heldens playing us out. Today’s embarkation theme to early evening theme was Represent. Interpreted as represent where you’re from or cultural heritage, I chose a shirt which was catchy for representing Deck 4’s medical center.

The wind across the deck was a bit brutal so I decided to head in and get warm. I was also longing for some cruise food so I did what I usually do for dinner and went dressed up to the main dining room aft on Deck 7 called Summer Palace. Sailing solo was a challenge at dinner as I presented myself to the hostess wearing white pants and a sequin 70s disco shirt and asked for a table share. She looked at me funny and turned around and said: “Sir it may be awhile.” No joke, there were only 5 tables seated in the entire dining room at 7PM in the main dining room. Groove Cruises dine later, if at all, so the Summer Palace was open from 6:30PM to 11:30PM this cruise. Groove Cruise is NOT your average cruise! I sat by myself and started ordering dinner when another table in the corner saw me sitting alone and started talking to me. I was invited to their table which was awesome of them to do and I had one of the craziest dinner conversations at sea – EVER!! I truly got to know the meaning of Groove Cruise family.

On the way back from dinner to the cabin I traversed Deck 7 and the atrium music had started with Louie Corrales playing until 9PM and Patrick M playing until 11PM. The atrium was packed, loud and full of familiar faces. I was on my way to the VIP party in the Spinnaker Lounge featuring beats by Lavelle Dupree where I bumped into the same two girls who I met at the Clevelander the day prior. Lots of familiar faces in there, including some GC virgins. It was a good quick hour get together and this is where I bought a bottle of Grey Goose for $230. Yes, it was the most expensive bottle of booze I had ever bought on a cruise – EVER! Thankfully I’m a lightweight and don’t drink too much, except during the nights so this bottle lasted me the entire cruise.

I had to finish getting ready for tonight’s theme which was Shine the F up! Think of glitter, sequins, disco balls and anything that made you glowing. Some did LED lighting attire as well. Creativity is not lost on the GC family. I felt bad for the stateroom steward as I had literally glitter bombed most of the bathroom trying to get ready. The shower bore the brunt of it as I tried to keep it contained in there. Glitter would be seen in the cabin for the rest of the voyage in some place or other.

The theater kicked up into high gear around 11PM with Keith Christopher playing and I bumped into some other GC family on Deck 6 at a bar they had setup outside the Stardust in the hallway by the theater. Two guys manned that bar who were fast and super friendly. I talked to the gang and headed for Deck 5 forward’s no-seat dance area with them to listen to the beats of Dean Mason until 1AM when Erick Morillo came on and played an extended set until 5AM. Intelligent lighting was crazy and it was augmented by some awesome lasers from Laseronics who I knew from other charters. These boys do the best lasers at sea!

I left the theater sometime around 3AM as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience EDM festival experience. I thought it might be nice to chill for a bit so I headed to the Electric Jellyfish Lounge in the Spinnakers. It was a perfect way to end the night with some chill music, making new friends, meeting the owner of Whet Travel who puts on Groove Cruise and just hanging out. It helped calm me a bit and I headed to bed because I wanted to get off the ship early for the private island the next day.

DAY 2 – Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas aka Fantasea Island

We arrived in Great Stirrup Cay bright and early and anchored but the wave heights prevented the offloading of all the sound equipment which had to be trucked over to the beach and setup. As a result, everything was pushed back. I was on the first tender over with passengers. I sat downstairs with the crew as this was the quickest way off the tender when we got to the island, call it knowledge from cruising frequently.

We got to the island and I was one of the first guests there. I saw the stage and the setup and tried to figure out where would be appropriate to hang out without being right on top of the stage. The sound system, while very shaky during parts of the day, was loud enough so sitting halfway down the beach was like being up front at the main stage. Along with some other GC virgins, we grabbed a string of beach chairs at the water’s edge. As the day progressed, more people stopped by and soon we had a nice group hanging out there.

The island has three separate beach areas but everyone congregated at the main beach area where the stage was setup. The music started off with the beats of Mix Masterson who got his spot on the DJ list through the DJ contest run by GC prior to sailing. He warmed up the crowd for George Acosta who played a set immediately after. Then the highlight of the afternoon for me was New World Punx, the collaborative DJ effort of Markus Schulz and Ferry Corsten, taking the stage. During their amazing beach set I heard their premiere (which I missed the prior night) of ‘Thanks for the Memories’ not yet released to the public. Also just to show how cool Markus and Ferry are, they were involved in a secret wedding proposal holding up signs for the lady. It was an amazing moment and one that I was proud to be standing close by to witness. Their set was just downright amazing! New World Punx was followed by Darude but I had enough sun and decided to head back to the ship.

Arriving back to the ship took a while as the tenders were very full coming back from the island. By the time I arrived back on the ship it was time for Dean Mason’s pool set. I had never heard of Dean Mason prior to booking GC and he was a hidden gem for me. A lot of the GC veterans raved about him and I heard his podcasts on Sound Cloud so I was excited as well. Under the stars he didn’t disappoint! He had a one hour set followed by a 2 hour set by Michael Woods. Great Stirrup Cay would slowly drift into the distance.

During Michael’s set I decided it was time for dinner and headed to the main dining room and tonight I did dine alone. There was no one in the dining room except for staff with dining room privileges eating. Slightly awkward but the dining room crew were bored so they came over and talked to me and kept me company. After dinner I hung out in the atrium as it was too cold topside for my Around the World theme attire so I danced to the beats of Lavelle Dupree and Fyasko before heading to the theater for Cato K, Bynon, Sidney Samson before going to the Electric Jellyfish Lounge (aka Spinnakers) to chill out for the night and get ready for a few hours of sleep. I think I finally went to bed around 4:30 to 5AM during afterhours. I completely missed the sunrise again.

DAY 3: AT SEA

I woke up and headed to the pool deck with my board shorts on and found some friends who bought the afterhours Admiral’s Club seats. I stuck around and listened to the beats of Cocodrills before heading to the breakfast buffet. There was no real reason to be in a rush today as we were not going anywhere. It was a day to catch some sun rays topside with the beats in the background at the pool. Playing poolside was Lavelle Dupree and Louis Dee until 3PM. I went up on the FreeStyle Sun deck on Deck 14 forward and grabbed a lounger and hung out. Perfect way to get the sun as the ship went in a slow and steady circle off the Bahamas. During this time there was a How to DJ workshop offered by Darude and Scooter. It was a nice alternative to being topside but I needed the deck chair rest for my legs.

When 3PM rolled around I headed to the pool deck and listened to the beats of Roger Sanchez and danced on the covered pool until 6PM. At 6PM Funkagenda came on and I danced for a bit before heading off to dinner with a group of friends I had hung out with on and off throughout the cruise. They had never been to the main dining room on the ship the entire trip! I showed them where it was and we were sat at the back of the dining room with a wake view. The dining room was the most crowded of the whole cruise this night and I say that jokingly, it was maybe one-quarter full. The party didn’t stop for a table close-by who brought a portable speaker and we had House music going in the main dining room. It was the one place on the ship where there was no EDM music playing. I recall one junior waiter saying: ‘Is that ok for him to do that?’ The senior waiter replied: ‘It’s Groove Cruise, anything goes!’ I laughed out loud and we continued our dinner with great dinner service and incredible food. Everyone enjoyed their food at the table.

After dinner it was just before 8PM and it was time to float around. It was also the premiere of Bliss Lounge as a venue of music on the ship. In the Bliss Lounge was the old-school hip hop beats featuring DJs Scooter, Sidney Samson and Bynon. Unfortunately after a half hour in the Bliss Lounge I was melting as air conditioning was not keeping up with the amount of body heat in the venue so I decided to leave. I swung by the VIP party in Spinnakers for a hot minute and then went out on the pool deck to catch the rest of Markus Schulz set until 9PM. I headed to the atrium where Scotty Boy was finishing up with Dean Mason taking over followed by Fenixpawl until the Stardust Theater picked up at 11PM.

Tonight was a major night in the theater or so I thought. I went in when George Acosta was starting to warm the place up and got my usual location on the right side between Decks 6 and Deck 5. Close enough but not in the hardcore dance pit standing room only section up front. I saw Martha, my diehard ATB fan come in with her totem and her ATB bunnies in toe and head up to the front. Aly and Fila came on and I just couldn’t get into them. They were playing for two hours and I wasn’t going to hang around for beats I wasn’t enjoying so I bounced to the casino for Shannon Williams. Not feeling those beats there I went up to the pool deck and found Saeed Younan who was absolutely tearing it up! There was hardly no one up there and the dance floor was wide open. I was up the front of the dance floor over the pool for the first time ever this trip and I was dancing my heart out! Saeed was a new discovery for me and one I’m thankful for as he kept me moving to ward off the cold night air! Saeed’s set was over at 1AM and then it switched to Boris until 4AM. I stayed until just before 2AM.

At 2AM it was time for another highlight artist of the trip, ATB or Andre Tanneberger to take the stage in the main theater. Kyle from Laseronics and the light guys were spot on during this performance. It was both audio and visually stimulating for 2 hours and it was one of the highlights of this venue for the entire cruise for me. ATB even sang lyrics to his own songs LIVE! Who can say they’ve had that experience recently? NO ONE except us!

Darude closed out the theater and he also didn’t disappoint. You wanted classic techno then tonight was your night. While a little heavy on the microphone introducing songs, the final act to close out the theater was him getting us all to chant: ‘We love Groove Cruise’ which he then recorded and surprised us all by creating an original piece ‘We love Groove Cruise’ song which then mixed into Sandstorm which anyone who may not know the EDM world knows! What an awesome moment in the theater and for Groove Cruise! My legs were killing me and I was out of energy so I went to bed. So close to sunrise but I just couldn’t keep going. Four hours of sleep were needed!

DAY 4 – FANTASEA ISLAND – SCRATCH THAT – SEA DAY!!!!!

I woke up and we were off the coast of Great Stirrup Cay but not in the appropriate anchorage position. We were facing into the wind to make our stationary position less rocky on the ship. Wave heights were high and the wind was not letting up. As a result, I knew Great Stirrup Cay would be canceled for the day. I was eating at the Great Outdoors for breakfast after checking out the afterhours beats of Nathan Barato who was still spinning Incorrect Afterhours until 11AM at the pool. I saw two Royal Caribbean ships anchored off their island next door and then pull away. It confirmed my suspicions that we would also have a sea day but we were hanging around the island and still not moving.

I met up with some friends and we nabbed a place on the sun deck overlooking the pool deck and met up with a whole bunch of people who were passing through. It was the last full day on the boat so it was time to really get in touch with everyone I’d met throughout the entire voyage and see how everyone was doing. Thankfully everyone was at the pool deck because the island was officially cancelled. The island’s daytime DJ entertainment was moved to the pool deck. Shannon Williams took the helm at 11AM until Noon when Feenixpawl took over until 2PM.

There was some question as to whether or not Thomas Gold would make the ship since he did not sail with us from Miami. We had been stationary for a reason because Thomas Gold took a little boat over to our ship and transferred to the ship in time for his set. Thomas Gold tore it up as we slowly circled the island for 2 hours while he was at the pool deck stage. Everyone was out on deck for him and he didn’t disappoint.

Poolside continued into the sunset of the final full day of our voyage with Scooter and Lavelle, Will Sparks and Scotty Boy closing out the rest of the daytime version of music there. In the middle of it all I went to dinner with my other GC Virgin group coordinator and all of her Florida family. It was an amazing dinner and food was flowing. We were starving after dancing all afternoon. I went back up and caught the rest of Scotty Boy’s set before forcing myself to go to bed! Yes, you read that right… BED at 10PM on Groove Cruise!!!

DAY 5: MIAMI, FL – PARTY DOESN’T STOP UNTIL JASON SAYS…

So I did go to bed early and set my alarm clock for 12:45AM! Yep, that was about 3 hours of sleep and that’s all I would have in me for the rest of Groove Cruise. I woke up and donned the rest of my Whet circus theme night outfit and headed up for the last little bit of Saeed Younan before heading to the theater for Arty’s set which lasted until 3AM. Then our special guest star was the one and only MARKUS SCHULZ for 2 hours! Markus closed out the theater’s entertainment for the entire cruise with a progressive trance set that made you dig up whatever energy you had left in you and get your butt down to the front and dance for your life! During his set, Markus was presented with a birthday cake since his birthday was coming up on February 6th. It was an amazing set and an amazing close to the Stardust theater venue for Groove Cruise. Now it’s 5AM and I would normally go to bed… but I did not!

Another highlight of the trip for me before sailing was the announcement of Chus and Ceballos who played at the House of Blues in Boston several times and I’d had the pleasure of hearing at Stereo in Montreal a few times. I was excited for them to close out the Groove Cruise. Getting up on deck at 5AM, I was looking out the pool deck windows to see that we were already in the channel on approach to the entrance to the Port of Miami. I went down and danced for a bit until I saw a skyscraper getting much closer and knew we’d be at the beginning of the port. I raced up to see who, if anyone, was in front of us and I was surprised to see the Norwegian Epic was just tying up and Disney was further down. Groove Cruise with Chus and Ceballos was still going strong and we woke up South Beach in epic style. We sailed past the Norwegian Epic slowly and more and more people came out on their balconies looking at us as we raved by. The Disney ship wasn’t as awakened by us and we went into the turning basin and came back past them and docked. All the while the music was STILL going! Sunrise came and I made sure I got some pictures of it and with me FINALLY making a sunrise set! Chus and Ceballos were still tearing it up and we were tied up at the pier. I wondered if the party would ever stop. I didn’t want it to!

Alas, the party had to stop as the folks at Norwegian did want to get us off the ship to turn it around for the one day cruise to no-where dubbed Sailgate which was a hybrid mix of Groove Cruisers and Ship Rocked folks. The ship was chartered for a length of time by Whet Travel and split between two charters. Either way, there was one last GOOD MORNING GROOOOOOVEEE CRUISERS from Jason, the owner of Whet Travel telling us the party was sadly over and thanking us for making it the best one yet!

Disembarkation – Unlike going into the Groove Cruise, getting off the ship was relatively easy. Even though I used the bag system for checked luggage and had been assigned the RED colored luggage tag, nearly everyone was told to get off the ship at the same time. The line moved fast and customs didn’t really pull anyone aside as we had already been fully screened on the way in. It was an easy disembark and sadly the vacation was over.

RECAP

When they say the music doesn’t stop for 96 hours. They’re not lying! I thought Atlantis Events (all-gay charter) was crazy for having their signature White Party run from 10PM until Noon or beyond the next day. Try going on a cruise where the music NEVER stops and you NEVER want to sleep because you’ll always be told you missed something and or didn’t hear something epic, did you catch that or did you see them do this? It was an overwhelming experience and one the first night I was not sure was right for me. My roommates missing the cruise left me in an awkward position of being on a cruise where I didn’t know 80 percent of the artists performing and never heard of them! I travel in different House circles than mainstream EDM lovers I guess. I made sure I heard each artist at least once for a little while before moving onto another venue if the vibe wasn’t right for me. In the end I had the most amazing time with amazing experiences and making a TON of new friends who are going to be in my life forever. What an amazing group of passengers who are all there for the same reasons, to party, to love music and to live life to its fullest and to not give one f--- if anyone’s watching! In the end I’m glad my friends got me to book this cruise as I’ve now met so many artist DJs and found a whole new side then what I hear in my hometown!

Lastly, the Norwegian Pearl was a great host for our cruise. Norwegian accommodated the Groove Cruise by removing theater chairs making more open space for all of us to dance. The crew bent their normal cruise schedules in many ways to accommodate the altered patterns of Groove Cruisers. Crew genuinely seemed excited to have us there and were dancing in their spare moments right along with us. Whet Travel did a good job of making sure the guest experience was one that flowed seamlessly between venues and Whet travel folks were everywhere on the ship and always friendly and available to talk to. Groove Cruise is a nicely done cruise and for EDM lovers – a MUST DO! :D

Curious... is there anyone in the GLBT section who would take this cruise? :cool:

Curious... is there anyone in the GLBT section who would take this cruise? :cool:

Not a chance.

Not a chance.

lol! It's definitely not for the faint of heart! :D

Now festival season is upon us! Happy Summer! :)

Interesting! Is definitely something I'd consider. Although, I'd need to do a B2B after that sailing :P you know, to actually relax lol

Thanks for sharing!

Interesting! Is definitely something I'd consider. Although, I'd need to do a B2B after that sailing :P you know, to actually relax lol

 

Thanks for sharing!

I agree completely! I should have booked a cruise after, not before, Groove Cruise! It definitely is a draining experience and you'll need a much leisurely time to feel your legs again and oh yeah... SLEEP! :eek::D

This year's sailing matched up nicely with the RSVP cruise. 2016's voyage does not. There's still limited space on the LA run on the Carnival Inspiration in October. :)

It was interesting to read as I've heard the Groove cruises are pretty party hardy. How was the load on the ship? Sold out? You stated that the dining room was pretty empty for most of the cruise so I assume most ate at the buffet?

Also was there a gay crowd on board?

I thought about doing these cruises, but now I'm in my mid-thirties your experience tends to to make me think it's a little too much for me. I do enjoy some quiet R&R in between parties, which this seems like on this cruise to be a little difficult. Glad you were still able to have fun without your friends being able go. Thanks for sharing.

It was interesting to read as I've heard the Groove cruises are pretty party hardy. How was the load on the ship? Sold out? You stated that the dining room was pretty empty for most of the cruise so I assume most ate at the buffet?

 

Also was there a gay crowd on board?

 

I thought about doing these cruises, but now I'm in my mid-thirties your experience tends to to make me think it's a little too much for me. I do enjoy some quiet R&R in between parties, which this seems like on this cruise to be a little difficult. Glad you were still able to have fun without your friends being able go. Thanks for sharing.

The January Groove Cruise was sold out on the Pearl. However, due to a massive blizzard which hit the Northeast there were a lot of people (my roommates included) who missed the ship. Deck 4 was where a lot of Northeastern folks came from so my section of the deck felt like a ghost town minus the cabin immediately next door. I was on one of the cut off hallways though. It was super quiet down there. So if you do want to book the Pearl I would recommend deck 4 with one of the off the main hall cabins.

Most of the new people who went on GC never knew there was a main dining room as I found out later on in the cruise so, yes, everyone ate at the buffet. I knew there was one and the regulars who do GC year over year also just prefer the buffet because it's on the go and can get back to the party and their friends still dancing out on the pool deck. The buffet had a lot of varying foods and some of which was from the dining room I noticed. The food service times were much later than a normal cruise as well. Dinner went way late into the evening.

On GC Miami there were a spattering of GLB community members. There was also a drag queen, although I'm not sure who she was. I just asked if she was one and she said yes. LOL! I was surprised by that as I never saw her the whole cruise again. The cruisers overall are friendly and welcoming, more so than other mainstream cruises. One person who is a GC Lifer as they've dubbed him is also gay and friends with EVERYONE! :D He'll be on both GC LA 2015 and GC Miami 2016. He helped break the ice for me with everyone when I suddenly cruised alone.

You can have R&R if you want it. The front top of the ship was not utilized heavily on sea days and on port days since there's parties ashore if you stay on the ship - you'll have it to yourself! Also, as the ship does call in ports it's your choice if you want to attend the day parties or explore. On GC Miami we only went to the private island but you had the rest of the island besides the main beach if you wanted to relax!

Hope those answers are helpful. You should try it out. I'm in my low 30s and I only just found this! The average age is 29. Yes it is young but there's people of all ages on this and many of them. Plenty of 30 somethings and the younger generation did their thing with kandi making and exchanging.