Groove Cruise 2016 - Miami Edition Review

About Me: I’m a gay male who sailed solo on the Groove Cruise (GC) on Norwegian Pearl from January 22 – 26, 2016. I’m an avid cruiser and lover of House and Trance music but I do not attend the land-based festivals such as EDC, WMC/ Ultra, Electric Zoo and other EDM festivals. I, however, am not new to cruising. This Groove Cruise was my 35th cruise and my 23rd with Norwegian Cruise Line. Other cruise lines I’ve sailed with include Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. As a seasoned cruiser, this review centers not only on the GC experience but also on the ship and the crew. I hope you enjoy the review as it's presented in chronological order…

Day 1 – Maimi, FL – Embarkation Day

Last year when I first attended this festival the security was already increased two-fold from what a regular cruiser would see. This year was even more heightened with carry-on luggage screenings and pat downs when you crossed the gangway into the ship. This enhanced security plus the high winds and torrential rains caused major embarkation delays. At one point the gangway had separated from the ship to the point where embark was stopped for an hour. It never recovered. However, the ship sailed only a little late. Given what happened with the Mad Decent Boat Party on the same ship late last year, I’m not surprised by this enhanced security. It’s to make it a safer environment for all.

Since the company who runs GC also does another charter at the same time, the ship was already configured for GC unlike last year where setup occurred on our embark day. Due to the torrential rains, the main pool deck stage was shut down so everyone congregated in the atrium when they boarded for the music being played at that stage. Things got back on track when the Stardust Theater opened later that night for an open to close solo set by Markus Schulz.

Before the theater opened, I walked the ship to check out the changes from the previous year. The only major change was O’Sheehans had taken over all of Deck 8 overlooking the atrium. Moderno was moved to Deck 13 with the windows facing the pool. Moderno was not available on our sailing due to space needs for the charter company. Summer Palace was open for dinner for modified hours and I did dine there every night. The first night I met Natalia from Indonesia who had the port side two-seaters by the windows. She was very nice and since not a lot of GCers go to the dining room during the voyage, she quickly learned my preferences and each night knew exactly what to bring. The first night I met her we talked ship and about common crew friends that we knew. The dining room was dead.

After dinner another venue at the Great Outdoors for the sunset sessions was underway with artists featuring Fancy Cats, Autograf and Speaker of the House. The main pool deck never opened this night so sets there were cancelled. The atrium was hopping with sets from Scotty Boy and Dean Mason (GC resident DJs from the West Coast), Sydney Blu, Croatia Squad, Lavelle Dupree and a closing set in the early AM hours by Antonio Giacca. In the casino KSF, DudeNGuy, Qua’Leh and DJ Sacco were playing concurrently with the theater set. Markus Schulz played until just after 5AM in the Stardust Theater and I went to bed for a few hours.

While Mother Nature provided challenges to the first day’s entertainment lineup, the people were happy to be on the ship and sailing to Jamaica. It showed in the positive energy and in the theme costumes people wore. Tonight’s theme was ABC or Anything But Clothes. It was definitely open to interpretation as only a family of like-minded cruisers could come up with! I wore a toga. Not the most creative by any means but it’s what I could come up with.

Day 2 – Sea Day

Got the day going just before 10AM when the Incorrect Afterhours was winding down at the pool with the sounds of Boris. Finally a little bit of sun was out and the temperature was moderating. I headed to a buffet breakfast at the Garden Café. I have to say out of all the Norwegian ships, the Norwegian Pearl’s buffet has always been the most extensive with the most options. I love the Pearl’s buffet. This is the main source of food on the ship during GC as it’s conveniently located by the main stage at the pool.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to change into the daytime theme attire. Today’s theme was Welcome to the Jungle. Attire ranged from animals (my attire included) to wearing camouflage and fatigues. Beats all afternoon were provided by Lavell Dupree, Autograf, Chocolate Puma, Roger Sanchez, Sydney Blu and Tatiana. After Chocolate Puma’s set I headed to sunset sessions at the Great Outdoors and caught the end of Antonio Giacca’s set with Nora En Pure taking over. Different stages had different vibes, as did each individual DJ. What works best about GC is if you don’t like the vibe, you can move someplace else and get a whole new experience.

I decided to head to the dining room during Nora En Pure’s set to get food in me for what promised to be an epic night ahead. Natalia offered great service again along the same section of the port side. The dining room was dead so we again got to chat and talk about the experiences going on around the ship. The crew are not allowed into the guest areas, although some were. She didn’t want to risk it but was interested in knowing what was going on and why the ship had so much energy even though the dining room was empty.

After dinner it was time to get ready for the BEST night in the Stardust Theater for me of this cruise. The show opened with Kristina Sky who I discovered on Groove Cruise LA 2015. She is an awesome DJ and an incredible woman if you get to talk to her. She was followed by Darude, another great DJ and an incredible man to talk to, who just released a new album last year. His set was all his new songs and ended with the signature Sandstorm. The next artist I have been trying to see forever in Boston but it’s nearly impossible with the schedules for larger entertainers… DASH BERLIN! His opening was amazing and the energy during his entire set couldn’t get me to stop dancing even though I had just four hours of sleep in me! The energy and the passion and the beats moved me. I LOVED it! Kristina Sky came back to close out the theater for an hour and then I headed to bed.

Due to bad weather, the Incorrect Afterhours had to shift indoor to the Spinnaker Lounge with Anthony Attalla’s set. Cocodrills was moved to the Great Outdoors. Cocodrills was still playing when I woke up to get breakfast on Day 3. The set from Cocdrills didn’t stop until 11AM.

Day 3 – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Originally I had not planned on getting off the ship even though GC included a beach party. However, in-cabin announcements getting us off the ship were just relentless so I was up. I went to grab breakfast at the Great Outdoors and that’s when I discovered Cocodrills was still playing. Nothing like beats with a side of breakfast. I tried to go back to sleep but it wasn’t working so I went shore-side anyway.

GC took over the Bamboo Beach Club just outside of Ocho Rios. Continuous shuttle bus service ran from the port to the beach spot. The weather again was not cooperating as it was cool, windy and overcast. It didn’t stop most from attending the underground stage and the main stage featuring the Bingo Players. The theme of the day was White Party and it was a squished good time. Unfortunately it was an astronomical high tide which meant pushing the venue into a wooded area behind the beach. I stayed for about 2 hours and then headed back to the ship and back to bed for a little bit.

A couple of Aussies staying on my deck served as my wakeup call when they returned to the ship. AUSSIE! AUSSIE!! AUSSIE!!! Ok, I’m awake! It was time to go up to the pool deck and see what was going there with Qua’Leh spinning for the guests not tanked from the open bar at the beach club. I stayed up there hanging out by an almost empty pool when Kristina Sky took over. There was a surprise set which turned out to be Markus Schulz. He played us into a cloudy sunset as the ship sailed back to Miami. Darude took over before I left and headed to dinner and the warmth of the inside of the ship.

Again another lovely dinner in the main dining room but the crew seemed confused tonight. While off the ship in Jamaica, a re-branding occurred for the main theater entertainment of Dada Life. The ship had signs posted everywhere saying it had been taken over by Dada Life. What was even more crazy was all the TV stations were static with words taken over by Dada Life flashing in and out. There were no satellite feeds coming in except in the Bliss Lounge where they were airing the football games. The crew were confused with what was going on. Natalia said to me: “Who is this Dada person and why do they have the ship?” I nearly died laughing. She had no clue and neither did any of the other crew in the dining room. After I explained it to her it was funny telling her the entire line up of crew at the door waiting patiently for guests to arrive to be seated. It was a great dinner service as always from Natalia.

Tonight I checked out the concept of GCFAM open decks in Bliss Lounge. This is where aspiring DJs or DJs who are just sailing can take control of the turntables for one hour at a time from 8PM to Midnight. During this night it was the boys from Deep Bass Productions in New York City who took over. Damiano was part of the Deep Bass productions and he had regular sets on the ship but the rest of the Deep Bass boys who also DJ were in there. It was a good escape and place to relax as they have beds for lounging. Tonight’s theme was onesies so it was nice to be cozy and comfortable. However, too comfortable and I was almost falling asleep!

By this time the theater had opened! Dancetronauts started the set followed by Project 46. Dzeko and Torres began their set up until 2AM. With a grand entrance and great showmanship, Dada Life took the stage. Their opening built up energy and their show augmented their music to make an amazing night. They played the song Bananas and called up people wearing banana costumes on the stage with champagne showers being sprayed nearly everywhere. Shortly after that and some more tunes later, pillows were thrown into the audience. To the song of Happy Violence, a 1,000 strong pillow fight broke out in the Stardust Theater. It is quite possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced in my days at sea! Blow up bananas and blow up champagne bottles were thrown into the audience as well. Everything was soft so it was more fun than anything else. The pillows came apart and all the filling went everywhere. It stuck to the minion onesie I was wearing. It filled up the rows in the front up ankle high with the filler. It was an absolutely awesome experience. I give huge props to the Whet team for getting it all cleaned up after DSK CHK’s set ended at 5AM.

Before heading to bed I checked out the pool deck which was finally open and in all its glory for the Incorrect Afterhours featuring Supernova. The beats were deep, the lighting fierce and the lasers even more fierce. It was so sad to realize just how amazing this venue was and how much Mother Nature had messed it up. Tonight made up for it but I was running on empty and headed to bed.

Day 4 – Sea Day

What is that? Is that the SUN? Yes the sun is finally out and the sky is fairly clear! Thank goodness! It was time to get up for breakfast at the Garden Café. Walked past the pool deck where Stefano Noferini was finishing up his set with Incorrect Afterhours. Alex Madden played for a bit while I hung out waiting for the rest of my crew to wake up. When they did arrive Drums of the Sun (from Chicago) came on. What better way to get a pool deck sun party going than with live drums being percussed to the beats of awesome tracks. Neel aka Bam Bam Buddha is just amazing!

At 1PM in the aft court, something that’s never been done before at sea happened – a soccer match between DJs! It was definitely worth checking out! It was team Dash Berlin versus team Dada Life. What a crazy concept to do. We had our own T-Rex, a Groove Cruise virgin dressed up, running around as entertainment. It just worked nicely. Dada Life came out of the gate strong but then their team started to suffer some injuries with one DJ running into the metal pole without looking and messed up his teeth. EDX pulled a muscle in his leg. Dash Berlin got it tied up but then they decided to call the game as the injuries on both teams were mounting! The boys needed to stick to the DJ turn tables and not sports but don’t tell Dash Berlin that. He wanted a winner and wasn’t settling for a tie. However, everyone came to their senses and what happened next was truly amazing. Those fans who stayed for the whole event were invited to the court for a group photo with the DJs! That was amazing and then we got our own photos on our own camera with the DJs. Not only did I finally get to see and hear Dash Berlin live, today I got a picture with him! Talk about awesome!!!

During the second hour of the match, Markus Schulz was doing a private exclusive new album preview for just over 50 lucky GC guests. Unfortunately since the two conflicted, I stayed at the soccer match. Everyone reconvened at the pool deck for Michael Woods set and some EDX who was feeling better before I left for dinner. It was the farewell night for the dining room and to say goodbye to Natalia. I needed some serious caffeine as I was almost asleep by dessert. It was time for the strategic nap. The DJs playing earlier in the theater I had already seen so I headed to bed until 2AM.

Day 5 – Miami, FL – Debarkation

I woke up at 2AM and headed to the theater with the Cartoons Gone Wild theme clothes on to find Sander van Doorn was at the turn tables as the last major headliner for GC Miami. He played an awesome set but finished unexpectedly early. This threw the other DJ Kristina Sky who was closing the theater one last time for a loop. They covered it nicely but you could tell it was a bit hectic. Not cool Sander! Kristina Sky did an awesome job with songs to say goodbye to us all during her final intimate set.

Once the theater finished up for the cruise, it was time to head to the pool deck and the classics set by Roger Sanchez which would carry us into Miami. Out of the three GCs I’ve done, Roger Sanchez did the best closing set. Throwbacks and classics with the right meaning were played as we sailed past the South Beach break water with intelligent lighting shining, laser beams heading into downtown Miami and fierce beats to wake everyone up as we went by. After we went to the turning basin and docked, the sun came up and the music was still going. The music and the sunrise could not have been more on point for the trip. A cloud filled sunrise but with awesome hues. The music finally stopped around 7:30AM and thus another Miami GC with 96 hours of non-stop music was in the books.

Not letting anyone go to their cabin and pass out, the cruise line got right on the PA as I was eating breakfast and called guests leaving with their own luggage to head off the ship. The Express Walk-Off seemed to be going fairly smoothly and they started calling luggage tags. I was eating in the Garden Café at that point and headed back to the cabin. I was Lime green with an NCL purchased transfer to the Fort Lauderdale airport. Shortly after 8:30AM they called my luggage tag. I headed to the gangway to debark and there was Jason, owner of Whet, saying goodbye personally to all the guests. Unlike the LA debark, this was organized, fast and efficient. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and even got on an earlier flight home. While the Pearl was the only ship in Miami that day, there were other cruise ships in Fort Lauderdale so the airport was still packed.

Overall the guest experience on the Norwegian Pearl was amazing. The crew were outstanding. I saw some familiar faces from other ships including Cherryl Sanadarin, the bar waitress who spotted me the first night of the cruise and asked how I was doing. She also asked how my mom was doing and if she was on the cruise with me… on GC? LOL yeah right! Although some artists did bring their parents along which I thought was cool! The Group Service Coordinator I know as Apple was also a familiar face from the times I would do Cruise Critic gatherings on regular sailings. It was my first time sailing with Natalia in the main dining room but by the end of the cruise I considered her a friend. Her service was just amazing and the food recommendations off the new menu were on-point. Plus, I had two entrees every night so I let her pick one and I did the other. I always ate both fully! The crew of the ship deserve a shout out. GCers never sleep and neither do they! When we leave the ship, they’re exhausted but we have fun with them and they enjoy our presence and energy. I have to say whoever that bar waiter was in the main theater when the pillow fight went down… his facial expressions were priceless. I think he thought he would have to help clean up the mess from the filler going everywhere. Nicely done NCL with the Pearl’s crew.

Overall, despite Mother Nature's best attempts at putting a damper on things, the quick work of the charter team meant that hardly a beat was missed that was scheduled. I give big time credit to them for getting this whole thing put together and dealing with multiple artists who have their own special demands and needs. I accomplished a lot on this cruise and met a lot of talented artist DJs up close and personal and that's what I love about Groove Cruise! If you are interested and want to save $50 per person, use discount code GCVIRGIN. Groove Cruise is twice a year with one sailing from San Diego and one from Miami.

Here are some photos from the experience!

Sounds fun. I'm guessing the average age was quite a bit lower than the typical cruise (aside from the all-gay cruises)? That alone would be a big draw for many of us.

Sounds fun. I'm guessing the average age was quite a bit lower than the typical cruise (aside from the all-gay cruises)? That alone would be a big draw for many of us.

The average age is about upper 20s. About half of the attendees are in their 20s with a 1/3 being in their 30s and the rest being of all ages and love for the music and cruising! It's definitely a young, but responsible crowd. If you're familiar with PLUR, it's alive and well on GC. :)

As a side note, I'm in my 30s and it's still a ton of fun! Plus, there's a growing gay community within Groove Cruise. This past cruise there were just over 40 of us, even though we went to Jamaica! Most didn't know about Jamaica though because it was their first voyage. Either way, we all still had a great time! It was my third one and by far the BEST one out of the three so far! Not sure how they're going to top it with the 5 day West Coast cruise from San Diego to Cabo in October!

Thanks for the review Jake. Very nice. Heading aboard Summit tomorrow. Can't wait :D

Jeff

Thanks for the review Jake. Very nice. Heading aboard Summit tomorrow. Can't wait :D

 

Jeff

Hey Jeff! How have you been! I hope your cruise is splendid (you're already gone on it now)! :)

Hey Jeff! How have you been! I hope your cruise is splendid (you're already gone on it now)! :)

Hey Jake. Yeah. Long time no speak. Summit was nice. We had a great time. Sort of miss the some of the old "luxury" instead of the "modern luxury" on X today but it was still better than work :D. I think the Med after I graduate is next on the agenda in a few years. Cheers!

Jeff

Great review! Nice to hear a personal account of Groove Cruise. Do they have any LGBT meet-up's? Or is it just more informal?

Great review! Nice to hear a personal account of Groove Cruise. Do they have any LGBT meet-up's? Or is it just more informal?

The LGBT family do have an informal meet up because they have attendees only groups and the LGBT group (which I'm in) has a separate FB page as well. It's only for confirmed guests though. The cool thing about Groove Cruise is everyone on the ship is super friendly. It's just good people out to have a good time and enjoy some good music. Feel free to give it a try. I would highly recommend you try out the Cabo GC this Fall. It has our largest LGBT group yet! There's still space available to have even more family on. The ship is just about 70% sold. If you book use Groove Cruise promo code GCVIRGIN and you can get $50 off per person! It's the Norwegian Sun out of San Diego for 5 days. The Atlantis Events cruise will be in Cabo with us on our second day there (Groove Cruise is overnight in Cabo). Halloween is going to be crazy in Cabo with GC and Atlantis both in town together! :D

Groove Cruise Miami just went on sale on the Carnival Victory to Grand Turk in January and is 4 days Monday through Friday in 2017. There's not as many gay folks on the East Coast run as the West Coast but we're there too! :D

Are you thinking of going? :) If so, which one would you be going to?

 

Are you thinking of going? :) If so, which one would you be going to?

Thanks for the thorough reply! It's nice to see that there's a good LGBT crowd on GC, that makes it a lot more appealing to me. I've always had this on my radar, but no firm plans just yet. The west coast one sounds amazing, especially overnight in Cabo! But being in Toronto, it's a lot easier to get to Florida for me, so that'd likely be the one I'd do. Love the Carnival Victory too! Maybe see you aboard one day :)

Thanks for the thorough reply! It's nice to see that there's a good LGBT crowd on GC, that makes it a lot more appealing to me. I've always had this on my radar, but no firm plans just yet. The west coast one sounds amazing, especially overnight in Cabo! But being in Toronto, it's a lot easier to get to Florida for me, so that'd likely be the one I'd do. Love the Carnival Victory too! Maybe see you aboard one day :)

I haven't been on the Victory so maybe you can give me tips and hints on how to have an awesome experience on her in January (yes I'm going on that one too... you stop cruising when you're dead IMHO :eek::D)...

If you do book, definitely join in the attendees groups. Unfortunately any roll calls on other platforms like this don't really get any traction. On those you know you're talking with someone definitely going so that makes it work better too! :)

I hear you on the flights too... going to San Diego is like an arm and a leg compared to Miami / Fort Lauderdale. :cool: