What Makes Cruise Festivals Unique? A Guide to Events at Sea

What Are Cruise-Based Festivals?

Cruise based festivals are trips by cruise ship that are organized around the theme of entertainment. Artists, performers and audiences are brought together through the framework of a cruise schedule.

During their trip, the passengers can watch shows, participate in activities related to specific themes, and move about the various performance areas on the ship.

Unlike traditional cruises which typically treat entertainment as just one part of an overall experience, floating festivals center around a central theme or artistic expression. They have taken many forms including music styles, theatrical experiences, comedic expressions, or cultural themes. Each day's program will represent the theme of the festival and create a cohesive experience for all attendees.

One of the major appeals of floating festivals is their immersive nature. The performances are no longer confined to a singular stage or time period. Rather than being segmented by time, performances are woven into the fabric of the daily life of each guest on board the vessel. This allows for each guest to interact with the overall program of events in a more continuous and dynamic manner.

Cruise Ships as Festival Venues

Modern cruise vessels offer a unique opportunity to utilize the various public rooms and outdoor areas aboard to hold a variety of different types of events. This offers many different advantages:

• Many modern cruise vessels offer multiple theaters, numerous outdoor deck areas and several lounge areas that can be used for a wide range of events.
• Due to the compact size of most cruise vessels, it is relatively easy to move from one venue to another. Therefore, it is possible to develop programs of events that can include both large-scale production numbers and much more intimate events.
• Another advantage of utilizing a cruise vessel as a floating festival is the compactness of the area. As such, the movement between venues is made easy and the possibility of attending different events at different locations is easily facilitated.
• The proximity of the performer and the audience is also beneficial. Since everyone is traveling together on the same vessel, there is an increased likelihood of artist to audience interaction. For example, artists may choose to conduct workshops, panel discussions, or informal meet-and-greets in conjunction with their scheduled performances.

These additional elements add to the overall experience of the floating festival.

History and Development of Floating Festivals

While the concept of using a vessel for entertainment purposes is certainly not new, the concept of using a cruise vessel specifically for festivals is a relatively recent development. In the early days of cruising, entertainment was provided in the form of a standard show and/or a series of onboard activities intended to appeal to a broad base of passengers. It wasn't until later that organizers began experimenting with more specialized programming for their passengers.

Types of Cruise Festivals

Variation exists in cruise festival experiences as well, due to the focus of each event. Many cruise festivals focus primarily on either music, theater or other types of themed entertainment. Let’s look at the different types:

• One type of cruise festival is music focused. These festivals generally have multiple musical acts performing on the ship's various stages during the duration of the voyage.
• Music genres represented at music focused events include rock, electronic music, jazz, classical and many more.
• Another type of cruise festival focuses on theater. Cruises that focus on theater may include stage productions, readings of plays and scripts, workshops and seminars featuring the performers.
• In contrast to a traditional festival format, which has limited opportunities to see performances because of scheduling constraints, theater festivals offer passengers choices of how much time to spend attending performances.

Many cruises bring together elements of multiple types of entertainment under a single theme. Music, theater and interactive activities may be part of the entertainment options available to passengers when a cruise festival is being held under a single theme.

How Performances Are Scheduled On Board

Because cruise festivals take place onboard a ship, the programming around a cruise festival will be structured to accommodate the voyage schedule. Cruise festivals do not have the same type of scheduled performance blockage as festivals held on land. Instead, cruise festivals take advantage of the fact that the performances can be held throughout the day and night.

To make it easier for passengers to select the performance they want to attend, and to help distribute the crowds, organizers will schedule multiple performances simultaneously in different locations. As the entire event takes place in an enclosed space, transitioning from one performance to another is relatively easy compared to the logistics of transitioning between outdoor festivals.

Daytime and Evening Programming

Cruise based festivals tend to be divided between daytime and nighttime programs to create continuous activity. Most daytime programs include workshop/panel discussion/rehearsal sessions, small-scale performances and other similar types of engagements. This type of program provides both the audience and performers an opportunity to get familiarized with each other as well as gain some insight into the creative process.

In contrast, most of the evening programs consist of large-scale productions/headlining performances. Concerts/theatre shows/themed events are generally the types of activities that occur during the evening hours. Depending upon the nature of the event, there will either be a more formal atmosphere created (theatres) or a higher-energy atmosphere created (concerts).

Cruise Routes and Ports

The routes cruises take to reach their destination ports and the number of port stops along the way also help create the experience of a cruise-based festival. Many cruises follow a route that passes along the coast and makes multiple stops in various ports. While the ship is stopping at various ports, the majority of the festival still takes place on the ship. Therefore, while the ports visited add another layer to the festival experience, the ship is still the main venue for the festival.

Trends in the Future and Specialized Cruises

As cruise-based festivals continue to grow and develop, organizers are exploring new ways to present the festival format. For example, many of the newer cruise-based festivals are focused on providing specialized events for very specific audiences. Some examples of these types of events include those focused on one particular genre of music, theatrical style, or culture. Overall, cruise-based festivals are becoming an increasingly popular form of entertainment.