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Kid Rock's Chillin' the Most Cruise 2010

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My Liberal Ass Spent 5 Nights on Kid Rock’s Chillin’ The Most Cruise

“Good morning, motherfuckers” was our greeting every day at around 11am on the ship-wide PA system by a soothing woman’s voice.

For the 8th year in a row, Kid Rock’s Chillin’ the Most cruise brought together the (self-proclaimed) rednecks of America in the most spectacular fashion – 4 days and 5 nights on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico with lots of music, lots of booze, lots of swingers (really) and a total of zero fucks given.

The first thing I noticed walking down the swaying hallway to my room shortly after boarding the Norwegian Jade, was the familiar scent of California’s best medicine. If this was the Jam Cruise, I wouldn’t have batted a bloodshot eyelash, but going into this thing, I thought Kid Rock’s cruise would be all angry, old white people who hate weed, hippies and black people, pound Coors Light and salute a statue of their newly crowned dicta…er, president.

Well, nearly everyone on the ship was in fact white (we found out during the Kid Rock Q&A that “we have 3 black girls this year on the ship”), but there was no hate amongst the 2,300 “Chillers.” It was a week of all love. Well, a week of complete debauchery is more accurate. A diverse crowd, this was not. But that’s why everyone was there. To connect with like-minded Chillers (yes, I’m going there. Get used to it) who want to escape the monotony of life back home and have the most epic party of their year.

The musicians who are veterans of rock cruises admitted to me that this was the craziest, most out-of-control cruise they had ever been on.

I mean, there were belly flop and “Lucky Bitch” contests for godsake. And a dance party rager in the casino till 5am. Every night.

But there was more weed on this ship than a Phish show.

Speaking of Phish, on Dress Up Like Your Favorite Album Cover night, one dude wore Jon Fishman’s infamous dress and Chillers were high fiving him all night (was not expecting that). Last night, I hopped into a circle in the cigar room where 3 joints, 2 blunts, a wax pen and a Pax 2.0 were simultaneously being passed. On the deck stage, random women offered hits from their pens. Everyone came to get down. Hard.

The most offensive (to none on board) shirts in America were proudly sported all week long. There was the “Trashy Whore” club. One shirt read “I’m here for the drinking and the fucking. And I’m almost done drinking.” A shirt that from afar read “I Love My Wife” but on closer examination it actually read “I Love when My Wife brings me a beer.” Yes, there were confederate flag togas and a confederate flag tied to the deck stage guard rail with “REDNECK” emblazoned.

And the back of one of Kid Rock’s official Ts read “Don’t Give a Flyin’ Hillbilly Fuck.” That shirt sold out.

Women were regularly dancing topless with just Kid Rock pasties covering their nipples. A man wore a hat with gigantic boobs on the rim.

When the news helicopter flew by before we departed Tampa, everyone stood on the deck flipping it off. The middle finger this week was more a gesture of camaraderie and endearment than hate or anger. “Motherfucker” was shot every which way with a high five and a cheers.

Despite the few Make America Great Again hats and Trump shirts I spotted, there was very little politics discussed.

The only time I ever heard it come remotely close to a political discussion was when a middle aged man at the black jack table volunteered how he thought everyone needs a gun, Sandy Hook was staged by the “news media and the government to take away our guns” and that 9-11 was an inside job. For the record, he wasn’t “a fan of the current administration” either.

As I live in the liberal bubble of Los Angeles, I don’t interact with this crowd very often – to say the least.

But Kid Rock understand’s his audience. And his audience fucking loves him.

Kid Rock doesn’t seem to give a fuck about anything (he hilariously, albeit lovingly, mocked his fans asking questions during the official Q&A – searching his pockets after a fan’s question he said “hold on… I’m looking for a fuck”).

Kid Rock seemed to be drunk the entire cruise. When a woman asked to get a photo with him with her boyfriend standing right there, he responded “Are you going to sleep with me?” He may have been joking. But probably not. He doesn’t give a fuck. And you kind of have to love him for that. And to be honest, most boyfriends seemed to openly give their ladies passes for Kid Rock this week.

But also during the Q&A, a young veteran who did 3 tours in Iraq and 3 tours in Afghanistan told Kid Rock how much his music meant to all the soldiers and how it “kept us connected to home.”

As a tear dripped behind my oversized circular sunglasses and fell into my Budweiser, Kid Rock shot back “Go fuck yourself. You’re the reason we are here. God bless you. I don’t want accolades.”

“Who taught you about the birds and the bees?” -Fan during the Q&A “Your mom” -Kid Rock

But my initial fears at the start of the expedition, while I kept count of all the Make America Great Again hats I spotted before we even departed, wondering what was going to happen when all these angry white people get drunk, quickly washed away as I realized that most of the hats actually read “Make America Stoned Again” (Merch from the John Stone Band) and everyone was just there to have a good time.

At first glance, the lineup of bands on the ship made no sense. Of course Kid Rock performed a couple times (and sat in a bunch), but then you had Robert Randolph and the Family Band who is quite well known in the jam and blues worlds, but I’d say completely unknown in the redneck universe. One of the grandfather’s of hip hop, Doug E. Fresh , was on the ship as well as other hip hop legends EPMD . The No BS! Brass Band, British rockers The Struts , and Minneapolis funkers Alex Rossi Band with the best living vocal (effects) percussionist, Heatbox,  as well as Southern Rockers  Bishop Gunn  brought quite the diverse musical lineup.

My ticket on the ship was provided by a buddy who manages one of the bands. I was on the ship in no official capacity other than Head Chiller. Had to.

I had an Artist pass which enabled me to roam freely throughout the ship – including to Kid Rock’s penthouse suite for the epic late night jams. One night, while Kevin Gastonguay of Alex Rossi’s band was leading a sing-a-long on the white grand piano in the center of the room, Kid Rock stumbled over, sat next to Kevin and started barking “SLOW DOWN! SLOW. DOWN. SLOWER. SLOOWWWEEERR!” While pounding out a crawling tempo on the mahogany – a solid 70 beats per minute slower than the actual tempo of “I’ll Take You There” But, you know, when you’re drunk everything feels too fast.

And, as we established already, Kid Rock gives no fucks.

That’s the thing that makes all of these Chillers such hard core Kid Rock fans (and what every musician can learn from).

Kid Rock doesn’t try to please anyone, but himself. He is brash, obnoxious, chauvinistic and aloof. He’s nostalgic, sentimental, confident and witty. And he’s a monster performer. I’ll be completely honest, I had not heard 2 Kid Rock songs before this cruise and I was quite entertained by his shows.

He makes (seemingly) ignorant comments about race (“Goddam I wish I was black!” “Ever thought you’d see a black dude wearing a bow tie playing the pedal steel?!”). He is unabashedly redneck and as far from PC as you can get (“That’s gayyyyyy” he shot out a couple times during the Q&A). And he knows exactly how to connect with his fans – because they love him for exactly this.

“I’m an American Bad Ass Watch me kick You can roll with Rock Or you can Suck My Dick I’m a porno flick, I’m like amazing grace I’m gonna fuck some hoe’s after I rock this place” – from “American Badass”

It makes me think of what Derek Sivers wrote in his book Anything You Want, “You need to confidently exclude people and proudly say what you’re not. By doing so, you’ll win the hearts of the people you want.” That’s what Kid Rock has done.

And that’s what you need to do to build super fans.

Yes, this is the America that put Trump into office that Hollywood / Silicon Valley / NYC progressives and the “well-educated” do not understand. I finally understood that these proud rednecks who voted for Trump didn’t vote for him in spite of his “pussy grabbing” rhetoric, they voted for him because of it. This whole crew is aggressively anti-PC. And they hate being judged and shunned by the PC culture of Hollywood and the mainstream media. I didn’t understand this group, really, until this week.

I’m not going to pretend I completely do now (or condone any of the statements I heard), but I could share a drink, a J, a buffet meal, a dance and a high five with any one of them and feel better about life.

At the core, we are all just people looking to make the best of our time on earth.

As much as “progressives” would like to put every one of these people into a perfectly symmetrical, “ignorant,” “racist,” “bigot” box, it is only detrimental to the process. And to humanity. I had fears about what 2,300 angry, white, drunk Trump supporters were going to do to the few black musicians on the boat. I mean, I did just see Get Out for the second time. And that video of the old white dude clocking that black protestor at a Trump rally exclaiming “next time we’ll have to kill him” was playing on repeat in my mind while boarding.

But these fears were completely unfounded. Everyone partied with everyone else. One of the beautiful things about a cruise ship is that we’re all confined to this boat for 3 full days and 5 nights (we had a day off in Key West. Unfortunately our Bahamas day was cancelled due to high waves). You run into everyone everywhere. Musicians included. Everyone partied together. Everyone sang together. Everyone danced together. Everyone drank, ate, smoked and had a great fucking time together.

Most bands played 3 sets throughout the 4 days which enabled everyone to catch at least one set.

A standout was definitely The Struts – which is fronted by a glammed out Freddie Mercury / Mick Jagger hybrid with dance moves inspired by MJ. It was quite hilarious looking around at the packed house of small-town, redneck men not knowing exactly what to do with themselves while The Struts’ front man, in heavy makeup and glitter, rocked their fucking worlds. You couldn’t help but be overtaken by the power of The Struts magnetism. They left a pint of sweat on the stage every set. True pros.

Of course Robert Randolph and the Family Band  brought it hard every set. I’ve been seeing them since they opened for Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer back in the early 2000s. As one of the greatest living guitar players, Robert is also a monster front person – regularly jumping on his chair, playing his pedal steels every which way, kicking the sky while some of the baddest musicians hold down an unshakable groove.

And the Alex Rossi Band brought the unmistakable Minneapolis funk to the high seas. On their last set, they brought up Kid Rock’s backup singer, Shannon Curfman (a blues star in her own right) who showed the packed room that she can rip as hard as anyone on the ship. Her vocals were the strongest of the entire weekend.

But some of the best moments were the spontaneous jam sessions and sing-alongs in the Deck 6 Artist Lounge.

Props to Sixthman , which organizes all the best musical cruises (100+ running), for placing a grand piano, a couple acoustic guitars, picks and an acoustic bass in the artist lounge (with enough Budweiser to give everyone enough juice to connect with fellow musicians who they just met in the way they best know how). Even though I wasn’t on the bill, I was able to lead the pack of sleep-deprived musicians in a rousing “Lean on Me” sing-a-long – joined by the flawless harmonies of Sweat Tea Trio.

Then, on the final day, when everyone had become sea pals, pretty much everyone came together for the afternoon “Robert Randolph and the Family Jam” on the Deck stage. The musicians of the ship played everything from “Crossroads” and “Voodoo Child” to “The Weight,” “Hell on Heels” and an instrumental “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” with a freestyle by EPMD. They ended with a rip roaring “Johnny B. Good” in honor of the recently passed Chuck Berry – where Kid Rock came out and sang some improvised verses.

Backstage, after the jam, a friend and I walked up to Kid Rock and said “Hey Bob, could we get a photo?” And he responded, “I don’t give a fuck.”

29 responses.

Seems like only one thing was missing from this cruise: an attractive person.

Best looking group of Americans I have ever seen! Everyone knows happy people are the best looking.

My thoughts exactly. But, zero fucks given! I’d never go anywhere with that crew. But, it’s good to see any crowd having a blast these days, and everyone getting along.

ignorant….

Why don’t these people give a fuck? Maybe they should care about something.

It’s five days, it’s called vacations zero fucks given

If you have to ask, you would NEVER understand!

maybe they care so much 24/7/365 they deserve a 5 day break from giving a fuck. maybe you should just try chillin

Amazing article!!! Thank you for when you are on vacation you don’t want to give a fuck and want to have a good time and forget about the real world with great music and great people!!!!

You forgot the Big Rock Show one of nashvilles best kept secrets and the lead guitarist and lead singer are both touring with Gene Simmons

And John Stone who has been on all 8 cruises.

This is a great article! There ARE some REALLY good journalist left❤ I have lived in the South my whole life, some states are better than p others just like people. One thing I’ve found is no matter where you go in TN there’s ALWAYS good solid folks around, and seem to get along with equally good folks & would have your back in a heartbeat, whether they know you or not!

Met you guys on the balcony the first day. You were looking for something. Sorry I could not help. Great article, glad you had a good time!

I had no idea this cruise existed, but now that I do I would totally buy tickets!

I’ve been on 3 Rock Boats and the 1st Kid Rock Cruise. Always an amazing party- everyone gets along so well. Never any trouble from anyone…

Love my redneck family! Best article I have read about in a long time and that about says it all. If you have never been on a Kid Rock cruise you may not understand this article at all. Last year was the Monsters of Rock for us also and some fantastic bands but not even close to the happy, lovey friendly crazy mother fuckers on The Kid Rock cruise. God Bless! See y’all next year Muah <3

Obesity/Diabetes Alcoholism Bigotry Chronic (self-imposed) poverty My refusal to educate myself My refusal to develop skills that work beyond 1992 Ruining this country

Yea, ghetto areas suck. What is your point?

Ghetto/redneck…they seem pretty equivalent to me, good point.

Hell exists, and this is it.

Great MOTHERFUCKINARTICLE HELL YEAH

Glad you got to experience it and got what it was about. I’m liberal and can hang with anyone. This isn’t about politics and what is going on in the nation. It is about a vacation with people who get that there are Zero rules when on this boat. The only rule is don’t be a D**K. If it offends you, it isn’t for you. Most of us have the time of our lives, it is basically adult Spring Break every year and we make the best of it. Yes, we get a bit immature, that is just letting our selves go for 5 days before heading back to our real life. Zero F**ks is just a saying on the boat as it is everywhere today. We all care, just when on the boat, having a good time is what we aim for. Don’t judge something you don’t have a clue about. This is about a good time with music and partying. So I’m immature for 5 days out of my year….no apologies for that.

Cheryl, I am with you on your reply. What most people do not understand is that this cruise consists of doctors, lawyers, business owners, educators and others from every walk of life. We all have one thing in common, our love of music and Kid Rock. For someone to judge something they have never experienced is the ultimate in ignorance.

Great article..the only thing anyone cares about is having a good time.As a five time Kid Rock cruiser it gets better every year.The bands and people are diverse and many of us remain friends long after it ends.My 70 year old mom went on #7 and i quote her “This is the nicest group of people i have ever met”. Thanks for including my pic in the article.

this is the saddest most depressing group of people I’ve ever seen. I almost lost my lunch. I can’t believe scum like this exist in this day and age

There are some disgusting tattoos on those skanks.

I can’t imagine a more painful experience, actually.

I was on that cruise.. It was our first… and only.. but to the dominican we go… Kid Rock… is .. Kid Rock…

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All Aboard the SS Kid Rock

By Drew Magary

Photography by Andrew Hetherington

Kid Rock knows something that you and I don't. He's figured out the secret—the dirty, nasty, well-kept secret of American life, which is that rednecks, in general, have more fun than uppity liberal folk like me. If you're a redneck, you're not dropping $2,300 a month to live in a Park Slope utility closet. The radio plays songs you actually like. You're not waiting in line for hours to eat at a trendy restaurant that doesn't take reservations, because Applebee's is A-OK with you. Also A-OK: cheap, mass-produced beer. Plus, you get to shoot guns all the time. It's a remarkably enjoyable lifestyle, and the annual Kid Rock theme cruise, officially called Kid Rock's Chillin' the Most Cruise, now in its fourth year, is meant to be a raucous celebration of it, with Rock—a man who countrified the concept of "keeping it real"—as its Pied Piper.

There are 2,435 of us sailing out with Rock from Miami on the Norwegian Pearl , and only 1,001 are here for the first time, including me, which explains the virgin tag that will be hanging around my neck for the next five days. The remaining 1,434 passengers are returning for their second, third, even fourth time. They get tags that say VETERAN. It's an astonishing retention rate, and it explains why more and more musicians are ignoring stereotypes about cruises being a floating graveyard for washed-up acts. Not all of them succeed—Sugar Ray's '90s-nostalgia cruise was canceled in February. But when you find the right match of artist and audience, miracles (and nudity) can happen.

From Miami, our cruise will sail to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, a tiny island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line that can be dressed up as a different island every week, depending upon which theme cruise is coming to port. Last fall, it served as headquarters for the KISS Navy. This week the cay will be rechristened Redneck Paradise (after the Kid Rock song). Then we head back out to sea for one more night before arriving back in Miami, where we will hopefully arrive free of Legionnaires' disease. Two years ago, Kid Rock's cruise was held aboard the Carnival Triumph , a vessel that became infamous this past February when its engine died at sea and it had to be towed to Alabama, with passengers shitting into paper bags and subsisting on onion sandwiches. (This year's Kid Rock cruise is on a different boat. "I can't believe my name didn't come up in that," he will tell me later. "I was waiting for it to be like, 'Kid Rock pooped on that boat!' ") With any luck, the Pearl will spare us such indignities, because we have other indignities planned.

The ship is huge. HUGE. It's the kind of ship you gawk at from the highway. It's nearly 1,000 feet long and fifteen stories high. For our voyage, it has been stocked with 26,000 eggs, 357 gallons of ice cream, 8,000 pounds of beef, 1,484 pounds of cheese, and 643 pounds of coffee. There's also 12,568 pounds of fruit, none of which will be eaten.

I walk to my room along one of the ship's many vast hallways. There's a door-decorating contest going on all week, and the passengers are putting everything they have into it. One cabin door is festooned with a dozen old Playboy centerfolds. Another has a sign blaring JAM OUT WITH YOUR CLAM OUT. In the hallway, I pass by one woman alerting a crew member named Carlos for help dragging her shitfaced friend back to their cabin. "Carlos, we got a drunk one here!"

We are still in the port.

One of the cruise's signature competitions: the belly-flop contest.

As this ship's honorary captain, Kid Rock has a number of contractual duties. He must play two shows—one as we leave Miami and a second show two days later over at Redneck Paradise—and participate in at least one nonmusical activity: beers and bingo, the belly-flop contest, etc. This will not be a problem for Kid Rock, as I quickly find out that few musicians enjoy communing with their fans, while just as shitfaced as they are, more than the man christened Bob Ritchie.

By the time I get up to the pool deck to watch Rock's opening show, the party has started without me. There are enormous sunburned men with motion-sickness patches behind their ears shouting out, "I'm on a boat, motherfucker!" Two women are carrying around an inflatable man with a giant dong sticking out. There are games of flip cup and cornhole in progress. There are joints being fired up all over the place. There are buckets upon buckets of cold ones dotting the deck. There are drunk wives being dragged out of the crowd by their loving husbands. And there are people frolicking in the three hot tubs near the stage. A few of the bathers got into the tubs fully clothed, then began removing their wardrobe piece by wet piece.

Most of the people here are over 40, and jacked as they are to see their redneck hero take the stage, they seem even more excited to see one another . The close quarters and jam-packed days on a cruise make for intense friendships, ones that linger long after the cruise is over. "We have friends for twenty years that we never see anymore," one lady tells me. "We just hang out with the cruise people now." It's a very familiar vibe, and that extends to Rock himself. No one on the ship calls him "Kid Rock." He's Bob or Bobby to everyone.

By Brett Martin

By Jeremy Freed

By Matthew Roberson

As we wait for Rock to take the stage on deck 12, a couple I meet share a valuable piece of cruise-drinking advice. "Always ask for the wheelchair," says the wife. "Because then they'll roll you back to the cabin if you're too shitfaced to stand." There are nine people aboard who are actually disabled, and I spend the rest of the cruise trying to figure out who's got ALS and who is merely drunk beyond functionality.

At 5 p.m., Rock comes on wearing a bright pink shirt and plays his version of "Sea Cruise," then runs through a bunch of his hits. This is by no means a token appearance: Rock plays for two solid hours. He plays for so long that hardly anyone, including me, notices that we've actually left port and are heading out to sea.

After the concert ends, the crowd scatters and I find myself standing in a war zone of crushed lime wedges, bottle caps, and shattered plastic. Beside one of the hot tubs, there's a Heineken Light bucket filled with warm vomit. The sun falls behind the quickly diminishing skyline of Miami, and I walk up to a group of enormous men outfitted in denim overalls that have been meticulously airbrushed with Kid Rock in various poses. One of them, a giant ripped bald guy named Monte, works as a financial adviser back home in Du Quoin, Illinois.

"Did you go in the hot tub?" he asks me.

"No, but I definitely saw some naked people in there," I say.

"I would not go in that hot tub if I were you."

The men tell me their overalls were designed by a friend back in Du Quoin. On the 2011 cruise, Kid Rock saw their threads and brought the boys up to the VIP area. Now they are back to hand-deliver a custom pair to Bobby.

"The pair this year has the Rebel Soul theme with the helicopter, and it says LET'S RIDE across it," Monte tells me. "And on the back, it has the Wounded Warrior logo. And then below that, it says NEVER FORGET across the ass, and then below that on the left is the Arlington National Cemetery. It's like tombstones are going off in the distance. Badass."

Monte hands me a beer, and I tell him I'll buy him one in return. He smiles and politely refuses the offer.

"No way, man. You're family now."

Rock, in his custom-made overalls, judging the climactic Redneck Prom.

There is a jail on the Pearl —a plain white room located in the bowels of the ship, with a dirty foam mattress and a dim fluorescent light. It's like being locked inside a vault: confinement within confinement. Last week's cruise, which was hosted by 311, had a number of scofflaws, including a "Spider-Woman" who got so high she tried to scale down the front of the ship. The ship's nurse will tell me that she ended up dangling from one of the wiper blades outside the captain's bridge. There was also a woman from New Jersey who died on that cruise. Possible heart attack. They stored her in the ship's morgue—a small closet with room for two cadavers. Later, the nurse will show me the dead woman's toe tag.

On the first morning, there's a rumor that Kid Rock is plowed and doing shots in one of the hot tubs. But by the time word has spread from stem to stern, he's gone. He's like a redneck phantom. I overhear one woman as she laments missing her chance to get wet with Bobby. "I should really be a better stalker," she says.

I head for the breakfast buffet. Before entering, for this or any other meal, you are encouraged to get a squirt of Purell from a lady guarding the doors. Every time you get a squirt, she says, "Washy washy! Happy happy!" This will become a running joke among the passengers. By the end of the trip, everyone is saying hi to one another by shouting, "WASHY WASHY, MOTHERFUCKER!"

It's relatively subdued in here, at least compared with last night, when a woman with huge fake tits and two glittery pasties that looked like tiny starbursts was posing for photographs right next to the soft-serve ice cream bar. She could even flex her boobs individually without touching them. A few feet away, a 13-year-old boy (one of only three minors I see the entire week) saw Sparkle Tits while getting a glass of milk. This, surely, would've been the greatest moment of his young life, were it not for the fact that his mother was standing right there , trying to distract him from Sparkle Tits while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge her existence.

This morning, so far: no tits with my oatmeal. From my window, I can see Great Stirrup Cay. The beaches on the tiny, Cast Away -sized island were damaged this past fall during Hurricane Sandy, but Norwegian restored them. Now the island is ready to become Redneck Paradise.

Once we arrive on the sand, the first activity of the day is the Lucky Bitch contest, in which various ladies get up on a picnic table and, like, do stuff to get the crowd excited. Tits, of course, play a vital role. One contestant asks, "If I get naked, can I meet Kid Rock?" The winner ends up being a buxom brunette named Tina who managed to keep her top off the longest. Her prize is a merch certificate (redeemable in the onboard gift shop), a plastic tiara, and a sash that says MISS LUCKY BITCH 2013. I ask Tina if she was happy to beat out some of the skinnier, blonder women up on the stage. "Oh yeah," she says. "And you know why I won?" She clutches her boobs. "Because these are real . And bruised!"

The Speedo Contest, a just form of revenge for the Lucky Bitch contest, is next. I was offered a spot in the competition and didn't hesitate for a second before accepting. GQ didn't send me here to sit on my ass. Kid Rock and his fans want your participation. They crave it. They reward it. This is not a passive experience. You are meant to get very drunk and very naked and encourage others to do likewise. These people are busting their asses trying to have the time of their lives. It would be an insult not to make the same effort myself.

The cruise organizers lend me a pair of Kid Rock women's underwear (close enough to a Speedo)—a set of drum-tight black panties with Kid Rock's face silk-screened just to the left of my balls and his anthem-slash-motto CUCCI GALORE spread across my ass cheeks—and now I've got them on underneath my normal blue swim trunks. My strategy is a classic reveal: dance around for a bit in the trunks, then turn around, bend over, drop trou, and give everyone the goods. I pound two margaritas to give me some nerve before I get in line with my fellow contestants. A woman with a squirt gun walks down the line shooting whiskey into everyone's mouth, while hundreds of drunken ladies in the crowd scream for us to take the stage, all of them hungry for more beer and more male self-debasement. I'm ready to go.

But I've got serious competition. Many of these men are Speedo-contest veterans, and they know it takes more than just showing off the banana hammock, especially given our less-than-stellar physiques. We're an oddly shaped, sporadically hairy group of men. A few guys ahead of me in line is Randy, a short, furry guy who pulls off his suit to reveal that he's wearing his wife's panties. The crowd roars in approval. Randy tells me his wife demanded that he wear them: "She said it would be hot. I just wanna make her happy." There's also a guy with a stuffed chicken glued to his package (a cock, get it?) and another dude with a stuffed monkey down there. Right in front of me is Aaron, a skinny fellow who has a utility belt of Coors Light bottles around his waist and a blonde woman firing him up by shouting at him, over and over, "You're gonna fucking win!" All I have is CUCCI GALORE. I may be outgunned.

I do my best anyway, hopping up onto the table and pulling down my suit in rhythm to "Eye of the Tiger." Then I nudge down my briefs just a touch and give the crowd the Coppertone-girl look. My crack gets an enthusiastic reception. A cruise photographer snaps photos of my ass that will be broadcast later on the ship's in-house TV channel for all to see. I make it to the next round of the contest (O AN HE SEXY), only to be brought down by Aaron, the eventual champion, who ingeniously douses himself in ice-cold Coors Light every time he gets up on the table. His blonde companion is ecstatic.

"Are you Aaron's wife?" I ask her.

"No, I'm his niece. I did all the choreography."

I end up drowning my sorrows with Dave, last year's contest winner and this year's monkey stuffer. The sun and alcohol are doing a number on my system, and I'm struggling to find the perfect drink to keep me lit but upright. I move from beer to margaritas, back to beer, then to rum and Cokes and finally, regrettably, to Red Bull and vodkas. "That first day back home you're like, 'I'm never gonna do it again,'" says Dave, who's been on this cruise all four years. "But you do. You always come back." Shooter Jennings, son of Waylon, friend of Rock, will tell me later that night that the cruise is "an athletic event in many ways." He is not exaggerating. There is no traditional circadian rhythm on this boat, no day and night. There is only Drunk and Passed Out. Time itself is irrelevant.

Kid Rock takes the stage at Redneck Paradise the next day, and the crowd goes predictably batshit. They dance and drink and strip to their undies during the set as rebel flags fly and inflatable men and women again fill the air. One of the cruise operators sends a photo drone up into the air—a small white plastic robot with four whirring rotors—and more than a handful of women flash their boobs at it. FACELESS SURVEILLANCE PHOTOBOT YAY! No one is fighting. No one is angry. There's an oversize topless woman with Kid Rock pasties covering her nipples, dancing as her husband spoons her from behind. It's all lovin'. That jail I mentioned earlier? That morgue? Nobody on this boat will see the inside of either all week.

Rock on the beach during the cruise's brief stop at Redneck Paradise.

I meet Kid Rock in his top-deck suite after the show, and he spends most of the next four hours lying flat on a large circular sofa, with a hat that reads 'MERICA pulled low over his head. Beside him on the sofa is his girlfriend, Audrey, whose leg is in a cast after a recent rabbit-hunting accident late at night in Alabama. Never accuse Kid Rock or his people of faking the lifestyle.

The concert on the beach has taken a lot out of Rock, and now he's trying to recover for the next round of merriment. "I was having little blackouts during the day," he says. "I'd literally go black for, like, thirty minutes, and then I'd be back. I'm so used to doing the fucking drugs, and now I'm not doing the drugs and it's a whole different ball game, drinking without fucking blow. Because I get so shitfaced, you know? Blow would always just level you out, and you're like, 'Hey, cool. I can fucking maintain.' And now I'm, like, trying to leave that shit alone. I'm relearning to drink."

Tonight, his reeducation begins with a glass of low-end Pinot.

"I have good wine in the bedroom, babe," Audrey says.

"This cheap stuff's fine for me."

The wine revives him, and soon Rock is lubricated enough to hold court. Like his fans, he's not letting fatigue or the ravages of binge-drinking affect his ability to serve as raconteur. He talks about going to the Middle East:

I've been over there for the military so many times, and oh, I can't tell you, I hate that region. At least in Vietnam they had the fucking beers and dope. Robin Williams went to Iraq with us. It was him and Lewis Black and Lance Armstrong. And we got stuck at this base. Like, there was literally four bunk beds lined up, and we each had a handler. It was like camp. You know, it's dark, and Robin and Lewis just started making jokes, like, about our ordeal. And then Lance Armstrong won't stop farting. So every time there'd be just a moment of silence and it'd be like ...[fart noise]...

He talks about why he'll never go on The View:

Fuckin' Barbara Walters called. She's like, "When are you going to come on our program?" I was like, "Ms. Walters, with all respect: five women at seven in the morning of all different ethnic backgrounds asking you questions? It just sounds like a nightmare to me. I can't think of anything worse."

He talks about Justin Bieber:

It's just a matter of time before someone puts a huge line of cocaine in front of Bieber and he's going to be like, "Yes! This is fucking awesome!"

And Britney:

Poor girl. Turned into a space cadet. That dead stare, just fucking like someone stole her soul...

And Kenny Chesney's awful taste in fine dining:

It must've been twelve years ago, one of my first times ever really hanging out in Nashville, before I bought a place there. Kenny Chesney's gonna take me to dinner. I'm like, "Cool, I want to go eat some shit-kickin' stuff, back-porch home cooking"—you know, barbecue, something like that. He goes, "Meet me at P.F. Chang's." And I'd never heard of P.F. Chang's. And I'm thinking, "This is the spot!" I didn't know it was a chain or anything. I walk in there—I'm like, "Are you fucking kidding me?" And of course Kenny's, like, getting—"Mr. Chesney, would you like the usual?" and he's got, like, a little umbrella drink. I'm like, "Come on. Come on, Kenny." I couldn't believe it. I'm like, "What is this fucking place?" He's like, "Oh, it's my favorite restaurant." This is the exact opposite of what I had in mind.

Everyone laughs at Kenny Chesney, and now Bob is ready to rejoin his fans. But first, Monte and his brother-in-law are escorted into the suite bearing a gift: the special Wounded Warrior overalls airbrushed just for Rock. Rock rushes back to his bedroom and throws them on immediately, sans shirt.

"The man who invented overalls was a fucking genius," he says, "because it's the most comfortable clothing ever."

He turns around and, sure enough, there are the gravestones from Arlington National Cemetery running down the back of his left thigh. And maybe it's just the Coors Light talking—Monte won't stop handing me beers—but it does look kinda badass.

"I'm surprised I haven't died," Shooter Jennings tells me. "There was a lady last night going around with cocaine and water mid in a Visine bottle, and she was squirting it into people's drinks."

We're in a cordoned-off area with Rock and some of the other musicians, watching Lukas Nelson, Willie's son, play a set with his band. This is Shooter's first cruise. I ask him if he'll ever do another one.

"Right now I'd say no, but ask me again in a few days. That first day, you're like, 'It's awesome! I'm on a cruise! I'm going to get wasted!' And the second day you're like, 'Yeah, I'm on a cruise! Let's go do that again!' And then the third day you're like, 'Oh, my God. Time out.' "

It's getting near midnight, and here on this same deck the Redneck Prom is about to begin. Most nights on the boat have their own costume theme: Wednesday night was Pimps Hos night. Thursday night was camouflage night. Virtually every cruiser has packed elaborate costumes for each of these events, and I marvel at their ability to travel by air and by sea lugging around cheetah platform shoes and 3-D camo-leaf hunting gear. You are expected to make a spectacle of yourself for the sake of your shipmates, and the passengers don't let one another down.

Kid Rock takes a seat near the stage as the prom contestants are paraded out for the crowd's approval. There's a giant bearded man wearing suspenders and drinking from a foam dome. There's a husband-and-wife team carrying a baby doll covered in blood with a fake umbilical cord running under the wife's dress. (She gave birth in the high school bathroom, you see.) There are numerous sets of fake hillbilly teeth. A sunburned woman dressed in nothing more than a bunch of taped-together Budweiser cartons hops onstage only to have the whole costume fall apart, leaving her naked. She runs and leaps into Kid Rock's lap before security has a chance to escort her away.

At the stroke of midnight, the crowd anoints a king and queen, with Foam Dome Guy and one half of the bleeding-fetus couple claiming the top honors. Rock sticks around to blast tracks—including some unreleased material—from his iPod. He'll be here all night, until well after sunrise, shitfaced beyond all recognition. I have no idea how he does it.

Then again, it's his job. After three nights of trying to keep up with both Kid Rock and his crew, it becomes clear to me that partying is a patriotic duty for many of these folks. There is a clear sense of mission on this boat. Partying your ass off for five straight days is an act of rebellion, a way of telling the world that a shitty economy and terrorism and all the dirty liberals ain't gonna stop you from getting your rocks off. To party this hard takes genuine effort, and community. And it's hard not to admire the zeal of these folks, not to mention their seemingly indestructible livers. I get why people come back every year, and I get why they stay friends for life. I'm gonna miss Bob and Monte and Shooter and Sparkle Tits. I really am.

Soon we'll be back in Miami, but there's still time left for one final lovefest between Kid Rock and his adoring fans. On Saturday afternoon, he takes the stage for a third time, Bloody Mary in hand, to do a QA session with the crowd. Every word he utters is greeted with delirious cheers.

"It's a big fucked-up family!" he declares. "It's awesome! Whether you like the music or not, it's fucking great people-watching, right? And we all make that happen for each other. We're being cordially different for each other."

Then Rock stares down at the stage, gathering his thoughts.

"I'm fuckin' drunk. Every year I do this, I'm fuckin' shitfaced."

Drew Magary is a GQ correspondent and a staff writer for Deadspin. His second book, Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood, is out now.

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Kid Rock Setlist at Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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Kid Rock’s ‘Chillin’ the Most’ cruise floats fans’ boat

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MIAMI — The Carnival Destiny cruise ship hasn’t even left port, and half the ship’s guests are already wasted.

Passengers pack the lobby bar, balancing luggage with buckets of ice-soaked beer bottles, and flashing room keys that double as charge cards to keep the drinks flowing.

When it’s time for a mandatory safety drill, the life-saving instructions playing over the vessel’s intercom can barely be heard over sounds of drunken guests stumbling over one another, spewing obscenities, cheering, slapping high-fives and yelling chants like “Ain’t no party like a … Kid Rock party.”

Photos: On a Caribbean cruise with Kid Rock and fans

And it’s still two hours before Kid Rock — the rapper turned country-rock star — officially launches his “Chillin’ the Most” cruise with a kickoff concert.

For the next four nights, 2,650 of Kid Rock’s biggest fans will wander the 12 decks of the nearly 900-foot-long ship in various stages of undress, toting giant inflatable penises, downing the musician’s own Badass American Lager out of breast-shaped beer bongs and consuming more than three times the amount of alcohol than a typical Carnival voyage. Onboard the cruise from Miami to the Bahamas’ Half Moon Cay are also 12 other acts, including Southern rapper-Eminem protégé Yelawolf, Uncle Kracker and brazen folk signer-songwriter Roger Alan Wade.

As the ship pulls out of port, guests finally make it to the outdoor deck to watch Kid Rock perform, leaving behind a Dumpster’s worth of beer bottles in the lobby. Scantily clad women gyrate to the pre-show music while a guy with a pack of condoms dangling from a lanyard around his neck watches. A few fans juggle buckets of brews as they climb up the pool’s slide for a better view. Someone’s scribbled “Kid Rock Rules” in blue marker on a window overlooking the deck.

The Detroit rocker, born Robert Ritchie, has just finished posing for 1,400 photos with fans (the photo op is part of the cruise package) and takes the stage to raucous cheers. He launches into a set far more akin to a monster truck rally than a Caribbean cruise. “[The night before it departed] I couldn’t sleep,” says Ritchie in the middle of his hit “All Summer Long,” the city skyline fading in the distance. “Then I realized this cruise has become my adult Christmas. I get so … excited this time of year.”

Cruises have quietly gone from depositories for has-been entertainers to floating music festivals for current-day platinum-selling artists. For the younger crowd these voyages now prove worthy alternatives to multi-day, landlocked festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, who charge upward of $350 for general admission passes. Dedicated fans such as Ritchie’s who shell out between $800 and $4,000 for a ticket (minus airfare, fees and drinks) get a more intimate experience with the artists they love and a vacation out of the deal.

Since his breakout 1998 album, “Devil Without a Cause,” Ritchie’s blend of rap metal, Southern rock, blues and country has helped him sell more than 23 million records — without iTunes, which he doesn’t support — and made him a force in today’s country rock. His last album, “Born Free,” spawned the hit title track that Mitt Romney has used during his presidential campaign theme.

Ritchie’s outing, his third, kicks off this year’s music cruise season where Kelly, Blake Shelton, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Rick Springfield and KISS will also sail before the year’s end.

Promoters such as Sixthman (which is behind Ritchie’s cruise), Entertainment Cruise Productions and Rose Tours have built genre-specific voyages around themes including malt shop pop (Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Ronnie Spector), jazz (George Benson, Boney James), “Soul Train” (Patti LaBelle, Kool & the Gang, the O’Jays) and hard rock (Anthrax, Lamb of God).

“It was difficult to get artists on board. But now it’s getting easy, and some are calling us,” says Dane Butcher, director of operations/programming for Entertainment Cruise. “First when you hear a cruise ship, [the thought was] your career was on its way out. Now they realize they have a captured audience.”

Party with rock stars

Ritchie’s cruise is headed for 55 acres of a Carnival-owned private island in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, that he’s christened “Redneck Paradise.”

There, crisp blue water and white sand will compete for attention with a special-made beachfront stage, a giant inflatable bottle of Badass beer and a shipwrecked boat transformed into, what else, a bar. Paradise for “Chillin’ the Most” guests means chugging beers while sunbathing, wading in the ocean or watching Ritchie play a two-hour concert. As for other activities? A bikini contest that bans actual swimwear but encourages ladies to parade in makeshift bikinis and a men’s Speedo competition where many participants stuff their swimwear with plastic appendages to compete for a crown and cloak.

Jody Sparks doesn’t mind that he’s getting sunburned as he roams Redneck Paradise with a beer in hand. He’s having fun.

So are his modelesque twin daughters, who are celebrating their 21st birthday nearby with a pack of lusty-eyed males. Sparks, who’s from Sterling Heights, Mich., attended 13 Kid Rock concerts last year, spending around $1,000 per ticket. This year he shelled out $16,000 for the cruise, including hotel and airfare, for himself, his wife and daughters.

“Worth every penny,” says Sparks, who’s gone on all three of the musician’s voyages. “The cruise is unbelievable, there’s nothing like it. I could never go on another without Kid Rock. The man has heart. It’s not about the money. I will come every year till I die.”

Unlike concerts, where star-adoring fans can only cheer and sing along, on the cruise they become drinking buddies with their heroes. “I get paid to go on vacation and take all my favorite bands. If that’s not a sell, I don’t know what is,” Ritchie says after the cruise. “Usually you try to find the negative in this business, because somebody’s always got an angle. But there’s no angle on this.”

Back on the boat, it’s easy to spot an act, including Ritchie, buying booze for fans (and vice versa) or chatting it up with passengers at the casino. One late night he dropped by to play a round of craps before taking the party back to his suite. “I played them my new record,” he recalled. “Just those 40 to 50 people were packed into the room. The story spread through the boat like wildfire, so there’s a lottery factor for fans knowing moments like those can happen.”

For many working stiffs, this cruise is their sole vacation of the year — something Ritchie says he keeps in mind by keeping the prices lower than competitors.

“I just have to go,” says Roxie DeCambra, 48, who sports 14 Kid Rock-themed tattoos, including the cruise logo. The star would later sign a message on her back, which she planned to get inked (she had the choice of using Ritchie’s favorite tattoo artist, who was onboard working). “I think he knows his fans. They can get along even if he wasn’t here. It’s family, though dysfunctional.”

Personal show business

Though music cruises such as Ritchie’s are successes, they aren’t cash cows for artists. Acts can make anywhere from a couple of hundred thousand to more than $1 million for an act of Rock’s stature. “We’re not paying what these bands would make [on the road], but we probably pay them about 1.5 times what they would make in one night,” Andy Levine, Sixthman’s chief executive and founder, says.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is it: The bands and the fans on vacation.’ Screw radio, screw the record business, screw the lawyers and the publishing companies,” says Levine, who along with his staffers were treated like rock stars on the ship, often posing for pictures and hugging guests. “This is the essence of the music business — the bands and the fans with no distractions.”

Fans who pay for these cruises are getting real value when compared with some traditional VIP packages. For instance, on KISS’ current tour there’s a deluxe VIP package for $1,250 that includes the ticket, sound check access, an autograph and photo with the band. The base price for its October cruise is $750 and features two KISS shows (one without its signature makeup) and a variety of perks, including a meet-and-greet.

The Atlanta-based promoter Sixthman, also behind cruises featuring Weezer, 311, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lyle Lovett, Sister Hazel and KISS, has chartered 45 cruises since its inception in 2001 and boasts a 60% rate of return for its trips.

It operates cruises under two models: The host model (such as Kid Rock’s) offers no guarantee, with profits being split between Sixthman and the host, the artist taking the lion’s share. In addition, Sixthman gives the host funds to spend on supporting bands (Kid Rock was given about $100,000 for his roster). On the festival model, such as the singer-songwriter-driven Cayamo cruise, they spend about $100,000 a day on talent. Only a small number of acts didn’t work out and haven’t returned, Levine says, but most do.

“Sixthman has gotten hip to one thing: It’s easier to isolate a fan base or target market. It’s a manager’s or record label’s dream,” says Kalen Nash, lead vocalist of Kid Rock support act Ponderosa. “The last year we played 250 to 300 shows and only had Christmas off. For us, at our level, it’s like four great days out on the road.”

Loose atmosphere

Artists also look at the cruise like a working vacation, or at least Uncle Kracker does as he drunkenly stumbles through his embarrassing final set of the “Chillin’ the Most” cruise. The show consists of slurred lyrics and extended solos by band members. Southern rapper Yelawolf, born Michael Wayne Atha, saw an opportunity to build his fan base. After playing to a light crowd on opening night, word spread about the emcee with the biting, rock-tinged flow and attracted capacity crowds for his other sets.

“I built my career on touring and I could have been out on the road, but I’m being introduced to some rock fans that didn’t know about the music,” Atha says.

On decks with staterooms, passengers decorated the doors of their cabins like college dorms. Some pasted Detroit Lions or Tigers logos, others wrote mission statements about their hedonistic plans. A few lived up to those promises, such as the couple openly engaged in unprintable behavior at the bar, the middle-aged woman who passed around a Sharpie to men who took turns signing her fully exposed chest, and the guy who stripped to his thong on the casino dance floor.

“[Regular] cruises are a buzz kill. I wouldn’t do it unless it’s Sixthman. They connect with you,” says Taylor Coates, a 35-year-old Methodist pastor from South Carolina, over dinner in one of the ship’s grand dining rooms.

She initially hesitated to reveal her occupation given the lively passengers that surrounded her, though last year one approached her about getting onboard sacrament. “There’s a connection that’s made. It’s a bond. It’s safe to say it’s not just for Kid Rock but Simple Man and Weezer. It takes the right artist, the right brand and the right vision. You let that collide, and you’re gonna have something special.”

The last day of the cruise, Ritchie offers up a Q&A session with fans. With a Coors Light in one hand and cigar in the other, he fields an hour’s worth of questions from bleary-eyed fans suffering the consequences of four days of debauchery and rock music.

As the ship coasts back toward Miami, one fan nicknamed Double D asks Ritchie if he would return to the high seas. He pretends to ponder, then answers “yes,” but with more profanity.

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Kid rock invites fans to join him on 5th annual chillin' the most cruise in march.

DETROIT — Kid Rock is inviting fans to set sail with him on his fifth annual Chillin' the Most Cruise next year.

In a Web posting, the Detroit-area musician promises "a mind-blowing lineup" and "rockin' activities" on the Norwegian Pearl.

The ship departs from Miami on March 3 and will stop at Key West and the Bahamas before returning on March 7.

Kid Rock plays hip-hop, hard rock, country and Southern rock. He was born Robert Ritchie.

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2019 Land, sand, sea and Spain

It started out like any other year for Sixthman – lots of back-to-back Caribbean cruises starting in January and continuing through March. We took on several returning events, and added some new faces to our roster with Kesha’s Weird and Wonderful Rainbow Ride , our third-ever TV-show based event with the Trailer Park Boys , and welcomed Melissa Etheridge and Jon Bon Jovi to the Sixthman artist host family.

After a running start, our year became drastically different as we took on new challenges with Resort Festivals and Europe! Kid Rock returned, but this time brought his Flyin' High Island Jam  to the Dominican Republic at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Then our staff headed overseas for the first time in Sixthman history, bringing our floating festivals to an entire new audience, including an all-new crowd for us with Belle and Sebastian’s Boaty Weekender.  We also explored Europe with some familiar faces by bringing Joe Bonamassa and Jon Bon Jovi's already-established events across the Atlantic. We hit the sand once again in November for the inaugural All The Best Fest with John Prine at Breathless + Now Onyx Resort. And that's the story of how we completed 19 events in 2019! 

• The Outlaw Country Cruise
• The Rock Boat XIX
• Impractical Jokers Cruise
• Kesha's Rainbow Ride
• Walker Stalker Cruise
• Blues Alive At Sea
• 311 Caribbean Cruise VI
• Trailer Park Boys Cruise
• The Melissa Etheridge Cruise
• Runaway to Paradise Caribbean
• Kid Rock Beach
• The Boaty Weekender
• Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean
• Runaway to Paradise Mediterranean
• The KISS Kruise IX
• Brantley Gilbert Cruise
• All The Best Fest

Rock royalty joined the Sixthman family with Jon Bon Jovi’s Runaway to Paradise. 

Sixthman welcomes Kesha to our family of artists in 2019. 

Melissa Etheridge joined the Sixthman family of artists in 2019. 

John Prine plays a beachfront show at the inaugural All The Best Festival. 

Paul Schaffer and Joe Bonamassa on Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea. 

Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian on The Boaty Weekender. 

The Rock Boat welcomes Andrew McMahon aboard in 2019. 

KISS continued to break the mold with an “in the round” unmasked Sail Away Show.

Sister Hazel closes The Rock Boat with another amazing finale collaboration. 

A guest poses with Nikki Lane on The Outlaw Country Cruise. 

Shooter Jennings on The Outlaw Country Cruise 2019. 

Sal toasts the crowd as the Impractical Jokers Cruise prepares to leave Tampa. 

Some of the younger Impractical Jokers Cruise guests build sandcastles with Murr.

Jason Isbell plays the Pool Deck on Cayamo 2019. 

Kesha cruisers brought non-stop energy from start to finish. 

Alanna Masterson poses with a Walker Stalker Cruise guest. 

Selfies were once again in good supply on Walker Stalker Cruise. 

Eric Gales rocks the pool deck on Keeping the Blues Alive At Sea. 

311 takes the stage as the 311 Caribbean Cruise leaves Tampa. 

311's Caribbean Cruise returned for a sixth sailing in 2019. 

Melissa Etheridge fans enjoy a pool deck show. 

Jon Bon Jovi fans enjoy a silent disco after dark on Runaway to Paradise. 

Kid Rock took his chillers from sea to sand for the “Flyin’ High Island Jam”. 

Chillers got a whole new experience with Kid Rock’s first land event. 

Fans enjoy some sun as The Boaty Weekender leaves port. 

Peter Frampton and Joe Bonamassa on Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea. 

Jon Bon Jovi plays an acoustic storytellers set. 

Featured on board was Jon Bon Jovi’s wine, Hampton Water Wine. 

Fans get up close and personal with the artists on Brantley Gilbert Cruise. 

Fans return to the ship after a day in port.

Even the Norwegian crew members get in the KISS spirit.

Ocean views became beach views as Sixthman began land festivals in 2019. 

2018 Conquered the quest to 1 million

Over the years, we’ve kept track of how many days we spend at sea as a company – and we encourage our guests to do the same! We call it Saltiness, and if you’ve ever sailed with us, you can find the information in your Sixthman account. We’ve had our sights set on conquering that huge “1 Million Days at Sea” milestone for years, and we finally hit it onboard the 18th sailing of  The Rock Boat.  We also encouraged our guests to share their personal number of days at sea with us all season.

Our spring roster consisted of all returning events once again, and we brought two brand new festivals to life in our Fall season, first with  Brantley Gilbert’s Kick It In The Ship Cruise , followed by  Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea , featuring the first-ever wrestling ring at sea! Not to mention, both of these gave all of our other events a run for their money when it comes to cruise name length.

• The Rock Boat XVIII
• Blues Alive at Sea IV (2018)
• Pitbull After Dark Party
• Sail Across the Sun
• Kid Rock Cruise
• Chris Jericho Cruise
• The KISS Kruise VIII

Hayley Williams kicks off Parahoy in 2018.

Chris Jericho headlines a day full of wrestling on the Rock N Wrestling Rager at Sea. 

Guests dress the part on the Walker Stalker Cruise.

Brantley Gilbert takes fan questions during a pool deck Q&A. 

Mr. Worldwide greets a ship full of fans on the Pitbull Cruise. 

Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick on The KISS Kruise. 

Pat Monahan of Train kicks off Sail Across The Sun from New Orleans. 

Margo Price plays the Cayamo Sail Away show.

Guests outfits get better every year on the KISS Kruise. 

Guests cheer on their favorite wrestlers on the Chris Jericho Cruise. 

Guests rock out during a pool deck show on Outlaw Country Cruise.

Guests enjoy a rowdy game of flip cup on the inaugural Brantley Gilbert cruise. 

Kid Rock takes to the pool deck for a Sail Away Show. 

As always, the 18th sailing of The Rock Boat felt like a family reunion.

The Kid Rock Cruise leaves port with happy guests in tow. 

Fans enjoy a sunset on Parahoy 2018. 

Of Good Nature poses with fans after a beach show during Sail Across The Sun. 

Pitbull Cruise 2 was a non-stop party. 

Satisfied guests leave an autograph session on Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea. 

Joe Bonamassa performs on Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea. 

Guests take in more great music as the sun sets on a Cayamo afternoon. 

Sam Getz of Welshly Arms on The Rock Boat 2018. 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan laughs during a Q&A on the Walker Stalker Cruise. 

Fan favorite Blackberry Smoke returned to The Outlaw Country Cruise in 2018.

2017 Two ships and a dream

Over the past several years, Norwegian Pearl had truly become our home away from home, and we continued to make modifications and staging improvements so it was even more suitable for our events. However, Norwegian Jade, the Pearl’s sister ship, was relocated to Tampa and became a brand new venue option for us. There were a few differences, but the majority of the ship was the same footprint and Norwegian agreed to outfit the ship similarly to the Pearl, giving us two ships to choose from when producing our festivals. We were able to use both ships throughout our season – and for the first time ever, we had a “changeover day” in two different cities. The disembarkation for the   Walker Stalker Cruise   in Miami was the same day as the embarkation of   Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea   in Tampa. Obviously we had to dive into some crazy new logistical planning to pull that off, but we made it happen! We added one new event in the Spring with   Pitbull’s After Dark Party , and the rest of our Spring events were returning favorites. We proudly celebrated   Cayamo ’s 10 th   sailing in February, and we also hit a major company-wide milestone on that same sailing by completing our 100 th   festival at sea! The fall brought one more brand-new festival our way with   Warped Rewind at Sea , a new partnership with Vans Warped Tour.

• Blues Alive At Sea III (2017)
• The Rock Boat XVII
• 311 Caribbean Cruise
• Warped Rewind at Sea
• The KISS Kruise VII

Greg Nicotero poses with a guest on Walker Stalker Cruise. 

Mr. Worldwide joined the Sixthman family in 2017.

311 poses with fans after a pool deck show. 

Beach balls. A Rock Boat Sail Away Show tradition.

All good vibes on the 311 cruise. 

Jim Lauderdale and Shawn Mullins on Cayamo 2017. 

Joe Bonamassa rocks the Pool Deck stage. 

Guests post with The Walking Dead stars on Walker Stalker Cruise. 

Guests enjoy an “Acoustic Mornings” show. 

Fan favorite Andy Frasco poses with guests on The Rock Boat. 

Don’t forget about the wine on Sail Across The Sun! 

Train fans during another great Sail Away Show.

Brandi Carlile plays the 2017 Cayamo Sail Away Show.

Raul Malo and Steve Earle on The Outlaw Country Cruise. 

Outlaw Country Cruise guests enjoy a Pool Deck show.

Dale! Pitbull fans enjoy the inaugural cruise. 

The Kid Rock Cruise heads out to sea. 

Kid Rock takes the Pool Deck stage.

Pop Punk on the high seas with the Warped Rewind Cruise.

The 1st Warped Rewind Cruise joined the Sixthman fleet in 2017. 

"Q” poses with a young Impractical Jokers fan.

Joe Gatto stops for a selfie with a guest on Impractical Jokers Cruise. 

KISS rocks Stardust Theater once again.

KISS fans wait for the Sail Away Show to begin.

2016 Expanding our reach

For over a decade, we’ve pioneered the festival cruising industry and have continued raising the bar across the board. So what happens when we expand into industries beyond music, our tried and true? In 2016, we found out as we took the leap by jumping into the realms of entertainment and sports. Brand new to the Sixthman roster,  The Impractical Jokers Cruise ,  Walker Stalker Cruise , and  Gronk’s Party Ship  made their inaugural journeys across the Caribbean. New communities were formed and we learned even better ways to serve our guests through a different scope. We also added one new music festival to our roster with the first-ever  Outlaw Country Cruise , a partnership with Sirius XM's Outlaw Country. We finished out our spring season with six returning festivals - all full ships. We headed back out to sea in the fall for a short one-cruise “season” as we celebrated our 6 th   sailing with The Hottest Band in the World, KISS!

• The Rock Boat XVI
• Blues Alive at Sea II (2016)
• Gronk's Party Ship
• The KISS Kruise VI

Norman Reedus high-fives a fan during his autograph session.

Andy Grammer performs at late night karaoke.

With a fresh head of hair dye, a guest poses for a selfie with Hailey.

Blackberry Smoke performs in the Stardust Theater on the Outlaw Country Cruise.

Kid Rock gets up close and personal during the Sail Away Show.

Surprise stowaway Joey Fatone gets crazy with The Tenderloins during karaoke.

A frosting-free Pat Monahan just seconds before his decorating companions smashed cupcakes in his face. 

Kacey Musgraves teaches a sand art class.

John Popper from Blues Traveler performs as the cruise sails away from Miami.

WE ARE PARAHOY! Not a frown in sight during the Parahoy family photo. 

Joe Bonamassa delighting fans during a performance.

Rob Gronkowski and Family celebrates after winning the Flip Cup Tournament on the beach.

Norman Reedus pauses to take a selfie with excited fans.

Slow Jams and Soft Serve with Steve Everett and JD Eicher. 

A talented guest performing with Taylor of Paramore during Paraoke. 

Cayamo 9-timers receiving robes before singing onstage with Shawn Mullins in the Stardust Theater.

The highly anticipated Sixthman Sessions performance during The Rock Boat XVI.

Horseshoe comin' at-cha! It's not just a game, it's a tournament.

Serious discussions about The Walking Dead with Norman Reedus and Greg Nicotero.

Michael Franti helps guests find their center during a yoga session on the Pool Deck.

Zombies and survivors roam the halls of the Walker Stalker Cruise. 

Sister Hazel performs "The Load Out/Stay" in the Stardust Lounge, featuring all artists of The Rock Boat XVI.

Gavin Degraw performing "Brother" with NEEDTOBREATHE.

A magical moment in the Stardust Theater with Kacey Musgraves and John Prine.

Bowling at Nikki Lane(s).

Greg Nicotero smiles with fans (and Hershal) during the autograph session.

Whitey Morgan and Tony Martinez judge the Belly Flop Tournament.

GRONK's Family Feud hosted by Sixthman Bear.

Sister Hazel poses with fans as zombies for the Zombies vs. Unicorns theme night.

Tai Chi with Chai Tea taught by Jim Lauderdale.

Lexxi Foxxx of Steel Panther bringing back the glam on the Pool Deck.

Rob Gronkowski DJs with Brazzabelle in the Stardust Theater.

Just another awesome performance on The World's Greatest Floating Music Festival.

Dead to Life with Tate during the Walker Stalker Cruise.

Kid Rock performs a duet with Nikki Lane.

The Tenderloins onstage during their gut-busting performance.

Kid Rock in glam metal garb (center), fitting in perfectly with Steel Panther. 

Joe Gatto serves unsuspecting guests in the Garden Cafe.

Now the world will know that this guy partied with Gronk.

Cayamo ends with a Moonlight Revival, an intimate performance under the gazebo on the Pool Deck.

Vintage Trouble performs in the Stardust Theater.

2015 New office, new beginnings

As we entered a new year, we found ourselves getting settled into a brand new office. The team members that we’d brought on months prior had gone from timid toe-dippers, to salty sailors eager to explore greater depths of our expanding company. Based on what we learned in 2014, we scaled back the number of events with the intention of working smarter, not harder. The Rock Boat hit the high seas for it’s milestone 15th voyage, and we introduced another new event, Blues Alive at Sea with Joe Bonnamassa . Our CEO, Andy Levine, joined the Sixthman Home Team for the first time ever and remained on land during the first round of cruises, leaving the events in the capable hands of his team. When he sailed later on in the season as a guest, we didn’t believe he’d stay hands-off and actually enjoy a much-needed vacation…he proved us all wrong!

After the end of a successful spring season, we headed back to Atlanta to give our sea legs a much needed break. The recently launched Sixthman Sessions gained a great deal of momentum during the next few months as bands from all over the country graced our new office stage with live performances during the work day. October arrived like a freight train and we suddenly found ourselves aboard Norwegian Pearl ready to blow our final three events of 2015 out of the water.

• Sandy Beaches Cruise 21 -
• The Rock Boat XV
• Blues Alive at Sea I (2015)
• The KISS Kruise V
• Florida Georgia Line Cruise
• Mad Decent Boat Party

Honoring our three 15-timers with custom TRB guitars.

Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin.

Pat Monahan from Train performs during the Sail Away Show.

Kid Rock during the Q&A session on the Pool Deck.

Joe Bonamassa on the Pool Deck.

The original Boat the Rock, official mascot of The Rock Boat. Current whereabouts:  Somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

Sixthman Sessions 2015.

Sixthman defeating Gaelic Storm once again during Flip Cup on TRB.

Boozical Squares on the Sports Court.

Basketball tournament with P-Nut.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

Show on the beach at Playa Mia in Cozumel, Mexico.

The Sixthman crew on the beach at Playa Mia in Cozumel, Mexico.

The Barenaked Ladies perform a cover of Norwegian's Washy Washy song.

Pat Monahan takes a selfie with the pool deck crowd.

Brandi Carlile during Brandioke competition.

Artists from Cayamo 2015.

Ken & Drew from Sister Hazel performing at Great Outdoors.

2014 Back to back to back to back

One of the unanswered questions in our industry is this: What is the growth potential if we were to have a partner to invest with us, allowing us to take more risk? At the beginning of 2014, Norwegian brought a new ship to Miami and the Norwegian Pearl was available for an 8 week window between January and March, so we took it. We produced our annual cruises and added some new ones that we had been curious about over the years. Our new additions included Sail Across The Sun with Train , Progressive Nation at Sea and PARAHOY with Paramore . We gained a new partner with Delbert McClinton's team and helped them produce the 20th Sandy Beaches Cruise , and we experimented with programming the entertainment on a normal Norwegian sailing with the first-ever  LIVE LOUD Festival . We probably bit off more than we could chew. But we learned a ton about executing back-to-back festivals and finding the amount of new cruises that we could successfully nurture each year. After taking some time to rest and reset, we prepared ourselves for the fall cruise season and introduced the world to two new events; Florida Georgia Line’s: This Is How We Cruise and  Mad Decent Boat Party . Both events were highly successful, creating two new communities we loved serving. But with new beginnings came the end of an era as the 8th Simple Man Cruise with Lynyrd Skynyrd  made its final voyage, closing out the fall season of 2014 with fond memories and bittersweet farewells.

• Sandy Beaches Cruise 20 -
• Mountain Song At Sea
• Progressive Nation at Sea
• The Rock Boat XIV
• LIVE LOUD Festival
• The KISS Kruise IV
• GRAMMY Festival at Sea
• Simple Man Cruise

Lynyrd Skynyrd performs in the Stardust Theater.

Finalists for the Paraoke contest with Paramore.

Jack U on the Pool Deck. 7:15. Never Forget.

FGL joins Nelly during his beach show on Great Stirrup Cay.

Brandi Carlile stops by Bar City for a late night jam with guests.

Heart performing in the Stardust Theater.

Kris Kristofferson performs on in the Stardust Theater.

Crowdsurfing fun with some of Train's youngest fans on board.

Florida Georgia Line playing blackjack on the cruise.

Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Pool Deck.

Ravercise with Brazzabelle.

Some of the "merit badges" that could be earned aboard Camp Rock Boat.

Guests scramble to find an empty seat in a game of Boozical Chairs.

KISS acoustic sailaway show on the Pool Deck.

Gene Simmons during the sail away show

Train's Sail Away Show.

Paramore poses with the crowd on the Pool Deck.

A band performs in an elevator.

Kid Rock performs on the Pool Deck at night.

Starship performing all their hits on the Pool Deck stage.

Mike Portnoy performs on the Pool Deck.

Guiltier Pleasures with The Goose. Collaboration show on Great Stirrup Cay.

Tegan and Sara host a Ping Pong Tournament. 

Paramore poses with fans at dinner in Teppanyaki.

Paramore bows down to the winner of Paraoke.

Kid Rock with all 5-time alumni.

Jim Lauderdale leads guests in a yoga session on the Pool Deck. 

Kid Rock answers questions from fans in a Pool Deck Q&A.

Gaelic Storm celebrates our St. Patrick's Day theme night on the Pool Deck.

Guiltier Pleasures with The Goose. Collaboration show on Great Stirrup Cay. 

Ready to sail away.

Norwegian Pearl March 7-11, 2014

Norwegian Pearl March 3-7, 2014

Norwegian Pearl February 22-26, 2014  

Norwegian Pearl February 18-22, 2014

Norwegian Pearl February 14-28, 2014

Norwegian Pearl February 7-14, 2014

Norwegian Pearl February 3-7, 2014

Norwegian Pearl January 19-26, 2014

2013 The beat goes on

Norwegian made investments in the Norwegian Pearl to make it more “Music Cruise Friendly” and we moved all of our cruises over in 2013. It was nice to be such a priority on board and be able to work closer with the ship to deliver a world class experience to our guests and artists. While our guests preferred the Norwegian Pearl, there were little things that they missed from other ships we had used. We worked quickly to identify those things and fill the gaps to make it a better vacation overall. We realized the ship had 1200 crew members and we only showed up with 80 staff to work alongside them for each Sixthman sailing, and finding ways to allow them to be more engaged made a huge difference. There are 14 of them for every one of us, so we appreciated them having the enthusiasm needed to make our festivals happen. This year we added two new festivals to our lineup - ALABAMA Festival at Sea and our first bluegrass event, Mountain Song at Sea .

• Mountain Song at Sea
• The Rock Boat XIII
• ALABAMA Festival at Sea
• The KISS Kruise III

Kids meet & greet with KISS.

311 and their fans during their first-ever nighttime pool deck show.

Randy Owen of Alabama at the ALABAMA Sail Away show.

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackberry Smoke collaboration.

KISS Sail Away Show, acoustic and unmasked.

NEEDTOBREATHE performs on the Pool Deck. 

DJ Soulman keeps the vibe lively on the Pool Deck.

Artists perform a tribute to Levon Helm.

Kids dress up for the KISS look-alike contest.

Kid Rock's island set on Great Stirrup Cay.

Guests dance.

Guests dress up as the official Rombello bird for a costume contest.

Guests enjoy a show from the hot tub.

Guests dress up for Costume Party Night.

Finalists in the very first game of Boozical Chairs with Stokeswood.

Love Hope Strength sails to register guests as bone marrow donors. 

Rickey Medlocke and Johnny Colt of Lynyrd Skynyrd have dinner with winners of a pre-cruise recipe contest.

Sister Hazel performs "Washy Washy, Happy Happy" with NCL staff. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd performs the Sail Away show on the Pool Deck.

Kid Rock plays a beach show at Great Stirrup Cay.

Alabama fans play Battleshots on Great Stirrup Cay.

Horseshoe tournament on Great Stirrup Cay.

DJ Soulman starts a full blown mid-afternoon dance party while it storms outside.

Norwegian Pearl November 1-5, 2013

Norwegian Pearl October 28 - November 1, 2013

Norwegian Pearl October 24-28, 2013

Norwegian Pearl October 20-24, 2013

Norwegian Pearl March 6-10, 2013

Norwegian Pearl March 1-5, 2013

Norwegian Pearl February 24 - March 1, 2013

Norwegian Sky February 1-4, 2013

Celebrity Constellation January 21-26, 2013

Norwegian Pearl January 13-20, 2013

2012 The missing puzzle piece

In the summer of 2011, we were approached by Norwegian Cruise Line to become a part of their family via an acquisition. After months of discussions and negotiations, we agreed to become a Norwegian owned subsidiary in February of 2012. We produced 8 cruises in 2012. It was less than 2011, but our roster was strong -   The Rock Boat , Simple Man Cruise , KISS Kruise , 311 Cruise , Cayamo , TCM and Kid Rock Cruise  were all solid, recurring annual events. We wrapped up our 3-year stint with Graceland, our partners for the  Elvis Cruises, and also enjoyed the adventure of bringing the 1st Weezer Cruise to life. This year, we were finally able to bring The Rock Boat back to New Orleans, after our "unfinished business" there in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina.

• The Elvis Cruise

The Weezer Cruise

• The Rock Boat XII
• The KISS Kruise II

Sixthman Sessions

Pre-Party: Guests parade through the streets of New Orleans led by a brass band.

Guests perform in an elevator.

Fans gather for Kid Rock's show in Redneck Paradise.

Sail Away Weezer Show, featuring Greatest Hits and the Blue Album.

Sixthman teams up with the St. Bernard Project and cruise guests to help rebuild houses in New Orleans before setting sail.

Celebrating the first-ever Sixthman sail away shot with Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Jett Beres of Sister Hazel takes part in the first ever TRB Grilled Cheese-Off.

Guests volunteer with St. Bernard Project the day before we leave New Orleans.

Guests earn a Track Jacket on their 10th TRB sailing.

Kid Rock takes the stage.

Guests enjoy Kid Rock's beach show from the ocean.

Members of Lynyrd Skynyrd judge the bellyflop contest.

Dale Rossington gets ready for her vow renewal ceremony with Gary, a surprise event to guests. 

Lana Turner hosts a Halloween pumpkin carving contest.

Detroit artist, Jeff Shea, tattoos guests on board.

The Weezer flag emerges from the crowd.

Norwegian Pearl October 31 - November 4, 2012

Norwegian Pearl October 27-31, 2012

Carnival Destiny April 26-30, 2012

Carnival Elation March 1-5, 2012

Carnival Destiny May 10-14, 2012

Norwegian Pearl February 5-12, 2012

Carnival Destiny January 19-23, 2012

Carnival Fascination January 12-16, 2012

2011 Moving in the right direction

Kid Rock and VH1 returned for their 2nd year and we were fortunate to be able to start partnerships with 311 , KISS and Turner Classic Movies to create new festivals. 311’s fans crashed our servers for the first time ever during their presale signups, but the band and their excitable fans created the most amazing, energy-filled atmosphere for any Sail Away Show we had ever witnessed. KISS attracted fans from 30 countries and performed a 2 hour "unmasked and unplugged" set for their first Sail Away Show. Our first film festival with TCM gave us a chance to work with Celebrity Cruise Line and earn our first non-music driven sold out cruise.

After our spring events ended, we worked with our new sponsor, Cabo Wabo Tequila to plan  Sixthman's Summer Road Trip , our second-ever bus tour. We loved the idea of bringing some artist favorites from the cruises to guests in their hometowns!

• The Rock Boat XI
• Ships and Dip 4 -
• VH1 Best Cruise Ever
• The KISS Kruise I
• TCM Classic Cruise

Sixthman's Summer Road Trip · Sixthman Sessions

Kid Rock takes the stage for the Sail Away show.

Nick Hexum of 311.

Michael Franti on the Pool Deck.

Guests dance as the sun sets on the Pool Deck.

Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies.

A KISS fan sunbathes in full makeup.

A guest shows off their KISS Kruise tattoo.

Guests stay cool in the pool for the afternoon Pool Deck shows.

311's Sail Away Show.

Andy gets the crowd pumped up. 

The 311 Cheerleaders.

KISS face painting - one of the many activities available onboard.

KISS plays an unmasked, acoustic set as we sail away from Miami.

Rockin' the KISS sunglasses during the Sail Away show.

Danny O'Donoghue of The Script judges the cannonball contest.

Colbie Callait performs on the Pool Deck.

Yacht Rock Revue.

Kid Rock look-a-like contest.

Kid Rock poses with fans.

Barenaked Ladies on stage.

Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies.

Cayamo family photo.

Viking Kappy.

Sail Away group with Kappy the Viking.

Alumni group shot.

Sixthman Summer Roadtrip Crew in Chicago. Chuck Cannon, Tim Brantley, Trailer Park Ninjas and Sixthman.

Tour bus dance party.

Sixthman Jen with longtime Rock Boater, Gail.

Featuring Bronze Radio Return, Chuck Cannon, Tim Brantley, and Trailer Park Ninjas.  With stops in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Chapel Hill, DC, Boston, NYC, Philly, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Nashville.

Celebrity Millennium December 8-12, 2011

Carnival Destiny October 13-17, 2011

Carnival Inspiration September 29 - October 3, 2011  

Carnival Inspiration April 28 - May 2, 2011

Carnival Triumph April 7-11, 2011

Carnival Destiny March 3-7, 2011

Norwegian Pearl February 13-20, 2011 Sixthman's first trip on The Pearl.

Norwegian Dawn February 6-11, 2011

Carnival Inspiration January 20-24, 2011

Carnival Inspiration January 6-10, 2011

2010 Getting stronger in more ways than one

After holding at 5-6 festivals a year in 2008 and 2009 to build our foundation and process, we had the opportunity to take on new events in 2010. We moved all but two cruises to Tampa and spread them out over 5 months to give ourselves a better chance for success. We brought the  VH1 ,  Zac Brown Band and Kid Rock  cruises to life for the first time and we also ventured into lifestyle cruising with a Jillian Michaels Cruise .  One highlight during this year was when Kid Rock decided to get on the Ship’s PA System at 1:30 in the morning to invite all the guests up to the pool deck for a party while he DJ’d for 3 hours. We also achieved a milestone by celebrating the 10th Rock Boat, which was still going strong as our flagship event.

• The Rock Boat X
• Malt Shop Memories
• Sailing Southern Ground
• Ultimate Wellness Cruise

Sister Hazel and Sixthman celebrates 10 years with a giant "X" cake.

Kid Rock and his fans on the inaugural sailing.

Guests dancing on the pool deck.

The infamous Simple Man Cruise bellyflop contest.

Malt Shop Mike on deck.

Lifehouse turns their rained-out pool deck show into one of the most unforgettable moments of the trip by taking over the Atrium.

Guests pose for the "Zamily" photo.

A guest from the Red Deck Wars team at an outdoor cycling class.

Brandi Carlile in the Stardust Theater. 

Sixthman says relax. The staff celebrates '80s Night.

Sixthman staff gets ready for the first ever Kid Rock Sail Away show.

Lyle Lovett.

One of the youngest passengers participates in a group workout with Jillian.

The Deck Wars Pep Rally & Sail Away Party.

Guests take part in a group workout on Great Stirrup Cay.

Sixthman staff dressed up for St. Patrick's Day.

Carnival Fascination November 4-8, 2010

Norwegian Star October 21-25, 2010

Carnival Inspiration September 2-6, 2010

Carnival Inspiration May 13-17, 2010

Carnival Inspiration April 29 - May 3, 2010

Carnival Inspiration April 15-19, 2010

Norwegian Dawn February 21-26, 2010

Carnival Inspiration January 21-25, 2010

Carnival Inspiration January 7-11, 2010

2009 Now we groovin'

We applied our lessons from 2008 and were able to execute the  Simple Man Cruise , The Rock Boat , Ships & Dip , Cayamo and Mayercraft Carrier to our standards. We had only worked with Carnival in the past but selected Norwegian Cruise Line to host two of our cruises this year. The idea of going to a new cruise line was daunting but our team did an excellent job. Getting to work with two different cruise lines helped us learn much quicker and would end up being worth the extra work to build relationships and understand two styles. This was also the first time we jumped up to bigger ships, going from 2,200 person capacity ships to 2,800 person capacity ships. Our team used the term “huggable” to describe the difference between the smaller ships and the bigger ships. We felt like somewhere in the 2,500 person range, it lost a little bit of intimacy. Since then, we've mainly used the smaller ships because it felt like more of a "huggable" family.

That fall, we added one more new event to the roster with The Elvis Cruise , a partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises.  

• The Rock Boat IX
• Ships and Dip V -
• Mayercraft Carrier

Rock Fore! Dough · Sixthman Sessions

John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett.

John Mayer greets fans.

Aslyn and Zac Brown sing their duet, "Trying to Drive."

Elvis Tribute Artists represent the various stages of Elvis' life.

And the crowd goes wild.

Wideawake performs during the Presidential Inauguration.

John Mayer on the Pool Deck.

Fans swoon as performers pay tribute to The King.

All Rock Boat artists singing "We Are The World" as the grand finale.

Stephen Kellogg perfects 'the lift' after performing "Time Of My Life."

Sister Hazel performs an "Island Set" as we sail away from our port stop. 

Backstage antics with some artists.

Guests celebrate Rubiks Cube Night.

Carnival Inspiration November 12-16, 2009

Carnival Splendor March 27-31, 2009

Norwegian Dawn February 28 - March 7, 2009

Norwegian Jewel February 1-6, 2009 Barenaked Ladies' third event despite the "V" name, and Sixthman's first charter with Norwegian Cruise Lines. 

Carnival Destiny January 8-12, 2009

Carnival Destiny January 17-22, 2009

2008 SOS we did too much

With 10 months to prepare, we felt that producing 5 cruises in one month was doable. In the end, it nearly brought us to our knees. The funny thing about our experience is that we were constantly in a position with our guests where we were asking them for a chance to make something right. While it took a huge emotional and physical toll on all of us, that experience had a profound impact on how we would prepare, staff and anticipate our guests' needs in the future. It’s almost like we had to go through that to see what we were made of. It also allowed our guests to see what we were made of. We never gave up and did not rest until all our guests were back on track. We still reflect back on this year as the one that defined what our recipe needed to be in order to grow without compromising the quality of the experience. Our new cruises this year, Cayamo and Mayercraft Carrier , proved to be great experiences and both signed on again for the following year.  At the end of 2008, Sixthman had outgrown the little yellow house we used as an office since 2004, and moved into a bigger space next to the Zoo in Atlanta.

• The Rock Boat VIII
• Ships and Dip III -

TRB Family Photo.

John Mayer takes the stage on the Pool Deck.

Keith Sewell and Lyle Lovett.

Sometimes even Guitar Heroes play Guitar Hero. Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd battles against a young fan.

Our first Sixthman-hosted songwriting retreat took place in Augusta, GA.

Fans prepare for Barenaked Ladies to take the stage.

Banjos and bananas.

Fans enjoys an atrium show.

Guests pose for a photo with Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Lynyrd Skynyrd fans ready to sail into the sunset.

Our very first "sessions" collaboration set, just for Rock Boat Alumni.

Stephen Kellogg finishes his set in the crowd.

DJ Marc Broussard.

Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket with fans.

Drew Copeland of Sister Hazel hosts a flip cup tournament with Josh Kelley. 

A crowd fills the atrium for a show.

Zac Brown makes an appearance in the finale collaboration.

Artist vs. Artist Trivia

Drew Copeland and Josh Kelly host a flip cup tournament.

Carnival Victory February 4-10, 2008

Sixthman staff pyramid.

Sixthman staff group photo.

Carnival Victory February 1-4, 2008

Carnival Victory January 27 - February 1, 2008 Technically the second Ships and Dip, though Barenaked Ladies decided to call it the third.

Carnival Imagination January 19-24, 2008

Carnival Imagination January 10-14, 2008

2007 Going in some new fun directions

Going from one cruise a year to three in one month was overwhelming. Lynyrd Skynyrd went first followed by the the Rock Boat and then the Barenaked Ladies. We pulled it off and both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Barenaked Ladies committed to doing it again because they loved it so much. That was a huge moment to see all three events become annual festivals instead of just one-offs. That’s when we really knew we had a business we could build. Within a few months of completing these festivals, John Mayer agreed to do a cruise and we decided to start another festival of our own,  Cayamo, a singer-songwriter based event conceived by Ken Levitan who managed Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller.

• Gimme Three Days
• The Rock Boat VII
• Ships and Dip I -

Rock Fore! Dough

Lynyrd Skynyrd hosts an autograph session.

Heather Luttrell collaborates with Zac Brown.

Emerson Hart and Drew Copeland.

Captain Ezra. (Better Than Ezra)

Lynyrd Skynyrd's first Q&A with guests.

Family Photo.

Guests watch a band on the pool deck stage.

Cowboy Mouth's last show of the trip, complete with a drum circle finale.

Sonia Tetlow and Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth.

Marc Broussard, Andy Levine, Chris Stacy, Ryan Newell and Jett Beres.

Carbon Leaf calls numbers for Bingo. 

Zac Brown signs a guests' guitar at a meet & greet.

Artist collaboration on the final night.

Impromptu jam at the piano on the Promenade Deck. 

Scott Munns plays on the Atrium Stage.

Collective Soul participates in an autograph signing. 

Ken Block of Sister Hazel with Zac Brown Band.

Excited for Lynyrd Skynyrd to take the stage.

Carnival Legend January 15-19, 2007 Sixthman's first try at back-to-back cruises.

Carnival Legend January 11-15, 2007

Carnival Fascination January 5-8, 2007

2006 Turning it back up again

The Rock Boat was hosted in January out of Galveston, TX due to the port of New Orleans still being closed from Hurricane Katrina. We allowed guests who had been booked on the cancelled TRB V to transfer to TRB VI, and ended up with a great crowd on board. One day, we hit some bad weather on the way back from Mexico and had to move all the shows indoors. The band Wideawake stole the show by playing in the Atrium as guests lined the railings of 7 storeis and stayed there for 2 hours.  On the last night of the cruise, Sister Hazel kicked off a jam and every artist from the lineup got up and played one song. It went 'til 6:00am as we pulled back into Galveston. Sister Hazel brought their new manager on the cruise and he liked it so much he asked us if we could do a cruise for his other band Lynyrd Skynyrd . This was an exciting time for us, but the idea of doing 3 cruises in a year totally freaked us out. Each one was like giving birth - just as painful and just as rewarding. That summer, we took The Rock Boat on the road for the first time and produced a bus tour called The Rock Bus, featuring two of The Rock Boat's most popular acts from that year, Wideawake and Zack Brown Band.

• The Rock Boat VI
• The Rock Slope III

The Rock Bus · Rock Fore! Dough

Steamboat Grand Resort March 29 - April 2, 2006

Carnival Elation January 14-19, 2006

Wideawake creating magic in the atrium after we missed a port, and their outdoor show was rained out.

The year we discovered the atrium as a venue.

Carbon Leaf lost their luggage. Luckily the ship had tuxedo rentals, so the band was stuck with that until we reached our port. Which we missed.

Ready to hit the slopes.

Sister Hazel signing someone's jeans.

Snow Bunnies.

Gaelic Storm PJ show.

Barry from Carbon Leaf and Chardy McEwan of Pat McGee Band jamming.

Guests chill out in the hot tub, despite the rainy weather.

Crowd gathered on the Pool Deck for Marc Broussard's show.

Ken Block's acoustic set.

Sister Hazel ended their last show in the main lounge by leading the entire crowd into the atrium, which culminated into a huge jam, complete with confetti.

Having fun in the massive hot tubs.

Showing off some fresh Sharpie ink.

2005 Caught in the eye of the storm

The Rock Boat was set to sail out of New Orleans at the end of September and sold out months in advance.  We decided to add a 2nd Rock Boat in January of 2006, thinking we would have one event every 6 months.  One month before we were scheduled to sail, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Carnival rented our ship to FEMA so they could use it to house relief workers and families that had lost their homes. The Rock Boat was cancelled. We were sure we'd go out of business. Even though the cruise line owed us our charter fee back, we were still out all the money in marketing, artist fees and a year's worth of general operating costs. After a trip to Miami, Carnival agreed to pay us all our unrecoverable expenses and allow us to stay in business. Guests were calling us saying, “keep our money... just don’t go out of business."  This is when we realized we were in the community business, and that was a defining moment for sure. In an effort to make the best of a bad situation, we invited guests and artists to Atlanta during the weekend we were supposed to be on the cruise, and 500 guests traveled to " Rock For Relief ," a concert with most of the bands scheduled to play on board. We ended up raising $55,000 for Hurricane Katrina Relief that weekend.  At the end of December, Andy got a call from the Barenaked Ladies manager asking if we could help them host their fans on a cruise. We said “We’ve been waiting on your call.”  We also decided that we would no longer represent Sister Hazel as a management client, but help them find a new manager and continue being their partner on The Rock Boat.

• The Rock Slope II
• The Rock Boat V (cancelled)

Rock For Relief · Rock Fore! Dough

Steamboat Grand Resort March 17-20, 2005

Sister Hazel spends the day in Atlanta's Piedmont Park playing kickball and other games with fans. 

Zac Brown performs at Park Tavern in Atlanta, where displaced Rock Boaters gathered to raise money for Katrina victims.

Francisco Vidal performs at Park Tavern in Atlanta, where displaced Rock Boaters gathered to raise money for Katrina victims.

Sixthman Jen pitches during the Rock For Relief kickball game.

Cowboy Mouth performs at Earthlink Live along with other Rock Boat artists.

Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish.

Edwin McCain takes the stage.

2004 Narrowing our focus

We put The Rock Boat on sale in November of 2003 and it sold out within a few weeks. The hard work and patience had paid off. Gavin DeGraw joined us for this sailing with 20+ other artists.  Zac Brown performed on his first cruise with us after winning a Battle of the Bands contest in the Southeast. We were learning so much about producing a vacation rather than just a concert.  We didn’t have to vote anymore about whether to do it or not. The Rock Boat was here to stay, and we even ventured into producing a similar festival at a ski resort in Colorado, and called it The Rock Slope. 

• The Rock Slope I
• The Rock Boat IV

Carnival Imagination October 7-11, 2004

Steamboat Grand Resort March 20-23, 2004

Rock Slopers from a land far, far away.

Welcome sign at the Steamboat Grand Resort.

Guests hang out in the hot tub.

Guests report to their muster stations for the safety drill.

Chardy crowd surfs. 

Zac Brown becomes a late night staple on the Promenade Stage.

Artists wrote lyrics on guitars that were part of a silent auction benefiting Lyrics for Life.

Our CEO Andy, trying to look official.

Will Hoge's first Rock Boat.

Pre-Party at the hotel pool.

A fancy cucumber creation.

Toga Party by Toons.

Sister Hazel

2003 This may just be a good idea

We couldn’t wait to announce the next Rock Boat.  We invited a lot of the same bands and Tonic jumped in on the fun.  The event grew a little, but it didn't sell out. It was a lot of risk and work, so we had a meeting afterwards to vote whether to keep it going or shut it down. In the end, we determined that we'd give it one more year.

• The Rock Boat III

Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth.

Francisco Vidal and Edwin McCain share the stage.

Guests get ready for the Safety Drill, which used to require wearing life jackets.

Despite being full-festival style these days, The Rock Boat used to require wristbands to get into some of the main lounge shows. Shows were assigned based on guests' dinner time.

Guests get their posters signed at an artist meet & greet.

Collaboration finale.

Ken and Drew of Sister Hazel.

Ryan Newell & Brian Fechino jam.

Guests line an upper deck, looking down on the show below.

Carnival Sensation August 28 - September 1, 2003

2002 First full-ship charter

We launched the first Rock Boat and sailed out of Tampa on Labor Day Weekend.  We made so many mistakes, but we had over 2000 guests and a festival was born.  We even ran out of beer and had to borrow some from another Carnival ship when we were in the Bahamas.  Pat McGee led an all night jam playing covers, and Edwin McCain delivered a Braveheart speech while standing on the bar, inspiring the bartender to stay open.

• The Rock Boat II

Guests hang out on the plank in the pool between shows.

Carnival Sensation August 29 - September 2, 2002

Sister Hazel fans unite on board.

Ken Block of Sister Hazel on the pool deck, before we had an actual stage.

Pat McGee on the Pool Deck.

Late night collaboration.

Chuck Carrier on stage.

Sister Hazel makes an appearance at their fan club meet-up.

Andy with Gnorman the Gnome.

Brian Fechino of Pat McGee Band.

2001 Getting the game plan together

During a weekly message board chat with the Sister Hazel street team, fans requested a weekend hang with the band since they had been working so hard to promote them. Andy relayed the message to the band and they simply said, “lets do it”. Andy didn't know where to start, but while traveling on a flight from New York to Atlanta, fate placed him in the seat next to a travel agent who suggested a cruise. So... we did it! We invited 400 fans on a cruise over Labor Day for what we dubbed, “Rock and Roll at Sea" .  We had no idea what we were in for, but it was a ton of fun. It was while we were stopped in Key West on that trip that Andy decided he wanted to build a business based on bringing fans and bands on vacation together. The cruise returned, and we soon set our sights on chartering an entire ship for the next year so we could make it a real festival.  We called Edwin McCain, Pat McGee, Cowboy Mouth and asked them to join us in 2002. If they could bring 400 fans each, we could fill an entire ship. We began getting prices from cruise lines to rent the ship on September 10th, 2001. The next day, the world changed and a cruise was the last thing we could think about. When we picked conversations back up with the cruise lines, prices had dropped significantly. We still had to come up with $750,000 to rent a ship, and none of us had the money.  So we built a website and asked 1,000 fans to put down a $99 deposit, and then took our plan to a local Atlanta businessmen who loaned us the money. We were on our way!

• The Rock Boat I

Otherwise known as "Rock & Roll at Sea" Carnival Jubilee August 30 - September 3, 2001

Sister Hazel on stage in the main lounge.

Piñatas on the Pool Deck.

EARLY Let's get this party started

Andy Levine played in a band called Waterdog with Jett Beres and Ryan Newell from Sister Hazel. He wasn’t very good, but he booked all the gigs so they let him stay in the band.  When the band dissolved in the Spring 1994, Andy began promoting concerts for a local Gainesville club called Richenbachers. Sister Hazel was starting up and Andy had a great relationship with the band so they decided to work together.  In 1996, Sister Hazel released an independent album and sold 10,000 copies in 90 days, leading them to sign a record deal with Universal Records. From the beginning, Andy and the band invested heavily in connecting with their fans and organized an official street team to help spread the word about Sister Hazel. In 1997, the band earned a #1 song, “All For You”, which propelled the album to Platinum status. As the band toured, the street team, called “The Hazelnuts,” continued to grow.

Promotional shot of the band.

Mark and Ryan from Sister Hazel with Andy Levine

Waterdog with Blues Traveler

Andy's band, Waterdog, which included Jett Beres of Sister Hazel, and Sixthman's current CEO, Anthony Diaz.

Andy's band, Waterdog, which included Jett Beres of Sister Hazel, and Sixthman's current CEO, Anthony Diaz.

Sister Hazel's "...Somewhere More Familiar" album.