Festival Report Card: Groove Cruise 2024

The 20th year of Groove Cruise 2024 set sail on the Norwegian Encore cruise ship from January 24 to January 28, departing from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay.

Groove Cruise, with a shipping capacity of nearly 4,500 attendees, was an epic event that hosted artists such as Tiesto, John Summit, GG Magree, Gem & Tauri, LP Giobbi, Markus Schulz, and many other fan favorites.

Groove Cruise is known to be more than just the music and focuses on fan interactions with artists and crazy themes for attendees to dress up in. With over 40 artist activities that attendees could sign up for, sponsored activations, and many secret renegade parties, Groove Cruise 2024 was an event to remember. 

Although there were a few issues boarding and disembarking the ship, they were minor hiccups for our fantastic time at Groove Cruise 2024.

Image credit Groove CruiseVibes: A

There was not a single moment where the vibes on the cruise were not immaculate. The number of “excuse me” and “I’m sorry” comments we heard was refreshing. At one point, people were holding their phones to their foreheads and had the words EXCUSE ME in big letters on their phones in case it was hard to hear.

Walking through the hallways was always an adventure. Every stateroom was having a party, everyone always greeted each other with a “happy groove cruise,” and the staff was just as friendly to festival goers. All aboard the ship had the same PLUR attitude, including the artists and the staff. 

The thing that sets Groove Cruise apart is the artist-to-attendee interactions. Seeing artists at their friends’ sets and interacting with people in the crowd was customary.

Making friends on the ship was easy and expected. The Groove Cruise community has been building for 20 years, and even newbies were welcomed with open arms.

Costumes also set the tone for some major good vibes. We saw tons of fancy outfits and attendees brought out their A-game. From a traffic cone telling partygoers when to dance to full LED suits, costumes were the best we’d ever seen at a festival. 

We did run into some frustration disembarking, which slightly brought the vibes down, but were minor. We also noticed a lack of harm reduction services, such as volunteers checking on guests, but overall, we were safe and happy with the vibes on the ship.

Production: A-

With over ten stages, there was no shortage of sets.

The theater on Deck 7 gave us a whole cinematic experience with top-tier production. It allowed ravers to sit in comfy theater chairs and enjoy the fog machines, confetti blasters, LED screens, and synchronized lasers (that could even point downwards, thank you, international waters).

The pool deck on Level 16 served as the main stage and did not skimp out on production. With inflatable decorations all around the pool deck, fireworks that dropped during sets, and excellent sound quality all around the pool, the sets on the main pool deck had some of the best production on the ship. 

Multiple rooms on the ship were converted to stages, such as the smokehouse BBQ restaurant that hosted panels during the day and a hip-hop-themed hub at night. We do wish there was music in the elevators, so we didn’t have to use cell phone speakers for entertainment (although we did see a game of Twister take place there.)

Image credit Groove CruiseMusic: A

There were sets on the cruise that have become some new favorites such as Trivecta B2B Mitis, Haliene, Danny Olson, and Deeper Purpose. 

Music was in every corner of the cruise: from the rooms to the hallway, to the casino, and even the elevator when our fellow music lovers took out a speaker and started playing their favorite playlist.

The stages were far enough apart that sound bleed didn’t exist, yet each stage was only a short walk away.

After parties were coordinated so we got to keep the music going 24/7. Artists were seen walking into rooms and playing unreleased music on a deck on top of a corner table.

The music never stopped…. unless you went back to your room to sleep. The music was terrific and artists really shined at this event. 

Venue: A+

Who doesn’t love a festival on international waters?

Groove Cruise took place on the Norwegian Encore, which has an overall length of 1,094 feet, 20 decks, and 2,043 staterooms. The cruise gave a similar feel to a camping festival because you could party, take a quick nap, eat, and dance all on the same floor.

The venue included more than 20 restaurants on board, an arcade room, a spa, a gym, pools, hot tubs, a racetrack of go-carts, outdoor laser tag, a casino, yoga, and many pop-up stages. 

The venue was not just about the music; it featured many artists’ activities, talking panels, and a few weddings. Groove Cruise contains a variety of events, many of which were created in the spur of the moment, such as secret disco parties and elevator parties.

The beach venue is at a Norwegian private resort, The Great Stirrup CA, in the Bahamas. The stage was on the beach, and a separate stage was set up for just this one party. Attendees could swim in the ocean and watch Tiesto all at the same time! The only thing we wish about the beach party was that it was longer! 

Groove Cruise Press SelectsOverall: A

Groove Cruise is a bucket list festival for any festival goer to attend, no matter what genre you are into. Few events allow attendees to party/have dinner with their favorite artists, see unique renegade sets, and create memories that will last a lifetime.  

The 20th-anniversary sailing of Groove Cruise cultivated years of hard work from the Whet Travel team and proved to be an experience unlike any other. For this same reason, Groove Cruise is the ultimate festival for passionate and real music lovers to enjoy good music, good company, and the time of our lives.

While there were delays getting off the ship (the Miami Marathon caused hours of delayed traffic), we’d go through the same issues again in a heartbeat if we could relive one second of Groove Cruise 2024.

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