What started off as an April Fools joke in 2014(!) is about to become a reality. Back then rumors circulated on April Fools about EDSea, the obvious choice for a name if the EDC experience was ever translated to a party cruise. Over the years, it’s been a bit surprising that Insomniac hasn’t ventured fully into that space.

Now, EDSea is actually becoming a reality. Wednesday night, Pasquale Rotella took to social media to tease the incoming announcement. There are already social media accounts for EDSea as well. The teaser is long but provides no clues, except at the very beginning (the part you can see right now). That ship is a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, and looks to be the Norwegian Joy, a sister ship to the Norwegian Encore. EDC is taking it directly to Groove Cruise, which has announced a move to the Norwegian Encore in January 2024. Check out the teaser below and come back to learn more when we get the details from the official announcement.

History of Music Festival Cruises

HARD’s HolyShip! pioneered the space for many, creating a diehard group of Shipfam that loved to reunite each year. However, HARD Events was later acquired by Insomniac and then HolyShip inexplicably converted itself into a destination event in 2020. During the height of music festival cruises there were two events that caused the music festival cruise market to dwindle. In 2014, Pete Tong announced the All Gone to Sea cruise event, featuring Calvin Harris, Steve Angello, Pete Tong, and more. The event was canceled before it ever began due to low sales. Many of those artists were subsequently booked to play EDC Orlando 2014 around the same time.

Then in 2015, the Mad Decent Boat Party quickly descended into chaos when a passenger intentionally jumped overboard. This tragic event marked the end of the very short life of Mad Decent Boat Party.

The other mainstay in this space is Groove Cruise. In fact, Groove Cruise is the only one that has been there from the beginning until now. Groove Cruise also has a die-hard fanbase that is surprisingly mature as well. Groove Cruise has not only survived, but thrived. The 2023 Miami event sold out so early that 2024 was announced on the huge Norwegian Encore and has already begun selling out of tiers.

It looks like the music festival cruise wars are back on.

The post EDSea Is Real and It’s Finally Happening appeared first on EDMTunes.

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By: Scott Lombardo
Title: EDSea Is Real and It’s Finally Happening
Sourced From: www.edmtunes.com/2023/01/edsea/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=edsea
Published Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2023 04:33:07 +0000

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