What happens when you criss cross a cruise x EDM? You get HOLY SHIP!!!
The grandest ship ravaged yet by this yearly massive, the MSC Divina hosted around 4500 cruisers, four stages, multiple restaurants and pools, and completed two ragingly successful stops at private islands in the Bahamas. Holy Ship III was a force to be reckoned with. And that we did!
As a Holy Ship "virgin" (as was the popular term for a noob) I have reviewed the marvelous madness that was this weekend. Enjoy!
xx, Mz Prizm
FAVE MOMENTS
Fave Moment #1- Gave Skrillex, wearing Purrizm PrizmEyez, a lightshow using my Prizm Orbit. He was groovin on it!
Fave Moment #2 - Doing yoga on the beach next to Laidback Luke! The class was led by led by DJ Gina Turner. They are about to have a baby together. I'm in the pic above wearing black, not the pregnant one :) After the session, I thanked Gina for taking the time to lead our class, and asked Luke if he wouldn't mind wearing SPACE FACE sunglasses in a photo with me. "Hey, actually...would you mind if I keep these?" DUH!!!!! I was thrilled. And all day long when I peeped him still sporting the Space Face I couldn't help but smile.
Fave Moment #3 - Sharing Prizmz with more DJs! This was the second time I partied with Skream (below wearing Pink Prizmz), and he was stoked to get the rainbow glasses again. What a cutie =)
I met Diplo the next day (below), and after he loved the SPACE FACE sunglasses, I showed him Prizmz too. "Oh, yea!! I've seen these before! Skream gave em to me on the boat yesterday!" ****I die****
Fave Moment #4 - Dancing in the booth with Boys Noize as Destructo baptized the Holy Ship crowd with Grey Goose. This was my last show of the night so I gave out all the rest of my Prizmz and Space Face and Boys threw em on during his set. DJs enjoy the Space Face sunglasses because of their medium tint...they are plenty dark for daytime, but also easy to wear at night!
Fave Moment #5 - Meeting PrizmEyez customers who I'd never met before!!! To one girl, I said "Hey are those rainbow glasses?" She had the EDC Prizmz. Her reply "Yo these are the BEST kind you'll ever try!" Too sweet :) Glad she recognizes the best lens! I gave her more pairs and she gave me kandi! <3
PROS (besides the obv being on a cruiiiiise!)
- No lines / stages close together
- Easy to acquire drinks
- Stop by your room to drop things off, pick things up, change outfits, whatever!
- Opportunities to rub shoulders with djs :)
- Not that crowded at the stages! Plus many seats available near the music so you can lounge and rave simultaneously.
- Food available almost 24/7... and all the food is free! Plus limitless free ice water!
CONS
- takes a while to board the ship & disembark (but this is really due to customs, and Holy Ship managed it better than other years, according to veteran travellers)
- slippery floors due to humidity (again, not the fault of Holy Ship, but it was scary sliding around on tile floors wearing foam flip flops)
- constant FOMO wondering what's going on everywhere!! :D
THE SHIP
Wondering how four stages fit on one boat, and what they were like? Here's my breakdown:
The Main Stage (above) was in the middle of the main deck, the centerpiece of the cruiser. The pool directly in front of the stage was covered to create a dance floor, but elevated jacuzzis let you party in bubbly water with an unobstructed view of the stage. Boss. Thanks to multi-level decks on the boat, I enjoyed a ton of different vantage points of main stage. I rarely entered the "pit" area, but mostly took in the view and the great sound from a little ways back, feeling the breeze n beats as the boat flew through the sea.
The Galaxy Disco (above, the black strip of windows above the stage): This is where I spent most of my time -- a raised-up lounge higher than anything else on the boat, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a medium-sized dance floor plus adjoining arcade. Although the lights here were mild compared to the main stage, the sound was great, and you could party a bit closer to the dj thanks to the close quarters.
The Pantheon Theater (above) was literally a theater. I could imagine magicians and dancers on "normal" crusies in here doing their thang.....very different from watching a crazed rasta-barbie girl twerking on the dj decks as Baauer dropped a Celine Dion heavy bass remix, the entire theater thumping, as I wondered if the balcony I was on might collapse. (It didn't.) image below.
Final stage was Black & White Lounge (below), a super-intimate, low-ceilinged venue with a shnazzy crystal chandelier. Fabulous sound, plus plenty of bars since you weren't far from the casino, it was a treat to see huge name djs in such a small place.
Lastly at the onshore Beach Stage each day, the crowds were friendly and you could easily navigate to the very front for a baller pic. The stages were small but the sound was loud and the good vibes were HUGE!
above image via TheCameraClicks
THE MUSIC
The music at festivals is honestly secondary to me. If I really want to see an artist, I'll see them headline their own performance. I go to festivals for the people and vibes. I did experience some new tunes on the boat, thanks to rad partygoers I met who invited me to join in on their agenda. At Holy Ship, I learned the magic of ghetto house (Amine Edge & Dance, plus the groovy Gramatik). I saw great Dirtybird sets obviously. And Boys Noize...<3 <3 <3.... But yea....the point of a festival is to explore. I saw Green Lantern, RL Grimes, Baauer, Chromeo, Dillon Francis, Duck Sauce, Griz, Destructo...just all kinds of things! And I think that's the whole point.
IN SUMZ
All in all, I would recommend this cruise to pretty much any music festival lover who has a penchant for EDM. I was apprehensive a bit because these days I've mostly been into tech house/deep house, rather than electro/glitch/dubstep/trap...so I wasn't sure if I'd click with this crowd. However, I am thrilled to report that the only bros on this ship were sweethearts, there was a great sense of camaraderie, and overall everyone was NICE! I'd compare it almost to Burning Man in that regard. Lose your drink tickets? Someone will help you. Lose your friends? You'll make new ones. Lost your way? You'll find help immediately. Compared to many raves I've attended, this one felt friendlier than...honestly...any. Big thanks to Gary Richards for creating this environment for all of us to enjoy. Such a treat.
xx,
Mz Prizm
[ps THANK YOU to the group of people who invited me to join them in this adventure!!!!!]
