"Pace yourself."
That's party veteran and Groove Cruise founder Jason Beukema's advice to all who board the Norwegian Pearl for the 10th anniversary edition of his floating uhntz-uhntz bash.
"It's so high energy, people go raging from the moment they walk in," claims Beukema. "They go too hard, too fast."
With 96 hours of non-stop house music from Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Cosmic Gate, Cedric Gervais, and other beat-bangers of that ilk, how can you blame 'em?
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Setting sail from the Port of Miami, this year's Groove Cruise will be celebrating a decade of open-water partying by expanding to four days aboard the largest ship in its history.
"We have around 70 artists, with most of them playing two or three times throughout the four days, and have close to ten venues on the ship with techno, house, EDM, and trance," the founder points out.
"We're also stepping up the production with aerial lifts, which we haven't done before. We're working on live art, and adding some really cool elements to it."
There will be ice sculptures throughout the ship, daily pirate parties, fetish events, and afterhours throwdowns, as well as a Super Bowl celebration by the pool (with the game playing on a two-story projection screen while DJs take over during commercial breaks and halftime) and a private beach bash at Playa Del Mia in Cozumel, Mexico.
"It's like a water park in the middle of the ocean with beach chairs, jet skies, massages -- everything is included," says Beukema. "There's a huge stage where John Dahlback and other artists will be playing, and beautiful sand. It's kind of like a sexy, South Beach vibe."
The amenities and gimmicks and music may be all the rage, but the founder insists the Groove Cruise is really all about the wild, PLUR party animals on the boat.
"The vibe is so positive, an escape from reality. You don't have to worry about anything. There's no drama. You can let loose and have fun."
Or you could even do something crazy, like get married while trance superstar Markus Schulz serves as a witness.
"Oh, man, it's one of my wildest memories," Beukema says. "We had our first wedding like two years ago.
"There was a woman on board who was an officiate. She and the bride were wearing tutus, the husband was shirtless. There was some random guy in a ridiculous bunny outfit and Markus Schultz was also there," the cruise founder laughs. "They were gonna get married in a month or two, and just said, 'Screw it.'"
Although the Groove Cruise has now become what Beukema calls an item on every hard-core EDM freak's bucket list, the party at sea has come a long way since 2004.
"It's just humbling to see where it's at now," he admits. "We started with 125 friends ten years ago, and now it's like 4,700 people on both coasts, Miami and L.A.. It's very humbling to see people having a special experience."
And at the end of the four-day bender, Beukema wants you to be burned out, because that's the only way to be sure you've truly Groove Cruised.
"People don't sleep on this thing!" he laughs. "There's always a party going on. I hope everyone feels absolutely exhausted, that they need a vacation from their vacation. Like, 'Wow, that was the best experience of my life.'"
Groove Cruise 2014. With Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Cosmic Gate, Deniz Koyu, Tritonal, EDX, Rebecca & Fiona, Dberrie, Carlo Lio, Chus and Ceballos, Firebeatz, Adrian Lux, Feenixpawl, Gabriel and Dresden, Funkagenda, Michael Woods, Pierce Fulton, and others. Thursday, January 30, to Monday, February 3. Norwegian Pearl, boarding at Port of Miami, 1015 N. America Way, Miami. The cruise is sold out. Visit thegroovecruise.com/miami.
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