Coachella Cruise News - Missing Out or Not Coachella, Not Even Close

[guedita]

How bad was the fedora situation? Preliminary reports from the Jamaica cruise have suggested high fedora rates on board.

[ivankay]

i didn't see any, but the hipsters there just to party meant no one who wanted to see Pulp missed out. It was easy to avoid people on the boat, but comradery ruled over douchiness.

[RumRunner]

I thought this cruise was amazing. I would shell the bucks out again for sure. It was my first Coachella (not by choice) but 11th cruise. Merging the two was perfect! All the food we had was excellent with lots of options for any palate or dietary choices. We tried main dining for dinner and brunch, buffet for dinner and breakfast and late night snacks, and Bistro on 5 (crepes) for lunch and everything was quite tasty. We wanted to try more, but out of time and tummy space. We bumped into and talked with many artists as they enjoyed their cruise and everyone was very friendly and respectful. We loved our aft veranda and just loving the views. I'm uploading my photos now and hope to get them posted somewhere soon.

[ivankay]

Need to add the sonic excellence we expect from Coachella was in full effect. All the live shows sounded great. Music was everywhere.

[guedita]

i didn't see any, but the hipsters there just to party meant no one who wanted to see Pulp missed out. It was easy to avoid people on the boat, but comradery ruled over douchiness.

BOO! HISS!

[Courtney]

my analogy that kept coming to mind is the cruise is like a deluxe box set. Not everyone's going to get it. It cost more. If you do, you going to be happy with all the gold you find in there that pertains to your taste. It was a lot like ATP in that we were all in the same place and encounters with the performers happened daily. [...] Everyone was cool and happiness was contagious.

Really glad to hear this. I have to admit that my initial reaction to the idea of a Coachella cruise was "oh god that sounds miserable." Coachella festival attendees are generally treated like insignificant cattle in Indio with security's bad attitude and being shoved into enclosed spaces with poor planning for crowds and traffic flow, and the idea of being stuck on a boat with obnoxious spoiled Southern Californian teenagers was pretty much my nightmare.

Generally, it seems like it's a basic problem that a lot of companies encounter when they try to introduce line extensions into a market by making a "premium" product using an existing brand identity. The cruise is like a "Coachella Plus" in terms of pricing, lodging, food, location, etc etc. But they didn't really do anything to try to convince their potential customers that the experience would be superior to Indio, and thus why would I want to pay more? I hope that they can trust the music press, etc, to do a good job communicating the experience (as well word-of-mouth from first year attendees) so that next year sells better and they are able to continue to offer the cruise as an option.

[ivankay]

^i suspects you would really enjoy.

BOO! HISS!

[RumRunner]

i didn't see any, but the hipsters there just to party meant no one who wanted to see Pulp missed out. It was easy to avoid people on the boat, but comradery ruled over douchiness.

Good way to describe the vibe.

[RumRunner]

Really glad to hear this. I have to admit that my initial reaction to the idea of a Coachella cruise was "oh god that sounds miserable." Coachella festival attendees are generally treated like insignificant cattle in Indio with security's bad attitude and being shoved into enclosed spaces with poor planning for crowds and traffic flow, and the idea of being stuck on a boat with obnoxious spoiled Southern Californian teenagers was pretty much my nightmare.

Generally, it seems like it's a basic problem that a lot of companies encounter when they try to introduce line extensions into a market by making a "premium" product using an existing brand identity. The cruise is like a "Coachella Plus" in terms of pricing, lodging, food, location, etc etc. But they didn't really do anything to try to convince their potential customers that the experience would be superior to Indio, and thus why would I want to pay more? I hope that they can trust the music press, etc, to do a good job communicating the experience (as well word-of-mouth from first year attendees) so that next year sells better and they are able to continue to offer the cruise as an option.

We happened to hang out quite a bit with a writer and photographer from Q Magazine from England who were impressed with the whole thing. I think they will be spreading a few good words across the pond. I'm hoping sales and the overall experience will help continue SS Coachella since I'd totally go again, but I also don't want it to get too much press and turn into an overcrowded thing that turns out to eventually be what your fears were.

[joppy-slow]

Whose music were you most impressed with? Any fun covers ? How annoying was Grimes by the end of the cruise?

[pdhow]

Thanks for all the first hand accounts. My wife really wanted to go and I talked her out of it for financial reasons and because I expected less of it....big mistake! It sounded really fun. I hope it can continue and then I can buy tix for my wife and I as a graduation present!!!

The boat rocking (motion of the ocean type way, not Pulp on stage) was another fear of mine because I got a little sick on a ferry to Cozumel one time but it sounds like that wasn't a problem.

All in all, any complaints???

[ivankay]

Whose music were you most impressed with? Any fun covers ? How annoying was Grimes by the end of the cruise?

Always impressed with Pulp, but from the first time acts, Cloud Nothings, Killer Mike, Grimes and biggest surprise was how fucking fun Girl Talk was. Didn't catch any covers unless you want to have that include the 90's mashup that was Girl Talk. Didn't see enough of Grimes to get sick of her, but she seemed cool.

Thanks for all the first hand accounts. My wife really wanted to go and I talked her out of it for financial reasons and because I expected less of it....big mistake! It sounded really fun. I hope it can continue and then I can buy tix for my wife and I as a graduation present!!!

The boat rocking (motion of the ocean type way, not Pulp on stage) was another fear of mine because I got a little sick on a ferry to Cozumel one time but it sounds like that wasn't a problem.

All in all, any complaints???

i heard one person who suffers from sea sickness talking to James Murphy about it after the wine tasting. She said she was struggling a bit, but was making it through.

Only complaints is too short, couldn't be everywhere at once and towards the end a lady who worked on the boat was a tiny bit crabby. i'll cut her some slack though because they never had to deal with a crowd like ours before.

[kneuller]

So many hipsters in sailor hats....the horror.

[ShyGuy75]

sooooo girl talk ruled and nobody was smoking pot. sounds righteous

[RumRunner]

I have to say my favorite act was !!!. Nic is hilarious. But everyone we saw was excellent. I felt as though the ship rocked very little compared to other cruises I have been on. And, yeah, toward the end there were a lot of peopel wearing their crafty sailor hats they made onboard. I have no complaints at all, but I did think it was wierd that there was no SS Coachella merch. I did take home a cocktail napkin, though. LOL We found the crew, for the most part, to be friendly and enjoy having a different kind of crowd on board. I did encounter several people smoking pot... next to our veranda, below our veranda, on the lawn, in another designated smoking area, and during Sleigh Bells. Where there's a will, there's a way.

[algunz]

It really does sound reminiscent of the first years on the polo fields.


Why does it have to be on a boat?

[ivankay]

This is pretty funny:

32 Reasons Why the S.S. Coachella is Way Better Than Regular Coachella

[timothyhockley]

what was the crowd like? mainly hipsters, bros or both?

[RumRunner]

OMG the 32 reasons is so hilarious and true!

The crowd was a great mix of people. We saw people in their late 50's at the shows having fun, there were a few hipsters, there were regular people, there were a lot of industry people, there were the fashion show off people, there were the ones doing funky funny shit every night. I would have to say that the mix of people was just right and most of us were there just to enjoy the awesome music and that is what brought everyone together.

[RotationSlimWang]

sooooo girl talk ruled and nobody was smoking pot. sounds righteous

Clear out some of your PMs, mofucka.

[getbetter]

It was a drugboatchella.This guy was going around making bank by selling extra small dose of mdma in tiny white/green capsules.They didnt even search you going on the boat or coming back on the boat from Jamaica..I thought it was pretty crazy when you drunk and the boat started rocking a lot.Karoke was way better than Girl Talk imo.

[Boourns]

The cruise out-ATPed ATP. That's all I can come up with at the moment. I never wanted to leave.

[concertgoer]

How full was the theatre for Pulp?

[Boourns]

Not completely. It never was.