Are you a nudist? Knitter? Fan of the ‘Golden Girls’? There’s a cruise for that
Kaity Talley saw the announcement and knew she had to get on board: A cruise exclusively for Hallmark Christmas movie fans? With cookie decorating, tree lighting, movie marathons and karaoke?
“I got super lucky,” said Talley, 36, of Ontario, Calif. She landed a booking time that got her a spot on the cruise that turned out to be Taylor Swift-concert-level popular. After it sold out quickly, organizers added a second voyage, which also sold out.
Talley, a Costco manager who also makes TikToks about cruises, expects to bring an entire Christmas wardrobe, ugly sweaters and all: “I’m going to be very corny on this cruise.”
The Hallmark cruise will make its maiden voyage in November, but it’s hardly the first event to gather an extremely niche community of fans and send them out to sea. Theme cruises have catered to groups as diverse as cat lovers, headbangers, Trekkies, conservative activists and zombie aficionados.
There are clothing-optional cruises, faith-based cruises, swingers cruises and cruises for people who want to practice their golf swing.
“If there’s something out there that people like to do, there’s probably a cruise about it,” said Chris Gray Faust, executive director of the news and review site Cruise Critic.
Theme cruises can take many forms, from a small group tucked into a larger sailing to a full-ship takeover. Some are put on by the cruise lines, but most are organized by a travel agency or production company that blocks rooms and venues or charters the entire ship. Those sailings must be purchased through that third party.
Trips are often scheduled during off-peak times, such as January through March or October and November. Prices are higher than a standard cruise, generally reflecting the extra programming or additional perks that passengers get.
Experts say specialty sailings have exploded in recent years as cruise lines have expanded and consumers have sought out more meaningful ways to travel.
“Overall, the travel industry is getting so much more experiential in a number of ways, and theme cruises are the ultimate experiential vacation,” said Chris Hearing, a partner and executive director at Entertainment Cruise Productions, a major organizer of theme cruises. “You get immersed, in our case, in weeklong theme cruises where from the moment you walk on the ship, you are surrounded by people that are completely into ‘Star Trek’ or Comic-Con or motorcycles or ’80s or ’90s music.”
Another producer, Sixthman, got its start in 2001 with a rock-themed event featuring Sister Hazel. This year, the group will pull off 23 cruise events, and the schedule calls for 27 next year, said CEO Jeff Cuellar.
A GATEWAY FOR CRUISE NEWCOMERS
As the cruise industry builds more ships and tries to cultivate new audiences to fill them, Gray Faust said theme cruises often serve as an entry point.
“It brings a lot of first-time cruisers into the fold,” she said. “They’re fans of whatever the theme is. The fact that it’s on a cruise is almost secondary.”
Howard Moses, a travel adviser, created a site called theme cruise finder with a business partner several years ago and said there are more than 700 cruises listed at any given time, from small groups to full-ship charters.
“It has blossomed in the last I would say 10 to 12 years,” he said.
Talley, who booked the Hallmark Christmas cruise, said theme cruises got her hooked on sailing. She spoke to The Washington Post from Miami after departing a chef-focused cruise and right before boarding a regular sailing on another cruise line. She has been on the Sail Across the Sun cruise, featuring Train and several other acts, four times.
“There’s just concerts happening the entire time,” she said.
SWIFTIES, TREKKIES AND CRAFTERS
Some event production companies sell the opportunity to be in close quarters with the objects of fan affection. Sixthman, which is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, pitches the events to singers, chefs and others as a way to interact with their die-hard fans who will follow and support them anywhere. And for those fans, it’s a tough chance to pass up.
“You’re not just spending an afternoon, you’re spending your vacation with them from breakfast to lunch to dinner to cocktails and activities,” Cuellar said.
Even though the Hallmark Christmas cruise — which is being put on by Sixthman — hasn’t named the stars who will sail, Cuellar said the event was the fastest sellout in the company history.
“Within like 48 hours of the first sellout, there were people already putting mugs on Etsy that said, ‘I survived the Hallmark presale,’” he said. “You talk about a passionate audience.”