Themed Cruises: From Disney To Heavy Metal, Are They For You?

15.02.2024 - 13:25 / forbes.com

Whether you want to master your strategy when playing bridge, learn to play the ukulele, or enrich yourself with information-packed lectures about everything from true crime to aviation, cruises are a wonderful way to combine hobbies with a vacation.

Themed cruises take this concept up to a whole new level, offering enthusiasts the chance to get together and celebrate their interests at sea. Offering everything from heavy metal concerts and 1980s discos to Star Trek and adult-interest experiences, there's a themed cruise for everyone.

For first-time cruisers, they can be an ideal opportunity to test out a cruising vacation with a sense of familiarity.

Many themed trips are set for the early months of the year, usually February, which is typically a quieter period for the cruise industry when ships are available for charter.

In most cases, such cruises are one-off events, but there's one line for which every cruise is all about the themed experience.

While most cruise lines aim to set themselves apart from the competition, very few go as far as Disney Cruise Line, for which every single cruise is a themed cruise.

Everything from the dining concepts to the onboard entertainment is based on or strongly influenced by Disney films and characters.

Non-Disney fans are unlikely to get the most out of such a vacation, especially as the cost tends to be two to three times higher than similar cruises on other mass market cruise lines.

Also, ships will often feel fuller than other lines as there is a relatively high number of children sharing the staterooms of their parents compared with other cruise ships.

However, for Disney fans, those downsides are frequently overlooked. NerdWallet’s Carissa Rawson said “it was expensive but worth every penny.” She also highlighted the areas of escape for adults: “Although Disney cruises are definitely oriented toward children, they also maintain separate adult-only areas.”

Live music has become a common theme for cruises in recent years with surprising genres leading the way: metal and heavy rock music. Ahead of the 2024 season, the cruises ‘Rock Legends XI’, ‘Monsters of Rock’, and ‘70,000 Tons of Metal’ are all sold out.

Total Rock’s Dawn Osborne said the Monsters of Rock cruise is “always a blast” despite the flexibility needed to get the most out of the experience: “There are always a few curve balls in putting on a show consisting of 50 bands and countless more rockstars on a large boat the size of a city in tropical conditions.”

Such cruises are typically short (3-6 days) with few ports of call, allowing time for multiple performances in the cruise ship’s main theater, lounges, and pool deck.

If metal isn't your thing, there are many more themed cruises to suit all