<\/p>\n

Anyone who reads this site is probably aware that I’m not the biggest fan of cruises<\/a>, and whenever I write about my\u00a0loathing\u00a0for them I invariably receive a good helping of emails from disgruntled cruisers who inexplicably extol the virtues of a vacation consisting of dining hall-level food, uninspired port calls, and regimented travel schedules. And my guess is the younger travelers of today are less likely going to be the cruise-going folk of tomorrow for these very reasons — or we should hope so.<\/p>\n

All of which were reasons why my ears perked up —\u00a0figuratively, I was reading in the subway — when I came across news in NY Mag<\/em><\/a> of the recent “Bruise Cruise,”\u00a0the world\u2019s first-ever indie-rock cruise, featuring live music from such indie rock darlings as the Black Lips,\u00a0Vivian Girls, and Surfer Blood. And what does one expect from such a cruise?<\/p>\n

Only 375 of the 2,000 passengers onboard the\u00a0Imagination <\/em>\u2014 a sort of floating Atlantic City decked in neon \u2014 are Bruisers. Everyone gets the same food (college-cafeteria quality), but entertainment for the majority of the passengers is traditional cruise fare, like hip-hop dance classes and hairy-chest contests. For the Bruisers, each of whom paid $615, the draw was nine indie bands . . .<\/p>\n

And no conga lines and shuffleboards on this cruise (well, not if you don’t want to). For this crowd expect DIY tattooing, late-night alcohol-fueled pool parties (featuring games of Marco Polo), and live sets at the very Spring Break-ish Se\u00f1or Frog’s (get it, that’s where the Greeks go during spring break to Cancun?).<\/p>\n

So what’s the appeal? One passenger offered up this theory to the cruise’s appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cCounterintuitively, it\u2019s a hipster\u2019s wet dream,\u201d she says. \u201cHipsters live a self-conscious life. Going on a fucking embarrassing indie-rock cruise? It\u2019s like being perpetually aroused. It\u2019s like walking down Bedford Avenue, strutting, for three days straight. In the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I do like catching live music, no matter where I go, but I’m still not sold. Black Lips, Vivian Girls: I’ll see you at your next show; here, safely on land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who reads this site is probably aware that I’m not the biggest fan of cruises, and whenever I write about my\u00a0loathing\u00a0for them I invariably receive a good helping of emails from disgruntled cruisers who inexplicably extol the virtues of a vacation consisting of dining hall-level food, uninspired port calls, and regimented travel schedules. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,2561],"tags":[2150,2149,1222,2152,2151],"yoast_head":"\n