What It Takes to Run Asia’s Largest Festival on a Cruise Ship

What comes to mind when you think cruise to nowhere?

It’s the idyllic picture of a retired couple who’s worked hard enough to rest easy between casinos and cabaret shows. It’s the mom who just needs an easy out for those hectic family holidays. Perhaps it’s the new divorcee who is eager to get away. Whatever it is, it’s probably not the well-heeled millennial on a hell-bent mission to get lit. And that’s where IT’S THE SHIP, Asia’s largest festival on a cruise ship, comes in to blow every expectation out of the water.

“It’s The Ship has a certain hedonism about it, a certain sexuality and anything goes kind of intensity. It is not a family product,” said Darren Waide, Creative Director of Livescape Group, the company behind this luxurious all-inclusive multi-day experience.

Beyond the bass-heavy speakers, big screens, blinding lasers, multiple stages and diverse roster of international and regional DJs that fulfil Festival Requirements 101, It’s The Ship boasts non-stop programming and every opulent option that your imagination can afford. You can go from basic needs – 24-hour all-you-can-eat buffet dining rooms and air-conditioned toilets – all the way to the pinnacle of superfluous desires – jacuzzis, ping-pong and private karaoke rooms – in the matter of one elevator ride that happens to have a pop-up bar inside.

And it is no easy feat to pull off. The year-round planning for the event sees Livescape Group’s team of 25 dedicated to helping shipmates conceptualise and live out their craziest, richest fantasies.

“Nobody’s doing it, certainly not in this region, so we took that space,” said Darren on the ridiculous idea of running a festival on a cruise ship. But with that first-mover advantage, It’s The Ship has been marking clear territory in the Straits of Malacca and beyond.

Running a massive event on the high seas demands incredibly detailed pre-production planning and logistics. The team essentially sets up the entire boat on the day of the event, and tears it down while everyone is spilling out hungover on the last day. “It’s nuts, no one sleeps,” Darren affirms.

“I’ve been in the industry for about 22 years and it was the only thing I ever wanted to do since I left school. I started in theatre, then I went into touring rock and roll, then TV production, then festivals. And all of that other experience helps me do this job kind of okay.”

“It’s not like a landed festival where you can duck out and get another patch cable or some bolts. There’s nothing here, so we have to really, really carefully plan every single element. We can’t fix it if we don’t have it with us.”

The festival stage on It’s The Ship is carefully designed to undergo massive weight reductions from a traditional landed setup – else the cruise deck floor might collapse. It also has to be sturdy enough to withstand strong winds – knowledge learnt through some past near-fuck-ups:

“There was one of the early years where we got hit by a massive storm - lightning, wind, it was just nuts and we didn’t quite expect it. Normally we can sail around the storm but this one was just too big. We almost got blown off the ship – the stage roof filled up with water and almost collapsed on everything. We had to shut everything down and move two stages indoors at the last second, but that ended up being one of the best parties we had ever done. It was actually a blessing for us.”

It’s The Ship is all about finding escape and freedom, with the scent of sex and a stellar customer service rating. There’s attention to this detail at every level – decals displaying pick-up lines on bathroom mirrors, pleasure partner ONE Condom’s offer of a free whip for every SG$25 ($18) spent on protection, the entourage of Playboy Thailand girls roaming confidently on deck, and the assurance of a safe environment. Staring out at the blue sea from the balcony, you lose all sense of time, and get excited about the seemingly endless romp through the cruise’s carpeted hallways.

“There’s many layers of security around the ship so everyone is safe. Here there is no barrier, it’s literally dancefloor to the hotel room via the staircase or lift. It’s really easy and very quick so we make sure our guests feel like they’re protected or looked after.”

I’ve been to a fair number of festivals, and I can state with confidence that It’s The Ship is like no other. Not all of us can be that sort of Asian, and not all of us can bear to fork out thousands of dollars to get turnt on the tide. But that’s the thing, It’s The Ship is not meant to be for everyone. It is a round-the-clock experiential extravaganza for those who can afford to avoid all the glums of a typical festival experience – that’s 4000 people from 88 countries every sold-out sailing, a third of whom are returning shipmates.

And if you’re not sure if It’s The Ship is for you, I’ve created this handy quiz to figure it out.

IS 'IT’S THE SHIP FOR YOU? QUIZ

• Do you get turned off by long lines and waits to enter parties?
• Do you abhor endless treks to get out of festival grounds when the music has stopped?
• Do you shy away from the elements, or have a strong aversion to sweating or muddy shoes?
• Do you get easily disturbed by the state of portaloos?
• Do you wonder why most festivals ban glass bottles and do not provide the option of table service?
• Do you choose to dress up as Lust at a Seven Deadly Sins Halloween Party?
• Do you like electronic dance music?
• Do you have substantial personal net worth to pay for the finer things in life?
• Do you drink lots of alcohol, but somehow still party responsibly?

If you say yes to a majority of these, you should definitely be on It’s The Ship. They have three sailings in 2020 out of Singapore, China and Korea, and let’s just say the surprises are unthinkable. Imagine being trapped on a cruise ship with your favourite idol groups for days, because that might even be a possibility on the inaugural It’s The Ship Korea sailing from 28-31 August 2020.

And if you do manage to scrounge around for some money to make it next year, I leave you with some words of advice on partying responsibly:

“Once on It’s The Ship China we had to make a ship-wide announcement because a brother was there with his sister, they were sharing a room and he couldn’t find her. He was panicking so we had to make announcements to because he was worried that she might’ve fallen overboard. Turned out she had just gone to someone’s room. And we’d made that announcement like five times, because if we couldn’t find her we would’ve had to stop the ship.”

Remember – you can do whatever you want, but don’t go overboard and ruin it for the rest of us!

This article was written as part of a paid partnership between VICE and It’s The Ship.