Still Kruisin’: Rockin’ the High Seas on KISS Kruise VIII (Photos/Recap)
By Ken Sharp / www.rockcellarmagazine.com
8AM October 31st, Halloween … The massive Norwegian Jade ship is docked in the port of Miami and the silence is deafening. There’ll be a new kind of “deafening” soon: the noisy “Rock & Roll All Nite and party every day” kind, as in a few hours passengers from 37 countries will embark on KISS Kruise VIII.
Organized by leading music cruise company Sixthman, this year’s KISS Kruise, slated for excursions in in Key West, Florida and Nassau, the Bahamas, draws a multi-generational array of members of the KISS NAVY from all corners of the globe: Russia to Brazil, France to Argentina, Spain to England, Germany to The Netherlands, Japan to the USA and more.
11AM, Port of Miami, Miami, Florida
The first few hundred passengers begin to converge on the port and excitement begins to build. It’s like a meeting of the rock and roll United Nations — men, women and children of all ages and nationalities, most looking like they stepped out of a KISS department store, resplendent in new and vintage KISS t-shirts, hats, and sweatpants, many showing off some skin emblazoned with colorful KISS tattoos. High fives and hearty hugs are commonplace as the passengers walk onto the ship ready for another trip of a lifetime (or the first, for KISS fans taking their maiden voyage with the Hottest Band in the Land).
This isn’t just a rite of passage, oceanic and lifestyle-wise, to hang out and experience KISS in intimate setting with 2300+ members of your closest friends, but a tight bond of family and renewal of friendships crossing language barriers. “I’ve been on every KISS Kruise since they started putting this yearly event on,” one fan observes. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I save my money up all year so I can swing it — I’ve also taken on a second night job at as a security guard at Walmart for a few months so I’m able to afford to come each year and also buy as much KISS swag as possible. Year in, year out, it’s the highlight of my year!”
The fan’s story is a common one. As much as KISS is a mighty rock and roll institution and connective thread that brings fans back year after year, it’s the close friendships fellow passengers make with each other that are now are as important a selling point as the band itself.
Dean Snowden puts things into perspective: “This is an encompassing fun for everyone who attends. The camaraderie of the repeat fans from around the world makes this an unmissable event. These people have their own cliques they’ve cultivated from KISS Kruise to KISS Kruise. This is where all the hardcore KISS fans choose to rendezvous.” Jess Loud, KISS Kruise Community Manager adds, “I’m always amazed at how tight-knit the KISS Kruiser community is. They celebrate in each other’s successes, as well as commiserate when life gets tough. Getting to witness all of these guests come together to form a network of love and support for one another is one of the best parts of my job. It’s truly awesome how KISS has brought everyone together in this way.”
The theme for this year’s KISS Kruise is “KISS Kruise VIII: Decades At Sea,” which is an apt theme for this year with the recent sobering announcement that KISS are set to celebrate over 40+ years on the rock and roll battlefield with an “End Of The Road” final tour kicking off in 2019 and set to last three years.
Paul Stanley attests: “With the KISS Kruise, we try to give people what we would want as fans. This is a cruise that I hope that a band I love would do.”
Having attended several KISS Kruises in the past, there is zero chance of being bored. Instead, it’s full-on sensory overload 24/7: there’s so many activities and events planned by Sixthman that one might need to take a vacation after this vacation. “This year we are really excited to sail with even more former band members like Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick,” says Jess Loud, KISS Kruise Community Manager. “We’re also upping the ante on the activities with each band member — Paul, Gene, Tommy and Eric will each participate in two activities on board. And of course, you can’t forget the community of kruisers that started as strangers and have now become a family. Each year, new kruisers join and they’re welcomed into the KISS Navy by the veteran kruisers. That’s something truly special that you just don’t find anywhere else.”
Bridging the artist/fan bond Anthony Diaz, Sixthman CEO observes, “KISS embodies all that is so special about the concept of tearing down the walls between fans and bands and setting sail on vacation together. For 40+ years they’ve proven they truly care about blowing their fans away and they do so every year on the KISS Kruise by creating an experience at sea that is truly unlike anything you can get at a concert in a venue. They personally work so hard to customize each year’s sailing with elements such as deep cut set lists, vintage costumes and stage set ups, unique guest gifts and fan-band activities designed specifically to surprise and delight the uber-fan. They define what it means to LIVE LOUD.”
In preparing for each KISS Kruise, Sixthman works in close coordination with the KISS camp as Jess Loud relates: “Each of the guys in the band give us a lot of input about what they’d like to do for their individual activities. Some great examples of this are Paul’s Rock N Roll Art Class and Kruise Kitchen, Gene’s Motivational Talk on Power, Eric’s Drum Off to name a few. Our goal with every KISS Kruise is to take KISS’s vision for the event and the guests’ feedback to plan a vacation that is like no other!”
