The Cruise Is Over; Long Live The Cruise!
It always takes me a few days to come down from the experience. I think I’m almost there, though I still catch myself thinking that Brooklyn is a dream, and being onboard a giant cruise ship is my real life.
First of all: holy BEANS that was a good time! This was the third year we’ve done JoCo Cruise Crazy, and we’ve learned a lot each year about how to run an event cruise. This was the best so far in my opinion. Everything seemed to run pretty smoothly, or else there were enough people shielding me from the bad stuff that it felt that way, and either situation is fine with me! I can’t thank Paul and Storm and Scarface enough for all their hard work, not to mention the army of volunteer helper monkeys who held the whole thing together. Scarface in particular was working his poor little hideously disfigured butt off while the rest of us were chilling with tropical beverages. He gets an extra ration of gruel (and once his gruel debt is paid off, he will be able to eat gruel again, so yay Scarface!).
The Sea Monkeys continue to own this thing. I say it every time, and it was truer than ever this year, but so much of what happens just grows naturally out of this huge group of wonderful people being together in the same place at the same time. The shadow cruise is where it’s at. It would be dishonest for me to take credit for ALL the awesomeness. Though I will say that we had a great lineup of performers, old and new, and in addition to the wonderful, funny, moving stuff they did on stage, their presence at all sorts of non-performative hangout type events really made it feel like a giant weeklong party. Such a great vibe.
A few favorite moments: the Double Clicks self-doubting Mars Rover song, the increasingly ridiculous Mike Phirman birthday gag, John Roderick’s debut of a BRAND NEW SONG, Hodgman’s cruise ship emergency government plan, his riffing on cylinders with Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, Joseph Scrimshaw’s story about french kissing a bear, celebrity Artemis (one of those “I can’t believe this is my job moments”), Zoe Keating blowing everyone’s heads off and making everyone cry so that our tears became the sea and the sea was somehow INSIDE HER CELLO, Randall Munroe’s solar system physics tweaks on John Roderick’s airplane story, the incredible scene that was the Hodgman/Rees DJ Danceparty Showdown, me getting riddled with bullets during Wil Wheaton’s Robocop sitcom reading, and Storm’s apparently epic karaoke moment (which I did NOT EVEN SEE and will always regret), and most of all, my new favorite thing ever, live band karaoke with Christian and Adam and you. And that’s just the official events – it barely scratches the surface. So much stuff.
We’ve already gotten a ship for next year, and I cannot recommend strongly enough that everyone in the world book passage thereon. We’ll be on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, February 23 – March 1, 2014, sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Labadee, Haiti. At the moment booking is only open to Sea Monkeys who were on JCCC3, but we’ll open it up to the general public very soon.
Thank you guys for making this trip so great. I can’t wait to see all of you again.
Comments
Colleenky says
Words not sufficient. Just thank you. Also, I'm still alive. :-)
geordan says
This was my first JCC and it was amazing. I really did feel fantastic. Thanks to everyone who made this happen!
Charlie says
I only made half the cruise, and it still made me twice the man I was before! And not just because I may have drunk my weight in margaritas.
I can't wait to see a whole shebang next year; add my many thanks to those above. Even more fun than 5/1 -- RECOMMEND+++!
Angelastic says
It was totally awesome, AGAIN, and having been to all of them, I have a whole lot of expectations that it shouldn't be able to live up to. I always wonder whether the performers get to have as much fun as we do, because you probably miss a lot of the shadow cruise, and since you're the guy whose name is on the cruise, people are most likely to act awkwardly around you. I love your fans and your famous friends and you, and all the interactions between everyone, and I will continue to sign up for this cruise blindly without knowing much about who the performers will be or where it's going, because it's the best community I've ever been a part of. Thank you for having the audacity to make a fan cruise for yourself; it sounds like kind of a crazy/arrogant thing to do I guess, but it's the good kind of crazy.
The best part is I took enough footage to be reliving it for the next half a year. Then I'll only have six months to get unreasonably excited about the next one.
Kate says
Of course, I shout YAY!
Audrey says
Geordan stole my response!
Seriously, I knew the cruise would be amazing, but I couldn't imagine just how amazing. The gods of the random number generator really smiled on me for Live Band Karaoke.
elliomeg says
Last year was amazing. I knew this one couldn't possibly be as good and yet it was even better. I'm pretty sure I'm in for the lifetime subscription.
Thanks for dreaming, daring and doing (to you, to the performers, to the helper monkeys and especially to my fellow Sea Monkeys).
Jim Crider says
This. Was. Amazing. So much so that I was one of the live gamma testers for the "public" computers and, risking credit card security, booked JCCC4 RIGHT FROM THE SHIP.
Such a great time. Thanks for doing this. Thanks for letting me a small part of the team.
Googs says
Though I was on the fence all year for #3, having attended I'm now pre-booking #4. No way I'm missing out on the ... party.
Sus says
Everything you just said. It was amazing. AMAZING.
Karen says
Thanks so much to you, Paul and Storm, Scarface, all the helper monkeys and everyone else for making this year's events full of so much awesome! We had such a great time and love being a part of such a wonderful sea monkey family. So looking forward to next year!
chet says
HOLY CRAP I TOOK THAT.
(so very pleased.)
Gina Mai Denn says
I can't thank those who worked their butts off and those who were just being their normal awesome selves enough. I've had the time of my life on all three JoCoCruiseCrazys and I hope to continue to do so! <3 <3 <3
Perry Zombolas says
Thanks a million to you and the crew for entertaining us and being so increasingly receptive, personal & interactive with us. I'm really glad I was introduced to your music a few years back and these cruises further solidify my love of what you're doing. Keep it up JoCo...you've got a small army behind you. Cheers, P
Missy says
Thank you and Paul and Storm and Scarface and the wonderful Sea Monkeys x 1,000 for the entire thing. Live Band Karaoke will be one of the highlights of my life.
David says
Two words: Awesome Fun!
Already booked for jccc4
Matt says
Looks like fun! Glad the pirates from Foxtopia were kept at bay for the moment.
Bino Gopal says
Jonathan, you rock, and you will always continue to rock and we will be with you on that damn boat as long as you let us!
Viva La Loco Cruise de Joco!
Mike says
I'm unfortunately realizing that my plans to get a Ph.D and be in school forever means I'll never get to be a Sea Monkey :(
Unless... Spring Break! *Goes to check when it is next year at the schools I've applied to* DAMMIT, it's a week AFTER the cruise at 2 of the schools I've applied to... But it looks like the cruise is being a week later every year, so... I have a chance at JCCC5, right? ... RIGHT!?
Scoti_Garbidis says
JoCoCruiseCrazy 3 was one of the best weeks of my life. Concerts, Meeting, Chatting with all the performers was excellent but I have to admit my experiences with all the other sea monkeys was probably the greatest moments of my week. Sharing dinner, games in the game room, enjoying fellow sea monkeys tearing up the stage during live band karaoke....... What an amazing week with the world's greatest people. Thank you so much to my fellow Sea Monkeys and all the entertainers!
Mike says
No one who cares about LGBT rights should go anything to promote tourism in Jamaica:
http://t.co/NcZ3Qz1Leb
mizzie says
I didn't get to go this year (or any previous year, for that matter), but I'm bound and determined to go to JCCC4! Already counting down: 347 days from today!
SapphireMind says
Best. Fun. Ever. I'm bringing the rest of the family next year, and any other geeks I can convince to come.