For the third straight year, Holy Ship!!! makes a claim to be the greatest party not just on the high seas, but on  land as well. Anyone who tries to compare it to anything else hasn’t been on the ship yet. Its part summer camp, part house party, part music festival, but as a whole, it can only really be described as the craziest weekend of the year.

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This year’s festival saw a new, bigger boat, the MSC Divina, packed with dance music super fans from around the globe, as well as an all star cast of DJ’s including Diplo, A-Trak, Skrillex, Chromeo, Boys Noize, and secret surprise guest Tiesto. There was also an additional beach party this year, bringing two different line ups to two different locations for day time dancing in the ocean and on the sand. But I’ll get to all of that in a second.

Before I get into the run down of all of the craziness that happened on this boat, I need to mention the most important aspect in all of this madness – the crowd. ShipFam is a phrase that’s heard on the boat by the minute, and for good reason. Everyone on the ship with you does feel like family. Everyone is so happy to be there, so friendly – you constantly see people helping each other, extended random acts of kindness, or even just offering a friendly high five to a stranger. Bumping into someone who went on the ship is like bumping into someone who went to your high school, you instantly have a bond, even if you don’t remember ever seeing them, you’re instantly friends. Also, because of the commitment in price, travel, and time, you really only get hardcore dance music fans, without people coming solely for the party.

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But there is definitely a lot of party to be had, starting with what is becoming the traditional Diplo set to kick off the sail away party. The main stage during the sail away party featured some of the biggest names on the boat –  the aforementioned Diplo, Skrillex, Boys Noize, Duck Sauce,  along with Dirty Bird’s Claude Von Stroke, Bromance head Brodinski, a disco set from Skream, and trap stars Flosstradamus. However, the most star studded event happened in the theater, which hosted Zedd, Laidback Luke, and a surprise guest – who ended up being Tiesto. As the superstar DJ performed to a shocked crowd, the DJ booth started filling up with the main stage’s stars, and Skrillex and Diplo and Zedd were MCing the evening and dancing on stage as Tiesto rocked the theater to its core. The night didn’t end until 6 in the morning, as Laidback Luke and his pregnant wife Gina Turner spun back to back until the sun came up, and the few remaining shippers held themselves up against the tiny nightclub’s glass walls.

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The second day started no doubt with people struggling to get out of bed and head to the beach, where Gary Richards aka Destructo was not only performing, but had curated a perfect line up of DJs to provide the soundtrack for a day on the sand. Armin van Helden‘s disco house and Disclosure‘s brand of UK deep house were perfect vibes for the water side, and Boys Noize picked up the tempo and the bass before it was time to head back to the ship using samples of Sgt. Buzzkill (the voice of the do’s and don’ts on the loudspeaker). Holy Ship’s beach parties are one of a kind, on a private island, with a stage situated right by the water. People dance on the sand, party in the ocean, all in an intimate environment with incredible music.

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Back on the boat, the party kicked off with Alex Metric on the main stage, while Chromeo later launched into a crazy DJ set, blending their catchy funky hits with some of the hard hitting beats Shippers have come to expect. His brother A-Trak even came out and performed a mini scratching clinic on stage! Dillon Francis followed with his first set on the main stage (he also performed a late night set), and Zedd and Laidback Luke made main stage appearances as the theater was taken over by the Rump Shaker party. A hip hop influence loomed over the theater with Green Lantern, Baauer, Flosstradamus, and Gramatik all grazing the stage, while GriZ performed one of my favorite sets of the weekend.

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While it was another tough morning, the second beach party held a lot of hype, as there’d be performances from Dillon Francis, Skrillex, Diplo, and Pharrell Williams, who showed up on a helicopter hours late. Unfortunately, as one shipper said, ‘the helicopter should just take him back’. Many wondered if Williams would DJ or sing – and the answer was, well, neither. While a selection of Williams’ tracks was lightly heard from the speakers, the superstar producer held a mic on the stage, said ‘yeah’ and ‘uh’ and ‘cmon’ a lot, and took pictures with girls. It was a huge let down and became a joke. I think the boat needs some more variety, and this was a great choice, but it just didn’t work in execution.

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At night on the main stage, however, Pharrell somewhat redeemed himself with a set that featured much more singing and sounds that worked much better on big speakers. The main stage was packed with talent, including another set from Flume, Disclosure, Justin Martin, and a b2b set from trap superstars Baauer and RL Grime, but the one of Holy Ship’s hidden gems was the Fools Gold Rap Party. The Rap Party was a surprise last year, and returned this year with much of the same cast. Hip hop heavyweights Just Blaze and Green Lantern were joined by Brodinski, performing as The Boogieman, RL Grime and Bauuer performing separately, and a DJ clinic from A-Trak, who is one of the greatest hip hop turntablists in the world. After two days of pounding beats, its fun to rock out to some hip hop, and these guys go back and forth from past to presents with tons of sing a longs. The tiny, tiny, Galaxy Disco – I can’t stress how tiny this place is – was home to the craziest set of the night, as Tiesto went b2b with Claude Von Stroke. The club filled up so fast that security was turning people away before the set started. The disco was the place to close out the night, as intimate disco sets from Chromeo and Skream closed off the night.

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I can’t begin to describe all the rest of the madness that happened on this boat. I’ve already written over 1000 words – I could go on and on. Besides the music, everyone left with dozens of memories they will hold forever – videos will be shared in posted in the many Facebook groups for the rest of the year. Its just a perfect weekend at the seas, with amazing people and amazing music. What else could you want?

Check out our review from HOLYSHIP!! (Year 2)

Photos: Holy Ship Facebook – By RUKES.com