Sixthman has hosted themed sailings for 25 years, bringing music artists, comedians, podcast hosts, chefs and Hallmark magic to the high seas.
Since 2001, over 540,000 guests have participated in over 240 sailings featuring all-day performances, artist collaborations, panels and Q&As, fan-artist activities and other immersive experiences that celebrate community.
For CEO Jeff Cuellar, it’s been a fabulous 25-year ride. There will be no special sailing marking the occasion, though, with the brand taking the back seat to the fans and the artists instead.
“We get to celebrate through those communities and those fans, and we’re just so grateful they trust us to deliver the experience and to continue to come back and support the work that we do,” Cuellar told Cruise Industry News.
Highlights so far in 2026 included cruises with comedians Nate Bargatze, Chelcie Lynn, bands such as Creed and Modest Mouse, as well as Bananaland at Sea, a cruise hosted by the Savannah Bananas, an entertainment-focused baseball team.
Lined up for 2027 are EDSea, a five-night dance-music festival at sea; 311 Caribbean Cruise; The Broadway Cruise, and many more.
All About Passion
Talking about popular themes, Cuellar explained that there’s no single genre or talent that performs best, it’s about passion among a community.
“No one thing, I would say, tracks the best. It is honestly where we can find communities that are looking for a space to come together, to be together and enjoy and geek out over that thing that gets them excited.”
Identifying these communities is no small feat.
It includes research into their habits and activities, for which Sixthman has created its own index containing datasets that can potentially be used to measure what drives people.
“Some of it’s just gut,” he said. “Sometimes things that look like they should be an absolute home run on paper don’t work. And then some of the other things that you don’t know what they’re going to do end up being Grand Slam.”
Bigger Stage
Being part of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the brand uses NCL ships for the themed sailings.
Some are operated by the Norwegian Jewel, while others are moving up to the bigger Norwegian Joy, with Sixthman calling these “graduating events.”
“Is it bigger than the Jewel class? It is. But we have more spaces that can be intimate in different ways,” added Cuellar. “Being able to put everybody on the pool deck to rock out to Daughtry or Creed in a different way is just really exciting.”
E.N.D. Cruise with Matt Cutshall and Emo’s Not Dead, Summer of ‘99 and Beyond with Creed, Rock the Bells and Chefs Making Waves are some of the upcoming events moving up to the Joy.
Mapping It Out
Working around artists’ schedules means that cruises sometimes take months, even years to plan. For example, a conversation with an artist who will be performing on a cruise next spring started some 1,300 days ago.
The company aims to confirm the plan between 13 and 16 months out, so the planning process can begin for it to launch and go on sale at year-end.
Sailings tend to be geared towards the Caribbean and the Bahamas because guests normally expect a sunny, tropical destination that’s also fun. Some sailings visit NCL’s exclusive destination, Great Stirrup Cay.
Cuellar said he was excited to see the new improvements that are happening there, like the new waterpark.
As for non-tropical destinations, in 2025, the company chartered a sailing in Alaska, where they’ll return in 2027. There was also a sailing out of Boston, up the New England coastline and into Canada.
Mastering Logistics
Cuellar said that he looks at a ship like a venue, thinking about how to maximize it to provide an immersive experience that aligns with what a certain community wants in terms of an overall experience.
He called the operations team masters at movement, comparing their work to the Super Bowl halftime show.
“Not only do they have to do some crazy and inventive things to pull off, but they’re doing it on a moving ship.”
The company occasionally operates back-to-back sailings, further complicating already busy turnaround days.
“You could be going from Boots on the Water, one of our country events, into Sail Across the Sun, which looks completely different, and we have to fully transition that ship into a different immersive experience in that couple of hour window while we’re docked in Miami,” Cuellar explained.
Artists Bring Unique Flavor
Artists tend to be very intentional about what is being programmed on the show because it’s a reflection of them, he noted.
“They also get to bring a lot of that unique flavor to what we’re producing, including the other talent and artists that are onboard as a part of it, which makes it a lot of fun,” said Cuellar.
This means that sailings where certain artists perform will also normally feature other things that a fan of that artist would love, making it an ecosystem of related things for passengers to enjoy.
“I think those natural relationships and interactions happen to where you see some magical moments that we don’t plan,” he noted.
Evolution Leads to Growth
Comparing Sixthman sailings 10 years ago and now, Cuellar said the company has been able to try out different things, which is why it became better at understanding what works.
“Through our success, more artists are willing to work with us. That evolution has allowed growth because we’ve been successful at what we do. It has allowed us to take bigger chances to try different things and to get artists involved than wouldn’t have looked twice at us 10 years ago.”
