Groove Cruise Miami 2011 - Max Vangeli

TO TURN OFF FETTY RADIO, IT'S FOUND IN THE COLUMN TO THE RIGHT!

HAWT MIAMI GROOVE CRUISE 2011 TUTU PARTY!!! CRAZY FUN!!

Groove Cruise Promo CD BY DJ FUNK JUNKIE!!! DL NOW!!

THE 2011 GROOVE CRUISE MOVIE-BOSTON CREW

MIAMI GROOVE CRUISE 2011 PORTRAIT

After a really incredible party, milestone or achievement comes to a close, one is always left temporarily stunned by the magnitude of energy that one has just experienced. The system is almost in a state of overdrive or shock, as it attempts to process all that it has experienced via the five natural senses. It’s not unlike the calm AFTER the storm or the smoldering debris that remains following a massive earthquake or the sea water that pools gently in foreign spaces following a Tsunami or the dust that floats aimlessly looking to settle after a sandstorm. The Miami Groove Cruise 2011, has truly left me feeling a little unprepared to accurately describe it’s magnitude this year and I feel like I’ve been in state of surreal suspension following our arrival back to the Port of Miami eight days ago.

After having participated in three previous Groove Cruises, the first out of L.A., the second out of San Diego and the most recent being the Miami 2010 Groove Cruise, I felt like I was prepared to handle the new dynamics of the 2011 GC. This year, the owner and operator of Whet Travel and mastermind of The Groove Cruise, Jason Beukema, worked a deal with Norwegian Cruise Line to charter a whole ship to host his bi-annual Electronic Music party. When Jason first announced this massive personal accomplishment to the Groove Cruise Affiliates and alumni via the social networks, the overall reception was shock, awe and euphoria! What had started out 7 years ago as a small party of people throwing together a private party with several DJs on a ship, had now grown to two thousand people gathering on board one ship with 55 DJs. A floating music “festival” was about to be born!

It only seems fitting to use water metaphors in this reflection about the whole GC11 experience. This year more than any year before, every participant truly appeared swept up in a wave of anticipation of the unknown about the upcoming “ground-breaking”event. Even Jason and his fellow GC Team Ryan, Kathy and Kristy didn’t know how their planning was going to turn out, as this year was going to be a massive experiment based upon the learning curve achieved via the 7 years of operating the GC. From learning from past mistakes and successes, the team worked diligently to accommodate for the needs of almost a thousand more participants, twice as many DJs and a whole ship space to organize and a crew to manage!! As a GC vet, many of the changes and customized touches were noted about the level of organization to the outright changes in the registration process, to the personalized Groove Cruise greeting, to the House music being piped throughout the entire ship, to the different Muster Drill protocol, to dining option variations, to customized NCL daily newsletters containing Groove Cruise agendas & info, to tighter security around the stages, to increased media coverage etc etc. In my Fetty Be’s Buzz exclusive “Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Groove Cruise” series, Jason had noted that massive changes were being made to the Groove Cruise program and in looking back now, he certainly was on the money! This was no longer a small gathering of several hundred people. This was an entirely different event.

In my post-GC11 state of awe, I’ve been personally wrestling with HOW  to accurately describe the experience in my review. I did want to start with sharing viewpoints from other GC vets. Throughout the cruise, I decided to perform an informal verbal survey with other GC vets at various points, to get a “temperature read” about their developing GC11 response. It was interesting to hear that some felt that the intimacy of a smaller crowd had been lost to the volume of participants, while others loved the fact that having a whole chartered ship gave the group more freedom to party without feeling disrespectful to non-Groove Cruisers. No one was “ruining Grandma and Grandpa’s vacation!”. Although a few mentioned missing the expressions on Non GC peoples’ faces when the groups mixed onboard the ship.

Several vets felt that there was definitely a greater presence of East Coast participants and so that influenced the type of House music played, the DJs selected and how people partied. Almost ALL of the vets confirmed that the GC family had grown exponentially and so the chances of encountering a previous vet was substantially greater and truly enhanced the whole party atmosphere. Facebook most DEFINITELY played a HUGE role this year and helped participants to bond prior to the cruise. Jason’s partner Careli and GC Marketing Director Ryan, both played VITAL ROLES in helping to build the Facebook groups and in creating collective identities prior to the event. Costume planning, music sharing, event planning and networking were all “buzzing” feverishly for months, before the ship departed from Miami. Room maps and lists of people celebrating birthdays on board were also designed. All of this deeply influenced the comfort level that the participants had and the crowd certainly didn’t waste any time gelling.

Yet with all growth, a few growing pains still existed. Despite the Facebook GC groups’ collective efforts to help overcome a lack of Internet access for networking, via the suggested use of walkie talkies, the sheer number of people did present a new dynamic that many vets quietly struggled with. The newcomers wouldn’t know any different, but the returning Groove Cruisers were used to smaller gatherings with the same people all of the time. These same people grew very close and in many ways were like a cast in a theatrical production!! This year it was just not possible with the volume of people. This is not to say it was a negative thing, it was just symptomatic of the new GC dynamics. I like to use analogies to explain my perspective and in analyzing the current state of the Groove Cruise, compared to two or three years ago, it’s not unlike a child that has slowly evolved from infancy through the toddler, youth and adolescent stages to now being an independent adult ready to fly on it’s own.

Through the maturation process, an innocence has been lost, but has been replaced with savvy insight and experience. The Groove Cruise isn’t a child anymore, it’s finally grown up and is now an internationally recognized music “festival”. It’s taken on a life of it’s own and it belongs to the industry, not just a few. It’s respected based on it’s history, artist advocacy & involvement, media coverage, marketing and affiliate testimonies. Jason has noted that he was, “concerned about the GC losing it’s intimacy”. Where one door closes, another door has opened I would now respond, after having fully digested my GC11 experience. Intimacy is still found in this new GC…However, it’s found via Facebook groups, private parties, in the plethora of GC photo galleries that have cropped up afterwards!!! The intimacy is there, but it’s within a shared experience, not within a number of participants. The tidal waves of positive responses following the GC11 from both newcomers and vets is truly a testimony to be taken into account. A few may long for the “old days”, but when the scales are put to the test, an overwhelming majority claim that they had a stellar weekend. It wasn’t the same as in previous years, but it was a fabulous time!

EVERYTHING was bigger this year!! The costumes BLEW UP on a massive level on the GC11. This was mostly because it was organized on Facebook via the groups. I have to confess that I adore this aspect of the cruise, as it nurtures Fetty Be’s theatrical nature!!! Originally, the parties often had just a few outgoing personalities that enjoyed dressing up in fun accessories, costumes and dancing with glow objects. In the past there has been one main theme party such as: Nautical Naughty, Pimps n Ho’s, Pirates, PJ’s just to name a few. As noted, more costume nights were added this year and ALL participants were encouraged to get “into the spirit”, EVEN the DJs!

Speaking of which,the DJ line-up was also mind-blowing and nothing short of PHENOMENAL. A few acts changed due to time and constraints, but most of the performers made the ship. The line-up contained the full range of industry talent from the original Groove Cruise DJ’s like: Greg Bauer, Kalendr, Cato K, Anthony Attalla, Steve Smooth, Boris, Louis Dee, to the incredible Nassau Wyndham beach headliner Dirty South!

The winner of Groove Cruise DJ Contest, Doc Brown, was a huge hit among the list of endless talent that performed throughout the NON-STOP 72 performance hours!!! Massive HOUSE MUSIC names such as: Funkagenda, Oscar G, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Sydney Blu, Max Vangeli, Mind Control, (Darude), George Acosta, Trent Cantrelle, George Morel, Lee Kalt, Dabura, DJ Brienne, Adam Lipson, Cheric, Flynn Nolan, DJ Funk Junkie, Gary G, Greg Schneider, HeavyGrinder, (Jason Vernau) , DJ Mike Ill, Oscar P, Shannon Williams, Zodiac, Val Kolton, Adam Lipson, Christian Falero, Dimitri, Gil Montiel Glenn Kelly, Juan Arenas (Justin Sheppard), (Lazardi), Miami House Project, Tocayo. () = Not able to attend. Outstanding live performances were also given by vocalists Hadley & Jeremy Carr, percussionist Bam Bam Buddha and violinist Dave Damage!! Did I not SAY it was a list of heavy hitters?!!

My personal struggle was in not getting to see them all. I think I would be even MORE strategic with my sleep patterns so that I could get to see even more of the DJs perform next time, than I did during this GC. I was very caught up in the party aspect this year, as I had more friends on board. So keeping business and pleasure separate was more of a challenge for me this year. SO MANY DJs, not enough time!!! I MUST give props though to Groove Cruise Ryan for his scheduling of all of the artists, as I felt he tackled the distribution of the DJs very well. He broke up the schedule in such a way that quite often the participants would have several shots at seeing an artist, except for Dirty South. The only problem is that participants quite often got happily distracted with partying in their rooms or participating in body painting, cat napping, eating, hot tubing, recovering and then missed certain artists altogether. That happened to me and I felt disappointed that I had missed seeing some of the artists perform. In the past, I was able to see everyone, but this year due to the volume and size of the festival, this wasn’t possible and influenced how I felt about my own performance at the GC!!!

Getting back to my analogies, I must wrap up my reflection with the use of a picture from one of the awesome Groove Cruise photo galleries!! Peter Fredriksson is the photographer and I must thank him for the inspiration that the above pic gave to me for writing this article. Actually, I would like to give a MASSIVE SHOUT OUT for all of the amazing photographers and media people on board the Skye this year! You all rock!! However, this particular picture taken by Peter truly gave me the missing piece I was searching for to help me accurately summarize my GC11 encounter. I wanted to find a way to explain my feelings about this years cruise and understand why I wanted to keep projecting my past GC experiences onto my current one, despite the massive differences. The pic was the key in helping me understand “what just happened”!!!

It made me think that instead of reminiscing about what the Groove Cruise used to be and feel unsettled about the changes, the best way to look at the Groove Cruise now is in terms of it’s OWN INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY AND PERSONALITY! This picture reminds me of the MUSIC, the DJs, tutus, the glitz, the feathers, the drinking, and ALL of the amazing people that participated in the GC11. No cruise has ever been or ever WILL be indentical. It’s as diverse as the people who create and participate in it. The GC11 truly had it’s own, unique personality and although I had other amazing experiences in the past, this cruise I walked away with far more personal moments. In the end it was how I customized my own Groove Cruise through my own choices and actions. In the past, the Groove Cruise did the majority of the party and atmosphere shaping for the participants. NOW due to it’s size and even nightclub feel at times, it’s the participant’s choices in what they do with all that is offered by the Groove Cruise agenda, that truly determines if the experience is a success! The ingredients are now provided, it’s up to you  to create your own UNIQUE GROOVE CRUISE ADVENTURE!

KEEPING THE GROOVE CRUISE BEAT!!

CONGRATS TO GROOVE CRUISE DJ CONTEST WINNER DOC BROWN!

“467 entries, 77,152 views and 40,774 votes later it has come to this.  Whet
Travel and The Groove Cruise want to thank all DJ's that submitted mixes to
the contest.  We know that A LOT of hard work, time, and energy was put into
creating the mixes and getting fan voting support.  We also would like to
thank everyone that took the time to vote for your favorite DJ.  We hope all
of the DJs who entered have gained new fans and solidified their
relationship with their current fans.

This contest was very close and as everyone knows we had some drama towards
the end. People posting spam comments, using scripts, creating fake
profiles...it ran the gamut, but the real winner always rises to the top. 
The ranking system is based on an algorithm taking into account the number
of votes and the star rating of each vote.  We took extra caution while
going through results to ensure that every vote was legit, every mix was
original and that all rules where followed.

With that said, We would like to congratulate Steve Ellis AKA DOC BROWN as
the WINNER with his mix "LOUD"

Doc and a guest will be coming on The Groove Cruise Miami to Great Stirrup
Cay and Nassau Bahamas 2011 and Doc will be spinning the Nassau beach party
in the Bahamas with DIRTY SOUTH!!!

 
Here is Doc Brown's winning mix: 
http://www.thegroovecruise.strutta.com/entries#91157

ALL ABOARD!!  The world's first fully chartered dance music cruise is only
41 days or 6 weeks away.  We still aren't quite sure how crazy this is going
to be, but we do know that it will be remembered forever in the minds and
hearts of those that attend.  We are 75% sold out but still have inside and
ocean view cabins available starting at $509 per person which when you figure
in everything is 40% cheaper than any weekend in Vegas or South Beach but
without the drama.

For those that did upload a mix or vote, we wanted to extend up to $200 per
cabin in onboard credit to you if you book by January 5 ($50 onboard credit
per person so $100 if two people in a cabin).  We may be able to do payment
plans if you call us @ 877-GET-WHET (438-9438)  Or you can book online or
check out all of the updated info @ http://www.TheGrooveCruise.com.

2000 Sexy party people, 72 hours, 55 artists, 9 party experiences, 2
islands, a massive cruise ship and YOU.”

Groove Cruise Behind-The Scenes-Look: with Kathy M PART 2 OF 3

TO TURN OFF THE MP3 PLAYER, IT'S LOCATED DIRECTLY IN THE RIGHT COLUMN.

Groove Cruise Behind The Scenes Look: Ryan

Groove Cruise Behind The Scenes Look: Ryan

GROOVE CRUISE UPDATE & FETTY BE’S DISCOUNT CODE!!!!

WHET means 'To Excite' in the dictionary...  USE MY DISCOUNT CODE: FETTYBE!!!!

GROOVE CRUISE NYC AUG 5-9 DJ ADDITIONS! 
CHUS & CEBALLOS and JONATHAN PETERS added to INSANE lineup on Groove Cruise NYC!!
OMG Cruise Memorial weekend is heating up!  Additions Anthony Bless LIVE & DJ Cardi!
"FEMALE FOURSOMES SAVE $44" Promotion is back for NYC & MIA!
Cabins of four females save an additional $44 off per person!
WED MARCH 24 CRUISE CONTROL POOL/BEACH PARTY

South Seas Hotel & Pool 12pm-9pm
12 Past Groove Cruise DJ's/Percussionist
Giving away a Groove Cruise for 2 on NYC Groove Cruise.
WED MARCH 24 EVENING PARTY GLOBAL GROOVE @ THE STRIP

Morgan Page, Groove Cruise DJ'S Scotty Boy & Matt e Love (exclusive WMC set),
London's extremely HOT Lauren Pope & a LIVE performance by Hadley!
THUR MARCH 25 @ DREAM w/ SHARAM  ANTHONY ATTALLA ADDED!!
Mach Series Launch Party.  Giving away a Groove Cruise for 2 on NYC Groove Cruise @ midnight.
Don't miss past Groove Cruisers Sharam & Anthony Attalla rockin it!

FRI MARCH 26 NextAid's BEATS BUILD HOPE @ SHORECLUB
Groove Cruise Charity NextAid presents Beats Builds Hope
20 Top DJ's all getting together for a great cause!  Don't miss it!
OMG PARTY CRUISE- Memorial Day Weekend
Miami-Nassau Bahamas  GET OUT OF SOUTH BEACH!!
Open Format DJs/ Mashup
JUST ADDED ANTHONY BLESS LIVE & DJ CARDI!!

2011 Miami Groove Cruise

Jan 21-24 weekend

Now on sale to the public!

2010 Miami Groove Cruise- - LEE KALT

Fetty Be’s Reflections on Coastal Differences In The Groove Cruise “PHENOMENON”!!!

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."— Dr. Seuss  (Inspired by Groove Cruiser Stefan Moldovan)

After having successfully participated in 3 Groove Cruises now (LA, San Diego & Miami), I can honestly say that this sentiment completely embodies the Groove Cruise experience. It was imperative for me as a self-proclaimed veteran “Groove Cruiser” that I sign up for an East Coast cruise, since I had done 2 on the West side.I wanted to find out first hand what the Miami scene was like and how the chemistry and dynamics of the coasts were similar and different. I also wanted to find out if this liberal and open-minded thinking existed on both coasts. I had heard via various GC vets that they preferred one side over the other due to factors such as: the number of participants, the cultural diversities in the patrons and the various geographical destinations. I can definitely say after having done both the Miami and San Diego cruises now, that there are some obvious differences, but overall  the essence of WHAT is a Groove Cruise remains the same in my opinion!

The volume of Groove Cruise participants has definitely varied with each cruise and that of course is certainly one of the biggest differences in the respective events.The most recent cruise from Miami to the Bahamas had a record-breaking 800+ participants. When the cruise began it was a small intimate party of friends of co-founder Jason Beukema, who is the owner/operator of Whet Travel. “What started as a few close buddies grew into 125 friends and acquaintances boarding what he called the Groove Cruise in October 2004.“ (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/business/25sbiz.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin ) That number is off-the-chart now and is truly a testimony to the Groove Cruise experience!!

It appears that once a “Groove Cruiser, ALWAYS a Groove Cruiser!!” “I'M A GROOVE CRUISER FOR LIFE! The quality people you meet on the Groove Cruise is amazing. I have met many friends that I will be friends for life. I went on one cruise prior to the Groove Cruise, and between the bad music and boring people I thought I'd never go on a cruise again, boy has that changed now!! The people, the music, the dancing all make it so you don't even want to get off the boat!” (Jacki O, Bay Area, California, cited from:http://www.whettravel.com/whet/default.50.12.50.0.0.0.html)  It’s the domino, “Wella Balsam Shampoo…You Tell Two Friends and So On and So On” effect in actuality.There is minimal marketing and the majority of the PR is spread through word of mouth and the efforts of the OUTSTANDING Whet Travel/Groove Cruise Team!

 KATHY, JASON, RYAN, (KAREN)….

Perhaps it this aspect of this unique event that makes the party so appealing and the smaller numbers that influence the feel-good vibe….draws the crowd. I did notice on the most recent GC, that there were more incidents of bias & negative behavior. I believe that goes part and parcel with mixing large volumes of people together. Yet, security has held a solid presence in all of the cruises that we have attended so far and Whet Travel has a strong zero tolerance for trouble-makers. So, with those safety precautions in place for both coast events, the vibe is generally peaceful and fun-loving for all. In fact, the more outlandish the party spirit, the more celebratory the cruise appears to become, as I’ve now noted for both coasts!!

 

In the past 3 cruises that I have done, I have seen a hawt pink gorilla, a b&w cow, a bumble bee, a pink bunny, Spiderman, sexy girls in tutus, FABULOUS lingerie, pimps & ho’s, sexy pirates, naughty school girls, mermaids, hawt sailors, jail bait, leprechauns, WWF wrestlers etc to name just a few characters in the crowd! The people that participate in the Groove Cruises are generally very music savvy and have their ear to the ground in terms of their awareness of the hawtest music, the most talented artists and the sickest parties! I am still not sure why the numbers are higher on the East coast. It might be that the weather is better on the West Coast compared to the East Coast, and so more people on the East are drawn to the fact that this cruise heads to the Bahamas.

MANUFACTURED SUPER STARS AND PHOTOGRAPHER CHRISTOPHER REISTROFFER

It also might be that there are more House music hubs located on the East Coast as compared to the West. Or maybe even it’s the cultural diversity in how aggressive the promoters are in spreading their word about this fabulous House music event.  Since the party is labeled as “private”, it has to be found and that appears to help stream and filter the type of people that partake in the Groove Cruise! No matter the reason why the numbers vary, it is certainly one of the biggest discrepancies between the coasts. I personally found the volumes of people a bit overwhelming at times, as I am used to a smaller, tighter crowd. Yet, several vets from the Miami set found the smaller numbers on the West Coast not as exciting. With the larger numbers, smaller clicks and groups tend to form versus a more unified whole group feel of the West Coast cruise. Several European participants noted that they liked the “RAVE” feel of the Miami cruise and it’s numbers.

They said it was more exciting to them. Again, a Groove Cruise is a holiday that you can customize and you will get out of it as much as you put into it. With a larger group, you don’t necessarily have to network with others to feel a part of the crowd. Whereas in order to get a full  party experience with a smaller group of people, it appears that networking with others is the key to achieving a more fulfilling experience. Some people love to interact with others, network with strangers, make new friends…This appears to be a must with the West Coast cruise. I found on the bigger Miami cruise, that smaller groups of people broke off and did their own thing more frequently. Then people would all come back together for the various events and you would encounter people more randomly and less frequently on the East Coast cruise. It definitely was easier and less intimidating though to just dance with the whole “crowd” with the Maimi gig. Yet, if you didn’t attempt to blend into the smaller West Coast group, it was easy to end up feeling like an outsider according to our observations and testimonies gathered. Another important factor  and commonality shared by both coasts that I’ve noted, is that the more Groove Cruises you attend, the bigger the network of fellow Groove Cruise vets! This in turn leads to greater involvement in the after parties, group gatherings and costume pre-planning that occurs.

Fetty Be with DJ Anthony Attalla

With both coasts the party vibe aboard the cruise begins almost from the moment you hear about it and make the commitment to attend. For us it was via DJ Atimatik, Scotty Boy and DJ Holla who mentioned the cruise and of course insisted that we use their discount code if we went (Whet Travel uses an affiliate program to help encourage the word of mouth PR and from what I’ve seen, it’s quite effective! http://www.whettravel.com/whet/default.65.65.0.0.0.0.html). Intrigued at the recommendation by these cutting edge artists, I was sold hook, line and sinker after the first cruise out of LA!! At that point I hadn’t experienced the WMC yet, so to me this was the bomb of parties in the House music scene. It was non-stop intimate partying with DJs and like-minded music patrons who shared a common goal to celebrate the joy of House music and dance without negativity or judgment.

The fact that everyone was together for multiple events, appears to help foster a closeness and the relationships that seem to form as a result of doing a Groove Cruise. The WMC is so big and spread out, that the same level of closeness and intimacy is difficult to foster in my opinion. In fact, resident Groove Cruise DJ Donald Glaude has stated, “This is a DJ’s holiday”, as artists find this venue relaxing and less stressful than the commercialized WMC promotional parties. In terms of how the DJs vary from coast to coast, Joey Zago noted this comparison of the artists: “I'm so proud of all of the raw bad ass sounds that the East coast and Midwest DJs produce!!  A completely different animal than that on the West!  Chuggy bass lines and deep grooves. insane!!!  Sydney Blu and Anthony Attalla rocked it! Lee Kalt, Manufactured Superstars, and the rest were a lot of fun too!"

Joey Zago

Patrons are on the GC to enjoy the music, express themselves, network and customize their cruise holiday to meet their individual goals and needs. Being a private party on a large cruise ship also allows participants the freedom to party as much, or as little as needed, all within a stroll to a cabin. The itinerary for the Groove Cruise is jam-packed and you can literally party with very minimal down time from the start to the finish.

NOT MANY!!!! DISCO NAPS!!!

MIAMI Groove Cruise DJ/Party Itinerary

However, there are other events/options present too and with the conveniences aboard the ship…the experience is truly customized with each and every cruise attended. GC vet Joey Zago had this to say recently: “I didn’t even party all that much on this one. I more so enjoyed the people and stayed mostly sober this time around and relaxed at night. However, THE PEOPLE are like a distant family, all with the same love for music. Good, I mean really really good vibes from everybody. I was literally crying the last night of the cruise, completely sober, sitting on the table outside the theatre watching drunk people walk in and out. I said, man I’m gonna miss this shit, and I do already.” Careli Campos stated: “I was sober most of the time too, and going to sleep early the first two nights but still had the time of my life, just being around everyone and having amazing music was a blessing, and got me more pumped up than anything else.“ Some parallel the experience to a “happening” like that of Woodstock. DJ Scottobahn (Winner of the Miami Groove Cruise DJ Contest) stated: “I certainly agree Joey....Kinda random, but I was watching the Woodstock DVD's over the weekend. It reminded me so much of all of us Groove Cruisers, all the love, energy, music...We are like digital hippies lol” (Miami Groove Cruise 2010 FB stream under Joey Zago)

Whet Travel is now offering more than just 2 trips a year for it’s “digital hippies”. They offer another Miami-Nassau Cruise called the “OMG Memorial Weekend Cruise” which offers a Top 40, Mash-up, and Mainstream music to the platform, as well as Whet is just about to launch a NEW Groove Cruise which will run Aug. 5-9th dropping fresh HOUSE BEATS from NY to St. John’s, Canada!! With attitudes like David Garcia’s: “I just don't see how these events can get old...Every GC is special in its own way!” (Miami Groove Cruise 2010 FB stream under Joey Zago), this event is destined to only grow in it’s popularity and frequency!! It seems like the Groove Cruise “PHENOMENON” is single-handedly redefining the cruise industry, or definitely playing a significant role in targeting a relatively untapped market in the cruise world. Young, urban professionals are seeking extended nightlife entertainment and weekend escapes and the Groove Cruises fits this exact need. Jason Beukema was recently recognized this year by ASTA as Young Professional of the Year due to his industry visionary attributes!

Jason Beukema

”Las Vegas, Sept. 13, 2009 - Jason Beukema, MCC, president and owner of Whet Travel (Miami Beach, Fla.), was awarded ASTA's Young Professional Award, today at ASTA's annual meeting. The award recognizes the efforts of an outstanding young travel professional. The Young Professional Society (YPS) targets travel agents under 40, for the purpose of networking, education and career development.

"Jason sets the standard for young professionals in the travel business and for the future. With his creative social networking and Groove Cruises, he is selling out ships while the rest of us are trying to sell a few cabins. Although he's a relatively new ASTA member, he already sees the value of membership for the growth of his business. Jason breathes new life into an industry searching for Young Professionals," said Chris Russo, ASTA president and chair.

Beukema is the creator of the popular Groove Cruise, which has been featured in the NY Times, CNN, 944, Orlando Sentinal, Toronto Star, Travel Agent Magazine, as well as on FOX NEWS and MTV. The Groove Cruises are music-themed Caribbean cruises that give fans and music lover the chance to get up close and personal with world-famous deejays.

Jason Beukema With World Famous DJ Benny Benassi, Jason’s Careli, GC Vet Hilda!

Beukema opened Whet Travel, a cruise and travel company for young professionals and specializing in destination weddings, honeymoons, corporate incentive travel, cruises and large groups, in 2004. As a professional tour manager, he has sold more than 2,500 cruises to young professionals and taken more than 130 different groups of people on cruises and vacations around the world since 2000. He has sailed on more than 33 cruises and is a specialist in the management and marketing of large group cruises, tours, vacation packages, and corporate incentive travel.

He received his Bachelors degree from Central Michigan University. He serves as an advisory board member for the Young Professional Council and is active in NextAid.org, and organization which benefits children in Dennilton, South Africa, who have lost their parents to AIDS.

ABOUT ASTA
ASTA's (American Society of Travel Agents) mission is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable, growing and a rewarding place to work, invest and do business.” (Cited from: http://www.asta.org/News/PRDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5834)

The Groove Cruise is certainly a phenomenon that you must experience once in your life time, if you wish to round out your nightlife experiences. The Groove Cruise and Whet Travel now provide: multiple destinations to visit, various times of the year to travel, a range of crowd sizes to party with, a choice of coasts, a variety of music savvy, world renowned resident and guest DJs performing and a full continuum of music genres to pick from to set the party flavor! Yes, there ARE differences between the East and West Coast Groove Cruises, but in the end I feel that EVERY cruise will always be as unique as it’s participants, venues and artists. Jason Beukema and his Whet Travel team co-ordinate the stage, the script and the actors. However, it’s up to all of the participants to define the storyline and to play out the individual dramas that in the end, collectively create each unique Groove Cruise experience.

If you are a veteran Groove Cruiser, ask yourself the following questions: What’s your Groove Cruise drama? What piece of the story line did you contribute? Who did you meet and what would you do differently? Write your own Groove Cruise story, share it with us and sign up today for the next ship set to sail in New York Memorial Day weekend!!! I wouldn’t be a good affiliate if I didn’t do some shameless self-assistance here too! Use my code: FETTYBE for a discount!!! YOU WON’T REGRET IT!!!

GET EXCITED ON EITHER COAST, THEY BOTH ROCK…….AND GET WHET!!

FETTY BE WITH GROOVE CRUISE CO-FOUNDER JASON BEUKEMA

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth." (AGAIN INSPIRED BY GROOVE CRUISER STEFAN MOLDOVAN)
— Mark Twain

BENNY BENASSI IN NASSAU FOR THE MIAMI GROOVE CRUISE 2010 PART 2

FETTY CAM DECKSIDE WITH BENNY BENASSI ON THE MIAMI GROOVE CRUISE!

Filmed at The Wyndham Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas

Miami Groove Cruise 2010 Nautical Naughty Theme Party Last Night!