A themed cruise gives you the opportunity to indulge in your favourite hobby during a cruise.
Much more than just a cruise, a themed cruise is an opportunity to surround yourself with like-minded people and spend time doing what makes you the happiest, as well as enjoying all the usual cruise benefits like great food, sightseeing and time for relaxation.
There are a whole host of weird and wonderful theme cruises for adults to choose from. In fact, you’ll likely be surprised at just how many different theme cruises are available in 2024, 2025 and beyond!
This guide to the best theme cruises showcases some of the most interesting ones, as well as providing a handy list of all of the current theme cruises on offer, with links to where you can find more information about them.
Theme cruises explained
Before we begin, it’s important to recognise that not all theme cruises are equal in terms of how much of the cruise is actually themed. There are some cruises, like music cruises, where you can expect to see everyone on the ship in fancy dress, enjoying a round-the-clock schedule of events and activities.
In contrast, other cruises are more of a chance for hobbyists to meet up during what would otherwise be a ‘normal’ cruise.
Here are two important distinctions to make…
Full-ship theme cruises: The group will charter the whole ship, so everyone will be on-board for the theme cruise.
Partial-ship theme cruises: The group will book a number of cabins and take over certain areas such as a particular bar or a conference room.
Suggested read: The best cruises for singles to hook up
The best themed cruises of 2024 and 2025
Without further ado, here’s a guide to the most exciting theme cruises that you should consider…
Electric Sunsets 80s vs 90s Cruise
Popular with British people, Marella’s Electric Sunset’s cruise is like a music festival at sea. Onboard previous Electric Sunsets cruises you’ve been able to enjoy 80s and 90s music from The Vengaboys, Pat Sharp, Go West and DJ Sash! With drinks included, this cruise is sure to get you in the party mood.
- Date: TBC 2025
- Destination: Spain
- Cruise Line: TUI Cruises
- Ship: Marella Voyager
Learn more about the Electric Sunsets cruise
Chris Jericho’s Rock N Wrestling Rager at Sea – A wrestling themed cruise
Wrestling fans will take over a whole cruise ship for an epic journey with wrestling star Chris Jericho and his friends. The event will include wrestling matches in a ring set up on the pool deck, rock music performances, comedy shows, paranormal activities and live podcast recordings.
- Date: 31 January to 4 February 2025
- Destination: Mexico
- Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line
- Ship: Norwegian Gem
Learn more about the Chris Jericho Cruise
Caribbean Gospel Choir Workshop Cruise
The London Community Gospel Choir is finally taking to the seas for an incredible workshop cruise that will include live performances, interactive events and more. The choir has worked with many famous artists and were renowned for backing Elton John at Glastonbury in 2023, and are back at the festival in 2024. Then in 2025, they’ll be cruising the Caribbean on the stunning MSC World America.
- Date: 30 August to 6 September 2025
- Destination: Caribbean
- Cruise Line: MSC Cruises
- Ship: MSC World America
You’ll need to book your place through GoCruise & Travel – details in the image above.
Meow Meow Cruise – A cruise for cat lovers
Cat-obsessed cruisers, unfortunately, cannot bring their cats on this cruise. But what they can do is meet like-minded people to chat about and share photos of their favourite furry feline friends. Activities on this cat-themed cruise include trivia, meet and greet and group dining.
- Date: 31 August 2025
- Destination: Alaska
- Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
- Ship: Discovery Princess
Learn more about the Meow Meow Cruise
The High Seas Rally – A biker cruise
This motorbike-themed cruise is ‘The World’s Only Biker Rally on a Cruise Ship’. A full ship of bikers will be enjoying wild pool parties, tattoo contests, concerts, theme nights and raffles as they cruise to places that they can’t reach by riding a bike.
- Date: 26 October to 2 November 2024
- Destination: Bahamas
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Ship: Radiance of the Seas
Learn more about the High Seas Rally
Star Trek: The Cruise
Returning to Mexico in 2025, The Star Trek Cruise is where you’ll find the most passionate Star Trek fans in the universe. This cruise will feature a lineup of actors and personalities with Star Trek-themed shows, events, activities and parties.
- Date: 23 February to 2 March 2025
- Destination: Mexico
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Ship: Explorer of the Seas
Learn more about the Star Trek Cruise
The In My Cruise Era (Taylor Swift) Cruise
Any Swifties who want to party will love this cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas. It departs Miami the day after Taylor’s Eras tour finishes its third night in the city, and will offer events such as cocktail parties, dance events and, of course, karaoke.
- Date: 21 October 2024
- Destination: CocoCay, Nassau (from Miami)
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Ship: Allure of the Seas
Learn more about the In My Cruise Era cruise
Scrapbook cruises
Cruise and Crop is a cruise company offering scrapbooking cruises where guests can enjoy making scrapbooks together. But the fun doesn’t stop there! On certain cruises, you can also try your hand at card making, embroidery, knitting, jewellery making and other crafts.
- Date: Various
- Destination: Various
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Ship: Various
Learn more about scrapbooking cruises
The KISS Kruise
Fans of iconic 70s rock band Kiss can join them for an adventure at sea onboard the Kiss music-themed cruise. Expect performances from Kiss and their friends as well as meet and greet sessions and activities with each of the band members.
- Date: TBA
- Destination: TBA
- Cruise Line: TBA
- Ship: TBA
Learn more about the KISS Kruise
Knitting cruises
Craft Cruises offers a range of cruises where craft lovers can get together to improve their knitting skills will classes and workshops. On-board knitting instructors will advise guests about any local yarn stores in the ports of call. As well as knitting, Craft Cruises also offers cruises themed around crocheting, needlepoint, hand spinning and beading.
- Date: Various
- Destination: Various
- Cruise Line: Holland America Line
- Ship: Various
Learn more about knitting cruises
The Gothic Cruise
The Annual Gothic Cruise and Masquerade Ball is a cruise created by goths for goths. There’ll be live music performances by German electronic music act Rotersand and American aggrotech band Combichrist, amongst others. There’s also a zombie pub crawl and a ‘Spookeasy’ formal night.
- Date: 16 February 2025
- Destination: Mexico
- Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line
- Ship: Norwegian Getaway
Learn more about the Gothic Cruise
The 70s Rock & Romance Cruise
Lovers of 70’s rock can relive their youth with 50 live performances from artists such as Randy Bachman, Dave Mason and Orleans on what promises to be one of the best music cruises of 2025. This 70s-themed cruise also promises Q&A sessions with the artists, panel discussions, game shows, trivia, karaoke, wine tasting and pool parties.
- Date: 15 to 22 March 2025
- Destination: Mexico
- Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises
- Ship: Celebrity Summit
Learn more about the Rock & Romance Cruise
The Flower Power Cruise
The Flower Power Cruise is a 70s-themed cruise where you can immerse yourself in the music from the ‘love generation’. With nightly performances and interactive celebrity events, this cruise has lots of Flower Power themed parties and activities.
- Date: 22 to 29 March 2025
- Destination: Caribbean
- Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises
- Ship: Celebrity Summit
Learn more about the Flower Power Cruise
The Country Music Cruise
Get your stetsons ready for The Country Music Cruise – a themed party at sea with nightly country music performances and the chance to meet the stars. Country music fans can enjoy Q&A sessions with the artists, trivia contests, line dancing and country karaoke.
- Date: 19 to 26 January 2025
- Destination: Mexico
- Cruise Line: Holland America Line
- Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Learn more about the Country Music Cruise
The Soul Train Cruise
The Soul Train Cruise is a star-studded cruise experience featuring legendary stars from the classic R&B era. 2025 features two itineraries – each with a fantastic line up of guests!
- Date: 26 January to 2 February 2025 OR 9 to 16 November 2025
- Destination: Mexico or Caribbean
- Cruise Line: Holland America Line
- Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam
Learn more about the Soul Train Cruise
The Ultimate Disco Cruise
With a special appearance from disco legends The Brothers Johnson, Rose Royce and Bee Gees Gold, The Ultimate Disco Cruise promises to be a star-studded affair with over 40 live performances and several costume parties.
- Date: 19 to 24 February 2025
- Destination: TBA
- Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line
- Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Learn more about the Ultimate Disco Cruise
The 80s Cruise
The 80s Cruise is a non-stop all-inclusive concert with 20 bands including Squeeze, Adam Ant, Men at Work and more. Guests can enjoy parties on the pool deck and themed costume parties too.
- Date: 2 to 9 March 2025
- Destination: Caribbean
- Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
- Ship: Explorer of the Seas
Learn more about the 80s Cruise
Desire Cruises
Couples-only and clothing-optional, Desire Cruises offer sexually-charged lifestyle cruises with seductive entertainment, exotic theme nights and an electric atmosphere that will make you want to explore your deepest fantasies.
- Date: Various
- Destination: Various
Learn more about Desire Cruises
The Magic Castle Cruise
The Magic Castle cruise is a themed cruise all around magic – with live shows, workshop demonstrations and talks on the history of magic. It’s sure to conjure up some magical memories for anyone onboard!
- Date: TBA
- Destination: West Coast USA
- Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
- Ship: Discovery Princess
Learn more about the Magic Castle Cruise
Full List of All Themed Cruises
Above is just a sample of some of the themed cruises that are available to book at the moment. See below for a full list of all of the themed cruises, categorised by genre.
Music cruises
Rock music cruises
Punk Rock cruises
Jazz cruises
Soul music cruises
Country music cruises
Irish music cruises
Heavy metal cruises
Blues cruises
Broadway Cruises
Reggae cruises
Electronic dance music cruises
50s music cruises
60s music cruises
70s music cruises
80s music cruises
Latin music cruises
Music festivals at sea
Hobby themed cruises
Sports themed cruises
Golf cruises
Wrestling cruises
TV and movie-themed cruises
Religious cruises
Christian cruises
Jewish cruises
Mormon cruises
Adult cruises
LGBTQ+ cruises
The Best Themed Cruises of the Past
There have been some incredible theme cruises over the years. The cruises listed below aren’t scheduled for 2025 and beyond, but take a look at some of the unusual cruises that people have loved…
Harry Potter cruise
The Harry Potter cruise was a seven-night all-inclusive cruise that called at filming locations from the Harry Potter movie series and included a behind-the-scenes tour of Warner Bros. Studios. The cruise happened in 2018, on an eight-passenger barge cruising along London’s River Thames.
Walking Dead themed cruise
There were four zombie-themed Walking Dead cruises between 2016 and 2019. Known as the Walker Stalker Cruise, these Caribbean cruises on Norwegian Pearl featured a team of make-up artists to help cruisers turn into zombies before taking part in outrageous activities. Stars of The Walking Dead tv series were onboard for photo and autograph sessions.
Knotfest at Sea
Fans of the heavy metal bank Slipknot were eagerly awaiting the first-ever Slipknot themed cruise – Knotfest at Sea in August 2020. The cruise on Norwegian Jade from Barcelona to Naples was postponed until 2021 and then sadly cancelled. It’s not known whether this even may ever take place in the future.
NASCAR: The Cruise
American auto racing fans enjoyed a five-night NASCAR themed cruise on Norwegian Pearl in 2017. This stock car themed cruise gave guests the chance to meet some of the biggest names in the sport, including Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Bobby Allison.
How to book a themed cruise
Just like concerts and festivals, themed cruises can sell out fast, so if you hear of a themed cruise that you’re interested in, you won’t want to hang around.
Depending on the cruise, there may be a specialist travel agent handling the bookings. Each theme cruise has its own website, so take a look at that to find the details of how to book your place.
More themed cruises?
Do you know of any more themed cruises to add to this list? Please comment below or email me at [email protected] and I will add them.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
