10 Reasons The Fantastic Voyage Is A Bucket List Must Do

Recently I had the Blackest dream ever – I was at a big party with tons of fun people and near the end of the night, I was watching Black Panther on a big screen somewhere near the water. Eric Roberson and his wife sat down next to me. When Black Panther was over, there were even more lit parties going on and I went to those as well.

Oh wait. That was no dream. It really happened on the Fantastic Voyage 2018. That and so much more, as you may have gathered from social media and our multiple photo galleries. But the Fantastic Voyage is one of those things – like the Divine 9 fraternities and sororities, like attending an HBCU, that can never quite be fully explained from the outside looking in. It can only be experienced.

When I tell you that there will be people talking about this cruise for the rest of their lives in the kinds of tones that people talk about ‘Were you there’ experiences like Wattstax, The Thrilla In Manila, Prince aftershows, the Oscar parties the year the Black people won, and other magical experiences in the world of Black America, I’m not exaggerating.

I said it before and I’ll say it again: the Fantastic Voyage is a combination of a cookout, barbecue, house party, pool party and boat ride with a music festival mixed in. I have, in my life and career, been to the Summer Olympics, the U.S. Open, the NBA playoffs, Made in America, over 100 concerts, the American Black Film Festival, The Black Expo, the Soul Train Music Awards, The Essence Festival, the BET Awards and more and the Fantastic Voyage is an experience I’d put at the very top.

Maybe you think I’m overhyping it. So here are 10 reasons why it’s an experience that you should not miss.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK: One of the most remarkable things about the Fantastic Voyage is this: it’s as though a portal opens up for a week where you get to see the best of Black America. And I don’t mean that its exclusive – as the quartet of women who traveled from Japan can tell you (who were embraced by all and had the time of their lives, including lunch with Tom Joyner) anyone can attend.

But its representative of the very best of Black culture. There are people from various cities and regions in T-shirts that proclaim their loyalty to Naptown, Nola, The Chi, Dallas, H-Town, ATL, NYC, Cali, G.I. (Gary, Indiana) and every other place in between. There are the Divine 9 fraternities and sororities and the HBCU alums and parents.

But more than that, during the week everyone is in a great mood and being their best selves. (Of course, it is a vacation.) You’ll make fast friends and will be greeted like family every where you go on the ship. It’s as though you got an invite to the very best parties from everywhere where Black folks live and they’re welcoming you with open arms. I rarely heard a harsh word or any tension from anyone – not even from folks behind the scenes who had to make multiple productions happen daily.

BLACK LOVE: One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen anywhere is the amount of beautiful Black couples on the ship. Of course, there might also be behind the cabin doors drama, but I tend to believe that if you signed up to be confined together in a ship cabin for a week and committed to wearing matching sequins suits with Afro wigs and platform shoes for 70’s Night, or you came to Mardi Gras Night as Rick James and Teena Marie, then you might really be in love. This year, a couple who met on a previous Fantastic Voyage, got engaged on this one!

I saw so many instances of couples loving on each other from the R&B concerts to the Anita Baker shows, to people attending the “Marriage and Money” panel together and it was really, really, really lovely to see. There are also entire families who attend with grown children, 10, 20 and 30 deep who enjoy each other and the cruise together.

BUT NO KIDS: Let’s be real. We all love our kids but sometimes, parents need a break. This cruise is grown folks only. And that just means that it allows people to enjoy themselves without worrying about what their children are doing or whether or not their kids will be judging them. Now, once the kids are grown, as I indicated above, they often join their parents.

GIVING BACK: Proceeds from the cruise have allowed our children to continue their education at the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. Aside from the fun times and the parties and the concerts, it’s truly the “Party With A Purpose.” That their money goes to help students was one of the common reasons cruisers said they enjoy supporting the Fantastic Voyage.

ENTERTAINMENT:

Music, music, music. No matter how many times I run down the list of acts, I’ll forget one. Anita Baker, the O’Jays, the Chuck Brown Tribute Band, EPMD, SWV, EnVogue, Eric Roberson, Kings of Crunk, The Isley Brothers, Common, Tamar Braxton, CeeLo, Dwele, Raheem DeVaughn, Tony Terry, Micheal Cooper, The Jones Girls, 112, The Manhattans.…and more.

And here were the surprises – there were jazz and funk bands like Natural Change, Ernest Walker, and Toni Redd that you’ve never heard of that that were phenomenal as well. With the night’s last concerts STARTING at 2 a.m. (and they were full, too) the ship was rockin’ with music into the wee, wee hours.

There were nights when there were multiple parties going on at the same time as multiple concerts. And let’s not forget the comedy. Almost every single night, there was a comedy event with comedians Chris Paul, Huggy Lowdown, Steven Brown, Guy Torry, Huggy Lowdown, Myra J., Rodney Perry, Marvin Dixon, breakout star Ms. Pretty Ricki etc. etc., etc. Basically, if a meteor hit the ship, Black comedy would have to start over.

Did I mention daily cooking demos? And Denny’s Pancake Eating contest? Or the Art Gallery, with an appearance by the legendary artist Charles Bibbs and newcomer Lobyn Hamilton, who creates unique pieces with vinyl records?

Oh and let’s not forget the auditions for a Tyler Perry production and an appearance by Perry himself as part of Sybil’s book club with his book Higher Is Waiting. And he was there to announce the winner of the audition contest – which turned out to be eleven winners, as Perry decided to choose all the top finalists for possible future roles.

Oh and Ms. Jenifer Lewis, who basically did a one-woman show preview with to support her book The Mother Of Black Hollywood. And then got in costume as one General Okoye from Black Panther. More on that below. And most of the celebs on the ship came out to several organized Autograph Signings, where if you didn’t catch them anywhere else, you could catch them there for a photo op and autograph.

EMPOWERMENT: If you weren’t already moved by Jenifer and Tyler, there were a number of daily seminars to choose from. Author Sheri Riley conducted her “Exponential Living” seminar and there were others on marriage and finances, caretaking for relatives with dementia, working on your personal branding and more. Microsoft hosted several events to help users take advantage of their many features and devices. There was even a seminar billed as ‘For Sistahs Only” to help with the yoni energy. Yes, it means what you think it means!

THEME NIGHTS AND PARTIES:

Sneaker Ball. The Mardi Gras Parade. 70’s Night. Beach Party. Black With A Pop Of Color Night. White Night. Pajama Night. The HBCU, Fraternity, Sorority, Veterans Day Party. When they said “PARTY with a purpose,” they meant it! Imagine Halloween, Mardi Gras, White Parties and formal events all wrapped into one week. It’s clear that people planned months ahead of time to be the Clovers from Bring It On, to recreate the Hidden Figures from the movie, and to dress up as all kinds of 70’s icons, including the bill from “Schoolhouse Rock” (Sybil Wilkes, you killed it!)

Tom Joyner as TChalla and Jenifer Lewis as General Okoye from Black Panther on Mardi Gras Night, well how do you get any better than that? We even saw Roller Derby girls on skates for 70’s Night, and the array of Afros and platform shoes were impressive. We know Black people always look good in white and ya’ll served up some haute looks every night for every theme.

Parties, parties, parties! Every night there were parties going on. We’re talking often in two or three places at once with deejays. We’re talking a Beach Party in Cozumel where you could sun, do the games and dance contest, eat, drink and/or do water sports. In Jamaica, there was a party at Margaritaville. On the last night, despite their being only a few hours left before you had to vacate the cabins at 8:30 a.m., parties raged until daybreak.

INCLUSIVITY:

Two groups of people often marginalized by the rest of the world are the elderly and the disabled, especially when they are African-American. But not on The Fantastic Voyage. I met a youthful great-grandmother at the Snoop concert. There was a 97-year-old man, reportedly a Tuskegee airman, who was said to be on his fourth cruise in a row, despite a walker. I saw every single mobility aid you could think of – people with canes, walkers, scooters and wheelchairs, and they were partying along with everyone else. Guy Torry brought a blind man up onstage with him. The ages on the cruise ranged from 20’s to 90’s and everyone hung out, partied and grooved together.

NETWORKING

Given the amount of people on the cruise, there are networking opportunities everywhere. If you re a songwriter/musician there were multiple chances to connect with performers, many of whom hung out on the cruise. There were business execs, authors, comedians and folks like the Boyz4Lyfe crew, led by automotive entrepreneur, Dorian Boyland, a Black Enterprise Top 5 auto dealer.

They are a group of distinguished Black men who connected at the University of Wisconsin and continue to partner on business and charitable endeavors. There are also, of course, the Black Greeks, the veterans, those connected by region and those who attended HBCU’s, who no doubt form deeper relationship and bonds via their time on the ship.

COMMUNITY:

Let’s say you don’t have anyone to go with on the cruise but still want to go. That’s where groups like the Practice Team come in. They are an affinity travel group, many who have been on all 19 cruises, who assist cruisers seeking cabin mates, information on the cruise, up to and including booking tickets, and throw parties before and during the cruise. There’s also the Wolf Pack, a group of friends who met on the Fantastic Voyage and give parties during the cruise, often on the Pool Deck. Membership criteria is a little more mysterious but you can find them on Facebook.

Practice Team members with Tom Joyner

As a woman from New Orleans who was sitting near me on the morning we disembarked said to a friend on the phone: “This was a hell of a cruise. People worry about the money, but it was worth every penny.”

We agree. And that’s wrap from the Fantastic Voyage 2018! Get on board or 2019 HERE.