Writing Location: Chili’s Restaurant, Fort Lauderdale International Airport
Gree-T’ingz!
Thanks for stopping by and showing ya girl some love. Well, Ubersoca Cruise (USC) 2018 has come and gone. As you already know, I wasn’t on either of the ships, but I had quite a few spies onboard.
WARNING. This post is called Ubersoca Cruise TEA for a reason. It’s not all bubbles and berries folks. I’m simply passing on information that will hopefully make for better sailings moving forward. Please! Do NOT take this post to mean that I am anti Ubersoca Cruise because I am NOT. I think it’s a wonderful experience (when done thoughtfully); however, my spies and I would love for the organizers to tighten up a number of things for the future. When you’re asking for THAT amount of money from people you “gotta” come correct. Of course no event is perfect (except USC 2016); but, there are many things that the organizers CAN control to make for a bess experience. One participant said “USC needs to remember that Quality over Quantity wins every time.” Let’s hear what the other 62 Spy T’ingz had to say.
71% of the people who completed the survey were brand new to the Ubersoca Cruise experience. Wow! This means that USC and/or the USC veterans did a great job promoting this cruise. I was more interested to see how the 3-year USC veterans rated the trip, especially since so much had changed since the inaugural sailing in 2016. One of the participants mentioned that people continuously compared sailings in her group chat which took some of the joy out of it for her. I can totally understand that. As a Vet I had to control some of my comments as well.
THE PRE-PARTY
The Pre-Party in Miami kicked off the USC experience. In short, the biggest gripe shared by majority of the respondents was the cost of entry and the actual process for getting into the venue. Having people wait outside for an exuberant amount of time was no bueno.
THE NUMBERS
When I looked at the footage from the cruise I was blown away by the amount of people that were on the ship. My immediate thought was “I wouldn’t have a good time”. If y’all have been following me for a while then you already know I hate RAM events. But, according to my Spies, Boat 1 was “packed yet comfortable”. One of my chat-mates who knows me well straight up said I would have been upset. I believe her.
THE SHIP
Not only was a taken aback by the number of people, but the ship was immaculate! I think that’s the ONLY thing that had me experiencing FOMO. Royal Caribbean knew what they were doing when they redesigned that ship. What I want to know is… will USC use the same ship next year? History shows that none of the cruise lines have remained the same year-after-year.
WHAT PISSED PEOPLE OFF THE MOST
Tokens & Two Boats
Y’all knew I was vexed about this from day one. I’m still asking why. Registration didn’t have to be that intense and two boats weren’t necessary (I said what I said). Many people chalked the two boat situation up to greed, but I have no comment there. All I know is, first-come-first served never hurt anyone. Those who really want to be at the event will prioritize and do what they need to do. If they procrastinate, oh well, try again next year.
The Uber-Late Packing List & Itinerary
Well this has been a complaint from year one, but according to my records, this was the latest release yet. I’m usually laid back about receiving their packing list and itinerary but when they finally released it and made several changes I was annoyed (and I wasn’t even going).
Too Many Themes
Again. Why tho? Y’all already have people on a gorgeous boat with artists and DJs. Did every event have to be themed? No. The overkill was that damn Game of Thrones Theater Turn Up. UNNECESSARY.
No Drink Packages
Why tho?
WiFi or Lack Thereof
This is always a gamble. It’s better to pay daily once you see how the service is as opposed to buying a full package. All you really need is WhatsApp.
Lack of Alcohol at Jouvert
I’ve heard so many stories. No one was happy about this situation “attahl!”
Too Many Performances!
People came to fete. They didn’t want to stand up and watch artists perform for an extended period of time. A few performances were welcomed and should only be a short highlight of the night. Most of the night people want to wukkup they waist and dance away they “likkle” bit of liquor they have in their system. I think my favorite complaint about performances was “Naila Blackman is NOT a jouvert artist. Who’s idea was it to put her on after Lil Rick?”
The Food
People weren’t even on the boat a good 6 hours and they were complaining about the food. Then, it just continued. Plenty of respondents said the attempt by Royal Caribbean chefs to make Caribbean cuisine was horrible and they wished there were more authentic options. I don’t really agree with this. Just because it’s a soca event doesn’t mean Caribbean food MUST be served. Let them cook what they make best so you can be satisfied instead of disappointed with failed Google recipes. Jouvert should be the only place for you to get authentic food from whatever country you’re visiting. That’s just me though.
Wheh de People T-shirts?!
Apparently USC asked for each guests shirt sizes during registration but never distributed any actual shirts…sips tea. What happened there?
Two Seatings
Another annoyance. People were bothered by this for the Theater Turn Up and The Ball. If everyone can’t attend a major event at once just let it go. Leave the dinner portion out and just make the Ball another fete out on the deck in formal attire. This way people get more than 2 hours worth of time in an outfit they went out their way to acquire. That’s just my two-cents. I’ll hold my comments on the theater situation.
Same Songs “ova and ovah”
I MEAN! Need I replay my Dear DJs episode? Why is this happening on USC of all places? I have no more to say here.
Disembarkment
This is always a hot mess IMO.
Okay, enough with the negative. Here’s the good juice about USC2018. Everyone had a blast! As I knew they would. All the complaining in the world is never enough to outweigh the amount of joy one experiences on Ubersoca Cruise.
When asked what the best thing about USC 2018 was, the people said
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The Fetes
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The After Parties
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The Special Guests
Damn, Jouvert didn’t even make top 3 though… that’s shocking!
At the end of the day, most of my participants said that they would “absolutely” return to Ubersoca Cruise. Nearly as many, said “maybe”; in order for them the confirm their attendance for future years, the USC team needs to come correct with a number of things such as dates, ship and location. One respondent said “overall it was what you made it. I ended up going by myself last minute and still had a ball.” That’s the spirit!
Here is a super short video montage that I put together from some of my Spy T’ingz. Thanks so much to those of you who contributed media for me to use in the video; I appreciate you!
For more insight on Ubersoca Cruise 2018 you can check out the recaps from a few of my blog friends who were actually on board. I’ve added their links below for your review:
Please excuse the imperfections in the video. I was being lazy and used my unpressed green screen background LOL … don’t judge me.
Instrumental Beats Courtesy of Rapid Entertainment. Find the riddim HERE.
Thanks for tuning in!
~ Sha
