In 2001, the manager for the rock band Sister Hazel had an unusual idea. Instead of squeezing more fans into concert venues, why not put them on a cruise ship with the band for a week? What started as one band’s experiment in getting closer to its fans has grown, 25 years later, into a company that now sails alongside everyone from touring musicians to comedians, wrestlers and celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay.
Andy Levine, the manager who dreamed it up, later said it was easier to get a fan to spend $1,000 on a cruise than $10 on a CD. The 400-person trip he built for Sister Hazel worked so well that a company grew out of it. When Hurricane Katrina threatened that young company’s survival in 2005, passengers didn’t ask for refunds. Some stepped in as funders instead, betting on a business they’d sailed with only a handful of times.
A quarter century of turning fans into shipmates
That loyalty paid off. The company, Sixthman, has since run more than 240 voyages and welcomed more than 540,000 guests, expanding well beyond music into comedy, wrestling, sports and pop culture along the way. Its cruises run primarily on Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Jeff Cuellar, who took over as Sixthman’s CEO after the pandemic, said his own first sailing convinced him the idea was bigger than music.
“I joined Sixthman shortly after the pandemic when people were feeling the absence of real connection,” Cuellar said. “Experiencing firsthand the community Sixthman creates restored my faith in the power of being together. In all, making it poignant that Sixthman is about much more than music. On my first Sixthman cruise, I immediately felt the difference in a Sixthman experience from a traditional festival or concert. Throughout the trip, the artists were accessible to guests; we weren’t simply showing up for a performance, but we were there to share an unforgettable vacation.”
Cuellar said the throughline from that first 400-person sailing to a company that has now welcomed more than 540,000 guests comes down to a single idea that hasn’t changed.
“In 2001, The Rock Boat was born from a simple insight: fans wanted more time with the artists they loved, and artists wanted a deeper relationship with their audiences,” Cuellar said. “To make that possible, hospitality had to be at the center of the experience. That principle still guides us today. As we’ve expanded beyond music, we continue to seek out passionate communities and create environments where people can engage more deeply with what they love.”
Bigger ships, same close quarters
Running voyages across so many categories, from music to wrestling to comedy, creates a different challenge than the one Levine faced with a single 400-person boat. Cuellar said protecting that original intimacy is the hardest part of scaling up.
“The hardest part is making sure the details keep the ‘special moment’ feeling at the heart of every Sixthman experience,” Cuellar said. “That’s why we’ve increased our focus on experience planning and continue to build and support a team that understands the importance of hospitality, so every guest feels cared for. Also, we leverage the design of the larger ships to create more intimate moments in the smaller spaces while also being all together on the pool deck.”
Chefs Making Waves brings Bobby Flay aboard
Food has become Sixthman’s newest frontier. Its culinary voyage, Chefs Making Waves, now carries Food Network as its title sponsor, with Bobby Flay headlining a five-day sailing this fall. Cuellar said the culinary expansion followed the same logic that built the company in the first place.
“Food brings people together and sparks new conversations, so culinary felt like a natural extension of what Sixthman does,” Cuellar said. “With Chefs Making Waves, guests can experience a vacation built around thoughtful programming and meaningful access to culinary stars. The experience grants people many opportunities to engage, from cooking demonstrations to tasting conversations. Our chefs also have big personalities and love to have fun. You are just as likely to see chefs lead a demonstration as watch them all in at the poker table.” He said a Chefs Making Waves sailing to Alaska is already set for September 2027.
What comes next
Cuellar’s calendar backs up the range he described. The Rock Boat, the event that started it all in 2001, is already booked to return for its 26th sailing in February 2027 with Sister Hazel once again headlining, alongside newer additions like the Savannah Bananas’ Bananaland at Sea, a Broadway-themed cruise and 311’s Caribbean Cruise, all part of Sixthman’s 2027 lineup. Sublime’s Reef Madness Cruise sails this November. Asked where the company goes from here, Cuellar pointed to more categories, not fewer.
“Five years from now, I envision Sixthman continuing to grow as an experiential travel and community-focused company,” he said. “Our future will likely include more categories, genres and unique experiences that I can’t fully predict today. I’m excited to stay open to where passionate communities are growing and how we can bring them together to create unforgettable experiences for them.”
What began as one manager’s bet that 400 fans would book a cruise has become a bet that people will always want to be closer to what they love, whether that’s a band, a comedian or a chef. Twenty-five years in, that bet keeps paying off in categories nobody would have guessed at the start.
Jennifer Allen is a retired chef turned traveler, cookbook author and nationally syndicated journalist; she’s also a co-founder of Food Drink Life, where she shares expert travel tips, cruise insights and luxury destination guides. A recognized cruise expert with a deep passion for high-end experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations, Jennifer explores the world with curiosity, depth and a storyteller’s perspective. Her articles are regularly featured on the Associated Press Wire, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, MSN and more.