There’s something magical about love at sea. Maybe it’s the salt air, the sunrise sets, or the way a music festival on a cruise has a way of breaking down walls and bringing people together. Groove Cruise has always been about connection and community where strangers become family and unforgettable memories are made under open skies. But for some Captains, that connection turns into something even deeper. This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating six real-life GC couples who met onboard, fell in love between dance floors and decks, and turned a shared adventure into relationships, engagements, and even weddings.
“Now who loves a true GC love story?! Daniel and I met on Groove Cruise LAX 2015. He proposed on GC Cabo 2022 and we got married on GC Miami 2024. Last year on GC we celebrated our one-year anniversary, while manifesting a baby next year…well, full circle — it happened. This last cruise 2026 we were honored to represent 1ST EVER GCFAM GENDER REVEAL. It’s a BOY!
Groove Cruise means everything to us. We even got GC tattoos. If it wasn’t for GC we’d still be lost at sea….Music definitely connects us.”
If It Wasn’t For Groove Cruise, we never would have…
“...met and experienced every milestone on board!”
“We met on the second day of Groove Cruise 2025 at the pool! It was the Candyland theme day and I remember because he came up to me in an Oompa Loompa outfit with a green wig on. We stayed locked in and have been doing long distance ever since. Hopefully moving to Miami soon!!! Met him and made some beautiful lifelong friends along the way.”
Any advice for singles boarding Groove Cruise?
“Be open cause you never know what could happen.”
“We met at the singles brunch after party! We exchanged schedules for what we planned to be at on the ship and it turned out we had the same taste! We shared our first kiss at Gem and Tauri's sunrise set. Groove Cruise brought us together even though we lived states apart. Now we both live in Minnesota together!”
What was the exact moment you knew this was more than a vacation fling?
“When he dropped me off at the hotel I was staying at after the cruise. I cried because I knew I would never meet someone like him ever again.”
“We first met on Groove Cruise 2018 while both working behind the scenes — Alex was with the EVR visual crew, and I was with Whet Oasis. One night, while Alex was running visuals in our decompression space, a friend of mine and I started dancing in front of them. Alex was captivated, taking pictures of us and eventually asking for my number so he could send them to me. After that cruise we briefly texted each other for a couple of months, but did not end up reconnecting until we ran into each other on Groove Cruise 2019.
We immediately recognized each other, exchanged a few friendly glances throughout the sailing, but it wasn't until the final sunrise that we truly connected. While working visuals for Roger Sanchez, Alex stepped away for a brief moment and found me on the dance floor. In that sunrise magic, time seemed to pause. We talked for hours, shared our first kiss, and from that moment on, we were inseparable.
Groove Cruise became our sacred space to celebrate anniversaries, and our shared love for techno, trance, and house music. We discovered we weren't just partners, we were musical soulmates. Every year we get to attend reminds us of all the good times we've shared with our incredible Groove Cruise community, and strengthens our bond as lovers, and ravers. One of our favorite moments was on GC Orlando 2022, where we discovered Deepfake, became soulfam, and experienced Groove Cruise in a deeper, more personal way beyond our previous roles working the festival.
Then came Groove Cruise 2025, a sailing that changed our lives forever. For the first time, we were attending purely as guests, celebrating our six year anniversary together. When we docked in Labadee, Haiti, Alex surprised me with a magical proposal on the beach! Our good friend Holly (Holotek) beautifully captured it for us, including the hilarious moment he almost lost the ring in the ocean. I couldn't even tell you what DJ was playing at the time, I was too busy falling in love with him all over again and co-creating one of the most beautiful memories of our union thus far.
Through life’s storms — like moving across states after COVID, rebuilding our lives after Hurricane Helene, and creating our art and music venue, Third Room in Asheville, NC — Groove Cruise has remained our constant source of joy, play, and connection. It’s where our story began, where it continues to grow, and where we feel most at home.
Now, we’re booked and ready for Groove Cruise 2027, hoping to celebrate the next chapter of our journey with a symbolic ceremony at sea, surrounded by the GC family that unknowingly brought us together.
We are constantly in awe and beyond grateful that out of all the places in the world, we found the love of our lives at a rave in the middle of the ocean…and we wouldn’t change a single beat of our story."
Any advice for singles boarding Groove Cruise?
“Be authentic in what you're looking for in a relationship, have fun, and keep that booty on the dance floor! You might just meet the love of your life.”
“We met by chance before Groove Cruise 2019, staying at the same mansion with a group of fellow cruisers. We arrived at the exact same time, clicked instantly, and were inseparable from that moment on. After 4.5 years of long distance, Neel moved to California, and we were married in Chicago in June 2024 surrounded by so many amazing Groove Cruise friends. Groove Cruise has always held a special place for Neel, who has been performing on it since 2010, but for both of us, it will forever be the place that brought our lives together.”
Any advice for singles boarding Groove Cruise?
“Go in with an open heart, enjoy every moment, and let the experience unfold naturally. When you’re not looking for anything, that’s often when the magic happens. It happened to us, and we hope it happens for you too.”
“It was my very first Groove Cruise (2014) and also my birthday. My friends made sure I was always having a good time! That year we had a Catalina Island stop. I maybe partied too much and spent my time on a beach chair just enjoying my friends dancing and being out on the beach! Mike so happened to be sitting close by doing his flow art which was so amazing to watch! To my right was a guy dressed in a hula outfit, gotta love GC! Said hello to both, and happened to take this incredible picture of him. I actually never saw him again on the ship and to be honest, I wasn't even looking at him that way, I was just enjoying life. Post ship, I posted the pic and said hey really awesome pic, not sure who this is, on the FB group page and his friend tagged him. I saw his profile online and thought hmm he's cute, but again not a second thought. Fast forward four months, I ran into him at a local event in the Bay and thought hmm…but we connected and casually chatted online, not as a love interest. Fast forward another two months, I won tickets to a show, he was dead tired from travel and said he was staying in, but I invited him anyway and got a text back that said Yes! That was the start of it all. Funny enough though, I found out later he LinkedIn stalked me I said that to make sure I had some brains behind the beauty (his words lol). He also told me he sat there near me at Catalina Island for HOURS because he liked what he saw, but we didn't talk. Here we are 10 years later, and while often he isn't able to go because of work, he knows GC is home for me and he lets me be me. I am telling you there is something in the water on GC. I've brought many friends on ship for the first time, and many of them have met their life partners and it's beautiful to see.
If it wasn’t for Groove Cruise, we never would have…
“If it wasn't for Groove Cruise, we never would have realized how special GC is and may not have met!!”
From late-night sets to early-morning sunrises, these stories are proof that Groove Cruise is more than just a vacation but a place where connection thrives and lives change. What starts as a dance at a festival at sea can turn into lifelong partnership, shared adventures, and weddings surrounded by the very community that brought them together. To every Captain who has found friendship, love, or something in between onboard: you are the heartbeat of this experience. Here’s to more unforgettable memories, deeper connections, and maybe even your own love story waiting on the horizon.
Groove Cruise 2027 is 99% sold out with only a few staterooms remaining. Book your 2027 reservation now here.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
