I’ve never been on a cruise before. I have been on boats before; living in Miami, you end up on one sooner or later. But those trips have been relegated to tours around Biscayne Bay and (mostly) failed fishing trips. Thanks to GaCuCon, I might finally get on a real cruise ship.
Let’s get this part out of the way first: this is not an ordinary day cruise to the Bahamas. GaCuCon combines three things I absolutely love: video games, booze, and not being in Miami for a period of time.
This convention ship leaves the Port of Miami and makes stops at Key West and Cozumel before heading back to the 305. The four-day trip will include video gaming, cosplaying, booze, an expo, plenty of keynotes, booze, a smattering of celebrities, lots of tanning, sunburning, booze, and, of course, booze.
The gentlemen organizing this dream cruise aren’t just paying lip service, either. The CEO and founder of GaCuCon, Andru Fratarcangeli, knows his way around the South Florida gaming community. He’s helped organize MakeGamesMiami, an event that gives the Miami indie development community exposure. Frank Velazquez, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, chairs the South Florida contingent of the International Game Developers Association. And Juan Nunez, the Director of Operations and Sponsorships, helped organize TigerDirect TechBash, an event so large, it recently needed to be held in Marlins Park. This crew has serious indie cred and has experience putting together big events.
With that kind of backing, GaCuCon is sure to be a great gaming vacation. I’ve never left the country, so the thought of going to a foreign island, buzzed and just off a gaming bender, is a very interesting situation. If my Digital Crack mates join me, I’ll have the extra pleasure of laughing at their inability to hang at the bar.
