All aboard: Which cruise festival is for you?

Now that spring is in the air, that can only mean one thing: summer is just around the corner and it's time to start planning where you're going to be partying this year. The possibilities are endless but 2017 is the year that thousands of ravers swap fields for the ocean as a wealth of cruise ship festivals have popped up, offering a new kind of nautical naughtiness.

Holy Ship was the first of its kind to trade in tents for tides and the unique festival experience has taken the US by storm, so much so that it now runs two voyages at the start of every year and has now hosted nine editions. It seems like the rest of the world has now followed suit and there's loads to choose from this year, all offering a different style of music and fun than the other.

It's time for Mixmag to step in and help you choose which cruise festival is for you. Make sure you pack those life-jackets, this year's going to be a bumpy one.

All aboard.

Funster is Mixmag's Deputy Digital Editor and he once went on a ferry to the Isle of Wight, follow him on Twitter here

Name: Anchored

Date: June 11 - 18

Line-up: MK, Steve Lawler, Tinie Tempah, Richy Ahmed, wAFF, Patrick Topping (pictured above)

Where? Rome - Santorini - Mykonos - Monte Carlo - Cannes

Picture the scene now: you and your mates have just landed in Rome and you're ready for a faaacking party. "Oi mate, you ready to get absolutely Anchored this week?", one of the lads says, to which the rest of the group reply "Wheyyyyyyyyy". Anchored is one of the first cruise festivals to take place this year and if you fancy some Naughty Tech-House (you know you do), this is the ship for you. What better music can you think of to soundtrack a romantic trip to Cannes than Patrick Topping's thumping boomers alongside MK's house classics? Stage hosts include Ants, Kaluki and Abode and there's also a cinema, crazy golf, a Michelin-star restaurant and 24-hour casino. Can't wait to get fuckin' Anchored, m8!

Name: Shipsomnia: The Tale Of The Kraken

Date: June 14 - 18

Line-up: Christian Smith, Deborah De Luca (pictured above), Friction, Mark Knight, Netsky, Shiba San, Pendulum (DJ Set)

Where? Barcelona - Ibiza - Sète

Bit of a mixed bag this one. Musically, it's less tech-house and more lucky dip. There's some techno, some house, some d'n'b and everything in between. For this one, though, it feels less about the music and more about the experience. Look at the name of it for goodness sake. Tale Of The Kraken implies adventure, swash-buckling action and enough marine exploration to make you feel like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean. There are stop-offs in Ibiza and the rest, of course, so you can stretch your legs but the signature party, 'The Shipsomnia Ball', takes place on the boat and there's loads of fancy dress opportunities and probably dancing. We reckon if you want to feel like Jack Sparrow, drunk and enchanted, this one's probably for you. Also if you like dressing like a lobster, get tickets NOW.

Name: The Ark

Date: August 31 - September 3

Line-up: 2ManyDjs, Boys Noize, Patrick Topping, Axel Boman, Peggy Gou (pictured above), Sven Väth, B.Traits, Chris Liebing

Where? Barcelona - Marseille - Ibiza - Barcelona

Four days, seven areas, 90-plus artists and over 4,000 ravers. The Ark is no joke. With a pretty damn impressive line-up that spans every genre with some of the biggest names in the game in tow, this is the cruise for you if you like your music powerful. Sven Väth and Boys Noize are some of the big guns playing, but then DJs like Gerd Janson, Cinnaman and KiNK cater for the headsy dancers. This is the only ship that stops via France and you're still getting your dose of sun with jaunts in Ibiza and Barcelona. Yoga sessions and stand-up comedy are both available onboard and if you really don't like the tunes, you can always enter the basketball tournament or go rock climbing. Yeah, that's actually a thing.

Name: MDRNTY Cruise

Date: September 16 - 20

Line-up: Guy Gerber, Ben Klock, DJ Tennis, Adriatique, Martin Buttrich, Paul Ritch, Sven Väth, Sonja Moonear (pictured above), Matthew Jonson

Where? Genova - Barcelona - Mallorca - Ibiza - Genova

The connoisseur's choice of festival. Gone are the Toppings and Ahmeds and in are the Buttrichs and Klocks. Label and club brand MDRNTY takes its first plunge into cruise festivals and it's safe to say it isn't fucking about. The line-up is top notch and it's still growing, with the likes of Ben Klock, DJ Tennis, and Adriatique having all just been added. This is less about crazy golf and messing around like kids, but more focused on relaxation and top-notch tech. The ship’s award-winning MSC Aurea Spa offers traditional Balinese massages and the latest beauty treatments, which in other words means you can look forward to the best hangover cure in the seven seas. "Anyone fancy a sauna after Sven?" Hell yeah, we'll see you in there.

Name: Holy Ship

Date: January 2018

Line-up: tba

Where? tba

To be honest, we don't really know much about the next instalment of Holy Ship, but there was absolutely no way we could leave out the titans of the cruise festivals. The one that started it all and pretty much the undisputed king of the cruise ship, Gary Richard's Hard-ran Holy Ship has welcomed some of the biggest names in the business. Everyone from Justice, Boys Noize, Gesaffelstein, Brodinski (pictured above), Claude VonStroke and Diplo have made frequent appearances at the festival and that's just the tip of the iceberg (get it!?). Seriously, though, if you're into EDM or an electro fangirl or house head, you're looked after here. With stop-offs at outrageous island paradises, this is the best starting point for any cruise extravaganza. More details to follow, but bookmark January as the most important month of the year for sailing away into tech mecca.