Oh Ship, it’s time to F.eU again

As the MSC Opera prepares to be unhinged from its Durban moorings for the Oh Ship 3 cruise on 28 November, captains DJ Fresh and DJ Euphonik can’t come up with a single reason why you shouldn’t be on one of the cruises.

Described by Euphonik (real name Themba Nkosi) as “a hotel on a boat”, the cruise is just another brainchild the 5FM duo has birthed since their revolutionary partnership.

Fresh (real name Thato Sikwane) and Euphonik came about the idea of the Oh Ship cruise when they went on a previous boat party.

“We wanted to do things differently and our own way. We saw a gap and a niche in the market to be able to do it differently, so we started conceptualising our own boat party and the name Oh Ship came up,” said Euphonik.

The pair has been throwing parties for the last five years and, having ticked a lot of boxes on their list, the 72-hour annual cruise to the Mozambican Portuguese Islands was a product of “what else can we do” and “what next big memorable party can we throw” kind of thought, according to Fresh.

Now in its third year, Fresh said, “It’s been so memorable, everyone who goes on the cruise remembers what a good time they had. I mean it is three days of nonstop partying with like-minded people.

“Everyone on the cruise is there for the same reason. We are here to let our hair down, leave our problems in SA so we can get into international waters. We are here to drink, party, for good music, good comedy…,” he added.

Euphonik emphasised that from the day the cruise starts until the day it docks back in Durban, the journey is nonstop madness, with a wide variety of entertainment, including casinos and movies.

“It also promotes safe and responsible partying because you don’t have to drive home, you can just crawl into your room and sleep,” he added.

This year, DJ Kent will be joining in the tidal adventure, and one lucky cruiser will captain the ship alongside Fresh and Euphonik.

This, according to Euphonik, is just one of the ways the pair tries to involve the public in the decision-making process.

Other ways include nominating the artists and DJs whose performances and sets they would want to dance to while aboard.

When selecting these acts, Fresh and Euphonik make a conscious decision based on the mixed demographics of cruisers.

“We try to go for artists who have a cross-cultural appeal so that the boat isn’t only for black and not only for whites – it’s for everyone,” Euphonik assured.

Asked which song would be a soundtrack of choice should they be hijacked by pirates, Fresh said American rapper Ludacris’ Move B**** (Get out the Way), as the cruise travellers will be fully immersed in the festivities and won’t have time to entertain intruders. Euphonik chose Edwin Starr’s War (what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.), pertaining to the pointlessness of the pirates’ efforts.

As if the Oh Ship experience is not exciting enough, the house music maestros are working on their next F.eU (Fresh and Euphonik) collaboration set to be released in 2015.

If you’ve missed booking cabins for this year’s cruise, there’s plenty of time to catch the waves for next year.