It’s one of the biggest and baddest rock cruises sailing the high seas, ShipRocked was back in action for (lucky) year number seven. Whether you were a new ShipRocker or have been there from the start you were fortunate to even be on the Norwegian Pearl since ShipRocked 2016 was sold out for months and had a waiting list of over 1,0000 people. This cruise was certainly a memorable one.

The day began with most people in the lobby having drinks, all of the cabins were still being made up as The Walking Dead Cruise wrapped up on the same ship just hours prior. In the lobby various members of Halestorm as well as Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul were spotted hanging out, taking photos and chatting with fans.

Even though the Norwegian Pearl left the Port of Miami about an hour later than expected, buckets of beer and bottles of liquor were flowing as the almighty Halestorm had cruise goers looking skyward while they performed on the Deck Stage to hundreds of fans. The voice of vocalist Lzzy Hale echoed all through the outside deck and rang on the decks below.

Other bands that crushed the Deck Stage included the very legendary and loud Helmet, as well as pulsating performances by 10 Years and Nonpoint who completely obliterated the stage when they ripped through their sets as the Deck Stage's final performers.

Over on the Atrium Stage, the Glorious Sons performed but that stage was eventually ruled by the ladies as the all female groups Doll Skin and The Dead Deads commanded the audience's attention. If you missed bands hanging out on the boat, there were also meet and greets with both the Glorious Sons and the Georgia boys of Biters on night one as well.

Five Finger Death Punch were one of the main headliners of the cruise and played later during the opening day at the Stardust Theater. Frontman Ivan Moody ventured out in the crowd before the band took the stage to hug and shake hands with fans. They performed older favorites like “Hard to See” and “Never Enough” as well as the newer tunes “Jekyll and Hyde” and the title track off their latest album Got Your Six.

Moody and guitarist Jason Hook took things down a notch with an acoustic snippet of “Battle Born” and “Coming Down” but the crowd remained passionate throughout the set. The band invited a fan onstage since it was her birthday and things heated right back up with a highly amped-up performance of “Burn MF” (Check her out rocking onstage in our gallery above.) The set ended with “The Bleeding” which had the fans headbanging and testing the limitations of their own vocal chords.

The night didn’t end there, as ShipRockers partied into the wee hours of the morning with drinks in hand and hoarse voices. Just think, this was only the first day!

Check out our gallery of day one of ShipRocked 2016 and stay tuned for photos and a recap of day two!

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