Not sure whether to spend your vacation on a cruise or at a music festival? What if you could do both at the same time? From genre-driven excursions focusing on country, heavy metal or the blues to artist-centric voyages like trips helmed by everyone from KISS to Paramore to Kid Rock to Florida Georgia Line, music-themed cruises are growing in number and popularity.

"I think one of the reasons is that it's a mini vacation," guitarist Alex Skolnick, who will perform on the inaugural guitar-themed Axes & Anchors in February and has played with Testament on Motorhead's Motorboat cruise, told HNGN recently.

"What you've seen with these music cruises is a little bit like what happened with Las Vegas. Las Vegas used to be this place purely for vice. You wouldn't bring your family there. It's for gambling and who knows what else. And I think in a lot of ways metal concerts are like that. Who would bring their family to a metal concert? But you actually can bring your family to one of these cruises. It's got the music element. But it also has the whole resort element, just like nowadays you go to Vegas and the rest of your family can go shopping and take in some shows and all kinds of other extracurricular activity. I think the cruises provide that for music, and particularly heavy music. At one time, who would imagine a cruise headlined by Motorhead?"

Steve Howe, the guitarist of Yes, which in November will headline its third-annual progressive rock-themed Cruise To The Edge, warmed up to the idea of the floating concerts after some initial skepticism.

"I did a solo cruise in 2000 actually, which was quite surprising, with a small number of people who just came to see me - I think it was about 50 or 60, on a big cruise of about 2,000 people - so I always thought cruises were kind of like weird," Howe recently told HNGN. "But I was assured that when Yes did the first one that it was going to be quite different than the first one I did, and it was. We have some privacy, we have some fun, there's lots of acts to mingle with and be a part of, so I'm surprised, but we can only hope that we keep finding it pleasant and we keep finding it doable."

With a slew of musical acts and activities - Country Cruising, for example, includes a sea lion encounter, and Skolnick said he went snorkeling with his girlfriend during a Motorboat off day - the cruises can be as event-packed or laid-back as you'd like. To help you navigate your music-cruise experience, here's a roundup of 15 of the best trips on the high seas (in order of departure). Bon voyage!

COUNTRY CRUISING


Dates:
 Oct. 23-30
Destinations: Nassau, Great Stirrup Cay, Key West, Grand Cayman
Ship: Norwegian Sky
Performers include:  Neal McCoy, Craig Morgan, Trace Adkins, Joe Nichols, Parmalee
Website: www.countrycruising.com

KISS KRUISE V


Dates:
 Oct. 30-Nov. 3
Destination: Jamaica
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: KISS, Steel Panther, Lita Ford, Fozzy, The Dead Daisies
Website: www.thekisskruise.com

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE'S THIS IS HOW WE CRUISE


Dates:
 Nov. 7-11
Destination: Cozumel, Mexico
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Florida Georgia Line, Jason Derulo, Sam Hunt, Dustin Lynch, Eric Paslay, Frankie Ballard, Raelynn
Website: www.fglcruise.com

CRUISE TO THE EDGE


Dates:
 Nov. 15-19
Destinations: Key West, Fla,; Private island in Bahamas
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Yes, Marillion, Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy - A Tribute To Chris Squire, Allan Holdsworth, Anathema, Martin Barre, Steve Rothery
Website: cruisetotheedge.com

JAM CRUISE 14


Dates:
 Jan. 6-11
Destinations:  Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico
Ship: MSC Divina
Performers include: Dr. John & The Night Trippers, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Galactic, Lotus, JJ Grey & Mofro, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Keller Williams, Snarky Puppy, Soulive, Cabinet
Website: jamcruise.com

SHIPROCKED


Dates:
 Jan. 18-22
Destination: Costa Maya, Mexico
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Five Finger Death Punch, Seether, Halestorm, Hellyeah, Helmet, 10 Years
Website: www.shiprocked.com

THE ROCK BOAT 16


Dates:
 Jan. 26-31
Destinations: Costa Maya, Mexico; Grand Cayman Island
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Gavin DeGraw, Sister Hazel, Needtobreathe, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Red Wanting Blue, Pat McGee, Jukebox The Ghost, Will Hoge
Website: www.therockboat.com

CAYAMO


Dates:
 Jan. 31-Feb. 7
Destinations: St. Maarten; Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Buddy Miller, Shawn Colvin, David Bromberg, Watkins Family Hour, Jim Lauderdale
Website: www.cayamo.com

KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE AT SEA II


Dates:
 Feb. 15-19
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Joe Bonamassa, Vintage Trouble, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Blues Traveler, Beth Hart, Marc Broussard, Shemekia Copeland
Website: www.bluesaliveatsea.com

AXES & ANCHORS


Dates:
 Feb. 20-24
Destinations: Key West, Fla.; Nassau, Bahamas
Ship: Carnival Victory
Performers include: Breaking Benjamin, Zakk Wylde, Ynwgie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker, Motionless In White, Flyleaf, Thousand Foot Krutch, Marty Friedman, Alex Skolnick
Website: axesandanchors.com

SOUL TRAIN CRUISE


Dates:
 Jan. 30- Feb. 6
Destinations: Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Cococay, Bahamas; Key West, Fla.
Ship: Celebrity Constellation
Performers include: Smokey Robinson, The O'Jays, Billy Ocean, Atlantic Starr, Shelia E., Bill Bellamy, The Whispers, Stephanie Mills, Howard Hewett, Doug E. Fresh
Website: soultraincruise.com

MONSTERS OF ROCK: SHREDDERS FROM THE DEEP


Dates:
 Feb. 22-26
Destinations: Monster Beach at Great Stirrup Cay; Nassau, Bahamas
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Tesla, Steve Vai, Extreme, Queensryche, Helloween, Lynch Mob, Armored Saint, Dangerous Toys, Vixen, Kingdom Come, The Killer Dwarves
Website: monstersofrockcruise.com

THE 80s CRUISE


Dates:
 Feb. 28- March 6
Destinations: Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Ship: Holland America m/s Eurodam
Performers include: Huey Lewis & The News, Richard Marx, Starship, A Flock Of Seagulls, Kool & The Gang, Tiffany, Was (Not Was), Wang Chung, Modern English, Naked Eyes, Biz Markie
Website: www.the80scruise.com

KID ROCK's CHILLIN' THE MOST CRUISE


Dates:
 March 10-14
Destination: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Kid Rock, Steel Panther (More TBA)
Website: www.kidrockcruise.com

PARAHOY!


Dates:
 March 5-9
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico
Ship: Norwegian Pearl
Performers include: Paramore (More TBA)
Website: www.parahoy.com