The Wildcat Tattoo Cruise

Column - by Dirk-Boris Rödel

In my time as a tattoo journalist, I have experienced countless tattoo conventions, the "normal" ones in exhibition halls, multi-purpose halls and gymnasiums, but also those in old cinemas, marquees, chapels, ice rinks (not recommended), on Lake Constance ferries and also in disused prisons, but a tattoo convention on a cruise ship was something new for me too.

The company Wildcat has been running tattoo studios on cruise ships for a few years now, and on other special interest cruises such as the Metal Cruise or 70,000 Tons of Metal, individual tattoo artists have been on board such ships, but a complete convention on board - and over several days - that was a novelty.

For the Tattoo Cruise, Wildcat boss Martin Siedler used synergy effects from the Dortmund Convention, which had taken place directly beforehand, and was thus able to bring on board top tattoo artists such as Benjamin Laukis, Randy Engelhard, Guido Schmitz or Tibor Szalai, Moriel Seror, Boris Lazlo, Moni Scharnagl or Derek Entenmann and Thomas Kellinger, who had previously worked at DortmundCon.

As there is no hall on a cruise ship where you would normally hold conventions, the tattoo artists' stands were spread over several rooms and a bar area, but this worked well.

Fears that the swell might make tattooing on board more difficult proved unfounded, at least on this voyage, which led from Bremerhaven via Rotterdam to Dover and back again. The North Sea was almost uncharacteristically calm, there was hardly any swell at all, so there were no adverse effects from stormy seas and high waves.

The fact that all participants, tattoo artists and customers alike, stayed together for five days created a completely different atmosphere to conventional tattoo conventions, made larger projects possible and still left customers and tattoo artists enough time to enjoy the comforts of the ship or to go ashore in Rotterdam or Dover, for example. There, of course, tattoo fans would have had additional opportunities to stock up on tattooed souvenirs; during the bus ride from the ship to Dover Castle alone, I counted three tattoo stores in the English port city, and Rotterdam is certainly not short of tattoo studios either.

A possible suggestion for improvement would perhaps also start here; many travelers would certainly have liked to get a small souvenir tattoo, just a simple, small ship design with the words "Tattoo-Cruise 2024" or something similar, but most of the tattoo artists on board did not have the capacity for this. Three, four or even five tattoo artists who only offered such mini souvenir tattoos would certainly have been fully booked for the entire trip - perhaps an idea for future tattoo cruises.

But given the wide range of options on board - gym, sauna, cinema, pools, jogging track, basketball court, shopping area and countless bars, restaurants and cafés - the tattoo artists naturally didn't want to spend all their time on the ship working.

The supporting program of the Tattoo Cruise also included tattoo talks, I myself gave several lectures on topics such as finding a motif, tattoo assessment or tattoo history and there were smaller guitar concerts or juggling shows on a small stage in the show bar, but the highlight was of course the numerous bands such as BossHoss, Deeznuts, Sick of it all, Comeback Kid, Stick to your Guns, Jaya the Cat or Knorkator, who played every evening on the main deck.

Of course, the obligatory tattoo contest, which took place on the stage of the large theater, was also a must at the See-Convention. Alongside Randy Engelhard, Martin Siedler and presenter Nori Storm, I was also a member of the jury, and we really didn't have an easy time choosing the best freshly engraved tattoos from the numerous participants.

Overall, the convention cruise was very well received and practically every guest on this tattoo cruise ship was enthusiastic about this unique experience, so that another tattoo cruise is already planned for 2026, which will last a little longer and will go to the Balearic Islands in the fall.

Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel

Graphic: Jonas Bachmann | MARCO