(Artwork by Chibi-Jen-Hen)
SeaBronies, on their final VIP cruise, have a new community guest announcement to make this final cruise just a little bit more special as they announce the ever lovely Foal Papers as joining their journey on the high seas! They are also explaining what they mean by this being their last VIP cruise. Don't fear, it doesn't mean another con is closing, just that things are going to be a little different for SeaBronies here on out.
Get the full press release after the break!
Greetings, everypony!
We’re writing to you from the high seas off southeastern Alaska with a “good news, bad news” announcement.
First, the good news!
Our upcoming December 2019 Caribbean cruise, SeaBronies Expedition 4, is getting another Community Guest! We have already announced VIP guests Bill Newton and GM Berrow, and community guest DustyKatt. Today, we are delighted to announce that Foal Papers will be joining his longtime friend and collaborator DustyKatt as our second and final Community Guest. This brings the total for this Expedition to four guests of honor (two VIP guests, two community guests), a SeaBronies record!
Speaking of community guests, we are also delighted to announce a special one-time event: A brony charity auction at sea! If you’ve been to one of Dusty and Foaly’s many convention charity auctions, you know what to expect-- but this one will be on a ship! (We like to think that’ll make things at least 20% cooler.) 100% of sales will go to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer.
Now for the bad news.
We know that recently, the community has been dealing with a long string of convention closures. This has affected events of all sizes throughout the fandom, from small affairs of several hundred people to (most recently and notably) the massive BronyCon itself.
We are here to announce an upcoming change of our own. While SeaBronies isn’t shutting down, we are discontinuing VIP appearances after our 2019 cruise. That is to say: SeaBronies Expedition 4, coming this December, will be the LAST SeaBronies event featuring VIP appearances. This is all set to be our biggest and most memorable event ever, featuring ports of call at three Caribbean nations (Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico) and a record number of guests of honor. We encourage all of you to attend; rooms are still available! (To learn more, please join our Discord; an open invite is at seabronies.com/discord)
Future events, rather than “Expeditions”, will be branded as Adventures. Structurally, they will be largely the same as our existing cruises—i.e., potential attendees will vote on which cruise to take, and we’ll provide planning and logistics services. However, no paid VIPs or comped Community Guests will be in attendance. (This also means that we will not charge dues, or offer sponsorships, on future voyages.) Any pony fan will be welcome to join our group on these Community Cruises if they pay their own way onto the cruise.
This change was unavoidable, as by its very nature SeaBronies has required a regular cash inflow from an outside source (i.e., our founder) simply to continue holding events with VIPs. Between high expenses (paid VIP guest appearances, pricey high-end suites for public gatherings) and low income (20-30 paying attendees per event, with per-person dues of only $40), there is no way that we could ever have been financially solvent. We have been, and remain, a labor of love to the community.
Pony conventions— the full-sized kind— are also labors of love. But, unlike SeaBronies, they can be wholly attendee-funded, and thus can continue indefinitely— as long as enough people attend. (Can’t attend? Buy a spirit badge or some merch! Low on funds? Signal boost! It really helps.) Always remember that: The future of the pony events you love is up to you. We hope to see you at many of them.
Nautically yours,
The SeaBronies
Twitter: Calpain
