Cruise ships

[ARGH]

Anyone on here do cruise ship gigs? 
Where do you start and which agencies are best to contact? Gear needed, What skills are required… nightmare or dream job? 
 

i’m interested and have begun looking into it as a regular job, but it’s a minefield of info and good/bad/awful advice and counter advice… often contradictory. Please help. 

[msb]

I’ve never done cruise ships , But living in Halifax I’ve known a lot of people that have. And the ones that have … have all had music degrees , and were excellent sight readers with great improvisational skills. They had to be able to instantly deal with whatever was tossed their way. Some have loved it , and many bailed at the first opportunity.
And they found much of the work boring , but the money was good. Some of the combos on board were said to be wonderful , and some were simply god awful. So I’m not at all surprised the advice has been contradictory.

[Dan Dare]

As msb points out, your reading and busking skills need to be on point. Bands on cruise ships must be versatile and be able to play virtually whatever is asked of them at the drop of a hat. Two pals of mine (one now sadly passed) used to play for Joe Loss when his was the resident band on the QE2 (so this was a while back, but I shouldn't imagine much has changed).

 

The band book was enormous and encompassed all styles (despite the tea dance image one might associate with the name Joe Loss). They told me it was quite lucrative, but also quite boring for much of the time. You are rarely if ever pushing the musical boundaries - most people who go on cruises are not fans of anything "out there" - and you will often be playing the same stuff night after night. The hours can be long.

 

Obviously, one needs to be presentable and have social skills (interacting with passengers and crew is part of the deal, on and off stage), be disciplined and punctual and so on (it helps not to have a weakness for the electric soup - temptation is all around). Essentially, it's a musical day job but, unlike most day jobs, you don't get to go home and kick back/go out on the tiles when you finish work.

 

Most cruise ships have excellent PA, etc, so any portable, high quality rig will be fine. You don't need a stadium rig. Carry spares of everything - you can't replace stuff, get it repaired, go to the shop or order online in the middle of the Atlantic and stopovers in ports are usually brief.

 

Are you looking to get work as an individual or as part of a band? I'd approach some cruise operators and enquire how they book their entertainment. Most will use an agent.

[BassBunny]

Calling Mike, @Beneath It All.

I know Mike has worked extensively on cruise ships. Hopefully he can give his insight.

[LeftyP]

 

[Frank Blank]

Paging @Mike

[zbd1960]

I know a husband and wife who perform as a duo (both play classical guitar and are opera singers) on cruises. They tend to get engagements for specific cruises, so will do 2 or 3 week stints periodically. I knew a sax player that did it - he was expected to double sax/clarinet for the onboard band and play several sizes of sax. 

[BabyBlueSound]

I have a buddy who used to do it for a couple months. Pianist in his 50s, trained classically and in jazz, and a crazy good singer too. He has 1000s of songs in his repertoire, and can sightread well, so he had no issues joining the band. The band basically had no days off for like 2 months, and only a couple after. He just referred to the whole experience as "the grinder". Not sure how common is that in the industry, but allegedly most of that band was pretty high most of the time towards the end of the cruise, and I am not talking about some funny smokes, but stimulants and psychedelics. Not even for fun, just to cope. As he put it, around the 7th week of playing the same boring crap multiple times every single night, the only escape was when the colours were dancing too.

[dand666]

9 hours ago, ARGH said:

Anyone on here do cruise ship gigs? 
Where do you start and which agencies are best to contact? Gear needed, What skills are required… nightmare or dream job? 
 

i’m interested and have begun looking into it as a regular job, but it’s a minefield of info and good/bad/awful advice and counter advice… often contradictory. Please help. 

 

PM me mate. Used to be on P&O & Princess. Also done the smaller ferries, but they aren't so fun lol

Edited September 1, 2022 by dand666

[dand666]

5 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

As msb points out, your reading and busking skills need to be on point. Bands on cruise ships must be versatile and be able to play virtually whatever is asked of them at the drop of a hat. Two pals of mine (one now sadly passed) used to play for Joe Loss when his was the resident band on the QE2 (so this was a while back, but I shouldn't imagine much has changed).

 

The band book was enormous and encompassed all styles (despite the tea dance image one might associate with the name Joe Loss). They told me it was quite lucrative, but also quite boring for much of the time. You are rarely if ever pushing the musical boundaries - most people who go on cruises are not fans of anything "out there" - and you will often be playing the same stuff night after night. The hours can be long.

 

Obviously, one needs to be presentable and have social skills (interacting with passengers and crew is part of the deal, on and off stage), be disciplined and punctual and so on (it helps not to have a weakness for the electric soup - temptation is all around). Essentially, it's a musical day job but, unlike most day jobs, you don't get to go home and kick back/go out on the tiles when you finish work.

 

Most cruise ships have excellent PA, etc, so any portable, high quality rig will be fine. You don't need a stadium rig. Carry spares of everything - you can't replace stuff, get it repaired, go to the shop or order online in the middle of the Atlantic and stopovers in ports are usually brief.

 

Are you looking to get work as an individual or as part of a band? I'd approach some cruise operators and enquire how they book their entertainment. Most will use an agent.

 

All depends if you're going on as an individual joining the house band, or going on as part of the party band/duo e.t.c

 

If you're going on as an individual in the house band, you need to be a great reader and have great jazz chops. Depending on the itinerary you'll be doing Jazz most nights in between production shows. 

 

The party band stuff is a lot easier and you can usually join a band who needs a bassist, or join as a whole band. Most bands have at least 300 songs. We aimed for more so we didn't get bored. Some times you could perform up to 5 times a day, and a cruise may go on for several weeks, so it's ideal not to repeat songs (just for your own sanity) but it does happen. Sets vary from deck sets to theme nights so good to have a large rep. 

 

Just turn up with your bass and pedals. Don't need anything else as everything is there. It's a cracking gig and I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Also opens you up for future work and knowing you can go back on at anytime (depending on the work - of which there is loads at the moment) is a real bonus. 

[lowdown]

I did quite a few, a long time back though. P&O ships, a couple of American lines, Greek ships and all pretty varied in destinations as well. Ships Orchestras, Theatre bands, Jazz gigs...It was all sight reading for the shows and cabarets and solid busking for the Jazz sessions. The Jazz was usually on deck or in the small bars. You needed to know plenty of tunes. I didn't do any of the party bands

For me, backing the production shows wasn't really that boring. Over two week cruises there would be probably eight to ten shows. Sometimes twice a night though, because of split dinner sittings.

 

I'm glad I did the work because I made plenty of contacts and long term friendships, which led to theatre tours and cabaret shows (both home and abroad), along with some West End stuff.

Contract lengths varied - The ones are liked most were the P&O cruises. They were usually two weeks depping (out of Southampton), but I did some three and six month contracts before I got married as well.

 

I quite enjoyed it mostly and visited plenty of decent places.

 

 

 

[Chris2112]

On 01/09/2022 at 22:26, whave said:

I have a buddy who used to do it for a couple months. Pianist in his 50s, trained classically and in jazz, and a crazy good singer too. He has 1000s of songs in his repertoire, and can sightread well, so he had no issues joining the band. The band basically had no days off for like 2 months, and only a couple after. He just referred to the whole experience as "the grinder". Not sure how common is that in the industry, but allegedly most of that band was pretty high most of the time towards the end of the cruise, and I am not talking about some funny smokes, but stimulants and psychedelics. Not even for fun, just to cope. As he put it, around the 7th week of playing the same boring crap multiple times every single night, the only escape was when the colours were dancing too.

 

Christ, they're playing twee music for old folk on a boat, not fighting in the trenches. Stimulants indeed 🙄🙄

[Mike]

On 01/09/2022 at 19:43, Frank Blank said:

Paging @Mike

Cheers Frank. To be honest, I have only worked on one specific ship, and it's not part of a cruise line (this one) so my experience will not be the usual. And I was only on 3 week contracts. But if it's helpful, double bass and amp were provided, I played every night for three hours (that gets the old stamina together, especially on an unfamiliar double bass) in a jazz trio. As this ship is quite quiet, often there is only a handful of people we were playing to. If no-one, we'd play standards changing key each time and doing metric modulations. Good fun! (apparently) I was lucky as I didn't have to share a cabin and had modified guest status, but had I had the opportunity to it for longer periods when I was younger and single I would have done it. See the world, get your chops together, get out before you get too jaded! 

[BabyBlueSound]

24 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

 

Christ, they're playing twee music for old folk on a boat, not fighting in the trenches. Stimulants indeed 🙄🙄

I think it was less to do with age and more with the 7-9 hour shifts with no rest days for weeks  

[Doddy]

I did the ships for a couple of years, mostly with a party band but a couple with the orchestra.

The orchestra gig was mostly playing for the theatre productions or any guest act, so it's important that you've got your reading together. There may be the odd jazz set too, so knowing a bunch of standards is a big help, although you may get given charts by the band leader.

The party band was a lot more varied and generally busier. There, you were contracted to work up to 5 and a half hours a day, although it was normally around 3 most days. It was expected that the band could cover pretty much anything, so we would play everything from early evening ballroom sets and Captains cocktail parties, to full theme nights of '50's, disco, country snd general party stuff. The band I was with had a repertoire of around 500 songs, and because we could all read we could add new songs in with no rehearsal, so we could go a whole cruise without repeating songs.

With regards to gear, I only ever took one bass (usually either my Roscoe or Warwick 5's), a Line 6 M5 for effects, and a bunch of cables. You won't need an amp as there is one in every venue (I normally got Fender, Hartke, GK and SWR). 

 

Drugs were mentioned earlier, and while I'm sure that happens, there are random drug tests amongst crew and failing will lead to instant dismissal. Basically, get off at the next port and make your own way home. If it happens to a band member, the whole band will be off.

 

I loved doing ships. I met great people, went to amazing places, and had a great time. I only stopped because of personal reasons, but I'd recommend it to anyone. 

 

[ambient]

I’ve worked on a cruise ship.
 

The main skills required are being able to sight extremely well read and busk/improvise well.

 

On the gig I did there were three books of songs, one red, one yellow and the other was blue. The singer was calling out page numbers and the book colour. So blue book page 60, pick up the book, turn to the page and play. There was no rehearsing, mainly because the concert room was in constant use throughout the day. 

The band played three 40 minute sets for five nights.

 

It wasn’t for me, it was far too regimental, I didn’t enjoy it. I was asked again a couple of years ago and said no.

 

I took two basses with me, but only used one.

Edited September 5, 2022 by ambient

[Leonard Smalls]

On 04/09/2022 at 20:39, Chris2112 said:

old folk on a boat

As far as I'm concerned, a cruise ship is one of the seven circles of hell! But I suspect, with my oldbloke mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly tshirt I wouldn't be the first to be invited to the Captain's table...

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

As far as I'm concerned, a cruise ship is one of the seven circles of hell! But I suspect, with my oldbloke mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly tshirt I wouldn't be the first to be invited to the Captain's table...

 

Old folk weren't always old and many can still teach young 'uns a thing or two. They'd probably regard your mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly t shirt with amusement. My pal who played for Joe Loss told me of a chap he became friends with on the QE2. The fellow had been a commando and was still in good shape. They docked in New York and the old chap and his wife went ashore to see the sights. Somebody attempted to mug/hold them up and the old guy put the mugger in hospital with his bare hands. The police declined to pursue the matter as it had been self defence. Very satisfying to hear. 

[Leonard Smalls]

19 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

Old folk weren't always old and many can still teach young 'uns a thing or two

 

It's nowt to do with being old, it's to do with being stuck on a cruise ship with the type of people I actively avoid! Perhaps my perception is somewhat skewed, but aspiration to golf club membership, smart casual slacks and deep squareness are not my scene, Daddy-o!

If I go on hols I want mountains, or serious scenery, climbing or similar, very few people about and a quiet bar for a Pelforth brun or 2 after another day cheating death...

[StickyDBRmf]

I have a sax friend who survived. Dude has played with Blood Sweat & Tears (and survived D.C.T.) and musical director for Gloria Estefan. Would do those gigs again in a heartbeat. But would NEVER go on a cruise ship again. I don't know. Since I don't drink anymore I doubt I could carry enough pharmaceuticals AND an extra set of strings.

[Dan Dare]

1 minute ago, Leonard Smalls said:

 

It's nowt to do with being old, it's to do with being stuck on a cruise ship with the type of people I actively avoid! Perhaps my perception is somewhat skewed, but aspiration to golf club membership, smart casual slacks and deep squareness are not my scene, Daddy-o!

If I go on hols I want mountains, or serious scenery, climbing or similar, very few people about and a quiet bar for a Pelforth brun or 2 after another day cheating death...

 

But that's just my point. You are judging books by their covers. Many of us oldies don't wear "smart casual slacks" or aspire to "deep squareness" or "golf club membership". Many of us would rather poke out our own eyes with sharp sticks.

 

Your mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly t shirt is just as much a uniform/sign of conformity as those smart casual slacks. It's the costume you have to wear in order to feel comfortable in the world. You are still conforming to the norms of your chosen tribe. Sounds as if you are putting a lot of effort into showing the world that you are not "square".

 

I'm also a fan of the great outdoors, mostly water-based - surfing, kayaking, fishing, etc. I'm not particularly sociable and like to do things on my own or with a good friend or two at most. Cruise ships wouldn't be for me, either as a workplace or leisure activity. However, I'm secure enough not to jeer at those who do like them.

 

 

[Leonard Smalls]

2 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

You are still conforming to the norms of your chosen tribe. Sounds as if you are putting a lot of effort into showing the world that you are not "square".

 

Doesn't everyone to some extent! 

What I'm actually doing is saying that the idea of going on a cruise is my idea of hell. If folks who like being smart casual and aspire to the golf club (whether they're old or not!) want to go and be stuck on a ship twice the size of the Titanic with thousands of like-minded souls they're most welcome! 

But then, to be fair, I wouldn't go on a beach package holiday either - I went on one once with a couple of mates as a very cheap way of going climbing in Mallorca, and we were incredibly pleased when the tour rep told us on the bus that the 3 of us were unfortunately being sent to a mostly Italian package hotel instead. Italian food, continental brekkie and absolutely no pressure to socialise or go on organised excursions...

Nearest I've been to a cruise is the ferry to Santander - there was a competent band playing music I didn't want to listen to and a quiz, which bizarrely only had questions about Eastenders.

[bass_dinger]

On 04/09/2022 at 21:38, whave said:

I think it was less to do with age and more with the 7-9 hour shifts with no rest days for weeks  

My daughter was on a ship, as part of the restaurant team. 10 hour days, split into shifts during the day, 7 days a week. 

 

So the hours are indeed intensive. 

 

 

[Dan Dare]

19 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Nearest I've been to a cruise is the ferry to Santander - there was a competent band playing music I didn't want to listen to and a quiz, which bizarrely only had questions about Eastenders.

 

I had a similar experience on the Harwich to Esbjerg ferry. Fortunately, there was another bar (populated, funnily enough, mainly by ageing squares like me) where we could escape the "fun".

Edited September 7, 2022 by Dan Dare

[Leonard Smalls]

3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

the "fun".

I think this is my problem - I have a serious aversion to organised "fun". Not to having fun, but to be expected to enjoy something that's clearly sh1te!