There are two ways to get a cruise ship musicians job – first, through a talent agency and, second, directly through the cruise line itself. There are benefits to both.
Talent Agencies
The talent agency will find you a job faster and, assuming you do well, keep you working for as long as you would like – and for that service they will take a percentage of your paycheck. The standard agency fee is 12-15%.
Some talent agencies claim that they don’t take percentages from your paycheck – but, of course, that’s nonsense. The agencies perform a valuable service and they are paid accordingly. Whether it comes out of your paycheck before or after you see it is not important.
Always remember – talent agencies are not necessarily on your side. They make money because of their positive relationships with the cruise lines, and it’s in their best interests to keep those relationships positive. Expect your talent agency to give you a reasonable amount of support – but don’t expect them to take your side if things go sour on your gig.
Talent agencies get you a job, and when you’re done with that one they’ll get you another. That’s what they are best at and that’s what they do to earn their fee. They aren’t (necessarily) there to make sure you are comfortable and happy.
The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory
The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory ($9.99, immediate download, excel file) contains lists of all of the talent agencies in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and directions how to apply. 107 companies are included.
The largest talent agency in North America is Proship Entertainment, headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Other major agencies include Landau Music, Oceanbound and Stilleto.
The easiest way to get a job would be to apply to one of these agencies, complete and audition and take a gig. But The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory allows you to really do some research and shop around if you feel like it.
Proship and the other large talent agencies spend a lot of their resources stocking ships with the showband and lounge musicians on ships. If you are a guest performer you should dig deeper into the list of talent agencies and find a smaller, boutique agency that can give your act more attention.
Cruise Lines
Applying directly to a cruise line for a musician job allows you to circumvent the agency fee, but that does not mean they will give that agency fee to you – you might make the same amount as you would through a talent agency.
Also, it may take much longer to get a job directly through the cruise lines. The major cruise lines are all large corporations, and things move slowly in large corporations.
There are perks, though – if you show yourself to be valuable to the company, it’s likely that they will continue to employ you after your first contracts ends. And because you are part of the company you might be able to choose your itinerary, your ship, and maybe other perks.
The Cruise Line Entertainment Directory
If you want to try this voyage solo and skip the talent agencies, The Cruise Line Entertainment Department Directory contains a list of 100+ cruise lines and the information about how to apply directly to their entertainment departments.
Auditions
Getting a job through the cruise lines will also require an audition – sometimes in person, but increasingly, over the phone. The audition will include a lot of sight-reading if you are auditioning for the showband position, and the sight-reading portion of the audition can be quite difficult.
This video, filmed in the summer of 2011 by guitarist Lance Vallis, is a great example of what your audition will be like.
Questions
You’ll likely have a lot of questions about what it’s like to work as a musician on a cruise ship.
Your talent agency or cruise line will give you some information when you are hired, but you can find the answers to the most popular questions in our eBook.
Can I get a gig on my summer vacation? Can my girlfriend get a job too? How old a most cruise ship musicians? It’s all contained in here.
And if you have questions that are not covered here, visit the Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician and read through the first hand accounts from cruise ship musicians, guest entertainers and talent agents.
David J. Hahn
David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.
Hello, do you know anything about el-live productions? They are like a cruise agency but its on land. They basically send you to asia to play in 5 star hotels. Have you ever worked or know anyone that worked for them before?
Thanks,
Miguel
Thanks a lot Daniel! I guess the next question is, are there specific ones that you could think of right off the bat? If so, I live in Toronto and it would be great if i can find one near. Thanks again Daniel.
Cheers,
Jason
I am guitar player very versatile, can read half decent, play different styles-tone technique, stage presence etc.
I think I might be a perfect fit for a party band situation looking for a guitarist–I have played in a number of cover bands. I am 56 playing quite a while.
How can i find these opportunities?
Mike–the answers are right above these comments.
Oh, for a party band, you just have to keep your eyes open. I occasionally get a call for a situation. They usually come down through the local union or word-of-mouth. Typically, for party bands, you have the band before you talk to the cruise line.
Hi Nick,
Than ks for your comments. I do appreciate it. If you know anyone looking guitarist for party band, please consider referring me.
Thanks
Best
Mike
hi,i’m donna from philippines.i’m trying to look for ajob on cruiseship.we used to work in celebritycruises.had done 3 contract already but it’s been 8months now we are vacant.do you have any suggestions on what we should do?
Hi Miguel – you should put this in the forums.
Hi, Ive been wanting to get on a ship as an entertainer. Last time i read music was in high school and ever since it’s been all ears. Is this gonna be a problem?
Hi Jason,
Happy Labor Day! Good day to talk about work… Many cruise ship musicians positions require reading. But not all, depending on your skill set you could get a job as a Piano Bar Entertainer, One-Man-Band guitar player or with your own party band, etc…
Daniel
Hey there!
I would like to work with my duo cello and piano in a Cruise next summer but we are in Europe.Do you know some agency that work in Europe.
Thanks!
Just like to say when I tried getting a job from an agency for a Headline Guest Entertainer,I was told that I couldn’t get a job like that.
I just got offered my first gig as a Headline Guest Entertainer with a major cruise line today I got it by myself and I don,t even play guitar.
That’s awesome! Congrats. Good for you that you stuck with it. What do you do and how did you go about getting it? Thanks.
What kind of a show do you have
I do a unique solo Beatles tribute act in which I am dressed as an amalgam of all four lads, switching smoothly between each character…give backstory, perform brief renditions of their songs, take questions from the audience and improvise with them.
I also do a separate act for kids, so I plan on pitching myself as a “double threat”–perform for the kids during the day and the adults at night.
What kind of show do you do?
Thanks.
I’m a Vocalist and do several styles of music I also play the fiddle. I won’t use it much in my cruise ship gig at first. You need to contact the cruise line directly and tell them about your act to see if there’s interest.
I have already been contacted by another agency that is interested in my show for cruise line gigs as a Headliner. So keep at it
Best Always
Dave Caley
From: Jerry Goldstein and Daniello De laurentiis .
To: All professional performers in the entertainment industry
Business and professions Code & 16600 provides that ” every contract by which anyone
is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession , trade or business of any kind is to
that extent void ” .
Please be adviced that any contractual agreement with any Entertainment Agency that is expedited as a ” ” NON – COMPETENT CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN PRODUCER / AGENCY AND ARTIST / PERFORMER ” , is totally illegal in the State of California.
Daniel De laurentiis
Magna Events Producer
Credited Film composer
Credited Songwriter
Actor
Grammy Award Winner
Guest Entertainer
Vocalist and Guitar Virtuoso
Do i have to audtion with a band? Or can I audition as a bassist looking for a band?
Depends on what you can do as a bass player.If you have great site reading skills and can play many styles you can audition over the phone for a show band gig.You will play 3 production shows a week, plus back live entertainers(singers,jugglers violinists etc)Do jazz sets and maybe some other playing.You work about 5 hours a day.If you cant cut the gig the first week you get to go home.If you have a band you can mail a DVD of the band performing and possibly get a gig that way.lots of agents take cuts from bands to forward material to the cruise ships.They dont do much more than that so read the fine print as to how long you will be liable for agents fees.All cruise lines pay differently.Do your home work,explore all the opportunities.Some pay less but you get to see more places.All depends on what you want.
I went on a cruiseship to Alaska last summer as a passenger, and the man band was able to play almost any song I could think of. They asked for requests and I yelled out “North to Alaska” and they laughed, but found it in thier fake books and pulled it off. The guitar player looked to be in his 70′s and yet he could play ROck and Roll and all kinds of stuff.
Here is my scenario: 52 years old, unemployed, Based out of Seattle WA. I played bass guitar in high school, and college stage bands, as well as Jazz combo’s. That was in the late 70′s and early 80′s. I also play Rock and Roll bass, Country Bass, Bluegrass, Southern Rock. In the 90′s I picked up the Banjo and the Fiddle, and I can play the crap out of both of them, and also can play the Guitar as well as the Ukelele. I sing but have a baritone voice, and do some hillbilly comedy stuff every once in awhile.
Just wondering how to hook up with a band that can use my skills, I can fill in for almost anyone on bass, banjo, or Country Style Fiddle. I can play lead and rythm guitar but that is not my specialty at all, more bass, banjo, and fiddle. I also like the Ukelele a lot, as it is up in C tuning goes well with a baritone voice, and plays a lot like the banjo.
I am sure a good cruise ship director could keep me busy all day long doing something, for somebody. I tend to play by rote, not read music anymore, although I used to read very well. And I can read treble, and Bass clef, and it is wierd as I think differently when I am playing the violin, then when I am playing bass. If playing bass I think bass clef, if playing violin, I think treble…
It scares me to have to read blind charts in front of people though as I am kind of a perfectionist, and play best when I have some time to practice a bit first. Kind of a trap people fall into, I know, but that is the honest truth.
So anyone have any suggestions? I was making about 50K a year at my last job painting walls, and would certainly like to go abroad although I think I would have to find my girlfriend a job as well, that could be a problem…
We saw Steve Morris on the Ship we were on, he was really funny… but he could have used a banjo player to ridicule on stage, that is kind of the roles I play, they make fun of me…
Hey, it pays the bills right!
So anyways, I think the Alaska and Hawaii cruises out of Seattle is what I need to focus on, as I know how to get to the Pier and on the Ship. Just sign me up, and away I go… Where do you keep all your instruments on board? I suppose they have a secure area? I have some rare instruments I play, as they have the best sound…
I think I envision something like being in college. Wake up eat breakfast, go to rehearsal for 2 hours. Perform at lunch or in the lobby on one of my other instruments, depending on the cruise and the theme desired. (Hillbilly, Hawaiian, Gold Rush, Etc.. Old Country, Cabaret, Etc…) Eat lunch, maybe help with tickets when passengers go to port. Hang out and jam with my buddies and get ready for evening show. Play whatever songs needed that evening, or play in a lounge gig if nothing really happening. If bass player in big band has to go home, I sit in and wing it, maybe not reall spectacular but I do not screw up anyone else…
I know the program…
SO any ideas and Salary expectations, maybe if I can be a busker even, but never saw that on board the ship.
John –
I’m sorry man, I don’t mean to step on anyone’s ambitions, but there’s no way you’d get a sideman job on a ship. These are serious jobs for professional, full-time, trained musicians. People study for decades before they get these jobs.
Learn to read, lower your salary expectations and spend the next 10 years in a practice room before you go any further. Being a musician isn’t something you can just decide to do one day. You gotta study, pay your dues and wait in line like everyone else.
Hi John (or anyone else that would like to jump in!),
I’ve got the music end of it down, but have questions more about the job itself. I have never been on a cruise, so please pardon my ignorance. I studied music in college, played professionally for many years, and then got tired of being poor and went back to school for computers. I’ve been a programmer for over twenty years, but decided to get out of the business a few years ago. A couple of years ago, I picked up my horn and started playing again. I locked myself in a room and practiced for about eight months before I would even play in public. Then I started playing with a local big band and did a couple of other things and have found my playing to be getting on track to where it needs to be to call myself a musician again.
So, the cruise job … the first question I have is, is age a factor in getting a job? I’m a very young 59 year old and need to find out if this is going to stop me in my tracks. Are they looking for young people or does it really matter, as long as you can play and sight read? Next, since I have been out of the computer business, I have been letting my hair and beard grow. I had a very professional look when programming, and can certainly go back to that, but I currently look like the hippie I was back in the 70′s. I would prefer to keep my hair long (the beard is not as important), but if I thought that I needed to have a business look, I would certainly be willing to go in that direction to get a good gig. So, shall I take the scissors to my head and a blade to my chin?
It appears that you can get hired as a single musician to fill a certain slot in the show band or as an established group. Since I am looking to be hired as an orchestra musician how do they expect you to dress? Do they have a wardrobe for the musicians or does everyone come with their own tuxedos, suits and / or other attire? (That seems like it would be a bit mismatched.)
Also, what about equipment? Of course, I have my own horns, but what about mics, mic stands, music stands … are these things that the cruise lines provide or do I need to bring my own? Also, do people bring backup instruments? If I were playing locally and had an issue with one of my horns, there is no problem, but out in the middle of the ocean …
I went to the three sites you mentioned in the above article. Proship states that they do not take money from you, they get paid from the cruise line (except in rare cases). Assuming this is true, is the cruise line lowering what they would pay you directly in order to pay the agency their commission or would I make the same money if I went through Proship as opposed to going direct with the cruise line?
I realize I have a lot of questions and some may seem to be silly, but not having any experience on a cruise ship, lots of things are coming to mind. Thanks for your help.
Oops … sorry, that was supposed to be directed to David, not John!
Hi Lee – good questions. Most of them are answered on this site. Click on “Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician” up top and have a look around.
Hi David,
I have only started to go through your links and … WOW … there is a wealth of information there. Thanks for your reply and for taking the time to put all this information where it is available to others. It is greatly appreciated!
Lew
Hi Lew – so glad you found the site man! Don’t forget the forums, if you have any questions there are a lot of knowledgeable musicians in there.
[...] The answer to the first is: Musicians are hired for cruise ship gigs either through a talent agency or directly through the cruise line. I wrote an article about it here. [...]
I am 13 years old and a few months ago I went on a Hawaiian cruise. I met the muscians and was able to “fill in” in the piano bar and also was asked to “open” the cruise talent show. I also played in the late night adult only bars. I loved the experience and wondered if there were any type of “internship” on a cruise ship that I could go during the summer.
Hi Noah! Sounds like you’ll have a productive career ahead of you if you pursue music. Unfortunately, you’ll need to wait a few years before you can work on ships. My advice it to get through all your school and training, then think about ships again.
Hi David, I’m trying to get a job as a guitar player in a cruise. I search on the web but the only position available I found was one in the main band in the ship. The thing is that I need the job as soon as possible any help that I can get from you I will appreciated. I play all styles, there in my web site you can find pictures of me and listen to recordings, I have my bio on the page. I have email my page to many agencies but nothing happens.
Thank you for your time.
Hi Christian – Your website looks good and your recordings sound pro. There’s no reason you can’t get a gig on a ship.
Have you tried calling the agencies? Start with ProShip and see what they say.
If that doesn’t work, pick up a copy of the talent agency directory listed above and just starting calling everybody one by one.
So my question would be whether Lance got the Gig?