Responsibilities On a Ship Gig
A few things to remember when looking at becoming a cruise ship musician are the personal responsibilities you face each and every day of your contract pertaining to the drug and alcohol policies, extra duties and emergencies. Although I personally have no problem with this lifestyle I have started to see other crew members (musicians and others) become increasingly lax in their approach and attitude to living on a ship and pitching in when need be.
I am writing this after a very stressful and potentially life threatening situation aboard my current ship. We were docked in a popular Mexican port and the musicians had a very busy day (2 rehearsals, 3 shows) so we had limited time to get off the ship. Others, however, managed to hit up some popular crew bars and took advantage of their hours off. About 5.30pm the musicians had an hour before sail away and we decided to go out and get some dinner. Walking down the pier we ran into one of our friends – covered in blood and barely able to stand due to too much booze. She was being helped by a man who we can only guess was a passenger. Apparently she had fallen over entering the pier through security and had banged her head. We took over and let the man return to the ship and we tried to clean her up. For a whole hour we were on the pier with varying levels of success trying to get her to walk forward towards the ship! At the time we didn’t know, but a guest had called the Hotel Director and she was waiting for us outside the ship. Luckily a guest had distracted her as we walked passed and we got through to the mid-ship passenger area and again our friend kicked off a scene. Eventually we managed to get her to bed. Later that evening, during our next break where we intended to try and eat for the second time that evening we had a crew announcement – ‘Bravo, Bravo, Bravo – Portside boiler room’. Basically one of the engines was on fire and this was not a drill! Needless to say we didn’t get to eat as we started the emergency plan. Luckily the fire was resolved with no evacuation muster taking place, but what came as a big wake up call to many people on the ship was the fact that drunky did not hear the alarm at all and had the situation been more serious she would have not been able to perform her evacuation duties, or even manage to get off the ship herself.
From the above situation we have all come to realize first hand why ships have these rules. Living on a ship is a 24/7 commitment whether you are working 2 or 22 hrs a day. This also pertains to extra duties when a ship has an outbreak of any sort. The past 2 months this particular ship has seen its fair share with a case of German Measles resulting in Canadian and US Authorities not allowing crew off in some ports and directly after that was a outbreak of GI amongst the passengers. The latter meant that all crew, regardless of position, had to pitch in and help clean the ship each day.
So basically, if you’re thinking of becoming a musician on a ship remember it’s not the same as being a musician on land. You can’t show up to shows drunk or high, you can’t drink on stage and when need be, you have to be able and willing to perform ANY duties the higher ups throw at you. You can get angry, you can threaten to quit, you can skip out on duties, but all of the above will probably result in you being on the next flight home if you persist. If you are prepared and willing to accept the lifestyle you just have to grin and bear it. Ship life isn’t always glamorous and a ship musician sometimes has to work a lot more than people realize. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you can’t let your guard down for the whole 6 months. You are responsible for your own work, safety and the passenger’s safety. In saying this, I do sincerely love this job and already have my next 2 contracts lined up. Being a cruiseship musician is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle.
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Great article there Joe, very informative for someone like myself who is seriously considering this line of work (I’ve never worked on a cruise ship before but I’ve been a passenger many times).
I’m a drummer (super chops I must say (: but my sight reading sucks so I’m looking to be in one of the lounge bands). My question is this; how different is this whole experience for the show band musician verses the lounge band musician? For example, it seems like the show band plays more often and in different places ( ? ). What about the site reading thing for a guy like me? Years ago I took a cruise and the leader of one of the lounge bands let me sit in (the drummer motioned to me to “go for it”). I ended up playing a full set of tunes (old standards like “Satin Doll”, “Cute” etc.). Afterwards the band’s leader informed me that their drummer was at the end of his contract and he offered me the job on the spot! At the time I was in a different and successful career so I turned it down but now I really want to do this. I’ve never forgotten that experience. I had a blast up there! Any insights you can provide as to what sort of schedule a lounge musician might have would be helpful. I’ve also noticed on Carnival that the there doesn’t seem to be much of a dress code for the lounge musicians near the bar areas. Is that the norm?
Thanks,
Rick
2/25/2009
Hi Rick,
Sorry it has taken me a long time to reply to you here. I haven’t checked in on this post and have been at sea for 6 months.
As for your question, yes the showband drummer needs to have very good sight-reading skills. I have worked with great sightreading drummers and drummers with chops but no sight reading skills and for the most part can hack the gig but when it comes to Guest Entertainers they have failed miserably. Really the drummer is the hot seat and the success of the band is on your shoulders, should you mess up because you get lost it makes it very difficult to hold it together. Most of the time guest ents have easy charts and are straight ahead but sometimes they involve a lot of finer details and they can be very picky about them, also much of the time you are the ‘orchestral percussionist’ rather than the drummer, if you know what I mean.
As for the lounge acts, you can play what you want, when you want, read or not, it’s entirely up to you, but normally you need to have a group and get placed on a ship together. I think there are some companies (Holland America maybe) who are hiring instrumentalists and vocalists individually for party bands and lounge acts.
The only downside I can see to the lounge gig is that you play the same things day in, day out… It’s bad enough in the showband playing the same big band tunes… but it depends on what you like. I like the thrill and excitement and pressure of sight reading, others love the lounge gig. An alto player mate is working on a jazz trio to do lounges as he prefers it.
Hope that helps mate and all the best with it.
10/17/2009
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