Just wondering how the 6-month contracts tend to work in terms of cruise-to-cruise changes... for example, after completion of a 10 day run, do you immediately hop on another ship, or are you sometimes put up in a hotel for a day or more? How many different cruises does one tend to have on a contract, and is it possible (or common) to just do one over and over?
Thanks
Kim
Hi Kim -
When you take a contract for 6 months you can expect to be on the same ship continually for the entire 6 months. The passengers come on for a specific length of time - say 4 or 7 days - to enjoy a cruise, but your stay there is continual.
The itinerary of your ship depends on your location and schedule. If you are in the Caribbean, for example, your ship might spend one week cruising the western Caribbean from Florida to Mexico, then the next week in the eastern Caribbean from Florida to St Martin. Then you'd might endlessly repeat those 2 weeks until the weather became too warm and your ship moved to another part of the world.
Does that make sense?
Thanks David! Part of why I was asking about this was because of wondering how practical it would be to bring a digital piano (slab-type) on board for practice, provided that I have a single cabin as a guest entertainer. If we stay on the same ship for the whole contract, this seems doable -- any opinion to the contrary would be appreciated!
Okay, I keep thinking of additional questions -- btw, I did read pretty much your entire site, and really appreciate it.
I live in San Francisco, which like NY of course is an port for some lines -- is it practical to request one's home city as the embarkation point? I'm wondering if I'd then be able to visit my significant other for a couple of hours each time a new cruise begins.
Guest entertainers are in a different "area" of ship work. A six month contract for a guest entertainer does not necessarily mean 6 months on one ship. That has to be negotiated with an agent. There are "seasonal" contracts for guest entertainers, but they are becoming few and far between it looks like.
The other level is the piano or guitar soloist, who plays in a lounge. They are on the ship for however long the contract is. They have what is called "Enhanced Staff" status. They have more privileges, but are still "Staff".
As far as getting your home port, consider yourself very lucky if you can do that. Most of the time though, you're flying where the ship is. And if the ship does go to your home port, don't even bet that you can get off to see family. They will make the exception, but NEVER assume that because you are home they will let you go home. If you're doing a 6 month contract, you are HOME for 6 months. The ship is HOME.
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