Cruise Ships

Cruise Ships

 

I have been working on Cruise Ships since 2008. I am a Musical Director for P&O UK. This job gives you many opportunities to Travel, I have been around the world 4 times. To sail into Sydney, Hong Kong, New York, Cape Town on a Cruise ship, is a truly delightful experience. But it also represents a challenging musical adventure.

Within a 14-21 day cruise you may be expected to play a few Broadway/West End type shows. An Opera type show, a swinging crooner type show, back a comedian/pianist, play a Jazz set,  a Ballroom set, etc etc.

It demands of the musicians a basic familiarity with a huge range of styles, and a broad-based musical knowledge. A typical contract lasts 4 months, which can bring its own problems, living in a confined space, being away from Family/Loved ones.

It also offers regular employment to musicians, who have seen their work opportunities on land disappearing, due to many different causes. Over the last 8 years I have seen the standard of ship musicians steadily rise, perhaps as a response to this shortening of opportunity shoreside.

For me personally, working on Cruise Ships satisfies my wanderlust, and gets me playing live music every night with very talented accomplices.

 

Joe in Tahiti, Cruise Ships