Hi all! I worked the Stardancer for a couple of months, back in 1986 up in Alaska. I was hired to play piano with a dance band and banjo with a Dixieland band. I was replacing another musician who did the same thing, but backed out of his gig mid-contract. I had a blast working that ship! I was asked to stay on for the next season, but I had been working as a travel agent back home, and the agency called me on board, asking me to come back an manage the entire outside sales staff of 35 agents, so I went home after my contract.
When I first arrived at the ship, I asked the purser how to find my cabin. She said, "You're supposed to be playing with the band on the dock right now!" I replied, "I don't think so! I don't even have a cabin yet, and I don't know any of the other musicians!" She told me where my cabin was and gave me a key. The key wouldn't open the cabin, and the engineer who could make it work was off in port. Didn't get in my room until about 10pm, well after we set sail! Also, I had a roommate who also played piano. When they got my key working, his didn't work anymore! He didn't get a working key until the next morning!
Next day, we played our first gig without any rehearsal, and it went great! Cruise Director told me he was extremely happy to have me onboard! Then I went to watch the rehearsal for the headline act that was performing that evening. The show pianist (also new to the ship) was having lots of trouble following the show, and the act was getting very frustrated with him. The cruise director asked me, "Do you think he'll be able to play the show ok?" I replied, "No, not really. It's not going to be very good!" Then he asked if I would play the show. He said, "I hate to give you more work, but I really need the show to go well." I told him, "Playing is not work, it's fun! Sure, I'll play!" Ended up playing all the shows, in addition to my other gigs for the first 2 weeks. Then they replaced the show pianist with someone who was much better, and could play the shows with no problem.
Had many fun adventures while working the Stardancer! On one cruise, an obviously quite well-to-do, but quiet gentleman came on board, along with his drop-dead, gorgeous, social butterfly wife, who looked quite a bit younger than he was. She was very outgoing, and all the guys (and officers) were gaga over her! I thought, "He must be quite successful to have a wife like that! Wonder what he does." So instead of talking to his wife like all the officers were trying to do, I talked to him. He brightened right up, and we chatted for quite a long while. He bought me a drink, and told me he was in TV production. When I asked what he did, he said, "I'm the producer of, "The Price Is Right" game show. He even invited me to come and see a taping of the show and get a backstage tour anytime I was in Los Angeles area! Oh, and he also introduced me to his lovely wife, to the amazement of the officers! We all sat there, visiting for about a half hour.
My favorite headline act on board was "Billy Kay and Pam" from Las Vegas. They were great people, and we hit it off immediately! Billy played trumpet and told jokes, and Pam played banjo and sang. Sometimes they both sang together. We took a float plane ride together once when we were in Juneau. (Billy got a bit motion sick in the plane.) Musicians used to eat in the Officer's Mess, and headline acts ate with passengers. One day, Billy & Pam came down to eat with us in the Mess, but they were told they had to eat with passengers, so they went back. Billy said, "I'd much rather eat with you guys! You're more fun!" I remember one time when Pam asked me to show her a better way to play something on her banjo. I showed her and she practiced all day, but by showtime that night, she still hadn't gotten it down. Of course, having practiced the new way all day made her FORGET the old way she'd been doing it, and then she couldn't play it at all! (Note to self: Don't show entertainers new ways of doing what they do on a show day!)
BTW, I remember that we had a very tall, quiet Jamaican guy as one of the wait staff in the Officer's Mess. He had a big hole in his head, as if part of his skull had been taken out. He never would visit or tell jokes. However, one day, I asked for ice tea as I always had, and he said, "I'm sorry, we do not have ice tea today. We have cool tea." I inquired what that was. He said, "it's like ice tea, but is cool tea." I said, "Ok, I'll take that." He brought ice tea as always, and we all laughed at the situation. I guess he thought that was fun that he made us laugh, because every time a new person asked for ice tea after that, he'd go back into his "cool tea" bit. Must have seen him do that 5 or 6 times after that! So funny to watch people, knowing that he's just messing with them!
We had 3 security guys on board. Two of them were just the nicest guys you'd ever meet, but the third was an ass! He had this "I'm in charge" attitude, and nobody liked him. One of the nice guards had him as a roommate, and asked to be moved. He was told he had to stay with the guy. The nice guard was Canadian, so when we got back in Vancouver, he just left the ship and went home because he was disgusted at having to room with the guy he didn't like. He didn't clear customs, he just walked off. (Who is going to stop him? He's a guard! He's the one who was supposed to be stopping people!) I heard that his leaving without clearing customs cost the cruise line over $10,000 in fines!
I never actually went into Haines, Alaska, but I'd get off the ship there sometimes and watch as people boarded their busses to go to their salmon bake. Got into talking with one of the hostesses, and she said she'd never been aboard a ship. I said, "I can show you around!" (Pre-9/11, and security was more lax.) I took her aboard and gave a little tour. When we got to the pool deck, a waiter told me, "The Staff Captain would like to speak with you." I thought perhaps I was in trouble for bringing her on, but when I spoke with him, he asked, "Who is that lady with you? She's very attractive!" I said, "She lives here in Haines, and boards people on the busses for the shore excursions. Would you like to meet her?" He said, "Yes, that would be very nice!" I introduced them, and each week when we arrived in Haines, they would get together! Obviously, the Staff Captain was my good friend after that!
BTW, the "ass" guard above wrote me up once for sitting on a deck chair while I was talking to a passenger. (We weren't supposed to take up all the deck chairs - we were supposed to leave them for the passengers, but this was well after 1am, and the one passenger and I were the only ones on the whole deck!) Of course, he had to report to the Staff Captain, who was now my close friend because I got him a date, so it didn't get him anywhere! In fact, I believe the Staff Captain balled him out for being too pushy with the crew!
I was hired only to play as a side musician in the dance/Dixieland band, but I ended also up playing for the headline shows and also doing my own mini-headline show on banjo once each week, during a party at poolside! I also did a piano bar by myself at Stanley's Pub a couple of times each week. I remember once, I was playing in the Pub, and looking out the window as we were leaving Ketchikan. We got about 20 feet away from the dock, and there was a lady and her daughter, running and waving at the ship! She had missed the sailing!!! We didn't go back to the dock, but she ended up on board. I asked her what happened, and she said that she had to pay the pilot boat $250 to take her and her daughter about 100 feet, out to the ship. They opened the side door, and she and the daughter had to climb up a rope ladder to get back on board! (Cruising tip: Try not to miss departure time!)
I got to meet lots of amazing passengers, as well as some awesome crew members when I worked the cruise, and I had a fantastic time working on the Stardancer! If you worked on the Stardancer when I was there, or if you were aboard as a passenger and remember me, I'd love to hear from you! In any case, I hope you have enjoyed my little stories about my brief time aboard the Stardancer cruise ship!
Sundance Cruises-Seattle
in Cruise Memorabilia
Posted
Hi all! I worked the Stardancer for a couple of months, back in 1986 up in Alaska. I was hired to play piano with a dance band and banjo with a Dixieland band. I was replacing another musician who did the same thing, but backed out of his gig mid-contract. I had a blast working that ship! I was asked to stay on for the next season, but I had been working as a travel agent back home, and the agency called me on board, asking me to come back an manage the entire outside sales staff of 35 agents, so I went home after my contract.
When I first arrived at the ship, I asked the purser how to find my cabin. She said, "You're supposed to be playing with the band on the dock right now!" I replied, "I don't think so! I don't even have a cabin yet, and I don't know any of the other musicians!" She told me where my cabin was and gave me a key. The key wouldn't open the cabin, and the engineer who could make it work was off in port. Didn't get in my room until about 10pm, well after we set sail! Also, I had a roommate who also played piano. When they got my key working, his didn't work anymore! He didn't get a working key until the next morning!
Next day, we played our first gig without any rehearsal, and it went great! Cruise Director told me he was extremely happy to have me onboard! Then I went to watch the rehearsal for the headline act that was performing that evening. The show pianist (also new to the ship) was having lots of trouble following the show, and the act was getting very frustrated with him. The cruise director asked me, "Do you think he'll be able to play the show ok?" I replied, "No, not really. It's not going to be very good!" Then he asked if I would play the show. He said, "I hate to give you more work, but I really need the show to go well." I told him, "Playing is not work, it's fun! Sure, I'll play!" Ended up playing all the shows, in addition to my other gigs for the first 2 weeks. Then they replaced the show pianist with someone who was much better, and could play the shows with no problem.
Had many fun adventures while working the Stardancer! On one cruise, an obviously quite well-to-do, but quiet gentleman came on board, along with his drop-dead, gorgeous, social butterfly wife, who looked quite a bit younger than he was. She was very outgoing, and all the guys (and officers) were gaga over her! I thought, "He must be quite successful to have a wife like that! Wonder what he does." So instead of talking to his wife like all the officers were trying to do, I talked to him. He brightened right up, and we chatted for quite a long while. He bought me a drink, and told me he was in TV production. When I asked what he did, he said, "I'm the producer of, "The Price Is Right" game show. He even invited me to come and see a taping of the show and get a backstage tour anytime I was in Los Angeles area! Oh, and he also introduced me to his lovely wife, to the amazement of the officers! We all sat there, visiting for about a half hour.
My favorite headline act on board was "Billy Kay and Pam" from Las Vegas. They were great people, and we hit it off immediately! Billy played trumpet and told jokes, and Pam played banjo and sang. Sometimes they both sang together. We took a float plane ride together once when we were in Juneau. (Billy got a bit motion sick in the plane.) Musicians used to eat in the Officer's Mess, and headline acts ate with passengers. One day, Billy & Pam came down to eat with us in the Mess, but they were told they had to eat with passengers, so they went back. Billy said, "I'd much rather eat with you guys! You're more fun!" I remember one time when Pam asked me to show her a better way to play something on her banjo. I showed her and she practiced all day, but by showtime that night, she still hadn't gotten it down. Of course, having practiced the new way all day made her FORGET the old way she'd been doing it, and then she couldn't play it at all! (Note to self: Don't show entertainers new ways of doing what they do on a show day!)
BTW, I remember that we had a very tall, quiet Jamaican guy as one of the wait staff in the Officer's Mess. He had a big hole in his head, as if part of his skull had been taken out. He never would visit or tell jokes. However, one day, I asked for ice tea as I always had, and he said, "I'm sorry, we do not have ice tea today. We have cool tea." I inquired what that was. He said, "it's like ice tea, but is cool tea." I said, "Ok, I'll take that." He brought ice tea as always, and we all laughed at the situation. I guess he thought that was fun that he made us laugh, because every time a new person asked for ice tea after that, he'd go back into his "cool tea" bit. Must have seen him do that 5 or 6 times after that! So funny to watch people, knowing that he's just messing with them!
We had 3 security guys on board. Two of them were just the nicest guys you'd ever meet, but the third was an ass! He had this "I'm in charge" attitude, and nobody liked him. One of the nice guards had him as a roommate, and asked to be moved. He was told he had to stay with the guy. The nice guard was Canadian, so when we got back in Vancouver, he just left the ship and went home because he was disgusted at having to room with the guy he didn't like. He didn't clear customs, he just walked off. (Who is going to stop him? He's a guard! He's the one who was supposed to be stopping people!) I heard that his leaving without clearing customs cost the cruise line over $10,000 in fines!
I never actually went into Haines, Alaska, but I'd get off the ship there sometimes and watch as people boarded their busses to go to their salmon bake. Got into talking with one of the hostesses, and she said she'd never been aboard a ship. I said, "I can show you around!" (Pre-9/11, and security was more lax.) I took her aboard and gave a little tour. When we got to the pool deck, a waiter told me, "The Staff Captain would like to speak with you." I thought perhaps I was in trouble for bringing her on, but when I spoke with him, he asked, "Who is that lady with you? She's very attractive!" I said, "She lives here in Haines, and boards people on the busses for the shore excursions. Would you like to meet her?" He said, "Yes, that would be very nice!" I introduced them, and each week when we arrived in Haines, they would get together! Obviously, the Staff Captain was my good friend after that!
BTW, the "ass" guard above wrote me up once for sitting on a deck chair while I was talking to a passenger. (We weren't supposed to take up all the deck chairs - we were supposed to leave them for the passengers, but this was well after 1am, and the one passenger and I were the only ones on the whole deck!) Of course, he had to report to the Staff Captain, who was now my close friend because I got him a date, so it didn't get him anywhere! In fact, I believe the Staff Captain balled him out for being too pushy with the crew!
I was hired only to play as a side musician in the dance/Dixieland band, but I ended also up playing for the headline shows and also doing my own mini-headline show on banjo once each week, during a party at poolside! I also did a piano bar by myself at Stanley's Pub a couple of times each week. I remember once, I was playing in the Pub, and looking out the window as we were leaving Ketchikan. We got about 20 feet away from the dock, and there was a lady and her daughter, running and waving at the ship! She had missed the sailing!!! We didn't go back to the dock, but she ended up on board. I asked her what happened, and she said that she had to pay the pilot boat $250 to take her and her daughter about 100 feet, out to the ship. They opened the side door, and she and the daughter had to climb up a rope ladder to get back on board! (Cruising tip: Try not to miss departure time!)
I got to meet lots of amazing passengers, as well as some awesome crew members when I worked the cruise, and I had a fantastic time working on the Stardancer! If you worked on the Stardancer when I was there, or if you were aboard as a passenger and remember me, I'd love to hear from you! In any case, I hope you have enjoyed my little stories about my brief time aboard the Stardancer cruise ship!