How does one go about becoming an entertainer on a cruise ship

[eddieg07410]

My daughter's fiance's brother was a recent contestant on the Voice. He is thinking about expanding his career to Cruise Ships. How does one go about applying for such a position and where can one learn more about what is involved?

[CaveDiving]

My daughter's fiance's brother was a recent contestant on the Voice. He is thinking about expanding his career to Cruise Ships. How does one go about applying for such a position and where can one learn more about what is involved?

 

This is not exactly what you're asking, but it might be a starting place to look for for some information.

 

http://www.rwsandassociates.com/lincolncenterstage/auditions/

 

Good luck.

 

Scott & Karen

[chengkp75]

My daughter's fiance's brother was a recent contestant on the Voice. He is thinking about expanding his career to Cruise Ships. How does one go about applying for such a position and where can one learn more about what is involved?

 

All of the cruise line websites will have a "career opportunities" section, with some descriptions of life onboard and job descriptions, and link to send a resume.

 

There are also job placement companies like: allcruisejobs.com, cruiseshipjob.com, etc. A simple google search will bring up several.

[moniquet]

Beware of a lot of scam websites offering cruise ship jobs. They take a registration fee of around $100 or more and that's it. No jobs. Some of the cruise lines carry warnings on their recruitment sites about them.

[Bonnie J.]

Entertainers are not hired by cruise ships. They have an agency the cruise lines use and are hired through the agency. A guitar player told me his agency has him list the three top cruises ships he'd like to be on and usually is sent to one of those.

The hotel director on a Carnival ship is trying to get a fantastic guitar player back on his ship so has contacted his agency. But, he is scheduled to go on another Carnival ship in January.

Have to just wait and see if the hotel director can get him back!

[navybankerteacher]

Until they develop real recognition, entertainers get gigs through agents, and not directly with a venue: wether it's a night club, all inclusive resort, casino, or cruise ship.

[cb at sea]

Once you are ON a ship entertaining, it is the company that keeps you coming back.

 

Our good friend played on Carnival for 12 years...he pretty much got his choice of ship and routes, after the first couple of years.

 

He was a solo act, tho...I'm sure that's easier to place than someone in a band, or in a production show.

[moniquet]

Carnival has a careers webpage. They also give a warning about fraudulent websites. See here.

 

http://www.cclcareers.com/Home/join-carnival/how-to-apply

 

I would say it is best to contact the cruise lines first and find out which agencies they use.

[Shorex]

There are different categories for being an entertainer on a ship. In general (not specific to any cruise line) there is an audition process for, let's call it "the ensemble of singers and dancers." These are the performers who are hired (by audition) by the cruise line (or contracted for as a group) to perform in the production shows. There are lead singers who have movement, and dancers who can sing.

 

They live in crew quarters and have limited access to passenger dining and other public areas and may have other on-board assignments such as running bingo. Example: on Crystal the ensemble has a repertory of shows; on Regent there used to be the "Jean Ann Singers and Dancers" who performed a repertory of shows.

 

Then there are the headline performers who come aboard for all or part of a cruise to do their solo act, then get on a plane to perform on the next ship on the next cruise line. They live out of suitcases and typically stay in a guest stateroom that is held back from sale for this purpose. You may or may not have ever heard of them before, some names are Christine Andreas (broadway and cabaret singer), Gary Arbuthnot (flautist), Jimmy Travis (comedian), and on and on and on. These performers get the gigs via a show biz agent.

 

There was, if I remember correctly, a former Voice contestant who performed a solo act on a Princess cruise we were on recently. The OP's relative needs to decide whether he wants to be the headliner who performs a solo act once or twice on a cruise and then moves on, or the lead singer in the ensemble who can be on the same ship for the length of contract, maybe six months or so.

 

Either way, he should use his show biz contacts and/or get an agent for some guidance. Even Playbill dot com will occasionally list auditions for cruise lines in addition to on/off broadway auditions. Part of being qualified for the job is figuring out how to get the job.

 

ETA: Does he have an act? with arrangements for the band? Absolutely necessary to be a headliner, not necessary to be in the ensemble.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Shorex

[elycelynne]

I know that Holland America's entertainment company is Stiletto Entertainment (or maybe Enterprises), and I'm pretty sure that they have open auditions for their ensembles (if he wants to be either the lead (M1) or featured singer/dancer (M2)) -- No need to be booked through an agent. I think that's more for the guest entertainers.

Edited November 13, 2015 by elycelynne

[lax19]

For Disney Cruise Lines

http://www.disneyauditions.com/