Excellent article about ship performers

[StillLooking4Adventure]

My son is a professional musician. He is talented enough to have a full time well paying gig with a large Symphony Orchestra. As a parent of a performance artist, I was always aware of the difficulties and pitfalls of trying to make a living following your passion. I also have a friend that was one of my sons teachers who works as a full time performer on Cunard Ships. I see complaints about some of the performers or acts on various ships. I fully realize there can be a large range of talent from performer to performer. That said, I always try to keep in mind most of the people are working really hard and trying to earn a living for themselves and their families. (I always tip the performer in what ends up being my favorite bar or hang out)

 

Here is the article. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22801333/cruise-entertainers/

[4774Papa]

My son is a professional musician. He is talented enough to have a full time well paying gig with a large Symphony Orchestra. As a parent of a performance artist, I was always aware of the difficulties and pitfalls of trying to make a living following your passion. I also have a friend that was one of my sons teachers who works as a full time performer on Cunard Ships. I see complaints about some of the performers or acts on various ships. I fully realize there can be a large range of talent from performer to performer. That said, I always try to keep in mind most of the people are working really hard and trying to earn a living for themselves and their families. (I always tip the performer in what ends up being my favorite bar or hang out)

 

Here is the article. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22801333/cruise-entertainers/

We prefer cruising on Celebrity, but also cruise NCL and Royal C.

We have loved some of the entertainment over the past 8 years and sometimes we just walk out.

The most overrated show was the awful Blue Man Group on NCL.

Celebrity does OK, but is bit below Royal C and NCL. We did six Celebrity cruises in a two year period and one thing we didn't like was the repetition of the big production shows. We couldn't handle the Burt Bacharach or the Disco shows after watching them the second time.

 

The article you posted reminds me that all entertainers aren't celebrities. That's fine, we have enjoyed may shows from either non-celebrities or semi-celebrities. I think watching the 80 something celebrity can be a disappointment, since they are not likely to perform like they did decades ago. Better to see a very good semi-celebrity.

[bebe08]

Thanks for posting this...an interesting read.

[hcat]

Intetesting article

No one doubts how hard the entertainers/ performers work...but much of the material they must put on is truly awful! Esp recent shows in the theater, main atrium and elsewhere.,,,many with pre recorded music..just bad!

 

Bands, guitar performers, string groups, steel drum without a band, are also not same level as before....budget must not be enough to get top stuff and not all acts want to cruise.

 

When we find great talent on board we show our appreciation...and the good ones usually move on to better gigs !

[hurwitz5]

We have taken 40 cruises on 5 different lines. As of the past 5 years, we have sailed primarily with Celebrity. We always looked forward to the production shows, but have been disappointed with latest shows - since Celebrity chose to create original shows with an emphasis on cirque de soleil. Many of these shows are too repetitive and with music that most people have never heard of. We preferred the older production shows that focused on Broadway and popular music and included beautiful dancing and staging. The performers are still talented, but they are not given the right material. We enjoy most of the non-production shows.

[richsea]

Great article! Thanks for sharing. You should also post it on the Princess boards, since it takes place on Regal Princess.

I was surprised at how much money the guest entertainers can make.

[cb at sea]

A close friend of mine was a solo performer on Carnival for many years....he was able to save most of his pay, since room and board is included...but he didn't make gobs of money...

[Hydrokitty]

Wonderfully interesting post....thanks for sharing!! I don't think I'll ever look at shipboard entertainers the same again. :D

[maxsales]

My son is a professional musician. He is talented enough to have a full time well paying gig with a large Symphony Orchestra. As a parent of a performance artist, I was always aware of the difficulties and pitfalls of trying to make a living following your passion. I also have a friend that was one of my sons teachers who works as a full time performer on Cunard Ships. I see complaints about some of the performers or acts on various ships. I fully realize there can be a large range of talent from performer to performer. That said, I always try to keep in mind most of the people are working really hard and trying to earn a living for themselves and their families. (I always tip the performer in what ends up being my favorite bar or hang out)

 

Here is the article. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22801333/cruise-entertainers/

That's nice. Thank you!

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

My son is a professional musician. He is talented enough to have a full time well paying gig with a large Symphony Orchestra. As a parent of a performance artist, I was always aware of the difficulties and pitfalls of trying to make a living following your passion. I also have a friend that was one of my sons teachers who works as a full time performer on Cunard Ships. I see complaints about some of the performers or acts on various ships. I fully realize there can be a large range of talent from performer to performer. That said, I always try to keep in mind most of the people are working really hard and trying to earn a living for themselves and their families. (I always tip the performer in what ends up being my favorite bar or hang out)

 

Here is the article. https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a22801333/cruise-entertainers/

 

MANY thanks for posting. That was an enjoyable read.

[Beanb41]

The people I most admire in the Celebrity entertainment area are the backing musicians for the various artists. Often they only have a couple of hours to rehearse a gig and each night they turn out flawless performances. Some of the up front performers less so. That said there have been some pretty fantastic performers on board cruise ships

[StillLooking4Adventure]

The people I most admire in the Celebrity entertainment area are the backing musicians for the various artists. Often they only have a couple of hours to rehearse a gig and each night they turn out flawless performances. Some of the up front performers less so. That said there have been some pretty fantastic performers on board cruise ships

You are correct. Because of the amount of excellent musicians and the few professional jobs in top Symphony in orchestras it leads a lot of talented people out there available to perform on these ships. When my son goes to auditions for top Symphony there are at least 100 people auditioning for that one spot and those are only the ones they chose to allowed to audition

 

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[DENIE]

StillLooking4Advent....great post! I agree...there are some really talented musicians out there, and some do end up on cruise ships. While on MSC Divina (Caribbean cruise) a couple years ago, they had a quartet of featured musicians in their production shows who had voices that emulated Sarah Brightman and a "pop" version of Placido Domingo, with a bit of Josh Groban. We also befriended a husband/wife team who sang nightly in one of the lounges (would do anything/everything!) - we bought their CD's. These folks all worked hard, and I imagine they do not make a lot of money. As a musician myself (but it is not my full time profession), I do appreciate it when we come across those with real talent!

[phoenix_dream]

I don't think anyone doubts that the performers work hard. But in the work world, you are judged by results, not how hard you work. The entertainment on Celebrity varies from great to so-so. Some of the performances are painful to watch they are so bad. Can be bad scripts, bad direction, bad performers or any combination thereof. Others are delightful.

[DYKWIA]

A couple of years ago in the Canaries we sailed one day from Gran Canaria on the Eclipse. That evening I noticed the backing drummer had changed in the band that supported in the theatre. The following night there was a superb male vocalist (not a famous name, but had done Jean Val Jean in the West End) - not only could he sing but he could play the drums as well. At the end of the show (Standing Ovation) , Sue Denning the CD announced that this chap lived in Gran Canaria and had joined the ship the day before when they set sail from Gran Canaria. That evening the drummer for the backing band in the theatre went sick and this chap stepped in rather than have the band play without a drummer.

[Rala]

I think that the musicians aka "ship orchestra " are almost without exception, excellent. I have never heard an orchestra that was not not amazing . Often times they have very little rehearsal time with some performers and always do an excellent job of backing them up. Kudos! :D