Shiplife - Life of a Carnival Crewmember

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy, I'll second La Choza in Cozumel!! It came highly recommended to us by the Carnival crew, and locals in Coz... we really enjoyed getting a truly authentic experience...

If you enjoyed La Choza then try to find La Parroquia... last time I was in Cozzy Parroquia was closed for refurbishment :( I hope it's now open again... i'll find out in a week.

[DJ Eddy]

I know you will be returing to Liberty in a few days but I heard she is going into Drydock in February. She has been sailing almost three years so she should be refreshed some time this year. There are a group of 8 of us cruising March 1. We will definitely stop by and see youl

I don't know if it's going into drydock or not... I guess i'll find out when I get there.

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks for the restaurant info.

 

I had totally forgotten that we ate at the Irish pub in Grand Cayman. That must've been on my RCI Empress cruise.

 

Hope to be on the Legend later this year, so I'll definitely make a note of the restaurants in Coz and see if I can find La Parroquia.

 

We had lunch at La Bombonera in OSJ on 12/21. I happened across the Food Channel yesterday and there they were! We didn't have a mallorca (I was too full). Next time, I'll be sure to leave room for one. Yeah, it's probably gotten too much publicity, but it was a neat place, and the ham, egg & cheese sandwich with fries was delicious.

 

Oh, and to whomever implied that you get lousy service the further "down" in the ship you stay, that's absolute nonsense! I've had great service, and I often stay on the Riviera Deck.

 

Just because your steward may not be grovelling at your feet from the moment you board the ship doesn't mean they aren't doing their jobs! In fact, I prefer a steward who is as close to invisible as possible. Maybe if you want to pretend that you have a private butler, then you expect a lots of face time. I just want my cabin cleaned and any requests addressed promptly!

 

Anyway, sorry to jump in there, but I think perhaps the questions about stewards and tipping aren't really the entertainment staff's specialty!

[Guest Mary49]

DJ Eddy,

First, thank you so much for your willingness to entertain so many questions.

 

I cruised on the Fascination and a wonderful band played in the Passage to India. I was wondering if there might be a web site or way to find out when and what ships the bands are playing on???...and the DJ's for that matter :D

 

Thanks so much,

Ann

 

I agree Ann, I wish there was a web site to find out where you favorite band was playing on. I usually call Carnival all the time and they can give you an idea where they are but not even that is a sure thing. Maybe Carnival could start one up??? Mary49

[DJ Eddy]

DJ Eddy,

Earlier you posted that private parties can request a DJ play at weddings for example. Would it be possible to arrange for the DJ to play in one of the lounges during a time when it's closed or during an off peak hour to play a few songs for a couple celebrating their anniversary... Could something like that be arranged through the pursers desk or would it be considered to small of a group?

 

Thanks!

Oops missed this one...

Yes speak to the pursers desk & the ship groups coordinator. It would be $40 an hour for the DJ... you can also arrange for bar staff or even an open bar for an hour.

[BallFour4]

Eddie,

 

After collecting 30,000 Mp3's and some nice Mackie equipment I started DJing for weddings, corporate gigs and parties in the Houston area. I turn down more gigs than I take. Amazing need for weekenders here and I don't do school gigs for $300 bucks.

 

I chuckle at guys like me that call this DJ'ing. We play music and entertain. Many, if not most of us are just that. DJ'ing and beat mixing are truly and art.

 

Now, watching the dance floor and keeping it full are my tasks. My gigs are almost all open bar, so I get better as the night moves on. Our agency has a strict no alcohol policy and I have a teenagers college fund so I have a cold beer after I get home.

 

Some questions:

 

• Ever get tired of the Cupid Shuffle or ChaCha Slide?
  
• Does Soulja Boy get requested less than 200 times a night?
  
• Ever had the mother-of-the-bride from hell?
  
• Ever get amazed at the groupies in other age brackets that will not leave you alone?

All these are in fun, and all have happened to me, a 49 year old happily married guy that enjoys the bucks big time on weekends. On a roll with three tremendous weddings in a row and one Saturday!

 

Pioneer CD Players rule, couple with DJ Power software and a nice light controller...

 

Smooth Sailing!

[DJ Eddy]

Eddie,

 

After collecting 30,000 Mp3's and some nice Mackie equipment I started DJing for weddings, corporate gigs and parties in the Houston area. I turn down more gigs than I take. Amazing need for weekenders here and I don't do school gigs for $300 bucks.

 

I chuckle at guys like me that call this DJ'ing. We play music and entertain. Many, if not most of us are just that. DJ'ing and beat mixing are truly and art.

 

Now, watching the dance floor and keeping it full are my tasks. My gigs are almost all open bar, so I get better as the night moves on. Our agency has a strict no alcohol policy and I have a teenagers college fund so I have a cold beer after I get home.

 

Some questions:

 

• Ever get tired of the Cupid Shuffle or ChaCha Slide?
  
• Does Soulja Boy get requested less than 200 times a night?
  
• Ever had the mother-of-the-bride from hell?
  
• Ever get amazed at the groupies in other age brackets that will not leave you alone?

All these are in fun, and all have happened to me, a 49 year old happily married guy that enjoys the bucks big time on weekends. On a roll with three tremendous weddings in a row and one Saturday!

 

Pioneer CD Players rule, couple with DJ Power software and a nice light controller...

 

Smooth Sailing!

It depends on what people thinks is a "DJ" and the majority of people that travel on cruiseships know DJs as people who just play music so that is what they expect to hear, it isn't a nightclub with a door fee it's a disco catering to different age groups who all have expectations about what music they want to hear. Yes, mixing, scratching etc is an art form and takes a lot of practice and understanding of electronic music to perfect. I have not been to any clubs in the US to experience a club DJ but from people I have spoke to it appears to me that very few DJs in the US actually mix tracks together. For me, coming from a country where dance music is massive and DJs are like superstars this seems unusual, different countries, different cultures I suppose.

 

You're questions...

1. Yes I am very bored of the Electric, Cha Cha & Cupid Slides... but that's what people wanna hear.

2. Soulja Boy is fastly going into my top 10 "oh that song again, for a change" list

3. Never experienced the mother of the bride from hell no... does she have horns?

4. Not had many groupies... i've had a few ladies (of all ages) that have tried things on, even give me a piece of paper with their room number on. I'm not willing to risk my job, no thanks. Most ladies seem to really like my accent... dunno why, i'm from a very common area in England so my accent is certainly not posh

 

Yes I agree... long live the Pioneer CDJs

[NCTribeFan]

Hey now! Some of us women in "other age brackets" have very discriminating tastes. You guys should be flattered! :p

 

It had to be 15 years ago I was spending several weeks at Durham University (no, not the one here in NC), and we took a taxi into Newcastle. There was a ship on the river (guess that would be the Tyne, yes?) that had been converted into a dance club.

 

We had the most fun! Ever. It was fantastic! The DJ was great and the main dance floor was packed the entire night.

 

It doesn't matter if it's a posh accent or not.

 

I kept warning my DD that it was really important to actually listen to what a guy is saying, and not just find yourself mesmerized by the accent. I know this from experience! So what happens? Her first real boyfriend was a guy she met while spending the summer with her grandparents in England. We even had him come over and go with us on our Elation 2006 cruise. She dumped him shortly after that. Long-distance relationships are difficult. But sometimes when the distance become nil, the relationship falls apart! ;)

[mjbearit]

Simon,

What ship are you on? We will be going on the Spirit Mar 5 and I would love to see what kind of setup you guys have on board. I admin the North, South and Central America portion of the network (a truly global network) for my company and just professionally curious. I would love to see how the bridge interfaces in modern ships. It has always interested me how back when sails were the thing they used a sextant and now I suyppose we use GPS or some such. I'm sure most stuff is out of bounds for passengers, but I'd even just love to pick your brains over a drink or something.

Mike

[DJ Eddy]

Hey now! Some of us women in "other age brackets" have very discriminating tastes. You guys should be flattered! :p

 

It had to be 15 years ago I was spending several weeks at Durham University (no, not the one here in NC), and we took a taxi into Newcastle. There was a ship on the river (guess that would be the Tyne, yes?) that had been converted into a dance club.

 

We had the most fun! Ever. It was fantastic! The DJ was great and the main dance floor was packed the entire night.

 

It doesn't matter if it's a posh accent or not.

 

I kept warning my DD that it was really important to actually listen to what a guy is saying, and not just find yourself mesmerized by the accent. I know this from experience! So what happens? Her first real boyfriend was a guy she met while spending the summer with her grandparents in England. We even had him come over and go with us on our Elation 2006 cruise. She dumped him shortly after that. Long-distance relationships are difficult. But sometimes when the distance become nil, the relationship falls apart! ;)

I am flattered... I just don't want to get fired, trying to get that across to girls is sometimes challenging :eek:

I have not yet been to Newcastle but it is definitely on my places to go list. I really like girls with geordie (Newcastle) accents, I find it rather sassy.

That's the thing in the UK, people love to dance and people will get on the floor, even if it's a song they don't know, the crowd will stay there for the next few songs to see where you're going with the music. It's actually quite difficult to clear a dancefloor in a club in England... if you do (I never have yet) then you can guarantee you won't be asked to play there again.

I've never done a long distance relationship... I know it won't work, i'm too much of a realist. I've had relationships with other crewmembers on the ships before but I understand that it's a 6 month thing and i'm fine with that. i just have fun whilst it lasts.

[DJ Eddy]

i'll be heading back to the Liberty on Friday so i'll only be online tomorrow then I gotta get ready for the ship, once i'm on the Lib I won't be on cc much... so it's your last chance to ask away...

[rudegirlie13]

Do you DJ's get irritated by a lot of song requests?

 

Do the disco's ever do theme nights i.e., 80's night?

 

(If you know) how current is the karaoke catalog? Does it include all genres and current hits?

 

Thanks!

[caribbean dreams]

Do you DJ's get irritated by a lot of song requests?

 

Do the disco's ever do theme nights i.e., 80's night?

 

!

 

Hey eddie, i'm gonna answer part of this question for ya because i know you:p

 

........Hey girlie, yep only 11 more days to go!!!!

Yes we will get the 80's night!!!!

Because we are on a classic rock cruise i'm thinking just about everynight will be 80's night, there will be so many requests for it, it is going to drive the DJ crazy.

I think the requested songs drive the other people in the disco crazy more than anything.

 

 

 

Eddie-----have a great time back on the Liberty & don't do anything i wouldn't do LOL!

[fern1226]

i'll be heading back to the Liberty on Friday so i'll only be online tomorrow then I gotta get ready for the ship, once i'm on the Lib I won't be on cc much... so it's your last chance to ask away...

how long will you be on the liberty?

[maryhou]

Hi Eddy :)

It looks like you will be on the Liberty with us in 73 days :) fun fun

 

Is it possible to see if past staff are currently working and on which ship? We had the absoloutely BEST CUTEST BAR WAITRESS she served us at dinner we always asked where she'd be in the evening and made sure to give her our business.

[IndyGirl]

DJ, Thanks for all the good info. Could you give us more info on why you don't like Colon, Panama. When we were there it was a sunday, we were with an excursion. We loved it. We saw the country side and the Black Messiah. Mostly the people we saw were women and children. It is that rough?

[maryhou]

What are YOUR favorite 3 songs to play??

Ones you could listen to over and over without getting sick of them?

[maryhou]

Hi Indygirl

 

Sad sad day yesterday here in Indy for our Colts :(

Maybe next year!!

 

Mary from brownsburg

[mjbearit]

Hi Indygirl

 

Sad sad day yesterday here in Indy for our Colts :(

Maybe next year!!

 

Mary from brownsburg

But it was a happy day in San Diego for us! :p Hey, anything can happen on any given Sunday. Somebody wins and somebody loses. What that means was that on that day, in that contest, one team was better than the other, nothing more, nothing less. The next day, later in the day, if the sun was a little more to the east, things might come out differently. That's the beauty of sports!

[ClerkPatsy]

Hey Eddy,

 

Thank you (and Simon) so very much for answering all of the questions that were asked. You guys were so patient.

 

Now and in the future, I hope you have smooth sailings, with lots of smiling passengers!

[mr jailerman]

However you may need some therapy after answering this many questions. :D You must like the work. I had a good friend from the U.K years ago that was Casino Manager for 8 years aboard Royal Caribbean's "Nordic Empress" which later became "Empress of the Seas" and we have talked about the Good and Bad of cruiseship life.. It is MUCH harder life then so many people can possibly think , and he was in Management ! :confused: I noticed last February when I went on a weekend cruise on the "Fascination" that our Beverage waiter in the Dining room was also the D.J in the "Diamonds are Forever Disco" Do you from time to time have to do other jobs aboard the vessel as well as D.J ?? Well that was my big question.. That was not so bad was it ! I will be on a "Boys" Trip in February on the "Inspiration" ..To bad you won't be D.J on that ship as I would have Loved to come up and requested some good 70's Classics.:eek: (Even if the songs are not that popular with the crowd) I believe in being a GOOD TIPPER so I usually hear them reguardless of what the crowd would have liked. :rolleyes: Take care of youself and enjoy it while you can !! It's not a life most can lead for two many years ! And as everyone has already said, Thanks for your time and Good Luck on the Liberty..

[nlcentralchmps03]

Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions.

 

I see you are coming off of vacation in a few days. Does this depress you at all, or are you excited to get back onboard?

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Justin

[NCTribeFan]

Yes, thanks to Eddy and Simon for their insight. Hope to run into you both some day on board!

[Jenna1983]

Oh, maybe I'll catch you before you head back to the Liberty! I think the Liberty was my favorite ship out of the three I've done (Glory, Valor & Liberty). It's weird thinking last week at this time I was in Antigua!

 

It was Monday, on our way to San Juan or Friday, our sea day, when the purser's desk came on and said, "Operation Bright star" or Operation star bright. What does that mean? I thought she said Carpenters Quarters, but then she said deck 8? Seems like a weird place for carpenters quarters! lol

[smiles32617]

Just wanted to say thanks for your time when we were on the Liberty. You are totally awesome. Carnival is extremely lucky to have a DJ like you. Love you Man.

I have not been able to get through the whole thread yet, but wanted to ask the question. Are you on the Liberty now??? will you be on there in September. That's when me and a few other friends are going on our girls cruise. So I didn't know if you would be the DJ or not. We are all ready to PARTY!!!!!! Thanks in advance even if you are not going to be on there. :cool: