Cruise ships?!?

[iiipopes]

I'm..... so sad and lone----LY!

Baby, take a chance with me....

Off the song "Little Child" off the Meet the Beatles album -- or With the Beatles if you have the original EMI pressing and not the Capital records, er, um, I'll just say pressing.

The year I played with Welk I met a few guys who had played the cruise ships. The general consensus was as you might expect: great at first, started to wear, then glad it was over. Glad they did it. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but wouldn't do it again, and definitely something for younger guys not settled yet.

[BopEuph]

If you talk to someone, there are sometimes possibilities for three month contracts. I was thinking about cruise lines at one point, and they said that they understand with college students. However, you don't get any chance to take a break. You can't leave for a conference, you can't go to a wedding, etc. You're pretty much theirs for the duration of that contract.

However, the real money is in an actual group to hire. I have some friends playing straight ahead jazz on a cruise line, and they make more than the show band. I'm still thinking about doing it once. Like someone else posted, people say it's a good one-time experience, but it's not a decent career.

Nick

[LoyalTubist]

On of my friends back in California went to work on cruise ships for three years. He was saying it's possible not to spend anything and still have a wonderful life. He could eat all the buffet food he wanted for free. Cokes and milk were free. Beer is terribly expensive. It sounds like, if you want to save some money or get yourself out of debt, it could be a good thing. And you can see the world, too.






...sounds like a recruitment ad for the Navy!

[Rick F]

FWIW...

I have a friend of mine (trumpet player) who did a gig on a cruise ship. Not sure how long ago this was, but he told me that the room (or cabin) they offer is in the *bowels* of the ship (crew quarters). He said you could hear the hum of the engines all of the time.

[AndyL]

he told me that the room (or cabin) they offer is in the *bowels* of the ship (crew quarters).

And you were expecting??

Yes, the penthouses and veranda rooms are for folks who _already have money_!

FWIW, I was told that _5 crew members_ typically shared _one "inside" (no view) cabin_ on one of the large cruise ships I paid to ride. They don't call them "crew quarters" for nothing; the crew actually does use them.

[tubatooter1940]

Our new drummer was a cruise ship director for 20 years. He regrets that all cruise ships require 6 month commitments. His folks are 80ish, living in New Orleans and hurricane season is here. He opted for a $20 per hour labor job and a stint drumming with the Creekers.
Being a featured act aboard is preferable to playing in the lounge every night.

[Alex F]

Found this-
http://tinyurl.com/2u4bw3
Anyone know any ships that start out in Chicago-ish?

A little late Bob . . . about 60 years late.

Lake cruises were all the rage from about 1850 through the years just after WWII. Steamser holding 100s would traverse the Great Lakes. Chicago was a major port with several lines serving ports in Wisconsin, western Michigan, and on to the other lakes as well. These ships all had large salons in which small bands/orchestras entertained the guests long into the night.

After WWII, a number of factors combines to kill the lake cruise business, including the widespread availability of the automobile, changing vacation tastes, cheapened airline travel, and new ship safety standards - the old boats were mostly wood. Today, aside from a couple of car ferries and the occasional small custom lake cruise vessel (mostly out east), it's all gone.

Back in the day, many fine musicians started out doing cruise work. Suposedly, it was one of Benny Goodman's first gigs.