Making The Most of Your Cruise Ship Contract
by Elena Bonomo ’14
Many people shy away from working as a musician on cruise ships because their previous expectations and experiences as a musician on land are different than those of which are expected of them on a ship. The notion of being away from home for months at a time, the thought of playing music that has been provided for you by a company, and the fact that you will be playing consistently every day can be intimidating and even mundane to some people. But there are ways to take these experiences and turn them into something that will be beneficial and rewarding for your musical career in the long term.
What I enjoyed the most about working on cruise ships was the fact that I had the opportunity to play a variety of styles of music every day. From jazz standards, to ballroom dance music, to Broadway-style show tunes, to pop classics, there are opportunities to play a variety of styles in just one night! For all us musicians who are hoping to make a career out of performing, it is extremely important to be as versatile as possible in your playing. The more styles of music you can play, the more job opportunities there are that you can take advantage of.