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Hi Everyone:
I do a single and use my laptop as a backing band. I have played a lot of bar gigs , weddings, private parties....I would like to set a goal to move up to doing cruise ship gigs (as a single if possible....dance band type situation). I'm looking for information as far as how to be qualified for such work..ie what is a good song-list to have, and how high of skill level is needed to get started. Any info (especially you tube videos) would be greatly appreciated...Thanks and have a great day.......
...........Jeff......
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I'd visit Notes Norton's (a big contributor to this forum) website here for pointers as he is the first musician I think of when thinking about small acts on cruise ships. Let us know how it works out for you. Breal A Leg,
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Wow! they have a huge song list.. ..Really great sequences too.Ive got a ways to go..I think Im only up to 60 or 70 tunes. ....well back to work:)....Thanks for the reply:)
...........Jeff......
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I worked on the Norway, (Norwegian Cruise Lines), for 3 1/2 months in 1995. I know a few thousand tunes and still had to use my Fake Books to look up tunes that I didn't know. Life on the ship for me wasn't very cool. At the time I was on, the musicians were treated like 2nd class citizens. I did a solo piano gig, so at least I had a room in the passenger area. The players in the groups lived on the galley deck. I worked with a trio for awhile and had to stay on the galley deck across from the incinerator. I had to leave the ship after that. I did manage to save a good amount of money though. Later, Ray
Last edited by raymb1; 04/05/10 06:04 PM.
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Man a few thousand tunes...I'll have to move some stuff around in my brain to make more room:)....sorry to hear they didn't treat you very well. I heard that that happens. They say "No fraternizing" (did I spell that right?) with the people on the cruise. I don't know why they think they have to be that way.
...........Jeff......
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I think a few bad eggs ruined it for most of the musicians by getting drunk and generally raising hell. That caused a lot of restrictions to be placed on the players. In 1995, the starting pay for a solo act was $550.00 a week. The trio was $500.00 a week. The show band sidemen , (6 or 7 players), made about $350.00 week. No food bill, free dry cleaning and free washers and dryers were available. Booze was cheap in the crew bar. I just didn't like living on the ship. Some of the crew had been on the ship up to 20 years! The wait staff lived below the galley deck and it was the pits down there. Most of the musicians liked that life and the fact that it was a steady gig. It just wasn't for me. If you get a chance, try it, just for the experience. Later, Ray
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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"They say "No fraternizing" (did I spell that right?) with the people on the cruise. I don't know why they think they have to be that way."
Because, even though you are a sub contractor to the cruise line, you still represent the cruise line as an employee, and it would look very bad for them to have something like that happen.
Bob and his wife Lelani did some cruises, I forget for whom, and they basically went in and laid down how they wanted to run the shows, and it worked for them. I believe later on, they were working for a different line, and the line was a little more rigid in how they wanted the performers to work, and it didn't work out well for the S-Cats.
Since you're stuck on a boat, and so are the guests, for a week or so at a time, the guests don't want to hear the same songs every night, so you should have a variety of songs on tap. 'Thousands' sounds about right to me, and in ever genre, from soft lounge jazz to high energy dance to two step country, depending on you audience.
If you're still interested, send a PM to Bob and ask him.
Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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Jeff, our next door neighbor plays flute with a guitarist as a small combo, with gigs as varying as cruise ships as well as large city orchestras (she played with Denver's main orchestra at Red Rocks last summer). Her time on cruise ships is certainly not down in the hold. I'll see if she has some tips and send them to you via PM.
-Scott
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Leilani and I worked for Carnival for 3 years. Nice gig. Sensible rules - Do not go into the Casino - it makes sense, if a crew member is winning and a paying passenger is losing, some passengers might suspect that the games are rigged
- Do not go into the passenger's rooms - it was OK for them to come to your cabin. If a passenger goes to your cabin, it implies consent
- If you are using a limited item like a bar stool or exercise machine and there are no more available, you are expected to give that item to a paying customer if he/she even looks like he/she wants to use it - after all, they are paying your salary
- Act appropriately when in the passenger areas
Plus they fed us passenger food but in our own dining room, allowed us to eat at the passenger buffets after the first rush of passengers went through it (there was always plenty of everything left), and they treated us with respect as long as we acted like professionals. I did another few month stint with RCL/Celebrity and I'll never go back to them. They treated us like indentured servants -- wouldn't even bring our gear on the ship when it started raining because the waterproof food containers had to go on first. Made us tear down our gear every night. Feed us inferior food. Restricted our movement on the ship. And generally treated all the help as if they were the enemy. I've heard that some musicians on some lines have to do extra duties like helping out with Bingo games, doing bus duty on land tours, etc. -- be sure to check that out first. Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
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& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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My dream has always been to be a "senior companion" for those rich widows/divorcees....but I'm afraid I'd get fired after my first "beddown". If you'd like to gig on Carnival Lines, call Cindy, VP...an ex-girlfriend/Passadobley Partner with Carnival!! http://www.thegigbaby.com
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HI,
I worked on all the major and some minor Cruise lines for 20 years, a total of 56 ships. PM me if you need more details and horror stories. 10 of those years were spent as Musical Director and musician "Baby Sitter" ie>
1. Making sure all the musicians showed up on time.
2. Getting called by the Hotel Director or Cruise Director at 3am because one of my muso's had a "Problem" and was in either the ships jail or medical center.
3. Firing musicians for either>Being drunk during a show/set, doing lines of Coke in the musicians corridor, Vomiting into the salad bowl at the passenger buffet, having a 13 year old female passenger in their cabin at 4am, throwing deck chairs off the ship in a drunken rage, Knocking 3 teeth out of the Chief Engineer's mouth in the crew bar, throwing the Dance books overboard to avoid having to play dance sets (didn't work) As well as the "Normal" reasons (Can't read music, can't play a production show, no chops, no solo chops, don't know any tunes, playing out of tune, etc.
Carnival generally has the most laid back atmosphere for both Passengers and crew, Princess is a tad more uptight, Royal Carribean can be a Pain in the A#$, Celebrity, Holland America and Cunard are similar to Nazi prison camps, I would not recommend working for any of these lines.
In general, the Showband musicians are at the bottom of the entertainment totem pole, which is hard to understand as they generally have the most musical skills and education. They almost always have to share a SMALL cabin, and have the most rules to follow.
The loungeband acts sometimes have it better, but almost always have to play more sets. This includes solo musicians.
The best gig is the "Fly on" entertainer. You get a nice cushy cabin, lots of bread, no drills or other crew BS. And there is no justice in Entertainment on a Cruise ship. Often these people flat out SUCK, but they talked their way into the gig. It gets harder to swallow living like a prisoner in a Federal prison and making around $2,500 a month while having to fix the show book for some 70 year has been who is making $5,000 for 1 week and maybe appeared in 1 episode of "Fantasy Island" 30 years ago.......
Sorry for being dark, this is the reality of cruise life,
Ed
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Thanks for all of the replies everyone. I want to send out some p.m.s to learn more but I must get to work right now...Hopefully this evening I can get online again........I can imagine some of the bad behavior some of the young musicians might have...Ive worked in bar bands for 20 Years now....seen a lot...but never witnessed anyone vomit in a salad bowl:)...Have a great day everybody
...........Jeff......
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Bang goes that fall back idea 
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Lot of cruise ships in Austria, are there?  (couldn't resist )
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His ship sailed and he was at the train station.....or horse barn...or..never mind...(: (:
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Hi Ed,
I never wanted your gig. I've seen how some of the musicians act on the cruise ships.
We played in the lounge --- and yes we played more sets than the orchestra musicians --- but we play music because we love to play music. So we considered that a bonus.
In fact, on those nights when the crowd was having a great time in our lounge, we often played all night without taking a break. Why? We were having as much fun as the audience.
As long as we kept the patrons entertained and didn't cause trouble, we were mostly left alone when we played on a Carnival ship. When we started packing the room and actually beating the disco in revenue, we were given the bonus of a passenger-sized cabin with a porthole.
There are many musicians in general who act in a non-professional manor, and unfortunately, that makes it hard for those of us who take our job seriously.
In all jobs, whether it is on a Cruise Ship or a local dive:
1) Show up on time, appropriately dressed and ready to play by the downbeat
2) Show up straight and sober, and remain that way for the duration of the gig
3) Do not abuse break privileges
4) While on the premises, do not cause any trouble, but act like a lady or gentleman
5) Put yourself in the employer's shoes, and act as if you were getting a piece of every dollar that goes into the cash register.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Notes,
While visiting your site I read your most recent review from Carnival . . . that is Big Time Man! You should be very proud of that piece of paper.
I'd love to catch one of your performances.
Later,
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A couple of years back we took a cruise on Carnival, there was this 40ish looking cat in the lounge right off the casino. He played the guitar and had a laptop for backing and a small rack of synths connected to it. he had a nice little notebook with notes on each song and about three different guitars behind him. He could play almost anything and was very good at most songs. His backing tracks sounded great.
I chatted with him on a break, and he told me he spend a lot of time developing the ac, and it was the culmination of 20 years of live playing in bands, and he was tired of the other players. He was serious and professional and it showed. I was very impressed. That convinced me to begin working up an act like that, even if i never took it on the road it would be fun for parties and weddings and playing live for friends. I am about where you are Jeff, about 50 to 60 songs in the "can" and slowly growing the mix.
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Many years ago, I used to sell pianos and organs. I used to be able to 'play the front' for hours on end, songs on tap, one after the other. Can't do that any more. I've forgotten so much, and I can't seem to remember it, even when I sit down to play with the music in front of me. I guess I'm growing old. Luckily, I can't play well enough to do gigs...anywhere!...so it doesn't really matter.  Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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I have a good friend who's the same. For years I had only worked with him in bands with him as the drummer and he would sing a little. Good voice. A club owner I know needed a single act for a Friday night and I knew my friend also plays guitar as a single so I booked him in and then showed up to watch him. He was awesome. He showed up with a pretty large and old well worn book with something like 10 tunes on each page, just lyrics with the chords above certain words. He told me he has about 700 songs in that book. The bar paid him $100 and he collected about $225 in tips because he was laughing and joking with the people playing "stump the band" and nobody could. I watched the whole gig and he never took one break. I had no idea he was that good as a single.
That's what it takes.
Bob
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- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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