I played on a Princess Cruise line Alaska Inside Passage cruise 3 years ago. It was part of a rhythm section backing a Top-40
"show" band, we actually snuck in a few very hip tunes I thought-Some Stevie Wonder, some Motown, but by and large, the Bandleader kept it on kind of a "Proud Mary" level- have to keep the 'Cruisers happy and dancing!
The pluses-
Free Cruise, of course, with all day to yourself, laying on deck, visiting the ports of call, and the Food ain't bad, even though we were not given the same unlimited choices as the Customers of course.
The $$ was not bad, considering all expenses except alchohol, are furnished. (Gotta watch that bar tab; it can really add up!) If you're careful and stash the money away, you can return home with a nice wallet. I was not and did not, but had a lot of fun spending it anyway.
The musicianship was actually at a pretty high level, mostly seasoned pros with a vast and varied level of experience.
Auditioning in my case required absolute sight-reading proficiency, and like most "show" gigs, you need to play THE part. Our Musical director actually gave us a few sections in a few numbers to stretch out as a rhythm section, and we had fun, but for the most part, it was play the chart, do the "Show"...Night after night; 7 days a week...
The minuses-
You are not a "guest", you are one step above a busboy on the personnel pecking order, and even some of the crew members disdained the musicians, thinking we were prima donnas, and letting us know that certain areas were off-limits.
Naturally tact and a smile went a long way in dealing with that!
Your room is of the lowest level, often astern, lower decks, sometimes shared. I got the luck of the draw and had my own space, but others had a room-mate.
And these cabins are TINY- I mean you have to see 'em to believe 'em... A sink the size of a bowl, etc.
OTOH, I spent a lot of the day out and about, either on deck checking out Glaciers in my case, or touring the port cities.
If you have a family (I do) it gets lonely, like any road gig.
Final plus was that some of us got together after hours and played some smokin' music, for us and some of the crew (as well as "select" guests. friends of the band if you will!
)
Would I do it again?
Nope, I've been offered, and although I would and have done a tour, I prefer doing it on land. Just a little more freedom musically and personally.
who would bring girls back to the cabin while the drummer was trying to get some sleep. After the cruise, the drummer came home, enrolled in the Pure and Applied Sciences program and was never heard from again. 
