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Cruise Ship Gigs??

#81
IamGroot said:
Its total fiction
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WAIT Whaaaat?!!!! The Borat movie is total fiction?!?! :jawdrop: I thought it was a true life documentary highlighting the plight of average Kazakhstanians in a modern day global economy.

Anyways, cruise ships... I've been "randomly" drug tested while working on board several of them. So stick to booze while sailing or they'll kick you off and hand you over to the authorities in whatever port you're in, and that's bad if your in places like Indonesia or Thailand.

If you can't sight read or do the gig they won't kick you off and leave you in some random port, they will still send you back home in a respectable manner. You passed the audition and they hired you after all, so it's kinda the companies fault too. I've had a couple band mates last one or two cruises then get sent home because they were not cutting it musically. On the other hand, if you assault someone or break your contract/agreement of employment for some reason, they can drop you off at the closest dock and let you figure out how to get home on your own. I've never heard of this actually happening. But I have heard of guys testing positive for drugs and getting left behind in a local jail.
 
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#83
SLO Surfer said:
Anyways, cruise ships... I've been "randomly" drug tested while working on board several of them. So stick to booze while sailing or they'll kick you off and hand you over to the authorities in whatever port you're in, and that's bad if your in places like Indonesia or Thailand.
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1. The drug tests are pointless because you can tell them it's a false positive and a miss-test, and you want to be retested, and by the way they don't have a drug lab on-board the ship, they have to send the test away to a Lab in Miami or such, which will take 2-weeks to a month or more to get the results verified and then you have to take a re-test and by that time hopefully it's out of your system!

So the only drug test you have to be concerned about is the first Medical exam and that you have to take every 2 years to renew..

2. Victor Wooten was working at an amusment park before he got "picked up" .. but you don't hear about cruise ship musicians.. haha

But truth is today is a different era and you can meet amazing people on cruises now, like owners of internet companies and owners of restaurants that can hire you and your band etc.. also I've met many side musicians in famous bands that try a cruise with their family or etc..

So it is possible to meet some great people but in general Cruise ships are good for saving money, seeing places, meeting crazy people, and being forced to play your instrument everyday.

By the way Certain NCL ship jobs pay really good, $3200+/month but I hear the rules and management is terrible..

- compared to Celebrity/RCL/Princess which has the best rules and loose rules for crew.. but it all depends on who manages at the time you are on-board. there are still terrible mangers etc.

I've had some terrible experiences and then some hilarious experiences where I've played 1-2 sets (45 minutes per set) a day! Worst I've had is 4 sets a day with 1 day off completely every 12 days..

On RCL/Princess/Celebrity the worst thing you'll do is hand out forks to your fellow crew members if there is a big sickness on the ship.. that along with spraying a can of chemicals on tables would be the worst thing you could come across that is not playing your instrument.

There are times where there might be an event that they ask people to help blow-up balloons.. I mean that's all I can think of in terms of stupid things they might try to ask you to do.

but If you actually enjoy music and play with good musicians which rarely happens, it's actually a good situation.

But the agents are low-balling any new-timer joining today, so don't expect that pay at all unless you know people.
 
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#84
bassfacer22 said:
The drug tests are pointless because you can tell them it's a false positive and a miss-test, and you want to be retested, and by the way they don't have a drug lab on-board the ship, they have to send the test away to a Lab in Miami or such, which will take 2-weeks to a month or more to get the results verified and then you have to take a re-test and by that time hopefully it's out of your system!

So the only drug test you have to be concerned about is the first Medical exam adn that you have to take every 2 years to renew..
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What cruise line did you work for? It's true, they send the samples off to be tested in a lab, I've taken 3 to 4 of these random tests on ships and it's usually been while docked in Fort Lauderdale or Miami (ie. conveniently close to a lab). That just means they fire you wherever you are when they get the results. In my experience with Princess Cruises I've never heard of a person being able to contest their positive results. I have a trombone friend/cabin mate who has been fired from Cunard and Princess for testing positive for weed while on ships, and I knew plenty of kitchen workers who got fired for getting tested with cocaine in their system. They definitely were not able to ask for re-testing. My advice was to avoid doing drugs on ship contracts because they do random drug testing, and I still offer that advice no matter where they send your pee.

bassfacer22 said:
Victor Wooten was working at an amusment park before he got "picked up" .. but you don't hear about cruise ship musicians.. haha
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I know you're kinda joking around, but Tim Lefebvre played ships. Oh yeah, a dude name Jaco Pastorious was in some cruise ship show bands as well.

bassfacer22 said:
in general Cruise ships are good for saving money, seeing places, meeting crazy people, and being forced to play your instrument everyday.
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I couldn't agree more! If you join a ship looking for more or something different than this, you will most likely be disappointed.

bassfacer22 said:
Worst I've had is 4 sets a day with 1 day off completely every 12 days..
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Worst I had was a 7-month contract working every night, with only 3 days off the entire time!

bassfacer22 said:
On RCL/Princess/Celebrity the worst thing you'll do is hand out forks to your fellow crew members if there is a big sickness on the ship.. that along with spraying a can of chemicals on tables would be the worst thing you could come across that is not playing your instrument.
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At Princess I've been through several code red norovirus outbreaks, where everyone (passengers and crew) is basically confined to their cabin. Not one muso ever did anything other than what they were contracted to do; play music and assist with passenger emergency drills. I wasn't even allowed to move or plug in my bass amp(s). I had to have the stage hands do it, which was fine with me!
 
#85
It is possible to test positive for weed for months after partaking as the urine test detects not the active ingredient but the metabolites which sequester in tbe bodies fatty tissue.

No difference to me as i was a TWIC card holder with routine urine and hair follicle tests. Will detect most everything for at least 3 months back.
 
#88
Ivan Ramírez said:
Hello, I'm also looking for a CS gig, and I Wonder if it's pissible to find bass scores similar to those used on the cruise, to practice reading...anyone?
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Try any and all big band charts, as well as Broadway musical scores. It's hard to find charts "similar" to cruise ship charts because they vary so much while on board. You can read a real book chord sheet, a difficult notated big band chart, and a badly hand written Bette Midler medley all in one show. I'd just recommend sight reading as much different material as possible, lots.
 
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#89
Ivan Ramírez said:
Hello, I'm also looking for a CS gig, and I Wonder if it's pissible to find bass scores similar to those used on the cruise, to practice reading...anyone?
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There is a book by Berklee press called something like 'bass sight-reading', or maybe its "sight-reading for bass" ?

- just find any book by Berklee College on bass sight reading. That will do perfectly fine to help you with reading for a cruise ship.
 
#91
Joe Nerve said:
Singer guitar player in the Zep tribute I play in just started a 6 months gig on Carnival. He can’t read music. Just sayin... :).
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I guarantee he isn't working as a sideman in the ship's orchestra.
 
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#92
Joe Nerve said:
Singer guitar player in the Zep tribute I play in just started a 6 months gig on Carnival. He can’t read music. Just sayin... :).
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Did he join the ship with a pre-formed cover band? Most cover bands/lounge acts come with your music prepared. When you join the ship by yourself to join the show band/ship orchestra, you usually meet your band mates and sight read your first show that night. Just sayin'. :thumbsup:
 
#94
IamGroot said:
There are some cats that can create a part that works the first time they play it . Great ears means they dont need no stinkin sheet music.
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There most certainly are. Unfortunately, on cruise ships, if you're hired as a sideman, it is a sightreading job. You're expected to play the written part perfectly the first time. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
 
#99
IamGroot said:
I met some great Filipino musicians while working in Africa. I guess they could form a pre existing band in under 60 seconds.
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The party band on one of my ships was from the Philippines. They were excellent. I think only two of them could read, but there was no need as they all had the tunes memorized.
 

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