Thread: working on a cruise

has anyone here done any work as an entertainer and/or instructor on a cruise ? and i dont mean a belly dance holiday on a cruise, but a regular cruise offering all kinds of evening entertainment and day time sports activities for their guests,

can you share your experiences?

i have received a few emails about this kind of work, and found a few other cruise lines that are hiring for short term contract and am wondering whether or not this would be a fun experience, what the pay is like, etc etc etc;

i also came a cross a few that sound fishy ("working holiday") with very minimal pay and was wondering if that is the norm

what to be aware off, what to ask? companies to run faraway from,

etc etc

thanks
Artemisia

Good question, Artemisia! I've also gotten a few "offers" and wondered if they were legit or not. Thanks for the post!

I knew a girl who worked as a magician's assistant on cruise ships. They made ok money for performers, but took a hit in the room/board department. Whenever they weren't out on the cruises they took temp jobs to help with the bills. She said it was fabulous and glamorous, but a lot of hard work and the pay wasn't great. They didn't want to move to Vegas full time and try to fight their way into the industry there, so they had been doing this for about 5 years when I met her.

One thing she mentioned is that in some cases it counts as international employment for tax purposes because the ships are registered in foreign countries and the work is performed while the ships are in international waters. I'm not sure what that means tax-wise and other things, but you might want to take it into consideration. She also said never to let anyone else hold your passport for any reason because some of the cruise ships would try to lock the passports away for all of their employees and return them later.

No first hand experience, but there's as much as I know :)

Tanya from Las Vegas has worked on cruise ships. You might pm her. She'd be a great resource.

I've heard that the entertainers are generally treated better than the rest of the staff, but that conditions can sometimes be hard. I think the pay depends a lot on whether you are a featured act with an independant contract vs. and employee of the cruise ship. I do know magicians who make a lot of money on cruise ships. But their shows are complete and they pay their own staff. Probably a far cry from a dance position on the ship.

Samira

i have known 2 people...they left ,back at port way before their contract was over.
you bunk...yes, bunk with others, below the water line...no windows.
you do not eat what the guests do, i was told it is like school food.
during your off hours ,of your real job, you do other jobs...LIKE WATCH GUESTS KIDS IN PLAY GROUPS.....

My friend was dancer in some cheesy kids show. She had a nice room she shared with 3 other girls, they ate free buffet, and got to travel when the ship docked in various places in S. America. Maybe it depends on which cruise line you go with. I'll have to ask her who she was with.

If you're an entertainer on a cruise, you are considered an independent contractor, not a cruise line employee. There's a BIG difference. If you are a ship employee, you work on the ship, i.e., housekeeping, kitchen, engine room, security, etc. They keep the ship running. Entertainers are invited to work, and are in a separate category, and the accommodations are much better. Tanya could elaborate more.