Cruise Ship Saxophonist

[Rick Detroit]

Has anybody taken this experience? I've heard it's a fantastic gig from some and I've heard it's a nightmare from others. I was considering working up my doubles and making a run on it. Advice?

Thanks guys,
-Rick Detroit

[colibri]

Sight read (very) well and know your doubling instruments. That's basically all you need.

[Rick Detroit]

How's the life on the ship?

Is it a vacation or is it tedious? Are the living quarters too cramped? Do you have plenty of time to shed or do they frown upon playing?

I'm curious about the details.

Thanks!
-Rick, Detroit

[kgiles]

Living Quarters :

My room was very small with two bunks and a stand up shower.

Food :

The food is well ....bland. After some time you'll long for a trip to mc d's.

Practice :
I practiced in a storage room backstage. It is very difficult to find a place to shed. Space is limited on the ships and usually the guests or hosts have bingo or some goofy stuff going on in your practice areas so be prepared.

Doubles :
Be prepared .....you will not have time to learn parts or shed difficult passages. Be prepared to read up tempo material and bring or buy every fake book you can get you hands on. Our band would call and take requests covering anything. IF you don't remember the tune be ready to fake it in 4 counts.

drinking

it's a cruise ....and the parties are everywhere which can be annoying if your room mate stays out in the clubs till dawn.

I'd focus on reading and doubles. The arrangements are good and will be a challenge to play upon first attempt if you are not an experienced reader. You'll need to be able to solo with a big band and also be able to host/ front an afternoon quartet jazz set.

As far as the work goes it's not a big deal. We did a 45 min. opener show leaving port and had the next 2 days off. We would do small group jazz sets for 45 min. or maybe a late night comedy opener. At the most you will play 2 hours a day. Least would be 2 hours every other day. Days are wide open to hang out on deck or sleep late. The best gigs are self contained groups that play the nightclubs. They have passenger status and get paid alot more than the pit musicians.

[colibri]

You just have to be versatile when you're doing cruise ship gigs. Be prepared to play anything, like belly dancing music, weepy ballads, Asian folk songs (yes, I had to play the pentatonic-based Chinese folk songs with scale degrees instead of notes), you name it. Fake books are a must. Doubling on clarinet and flute are a must. Food is bad. Rooms are small but edible. You'll have plenty of time to waste, but I can never find places to shed. Overall it's quite a challenge, but you'll be rewarded with super fast sight reading and doubling chops, and of course money, once it's over. You will enjoy it. I certainly did.

[Rick Detroit]

Fantastic. Thanks for the replies.

I had my first taste of sea life this past weekend with a "Passenger Status" band.

I was roomed up with a lead trumpet player who has some very interesting mannerisms that I could do without. The room was small and would have been fine for just myself but between myself, the trumpet player and our suitcases it was quite packed.

The gigs went very well. We played in a big theatre with a killer P.A. system. The only times it was a drag is when the waves would pick up and we'd be rockin' in our spots for real.

The food was good on the first day and then it got progressively blander by the end. Although there was quite a variety of morsels, they all seemed to taste the same at the end.

Overall I had a good experience and will be spending the next year or so studying privately on my doubles.

I had the opportunity to speak with a very fine tenor saxophonist that is the ships tenorman while I was there. He's a very good jazz player and said that he's doing it to save up money and then start his jazz career. I know I won't be to his level anytime in the near future (starting a jazz career and have any expectations of eating) but he was quite helpful in filling me in on what goes on. I had a chance to hang out at the crew bar and mingle with some of the night life as well as enjoy the 80 cent adult beverages.

Time to make some calls and line up some teachers.

Thanks guys. If you have any more input, I'm all ears!

-Rick, Detroit

[AMASAX]

Kgiles: care to drop any names of Cruise operators you've worked for?

Rick - what'd you hear about typical $$ ranges and pay for what positions ?

Anyone - is it possible(read, how much $$ does it cost) to get a private/unshared room on board?
Am interested, of course, in how much $$ you'd give up to get a single room,

but am quite interested in whether it's actually possible to get your own room or not.
This is if you're still a horn player, not a music director or conductor.

thx

[Adam]

AMASAX,
You can forget about the possibility of getting your own room unless you are the MD. Its not about money, its a space issue. The newer, larger ships typically have about 1000 crew members. There are single crew cabins, but as a saxophone player, you don't rank too high on the priority list...

[RatBatBlues]

Rick Detroit - pardon my ignorance, but what is a passenger status band?

[mark_m]

I have a guitarist pal who's interested in doing a cruise stint - any leads I can forward to him would be much appreciated - thanks.

[Kenfen]

I was on NCL and it was a good life. I got paid Ok, had a good roommate most of the time, plenty of time to practice, plenty of room to practice and I met some great players.

I was on and off the ships for about a year. The best band I was in was with the Seaward out of Miami. The pianist was killer and knew a million songs. Just give him the key, play the melody and he'd be right there. At the time there were 3 horns so we just passed the time playing heads...

We did click track shows, shows with arrangements and whatever the singers would bring with them. We'd rehearse in the afternoon and play the show down that night, piece of cake. After awhile, you'd see the same entertainers come on and they'd have the same show, so you'd learn em quick.

We had a lot of free time, because during the day all the passengers were in town sightseeing, so I had the entire show room as my practice room. If I got bored I'd go out on the rope deck and play. No one minded at all.
I could even get the sound man to record me sometimes or do it myself.


The food on NCL was great and we had lots of it. At Midnite you could go and eat at the Midnite Buffet. I saw my girl, Gladys Knight at that one time. She was on vacation.... Fun! No she didn't sing, just ate Midnite Buffet with the rest of us.

I had lots of time to stay in shape and did so. Used the gym onboard and got all skinny and lean.

All in all my time on the ships was great. They treated us kindly.

I have a college buddy that's been on the ships now for over ten years. He loves it. he's saved tons of cash, seen the world and worked on his chops for over ten years.... Good stuff.

The ProShip guys out of Canada seem Ok. Give them a call. They are always needing sax players....

Regards,

Kenfen

[Tenorsaxer]

Wow.

I am a 14 year old tenor sax player and I have been inspired by this thread.

I have started my gig book. Well, it's not really a gig book. Two tunes in a 1" binder :oops: Anyway, i own a fakebook already, and two aebersolds. I am going to get more aebersolds soon though. I really want to try being a cruiseship saxman a year or two after college. I will have saved up some money and will be able to start my real career as a sax player.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations.

[Subtone Sam]

Good luck,Tenorsaxer,you have the right attitude! Lots of practice and take every gig you can get;nothing beats experience.

[Lowell]

A good rule of thumb is to check out the cruise line with a travel agent. If it is a big name line with lots of satisfied customers, they will probably treat you well. If it is a small cheap outfit that treats its paying customers poorly, they probably treat their staff worse.

[kgiles]

I worked for Canival on the Destiny. The pay is about $500-600 a week. Pretty typical for sideman work. If you want to have your own cabin you need to put a band together to headline the nightclubs. Those bands are self contained and have " passenger status" with private rooms and some other passenger perks. :roll:

[KJ]

I just got a gig that starts in late Feb. with a "passenger status" band.
A jazz trio with an added singer (this ship is unusual as it has a jazz club in it)
I'm playing mainly upright bass, but will be playing sax/trombone on some of the ballads.

Passenger status (or guest entertainer status) means that you or a group are temporary employees (in our case, 8 weeks)on the ship. As these positions are considered professional positions, the pay is about double what the house (ship) musicians get. You don't have any other dutuies that the other crew members have (manning stations at emergency drills, helping the passengers disembark, etc...) and you also eat with the paying passengers, etc- not in the employee cafeteria.
Bands or headline musicians that get this status on this ship usually have a few major label albums under their belt, and/or headline in places like Vegas, Atlantic city, etc...

We will play a 4 hour jazz set 5 nights a week, and one night a week host a jam session with the house musicians.