While on Navigator of the Seas, I was able to chat with several theatre techs just briefly.  (As you may recall, Royal Caribbean won’t allow anyone to “officially” interview their staff.  NCL is the only cruise line I’ve found so far that is willing to support this.)
 
I met 4 technicians.  Two of whom were working the shows in Studio B, which is the ice rink(!) on board ship, and two of whom were working in the main theatre.

 
Danilo – Royal Theatre lighting tech - from Montenegro.
Willington – Royal Theatre sound tech - from South Africa. That’s the back of his head there in the photo!
Syd – Studio B sound tech – from The Philippines.
And the Studio B light tech – unfortunately I didn’t catch his name nor where he was from.

​Ahoy there!
 
I just returned from a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas!
 
The Navigator of the Seas has two main venues, the main theatre, called the Royal Theatre, and Studio B, which is an ice skating rink!  On this trip the Royal Theatre had two revue-type shows; “Showgirl!” and “Ballroom Fever”.  Both of which were very enjoyable, well performed, and technically state-of-the-art, but certainly the lack of a full-length musical production was felt!  Studio B’s ice show was called “iSkate” – again professionally done, but essentially also a revue type show - performed on ice skates! 

If you’re wondering what your cabin will be like, where you’ll eat your meals, where you’ll relax and keep active, check out this (bi-lingual!) vlog post from Eddie of the Seas.
 
Eddie is a casino host – on board Star of the Seas, at the time of this vlog – from the Philippines.   He gives you a comprehensive tour of his cabin, the crew mess, the crew bar, the crew games room and the crew gym.  He ends his vlog with a visual tour of one of his favorite hang out spots on the ship, the Overlook.
 
You can check it all out here...

It seems there’s a lot of crazy things going on in the world these days.  Not to get into the politics of it all, but a friend recently told me about a friend who lives with their family in one country, but is afraid they are going to be sent back to their own country where there is a lot of unrest (to put it lightly).  She wondered whether it might be a good idea for her friend to get a job on a cruise ship, rather than go back to his country. 

​Of course, I can’t give any advice in that department, but, as you know, cruise ships hire people from all over the world, so I provided her with some cruise ship options, which I’m going to provide here for you too, in case you, or anyone you know may be in the same boat.
​
​First, here’s a freebie for you. 

​Maybe you don’t want to run tech for the shows.  Maybe you are interested in artist and/or event management on cruise ships. 
 
Watch Cruisetuber Tony, from La Lido Loca, as he gets a behind the scenes tour of a variety of venues on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas, from “RetroDJ” Travis Brown and others.
 
You’ll find out about…

​​Do you have the time and resources to give back?  Would you like to have the most life changing experience on a ship?  This isn’t about cruise ships, but about very unique and admirable ships; Mercy Ships.
 
Mercy Ships are hospital ships that are filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment and a volunteer crew of medical professionals who are “driven by mercy” to help make the world a better, healthier place for all.  Globally, 5 billion people lack access to safe surgery, and since over 50% of the world’s population lives near a coast, Mercy Ships are the best way to reach people in need. But where do you come in? How do theatre technicians fit into the world of operating theatres?

​Have you cruised in the past?  In a recent post I mentioned a digital 3-D globe that maps all of your cruises!  I wanted to share more about it with you, because it’s absolutely FREE!  You also get a lot of interesting statistics, such as how many total nautical miles you’ve sailed, how many days you’ve cruised, how many cruises you’ve done and on how many ships.
 
If – when! – you start working on cruise ships, you can…

My recent 4-day Discovery Cruise on the Carnival Firenze went from Long Beach to Catalina Island to Ensenada and back to Long Beach. 

Now, anyone who’s ever lived or visited Southern California knows that it takes about a 1 hour ferry ride to Catalina Island, and to drive from Long Beach to Ensenada takes about 3 ½ hours. 

So, what took us so long?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Is this the year you get your first job working in a theatre on a cruise ship?!
 
You’ve done your Discovery Cruise, you connected with some theatre techs on board the ship, you’ve decided this is the life and career for you.  What’s next?!
 
Now it’s time to decide which cruise line you want to work for, and find out what positions they have available.
 
Here’s a boat load of job boards for some of the more major cruise lines - all in one place, so you don’t have to spend your time searching.