​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.

​You can travel solo on any cruise line you want, however for most cruise lines you’ll end up paying what’s often called a Single Supplement.  That means you’ll pay for double occupancy for your cabin.  This is because if one person occupies a cabin, the cruise line misses out on the revenue of two people purchasing drinks packages, excursions, etc, and the gratuities are halved. Fair enough, I suppose, but it makes for an expensive Discovery Cruise if you want to, or need to, go alone.
 
However, there is a good solution out there if you want to do a solo Discovery Cruise and not have to pay double.

​Before the audience sees a show on a cruise ship, and before the running crew learn the show, and before the show is teched (usually on land, often in a warehouse), the show has to be designed – just as in a land-based theatre.  But there are some differences between designing, installing, and programming land-based shows versus shows on cruise ships. 
 
Maybe this might be your calling?  Don’t want to work on a cruise ship full time?  Consider working for a cruise line as a designer, installer, or programmer!
 
This article from Cruise Industry News features Visual Connection, one of the companies that provide entertainment lighting services for cruise lines.  And while this article is primarily lighting-oriented (my favorite subject!), it applies to any aspect of technical theatre.  The article addresses how it’s essential to understand all of the ship’s structures and systems, not just the theatre’s systems, the challenges of delivering and running a show on a cruise ship, and more.
 
Check it out at….

​Ahoy there!  Let’s talk SAFETY!
 
This is the third in this three-part series of real-life court cases involving safety incidents in theatres on cruise ships.
 
Be sure to read about CASE # 1 at:  https://www.cruisetechies.com/cruisetechies-blog/safety-lawsuit-series-case-1
 
Be sure to read about CASE # 2 at:  https://www.cruisetechies.com/cruisetechies-blog/safety-lawsuit-series-case-2
 
This third lawsuit is a reminder that the performers’ safety comes first.  As a lighting designer I would like nothing more than to accentuate something with a light cue or blackout, but not when it puts the performer’s safety at risk.  This is a great example of this situation.  It’s also a great example of when the house staff needs to make announcements about flash photography…. Read on MacDuff…

​Ahoy there!  Let’s talk SAFETY!
 
This is the second in a series of real life court cases involving safety incidents in theatres on cruise ships.  (One more coming after this one – in two weeks.)
 
Be sure to read about CASE # 1 at:  https://www.cruisetechies.com/cruisetechies-blog/safety-lawsuit-series-case-1
 
This lawsuit is again about a pit fall, but involves an audience member.  When we think about theatre accidents we often think about the performers or crew while the audience sits and looks on.  However, cruise ship shows and events often involve a lot of audience participation.
 
I’ll let Monona tell you all about it, then we’ll talk…