5 Tips for Musicians to Survive a Cruise Ship Contract

5 Tips for Musicians to Survive a Cruise Ship Contract
Hey guys, I'm Ben.
I'm a professional guitar player from the UK.
Working on cruise ships can be a tough gig...so here are 5 tips I've picked up along the way to help you smash that contract.
Music - www.bensound.com
Hope you enjoy the video, and thanks for watching!
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You can also find me at...
Website - www.benhartwellguitar.co.uk
Facebook - / benhartwellguitar
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Instagram - / benhartwellguitar

[@TheRoneZone]

Been doing this for years, not going to lie, it's pretty awesome. If you're young and single, I highly recommend being a cruise ship musician.

[@JasonFerguson1283]

Just great tips! Thank you!

[@godoymusikalejandrogodoy3006]

Great tips. Thanks a lot!

[@SamBellGuitar]

Thanks Ben!

[@tibyswing]

The best video on the subject! Thanks 🙏🎻

[@gandhiabad9402]

Thanks for this! I'm planning to take a solo guitarist/singer. Hopefully this helps me big time..

[@wvideoyahoodk]

Dear Ben This is what I love about KZbin. Meeting a guy like you - out there. Sometimes I really feel like meeting the people I communicate with for real. Know nothing about working on a cruise ship but knows a lot about backup. Hope you are safe and not stranded on a cruise ship with the Corona around. Cheers Jesper (Denmark) PS Now I´ll order spare parts for my old Land Rover in UK - lots of nice people in UK :-)

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Yeah KZbin is great for meeting awesome like mined people, for the most part :) Fortunately I'm not on a ship at the moment just on lockdown in the UK. Thanks, Jesper, hope you are keeping safe too.

[@wvideoyahoodk]

@@BenHartwellGuitar Thanks. I am. Take care out there :-)

[@SaxSith]

Family Guy, Seinfeld and The Office 😂and a bottle of red wine daily, that’s all you need 😂

[@anaoldies]

Nice video Ben! I worked for celebrity cruises and I'm looking forward to return again someday.

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Yeah arnt we all :)

[@bazk5449]

💯👍

[@JasonFerguson1283]

Starzo strings? New to me.

[@Cestariarts]

Hey man! I worked as photo manager on ships for a couple years, I had the opportunity to play (guitar) with the cruise director (head of the entertainment) and after that everybody told me I should work as a musician instead. I just can't take that out of my head because the experience was amazing and I loved it. Can you tell me what are the essential skills a guitarist should have? I am able to play many styles despite my background is metal, but I don't read sheets at all :( Thanks for sharing your thoughts and videos

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

hey dude! awesome. it depends on what kind of position you are going for. If you are joining as a duo or part of your own band then you don't need to read, but you do need a LOAD of material. If you join as a solo guitar player you will need a really strong voice to go with your playing. If you join to be put into one of the bands you might need to be able to read (charts at least), also being able to sing BVs is very advantageous. If you want to be part of the theatre bands then you definitely need to be able to read as you will be playing with guest artists and have to learn material very quickly. The main skills you need are being able to learn quickly, play many different styles, play acoustic and electric, sing backing if possible, and probably the biggest...stamina. You have to play 5 45 minutes sets a day, sometimes more. Its gruelling on you hands and fingers! hope that helps Ben

[@JasonFerguson1283]

Hey Ben. I am ready to work full-time as a cruise musician as I cannot stand to teach any longer. I love cruising as a civilian and have actually played a couple cruise ships years ago but I was just wondering what your thoughts are since COVID? Is it a bad idea? Love your channel!

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Thanks dude. Yeah it’s an interesting one at the moment. I have a friend whose a cruise director and he says it’s just crazy on ship at the moment. Each ship is only allowed so many cases on board then they get grounded. I dunno, as long as you’re vaccinated and are prepared for cruises to be terminated at any time go for it. Hopefully things should start returning to normal sooner rather than later, and we can all get back to work

[@JasonFerguson1283]

@@BenHartwellGuitar That's what I figured it was like. Too bad. It's gonna leave a lot of people scrambling still to find employment. I have teaching job but am so sick of it right now. Cheers! I'm glad I found your channel!

[@jakemf1]

Wondering how much to had to read music? Also how did you travel with 2 electrics and the acoustic and your luggage? Was the a sour classic? Great guitar did it serve your purposes? What did that contract pay if you don't mind me asking

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

jakemf1 I didn’t have to read music for any of my contracts, but some positions do. My 2 electrics go in one Mono M80 dual case, then the acoustic in a hard case. I travel light with luggage but it’s still a struggle lol. It’s a Suhr Modern, yeah it’s great. It’s a really versatile guitar. I’ve done that many contracts, they all pay different. It depends on agents, nationalities, contract length, countries etc. etc. I’ll just say that they are usually well paid.

[@thelolguy007]

Love the video. Really enjoyed it. 👏. I have a question. Can you play blues, rock as a Solo Musician on a Cruise Ship? I’m a solo musician who plays with tracks and mostly the Tourists circuit (all the hits, classics etc) but I do one gig a week where I get to play blues & rock etc and it’s my favourite gig of the week (as they are my favourite genres) and I was wondering if that’s possible to do on a cruise ship? I haven’t been on a cruise ship so I don’t know if there would be a demand for that type of gig?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Thanks. Unless you went on as a headliner act, like a famous blues/rock act, you wouldn’t really be able to just stick to that genre. They want you to be as versatile as possible on ship, and have you playing as many different styles as you can really. You still get to play that kind of stuff, just not every set.

[@thelolguy007]

@@BenHartwellGuitar firstly thanks for the prompt reply 👍. And that’s great to know, a decent compromise I would guess. Any ships you would recommend or not?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

@@thelolguy007 no worries. It depends what you are going on as. Solo/duo/band/headliner. You’re best going to a showcase event where all the bookers for the big cruise lines are there. Then you can hit them all at once. They all have pros and cons. Also depends where in the world you want to go :)

[@thelolguy007]

@@BenHartwellGuitar Solo & Europe 👍

[@RobertRodriguezdrummer]

Hello, I figured a good question to ask might be related to the smart watch. Would a smartphone be a good substitute for a smart watch? I usually just keep my phone with me most of the time. Other question is will headphones work just as well as an in-ear monitor on a gig? I'm starting my contract next month and these are things I've been thinking about.

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Cool, congrats on the contract. I would still recommend a watch as timing is very important on ship, and you don’t want to have your phone with you when on stage. Some contracts give you a ship phone too so they can stay in contact with you. I wouldn’t like to use full size headphones for a gig, unless you’re playing drums. I mean they will probably work but don’t look great on stage and they could fall off if you’re jumping or moving about a lot. Hope this helps.

[@RobertRodriguezdrummer]

@@BenHartwellGuitar This helps a ton! Thanks so much. This is my first contract so I don't know what to expect. I ended up ordering ear monitors since I do tend to be an active drummer in regards to head movement. Haha I think I am going to think about the watch. I defiantly agree that a phone is never a great idea on stage.

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

@@RobertRodriguezdrummer cool. just wear a regular watch for now, you dont NEED a smart watch. Good luck on contract!

[@RobertRodriguezdrummer]

@@BenHartwellGuitar Thanks so much man and thank you for getting back to me so quickly. :)

[@Prhim05]

Hi Ben Hartwell, thanks for the video mate. I just wanted to know how did you found those kind of contract that you don’t necessarily need to know how to read music? My sight reading skills aren’t that great and I’m still working on them. Thanks!

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Paci DK thanks. Most of the time I use agencies and management companies in the UK that source the jobs for me. They hold auditions, you just go along and show what you can do. If they have suitable work for you they will let you know. Non-reading jobs are usually for duos and bands.

[@Prhim05]

Ben Hartwell awesome thanks for the quick response!

[@jeremiahbridgesdrummer]

Which agencies would you recommend

[@jeremiahbridgesdrummer]

@@BenHartwellGuitar which agencies would you recommend

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

@@jeremiahbridgesdrummer it depends what country you are in. Best thing to do is to find and attend auditions for the companies you want to work with.

[@danielfung5792]

Me and my GF are preparing to apply as a DUO. We are preparing popular songs, by now we have 16 songs ready, with solos included. But it seems impossible to learn a set list of 200 songs to apply for the cruise. Do you think 50 songs would do it? And then learning the rest on board?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

It’s tough for sure, but unless you have a large repertoire ready to go most companies won’t consider you. The way I did it was to have chord charts for songs I didn’t know off by heart on my iPad attached to my mic stand. As a duo you’re expected to know loads of material! It’s a little different as a band. I’d say try and get as many songs together as possible before applying, no cruises at the moment anyway so plenty of time. 50 songs probably isn’t enough to be honest. Depends on the cruise line. Some companies will want no repeat songs over a cruise, and I’ve done contracts where I’ve gone through 50 songs in one day! Hope that helps

[@RudyCanFail1]

do musicians, according to the contract, have to do something else besides playing?

[@joshuanesbit]

Which line do you work for?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Disney and Colorline

[@jaredmerideth5728]

What is the pay like? I’m considering taking a job next year

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

varies company to company and role to role, it will all be explained in your contract though

[@AleksP1987]

Hey Ben, What in your opinion the worst cruise companies for musicians ?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

Hey Nort. I guess they all have their good bits and bad bits. I have only worked for a handful so I cant really say. But I would say be sure to check any contract for 'extra duties'. The companies where you only have to worry about being a musician and nothing else are the best. Also be wary of contracts that dont specify a maximum number of sets per day...I've been bit by that one before!

[@kereamohau]

Question: Do the reading gigs pay more than the party band gigs?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

I don't really know. I've never taken a reading contract. Maybe check out people like DavidColaDrums I know he has done a lot of reading contracts, thanks.

[@Vanhalen1]

Six sets?

[@darriousdagustino6345]

How about hooking up with a female co worker(or guest)? Heck its a 6 month contract you gotta get yours and they gotta get theirs right?

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

haha, co workers is usually fine, but guests are a big no no! thats one way to get your contract terminated very quickly

[@darriousdagustino6345]

@@BenHartwellGuitar I dont think I can survive 6 months without getting laid(properly). Must be a lot of sexual frustrations amongst the crew except for a few lucky ones. So how does the lucky ones go about it? Its a given the ship Officers are all having orgies with their female counterparts up deck in thier deluxe crew compartments.Lol

[@GaryRinaldi]

@@BenHartwellGuitar I did Show band for Carnival cruise line, and we had a guitarist that was sneeking a guest into his cabin and was out to F**k anything on the ship with a pulse. lol But he ended up getting fired for something else anyway.

[@BenHartwellGuitar]

@@GaryRinaldi cool! yeah that's a sure fire way to get the contract terminated.