Yes. The vast majority of guests get off the ship in the various ports, and as your job is to entertain guests, the lack of guests on board means that you get the time off, too. Most often, you will be allowed off the ship for the full duration of time that the ship is in a certain port. Showband musicians may have a rehearsal that would require them to come back to the ship early, or a soloist may be scheduled for a dinnertime set if the ship stays in a port until late at night, but these circumstances are more uncommon. The only major exception — when you will need to stay on board — is when you are assigned “port manning”. Port manning is the result of the industry-wide safety regulation that a certain number of crew members must always be on board the ship at any given time. Every musician will thus be part of a port manning rotation which will require you to stay on the ship for one port day or a series of port days every month or two. The good news is that you’ll probably only have to do port manning a handful of times during your contract.

Yes. Musicians have access to all lounges and areas of the ship, provided they are dressed appropriately. There are occasional exceptions, such as a small “relaxation” area for guests that is designated as off-limits for all crew members, or certain hours when crew members are prohibited from the guest buffet area or the guest gym, but these limitations are minimal; for all intents and purposes, you can go anywhere you like on the ship. Except guests’ private cabins, though. Don’t get any ideas.

Anything you want! Well .. not anything .. but there are certainly many options to keep yourself busy. You can practice (see Work-Related). You can stay in shape by going to the gym. You can lay outside in the sunshine and read a book or listen to music. You can learn a new language at the crew training center. Or you can lay in your bed and watch movies all day until you have to get dressed for work. One of the best aspects of shipboard life as a musician is the large amount of free time you’ll have, and you can choose to spend it just about any way you like.

Musicians will either have a single private cabin or share a cabin with another member of the entertainment department. In the case of sharing a cabin, there will be two bunk beds, a desk, and a closet and cabinets for both you and your roommate. It is most likely that your roommate will be another musician, but occasionally a dancer, theater technician or other member of the entertainment department will be placed with you based on the department’s accommodation setup. Soloists will often have their own room, and most other musicians will share a cabin.

Most often, you will eat your meals in a buffet-style cafeteria with the rest of the entertainment department, as well as a few other departments from the ship (casino, gift shop, security, etc). Generally, breakfast is served from 7-9 am, lunch from 11:30 am-1:30 pm, dinner from 6-9 pm, and late-night food is usually available from 12-2 am. The buffet includes several meats, rice, pasta and at least one vegetarian option. In addition to the staff cafeteria, it may be possible to eat at the guest buffets at certain times of day; this privilege depends largely on the cruise line but can also vary amongst different ships within the same cruise line.

Yes. You will have access to Wi-Fi which you can use in most areas of the ship. However, the internet on board is not free; you’ll need to purchase an internet card (providing you with a pin to log onto the ship’s Wi-Fi), which costs roughly $20 for about 3 hours. In addition to purchasing internet cards on board the ship, many crew members frequent restaurants and cafes in port with Wi-Fi, where Wi-Fi access is free with the purchase of food or drink and the connection is often faster than on the ship.

Yes. You can make phone calls to landlines and cell phone numbers using the ship’s satellite system, but similar to the on-board internet, you’ll need to purchase a phone card. Phone cards cost roughly $10 and the per-minute cost of a call is dependent upon the country you’re calling; for example, a single phone card spent calling the U.S. will yield roughly an hour of talking time.

Yes. They can come cruise as often as you’d like them to, although it is not possible for any family member to come live with you on board. Cruise lines have varying policies on family cruising, but they often require you to work on board for a total of 6 months before you become eligible for a crew family discount (up until that time, they can come cruise as normal passengers). Crew discounts vary based on the cruise line, the specific dates of the requested cruise, and the availability of cabins in both guest and crew areas, and can vary from 15 or 20% off the normal passenger price to $7 per day in unique circumstances where certain crew cabins can be used.

Yes. Drunkenness, drugs, fighting, stealing, harassment and intimate relations with a guest are all grounds for immediate termination of one’s contract on board, and would result in your being sent home. There is a zero-tolerance policy for any drug use (enforced by random drugs tests), physically fighting with a guest or crew member, stealing from a guest or crew member, and harassment of a guest or crew member. Drinking alcohol is not allowed while working, and only a certain amount of alcohol can be consumed when off-duty.

You will get paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, in the form of cash or a deposit to your ship-specific account. Most cruise lines have transitioned to an online system where your paycheck is automatically deposited every two weeks or each month. There are ATM’s on the ship for you to take out cash from your account, and the online access makes money transfers and the managing of your account straightforward and easy. Most cruise lines use U.S. dollars to pay employees.

Salaries vary greatly based on the cruise line, your position on board, the instrument you play and the number of years you’ve worked with a certain line. It is also important to keep in mind that it is the cruise line that sets your salary, not us. That being said, salaries for Showband musicians and lounge band members start roughly somewhere between $1,800 and $2,400 per month; soloists can earn anywhere from $2,000 to upwards of $3,000 per month.

Of course. Our biggest priority is the happiness and well-being of our clients, and we will do anything we can to ensure that you’re happy on board, both personally and professionally. Small matters can usually be resolved on board without our involvement, but if you feel that an issue is important enough to contact us, we will offer advice and, if necessary, take care of it quickly and in the way that is most beneficial to you.

Yes. Once you been on board a ship long enough to decide that you’d like to do a second contract, simply let us know how much vacation time you’d like following the completion of your first contract and what ships (if any) you’re most interested working on, and we will take care of everything else for you.

Yes; Lime Entertainment charges all of its musicians a commission — a small percentage of one’s salary on board. However, our audition process is absolutely free, and Lime will not charge a musician any money until he or she arrives and starts working on a ship. We audition, place musicians on ships and provide all necessary information prior to boarding completely free of charge.