Working on a cruise ship comes with its own special challenges, even when you have one of the best jobs in the industry.
Solo musicians generally work 3-4 hours per day and they almost always get a day off. That’s a very light schedule compared to many crew members, but it’s necessitated by the work they are doing.
It’s very hard to sing for 3-4 hours a day especially when some shifts may be broken up by deck parties. That forces the performer to warm up their voice more than once, and that can be challenging.
Related: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity will add ships, new destination in 2025
Royal Caribbean solo musicians do, of course, have more responsibilities than just playing. They still have to drill with the crew, which can mean having to wake up early 1 or 2 days a week after finishing work at 1 or 2 a.m.
They also have to practice, learn new songs for passenger requests, and sometimes prepare special sets at the request of management.
Still, solo musicians get time off in ports to see the world, and when on the ship, they have passenger-like privileges. They also can accept tips, have their own cabins, and can even order from room service.
Musicians in bands share a room and have to rehearse more (in general) but they still have one of the best jobs onboard. Bryan James, who has worked both as a solo musician and as part of a group, shared what a day in his life is like during his current contract on Utopia of the Seas, where he’s performing as part of the country band in the Mason Jar restaurant.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
Working on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas
Transcript:
Good morning. I’m going to work. How are you? I’m good, I’m good.
Off to brunch. Off to work. I’ll see you soon.
I’ll see you in 45 minutes. Yes. Okay, yeah.
Bye. I’m a little late. I’m a little late.
But this elevator’s stuck at 18. I gotta go to 15. This one’s at 5. Hopefully, it’s coming down to 3 soon.
Most musicians we’re not going to work in the mornings, but this is a hyper-specific job where we have to wake up and do brunch once a week. We’re typically playing, like, till midnight every night. So the negative is we play crazy, crazy late, till about midnight.
But then you’re never actually done at that point. After you’re finished playing, you’re then talking with everybody, you’re hanging out, maybe you have a drink or two with some guests. You’re not going to fall asleep until your body’s not going to shut down till, like, 2 or 3 in the morning.
You have to get up at 9 to start your vocal warm-ups to get yourself ready for brunch the next day. It’s kind of this weird balancing act that you have to do. It doesn’t sound like it’s that hard of a thing, but it’s harder than it sounds.
So anyway, that’s brunch, guys. There’s something different about this chicken. I never, ever wanted to order chicken and waffles.
Because when I think of fried chicken, it’s always too dry or too greasy. There’s only two options. This is perfect in every way.
And I’m not just saying that because I work here. I think a part of it is the meat. It’s like this darker…Is it dark meat? I don’t know.
It doesn’t taste like typical…Isn’t chicken just all one meat? Is there a dark meat and a light meat to a chicken? I thought that was turkey. Maybe it’s turkey. It’s definitely not turkey.
It’s called chicken and waffles. Are you crazy? Alright. What are we doing? Where are we going? I already forget.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.
Cruise ship bands have to rehearse
Headed back to the room and then get ready for the gym. And I have rehearsal, so… What am I going to do? Gym. Get ready for the gym.
Gym. That’s it. That’s all I have.
And then I work at 9 o’clock. Life is good. How long is your rehearsal? 30 minutes.
Easy. In and out. Okay.
We’re going to the gym. It’s going to be a quick one. Just because I’m not a gym rat myself.
We’re also walking away from the gym right now because we took the wrong turn. That’s how often I go to the gym. I really don’t do this often.
Okay. We got distracted. Back to the mission.
Back to the gym. I’m on a stair-stepper. And if you’ve never done a stair-stepper before, these are torture.
It’s like your muscles never get a chance to just relax. And I’ve been told you’re supposed to just keep going. So, when you’re on the verge of thinking that your legs are going to fall off, don’t stop.
And push through the pain. And supposedly, that’s good for you. How many days do you go to the gym per week? Realistically, probably 5 out of 7. Not on the double show day.
But you want to go more? Yeah.
When does your day start for a double show day?
I start getting ready at least 2 hours before the show. Your show time is? Usually 7 or 8. But yeah, I just want to save all my energy.
I have time. I could make time for sure. But I’d choose a walk over the gym.
Oh, so you’re still getting out. You’re still like being active. You’re just not lifting heavy weights.
Okay, I gotta go this way. Okay, I gotta go this way. Bye.
Bye. Oh God, where am I? So, we’re on 6 now. 6 overlooks the promenade.
Made it all Christmassy. Look at that. Starbucks is all Christmassy.
And there’s Central Park is right up there. I’m guessing. I haven’t been up there in weeks actually.
So, maybe Central Park looks really Christmassy. I’m gonna go up there after this. We’re gonna check it out.
Oh, what’s up? I was just given a duck. While we were eating our sushi, I’ve been gifted a 3D printed…Oh, here it is. Chris the Cruisin’ Duck Man.
How many did you say that you give out in a typical cruise?
“This one was 1,200. Our last cruise in September was 2,500.”
Dude.
Oh, no way. Wait, what? What the heck? That’s crazy. Oh my gosh.
Heck yeah. Wait, for real? That is so cool. Oh, duckies.
Like tiny little..They’re not dolphins. They’re just the smallest fish jumping out of the water like dolphins. It’s so random.
It’s so weird. Okay, that was my day. I forgot to film the later half.
Be the first to see the best deals on cruises, special sailings, and more. Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
Musicians get paid to play music
Clearly, it ended around 5 o’clock. But I worked that night at a bar on the ship. That’s my job.
I work at a bar and I play music. I forgot to set up a tripod and really show you what it looks like. But it’s really, really fun.
If you’ve been on the ship, it can be a really, really good time up there. So I’m going to show that soon. I’m going to start making these longer videos a little bit more regularly.
Clearly, I make a lot of shorts. If you want to see those, you can see them on my YouTube and on Instagram. But more of that coming on YouTube really soon, I think.
Have questions about booking a cruise? Schedule a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me’s Travel Agent Partner Postcard Travel Planning.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise)
That’s the plan. That’s the plan. It’s Christmas time.
We’ve got five days till Christmas. There’s a lot of events happening on the ship for crew members. And I want to be showing a little bit of what that looks like.
So stay tuned for another Day in the Life video coming soon. Soon, soon, soon, soon. And thanks, guys.
If you comment in these videos at all, I’m pretty sure it’s helpful. So feel free to comment anything you’d like. And I appreciate you watching my really strange life down below deck on a cruise ship.
It’s unique. And I’m glad I get to share it with you guys. So thanks.
Bye.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.
