Life as a Cruise Ship Musician: Interview with Sienna George
“Instagram is almost like the LinkedIn for musicians”
Being a musician on a cruise ship may be a career you haven’t properly considered before. However, it’s a path that perfectly suits performers who are versatile, love networking, travelling, and don’t mind playing a show six nights a week…
The Gig
To tell us a bit more, we caught up with musician and influencer Sienna George to explain the highs and lows of life at sea as a working musician. Check out our full video with Sienna on our Instagram page here.
Sienna is currently in the first few weeks of her 102-day contract, playing bass aboard a liner from the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, travelling between Iceland, the UK, Portugal and France.
In addition to her digital career as an influencer, Sienna is a woodworker and a former music student, having studied both an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Classical Bass Performance before embarking on a diverse career as a performer.
“I currently play six shows a week, with one day off. Every single day, I get to explore the islands and cities that we are visiting, then I just come back on board and play my shows in the evenings” She told us.
Large cruise liners like TUI, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises often partner with independent entertainment agencies to recruit musicians and other performers for their ships. Some of the most prominent agencies operating across Europe include:
- Lime (International)
- Artists Direkt (German-based)
- Warshaw Entertainment (international)
- Artists Provider (international)
Following selection by an agency, auditions are then held remotely so musicians can showcase their skills and versatility.
The importance of a social media presence for performers is something Sienna wanted to highlight to students at BIMM Berlin, as it is common for entertainment agencies to search sites like TikTok and Instagram to find musicians and recruit them for roles.
“Instagram is almost like the LinkedIn for musicians. So many of the agencies and venues I now play at regularly found me from Instagram.”
The Highs
Cruise liners are required to provide a variety of entertainment every night for passengers. This means musicians with experience playing a variety of genres are best suited to jobs on board ships.
“Working as a musician on a luxury yacht collection has been one of the most rewarding and sustainable jobs in my career so far,” she explains.
“I play music six days a week with one day off, and every day I get to explore the islands, countries and cities we are visiting. Then I just come back on board and play my shows in the evening.”
Cruise ships often house multiple open-air bars, exclusive lounges, and ballroom-style theaters hosting regular shows for up to 5,000 passengers. This means cruise performers are often very busy, whether they are in the pit playing live music for a show, or in the lounge playing jazz as the sun goes down.
The Lows
As you can probably imagine, high waves and choppy seas are to be expected on longer voyages, especially on routes crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, shorter voyages and river cruises experience far less turbulence. Ships on voyages like this are often much smaller, with only a couple of hundred passengers on board.
Being away from home for weeks at a time can also be a struggle for many. But high-speed Wi-Fi is the norm on all cruise ships and yachts today, so even if you consider a life at sea, your family and friends are still only a phone call away.
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