Sign-On Day

You’ve passed the audition, you’ve completed your papers, you’ve gotten all the travel documents, and now it’s time to fly to join the ship.  If you are like me, it’s a mixture of excitement and anxiety because you don’t really know what to expect.  The life on a ship is far different from life on land; there are pros and cons to both sides.  When I started my first contract I really had no idea what to expect.  I didn’t know anybody who had worked onboard a ship before; I had just taken a couple of cruises with my family when I was young.  The last time I had cruised as a guest was 1998 and the ship was 73,000 gross tonnes and when I stepped foot on my first ship as a crewmember in 2008 the ship was almost a football field longer and double the overall size at 154,000 gross tonnes, at the time the largest in the world.

My very first cabin on a ship.  This is a pretty
typical crew cabin that is shared.

Before you leave for the airport, double check all of your documents and make sure you have them in a folder all together.  The sign-on day goes by very quickly and it will be less stressful if everything is prepared in advance.  If you forget certain documents, such as your passport, you will not be allowed to board the ship.  The cruise line will pay for your flights and will usually fly you to the port city one day before you sign on.  They will pay for your hotel and usually provide a meal or a per diem for your food.  If you are entitled to a single cabin on the ship, then you will have a single occupancy room at the hotel.  If you are required to share a room on the ship, then you will share a double occupancy hotel room as well.  Unless you are traveling together as a band, you most likely will not share the hotel room with another musician.  Be sure to secure your belongings, as the other crewmember will have a key and access to all of your stuff.  I’ve never experienced a problem with theft, but it’s better to be safe.  Depending on where you are in the world, you might have most of the day before your sign-on day to go out and sightsee.  For example when I flew to Barcelona from the U.S., I arrived early in the morning, went to the hotel, and then took a shuttle to spend the day downtown.  But when I went to Dubai and also Bangkok, I arrived very late at night and had no time to go out.  Just remember to be responsible as the next day will be very long and start very early.  I worked with a manager once who partied a little too much the night before and actually missed the ship on his sign-on day.  He had to pay for his own flight to the next port and then was fired.  It was a very expensive lesson that also resulted in losing a job.

The actual sign-on day is long and just be prepared to wait around a lot.  Usually a shuttle will come pick up all the signons early in the morning and take you to the ship.  The number of people signing on the ship with you varies.  Every cruise there are people coming and going to start and end their contracts.  Once you get to the ship you will be met by people from the Human Resources department and the crew office.  A senior representative from your department will also usually be there to greet you and help you onto the ship.  You will be handled another packet of papers to fill out, the number and type will vary between cruise lines but will usually cover basic information.  You will also hand over your medical papers to the medical staff and they will check to make sure it is complete and valid.

The bathroom in my first cabin.
Shower, toilet, and sink all within a few inches

If you are an American citizen or Permanent Resident (a “green card” holder), then you will also be given U.S. tax forms to complete.  No matter where in the world you are working, since the parent companies of the cruise lines are all located in the United States, you will be automatically required to have Federal taxes deducted from your salary.  Other nationalities will not fill out the papers and it is up to you to declare the taxes to your own home country if required.  The state and local taxes are not included, so make sure you save some money to pay those on tax day.  I worked on ships that didn't make a single stop inside the United States, but I still had taxes withheld from every single paycheck.

Once all the papers are completed and returned, somebody will show you to your cabin.  A majority of crewmembers share cabins with another person.  The living arrangements, called berthing, are usually done where you will share with somebody from your department.  Most of the time musicians are sharing with other musicians, but sometimes can be with other entertainers such as singers, dancers, or a DJ, or other times from the cruise department such as a youth staff, sports staff, or cruise staff member.  In some rare occasions I have seen musicians temporarily live with bartenders or waiters but that is not normal, as the crew office usually likes to keep people with similar schedules together (i.e. the waiter who has to wake up at 5am doesn’t want to be woken up by  a bartender who ends at 1am).

After dropping off your suitcases, somebody will show you around the ship.  The moment you step onboard the ship as a crewmember, you will have assigned safety responsibilities.  If you are starting your very first contract, the responsibilities will be limited until you have finished all of your safety training.  But your tour should consist of your working areas, the crew areas (crew dining areas, crew bar and lounges, laundry, etc.), the life stations, and also your safety responsibilities.  The manager giving the tour will teach you the very basic emergency signals and what to do if they are sounded.  Don’t worry, it is a lot to take in on the first few hours but you will have trainings to cover it more in depth later.

My first Musical Director single cabin, with porthole!
A little messy the day I moved in.

My  

Once you finish the tour of the ship, you might have a little downtime to start unpacking your suitcases.   Remember that most people will have to work that same day, so take time to prepare whatever you need to perform.  Check your instrument, hang up your clothes, and if you are in the orchestra then try and locate the charts you have to play that night.  The cabin will be very small compared to what you are used to on land, even if you have a tiny studio apartment.  Be respectful of your roommate and try to get to know each other at least on a basic level.  Typically the person who has been in the room the longest gets the bottom bunk, so unless you have a good reason not to, just give them the bottom bunk.   When they eventually sign-off the ship then you will move and the new person gets the top bunk.  Also, the drawers and cabinets will be split 50/50, so you will probably just move your things into the ones emptied earlier in the day by the person who just left.  It’s really important to respect each other, as you will share the tiny living space for an extended amount of time.  You don't have to end up best friends, but there must be respect.  If you do experience a problem, it is best to talk about it early instead of letting it go and build up.  If talking directly with your roommate doesn't work, then take it to your supervisor who can help the situation.

Another cabin I had as Musical Director.

The thing about being new on a ship is that you will get lost the first few days.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your first contract or you are going to a different ship.  Don’t be afraid to ask somebody if you are lost or need something.  Everybody has been in that position before.  On my first day I got lost on my way to lunch and everyone I saw looked so busy and I didn’t want to stop them from what they were doing.  After the 3^rd time of walking down the same wrong hallway and seeing the same guy each time, he finally stopped me and asked if I needed any help.  Crewmembers are generally very nice to one another and are willing to help.  Yes, sometimes they may be very busy or are having a bad day, but they will still help you out.  My point is, just ask when you need help.  You are expected to get lost in those first few days (or in my case it was 2 weeks); it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

The end of the I-95 going towards storage areas.
This was taken on a slow day at sea.

The day when the guests onboard change over is called embarkation day or “turnaround day.”  It’s the busiest day onboard all around the ship, so be careful when you are walking around.  It’s very different than anything you will find on land.  Imagine a hotel on land where every guest checks out within a couple of hours of each other in the morning and then the hotel completely fills up with new guests that same afternoon.  That is life on a cruise ship.  But add to the stress having to load supplies to last a week, or more if on longer cruises, and moving them into the appropriate storage areas (called “stores” onboard).  Throw in offloading a week or more worth of garbage and recyclables as well as getting a group of new employees, showing them around, and training them.  Always look where you are going and try and avoid the busiest areas if possible.  My general rule is to get off the ship if possible on turnaround day just to avoid the stress of everything going on there.

The next requirement will be the mandatory safety training.  There is a short, basic training that all crewmembers must take before the ship leaves the pier.  This is required if it’s your first contract or your 20^th contract.  There are strict laws when it comes to onboard safety and these are set by an international organization, called the SOLAS Convention (Safety Of Live At Sea), which is overseen by the International Maritime Organization.  SOLAS was first passed in 1914 upon the sinking of the Titanic.

My wife's featured singer cabin.
By far the largest room we've had on a ship!

The training session might be a little different from cruise line to cruise line but the basics are going over the emergency signals and code words, what to do in case of an emergency, and also the environmental guidelines on the ship.  These are just the basics before the ship leaves so that everyone understands just in case of an emergency.  As we have all seen in the news, safety training of the crew can literally be of life and death importance.  I have been in life-threatening situations while at sea and had to put the years of training to use.  Yes, the onboard training is like being back in a school classroom and it can be very boring, but I’ve learned the importance of it firsthand.  This is just the first step in your trainings onboard, if it is the first contract the trainings will last around 2 weeks.  If you have completed a contract before then the trainings might only last a few days.  Your supervisor, the Safety Officer, and/or the Training Manager will give you the schedule.  Just continue to check for updates to the training schedule and they can oftentimes be moved depending on availability of the room or the needs of the ship.  Also, make sure you arrive on time for your training.  I have worked with some Training Managers that lock the door as the clock strikes so no latecomers can sneak in.  The consequence can be as little as having to redo the training to getting a warning to even being fired.

Once training if finished, the ship will conduct a mandatory guest muster drill (usually referred to as “boat drill”).  Every ship must conduct a boat drill for the guests before the ship leaves the port.  This is just in case an emergency occurs and then everyone will know where to go and what to do.  All guests are required to attend wherever or not they have cruised before.  The whole drill lasts about 30 minutes and should hopefully be the only time the guests have to go to their muster stations for the rest of the cruise.

Musicians hanging out in a crew corridor
just outside the cabins.

After the drill, the rest of your day depends on where you work.  If you are in a band, you might have a sound check with the lounge tech or you might even start playing right after the drill or before dinner as the guests are out and about looking around the ship.  If you are in the orchestra, you might have a rehearsal or quick sound check for the evening show.  Solo entertainers will usually work in the evening in their respective lounge.  In any case, you will hit the ground running and immediately start working.  Just be careful and take care of your health as you might experience jet lag as well as have late nights performing and then early mornings with training.  Sleep when you can, try and eat healthy, and visit the gym whenever possible.

Depending on when you finish work, I would recommend trying to go to sleep earlier than normal.  If you are fighting jet lag it will help to get on the new schedule as soon as possible.  Also, you most likely need to catch up on the sleep after traveling and the next morning will start early with a new round of trainings.

Like I said, the first day is one of the longest days of the whole contract.  You will forget people’s names and how to get from point A to point B.  Don’t worry, it gets easier as each day passes.  Make some new friends and don’t keep to yourself.  Meeting people from other countries and cultures is one of the great benefits to working on a ship.  Try to make friends outside of your department as well.  The unique thing about working on a cruise ship is that you live and work all in the same place.  Good that you will never have to worry about the commute, but bad if you are the kind of person that likes to separate work and play.  You will be around the same people nearly 24 hours a day, so it’s nice to make friends outside of the people you directly work with.  And if you are a private person, you might as well start letting go of that.  There is not really anything very private while working onboard a ship; it’s a small, closed environment where everyone is around each other all the time and nothing ever happens without everyone knowing about it.  It’s just one of those things where the sooner you accept it the better off you will be.

Now that we’ve covered the first day, I will go into some detail what to expect for the first 2 weeks onboard.  You will be adjusting and attending a lot of trainings.  I've seen some musicians almost quit within the first 2 weeks because they didn't expect to be in so many trainings.  The bad news is that you will be incredibly busy and at times possibly overwhelmed.  You will be meeting lots of new people, learning new procedures, attending hours of trainings, learning new music and venues, and performing every day.  The good news is that once you make it past your first 2 weeks you will start to settle in and relax into a regular schedule.