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January 2, 2012
Dear musicians,
To work on a cruise ship you must pass a medical exam. How detailed this exam is depends on the cruise line that has offered you a job. Some include detailed blood analysis, drug tests, chest x-rays, detailed medical questionnaire and more. Some cruise lines require that your Body Mass Index (BMI) is below 35.
Being in good general health is thus important and we want to make sure our clients are aware of this policy so they won’t be surprised later.
Some musicians are asking whether they can get a medical exam done before they are offered a gig on a cruise ship. This, however, does not make much sense since all of these cruise lines have different medical exam procedures. Wait until you’ve been offered a job to get a yours done. At that point we’ll be able to give you detailed instructions and provide you with the correct forms.
Once completed, the medical results are typically valid for 2 years.
It’s also important to note that the exams are at your cost. Some cruise lines reimburse a part of the costs to you once on board the ship, some don’t.
If you have any questions about medical exams, let us know.
December 28, 2011
Dear musicians,
Here’s another question we get asked a lot. When should I apply?
You should apply as early as possible. Most cruise lines book several months in advance to make sure they’ve got all their entertainment needs filled. Cruise gigs are in high demand at the moment. There are way more musicians applying than there are jobs for. So, if an opening comes up, doesn’t mean you’ll get it. So, a couple of months may pass before a gig is assigned to you because you’re the next best guy on the list.
It’s pretty typical to have to wait several months before you’ll get a gig.
Once you’ve successfully passed your audition, you’ll on the roster of musicians or groups that we consider for placement, and that doesn’t change unless you tell us you’re no longer looking for work. Take your time to make sure you’re properly prepared for the audition, this ensures that you put your best effort forward. Then, go ahead and audition, even if you’re not planning to head out for a cruise gig for several months.
For groups, it’s important to update your information with us while you’re waiting for a job. Considering that it can take several months before you get a gig, the lineup of your band may change, or you may put together a better video. If that’s the case, make sure you get this information to us so that we also show the cruise lines your latest and best material.
Hope this helps.
December 26, 2011
Dear musicians,
Background checks are one of the items on your list of paperwork to be completed before you embark on a ship.
What seemed to be a sporadic procedure is now pretty much a standard amongst all major cruise lines. For some that means having to sign a consent form, giving authorization to a third party company that specializes in background checks. For others it means getting a police record at your local police station. We will be able to tell you more exactly what to do, once we know which cruise line you’ll be working for.
These background checks have to be fairly recent, so you couldn’t use one you have laying around from several years ago. We get asked fairly often what kinds of entries on your criminal history will prevent you from getting a job. This is, unfortunately, not something we can answer as these decisions are made by the lawyers at the cruise lines.
This information is provided simply to make sure you won’t be surprised later when you’re asked for this background check.
December 22, 2011
We get asked this all the time. Will I get sea sick?
My answer: Some do – some don’t.
It’s true that the ships nowadays are pretty big, which makes for less movement in general, but the ocean can still shake these ships around quite a bit.
My trick to sea sickness is to not even let it get started, meaning the moment you feel the slightest bit of discomfort, eat some bread and get some sea sickness pills right away. If you wait until your face turns green it’ll be really hard if not impossible to get better quickly.
I suggest to go get a stash of pills the day you get on board and keep them handy. Don’t be too proud to pop them right away. In the end, you’ll be glad you did.
What’s your remedy for sea sickness? Post it below.
Good Luck.
