Archive for the ‘Cruise Ships’ Category
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Since I’m working a lot on cruise ships these days and in the coming months I thought I’d take a bit of time to describe some of the performance spaces that I typically work when I’m off galavanting around the world on one of these contracts. I seem to be working more for Princess Cruises than any other line, so I’ll use the five different performance spaces that you find on Princess Ships to give you a better sense of what you can expect if/when you head to sea for a contract on one of their ships.
The five different venues that I’ve performed in to date ranging from the very luxurious 800 plus seat Princess Theatre to the street-like setting in the middle of the ship that has been designed to emulate an Italian Piazza. Each of the performance spaces offers a different set of strengths and challenges, and knowing about each before you join these ships can help ensure that your shows look as good as possible.
On my most recent contract aboard the STAR Princess I ended up working in three of the five venues that are used on Princess Ships, The Princess Theatre, The Vista Lounge and the Piazza. Were I to cover all of the venues in a single post I’d end up with an incredibly long post, so I’ll attack this process one venue at a time. I’ll start with the biggest of the venues, The Princess Theatre (you can see the floor plan of the ship here).
The Princess Theatre is the ‘MAIN ROOM’ on Princess ships and has a traditional proscenium which lends itself well to the many production shows that are presented for passengers over the course of their cruise. In spite of the limitations and added technical challenges of creating a theatrical space aboard a cruise ship, this venue has a very sophisticated system of flies that allows curtains, screens and set pieces to be flown in and out of view of the audience making for very quick changes. Many of the ships also have lifts that allow the cast of production shows to be lifted up to stage level or lowered out of site which gets used to dramatic effect in a number of shows. One ship that I’ve worked on (The GOLDEN Princess) even has a ‘rain’ system where water is rained down from the ceiling in a line and is captured in a gap in the stage below. This is a pretty spectacular effect and one I hadn’t anticipated seeing on a ships.
Lights and sound are all controlled from the main booth at the centre back of the audience and this booth is maned by the senior production manager, along with a lighting technician and a sound operator. Backstage you typically find a crew chief and any number of back stage hands the number of which depends on the needs of any given show. Out front you may also have one or two spot light operators.
Now as a juggler I seem to be used more often in the cabaret venues on the ship than in the main theatre though I did get to play in the theatre on this last contract which allowed me to pull out my free-standing ladder for the audience. Normally I don’t often bring it out because the ceiling height in some of the other venues aboard the ship prohibit the use of some of my ‘taller’ props.
Depending on the ship, the theatre can hold an audience of anywhere between about five hundred and eight hundred passengers. The seats are raked, meaning that they slope up and away from the stage which allows for excellent sight lines for just about every seat in the house. Now, if the theatre is full, the energy in the room can be fantastic. On the other hand, if the venue is sparsely populated this venue can be significantly more challenging to play than some of the smaller venues aboard the ship.
Something about this particular venue on Princess ship, the soft seats, the carpeted floors, the upholstered wall panels means that the energy that you put out as a performer is somehow immediately muffled as soon as it leaves the stage. This is challenging enough when you’re playing to a fairly full room, but if the space is only 30 – 40% occupied it becomes even more of a challenge to get a sense of how well your show is being received. You just don’t hear the sort of reaction that you may expect having performed in other venues and knowing this in advance can help prepare yourself for a muted reaction from the audience. Now it’s important to realize that the audience may well be enjoying your show, but it’s just less audible because of the nature of the venue.
Audience reaction may also be a reflection of the demographic in attendance on the specific cruise that you’re being employed on. On shorter three or four days cruises (The ‘Booze Cruises’ as they’re known in the industry) the demographic is typically younger and crowds are more vocal and boisterous. On longer cruises (some as long as 30 days and even up to 100 days) the crowd is typically older (retired) and their level of enthusiasm can make it feel as though you’re not doing very well even though the audience is thoroughly enjoying your performance.
When the planets align and you get a full house of enthusiastic spectators the Princess Theatre is a joy to perform in. When, however, you’re playing to a house that’s 20 – 40% full and the crowd is made up of people who are less vocally appreciative, it can be an enormous challenge if you rely on audience interaction in your performance as I do. As always, the mark of a true professional is one who walks out onto stage and deliver the very best show possible no matter what the conditions… Besides, you get paid the same no matter what the situation, so why have fun! Next week I’ll look at the next of the venues I typically work on Princess ships, the VISTA Lounge.
Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities, Performance | 5 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada (eventually)
And so my journey home continues… The trip started last night in Papeete, Tahiti… 10:00 pm departure on Air Tahiti Nui Flight 101 to Los Angeles, then on to Alaskan Airlines Flight #703 up to Vancouver…
So why all this talk of flights and schedules? Well apart from the fact that it’s what will eventually get me home later today, it also ties in to today’s topic which centres around the Food & Entertainment Schedule that are created on Cruise Ships… I figured since I was just on the STAR Princess that it might make for a decent topic for a Technical Tuesday…
Before getting to the STAR for this latest contract I had received two different stories about what I was going to be expected to do by my agent in Miami. When the contract was first confirmed this is the note I got –
You will need the 75 min…probably a full show & split bill show.
This was then changed to –
They are asking for a full show & a short piazza spot…so you will only need 55-60 min, not 75. like I initially told you.
Then, when I got to the ship and checked the Food & Entertainment Schedule that details the show schedule for the time I was on board, I discovered that the cruise director was in fact asking me to do two completely different 45 – 50 minute shows and then in addition to this he got me to do mini-street style shows in the Piazza.
“Subject to Change”
Seemed to be the catch phrase when it came to my performance schedule aboard the STAR Princess this past week.
Usually, what my agent tells me and what actually transpires when I get to the ship are one in the same thing, so I’m not exactly sure what happened this time around but I am thankful that I was somehow able to pull it off. The Food & Entertainment Schedule usually details the schedule for the week and when you get to a Princess Ship, these schedules are either included in your welcome aboard information or are available in the cruise director’s Office.
Now, even though these schedules are usually very accurate, it does sometimes transpire that changes are made on the fly (like they were for me this week) for a variety of reasons, so it’s important to be flexible enough and travel with enough material to be able to roll with the punches and make sure that what ever your asked to do, you’re continually delivering great shows to the audiences. Do this and your long term career aboard ships is pretty much guaranteed!
Posted in Cruise Ships, Performance, Technical Tuesdays | 1 Comment »
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
A few months ago I posted about the various options for landing work as a performer on Cruise Ships. One talked about the option of contacting the lines directly, the other discussed the option of working through an agent.
Since about the beginning of the year it’s felt like there’s been a bit of a pinch on and that there just isn’t as much work for performers as there once was… The cruise lines are looking at cutting back any way then can and this included the entertainment programming. I recently received an email from my agent in Miami that talks a bit more about this and thought I’d share it here just to give people some insight into current trends…
I just want to reiterate that summer is quickly approaching & work is getting more & more scarce.
This year, especially this summer, has been rough. Between the major budget cuts, added production shows, Int’l guests & more & more ships heading to foreign ports, every line has reduced the # of acts that they typically book and is using local acts in the foreign ports as much as they can. Every act has been affected by this. Obviously, our agency has been affected as well, but we keep perservering & trying our best every day. We get so many e-mails from acts, who are concerned about how their bookings have been affected by this & I just want you all to know that we are working really hard, every day, to try to pick up more dates!
I really do believe that things will get better! Everyone has been affected by this volatile economic climate, and, unfortunately, the cruise lines, are no exception.
So there you go… Now you could look at this and see that there are possibly an increase in opportunities for local acts in foreign ports, but the over all trend is fewer jobs for the same number of acts. Not good math for the number of performers who rely pretty heavily on the cruise ship industry for a large portion of their annual income, and likely not good news for people who are looking at breaking into the market either. Will things turn around? It’s hard to say how long the current situation is going to last or if, after implementing these new budget cutting measure, the cruise lines will ever return to the more flush days that appear to be ending… If/when I know more I’ll post it here.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities | Comments Off on This Just in from my Agent
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Not necessarily the first piece of marketing material you should put your hands on, but postcards ROCK, there’s no doubt about it. I’ve created a bunch of different designs over the years and have used them for everything from thank you notes to direct mailings, to give-aways at the end of shows. While working in Japan I also managed to use postcards as a way to collect extra tips at the end of my show.
I first has this happen while working at the Canal City Shopping Complex in Fukuoka, Japan. The client didn’t like the idea of collecting tips as per a traditional street performance, but when I suggested that I give away postcards to anyone who gave me a donation they lifted their no-tip policy and I was able to put a fair bit of extra $$$ in my jeans as a result.
At the end of my shows on cruise ships I stand at the exit of the theatre and give postcards away to anyone who wants them as a free souvenir of the show. I get paid well enough on ships that the cost of giving away a couple of hundred postcards at the end of a show is easily rolled into the fee I’m receiving. The results are always positive and give me yet another chance to connect with the passengers in the audience and leave a good impression with the staff I’m working with by making a little extra effort.
Any time you can do something that helps cement a good impression with your audience and your employers, you’re paving the way for repeat bookings. ‘nough said.
Useful online sources for postcards are:
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Marketing, Performance | 2 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
The very first contract I had aboard a cruise ship came about in May of 2000 when I boarded the MS ASUKA operated by the NYK Cruises Co., Ltd., a Japanese company with it’s head quarters in Tokyo, Japan. I was on for a grand total of about 48 hours and sailed between Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York City.
So how did I land this job? Well one of the CEOs from the company and his wife happened to see my show while I was performing at the Canal City Shopping Complex in Fukuoka, we exchanged cards and about about seven months later I was on the ship. Total fluke.
If you’d like to go the route of contacting the lines directly keep in mind that the Entertainment Directors for these companies receive a ton of performer promo on a weekly basis and unless you’re promo really shines and sticks out amongst everything else they’re looking at, they may not even give it a second look.
If you can get you foot in the door however and establish a good relationship with any of these companies you might save yourself thousands of dollars in agent commissions by going direct. The list below is by no means all inclusive, but these are some of the bigger companies that it would be worth submitting your materials to.
Bon Voyage!
Carnival Cruises
Attn: Director of Entertainment
3655 NW 87th Avenue
Miami, FL, 33178
USA
Celebrity Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL, 33132
USA
Web: http://www.celebritycruises.com
Crystal Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
2049 Century Park East #1400
Los Angeles, CA, 90067
USA
Web: http://www.crystalcruises.com
Cunard Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
c/- Carnival Cruises UK
Richmond House
Terminus Terrace, SOUTHAMPTON, SO14 3PN
UNITED KINGDOM
Web: http://www.cunard.com
Disney Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
P.O. Box 10210
Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830-0210
USA
Web: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com
Holland America Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
300 Elliott Avenue West
Seattle, WA, 98119
USA
Web: http://www.hollandamerica.com
Norwegian Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
7665 Corporate Center Drive
Miami, FL, 33126
USA
Web: http://www.ncl.com
Prestige Cruise Holdings
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1000 Corporate Dr. Suite 500
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33334
USA
Web: http://www.prestigecruises.com
Princess Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
24844 Avenue Rockefeller
Santa Clarita, CA, 91355
USA
Web: http://www.princess.com
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
USA
Web: http://www.royalcaribbean.com
Silverseas Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
110 E. Broward Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
USA
Web: http://www.silversea.com.
Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities | 1 Comment »
 Where in the world am I today?: Vancouver, BC, Canada
As a juggler I need to have my hands free to manipulate what ever prop I happen to be holding. Over the years I’ve worked with a variety of microphone options and by far my favorite has been the Countryman ISOMAX Headset Microphone.
Now the thing to remember is that this is just the microphone and has nothing to do with the transmitter and receiver. I opted for a Sennheiser system when I purchased my system because I liked the robustness of the metal shells used on the transmitter and receiver at the time, but Countryman will include the appropriate adaptor for what ever body pack you end up selecting making this microphone a simple plug and play operation.
Why do I like this microphone so much?
- It’s robust. I’ve had the one I purchased for eight years and it’s never crapped out on me. Sure there are smaller, less visible alternatives, but I don’t mind the look of this thing and the fact that I can bang it around a bit with out it breaking is a huge huge plus!
- It doesn’t sweat out.’ I’m very active in my show and sweat a lot during my performance. I have in the past used microphones that seemed to jam out on me if they got in contact with the slightest amount of moisture. Sweat happens and the fact that the Countryman microphone can handle a little bit of moisture (don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to go swimming with it on) has been a huge plus.
- The fit is adjustable, yet secure. Initially I bent the microphone arm a bit so that it was positioned where I wanted it, but with the adjustable band that goes around the back of my head I can keep the microphone snugly in place and not bouncing around.
Apparently I’m not the only one for whom these features are a plus as just about every Princess Cruise I’ve worked on hands me one of these microphones when I ask for a headset. So, if its good enough for Princess Cruises and “The Checkerboard Guy” it might be worth considering if/when you decide to go shopping for your next microphone.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Technical Tuesdays, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: Home! North Vancouver, BC, Canada
I make a point of sending a thank you note to my clients after each of my contracts and when ever possible I send along a fun picture taken as part of the contract like the one to the left that was taken in Aruba while I was contracted to perform aboard the Coral Princess.
Getting a photo like this is easier during longer contracts like fairs, trade shows or cruise ships when there’s a bit more time involved and often it’s easy to capture some of the behind the scenes fun that this contract has allowed me to participate in.
Remembering that a client almost always has a choice when it comes to who they hire and that keeping a client happy starts well before you step on stage and ends long after you’ve stepped off stage will serve you very well and help build stronger business relationships as a result.
Juggling and performing have allowed me to travel around the world and I derive a great deal of joy from being able to make people smile for a living. Beyond doing the best job I can when I step on stage, I always make the effort to say a sincere thank-you to the people responsible for hiring me and giving me such wonderful opportunities.
Remembering to stay thank-you is a small investment of time and energy and leaves a lasting impression that may well result in more opportunities for both work and travel in the future.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Juggling, Marketing, Travel | Comments Off on Thank You Notes
 Where in the world am I today?: Aruba
Prologue: I first met Kevin in September 2006 as we boarded the CROWN Princess in St. Thomas. Kevin was had a bouncy leprechaun-like step and we became friends in a heartbeat. His comedy primarily focuses on relationships and when he’s not doing comedy shows he also does lectures. He can often be found sitting at a round table in Horizon Court on whatever Princess Ship he happens to be performing having ‘round table discussions’ as he likes to call them.
Stats:
Birthday: September 28, 1951
Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: Austin Texas, 1981
Discipline: Stand-up Comedian
Website: http://www.staytogether.us
Video Link: http://www.staytogether.us/clips.html
Venues Worked: Cruise Ships, Comedy Clubs, TV, Radio, and one Industrial Film for Clark Equipment Corporation – Fork lifts (nice!)
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite color? • Pink
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream • Vanilla
- What makes you laugh? • My Children
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • Bill Cosby, George Burns, Lucille Ball
- If you could describe yourself as a character from Whinnie the Pooh, who would it be? • The love child of Tigger and Owl
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • Soldier in the US Army – Platoon Sergent
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Fly a single engine plane from North Carolina to Bourget Field in France to retrace the steps of Charles Lindbergh
- What’s the best thing about being a performer? • Making people laugh
- What’s the hardest thing about being a performer? • Being away from your family
- Why do you keep performing? • How could you not??? Because it’s part of who I am be it on stage or off.
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
Kevin Huges’s Three Rules of Comedy –
- Nobody thinks they’re funny, your friends think your funny. So you’ve already proven you can make someone laugh.
- Since you can make your friends laugh, consider your audience your new friends
- Don’t write what you think the audience thinks is funny, write what you think is funny and convince the audience to see it your way.
–Kevin Huges
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Interview, Performance | Comments Off on Kevin Hughes • Interviews from the Inside
 Where in the world am I today?: At Sea aboard the Coral Princess (Caribbean)
So… Working on Cruise Ships… There seem to be two popular options as a performer wanting to work on cruise ships.
- Work through and agent.
- Work directly with the cruise lines.
I’ve done both, but today’s post as the heading indicates is going to focus on the Agent route… I’ll get into contacting the lines directly next week.
The only down side to working with an agent is parting with a percentage of your salary for every contact you do. My first contract with Princess Cruises back in 2001 was through an agent in Vancouver who charged 15%, but when I switched to working through Don Casino Productions who are out of Miami, that figure dropped to 10%. Having spoken to various acts on ships it seems that most agencies that people want to work through also seem to be at the 10% rate, so if you contact an agent and they’re asking for a larger percentage I’d say steer clear.
For many cruise lines the option of working though an agency has several advantages the biggest of which seems to be that if something goes wrong and you have to cancel a contract last minute an agent will be able to draw on their stable of talent to find a replacement more quickly than you might as an individual. In short, there’s less risk for the cruise lines when working though an agent, especially if they’ve never seen your show live and can’t really gauge from your video how your show will go over with their passengers. In this situation having an agent working for you to give the cruise line that extra push and smooth the way for your first contracts can and does make a huge difference.
So how do you convince an agent to start representing you? Well, start with the traditional route of sending in your promotional materials is a good start. Your package should include 8 x 10 photo(s), a Bio, Press Release, and testimonials from past clients and/or news publications attesting to your greatness. The kicker though will be your video – ideally a DVD showing you performing in a venue similar to what typical performance spaces are like on a ship – this means, either a theatre, club or perhaps a cabaret venue. If you’ve got footage of you working in a variety of indoor settings great, but they should all be lounge/club/theatre settings, venues that will allow the agent to look at your show and go – ‘Yep, this act knows what they’re doing and will easily be able to transition into the sorts of venues that cruise ships offer.
In my case I sent my promotional materials to the Don Casino Agency in Miami (based on a suggestion from fellow juggler Reid Belstock) and followed up the mailing about a week later with a phone call to make sure that they had received the video. It was then that I also learned a very valuable lesson. The video that I had sent down was a compilation video that had seven different videos of my work in various settings. Though one of the chapters specifically showed me performing on cruise ships, the agent popped the video in their DVD player and didn’t want to have to navigate to find the video that I wanted them to watch. It would have been far better to simply include a DVD with just the cruise ship promo reel on it, so keep this in mind when sending your info in.
When I made the follow-up phone call I discovered that the agent hadn’t actually seen the cruise ship section of the video and they had determined that I wasn’t going to be appropriate for ship work. Though the course of the conversation I indicated that no, I actually had worked on ships before and that yes, a part of the video did actually show me in that setting. I ended up couriering another copy of the video down to them and followed that up with another call, which eventually lead to me being invited to perform as part of an annual showcase that the Casino Agency puts on in Miami.
February 2005 I hopped on a plane, flew down to Miami and was one of 20 acts each given 10 minutes to strut their stuff on stage. The audience was made up of about 500 people mostly retired from around the area where the showcase was held. Also sprinkled in the audiences were representatives from various cruise lines who were brought in specifically to scout the new talent that the Casino Agency was looking at representing.
The full story of that experience may make it into another post at some point, but for the sake of actually getting some useful information out I’ll cut to the chase. Shortly after doing the showcase the Casino Agency started sending me out for contracts and have done a very good job securing me work ever since.
So…there you go.
Below I’ve listed the four names that seem to come up the most when I talk to other guest entertainers about who they work through. I’ve also included a link to a site that lists a number of other agencies that might be worth looking into, but that I know less about. Good luck!
Barry Ball Artists / Spotlight Entertainment Productions, Inc
http://www.barryball.com/
Attention: Barry Ball
2121 N. Bayshore Drive, Suite 908
Miami, FL, 33137-5135, USA
Phone: 1-866-902-2255
Fax: 305-573-5457
Blackburn International
http://www.blackburninternational.com
Attention: Johnathan Blackburn
Suite B
26 Craven Court
Stanhope Road
Camberley
Surrey GU15 3BS. UK
Tel: 01276 686661
Don Casino Productions
http://www.doncasino.com/
Attention: Wendy Garvis
20880 West Dixie Highway, Suite 105
Miami FL 33180, USA
Tel: (305) 935-0137 or (305) 935-9094
First Class Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.gotofirstclass.com
Howard Beder
483 Ridgewood Road
Maplewood, NJ 07040-2136 USA
Tel: (973) 763-0591
Fax: (973) 763-0570
More agents can be found via this link –http://redbirdstudio.com/AWOL/CruiseShipAgencies.html
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities, Marketing, Thoughts, Travel | 6 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: Port Everglades, FL, USA
Got this tip from Willie Tyler the other day and thought it would make a good tip for a ‘Technical Tuesday’ entry. I work on cruise ships a fair bit and often I fly into ports in foreign countries and am picked up at the airport by a representative from the local port authority. The port authority is a local representative who looks after details for cruise ships that visit that particular port. When a new guest entertainer arrives, it’s often the port authority, who ensures that you get picked up, taken to what ever accommodations have been arranged and/or takes you directly to the ship you’ll be working on.
When I arrive in a country where I don’t speak the language, with a ton of props in tow I sort of stick out and people who are looking for a “Guest Entertainer Type” don’t usually have a hard time finding me.
Quite often they’ve got a sign with my name on it along with a sign that indicates which cruise line they’re working for. When I see a sign like this I breath a small sigh of relief that there’s actually someone there to pick me up (I’ve had a few instances where there wasn’t) and quickly walk over and introduce myself.
Ventriloquist, Willie Tyler took this concept one step further and travels with a sign that has his name on it so when he gets past the immigration formalities and has collected his baggage he can hold up a sign that helps identify himself to people who might be looking for him. Though not overly complicated, this sign has apparently saved his bacon on more than on occasion and I’ll be crafting a sign of my own when I get home from this current trip.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, General, Technical Tuesdays | Comments Off on Bring a sign with your name on it.
 Where in the world am I today?: Holiday Inn, JFK, New York, New York, USA
It all stared off looking so promising… I checked with the ship’s purser on Thursday and was thrilled to find out that I didn’t need to wake up at the crack of dawn on Friday to get off the ship, which was great. Often you need to get up and out of your cabin between 8:00 am and 10:00 am so that the room steward can clean it and get it ready for the next performer who usually arrives between 10:00 am and noon. My cabin wasn’t needed until the day after my departure so there was no rush to get out–great! Got up, had a nice breakfast, finished packing, got off the ship with the port agent about 1:30 pm and he helped reschedule my flight from Cartagena to Bogota (that’s him next to me in the picture…never did catch his name) just in case I needed a bit more time in Bogota–perfect!
So things started off well. Even after I landed in Bogota I was optimistic even in spite of an inhumane 6 or 7 hour lay over in Bogota. I had a plan goldarn it. I discovered a free Wi-Fi connection and plopped myself and attacked a pile of emails and such. I also realized that I hadn’t picked up anything for my wife and kids in the way of souvenirs, so picked up some real Juan Valdez Coffee for my wife and a few odds and sods for the kids and a bottle of Vodka for the guy who hosts my website in Duty Free then plopped down and watched a movie on my iPod fully expecting for it to finish about the time I needed to be boarding.
Well the film ended (Shrek 3 in case you’re interested) I got into the departure lounge around 10:00 pm for the 11:15 boarding time and underwent my third security screening…
Man if you thought getting through and airport and the TSA in North America was getting ridiculous you should see what it’s like in Columbia. I went through what would be like a regular TSA screening just before I got to Customs and Immigration. Then I passed through the immigration station and was screened again after my passport was stamped, this time by guys with Columbian military uniforms on and dogs sniffing for ‘SPECIAL’ souvenirs from Columbia, then I one more time for good measure, as I entered the actual departure lounge they had the x-ray and screening set up again…
Once inside the lounge I figure the next leg of my journey was about to start, but no… Boarding was delayed due to some sort of mechanical problem. We’re terribly sorry about this delay, but please come up and get a snack (at least I think that’s what they said in Spanish). First time I’d been served mini-sandwiches, munchies and drinks before getting on a plane…
When I saw more munchies arriving I took it as a bad sign…
Somewhere around two hours after we were supposed to have left it was clear that I wasn’t going to make my connection in New York, JFK, so before we actually left Bogota the service agents for Avianca Airlines rescheduled my Air Canada Flight from 7:00 am Saturday to 7:00 am Sunday.
Pretty uneventful flight although the seats ahead of me seemed a bit closer than I’m used to. The lack of legroom really didn’t matter though because by the time we left at around 2:30 am all I really wanted to do was sleep anyway.
Woke up about 45 minutes before we landed and did the US Immigration two-step, got my luggage, wandered to the Avianca counter only to discover that because the flight was booked by an external agent and because Air Canada wasn’t a partner, they didn’t feel any need to cover the Hotel I was going to require as a result of the delay with their Aircraft… Doh!
Made a couple of calls to the emergency numbers that I had been given for just such situations and discovered:
- There were no other options for flights from New York to Vancouver that they could get me on and
- I could head myself over to the Holiday Inn and cruise line would pick up the tab and provide food vouchers…
All went smoothly with this plan and I’m actually in my room at the Holiday Inn as I type this. Hot water doesn’t appear to be working in the room, so no shower for me yet, but engineering is apparently looking into it–Ha!
Now the irony of all of this is that had all gone smoothly from start to finish I would have gotten in to Vancouver at about 10:30 am local time (January 3) and am scheduled to leave again at 9:00 am on Monday (January 5), so a grand total of 46 ½ hours later. Now, assuming all goes according to the rescheduled plan, that number will drop to 22 ½ hours and that’s from arrival in Vancouver to departure from Vancouver. By the time I get through the airport and home and have to leave for the airport again I think I’ll get something like 18 hours at home.
Now here’s the kicker–I’m flying back to the ship I was just on.
I disembarked at about 1:30 pm on January 2nd will join the ship at about that time on the 6th, about 96 hours in total and all but 18 hours will be spent in transit.
Like I said, it’s not the shows it’s the travel that you really get paid for when you work on cruise ships.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Thoughts, Travel | Comments Off on It’s not the shows it’s the travel…
 Where in the world am I today?: Cartagena, Colombia and on my way home.
I make no apologies for the fact that this segment was inspired by the interviews done on “Inside the Actors Studio.” Beyond just the biographical information that James Lipton provides on the show, he also managed to capture a snapshot of the artists on his show at a given point in their career. I wanted to do something similar on my Blog because I’m fortunate enough to run into some pretty amazing people in the industry and wanted to capture a little snapshot of who they are and what makes them tick. The interview is done in three segments – Stats, Hot 10 Questions, and what I call The Nugget, a choice bit of information that each performer has picked up along the way. (***If as a reader of the blog you have ideas for different stats or questions that you’d like included please do let me know***)
Today: Ventriloquist, Willie Tyler
Prologue: I first met Willie Tyler in January 2008 when we worked together on a two-week run aboard the Diamond Princess. His career has spanned over 50 years and he and his partner Lester have worked with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Pryor and Sammy Davis Jr. He is, with out a doubt, one of the classiest performers I’ve ever had the chance to work with.
Stats
Birthday: September 8, 1940
Place of Birth: Red Level, Alabama, USA
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: 1950, Detroit Michigan
Discipline: Ventriloquism
Website: http://www.willieandlester.com
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB6voBzbvsQ
Venues Worked: Cruise Ships, Theatres, Comedy Clubs, Vegas “The Sliver Circuit,” County/State Fairs, Film and Television
Hot 10 Questions
- What’s your favorite color? • Grey
- What’s your favorite food? • Spaghetti
- What makes you laugh? • People who are funny who don’t think they’re funny.
- Who would you consider your Role Model or Influence? • Paul Winchell and Edgar Bergen
- What song puts a smile on your face? • Smile – Charlie Chaplin
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • Newspaper Boy
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Astronaut
- What’s the best thing about being a performer? • The true enjoyment of being on stage
- What’s the hardest thing about being a performer? • Getting to the gigs, the travel
- Why do you keep performing? • It keeps me happy (and as an aside – The show must go on, well at least if you want to get paid)
The Nugget
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“Today can be wonderful yesterdays once you reach tomorrow. That way you can enjoy looking back on it.”
–Willie Tyler, Ventriloquist
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