Last updated: February 2026
To most musicians, the opportunity to travel and earn money performing on cruise ships or in five star hotels is incredibly tempting.
However, it is not a decision to be taken lightly, and anyone considering cruise ship work should begin by carefully weighing the pros and cons.
In this blog, we’ll set out the positives and negatives of a musicians’ life afloat, as well as giving the inside scoop on leads for auditions.
Musicians who perform nightly sets on cruise ships often have a rich network and extensive background of musical performance. As with all work, the competition is fierce and this can make it difficult for even the most talented young musicians.
Before you even consider life at sea, make sure your repertoire is as extensive as it possibly can be.
Life at sea
Positives
Playing on a cruise ship offers a rare opportunity to work in the music industry and to be on a salary and, as a musician, knowing exactly what you have coming in every month is a rare gift indeed! The wages will generally be pretty good — see our FAQ below for current salary figures — and this becomes even more attractive when you consider that food and accommodation will usually be taken care of for the duration of your contract, leaving you with very little in the form of costs. If you’re thinking about getting well paid gigs as a musician, cruise ships and international hotel residencies are among the best-paying regular work available.
Depending on your situation, you may apply to work as an individual musician or as an established band. As a solo musician, then you’ll be presented with a brilliant opportunity to network with brand new faces, who may well hit you up for other contracts and gigs back on dry land.
The overwhelming positive though, is the opportunity to travel. Working on a cruise liner can literally take you to every corner of the globe, and give you the chance to see and experience all kinds of different cultures, meet new people and make friends for life.
Negatives
Many cruise ship musicians have been coerced into doing other tasks on the ship. There have been reports that this can include wearing life jackets and pointing at exits during safety demonstrations, helping passengers when they are lost and even transferring disabled passengers onto the ship.
A big thing to beware of is cabin fever. Musicians will usually be required to perform in the late afternoon/evenings. This leaves a considerable amount of free time (anything up to 10 hours) during the day to fill. If utilised wisely, this could be used to learn a new language or practice your music theory. However, cabin fever and boredom can easily set in for those who do not keep themselves busy!
That said, this does not mean that the work itself is not demanding. Contracts vary, but you may be asked to perform anything up to 4 sets of 45 minutes a night, 6 nights a week!
Some companies choose to save money on their entertainment costs, by breaking bands down to an acoustic or instrumental performance earlier (usually over dinner), followed by a full band party set later on. This can be particularly hard on vocalists, and cruise bands will require as many of their members to have lead vocal ability as possible.
Deciding what gear to take can be a real pain!
There are also several practical things to consider about your life back home when embarking. While short contracts do exist, many standard cruise ship contracts won’t be less than 3 months at a time, with some being between 6 and even 8 months.
If you’re renting your house, you may have to consider giving it up or making arrangements to sub-let or house sit, or face leaving the house unoccupied for long periods of time.
If you currently make your living as a musician already, few bands will accept a musician being out of action for 6 months at a time, and you will probably have to leave any existing line ups, or face the prospect of being fired. Any other work you do, be it in recording studios or teaching will probably also have to be surrendered. In many respects, coming back on to dry land may lead you to start again from the bottom.
Cruise ship drummer John Clark says that musicians should expect:
Very low money and cramped living quarters, but you can travel world and get paid for it, with free accommodation and selected food/drink. There’s very little to spend your money on so it is ideal for people who don’t mind the sea and will not be too lonely leaving everyone at home. It also looks great on a CV.
John Clark
Where to look for gigs
If you’ve decided life at sea is for you, here is some advice for getting your first contracts and some links for places to apply. Feel free to email admin@lastminutemusicians.com for more info.
Join a talent agency
Joining a talent agency is a good start for musicians keen to perform on cruise ships. Ideal for individual musicians, duos and 3-5 piece bands, an agency’s role is to offer musicians for performances at theatres, ballrooms, bars and restaurants. Musicians need to be able to play a wide variety of styles and a 200+ repertoire of songs covering all decades. Whilst it is a bonus if musicians can sight read, it is not essential, as their primary job is to sound good. It’s important to remember that agency can take a fee in a form of a percentage of the contract value!
Apply directly to cruise lines
Whilst applying directly to cruise lines will circumvent the agency fees, it can often take longer for musicians to (literally!) get their voice heard, as cruise ship companies take longer to reply and may already be dedicated to using one particular agency. However those who are successful applying directly to cruise companies may find themselves easily rehired once a contract has ended. As with many things in the music industry, it’s all about creating a rapport and building a working relationship with employers.
Do you regularly play on cruise ships? Let us know your tips for getting cruise ship work, as a musician, in the comments section at the bottom of the blog!
Current opportunities for cruise work
Looking for cruise gigs? The best place to start is Musicians For Cruises — a dedicated platform for musicians seeking cruise ship and international hotel contracts.
You can also list your act on Last Minute Musicians to get found by event organisers, agencies, and clients looking for musicians for a wide variety of engagements.
You can join our Facebook group to be notified of opportunities as they come in: www.facebook.com/groups/ukmusiciansforgigs/
Note: The gig listings below are historical examples, kept for reference only. These positions have all been filled. Please visit Musicians For Cruises for current openings.
Please click the links below to see the audition requirements:
- Bass Players
- Classical Ensembles
- Country Duos
- Cover Bands
- Guitar-Vocalists
- Guitarists
- Keyboard Players
- Piano Bar Entertainers
- Vintage Pop Duos
To apply: Please email admin@lastminutemusicians.com with your details or with any questions.
Bass players, drummers and keyboardists wanted!
Show Band – Bass 7/23/16 – contract length neg.
Party band – Drums 8/15/16
Show Band – Keys 8/22/16
Show Band – Drums 8/22/16
Show Band – Drums 8/24/16
Party Band – Drums 8/28/16
Show Band – Bass 9/3/16
Show Band – Keys 9/6/16
Contract length – 4 months unless otherwise stated.
Salary $650 – $750 per week (less 10%)
Must be excellent sight readers.
COVER BANDS
24 August 2016 – 28 February 2017 – SAILING – South Pacific
BASIC INFORMATION: The Cover Band is a 4-Piece band including:
Configuration 1: Bass, Drums, Lead Guitar and Lead Vocalist OR
Configuration 2: Bass, Drums, Lead Guitar and either Keys or Rhythm Guitar with at least two members able to perform as Lead Vocalist.
A Band Leader with exceptional talent management skills.
The Bandleader will serve as the MUSIC DIRECTOR for their ship therefore exceptional leadership qualities are a prerequisite.
A song list clearly showing a minimum of 200 songs MUST be submitted for consideration for this position.
This band will rehearse for 2-3 weeks before joining their ship.
The Bandleader will undergo Music Director training (approx. 1 week) immediately before the start of rehearsals.
Contract Length will be 4 months
Starting salary is $2800.00 per musician and $3055.00 for the Bandleader/Music Director.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Individual and/or group resume outlining previous musical employment, education and performance experience.
Complete song list containing a minimum of 175 – 200 songs.
Video links taken from live performance that demonstrate both individual musicianship as well as the ability to provide high energy, interactive and fun entertainment.
Links to website, social media, fan pages, etc.
Promotional photo.
VINTAGE POP DUO
17 July 2016 – 15 January 2017 – SAILING – The Caribbean
OVERVIEW: The Vintage Pop Duo uses a unique approach that draws from jazz, classical and musical theatre styles to cover a wide variety of pop music from the 1960s through today.
BASIC INFORMATION: Musically proficient duo consisting of:
A lead vocalist (additional instrumentalist abilities are encouraged, but not required)
A pianist with advanced pop, classical, and jazz technique (vocalist abilities are encouraged but not required)
A song list clearly showing a minimum of 200 songs MUST be submitted for consideration for this position.
This duo must be able to perform completely live without tracks.
Contract Length will be 5-6 months
Starting salary is $2800.00 per musician.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Individual and/or group resume outlining previous musical employment, education and performance experience.
Complete song list containing a minimum of 200 songs.
Video links taken from live performance that demonstrate both individual musicianship as well as the ability to provide high energy, interactive and fun entertainment.
Links to website, social media, fan pages, etc.
Promotional photo.
PARTY BAND
Salary – Negotiable
Dates – 17 May – 20 Oct 2016
Sailing – Northern Europe
Ideally 4 piece, drums, bass, guitar, keys with one or more of the instrumentalists also singing. May consider piano, bass, drums with vocals as well. No backing tracks. Material should include cocktail/ballroom as well as more current pop from the 50s- 90s. Singer must be from an English speaking country.
URGENT OPENING – COUNTRY DUOS
Salary – US$2,500 per month
Dates – Number of 6 month contracts – starting Apr – Nov 2016
Sailing – Caribbean
– A duo consisting of two, talented country-influenced entertainers that demonstrate strong skills as singers and instrumentalists.
– Demonstrated ability to perform completely acoustic and/or with tracks containing high quality samples and sequences.
– Large repertoire containing at least 250 songs comprised of at least 35% country music repertoire ranging from old-time classics to contemporary hits.
– Must have a SOUND and LOOK of a contemporary country artist/group.
DRUMMER URGENTLY NEEDED
Must be good sight reader with commercial sensibility. Contract is late July 2015 until January 2016. Email admin@lastminutemusicians.com with your details.
Solo acoustic guitar/vocals needed for Aug 2 – Nov 30 2015 gig, sailing Baltic and Med
Repertoire: hits from 50’s – today, predominantly American singer/songwriter. The guests with this cruise line are mainly retired Americans. Tends to be very conservative. Need someone with a clean look and sound. There will also be extensive background checks carried out by the cruise line, so candidate really needs to be of good character.
We also have a big demand for Piano Bar Entertainers and solo guitar/vocal. A variety of solo guitar/vocal, with/without tracks, some looking for new/fresh/different others more conservative.
We have three good opportunities for bands wanting to get gigs on cruise ships and in luxury hotels:
1. Disney Cruise Ship (Caribbean Cruise)
Mature, classy, experienced DUOs & TRIOs needed for Disney Cruise Ship contracts.
Contract 3-6 months starting August/September 2013. 250-300 songs required, good range of Pop – Smooth Jazz.
Pay: Cabins & meals paid for plus £450 per band member per week.
2. Ferry work (UK to Europe)
5 or 6 piece bands. Wedding sets. So few classics but also a lot of modern songs to get everyone dancing.
One month contracts. Looking to fill early 2014 though there maybe some slots for 2013 still.
Pay: Cabins & meals paid for plus £1500-1550 per band member per month.
3. Dubai (Hotels)
4-7 piece bands.
Repertoire: Full on Pop – Lady Gaga, Rihanna etc.
Pay: Roughly $1,600–$2,500+ per musician per month (updated for 2025/26) – please contact us as there are various different contracts for Dubai – 3 month minimum contracts.
In all cases a demo video / show-reel and an audition in London would be required.
Frequently asked questions
How much do musicians on a cruise ship make?
As of 2025/26, cruise ship musicians typically earn between $2,000 and $5,000 USD per month, depending on the cruise line, role, and experience level. Solo performers and specialist acts (such as pianists or solo guitar-vocalists) tend to earn at the higher end, while band members generally start around $2,000–$2,200 per month. Crucially, food and accommodation are almost always provided on top of your salary, significantly reducing your day-to-day outgoings. Contracts typically run for 4–6 months, with higher-end cruise lines offering longer contracts and better pay.
How do I get hired as a musician on a cruise ship?
There are two main routes: applying directly to a cruise line (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, P&O, etc.), or going through a specialist entertainment agency or platform. Agencies like Warshaw Entertainment, Lime Entertainment, and Proship represent musicians to multiple cruise lines and can be a faster route in. You can also create a listing on Musicians For Cruises, which is specifically designed to connect musicians with cruise and luxury hotel contracts. Whichever route you choose, you’ll typically need a strong showreel from a live performance, a song list of at least 150–200 songs, and in some cases the ability to sight-read.
How much do musicians earn for Dubai hotel gigs?
Dubai hotel gigs are among the most sought-after international residencies for musicians. In 2025, musicians working in Dubai’s five-star hotels can expect to earn in the range of $1,600–$2,500+ per month (approximately AED 6,000–9,000+), with many contracts also including accommodation, flights, visa costs, and health insurance. Contracts typically run for 3–6 months, with performances usually scheduled 6 days a week across around 4 sets of 45 minutes per evening. The most in-demand acts include pianists, saxophonists, jazz trios, and contemporary cover duos or bands.
Can you work on a cruise ship as a musician at 50?
Yes — there is no upper age limit for cruise ship musicians. Cruise lines value experience, professionalism, and versatility far more than age. In fact, more mature musicians are often preferred for certain roles (such as piano bar entertainers or jazz performers) where a polished, sophisticated stage presence is prized. The main requirements are musical ability, a broad repertoire, and the fitness to handle the demands of living and performing at sea for extended periods.
