In Nov of 2005, I got a last-minute offer to fill-in / audition on the Disney Magic.  If I could make it to St. Maarten before the ship sailed that day, the chance was mine.  I made it, and to this day I am still so thankful that I did.

That 1st week I met a performer who would become  a mentor to me as the years passed– Taylor Mason, an extremely talented comedian, ventriloquist, musician, author, and TV host.   I would go on to meet a host of amazingly talented headliners including Michael Harrison, Heath Hyche, Freddy Fusion, Mike Super, Jason Bishop, John Charles, Lynn Trefzger, Rich Purpura, and Alfred and Seymour.

As all things Disney, the operation is top-notch, and the energy– fantastic.  I cannot speak highly enough of the experience onboard.

For slideshow with captions, please click the link “View with PicLens.”  Enjoy!

[View with PicLens]

Among cruise ship performers, there is a bit of a hierarchy as far as itineraries go.  Generally, if you’re a newbie, you get sent up to Alaska.  Most performers aren’t crazy about the cold and wet weather.  The audiences are also notoriously disinterested on the Alaska runs.  I loved Alaska, so I lucked out.  If you’re an outdoorsy person, you can’t do much better– hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, glacier treks, helicopter tours, dog sled rides, etc.

But after 3 summers in Alaska, I was happy to start getting some of the more exotic world itineraries after graduation in 2005.

For slideshow with captions, please click the link “View with PicLens.”  Enjoy!

[View with PicLens]

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Any performer who has worked on cruise ships for any significant length of time understands the unique dynamic of cruise ship life.  It’s a bubble.  With no cell phone service and limited internet access, you are forced to connect with the other entertainers and crew members.  And connect you do.  It’s ship life, and you simultaneously love and hate it.

Cruise ships have their own scale where everything is relative to being on the ship:

“This itinerary rocks.” = This itinerary contains 1 port stay overnight somewhere.. anywhere.  It almost feels like we’re living a normal life for a few hours.

“The crew bar last night was awesome.” = The crew bar finally didn’t have Filipino karaoke one night.

“Scale of 1 to 10– bro, she was an 8!” = She was a ship 8, land 5.  And she was from Romania, which for some reason made her more attractive.  etc.

I was fortunate enough to spend the summers of my college years on cruise ships, as well as the next 2 years once I graduated.  I worked regularly on 8 different cruise lines– Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, Regent, Radisson, Holland America, Cunard, and Disney.  I zig-zagged all over the world on flights to ships in an amazing blur of port cities– Puntarenas, Costa Rica – Sydney, Australia – Hobart, Tasmania – Dunedin, New Zealand – Cartegena, Columbia – Goa, India – Ketchikan, Alaska – Nassau, Bahamas – Helsinki, Finland – St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – Civitavecchia, Italy – Georgetown, Grand Cayman – Mykonos, Greece… the list goes on and on.  I will be forever grateful for the amazing travel opportunities I was given during this time of my life.

I wanted to make sure I marked this significant period in my performing career in my online journal, but I didn’t know how I could possibly give it the space and weight it deserved– the friends, the shows, the sites.  I honestly could have  written a journal entry for every ship contract, whether 4 months or 4 days.

The following 3 entries are my best attempt.  I can divide my time on ships roughly into 3 periods.  This 1st one focuses on Alaska, where I spent every summer of college for at least 10 weeks.  Part 2 is dedicated to world cruises.  Part 3 is  dedicated to Disney Cruise Line.  I still perform regularly onboard Disney several times each year for 4-7 day contracts.

For slideshow with captions, please click the link “View with PicLens.”  Enjoy!

[View with PicLens]