whereisDannyBlack

Fun on board the P&O Australia ships.
Even on the smaller ships they have been able to utilize as much space as they can. Flying fox, rock climb, walk the plank, waterslides and so much more. 
before i go on, i would love to know in the comments what you guys might have done on ships that you have been on that was fun!
I know that when I worked for Carnival they were starting to install a bunch of cool ropes courses, and Royal Caribbean has so many extra activities. I have never been on a Royal but the ads i have seen makes it seem unreal. 
But with P&O i wanted to check out some cool things to do and made a video about it.  Thanks for reading and watching. I would love to hear your thoughts on fun things onboard ships. CHEERS!
 
 

So the reason this title is "not Elvis" is because the real theme is "Tribute to the King"
This was a themed cruise I went on recently. Apparently the Presley Estate doesn't give out the rights to Elvis easily. Which I thought was funny because no matter how you wordplay it people are going to say Elvis. Check out the video and then come back to read more. 
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=7nbcLL6xmY8
I got on this cruise in a weird way... I thought I was on to play, and then found out there wasn't enough room for me, basically hearing that I am confirmed and then on a waiting list about 5 times... and then basically it worked out, although I wasn't there to play music, I was there to make a video of my experience for promotion on P&O Australia. This might sound like I'm complaining but really it was a great chance for me to check out other acts on board and it was really cool to see people diving in to being "Elvis" 
Backstage getting pictures of the performers one of the impersonators was talking to me with a thick southern American Accent and then a flip of the switch had a super thick Australian accent. That blew my mind how well they get into character.
The cruisers were also doing their part, dressing up, and screaming like teenagers at a real Elvis concert like the KING himself was singing in front of them. It was a really good experience.
I am excited that P&O will be doing more themed cruises and cant wait to share more stories of these. Next cruise in 2 weeks is a full on comedy cruise! So stay tuned and keep cruising!

I opened up my facebook and instagram to anyone with questions about ship life. 
I got some great questions, and some silly questions, and of course questions that had nothing to do with ship life.
So I made this video to answer those questions including... "do they have a morgue?"
The biggest question of all is when people watch this video and they want to work on ships, I am a big fan of anyone wanting to work on ships because this has changed my life in so many amazing ways. So if you are interested or have a family member that might be interested don't hesitate to ask and I would be happy to point you in the right direction.
Also if you have any questions yourselves please ask and I will do my best to answer them.
enjoy
 

So there have been a lot of magical sail aways ports...
Venice, Antigua, Auckland, Messina, Athens, Singapore, and probably even more that I haven't done yet.
Today I wanted to talk about Sydney Australia. I have sailed away at this port over 30 times and it is always something amazing... Going under the Sydney Harbour bridge and passing the opera house. I posted a couple of cool video of the experience...
Before you take a look at those, I would just love to know which are your favorite ports to sail away from?
This one is edited
 
 
 
this one is an actual 360 video that you can move your cursor or phone around and see it like it is.
 
 
 
 

So a lot of people wonder what happens behind the scenes on ships...
the next few blog posts will be dedicated to giving you some insight to behind the scenes....
First of all if you haven't seen any of my videos on youtube... check them out
 
So there are 5 things that musicians on ships typically do during the day... 
SLEEP
NAP
SNOOZE
HIBERNATE
REST
Sensing a theme? Most musician find themselves staying out late at night, doing their job and then socializing and then resting the whole day to have the energy to do it again the next night. Being a singer, I usually hide away during the day to rest my voice. Not that we typically go hard and drink the night away but being social on the ships is more fun than the alternative, but there have been times during my contracts where I got so hooked on a TV series that I would finish my set at night and then hurry to my room to binge watch until the sun came out. There have been other times in my contracts where I would stay out all night learning new songs to perform the following night. There also have been times when I wanted to be productive and get up at a reasonable time, go to the gym, be healthy and get stuff done.
When I started making videos on youtube I would find myself going around the ship more and being creative. Which is a much better thing than sleeping 12 hours a day.
Stay tuned for a new blog post every week !!! 
Ill see you next time and if you have any questions or suggestions for blog posts please let me know in the comments ?
 
 
 

So a lot of people wonder what happens behind the scenes on ships...
the next few blog posts will be dedicated to giving you some insight to behind the scenes....
First of all if you haven't seen any of my videos on youtube... check them out
 
So there are 5 things that musicians on ships typically do during the day... 
SLEEP
NAP
SNOOZE
HIBERNATE
REST
Sensing a theme? Most musician find themselves staying out late at night, doing their job and then socializing and then resting the whole day to have the energy to do it again the next night. Being a singer, I usually hide away during the day to rest my voice. Not that we typically go hard and drink the night away but being social on the ships is more fun than the alternative, but there have been times during my contracts where I got so hooked on a TV series that I would finish my set at night and then hurry to my room to binge watch until the sun came out. There have been other times in my contracts where I would stay out all night learning new songs to perform the following night. There also have been times when I wanted to be productive and get up at a reasonable time, go to the gym, be healthy and get stuff done.
When I started making videos on youtube I would find myself going around the ship more and being creative. Which is a much better thing than sleeping 12 hours a day.
Stay tuned for a new blog post every week !!! 
Ill see you next time and if you have any questions or suggestions for blog posts please let me know in the comments ?
 
 
 

Since I started this blog back in 2011 working for Carnival Cruise Lines… I wanted to reflect a little about my time on ships. Although its only fair to say that over 8 years ago when I started ( Jan 2010 ) on the Carnival Freedom, I have actually only been on ships a total of 30 months ( 2 1/2 years) out of 8.
The other 5 1/2 years I have been traveling and visiting all of the people I met on ships and playing gigs to cover that cost. This was my new life… driving, staying with friends/family, not really having a home.
The opportunity for working with P&O Australia came in 2014 and I jumped at the opportunity to spend time down under.... little did I know it would be another life changing journey. P&O wanted to do an artist feature of me on their facebook and I made a video for them to highlight it. Check it out -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfsDd2LDn0&t
You never know where life will take you... you wouldn't even believe what my life was like before ships... (and ill get to that another time) 
So get out there... cruise to exotic places and invite the musician to your town to play ?

Working on P&O Australia recently I have been promoted to a new position. I have been classified as a "fly on" entertainer now, which means I come on for 1 or 2 cruises at a time to entertain the guests, and then I go home until my next short contract. It is a great position and gives me the ability to have more guest privileges. So I wanted to check out all of the restaurants on board and try the food out.
I made a video about it too.
FOOD ON SHIPS <- click to watch
 
The take away I get from this is that people are OVERLY critical when it comes to cruise ship food. To me, anything that you get on a ship in the middle of the ocean is going to be great.
Maybe I appreciate it more because I used to eat in the crew and staff mess down below and that food would get very, well lets say not the best. So running around to these restaurants and even the ones that you do not have to pay extra money for, they are doing great things and making very tasty dishes.
So next time you are on a cruise ship instead of being on the side that complains about every little thing, just enjoy it and look at it from the perspective of how much goes on behind the scenes in making the food for 3000 + people every day.
 

This is not a blog about the port of St Thomas, the beautiful US Virgin Island, but more of some amazing advice from an individual living there.
I was with a friend at a restaurant in St Thomas, the waiter came to us and you could tell he was from the States and not the Caribbean, so I just had to ask. "Where are you from?" He replied, "Philedelphia." Then he went on telling us how he used to be a school teacher but since all of the budget cuts in the school system he has not worked as a teacher for 3 years but waited tables in Philly to make ends meet.
He then said something that will stick with me forever. "If I am going to wait tables, I might as well do it somewhere beautiful and in a place I will love to be all year long." He just blew my mind with that advice and I told myself that this world is far too beautiful to not enjoy it or love where I live.
So I encourage everyone reading this… if you are not happy where you are, make a change! Life is not life unless you are happy!

This is not a blog about the port of St Thomas, the beautiful US Virgin Island, but more of some amazing advice from an individual living there.
I was with a friend at a restaurant in St Thomas, the waiter came to us and you could tell he was from the States and not the Caribbean, so I just had to ask. "Where are you from?" He replied, "Philedelphia." Then he went on telling us how he used to be a school teacher but since all of the budget cuts in the school system he has not worked as a teacher for 3 years but waited tables in Philly to make ends meet.
He then said something that will stick with me forever. "If I am going to wait tables, I might as well do it somewhere beautiful and in a place I will love to be all year long." He just blew my mind with that advice and I told myself that this world is far too beautiful to not enjoy it or love where I live.
So I encourage everyone reading this… if you are not happy where you are, make a change! Life is not life unless you are happy!

This is not a blog about the port of St Thomas, the beautiful US Virgin Island, but more of some amazing advice from an individual living there.
I was with a friend at a restaurant in St Thomas, the waiter came to us and you could tell he was from the States and not the Caribbean, so I just had to ask. "Where are you from?" He replied, "Philedelphia." Then he went on telling us how he used to be a school teacher but since all of the budget cuts in the school system he has not worked as a teacher for 3 years but waited tables in Philly to make ends meet.
He then said something that will stick with me forever. "If I am going to wait tables, I might as well do it somewhere beautiful and in a place I will love to be all year long." He just blew my mind with that advice and I told myself that this world is far too beautiful to not enjoy it or love where I live.
So I encourage everyone reading this… if you are not happy where you are, make a change! Life is not life unless you are happy!

I had a question come in about "Ship Life" for crew:
Larry asked, "Do you get days off and how many hrs. a day does the crew work?"
All positions for crew are different, but there is actually 3 different levels of workers on the ship. Crew, Staff, and Officers.
Crew are like cabin stewards, servers, cleaners, and most people you do not see on the ship.
Staff includes entertainment, sales and guest service positions, spa workers, and kids department.
Officers are always the italian looking guys in formal white outfits.
We all had different lifestyles in our little floating island... different places to eat, some places others couldn't go into, and hours/responsibilities aboard the ship.
The "crew" definately works the most hours throughout the day, and when you see a cabin steward always working it is important to know that they do work hard, but not as much as you think they do. Most Guests see a steward and think that they are the same person, and always see them through out the day, but the stewards work about 5 - 6 hours a day with no full day off. They have a 12 hour period of time that they work but take time off in-between when the guests are back in their room. They do get time to get off the ship and enjoy many of the ports.
Entertainment staff has it pretty easy only working about 5 hours but spread out throughout the day, and usually get a full day off a week. I would probably say some of the hardest workers on the ship are spa, guest services and shore excursions, and the kid watchers. They work about 8 - 10 hours a day everyday with very little breaks. So make sure your extra nice to these workers.
Officers, well what can I say, they have it pretty easy... Large cabins, and work about 4 hour shifts a day driving the boat (which is a HUGE task) They can pretty much do what ever they want on the ship and above security in some cases.
So as it looks like we are slaves on board ship, we are certainly not. Crew parties, night after night of crew bar until 2 am with $1.25 beer, and the rest of the night out on the front of the ship under the stars. Week after week of crew activities, games, and cheap excursions. Ship life is great in its moderation... working on board a ship for 9 months would be death, but 4 - 6 months is not so bad as long as you have a few months between the next contract.
Hope this answered your question. if you have any questions about working on a ship please let me know, and stay tuned to my next blog which tells some nail bitting stories about getting to the ship too late!!! YIKES, I have some good ones.... so until then follow me on facebook www.facebook.com/thedannyblackpage (like the page and send me a message telling me you read this and ill send you some free downloads)

Missing the ship! This is what all of us Cruisers and Crew all fear.
You will hear in this blog one of the best close call missing the ship experience ever!
Lets start out with a little background info about the ship. If it says back on board at 4:30 it means you need to be back at least in the line to get on ship at that time, and at 5:00 the ship will sail away.
If your missing on the ship they will go into your room and find your passport and give it to the dock agent, and will help you figure out what to do next. On Carnival I have seen people miss the ship and have to pay for their own transportation to the next port, or back home. Usually the captain will let you on on the next port but will have to have a "chat" with you...
One of the crew's favorite things to do is to go out on the deck and watch the late guests run and sometimes miss the ship. We even make bets and its sad, but also funny.
After reading the post, I would love to hear some of your stories of your close calls in the comments section.
My close call... this is a great story!
In Cozumel, I was asked to join the golf pro and production singer in a round of golf 40 mins (boat ride) away from the island of Cozumel. We jumped on a tender (smaller boat) that was taking guests to the main land for excursions at no cost. They told us to be back at the dock to re board the tender no later than 3:30 because back on board the cruise was 4:30. We had a great day at a beautiful golf coarse. We arrived at the dock around 3:20 and noticed that no other guests were around and the boat was not around. After a few minutes we asked someone what happened to the tender, and they told us that it left an hour earlier because it was hot and all the guests were back early. So we sat there going... ummmmm uh oh!
They told us a dock 2 miles down the beach might have a boat to take us back. So we ran as fast as we can down the beach with our golf clubs, hot, exhausted and mile down the beach we realized how we don't have time to make it. So now we are in the middle of the beach at 3:45 looking to the water (cruise ship out of site) going, we are so fired. (it is not a good thing to miss the ship as crew) We saw a guy with a boat on the beach and asked him if he would take us to Cozumel, and negotiated as much as we can, and he said he can get someone. He radioed a friend and we sat and waited and waited, and about 10 nerve wrecking minutes later he came to the beach, and we had to run out to the boat, in chest deep water, with our clubs over our heads. Climbed in the small boat and had them take us in a tiny boat through the ocean, with LARGE waves crashing and soaking us.
We realized that we might make it, and we had our hopes up. Then we could see the ship in the distance, and still did not realize how far away we were from it we were more excited that we would actually make it. Finally it was 4:20 and we were about 10 minutes away, and bad news, they told us they had to drop us off at a dock that would be a 15 minute cab ride away from the port.. We said, "out of the question, we know the captain, radio him and he will allow us on the dock." They did not have the correct frequencies, and so we talked them in to dropping us off at a dock close by the ship at a private resort. We arrived, (paid the guy a painful $300) and jumped on the dock, with a security guard telling us we couldn't. It was 4:30 (back on board time) so we ran past the guard ignoring him... Now we are running again another mile to the ship and scared to arrive seeing the ship pulling away. We were all so exhausted that it almost felt hopeless. Finally we arrived at the ship at 4:50 with the crew pulling the last ramps away and luckily without hesitation the security was nice and let us on. So after a shower and a couple hours sleep it was back to work as usual. Wow, what a scary close call.
Stay tuned for next weeks blog where I actually missed the ship... and what happened next!
Also check out my website www.thedannyblack.com & like my page facebook.com/thedannyblackpage

I had a question come in about "Ship Life" for crew:
Larry asked, "Do you get days off and how many hrs. a day does the crew work?"
All positions for crew are different, but there is actually 3 different levels of workers on the ship. Crew, Staff, and Officers.
Crew are like cabin stewards, servers, cleaners, and most people you do not see on the ship.
Staff includes entertainment, sales and guest service positions, spa workers, and kids department.
Officers are always the italian looking guys in formal white outfits.
We all had different lifestyles in our little floating island... different places to eat, some places others couldn't go into, and hours/responsibilities aboard the ship.
The "crew" definately works the most hours throughout the day, and when you see a cabin steward always working it is important to know that they do work hard, but not as much as you think they do. Most Guests see a steward and think that they are the same person, and always see them through out the day, but the stewards work about 5 - 6 hours a day with no full day off. They have a 12 hour period of time that they work but take time off in-between when the guests are back in their room. They do get time to get off the ship and enjoy many of the ports.
Entertainment staff has it pretty easy only working about 5 hours but spread out throughout the day, and usually get a full day off a week. I would probably say some of the hardest workers on the ship are spa, guest services and shore excursions, and the kid watchers. They work about 8 - 10 hours a day everyday with very little breaks. So make sure your extra nice to these workers.
Officers, well what can I say, they have it pretty easy... Large cabins, and work about 4 hour shifts a day driving the boat (which is a HUGE task) They can pretty much do what ever they want on the ship and above security in some cases.
So as it looks like we are slaves on board ship, we are certainly not. Crew parties, night after night of crew bar until 2 am with $1.25 beer, and the rest of the night out on the front of the ship under the stars. Week after week of crew activities, games, and cheap excursions. Ship life is great in its moderation... working on board a ship for 9 months would be death, but 4 - 6 months is not so bad as long as you have a few months between the next contract.
Hope this answered your question. if you have any questions about working on a ship please let me know, and stay tuned to my next blog which tells some nail bitting stories about getting to the ship too late!!! YIKES, I have some good ones.... so until then follow me on facebook www.facebook.com/thedannyblackpage (like the page and send me a message telling me you read this and ill send you some free downloads)

I had a question come in about "Ship Life" for crew:
Larry asked, "Do you get days off and how many hrs. a day does the crew work?"
All positions for crew are different, but there is actually 3 different levels of workers on the ship. Crew, Staff, and Officers.
Crew are like cabin stewards, servers, cleaners, and most people you do not see on the ship.
Staff includes entertainment, sales and guest service positions, spa workers, and kids department.
Officers are always the italian looking guys in formal white outfits.
We all had different lifestyles in our little floating island... different places to eat, some places others couldn't go into, and hours/responsibilities aboard the ship.
The "crew" definately works the most hours throughout the day, and when you see a cabin steward always working it is important to know that they do work hard, but not as much as you think they do. Most Guests see a steward and think that they are the same person, and always see them through out the day, but the stewards work about 5 - 6 hours a day with no full day off. They have a 12 hour period of time that they work but take time off in-between when the guests are back in their room. They do get time to get off the ship and enjoy many of the ports.
Entertainment staff has it pretty easy only working about 5 hours but spread out throughout the day, and usually get a full day off a week. I would probably say some of the hardest workers on the ship are spa, guest services and shore excursions, and the kid watchers. They work about 8 - 10 hours a day everyday with very little breaks. So make sure your extra nice to these workers.
Officers, well what can I say, they have it pretty easy... Large cabins, and work about 4 hour shifts a day driving the boat (which is a HUGE task) They can pretty much do what ever they want on the ship and above security in some cases.
So as it looks like we are slaves on board ship, we are certainly not. Crew parties, night after night of crew bar until 2 am with $1.25 beer, and the rest of the night out on the front of the ship under the stars. Week after week of crew activities, games, and cheap excursions. Ship life is great in its moderation... working on board a ship for 9 months would be death, but 4 - 6 months is not so bad as long as you have a few months between the next contract.
Hope this answered your question. if you have any questions about working on a ship please let me know, and stay tuned to my next blog which tells some nail bitting stories about getting to the ship too late!!! YIKES, I have some good ones.... so until then follow me on facebook www.facebook.com/thedannyblackpage (like the page and send me a message telling me you read this and ill send you some free downloads)

I'm Back!
After signing off the Carnival Magic in Barcelona in September, I traveled the States bringing the Vacation to the people. I have been performing all over the States and heading to Europe and Australia soon. I decided it was time to share more inside information with cruising, for all the new and old cruisers and people looking to work on ships. I love to help guests on which itineraries and excursions on ports, whether they should do them or not or how to save money in the process! Ill be writing once a week, giving information and answering questions. If you have any questions that you would like me to answer send me an email DannyBlack@me.com (attn: CruiseCrazies) also check out this video to see what cruise life is like when you work on a ship…
Also you can check out my website www.thedannyblack.com to see where I will be live!
ps… I am only sharing this information on my blog but I have been asked to start working on ROCK BOATs this fall, where I jump on a ship for a weekend and open for bigger bands, or play through out the ship each night. I will keep you updated on this information!
THANKS and remember MAKE LIFE YOUR VACATION!

Cruise Ports - Part 1:
I am going to do a series of Blogs covering all the ports that the Carnival Magic goes through, and also most of the ports in the Caribbean that ships typically sail to. This will be a guide of things to look for at each port.
Let us begin with Monaco/Monte Carlo France.
This is one of the most beautiful ports you will see in Europe in my opinion. There are big yachts and many things to see. I would recommend walking around the city or getting a tour of the city. Nice and Eze are cities near by that are beautiful as well. I would recommend taking an excursion to see those places, or do your homework before and take the train there.
Rome is the next destination on this Blog.
There is a lot to see in Rome, but in fact you can see it all in 5 hours for $35 each person. Just take the local train for an hour ride, get off and see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevey Fountain, Pantheon, and the Vatican. There is one more place people talk about seeing, the Spanish steps. I would not recommend this site, only because it is not worth the time to get there. The secret of the Colosseum is to go to the Roman Forum across the street of the Colosseum and you can get your ticket in the Forum and it will also get you into the Colosseum without waiting in the crazy long line! By the time you get to the Vatican there is less people around and much easier to see inside. You can hire a guide to tour you through it all, but after you have seen the rest of Rome you might not be wanting a tour.
If you have any questions about those ports, please let me know.
I will give info on Livorno, Venice, Croatia, Messina, and Naples on the next Blog!
Thanks for reading. -*DB-

I get asked a ton of questions every day by guests on the ship. Most of them are the same questions. I was able to compile a list of 10 questions that are asked most frequently.
Q: How long have you been working on Ships?
A: I have been working on ships since end of January 2010. I did a 6 month contract on the Carnival Freedom... I subbed in for someone on the Paradise out of LA for a couple weeks. Then I did 2 months on the Carnival Legend followed by 4 months back on the Carnival Freedom. 5 weeks after I flew to Europe for this current ship (Carnival Magic)
Q: How did you get into working on ships?
A: For me I saw an Ad in Craigslist working through an Agency that can put me on any cruise line. Landau.com is the company. It is expensive 15% is their fee but they do a good job. Another way to apply is to go to a cruise line's website and look for their application link!
Q: Do you live on Deck 0 or below and share a room with others?
A: While all ships and positions give different accommodations, I personally have been on a ship that was below sea level, and a room on the 4th floor.. My room on this ship is level 6 above the Disco. My position grants me my own room which rocks! The most roommates any crew has is 1. Some rooms join at the bathroom and shower, so 2 people might share that with 2 other people.
Q: Can you get off the ship?
A: Amazingly people ask this question a lot, and the answer is yes. All crew can get off the ship, most positions have their schedule during a port time. There is no reason for me to play while the guests are off the ship so I can get off the ship every port!
Q: What do you do when you are not playing?
A: When I am not playing, I am probably sleeping! haha most of the time, if I am not out at a Port using internet, I will be working on some side projects, video editing commercials for companies who hire me back in the States, writing songs, learning new covers, watching movies, working out, or talking with guests. Always trying to fill my time with something constructive.
Q: What is next for me?
A: I am not certain what I will be doing after this ship. I will have offers on other ships, but I have a few great opportunities and shows all around the US and other countries.
Q: Do you get Free Internet on the Ship?
A: The answer is No but it is at a discounted rate of what the guests pay. We pay per minute, and you can tell when you see a wifi hot spot in a port and all the crew is gathered around it!
Q: Being away for so long, do you miss your friends and family?
A: I have great friends and a spectacular family (not married or have kids of my own) but being away from them is hard but thanks to facebook, skype, and email, I can keep track of them and keep in touch! It also makes it that much better to see them when I get home, or when they come to visit.
Q: How long is the turn over from cruise to cruise?
A: There is no break between cruises. When the guests leave the ship a couple hours later new guests arrive and we leave that day! It is amazing how they can get everything set for the new cruise so quickly.
Q: What is my favorite cruise destination?
A: My favorite cruise destination would have to be the Eastern Caribbean. The islands in the Eastern Caribbean are beautiful and the beaches are incredible. Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Maartin, St Lucia, Antigua, Tortola are all my favorite ports! Georgous!
If you have any questions just ask! I would love to answer some questions that I have not answered here!
Thanks for reading... - DB-

Blog 2: Overview of the RedFrog Pub...
On the brand new Carnival Ship, Carnival Magic, they installed a new Pub idea... They are creating all kinds of brands around the ship with the sky coarse adventure, ocean plaza, superstar live, etc... The RedFrog Pub is a great start to some great ideas for future cruises. Instead of just a regular bar where people stop for a second listen to some kind of entertainment and head off, they created an experience for people to come, meet others, enjoy some life tunes (me) and become regulars there for the week.. I get a lot of comments that the RedFrog should be open later because people who are not fans of the Disco would rather spend their nights at the Pub.
They offer some great prices on their drinks and a variety of GREAT food at prices like $3.33.. The first run got some commotion for the shortage of their Carnival branded beer called Thirsty Frog Red. It was not a shortage of beer, more of peoples choice of drink. It ran out quicker than they expected and was only with out that particular beer for a few days before the received more. Nothing to really blow out of proportion. It has been a success on this ship so far and is something they will start modeling into the future ships and even constructing in the older ships!
Thanks for Reading... -*DB-