Cruise ship ice shows

[b2tfuture]

Does anyone know how you go about auditioning to be in a show on a cruise ship?

Thanks

[Skatewind]

Know who the directors of the shows are & get a referral from one of their colleagues.

[doubletoe]

You could probably just call the main number at the cruise company and ask for the shipboard entertainment director. That person should definitely be able to get you in touch with whoever hires for the ice show.

[skatingatty]

Look in the USFSA skating magazine or International Figure Skating magazine for the ads in the back. I think it's Wally Bietak Productions that handles the auditions for Royal Caribbean cruise shows. Good luck! :)

[b2tfuture]

Thanks very much for all the ideas!

[morganm]

Does anyone have any experience with cruise ship skating as a job not on vacation?
What are the requirements? How long is the contract? What do you do? What does it pay(very little I assume)
If you did it - did you enjoy it? what are the pros and cons of doing it?

[jp1andOnly]

Not sure of requirements, but I would assume you have to have tests passed...competition experience helps. Each contract is probably different. I would assume a year or so. Usually small bonuses are given to encourage skaters to stick around. If you want to go home for break, etc those would be your own expenses. Looks is probably important...thin for the female no piercings, tattoos, etc

As for what you do, it depends on what you are good at. I'm sure there is chorus work and if you have good jumps (doubles) then you might get some small solo parts. The pay is probably not that good, but the experience lasts a lifetime.

REmember, cruise ships don't need a lot of skaters. Disney on Ice uses more skaters and you would probably have a better shot getting hired there. (depending on what you do and audition/tape)

Edited to add: Disney doesn't take skaters under 18. I would assume its the same for cruise ships

Check out this link...they are one of the cruise ship producers of ice shows.

http://www.iceshows.com/index.html

Does anyone have any experience with cruise ship skating as a job not on vacation?
What are the requirements? How long is the contract? What do you do? What does it pay(very little I assume)
If you did it - did you enjoy it? what are the pros and cons of doing it?

[Bothcoasts]

I know some people who worked for the major cruise lines--although not in entertainment. While they enjoyed the experience, it was also hard work for little pay. The people I know work for six months followed by two months off. They share small rooms with one another and are around co-workers constantly. They have limited phone access or visits to friends back home.

Granted, there are benefits. Cruise line staff travel to exotic locations and eat well--the chefs are good at catering to the food needs of an international staff. As a skater, you might often have time off in ports, and your friends may be able to travel on board for a reduced rate. However, you would want to do it solely for the experience, as cruise line pay and accommodations are minimal.

[mikawendy]

Would it be skating on real ice or (gack) that awful plastic stuff? I would imagine that would figure greatly into the quality of your experience while on the ice.

[Kevin Callahan]

"that awful plastic stuff"?

Someone enlighten me. I thought the physics of skating depended on the tiny amount of water formed from the friction between the blade and the ice. How could you skate on PLASTIC?

[mikawendy]

"that awful plastic stuff"?

Someone enlighten me. I thought the physics of skating depended on the tiny amount of water formed from the friction between the blade and the ice. How could you skate on PLASTIC?

See these threads for more info:
http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=18208&highlight=synthetic

http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=17320&highlight=synthetic

[Kevin Callahan]

...

NO THANK YOU. The edging sounded terrible.

[jazzpants]

Here's a website of an "artificial ice" rink manufacturer....

http://www.superglideskating.com/

[Kevin Callahan]

This was in AUSTIN? How come I never heard about it? And this looks much better. I wonder how walking on it is...

[SkatingOnClouds]

OMG I want one!!!

Has anyone skated on this super-glide stuff ??? It sounds too good to be true !
How on earth can it survive toe-pick jumps and scratch spins, I don't get it.

[NickiT]

OMG I want one!!!

Has anyone skated on this super-glide stuff ??? It sounds too good to be true !
How on earth can it survive toe-pick jumps and scratch spins, I don't get it.

Me neither. I can't see how it can be possible to be honest.

Nicki

[EastonSkater]

Me neither. I can't see how it can be possible to be honest.

Nicki

Me too. Sounds really fishy. I fail to see how it could work without scraping the heck out of the material when you do a hockey stop. I'm pretty sure I'd make mince meat out of the surface in a single session. That's my bet anyway.

[EastonSkater]

I just found some photos on this site. But I'm still skeptical about what one would do to the surface if you do a hockeystop on it. On ice, the ice naturally scrapes right off the surface. On this synthetic stuff, I'm wondering how you could possibly do the same thing. And I'm wondering what toe picks and things like that are going to do to the surface. The site reckons a 10 year life span. My 'guess' would be more like 10 seconds.

http://www.syntheticiceusa.com/IcePhotos.htm

[Mrs Redboots]

A friend of mine took part in an "ice" show in the South of France one year, skating on synthetic ice. She said the first practice was awful, but after that they "surfaced" it with some kind of oil, which made it much easier to skate on. But I gather it is very hard on one's blades, and you need to sharpen them almost every day.

[b-al]

A great friend of mine skated on a cruise ship. Her contract was for six months. The ice was plastic. She was principal, and therefore made, I believe anywhere from $6-800 a week. Her travelling expenses were paid and so was one meal a day. As you are over seas, something dealing with taxes works to your benefit as well. She made it to Senior Nats, and finished mid-bottom. She is very flexible, petitie and has a 2 axel and consistant 3/ sal. She said she shared empolyee cabins with a roommate and the room was extremly small, nothing compared to what the guests have. She said she was also not allowed to fratranize with the guests. Overall, she seemed to have a great experience, but has yet to do it again since the $$ is better elsewhere. She said chorus girls were usually $400 a week, with the same benefits. This job, in my opinion, is much better than Disney, if it's something you would like to do for awhile. The pay is better, as is the experience for a resume. I saw her video and the show looked amazing, even on a REALLY small (fake) ice surface. She said her blades did take a beating. The ice show world is a small one, so this is a good place to start. Everyone knows everyone else. Holiday is another good show, with good pay. If it's of interest to you, she told me chorus girl standards were much lower, in terms of body image, placements, and skill level.
Most producers are looking for a short video of your skills, head and body shots. Height and weight. Some may disagree, others may fully agree with me here, but if your weight does not reflect your height in a postive manner, (meaning without someone seeing you, and they are making a (rude) judgement of how much (they think) someone that height should weigh, I would suggest saying what you look like. Understand though, that producers will weigh you in person, but if they think you look fine you should be alset. Also (off subect but good to know how critical (as if we didn't already know) skating is, Producers will put weight stipulations in a contract, granting them the right to fire you if you gain to much weight.
However, for some weight is not an issue and shows can be a great way to stay in shape, SEE THE WORLD (and get paid) and if you love to skate in front of an audience, well go for it. A cruise ship sounds like so much fun.

[phoenix]

There are definitely a few cruise ships out there now with real ice.

[Bothcoasts]

The following link has information about the ships with real ice:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/home.do;jsessionid=0000ScIDvaAq36p1R7T3QHL24pv:10k tdmkdk?shipClassCode=VY&br=R

One of my skating buddies went on the Voyager of the Seas intending to practice while on vacation and was fairly disappointed. While she was able to skate, the skate guards of the ship wouldn't let her jump or spin.

Of course, I've always wondered what would happen if the ship hits a wave when you're in the middle of a jump...!

[EastonSkater]

Of course, I've always wondered what would happen if the ship hits a wave when you're in the middle of a jump...!

heck yeah!! ... or if a electrical failure/power blackout in the middle of a triple. Or even worse, during a power blackout AND hitting a wave AND somebody skating in your skate path all at the same time!