Many performers dream of getting off the road and onto the sea. But how do you get hired in the first place? The competition for cruise ship jobs is intense. In this first installment of our three part series about working on a cruise ship, we asked a few experienced cruise ship performers for their advice on how to land that first sea contract and what to expect when you do.

Prepare a lot of material Comedic duo Team Rootberry If you’re interested in becoming a guest artist, you may need to be able to fill more time than you think. Jonathan Root of Team Rootberry says, “don’t think about applying to work on ships  until you have an hour of material.” Even if you’re booked to do a shorter show, circumstances can change at the last minute. “Sometimes there are three acts on board a seven-day cruise,” explains Root. “You do your 45-minute show, and you think you’re done, but then the next act, maybe a singer, gets sick. The cruise director might ask you and the third act to fill in with a 20-25 minute spot each.”  Jonathan knows of at least one performer who got hired to work on a...