Travel blog from a musician on board the Celebrity Reflection!

[dpryo319]

Passing this on, since his blog has seemed to get a lot of hits when he was on the Celebrity Silhouette and Azamara Journey, to any who are interested in reading/following his travels on the brand new Celebrity Reflection!

 

Rory Bolton is a piano player from Wisconsin who has been playing on cruise ships for just over a year now. He has kept his blog up and running on his last two cruises, and will be doing the same on the Reflection! It's a great read for cruise lovers!!

 

Hope you all enjoy!

 

 

Here is the link : http://roryboltoncruise.blogspot.com

 

and some youtube videos for viewing :

 

Clips of some celebrity shows throughout (Mainly beginning, 9minutes, and 11 minutes, and at the end)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AHI3...eature=related

 

And some of his promo videos that he used to audition for the cruise:

 

Cocktail Pianist:

 

 

Piano Bar:

 

 

if you would like to be in contact, my e-mail is damarapryor09@gmail.com

[dpryo319]

Celebrity: Take 2!

That's right! As of tomorrow I will be leaving to open up the new Celebrity Reflection as the orchestra pianist...meeting the ship in Bremen, Germany, and then...let the cruisin' begin! A tour taking me up to Feb. from Europe to the Med, across the Atlantic, and ending up in the Caribbean! Welcome back to all my readers!

 

See you all on the other side!

 

from : http://roryboltoncruise.blogspot.com/

[dln929]

Why thank you very much! We'll be sure to listen when we're on the Reflection. What nice news for us music lovers. :)

[Andy]

Hello !

 

Thanks again for posting. I enjoyed Rory's blogs from Azamara Journey & Celebrity Silhouette. We look forward to the future installments. Have a wonderful time on Reflection !

[steamboats]

Read his Silhouette blog!

 

But I wish him good luck meeting the ship today in Bremen :D. First of all the harbor would be located in Bremerhaven. But second the Reflection is located in Eemhaven (Netherlands) right now.:D O.k., it´s a bus ride of one or two hours and Bremen is the closest airport (or Amsterdam).

 

steamboats

[keenager]

Looking forward to following Rory on Reflection. Enjoyed his playing so much on Sillouette last year. We'll be on Solstice in 2weeks ,so sadly won't hear him play this year. Lucky folks on Reflection!

[travellink]

Thanks for the" heads up " on the link. Kept up with his blog on the Silhouette but lost touch. Hope to see him on the Reflection in Dec.

[dpryo319]

Thanks, y'all! I am not sure, but I am about 99% sure that the ship is in the german port now, not in Eemshaven. For the Silhouette, he signed on for the 2nd "sign on date" when the ship had been in Eeemshaven, and he flew into Amsterdam, then took a bus there. But for the Refection, he took the first "sign-on date" where the ship is still near Bremen, and he flew from Frankfurt to Bremen to get there. (Last I heard from him was when he got into Frankfurt, and it was just a quick e-mail telling me he got there okay--hoping to hear from him tomorrow...communication is pretty sparse, as you can imagine.)

 

His contract is from Sept 26, 2012 to Feb 2, 2013! Glad to see there is still interest in his blog, I know he's excited to meet all of you who are sailing, and keep the rest of you at home, entertainted! :)

 

...Hoping to visit on the New years cruise (Dec 29-Jan 5) if things works out!

 

Best,

 

DaMara

[emcee207]

DaMara, I was surprised to see his contract is only a little over 4 months; is this indicative of being a musician as opposed to a server, housekeeper, etc where I think they usually have longer contracts?

 

Also, how did he first get the "gig"? I have two friends that have a duet that would be perfect for "lounge" type music on Celebrity. They might be interested in a cruise ship contract. Do you contact the cruise line directly or do they use "agents", etc?

[dpryo319]

DaMara, I was surprised to see his contract is only a little over 4 months; is this indicative of being a musician as opposed to a server, housekeeper, etc where I think they usually have longer contracts?

 

Also, how did he first get the "gig"? I have two friends that have a duet that would be perfect for "lounge" type music on Celebrity. They might be interested in a cruise ship contract. Do you contact the cruise line directly or do they use "agents", etc?

 

Musicians are able to negotiate contracts more frequently than say housekeepers, servers, even cast/vocal members. Reasons vary, but they generally say 4.5 months minimum, but 6 months is preferred---a lot due to the cost of flying entertainers to the ship. Rory had three flights just THERE Madison - Chicago, Chicago - Frankfurt, Frankfurt - Bremen. Then his flight back will be probably from Miami - Chicago, Chicago - Madison. So...for ONE entertainer, that's probably around $3,000 for JUST his flights....So the longer than can keep 'em on board, the less people they have to fly in for "fill-in" contracts.

 

To my understanding acupuncturists, housekeepers, servers etc. usually have a contract of 9-12 months...sometimes longer....and most of them pay their own airfare out there, from what I understand.

 

My favorite (not) misconception is "Oh! Your boyfriend works on cruise ships? Thats awesome! You get to go with...right?" ....oh, do I wish. ;) So for me, the shorter the contract...the better. (Getting on to visit him is also a huge headache and very costly---so is trying to keep communication---but we make what we can work!)

 

----As far as your other question, his first contract was set up for him by an agent, his second was upon a recommendation from an entertainer he'd met on the Silhouette, directly through RCCL (the "mother" company of Celebrity/Azamara), and this current contract, through his agent. In my personal opinion, you might get paid more going directly through the company, and have more opportunity for a raise/vacation pay, faster, than an agent, since they are a "middle man." But it really varies, depends on experience levels, availability, etc. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

If you send me an e-mail to : damarapryor09@gmail.com, I can give you more direct info. :)

 

DaMara

[CarolRick]

We enjoyed reading Rory's blog before we sailed on the SILHOUETTE. It was even better when we saw him perform with the band. Reading the blog made us feel that we knew him already, and we enjoyed the many shows he performed in even more.

Thanks...

[steamboats]

Thanks, y'all! I am not sure, but I am about 99% sure that the ship is in the german port now, not in Eemshaven.

 

DaMara,

 

I did check with Marinetraffic prior to my post and the Reflection was in Eemshaven. She has arrived back there after the second sea trial (going up to the Skagerrak) on Septemper 25th at 7:51 pm and hasn´t left Eemshaven since.

 

Eemshaven is more or less opposite Emden (Germany) which is about an hour away from Bremen. So it´s about 1.5 to 2 hours from Bremen to Eemshaven.

 

Meyer is either getting the ships to Emden or Eemshaven for the sea trials and the finishing touches.

 

The Silhouette has been in Eemshaven for the sea trials and finishing touches too and then went up to Hamburg. So did the Eclipse. There were pre inaugural cruises out of Hamburg. This time the pre inaugural (for media and TAs of Europe) is going out of Eemshaven to Amsterdam on October 10th. There´s another pre inaugural in December after the TA cruise for the US TAs and media. There´s currently a sweepstakes going on for that pre inaugural (they did one over here too for the Eemshaven-Amsterdam one).

 

steamboats

[emcee207]

DaMara, thanks so much for the help; I"ll be sending an email later today.

 

Louis aka emcee207

[dpryo319]

DaMara,

 

I did check with Marinetraffic prior to my post and the Reflection was in Eemshaven. She has arrived back there after the second sea trial (going up to the Skagerrak) on Septemper 25th at 7:51 pm and hasn´t left Eemshaven since.

 

Eemshaven is more or less opposite Emden (Germany) which is about an hour away from Bremen. So it´s about 1.5 to 2 hours from Bremen to Eemshaven.

 

Meyer is either getting the ships to Emden or Eemshaven for the sea trials and the finishing touches.

 

The Silhouette has been in Eemshaven for the sea trials and finishing touches too and then went up to Hamburg. So did the Eclipse. There were pre inaugural cruises out of Hamburg. This time the pre inaugural (for media and TAs of Europe) is going out of Eemshaven to Amsterdam on October 10th. There´s another pre inaugural in December after the TA cruise for the US TAs and media. There´s currently a sweepstakes going on for that pre inaugural (they did one over here too for the Eemshaven-Amsterdam one).

 

steamboats

 

Thanks for letting me know!! Strange they didn't just fly him to Amsterdam again... huh.

[dpryo319]

(They don't have wifi on the ship yet, so he takes his smartphone to the shipyard to grab some free wireless....posts will be more informative once the ship is finished!)

 

Landed!

Well after a 7 hour and 40 min flight, and a connecting flight from Frankfurt to Bremen, and then a 3 hour bus ride to Eemshaven, we finally arrived at the ship! Cold and rainy 1st night but got settled in just fine. Had immigration this afternoon too and will continue our sea trials with the Meyer Werft company tonight. Glad to be settled on though. More from Eemshaven later!

 

From http://roryboltoncruise.blogspot.com

[cynbar]

I've added Rory's blog to my Favorites and I'm really looking forward to following it. Thanks for letting us know......

[Diane Rose]

DaMara,

 

I am so glad that you posted. I sailed on the Journey on the T/A in April this year and absolutely loved hearing Rory play. I had started reading his blog prior to this cruise because of your posting on the Azamara board. I have it in my favorites again.

 

Diane

[dpryo319]

DaMara,

 

I am so glad that you posted. I sailed on the Journey on the T/A in April this year and absolutely loved hearing Rory play. I had started reading his blog prior to this cruise because of your posting on the Azamara board. I have it in my favorites again.

 

Diane

 

This is great to hear! Glad you got to hear him on the Journey :)

 

Take care,

 

DaMara

[dpryo319]

I've added Rory's blog to my Favorites and I'm really looking forward to following it. Thanks for letting us know......

 

Thanks, enjoy!!!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for posting the link for the blog.

 

Keith

[steamboats]

Thanks for letting me know!! Strange they didn't just fly him to Amsterdam again... huh.

 

On the map it´s looks like Bremen is a little closer than Amsterdam. But I didn´t expect a 3 hour bus ride :eek:. That´s what I had from Hamburg to Emden. I can tell you more in about two weeks after I´ve experienced a bus ride from Amsterdam to Eemshaven...

 

steamboats

 

PS: Just checked Marinetraffic. They´ve left Eeemshaven but just shortly and didn´t go far for some pretty weird circleing :-). The Reflection is currently back in Eemshaven.

[dpryo319]

To Try and Play Catch up

10/1-10/5: Getting Settled… Still in good ole Eemshaven, Holland until the 10th when we sail for Amsterdam and our first official cruise with the guests. In the process of putting up Reflection: The Show, the ship’s premiere production show, taking on a high-powered 80’s classic rock feel, featuring only the rhythm section of the band rockin’ out to your popular tunes of the era, including AC-DC, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Journey, and more! On top of the music, the band gets to be in makeup and full costume right down in the action on stage and platforms, so should be a rockin’ good time! We’ve got 2 new members to our band and ships overall, so it’s pretty exciting for me to show them the “ropes” of ship life, picturing myself one year ago in their very same shoes. We are finally in full force now with the band, after our last member, the bass player, all the way from Cuba, arrived just the other day. And half of the guys and myself were able to enjoy the “grand opening” to the Opus dining room last night as we tried out the menu for size. I’d say it was pretty fair: some appetizers of escargot and eggplant parmesan, a little butternut squash soup on the side, and a cape hake sealed fresh with all the veggies inside the wrapping. To top it off, a serving of tiramisu cake for dessert with a lil’ coffee…man it’s good to be back! Have our first band meeting this afternoon, handing out some music and charts and seeing where we will be needed in the next few days to come… Until then, Ciao! 10/6-10/10: Yard Party, Crew Party, and the Very First Sail Away! On one of the final days of the Meyer Werft construction team, we decided to give a little back to them by letting them bring their close family and friends aboard for the first open house on the ship and entertain them from the early afternoon to the wee hours of the morning. I had the privilege of playing some solo piano sets in the afternoon down in the grand foyer, followed by 3 big band sets with our orchestra, and ending the night up in the ensemble lounge with some jazz as we were also the “Manny Kellough Tribute Band” for the evening since Manny and his team hadn’t arrived yet. It was a long day but a lot of fun being around the ship and seeing her in action with all venues opened up to the guests! A few days later, it was the crew’s chance to celebrate the ship’s opening. Starting off in the morning with CEO Richard Fain and head officials from Miami, we had the changing of the flags (Meyer Werft and German flag to Maltese and U.S.) followed the “hand over” from the Meyer Werft company to Celebrity. A very big occasion in Celebrity ship history-the Reflection is the 5th and final ship in Celebrity’s solstice class of ships. That evening, the crew layered the ship across all balconies celebrating in the opening, dancing to the DJ’s pumpin’ tunes and our eclectic variety of standards, pop, funk, and more! They even threw us a gourmet buffet dinner in Opus dining room to top it all off! Today, the 10th, marked the first sail away to Amsterdam, leaving Eemshaven behind. In the process of getting ready for the opening of Reflection: the Show, we had a long strenuous day of rehearsals followed by our first passenger safety drill. And, to open up the night in the theatre, the British comedian and juggler, Pete Matthews, was on of course with the beloved Nick Weir, our high-energy cruise director. Showtime was a success and made me feel as if I was home again picking right up where I left off on the Silhouette one year ago. Tomorrow will consist of more finalizing touches and run thrus of Reflection, another big band set for the VIP’s and travel agents aboard, and yes the debut of Reflection-a trip back to classic rock and the 80’s! After donning the costume and putting on the makeup, the band felt like true rock stars! 10/11: Reflection Opening The debut was a success for the VIP’s, travel agents, and corporate personnel. Adrenaline was pumping in the cast and it was clear a positive impression of the show was made. With still room to grow over the course of the contract, the classic rock show is in a great starting place. Before the show, the orchestra was down in the grand foyer for yet another big band set of rockin’ tunes. Tomorrow, the agents and corporate office staff leave and the first revenue guests will come aboard for the inaugural cruise from Amsterdam down to Barcelona-an exciting time for the guests and crew who have all worked so hard making all the final preparations to be put to the test. 10/12: Amsterdam and Embarkation of Inaugural Cruise The first batch of guests came aboard today and of course we started ‘em off with the first passenger drill of the season. The welcome aboard show tonight was identical to the one 2 days earlier with Nick, the acapella boys of Uncommon Ground, and the crazy comedic juggling of Pete Matthews. A great way to kick off the cruise, in my opinion! But we’re saving the fun for Reflection, tomorrow night once again! 10/13: Bruges, Belgium Unfortunately, the day in Belgium today was a grey, overcast, cold and windy, not the best conditions to go out in-hoping tomorrow in Le Havre, France the sun will decide to show itself for the day. Reflection rock show tonight paired with 2 Capt.’s toasts from Capt. Pagonis and his senior officers. Looking forward to rockin’ out with the cast and guys in the band again!

[dpryo319]

10/14-10/16: Le Havre, France, Sea Day, and Gijon, Spain

Le Havre: Although it was a Sun. today in Le Havre (about 2 hours train ride from Paris), some of the boys in the band and I did enjoy a walk around the city of Le Havre. Most shops were closed up for the day---ok, strike that, ALL shops were closed up for the day, unless we were lucky enough to stumble upon an open bar with some locals crowding the place. Still it was nice to get off the ship for a bit and breathe some fresh air. Tonight in the theatre is a new act to Celebrity-Eden: two young ladies of English and Scottish background who have a classical/mixed vocal show. They have a great show together and share some laughs on stage while singing and blending beautifully. Sea Day: First sea day of the cruise and we were busier than ever in the band! Started off with a Capt.'s Club Toast up in the new Sky Lounge, a bit smaller than the one on Silhouette and the band is squeezed into the space pretty tightly, but we were still able to jam out to some tunes and entertain the guests. Following that gig, we headed down to the theatre for an afternoon series of rehearsals: first for the upcoming debut of the Broadway show, "Center Stage", and then with the crazy virtuoso man himself once again, the one and only, Davie Howes-a man who can turn any ordinary household item into a musical instrument with a mouthpiece! Crazy energy, and crazy fun to play along to! Gijon, Spain: Today, Bienvenuto from Gijon! Not too sunny out, but still a nice day in the land of Spain off the ship! Enjoying some "cafe con leche" in a lil' hotel cafe with some great friends: the Allegria strings, and Davie Howes! After a bit of sight seeing, will be heading back to the ship for tonight's entertainer-a Celebrity favorite as well as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's: Lindsay Hamilton! We stay in Spain for the duration of this cruise until we reach Barcelona at the end on the 21st-next stop, Vigo! Then Malaga and Barcelona! Ciao Amigos!

[librarylady19]

Will Rory still be on Reflection in January? I would love to hear him perform after following his earlier blogs. Happy to hear there's a rock show on the shop, especially of there's some Springsteen.

[dpryo319]

Will Rory still be on Reflection in January? I would love to hear him perform after following his earlier blogs. Happy to hear there's a rock show on the shop, especially of there's some Springsteen.

 

Yes! He will be on board until Feb 2nd.