Cruising with The Opera Boys

Ever wondered what it’s like being a headline act on board a luxury cruise ship…? We just got back from a lovely week on board P&O Ventura, sailing from Genoa to Venice. We are very privileged to have passenger status when we perform our concerts on board and I’m sure most of you might think that it’s all Jacuzzis and champagne… Well I don’t want to shatter that illusion – so I won’t! The truth is we do get some time to relax and enjoy the wonderful facilities on board, and we get incredibly well looked after by the Cruise Director, his entertainment team and the production staff. P&O Ventura is one of our regular ships – we tend to appear on there once every month or two – so we have a lot of friends on board now and it is always nice to get back on and see them.

For those of you that have never been on a ship, here’s a little insight into the scale of this incredible ship: Ventura weighs approx. 116,000 tonnes, is just over 950 feet in length and can accommodate almost 3,200 passengers (plus around 1400 staff). She has fourteen public decks, eight restaurants (including a fine dining restaurant by Marco Pierre White), six boutiques, a gym, a spa and five pools. She also has a lovely 850 seat theatre called The Arena, and this is where we perform.

The facilities in the theatre are fantastic. Many people think of cruise ships and imagine corny cabaret singers in little show lounges but it is actually more like performing in a West End Theatre on board the large ships. We are backed by a live orchestra and looked after by the extensive theatre crew – production manager, lighting technician, sound technician, stage manager and his stagehands. They all cater to our every need and work with us to make sure we can give the audience the best possible show. The lighting and sound are state of the art and the technicians are outstanding. It really is a privilege to be able to perform on board and work with an incredible team of professionals that look after the theatre.

If you’ve never been cruising then give it a go – I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed!

To find out where and when we will be performing on cruise ships, check out the tour dates page of our website.