Originally Posted by angelsgirl85

I'm a graduate student in costume design in theatre. I also run wardrobe for shows. This summer, I worked with many talented actors in their 20s and 30s who were all vying for 1 or 2 roles as performers on various cruise lines. It's a coveted gig for actors, singers, entertainers, and technicians like wardrobe, lighting, rigging, etc. Salary for those jobs tends to run around $35,000 yr plus benefits, and of course there is virtually no cost of living while you're on board except for outrageous cell phone/internet bills. (For some salary perspective, I was working 40+ hours/week for less than $250/week pre-tax, and this was considered good pay). So needless to say, it's actually very good salary in the entertainment line of work. However, it's definitely geared towards young, single, unattached employees; when you are not sailing you may be informed of a 10 month position literally 2 days before you are expected to be on the ship. Working hours are long and rooms are tiny and shared. The salary and travel are nice, but after a couple of years, most actors/technicians tend to want to move on to more esteemed resume-building work and/or join equity.