How's It Sounding?

Many of you avid readers may be wondering where I have been.  In short, I have been on a journey, but most of you don’t come here to read things “in short”, so let’s get into where I have been.  For the past month (and for the next five months), I have been working on the M/s Carnival Miracle as their sound tech.  I have decided to start up this series to not only tell you where I have been, but also about life at sea, and the job itself.  So, join me aboard the Carnival Miracle for my journey.

First off, I would like to debunk any negative stigmas about Carnival.  Yes, the media likes to pick on Carnival Cruise Lines because of some incidences in the past, but things happen to every cruise line.  Carnival is one of the biggest cruise lines in the world, and it got like that for a reason: people like the cruises.  You don’t get to be the biggest for nothing.  I am not just saying all of this because I have to as an employee, because I don’t; I am saying this because this is what I have observed.

Currently, the Miracle is doing seven day Alaska cruises (for the next three months).  The route leaves from Seattle, heads through Tracy Arms Fjord, then up to Skagway, Alaska, followed by Juneau, Alaska, then down to Victoria, British Columbia Canada, and back to Seattle.  After three months, she will alternate between heading to Hawaii and Mexico.

The Carnival Miracle docked in Skagway, Alaska

Now for the job: as I mentioned, I am the Sound Tech.  This means I run all of the audio for our live events as well as maintain, troubleshoot, and repair all audio systems aboard the 963 foot ship.  This ship is one of the “Spirit” class, so it is not the biggest or smallest in the fleet.  The biggest class currently is the “Dream” class, and I hear they have two audio techs, but that is a story for a different day.

So what are these shows?  Well, we have three production shows, and different fly-on acts.  Our production shows are Carnival and sometimes Miracle specific shows that involve our wonderful cast of dancers and singers, and our very talented live band.  The three shows are Generations, Singing with the Big Band, and Ticket to Ride.  Fly-on acts are literally talent that has been flown in by Carnival to perform one of the nights.  They range from solo acts, magic shows, hypnotists, and more.

Let me tell you a bit about each show.  Generations, which is probably my favorite covers the different generations of music from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and ends with the 80s.  Singing with the Big Band is half production with the full cast, and the other half involves a fly-on singer who sings very well known swing songs from the and around the baby boomer generation.  Ticket to Ride is a tribute to the Beetles.

The fly on acts for the next three months include the Alaskan singer/storyteller Steve Hites, Jac Rene the master hypnotist, and the all around comical juggling funny guy Marcus Reymond.  Each show has its own complications since we are dealing with a live band, audio cues, singers, and stuff like that.

I think for now this is a good place to stop part one.  I know, I know… I didn’t get into any of the technical stuff.  Stay tuned, because it will come!  I just wanted to give you a heads up on where I was.  To find out more about life at sea, sound at sea, and more, keep checking back for part two!

Sunset at sea after leaving Tracy Arms Fjord