Cruise Entertainment

Deputy Captain Blackbeard has got stars in his eyes. He's spent a few days on board cruise ship Thomson Dream, taking a backstage look at Sky1's new reality talent contest, Showboaters. Did he catch the judges' eyes? Read on to find out. Can there really be any better jobs than singing and dancing your way around the world? Well Sky1 seems to think not, and it has launched Showboaters, a reality competition with the aim of nurturing new cruise ship entertainment. The show was recorded on board Thomson Dream while the ship was in the Caribbean earlier this year. I've [...]

It could be the fault of Silvio Berlusconi; no matter how many times he finds himself accused of sexual misbehaviour , his critics never miss an opportunity to hurl the epithet "cruise ship crooner" when they want to really hurt him. Or it could be Simon Cowell who's to blame, for the regularity with which he dashes a hopeful's dreams by describing them as cruise ship entertainers. But the insult is so out of date you'd think the last time he travelled on a ship it was full of animals travelling two by two. Cruise ship entertainment is often the [...]

BARING THEIR TEETH: Karl and Claudia are already at each other's throats Rather like Andre Previn's piano playing in that memorable Morecambe and Wise Show, Sky1's Showboaters has got all the right ingredients. I'm just not sure we're getting them in the right order. Last night's debut for the talent show on a cruise ship - Thomson Dream, sailing in the Caribbean - had the contestants at each other's throats before the audience had been given the chance to get to know them and, vitally, decide which ones we are going to love and who we'll hate. Viewers saw nothing [...]

The four woman at the centre of Milly Johnson's entertaining novel Here Come The Girls get up to all sorts of mischief on a 40th birthday cruise to the Mediterranean. Milly herself (left), all bubbly five-feet of her, had to behave herself a little better on a recent cruise to the same destinations on P&O's Azura - she was accompanied by her two young sons - but as she relates in her blog, she had an equally enjoyable time. Back home in Barnsley, she wrote: " It's so lovely to look at the pictures and know that I truly painted [...]

After TV's True Blood, Vampire Diaries and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was only a matter of time before there was a vampire-themed cruise. After all, there have been cruises for everyone from Archers fans to bikers; Agatha Christie followers to celebrity chefs; and musically for fans of Kiss, the Backstreet Boys and Donny and Marie Osmond. The Vamps at Sea Cruise is taking place on Holland America's Zuiderdam next June, sailing from Vancouver to Alaska, and just to make sure nobody feels left out, one selling slogan is "Whether you are Team Glitter or Team Goth, remember - we [...]

Trivia buffs on cruise ships take their quizzing seriously. The keen ones are always first to the venue to grab a table for their team, and even if they're not the sharpest pencil in the box, they make sure they get the sharpest pencil to write their answers down. Heaven help the unfortunate member of the cruise staff who mis-pronounces a question, or - worse still - isn't sure about an answer. He or she is howled down immediately by teams of passengers who always know best. Take it from me: quizzes are not to be taken lightly, and they [...]

Today might be the start of the Premiership season in England, but a football match of international significance took place earlier in the week. The tourist board in the Norwegian port of Alesund sponsored a game between teams from two visiting cruise ships - Holland America's Ryndam and Prinsendam (above) - which took place in the town's main stadium. If you don't want to know the result, look away now ... Ryndam won 4-2.

Showbiz wannabes have been given a dream chance to push the boat out and begin a sparkling career at sea. Showboaters, a new reality TV series put together by Jamie Oliver's production team, was recorded over four weeks earlier this year and will be broadcast on Sky One starting on September 13. The contest took place on board the cruise ship Thomson Dream while sailing in the Caribbean and the winner secures a place in the ship's entertainment team this coming winter. The contestants (above), who range from a 56-year-old hairdresser to a 21-year-old Geordie steelworker, performed in front of [...]