An offer from a ship is more than a fee: it names who employs you, how many shows you play, how you join and leave the ship, where you sleep and what you need to board. A line can hire you directly or through an agent, and an agent may take a commission. Read the whole agreement, work out what you keep, and get professional advice before you sign anything you don’t understand.
Where you are, the tests for the next stop, and the steps between, in the order most comics take them. The
steps are the Career Field Manual's; mark each one as you go, and the day goes in your passport.
You’re here if…
Up for a ship or resort booking
A line or an agent has offered you dates, or says an offer is coming.
Your clean show and your adult show have passed an audition.
You’re reading terms a club date never had: an employment agreement, a commission, documents to board.
The next step is signing, and you want to know what you’re agreeing to first.
These are what the lines and agencies say, on their own pages, comes with the job on board. Tick each one when it’s true for you.
0 of 4 true
The playbook
13 steps in 4 parts, from the Career Field Manual. Each has its “done when”, a D.O.C. tool for it, and
your status, note and target date; star up to twelve for your 90-day plan.
Know who’s hiring you
From the Career Field Manual: Choose help when it solves a problem and Explore specialty markets. In the D.O.C. book:
topics 290–313, 132–142 and 143–173.
01
Choose help when it solves a problem · team-05
Read commission, exclusivity, territory and termination terms
With an agency in the deal, read its own agreement too: the commission, whether it’s exclusive, the lines it covers and how it ends.
Work out the commission before you signA percentage of the fee is a cost like any other.The commission, worked out →
Know what you’re signing awayRecording and likeness rights can reach past the run.Red flags before signing →
Plan for a cancelled runKnow what happens to your fee and travel if the run is called off.When a gig is cancelled →
Keep the money records from day oneA separate account, and a log of what came in and went out.Taxes for comedians →
Each week
Your weekly rhythm here
Habits, not a timetable: the atlas has no stopwatch. Keep these going, and the proof for this stop builds
up week by week.
Read one clause slowlyTake one part of the offer at a time: the shows, the travel, the cabin, the pay, the way out.
Write down what you’d keepThe fee, less any commission and the costs nobody repays.
Ask one question in writingSend each question by email, so the answer is on the record.
Check your documentsPassport dates, visas, the medical: what each one needs and how long it takes.
Set it beside your land datesPut the run next to the club and private dates you’d give up or move.
Get advice when it mattersA lawyer or an accountant for terms you don’t understand, before you sign.
What buyers check
In their own words
Each buyer's published rule, quoted from its own page, checked on 10 November 2026. They differ, so send each one
what its page asks for, and read the page again before you send.
A cruise line’s own page
Princess Cruises Entertainment
The line hires entertainers directly or through its Global Talent Partners, sets the terms itself and issues Seafarer Employment Agreements; most entertainer positions, guest entertainers among them, have a single cabin.
Princess Cruises Entertainment is solely responsible for selecting and hiring crew members and entertainers, setting the terms and conditions of employment, and issuing Seafarer Employment Agreements (SEAs).
Where it charges, a commission from the salary on board; and the documents it says cruise lines require: a valid passport and a medical exam, with visas, background checks and English tests among the other possibilities.
sometimes, we do charge commission (a small percentage of one’s salary on board)
All cruise lines require a valid passport and a medical exam; other potential requirements include visas, background checks, English proficiency tests, and more.
At this stop the offer has already come to you: the contract arrives from the line or the agent who placed you, not through a submission form. Read it beside the line’s own onboard pages, and get professional advice before you sign. 62 places to send a submission, on the Career Atlas →
The money here
Ask, and get it in writing
None of the buyers on this page publishes what it pays a comic, so this page gives no figure. Ask, get the answer in the contract, and get professional advice on terms you don’t understand.
In the contract, before you sign
Who employs you, and who can change the terms
The dates, the ship, the number of shows and each show’s length
The fee, any commission, and when and how you’re paid
Who books and pays for flights, hotels and transfers, joining and leaving
The cabin, the meals and any duties beyond the stage
The documents you need, and who pays for the medical and any visa
Fill in what you know once: it fills every note below and stays on this device. Anything left blank shows in
[brackets], to fill in by hand.
Your details
Questions to ask before you sign
1. Who employs me: the line, the agency or a production company?
2. Which ship, which dates, how many shows, and how long is each?
3. Is the fee per show or for the run? Is a commission taken, and how much?
4. When and how am I paid, and in what currency?
5. Who books and pays for my flights, hotel and transfers, joining and leaving?
6. What cabin do I have, and where do I eat?
7. What documents do I need: passport, visa, medical? Who pays for them?
8. What are my duties off stage: drills, meet-and-greets, anything else?
9. What's the content rule for each show?
10. What happens if the run is cancelled, cut short, or I'm ill?
Confirming the terms in writing
Subject: Confirming the terms: [The ship or resort], [The run's dates]
Hi [The line's or agent's contact],
Thank you for the offer. So we're both clear, here's what I understand:
Shows: [The number of shows, and their lengths] on [The ship or resort], [The run's dates]
Fee: [The fee, and whether it's per show or for the run], paid [When and how you're paid]
Travel: [Who books and pays for travel]
Cabin: [The cabin or room]
If any of this is wrong, please tell me before I sign.
Best,
[Your name]
What you’d keep, worked out
[The ship or resort], [The run's dates]
Fee: [The fee, and whether it's per show or for the run]
Commission: [Any commission]
Costs nobody repays (documents, medical, getting to the airport): [The costs nobody repays]
Days away from other work, travel included: [Days away, travel included]
What I keep: [What you keep]
Turning an offer down, politely
Hi [The line's or agent's contact],
Thank you for the offer of [The ship or resort], [The run's dates]. I can't take this one, and I'd be glad to hear from you about future dates. I'm open [The dates you're open].
Best,
[Your name]
Your proof
Proof for your passport
Tick each piece when you have it: the day goes in your passport with it. The passport keeps your whole
career's record on this device, to download, print and review once a year.
The evidence
This stop is done when you have
Your status
Weigh the contract
On your record
Nothing yet: your status changes and ticks appear here, each with its day.
The buyers' rules are quoted from each buyer's own page, checked on 10 November 2026. A buyer can change its rules at
any time, so read its page before you send anything.
The D.O.C. bookThe playbook's book topics, matched to the book's contents on 10 November 2026.
About this roadmap
By D.O.C. Editorial. This is one stop of the Stand-Up Career Atlas: cruises & travel,
stop 3 of 5. It's a way to plan, not a promise of bookings: it gives no expected years, its only figures are
the ones buyers and venues publish on their own pages, and the buyers' rules are theirs. For what a cruise booking involves, read
How do comedians get casino and cruise ship gigs?.
