Scotia Pipers: Scottish Bagpiper available for cruise work

Scotia Pipers
50 Meldrum Road, Kirkcaldy, Fife, KY2 5HX, Scotland
Tel/fax: +44 (0)1592 595730 Mob: +44 (0)771 498 6414 eMail: info@scotiapipers.co.uk

HOME

Back to News

Captain MacNeil's Homecoming Cruise - Seven Seas Voyager

The Regent Seven Seas Voyager Cruise Liner

I was honoured and delighted to be asked to perform as a guest musician onboard the Seven Seas Voyager on Captain MacNeils Homecoming cruise taking in Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Portree, Belfast, Cobh, Dublin, Dartmouth, Falmouth and Southampton. The captain very much has roots throughout Britain, the cruise was taking in all of his home areas. He is a big bagpipe buff hence where I came in. The cruise started on the 30th August through to 9th September 2008.

I have done a lot of cruise work in the past, however this was my debut on the Seven Seas Voyager. I was most impressed by the ship. The ship is a 6 star vessel, and it very much lives up to this. Always immaculate throughout. The staff are very friendly, the service and food were first class. The entertainment was very good. With a good variation in the programme, there was something for everyone onboard.

My duties were basically to play the ship away from each port, it really is such a buzz to do this on one of the World's top cruise liners. From the ports above as you can imagine there were different ambience's in each port. Most of them made me happy for different reasons. The highlights for me were the Scottish ones, plus Cobh. I was very proud particularly to pipe the ship away from the forth with the bridges in the background as this is my own 'home port'. We actually sailed past Kirkcaldy, which is my home town. Some of the scenery and backdrops in Orkney and Skye was just exceptional. In Cobh I just felt such a buzz about the port. There was some kind of festival going on on the pier, plus we had a brass band to entertain the passengers immediately prior to departure. It was a lovely town as well. There were lots of children and adults alike waving us off.

One of my other roles was to perform in the boom party. This is a fantastic idea, which I have never seen before. It involved myself piping through all the passageways of the guest cabins, both the operating captain and Captain Macneil as well as the cruise director and general manager literally running through meeting all the passengers in their hall ways. This was a great opportunity to meet the passengers and from them to meet their neighbours. In true Seven Seas style, the passengers were treated to Champagne and canapes. I really enjoyed this experience and challenge. This was beamed back to the room for the rest of the cruise, it looked great on TV. It gave me a good laugh watching it back.

Bagpiper Steven Dewar piping cruise ship from Edinburgh

Piping cruise ship off the coast of Cobh, Ireland

I was also invited to play in a party for our British and Commonwealth party hosted by Captain MacNeil. This was a good opportunity to play indoors in the heat for a change. It was a good opportunity to meet some fellow Brits in particular as the passenger list is mostly American. The BBC were in attendance for this event also as part of their coverage of the cruise. I got a little 5 min spot towards the end which was fun.

Another highlight for me was performing in the ship's theatre in one of the shows. By pure chance, the ship's security office is an ex drummer with the Royal Marines, so we put together a performance with pipes and kit drum which was well received. After watching several of the shows on the ship, it was great to get a chance to take to the stage myself.

Overall I had a fantastic experience onboard the Seven Seas Voyager. I met some wonderful people, all with a great story to tell. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to experience cruising in the highest standard of luxury.

Steven Dewar.