Ben Featherstone es singer, actor and dancer. He is 29 years old and was hired by a company cruises to act in the theatrical shows offered on board, while they navigate the Caribbean.
«Can you live and work with your family on a cruise?»is the question he was asked the most when he talked about the work routine he has had on the high seas since 2022.
Since you created an account TikTok -under the user @benfeatherstone_- to answer that concern and many other questions, he accumulated more than 6.7 million «likes».
On the journey He is accompanied by his wife and Piper, his 2-year-old daughter.protagonist of many of his videos on social networks. «When we found out we were going to be parents we both assumed that the chapter of working at sea was over,» Featherstone confessed in an exclusive interview with the magazine People.
The company he worked for did not allow bring family on boardso they returned to the mainland. In April 2024, when her first-born daughter had already turned one year old, an unexpected opportunity arose on another cruise line.
«I had a last-minute audition from my agent, and I took it as a sign from the universe,» he said. The cruise line that invited him allowed the contracted artists travel with their families on boardso they decided to try the experience.
The good and bad of working on a cruise ship
«Since then I’m living a kind of pop star fantasy«, he said with humor. He stays on board for a maximum of six months, does three theater shows a week, and the rest of the time is free to share with his daughter and his partner.
At the same time, his wife is training to be a paramedic, and works part time in London. «Right now she comes with me to the boat for a month, then she goes home with our daughter, works for three weeks and comes back with me,» details the artist.
Piper celebrated her second birthday at sea with his parents, and then returned to the capital of the United Kingdom. «This time it was much more difficult to say goodbye because now he talks more and he told me: ‘Goodbye, daddy’; it was like a movie, where they left on the bus and I was left standing crying,» he said.
He defined the experience as «bittersweet», but assured that when Piper is on board they have incredible moments. «Raising a two-year-old is hard enough anyway, butOn the boat there is a lot to do«he commented.
He water park It is one of the baby’s favorite activities, and also there is a nursery on board. «They have a kind of baby club, where can socialize with other babiessomething that worried us at first, that he might miss out on social interaction with other children, but he loves meeting the other little travelers,» he said.
Spend Christmas, New Years and birthdays on board
This second birthday was special because the cruise had a stop in Barbados and they celebrated on the beaches of the paradisiacal island. «We were like, ‘Oh my God, I think we peaked too soon with the best birthdays ever,'» she joked.
They also spent Christmas and New Year’s on the cruise, with theme parties, a costume parade, and shared dinner with more than 2,000 people.
Except for the three nights she must be on the show, they adjust their routine to their daughter’s needs. «Normally we wake up around 10, because he likes to sleep, which is great, and we have each meal at a buffet, where you can go up whenever you want and eat whenever you want,» he explained.
Every time the ship drops anchor, they go down to explore the destinations. In Saint Luciathe island country in the eastern Caribbean, met local guides who took them horseback riding and watching the sunset.
In several of his Instagram postcards he shows his work in the fleet of . MSC Crociere (MSC Cruises), a Swiss-Italian cruise company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
«Many people tell me: ‘What a wonderful life!You’re traveling the world with your daughter!’. These are fairy tale moments, and I know I am very lucky, but there is also a emotional cost every time we separate«, he stated.
When you receive negative comments it affects you and makes you question the decisions you made. «I suffer a lot when they leave, then I think about what the alternative would be: long hours in a job that I wouldn’t enjoy as much as what I love to do, which is singing, and just to pay the bills,» he said.
When he is on stage, he is excited to see that his wife and daughter are in the audience. «I know that this situation will not last forever, that once my daughter starts school we will have to decide if life at sea still makes sense,» he reflected.
At that point they will analyze the distance education option and if it is really what they want for Piper. «I didn’t think our life would be like this when we had a baby, but I’m grateful we didn’t leave the industry and offer quality time my daughter, with a father who is honest about his dreams,» he concluded.
