The Megastar’s main selling point is not entertainment. For that, Tallink has the Baltic Queen, for example, which does 22-hour cruises from Helsinki. People often choose the Baltic Queen specifically because of its entertainment programme.
“On the Megastar, entertainment will be taken to a brand new level, with screens and applications.
Singers and musicians will be providing a more traditional kind of entertainment on the ship,” said Kati Heiniö, Head of Entertainment Finland.
Many reasons to travel
People choose the Tallink Shuttle for many different reasons.
“On the return trip, it’s nice to enjoy refreshments, have pleasant conversations, and listen to a nice duo. In the summer, the atmosphere on the ship is different, as nearly all of the passengers are on holiday then. For business travellers, entertainment is seldom the reason for taking a trip, but it still influences their travel experience, too,” Kati said.
Focusing on the artists
The artists performing on the Megastar are chosen with great care. In addition to great performance skills and musicianship, an extensive musical repertoire is one of the requirements.
“Depending on the day of the week, and the time of the day, the audience will vary quite a lot, so it’s good if the repertoire includes everything from traditional pop and rock classics to current hits. We have agencies through which we recruit artists.”
Working on a ship is not suitable for everyone. During the duration of the contract, artists will seldom have time to get off the ship, so they also have to be strong psychologically, even though the work is pleasant.
A matter of time
“The Victory Bar on the Megastar, with its numerous screens, is the perfect location for watching sports events. Customers’ requests will also be heard, of course. So if there’s anything you want to watch on television, even if it’s a slightly smaller sports competition, you can let the staff know,” Heiniö said.
Ship’s reporter Jussi Ovaskainen
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