How a Broadway-Bound Singer Found Her Home on the High Seas

Bettina Lobo moved to New York City with dreams of Broadway. But visa restrictions made that path nearly impossible. So she took a cruise ship gig, thinking it would be a one-contract adventure. More than five years later, she’s still performing with Celebrity Cruises — and met her fiancé, a Serbian bar manager, along the way. The couple now coordinates contracts to work aboard the same ship.

Her first contract lasted just a week before the pandemic shut everything down. She joined Celebrity Edge as the ship returned to service, rehearsing under strict protocols. Crew couldn’t disembark for eight months, but the isolation forged deep bonds. “We made such a family,” she says. Now a vocalist on Celebrity Xcel, Lobo sings everything from P!NK and Elton John to Eminem. One production moves from “Over the Rainbow” to “Lose Yourself” and ends with “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”

The job keeps her growing. She’s learned to rap, dance across genres, and navigate life with dozens of coworkers from different cultures. Living and working 24/7 made her more empathetic. Her favorite port is Villefranche-sur-Mer, a tiny French seaside town she compares to Beauty and the Beast. For first-time cruisers, she insists: watch the entertainment. “These huge, Vegas-style shows are the reason I keep coming back as an artist.”