On a cloudy afternoon in late August of 2008, a lone trumpeter from St. Louis, Missouri boarded The Victory, a Carnival Cruise ship docked in the New York harbor. Packing only his trumpet, flugelhorn, and a few items, Steve White said good bye to his former life and embraced the unknown. In truth, this wasn’t the first time Mr. White left the shoreline. In 2000, he had a short stint with Holland America Cruise. Speaking over the phone five hundred miles off the coast of New England, White recalled his less-than-memorable experience. “I basically wasn’t good enough to be there, so they fired me after one week.” Almost a decade later, as if by design, White found himself boarding The Victory with little more than a memory of Holland America. “It was always in the back of my mind that I would do it again and prove to myself that I could do it”, said White.
White knew he needed to get better, so he began taking music classes at Lindenwood University. In order to pay for his education, he borrowed his dad’s car to deliver chinese food while attending every local jam session he could find. White soon established himself at the Wednesday night jam sessions at Hammerstone’s in Soulard. It was there that Rob Cunningham, a veteran saxophonist from St. Louis, suggested that he try auditioning for Carnival Cruise. Rob played for Carnival in the 90’s and believed White could make it as a pro. That was all White needed to hear.
Today, at age 34, Mr. White is serving his third contract with Carnival Cruise. He is currently aboard The Miracle, one of six different ships he’s called home in the past three years. During this time, White has traversed the Western Hemisphere. The names of exotic islands roll off Mr. White’s tongue as if he were reading from the dessert menu at Cyrano’s Cafe: “Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Acapulco, San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, Grand Turk, The Bahamas. . .”. He begins to describe the pristine beaches and white sands of past voyages until pausing for a moment. “I’ve seen some amazing things”, he remarks. “I took a train through the Yukon while we were docked in Alaska. It was amazing.”.
Fifteen minutes before his final set of the night, White begins to self-reflect over the phone, “I miss Saint Louis, it’s a charming city. I miss the people. I know I’m fortunate, and I’m very thankful to be here, but I guess I’m a little homesick after being gone so long.” Homesick as he may be, White continues to cast his bread on the water. “Who knows where I’ll be a year from now. Hopefully (Carnival) will keep me on for another contract.” The end of the line will come, but Steve White isn’t ready to give up his sea legs just yet.
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