A luxury cruise is a trip of a lifetime; they don't come cheap but the experience is unmatched by any other type of holiday.  With a wide variety of bars, restaurants and entertainment holidaymakers can visit a different part of the ship every day and still have a unique experience at every turn.  Some cruise ships lay on the type of shows you would expect to find at a Las Vegas hotel – Cirque du Soleil are performing on the MSC Meraviglia, with two scaled down versions of their theatre show adapted for the smaller space they have on the luxury liner.

One of the acts in the show involves acrobatic manoeuvres performed on a step ladder, tricks that are difficult on a stationary stage and much harder on a stage that is subject to the motion of the sea.  Director Susan Gaudreau spent three years working out the logistics of adapting a high energy show to a smaller space that could move in different directions during the show.  It was also a challenge finding performers who had multiple skills and who could therefore perform in both the shows they run on the ship.

Ladders and ships have a long history together; with the exception of passenger ships most inter-deck movement is facilitated by ladders rather than stairs.  This saves space and stops crowding, as only one person can move up or down at any given time.  Ships ladders can be completely vertical and this is often the case on military ships and submarines where space is at a premium, but they can also have some incline to them as well, as this makes them slightly easier to use.  They are also a little safer in rough weather; because you have to climb up or down facing the ladder you are naturally in the right position to keep hold of the handrails, so in a sudden swell there is much less chance of falling off the ladder than if you were facing forwards on a set of stairs.

Performing acrobatic stunts on a ships ladder is thankfully not a part of the Cirque du Soleil show, but it might well be easier than doing the same on a freestanding ladder that could slide across the stage if there is a sudden storm.  We're glad that only trained circus performers are doing this, and that we only have to sit back and watch.  Now, where's that holiday brochure…?