Imagine being stuck at sea on a cruise ship that did not experience Coronavirus. Musician Daniel Nogueira (Exeter, ON) and singer Jennifer Simser (St. Catharines) were two of thousands of cruise ship employees unable to return home due to regulations surrounding Covid-19. The two entertainers were stranded aboard the Caribbean Princess, a ship fortunately unaffected by the virus itself, for nearly 60 days without passengers. Feeling inspired to make use of their time at sea to help others, the duo along with help from their colleagues, wrote, produced, recorded, and filmed a now viral music video for their original song “You’re Not Alone”, all while stuck at sea, amassing over 130,000 combined views since it was released.
All the proceeds from the song will go to the Princess Cruise Lines Community Foundation.
Passengers onboard the Caribbean Princess disembarked in early March leaving only the crew, having already been at sea for months, onboard. Jennifer and Daniel, longtime colleagues and friends, were aware of the toll the isolation was taking onboard other cruise ships and wanted to write a song that reflected their appreciation to the staff on their ship and all employees stranded at sea, passengers, and the cruise line itself. Their main goal when writing the song was to reach out, through music, to those feeling the impact of the isolation Covid-19 was bringing, especially to their colleagues and the entire seafaring community isolated on nearly empty ships.
The crew finally returned to Canada on Saturday, May 9th, making headlines across the country.
About Jennifer Simser:
Jennifer Simser, from Fenelon Falls, Ontario holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours in Music Theatre from the University of Windsor and has become distinctly known for her vocal versatility, ranging from classical to rock, jazz, pop, R&B, gospel and music theatre. Jennifer has performed around the world in Music Theatre tours, bands, and concerts. She has worked as a backup singer for many Canadian artists including Alana Bridgewater, Lori Nuic, Julie Black, Clayton Bellamy, the Tina Turner act, “Simply The Best” as well as “The Fabulous Fakes”.
Her extensive musical theatre career includes numerous castings as the lead performer for Canadian and US based theatre companies. She was the recipient of two Tyrone Guthrie Awards, the first of which sent her to London, England and the second to study opera in Germany.
She spent almost four years at sea as the lead vocalist for Crystal Cruises, and faced her largest audience when she sang the National Anthem for the Toronto Blue Jays twice in one season. Jennifer is the proud founder of the choir “Voices of Praise” which performs weekly at the Verity Centre for Better living in Toronto. Her first album “Empower the Dream” is a collection of inspirational covers and originals recorded as a fundraiser for the Centre. She has sung with funk, disco, jazz and R&B bands in Toronto and Columbus, Ohio, and her voice can be heard on voiceovers in the U.S. and Canada and on the Canadian version of the Julianne Hough Juicy Fruit jingle. Jennifer has recorded a second collection of songs for her cover album, The Glory of Love which has yet to be released. She continues to share her talent with depth and versatility, soul, strength, and sometimes a little rocker style!
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