It’s been clear since Carly Jerstad was three years old that her path would lead her to the stage. That journey has taken her to Celebrity Cruises’ ships, performing as a singer and dancer.
“I always knew she was going to be a performer,” her mother, Kalah Georgette-Vowels, says of the F.J. Reitz High School alumna.
While attending Ball State University, Jerstad competed in color guard and the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. She was in the Evansville Civic Theatre’s performance of “Urinetown” in 2013 and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.’s Summer Musicals from 2012 to 2015, including in the titular role in 2015’s “Mary Poppins.” She’s also a Shannon’s School of Dance lifetime student.
Why did she make the transition to performing on cruise ships? “It seemed like a really great opportunity,” Jerstad says. “I have been performing my whole life.”
Her first six-month jaunt began in September 2022 on the Celebrity Summit, which cruised from New England to Miami, Florida, and the Caribbean. Jerstad performed two shows during that inaugural contract, including classic Broadway and West End musicals combined in one show called “Broadway Cabaret.”
For her second six-month cruise, she was placed aboard the Celebrity Equinox in January 2024. The cruise took her to Miami, the Caribbean, and Mediterranean Europe. This time, she performed in four shows — and her mother got to tag along.
“I was thrilled to see her perform,” says Georgette-Vowels, whose first time on a cruise in July was to watch her daughter perform. “The best part was hearing the crowd cheer.”
Jerstad also conducted safety training and briefings for guests and kept up with safety drills and rehearsals.
“It’s very unique living and working among your friends for six months, [but] being on vacation for six months is exhausting,” she says.
While she has several creative projects ongoing in New York City, she is open to the possibility of returning to work on a cruise — but not anytime soon.
“I’m enjoying readjusting to life here in New York City,” she says. “I have goals and aspirations here that I’d like to pursue which requires me to stay in one spot for a while.”
