“We’ll be all over the ship”: The Shires perform on the UK’s first country music cruise

Words by Harriet Mallinson

Country music is having a moment in the UK, and few bands have ridden that wave quite like The Shires. Thirteen years into their careers, Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes [below] are about to tick off a brand-new milestone: performing on a country music cruise.

They’ll be headlining Marella Cruises’ inaugural Country Rhythms sailing this February, marking the British cruise line’s first full-blown, rootin’ tootin’ country takeover at sea.

For Ben, 38, it’s uncharted territory. “I’m mega excited, I’ve never been on a cruise before. The biggest boat I’ve been on is a ferry,” he laughs when we speak ahead of the sailing.

Crissie, 36, meanwhile, has a little more sea time under her belt. “I’ve been on a couple of cruises, but it was years ago with my family. One was a fantastic trip around the Canary Islands and we had a lovely time,” she says. Not all smooth sailing, though: “There was another one where I got sick onboard and missed 50 percent of the cruise!”

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This time, thankfully, the focus is firmly on music. Country Rhythms will be an adults-only sailing aboard Marella Explorer 2, with line dancing, a country-themed production show, a Barn Dance Bash and a line-up that includes The Dolly Show alongside The Shires themselves.

The sailing forms part of Marella’s growing line-up of themed voyages, including its returning Electric Sunsets party cruises – sailing in 2027 – which bring 80s and 90s music line-ups, fancy dress nights and DJs to sea on short adults-only sailings. The cruise line has also announced Musical Med-leys, a West End-inspired themed sailing for October 2026 packed with theatre hits, guest performers and stage-style shows at sea.

Ben is clear on why this new themed cruise works. “It just shows how cool country music is now. I love that it’s at the point where you can do something like this; there are so many fans.”

That closeness between artists and audience is something both of them are bracing for. “We’ve had fans messaging already saying, ‘I’m coming on the cruise. Can you dedicate this song to so-and-so?’” Ben says. “Although you can’t escape your fans if you’re stuck on a boat for a few days, which is going to be quite weird.”

Not that he’s complaining. “Once I get the swing of it, I’ll chat to anyone for hours. You’ll see me at the blackjack table, the [open-air] cinema, everywhere. I genuinely can’t wait.” You might just catch him line dancing, too. “I’ll give anything a go,” he enthuses.

Crissie agrees: “We’re going to be all over the ship – the buffet, the bars…If I can get on a sun lounger, that would be fantastic,” she continues. “I run a lot as well, and I’m excited there’s a running track around the top.”

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Both are also quietly thrilled by the adults-only aspect. “We love our kids,” Ben says, “but the idea of eating, drinking, and not tidying up for three days is heaven. Just being able to do music and then not have to scrape Weetabix out of a bowl into the bin… I can’t wait.”

A cowboy-tassled, two-stepping cruise is a far cry from the old cruise stereotypes. When I mention buffets and beige evenings, Ben looks genuinely puzzled. “I haven’t heard those,” he shrugs. “Everyone I’ve told about [the gig] has said, ‘That’s awesome’; I’m just really excited to do something different.” He went on: “I just love the idea that you can see loads of different places but stay in the same room the whole time. That’s the dream.”

The singer also has some pretty wacky ideas about what would feature on his dream cruise ship. “You know, chocolate fountains?” he details. “I want a sushi one and it sprays out soy sauce. I just think it would look really cool. I haven’t worked out where the wasabi goes yet…”

His travel essentials are rather more prosaic: “I have a medicine bag now, which I’m really ashamed of – antihistamines, paracetamol,” Ben admits. “It’s really boring, isn’t it?” An Aeropress is also an unlikely vital part of The Shires’ touring luggage. “My idea of hell is a scoop of extremely cheap instant coffee,” Ben shudders, “I’d rather die.”

That said, Ben’s main concern about the cruise is having too much fun – “sitting on a sun lounger with Crissie, having played 45 minutes, and having the time of my life” – while his wife is back at home looking after the young children…

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For The Shires, the timing of Marella’s country cruise couldn’t be better. A new album is on the way, their first in four years. “The new record is a lot of escapism,” Ben says. “There are a lot of stompy, up-tempo, clappy songs.”

It’s uplifting for the duo, too. “We get these moments when we’re on stage and see a sea of people just smiling and having a great time. In those moments it’s impossible not to feel great,” says Ben.

And as for country music’s UK boom, Crissie puts it simply: “We’ve been doing this for 13 years, and all of a sudden, everyone else is joining us. We dreamed it would get this big, but to see it still growing is just amazing.”

Ben laughs. “It’s like we were always the weirdos, now we’re the cool ones.” Crissie adds, “We’ve got a whole cruise ship dedicated to country music. That’s wild.”

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