As tattoo artists are concerned, we’ve probably seen it all; but for tattooing mega talent, Jenna Kerr, her commute became a little bit more aquatic.

No one can truly prepare for an experience like tattooing on a luxury cruise ship. Yet with her inking gear in tow, the internationally known UK-based artist was down to set sail on the ride of a lifetime. And while she’s usually in the game of changing people’s lives for the better, those tables, or should we say rudders, would turn in the most cinematic way possible...

“Jayce was always supposed to be on the ship as he needed to escape Wales to continue composing his album,” Jenna recalls. “He brought some recording equipment and a bass guitar. What I didn’t know was that this was part of a big plan all along.”

The proposal day began with Jenna being asked to do a photoshoot for World Famous around the ship. All she knew was that she was supposed to look like “a million bucks.” As it turns out, this was just a cover story to get her to the perfect location. Meanwhile, Jayce, battling a hangover from a night of whiskey-fueled nerves, was preparing for the big moment. “Looking back at it all, it's so funny,” she reflects. “[It] was to calm his nerves for the big proposal.”

Nerves are to be expected. But when things almost went awry, the musician and fellow proposal cohorts, like Squid Ink Traveling Manager Dennis Gensinger, soon had to dabble in the field of risk management.

“The captain of the ship walked past Squid Ink and said something to Dennis,” Jenna recalls, remembering the deer-in-headlights look on his face. Not understanding Dennis’ shocked disposition at the time, Dennis quickly informed her that there was a surprise – for Jayce.

“It was a tour of the Captain’s Bridge,’’ Jenna said. “I thought it was a fantastic idea!” 

In fact, there was indeed a tour of the Captain’s Bridge planned, which Jayce fully knew since it was a part of the proposal ‘tour.’ “Jayce bless him, looked terribly confused as he already knew about the visit to the Bridge,” she recalls as Dennis informed Jayce of the surprise-planned tour. “It was part of the proposal plan that he and Dennis had planned over many months! So, you could see Jayce couldn’t work out what was now going on.”

The captain’s unannounced visit was to actually ‘signal’ to Dennis that he’ll ‘see him in five minutes.’ Dennis, Jenna’s colleague turned good friend, was nervous she’d overheard. “Just remember, everyone is on tender hooks,” the artist from the UK writes. “Knowing this is a big day for me and Jayce, Dennis came up with a very quick, genius-thinking cover plot!”