Ed Sheeran takes to the high seas in search of musical inspiration

Ed Sheeran has taken to the high seas in search of song-writing inspiration.

The British tunesmith has been taking a break from music to travel the world, but has apparently decided to combine business and pleasure by taking a trip on the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship from New York.

The Talking Out Loud musician sailed with producer pal Benny Blanco, and the pair reportedly spent their time on board working on songs for a new album.

"Ed turned up at the dock in New York and asked for a cheap cabin, nothing fussy," a source tells British newspaper The Sun. "While aboard he requested a meeting room so they found him a basic, windowless crew room in the bowels of the ship. He spent the entire week locked away, writing."

Benny and Ed's boat trip wasn't all work and no play however, as on Wednesday (13Jul16) the rapper and producer, who has also worked with the likes of Rihanna, Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber, shared a photo of the pair recreating Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's famous pose from the film Titanic.

Despite his global fame, the singer-songwriter apparently did not demand V.I.P. treatment from the Queen Mary 2's staff and customers and was forced to stay out of the more formal dining areas due to his dressed down style.

"Ed's casual dress meant he couldn't get into any of the fancy dinner areas, not that he cared," the insider reveals. "He was pretty much confined to two informal areas but was very laid back, happy and chatting to everyone."

Ed's comeback album isn't just being hotly anticipated by fans, and one musician who's desperate to work with the A Team star is Rudimental's Piers Agget, who previously worked Ed on hits Lay It All On Me and Bloodstream.

"He's not been in touch with anyone, probably only his close family, but when he resurfaces I'll definitely give him a text - 'Come for a drink, let's make some music,'" Piers tells U.K. newspaper The Metro.