Uke on a cruise ship

AndrewKuker · Oct 17, 2015

Me and my wife are gong on a disney cruise with the kiddies and I just found out last minute that they don’t allow musical instruments. Honestly I would not have agreed to do this if I knew. Vacation and playing uke have always been synonymous for me. When I am home, work and family consume my time, and vacation is practically the only time I feel ok just relaxing and playing for hours. Add to that the lack of internet on the boat and no uke is just wrong. I could read or do photography or just eat until I kanak, but I’d rather have a kanak attack with a uke in my hands. That’s vacation!

My buddy Eddie was telling me, just bring it, worst case scenario is they take it and give it back at the end. Made sense and I think I’m gonna give it a shot. But I’m writing here to see, anyone has experience with this situation? Mahalo for your feedback.

Tootler · Oct 17, 2015

Seems a bit mean to me. Why not allow and find somewhere where people can get together and play?

hawaii 50 · Oct 17, 2015

That is a weird rule.....I guess you could put it over your shoulder and hope for the best.....but strange rules...

have fun anyways...have a good one buddy.....

Rakelele · Oct 17, 2015

I have been to a hotel where we woke up every morning to the gentle Polka playing of one guest's harmonica. It was kind of folksy at first, but not as relaxing as we were hoping the hotel would be. Of course, a Uke is much more pleasant (and quieter), and I can feel your craving to play your Ukulele in your scarce time off.

kypfer · Oct 17, 2015

Rules are there to be broken

There are probably those who feel the same about their banjo/clarinet/saxophone or whatever, but it'd be even more difficult for the organisers to specify which instruments are permitted and which are not.

Try it and see, at least with the ukulele you'll probably be able to play in your cabin and not annoy anyone, if nowhere else.

Good luck

AndrewKuker · Oct 17, 2015

ubulele said:
The more limits they place on what you can do for yourselves, the more money they expect you'll have to funnel into the "optional" things they provide at a usurious markup. Disney, The Evil Empire.

Lol, so true! They got me again.

ukuleleden · Oct 17, 2015

Bill1 said:
Its not the rest of your life, you work with ukes all day, take a holiday. Get the mickey mouse ears on during the day and be Mr Dad, and when the children are asleep, dance your wifes feet off. When you get back your brain will be full of amazing uke ideas and your playing will have improved.

+1! But if you really want to bring your uke with you, as they say it's always better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

AndrewKuker · Oct 17, 2015

Bill1 said:
Its not the rest of your life, you work with ukes all day, take a holiday. Get the mickey mouse ears on during the day and be Mr Dad, and when the children are asleep, dance your wifes feet off. When you get back your brain will be full of amazing uke ideas and your playing will have improved.

Yeah, I was resolved to this, and I’ll be fine with it, but I think I'm gonna chance it anyway and see how strict it really is.

Ya know, we don’t hardly play at work, even though we’d all love to. Maybe up at the store they do more. We stay super busy at the workshop, not really growing musically with the few minutes it takes to QC.

If they take my uke when we board, then no biggie. It’s just the first time i’ve had this issue arise. I’ll be dad and husband either way. Me and my daughter actually connect with music and ukulele really well. And my attempted late night serenades are always fun at least. But eh, either way, you’re right, not like the rest of my life.

plunker · Oct 17, 2015

I'll bet it has to do with the contract with the entertainment they hire. If your going to do the take it and give it back, take a beater if you have one, you never what it will look like after some MBKDers handle it. Or it could get "lost". If you take it and get caught, promise to keep it in your room. They don't want to upset anyone.

DownUpDave · Oct 17, 2015

Hey Andrew we just did a cruise the second week of September and I brought my Collings tenor with me. I had heard that some cruise lines don't allow ukes but as another person said, "better to ask for forgiveness than permission". We were with Holland America and I never had an issue. I never did find out whether they allowed ukes or not.

I would play everyday for a couple hours early in the morning in an out of the way corner of the large coffee bar. The other times I played were in my room. I tried to keep it as low key as possible so as not to push my luck. I carried it on with me so it was very visible and no one said anything, might have thought I was the entertainment.

I say bring it along and see what happens. Maybe bring it in a rectangular case instead of a fitted hard case to help avoid detection.

vinceherman · Oct 17, 2015

Pocket uke in the luggage...

Bob-in-Alberta · Oct 17, 2015

vinceherman said:
Pocket uke in the luggage...

Thats a good idea. I bought a nice little travel uke from a store in Haleiwa that the original poster should be intimately familiar with. It fit quite nicely in my suitcase so it is easy to travel with and is very discrete. It is sad to find out that Mickey Mouse is a music hater though.

spookelele · Oct 17, 2015

Maybe it's just disney? I cruise on Royal carribbean and I've seen people with instruments. I recall specifically, there was a teen girl that would carry a guitar every where, to shows, to dinners, etc. Everyone was calling her guitar girl. Obviously they didn't take it away from her since she had it everywhere and stuck out on a boat with 5400 passengers. Another trip, there was a guy that played harmonica in one the bars off the walkway in the evenings that Im sure wasn't a hired entertainer.

stevejfc · Oct 17, 2015

I've brought a uke on a couple of cruises and never had a problem. Never been on a Disney cruise though. But, as any of us who have been to Disney parks know, they got A LOT of rules. On other cruise lines, I've only played my uke in our cabin or on the balconey.

Dan Uke · Oct 17, 2015

You're gonna have so much fun that you wont have a lot of time uking. Where are you going? They check your bags when you arrive so I would bring a cheaper uke.

If I recall correctly, my Disney cruise allowed me to bring alcohol so that's what I would bring. lol. Also, I would bring a small camera that you can turn off the LCD screen and record the nightly shows cuz they're really good! Reading this, I probably wasn't the best example to my kids! hahaha

bariukish · Oct 17, 2015

My wife and I cruised on Celebrity 3 or 4 years ago and took our ukes with us,with no problems with either boarding security or cruise line personnel. We never played in public and tried to keep it reasonably quiet in our cabin. When embarking and debarking, several people ask us about the contents of our back pack gig bags. That proved to be an "ice breaker" to meet new and interesting people that became ship board friends, not to mention the opportunity to spread the gospel of the enjoyment of making ukulele music. Take 'em with you.

strumsilly · Oct 17, 2015

I've taken a uke on almost all of the over 10 cruises I've taken. both packed in luggage and carried on in backpack. since Disney specifies no instruments, pack one in your luggage and play a low profile, you'll be fine, and bon voyage.

wickedwahine11 · Oct 17, 2015

Wow, my mom takes me on a couple of cruises with her every year, and I have never NOT taken a uke. I have brought ukes on both Princess and NCL and never had a problem. I actually always go off and find corners of the ship to play where I won't disturb other passengers. I am sure you will have a great time anyway but that is a bummer.

Gillian · Oct 17, 2015

Maybe if you brought this uke, Disney couldn't complain:

KohanMike · Oct 17, 2015

Now that's a good idea... and an extra one as a gift for the cruise director to whom you would give lessons.

Uke on a cruise ship

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