Taking your ukulele aboard a cruise ship

On a cruise, there is non-stop live (and canned) music everywhere. Now, crooning your 'bestie' in your cabin? Anything goes!

[disclaimer:]
We have only been on one cruise (Bahamas & ABC islands) but it was phenomenal. We will do another... hopefully off the West Coast!
 
Last edited:
why not…you’re not backpacking with it and there’s always downtime no matter how busy.
 
I'd take it. I like to have it available. There is plenty of opportunity to do lots of stuff, plus a little bit of time to uke.
 
I just got back from a weekend Bahamian one— just two stops Coco Cay and Nassau. We did the same one a few months ago. These were my first ever cruises (and not the last!). I brought a koa concert Fluke each time. 1st time we had a balcony and this time we did not. The balcony was great to play on— although I only did so lightly so as to not bother anyone. I did play in the room here and there too this time, so I’m glad to have had it.

I wanted to bring it on the two stops and easily could have. I’m not much of a performance artist though, so I didn’t dare. Mostly because I would have whipped it out at some point with the all the free booze haha and who knows whether I’d be viral today for all the wrong reasons :)

The Fluke concert with their branded gig bag is the perfect uke to travel with. I’ve in the past used a Kiwaya laminate which is also great, but I had a Pono hard case and even a soprano size wood case becomes a major chore standing around with in lines in airports and such.

I’m far from rich and have even considered selling the Fluke in the past, but at the end of the day it’s as indestructible as it gets for instruments and honestly I don’t really care if something happens to it. It ain’t cheap but I would just buy another. Really though aside from launching it overboard from the pool deck you’d almost have to try to damage it. Just bring a tiny screwdriver for the tuners (for potential weather swings) and a tuner.

I wanted to bring my Kamaka HF-3 bad, but the thought of lugging it around hurts my back. Oh you probably won’t be in the room much if you’re like us, but for the times we were I was happy to have it. Enjoy! Jealous! Haha.
 
I probably in the minority here, but I absolutely cant stand big boat cruising. For me its like spending the whole time at the mall.

When I go, I prefer something like this:

Bareboat Yacht Charter | Private Yacht | The Moorings

Let the wind guide you on a leisurely bareboat sailing journey. Navigate your own course and experience a sense of unparalleled freedom.
www.moorings.com www.moorings.com

Yes, in this case, definitely bring at least one uke.
 
rreffner said:
Our first ever cruise is about to happen. One week in the Bahamas. Do y’all bring your Ukes along, or not? Tips? Mahalo
Click to expand...

I don’t often go away on holiday, but that’s by choice - I live somewhere where other people come to holiday 🙂. When I occasionally do go away I always try to take an inexpensive Soprano with me, just incase, and end up using it. The Soprano weighs nothing much, takes up little space; it wouldn’t matter to me if it didn‘t get used but somehow it always does and I’m glad that it’s with me.

Edit. It struck me that I should add that I‘ve found that an inexpensive laminate Soprano can, with a bit of ingenuity, manage without a hard case - of course cases are good but they’re also one more bag to carry, etc. I just put my Soprano inside my suitcase or travelling bag and pack clothes around it; it ends up being pretty well protected in there, takes up negligible space and adds next to nothing to the bag’s weight.
 
Last edited:
Never leave it home, Ihave almost 50 cruises under belt, always play or practice in public. In morning or early part of day, find a quiet corner in lounge or reading area before people show up ,set your music up, on table top or stand, I take both. If someone there ask if you could play softly. After awhile there will be a bunch of people sitting around you reading a book and listenin to music
 
perep said:
Never leave it home, Ihave almost 50 cruises under belt, always play or practice in public.
Click to expand...

Only a half dozen for me, but I couldn't agree more. I'd lean toward a beater up to a Fluke/Flea, more for portability than anything, but also defense against the elements. (It's often windier and wetter than you'd think!) You really don't want to take anything that requires a hard case.

Even though I loved cruising with tuxedo and full suite of formalwear accoutrements, in general, less is more. Leave tenors and baritones with hard cases at home, imo, unless you've got a huge room and a lot of time to wait for porters.

Speaking of which, there's a lot of down time on cruises, especially around boarding and disembarking, major meal seatings, etc. You can wait around twiddling your thumbs, or you can sit down and play your ukulele while waiting for crowds to thin out.

Honestly, I can't think of many better combos than ukuleles and cruises, which is why there are a goodly number of ukulele cruises!
 
I take my ukulele everywhere I go. "Ever at the ready" is the best policy.
 
Ukecaster said:
Never took a cruise. Although I'd try it, my wife hates the idea of being stuck on a ship. It would take a Titanic effort to0 convince her otherwise! Hey, don't they have uke cruises? She'd REALLY hate that! 😀
Click to expand...
I am that. However, I gave in to my wife's dream and quickly got over my "loss of independence." The variety of food and service was absolutely delightful. Evening dinners were outstanding. I got spoiled with all-you-can-eat smoked salmon with a breakfast omelet, soft-serve ice cream, snacks and non-alkie drinks on demand. The occasional "snorts" were also good. Dinner wine choices were top-notch. Ours was a Square Dance cruise so we did plenty of "load the boats." It was a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Will I do it again? Probably to very likely.
 
Ocean cruises have very little appeal to me but river cruises pique my interest with the constant change of scenery. From the cursory research I've done it appears the smaller river boats are, of course, smaller and that makes the experience more intimate. However the resources are smaller so that it isn't food around the clock nor as varied as in the ocean cruises.
 
I have been on roughly 6 cruises with my family. I have always taken a ukulele with me too. I can always find a quite corner somewhere and play and it's amazing how people want to sit and listen to this magical instrument.
 
I’ve only been on a couple of cruises, but I always take a ukulele on any vacation.

I think the answer lies in being able to go a week without playing.

If you can easily occupy your time without picking up a uke, leave it home.

If not bring it. There are always places on the boat where it is not a constant hustle and bustle. It does help to break up the madness.

John

Edit added: You can carry it aboard and not check it. Keep in mind you are a prisoner, in a sense, for a week and if you take it and not use it, nothing lost. But if you regret not having it…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

cyber3d
Can I post a rather personal experience since taking up the ukulele?
Replies
16
Views
1K
Arik
Arik
J
Acoustic Guitar sales taking away from Ukulele sales?
2 3
Replies
56
Views
3K
Ukulele Eddie
Ukulele Eddie
T
Taking a Ukulele Building Class
Replies
14
Views
1K
hawaii 50
H
Plainsong
Daily Ukulele Update: Joeybug is taking a bit of a break
Replies
17
Views
928
luluwrites
luluwrites
V
Taking Ukulele into High Humidity
Replies
5
Views
624
Harold O.
H
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2023 XenForo Ltd.