11 Workshops Remaining

The 2025 Castaway Music Cruise is shaping up to be our biggest adventure yet, as we now have only 11 workshop slots remaining!  Join Bing Futch, Guy & Sharrie George, and Richard Ash of Folkcraft Instruments for mountain dulcimer, pennywhistle, ukulele, and steel drum fun!

Register using the drop-down menu to the right and secure your space on board the Norwegian EPIC for our 7-day Caribbean cruise to Great Stirrup Cay and Dominican Republic!

Workshop Titles and General Itinerary

Here's your first look at the workshop offerings from all four instructors!  Workshops will be scheduled mainly at sea, with jams and flash mobs taking place in the evening after dinner.  Watch for additional workshops, with a full schedule, as we get closer to sail.

Cruise Itinerary and Schedule

Saturday - Depart Port Canaveral 4 pm 

Sunday - At Sea

Monday - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 9 am - 4 pm 

Tuesday - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 11 am - 7 pm 

Wednesday - Tortola, British Virgin Islands 6 am - 1 pm 

Thursday - At Sea

Friday - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas 9 am - 6 pm 

Saturday - Arrive Port Canaveral 7 am

Sharrie George (ukulele)

Listen to the Rhythm - Strums Make All the Difference! (All Levels)

Melody in Song - Tunes with Melodic Licks & Improv (Intermediate)

Picking the Rhythm and Creating Arrangements for Ukulele (Intermediate)

Grow Your Uke Repertoire - Chords & Strums You May Not Know! (All Levels)

Guy George (pennywhistle, steel drum)

Steel Drum - Learn a Calypso Tune, “Hot, Hot, Hot” with all the Bells & Whistles

Steel Drum - Learn “Underneath the Mango Tree” - Focus on Chords & Melody

PennyWhistle - Calypso Tunes and Back-Up - “Hot, Hot, Hot” and “Underneath the Mango Tree” & others

PennyWhistle - Jamming and Improvising using Chord Changes

Richard Ash (mountain dulcimer)

Intro to Mountain Dulcimer (Beginner)

Crooked Songs (Intermediate)

Fun With Time Signatures (Intermediate)

Shove That Pig’s Foot Into A Raging Blast Furnace, Not Just A Little Further Into The Fire (Advanced)

Bing Futch (mountain dulcimer, ukulele)

Buffett At Sea - “Margaritaville” for Solo and Ensemble - Mountain Dulcimer (All Levels)

2 Fun Island Jam Tunes - “Hawaiian War Chant” and “Kiss The Girl” (from “The Little Mermaid”) - Mountain Dulcimer (All Levels)

Make A Solid Groove For Any Tune With This One Trick - Mountain Dulcimer (All Levels)

Pick, Roll, Strum: 3 Tips For Chording Fun - Mountain Dulcimer/Ukulele (All Levels)

Registration is LIVE!

Registration is now open for the 2025 Castaway Music Cruise workshops!

We can tell already that this is going to be a very special experience; 24 cabins booked already, and we've just asked for, and received, an extension on the 60% discount through April 5th!  The Norwegian Epic is a big ship, and our group is quickly shaping up to match the ship.

To ensure that we can comfortably accommodate everyone during the at-sea workshops, we've initially limited the number of available registrations to 40.  That will give us plenty of room in the conference room that we've booked for the cruise.  Sharrie is talking with our man inside, Derek, to see if we can wangle some daytime lounges for workshop space as we've done with Royal Caribbean in the past.  If we score that, then we'll open up more registration spaces.  

So, if you go to register and get "SOLD OUT", you can add your name to a notification list if more registrations become available.

Bing, Guy, Richard, and Sharrie will be teaching mountain dulcimer, ukulele, pennywhistle, steel drum, and ensemble playing skills for beginning, intermediate, and advanced players mostly during at-sea days as we cruise from port to port.  Port days will see scaled-back schedules to allow for exploration and discovery at all of our itinerary stops.  Private sessions will also be available, and can be arranged directly with the instructors.

Watch for a general schedule to be posted around the first of April.  Workshop registrants will receive a spiral-bound keepsake book of handouts and tab from each instructor, plus jam tunes (digital copies will also be available for use on media devices.)

THIS. WILL. SELL. OUT. 

Registration menu is at the top right of this page.  Let us know if you have any questions!

What A BLAST!

 

Such a great time on board the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas!  Big thanks to all of our cruisers for a fabulous time, making music, having fun, and exploring the Caribbean. 

We are excited to announce next year's itinerary and ship, both of which will be brand new to us!  February 22nd - March 1st, 2025, we will be on the Norwegian Cruise Line EPIC, which is literally in a class all by itself.  This will be a 7-day Caribbean cruise to Great Stirrup Cay and Dominican Republic, departing from Port Canaveral.  We have a group number that will get you a 60% discount, plus lots of kickbacks per cabin, which makes this a very good deal.  Discounted cabin prices can be found below.  Contact Sharrie at sharrie@islandguymusic.com with any questions.

These prices are good for the next 20 days, so act fast to lock in this incredible discount!  All deposits are completely refundable with the total amount due in October of 2024.

Guy, Sharrie, Bing & Richard will all be presenting workshops in mountain dulcimer, ukulele, pennywhistle, steel drum, and more!  

Use this info to book:

Group # 2759117 Castaway Music Cruise

Call 954-618-5958 to book within group - speak to Derek 

 

Discounted Cabin Prices

Interior cabin = $1940.00 ($970 per person) 

Price includes all taxes and port fees.

Amenities include $100.00 onboard credit per cabin, unlimited drink pkg., and one specialty dinner per person. Gratuities not included.

A totally refundable deposit of $125.00 per person holds the cabin until the final payment date of October 25, 2024.

Ocean View Balcony $ 2559.00 ($1279.50 per person) 

Price includes all taxes and port fees. 

Amenities include $100.00 onboard credit per cabin, unlimited drink pkg., and 2 specialty dinners per person; $50 credit toward excursions per cabin per port, 150 min free WiFi per person. Gratuities not included.

A totally refundable deposit of $125.00 per person holds the cabin until the final payment date of October 25, 2024.

Club balcony suite = 2829.00 ($1414.50 per person) 

Price includes all taxes and port fees.

Amenities include $100.00 onboard credit per cabin, unlimited drink pkg., and 2 Specialty dinners per person. Gratuities not included.

A totally refundable deposit of $125.00 per person holds the cabin until the final payment date of October 25, 2024.

Let Sharrie know if you have any questions and remember, these prices are good until the end of March.  We hope you'll join us!

Sharrie & Guy, Jae & Bing, and Aly & Richard

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, cruisers!

We're very excited about the cruise just a little over a month away; can you feel it?  We're putting the final wraps on workshop handouts and will be making them available to registered guests soon.  

We look forward to seeing some of you at the Florida Gulf Coast Dulcimer Retreat as a precursor to our voyage.  See you soon!

Bing & Jae, Guy & Sharrie - 

Guy George's Workshops

 Guy George's Workshops

 

*Beginning Pennywhistle

Take it from the top! Learn this fun and easy-to-carry instrument and be playing in 2 keys! Refresh your skills if it’s been a while or if you just want to warm up for the cruise! A “D” whistle is needed for this class - NOTIFY me in advance if you need one on the ship!

 

1. Beginning/Warm-up on Steel Drum with Jimmy Buffett!Uke Chord & Strum Practice in D & G

Get All the basics on Jumbie Jam Steel Drum as we focus on the sounds of Buffett and the islands! We’ll team up with Ukuleles ***(And Mountain Dulcimers) who want to practice strums and chords in D & G.  All Levels welcome!

 

2. Jimmy Buffett on Pennywhistle! Intermediate Level

Learn some of the melodies of Jimmy Buffett’s music - perfect for cruising on the open seas! We’ll include melody, harmony, and some added parts for each tune, so we can practice later with the Castaway Music Crew! Tablature will be provided with each tune.

 

3. Easy Chords to add for Back-up or Improv on Pennywhistle - Intermediate Level

Learn some more challenging tunes on the penny whistle as we fill in with chords and embellishments. All will be explained and written out so you can apply this to other tunes. Tablature will be provided with each tune.

 

4. Pennywhistle and Steel Drum - Tunes, Licks and Tricks! 

Learn some new tunes switching from Lead to Back-up and gain confidence playing in a group! We’ll trade off and use our chord and improv technique to find more fun in the music! Ukes (and Mountain Dulcimers)are welcome to join and help with backup and rhythm!

Sharrie George's Workshops

Sharrie George's Workshops

Beginning Ukulele -- EXTRA Workshop for Beginners! - For those who have never played a Uke before - We’ll cover all the basics, learn a few tunes, have fun, and be ready for workshops ahead!

 

1. Ukulele All levels— Essential Chords and Strums 

Learn, review, and master some of our “necessary” chords and strums. Too often we try to learn “songs”, but don’t focus on the rhythm and how they actually sound when we play. Gain confidence to really ‘play out” even if you’re just strumming chords! Make each tune sound different and great! We’ll learn some fun tunes while we focus on really sounding good!

 

2. Ukulele - All Levels - Uke Melodies, Licks, Picking, &Tricks

Learn where your notes are, how to read tablature, how to play a single-line melody. When strumming, it's always fun to be able to embellish the melody as we play back up.  We’ll learn a few easy melodic “licks” to add when strumming at the end of a phrase. We’ll start working on melody and parts for some tunes to play around the ship and at home after the cruise! 

 

3. Ukulele Finger-picking Magic

Find the musical magic in picking single and 2 note patterns using all 4 strings on the ukulele as back-up for tunes. We’ll work on some easy finger-picking patterns to take home with you, and practice the patterns on some beautiful tunes. A great way to add to a different way of playing back-up. Works great on high or low G-tuned Ukuleles.

 

4. Buffett Melodies & Musings on Ukulele

Grab some island tunes of Jimmy Buffett and add them to your repertoire! We’ll learn some melodies, harmonies and back up for a few of his greatest hits - Volcano, This Land Is Your Land Buffett Style, and some newer tunes; Like My Dog, Bubbles Up, and more!