6 Workshop Registrations Available!

7 Workshop Registrations Available!

8 Workshop Registrations Available!

10 Workshop Registrations Available!

 

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)

Disney Tunes - “Under the Sea” for Solo and Ensemble - Mountain Dulcimer (All Levels)

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

Make A Solid Groove For Any Tune With This One Trick - Mountain Dulcimer/Ukulele (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!