Elua

While we are on this topic…since many Princess cruises go to Ensenada, I’m planning on stocking in some Mexican Diet Coke…or Coke Light. It is pretty darn good…as good as Coke Zero IMHO

Aloha,

Just got off the Crown five days ago, and still, no Coke Zero. If they have it on some of the ships, those are lucky folks indeed. I get back on this Thursday, and I'll let everyone know.

Tiki dave

(of Elua)

Yes, they are both still on as of this current cruise.

I can say with 100% certainty, (much to my disappointment) that there is no Coke Zero in the Princess fleet. Sprite Zero? Absolutely…but they do seem to run out of it towards the end of the cruise…at least in our last four cruises or so. I would LOVE if they started stocking Coke Zero…or maybe even Mountain Dew Zero…but I doubt that will happen.

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Thank you Tiki Dave. In 2025 I'm booked b2b on the Ruby from S.F. It would be really nice if you are assigned to the Ruby for the 2024/25 season. If not, other ambassadors will do a fine job. 

All the Hawaiian Ambassadors do an exceptional job of bringing the culture alive for our guests. Right now, we only have our assignments for this season, but as soon as we know where we'll be for the 2024-25 season, we'll let everyone know.

TD

On 10/24/2023 at 11:11 AM, skynight said:

"Hawaiian Ambassadors are on - it seems every single thing they do is an extra fee to attend, a little off-putting."

Are they ELUA? On U.S. - Hawaii cruises ambassadors provide no charge uke & hula lessons as well as crafts which do have a charge. Are you saying that uke and hula instruction has a charge? Or, are they just doing crafts? 

No, it is not us...we're at home right now. 🙂 We will be getting on the Crown next weekend though. There are never any charges for hula and ukulele...I'm pretty sure that what they are referring to is the lei making/crafting brought on by the ambassadors. We also charge for our lei making/craft classes, only because we pay out of pocket for all the materials as well as the cost of shipping and transporting them to the ship when we join. But, other than that one, there is never a charge for any of our activities, talks, performances etc.

Mahalo!

Tiki Dave.

4 hours ago, phabric said:

I am wondering if you will be on the Rudy Sept 29, 2024 16 day cruise out of San Francisco?

At this point, I don't know. We really only know our schedule for one season at a time. As soon as we know our schedule, we will let everyone know here and on our social media.

Mahalo!
Tiki Dave

On 10/19/2023 at 10:30 AM, karatemom2 said:

They were a big part of why we enjoyed our LA to Hawaii cruises that we did for a number of years over the Christmas holidays. They still work with Princess and I believe they will be doing the Hawaii sailings on the Crown out of San Francisco this season. 

Yes, we are very much still part of the Princess ohana. We just returned from a great cruise on the Grand, and will be leaving for the Hawai'i season on the Crown in a week and a half. Looking forward to seeing lots of old friends and making a lot of new ones as well.

Tiki Dave

I use a dog collar tracking holder…fits perfectly

TD

30 minutes ago, Elua said:

Aloha Y'All!

Well, as REO Speedwagon said, "Roll with the changes". There has been a change to our schedule and it looks like we are going back to the South Pacific again on the Grand Princess! Ia ‘Orana!!!!! Instead of doing the Crown Princess for the late-September cruise out of Seattle, we will now be doing the September 16 cruise from SFO to LA, Honolulu, Pape’ete Tahiti, Pago Pago and ending up in New Zealand. Our apologies to those who we will not see on the Crown. We look forward to seeing some of you on this new itinerary!

E kala mai...the cruise starts September 26th for us. Sorry for the confusion.

TD

Aloha Y'All!

Well, as REO Speedwagon said, "Roll with the changes". There has been a change to our schedule and it looks like we are going back to the South Pacific again on the Grand Princess! Ia ‘Orana!!!!! Instead of doing the Crown Princess for the late-September cruise out of Seattle, we will now be doing the September 16 cruise from SFO to LA, Honolulu, Pape’ete Tahiti, Pago Pago and ending up in New Zealand. Our apologies to those who we will not see on the Crown. We look forward to seeing some of you on this new itinerary!

Aloha All! Well, it is now official, and we can release our next set of cruise dates. These will take us from July 2023 through mid-April 2024, and you will see a small change for our post-summer Hawaiian cruise dates. For the first time since we began the Aloha Spirit Program back in 2008, we will be based out of San Francisco, and NOT Los Angeles. It felt like time for a change, and we're going to be bringing our full program of hula, ukulele, crafts, port talks, lectures and the spreading of the Aloha Spirit to the "City By The Bay". It's going to be an amazing season, and we hope to see as many of you as possible onboard. A Hui Hou! Leialoha and Tiki Dave 

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On 2/16/2023 at 9:57 PM, damiross said:

Uh, not trying to sound rude but for those of us who don't know you, what do you do on the cruises?

Not rude at all. My wife Leialoha and myself are what is called Hawaiian Ambassadors. This is part of the Aloha Spirit Program that we developed back in 2008 on the Diamond Princess along with one of Princess' now retired CDs, David Cole. We are there to enhance the voyage going down to the islands, as well as on the return trip back to the Mainland.

Each Ambassador team, (there are now several) puts their own spin on the program, but there will always be music performed, ukulele and hula taught, some form of Hawaiian crafts (usually lei making) offered, and we also function as the Hawaiian port lecturers, presenting information on all the ports we visit. Along with that, we lecture on Hawaiian language, food, and are there for your education and entertainment.

We look forward to seeing many of you in the future. We have not been given our official 2023-24 assignments yet, but as soon as we know, I will post them up here and on FB.

Malama Pono!

Tiki Dave

On 2/26/2023 at 12:20 PM, Yehootu said:

Aloha!

Small change in the schedule for those who do not know…we will NOT be on the Grand for that April 8th cruise due to personal reasons. We were looking forward to it, but I now that everyone will have a wonderful time with whoever the Ambassadors will be.

TD

On 2/26/2023 at 11:00 AM, cr8tiv1 said:

@EluaWill check in soon (I'm guessing).

 

I believe they are leaving after the Crown returns this week.  The Crown will then do some funky voyages.  They will be on two summer voyages (maybe July and August).  Hang 10 🏄🏾‍♂️ until you hear from David.  

Aloha!

We will be onboard the Crown for one more voyage, and leave on March 17th.

We will be on the Emerald for the July 6th and August 5th Hawaiian cruises, which we are very much looking forward to.

TD

On 2/16/2023 at 5:52 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

Not sure if ELUA will be onboard.  Best of the best teams.  Refer to above link. 
 

 

Aloha,

Aw shucks…how sweet! We will be working this summer, but only for two cruises. The July 6 and the August 6(?) on the Emerald Princess.

Tiki Dave

(of Elua)

On 12/24/2022 at 1:11 PM, Jemnibabe said:

Doesn't look like they will be on the March 17 Hawaii/South Pacific cruise on the Crown

 

No, we will not. We get off that day, and I believe we will be replaced by Tui and Maile Letuli.

10 hours ago, partybarbie said:

Thank you. That's very interesting that Crooner's has three pianists. Usually it's just one person, or maybe a substitute, if they have a day off. 

The Crooners pianist/vocalist right now is David Moore. Not sure how much longer he is here though.

TD

And do not…repeat DO NOT use your horn unless absolutely necessary.

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Everything must have been okay.  ELUA is back home and was very happy to be on the cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii.  Made all the ports.  In Victoria for the day and then on her way to LA.  

Made all the ports, including one unexpected stop at Victoria for a medical evacuation, but onward after that to Vancouver. Made all the ports in plenty of time, no lags in propulsion and it was a really wonderful first Hawaiian cruise of the season for us. Looking forward to the next one, 28 days out of LA to FP and back and then our "regular" 15 day runs. 

TD

Aloha Kakou!

Sorry to be out of touch for so long on this topic, but we have been running around the islands and playing music for the last few days, and I haven't checked in.

There's really not much I can add, you all have chimed in with some great advice and really spot on information. If it's your first interment, I really don't suggest going out and spending much more than $125-175. That will get you a decent starter instrument that will stay in tune, (once the strings stretch out), play comfortably and sound acceptable. I saw someone mention Kala, and those are very good beginner and intermediate instruments...although they do make higher end ones as well.

Someone mentioned The Ukulele Site here and although I am not allowed to "publicize" or advertise for certain companies here on CC, I would concur, and if you are going to be shopping online, you can contact me at tikidavemusic@gmail.com and I can further information about them, and give you a contact there that will provide a discount that was set up for my students and online followers.

Please do come early if you would like an instrument, but truthfully, I don't know if you need to come in 45 minutes early. On the first day, I am usually there about fifteen minutes early to setup, and I think you would be fine. BUT, as I did before, I heartily suggest trying to bring one with you. 

I love all the interest in the classes, and it's really amazing to me to see the growth in participation and enthusiasm over the years. When we first started the program back in 2008, we might have had 30-40 students each cruise. These days, we can usually count on anywhere from 60-80 students each cruise. The growth of ukulele in general has been incredible, and I'ms o glad that I get to share it with as many people as I can.

TD

Aloha Kakou!

Tiki Dave here, saying aloha from the beautiful Crown Princess sailing towards the islands. We are back onboard and having a great cruise filled with music, fun and aloha! I wanted to take a moment and make a quick suggestion for anyone coming onboard a Hawaiian cruise interested in taking ukulele lessons, whether it's with me or another of our wonderful Hawaiian Ambassadors. The suggestion is to bring an ukulele with you to ensure a space in the classes. We always try to have as many ukulele as possible on these cruises, but sometimes the interest outweighs the supply. So, if you already own one, or if you are thinking of getting one before the cruise...go for it!

I look forward to seeing many of you in the future. We have a full schedule ahead of us, and it's great to be back!!

Tiki Dave

www.facebook.com/tikidavemusic

Aloha Y’All!

I’ve had some people writing to us asking me to post up our schedule for the coming Hawaiian cruise season. Here is where you will find us through the summer of 2023:

Ship                             Date                                    Starting Port

Crown Princess         October 18, 2022              Vancouver

Crown Princess         November 9, 2022            San Pedro, CA (28 day cruise)

Crown Princess         December 7, 2022            San Pedro, CA

Crown Princess         December 22, 2022          San Pedro, CA

Crown Princess        January 16, 2023               San Pedro, CA

Crown Princess        January 31, 2023               San Pedro, CA

Crown Princess        February 15, 2023              San Pedro, CA

Crown Princess        March 2, 2023                     San Pedro, CA

Grand Princess         April 8, 2023                        Aukland, NZ (20 days onboard)

Emerald Princess     July 6, 2023                         San Pedro, CA

Emerald Princess     August 5, 2023                    San Pedro, CA

Leialoha and I are very much looking forward to this schedule, as we have not worked a full Hawaiian season in about 2 1/2 years. It’s going to be a lot of fun with some great memories to be made…see you onboard!!

Tiki Dave

(of Elua)

I would almost bet on it...