Category Archives: Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Splurge – Chocolate and Liquor Tasting

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It took a few tries, but we finally booked the Chocolate and Liquor Tasting on a Disney cruise.  We’d wanted it to do it for a while but the tasting was either sold out or didn’t fit with our other scheduled plans on previous cruises.  This time the stars aligned perfectly and we really looked forward to this tasting experience.  We were not disappointed!

Disney Cruise Splurge – Chocolate and Liquor Tasting

We’re no strangers to the various beverage seminars offered on Disney Cruise Line.  We’ve learned about beer, wine, whisky, mixology, and even martinis (which we never even drink!).  All have been enjoyable, but the Chocolate and Liquor seminar was my all time favorite and I’d do it again in an instant.

What Made this Tasting Special?

Other seminars focused specifically on the various flavors, histories, qualities and origins of the featured beverages.  What’s special about the Chocolate and Liquor seminar is that it’s also about science and taste buds.  Yup…it’s a lot more than booze and candy…who knew?

The food offered isn’t just chocolate.  We also combined Parmesan cheese with various beverages.  Several different types of chocolate.  And cheese.  It was amazing and entertaining and educational all at the same time.

If you have adventurous taste buds, this is the tasting for you!  It’s all about how the various combinations change the taste of each element.  Our host, Denis, was passionate about his subject matter, but also hilarious and made the experience extra fun.  The liquors offered were champagne, Cabernet, port, and whisky.  The chocolates ranged from white to dark – some were pieces and some were melted.  The Parmesan cheese was the kind served from that gigantic wheel of cheese in Palo (if you’ve not been there, we highly recommend both brunch and dinner).  

If I remember correctly, this tasting was $35 per person (September 2018) and we thought the price reasonable for the samples offered, the lessons learned, and the entertainment factor.  There’s a lot of liquor so we recommend eating before attending this seminar!  We had a big brunch just before our tasting and it worked out well.  If you want to try this, book as early as possible and keep your fingers crossed – It’s popular!

Have you tried any of the tastings offered on a Disney cruise? What was your experience like? Would you try the Chocolate and Liquor seminar?

Disney Cruise Excursions – Bicycling in Astoria, Oregon

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Who doesn’t love a good Disney vacation adventure? We always try to pack in as much action-packed, fun-filled excitement as we can.  We’ve been zip-lining, scuba diving, sea kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, and more.  After we booked our West Coast Cruise from Vancouver to San Diego, I poured over the available excursions for our stop in Astoria, Oregon.  When those nice folks from Disney Cruise Concierge services called to help us book activities, we knew what we wanted.  A bicycle tour!

Disney Cruise Excursions – Bicycling in Astoria, Oregon

As we sailed towards Oregon, the weather forecast was not favorable at all.  Chilly (to us, anyway) and with rain predicted, we weren’t even sure the excursion would still be on.  When we woke up that morning, things had turned around.  The day was sunny and, while not exactly warm, was very comfortable.  We booked the early adults-only tour so we’d have the afternoon to explore.  After breakfast, we met up with our tour group and walked off the Wonder into Astoria.

Local vendors and artists had set up tents in a festival-like market and we passed a variety of wares on our way to the tour’s meeting area.  A selection of well-used bicycles awaited and we quickly chose our rides and fastened on our helmets.  Our tour guides introduced themselves as Ronni and David.  Ronni took the lead and we started out right away with the early history of Astoria.

Once dominated by canneries, the waterfront bore evidence of a once bustling fish-processing industry.  Our tour moved into town, past historical sites and museums – all the while Ronni shared stories about each location which kept the tour interesting and educational.  Best of all, there were absolutely NO hills to climb.

Tour Highlights

There were two parts of the tour I liked best.  The first one was seeing sea lions outside of a zoo.  These guys were fascinating and I could have watched them for hours.  All males, congregated on and around some boat docks, they were piled on every available surface and on top of each other.  Just like in Finding Dory, there was a “Gerald” whose every attempt at finding a basking spot was rebuffed by shouts of, “OFF! OFF! OFF!” Noisy, funny, and so interesting!  I was delighted.

The other highlight was visiting Fishhawk Fisheries.  The owner of this fish-processing establishment welcomed us inside where we watched fresh fish being cleaned and learned about the different types of fish processed there.  Our group was then invited up to the owner’s office (what a view!) for snacks of fish dips, of course, with veggies and chips.  While we ate, we listened to stories of Astoria’s past and present dependency on the fishing industry.  This was interesting and a very special, unexpected treat!

To end the tour, Ronni (tour guide and Astoria’s only meter maid) brought us all safely back to the pier where those booths were set up.  I asked her what was being offered and she described different wares.  I was not surprised to learn that she is also an artist specializing in pet portraits and had her own booth set up nearby.  Missing Junior as I was, I found the prospect of having his sweet little face immortalized on canvas irresistible.  A few weeks later, Junior’s portrait arrived and is the perfect souvenir from our fun and memorable bicycle tour of Astoria.

Disney Cruising – Concierge on the Wonder

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Disney Cruising – Concierge on the Wonder

We splurged for a cabin in the concierge category on our recent Disney cruise. Let’s talk about what amenities we enjoyed (and which ones we skipped) and the bottom line:  Was it worth it and would we do it again?

It was a short (four night) repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego with one stop in Astoria, Oregon. This cruise was perfect for us as it gave us the opportunity to celebrate our 29th anniversary in a special way while avoiding the unfriendly East Coast hurricane season.  It was also the right length to allow us to add a 3-day visit to Disneyland to the end of our trip.

Pre-Cruise

We booked cabin 8044 and, having never splurged on concierge before, didn’t exactly know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the excellent service begins long before the actual cruise!

The concierge team called us and asked us what activities and dining we would like them to book for us. This was just about our favorite perk since we take our cruise activities seriously and do whatever it takes to get what we want including setting our alarm for middle-of-the-night online booking.  We asked for Palo dinner and brunch, the bicycle tour in Astoria, and both a whisky tasting and a chocolate and liquor tasting (we’d been trying to do this one for several cruises).  Everything we asked for was magically taken care of when the booking window opened without any extra effort on our part.

When we did our online check-in for the cruise, instead of getting a boarding time, we were told to arrive at the port whenever we pleased and that’s just what we did. We took our time getting ready and right at the Fairmont Waterfront’s checkout time, we walked across the street, down the ramp, and into the cruise terminal.  After making our way through an uncrowded, but lengthy trek through customs, we found the concierge waiting area.  This was not fancy, just a bunch of folding chairs in a separate, closed off area.  After a short wait, it was time to board the Wonder and concierge guests are the first to get on.

Setting Sail

The onboard concierge team was made up of three Cast Members: Glenn, Selena, and Cristelle.  Glenn was in the lobby to greet us and direct us to Tiana’s Place for lunch.  While in Tiana’s we enjoyed complimentary adult beverages with our meal and Glenn came around with personalized folders for each family.  The materials included a customized itinerary and information about concierge amenities.

The Concierge Lounge

Once lunch was over, we checked out the concierge lounge on Deck 10 where a representative from the spa helped Raymond book a massage for later that afternoon. The lounge offers food (coffee/tea, non-alcoholic specialty drinks, light breakfast items, sandwiches, fruit, sweets, and snacks) throughout most of the day and in the evenings serves cocktails from 5-10 pm.  We did take advantage of breakfast, some of the lunch offerings, and bags of free popcorn.  Surprisingly, we never made it to the lounge in the evenings.  We did attend a special character meet & greet there one afternoon.

Our Cabin

Stateroom 8044 was located midship. It was in great shape and very clean.  There were two TVs – one larger one in the sleeping section of the room and another, smaller, in the seating area.  Our veranda was used quite a bit and we loved the toiletries provided.   As an extra-nice touch, we received a pre-soaped loofa-like sponge for the shower that was great.

When it came time to disembark on the last morning, we took our luggage up to the concierge lounge with us and, after enjoying one last breakfast, were escorted down to deck three and sent on our way with a warm goodbye from Glenn. The concierge staff was professional, friendly and helpful in exactly the Disney way one would expect.

Bottom Line

So, while we opted out of a few opportunities for group activities and amenities, we enjoyed our first experience with Disney Cruise Line’s concierge level. For just the two of us, I’m not sure we’d splurge on it again.  I could see, absolutely, wanting concierge level if travelling with our entire family…IF we could afford it.  Sailing concierge added convenience and time-savings, some nice extras, and expedited boarding and disembarking.  For Raymond and I, it didn’t make this cruise any more fun or magical than the 8 that came before it.

Disney Cruise Port Activities – Vancouver Food Tour

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When we travel, we like to take advantage of touring options that meet two specific goals.  The first is that we don’t view our chosen travel destination through the window of a vehicle and the second is that we see and learn as much as possible in the time allotted.

For example – We experienced both Barcelona and Copenhagen via Segway tour and those experiences were educational, entertaining, and covered a lot of ground!  We did a walking tour of Bergan, Norway that taught us about the city’s amazing history.  We learned a good bit about Alesund and Geiranger, Norway by sea kayak and mountain bike respectively.  You get the idea.  We like a bit of adventure with our history lessons.

Disney Cruise Port Activities – Vancouver Food Tour

Vancouver presented a challenge for me.  I knew the weather would likely be rainy, so I searched online for an activity that fit the criteria and would still be enjoyable in wet weather.  When I came upon the Gastronomic Gastown Tour, I knew I’d found a winner!  This three-hour walking tour combined both the history of Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood with the opportunity to taste the fare at four different restaurants.  This sounded perfect to me and Raymond agreed. Disney Cruise Port Activities - Vancouver Food Tour

With some careful time-calculations, I figured we could make the 3:00 pm tour on arrival day.  Our plane was scheduled to land at about 11:45, I figured an hour through customs, an hour to our hotel and we’d have plenty of time!  I figured wrong.  Or I should say…I didn’t allow enough wiggle room for a flight delay, which we had.  We landed 30 minutes late and customs took 90 minutes. If our driver hadn’t been waiting for us (thank you Disney Cruise Line ground transfers!), we would never have made our tour.

We rushed into the Fairmont Waterfront at 2:45, checked in, ran our suitcases to our room and hit the street; arriving at the Gassy Jack Statue to meet our tour group at exactly 3:00! Disney Cruise Port Activities - Vancouver Food Tour

Vicky, our guide, was friendly and knowledgeable and was equally as excited about Gastown’s revival from near demise in the 1970’s as she was about the neighborhood’s awesome food scene. (I found this link about Gastown history with a wonderful collection of photos.) Vicky had us introduce ourselves and say where we were from and what our favorite food is. Disney Cruise Port Activities - Vancouver Food Tour

Our first stop was at La Mezcaleria, an authentic Mexican restaurant for tacos and cocktails.  The flavors of the Carne Asada tacos we chose were delicious and well-seasoned.  The cocktails were not too strong (considering this was the first stop) and a bit exotic for Raymond and I who are not typically mixed-drink kind of people. Disney Cruise Port Activities - Vancouver Food Tour

Next up was Nickli Antica Pizzeria for pizza and beer and we were thrilled with the quality and flavor.  This was my favorite stop on the tour.  The pizzas were absolutely wonderful!  Not too heavy and with perfectly cooked crusts. Disney Cruise Port Activities - Vancouver Food Tour

Third stop was at Tuc Craft Kitchen for pork belly with dipping sauce, a Scotch egg, and parsnip fries.  We enjoyed glasses of red wine with our dishes.  This was by far Raymond’s favorite place.

Finally, we dropped in at Wildebeest for dessert.  Crème brulee with rhubarb jelly on top was served with..uhm…a pretty pink drink (for the life of me I can’t remember what it was!).  The crème brulee was an incredible combination of sweet and tart and I ate WAY too much of it.  The rhubarb was a perfect compliment to the sugary, crusty-topped sweet custard.  If you know me, you know I don’t have a sweet tooth and normally skip dessert.  I was so glad I was all-in for this one!

As we walked between restaurants, Vicky directed our attention to points of interest and wove stories of Gastown’s history throughout the experience.

The three hours flew by and before we knew it, our appetites for both food and information were completely satisfied.  We wrapped up the tour with a lesson about the famous Gastown Steam Clock.

Sure, it was still early when we arrived back at the Fairmont, so we made time to enjoy a whisky at the bar before turning in.  The next day would be our 29th anniversary – the main reason for our getaway and we had so much planned!

Follow along for more about this trip as we enjoy our anniversary dinner at Notch8, sail away on the Disney Wonder and make our first ever visit to Disneyland!