Wine Cruise?? (gathering comments)

Event Planner - Online or Offline
1

It was suggested to me earlier today that we perhaps consider a wine cruise - BerserkerCruise, I guess!

I’ve never been on one, but I know that I plan to next Fall with the Surfer Cruise (yeah, go ahead, poke fun), but I did want to run it by the group here to see if there is interest.

2

Can we combine them? surfing while tasting?
Hmmm

3

It was also suggested that we invite bloggers to post it on their blogs to invite people, and for every X registrations/bookings, they get a free ticket - so they would go for free, essentially.

Could be fun to do a wine/Flannery event on a cruise ship. I know cruises are big on adding unique groups to a tour that is already existing, and we have our own events and such.

4

I doubt that a cruise ship will let you bring in your own Flannery meat.

It does sound like a cool idea though but that sorta thing would be a nightmare to plan / keep track of / etc. Based on my own preference for tropical drinks while in a tropical setting, I don’t know how likely I would be to drink lots of wine. However, an Alaska cruise would be a good wine match.

5

We did an Alaska cruise last summer with extended family, and while it’s a fun way to travel with a large group, there are a few issues you should consider:

  • Even in the “upgraded” restaurants, the food is not up to foodie standards.

  • Large parties might have limited options for dining times.

  • Depending on the cruise line, BYO may have rules that are not offline-friendly. We were on NCL. Corkage is $15 a bottle, no exceptions, and they hold on to the wine for you until you’re ready to consume it. Some cruise lines have strict limits on how many bottles you can bring on board.

Todd, can’t you just borrow the neighbors’ yacht? [wink.gif]

6

Never been on one, but as others have said I can’t possibly imagine a boat that would have food and wine up to the standards of this crew.

Cruises are for the Vayny-crazies. Just cause it works for him doesn’t mean it’ll work for us.

Maybe Jorge can host us in the DR?

7

I would be very interested. Perhaps we could even have some celebrity guests? The cruise lines are almost giving tickets away. You would be amazed at how we could “customize” the experience.

8

it’s gonna be hard bringing wine on board. I think Gary made it possible cause he booked so many people.

9

We put together a cruise to Mexico with about 30 friends a few years ago and it was a blast. Lots of work to organize but Princess Cruise Lines was awesome, with the help of a good travel agent. The cruise lines closed one of the lounges and did a private cocktail party with apps too. I don’t remember what the corkage was but between a few people we brought a few cases of wine, arranging it ahead of time made it easy.

I also went on two different girls cruises with Princess as well and there wasn’t an issue with bringing wine. Things may have changed but it might be worth looking into.

10

Melissa makes some good points here. In this economic climate, however, I’m guessing that cruise lines would be willing to make concessions for large group bookings.

11

Precisely. It’s amazing what is ‘possible’ now that was not for so many years…

Anybody in the industry at all?

12

Yeah. Fall. Great. rolleyes