Tastings so popular..

[o&smom]

So today they opened up bookings for gold members for our upcoming 14 night wbpc in march 2020
We booked a couple of tastings & other than 2-3 available, nearly all of them are fully booked... that's 15-20 tastings (!!)
All the ones I really wanted are gone. So I'm a bit upset but hopeful we can snag a couple more when we're onboard the ship.

That's more than 3 months out. Pretty much all the tastings were snagged by platinums. thankfully after this cruise we're platinum ourselves but my oh my have tastings become popular.
So the silvers will get nothing (online). And that's unfair, but life's isn't fair as it is.
Clearly they're hugely popular now. DCL should do something to make it more democratic, but I can't think of anything they can do.

I remember 5-7 years ago tastings were almost unknown...maybe 3-4 'official' ones and to get more available you had to organize with fellow cruisers & request DCL arrange a private one.
Crazy times we live in.

We are in the same boat, and on the same cruise, and platinum after this one. We were also surprised at how low availability was since we are freaks who logged on the minute it opened to gold. We snagged a stem to stern wine tasting on the last day. You would think with all of the sea days, and with so many filling up with platinum cruisers that Disney could add some more. Do try again once onboard and keep checking periodically before our sail date, sometimes people cancel.

 

[randumb0]

I would imagine that more will be available to book once you are on the cruise

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

You can also go to one of the bars, make friends with a bartender and ask them to make you some of the drinks that they make at the tastings. You get a full size drink, get one on one treatment and will probably get a better drink if it is a mixed cocktail. On our last cruise our friends booked last minute and when we got on board they checked and there were tastings open and she was able to get the one she wanted.

As a first time cruiser (overall & not just for DCL), this is pretty much my plan. I'd love to do a shipboard tasting but manage my expectations of what I can get even following all the advice. If I can't, I'll hang out at a bar and ask about such drinks. There's so many other things I can do on the ship that missing out on a paid activity breaks even for me (value of experience vs money kept). I have no qualms about letting Disney take someone else's money .

 

[closetmickey]

Yes- they absolutely should limit the tastings as they do for Palo. If you would like more, you have the opportunity to sign up once onboard. Repeat cruisers would stil receive the perk of first choice. I’ve always found what we wanted by stalking the site daily but that really is a silly expectation- and many don’t realize they need to do that.

 

[DisneYE]

We are in the same boat, and on the same cruise, and platinum after this one. We were also surprised at how low availability was since we are freaks who logged on the minute it opened to gold. We snagged a stem to stern wine tasting on the last day. You would think with all of the sea days, and with so many filling up with platinum cruisers that Disney could add some more. Do try again once onboard and keep checking periodically before our sail date, sometimes people cancel.

That is so cool we're on the same ship and this will also be your platinum crowning - I've seen like 4-5 of us DIS'ers that are going on the same ship.

Believe me, as soon as we board I'll be heading to azzurre or whatever bar it is they organize the tastings at. I'll be happy if I can grab 2 or 3 more. I love cruising but 8 sea days are too many without hardly any other adult activities during the day.

Also, I did manage to book a Palo brunch that I plan on 'trading' on FB later on for a tasting or two, once people there realize there are no more spots for brunch or dinner and start panicking.
I like Palo but I'm not a huge eater or foodie - To me Palo is Cabanas with fancy tables and a nice wine list.

 

[randumb0]

I wonder if 8 sea days is the reason for the quick booking of all of the tastings. I don't remember seeing too many posts about not being able to book one

 

[TestingH2O]

That is so cool we're on the same ship and this will also be your platinum crowning - I've seen like 4-5 of us DIS'ers that are going on the same ship.

Believe me, as soon as we board I'll be heading to azzurre or whatever bar it is they organize the tastings at. I'll be happy if I can grab 2 or 3 more. I love cruising but 8 sea days are too many without hardly any other adult activities during the day.

Also, I did manage to book a Palo brunch that I plan on 'trading' on FB later on for a tasting or two, once people there realize there are no more spots for brunch or dinner and start panicking.
I like Palo but I'm not a huge eater or foodie - To me Palo is Cabanas with fancy tables and a nice wine list.

If you look in the meets area, you'll see there are quite a few Dis people on the cruise. There are also quite a few of us, including the FB admins, who are both here and in the FB group.

 

[pezgirlroy]

Also keep in mind that Concierge actually gets the first crack at signing up for these. So that is a few other folks possibly taking up spots.

 

[otten]

That is so cool we're on the same ship and this will also be your platinum crowning - I've seen like 4-5 of us DIS'ers that are going on the same ship.

Believe me, as soon as we board I'll be heading to azzurre or whatever bar it is they organize the tastings at. I'll be happy if I can grab 2 or 3 more. I love cruising but 8 sea days are too many without hardly any other adult activities during the day.

Also, I did manage to book a Palo brunch that I plan on 'trading' on FB later on for a tasting or two, once people there realize there are no more spots for brunch or dinner and start panicking.
I like Palo but I'm not a huge eater or foodie - To me Palo is Cabanas with fancy tables and a nice wine list.

Is Palo brunch sold out too? We've signed up for the group brunch so hopefully that works out. Trying to manage my expectations for when our window opens next week.

 

[DizzylandDeb]

Is Palo brunch sold out too? We've signed up for the group brunch so hopefully that works out. Trying to manage my expectations for when our window opens next week.

As of today, yes, there are brunches and dinners available to book at Palo. Even if they were to sell out (online), there's a very good chance of getting a reservation booked once on board the ship.

 

[DCLDVC1]

Keep checking back. I suspect, as is human nature, that many slots for the tastings are booked because the guests wanted to have their choice, and then *might* decide that they don't need to do all 6 (or however many) tastings they signed up for and will drop some.

I'm guilty of that. I book everything I can when my booking window opens and then cancel the activities I don't want closer to our cruise date.

 

[DisneYE]

As of today, yes, there are brunches and dinners available to book at Palo. Even if they were to sell out (online), there's a very good chance of getting a reservation booked once on board the ship.

This is true
Palo spots are much more available onboard than online. Often times when we booked cruises before, Palo reservations online were gone bc sometimes we booked too close to sailing. Then when boarding we head to GS and they had openings for any day. And then when we went to Palo the place was half empty (for brunch) - so I have no idea what DCL is doing with their online booking system.

So @otten I'll say you have a good 90% chance to find a Palo spot when onboard. I'd place it at 100% on a normal cruise but this being a 14 night I've no idea about the behavior patters of cruisers when it comes to activities and such. from the demand for tastings I'm noticing ppl seem to be too over-excited.

 

[o&smom]

That is so cool we're on the same ship and this will also be your platinum crowning - I've seen like 4-5 of us DIS'ers that are going on the same ship.

Believe me, as soon as we board I'll be heading to azzurre or whatever bar it is they organize the tastings at. I'll be happy if I can grab 2 or 3 more. I love cruising but 8 sea days are too many without hardly any other adult activities during the day.

Also, I did manage to book a Palo brunch that I plan on 'trading' on FB later on for a tasting or two, once people there realize there are no more spots for brunch or dinner and start panicking.
I like Palo but I'm not a huge eater or foodie - To me Palo is Cabanas with fancy tables and a nice wine list.

Good idea on “trading” Palo for tastings. Sometimes I wish I weren’t a foodie and Palo brunch was just like Cabanas to me. We have ressies for both brunch and dinner. We haven’t eaten dinner there since they changed the menu years ago. We thought with this much time on our hands, we should try it out finally. Is this your first PC cruise? I thought last time with so many sea days I would have so much time to relax and do all of the things we haven’t been able to squeeze in on past cruises. I also thought we could take advantage of all the PC talks with Captain Puckett and maybe convince my husband to do one or two of the dance classes. Well, we made it to two of the PC talks, no dancing and still a full list of things we have not done yet! We did get a refillable beer mug for my husband and he did try quite a few, and we spent some relaxing time at Cove Cafe, but it all went by too quickly.

Oops! Just noticed all your past cruises in your signature. You went on the one we wanted to do last summer on the Fantasy. I had been planning to go since they released for the prior year, but just could not justify the price. We spent a month in Europe including the Western Europe cruise for about the same price.

 

[DisneYE]

Good idea on “trading” Palo for tastings. Sometimes I wish I weren’t a foodie and Palo brunch was just like Cabanas to me. We have ressies for both brunch and dinner. We haven’t eaten dinner there since they changed the menu years ago. We thought with this much time on our hands, we should try it out finally. Is this your first PC cruise? I thought last time with so many sea days I would have so much time to relax and do all of the things we haven’t been able to squeeze in on past cruises. I also thought we could take advantage of all the PC talks with Captain Puckett and maybe convince my husband to do one or two of the dance classes. Well, we made it to two of the PC talks, no dancing and still a full list of things we have not done yet! We did get a refillable beer mug for my husband and he did try quite a few, and we spent some relaxing time at Cove Cafe, but it all went by too quickly.

Oops! Just noticed all your past cruises in your signature. You went on the one we wanted to do last summer on the Fantasy. I had been planning to go since they released for the prior year, but just could not justify the price. We spent a month in Europe including the Western Europe cruise for about the same price.

Yeah I'm a bit uneasy about so many sea days... even though I spend a lot of time reading, in the gym, the hot tub, napping, days are long when there are no POC's... which are my favorite part of cruising. Not a big eater or drinker either. I mean, I'll get 3-4 drinks a day, but I hate getting drunk, last time I was drunk was a good 20 years ago. I don't plan my day around drinking or eating, at all.

That cruise you mentioned, the 11 night on the Fantasy was the best cruise I've ever been to. It was so POC-intensive and the places we visited were all amazing. I fell in love with Martinique and Barbados so much I almost cry when I think about them. That cruise is totally worth every penny, and I'll take that one over one in Europe any day. I'm hoping they'll have it again in 2021.

 

[o&smom]

Yeah I'm a bit uneasy about so many sea days... even though I spend a lot of time reading, in the gym, the hot tub, napping, days are long when there are no POC's... which are my favorite part of cruising. Not a big eater or drinker either. I mean, I'll get 3-4 drinks a day, but I hate getting drunk, last time I was drunk was a good 20 years ago. I don't plan my day around drinking or eating, at all.

That cruise you mentioned, the 11 night on the Fantasy was the best cruise I've ever been to. It was so POC-intensive and the places we visited were all amazing. I fell in love with Martinique and Barbados so much I almost cry when I think about them. That cruise is totally worth every penny, and I'll take that one over one in Europe any day. I'm hoping they'll have it again in 2021.

I am so glad you loved that cruise. I have only heard great things about it. Maybe I can go in the future when it is just my husband and myself. We have a son who is a Junior is HS and a daughter who is in fourth grade. Hopefully it will become part of the circulating itineraries they do every few years, or maybe more common when the new ships are all completed. One can dream!