Which Drink Bookings to Keep?

[pxefig]

For my April 17 Wish cruise my sister and I have the champagne tasting, liquor and chocolate tasting, and mixology classes booked. The prices are pretty expensive and I’m not sure I want to keep all of them. Has anyone done these? Which are the must dos? I’m also willing to be convinced it’s worth it to keep all of them lol.

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

I have done the Chocolate & Liquor tasting several times and love it. I have requested it again on our upcoming July trip and will request it every time.

I haven’t done the other two but have requested those as well. I hear good things about the Mixology tasting.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

For my April 17 Wish cruise my sister and I have the champagne tasting, liquor and chocolate tasting, and mixology classes booked. The prices are pretty expensive and I’m not sure I want to keep all of them. Has anyone done these? Which are the must dos? I’m also being convinced it’s worth it to keep all of them lol.

If you only want to do one of those, I would do the Mixology Class as they're the most interactive and fun. If you want to do two, I'd recommend the Mixology and Liquor & Chocolate Tastings but it depends on what type of alcohol you like. While what you get can vary, with the Liquor Tasting, you usually get a port, champagne, scotch whiskey and red wine. If these don't appeal to you, choose the champagne tasting.

 

[Calantha]

For my April 17 Wish cruise my sister and I have the champagne tasting, liquor and chocolate tasting, and mixology classes booked. The prices are pretty expensive and I’m not sure I want to keep all of them. Has anyone done these? Which are the must dos? I’m also being convinced it’s worth it to keep all of them lol.

We've done Mixology several times and Liquor and Chocolate once. (so take with a grain of salt...heh). I think a lot has to do with who is running the class. When we went last July, the Mixology instructor/bartender, was high energy, everyone was laughing and talking in small groups. Liquor and Chocolate (which was very tasty, I won't lie) was very serious and when we were talking (with some people we had met at Mixology) I feel like we got the stink eye. SILs felt the same way after.

And, for upcoming cruise, I've booked Mixology only. As others have said, I think it is the best mix of things.

 

[Geomom]

I did all 3 of those on the Fantasy in June (with the old prices.). Mixology had a lot of strong drinks, it's a good value that way if you can drink that much! Our champagne tasting had light snacks paired with it--berries, chocolate, popcorn. The chocolate and liquor tasting is like a PP said--a champagne, red wine, port, and whiskey accompanied by chocolate and cheese. You can see pics of my tastings on my Fantasy trip report in my signature. 6/19 at sea part 1--champagne, 6/22 Jamaica part 4--mixology, 6/23 at sea part 1--chocolate and liquor.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We did the champagne and liquor/chocolate tasting on the Fantasy last December. Both were done by the same guy. I don't remember his name, but he was good. I will say he seemed more on the serious side. Did crack a few jokes here and there. People seemed to like the chocolate than the liquor, I know I did. Champagne testing was very good, but I also like champagne.

 

[DisneYE]

For my April 17 Wish cruise my sister and I have the champagne tasting, liquor and chocolate tasting, and mixology classes booked. The prices are pretty expensive and I’m not sure I want to keep all of them. Has anyone done these? Which are the must dos? I’m also being convinced it’s worth it to keep all of them lol.

The champagne tasting is my favorite. Keep it.
The liquor and chocolate I don't like it that much but - my favorite ones are bourbon and martini, Mixology is hit and miss and I used to like them when cruisers made them, now they're pre-made and its boring, imo.
If you're sailing in April you'll get Sam from UK for the champagne, not sure if he's doing the c/l one.
He's very knowledgeable and fun, we had a blast with him - he'll give you extras if you're nice to him and you really liked a certain drink. Have fun on your cruise!

 

[JWelch62]

That's a tough list to try to trim down. Those are our favorites. I will agree that Mixology is heavily dependant on who is running the class. Our last cruise was mid-pandemic so the interactivity was greatly reduced, but the bartender still made it fun and enjoyable.

If I had to drop one I would probably drop the champagne (my wife agrees). It's a great way to start the cruise, but the others are more enjoyable to us.

 

[Shinaniganz]

Not OP but how about the rum tasting? Any reviews?

 

[sadiecatie]

Following because I'm wondering some of the same questions! We have mixology, martinis, and the stem to stern wine tasting booked and probably won't keep them all. Any feedback about the martini or wine tastings?

 

[kiford]

I've done all of these and my favourite is probably the chocolate and liquor. If you like chocolate at all and have never done one, it will totally change your views on pairing chocolate and wine/champagne/spirits. And this is even though I love champagne almost above all other alcohols. I've done mixology twice and it was great fun but the chocolate was sooo much nicer.

We have mixology, martinis, and the stem to stern wine tasting booked and probably won't keep them all. Any feedback about the martini or wine tastings?

If you regularly drink wine and know what you enjoy, and can only do one, I'd do either the martini or mixology because you will probably learn more about something you might not know much about. I never really drank martinis and essentially thought I didn't like them until I did this one.

 

[bigAWL]

My thoughts having done them all (some several times):

• Champaign - Only done this once, and I loved it because I'd never tasted different Champaigns next to each other. More informative than fun, though.
• Chocolate and Liquor - We do this one every chance we get. Come for the chocolate, but the drinks are pretty good too (though the whiskey is lost on me). Less useful to me in terms of learning something, since I really am not going to go out of my way to pair these things again.
• Mixology - Done this one several times over the years, and it used to be a lot of fun. It was always very interactive, in that the guests got hands-on for most of the drinks, or at least a small group for each. But last week on the Dream, almost every drink was put together by the staff and served while we sat and enjoyed (we all got to go in groups to mix a mojito). That's fine and somewhat interesting if you're new to mixing drinks. But for me the fun is in making them, or watching your friends and family make them. I guess the host can make it fun if you get the right one.

Another mentioned:

• Stem to Stern Wine Tasting - This is another favorite of ours, since we always get to try new wines. Another one though that is more informative than fun.
• Martini - I did this one years ago, so don't remember the details. I enjoyed it though.

Another that I enjoy:

• Beer - In the past it was just an excuse to go a drink some beer, as they always seemed to be the same standard beers you get anywhere. But last week on the Dream, I got to try four beers I've never tasted before. It was informative and fun!

Another that I'll pass on next time:

• Cognac - I was curious. I found out that I'm not a cognac guy.

 

[JWelch62]

The Martini class can be a lot of fun. Again, it depends on the bartender and the selections. But we've had fun more ofthen than not in the martini class. It typically follows the philosophy that anything in a martini glass is a martini.

The Stem to Stern wine tasting is great. A good mix of wines, and very informative. Disney has access to Lasseter wines, which aren't widely available. We always try to book this.

We did not enjoy the Rum class the one time we did it, but that was probaby driven by the time of day (10:30 PM) and our general tiredness that day. I would rather do the Mojito class, if one is available.

 

[MomOTwins]

We did mixology recently and it is just not as fun now with the limited audience participation. The drinks were also nothing special, all were super sweet. With the new higher prices I don’t see the value of this versus ordering cocktails you actually enjoy.

 

[Flossbolna]

We are wondering about the same thing. And looking at the prices for these tastings now, I keep coming up with the idea of just cancel them all and do my own private tasting (i.e. increase my alcohol budget).

I have done the Martini tasting and the Mojito tasting in the past and while they were interesting, I thought it was too much alcohol in a short time, I rather enjoy my drinks more spread out.

I feel like those tastings are part of the cruise ritual, but I keep wondering if they are really worth the money (for me - others obviously have other feelings towards them!). So, just wanted to add that perspective.

 

[Clarkson U]

For my April 17 Wish cruise my sister and I have the champagne tasting, liquor and chocolate tasting, and mixology classes booked. The prices are pretty expensive and I’m not sure I want to keep all of them. Has anyone done these? Which are the must dos? I’m also being convinced it’s worth it to keep all of them lol.

My order of preference for the three you have listed (I have done all of them before)
1. Choc and Liquor - hands down the best one for sure
2. Champagne
3. Mixology (generally more hit or miss in my opinion)

Good luck!

 

[Carohs]

We did mixology, and we were served pre made drinks in little martini glasses. I can say they were delicious and potent, and we got the recipes from the bartender. Overall we got a good variety and had a good time.
I did chocolate and liquor and was disappointed to find the pairings were wine/champagne. While good, I drink enough wine and eat enough chocolate that I didn't feel I got value out of that. The champagne was more informative, but still fun.

 

[melissa723]

I have done the Martini tasting and the Mojito tasting in the past and while they were interesting, I thought it was too much alcohol in a short time, I rather enjoy my drinks more spread out.

I know this might be hard to answer depending on your tolerance and palate, but were the martinis really strong? I'm only asking because I'd like my BF and I to give this one a try and I'm wondering if I should invite my mom to join us as well. She likes a good Cosmo and tends to lean more the sweeter side of drinks.

 

[Flossbolna]

I know this might be hard to answer depending on your tolerance and palate, but were the martinis really strong? I'm only asking because I'd like my BF and I to give this one a try and I'm wondering if I should invite my mom to join us as well. She likes a good Cosmo and tends to lean more the sweeter side of drinks.

It’s been 9 years since I did it, so my memory might not be the best. They are served in small glasses, so each isn’t a full drink. But you are also not nursing these drinks over a full evening. It’s pretty much one after the other. The first one for us was a classic martini. That’s a really strong drink! But many people just tasted that as it was too strong for them. I like gin, so had mine and some of my husband‘s (might have been a mistake). The other ones were mainly on the sweeter side.

But I never felt they were skimpy with the alcohol!

 

[cedricandsophie]

Mixology is my favorite. I’m not a fan of chocolate or champagne. I do like the wine tasting.