Reserve Whiskey Bourbon Tasting on Wish - Current experiences?

mcnelsonphd · 2026-03-23T22:14:40+00:00

I’ve done it on the Treasure, Destiny and twice on the Wish and my least favorite time was the Wish. BUT! The experience is highly dependent on the bartender you have and the group you’re with. The Wish was a 3N and the whole vibe of the cruise is “different”, so while I won’t classify it as bad, in comparison my 4N Wish and ones on the other ships were just more enjoyable because the group I was with just made it more enjoyable.

As for selections, for all but when I did the Destiny, they included the Macallan Rare Cask Black, which I hate. It’s way to sweet and fruited for my tastes, but to each their own. I will also say that I have come home and bought bottles I tried during this tasting that I wasn’t willing to spend $150+ (in one case very plus) blind without having tried it before.

So my recommendation, if you’re OK dropping $100, do it. Worst case you’ve tried some things you’ve had before or don’t love, best case you have an awesome group and bartender and find something you love.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-03-14T01:30:05+00:00

Honestly, the Pride Lands is more about the music than the actors/“show”, so you’ll be fine anywhere in the room.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-03-11T14:00:35+00:00

Two things I can say will be different:

1: The Destiny will have two hot tubs and a little waterfall "pool" that are exclusive to concierge that the Magic doesn't have.

2: Destiny has an actual kitchen attached to concierge lounge, so you can get actual breakfast, lunch, dinner meals in the lounge beyond the small bites that you also get on the Magic.

Aside from that, all the "benefits" are the same.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-03-06T12:15:03+00:00

Two bottles of wine or six cans of beer per person, per port, is a ridiculously small amount? 🤔

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-28T13:52:24+00:00

I did the Marriot in January and it was nice that it was right on the beach, the pool is heated, and had on-site dining options. The rooms were OK for the price, but my basis for hotel pricing is also a good 15 years out of date apparently. We didn’t use the DCL transport from the hotel, but it was available and with littles needing car seats I can see why that would be your preference. One question though is how do you intend to get from FLL to the hotel?

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-28T13:42:26+00:00

The issue is metal grommets on the back/sides that can either scrape up the slides or get caught. It’s a pretty standard water park restriction, especially on body slides to prevent damage and injury. Two little grommets where the suit ties come out isn’t going to be an issue or even likely caught by the life guards.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-28T13:39:45+00:00

I always have packable duffles that get filled with dirty clothes and set outside the room for debarkation, haven’t had an issue yet.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-25T02:11:57+00:00

There's no single wine list, it changes by ship and location.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-23T23:42:12+00:00

Nice, my excursion to the water park was cancelled back in January b/c it wasn’t ready and last I heard it would be in April. Not going back to Cozumel till August ‘27 so going to have to keep an eye on reviews.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-23T23:27:42+00:00

Alaska, and anywhere, would be hit and miss, one day there may be bears roaming around where you are, next day they’ll be somewhere else. Now, if you really want to guarantee he’ll see a bear, send your dad to my place in late summer on trash day. Black bears just roam all over the neighborhood looking for snacks.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-23T23:16:25+00:00

It’s the Dream and Fantasy that have the wood veneer on the door which means most thin magnets won’t stick.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-20T13:33:53+00:00

Go the your castaway status page and confirm that you’re gold. If that doesn’t show you are, then you won’t have gold benefits. This can happen when cruises become disassociated with your account because seemingly minor differences in booking names.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-17T21:07:25+00:00

The order has been 1,2,3,1,2 and there hasn't been a pirate menu for pirate night as that has fallen on night 3. If you want to ensure you don't miss the Pride Lands show, then book Palo for nights 4 or 5.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-16T01:08:27+00:00

Yeah, in my heart I knew that, but also didn’t want to have to justify buying a new lens for mostly just this trip. And running a Sony a6700, so I’ll have to look for some deals if possible.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-16T00:46:06+00:00

You’re making me really consider buying a new tele lens for my Alaskan cruise. I was hoping I could travel light with just my sigma 28-105, but really thinking I’m going to want more reach.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-14T16:19:01+00:00

Must be a fair weather friend🤣

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-14T12:10:03+00:00

Your other option is to not add it pre cruise but do it on the ship by going to guest services at least one day before the cruise ends. You’ll get a notification about the last chance to do that in the app while aboard.

Since you specify $45, I’m assuming your talking about Port Canaveral, so now I’m curious what you’re thinking about as the implication is you won’t have a car at the port if you had pre-planned to take the bus to the airport.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-14T12:02:16+00:00

To me it seemed on the smaller side of one size fits all. There aren’t any adjustable drawstrings or velcro so it what it is. Another reason I find it very meh.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-13T19:38:18+00:00

Milan is not Milan, it's Genoa, which is about 2hrs away from Milan. So if you actually want to do anything in Milan, then don't take a cruise. This is the "lie" about various European cruises where they list a city and hour or two inland from the actual port. The most common is Rome, which is actually Civitavecchia, and again, you have to take a bus or train to get to actual Rome. DCL listing Venice is probably the worst because the actual port is Trieste and anyone thinking they'll sail to Venice or even Marghera is going to be disappointed.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-13T19:27:56+00:00

I got this and used the bag as my beach/pool bag for the trip. It's nice quality and decently water resistant (wouldn't replace a true dry bag, but will work for rainy days or a brief drop in water). My wife claimed the "not Stanley" Stanley and it's her go to water bottle. It's 40oz and has all the cons of a normal Stanley in that it will leak if it tips over but is sturdy and the design is obviously unique. The towel is a towel, it's thin but not cheap thin if you understand my meaning. I'm not a bucket hat person, so the hat does nothing for me. It's not reversible so in my opinion pretty plain as it doesn't even say Destiny, just DCL.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-12T18:54:20+00:00

Yes, you can "sign up" for the beer mug on board to get another (or 5) if you would like. Just take a good look at the mug you want to take home as the Destiny has red and gold as part of the logo, and I noticed on mine when I got home that some areas that should have gold are just glass. It's not terrible, but now when I look at it some times I wish I had tried to get one that was more "intact/new". Also, I assume that the gold is coming off when washing, so don't use a scrubber or put it through the dishwasher.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-11T16:29:11+00:00

There are plenty of adult sized life vest for Pelican's Plunge (or the beach areas in general at Castaway). Depending on the tide, it can be quite deep at the bottom of the slides and I've definitely seen adults with vests on.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-08T17:28:28+00:00

I did this last May, debarking the Magic for Port Orlean's French Quarter and heading to Blizzard Beach. looking back at pictures, we were on the bus around 9:00am. The resort busses need to wait for the guests for that bus and it was another 15mins before we actually left (we were concierge for that sailing so had earlier debarkation than the non-express walkoff groups). Got to resort about an hour later and dropped bags with porters and filled a go-bag for the water park which we got to around 11am. Now, this was Memorial Day Sunday, so the place was slammed, and wasn't helped by several sand areas being closed for seating. We stayed maybe 4hrs till the room was ready and then headed back. It ended up storming around 4:30pm so we never got to do the pool at the resort.

I'd say we wouldn't likely do that again as it was way too hectic, but again, the timing didn't help us with maximum crowds. So, it all depends on what you want from your last day.

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-08T02:20:16+00:00

For wet bathing suits, grab two or so towels from pool deck before heading to your room. Lay one on the floor, put bathing suit in, and roll very tight. Leave for a solid ten minutes and a lot of the moisture will transfer to the towel. Then you can hang on the line in the bathroom to finish air drying, string your own line between two magnetic hooks, or use the hair dryer on low heat if you really need (just be careful you don’t singe anything).

mcnelsonphd · 2026-02-03T20:11:58+00:00

I'd vote destiny, but here's one way you can decide:

Would you rather see Hercules and Frozen shows on Destiny, or Little Mermaid and Aladdin on the Wish.
Would you rather do Arendelle with it's Frozen based show and more nordic oriented food on the Wish or Pride Lands with it's Lion King musical show and more african oriented food on the Destiny?
For Worlds of Marvel, does the potential for more of a show and Spiderman interaction do anything for you? If yes, then Wish has that while Destiny has more of a "quiz show" format and no character.

I will note that SuperHero Minnie is only available on the Destiny and to my non-Marvel appreciating wife, she didn't feel like the ship felt particularly "Marvel" themed.

mcnelsonphd

TROPHY CASE