 Do you have a child who is obsessed with the movie Brave? Have you ever wanted to dive into the culture of Scotland? Adventures by Disney provides a once in a lifetime experience to cover this. This eight night, nine day tour has an official minimum age of 4, and is recommended for ages 6 and up. The tour is hosted by two tour guides, which can best be described as a cross between ultra-efficient leaders and consummate Disney princesses.
This tour is the first of the Adventures by Disney tours themed around a particular movie. The tour is dotted with references to the movie ‘Brave’. For example, the first evening the group of up to 44 guests finds the witch from ‘Brave’ in hologram form hovering above a bubbling cauldron. The witch tells them that unless the group becomes a true clan that loves each other and works together, one of the beloved guides will turn into a bear at the end of the tour. Another example is members of the group are encouraged to participate in archery at Glamis Castle, Merida’s skill of choice. Sprinkled throughout the tour, video clips from ‘Brave’ are played. Aside from the many ‘Brave’ references, there are other experiences that appeal to the children. Two of the evenings children participate in ‘Junior Adventurers’, where the guides create special experiences including face painting, games, movies, and kid-approved food such as pizza and ice cream sundaes. While the children enjoy ‘Junior Adventurers’, parents will enjoy an adult only dinner and whisky tasting. During the stay at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, kids will love their ‘teddy bear turndown’ service which includes a plush keepsake bear to take home. The tour is loaded with exclusive experiences. Guests are allowed to take photos of Glamis Castle, which is strictly forbidden for anyone else. Disney provides special access to those who decide to travel by canoe at Urquhart Castle in the eerie waters of Loch Ness. This exclusive ‘put in’ access has never been allowed before. There is a visit to Dovecot Studios, a place usually never open to the public, but who does open their doors to Disney. Dovecot Studios is one of the world’s few remaining tapestry weavers and guests will even get to weaver a bit on their giant loom. At the height of exclusivity is the evening visit to Edinburgh Castle. The castle is closed, only accessible to the Disney group. There is a private viewing of the Scotland’s Crown Jewels, a champagne reception, and a formal, candlelit meal in the Castle’s Queen Anne room. Does this tour sound like an experience that would be fitting for your family? Adventures by Disney offers more than 20 itineraries for families around the world. I would love to help you determine the best location for you and your budding explorers. Dominique Barba Bliss Travel Service - a travel agency specializing in cruises, all-inclusive vacations, honeymoons, weddings, group travel [email protected] 480-725-8837 www.BlissTravelService.com www.facebook.com/BlissTravelService #AdventuresbyDisneyBrave #AdventuresbyDisneyScotland #BlissTravelService
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Last week I was onboard the Pride of America for an amazing sail around the Hawaiian islands. Disclaimer: If you need to eat gluten free onboard, please speak with the chefs, servers, etc. yourself as menu items are constantly changing. I do not have celiac disease. I have been DNA tested and I do not carry the ‘celiac’ gene. However, like so many others, I feel 100% better when gluten is obsolete from my diet . If you have celiac disease or know that you will get sick even if eating even a crumb, then this blog post is not for you. But, if you are trying to avoid gluten with the least amount of inconvenience, then please read on.
It is fantastic that most places/restaurants will accommodate for a gluten free diet now. But still, sometimes I don’t like to alert the ‘gluten free’ alarm because it means my food will take longer to make. I think it’s hard to communicate my needs to servers. It’s an educational thing and how can I blame them? Even for those of us who have gone through the process, it’s still unclear all the differences between celiac disease, gluten free allergy, gluten free intolerance, gluten free sensitivity, and gluten free preference. What seems to work best for me in communicating my particular situation is to state I do not have a gluten free allergy, but have a gluten free preference. This means I do not need my food cooked using a separate area in the kitchen, with separate pots and pans, separate utensils, etc. But if you have some gluten free bread in the back you can quickly heat up, I’m all for it. Then I will order off the menu items I know that are gluten free like proteins, potato products, rice products, veggies and fruits, etc. If there is a questionable item with a sauce or something, I will inquire with the waiter to ask the chef if there is flour in it. This process seems to work for me as I do not get sick anymore and continue to reap the benefits of having gluten out of my diet. All of that being said, these are my experiences on NCL’s Pride of America. The first night we ate in one of the main dining rooms. I asked the waiter if he had any gluten free bread. He inquired if I had an allergy and I told him no, it was just a sensitivity. He did not seem to understand this as I tried to explain to him I don’t need a special meal, etc. It was lobster night so I enjoyed surf n turf, baked potato, and vegetables. But, the gluten free bread never arrived. The next night we ate in the other dining room. I explained to the waiter I had a gluten free preference (preference seems to be the magic word, not sensitivity) and a few minutes later I had four slices of gluten free bread and warmed up English muffin. They were delicious! The specialty restaurants were fantastic. One night we ate in the Teppanaki restaurant. I asked the waiter if there was any flour in any of the sauces or salad dressing. To my joy, there was not. I was able to eat the entire meal. Please note that I will eat regular soy sauce as I’ve never been sick from that and there is soy sauce used in the restaurant. But, here was the real test – the Italian restaurant ‘La Cucina’. I did notify the restaurant in advance I would be eating gluten free. I was brought gluten free bread with four flavored oils in the beginning of the meal. Even though the entrée I selected didn’t include pasta, I ordered the gluten free pasta anyways to try it. It was a rainbow type pasta and cooked perfectly. Well done La Cucina! The buffet was quite phenomenal. I did not have a bad item the entire week and we ate there 1-2 times a day. There were so many products to choose from that naturally did not have gluten in them I certainly never felt deprived. I give NCL’s Pride of America two thumbs up for their service, food, and handling of gluten free. Dominique Barba Bliss Travel Service - a travel agency specializing in cruises, all-inclusive vacations, honeymoons, weddings, group travel [email protected] 480-725-8837 www.BlissTravelService.com www.facebook.com/BlissTravelService #NCLGlutenFree #GlutenFreeCruises #BlissTravelService Now, let’s talk about the food. As with any cruise, there are many choices throughout, room service, buffet, dining rooms, specialty dining, etc. Overall, I was incredibly pleased with the selection and quality. We ordered room service once, used the buffet many times, specialty dining twice, and main dining room four times. The entire week there were only two items I was not satisfied with. They both occurred in the main dining room. I thought everything else, especially the buffet, was exceptional. One example, the ribs the first day in the buffet fell off the bone and were perfectly seasoned. NCL has worked hard to bring their food and service up on this ship and I’m pleased to say they have been quite successful. At home I like to get my day off to a healthy start with a kale/spinach smoothie. I was worried how I was going to get my greens on the cruise for breakfast. Well, this is not a problem on the Pride of America! At the buffet they had a juicer I could bring my own ingredients too. So, I grabbed a plate full of spinach (spinach found in the omelet line) and added pineapple and peach each morning for a delicious healthy start. There is a small charge for them to juice for you, $2.50 for a small and $3.50 for a large. We ate at two of the specialty dining restaurants; Teppanaki and La Cucina. Teppanaki is the most popular specialty restaurant so if you want to dine here, be sure to make your reservations early. It’s an entertaining way to eat so if you are into that sort of thing, go for it! The food and entertainment were great. I am gluten free so I really put La Cucina (Italian) to the test which I will go into more detail in a different blog post. I heard many comments on how exceptional ‘Cagney’s Steakhouse’ was. I hope to try that restaurant on my next NCL cruise.
While on board NCL’s Pride of America to Hawaii last week I was able to check out the new enhancements. I thought the vessel was in excellent shape. No where did the ship look worn to me and it was kept immaculately clean. The beds in the cabins are so comfortable I looked forward to going to bed at night. I’m tempted to Email the hotel director of the ship to find out what beds/products they use so I can put it in my own bedroom! Some of the enhancements added earlier in this year were: • 24 ultra-luxurious suites, 4 inside cabins, and 4 studios (which I’ll speak too in a different post) • Specialty restaurant Moderno Churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) • Ship wide wireless internet connectivity • New carpeting throughout • Flat screen televisions in all staterooms • Renovations to the gift shop, photo gallery, art gallery, fitness center, and more One of my favorite areas on the whole ship was in the aft behind the newly added Moderno Churrascaria. This outdoor covered lounge type area was absolutely perfect to have a drink, enjoy some conversation, and watch Hawaii sail by. There is never a bad sunset in Hawaii and watching it from this location on the ship made it extra special. Dominique Barba
Bliss Travel Service - a travel agency specializing in cruises, all-inclusive vacations, honeymoons, weddings, group travel [email protected] 480-725-8837 www.BlissTravelService.com www.facebook.com/BlissTravelService #PrideofAmerica #NCLPrideofAmerica #BlissTravelService |
