Wine and Spirits Travel

The Celebrity Millennium Wine Cruise left plenty of time to explore California Wine Country while the ship remained docked in San Francisco. Since I had been to Napa recently , I chose to do one stop there and then spend most of the time in Sonoma . Wine Road Northern Sonoma County   arranged for our transportation from the ship and we headed to Napa Valley for our appointment at Mumm , a premiere maker of sparkling wines. The weather was warm and sunny and the views of the vineyard were just beautiful.  Winemaker Ludovic Dervin took us around the property and through the self-guided tour of the winery, which was built in 1987. The tour is as entertaining as it is informative (I loved “Bob,” the robot who safely puts the bottles in the boxes).  In addition, Mumm maintains photo and art galleries and I was excited to see some incredible work by famed photographer Ansel Adams , as well as a preview of a brand new exhibition by Robert Buelteman . Dervin, who has been with Mumm since

After the stop at Catalina , we had a day at sea on the Celebrity Millennium . I decided it would be a great time to learn more about this cruise ship. I got up very early because I had hoped to get some work done. Unfortunately, the internet was down (what am told is a frequent occurrence). I did get a workout in at the gym, an impressive facility with a huge assortment of equipment, as well as mats, stability balls, weights and fitness classes.  I then  discovered the Aqua Spa Café in the Solarium,  a great adults-only area with a hydrotherapy pool and two whirlpools. The food is wonderful and healthy, with an assortment of dishes that include yogurt grilled chicken and fish, fruits, vegetables and grains, such as couscous and quinoa.  I knew this would be a spot I would return to as much as possible. My friend Lynn and I made a stop at the casino, where the ship was offering a “Free Money Slot Pull.”  We didn’t walk away with any extra money, but got to play for awhile on the sh

I'm excited to announce that Wine And Spirits Travel has been named one of the Top Travel Blogs in the World by Austin-Lehman Adventures (one of the best tour companies in the world)! To celebrate the best of the best, they are giving away a trip worth up to $5,000! You've just got a few days to enter. Make sure you note http://www.WineAndSpiritsTravel.com as the blog you are coming from and maybe we can get to the top of that list next time! Good luck and thanks for the support, Marcia.

Our first full day aboard the Celebrity Millennium was a full one, after the shipped pulled into Catalina Island, California. I had only been to Catalina Island one time before and I really liked it.  It’s a touch of the Caribbean in the west, a walking island full of great shopping, activity and Southern California weather.  There are a few cruise ships that come into Avalon and you can also access the island by private boat, or one of the ferries that go from three definitely mainland ports. We had a pretty full day planned thanks to Donna Harris at the Catalina Island Visitors Bureau . We were starting with a Zip Line Eco Tour , followed by lunch at Avalon Grille and then a Nautilus Semi-Submersible Tour with Catalina Adventure Tours . When I was in Mazatlan , I had almost made it zip lining, but the timing didn’t work. I was totally psyched to do it in Catalina.  Unfortunately, reality is not the same as expectations. When I arrived at the top of the mountain and looked a