This is the time of year that we spend a large portion of our day Googling warmer destinations and cruise ship vacations. If you’re going to be cold, you might as well plan your temporary escape, or at least let yourself day dream. In our search engine travels, we came across the cruise to end all cruises…yes, friends: a nine-night “California Beer Festival at Sea.”
The event will take place on the 2,852-passenger Celebrity Solstice and will depart from Ensenada, Mexico on May 6, 2013. It will visit San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria (Oregon), Victoria (British Columbia) and Seattle.
The cruise will be hosted by a California “Brew Master,” and passengers will be able to:
• Take a home-brewing lesson
• Attend craft beer tasting parties
• Enjoy a four-course craft beer pairing luncheon
• Go on optional brewery tours at the ports
The company running this floating beer festival, Cruise Specialists, has done wine-themed trips before and in their travels, they realized how popular craft beer is as well. This will be their maiden beer-themed voyage.
Matt Hannafin from Frommers.com is a cruise blogger and beer lover and realizes what a great idea a craft beer cruise actually is. He notes that most cruises don’t stock world-class beers because of supply and demand. Until these cruise ships can stock awesome beers all the time, true beer and cruise lovers will need to seek out these special trips.