Coaches On A Cruise Ship, Part 2

For those of you who think we're a little, shall we say, "off our rockers" for deciding to go on a Disney honeymoon, I'm hoping this post shows you what we were so excited about. You've already seen our impressive home away from home, and although we easily could've relaxed their all week, we did step out long enough for a few exciting, and adult appropriate, events.

Despite their popularity, Mr. Coach and I aren't exactly "excursion" people, meaning we weren't planning to snorkel, zip line, or take part in any of those sort of adventures during our vacation. This is mainly because those things don't really translate into a vacation for us -- we love to relax, spend time together, and try to avoid being carted around with groups of people who feel the need to partake in activity after activity. Joking aside, I totally understand why many people choose to plan adventurous excursions. We, however, chose a nice, relaxing lunch and wine tasting at one of Nassau's most historic hotels -- much more our style ;)

The beautiful Graycliff Hotel, Nassau

After checking in at the Port Adventures desk aboard the ship, we learned we were the only ones who would be taking part in this particular excursion, turning it into a private drive through the city, private lunch and private tour of the Graycliff's wine cellar. We were in heaven, to say the least. We were transported to the hotel, and quickly greeted with a welcome champagne cocktail. The hostess told us we were free to walk around the gardens and visit the cigar factory before returning to the main house for lunch. Um, what? Seriously, we felt like we had stepped back in time and it was fabulous!

This is my "Oh my gosh, take a picture of me with this lion statue!" face...

The gardens were absolutely beautiful and no picture I could ever take could do them justice. We took a little stroll and snapped a few pictures before making our way to the cigar factory. This was a pleasant surprise for Mr. C, as he enjoys an occasional cigar. The freedom they allowed us inside the factory was pretty unbelievable. We were able to walk right up to the factory workers who were rolling the cigars and see first hand how they are made.

After our little walk, it was time for lunch. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with this, as we had thought the tour was just that, a wine tasting and cellar tour. However, the hotel had a full meal and wine pairings prepared for us. This was the first of two wine pairings we did throughout the week, and I really enjoyed both of them. We are slowly discovering what we like and don't like as far as wine goes, but getting to experience different kinds with a perfectly matched meal is just an amazing experience (if you like wine :) )

The first few courses were so amazing I forgot to snap pictures - this was three or four plates in!

After lunch, we concluded our afternoon with a tour of the Graycliff's impressive wine cellar. Graycliff has the third largest privately owned collection in the world, and the entire collection is housed under the hotel in what was previously (1700's) a prison.

They house over 250,000 bottles, with the most expensive costing right at $200,000, and it was easily the largest and most impressive collection I have ever seen. If you're a wine lover, you have to see this place! For anyone who is planning a visit to the Bahamas in the near future, I cannot recommend the Graycliff experience enough. It was fabulous. Whether you are cruising to the island, or making an exclusive trip, I would definitely encourage you to visit the hotel and have a meal there if possible. We are pretty picky about our cuisine, but it was exceptional. (Feel free to shoot me a message if you want any more info!)

One of the oldest and most expensive bottles in the world (a 1727 Rudesheimer Apostelwin from Bremen Ratskeller,  for anyone curious!)

Aside from our port adventure, there were also a few places on the ship where we were able to relax and honestly you would never guess were aboard a Disney ship. The first: the Senses Spa. We got a mini membership that lasted the entire cruise and allowed us access to the their Rainforest Room. 

The Rainforest room was basically just a sanctuary of relaxation to use if you weren't actually getting any spa services done. They had different types of showers, shown in the picture, that had different water pressures and settings, as well as typical spa amenities like saunas and steam rooms, but with quite the view outside:

Finally, we were also lucky enough to enjoy a fabulous meal at one of the two adult only restaurants on board, Remy. Some of you might remember I mentioned Disney's fabulous dining once before. We were so excited for this meal, and it certainly did not disappoint. It was over three hours of wonderful food, drinks, and service with a wonderful ocean view outside. In an effort to simply enjoy my time with my new husband (!!) I didn't take to many pictures, but the shot of the dessert should give you an idea of the thought and preparation that went into every plate.

As much as we love the upbeat atmosphere that Disney brings, these parts of our trip were equally enjoyable and memorable. For anyone considering a Disney cruise, I promise you will not be bothered by Goofy the entire time, nor will screaming children interrupt every romantic meal - Disney is really pretty exceptional at making it the perfect experience for adults (and newlyweds!) as well.

What were your favorite parts of your honeymoon? Anyone else have a wine tasting or fancy dinner planned with your significant other?