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Santa Barbara wine tasting?


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Has anyone booked a private tour to a winery from Santa Barbara coastal cruise? We are taking the 4 day coastal cruise and I would like to take a wine tasting tour with a small group. I'm hoping to met some folks on our roll call to join us and book a private one. Looking for recommendations of a company that comes to the port for pick up.

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We’ve done the Cal Coastal cruise twice and love wine tasting in Santa Barbara. There are a lot of wineries and tasting rooms just a few minutes walk from the tender dropoff. You want to book a tour to visit a specific winery?

 

 

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We’ve done the Cal Coastal cruise twice and love wine tasting in Santa Barbara. There are a lot of wineries and tasting rooms just a few minutes walk from the tender dropoff. You want to book a tour to visit a specific winery?

 

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I would definitely recommend you consider the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail.

 

https://urbanwinetrailsb.com/

 

 

 

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Agree that the SB Urban Wine Trail is a fun inexpensive wine tasting experience & only about a mile walk from the tender boat’s dock. Our favorite tasting was at Santa Barbara Winery which at that time included their logo wine glass which we used in our cabin & brought it home. Their wine tastings are just off State Street where other sites such as the beautiful courthouse are located.

 

If preferring to go to the Santa Ynez Valley wineries we had a great experience with Dee Tours.

 

http://www.deetoursofsb.com/wine-tour/

 

A small group that avoided crowds & was much cheaper than the ship’s tour & Dee’s was a better more flexible wine tasting tour. Checking Trip Advisor & Yelp they’re still a top rated 5-Star experience.

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Thank you! I did not realize that they had wineries near the port. I will look into this. I also found a company that would pick us up at the ship and take us to 4 wineries and a picnic lunch. (10 passenger van). It's nice to have options.

 

 

 

 

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We have used Cloud Climbers they met us at the train station and it was us with 1 other couple. http://www.ccjeeps.com

 

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We had used them before too and they picked us up from our hotel. Hmmmm I may have to give them a call and see if they would pick up from the ship. I really liked them.

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Agree that the SB Urban Wine Trail is a fun inexpensive wine tasting experience & only about a mile walk from the tender boat’s dock. Our favorite tasting was at Santa Barbara Winery which at that time included their logo wine glass which we used in our cabin & brought it home. Their wine tastings are just off State Street where other sites such as the beautiful courthouse are located.

 

If preferring to go to the Santa Ynez Valley wineries we had a great experience with Dee Tours rAstro Flyer, Did you enjoy the wine tastings that were close by? We have been to the Santa Ynez Valley three times so maybe trying some of the Santa Barbara wineries would be nice. Was it really crowded? Did the ship allow you to bring on any wine? I know you are allowed two are boarding but not sure if you stop? I wonder if we bought some wine if they would allow us to store it till off the cruise?

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Thank you! I did not realize that they had wineries near the port. I will look into this. I also found a company that would pick us up at the ship and take us to 4 wineries and a picnic lunch. (10 passenger van). It's nice to have options.

 

 

 

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Most of them are not wineries but just tasting rooms. Some also have food.

 

 

 

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The handling of wine brought on board at ports can vary. The Passage Contract requires that alcohol brought on board at ports be turned over at a check in table upon boarding to be returned the last night of the cruise. There may not be a table and you may be waved through with your wine. Another option to checking in the wine would be to pay the $15 corkage if you wanted to drink the wine on board rather than bring it home.

 

 

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Astro Flyer, Did you enjoy the wine tastings that were close by? We have been to the Santa Ynez Valley three times so maybe trying some of the Santa Barbara wineries would be nice. Was it really crowded? Did the ship allow you to bring on any wine? I know you are allowed two are boarding but not sure if you stop? I wonder if we bought some wine if they would allow us to store it till off the cruise?

 

Whenever we’ve gone to the Urban Trail wine tasting rooms there were only a few people there & enjoyed the wine tastings. The staffs were very friendly & helpful but about 2 tastings was sufficient for us. The pours were more generous than at the Princess Grapevine wine tasting.

 

IECalCruiser explained your options for the ship to store your wine to take home or being subject to $15 fee to drink it anywhere onboard.

 

My experiences at ports around the world on Princess is we’ve never been charged a fee. We don’t attempt to hide it but the most they’ve said is “nice bottle of wine”. We drink our wine with meals so even when not charged a fee when bringing from ports, we pay it in a dining room.

 

If they want to charge you the $15 fee just ask them to store it until the last night; if not charging a fee then store it in your cabin to bring home.

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My experiences at ports around the world on Princess is we’ve never been charged a fee. We don’t attempt to hide it but the most they’ve said is “nice bottle of wine”. We drink our wine with meals so even when not charged a fee when bringing from ports, we pay it in a dining room.
Our actual experience in ports in South America and the Mediterranean has been the same as Astro Flyer.

 

 

 

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