Carnival Craft Beer now available Fleetwide

Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Cruising craft beer lovers rejoice! On Sunday, my husband Gabe and I headed down to Miami for a special announcement from Carnival Cruise Line on board the Carnival Magic regarding their craft beer line.
In 2016, the Carnival Vista was named the first cruise ship to have a RedFrog Brewery & Pub on board (her sister ship the Horizon also has one). This is a full working brewery where they brew their beer while at sea. When I sailed the Vista in 2017, I had the opportunity to visit the brewery and try their delicious brews firsthand.
Although I am a wine drinker, there is nothing better than a frosty glass of beer on a hot day and while on a week long Vista sailing, I found myself at RedFrog Pub & Brewery daily and even bought a growler of beer! Carnivals craft beers became famous among cruising craft beer lovers. However, when you went on a ship that didn't have a RedFrog brewery on board, you weren't able to indulge in their delicious brews.
So what does the RedFrog Pub & Brewery have to do with the announcement made on the Magic? On Sunday March 17th, Carnivals three most popular craft beers will be available fleet-wide, on all 26 ships! This includes the Parched Pig Toasted Amber Ale, Parched Pig West Coast IPA and Thirsty Frog Caribbean Wheat Ale.


Not only was Carnival the first cruise line to have a brewery on board, it is also the first cruise line to keg and can their own craft beers. If you are familiar with the Florida craft brew scene, you know who Brew Hub is. The Lakeland facility will be handling the production of canning and kegging the three beers for Carnival!
So next time you are on a Carnival Cruise Line, be sure to order yourself a Parched Pig or Thirsty Frog craft beer (I am a huge fan of both the Toasted Amber and the Caribbean Wheat)! Cheers!

Thank you to Carnival for hosting us in Miami for this press announcement. I was not required to write this post and all opinions are my own.
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This weekend - 30th Spring Daytona Turkey Run and Dock Dogs competition

Monday, March 18, 2019
When you think about Spring Break in Daytona Beach, a lot comes to mind (especially if you grew up in the 90's like me - hello mtv!). This weekend, things will go back in time full of classic cars and doo wop music at the 30th running of the Spring Daytona Turkey Run. This is the Spring version of their famous Fall Turkey Run.
I am sending my nieces this year so they can see the Dock Dogs, a fun new feature taking place at the Spring Turkey Run. Dock Dogs, is the world's premier aquatic canine competition. Yes you read that right! More information on these talented pups below!
Aside from talented canines, the headline of this event is classic custom cars, a massive swap meet, arts and crafts, delicious food, a beer festival and live music.

The family friendly Spring Daytona Turkey Run takes place at Daytona International Speedway from March 22nd - March 24th and is presented by White Diamond, sponsored in part by Spectrum. Admission is $10 Friday and Saturday and $5 on Sunday with free parking ((children under 11 are free). Visit www.turkeyrun.com for a full schedule.

Dock Dogs®
Kids and adults alike will have a blast at the world’s premiere aquatic canine competition. Set up inside the infield of the Daytona Speedway, dogs of all sizes will jump from a 40’ dock into a 40’ pool and compete in Big Air®, Extreme Vertical, & Speed Retrieve® competitions. Competition dates are March 23rd and March 24th.


Hops and Hoods Beer Festival
Taste test local, craft and domestic beers on Saturday, March 23rd from 12PM-4PM! Beer tasting tickets are $5 for 4 samples and $10 for 10 samples. Tickets can be purchased in advance or onsite. Advanced tickets include special Hops and Hoods parking.

Take a Kid to a Car Show
Spending quality time with a kid is the greatest gift we can give them. And sharing our appreciation for collector cars is a great way to nurture their interest in a hobby that can be enjoyed together for many years to come. The first 500 kids to enter will get a special Turkey Run gift. There will also be a Play Zone at no additional charge, including bouncy houses, an obstacle course, carnival games and more!

Annual classic car parade lap around the track
Registered show cars will enjoy a fun lap around the iconic Daytona International Speedway track on Sunday, March 24th at 2pm.

This was a sponsored post by Turkey Run. All opinions are my own.
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Norwegian Cruise Line Premium Plus Beverage Package

Friday, March 1, 2019
When my best friend Keri and I went on our annual girls cruise earlier in the year on the Norwegian Pearl, our sailing happened to be the first ship to offer a new upgraded unlimited beverage package called Premium Plus. This package offers essentially everything on board and select bottles of wine at dinner. Being our sailing was the first one to offer this package - and we were the first people on the ship to upgrade, we were likely the first people fleetwide to have the Premium Plus Package. I deserve a trophy!
Some asked why one would spend additional to upgrade a package when we already had a decent drink package included... well the NCL Premium Plus Package is a taking it up a few notches. If you enjoy a good glass of wine, good tequila or fine bourbon, this is the package you want. Since we had the Premium Package already included, it was $30 extra a day to upgrade and it went on our sail account. First we hesitated as a lot was included in our original package. When we learned Veuve Clicquot was included on the Premium Plus upgrade, we signed away. Unlimited Veuve for the duration of our cruise? Hello lover!
Double Fisting... Veuve
Aside from unlimited Veuve - here is what you need to know about the Norwegian Cruise Line Premium Plus Beverage Package - and why we decided to upgrade.
Grey Goose and Cointreau Cosmo
Liquor Options
Keri and I are both extremely picky when it comes to our alcohol. One of the reasons we upgraded was with the Premium Package, you couldn't order a drink that was valued over $15 - so if you're looking to have a margarita with Patron & Cointreau or a Espresso Martini with h Grey Goose & real Espresso, it isn't happening without an upcharge. It sounds trivial, but Cointreau makes all drinks better and neither of us can do triple sec. With the Premium Plus Package, you can have all of this along with Patron Anejo and Don Julio Reposadoo. The list of upgrades is quite impressive.

Unlimited Veuve!
Wine & Champagne by the Glass
Far more wines and champagnes are offered by the glass with the Premium Plus Package, including Veuve Clicquot. This was a huge selling point for us. Meanwhile, the Premium Beverage Package offered 20 wines by the glass and from my recollection, only one sparkling wine.

NCL Wine Aerator
Bottles of Wine
The Premium Plus Beverage Package offered a large variety of wines by the bottle at dinner. On our sailing, they would allow us to take a bottle back to our room (this may vary ship by ship). We found a Malbec we fell in love with while dining at Cagney's Steakhouse and were able to continue drinking that after dinner. If you get a bottle of wine there, you will get it presented with this awesome wine aerator, which you can purchase. It made a really cool gift!

Not water - could be energy?
Bottles of Water & Energy drinks
Bottles of still and sparkling water are included with the Premium Plus Package but not the Premium Beverage Package. We pre-purchased a case of water to be delivered to our room prior to knowing about the upgrade option. It was $28 for 12 1 liter bottles. We did get refunded for this when we upgraded our drink package. Also included in the Premium Plus Package are soda's and energy drinks which are at an addition to the Premium Package
Grey Goose Espresso Martini
Coffee Drinks
Specialty Coffee drinks are included in the Premium Plus Package. I drink espresso on a daily basis so having my morning pick me up is a must. Also as mentioned above, you can get a liquor drink with espresso in it with the Premium Plus package!

You can compare the two drink packages on Norwegians website. If you are going to get the Premium Plus Beverage Package, I would strongly suggest getting the Premium Beverage Package as a free perk when booking and upgrading to the Premium Plus Package when on the ship. As of right now, you are unable to book the Premium Plus package ahead of sailing and can only do it on the first day of your sailing.
Norwegian Premium Plus Beverage Package
Norwegian Premium Beverage Package
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