Cloud 9 Living: San Francisco Dinner Cruise Review

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Cloud 9 Living: San Francisco Dinner Cruise Review

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Have you ever received a gift for an experience? This is an awesome idea if you want to give something really unique! Most people give tangible gifts but an experience gift is not something that’s measurable but it’s special and memorable.

Cloud 9 Living is an Experience Gift company that offers unique and memorable experiences as gifts. The company was started in 2005 out of the belief that gift-giving should be more meaningful and should be one people will remember for years. They currently have over 1,700 experiences in 43 regions in the US.

I received a big discount from Cloud9Living so my husband and I could go on a dinner cruise in San Francisco.

I was initially supposed to go on the Santa Cruz Food Tour but since my husband and I haven’t been on a cruise yet, we opted for that experience. Aside from getting an email from them regarding the gift (as part of the process for everyone), we were also sent a physical gift certificate as shown in the photo below.

booklet

The photo above still shows the Santa Cruz Food Tour that I was supposed to take (until I requested for the discounted San Francisco Dinner Cruise) so I could facilitate this review. The information contained in the physical gift certificate is the same information in their email. But I appreciate the gesture of sending a physical card. Some people may want to surprise their loved ones with this gift by presenting the actual gift certificate rather than just opening and reading an email.

Booking the experience was a breeze. The instructions given were very clear about which site to go to so we could finalize our plans. I simply needed to go to the site, click on “Redeem Gift”, enter my gift certificate number and choose the date. On the same day I booked my experience on the Cloud9Living website, I received an email confirming my booking. What’s really nice about the booking process is that 1 week before your schedule, they will send you an email reminder so you won’t forget it — very important for those who booked way ahead of time.

When we got to Pier 3 in San Francisco, we were greeted by courteous staff and they pointed us to our table. Ours was just a few steps from the live band and the dance floor. Though we didn’t dance, it was fun to watch couples dance to the music especially a pair of newlyweds who got married on the cruise that night!

cruise collage

The live band was so good! So good that my husband couldn’t keep his eyes and ears off of the band! Being a musician himself, he knows how hard it is to produce the kind of music the live band produced that night. And there were only 3 of them! They just took turns singing. But I think the bulk of the singing was done by the guitarist.

We had a total of 4 courses of food that night. There was the appetizer, the salad, the main course and the dessert. We got to choose from 4 different entrees for the main course and we also had the option of upgrading our dessert to chocolate cake. My husband opted for salmon for the main course and the chocolate cake for dessert. I, on the other hand, chose pork for my main course and I stuck to the original dessert on the menu which was blueberry cake. I was pretty satisfied with the meal. I can’t say it was the best meal of my life but it was good.

Cruise Collage 2

Near and under the Golden Gate Bridge

What I was most excited about in the cruise was the photo opportunities. Not because I love taking photos of myself but because I want to capture the scenery. This isn’t something I get to do everyday and I want to be able to take photos of the city lights, the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. And we did exactly that!

Take note though that I have increased the brightness and coolness of the photos I have included in this post. The colors on my camera were a little bit darker since it was a dinner cruise and you can’t expect very good lighting. The photos taken on my phone were worse! LOL!  My husband and I are not very good photographers but I think having the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay bridge as our backgrounds made our photos postcard-worthy!

Cruise Collage 3

First row: another cruise ship, the Alcatraz. Second row: The Bay Bridge

The whole dinner cruise lasted for about 3 hours.

I’d say it was a tad long for dinner but if you have an event (say a wedding or a party) then the 3-hour timeframe is perfect.  This is definitely one experience my husband and I will never forget. Aside from the fact that it was our first cruise as a couple, we also got to spend some long quality time with each other — which we rarely get because of our little one.

They say there is no substitute for experience. So when you give the gift of experience, no one can ever take it away from that person. Except memory loss, I guess. But I’m sure that person will appreciate you giving this unique kind of gift!

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Cloud 9 Living: San Francisco Dinner Cruise Review

Bay Area Mommy's Holiday Gift Guide
*I received a discount from Cloud9Living for a San Francisco dinner cruise to facilitate this review. Thoughts are my own.

Comments

Cloud 9 Living: San Francisco Dinner Cruise Review — 38 Comments

  1. wow it sounds like you all had a wonderful time, i enjoy live music myself, i find it better than a cd or radio.. and the food sounds so yummy of course i didnt’ eat it but i am hungry now from reading it,,LOLL i’m glad you enjoyed yourself and thanks for sharing, hope you get to do another one for us ; )

    • I hope so too Dorothy! And yes, live music is so much better than listening to a recording! 🙂

      – Isis

  2. That is one sweet place to be in to. I would definitely try coming to that wonderful place.

    • You really should! I think it’s very romantic but it’s not an experience that can only be enjoyed by couples. You can enjoy it with friends too! 🙂

      – Isis

    • It was! I hope Cloud9Living is offering some experiences in your area. In which case I’d encourage you to email them so you can try their service too. 🙂

      – Isis

  3. I haven’t heard of Cloud9Living so thank you for introducing me! Your dinner cruise sounds awesome!!

    • Yes it was! If you’re ever thinking about what to do with family on a weekend, I suggest you give their site a visit to check out their experiences. 🙂

      – Isis

    • Definitely is! I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an experience gift before I learned about Coud9Living! 🙂

      – isis

  4. I’m so jealous! I’m definitely going to look into Cloud9Living; the view you had on the cruise is absolutely stunning.

    • You really should! They have lots of experiences that I wanted to try (but hubby didn’t approve of the skydiving) LOL!

      – Isis

  5. THe San Francisco Dinner Cruise sounds fantastic. I’ve never been on a cruise at all. I can imagine that you see things from another perspective.

    • Yes, i think that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to take as many photos as I can. Cause I don’t get to see San Francisco from the vantage point of a ship on a regular basis.

      – isis

  6. My greatest dream before I get old is to have a cruise travel with my husband. Exploring the site and enjoying the wind and breeze will definitely be the happiest thing ever.

    • Me too! I never thought I’d actually go on a cruise but I was blessed to have received a discount on this one. I’d love to do a travel cruise someday though. Like the ones featured on Wheel of Fortune or something similar. 🙂

      – isis

    • It was good. It may not be the best dinner I’ve ever had. But being that it was a cruise I was in, I felt like everything was perfect. Except maybe the occasional rocking of the cruise ship which made me a bit dizzy. LOL

      – isis

      • Awesome! I’ve been on some dinner cruises with really great food and I’ve been on some with really awful food! All in all, though, they’re a lot of fun!

  7. The gift of experience is so beautiful.We have the Spirit Cruises here in Jersey. The are pretty much the same venue as you experienced. And you can’t beat the quality time spent with your other half. Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.
    Carol L

    • Thank you, Carol! Yes, I think what I loved the most about the experience was the quality time. 🙂

      – isis

  8. What an awesome gift something like this would be! We dont have anything like this around here but they do where we go on vacation sometimes. I wouldnt mind at all getting a dinner cruise as a gift! From the pics you posted it looks like the cruise was very fun & romantic! I love this!

  9. This looks like so much fun! I have been dying to take a cruise for a long time, never been on one. I want to take an Alaskan cruise most.

  10. Aww. I really want to see The Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge. This all sounds so wonderful!

  11. If I could afford a cruise right now, I’d be one in a heartbeat. Sounds like such a wonderful time and I think we all need to be able to do that at least once. I’m not giving up, I’ll get to one day I hope

  12. This sounds like so much fun. I would love to go to San Franscisco to visit. If I ever get to I will check this out. Thank you for sharing