Sound Excursions

I got to choose from several virtual experiences for a work event: cooking classes, wreath making, candle making, and winter cocktails. I opted for the cocktail class and was so impressed!

First, the quality of the ingredients they shipped to me was amazing, from a spiced honey ginger syrup and special bitters blend to candied ginger and dehydrated orange garnishes. We made three bourbon drinks (Woodford Reserve, also included), led by a mixologist from the Seattle area. I especially liked the Holiday in Louisville, which was a twist on a Moscow mule, and the spiced old fashioned.

The webcast was well produced, with a couple of folks from our company co-hosting with the mixologist. If you're planning a corporate event and have remote team members, I highly recommend these virtual experiences!

Went on a white water rafting trip with dinner in Leavenworth yesterday and had a great time. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the guides and staff were knowledgeable, helpful and personable and the bus was super comfy. In fact, it may have been the cleanest bus I've ever been on. Got to watch Pitch Perfect, play Bingo and trivia (our group won!), which made the trip seem short. Highly recommend this company!

This company seems to have their stuff together but they very sadly don't. My job hired them to deliver meals for a special event. It was virtual, and we wanted our guests to be able to enjoy something tasty while they were engaged in the event.

It was a 4 course meal with a cocktail included. They were given the anticipated menu items well in advance. These people promised all of the meals (about 21 total) would be delivered between 3-5, but at the very latest, 5pm. Our event started at 6 and the meals needed to be delivered on time because our cocktail demo was at the start of the program.

Unfortunately, the execution of this plan couldn't have gone more wrong.

We were notified that they picked up all of the meals at 10:30AM.

1. 7 of the 21 meals weren't delivered until AFTER 5pm. Personally, my meal didn't come until 7:30! Mind you -- the event ended at 8. It's was 2 1/2 hours late! How do you have someone's meal for 8 while hours and STILL show up late?

2. When we noticed some of the meals weren't arriving (our guests were reaching out to us) we tried to call the company. You would think if they were running late or experienced issues with the deliveries they would notify us at least -- nope. On the first call they answered and explained that some of the meals were leaking and their drivers had to find new bags. It was collard greens. Which they knew would be included in the bags. I used to drive for Uber eats and we were given tools to help prepare for situations like this. I would assume an experienced food delivery service would also prepare for potential risks like food spillage but, nope.

3. As a result, several items in the bags that spilled were thrown away, another detail they never mentioned to us. So half of the meals were delivered with missing courses!

4. As the night got later and later with several meals still undelivered, we called again for another update and this time they stopped answering the phone! Seriously? It was so embarrassing trying to explain to our guests what was happening. And the utter lack of communication for a client who at that point, had already paid IN FULL for the service, was unacceptable.

5. When we did finally get ahold of someone several calls later, they explained only 2 drivers were making our deliveries, which was also causing delays. 2 people? Handling 21 orders in 2 hours and they thought this would be feasible? With traffic and rush hour timing? This was INCREDIBLY poor preparation all around.

6. At this point, we planned to have a conversation with them the next day and emailed to set up a meeting. Sam got back to us and basically said, yeah we can meet but how about we just offer you 75% off any delivery after 6pm? Like seriously? We don't even get a chance to express what the issue was? You knew you screwed up THAT bad that you didn't even want to have an In-person (virtual) conversation? By the time he responded, We hadn't even received an APOLOGY. Was our business just so irrelevant to them, that they didn't care what we had to say or have a genuine interest in preserving our relationship for future business opportunities (which we had several of)? Wow.

We pushed back and were able to get a more reasonable solution, however we still have yet to receive our money back. First they said it would go on our card we paid with, then they said we would get a check instead because something was wrong with their payment processing system.

Overall, this was the most ridiculous experience we have ever had with a delivery service and gave absolutely zero intent of ever working with them again. Their lack of accountability, communication, and preparation was truly despicable. If you're looking for a food delivery company in Seattle, there are several more professional options who will actually do what they commit to doing.

Sound Excursions was the host of a virtual happy hour and cooking class with Chef Matt Lewis. It was arranged for our work team by a vendor and was a fabulous experience! A box was delivered the day before that included what we needed to cook the meal and the interaction and chef instruction was excellent! Our team had a lot of fun together, virtually sharing the cooking experience from our own kitchens via webex.
Highly recommend Sam and Chef Matt. What a fun evening!!

My boyfriend and I never went to Leavenworth before, and we missed all of the holiday tours by a hair because I looked up the information too late. However, I kept seeing "Snowshoeing + Gourmet Lunch in Leavenworth" advertisement on my Facebook. After reading comments about this activity, I decided to book the trip for 2 people.

There're 2 places for you to choose from: Seattle and Bellevue. We picked the Bellevue location. On the day of the tour, we were able to find the check-in location, which is across from the East Gate Park and Ride. The snacks and the water were given out for free. Please don't worry about not having snacks because seriously.... you'd receive more snacks on the bus, too.

The bus showed up for us after the Seattle guests were picked up. Hey, I actually enjoyed the bus because it was spacious and clean. The bus hostess was nice and tried to entertain all of us with trivia on the way to Leavenworth and played the movie "Top Gun" for us on the way back to Bellevue.

When we were in Leavenworth, an outfitter company's crew greeted everyone from the bus and showed us how to put the snowshoe equipment on. After that, we were split into groups of 11 people. We hiked in the snow for a good couple hours before we stopped at this large field, where we could see Sleeping Lady Mountain from below. What was nice is hot chocolate, cookies, ham, cheese, and crackers were offered as part of the tour.

After that, we stopped by the Sleeping Lady Resort for our gourmet lunch buffet! It was simply delicious!!! Well, we hung around the resort until the bus guide notified everyone that we could go to Leavenworth to check out the town. We were given about 2:30 hours (3 pm - 5:30 pm) to check out the entire town. That was plenty of time for us to shop, to eat, and to walk around.

If you need something to do and want to support local tour company, you should sign up with Sound Excursion. They have awesome activities year-round, and the guides will never disappoint you!

What a fun day trip to Leavenworth! This trip leaves from south lake union at 10am, which I thought was a much better time & location than most other tours (8am & not centrally located).

Overall Leavenworth was well worth the trip. Expectations were exceeded! We enjoyed a beautiful snowy drive with several Christmas movies & Trivia on both ways. The bus was surprisingly filled with people who seemed to be 25+ (a perk for us late 20's) but it would still be enjoyable for kids/teens.

We left the SLU around 10am and arrived by 1pm, had time to explore shops and eat two meals, then got on the bus by 6pm and arrive by 8:15pm! It even snowed during our time there which made it extra memorable. Food and drink is super reasonably priced there, compared to Seattle at least.

The host was entertaining and friendly. Only knocked off one star for the in-bus bathroom - it unfortunately wasn't the cleanest as was out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer - yikes! The host did walk around with plenty of snacks, water, and hand sanitizer later.

Aside from that, everything was seamless! Thanks, Sound Excursions!

We had a great time this past Sunday. Very happy we chose Sound Excursions. It was great, just sit back relax on the bus, watch a movie, play trivia, snacks, etc. and suddenly get there. You get a lot of time to do some shopping, eating and watch the tree lighting too! If we go next year, definitely will take the same company.

Tips: Dress really warm (layers, I had 5) and buy yourself some hand warmers, they work great!

Super fun wreath making event at Beaumont Cellars in Woodinville. Didn't think it would be as easy as it was but with great hosts giving terrific instructions and helping along the way, I made a gorgeous live wreath for the holidays.
Space was a little cramped for the number of people signed up, especially during the wine tasting that was offered. Had I been able to get to the bar and chat with the wine steward, I might've purchased a few bottles with the 10% discount offered to attendees.
Still a great time and super happy with my wreath!

All of the Sound Excursion staff were courteous and helpful from check in to drop off.
My friends and I had a blast floating down the river. I will definitely go again.

We took the Leavenworth Christmas Tree Lighting Day Trip this past Saturday with Sound Excursions and it was worth every penny. Our Hostess, Shannon I believe was her name, was so incredibly sweet, fun, engaging and attentive.

Being a CDL holder, I'm usually a tad bit critical of other drivers, but I must say, our driver, Brock, was hands down AMAZING!!!! He handled the bus very very safely and the ride was smooth. We were also impressed with his parking and backing skills. You've got a fantastic crew working for a great company. Can't wait to utilize your services again in the future