[00:00:00] Speaker A: They ran around on the beach, the floaties that were there at the pool, the tubes and the rafts and things. Love that they made friends with some of the other kids on the beach. It really was the perfect day, the perfect experience.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:00:14] Speaker C: A perfect day at Castaway K.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Or Castaway key. It doesn't rhyme.
[00:00:32] Speaker C: Welcome back, everybody, to this week's episode of the DCL duo podcast, brought to you by my path, unwinding travel and Sam, it's review time. Mail call.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Hooray. You know, it's my favorite time of day. It is.
[00:00:44] Speaker C: It is. So this week's review comes from in Progress 42. 42. Something in progress. In Progress 42. There we go.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Maybe there are work in progress at.
[00:00:54] Speaker C: 42 at the 42nd state v. 42.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just past that.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: So delightful podcasts that have everything you want. I have been listening to Brian Sam for months. I normally save their podcasts for whenever I need a pick me up. Great energy and information. Can't wait for the next episode. Well, thank you for that review in Progress 42. Love it, Sam. Anything? Do you want to extend?
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Like I said, I'm almost 44 and I'm still a work in progress, so I love it.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Perhaps less further along than in progress 42, but we shall see.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Hey.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Hey, Sam, we got a guest all the way from Holland, Europe. Yes. Holland.
I'm just floored. Like, Jason reached out. So let me just say, welcome, Jason, to our show. All the way from. Are you in Amsterdam or where are you?
[00:01:40] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:01:41] Speaker C: All the way from Amsterdam.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Yes. Hello. It's great to be here. I love.
[00:01:46] Speaker C: We're excited.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Jason, you're so sweet. Well, Jason, you don't have a Holland or dutch accent. You're an american living in Hollande. You said. You mentioned you have a dutch wife and you have kids who are obviously half Dutch, right?
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Yeah, exactly. So my wife and I got married in the Us, oh, many years ago. I think we're. Oh, it'll be next year, 2025 will be 20 years.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Yeah. And so we met in university, but she is Dutch, raised in the Netherlands, and we moved here 2020 to be closer to her family. And we.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: Oh, wow. What a time to move. Yeah, what a time to move.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. Was a bit rough.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: Yeah. We had friends moved to New Zealand during that period, and it was quite the chore.
So we always love to get folks as Disney background. Jason, I'm curious if, before you headed over to Holland, did you have much background with Disney or visit the parks at all or what's your experience with Disney before you moved?
[00:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So I am a lifelong Disney Parks fan. So I grew up in Oregon since from the age of three, we'd go down to Disneyland every one or so. That was my upbringing very much at Disney Parks or at least a Disneyland household. But I've actually also been to all the Disney resorts around the world except China. So I've been to Tokyo and I've also been to Disneyland Paris quite a few times.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Awesome. So, Jason, now this was a cruise that we're going to talk about today. We're going to do a little trip report episode. But I got to ask you, did you have any cruising background prior to the cruise you took this year?
[00:03:26] Speaker A: No, none.
Never done a cruise my whole life. And that's true for our whole travel party, with the exception of my mother, who did one two night cruise to Catalina like ten years ago. But other than that, no, no cruising history whatsoever.
[00:03:42] Speaker C: So what attracted you to try a cruise for the first time as a family and a multi generational cruise? Because grandma and grandpa, it sounds like, came along. So what attracted you to try a cruise and to try Disney cruise line specifically beyond your love of. Lifelong love of Disney?
[00:03:56] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I mean, I've always known about Disney Cruise line for many years, you know, being in love with the parks, but we, I never really knew anyone growing up that had done a Disney cruise or honestly, any cruising at all. And so it just never really identified with it. You know, I always thought the Disney cruise line looked some, like something interesting that I would want to do one day. Like, it was always kind of a bucket list item. But then what happened with this cruise is in 2021, we had just moved to Amsterdam. I had not found a new job yet, and I was a bit restless and started planning fantasy vacations in my mind. And my YouTube algorithm served me up.
The introduction of the Disney wish.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Oh, yes, the video that they did.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: The video they did, yeah, the design and the artwork. And so I watched that and I was like, well, first of all, I knew that a new Disney cruise ship was not something that happened every day. So I was like, wow, this is so in the Disney sphere. This was like a really big announcement. I was like, well, I'm paying attention. And then I just thought it was beautiful. I really liked how just clean and modern and fresh it looked compared to the other ships. So I was kind of immediately attracted to the Disney wish. And then I started thinking, hmm, this is actually something that is maybe time to do, you know? Also, this is 21. It was during COVID So it was a bit tired of the pandemic. So the idea of just taking a Disney cruise period became really exciting, an exciting idea. And that's about the time that I found your show, actually. And I just kind of started falling into a rabbit hole between podcasts, YouTube videos of, like, what is a Disney cruise? Where do they go? What are the ships? How does it work? Because then I also started. So also part of our trip was a week at Disney World.
[00:05:49] Speaker C: I was going to ask, because that's a long way to come. Yeah, yeah.
[00:05:52] Speaker A: It is a big trip from Amsterdam to the Caribbean. Right? So we had already had a Disney world trip planned for the spring of 22, but then when the Disney wish came onto the Internet and I saw this and I started thinking about it, I was like, huh, well, if we're going to be in the neighborhood, maybe we should try this. Try this cruise thing.
[00:06:15] Speaker B: Did you adjust your dates then, because you. Obviously you were supposed to come early, or did you just go to the parks that trip and then come back for another trip?
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Right. So what happened is we had the trip planned in 22 to Disney World, but my 40th birthday was creeping around the corner in 2023. And the more I started looking into cruising, I thought, actually, I think this is a great thing that I want to do for my 40th birthday. But I didn't want to fly all the way from Amsterdam to Orlando twice in, like, ten months, especially for a family of four. So I decided, okay, let's combine the trip. So we pushed the trip to become a Disney world and Disney cruise trip into the spring of 23. Yeah. So then it became a combined trip. So the cruise was for my 40th birthday, and then the Disney world trip was actually would be for my mother's 70th birthday. So that was a. The nice thing to bring it all together. But then what happened in 2022 is we bought a house and remodeled it. All the cruise money kind of disappeared.
[00:07:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: Into the house. So then he did. We kicked. We kicked the can down the road. Just one more year to 2024.
[00:07:19] Speaker B: And so your 41st birthday and mom's 71st birthday. Right. It does, you know, no big deal. Listen, I celebrated my 40th birthday at 42 because mine was in the middle of the pandemic, so. Exactly.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: Things happened.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: So I'm curious. So, you know, you said your YouTube algorithm was serving you up stuff about the wish you managed to overcome all of the people out there screaming and shouting, this is the worst ship Disney's ever built. So you found the niche of people who actually appreciate the ship, or were you a bit apprehensive heading into your first sailing aboard Disney cruise line?
[00:07:54] Speaker A: I thought the design was beautiful, to be honest. The other ships, you know, all the previous ships, they have a very classic look and a classic aesthetic, and that just didn't, never spoke to me personally. The aesthetic, it never attracted me. But then when I just looked at how fresh and white and clean every, all of the design things on the wish are, I was like, huh? I actually, like, can't wait to walk into that space and be there.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Well, and you had mentioned, you know, this is not, this is not a thing that happens every day in the Disney portfolio. And it's funny to hear you say that, because right now, we're, like, awaiting the treasure, and now and then the destiny and the adventure. Right? So we're gonna have, in, like, a year's time, we're gonna have three new ships, but the time between the fantasy and the wish was ten years.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: It wasn't for, you know, until recent history. Right. Now, now that we're having these, you know, three ships all come out in short succession. That wasn't the case. It was not, you know, it was, like I said, ten years between the fantasy and the wish. So, yeah, I totally get that was sort of big news. But it's funny you mentioned the aesthetic, because I'm looking, you know, people can't see you because we're doing video right now, but we're just recording audio. But I see the room that you're sitting in is all white, and you're wearing a white shirt, and I'm like, I could see how this design aesthetic of the, of the wish, it is. It's a very, like, clean, bright space, and. And some of the design elements on the other ships are more like warmer tones and jewel tones, and, like, the treasure will be very, very heavily dual toned. But a lot of the, you know, on the, the previous ships, it's like navy blues and reds and, you know, so it's very. Yeah, it's a different design aesthetic. So I think that's interesting that that's the thing, one of the things that spoke to you. But we think the wish is obviously a beautiful ship. So tell us, like, why, you know, what. Was there anything in particular that drew you to. You took a four night itinerary. Was there anything in particular that drew you to. I mean, the itinerary on the wish is kind of, we like to say it's kind of the most boring itinerary right. It's just castaway and Nassau, but you do get a sea day. Was there anything like, did you consider doing any other ship or any other itinerary, or was it really because you wanted to get on the wish that you were like, I don't really care what the itinerary is, I'm just going to get on the wish?
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Well, I should probably mention that this whole cruise scheme for my 40th birthday required quite the sell in to my wife.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Oh, interesting. Well, so is she. That's a really interesting point. So I would say, like, Disney is very much an american brand. Right. And, like, it is very much like a cultural phenomenon here, that it does not necessarily translate over to Europe. It translates more to the UK than anyplace else, but not necessarily over to mainland Europe. Yeah. Tell us what, what your wife thought of this scheme of. Well, what did she think of going to Disney World, like, before you went? And then what did she think about this scheme of going on a Disney cruise? I mean, cruising is big in Europe, but not Disney cruising.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Yeah. So. So my wife has never taken a cruise. She never. She did not grow up with Disney. You know, in the Netherlands, they did not go to Disney Parks. Not even Disneyland Paris when she was growing up.
[00:11:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: She does not come from a Disney household. But when we. When we got together in college, she figured out pretty quickly that Disney was a big deal to me.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: Yeah. She was going to have to get on board.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Yeah, a little. She didn't really have a choice, actually. It was a funny story. The first time I came to visit her in the Netherlands, when we were still. We were dating long distance in university, so I came over here to stay with her. We took a weekend trip to Paris. We did nice things in the city and then we had, like, one day to do and it's kind of a. An excursion. Right. And the choices were between where she wanted to go. Versailles.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: Versailles. I knew she was going to say Versailles. Everybody goes to Versailles. That's the excursion out of Paris. But no, your excursion would be Disneyland Paris.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Exactly. I had to say, like, I'm sorry, when Disneyland Paris opened on tv when I was a nine year old boy and it was kind of in my dream for a really long time to go. This has been the joke of our relationship and our marriage for, like, 20 years that I've actually been to Paris many times now. I've been to Disneyland Paris many times now. And I did not make it to Versailles until last month.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: That's hilarious. I love that.
I want to let you know I've been to Versailles and I've been to Disneyland Paris for about the same number of hours.
[00:12:21] Speaker C: Well, so. So what's funny is when I was in high school, we had a trip over to Amsterdam, actually.
We went to the Hague, actually. And then we spent some time in Amsterdam, and then we all went down to Paris for a few days. And I had some friends who, like, they bought tickets and convinced a chaperone to let them fly down to, or take the train down to Disneyland Paris just for the afternoon one day. And I was like, why would you, why would you do that? We're only in Paris for two days. When are we going to be back? Like, you're spending half of your day at Disneyland. So here I am, you know, whatever it is, 30 years later.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: On the other hand, I spent the summer traveling around Europe between college and law school. And I was so sick of museums and churches after spending, like, seven weeks, like, touring around Europe, which, they're amazing. So don't get me wrong. It's just what you're doing it, like, you know, every other day you're at a church or a museum for, like, seven weeks. You're like, I could really use, like, a Mickey pretzel or churro or like a hamburger. And so, yeah, so I took a train. My mom and I were spending some time in Paris, and she went to the Rodin garden and I went the sculpture garden, and I took the train to Disneyland Paris. Paris. Exactly. So I'm with you, Jason. Like, it's, especially as a Disney fan. It's like, it's a good, it's a good break from.
[00:13:37] Speaker C: Yeah. So I'm curious. So, Jason, you managed to overcome the apprehension of your wife and get her on board with this trip, at least got her on the airplane. We'll go that far.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Well, I had, I had to play a big card. I had to play the 40 year old birthday card.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: That's what it was.
I had strategy. I had strategy because she's, she's not a, she's not an organic Disney person, and she, she had zero interest in going on a cruise. I already knew this.
[00:14:03] Speaker C: I'm going to save the question for the end because I want to know how this all panned out. But the other thing I wanted to understand was the, you've got how many kids is it? Two kids. Two children. Yeah. And what are their ages?
[00:14:14] Speaker A: My son Casper is ten, and my daughter Willa is almost eight.
[00:14:17] Speaker C: Oh, those are great ages to take on a Disney cruise. Those are perfect. They're ocean years club ages. Yeah.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: This also went into my sales pitch to my wife. The kids ages. Yes, absolutely.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Well, your oldest will age out of the kids club here pretty soon under the new rules. So it's a great time to go so they can experience it and you can get some quality adult time together. All right. You book the cruise.
Is it difficult to book a Disney cruise overseas?
[00:14:44] Speaker A: So I used an american travel agent and that just made easier. So being my first cruise and ever, and the stakes being really high because basically it was designed it to be a one and done. So I wanted to make sure that I had inside access or somebody with experience that was getting me everything, would tell me what I didn't know, basically.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah. That's a very smart. You know, while we always say, like, planning a Disney cruise is certainly easier than planning a Disney Parks trip, it doesn't have sort of the layers of complication that a Disney Parks trip has, especially now with there's like, new rules on Lightning Lane, and I can't even tell you I haven't gone down that rabbit hole yet, but.
[00:15:23] Speaker C: Well, also with the time zone. With the time zone difference. Yeah. I mean, the call center for Disney cruise lines in the US, so. Yeah, that's. That doesn't make it easy.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and, you know, there was a lot riding on this, as you mentioned, is you planned as a one and done, but I'm sure you were hopeful that everyone would love it so much that it would not be a one and done. So that's a big stakes there, for sure.
[00:15:45] Speaker C: Well, and where did Grandma and Grandpa sit on the spectrum of taking a Disney cruise?
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Or. Actually, it was just grandma. Right.
[00:15:51] Speaker A: So it's just grandma. Yeah, my. Yeah, my mother's husband, he passed away in 2018, so he wasn't able to join us. Yeah. But my sister came, so.
[00:15:59] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:16:00] Speaker A: Yeah, so was my. Yeah, my mother and my sister from Portland joined us.
[00:16:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:05] Speaker C: Were they. Were they excited to be going on a Disney cruise or were they a bit like, this is crazy, what are we doing?
[00:16:12] Speaker A: You know, the dynamic with the Disney travel and my family and our household is they just come along. I'm the big planner. I make the big plan. I put the vision on the map and I say, well, I want to do this. Here's what it's going to cost. And I give them lots of notice. Two years out. Then I say, you're in or you're out. And they're always in. They always want to be included. As long as I'm planning it, they're in.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Oh, awesome. Well, and it's opportunity to see you all and not have to travel all the way over to see you. Right. It's actually like a halfway point, if you think about it, between. Yeah, because they're flying, you know, five and a half, 6 hours to Florida from Portland. You're flying about the same from the Netherlands. And so you're meeting in Florida. That's, you know, easier than either of you going to each other's homes.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Yeah. It's a nice way to get to see each other more often. Absolutely.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: Yeah. All right, well, let's talk about some of the logistics. Obviously, you're flying international.
Did you spend time in Orlando? Obviously you would have to come in before the cruise. But did you spend significant time in Orlando before, or did you plan your sort of parks time after, or did you kind of do it split?
[00:17:19] Speaker A: So we came, we flew into Orlando two days before the ship departed. So that was on a Saturday. We just booked two rooms at pop century, which are where I'd never stayed before. And the idea was just to have a full day, to just kind of hang around Disney World resort. We went to, we took the skyliner, we went to the Riviera, we went to Disney Springs and just kind of had a relaxing, calm, lazy day, some pool time. And then Monday morning we went to the ship, went to the wish.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: Awesome. Now, did you guys take Disney transportation down there as a larger party or did you rent a car? How did you get down to Port Canaveral?
[00:17:55] Speaker A: So we did Disney transportation. It was just easier for me to just tell that my travel agent, just get us on Disney transportation. I looked briefly at the costs of renting cars and transport, and especially since we were coming back to the resort after the cruise for a week at Disney World. Disney transportation was actually a bit more financially smart and sound, and it was, it just easier to have it just taken care of and just do it all through Disney.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: I think if you're coming from a Disney resort, and especially if you haven't been before, it's, it is really just a seamless way to get there. You know, as long as you're, you know, sometimes they'll be the earliest ones, sometimes they won't be the earliest ones. As long as you're flexible about sort of arrival times and you're not real, like, oh, I want to be the first at the port, or I want to, or I want to spend the day at Disney World and then get to the port at the very end. Right. If you're not particular about that. I think Disney transportation is really a great option to and from the resort.
[00:18:52] Speaker A: I was a bit anxious about it, actually.
[00:18:54] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Because ahead of the cruise, I tried checking a couple times because I wanted to know what time that transfer was.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it's annoying to know you until like night before.
[00:19:07] Speaker C: They don't tell you the night before. Yeah. Like before you letter, maybe?
[00:19:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And something went wrong there too. I never got my, I never got my letter or my email. So I went to the lobby in the afternoon. So I contacted my travel agent. She said, go talk to the concierge in the lobby at the hotel. They'll have information. I went to the lobby, I said, hi, I'm supposed to be on this transport, but I have no confirmation, no information. I know nothing. They said, we don't know either. But by 08:00 p.m. if you haven't received the email by 08:00 p.m. that's when they give us all the information. So it was a bit, it was a bit stressful. But my mom got her email and confirmation.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Oh, interesting. Okay.
[00:19:48] Speaker A: So. Which I figured out later. So she had all the information for her reservation in her room. So I use that to go on. I'm still waiting for the email and confirmation from Disney for my transfer to the Disney. Wish it never came.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: That's hilarious. Well, and in the lobby in the morning that you're leaving, there will be Disney transfer. Disney cruise line folks there.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: The problem is, is you don't know what time they're going to actually want you to leave. So it's like if you don't know the night before, you don't know what time to go down there and talk to them and get your luggage ready.
[00:20:21] Speaker C: Well, and I think they've, they've, they've started collecting luggage directly from the room. So they come around and they knock on the door and get luggage. So like, yeah, if you don't know what time, you might get a very interesting wake up call.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:31] Speaker A: So they did. They came and picked up our luggage at seven. And then I think the letter that my mom had did say to be in the lobby by 930 or nine maybe. So I think, I think we did have that much detail. But I was, I was anxious all the way up until that point of reading the confirmation they sent my mother. I was pretty anxious because we were sailing concierge and I wanted to get on that ship.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Yeah. You want to get there for concierge lunch? You want to, yeah. You want to start your cruise. Right.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: So this is a good segue. I wanted to ask, like, how did you handle the sort of rooming situation? And, like, what pushed you to concierge on this. On this particular cruise? That's, you know, some people start off in concierge, but a lot of people kind of graduate there after they've sailed regular staterooms before, and they decide they want just maybe a little more luxury or whatnot. But what pushed you into concierge, and what was your stateroom situation like with everyone kind of traveling together?
[00:21:21] Speaker A: So the stateroom, we had two state rooms, so my wife and I and our two kids in one, and then my mother and my sister in the other one, and we got connecting rooms. So why concierge? This kind of goes back to my.
[00:21:33] Speaker C: Sales pitch, to my wife, that 40th birthday trump card. Bam. Yeah, I like it.
[00:21:38] Speaker A: Basically, there is that. But also, when I talk to her, she has a lot of perceptions about cruises and experiences like this. Right? Crowded, waiting in lines, having to fight over chairs, things like that. So as I was doing my research, I read about all the amazing benefits of sailing concierge, that kind of foregoes all of that business. So it kind of became the only way she was on board is if we didn't have to deal with the downsides of a cruise experience.
[00:22:12] Speaker C: We have two very dear friends from law school that we love to see and we love to cruise with. But, Chris, Emily, if you're out there. Hello. Chris may be listening. I doubt Emily is, but Emily does not love crowds and does not love cruising because of the crowds. And so I always tell Chris, I'm like, that's what concierge is for. That's what these cruise within a cruise experiences are for. You have your area. It's usually relaxed, lots of space, not a lot of people. And then if you want to venture into the crowded area to do something, you can, but you can always retreat. You can always retreat back into that safe haven space. So, yeah, definitely placed, in my sense, as an introvert. I remember one day, I forget what cruise it was on, but we were walking around, or I was walking around trying to find a spot by the pool on the wish. Couldn't find anything. Couldn't find anything. All the chairs are taken. And I got up to the front of the ship, and I just peered down the balcony down to the concierge pool area down below, and I was like, there is no one down there. And so, like, I just went down the floor, walked in, was like, this is glorious. So, yeah.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: Yes, that is. That is great foreshadowing for our crews. That is exactly right.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Yes. Okay, well, let's. Let's dive in. Okay. You. You're on the. You're finally on the bus. After not getting any information about when you're supposed to, you know, meet the bus and meet the folks from Disney cruise line for transfer. You see the beautiful Disney wish as you're coming over one of those lovely causeways to port Canaveral. What. What was the feeling like? What did the kids think? Like, did you actually spot the ship on that bus ride? Because, you know, if you're looking, you'll spot it. If you're not looking, obviously, you don't spot it until you sort of enter the terminal.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: We were ecstatic. So, actually, on the bus transfer, I wasn't sitting with the kids. Um, we were one of the last ones thrown on the bus. So my wife and I had a seat further back, and then grandma and the kids were further in the front. But when we got off, they were full of excitement. They spotted the ship. We took photos. Yeah. I mean, they were really, really bouncing up and down.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: Love that. Love that. All right, well, you go through the whole sort of security process, and you get into, you know, check in through concierge and get into that concierge lounge. You get to board the ship, obviously, first, after the family of the day and the back to back cruisers have already gone on. You don't even see the back to back cruisers, usually a port canaveral. But tell us, like, how was the. You know, was there any. Any difficulties in sort of any of the check in process or security process? You know, your wife is obviously not traveling on an american passport. She's traveling on probably a dutch passport.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: She is american.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Oh, okay. She's got.
So, yeah, so then it's actually probably easier, because I think traveling on the american passport is generally easier for cruising, but, yeah. Any issues or any sort of snags in that check in or boarding process?
[00:24:52] Speaker A: Not really. I think it was just overwhelming going through it the first time, because you drive up the ship is there, you're there, but then there's kind of all of this procedure and process that has to happen before you get to go to the ship. I had read about it, I think, and I'd heard about it, but honestly, nobody focuses so much about security and check in before getting on the cruise. It was a little stressful. We walked in, the line was so big and so long, and I was just kind of like, well, I know we're sailing concierge and I pretty sure we're supposed to have a separate walk in. The signs weren't clearly marked. It was. It was very overstimulating and confusing, but they got us to the right place, and that was fine. And, yeah, security was totally fine. Uh, we were a little nervous because we had quite a few bottles of wine in our luggage, you know, but no problem. Everything was. Was great. Um, I would say it was just pretty overwhelming. One thing, after we got to the concierge lounge, they told us to pull out our confirmations on our phones. And this. This was something that was almost a problem. But I had mine for my cabin of four, but my 70 year old mother couldn't find hers. And they're on her phone, and she didn't have it printed out, and I couldn't fix it for her. And so if there's one thing I'd love to tell Disney, is, like, if a family's traveling together, can you just let, like, one person for both rooms control everything? Because it was actually a bit stressful, so.
[00:26:16] Speaker C: It is, yeah. And it's also a tip that I would give people, because a lot of people. So we're all used to relying on our phones. Apple pay whatever kind of wallet you have in your device and getting tickets and all that through the phones. WiFi coverage at port facilities is not the greatest. And our cell coverage at port facilities is not the greatest in the world. And the Wifi coverage sometimes is at the mercy of the ship, which they may not have completely unlocked to just all Internet access. I always. Even to this day, I like to rely on my phone, but I print out that boarding pass number, and I have it folded up someplace with my passport, just in case. Now, most of the time, it's in my wallet, and it works just fine. But in that you know that. That sometimes you do a back to back cruise, and I forget to put the additional boarding passes in my wallet for the second one, I got that print out. So my pro tip, even today, I still have a printer sitting next to me here at my desk. I do still occasionally print some things out. Very few things, but I do still occasionally print some things out. This is one of those things that I always. When I. After I check in and I get it, I print it out, I fold it up, and I put it with all the other documents I'm taking with us. So, yes, that is a tip I love to give people. Yeah. Now, did you use magic bands or Disney. I'm sorry, Disney band pluses at all.
[00:27:24] Speaker A: For this cruise, because we knew we were also going to be at Disney World after the cruise. We bought new magic band pluses ahead of time.
[00:27:34] Speaker C: Did those work okay for you? Get coded and work fine for you?
[00:27:37] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, they worked super well. We had them. We had them before the cruise. So my sister and I quickly set them up, got the Bluetooth turned on. You know, I mean, they were a little overly complicated, but everything worked the way it should, so it was totally fine. And for us, it was really essential.
[00:27:54] Speaker B: I find it. I always, you know, people still ask about, like, do I need a Disney band plus or magic band plus, whatever you want to call it. That's the same thing. And I always answer, like, you don't need one. But I find them. I find it super convenient. Cause then I don't have to remember to bring the card. I just put the thing on my wrist in the morning. Like, I put my watch on in the morning, and then I've got it with me the entire day. And now that they seem to be letting you use them to get on and off the ship, which wasn't the case previously, I have. I will still take the card with me getting on and off the ship as a backup. But I find it, you know, really seamless, especially if I'm carrying, like, two coffees, right, from either cove cafe or from the concierge lounge. I'm bringing coffee back. Yeah. So, yeah, so I personally really.
I give two thumbs up for magic bands. I actually don't feel like I need them in the parks as much as I need them on the cruise.
[00:28:49] Speaker C: This is where Sam and I are diametrically opposed. I give it two thumbs down. So my plea for your situation. Well, my plea for your situation, Jason, would be, you can use the magic band to tap onto the ship. So why do I need to have the boarding pass? And I just. We just experienced this in Miami where, like, one person scanned our magic band, and then as soon as you got on the ship, they're like, where are your boarding passes? I'm like, you know, holding up my magic man. Like, no, no, I need the paper boarding passes. I'm like, why?
I'm coded. Like, just have to. So that annoys me. The other thing that frustrates me is I think I would use it a lot more if I didn't have to take it off every time I needed to pay for something. So, like, every time you want to pay for something, you got to take it off your wrist and hand it to the server at the bars.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Both the bars and the restaurants to take it off. They take it off so they can take it and scan it as opposed to what Jason's probably familiar with living in Amsterdam. Just bring the little terminal over to the table, tap my band and let's all be done.
I hate putting it on and off. And frankly, what I really appreciate is the solution that Disney has for the annual pass holders at Disney World, where it is basically a pass in my wallet, on my phone. I don't have to wake up the watch. You don't have to open the pass. I just tap my.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. On his apple Watch to the turnstile.
[00:29:58] Speaker C: And it reads my pass and I go, right. I don't understand why Disney can't just give us an apple walleth but pass for these situations.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that would be great. But I disagree with Brian. I think the magic band plus is the great solution for the crews. And I never, and I don't have to take, you don't have to take it off at the shops. You only have to take it off at the bars if you're paying your bill.
[00:30:24] Speaker C: Except to end up with two tan lines. I end up with two tan lines when I only started with one.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: I actually, I'm looking right now and I actually don't have a tan.
[00:30:32] Speaker C: Where are my cast? Where are my castaway club, magic bands? Where's my concierge?
[00:30:36] Speaker B: Magic fans? Listen, I agree with you there. I agree with you. Well, let's move on from magic fans.
We got to talk, Brian.
[00:30:44] Speaker C: We're going to talk about something else.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: We haven't even gotten on the ship, so let's, let's. Okay, so, Jason, you, you have, you have watched YouTube, you have listened to our show. You know what's coming when you enter onto the beautiful Disney wish. Did your family know? Like, did you prepare them for the, the grand hall? I mean, which is obviously the most beautiful atrium, in my opinion, on any of the existing ships and for the announcement of your family name.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: So I didn't show the kids or anyone anything before we went on.
[00:31:19] Speaker B: Oh, I love that.
[00:31:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And I didn't tell them anything about the name announcements. I really wanted everybody to have a very fresh experience. I think the kids had seen, they had seen some promotional videos of the wish, so they probably had an idea of the grand hall. Probably.
[00:31:35] Speaker B: But yeah, that walking in, what was it in reality? Yeah. So you have an idea of what it's going to be like. They don't have much of an idea of what it's going to be like. Are you a. Oh, my God. This was the greatest moment. Or are you a Josh Wilson, DCL villain, who's like, this is want. Want.
He doesn't hate it. He just doesn't think it's a big deal.
[00:31:54] Speaker C: Well, it is. It is kind of. On the wish.
[00:31:56] Speaker B: On the wish. There's not the clapping that they do on the other ships. Yeah.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Okay. I'm glad you said that, because I was expecting it, and it did not happen.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. No, I'm sorry. So sorry if that's not clear from our other shows. On the. On the four original ships are cast members standing around and they clap for you as you get announced on. On the wish. There's kind of, like, such a big space and so. And stuff going on that there isn't. There aren't cast members there clapping for you as you enter?
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:32:21] Speaker B: Just the announcement. Yeah.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: Yeah. So for me, because I was the only one that was expecting it.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:32:26] Speaker A: So I was a little underwhelmed by the welcome because they said our names, but nobody cared.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: Nobody clapped.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: And then they were handing out plastic wands to everyone, which is great, except they kind of missed us. So we had to, like, kind of go follow a cast member across the hall and find one and. And hold our hands out and ask for the wands for the kids. It was. It was. It was a little chaotic, but I will say the grand hall, stunning perfection. It was. It was everything, I think, everything I expected, and I think our whole party was really in awe of that space.
[00:33:02] Speaker B: Morgan. Oh, I love that. Good. I will say I've seen. We've had the same experience with the wands. Like, we've had inconsistencies. Like, there's been some sale because we've been on the wish several times. There's sometimes where they're like, there's somebody, like, right there handing out wants everyone. And then there's other times where they're kind of cast members kind of scattered around, and they're not. And you have to go up to them. And so it's. I would agree it's not really consistent. But for anyone who's going on the wish, know that there are wands, and you can go up to a cast member and get one, and it's. And you stay. Stick around in the grand hall because there these performers that come out and you get to, like, use your wand, and then if you go to the first show of the cruise, maybe bring your wand with you. So that's why I try to tell people there is, like, you don't need the wand, but it's kind of adds a nice little magical touch, so. All right, so you guys are concierge. You head, I assume, to the concierge, sit down lunch. Am I right?
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: We went into, it was in 1923, I think, on the Roy Disney side. Right. And, yeah, yeah, we were taken straight through. Um, we. We did have quite a few carry on bags, you know, and then the people strollers. See, it was a little funny. You kind of just pile all your stuff in the front of the restaurant and a big heap. I would say it didn't feel very special, that. That part, but.
But then they. They sat us at the table and we immediately sat down for lunch.
[00:34:24] Speaker B: Awesome. Awesome. Well, let's talk about, um, what kinds of stuff you guys got up to on the ship and what you did at the. At the ports. Obviously, you had we mentioned Nassau and Castle, away would have been your two ports. Did you book any excursions or onboard experiences ahead of time? You had the benefit of the concierge booking window, meaning you could email the concierge shoreside folks and say, I want to book x, Y and z, and they do it all for you. And then that's at 130 days before your vacation, and then at 123 days, everything just kind of shows up in your app. Yeah. So, yeah. Did you book anything and if so, what were you sort of looking to book and what did you get?
[00:35:02] Speaker A: We did. We did. So after listening to your show for a couple of years, I had kind of put together a wish list of things, so. And not everyone in our party wanted to do everything, so I had booked a mixology tasting, my mom and sister, a rum tasting. We booked Apollo brunch.
[00:35:19] Speaker B: Did you try for a cabana on castaway?
[00:35:21] Speaker A: We got a cabana.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: Nice. Good.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: Yeah, but we almost didn't.
[00:35:25] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that's the thing with. That's the thing with concierge. On the wish. Right. And even. Even on the other ships, it just kind of depends on what the demand is. But if you're not sailing in concierge, there is very little chance, if almost no chance, of getting a cabana, especially on the wish. But on the wish, I would say it's. There's not like a. It's not like a nine. I would say on most of the other ships, it's like 90% of the time, you're going to get a cabana if you want one, because not everyone in concierge is going to want one. But, yeah, on the wish, it's kind of a hit or miss. But they will often, if somebody drops one last minute, you have told the concierge host you want one, they. They will try and get one for you.
[00:36:05] Speaker A: We were wait listed for cabana for a long. A long time, and I was honestly, it was kind of devastating to be waitlisted. It was just the one thing that. That was standing between, like, me and my perfect birthday. First time ever, once in a lifetime concierge cruise was the cabana. So then I think it was about a week or maybe two weeks before we left. I got the email confirmation that we got a cabana.
[00:36:30] Speaker B: Yeah. So. So let's, um. Okay, so you book some, uh, some drink tastings, you book Paula brunch, you book a cabana. All awesome things. Did you book anything at Nassau?
[00:36:40] Speaker A: No, we did not go to Nassau.
[00:36:42] Speaker B: Okay, fair. So you took our advice.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: We took your advice. I mean, for me, it was so originally, I wanted a longer cruise, but the wish is only four and three nights. So we had already decided it has to be the wish and nothing else. It has to be concierge and nothing else. But then when I looked at the price of doing, like, a back to back, it was just. It was just too much. It was. It was a lot. Especially on top of doing a week at Disney World after.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Well, I honestly think that's a great. A great way to do it. You know, you get. So then you're basically giving yourself two sea days, and the day at Nassau, a lot of people will still get off the ship. Now, it's, of course, less people than at many other ports, but enough people will get off the ship that other things will be sort of more, you know, empty or more or less populated and so less crowded. And for your wife, who doesn't want to be in crowds, probably a better situation. Even though there are less activities, you know, planned activities going on on the ship on NASA Day, there's still plenty. Plenty to do. Actually, I want to talk about castaway first, and then we'll kind of talk about stuff, because I.
Yeah, let's talk about castaway. So I take it you docked at Castaway?
[00:37:50] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:37:51] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Yeah. No problems there. Yep.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:53] Speaker C: Awesome.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: Which is great. You never know. That's always like. It's always like the, you know, crossing.
[00:37:59] Speaker C: Your fingers for once in a lifetime. You do not want to miss castaways.
[00:38:02] Speaker B: No, exactly. Exactly. For your 40th birthday and your cabana and all of that, and you're like, all of this planning, and it all rests and it all hinges in part on getting to go to castaway?
[00:38:12] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, to be honest, the whole point of doing a caribbean cruise and on a Disney cruise in Europe was I wanted to go to castaway. Yeah, of course I wanted to go to castaway. It was. It was. Is the most important part of the itinerary.
[00:38:26] Speaker B: Okay. So what did you guys do at castaway, if anything? Beyond hanging out in your beautiful cabana and eating at cookies, too?
[00:38:34] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, so we had the cabana. So we had one excursion booked. My son, myself and my sister did parasailing. Oh, wonderful.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: And it happened.
[00:38:45] Speaker A: It did happen. Yeah, it did happen. It was kind of, you know, for me, kind of a bucket list. I'd never done it. It didn't really don't have a lot of opportunities to do it in Amsterdam, so I thought it was great. Except the boat ride out was not so great for me.
[00:39:01] Speaker B: Oh, was it pretty rough? Yeah.
[00:39:02] Speaker A: Yeah, that was pretty rough. But when you're in the parasail, up in the parasailing, glorious. But I will say that it ate up a lot of time. So I think our parasailing was at ten in the morning. So, yeah, we got off the ship. Ship. And we got. So it was kind of complicated, the logistics. Right. Because only three of us were doing the parasailing, and then we had to get everybody else to the cabana and none of us had done this before, so.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: And the cabana is at the furthest part of the.
Well, not the furthest part of the family beach. Not the fur. The furthest part of the island would be Serenity Bay, but this is the furthest part of the family beach, whereas the meeting spot and the dock for the parasailing is actually at the closest part to the ship. Right. So, like, it's. While it's not a huge, huge distance, there is a distance between those two and either, you know, either a ten minute walk or a five minute tram ride or, you know, whatnot. So. Yeah, right, it is.
[00:39:59] Speaker A: Right. So we. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it's. It's different. So we really wanted to get to the. To the cabana, but we had to do the parasailing first. So we sent my wife, my daughter and my mother to the cabana. Oh, I forgot. We also did snorkeling rentals.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Okay, so you did a lot.
[00:40:14] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a lot. So the first thing we did is we had to go get our snorkel equipment altogether. Right. To be taken to the cabana. So we all rode to. I think it's the second family beach, we got the snorkel equipment for all of us. Then we put my mother, my wife, and my daughter on the tram with all the snorkel equipment to the cabana. And then my sister, my son and I went back to the ship to go to the parasailing. So there's a lot of logistics. Not complicated, but a little stressful because we wanted to, we were actually running a little late that morning. We were not fast movers getting off the ship.
[00:40:46] Speaker B: Gotcha. Yeah. If you get off right away, there's a little bit more cushion, but it still is a bit to get over to the cabanas. And then if you have a 10:00 a.m. parasailing, I'm going to make a recommendation for anyone who does get a cabana and wants to parasail. Do your best to get the 09:00 a.m. parasailing slot, because then you just get right off the ship, go do your parasailing, and then head to the cabana after and get your snorkel. You know, if you want to get snorkel gear and all that, you do that after. I think it's, we ended up on our last cruise that we just did when we went to castaway on the five night. We ended up with the 10:00 parasailing spot, too, and that, I prefer the 09:00 a.m. slot. Of course, now I'm saying this, I'm giving everybody my pro tip, and now I'm never going to be able to get the 09:00 a.m. slot.
[00:41:28] Speaker C: But I think the secret's out there, Sam.
[00:41:31] Speaker B: I don't think it's that, but it's really, it's really only an issue if you're doing a cabana, because if you're not doing a cabana, then you can just hang out at family beach one, and it's not that far. And the walking back and forth is not going to be a big deal. It's really, if you're planning on spending time at the end of family beach two where you're sort of at the furthest point, or at Serenity Bay, frankly, if you're spending time at Serenity Bay, it is also the furthest point. So, yeah. So, yeah, you packed in a lot. Now, did you do your, your snorkeling at the snorkeling lagoon or did you just go snorkeling over by the cabanas?
[00:42:00] Speaker A: So the snorkeling we ended up doing at towards the end of our day at Castaway Quay in the lagoon. I really wanted to go see the lagoon and see the, the chunk and artifact. Very treacherous. Yeah, I was really interested in that. We didn't really prioritize it, but we ended up getting, fitting it in at the end of the day.
[00:42:17] Speaker B: Yeah. That's a smart way to do it, too, because again, it's, it's on the way back to the ship rather than being as.
[00:42:23] Speaker A: Exactly. But here, here's a hot tip. So when you're getting off the ship in the morning, they're handing out towels. But we had a cabana, so we didn't take any towels because we had towels in the cabana. Later, when we went snorkeling, we got out and we were cold and we had no towels.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to bring the towels with you to snorkel. Yeah.
[00:42:41] Speaker A: And so I actually, I actually went around because, and I asked cast members, like, where can I find a towel? Where can I find a towel? And they must have been training that day, because the first few people I asked had no idea what to say to me. They weren't sure.
[00:42:53] Speaker C: You have to go all the way back to the ship sometimes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The cabana, you have them, but otherwise you have to go all the way back to the ship. Yeah, yeah.
[00:43:00] Speaker A: So if you are going to leave the cabana and go do something else, and you think you might need a towel after whatever that is, bring it from the cabana, I guess.
[00:43:08] Speaker B: Yes, yes. Bring it from the cabana. That's what I would say. And, and it doesn't matter where you leave the towels. Like, they will end up. They will end up gathering them and getting them back to where they're supposed to go. And you won't. It's not, like, unroyal where you get charged for towels. You will be.
It's. Yeah, it's, uh. But yeah, that's a, that is a very important tip there. The towels at castaway are right after you get the off the ship. They have these, like, racks of towels that you can take with you to the beach. They do not have towels out on the beach, and they're not towels. There are towel returns to put your, like, wet, dirty towels, but there are not, like, towel exchanges to get fresh towels. With the one exception of at the cabanas, if you run out of, like, clean towels, you can radio them and they will bring you, you know, extra towels.
[00:43:51] Speaker A: Exactly. Exactly. So we kind of fell into this crack of our towels were included, but if we wanted, if we weren't at the cabana, we had zero towels.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, and for parasailing, you don't really need towels. Right. But for snorkeling, obviously, you do need towels. Okay. So I take it you were happy with, other than, obviously, the towel situation, not realizing to bring towels with you. I take you had a lovely day at Castaway with great weather.
[00:44:20] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I have to say, the weather was. Was great. It was quite hot. I think it was easily, easily 90, you know, so it was pretty warm. But the cabana really made. It, made all the difference for us. I was so glad we had it. It was just really relaxed. It was very quiet. The kids went down and played in the, like, the family cabana surf there, right there was super, super safe, super calm. They were down there for the longest time. That was just wonderful. And some of the best photos I have from the vacation were from the cabana. So I. I mean, honestly, want a cabana every time now.
[00:44:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. That's the problem.
[00:44:57] Speaker C: That's the danger.
[00:44:58] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. This is the. And it's the danger with concierge, because then every time you sail, you want to sail concierge because that is really the only way. And it doesn't even guarantee a cabana, but it makes it the most likely, you know, the most likely that you will be able to get one. I take it the kids were able to, like, play with the sand toys that, you know, I think people might not. I don't know if people know this, but if you do get a cabana, there are sand toys for the kids in your cabana that they can play with for the day. You can even take them with you if you want. And it's nice because then you don't have to travel with sand toys, you know, when. Especially if you're traveling all the way from Europe.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: Yeah, no, exactly. Yeah, they did. They played with the sand toys right there next to Cabana. They played in the hammock. They ran around on the beach. The floaties that were there at the pool, the tubes and the rafts and things. Loved that. They made friends with some of the other kids on the beach. It really was the perfect day, the perfect experience.
[00:45:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:45:54] Speaker C: A perfect day at Castaway Cay.
[00:45:58] Speaker B: Or castaway key. It doesn't rhyme, but. Yeah, no, the other part that, if we haven't mentioned this before, obviously you've mentioned Jason, but the floaties, they have the tubes and sort of those blue lounger, floaty type things, those are also included, as well as your snorkel gear is included. If you have a cabana, you don't have to do a separate snorkel gear rental. It is included in the cost of your cabana. All right. Well, it sounds like a fantastic day at castaway. Let's talk about some of the onboard stuff that you did. You mentioned you did mixology and that your mom and your sister did the rum tasting. What did the adults think of the drink tasting on board?
[00:46:36] Speaker A: Yeah. So actually, this is. I actually ended up not going to the mixology class because I wanted to go to the hero zone, my son, but I was within the cancellation window. So this is where concierge was a great help. I just went to them and I said, I really just can't go anymore. Can you get me out of it? And they did. So that was great.
[00:46:57] Speaker B: And they will sometimes get you out of things, even if you're beyond the cancellation window.
[00:47:02] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:47:03] Speaker C: No guarantees. And always ask night sleep.
[00:47:07] Speaker B: But they often can because they'll find out if there's a waitlist and basically somebody else takes your spot. And so then you're relieved of having to pay for the.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: Exactly. So. So I didn't make it to that tasting, but my mom and sister, they did go to the mixology class without me. Uh, and they also went to the rum tasting on the next day. I think it was on the c day. They had. They said it was great. Uh, they said, um, you know, it wasn't so much a class. It's more of a. Just a entertaining, entertaining tasting. The drinks were super good, super strong. They. They seemed pretty pleased with it.
[00:47:40] Speaker B: Seemed happy. All right. When they came out. All right, well, what did you think of the hero zone? You mentioned you went to the hero zone with your son. Um, we think the hero zone is a great addition. Better than the outdoor basketball court area, sports deck area on the other ships. With one exception. They don't have miniature golf, that you have miniature golf on the fantasy and the dream, but, yeah. What did you think of the hero zone, and what did your son think of it?
[00:48:03] Speaker A: Yeah, it seemed like a really great space. So we went there because they were doing the incredi course.
[00:48:09] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Love that.
[00:48:10] Speaker A: Which I thought sounded really fun. So we went down there, and my wife joined us, too. We all went through the incredible course. Yes.
Yeah. I competed against my son, my wife competed against my son, and then my wife and I competed against each other.
[00:48:26] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:48:27] Speaker A: She smoked me.
[00:48:28] Speaker B: Oh, even better. Even better. Jason, that makes me.
[00:48:33] Speaker A: I was ahead. I was ahead through the course. And then I got to the last climbing wall and she must have grown wings cause she just went straight up over it and down and totally smoked me.
[00:48:42] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. That's awesome. What other stuff did you all get up to on board? Did you do any of the trivia or family games shows or. Of course. Then we'll have to talk about shows because I can't imagine that you went on a Disney cruise and didn't go on go see at least some of the shows, but yeah. Yeah. What did you all do as a family?
[00:48:59] Speaker A: We did so much, to be honest. We were doing so many activities and exploring of the ship that my wife and I started looking around and realizing we weren't going to have any time to relax on this relaxation cruise.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: Sounds like my cruise experience.
[00:49:16] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. There's just so much we wanted to do. Like, so there's the incredible. We did lots of the character meetings because we were going to Disney World and our strategy was see the characters on the boat and not in the parks. So we did that. Quite a bit of that. We also did a big, big, big hit for us and our family. Family karaoke.
[00:49:36] Speaker B: Yes.
I love that.
[00:49:39] Speaker A: That was amazing. We went. I think it was our. Was our first night. Yeah, our first night. We ended up there at like 1030 or 11:00 at night. Night. I mean, there I am with my seven year old daughter, 11:00 at night in a karaoke lounge with tons of other families and kids. And it was an absolute blast. And so then basically, I think my sister went back to the karaoke lounge with the kids two more times over the course of. They just kept wanting to go back. But really, the big, we did the Aqua mouse, of course, a few times, but the big draw, the big, big, big hit and headline of the whole cruise were the hot tubs on the concierge sun deck.
[00:50:18] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Those are actually a really good draw.
[00:50:22] Speaker A: It's the only thing the kids wanted to do over and over and over again.
Go back to the concierge sun deck and get in the hot tubs.
[00:50:31] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:50:32] Speaker C: I know you did. You did family karaoke. Did you do family silent dj?
[00:50:36] Speaker A: No, we didn't.
[00:50:38] Speaker C: So good. So good.
[00:50:39] Speaker B: Listen. Yeah. Something to look forward to for the. I'm going to just say, like, there's still, you know, there's always stuff that you don't get to do. Even on a seven night cruise. There's going to be something you wanted to do that you're not going to be able to fit in. And that's why we tell people, make. Set your priorities right because you aren't going to be able to fit everything in. And if you try to, you will have zero time for relaxation.
[00:51:01] Speaker A: Absolutely. We were running around like wild trying to do all this stuff and spend time together as a family and his kids. And at one point, my wife and I just had to, like, cast everything aside. Grandma and my sister, like, we're going to go disappear for like 3 hours.
The kids are yours. We left the kids in the room, say, do whatever you want. Stay in the room. Don't care. Take them to the shops, take them wherever you want. So that my wife and I could finally try to do some of the relaxing that we were looking forward to on this cruise.
[00:51:33] Speaker C: But wait, did the, did the kids like the kids clubs?
[00:51:35] Speaker A: So.
Not as much as I wanted them to.
[00:51:39] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, sometimes that happens to.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: Yeah, I. Yeah, I think that this was probably part of my sales pitch to my wife that didn't. I didn't deliver on. I said, the kids clubs will be so amazing, we won't even see the children for three days. That's not really what happened, and it's fine. But the kids, they. They wanted to see us. They wanted to spend time with us. They did go to the kids club. My son went to Oceaneers club for both kids. Went when we went to Palo brunch. So he was there for about 3 hours. Came out of it, loved it, had a great time, thought it was amazing. But then every time I tried to ask him if he wanted to go back, he said, no, I did it.
[00:52:14] Speaker B: All right. Yeah. So I think the key there, I'm going to say, and this might not be the key for everyone, but the key there is making some kind of connection, friendship with another kid of similar age and interests. I think then they're more keen to go back. Cause he's right in the sense of, like, he probably did all of the different, like, you know, experiences or video game type things within the club. And so he'd sort of explored the club. But the key is getting, you know, getting them to want to spend time with some other kids. Right? So. Yeah. Which does it. Which sometimes for us, you know, sometimes that happens. Sometimes Nathan makes a connection, sometimes that doesn't. He spends more time in the club if he's made a connection or if we're sailing with another family that he already knows and they have kids of similar age, so.
[00:52:57] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly.
[00:53:00] Speaker C: Are you listening to our show? Because you want to make the most out of your next vacation. Great news. The fabulous team over at Mypath Unwinding travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. Mypath Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, relaxed at Alani, and so much more. Whether it's a Disney cruise, a theme park vacation, or adventures by Disney, or if you are looking to expand beyond the mouse, Mypath unwinding travel will elevate your next vacation planning experience. Even if you have already booked, reach out for a complimentary consultation to make your vacation even more magical. Ready to talk to the experts? Head over to mypathonwinding.com dclduo or email dclduoypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks, mypath unwinding, for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
Sam, what do we have left to cover here?
[00:54:00] Speaker B: We have shows and food.
[00:54:01] Speaker C: I know.
[00:54:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:03] Speaker A: Oh my gosh.
[00:54:04] Speaker B: Let's start with shows because that's where I want to go, and I know Brian wants to cover food. Okay, so shows. You have three wonderful shows on the Disney wish. In my opinion, the main stage shows you have sees the adventure. You've got little mermaid, and you have Aladdin. Did you go see the shows and was there a fourth, or was there maybe a movie night or a variety act?
[00:54:25] Speaker A: Yeah. So, so we saw all three shows. And then on pirate night, there was no show, I think.
[00:54:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Usually they do a movie on pirate night on a foreign.
[00:54:34] Speaker A: Yes, they showed Disney wish.
[00:54:36] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
[00:54:37] Speaker A: The animated film on pirate night.
[00:54:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:40] Speaker A: So, yeah, we saw all three shows.
[00:54:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:42] Speaker A: Honestly, you know, when you say that they're Broadway quality, I was a bit skeptical. I lived in New York for nine years. I'm a huge Broadway fan. I seen a ton of stuff. Stuff. And, uh, there's, there's, there's truth in advertising or. These were great. Amazing. Really amazing. Uh, so there's no oversell when they say Broadway quality, Broadway style, especially the performances.
[00:55:04] Speaker B: Yes. Right. I'm always amazed, like, are there some performers who are maybe of, like, off Broadway quality? Yes. But there are some performers who are standouts who could be headlining any Broadway show or West End show in London. Right. So.
[00:55:17] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:55:18] Speaker B: Yeah. So you definitely get super high quality performers. And the thing I love is always the short, condensed format of the shows. Right. An hour, hour and 15 minutes shorter for the seas, the adventure digestible. For kids. Kids who like theater, let's be honest, Nathan's not a huge theater watcher, and so he's not really interested in the shows, regardless of the length. But, yeah, but for kids who like shows, I think it's a great, great opportunity.
[00:55:44] Speaker C: Well, and, yeah, and the shortened version is the.
[00:55:49] Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly. Okay, so now we can talk about food, because we have to talk about food.
We got to hear what you thought of.
Listen, you live in Amsterdam, a city that has fantastic food. If you're a foodie, you might be more critical of Disney cruise line because we know that we think the food is really good, but it is still mass produced food in the main dining room. So when people are, you know, if people want, you know, foodie quality food, you've got to go to palo or Remy or enchante. You're not, you know, but if you. You're gonna get, I think, good food in the dining rooms. What did you think about dining room food? Did you eat it? Marceline market. Gotta know all the things.
[00:56:29] Speaker A: Okay. Uh, gosh, where to start? So overall, I thought the food was really good, but I didn't get as much enthusiasm from the rest of my party.
Yeah, kind of. Maybe some. Some hot takes there. So we did not eat at Marceline market. My wife and my son went briefly at one point, but they. Just to get something quick. Um, but the rest of us didn't make it there because we actually took all of our breakfast and some of our meals in the concierge lounge.
[00:56:57] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:56:58] Speaker A: And I will tell you, the food in the concierge lounge. Amazing.
[00:57:01] Speaker B: Yes, I agree. And especially on the wish, because they have the hot food items that they don't have on the other ships, although we think that they're going to be introducing some hot food items on the fantasy and the dream when they do their dry docks. But that's a rumor. We don't know for sure, but, yeah, yeah, but I think those breakfast items are really good.
[00:57:20] Speaker A: Yeah, the breakfast. We did breakfast in the concierge lounge every morning, and that was really nice and really easy. And then we also did. So after the adults, we did Paolo brunch. We had to go get the kids out of the kids club and give them lunch.
So they did lunch in the concierge lounge. We ate a lot of. A lot of stuff at the Concierge lounge. Even the small bites. These are the. Of all the food on the ship. These are probably the things that blew us away the most. The sweet things, the savory. I think what we were most impressed by, the concierge lounge food was the fruit.
[00:57:51] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, interesting.
[00:57:53] Speaker A: You know, normally we stay in a lot of hotels. You do a lot of travel. There's always a fruit bowl, fruit salad, mixed fruit there. It's all fine. What? Whoever's picking the fruit for the Disney wish concierge needs a Nobel prize in fruit picking. It was just, like, mind blowing. The goodness flavors. Didn't know fruit could be that good.
[00:58:11] Speaker B: Wow. Okay, well, I'm gonna have to start eating more fruit in the concierge lounge when we sail. Yeah.
[00:58:17] Speaker A: It was just so surprising. It doesn't look any different from any other fruit you get anywhere else ever. But it was so much better.
[00:58:23] Speaker B: And main dining. It sounds like you enjoyed main dining, although maybe the rest of your party was a little bit less.
[00:58:30] Speaker A: So everything was good. You know, I don't think. You know, I was talking to my wife and my mom and my sister. Sister. Nothing was bad. Nothing was bad. I think we. I think it's easy on this cruise to take food for granted. You know, we spent. We spent the following week in Disney World, and I will say the parks food in Florida has gotten so much better over the last 1015 years. But you'll have something bad at some point.
[00:58:54] Speaker B: Yes. Agreed. Agreed. I have had more bad parks food than bad cruise food by far. Yeah.
[00:59:00] Speaker A: So, honestly, I think everything. Everything on the ship was good. A couple of important pieces of information. We're vegetarian. My mom and sister are not, but. But my family is vegetarian, so we did not all the. We think that probably the meat dishes maybe are really spectacular, but we did not experience them. My mom and sister liked the meat stuff that they got. But my mom and sister are also not big eaters, are they?
[00:59:25] Speaker C: Are they indian food people? Cause you can. This is gonna be my tip, if they didn't try it, is that you can order indian food from the main dining, and they will provide you with vegetarian curries for dinner. Yeah, yeah. So I actually.
[00:59:40] Speaker B: So next time you sail. Next time you sail. Yeah, because that.
[00:59:43] Speaker C: And they're actually. They're actually really good because a lot of the cooking staff are from Southeast Asia. So, like, I just had a. You know, like, I had a butter chicken on board a couple of nights these last time we were sailing. You can just. You have to make the request tonight before you want it, and most of the time, they'll honor it. But if you tell them, you're vegetarian. They'll bring you vegetarian curry.
[00:59:58] Speaker A: That's amazing. That is amazing. But honestly. Okay, there was one bad thing I had on the ship. At the Arendelle restaurant, they have a vegetarian entree. I can't remember what it's called, but basically it was like a. I would describe it as a norwegian burrito.
[01:00:15] Speaker B: That sounds bad.
[01:00:16] Speaker A: Yeah, that's not what it was called, and.
[01:00:18] Speaker B: Yeah, but it just. That description doesn't sound appetizing.
[01:00:22] Speaker A: It was, you know, it had, like, impossible meat and cabbage and some other veggies and was wrapped together in something. It kind of came out like a giant spring roll looking thing. It was not. It was real bad.
[01:00:33] Speaker B: Yeah, not good.
[01:00:34] Speaker A: Don't order that.
[01:00:35] Speaker B: Don't order that. Okay. Well, that's.
[01:00:36] Speaker A: But everybody else loved the food. I mean, liked it. Yeah.
[01:00:39] Speaker B: Well, did you eat any of the pool deck food? Obviously, the pool deck food does also skew to meat eaters, other than obviously there's. Well, there's pizza, and, of course, you can get, like, the. There's, like, tacos and burritos and stuff. You can get vegetarian, of course. But I will say, I think the pool deck food, like I said, does skew more. More meat eater, although they do have some, you know, vegetarian, like, hot dogs and hamburgers and things like that. Yeah. What did you think? The pool deck?
[01:01:04] Speaker A: So, one of the best things I had on the ship were the tacos at Donald's Cantina. I think I liked them better than anything I had in any of the rotational dining.
[01:01:13] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Yeah, they were.
[01:01:14] Speaker A: They were fantastic.
[01:01:15] Speaker B: They were really good. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of Donald's cantina. Yeah. I'm also a huge fan of Mickey smokestack barbecue, but we're omnivores in this family, and I tend to lean towards even the carnivore side of my omnivore personality melody.
Awesome. Well, it sounds like a really good. Sounds like a good experience with main dining food. We got to ask about Paulo. Paulo, obviously, you mentioned you went for brunch. What did you all think? And Paulo does have some, I think, good vegetarian options on the menu. There's the eggplant rolatini. There's, you know, there's some. There's, like, a ravioli. Yeah. What did. Yeah. What did you think of the quality at Palo Paolo?
[01:01:59] Speaker A: Was great. I mean, everything we had was. Was great. I think maybe I may have oversold it, because I made this really big deal, you know? So we went to Palo on Nassau day, and, um, and it was wonderful. And all the food was wonderful. We had an amazing server shout out to Denise. She really made that meal super special and memorable. And, I mean, all the food was great. I think my sister got some sort of cut of meat. She said it was very good. I think the real stars of the show for my wife and I were probably. The cheese. The cheese service. Unbelievable. Really.
[01:02:32] Speaker B: That Parmesan is fantastic.
[01:02:34] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like that. Yeah, yeah. The cheese there really took my breath away. And then my mom, I think she, she. Despite Denise's advice, my mom ordered pancakes.
Denise said not to. Not to fill up on the griddle stuff, because everything else. But my mom, she saw them, she got them, and she ate them all. She loved it.
[01:02:55] Speaker B: Oh, good. Listen. To each his own. If for brunch, you really want brunch, there's nothing wrong with ordering, you know, breakfast food. At Palo, we just think that the italian food is the stuff that really shines on the menu, but that doesn't mean, you know, there's. There's more than one way to Paulo brunch. I guess I'll put it that way. Yeah.
[01:03:11] Speaker A: I think other than the cheese was great. There was a. Some sort of bread stick bread service thing that was really phenomenal. I don't think we ordered any of, like, the kind of the pasta dishes or main dishes. I think we were much more in kind of an american brunch vibe, honestly, I forgot what I ordered. My wife had to remind me that I got the eggs Benedict, but I think I substituted the ham for avocado. But the fact that I didn't remember it was kind of like, oh, okay.
[01:03:34] Speaker B: So it was okay, but not. Yeah. Nothing that wowed. Yeah. That didn't wow you if you didn't remember it. Well.
[01:03:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, it was, it was good. I would. I would go back again. I think maybe I was almost expecting a sort of life changing type of meal. But the problem is, I lived in New York City for a long time. I do a lot of business travel and eat a lot of nice restaurants. I go to Italy often for business where I eat the best food of my life.
[01:03:57] Speaker B: You can't, I mean, that's the problem. You can't, like, you can't compare, like, yeah, food in high end restaurants in Italy or in New York to food that's being, you know, have produced for the masses on a cruise ship. That's. That's the really hard part. Yeah. So, yeah. But that's fair that you, you, like, realize that. Yeah.
[01:04:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think the problem is me.
[01:04:21] Speaker B: It's me.
[01:04:22] Speaker A: I'm the problem.
[01:04:22] Speaker B: Thank you, Taylor.
[01:04:24] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. I think, again, like, we did not have a single bad meal. Everything was really. Was really great. And I've. I've talked to quite a few friends who have done cruises and all exclusives, all inclusives. And the food makes or breaks it. If you show up and the food's not good, you can't get past it. And this definitely is not. Not even close to that low of a bar. Everything was very good, Jeff.
[01:04:46] Speaker B: Nice.
[01:04:46] Speaker C: Nice. Well, Jason, I want to ask one question before we move into rapid fire, which is just. I know your wife was a bit apprehensive. So was this one and done? Uh, or was she sold that she wants to go back on another cruise or another Disney cruise even? Did you get a placeholder at all? Yeah. So was this a one and done for you?
[01:05:04] Speaker A: It is not a one and done.
[01:05:05] Speaker C: Yes.
[01:05:08] Speaker B: Yes. We haven't waited for that.
[01:05:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Honestly, it's maybe best vacation we've taken so far. Uh, my mom said, you know, my. My seven year old mother, she said those. Those four nights on the Disney wish the best vacation she's taken in her life.
[01:05:23] Speaker B: Oh, my God. That's high praise. Yeah.
[01:05:26] Speaker A: Wow. The mix, especially staying concierge, the mix of relaxation and fun was just unparalleled. And having never cruised before, it's. It's so much different than a parks vacation or any type of vacation, because you could be doing something or doing nothing within, like, two or three minutes. Everything is so close. Right? The kids were jumping in and out of the hot tub in between going to restaurants and going to activities and going to meet Pluto and goofy. In my heart, I grew up going to Disneyland, and I like Disneyland resort a little bit better than world because you're having more fun more frequently. And for me, the cruise, and I think for our family, the cruise brings that to the next level. Like the density of fun and joy altogether. It's just, like, really up there. So, no, it's not a one and done. But I did ask my wife, but I said I wanted to play do a placeholder or I want to do this again. What are you thinking? She's shedden. She said this was amazing. But all the best parts of this cruise were because we stayed concierge. We have to do concierge because, you know, we'd walk around the ship, we'd go to explore, we'd see things, go to the other things, the other ship. Both my wife and my son got very easily overwhelmed right.
[01:06:33] Speaker B: And then you need to retreat back to the lounge or your room.
[01:06:36] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. We would constantly retreat to the lounge. And so if we sailed again, non concierge. And the only retreat we had was the room. It's a totally different style of trip for my family. Yeah. So now the trick is figuring out concierge for the next one. So we are. Next week I am putting down a reservation for the Disney treasure.
[01:06:58] Speaker B: I knew that was what you were going to book because you want the seven night and you love the wish. So it's like, it's a perfect. Yes, that's the perfect next step. That's why if you were going to ask our advice, that's what I would have told you to do. And I had a feeling you were going to say that. I love that. Awesome.
[01:07:14] Speaker A: So. So I did a bit of research first because I actually. So we're looking at doing the treasure in 2026, but thats a long ways to wait for us. For me. So here in the Netherlands were really close to the UK where they do sailings out of Southampton. So I also have placeholder reservation right now for next summer, August 25 out of Southampton, a four night cruise to Spain on the fantasy.
[01:07:39] Speaker B: So I think thats going to be great. The fantasy will have not undergone her dry die yet. And so there won't be upgrades to the concierge lounge until after that. And so if you want to sail concierge on Dreamer Fantasy, I think you're going to want to do it after either of them have been through their dry dock, because then they'll have a better outdoor space. At least that's what we're hoping for.
[01:08:01] Speaker A: Exactly.
[01:08:02] Speaker B: Yeah. So I actually think that's a really smart decision and I think you're going to like the fantasy. You're not. You might not like it as much as the wish, but I think you're going to really like the fantasy. And you should like the adult bar spaces. I think they're the really great on that chip.
[01:08:15] Speaker A: That's. Yeah, I hope so, too. I think it's still a bit of an experiment. Like we did the one cruise concierge loved it. I would like to know if we could do it more frequently for less money. So it's a bit of an experiment to see if we, if we do it on the fantasy. Plus, we don't have to fly four of us to Orlando, right across the channel from us. It's super easy to get to. It's almost a local trip. So we're thinking of giving that a try. But for sure, we want to go see the treasure.
[01:08:42] Speaker C: Oh.
[01:08:42] Speaker A: And in fact, this is something I want to share with you guys. We've already seen the treasure.
[01:08:45] Speaker B: Oh, did you go to Papenburg last weekend? Oh, God. Oh, fantastic.
[01:08:52] Speaker A: Yeah. So Poppenburg is a two and a half hour drive from Amsterdam. So now that our families on this cruise kick coming off the wish, we're super excited for the treasure to come out. We drove and stayed overnight in Papenburg and toured the factory, the shipyard, and we saw it.
[01:09:07] Speaker B: Oh, you didn't just see it, like, from afar. You toured the. Oh, that's so cool. All right, I'm really jealous now, Jason.
[01:09:14] Speaker A: We toured the factory. We took pictures. Pictures in front of the treasure. She looks beautiful.
[01:09:17] Speaker B: You got to guess.
I'm inviting myself over to Amsterdam and then take a trip to papen burger.
[01:09:27] Speaker A: It was super. It was super, super cool. And the kids were. They loved it. I wasn't sure if they. If a cruise manufacturing facility would hold their attention, but as soon as we walked in and we saw the big space and we saw the treasure, like, their eye lit up, their faces lit up. They. We all are super excited to get on that ship as soon as possible.
[01:09:48] Speaker B: Awesome. I'm going to give you a recommendation. There's a couple of different documentaries out there. They're not Disney ships, but that are about the building of different cruise ships. And they're super interesting. We've watched them. Nathan's watched them. He loves them. I would recommend if your kids are, if they were interested in this, you know, shipbuilding tour, essentially. Those might be great to watch, even though they're not, you know, Disney ships, they're just really interesting to see either how the ships are built or the operation behind the scenes sort of operation stuff.
[01:10:18] Speaker C: Well, Sam, I think we could talk about this cruise all morning and practically have, but I think we have reached that point in the show where it is time for some arbitrary questions, some arbitrary rules and a dash of judgment or the round we know as rapid fire. But this week with some special guests.
[01:10:33] Speaker B: Yes. Well, we are super excited to be joined by Willa and Casper. Willa is seven years old. Casper is ten years old, and they are Jason's kids who went on this amazing Disney cruise. On the Disney wish. Welcome to the show, guys. I'm going to ask you some questions about your favorite things from this Disney cruise that you just went on not too long ago. We're going to start first with who is your favorite Disney character? So which is your favorite Disney character? Willow, let's start with you, Chip and Dale. Oh, Chip and Dale. You get two for the price of one. I love it. Yeah. Can you tell them apart? Willa, do you know which one is which?
[01:11:13] Speaker A: I think Dale has a red nose and chip a black one.
[01:11:17] Speaker B: You are exactly right. Chip has the chocolate chip black nose. That's how I always remember it. Awesome. I love that. All right, Casper, who's your favorite Disney character? Rocket. Oh, rocket from guardians of the galaxy. Awesome. Well, I take it you guys got to meet Chip and Dale on the ship, but probably not rocket. Yeah. Okay, I'm getting head nods. Yes. Who was your favorite character that you got to meet on the ship? Um, let's start with Casper. Chip and Dale Chippendale. I love it. All right, Willa, was it still, would you still say Chip and Dale of who you got? Who was your favorite to meet on the ship? No, someone else. Moana. Moana. Oh, fantastic. You don't always get to meet Moana on the ships, but she tends to be on the Disney wish. And that's awesome that you got to meet her. I love that. Okay, what's your favorite Disney movie, Willa? Lilo and Stitch. Ah. Lilo and Stitch. I love it. Awesome. All right. What about you, Casper? What's your favorite Disney movie? I think Star wars. Ooh, Star wars. The original, the episode four, a new hope or a different one? I have no favorite, but I just like all of them. All of them? Wow. All right. Awesome. Sounds like dad needs to find a Star wars day at sea cruise if they ever bring it back to the Disney portfolio. I love it. All right. You know, Jason, I didn't ask you who's your favorite Disney character and what's your favorite Disney movie?
[01:12:41] Speaker A: I like mister incredible.
[01:12:43] Speaker B: Nice.
[01:12:44] Speaker A: My favorite. Oh, favorite Disney movie. My favorite animated Disney movie would be Moana.
[01:12:50] Speaker B: Awesome. Did you have a favorite character meet on the ship?
[01:12:54] Speaker A: We did the royal gathering. That's where we met Moana. And that was really, really fun.
[01:12:59] Speaker B: Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. I would love to know what each of your favorite rotational dining restaurants were. So which did you like the best of the restaurants you went to? You went to 1923, you went Arendelle and you went to worlds of Marvel. Willa, let's start with you. I like the Arizona the most because.
[01:13:17] Speaker A: We sat next to the stage.
[01:13:19] Speaker B: Oh, fantastic. Yeah, you get great view and real fun music. Do you like it when, when the guys are singing let it go? Is that kind of funny? Yeah, yeah, I like that too. All right, what about you, Casper? What was your favorite rotational dining restaurant? I think 1923. Yeah, I love it. Classic.
[01:13:41] Speaker A: I like the food there, and I.
[01:13:43] Speaker B: Also like the theme. You get to see all of the different sort of animation and inspirations around the room. It's really beautiful. I love that. Jason, what about you? What was your favorite rotational dining?
[01:13:54] Speaker A: That's a tough one. I like the food better in 1923, but I think my favorite would be Arendelle. I think the entertainment factor really compensates for the meal.
[01:14:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. I agree. I think the food is better at 1923, but I think that the show in Arendelle is the best one. The music, the interactions, the instruments, all of that. So great. Okay, I've got to ask all of you, what was your favorite show that you saw on the Disney wish? You got to see seize the adventure, got to see little mermaid, and you got to see Aladdin. So three really, really good shows. Jason, I'm going to start with you this time.
[01:14:32] Speaker A: So going into it, I had a feeling that Aladdin was going to be the best show, but for me, it was little mermaid.
[01:14:38] Speaker B: Yes, that's the right answer, Jason.
[01:14:43] Speaker A: I'll tell you why. I thought the staging, what they did with staging, was really creative. The way they interpreted it, very imaginative. But what really puts it over the top were the three top performances. Ursula, Ariel, and Sebastian bastion. Those performers put it through the roof. I could have sat there another hour and watched them perform.
[01:15:01] Speaker B: Oh, wow. I love that. They honestly, they have such great performers on all of the shows, but that's wonderful to hear. Casper, what was your favorite Disney stage show on the wish?
[01:15:11] Speaker A: Aladdin.
[01:15:12] Speaker B: Aladdin. Why did you like Aladdin the best? Because I think that was the one of the three shows that I think I watched fully.
[01:15:20] Speaker A: You left little Murphy early, didn't you?
[01:15:22] Speaker B: Yeah. That's all right. That happens if they're, you know, they are still on the longer side for kids. All right, what about you, willa? What was your favorite of the shows?
[01:15:31] Speaker A: Aladdin. I like the costume.
[01:15:33] Speaker B: Love from the countess. Yeah. Awesome. I love that. I will say I do think Aladdin is probably the crowd pleaser for the kids, whereas I think that little mermaid, and, frankly, sees the adventure probably more the crowd pleaser for the adults. Yeah. All right, I gotta ask you a favorite food, because I love asking people what their favorite food on the ship. I mean, it could be something as simple as the french fries. It could be the soft serve ice cream on the pool deck. It could be whatever was your favorite food on the ship. So, willa, let's start with you. What was your favorite food you got to eat on the cruise? Mac and cheese I had for every dinner. Mac and cheese. Our son Nathan, who is. Who is ten years old, so same age as Casper. That's pretty much all he eats on the Disney cruise line ship. He says Mickey's Mac and cheese is the best Mac and cheese in his opinion as well. So I love that. Casper, what was your favorite food on the Disney wish? The food from the concierge lounge. Ooh. Was there a particular thing that you liked? Did you like some of the sweet stuff or did you like the chocolate chip muffins? Oh, I love the chocolate chip muffins, too. Those are really good. They're like, they're smaller muffins, but I could. So I could eat like two or three of them, but they're delicious. Love that. Jason, what about you? What was your favorite food?
[01:16:49] Speaker A: I'm going to go back to the tacos from Donald's cantina.
[01:16:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that.
[01:16:54] Speaker A: Awesome. To me. Yeah.
[01:16:56] Speaker B: Awesome. I love that. Okay, I gotta ask. Favorite activity on board the Disney wish. So what's something you guys got to do on the ship that was maybe your. One of your favorites or your favorite, if you. If you have a favorite. Let's start with. Let's start with Casper this time. I don't know.
[01:17:13] Speaker A: There were so many fun activities.
[01:17:15] Speaker B: Yeah, everything was fun. Did you like the aqua mouse? I loved it.
[01:17:19] Speaker A: It was great.
[01:17:20] Speaker B: Oh, awesome. I love that. All right, Willow, what about you? Did you have a favorite or a yemenite? Couple of favorites. Yeah, I have a couple. Yeah. Tell me.
[01:17:27] Speaker A: The kids club.
[01:17:28] Speaker B: The kids club. Love that. The alcohols and the hot tubs went plus years then. Oh, yes. Your dad mentioned the hot tubs were a big hit for both of you. Yeah, I love that. All right, Jason, what was a favorite activity for you?
[01:17:43] Speaker A: I think it was the karaoke with the family.
[01:17:46] Speaker B: Oh, awesome. Awesome. That's fantastic. Okay, what's maybe one thing that you did on the ship that you are looking forward to doing on your next Disney cruise that your dad's planning for you all? Willow, let's start with you.
[01:18:02] Speaker A: If I would go on a Disney treasure. I was ride to Akamas last time.
[01:18:08] Speaker B: Oh, Aquamas. Lots of times. I love it. All right, what about you, Casper?
I would love to do the pool deck because we didn't get to to do it because it was so busy. Yes, it is busy. Pool deck on the wish. Absolutely. All right, Jason, what about you? What's one thing that you'd be looking forward to for your next Disney cruise.
[01:18:27] Speaker A: You know, I never got to hang out in the COVID bar, but the COVID cafe. Excuse me, the COVID cafe, we down there. And it was the most beautiful room I'd ever seen. And I never made it back because it's not anything.
[01:18:41] Speaker B: It's kind of far away. I'm going to give you a tip that you'll spend more time on it on the fantasy than you ever will on the wish or the treasure, assuming they, they have it in the same location on the treasure as they do on the wish. So, yeah, you'll get. I would, I would tell you, yeah, go there on the fantasy. It's in a better location, a more central location. And it's not the same layout, though, space, but I think it's, it's a really nice space. All right, well, I'm going to ask just, dad, I'm going to ask this last question, which is a bucket list cruise. Jason, if you could go anywhere in the world on a Disney cruise line ship, it doesn't even have to be someplace that Disney Cruise line currently sails. Where would you go?
[01:19:22] Speaker A: You know, I think going around like the southern horn of Africa or the southern tip of Africa.
[01:19:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[01:19:28] Speaker A: Madagascar, something like that. We. Truly amazing.
[01:19:32] Speaker B: That would be amazing. And it's very rare for cruise ships to do that, although we know that the royals serenade of the seas. Is that what it's called? Brian is doing that as a part of their world cruise. And that sounds like a fantastic thing because like, like I said, really rare for any cruise ships to do that. Thank you guys for, for indulging me and playing rapid fire with me. I'm so glad to hear that you had such an amazing cruise on the wish. I hope that you're looking forward to sailing on the fantasy, on the treasure, on whatever other cruise ship might be in your future. Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us.
[01:20:09] Speaker C: Well, and Jason, I want to thank you for spending some time with us well over our allotted time for the day, and it's late and you're getting late in your day. There probably close to bedtime time for these kids.
Super, super appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with Disney cruise line all the way from Amsterdam. Really, really appreciate it.
[01:20:27] Speaker A: Thanks, guys. It was, it was a blast.
[01:20:34] Speaker C: Well, thanks to everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publishde shows, so be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us live, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights 05:30 p.m. pacific 08:30 p.m. eastern over on YouTube.com dclduo so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want to help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple Podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course, you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, Mypath Unwinding travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation, head over to mypathunwinding.com dclduo or email
[email protected] so they know we sent you their way. If you've got questions or you'd like to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to dclduo.com dot. It's got links to all of our things. Full catalog of the podcast episodes, including a searchable catalog for the podcast, links off to our vlog, a link to our Etsy store where we sell some fun, fan inspired magnets. Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com. dCLduo also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here, at least on a few blog articles that we've written. So DcLduo.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also, of course, email us at info or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-413-5590 that's 40 241-355-5590 the DCL Duo podcast is not affiliated with Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Company, or the Disney family of theme parks. The views expressed on the show are solely those of the individuals on the podcast and in no way reflect the views of the Disney Company or Disney Cruise line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or a Disney vacation, please contact the great folks over at Mypath Unwinding travel or Disney directly or your own travel agent. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL duo.
