October 01, 2024

01:06:04

Ep. 467 - Live Bonus Show - She Does Disney Right: Chatting Disney Cruise Line Ships with Emily

Hosted by

Brian Sam
Ep. 467 - Live Bonus Show - She Does Disney Right: Chatting Disney Cruise Line Ships with Emily
DCL Duo Podcast: A Disney Cruise Line Fan Podcast
Ep. 467 - Live Bonus Show - She Does Disney Right: Chatting Disney Cruise Line Ships with Emily

Oct 01 2024 | 01:06:04

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Show Notes

Emily from "We Do Disney Right" and "We Do Disney Travel" joins us this week for our live show as we discuss some Disney Cruise Line (DCL) news, answer a listener question, and also chat about the various ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet and which one might be right for families, adults, multi-generational cruising and more. Buckle-up for a fun discussion as we break down all the DCL ships. All that and more on this week's live episode.

If you'd like to connect with Emily, you can find her at "We Do Travel Right" or on Instagram.

If you are looking to book your next Disney Cruise, then head over to My Path Unwinding Travel so Karen and her team of expert travel professionals can help you find the perfect vacation for you and your family. Or reach out by emailing [email protected]

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:00] Speaker A: And I think the nurse. [00:00:01] Speaker B: Have you gone down the slide, Brian? I feel like I would like to see footage of that. [00:00:07] Speaker A: We definitely have both been down the slide. [00:00:09] Speaker C: A running start, head first, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah. Let's do it. Welcome back, everybody, to this week's live episode of the DC L duo podcast, brought to you by my path, unwinding Travel. And now also our new show sponsor, WDW magazine. Or actually, I should say DCL magazine. Yeah, we're excited to have them on board as a sponsor. They wanted me to ask you, do you miss the magic of Mickey and the open sea in between your Disney cruise sailings, the all new Seal magazine will make you feel like you're on a Disney cruise even when you're back at home, counting down the days to your next voyage. Flip through the pages while you sip on your coffee, perhaps at Cove Cafe, uh, and listen to your favorite Disney tunes, and you will feel transported right to Palo, a deck party or your favorite spot on castaway key. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when this Disney cruise magazine launches. To do that, head over to WDW Dash magazine.com and you can find the link to sign up for their waitlist. You can also find that off of our homepage, dclduo.com, and over there for all the ways to connect with us. So thank you, WDW magazine, for. For sponsoring our bonus episodes. We really, really appreciate it out there. Sam. I am so excited for this show and are even more excited for our guests than the topic, I gotta say that. [00:01:30] Speaker A: So I'm excited for. Both are awesome. Well, I'm super excited, too, because Emily Carlson is someone we met actually on a Disney ship. But we met her because we recognized her from her Instagram account. [00:01:45] Speaker B: I'm so sorry about that. [00:01:48] Speaker A: No, we love your actually accounts, I should say. But Emily is a travel advisor. She goes by the handle. We do Disney right. And we do travel right on Instagram. And I'm sure on all the other socials as well. But like I said, we had the portion of meeting her on board the Disney magic. I don't know if that was like a year ago, two years ago. I can't. Time just has. [00:02:09] Speaker B: No, I think it was Labor Day weekend last. Well, last Labor Day weekend. [00:02:14] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. That's right. [00:02:15] Speaker B: And like we were just talking about. That was a really special cruise for you both as well. [00:02:20] Speaker A: Oh, it was. It was actually, it was Nathan's grand slam. It wasn't our grand slam. Oh, my cooler yes. It was Nathan's grand slam because. Yes, because we had sailed on the Disney magic. I was just thinking about this because you had said this when we were chatting before the show. We had gotten on the magic to Norway, actually, out of. What's that port? Now they don't even go to it anymore. Not Southampton. [00:02:47] Speaker C: Dover. [00:02:48] Speaker A: Dover. Yeah. So we had gone. Yeah, we had gone on the magic, just Brian and I. But Nathan had not been on the magic yet, so it was his grand slam. I love what a huge deal. [00:02:56] Speaker B: It's like. I mean, the people that can do that are going to become very few and far between going forward with all these new ships coming, including us, adventure. So very cool. [00:03:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's going to become harder once the adventure comes out. I think we're okay for treasure and destiny. The adventure is really where things get in the nitty gritty. I know people are probably wondering about my setup today. I am obviously several comments. Yeah, I'm not in my normal recording studio. I'm actually in our dining room. You might see behind me there's a concierge plate and there's a light thing that looks like a water tower. [00:03:37] Speaker C: People, about the concierge, he did not actually take that. Someone sent it to us. Of all. [00:03:41] Speaker A: There might also be Apollo plate right behind my head that you can see that. [00:03:46] Speaker C: That. That the server helped us pilfer from the ship because they were replacing all the plates anyway. So to be fair. [00:03:54] Speaker A: Yeah. The chargers on the nice charger plates that say Paulo, if they haven't replaced them yet, they are replacing them very, very soon. [00:04:01] Speaker B: So anyway, I think you look great. You're in the zone. You've got your, you know, Mickey sweatshirt. I love it. [00:04:06] Speaker A: Yeah, love it. [00:04:07] Speaker C: Anyway, Sam's studio, aka our guest room, is being occupied because we actually leave tomorrow morning to fly to Miami to get on virgin voyages for the first time. So we're squeezing this live episode in because we're committed to you, our audience. So with that, we actually have some Disney news. We have a listener question that we wanted to put out there in terms of Disney News. Sam doesn't want me to say this story, but I'm going to say it anyway because I had several people message me about it. I had someone message me who's like an insider. It's been posted on, I think it's called cruiseshiporderbook.com. and the scuttlebutt out there today is that cruise ship order book is tracking the ships that DCL announced at D 23. They appear to have uncovered that they are expected to be 160,000 gross tons and that is about 20,000 gross tons more than the wish. So if this is to be believed, it would signal a new class of ship for Disney and headed in the direction I didn't think they were going to go, which is bigger. I actually thought that they might go a little smaller. So I'm just going to put an asterisk on it. [00:05:26] Speaker A: I don't think, I'm not saying that that's not what these contracts or whatever say. I just think that that information is not correct. Because if you look at the capacity listed for the wish or not, or the wish class ship. So the destiny and the treasure, they both say 2500, which might be correct if you are talking about like double occupancy and all of that. But then they have the adventure listed at 6000, which is actually its full capacity. So those numbers just don't jive properly because they would be using sort of different ways of putting those numbers in. So I don't have think that that information because of those numbers not making sense to me. The whole thing I think doesn't make sense. So I don't think we should count on those numbers. I wouldn't rely on them. But, you know, do what you will with them. We don't know if there's going to class of ship. We're hoping there isn't. [00:06:24] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. We shall see. We shall see. I don't know, Emily, if you have any thoughts here on which direction Disney's gonna head with their new ships, but. [00:06:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, who knows? Disney doesn't really, one thing Disney really likes to do is to be the number one and be the best. So I would be curious as to, and you guys probably know off the top of your head because, you know, eat, sleep, dream everything cruises. But how big the icon is in comparison to these numbers because, you know, the moment that they were the biggest ship and then, you know, Disney doesn't like that too much. They, they like to be the best. [00:06:59] Speaker C: Yep. Yep. All right. In actual Disney News today and confirmed Disney News announced Disney News, a couple of things happened today all around the treasure. Well, the treasure and the maiden voyage and inaugural season. So Disney on the Parks blog released some photos of some merch that will be available for sale on board for the inaugural sailings. And despite what we had heard about what pre ordering had been such a mess for Disney in terms of operations aboard the wish, we randomly got the pre order email today for maiden voyage. Sailors on the, on the wish or sorry on the treasure. And so we have some fun photos of the merchandise. I'm just going to throw up and then I'm going to, well, I'm going to put up on the screen. [00:07:42] Speaker A: You're not going to. [00:07:46] Speaker C: I'm putting it up on the screen here and I'm just going to let Sam, you know, take it away. I'm going to scroll through some of these photos right out of my photos app on my Mac. So, you know, forgive the screenshots here, but. [00:07:59] Speaker B: Yeah, screenshot. [00:08:02] Speaker A: That's right. So the top row is all made in voyage merchandise. As for the. And this on the second row, the first two items are made in voyage merchandise. And then beyond that, there's inaugural stuff. And then beyond that, as Brian scrolls down, is actually there's some more maiden and some more inaugural stuff. Um, so for example, that starting with the pin before the coffee cup, that is actually a maiden voyage pin. And then the next couple of items, which are the ornaments and the hat, are maiden voyage. And then after that is all inaugural. So we've got like, there's only one spirit jersey, surprisingly, in the pre order. That doesn't mean there's more or that there, we know there are other spirit jerseys because we actually saw in the Disney Parks blog some other merchandise. So I want to be very clear. This merchandise is not what you see on the Disney Parks blog, with the exception of, I believe, the lounge fly bags and like, the ears. Um, but the shirts are not the same. They're showing. [00:08:59] Speaker C: Hey, Sam, let me point out a couple items specifically so folks know what your efforts. Here's the spirit jersey here. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Yes. [00:09:04] Speaker C: Um, here is the lounge fly. I believe this is the lounge fly maiden. [00:09:09] Speaker A: Correct. That's the maiden voyage ears. [00:09:12] Speaker C: Yep. [00:09:12] Speaker A: And loungefly maiden voyage purse is actually that treasure chest look. [00:09:17] Speaker C: Yeah, it's this. It's a crossbody bag here. [00:09:20] Speaker A: It's so, bag. Yeah, it's a crossbody purse. I ordered it. Emily, this is the, this right here. [00:09:27] Speaker B: Is the, looks like for real, but. [00:09:31] Speaker C: This they announced before a while back. This is the nautilus like succulent planter. Here's one of the pins that Sam mentioned. These are inaugural voyage pins. That is a maiden voyage pin. Here are the two loungefly bags that they have. Here's another set of lounge fly inaugural season ears. [00:09:51] Speaker A: Kind of like agrabah, that greenish gold bag. And the ears are supposed to be sort of the agrabah themed stuff. [00:09:59] Speaker C: Yeah. And then some treasure Pandora charms, which we didn't see on the maiden as a pre order and then some dooney and burke bags. And then I. I think the most interesting stuff is at the end here. They're selling a mirror, a haunted mansion mirror that's motion activated and has, like, the hitchhiking ghosts in it. So when you walk by it, they, like, come to life. They have a desk clock that is inspired by the mantle clock in the haunted mansion. And then this is a framed piece of steel cut from the same steel they used to build the treasure that has some other sort of information in it. I will say my first reaction was the amount of merch as compared to the wish is less. [00:10:40] Speaker A: A lot less. [00:10:40] Speaker C: Yeah, a lot less. And I think that is probably the compromise we get for being able to pre order, given all. It was. It was chaos in the shop when they were trying to deal with pre orders and returns of pre orders and all of that sort of stuff. Notably absent, by the way, which I just found kind of. I chuckled at. But here's the ship model, which is the same ship model you can typically buy on ship. Notably absent, it's the gigantic marble and Scott ship model that they sold on the wish. So it took up, like, half of a suitcase to get home. So we did not buy it. [00:11:11] Speaker A: I just want to be clear. Buy that one. We do. So we did order, of course, the ship model because we have to add it to our collection as well as Jasmine and Aladdin on the. On the magic carpet, because that, of course, is the atrium character. And we have all of the, you know, we collect all the atrium characters as well. So we didn't order everything. I just want to be really clear. [00:11:31] Speaker B: Are you sure? I don't know. There's some really good stuff. I love the new designs and the coloring. [00:11:37] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. Yeah, love it. Kaylee is saying she needs the mugs to be a set. That she's saying, take my money. I love it. It is a really beautiful mug. That's the front and the back of the mug. [00:11:49] Speaker C: So I was impressed. Sam showed some surprising restraint today in her ordering. Yes. So kudos to Sam. [00:11:58] Speaker A: Some of it, to be clear, some of it we could just order, and some of it is going to be technically a lottery. And so we had to preference it in our order. I would say last, when we were on the wish, we got everything we ordered, like, regardless. So I think there might be some items that are in high demand, and so there might be something that we don't get. But I think generally I'll be enough. [00:12:20] Speaker C: Let's talk about that for a second. Just so folks know. So one thing I want to call out here. Yes, CT. Yes. They did get a lot of my money, more than I would like. Dawn is saying, was that only sent to cruisers on the maidenhouse or the first few sailings? So this is only going to maiden cruisers. And to highlight what Sam is saying, this is what they did on the wish. They broke it up into sort of two categories. Stuff you can pre order, which is mostly like the t shirts and stuff that was up at the top of the turbus. Yeah, everything up until I think the point of the nautilus maybe. Yeah, up to the nautilus was pre order. Everything below that. You have to go in and rank order what you want. It's all limit one per passenger. Limit one, I guess, per passenger. In November 1, we will get an email telling us what we got and they'll charge the credit card on November 18, and then it will all magically appear in our stateroom. I will say from my experience on the wish, we got everything that we preference. There was no. [00:13:28] Speaker A: And on the wish, there was plenty of merchandise in the shops. Like the shops were. Were crazy. Like every single night. They were nuts. Like filled to the brims of people, packed to the gills. Super uncomfortable, super warm. I hated being in the shops, but. But you could get, there was plenty of merchandise available. And so I want to tell people who are sailing on those early sailings, yes, you will not be made in voyage stuff. Probably available, but there will be probably tons of that inaugural season merchandise available and tons of it in stock there, you know? [00:14:04] Speaker C: Well, maybe stuff that's not. Stuff that's not here. Right. That's the other thing I saw someone today was like, oh, no, Nike polo. Like, I would not discount there also being a Nike polo in the shop that says inaugural season on it. They're just not making it available for preorders. So there will be other, like that gigantic ship model may actually be for sale in the shop. They're just not allowing pre orders. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Plus, did you, Emily, did you see the Disney Parks blog this morning? Cause they showed some of the merchandise. [00:14:32] Speaker C: Oh, the plushies. [00:14:33] Speaker A: Plushies were. [00:14:34] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I loved the new stuff. Like I said, I think the coloring is awesome. I love that it's not like super cartoony, if that makes any sense. [00:14:45] Speaker A: Totally. [00:14:45] Speaker B: I really do hope that they have that plain white, though spirit jersey, because that's the rule when you go on Disney cruise. You got to get one so you. [00:14:55] Speaker A: Can have all the ships with the striped cuffs on them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I do not. I will be honest and say I do not actually own that spirit jersey for any of the ships, but I feel like that is a staple for people. People need to have every one, you know, every one of the spirit jerseys for the ships that they sail on. I totally get. [00:15:14] Speaker C: Sam will absolutely be throwing elbows to get those plushies. So. [00:15:19] Speaker A: That's true. [00:15:21] Speaker C: Let me shift gears over to a listener question that we got in over email that I've been meaning to respond to for two weeks. So, Sandra, thank you for your patience, as I kept forgetting to include this in the live episode. So here's the question. It hits a little close to home for us, so I want to make sure that we answered it. So Sandra writes, hi. Absolutely love your podcast. Over the past year, I've grown to also love DCL and have sailed on the wish and fantasy. I would like to take a cruise with my daughter and her three children. Her youngest little guy is almost four and is autistic with developmental delay and some behavior issues, sensitivities to noise, overwhelmed at times. Not sure how he would be accepted in the kids club. Any experience with this from any listeners? And I sort of said, well, we have experience, but this. Would be happy to kind of answer it, but I will put the call out to listeners, if you have experience with this, please pass it along and we will share it with Sandra as well. Sam, do you want to. Do you want to talk about our experience? I mean, Nathan was about four or five when we sailed with him for the first time, and he is on the spectrum and also had some behavior issues. Did not have as many, many developmental dislike delays, just. But he had some pretty, you know, gnarly behavior issues. [00:16:24] Speaker A: He has. He had emotional delays, let's put it that way. He had social emotional delays. And so he had developmental delays in that sense of the word. It kind of depends how you interpret the word, Brian, but I would say we disclosed all of those issues to the cast members at the kids club. They put notes into their system about him, and we gave them tips on. On how to deal with him, when to contact us if he needed assistance, to give him space, and sort of some quiet in order so that he could calm himself down if that was needed. But also, of course, to call us or message us really through the app to let us know if we needed to come pick him up or if he was having a hard time and then we could check him out. I would generally say that your kid will absolutely be able to go to the kids club, it's how long do they want to stay, right? They may. I'll tell you, I think going to be, it could be. It could go really either way. It could be great and they could love it or they could end up really not liking it. So in the situation that you're in, Sandra, I would say don't rely on it in the sense of perhaps don't book adult dining or be willing to leave your adult dining early if you need to. And so that would be my recommendation. But I would definitely say to try the kids club. I do think that the cast members are really, really wonderful and really good about engaging with kids with differences. And especially if your kid. If the kid is able to advocate for themselves in meaning, they can communicate. Because I think the harder situation is where the child is unable to communicate either verbally or written or sign language or something like that, that becomes a lot harder. But if the kid is able to express verbally or in written form how they need assistance, I think that you'll be in a pretty decent situation. Now, Emily, I know your travel advisor. You probably have answered questions similar to this to lions. What do you tell people? [00:18:29] Speaker B: I think that one thing that makes Disney so incredibly special, Disney Cruise line especially, is that they really take their kids clubs like, they understand children, they understand families, and they want to do everything that they can in their power to make it a wonderful experience for both the kids that are in the kids club and for the adults that are not in the kids club because their kids are enjoying the kids club. I heard in the question that Sandra had said something about loud noises and just not really enjoying a lot of, just craziness. I would suggest that they have never sailed before. To probably start with a magic or wonder, less people, less kids in the kids club, more focused on the child at hand and not saying that the other ships can't do that. They have a lot of wonderful cast members, but I think that there is something special about those smaller cruise ships and the smaller spaces that might work out better and kind of being like a little stepping stone, a little practice to perhaps doing more in the future. Because the thing about Disney Cruise is that you're going to do one and then you're just going to want to keep on going. [00:19:40] Speaker A: Totally. That's great advice, Emily. And that actually, that plays into our show topic today. So I love that. But I absolutely think it's great advice. One thing I will add is headphones. Bring headphones in particular, if your kid has sensory issues, you can bring headphones, you can bring them into the kids club. Just put, you know, make sure you have your name on them. So if your kid takes them off, you can find them again or the cast can find them again for you because they will inevitably get misplaced at some point. I also highly recommend making sure you go to, like, your dollar store or your target and get a bunch of kid sized sunglasses. Nathan is very light sensitive, and it's real sunny in the Caribbean and out on deck, and I need to have, like, eight pairs of sunglasses because we lose them all the time. So, yeah, sunglasses are your friends. [00:20:30] Speaker C: I'm just going to. I'm going to close this out here and get us into our show topic. But I just wanted to say, too, I think the key for me was, um, going in with reasonable expectations. The first cruise we took with Nathan, I did not go in with reasonable expectations. I went in expecting us to be able to pull off the same kind of cruise that Sam and I had taken when it's just the two of us in the kids club, which just, you know, be a haven for all things. And Nathan was not into that kids club the first time we sailed. And so we spent a lot of time, you know, trying to keep him occupied. You know, that's fine that it's a family vacation. Fine with that. But I just think if, if, you know, if it's the first time you're sailing with these folks, if it's their first time sailing, like, helping them understand the expectations around it, I don't think the child will be ostracized in the kids club by any means. The kids club can be pretty hectic on the wish. So, you know, I agree with the recommendation on a smaller ship because it's a little, you know, more relaxed atmosphere and lots of rooms you can kind of funnel off into and get quiet time, activities and things like that. But I would just say, you know, set reasonable expectations for your crews. We talk about this all the time with just kids in general. Like, if your kid normally naps at 01:00 it's not like being on the Disney ship is going to suddenly remove the need for the nap, and they're going to be okay with a late dinner, right? Just. Just know that. [00:21:46] Speaker A: So and try again. I like the comment from Tracy. If the kid doesn't love the club the first time, that doesn't mean they won't love it the second or the third or the fourth time. [00:21:55] Speaker C: And use your Facebook group. You will be surprised at how many people are sailing with kids who are on the spectrum and would love to make friends with other parents and families and kids who are like minded. One of Nathan's, you know, best friends in the world is a family member. The daughter of two of our friends out there, DCL, cruising, families, watching. I don't know if they are. I think they're. They're maybe still on the ship. I don't know. But their daughter is also on the spectrum, and Nathan and her met up, and they're, like, thickesties, like, almost immediately. So, like. [00:22:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. [00:22:25] Speaker C: Well, speaking of different ships, uh, Sam, I'm going to let you take the lead here on topic. Like, how do you want to cut this up? There's, you know, we used to have four ships. It would have been easy. [00:22:34] Speaker A: Now I know, I know. [00:22:37] Speaker B: We're electing them. [00:22:38] Speaker A: Yeah, we're collecting ships. Five, almost six, and then soon to be eight. Isn't that crazy? Five. Right now. Almost six. Oh, my God. Okay. Well, I wanted to talk today with Emily. Cause she is an expert on Disney cruise line. Expert on Disney, frankly, about the different ships and how we might recommend to somebody which ship to sail on, because they all have different, I wanna call them personalities. And some of that has to do with their size, some of that has to do with their theming, some of that has to do with their dining experiences or, you know, or the shows that are on board. And so there's a lot of reasons why somebody might pick a particular ship. But I wanted to invite Emily on to talk about this topic with us. But before I do that, I want Emily to be able to tell folks, like, a little bit about herself. How many cruises she's been on, how many Disney cruises. I know she's cruised on virgin and some other lines as well, but, like, give us your Disney credentials. Emily. [00:23:36] Speaker B: Oh, geez. Well, I. I love Disney Cruise line, and one of my good friends, she is a travel agent as well, but she was telling me all about Disney Cruise line. This is like, in, you know, 2022, back in the day, not too long ago, but it feels like forever ago. And she was saying, oh, our family loves to Disney Cruise. You should Disney Cruise. You would love it. Blah, blah, blah. And I was like, well, okay, I'll give it a try. So I, myself and my daughter Beckham, we crashed their family vacation, and we booked a room on the cruise that they were going on because they just kept saying, you're gonna love it. You're gonna love it, it. And so we said, sure, we'll do it. And, man, I have never looked back. I wish that I found Disney cruise lines sooner in life, and because I know that, you know, at the time, my kids are still, you know, they're still little, but I would have loved to, you know, bring baby on board and do all of that Disney cruise line life, you know, with little, littles. But, wow, it has just been such a ride. I just hit my platinum castaway level, so it is escalated a little fast. But like I said, I mean, once you Disney cruise, there's no stopping it. It's just. It's so wonderfully addictive and for so many amazing reasons. It's just a fantastic bang for your buck, honestly. And I think it is way more relaxing and way more fun. I'm so sorry, Disney world, but it's way more relaxing for everybody to be on a Disney cruise ship. So I love it. I love it. I cannot wait to see these new ships. I can't wait to see what they're going to do next. I am so all in on Disney Cruise line. [00:25:20] Speaker A: I love it. Awesome. That's. That's a lot of cruising in just two years. Oh, my gosh. [00:25:27] Speaker B: There was. In the month of February last year, there was a time where I had actually spent most of the month of February on a cruise ship. It was wild, but honestly, it was so fun. Yeah, but, yeah, I love Disney Cruise line. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a travel advisor, I am saying that because I go on them myself. This is my chosen family vacation that I love to do with my family. [00:25:51] Speaker A: Because it's just easy. [00:25:52] Speaker B: It's just so fun and it's different and unique, and I love it. [00:25:56] Speaker A: I love that. And each time I feel like it's different as well. Like, each cruise has its own, like, theme or personality, even, you know, based on not just, like it's Christmas time or something, but, like, different ships and different time in your life and different time or different ages of the kids and all of that. I love it all so much. [00:26:13] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:26:14] Speaker B: My son, Quentin, he is ten, so he's in that wonderful age where he can actually split his time between the Oceaneers club and edge, which is for a little bit older kids, you know, the eleven to 14. And he experienced edge for the first time. We were on the Disney magic. And, wow, it was magical watching him do a scavenger hunt with kids his age walking around the ship. I was like, hi. You know, just, like, trying to be cool, like, oh, but he loved it. It was a game changer. Felt so independent. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:46] Speaker B: And it was wonderful as a mom to kind of see him flourish in that way and to kind of, you know, make some connections with other people on the ship and just be independent. It was wonderful. [00:26:57] Speaker A: I love that. So let me. [00:26:59] Speaker C: Hold on. I need them to make vibe for adults, by the way. Like, I need. [00:27:03] Speaker A: Right. That looks. [00:27:04] Speaker C: Maybe I'll find that on. Maybe I'll find that on virgin. Maybe that's the wrong one. [00:27:07] Speaker A: Maybe that's exactly. [00:27:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Right. [00:27:09] Speaker A: I want to start with thinking about different family structures and about what you might recommend, for example, to a client coming to you and saying, I want to sail on Disney cruise line, but I have no idea which ship to sail on. And maybe we'll sort of leave out. We're going to kind of leave itinerary out of this discussion because obviously itinerary is going to dictate which if you take some of the time but not all of the time. And if that's the case, it's easy. Right. If you want to go to Alaska, you got to sail on the wonder. If you want to go to Australia, you got to sail on the wonder. Right. Those are easy decisions to make. It's a harder decision when you, or when you're thinking about similar itineraries and you haven't chosen a ship. Let's start with, like, families with really little kids. So we're talking like the infant toddler age. Where do you think the best ship or what? Which you think is the best ship or ships? I mean, because obviously we have classes as well that could sort of fit this. But where do you think is the best place to sail if you've got a little, little one? [00:28:09] Speaker B: Oh, man. So this is tough because I want. I want to say two different answers, and they are both so different, but for different reasons. So my. My first gut instinct is to say the wish, because the, the kids club areas, there are just, I mean, hands down, they are the best kids clubs, I think. And I think that it just seems like the theming and everything is a little bit, like, larger than life with, like, the characters, and they're everywhere. And it's very princessy and very. The decor is. It's, like, whimsical. [00:28:50] Speaker A: Right. [00:28:51] Speaker B: It's like welcoming the kids, looking at everything. But put that aside. Put that aside and thinking about little kids and thinking about, well, what happens when you get off the ship? And I always kind of go towards the magic because it is a smaller ship. So your experience at Castaway is going to be a little bit quieter, a little low key, you're going to be able to not get lost on the ship. It's pretty easy to navigate and even their kids club is really, really friendly for those littles with the Andy's room all set up and everything. It's really adorable. So I think I'm between those two ships and it's so weird because one of them is the polar opposite of the other. What do you guys think? What would you say? [00:29:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I think we tend to reckon. I think we tend to recommend the wish, as you do for, for, you know, families with kids. Like, I think it's a killership for, for kids, given that. That kids club is unbelievable. I totally agree. [00:29:49] Speaker A: And I think the nurse. [00:29:50] Speaker B: Have you gone down the slide, Brian? I feel like I would like to see footage of that. [00:29:56] Speaker A: We definitely have both been down the slide. [00:29:59] Speaker C: A running start, head first, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah, let's do it. I was so upset that they didn't do cave of wonders for the entrance of the treasure. I thought you'd be like dive through a lion's mouth or. [00:30:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Well, I'm going to agree with you both. I actually think the wish, the wish, of course, is wonderful, as Samara saying, for princess fans. But I also think it's fantastic for those littles for two reasons. One of them is, of course, the Kids club, but specifically, there is a room that is a Mickey and Minnie captain, Captain Mickey and Minnie themed room that often is put into sort of open house mode, meaning that it's not part of the kids club. It's allowed that anyone can go in there and it's perfect for like a toddler or infant playtime. And I think that's the best. When parents want to interact with their kids in a play space. That is the best play space that's available, I think, to parents and kids on any of the Disney cruises. And then the other one, I would say is, and I love Kaylee's comment, she's agreeing on both for all the same reasons you said, Emily, but I also think it's a small world nursery on the wish is equally, if not more beautiful than the kids club itself. And it's a small world nursery is on all, all of the ships, all five of the ships. It is bigger and newer and probably more updated on the wish. And so I would say that's the space. If I was going to leave my young child, toddler, infant for some amount of time, I would probably think that was the nicest of the spaces. So, yeah, I have to agree with you. But I also think that the smaller ships are a good call. Either the wonder or the magic. There are smaller ships are a good call. It's just more ease of navigating. The hallways are probably wider for strollers and things like that than the newer ships tend to have more narrow hallways. The wish in particular. So, yeah, it's funny, there's this dichotomy. [00:32:07] Speaker B: Of like, they're so different. So different. But that's why, you know, choosing your first Disney cruise is such a really, you know, personal and interesting kind of situation. Because, yeah, you're kind of bound by the dates that they have and the itineraries that they have. But like you said, Sam, like, if you're, if there's a moment where, okay, you're looking for February vacation cruises and there's like three different options, then you really need to start thinking about what is going to stand out for your family. And it's really important to kind of go into it and feel like you are choosing one that is going to be really matched well with your family. And not saying that they're all not amazing, but there are definitely some that I would recommend to certain families and certain looking for certain things more than others ships. [00:32:51] Speaker A: Yes. [00:32:53] Speaker C: You can pretty quickly self select into a ship just based on if you want to sail in Europe this year, your only option was to dream. You want a seven night cruise. Well, there's only so many ships that are doing that. So I do think it is interesting to think about. For your first Disney cruise, pick the ship you want to sail on and then figure out what itinerary you want to do on that ship. And even if they only sail short cruises, you can make it a longer cruise by just going back to back, right? So absolutely. [00:33:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:22] Speaker C: So yay. 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. My path, 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 its 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 to the experts? Head over to mypathunwinding.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. [00:34:22] Speaker A: I wanna just point out that all the recommendations that we gave for the wish will hold true for the treasure and the destiny. Cause the spaces that we mentioned are all the same. The kids club, the nursery, those are all the same. On class of ship, there might be some theming differences. In the older ships, there's theming differences between the same class. But even within the, within the wish class, the theming, as we know in the kids club is exactly the same. [00:34:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I want to put this coming up and shift us over to a different category of folks, which is those coveted adults only cruises where you're just like, I'm leaving the kids at home, packed my bags and I'm going cruising CT saying if meridian were on the classic ships, it would be perfect for a couple. I'm going to argue ct tenfoil mouse years that I think that the wonder is the single best ship in the fleet for adults only cruising right now, and it does not have meridian. I think the quiet pool on the wonder cannot be beat. I think it's one of the best pools. I if you're sailing concierge, the concierge lounge on the wonder is probably the second best in the fleet. I just. I just love the wonder for adults only sailing. My regret is not that doesn't have meridian because I've got some fabulous bars on the wonderland. Regret is it doesn't have Remy. You really need to be able to set the kids aside for like 3 hours to go have dinner. Paolo is great, but Remy is. I look forward to it anytime. We can sail on the fantasy and the dream. So I are you more of a. [00:35:52] Speaker B: Remy or enchante fan? [00:35:54] Speaker A: Remy, we're squarely in the Remy camp. Emily. [00:35:58] Speaker C: I like enchanted. And I will tell you, one of the best meals we've ever had was in the private dining room at Enchante. It was like four of us. I don't know why they put us in the private dining room was an amazing space. The most amazing private dining rooms, I think are on the wish and soon on the treasure and Remy and Paolo. But I just, I love Remy. The whole atmosphere of Remy. It just maybe it's because it's. The first ship we sailed was the fantasy. And one of the nicest times we had was Remy. [00:36:26] Speaker B: So does that mean that the fantasy is your favorite? Because I have a theory. Is that your favorite? [00:36:31] Speaker A: Used to be. It used to be, Emily. [00:36:32] Speaker C: It used to be. [00:36:33] Speaker A: And then we went on the one, and then we fell in love with the wonder. Interesting. Well, let's talk adults only. [00:36:41] Speaker B: Yes. [00:36:42] Speaker A: Emily, where would you recommend either? It doesn't have to be a couple. A couple, a group, whatever. Where would you tell folks who are sailing without children what the best ship would be? [00:36:54] Speaker B: Oh, man, this is tough, because I. So we actually just did our first adults only Disney cruise. Cruise. [00:37:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:05] Speaker B: So my husband, husband Scott and I, we went on the wish and it was wonderful. But I will say that I think that I am secretly mentally dreaming about an adults only cruise on the dream. Because I love their, like, district area, where there's all these different bars and they're all around each other and they have such different themes. And I feel like their nightlife is really happening there's gone. So I would probably want to try going on the dream for adults only. [00:37:39] Speaker A: I love that answer, Emily, because I'm going to say the fantasy for the same reason, but I'm going to say the fantasy because I like the theming of the adult area. I like Europa on the fantasy better than the district. I like both. But I like Europa better on the fantasy. I love satellite falls. Right. So satellite falls on both the dream and the fantasy, sees this great adult only. Like, it's not really a pool, it's more like a little waterfall feature type thing. But you sit in it, right, so you can cool off. But it's this, like, lovely deck space is kind of up on the back of the ship. And. Yeah, there's no. The kids don't run walk through it like they do with a regular quiet cove pool on the fantasy. And the dream is actually not my favorite adult pool. I think the magic and the wonder have a better quiet cove space. But because you've got satellite falls up above and no kids walk through it, that's my favorite sort of relaxing adulthood space. So between those, that and Europa and going to the bathrooms in Barcelona, which I absolutely love, I knew Brian knew I was going to mention that because I love the bathrooms in the Barcelona area. Yeah. So I would say. Yeah, I would say the fantasy, I think, is the best. I agree with you. While the wish is beautiful and I wouldn't mind sailing adults only, I actually would not pick that as my. I would put that probably as my, like, last. If I were to rank, I would put wish class at the bottom because that adult only pool deck is the worst. [00:39:05] Speaker B: Very small. And I do love that pool that overlooks the water, but it's just such a small space. And, man, you're really getting to know your neighbors in there. [00:39:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:15] Speaker C: I'll give you, I'll give you the pro tip that we did on a back to back, which was. And I would use this anytime you're boarding the wish. We did a back to back. We got off the back to back in our swim gear, turned around, got on, and went straight to the adult pool. And they were like, having like, a crew meeting back there. We're just kind of standing around the corner like, and is this going to wrap up soon? And, like, we hit the adult pool. There was five of us, I think. And, like, we were it. We were it for, like, people would walk back there and be like, you know, because they were in their street clothes. And I was like, this is the winner. Is like, we get like 3 hours of adult pool time with nobody here. It's great. [00:39:53] Speaker A: But, but I was down on the family pool deck with Nathan. [00:39:58] Speaker B: So next time you swap spots. [00:40:02] Speaker C: I want to throw up a couple of the comments here, and it will lead into another discussion here, which is some really fun comments here. So, Nathan saying, let's be honest, any ship is a great ship for fair. It's totally fair. Yeah. You're not wrong. And then Dennis is saying the best ship for an adults only cruise, whichever ship is in Europe. More power to you, my friend. But we've got two other comments. Alicia said, saying best is any ship on a two week itinerary. And Tracy is saying adults only. The longest cruise you can get, no matter the ship, longer crews, less children, better interactions with crew trail. Emily, I want to get your take on, you know, who do you recommend? It's not really ship related. It's more itinerary related. But, like, you recommend going these longer sailings because I agree with Tracy's comment, like, we like longer better and we know there are fewer kids. And frankly, I had a third 3rd thing in there. They sometimes are kind of a screaming deal because they're like repositioning cruises. So you get, if you look at per night, how much is costing you. It's some of the best deals in the fleet. So who do you recommend go on those longer sailings? [00:41:02] Speaker B: Oh, man, I wish me, I mean, I would say that people going on those longer sailings should have probably sailed before just because that should probably not be your first experience with Disney Cruise. I think that, you know, for your first Disney cruise, kind of going in the middle, a little sweet spot would be better. Kind of, you know, seeing what you like, what you don't like, that long of a cruise might be a little tougher for newbies, but, yeah, I mean, geez, if you could go adults only. Even. Not even adults only. You know, it's tough with some of these ships during the school vacation breaks because they are typically not a ton of cruises that carry the whole length of the. Whatever the school vacation is. So I'm in Massachusetts and we have know a week for president's day and then a week for April, but it depends when. And it never lines up anything that dives up like that. [00:42:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:03] Speaker B: You know, we usually, we'd have to kind of do like, you know, a back to back and do, you know, a five or four and a three or something like that and kind of mishmash or whatever. But, yeah, it's tough for those school breaks, so. [00:42:16] Speaker A: Yeah, I think whoever can swing it. Yeah, I agree with you, Emily. Whoever can swing it. Well, let's talk about multi generational. [00:42:24] Speaker C: I wanted. I wanted to ask about that. [00:42:26] Speaker A: Yeah, let's add grandparents into the mix. So we've got kids. We've got mom and dad. Or dad and dad or mom and mom. Right. We. Whatever your family looks like, we're okay with that. And then we've got grandparents on board with you. What do you think are the best options for multi generational cruising? [00:42:46] Speaker B: Oh, man. Another. These are all incredible questions because honestly, I talk about this stuff with people all the time, because if people have never done something, it's really hard for them to wrap their mind around what the heck is this going to be like for my family? But I will say, like, across the board, one of the reasons, another reason why I love Disney cruise line so much is that it is a vacation for everyone. And I'm not saying that to be salesy. That's truly how I feel. It is a vacation for everyone. So there's something for grandma to do. There's something for mom to do. There's something for kids to do. There's something for everyone to do on these Disney cruise ships. So I think that your question is so interesting because it's which one of these would be best for all of those types of age groups? Oh, man. [00:43:38] Speaker A: You know that's hard, right? It is. [00:43:40] Speaker B: It is so, so hard. I'm going to. I'm going to go with the fantasy on this one, I think. And the reason for that is I feel like there's so much stuff to do that's all kind of all over the place with interests. So, for example, you know, they've got the goofy sports deck, they've got the mini golf that's up there. They have the, you know, the aqueduct. They have just so many different things for you to do. I mean, their theaters are beautiful, their shows are wonderful. There are so many different places to go get drinks or to go listen to live music or whatever it might be. So I think I'd probably go with, like, a fantasy or dream type scenario there. [00:44:31] Speaker A: I love that. [00:44:32] Speaker C: You know, what I especially love about that is, I think the fantasies restaurants. It has the fewest number of restaurants with a show in it, and I feel like the volume is much lower. And we know Grandma and Grandpa sometimes need a little help with hearing, and they want to have a family conversation and visit with the kids and, you know, so I feel like that's a great ship because most of the restaurants don't have a show, and you'll be able to, like, carry a conversation in the dining room, which is getting a little harder on the wish and the treasure with the volume levels and even. [00:44:59] Speaker A: On the classic ships. Before you started talking, Emily, I was thinking magic and wonder, but now I actually completely agree with you. I think dream or fantasy, because you have Tiana's and you have rapunzels on the, on the wonder and the magic, respectively. And so those are very loud dining experiences. And I. That probably is a lot. And like Brian said, on the fantasy and the dream, you only have animators palette as the show, and it's also not allowed show typically, and it's not the entire time of dinner as well. So, yeah, I think. And as you mentioned, you have different. You have. [00:45:37] Speaker B: There's just so many options. I mean, they have Paulo, they have Remy. So the adults have something to do. They have, you know, for the kids, they've got the goofy sports deck and the mini golf. And that is one thing that I know. When we went on the wish, our son, I mean, he could be up there playing golf, golf all day long if we let him. But, you know, that was missed for certain. I mean, they have a different type of sports area there, but it's just being outside and. [00:46:04] Speaker A: Yes, plus having a full, I think the full promenade deck. So obviously, we know on the wish we have, I mean, it's technically full, but you have to go upstairs and whatnot. But I mean, it's not, it's not. [00:46:15] Speaker C: Full because the back is blocked off. [00:46:17] Speaker A: I forgot about that. It's just the front, so it's a u instead of a circle. But on all four of the original ships, on the first four ships, you have the promenade deck that you can walk around. I love to just stroll. [00:46:30] Speaker C: And that's something you love to promenade. [00:46:33] Speaker A: I love to promenade. Exactly. And I love that you can go if you're not docked and they're not working on a part of the ship, you can go all the way around and you can also play shuffleboard out there on the promenade deck. So I think that's a great answer. Yeah. [00:46:47] Speaker B: So many options, so many things to do. A vacation for everyone, truly. But yeah, I mean, the ships even, of course they're bigger than the magic and the wonder, but they're not so big that you can't navigate it. [00:47:01] Speaker A: Totally. [00:47:02] Speaker B: And so I'm going to go with that. That's going to be my answer. Final answer. [00:47:07] Speaker A: Awesome. [00:47:08] Speaker C: Tracy's got a great question here. Which is best ship for disabled cruisers, wheelchair users, which has the wider hallway and most elevators? [00:47:16] Speaker A: So there's two different questions. I actually think there's two different answers to that. I'm going to jump in on the elevator elevators and the widest hallways question because the most elevators is on the wish. Even though we only have two elevator banks, there's actually more number of elevators, but they also, I believe, have the narrowest hallways. So it's not the same answer for that. I would say probably the dream and the fantasy are the best. The magic and the wonder have wide hallways as well. But I'm thinking the elevators are the smallest. On the magic and the wonder, the elevators are a little bit bigger. I think on the fantasy and the dream, you do have the three different elevator banks so you don't have to travel as far to get to an elevator bank. And also, I'm also thinking about in the dining rooms. Right. The wish at the dining rooms are very crowded. I imagine the treasure might be similar. I don't know for sure because we obviously will be on it in December and we'll let you know. But yeah, I'm imagining that the. I think that the dining experience is probably a little bit easier. I'm thinking of the wide sort of lanes and enchanted gardens in and even. [00:48:26] Speaker B: Right. There's just more space to kind of maneuver around. [00:48:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:31] Speaker B: I think that, you know, across the board, if you do have someone with mobility issues, Disney Cruise line is very good about figuring out accommodations and making sure that you have a room that's accessible, et cetera, et cetera. But I totally agree with you, Sam. I think that the winners for that are going to be the dream and fantasy situation. [00:48:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think the magic and the wonder are just going to be. Are going to be perfectly fine as well. I don't think. I just think if we're talking best, they might edge it out. Just that the wish. [00:49:00] Speaker C: So I'll say two things. One is, as you're thinking about this question, just two things to throw in. One is the wish got kind of a bad rep for pool deck accessibility. That it is accessible. They have, you know, the lifts and things like that to get you up. But it's got tiered pool decks, so there's lots of like stairs. And so you have to stop and take separate lifts to get around. So that. That's one thing to consider. The treasure presumably will have the same, you know, challenge. The other thing to think about this is more itinerary based and ship based. But, you know, Lighthouse point was struggling with having some of the accessibility stuff available. I mean, they have ramps and things, but they didn't have sand wheelchairs for a while. It's a much longer kind of, you know, down the pier. Things are further away on the island. And so, I mean, things are wide, things are accessible, but it's more of. [00:49:48] Speaker B: A schlatter, tougher stuff to do, I think, with. With someone who has mobility issues or even, you know, an older, you know, grandparents or whatever that was. That was probably a tougher one to do. [00:50:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, they have stuff to, you know, accommodate all of those folks. So I don't want to paint that picture and not issue with the sand wheelchairs. They've got them now. But I'll just say, you know, I might think more along a castaway key route for kind of that multi generational. Or if you've got, you know, some disability, some mobility challenges like that, that would be where I would head. So. [00:50:22] Speaker A: Yeah, so we haven't talked about like elementary school age kids. I'm going to put it out there and say I think any of the ships are great for elementary school kids. I'm not sure I'd give a huge edge to any one of them. But I want. I want to know, Brian and Emily, what you guys think. If you agree with me or if you have. If you think there's one that stands out. I have a different answer for teens. I do have a more clear answer for teens. But I want to say like the elementary and maybe, maybe like tween, right? So maybe elementary and middle school age kids, like where do you think they fit best? And maybe there's a difference in between, between those two categories. [00:50:58] Speaker C: For me, it would just come down to which kids club are they going to be in if they're in oceaneers and the wish is great. If they're going to be in like edge. You know, I think both the dream class and the wish class have some fairly nice, like, edge spaces. The classic ships have a decent edge space. Not, you know, the greatest, you know, to your point about like teenagers, Sam? [00:51:18] Speaker A: Well, wait, let's. Teenagers. Yeah, that's gonna be our next topic. So let's ask Emily, what do you think? [00:51:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I don't. I go by my, my critics and that's, you know, my two kids and a seven year old and they honestly, they love all of the ships kids clubs. I don't think that there is picking which one is better than the other. Like I said, Quentin tried the edge Adam on the magic and he loved. So I think it's just kind of, I don't know what their personality is too, but they don't discriminate. They love all the kids clubs. [00:51:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Nathan's the same. And you know, one, one of our commenters, Nathan is saying his newly minted 13 year old says the wish has the best edge club because of more space and activity. So that's great to hear. Nathan, our Nathan, would. I don't know that he has a preference. He just got to go on an edge on. What was that? That was on the magic as well. And so he loved, he loved edge on the magic, but he hasn't been to edge on the other classes of ships yet. [00:52:20] Speaker C: And so once he sees edge and vibe on a dream class ship, I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to love that. I mean, I think the wish ones are nice, but like that space on the front of the ship, although it's getting cut in half now. [00:52:31] Speaker A: Well, yeah, yeah, let's. That's exactly where I want to go next. Okay, so I think we all know where we're going with this is the teens. Where is the best vibe or teen space? And perhaps it may be an edge space also soon. Emily, tell us the right answer for teens. [00:52:48] Speaker B: I mean, I don't know. Every time I go to tour vibe on the wish, I wish that I was in that club. It's so fresh, it's so new. It is like that they got into the mind of a teen and they just delivered. They delivered everything that all the chargers in the world, the screens, they have everything. Yes. [00:53:11] Speaker A: And that hideaway space that gives them an option to sometimes expand to. Sometimes it's used for 1827 society events, but sometimes that vibe uses that space as well. I think there's another sleeper answer though, as well, which is the dream and the fantasy. Right? Because the fantasy for vibe right now. [00:53:29] Speaker C: Well, I should say the fantasy in particular right now. [00:53:33] Speaker A: The dream right now. Right now. So we don't know what it's going to look like. But on the fantasy and the dream, at least pre dry dock. Pre the dry dock that the dream is currently doing, there's this awesome outdoor space for vibe that has like hot tubs and like a pool deck. And it's like, it's basically this. It's the same space that the wish has for the rainforest room, that outdoor space. And so it's amazing. So the fact that the teens basically have their own private pool deck, I can't imagine like a better space, even though I think their interior space is not as nice as the wish class ships. But I do think it's a TBD as far as how that space is going to look post dry. [00:54:16] Speaker B: Doc. [00:54:16] Speaker C: Well, I think. I think we have a pretty good sense of what it's going to look like. Because if you've been into vibe on the dream of the fantasy, there's like half the space that has like the smoothie bar and the like circular loungers and like kind of a space then. And then you can head out doors and then there's kind of like a wall with a cutaway in it for to move between rooms. And on that side of the wall is where they had some like video games and some other stuff going on. If I had to guess, they're going to divide the space space pretty close to or at that wall. And then what I've heard is they're going to, people are all sort of eye was up in arms too, about like, oh, my gosh, they're going to share an outdoor space. Like, that sounds like a terrible idea. My understanding is what they're going to start to do is rotate the outdoor time, like when that is available to vibe versus when it's available to edge. I personally think that's kind of a bummer for the teens because I thought it was pretty cool, but I'm also sure that they probably looked at that and went like, we know what the usage is like and it's not getting heavily used. I mean, frankly, my experience with teens and tweens on board the ship is half of the time they're just sitting in the stairwells chit chatting as a group. So, like, I don't really know what's going on in those. Yeah. [00:55:22] Speaker A: We'Ll see. We'll know in a couple years. We'll let you. We'll know. [00:55:24] Speaker C: We won't. Because then the answer will be, what'd you do? Nothing. [00:55:27] Speaker A: Nothing. [00:55:28] Speaker C: Hung out with my friends. [00:55:29] Speaker A: Hung out with my friends. Yeah. [00:55:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:32] Speaker A: All right, so we've gone through different, like, age categories, of course. And, of course, couples versus families. Of course. I do want to talk a little bit about theming, because theming can play into what ship that you choose to go on, especially if you have a kid who's Nathan's age ten, he's happy on any of the ships. What kind of thought do you give to people or talk to them about what the theming is on the different ships and how that might play into their decision making? [00:56:07] Speaker B: Well, I would say that if you're going, it's going to make that your decision making a lot easier. Right. If you're going into it and you're saying, oh, I love princesses. Princesses all the way. I mean, there's just no question you should go on the wish, because it's. I mean, it's filled with princess. [00:56:26] Speaker A: Yeah, it's the princess ship, right? Yeah. [00:56:28] Speaker B: Like, walking to, you know, dining at Arendelle. I mean, how more realistic could that feel that you're really going into, you know, Anna and Elsa's house? Like, this is. This feels so real. So I would probably go in that direction for someone if that they were really focused on theming. I think that if you are more into the old school, Disney, like, the traditions, the. The older movies, maybe, or that type of thing, I'd probably go more with, like, the magic or wonder, because they do focus more on just kind of, like that small, like, close knit type of feel and vibe, even with their decor. [00:57:15] Speaker A: Totally. [00:57:16] Speaker B: And so it's very special in that way. But, I mean, if you're not sure and you've never done it before, dreaming fantasy is a good place to start because I don't think that their theming is too over the top and kind of two this way or that way. Seems like when we were learning about the destiny, it was very much adventure. Adventure, adventure, exciting, lion King, you know, all specific things that they're kind of telling us, and I don't know that the dream and the fantasy really have anything that kind of throws in your face like that. [00:57:54] Speaker A: Totally. [00:57:55] Speaker C: The dream and fantasy are like, what is it? The dream is Art deco, and the fantasy is art nouveau. So, I mean, they're very sort of like. Like, almost like modern. A modern take on a cruise liner, like if you were on the Titanic or something. So it's much more understated than anything they've done with the wish and the treasure, all those shit. [00:58:12] Speaker A: And in some ways, more understated than the magic and the wonder, only because of retrofits to the magic and the wonder. I totally agree with you. I think both, you know, the magic and the wonder have that classic cruise line feel and have understated theming. With two exceptions, really. Right. The first exception being Tiana's place, the wonder, and the second exception being Rapunzel's royal table on the magic. Those are fully themed, immersive experiences. I'll see the shows and all of that. So if you don't want that and you want more classic, like, fully classic Disney, I would say, yeah, the dream and the fantasy. [00:58:51] Speaker C: For that, I also find Tiana's. I don't know what it is. Like, it just. It feels like it fits the aesthetic a bit. More. Than rapunzels. Yeah. Than rapunzels. I don't know what it is. It feels like, oh, I'm walking down this hallway, and now I'm kind of like. Like in a New Orleans kind of feeling spot. Like, I don't. It just. It strikes me as more. [00:59:10] Speaker A: I think it's in better. I think it's just your preference, Nathan. I was gonna call you Brian. I think it's. Yeah, I think it's just your preference for New Orleans. Brian has a huge love for New Orleans, so he's always going to choose New Orleans theming over, like Rapunzel, you know, german theming and so, yeah, I think that that's just a personal preference thing. I don't think that that's a it fits better or doesn't fit better kind of a thing. You know, you do have the soul cat lounge on the magic as well. Of course, that's a newer ip for Disney, but it is very well done as far as being, like, sort of a jazz club feel, and it doesn't have. I think. I think you're right, Emily, that the wish is more over the top theming, and that's what we're gonna see on the desk, the treasure and the destiny. So, yeah, I think that if you want real heavy theming, you should go for wish class. If you want a little bit more classic Disney or classic cruise liner than the original, original four. Yeah. [01:00:12] Speaker C: Well, Sam, I think we could probably talk with Emily all night about shit. But our audience is not gonna stay up all night to talk about stuff. [01:00:22] Speaker A: And I still have to pack. I still have to pack for my own. [01:00:26] Speaker C: I'm gonna wind this down. There were a couple of comments I wanted to revisit. One is I just. Linda. Yes. I desperately hope that Disney starts sailing out of New Orleans again. I loved sailing. [01:00:38] Speaker B: Everyone was very, very disappointed. I got to tell you, when they announced all the different new itineraries and it was a little sad, sad day. But with Disney, they're always growing. They're going to need places for these new ships to go. So. Never seen, ever. [01:00:54] Speaker C: I hope. I really hope. I did want to return to the question around accessibility. So a couple comments here I just wanted to put up. So, uh, Nathan saying his dad is in a wheelchair and they were on the wish last December and it was a little rough getting around for him with narrow hallways. I. Yeah, I. The dining rooms alone would scare me off on that. They're so packed. And then, um, Andrew, accessible adventures. So, uh, he would know. He says the classic ships for accessibility, in my opinion. So that's a. That is a great recommendation there from Andrew. But, Emily, tell folks where they can find you. Follow you. You are a travel agent. Please let folks know if they want to book a fantastic cruise. You how they can find you. All the things, Emily. All the things. [01:01:34] Speaker B: So come on over to we do Disney, right? I can promise you lots of chat about Disney cruise, Disney world, and, you know, maybe some bird watching here and there. But yeah, I'm from Massachusetts. I'm a mom of two. I'm a former educator. So I used to teach elementary school and high school. And yeah, I just love Disney cruise. So come follow along. We do Disney, right? [01:01:59] Speaker C: Amazing. Amazing. Emily, it has been an absolute blast having you on our shows. I hope we can have you back some point in the future. [01:02:10] Speaker B: I am a huge fan girl. And the fact that I was even asked to do this, I mean, this is huge. [01:02:19] Speaker C: It's funny because we're huge fans of you and we're like, oh, my God, she's coming on the show. [01:02:25] Speaker B: You both. You are so knowledgeable in this space. You just know Disney Cruise and lots of cruise lines inside and out. And I think that just you are such an asset to this cruising community because you're always in the know and you're always honest and I appreciate that. Well, we appreciate me on, oh my. [01:02:45] Speaker C: Gosh, we appreciate you. We appreciate you so much for everyone out there. Just the final wrap up here. We will be back next week, 05:30 p.m. pacific 08:30 p.m. eastern Monday night. And we will be talking about our review of virgin voyages. So, and Emily, fresh off the ship. [01:03:04] Speaker A: Going to be life changing. She's told us, buckle up, buckle up. [01:03:07] Speaker B: I cannot wait to tune in next week to see what you guys think about it because you're going to love it. [01:03:12] Speaker A: I love it. [01:03:13] Speaker B: Awesome. [01:03:13] Speaker C: So there's two things. The chicken tenders are life changing in virgin voice. So that we're going to, we're going to compare that out. So we'll be back then. We've got a great slate of shows after that. If you're out there watching, please, please, please hit the like and subscribe button to the channel. We're trying to get the follower count up. So we'd love to have you subscribe to the channel. And with that, we will say thank you once again to Emily for coming on the show and we will see you next time. Well, thanks 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 publish 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 Apple podcast. 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. 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You can also, of course, email [email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-413-5590 that's 402-413-5590 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 individual 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 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.

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