[00:00:01] Speaker A: And we did a the World of Gin tasting. So my dad likes gin, I like gin. So it just was the perfect thing.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: For us to I expect nothing less from two Brits than to like gin. So yes.
Welcome back everybody to this week's episode of the DC Duo podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. And Sam, it's review time once again. This one is short and sweet. One sentence, just one sentence. But it's a great sentence. So it comes from George 231 4, who writes great podcast, excellent podcast with a variety of great cruise related topics and guests. So there you go. Perfect Today, by the way. Today, by the way, George, I'm assuming that's your name is no exception. I have a great returning guest and a really fun topic. We love, love, love covering Disney cruise line experiences outside United States from an outside the US perspective. And so we're checking both boxes today. Sam, you want to introduce our guest and our topic?
[00:01:10] Speaker C: Yes. We're super excited to have friend of the show prior guest. She is here solo today. She has come previously with with her best friend. But we are excited to welcome Laura back to the show. Welcome back, Laura.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me back. I'm excited to be here.
[00:01:29] Speaker C: Yeah, we're excited to have you back. This is kind of an extra special episode today because we get to talk to you about the first time you've cruised on Disney Cruise Line in Europe even though you live in the UK and also your first time sailing in concierge. So super excited to talk about these two first experiences.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: Oh, I miss that one. I miss luxury. Luxury cruise.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: Yeah. This luxury. Yeah.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Actually, actually my second time doing Europe, we did, we did do the not so Northern Europe 1 a few years ago that was supposed to go up to northern Europe but could not go up to northern Europe. And we had a slightly different itinerary. But yes, this first time out of.
[00:02:13] Speaker C: Southampton, which is of course, as we mentioned before, kind of a different travel experience than your normal travel experiences, which is to fly all the way across from the UK to Florida and sail out of Florida or out of Puerto Rico on a lot of your previous cruises. But before we, before we get to talking about the experience, sailing out of Southampton and, and concierge, why don't you give folks a little reminder of what, how many cruises you've been on, what kinds of itineraries you've done, that sort of thing. Your Disney background.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. So this was cruise number nine. So we are closing in on the platinum status.
I had small hopes that maybe I would have got the back to back out of the Belgium cruise and this cruise. But it didn't work out unfortunately. But hey ho.
So I've done the four, I'm going to call them the four original ships now. Like I haven't yet cruised on the Wish class, Triton class, whatever it's called, got into. Had my first ever visit to Walt Disney World when I was 19 I think so kind of missed it as a kid but have more than made up for it as an adult, I would say. So yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And on that, that trip was our very first cruise as well. So we kind of went whole hog, flew over, did a few days at Walt Disney World and then got on the Disney fantasy for the first time back in 2012.
[00:03:48] Speaker C: Yeah. So you have a good amount of Disney Cruise line experience. I'm sorry you didn't get to do the back to back. I know that would have been awesome. I need to talk to some point.
I know, but let's talk about what made you book. Yeah, this is a four night cruise. We're going. Talk about what made you decide to book this sailing out of South Southampton. Most of your cruises in the past have been longer, right, Longer cruises. Because of course if you're flying all the way over from the uk, you don't want to do it for a three night cruise. But yeah, tell us like what, what was the, what was the reason or deciding factor in booking this cruise in particular?
[00:04:27] Speaker A: So when I first started cruising, I started cruising with my mum and my dad. My mum is unfortunately now in a nursing home with dementia and unable to travel. And my dad has been bugging me for a little while saying I would really like to go on another cruise, Laura. And he is in his late 70s. Flying to the US is just not something he's wanting to do.
So I started looking for what could be a potential option. Having the dream over in Southampton this summer meant that there were quite a few different kind of options. So I effectively gave him a spread of here are some destinations, where would you like to go? And this was the trip that he picked. He, he did not want to do a week or any longer than four days because it's been a little while. He's not cruised since before the pandemic. We were actually on a Disney cruise when the pandemic hit.
So he, he hasn't been on a cruise in a good few years now. So he wanted to see if it was something that he still Enjoyed, basically.
And so, yeah, this, this was the itinerary that he chose.
[00:05:44] Speaker C: Nice. Now. Now tell us the itinerary that you did. You just had one stop, is that right?
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Just to Bilbao. So two sea days and the day.
[00:05:55] Speaker C: In the middle at Bilbao, I spoiled it by mentioning.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: Well, I want to ask how much. How much closer. So is Southampton closer for you than Dover?
[00:06:04] Speaker A: Would have been a six of one. Really. It's not. It's not too different. They're both down towards the south of the country. You have to pretty much follow from where I am anyway. You're going to get mostly all the way down there. My dad actually lives a lot closer, so I went down to his house the night before, stayed the night, and then we got a taxi about an hour and 15 hour and 20 minutes just to Southampton. Got dropped straight, straight off outside the terminal.
[00:06:33] Speaker C: Well, that's. That's a really nice way to travel to the port. I mean, most of the time for most of us cruisers we have to take. And you too, we have to take a flight to Florida first. Stay overnight one night, maybe more. Especially for you if you're changing, you know, significant time zone changes and then of course, get, you know, your, your transport to the port as well. But it must be really nice to just wake up and go an hour to cruise.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: It was. It was so easy. Um, yeah, it was. It was so simple and so straightforward. But that's exactly what we needed with my dad, like, just for him to kind of get his feet wet with cruising again, like, I was really wanting it to be a good experience for him.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: Now, Laura, one thing that you had told us, and I've already spoiled this, this is your first time selling concierge. You are normally an inside stateroom cruiser.
[00:07:26] Speaker A: Absolutely right.
[00:07:27] Speaker C: So. So you are off it, which is. And I, and I, you know that those are. That's the best budget way to travel on Disney Cruise Line. Let's be honest. Disney Cruise Line is expensive whether you're sailing inside or you're sailing on veranda. But your best deal is going to be, of course, an inside stateroom. What made you for this cruise, decide? We're going to pull out all the stops. We're going to sail concierge.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Yeah. So I'll preface this with we choose inside staterooms. Actually, we did do a porthole stateroom for our not so Northern Europe cruise and regretted it, to be honest. So we are very much inside stateroom people. However, my dad is very much a veranda stateroom person and we've had this discussion previously around, like, different rooms are appropriate for different people, depending on how they use the room. Myself and my husband, myself and my best friend, when I've traveled, kind of as a pair, as a couple, we're in the room to sleep, shower and get ready. We don't spend any other time in the room, really. Whereas when my parents cruised, my dad sits on the veranda, they watch TV in the room, they like to have their cup of tea. So they really enjoy the room amenities far more than I would ever make use of. So for me, and also, I just adore that indoor staterooms have no windows and it's completely black and you get the best sleep of your life.
[00:08:56] Speaker C: I love that.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: That. That, for us, has been the kind of prior deciding factor, I suppose. But with myself and my dad traveling together, I'm 31, my dad's in his late 70s. We had to factor privacy in here. So. So for me and him as well, I think just being in a. Even in a veranda room, family room, with that bit more space, the curtain just wasn't enough for me or him, I don't think. And we agreed that that was not the right option for us. So when kind of pricing up different options in different rooms and just having a look around the website for the price of two staterooms, just get a concierge room because it's actually less when you're factoring in traveling as a solo traveler as well in those rooms.
[00:09:46] Speaker C: Right. Because you'd be paying double occupancy. Yeah, yeah. So if. Yeah, if you. This is a great tip, Laura. So I want to highlight this for people. Like, if you're gonna. If you're, you know, two solo travelers, you're gonna end up paying. With two rooms, you're basically paying for four people. And so if you're paying for a concierge room, a concierge one bedroom, which gives you a room and a living room that are separate spaces, meaning there's a door in between, not just like a curtain. You are getting. Yeah, you're getting probably a little less space, but you're also paying less money because you are the double occupancy.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: And I would even say, yes, less space than having maybe two big veranda rooms, for sure. But there was more than enough space for both of us. Like, that was the absolute correct room choice. It. It was just perfect. Like, it was nice that it has the kind of pocket sliding doors. So during the day, we had those doors open so that it was a very nice, spacious, open room. And then at turn down service, our room attendant would close the doors back up and I really would have really complete privacy because dad had the en suite bathroom and I had the bathroom on the hallway and I slept on the sofa bed. More than comfortable. Like, I've seen that people have kind of requested mattress toppers and all sorts before, but honestly I was more than comfortable. I really couldn't fault it. I was more than happy sleeping there.
[00:11:11] Speaker C: Oh, good. Yeah. And it was the pullout sofa bed, right? Not like the sideways sofa bed that you see in the family state rooms.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: Yes, the pullout. So I guess it all folds out and you do have a bit of Tetris with. There's not an awful lot of space to kind of put the cushions. They sort of get stuffed down the side of the bed.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: Right, right. When the bed is open, it's tight. Yeah.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: I was going to put a plug in too. Not just like. So when you talk about the cost difference here, the price difference too, you get a lot more being in concierge. So like, so you know, you, you get the ability in a one bedroom, you get the ability to have breakfast in your room if that's something that you want. Obviously you get access to all the other concierge amenities that we've talked about ad nauseam on this show. But like that factors in too. So I mean, I always think if concierge is within about $1,000 of a regular stateroom, like the benefits you get from concierge are like probably well worth that amount of money. Or at least I assign value to those benefits.
[00:12:11] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Well, and I think particularly in your circumstance, Laura, where you're, where you were going to, where you wanted the extra privacy and you were looking and you're comparing two rooms to one room, it's. That's a no brainer, I think.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:12:23] Speaker C: Yeah. So let, let's talk about, let's talk about the, the booking process in advance of the cruise. So you had the concierge booking, right. You get to send to the concierge shoreside folks to let them know at 123 days in advance. You can let them know I want X. Sorry, no, 130 days in advance. You let them know, I want these sodas in my room, I want this excursion, I want these drink tastings. Did you take advantage of those concierge benefits before the cruise?
[00:12:56] Speaker A: I did. I actually had the lovely Karen book this cruise for us. So just have it. Just knowing about her experience with concierge cruising and because it was something I haven't done before. As much as I've listened to you guys show for years now. It was, it was so important to me for this experience to be right for my dad and to not miss out on things. And with it being such a short sailing as well, that was kind of a concern for me. Just, I didn't want us to miss out on something because I screwed up. Like, I just felt very responsible for his experience here. So I wanted to take advantage of her knowledge, which I absolutely did. So shortly before our 100, whatever day window, I couldn't actually tell you how many days it is.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: 130. 130.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: Of here is the proposed offering. Kind of TBC could change a little bit, but here are all the things you can pick from. And we had a quick phone call and just talked over the things that we wanted to do. There was an excursion that we wanted to book, we wanted to do a Remy Brunch and we did a the World of Gin tasting. Oh, so my dad likes gin. I like gin. So it just was the perfect thing for us to.
[00:14:29] Speaker B: I expect nothing less from two Brits than to like gin.
[00:14:32] Speaker C: So yes, I feel like gin is.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Just not such a thing in the U.S. but like, I love it.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Oh, I'm a big fan of, I'm a big fan of gin. I love. Yeah, I don't know if you've ever tried the Botanist gin, but that's my favorite one.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Oh, I have.
[00:14:46] Speaker C: Well, okay, so I gotta give a shout out to Karen Shelton from my Path Unwinding Travel. You know, I'm, I'm glad to hear that you, you used her services and were happy with those services in, in particular. But I, I do like to tell people that if you are sailing in particular, if you're sailing concierge, if you're sailing on Disney Cruise Line and have never sailed before, using a travel agent who is knowledgeable about Disney Cruise Line is super, super helpful. And if you're sailing concierge for the first time and you've never, you know, you want to sail, you want to use a travel agent who actually has experience with concierge. Because I see on, you know, Facebook groups, people asking questions and getting incorrect information from people.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: I'm chuckling because we, we, we just got a friend shared an example of that this morning where someone in a wish Facebook group was saying, you, you gotta bring the stick up things for your magnets on the wish because the doors are not metal so they won't stick. And I was just like shaking my Head like that is wrong. That's wrong wrong on so many levels.
[00:15:46] Speaker C: Wrong, wrong. Because one, the doors are magnetic on their metal on the wish, just like they are in all the other ships. And two, you're not allowed to bring sticky stuff to put onto the walls, the doors, whatnot. But anyway.
[00:15:58] Speaker B: But what I'm surprised about here though is I didn't realize that. It's interesting to me that you used Karen, who's a US based agent to book a UK cruise. I didn't even know that I would figure if you're in the uk, you needed to use a UK based agent to book it. But that's, you know, that's fantastic for all part. Yeah.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: And we actually. So I always have a placeholder on kind of standby and I always choose to book those placeholders in dollars for us and kind of how we pay for our cruises and for how things work out for our family. That is a more cost effective way to do it. There's a complication. You can buy placeholders in pounds. Does something and I won't claim to fully understand it, but it does something to do with the exchange rate where it can lock it in, can change it, can do a variety of different things. And for me that's just overcomplicating things. I'd rather just have the price in dollars, know what and where my exchange rates are, keep an eye on it and make payments. You know, if I spot that the exchange rate is great, I'm like, oh, let's push the money over here.
So you know, it doesn't tend to make an awful lot of difference. We have just always booked in dollars and that's what I know.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: So this is like, this is like advanced international monetary arbitrage. It's like a step up from the gift card stuff that we deal with trying to save some money on the cruise line. Yeah, I, I love it. I love it.
[00:17:20] Speaker C: Okay, so you get all your, your email bookings out. Did you write the email? Did you have Karen write the email? I mean, I think different people have different preferences because some people like to sort of control the process from start to finish and other people like to say, hey travel agent, you do this for me. And I'm just curious what your method is, particularly as someone who you know is obviously a very experienced cruiser.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: Yeah. So Karen and I had this phone call. I confirmed to her by email what I wanted booking and I actually had her take care of sending that email for me. The main reason for this was that I was at Walt Disney World the day that the email needed to be sent and I did not want to forget.
So Lindsay and I, my best friend, who you guys have spoke to before, and both of our husbands were traveling for my birthday and her husband Max's birthday. We did a week at Walt Disney World and some time up in New Hampshire in Massachusetts, where they live and my mom's family lives. So I knew I was going to be away on that date. So I made sure that Karen had our full payment ahead of us leaving. Because that's the other thing that I was also unaware of is the request date for concierge was ahead of the pay in full date. And they won't take your requests, I understand, unless you're paid in full.
So Karen enlightened me to that fact and made sure that everything was sorted prior. That was really the main reason for it. Like, I wouldn't have a problem sending that email myself, but being away and traveling, I just didn't want that stress.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: Yeah, no, that totally makes sense. I think it's. I think, you know, however people like to do it is the best way to do it. It's just something I always say, you know, for people who haven't done it before, like talk about it as you did with your travel agent so that you have an understanding as to who's going to, who's going to put the requests in so that nothing falls through the cracks. Right. So it's so you don't have a situation where you've miscommunicated or you're, you know, and then you don't have anything booked or you get your, your stuff in, but you get your request in late because the whole benefit, or a huge benefit for concierge is that early booking. Yeah.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: And I was just going to say too, for those of you out there who have no idea what we're talking about, we have plenty of shows back in the back catalog that deal with like all the whole concierge experience. So we won't get into that. But folks who are book concierge get to email in their requests to Shoreside Concierge. So whereas the rest of us have to go on the website and book things through the website like shore excursions and drink tastings and spa appointments and cabanas and that sort of stuff. The concierge guests are able to email those into shoreside concierge at 130 days prior and then at 127 days, 323.
[00:20:09] Speaker C: I think it's 100. It's whenever the pearl booking opens, which I think is 123 days.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Yeah, that seems right.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: So 123 days prior, they can go online and see that you know what they got and got it, you know, what they got and did not get, and then can make adjustments directly through the. The website as. As normal, regardless of their Castaway Club set.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: So, yeah, the one thing I'll say is, being from the uk, we have to get up very, very early. Right.
[00:20:36] Speaker C: Like AM, right.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Normally 5am I've actually just done one this past week. For our next cruise, I had to get up at 4am because.
[00:20:45] Speaker C: Because of daylight.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: I was not impressed.
[00:20:51] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: Right.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: It's midnight Eastern. Yeah. So it's midnight Eastern time. And so for us on the west coast, it's not too bad. It's only 9pm Right. So we were always doing it the day before. But for east coasters in the us, it's midnight for you guys over in the UK or in Europe, it could be four or five in the morning, six in the morning, depending upon where. Yeah, where you live and when.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: Daylight.
[00:21:13] Speaker C: I remember all of that.
[00:21:15] Speaker B: I remember dealing with that for. I was in Ireland. I was in Dublin for some. For business.
[00:21:19] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: I feel like I had to get up at like 3am or something. I was like, this is brutal. This is not my normal 9pm, watching TV on my phone in the Pacific time zone region, dealing with this stuff.
[00:21:30] Speaker A: So.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:31] Speaker C: All right, well, let's. Let's talk about the boarding process. How was it? I mean, obviously it was super easy getting to the port, but how was the boarding process out of Southampton?
[00:21:41] Speaker A: It was good. Once we got into the terminal, everything was really easy, really straightforward. The literal, minuscule. Only criticism I have is there was actually a separate door for concierge guests, which was very poorly signposted. So we had the. Obviously the open arrival time of show up whenever you want, of course, I'm there bang on the dot to go.
[00:22:06] Speaker C: In, because as soon as they open.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Obviously money for this cruise and I'm gonna make the most of every second.
So, yeah, so we lined up in the kind of port arrival time, because that's where we were directed. And then I did see this line of other people moving straight through and only realized when we went through the door that there were the little keys. But it was, you know, maybe an A4, A5 size sign. And we were not directed that way by the cruise port staff, who obviously do not work directly for Disney. But that was my only thing is we stood outside for probably 15 plus minutes more than we actually needed to. But it did not delay us getting on the ship in any way whatsoever because we were so quick through security, through check in through everything that we were sat waiting to be allowed onto the ship. And there was, you know, it was probably a good 30 minutes or so, maybe longer. You could, you could see where the back to back cruisers had come off. And then there did seem to be a little bit of a delay, but, you know, it's still, you know, early in the morning at this point in terms of getting on board. So really not, not a problem at all. And then our concierge hosts came out, came into the kind of little seating area that we were in, kind of called to everybody and said, kind of follow us, follow us. And we got led through and onto the ship.
[00:23:28] Speaker C: Nice. Awesome. Did they do a little spiel where they tell you about the concierge amenities there while you're in the waiting area? Did they do that when you were at the lunch, when you were on board?
[00:23:39] Speaker A: I think it was, it was kind of far too big and echoey in the terminal. I just, the people, the area that we had, it was almost like airline style boarding gate seating.
[00:23:51] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: And it was probably the exact same kind of seats that you get in your typical airport.
But there was quite a large area for concierge. It was not full, but people were then very spread out. So they did all of that kind of introduction piece during lunch.
[00:24:10] Speaker C: Well, and I will say there's on the Wish, they always do it in the port terminal in sort of the little concierge waiting area.
But that's at Port Canaveral where it's, it's more compact so they can sort of do it in one place. On the other ships, they do tend to do it at lunch. I don't know if that's going to change with the Treasure. I don't know if they're going to shift to doing it more of the group because obviously it takes long at lunch. So let's, let's hop on board and we'll talk about exactly what we'll go into what I'm talking about. And I assume you went to the concierge lunch because that is. Yeah. Nice benefit.
Yeah, my gold sticker and I felt very special.
[00:24:53] Speaker A: So, yes, I had both dad and I had like a small carry on. So we'd obviously sent. I'd only really taken a little airline carry on suitcase. Anyway, dad had just a holdall bag and we'd left those in the terminal to be brought onto the ship. And I did have, like, just another kind of holdall bag where I just have my bits and pieces for the day because I know that they're going to prioritize the concierge baggage. But I just wanted to have. If I wanted to go for a swim, if I wanted to go to the gym, if I wanted to do something, I just like to have those kind of few bits and pieces and essentials with me just in case.
[00:25:30] Speaker C: And everyone should do that, by the way. I'm not saying you necessarily have to have your bathing suit or your workout stuff, but, like, you should have your essentials, like your medications or. And anything you think you're going to want to get to that day with you in case of any delay. But also in the rare case of lost baggage. Right.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: And I'm. And I'm the person that I have sort of basic toiletries. And I do tend to put my outfit for dinner in one because of late baggage. It's in nine cruises, it's happened once that our bag didn't turn up until after we'd already left for the show for dinner. So it's rare. But it's also, for me, just easier to open. When I get to the room, it's open. This bag. Here's what I'm wearing this evening. And I don't have to root through a suitcase, especially when we've traveled over to the U.S. it's a much bigger suitcase to then route through. So I just. That's how I prefer to pack. So I did have that bag. And then as we walked around after kind of being announced on board, you kind of did a bit of a loop around the bottom of the staircase to go into. And this is where I'm always going to trip off. If it's Royal Court or Royal Palace, I still can't get them straight.
[00:26:41] Speaker C: I'm the same, Laura. I'm the same.
[00:26:43] Speaker A: I'm never ever going to remember which is which. The atrium restaurant, the princess one. So. And as I came around the corner, one of our stateroom hosts, Ayumi, she offered to take my bag and said, I'll tag it and have it taken straight to your room for you. It will be there. Like, we'll take it now. And I was like, cool, take it. I don't want to carry it.
So that was great. It just meant I then only had like, my little purse with my passport and things in at lunch. So it was really nice to be able to walk into the restaurant with kind of free hands and no bags.
[00:27:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:17] Speaker B: And it is, it is, it is Royal palace on the Disney dream.
[00:27:20] Speaker C: Oh, there we go. On the street. Okay, okay. So Royal Court on the fantasy. I never, I'll be honest, Laura, I just don't. I can never. I just say royal whatever because I never.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: Some sort of alliteration or something to try and I need to figure out something.
[00:27:33] Speaker B: But yeah, she says royal whatever as long as it's not Royal Caribbean. So there you go.
[00:27:40] Speaker C: Well, okay, so at lunch you have, obviously the, you know, you can have. It's the standard menu for folks who haven't been at the same menu as you have at the non concierge sit down lunch, but it's in a different restaurant. And the concierge hosts come around, they introduce themselves and they check to see if you have anything you want to book. They also sort of explain what the concierge benefits are, including, you know, how to do early entry into the theater for the shows when the concierge lounge is open, where it's located, if you haven't been to it already, that sort of a thing. Did you have any sort of bookings that you needed to change or alter while you were there?
[00:28:20] Speaker A: I had originally put the Rainforest Room pass onto my account and I had decided that I wanted to cancel it and then of course forgot, missed the date to take it off the app. And I knew full well that it may be a little bit touchy because obviously the spa is not directly run by Disney. It's a third party. And so I said, is there any possibility of getting this taken off? Like now I've kind of got here and I'm with my dad. Like I've actually reflected on it and I think I probably just don't have time to get the use out of it for the amount of money that it is. If I have, if they won't take it off, I'll use it, but if they will, that would obviously be great. So she said, I'm not sure, let me take it away. And she did. And it did sound like they were quite reluctant, but they did.
Faiz, who was one of the hosts and the host that gave us our kind of intro briefing, she did come and find me later that night and said, we've managed to get it taken off for you. But it did kind of sound like they weren't very pleased about it.
[00:29:25] Speaker C: Yeah, it always requires, like the manager to approve it. That's the annoying part.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: Yeah, well, but I've had decent success with this. As long as you haven't used it yet, right? Like some. Sometimes people are like, well, I used it once. I didn't use it. The whole thing. Can I get reef? And it's like, no, if you use it, you use it. Right. But if you haven't used it yet, typically there's people who want them. So. Yeah, I've never understood the resistance to. I haven't used it yet. Can, Can I just get rid of this?
[00:29:50] Speaker C: Well, it's also, though, if you, if you wait till the end of the cruise, even you haven't used it yet, you're. You're not going to have success, I think. But if, you know. Yeah, yeah. On the. But on the. Your best chance of being able to make a change like that is going to be on day one of the cruise, no question. And it's. This is, as you mentioned, Laura, it's outside sort of the outside. It's technically a vendor. So the concierge hosts will try and make it happen. But they, this is not like, you know, if you need like a dinner move, that's something they can. They'll make it happen. Right. But like with the spa, it's when it's. They're at the mercy of the spa manager, and sometimes you have a nicer spa manager and sometimes you have a less flexible spa manager. So I'm glad they were able to get that taken care of for you. Well, I want to talk about, I want to talk about what you guys got up to on board. And I also, But I specifically want to know, did you find that you spent a good amount of time in the concierge lounge or on the concierge sun deck, having not had, you know, the opportunity to experience those spaces before, but having had experience the dream before. You had been on the dream before, right?
[00:30:54] Speaker A: Yeah. So I was actually only on the dream in November, so fairly recently.
So, yeah, that was. We definitely spent a good proportion of our time in the concierge lounge or in the room. And we made sure to make the most of our use of that and enjoy it. Mainly because my dad's not overly interested in going to trivia or drawing or quiz, you know, like, I went to a few trivias and I did a drawing class, like Bits and Pieces. But he's very happy to open up the curtains, have the kind of like pocket doors open and watch some TV in bed with a cup of tea, like in. While we're on a sea day, like he's. Or he's happy to go. And we would go and sit in the concierge lounge in the evenings and just play cards and, you know, so we didn't do an awful lot of exploring around the rest of the ship. Like he had no interest in going to any of the game shows in the evenings, things like that. We did go to the shows and we took full advantage of being able to go down and get into the theater first with our popcorn and our drinks, which was really nice. So we did do that. But yeah, we absolutely spent the majority of our time in the concierge spaces. Unfortunately, the weather was not fabulous on this cruise, so I didn't spend too much time up on the concierge sun deck. I don't think my dad even went up there once, to be honest.
Go up there and read a book with a blanket on the second sea for a few hours. But that was about the extent of going up there for me.
[00:32:33] Speaker D: 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 extra expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, Adventured with Disney, Relaxed at Aulani, 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, My Path 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 my path unwinding.com DCLD Duo or email DCLDuo mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks My Path Unwinding, for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:33:32] Speaker C: What did you think about the, the food offerings in, in the lounge? I'm curious because obviously they've got sort of bites for breakfast. They've got sort of midday bites. They've got tea, sandwiches and scones and stuff in the late afternoon. And then they of course have sort of like appetizer and dessert bites in the evening, which, I mean some of the food is the same at what you can get in other places on the ship, but some of it's kind of, you know, unique or you'd have to pay for at the sweet shop or something like that. I'm curious what you thought about that. Did you guys take advantage of that?
[00:34:06] Speaker A: Absolutely loved it.
[00:34:10] Speaker C: Oh, good.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: Like, some of the things I definitely recognized from other places on the ship, like, particularly like the breakfast items. A lot of those were out of, like, if you go into cabanas in the glass cases, you're gonna get those. But there were definitely, I would say, the more kind of like afternoon, early evening options were more. You could tell that they'd been more prepared just for the concierge space. Yeah. And some really yummy stuff too. Like, and really nice to be able to just have a little bite of something and it not be, oh, I have to like have an entire meal. Like, you could just try little bits and pieces. And that was actually pretty much how I mostly did breakfast. Dad ordered hot breakfast to the room. I did one of the days, but I just didn't really. I didn't really enjoy that that much. I think I'm much more of like normal, quote, unquote cruise. I'm a either a sit down breakfast or a cabana's breakfast. Like, I want to go and kind of choose my own stuff and rooms. I'm not really a room service person anyway. I wanted to be because of being able to get the hot breakfast in my room with the table and have it all laid out. And we tried it on the first day and dad loved it and I was like, meh. It just. I much prefer just having my omelette that's literally just been made for me in the kitchen or in cabanas and it's served straight to me. And it's, you know, it's not that it wasn't hot, it's not that it wasn't good. It just. I prefer the restaurants. So what I actually ended up doing was the food would arrive, I'd knock on dad's door to say, hey, wake up. I would let the staff in to come and lay the table. And I would then once the table was laid and I tipped them and then I went off and I would go straight out to Cove Cafe to get my coffee. I sorry, I just did not like the coffee in the concierge lounge. It was good.
[00:36:08] Speaker C: Oh, interesting. Okay, so they just redid the dream. So they've just redone the dream. Concierge lounge and sun deck. Right after you sailed, of course, they went into dry dock. And I know that they have a couple of coffee machines on there now. I think before they only had one I don't know if they updated the. I don't know if it's different. So we have not sailed concierge on the Dream Class ships. So I don't know if it's the same coffee machine, but it is limited offerings. I mean, it's. You can get a latte, but you can't change the milk, for example.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Exactly. And so I think for me, I would have either an Americano with a splash of milk in it, which is what I got from the lounge the first day, and it was just not for me.
And so then other days I would just go and get either my Americano with a splash of milk or if I'm gonna get a full on latte, I'll go get an oat milk latte. So I would not have wanted the latte from the lounge, but for some reason, I don't know if the machine was having a bad day, but the coffee just didn't taste good to me. So in the mornings I just, I walked over to Cove because it's right outside too, which was great. And so I'd go out to Cove Cafe, get my coffee, come back into the lounge with it and take all my little picky bits off of the side. And like the, or the Bircher muesli, like, I know you can get that in cabanas.
[00:37:25] Speaker C: Yes, yes. The muesli is really nice.
And then you can also, you can also have, you know, cereal like they don't have. So they don't have hot breakfast in most of the concierge lounges across the fleet. That's changed. That obviously is changing with the Wish class ships because they do have some hot breakfast items on the Wish. On the Wish class. Oh, and you asked, is it Wish or Triton? It's the Wish class. Triton was the project name, but once the Wish came out, then it becomes the Wish class.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: And Sam, I should say they have just now upgraded the Dream.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Yes, Dream. Right. So now the Dream in dry dock now has also some hot breakfast offerings.
[00:38:03] Speaker B: Yeah, and. Yeah, you said which class? Yeah, the. Yeah, the Fantasy will eventually. And then the Treasure and the Destiny will is too as well.
[00:38:09] Speaker C: The.
[00:38:10] Speaker B: The older ships are the ones that won't likely get it right.
[00:38:12] Speaker C: But even the, even the offerings that are, you know, just cold breakfast items are. Yeah. Are really nice. And you can get just, even if you want just plain, you know, cereal. I mean, we always go when we sell concierge. That's where I get Nathan's breakfast. Like I get myself a coffee, I get Brian A coffee. I get Nathan his cereal. I typically bring it back to our room and then I might go out to get myself breakfast from cabanas and. And might grab something for Brian as well. Because I like you and I actually prefer. Even though I like the convenience of having room service breakfast, I like the. I think the quality of the food is better when you go and get it yourself. It is, it's fresher and so. And it's not a knock. It's not like the food from room services pad. It's just, just it takes a while to get to you and I can get my food faster and it will still be hot. Right? Yeah, I just think the quality ends up being a little better.
[00:39:04] Speaker A: I just love a cabanas breakfast too. Yeah, I do like cabanas.
[00:39:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I like it. Other than the scrambled eggs, but agreed. Yeah.
Well, let's. Let's talk about Bilbao because that was your port of call. I'm curious. Yeah, I'm curious what you booked. You mentioned you had booked a shore excursion, I think, and I'm curious what you guys ended up doing there.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: So we booked a tour of a winery with wine tasting and it was good. I wouldn't recommend it for the price though, unfortunately. I think it was around 100 and I think it was $179.
What was very nice was there were only six people on this whole tour. So it was very small, very private. We did have a. It was listed as a tour of Guernica and a winery. And so we had a walking tour of Guernica, which is another town, I think. Don't think it's a city, so a town. We had a walking tour of this kind of small town, some artwork and things that were there, like history of kind of the area and the region. And then drove off to this winery for a tour of the winery, which they took us through all how they made every. How they made everything. And you could see the vineyards and it was, it really was gorgeous. Wine tasting was more of a wine sipping. Unfortunately for me, for 180odd dollars, the value just was not in this one. I was expecting a little bit more like I'm, you know, I'm not expecting to be served six glasses of wine, but I kind of expected, you know, something at least on par with like what Disney offers on the ship as a wine tastings, the champagne tastings. You know, you have several things to try and more than kind of a little dash of it.
[00:41:01] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say. Yeah, you usually get like, I don't know, Maybe like a two ounce pour of like five different wines. Right. And then, and then usually some, like some crackers and cheese or if you're going to a wine tasting at a.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: Winery, wines and a plate of cheese and maybe an ounce, ounce, maybe an ounce of each ounce, ounce and a half. It was very, very small. Yeah, it was, it just, it was a nice thing to do. Would I do it again or recommend it to other people? No.
[00:41:31] Speaker C: Okay, well, fair, good, you know, good to know. It's always good for us to get feedback on different excursions. All right, well, let's jump back onto the ship because I want to hear about this world of gin tasting you guys did.
[00:41:45] Speaker B: We've done this one, Sam.
[00:41:46] Speaker C: I think you did. I have not done it, but I, I, but it's been a long time since we've had anyone to talk about it on the show, Brian, because not.
[00:41:53] Speaker B: I mean, I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about it. I'm just saying I, I, I, it, it, I think it's fabulous. A fabulous drink tasting at least. So.
[00:42:00] Speaker C: Yeah, what, yeah, yeah. What did, what did you think of it, Laura? Where was it hosted? On the ship and, and then sort of. Who was the, the, who led the class or seminar?
[00:42:11] Speaker A: It was in Meridian and it was led by one of the bartenders from Meri. Name is escaping me unfortunately.
[00:42:20] Speaker C: That's okay. Yeah.
[00:42:21] Speaker A: But yeah, so it was just, it was led by one of the bartenders and we had five or six gin based cocktails, all different types of gin. And it was really nice because he showcased something from a kind of like lower end from a price point, but still said this is great value.
It's still a good gin, but it's at a more reasonable price point and right up to one of the much more expensive gins that were there.
And it was a really, really fun time. My dad and I really enjoyed it. We were sat on, you know, the big armchairs that are in the middle of Meridian, the six armchairs. So my dad and I and two couples that were traveling together were sat there and that was so much fun. We all had a great time. And they were also from the UK and they were planning a trip to Walt Disney World. And I was kind of sharing your take. I'm kicking my brains about, I'm, I'm the planner of this and you have.
[00:43:29] Speaker C: A ton of experience at, you should.
[00:43:30] Speaker A: See my spreadsheets for when we go to Disney World.
So it's, yeah, so they, and we exchanged information and like it was really fun. I, I've sent them kind of over of like, I made notes for another friend that was taking her son for the first time and I was like, here, I already have these made. Have them. Yeah. So it was really nice. We had a really good time. Like, we. We probably sat there for a good kind of 30 minutes or so after the tasting ended. I want to say it was about. It was probably a 3 or a 4 o'clock kind of start time. So it was kind of later in the afternoon and this was on our first, first sea day. And we, we were probably sat there and basically went straight to the show from there.
[00:44:16] Speaker C: Oh, wow. Yeah. So you stayed for a long time. Just chatting. I love Meridian. We, we just did a live show recently where we're talking about sort of the best spaces on board for adults on Disney Cruise Line. And we all like. Meridian was like the top of the list for, for, for the three of us who were, who were on the show because it's just such a great, great bar space. And of course it only exists on the Dream and the Fantasy. And it's been so long since we've been on the Dream or the Fantasy that I'm like, so jealous. Like New Year's Eve. I know we're gonna be. We're gonna be on for. We're gonna be on the Fantasy over New Year's Eve. So I'm like excited to get finally back on a Dream Class ship and do Midship Detective Agency and all that. Speaking of Midship Detective Agency, I gotta ask you, did you do it just for you?
[00:45:03] Speaker A: We did, yeah. Dad and I did it together over the first. The kind of. Because we had the whole first day because we got on so early, we actually cracked out most of them up at one the Best Way.
And then we finished it on the kind of, I guess day two, but the first sea day on.
[00:45:25] Speaker C: Oh, love that.
[00:45:27] Speaker A: And that was really fun. It was a great way to kind of, you know, keep moving and explore the ship. And obviously like, dad. Dad hasn't been on the kind of Dream Class ships. He's never been on the Dream. He's been on the Fantasy, but not for a very, very long time. Because our last cruise that he was on was the Wonder, I think.
[00:45:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:45:49] Speaker A: Pretty soon.
[00:45:50] Speaker C: So he had to sort of re acclimate. Not just a cruising, but re acclimate especially to the larger ship as opposed to the original ships. Yeah, it's definite. They're definitely different. I mean, they're. The layout is obviously very similar, but it's different. And there's different things to experience, of course on, on each of the ships. Now what are the things I wanted to ask you about and you mentioned about sort of the, the clientele being different. Right. When you sail out of the US versus sailing out of the UK and in this experience, before we get to that, I want to ask do they, did the sailing have a Facebook group? Is that a thing for sailing? Okay. Yeah.
[00:46:28] Speaker A: Yes, I was actually I became an admin of that group.
So I wasn't originally and I just joined it but the lovely ladies that were running it asked for some help I guess because I'm very happy to answer questions and offer tips and I really, I get so much out of kind of sharing that knowledge. It brings me so much joy to make others vacations better in some small way. And so when it came to setting up fish extenders and all of these things, I offered to help because they, they basically put out a plea of like does anyone know how to use spreadsheets? And can anyone for us?
[00:47:15] Speaker C: This is, this is, I'm having flashbacks because so we're running the, a Facebook group for the maiden voyage of the treasure. And I know how to use spreadsheets and I could do a Google form but I'll be honest, running fish extender is like the bane of my existence. It's like the worst part of being a Facebook admin taking.
[00:47:34] Speaker A: So yeah, I took on the fish extenders for this cruise.
[00:47:37] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:47:38] Speaker B: Who's running that for you? Sam? We should give them a shout out.
[00:47:41] Speaker C: I will give a shout out to Kayleigh and I'm going to give a shout out to Megan. One of them is run. Kayleigh is running the fish extenders and then we're also doing. Megan is running a secret, Secret Santa for that cruise because it's over Christmas. So but they have done a ton of work on, on organizing all of this and it's relieved Brian and I have the responsibility of having to do that organizing and it's like herding cats. I, I, I give so much credit to people who run the fish extender who, you know, because they, it's a lot of answering questions but it's a lot of like double checking like is this per which group is this person? And rearranging the groups because people drop out at kind of the last minute and yeah, it's, it can be kind of a mess.
[00:48:22] Speaker A: And we did have a really wonderful Facebook group. We had a bunch of really kind people. And actually a really funny story was it was not funny in the Moment. But one of the families on the group, and they won't mind me sharing this because if they listen, because it was all over the Facebook group and the WhatsApp group, and we were all on tender. They got to the Southampton terminal and realized that the bag with the passports and everything they needed was at home, very, very far away. I think it was a three to four hour drive. And one of their neighbors broke a window, got in, got the bag, and they met them in the middle somewhere. And we are like, we. So I believe, like, we were at the point of going, does one of us need to go to guest services and tell them what's happening? And, you know, and there was this whole ship of, well, whole Facebook group of people on a ship pulling for this family to get on this plane.
[00:49:30] Speaker C: Yeah. Just hoping that they would get their bag and their passports.
[00:49:33] Speaker A: They made, oh. Skin of their teeth. Like.
[00:49:36] Speaker C: Oh, just made it by. All aboard. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:49:38] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Yeah.
[00:49:39] Speaker C: Because if it's three, four hours away and they're like, even if they're having to travel half that distance and meet in the middle, that's still two hours and then two hours back. Exactly. It's still four hours.
[00:49:49] Speaker A: And oh, gosh, I really felt for them because it was an emotional roller coaster. And literally in the muster drill, it was so funny because I could see other people with their WhatsApp open around me in the muster drill, seeing the messages come through of going, they're on board, they're on board.
And if we'd gotten out of the muster drill five minutes earlier, I think there are a bunch of us that were gonna run down to the atrium.
[00:50:15] Speaker C: And see if they would hold the ship for one family.
[00:50:20] Speaker A: And this had been going on since literally, check in, the first check in time at the terminals. We're all following this saga all day.
Oh, my goodness, it was so glad they made it. They made it and they actually were. Disney chose them as one of the families that kind of gets the private meet and greet with the characters that. That happens occasionally. So.
[00:50:44] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. I'm so glad to hear that.
[00:50:48] Speaker A: I'm so glad to hear.
[00:50:49] Speaker C: For. For those who don't know there. There are. You can get sort of selected by usually the entertainment crew. They'll sort of select a handful of. Of families to come and do like a private. It's not. I don't think it happens on every sailing, but I think it happens on a lot of sailings. We've never been chosen, but we have friends who have been chosen. Yeah. And so we've heard about it and we've had some guests on our show who've gotten to experience this as well.
But yeah, it's really special because it's a really small meet and greet and it's like the entire, I think like Fab Five are there typically. It's. It's not like you're just meeting Mickey, which is. Would be frankly a private meeting with Mickey would be enough to. For I think anyone. But like the fact that you get like usually the Fab Five and maybe even Daisy, it's just. Yeah. Just kind of awesome. Yeah. Wow. Well, I'm so glad to hear that they made it on board. Oh. So I did. Was asking. Sorry, I. Back to my. My question. I know Brian wants to ask you about Remy, but back to my question about demographics. You said it's different and I wanted to ask in what way?
[00:51:52] Speaker A: Yes. So sorry. Massive sidebar there.
[00:51:55] Speaker C: No, no, this is a great sidebar. Love it.
[00:51:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
I was very grateful to be in concierge on this cruise and to have that private space.
We had a wonderful Facebook group of people and there were, you know, and I'm not. I do not want to generalize and put this of the vibe is just very different when you cruise on. I think from what I'm understanding from speaking to others cruising on the. Particularly the round trip cruises. So where they go out of Southampton, back into Southampton or whichever port, the vibe is just very, very different. And I think my. My assumption is that you are getting a lot of families who cannot afford to take their whole family to Walt Disney World, so they go on a cruise, which completely understandable, but unfortunately some of the behavior that we were witnessing was truly shocking. And I was honestly quite glad to be tucked away in concierge.
I had one of the other admins of the Facebook group say to me that for how rude somebody was to the guest services staff in front of her, that she felt the need to apologize to the cast member on behalf of this person.
There was a lot of drinking in the dining rooms with personally brought alcohol, which was obvious from it being in cans and things like this.
And Disney didn't really do anything about it, if I'm honest. But I think it was so rife that it was probably very difficult to do something about it.
So it was just different. As somebody who was used to coming on creases out of the US it just had a different vibe to it. And I also heard a lot from.
I can't remember exactly. I think I heard this from another Guest that she had said that their servings team had told them that on the cruise before ours. They're basically the 20 people. There was a group of like 20 odd people and they all removed all their tips.
[00:54:20] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:54:22] Speaker A: Which.
[00:54:22] Speaker C: Oh, that kills me my heart.
[00:54:25] Speaker A: And that was something we did a lot of. We were very conscious of on the Facebook group of trying to educate people as to. It is not England. We, you know, these crew do not have the living wage and the minimum wage that we are used to in this country.
And people kind of. We did get quite a lot of kind of moaning in the Facebook group about it.
But my kind of response to that was, you know, respectfully, this is an American cruise line that you've chosen to book with. And this is actually more than just American cruise lines. This is just part of cruising. And yes, some other lines absorb it into the fee that you pay as part of your cruise fare, but Disney does not.
And so we tried to do a lot of kind of education around this is how tips work and this is where the money goes. So I've learned on previous cruises that if you buy a drink in a bar, the auto gratuity gets split between the entire team and what you add on additionally is to the crew member whose name is on your check. So it's those sorts of things that I think it helps to educate people on to help them understand that these crew are working really hard for their money. And, you know, I think I've only ever had one experience where I've considered lowering a tip and I still didn't end up doing it.
And that was one experience where we just had a head server who was just completely ignored our table.
[00:56:02] Speaker C: It was very strange.
And there are those. There are definitely. I mean, we tend to talk obviously about the good experiences, but there are times where people have a bad experience. And I don't fault someone for complaining when they have a bad experience. But I think your point is a really important one about educating people about tips. We see questions in some of the larger Facebook groups where there are non Americans in the groups as well as Americans. And there's lots of questions. And I think, you know, and the way to approach it is exactly, I think, as. As you do, which is to, you know, educate in a kind manner. But explain like, this is a part of the culture. And when you're booking an American cruise line like Disney, this is the way it works. And so you have to adjust. Like when I. When I. When we come over, you know, to Europe and we find the whole no, tipping culture is so weird. We have, like, such a hard time with it, but we're like, okay, well, this is the culture. And like, we. We have to, you know, when in Rome, right. We do as the Romans do. So.
So that's. Yeah. And I know it's a little. It's probably a little bit odd because Disney is sailing over in Europe and so it's this weird dichotomy, but you're right, it is the American culture of tipping and Disney Cruise Line in particular, that's just the way that they compensate their employees. So.
[00:57:26] Speaker A: Yeah, and I think it's also helping people understand that, like, a lot of these crew members send most of their wages back to their families, and Disney actually has an automatic way of their. Their wages or whatever proportion going straight back to their families at home. And the crew member, you know, effectively, quote, unquote, doesn't see it.
And so I think it's helping people understand of, like, what these crew members are doing and how long they're away from their families and how hard they work.
[00:57:56] Speaker B: So, Laura, I've got two questions here.
[00:57:58] Speaker D: As we round out the show.
[00:57:59] Speaker B: So one is I do want to hear about Remy Brunch and what you thought about it. I actually got message today from someone on Instagram who was asking me would I do Remy Brunch or Prima Note in Palo, and I sort of said, we did Remy brunch brunch. Not sure I'd do it again. Not that it was bad, it's just I. We didn't love it, but definitely do priminote again. And so I'm curious now that you've experienced Remy brunch much more recently than we have.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: What.
[00:58:24] Speaker B: What did you think about it?
[00:58:26] Speaker A: I really enjoyed the experience.
I think we did. So we did the brunch as it comes, and then we did the, like, smaller wine pairing. They have two options, like one which is. Is a fairly big chunk of money, and one which was, I want to say, was only maybe like 40 or so dollars on top of the food. So. And we still got. It was, you know, much smaller glasses, but still something with each course to drink, which was more than enough for me. And I really enjoyed that meal. We had a beautiful table, we had a wonderful server, and it was truly, truly delicious food for me. I. I've done Remy dinner as well, and I've done. I have done Paolo. I've done Paolo dinner. I have not done Paolo brunch in a very, very long time. So I'm not gonna kind of speak about that, because it was also pre pandemic. I definitely prefer Remy dinner to Paolo dinner, but it is a very big, very long, very filling meal. And I think Remy brunch was a really, really lovely way to enjoy that caliber of food, but without feeling like I needed a wheelchair to get back to my room because I was so full.
Yeah. So I really, really enjoyed it.
[00:59:41] Speaker B: Do you recall, like, what the food was? Because my memory is it was, you know, I thought the food was good, and it's, you know, it's French food. And, you know, obviously I've said this before on the show. Any chef will tell you the hardest thing to make is a perfect egg. And they, they. They do that very well. And Remy. But I remember being, like, kind of lighter, fair on the. The food side. More traditional kind of breakfast dishes with kind of that French twist to them. And then the wine pairing was all champagne. It was just like, this is a champagne brunch kind of thing. Is that still how it is today?
[01:00:11] Speaker A: It was definitely more, I would say lunch than brunch, for sure.
Did not feel breakfasty to me. And we definitely had a mix of wines and champagnes.
I actually, there was one that I enjoyed so much. I took a picture of. I asked them to bring the bottle so I could take a picture.
I haven't done anything with that photo, but at some point I will get another bottle of that because it was very, very good and I really enjoyed it. So, yeah, this is like the.
[01:00:42] Speaker B: This sounds like the shift they've made recently with Enchante. Where Enchante is. It's. It's interesting because I was looking on the website because when the person asked me the question day, I was like, I don't think they do brunch anymore. I think they do lunch.
And essentially the lunch menu is, you know, similar to pulling items off of the dinner menu. Is that. Is that kind of what. What you experienced?
[01:01:03] Speaker A: I would still say it was. It was definitely lighter in it. We still had, you know, good number of courses and kind of amuse bouche. And I was very, very pleased to get the sourdough bread with the three flavored butters that you still get at dinner, because I love the seaweed butter.
So good.
So, yeah, so you do get little. It follows a similar format to dinner, but it was definitely lighter. I didn't leave being like, oh, my God, I'm not going to be able to eat dinner tonight, you know, But I was. I didn't need breakfast before it, and I certainly didn't need Anything until dinner. So it was a still, you know, substantial enough meal, but I really enjoyed it. Would I necessarily do it again on my next sailing? Probably not. But I wouldn't do Remy dinner every sailing either, because it's just a decent chunk of money and it's very rich. And the reason we didn't do a dinner on this cruise is because we only had such a short time to go to each of the restaurants and we wanted to enjoy those.
[01:02:09] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that makes sense. That makes sense. Well, the other question I just wanted to ask you is you've sailed out of the US Quite a bit with Disney Cruise Line, and now this was your first sailing out of Southampton with Disney Cruise Line. Any, like, big differences? Do you have a preference over coming to the US and taking a Disney cruise or taking one of these sort of, you know, shorter cruises out of the uk?
[01:02:33] Speaker A: I would definitely say I prefer coming to the US probably, really, to be honest, because of the itinerary and the pace, I think, is more to do with it than necessarily because of the countries where it's in. I would really. Still, I'm. I want to do like a Greek isles, kind of Mediterranean, like really keen to do one of those at some point.
But I know that I need to G myself up because that itinerary is intense and I probably. You're gonna come back just, you know, tired because you feel like you. I. I felt when we did our not so northern Europe, I came back more tired than when I left because it was 11 days and like, like it was something crazy, like eight or nine ports. So it was go, go, go, go, go, go, go. And because you're there, you're like, I have to get off. I've not been here before. I must do it. And I was. I ended up very, very tired by the end of that trip. And I think something for me that I absolutely adore about cruising is just. I love sea days. So coming over to the US Southern Caribbean last year is my favorite itinerary that I've ever done. And I would.
So that would. Yeah, I think for me, I do prefer sailing out of the US But I think it's more to do with the weather and the pace of itinerary than necessarily the cruise port experience. Because actually our experience in Puerto Rico, the cruise port, if you guys remember, was absolute carnage. So would I put up with carnage of a cruise port for, you know, an hour or two times tops for the slower paced, sunny itinerary? Yes, I would.
[01:04:22] Speaker B: Well, Laura, we always like to end with like, what's next?
What do you. You mentioned you. You get the placeholders and such. Like, what. What are you. What are you eyeing?
[01:04:32] Speaker A: We have a very big trip booked that I'm very, very excited about.
So in January, we are flying to Shanghai for a couple of days, which involves Shanghai, Disney, of course, and then carrying on to New Zealand and Australia, where we're going to board the Wonder for the Trans Pacific itinerary, which I am so excited about.
[01:04:59] Speaker C: Meet Honolulu.
[01:05:01] Speaker A: Yes. And we're ending with four days at Aulani, of course, because why not?
So, yeah, this is a trip that we have. Have been planning and saving for. For, I want to say, going on the best part of a year and a half to two years at this point. We booked, we booked that Trans Pacific on opening day. I booked all of our flights on literal opening day for flights. And it's. Yeah, it's been a long time coming and I'm very, very excited about it. And how long will you.
[01:05:33] Speaker C: Yeah, how long will you be traveling for? Because that's a. I mean, that's a long time.
[01:05:38] Speaker A: We are taking six weeks to do the entire trip. Trip. Wow, that's amazing. Nights on the wander in the middle and involving doing. I believe it's February 16th. I will be doing twice because we are going over the international date line.
So. Yeah, I'm really excited. And that cruise, I. It only has four ports in 15 nights.
[01:06:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:06:08] Speaker A: You know when I said I liked sea days?
[01:06:10] Speaker C: Yeah, I love that. Are you by any chance hitting up Disneyland on your way back?
[01:06:16] Speaker A: Well, I tried, Sam. I tried.
I was told you have Shanghai, Disney and a Disney cruise. Rain your neck in.
So, yeah, so I. On my husband, bless his soul, he was like, one park and just one park. Pick one of the two. And I said, okay, Shanghai is, is. We're not. It's not as easily accessible.
Granted, California is still a long, long flight for us, but my mom's from America. We have family over there. My best friend is over there. It's more doable than saying, oh, let me go back to Shanghai again.
[01:06:55] Speaker C: I love it. Amazing. Amazing. I want to ask what. Yeah, but before we close, I want to ask the worth it question.
This was your. Your first time sailing concierge. I know that it was a different reason behind sailing concierge than maybe you would have for a regular. It's a standard sailing with like your husband or with. Or with Lindsay. Shout out to Lindsey, by the way.
Yeah. Hi, Lindsay, we love you. Come back.
But. Yeah. Would you. Do you think that the Value was there. Understanding that this is not something that everybody's going to be able to afford to be able to do. But did you think the value was there? Was it worth it for this cruise for you and your dad to sail concierge?
[01:07:42] Speaker A: Yeah, for this cruise, for our purposes, absolutely, yes. 110% worth it to have the extra. Just that extra level of care from the concierge hosts. For my dad especially, he loved it. And it also just helped me feel more at peace that, you know, when I did say to him, like, is it okay if I go and do this quiz or do this? You know, I had. I felt guilty. But he was very happy sitting on, you know, the veranda or wherever, enjoying his cup of tea or, like, his glass of wine or whatever. And I was like, is it okay? Like, and just knowing that we had a room literally across the hall from the lounge, from the kind of inside doors, so knowing that if he needed something, somebody was there. Because the other complicating fact with my dad is, is he doesn't have a cell phone, so he couldn't WhatsApp me or whatever. He didn't.
[01:08:37] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[01:08:38] Speaker A: So. So I felt very, very responsible for him. So, yes, for us and this trip, 110%. Would I do it? Would, you know, am I clamoring to go and change my Trans Pacific sailing to concierge?
[01:08:53] Speaker C: Like, kind of.
[01:08:54] Speaker A: Maybe. Like, for that length of sailing, I think it would be amazing. Like. Like, it would be great. But for the value proposition of it.
[01:09:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:09:04] Speaker A: Yeah. No, that for us, that price tag is too high. But on future sailings, would it be something that I will look at and do the consideration of that? Absolutely, yes. And would I love to let. Like, to take my husband and take my best friend and experience that together and have that experience? Absolutely, Yes, I would. So, yeah, I think it. It really depends on the purpose of your trip and who you're traveling with. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Like, it was a fabulous experience.
Would I do it on every single cruise?
[01:09:37] Speaker C: No. Yeah. And I. I think that's so interesting because, you know, we, I think, have landed there very similarly, that for certain trips, we want to do that experience, but for most trips, we don't.
[01:09:50] Speaker B: Yeah. I'd say I'm firmly in the camp right now if I really just don't see the value in it anymore.
[01:09:55] Speaker C: Well, but we are. But we're going on our Alaska cruise. We are doing concierge.
[01:10:00] Speaker A: That's one where I've said I feel that for Alaska, the way that the ship is built having that concierge deck. And for me that adds another level of value onto the proposition that would make me go, okay, how can we afford this booking on opening day, planning in advance, you know, how long do I need to be saving up for this and putting some money aside? Because for me that's, that's a worth it experience. But for me, probably if we're doing a standard Caribbean cruise, probably not.
[01:10:35] Speaker B: And, and Sam, to be fair, we had that Alaska cruise booked years ago, right? Like we've moved it multiple, multiple times. So that was back in the day of like, like I was all in on the concierge experience right now. I, I think it is going to be valuable for Alaska. I will say that is one cruise. I, I would do it, but I, we couldn't justify. I think there's value to it for the maiden voyage on the Treasure, but not at the rate that they're asking, if that makes sense. Right.
[01:11:02] Speaker C: Well, and that's why like I said, there's, I think there's some, I think, you know, if I had unlimited funds, I'd probably just always sell coners. I'll be honest. But like when, but when we are considering this value proposition, I think it, it is interest. I, I think you bring out some really great points, Laura, about how it can be more worth it in certain experiences than others. And so I just wanted to put that out there for our listeners that you know, there might be times where it is worth considering and there's other times where it's not worth considering. So. But anyway, thank you so much, Laura. It's been a pleasure having you on again. Of course you're welcome back to come anytime. Especially to talk about the Trans Pacific sailing.
[01:11:39] Speaker B: No, no, no, wait, wait. You just, you just said that you, you're welcome to come back anytime. Not back to come anytime. So let' they're syntax correct.
[01:11:48] Speaker A: See you guys in March when we get home then. Okay.
[01:11:51] Speaker C: Yes, exactly. Let's set up a recording for March for as soon as you're home.
[01:11:55] Speaker B: May need to be multi part because that sounds like such an amazing trip. But yes, we want to hear all about it. We want to hear all about it. So yes, thank you. As Sam said, thank you Laura for spending some time with us this weekend and sharing your experience. We just, we really, really appreciate it.
[01:12:07] Speaker A: No, thank you so much for having me again, you guys. It's been so much fun.
[01:12:15] Speaker D: Well, thanks everyone, 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 alive, we have a live show now every week Monday nights 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars 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 My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com forward/dclduo or email them at DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com 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 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. 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 and 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
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