[00:00:00] Speaker A: You got a double dip. Duo dip. That's what I'm calling exactly.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: Double duo dip.
[00:00:04] Speaker C: A double duo dip. Say that three times.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Double duo dip. I love it. Awesome.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: I feel like this is like that gum commercial from like the 80s, you know. Tell me your pleasure.
Welcome back, everybody, to this week's episode of the DCL Duo podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. And Sam, it's review time. We've got Woohoo. Chucky tn. I'm going to say I hope that's like a Charles or a Chuck from Tennessee. Fun and informative. Brian and Sam provide great information in a fun and entertaining format. They are knowledgeable and well prepared for each show. Whether you are exploring the possibility of trying Disney Cruise Line or planning for your 50th DCL cruise, you will benefit from each show and have fun listening. They have great guests who bring valuable information about Cruising Disney from varied perspectives. Well, thank you for that review, Chucky. Tn. I especially like that you said that we are knowledgeable and prepared because, you know, for those of you out there, the behind the scenes is that we fly by the seat of our pants half the time for these interviews. So, you know, there does come a.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Point, Brian, there does come a point.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Around show 480 that you sort of, you know, kind of know where to go at the show. So yes, we probably less prepared than people think. But with that, Sam, I do think we can key in to the. They have great guests who bring valuable information about Cruising Disney from varied perspectives. Because we have a great guest with us tonight, a return guest. You want to introduce our guest?
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Yes. We are super excited to have Ashley back with us. Ashley joined us on a prior episode to talk about cruising in Europe and actually Iceland. Specifically Iceland and Norway. And so we're really excited to have her back. Welcome back to the show, Ashley.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Thanks for having you back, guys. It's so nice to actually see you in person. We've only done ever done audio, so it's nice to see faces of who I'm chatting with tonight.
[00:01:58] Speaker A: Yeah, super great to have you. And I have to shout out that you have the best sweater on and you told me you actually embroidered it yourself. You're wearing a red turtleneck that has Mary in like white script and it's just so, so, so cute. I love it.
[00:02:13] Speaker C: And in the wise words of Phineas and Ferb, Christmas is starting now. So that's why I had to be decked out for it.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: For everyone out there, just to give you a sense, we are recording on November 18th. So when this show comes out in Fe probably we already have our Christmas tree up though, in our house. So primarily because we're leaving for most of the holidays to be on the Treasure. So we wanted to have a little bit of festive flair in our home before we left. But yes, Christmas, yes. In my mind, Ashley, Christmas starts November 1st, the day after Halloween. And one of my favorite places to visit was outside the country in London one year on like November 2nd or 3rd, and I walked into Starbucks. I'm like, this place is totally decked out for Christmas. I'm like, they don't have Thanksgiving. So. Yes.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Well, that was the hardest part for this maritime cruise was talking my Christmas does not start until after Thanksgiving husband into doing this entire trip because we did the cruise. Maritime cruise because of the itinerary. It just so happened to be a maritime sailing, which was a bonus. And then also talk him into doing the Jollywood Nights and Mickey's very merry Christmas party at the parks.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: He.
[00:03:20] Speaker C: He reached his Christmas limit, I think. But I. He took it very well and I think, think his heart might have grown three sizes.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Ah, he's a Grinch. He's a Grinch. Or no Grinch. No more, I should say.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: I love that. Well, before we dive into talking about this awesome maritime cruise, Ashley, why don't you remind folks of what your cruising history is and your love for Disney, where that all comes from.
[00:03:45] Speaker C: Well, I am a Disney kid at heart. I grew up going in the early 90s with my parents pretty much every year. So, you know, some people go to the beach or the lake. My family went to Disney and I was so fortunate, fortunate to meet someone who maybe been forced into loving Disney. And he enjoys going on the trips with us as a family. And then as our family grew to have our two boys, we started taking them. We've gone to Disneyland, Disney World. I went to Disneyland Paris. We're hoping to go to Japan next year. So we're just kind of marking off the list. And one of the things that finally my husband said, you know, I like the parks, but I'm so exhausted afterwards. I would really like to slow things down. And that's when I started listening to you guys and realized, you know what, maybe there's something about Disney cruises. It gives the parks aspect that I love with the organization, the excellent service. But then my husband can have the adult only time, the relaxation time, and I can run around like a crazy person doing all the origami, the towel folding, the trivias the kids are loving at the kids club. So that's when we started in 20, 20, 22, because we had unfortunately some Covid cancellations and we've gone now on our. This was our sixth cruise.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Oh, awesome. So welcome to Gold.
That's pretty fast getting there in just a couple of years. Yeah, less than two years, really.
[00:05:10] Speaker C: And we did. Yeah. We've done Alaska, we've done Mexico, Europe that we talked about, and then a Baja cruise as well. So we've kind of gone to all different corners of the world and if maybe one day in the southeast Pacific, I don't know.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Yeah, nice. Well, you know, you have to go to different places if you want to sail on all the ships, so.
[00:05:31] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: That just makes sense. It's just good sense. Sounds like you guys are very similar to Brian and I. I mean, the way that you and your husband are in that you and I, Ashley, we must go do everything, you know, run around and do everything on the ship and husband is relaxing on the pool deck, maybe reading a book or doing a puzzle in Brian' that is exactly it.
[00:05:56] Speaker C: I promised him this trip. I tried to only do 75% of the activities that I wanted to do, and I think I managed that expectation a little bit. Trying to take. Now that we're gold, it's like, okay, we've been on the ships now. We know the rhythm and the flow.
You don't have to do everything. They're all great. But it's okay to sit down and go to the CO Cafe. Have a espresso martini.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Yes, love an espresso martini from the COVID Cafe. Perfect. It's the perfect drink. All right, well, let's. Let's start with why this itinerary specifically. You booked a fantasy. So it was a seven night cruise.
[00:06:36] Speaker C: Oh, it's actually a six night. This is. This is kind of a one off six night.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Okay, tell. Yeah, tell us what the itinerary was and tell us. I think, I think I know why you chose this, but why did you choose this cruise?
[00:06:47] Speaker C: Well, our very first cruise that we were planning in June of 2020 was a double dip to Castaway. Since that didn't. That's kind of always been the back of my head. I wanted to do a double dip, kind of get that revenge trip, travel back with that vacation. So when this came up, it was two stops at Castaway, a stop at Lookout, a day at Nassau, a day at sea, and then it was on the Fantasy, which we have also not had. This is our completion set.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: Oh, my God. So, I mean, there's really no better way to complete than being on the fantasy and having two stops at Castaway and one stop at Lookout. I mean, and basically two sea days between your sea days and your NASA day. Right.
So that's like, a perfect itinerary. And so I take it that's why you chose this cruise? Is really that. That itinerary?
[00:07:34] Speaker C: Yes. And I believe after we booked, then it was announced that it was going to be a maritime sailing. We had last year on the Wish we did the Halloween on the high seas. So it was kind of nice to then see how this holiday trip was compared to the Halloween on the high seas.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Oh, awesome. So you didn't even know it was a maritime when you first booked. But regardless.
[00:07:53] Speaker C: I did. Yeah.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Yeah. But regardless. This is, like, a great itinerary. I mean, I would choose that itinerary. Worked in our schedule. I'd choose that itinerary in a heartbeat. So anyone who's listening, if you get. I mean, even if you only get one stop at each private island, that's a great itinerary. But if you get two stops at either private island, that's even better. Right? So you got three stops between the two. So you got a double dip. Duo dip. That's what I'm calling exactly.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Double duo dip.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: A double duo dip. Say that three times.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Double duo dip. I love it. Awesome.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: I feel like this is like that gum commercial from, like, the 80s, you know? Tell me you're pleasured.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Double McGum. That's right.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Double McGum.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Yeah. All right, well, Ashley, you're. Now that you're gold, and you were gold, actually just prior to this cruise, you had that gold booking window. Did you guys book anything in advance? Were you looking for, you know, any adult dining or spa treatments or maybe some drink tastings? Things that you might want to plan and book in advance?
[00:08:50] Speaker C: So we tried to do the Apollo Remy brunch, but unfortunately, those were all sold out already by the time the gold booking window opened. I think this unique itinerary really had a lot of platinum and pearl sailors. But that doesn't mean that we didn't book anything. We still got plenty of adult time. We first started off with Prima Note on the first night at Paulo. Ooh.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: You were able to book Prima Note then. That's. That's actually a hard thing to book, because, like Paulo Brunch, it only happens once. Well, to be fair, it actually happens twice. Prima Note, but both times on the first night. But two different seatings. But it's A much smaller number of people that can do Prima Noce than can do Palo brunch. So you actually got something super exclusive.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: And it was amazing.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Yeah. I was going to ask, how was it? What'd you think?
[00:09:37] Speaker C: Yeah, I've already told my parents are going on the Wish next month. I said, you guys have to do Prima Note. We're going again in February. My husband and I and a friend. I'm like, we're booking it. Sorry. It's done.
It was amazing. Not being able to have Paulo brunch or dinner was a little bit of a letdown, but this definitely filled in that gap, and it's something that we'll continue to do through repeat sailings in the future. The only thing is, we didn't get the pen.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Oh, no pen.
[00:10:07] Speaker C: No.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: That's weird.
[00:10:10] Speaker C: I'm disappointed.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: I wonder if they ran out. So we're going to be on the Fantasy over New Year's Eve this year, and we're actually doing Prima Note and the Fantasy because we've. What ship did we do it on, Brian? We did on the Magic. Yeah, we did it on the Magic. So that's the only ship we've done it on. I imagine it's the same, but I don't care. I want to do it again. Like you said, it's so good. Why wouldn't I do it again? We're not doing it on the Treasure because we know we're going to be, like, wanting to see everything on the Treasure, So we didn't want to go for that, even though I think we could have because of our pearl booking.
But, yeah, it's definitely. I think it's definitely something to do again. If I get a duplicate pin, Ashley, I will send you a pin.
[00:10:54] Speaker C: Regardless of the pin. Like, we really lucked out. We met two fabulous ladies that were seated at our table, and we became instant friends and then hung out for the rest of the cruise with them. So that was kind of a. Even though I didn't get a pin, I think I won something else better.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: Oh, I love that.
Isn't that awesome? Okay, what other things were you looking to book? So you were able to book Prima Note, but you weren't able to book Paulo Brunch or dinner?
[00:11:19] Speaker C: No, but we did do plenty of tastings. I think we have now completed all of the tastings that are available. We do champagne tasting again, chocolate and liqueur, and then my husband did the whiskey and the bourbon tasting.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Well, I want to hear about. So I've. I've done the Champagne tasting. I think the champagne tasting is fabulous. I love that you get to, like, sample different styles and different. With different bubble sizes. I know that sounds weird, but, like, different champagnes have different carbonation levels and different size of bubbles.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Bubble size. I didn't know champagne bubble size.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: Yes. That's actually one of the main differences between different champagnes is, like, how big the bubbles are and how bubbly it is in general, too, so. And that's why, like, some people really like Prosecco and other, like, sparkling whites but not champagnes, because it's. Yeah. Anyway. But I have never done the chocolate and liquor tasting, and I'm really curious about. About that one. Ashley.
[00:12:14] Speaker C: I've been kind of wanting to do this one for a while, but my husband's not the biggest wine fan, so he was kind of hesitant on, like, do I really want to do this? And I'm not always the one that wants to go out and just do it myself, so I kind of like having the buddy, because he, being a person who really enjoys whiskey and bourbons, can smell the liquor and then pick up those hints. I don't. I'm awful with that. I'm like, it smells like red wine. And he's like, liquor? Yeah. He's like, no, I can really feel it tastes like a cinnamon. I'm like, what? Cinnamon?
[00:12:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:52] Speaker C: So I always enjoy doing the tastings with him. And they brought out. It was started with a champagne. There was a red. There was a port wine, and then it finished off with a shot of whiskey. And what was really surprising was with the port, since it's a sweeter wine, they actually paired it with a Parmesan. A piece of Parmesan.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Mm.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: And then he rec. Fernando was the sommelier on board, and he recommended dipping it into some dark chocolate, and it was really good.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: Oh, Parmesan in dark chocolate. Interesting.
[00:13:23] Speaker C: Yeah. So it cuts some of that tartness from the Parmesan because you have the.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Dark chocolate with the sweet and the bitterness from the chocolate. Yeah.
[00:13:31] Speaker C: And then that takes off some. A lot of the sweetness of the port wine. So that's what I really enjoyed about Fernando. He was very into educating us on the history. Like, I think I can almost make a bottle of champagne now at home for how in depth he went.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Champagne tasting. Right. I know they do a really good job, I think, at all. What did your husband think about the. The whiskey and the bourbon tasting?
[00:13:54] Speaker C: He's done on multiple ships, so he said that this was probably his last time for a little bit because he feels some of them are getting a little repetitive. They like. They like to pick up from the same whiskeys and bourbons. But he always start states that if someone is interested in trying out different bourbons or whiskeys, this is a great tasting to do because they go, there's a, you know, the Japanese whiskey that they bring in a scotch whisk, scotch and things like that that will allow you to sample something else. So his goal, like, I. It's silly. His favorite thing to do is blind tasting. So he'll go to the sommelier or whoever's doing the seminar and be like, hey, don't tell me what it is yet. I want to smell and taste and guess and see what he do and see what he gets correct.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: That's cool. That's very cool. So he's.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: I don't know if he's actually telling me how many the truth and how many times he gets it correct.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: I love it. I love it. Now, were you guys looking to book excursions in advance? Obviously you were going to Lookout once and you hadn't been to Lookout before, I take it. And you were going to Castaway twice, which I know you have been to Castaway previously. Were you looking to book excursions at either of those places or did you book anything at Nassau?
[00:15:11] Speaker C: We stayed on the ship in Nassau, so we did not get off or do any excursions private or Disney on that day. And then on the Castaway day, all we did were the bike rentals and floats. The kids love a good beach day. And since on board they are not around us, they love the kids club. I can't get them away from Edge and the Oceaneers club. So on the days that were on land, I'm like, this is the time you have forest family fun.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: I love it. Forest family fun. Awesome. And at Lookout, did you. Did you consider booking anything or. I mean, it's hard when it's your first time there. I feel like you really want to explore.
[00:15:48] Speaker C: Exactly. That was the downside of having only one stop at Lookout. I really would love in the future to take some of those cultural tours and explore the island of Urethra. But at this time, I was like, I just want to see what Disney has provided. And they still don't have the bike rentals.
[00:16:06] Speaker A: Yes, I do.
[00:16:07] Speaker C: They booked that and they keep canceling it for us.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: You know, it's very funny you say that. I actually asked that question to the previous guest that I had on just a couple days ago, and she said the same thing. And she sailed just before you Sailed. And yeah, she said the same thing. No bike rentals. I don't think it's the bike issue. I think it's that the paths are not yet done and so they don't want people in the construction zones and so, so it makes sense. Well, let's, let's talk about any surprises as far as you know, we haven't talked about boarding and all of those things. But you've been on the ships before. Any surprises or differences with the boarding process or boarding on this occasion since.
[00:16:52] Speaker C: It was a maritime. The first maritime sailing on the Fantasy, boarding got backed up quickly. So there was previously when we sailed, we've always been able to just get right in on our port arrival time, get checked in on the ship. But this time it was probably. There was already the, the platinum and the pearls, I believe were starting at like noon. So it was already a delay port arrival time.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: Yeah, because they're putting up the decorations in between the two. I mean they've probably been working on like the gingerbread house for at least an entire sailing before you. But in between the sailing before you and your sailing, they've got to put up all the garlands and the tree and all that kind of stuff. And so yeah, they're probably finishing all that up.
[00:17:32] Speaker C: And then when I was surprised, was a sold out ship. But the Mickey, Captain Mickey billboard was not out. So we actually were able to upgrade at the port and we went from an inside standard stateroom to a veranda stateroom for a Killerdale deal.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: Oh, I love that.
[00:17:50] Speaker C: I, we, we booked it kind of late in, in sailing speak for this, this cruise, there wasn't much options left. Books. I'm like, you know, I just want to get on the ship. I don't care. I'm two days at Caspe, a day at lookout. I'm gonna be happy we're never in the room anyways. I'll be fine with the inside. But I was like, when we get to the port, I gotta try and I'm glad I did.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Was the ship full on decorated for Christmas at this point? I mean, look everything up. Yeah. Okay. And you're on the Fantasy, which is the better of the two from. Well, the better of the decorations from the wish class ships, in my opinion. But so traditional Christmas decorations. No funky white Christmas trees on the Fantasy, right? Okay.
[00:18:30] Speaker C: No, it was the traditional reds, greens. It was beautiful. It was decked to the nines and that was my favorite. I needed to take pictures, figure out how I can get my garland to look like a Disney ship's garland.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: I mean it takes challenge. They have a whole cast of people to do that. I don't know. I would love them to come decorate my house too, but then I really need them to come at the end of the Christmas season and take down the decorations. Yeah. So that's the key. I need both ends of the deal. Well, let's talk about, let's start with the ports then because I think that's, you know, we normally say in the Caribbean or the Bahamas that the ports are not the star, but when you're doing two stops castaway and one stop at lookout, the ports are the star. So let's talk about the ports. You mentioned you didn't book port adventures. You forced family fun time other than and bike ride floaties, that sort of thing. You did book. Or did you book that in advance since you get the slightly cheaper deal to do it in advance?
[00:19:34] Speaker C: Yeah, we got the two day floats and the two day bike rentals. Oh, nice try to do snorkeling in the past. We're in Iowa, so the kids aren't as familiarized with pools. And I just, they're, they're good swimmers, but I don't know if they were strong enough swimmers to go that far for snorkeling. Yeah, to be able to see all the cool aspects that they have around Castaway. So I just said, you know what, bikes and floats are enough today.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Perfect. I think that's great. Now do you guys always do the bikes and the floats or do you have sort of a. Yeah, that's kind on your tradition because like going back to.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: I have to do everything on the ship. I can't just sit for so long at the beach. I have to. After lunch it's like, okay, we gotta work off.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: I gotta go do something. I gotta go find something to do on the same.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Let's work a little bit. I get off the shop pan, I, I do the 5K and then I come back, I relax for a little bit, get in the water for a while, then we have lunch at cookies2go on a bike ride and then get back in the water and it's kind of rinse and repeat each time.
[00:20:34] Speaker A: I love that. I love that. Well, for lookout then let's talk because this is going to be a little bit different because you hadn't been there. What, what if anything, were you expecting? Not expecting. I mean, you know, you knew that the pier was long. I mean, you knew that was coming.
But what did, what did you think about it? And you know did it meet your expectations or was it different than your expectations?
[00:20:59] Speaker C: I was pleasantly surprised with Lookout. You know, everyone talks about the pier and we are not tram people at Castaway, so I don't feel like it was that significant further of a distance to walk from the ship to the tram stop as it would be from the ship to where we are on the family beach.
I knew not to have the kids in flip flops from listening to your show. Like you have your sneakers on or swim shoes. You do not have flip flops. Flops are uncomfortable shoes because I knew that the walk might be a challenge at the end of the day when the kids have had sand on them and they might not be in the mood for a longer walk. But they were rock stars and they're 9 and 12, so they. And they go to Disney all the time that they shouldn't be complaining. But, you know, it's vacation. You never know how your kids are going to show up that day.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: Yeah, well, and Disney trained kids are able to. Trained kids. I know it sounds funny, but they're, they just can walk further. Right. We drag them all over the parks. And, and like you said, your, your kids are 9 and 12. Our son is almost 11. He's going to be 11 in two weeks.
And yeah, I mean, he, he can walk. He actually did end up wearing it, wearing his flip flops on the way back. He didn't want to put his shoes on, but we had brought his shoes and he, we had him walk, I think, to the beach in his, you know, in his shoes. So I definitely think, you know, a particularly hot day, you know, and you, if you don't have comfortable flip flops, you might want sneakers. But I don't, I don't think it's not doable in flip flops. It is doable in flip flops. It's just a matter of what your sort of comfort level is.
[00:22:37] Speaker C: And I did see the, the wagons and the strollers that were available at this when you got off the ship. And then as we were coming back, they still had them at both locations. So if someone does have a little one, they get off the ship early. Not rope drop.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:52] Speaker C: But get off the ship early. And there will be hopefully something that you can place your child in to make that trek along the ways. But I agree it would be nice in the future if they have some sort of overhang or something like that to keep it cooler, because I could see how in the summer months that might be a little intense for the heat.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. If there's no breeze, I think that that walk is. Is pretty brutal.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: We had a breeze that day.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Yeah, that's good.
[00:23:18] Speaker C: Unfortunately, I think that's where a lot of people in the Facebook group that were commenting on. Do you like Lookout or Castaway better? We had two perfect weather days at Castaway. There was sunshine, no wind. I mean, even all the activities went on. There was not a single cancellation for any of the excursions. Yeah, we saw plenty of parasailing.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:23:40] Speaker C: Our two days there. But then on Lookout, it was the exact opposite. It was cloudy, very windy, but I still really enjoyed our time. The waves that were coming in, I think, bring a different kinetic energy to the beach that makes it feel more of the Caribbean, more like Hawaii. It reminded me more of like a Lani Lookout does compared to Castaway. I think it's the beauty of the beautiful paintings on all the buildings. The plumbing's a lot better as well.
[00:24:11] Speaker A: The plumbing is a lot better. People don't talk about the bathrooms enough. The bathrooms are so much better on Lookout than they are in Castaway. They're, like, fully like, it's a real bathroom. Yeah, it's like a real bathroom. It's not like, just like a. Like on a shipwrecked bathroom. Right, Exactly. Exactly.
[00:24:27] Speaker C: And I understand that's the storytelling, but Disney, sometimes when we have to use the restroom, we just want a clean, functional bathroom.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah. And one that has decent lighting, too. The ones at Castaway are always, like, I feel, like, completely dark. I mean, they have lights. They're just, like, really dim lights. And I think you're right. It's that, like, shipwreck theme that they're going for, which is cool. But not in the bathroom.
[00:24:51] Speaker C: No. Yeah. Lookout was just gorgeous. The vibrant colors that we saw, a little bit of the Junkanoo rush and having that activity and the music kind of brings a vibrancy to that day. Even though it was so windy, it was still kind of, like, uplifting to see the Bahamian people that were like, yes, this is what we do. This is how it's. We make our. We make our garments and dancing. It was very cool to see that. And, yes, there needs to be more signs to get around. There was complaining about that from others that I heard, but listening to you guys, I knew my way around. I knew I knew where to find true, true barbecue.
[00:25:28] Speaker A: Yeah, you got to go to the right to go to the barbecue on the right towards the kids stuff. Don't go to the barbecue on the left towards the adult. Adult stuff. Because that one is always more crowded.
[00:25:39] Speaker C: And fly update. Zero flies.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Yay. Love that. Fantastic. I wanna, I wanna ask, did the kids do the rush out, gush out, splash area, play area? I mean, I know they're big for it, but it's definitely. I mean, I went on the water slides in there.
[00:25:59] Speaker C: No, I showed my. Our youngest the that area and he was not interested. He just wanted to sit on the beach and play catch in the water with. Oh, I was surprised. And then I think towards the end, there he was. It was like in that this. The wind was kind of overbearing for a little while. It was kind of exhausting. So I was like, you know what? I'm just ready to go. So we didn't last too much longer after lunch because the wind was just starting to get, you know, your ears get wet, you get the wind, it gets a little achy. They're like, yep, mom, we're kind of over it. Like, okay, that's fine. We'll go back.
[00:26:32] Speaker A: Speaking of lunch, how. How did you like the food? How was the food quality? You already said no flies, which is awesome. But it's obviously some different food options than you get on Castaway. They still have the burgers and they still have the ribs. I think those are pretty much the same. But there's some different options, of course, the spicy chicken sandwich and those rice dishes that are similar to like a paella but a Caribbean style. Yeah. What did you think of those?
[00:26:57] Speaker B: The spicy chicken sandwich is available on some sailings on Castaway, or it used to be Sam. So it's.
[00:27:02] Speaker C: Yes. That was day two on Castaway.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: Oh, you got it on. Oh, I didn't know that.
[00:27:07] Speaker B: It's a double dip food item for Castaway, but it is a permanent food item. Lookout key.
[00:27:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:13] Speaker C: And that's. So I actually had it on both days, the spicy chicken sandwich, because I didn't. We went Castaway, Lookout day, the Nassau, then Castaway again. So I didn't know that it was going to be at Castaway again. So I was like, I've heard about this chicken sandwich. I've got to try it. It was really good.
And then the, the boys, they still had their usual the typical, like, okay, we're just gonna get a hamburger. And then we had some like that piece paella, which was really good. It was something different. And it felt more like I'm actually celebrating and being in the. In the Bahamas versus I'm at a glorified resort that's looking just for Americans.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: Right.
[00:27:52] Speaker C: With Hamilton, when We travel. We want to learn about the culture.
[00:27:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: Rather than tailgating in the Bahamas. Yeah, exactly.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Now that makes total sense. Well, it sounds like you had a good day at Lookout with unfortunately not the per. Not perfect weather like you had at Castaway. So let's jump back on board the beautiful Disney fantasy and talk about some of these maritime activities on board, because I know people are always interested in what is offered on maritime sailings. And of course, you know, what you think, what our guests think of those, those offerings. So let's start with that. Where did. What kinds of activities did you all participate in? Obviously there. I'm sure there are more things than what you did, but. But you know, what things did you participate or see?
[00:28:37] Speaker C: Yeah, the first one is a must do for me personally was to do the tree lighting that first night.
[00:28:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:28:43] Speaker C: Mickey and friends come down. They have a countdown. The atrium's dark and everything's lit up beautifully. And then there are some special guests that arrive from the North Pole that you get to see as well. So that kind of puts off, like this, the nice start of the whole sailing. Or it's like, okay, guys, it's Christmas. Like, we're going to celebrate being together as a family and celebrate all the holidays of the season, which I was surprised that it felt like. Outside of trivia, there wasn't a lot of acknowledgment of either Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. So I would. I would have liked to seen a little bit more of that because like I said, we like to learn about different other cultures and different things that expose our kids to people that have different beliefs and ideas than we do. So it's kind of. I felt like it was kind of a missed opportunity. If there was, then we. We definitely missed it on the Navigator app.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: Yeah, there generally isn't. I will tell you, the one exception is if they have the holiday carolers. If you see the holiday carolers, they will usually do a couple of Hanukkah songs. I don't know if they do any Kwanzaa songs. I don't know if there are any Kwanzaa songs because I personally don't. Haven't heard any. But they. The carolers will do some, some non Christmas songs, some other winter holiday songs. But unless you're sailing over Hanukkah, I can tell you from my experience, if you're sailing over Hanukkah, there is Hanukkah candlelighting that they'll do usually in cabanas or some other space on board, it will sometimes be real menorahs, meaning real candles, and sometimes it will be electric. Menorahs depend. It differs based on the ship, but it's guest led. It's not led by any of the cast. So it's. Yeah. So they don't really do anything for any other than Christmas. They really don't do anything, which is a bummer. I mean, you do see some merchandise in the shops. That is one thing. You do see Hanukkah merchandise in the shops.
[00:30:40] Speaker C: And I will say, disappointed in the merch this season.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: Oh, really? Yes. I haven't been paying attention to the merch yet because we haven't been. We're going to be over the holidays at Disney World for, like, one day, and then we'll be on board for Christmas. So. But I don't know what will be left at that point.
[00:30:56] Speaker C: Well, I'll tell you. Whatever you see in the park, you're going to see on the ship, because that was about the extent of it last year. On the other the Halloween on the High Seas sailing, I got a great Halloween on the High Seas sweatshirt. So I was looking for that with the maritime sailing.
[00:31:13] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:31:13] Speaker C: Nope. All they had was the same, like, Mickey sweater. Not the ugly. I don't want to say it's an ugly sweater, but that woven Mickey Christmas sweater that's in the parks. And then they have the spirit jersey.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: That'S like a fair aisle style. Right. Kind of.
[00:31:28] Speaker C: And then they have the spirit jersey that instead of saying Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Vacation member on the back it says Disney Cruise Line.
[00:31:37] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:31:37] Speaker C: And then they had, like, the Mickey Elf and that was it. There was nothing that said like a maritime sailing or did they have a.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Maritime sailing T shirt? Because that's the only thing I've seen that's been usually. Okay, so usually they do have one maritime sailing T shirt. It's usually a unisex T shirt and then a kid's version. But that's. I will say that's the only thing I've generally seen that's like, distinctly different than what you see from the parks. And I have a spirit jersey from last year that is the holiday spirit jersey. And it's the same as what you've described. It's the exact same as what they had at Disneyland and Disney World, only on the back it says Disney Cruise Line instead of saying Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
[00:32:18] Speaker C: But I like.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: I'm trying to, like, give you my money. Disney.
[00:32:21] Speaker C: Take it.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I know.
[00:32:23] Speaker C: It says what I paid for.
[00:32:25] Speaker A: Yeah. They don't have enough exclusive to the cruise line merchandise. They do. And this. And I know that the Hanukkah stuff, they don't have anything. Cruise line. It's always just whatever they. If they have any. It's whatever they have in the parks, and it's like, maybe a T shirt and maybe like a plate.
[00:32:42] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:32:42] Speaker A: That.
[00:32:42] Speaker C: That was the. That was exactly what it was in the stores. It was the same things that you can get at the park. And I was like, well, there's your two options.
[00:32:48] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, I. I guess we don't go for the maritime cruise for the merch. We gotta go for other things. So. So you had the. The Christmas tree lighting, which is always super fun. I agree with you. It's one of the best things to go to on board. If you're on a maritime sailing. It's something you shouldn't miss. What other Christmas activities did you do?
[00:33:09] Speaker C: The party. They had a lot of trivia that we did. One of the trivias did not do great.
Like, Jingle Bells was originally about Thanksgiving. Who knows? Yeah.
[00:33:21] Speaker A: Okay, well, now I know that. So if Brian. If we do holiday trivia and we get asked that question, I'm gonna know it.
[00:33:27] Speaker C: Now you knows more.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: Yeah, now I know more. That's right.
[00:33:31] Speaker C: We. We. We did the. The deck party with an asterisk. That was the night that my youngest wanted to break the record for the aqueduct.
So while everyone was at the deck party, him and I, on repeat, went up and down the aqueduct. I think we got to, like, 17 times. It was ridiculous.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: Did they let you just stay on? Like, I love when they. Well, I guess not. You can't really stay on because it's. It's. You're at the. Yeah, I'm thinking of, like, on the. On the Aqua Mouse, where you can basically just stay on. But Aqueduct, you have to. Yeah.
[00:34:04] Speaker C: Nope. Yep. And the lifeguards are, like, back again. I'm like, yep. Yeah, we're back. We're burning off dinner.
[00:34:10] Speaker A: Love it. Love it.
[00:34:11] Speaker C: We gotta see it. We gotta listen to it. Through the aqueduct, we probably had the best view because we had an elevated view, no one around us. It was a little wet, but I can't.
[00:34:19] Speaker A: And through the tube. A little blurry, right?
[00:34:22] Speaker C: Exactly. But it was a great. It looks like a really cute stage show. You know, it's. It was about goofy wanting to have Max come home for Christmas, but Max couldn't. But you know what? Family is not always who we're born with. It's also family who we make and our friends can be family as well. So it had a nice, it had a nice meaning to it with Christmas. So I thought it was a cute.
[00:34:45] Speaker A: I love that deck party, that one. It was new last year and it's. They introduced it last year. It was a great deck party. I'm glad that they've continued it. They don't change for those listening, they don't change the holiday deck party or the, you know, stuff every year. They will often update costumes, you know, every few years and deck parties every few years. But it's not an every year thing. But I'm excited actually to see this deck party again because I loved it. I thought it was a fantastic one.
[00:35:15] Speaker B: 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 My Path Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. Mypath Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, Relaxed at 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, mypath unto 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 mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email DCLDUOMYPATHunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks My Path Unwinding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:36:13] Speaker A: So trivias Deck party.
[00:36:16] Speaker C: Walt Disney characters are in the costume all the time.
[00:36:18] Speaker A: Oh yeah. Characters. I mean how do you like, do you go around taking pictures with all the characters in their holiday outfits?
[00:36:25] Speaker C: We are weird. My kids have never been into characters.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: Yeah, me neither.
[00:36:29] Speaker C: We didn't even like during this whole nine days that we were gone, the only character we met was Santa Duffy at Jollywood Nights.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Oh, I wish I could go see. I saw pictures of Santa Duffy at Jollywood and I love Duffy. I'm obsessed with Duffy. So I still haven't only met Duffy at Elani. I've not met Duffy anyplace else. And so he was very cute.
[00:36:50] Speaker C: Yeah, he Flew all the way from over from Alani to come visit us at Jollywood Nights.
[00:36:55] Speaker A: I love it.
[00:36:55] Speaker C: And then we. There was also Greetings with Santa Claus throughout different nights. Only my only complaint with that is there was always such a long line and he was only available for such a short period of time that I could not get the kids to stay long enough to get into line for that.
[00:37:12] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. They usually only do it for I don't know if it's a half hour at a time or an hour at a time, however long it is. Usually like he's out for maybe an hour, but like you have to get in line by a certain time and they cut off the line because they know how long it will take to get through those people.
[00:37:28] Speaker C: And I think on other ships there's like a book reading with Mrs. Claus. I did not see that on the Navigator.
[00:37:34] Speaker A: Oh, interesting. Yeah, she usually does. It's like story time with Mrs. Claus. They usually do. But maybe they didn't have somebody who plays Mrs. Claus or. Sorry. Maybe they didn't have somebody who's friends with Mrs. Claus.
[00:37:47] Speaker C: Well, Mrs. Claus, you know, she might have been busy with the. Anyone can cook yule log. Chocolate yule log.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: Right.
[00:37:54] Speaker C: She could have. Or maybe Rudolph needed something up.
[00:37:58] Speaker A: Yeah, she's probably busy baking. I think that that makes sense. Well, any other Christmas events that you guys participated in or went to? I don't. I'm trying to think if there's any other categories of things.
[00:38:09] Speaker C: My favorite was sit out on Funnel Vision, watching the Muppet Christmas Carol at night.
[00:38:13] Speaker A: Oh, love that.
[00:38:14] Speaker C: Yeah, it's my favorite Christmas movie. So I was like, yep, Funnel Vision. I'm there.
[00:38:18] Speaker A: Yes. Well, and that's. I do love that on like Halloween sailings and on Christmas sailings they do change like the. Not all the Funnel Vision movies, but they'll have more Funnel Vision movies that are like Christmas themed or Halloween themed to fit with the theme of the cruise. So that's always fun. I guess. I feel bad for the cast members who probably have to see those movies on repeat for an entire month and a half, though.
[00:38:42] Speaker C: The first day they played the Christmas music in the hallways instead of the traditional Disney music. And I was going to be worried if I was going to have to hear that for the next six days. You can only hear Dominic, the Italian Christmas donkey. So many times before. I was like, okay, I'm over it.
[00:38:58] Speaker A: Yeah, the Ee. Ah.
[00:39:00] Speaker B: Eh.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: The Italian Christmas donkey.
That is like the worst Christmas song. But they do play that on board.
[00:39:08] Speaker C: They played it A few times. I heard it a few times that day. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm hearing it again. But it was only that first day. And then it was back to the traditional instrumental Disney music in the hallways.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, I want to talk a little bit about the kids clubs and about your kids, because you mentioned that on board you barely see them. You have a 9 year old and a 12 year old. So Oceaneers Club and Edge, have they always been, you know, kids club kids? Is this a new thing? And do they check themselves in and out? Tell give us the details. Yeah.
[00:39:43] Speaker C: So our oldest has really. The first time he could have been an Edge was the European sailing. And he was very shy about that idea. He felt like he wasn't quite ready for that period. I, I knew the moment he got into Edge he would instantly love it because he, he loves video games and all the different, more mature activities, I should say that they offer an edge compared to the Oceaneers Club. So once he went, started going there in Alaska, it was like, game over, goodbye. I'm here from as long as I can. Mom, I'll see you at lunch to eat because I have to make sure he comes out to eat and then he'll come out for dinner and then he's like, can I go back? Can I go back and how late can I stay out until? So he, he's made a lot of friends with the Heroes and Villains activity that they do there. So he was always like, okay, I'm a hero this time. So I'm really excited because I won this game for us. So now I got the Heroes are Ahead. So I like how the counselors see that a lot of the kids in Edge might be more video game and screen based, but they make them stop at times to do other activities, which I appreciate as an adult because I don't want my child to be on vacation the whole time in front of a screen. He's on screen at school for the iPad, for learning. And it's like, okay, can you give yourself a little bit of a break?
[00:41:06] Speaker A: Totally, yeah.
[00:41:07] Speaker C: Did you talk to any other kids?
[00:41:09] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, our kid is totally a screen kid too. And so he likes Edge, I think because of all of the availability of that. And also the activities are a little bit, as you mentioned, a little more mature than some of the stuff that they're doing at Oceaneer. Not that he didn't like some of that stuff too. He likes the crafting there, but he likes. Yeah, it's stuff that kind of fits with more of his age and his interests now is at the edge for sure. But it is good that they make them participate in some other things and shut down the games for part of the time. What about your younger kiddo, the nine year old?
[00:41:42] Speaker C: He enjoys the Oceaneer Lab, I think a little bit more than the club side, except I feel like it's more hands on. He likes like the stitches, space goo and those types of activities. And the Gaga Ball.
[00:41:54] Speaker A: Oh yeah.
[00:41:55] Speaker C: Some of the more the physical. He's like my physical. I always want to be moving child.
But I think he is starting to realize he's excited to be 10 the next time we cruise so he can go up to Edge and be with his brother. I think he sees that there's exciting things in the Edge that he wants to do and some. Some sailings. Especially on the Wish. He did not care for the Oceaneers.
He felt like it was too young, a lot of younger kids and not enough things that interested him at the time.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Oh, interesting.
[00:42:28] Speaker C: He felt like he was wandering around more looking for things to do because there's on the Wish. There's so many different activity spaces to do that. There wasn't enough like counselor led activities compared to on the Dream and the Magic class ships where there's an always an activity going on. There's always a counselor you can talk to or hang out with with if he wanted.
He liked the space simulator thing so he kept wanting to bring me to open houses. She'd be like, hey mom, look at. I'm driving a. He's like, there's an A wing and hoth. Like that doesn't make any sense.
[00:43:00] Speaker A: You're like, okay. I don't know that I'm not that hardcore into Star Wars. Sorry.
[00:43:04] Speaker C: No, that's dad.
[00:43:06] Speaker A: That's cute. That's really cute. I love that. Well, what did you guys get up to? What kinds of adult activities did you get up to while the kids were in the kids club?
[00:43:16] Speaker C: So outside of the tastings that we've talked about, we did a lot of the Rainforest Room and then we did trivia with our new Prima Note friends as well as some other friends that we made during the drink tastings that we would meet up with between dinner and the show and dinner and then through the night.
[00:43:35] Speaker A: So.
[00:43:35] Speaker C: Yo, yo. The entertainment staff, Lauren from the uk, they knew how to keep the adult district a little more lively than other ships that we've been on in the past. Yeah. So I actually got a on stage during Snippets.
[00:43:49] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:43:50] Speaker C: I got Second, it's a lot harder than it sounds when you're up there.
[00:43:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:54] Speaker C: Yeah. It's kind of fun. Now that this is our. Now that we're gold, like, we're seeing some of the same entertainment staff. So, like, we saw coops. She was on the magic with us in Europe, and now she's on the fantasy. So I was like, hey, we. What's up? What's new? Like, she always gets a fun tattoo of all the places she's visited. So I was. I had to keep. I had to see the last two years worth of tattoos that she had.
And then we won advanced Star wars trivia, which I was so excited about because that completed our goofy medal for our. So we have a full set of all the medals that you can win, which was amazing. And I was like, finally.
[00:44:30] Speaker A: That is amazing.
[00:44:31] Speaker C: We've been chasing that for a long time. We kept getting second. We were always the bridesmaids. But we finally won in the advance to Star wars trivia this time.
[00:44:39] Speaker A: Wow, that's awesome. Well, and I. I mean, one of the things I love about cruising is making those new cruising friends. So that's always, like, fun, especially when you're doing trivia. And it's just like the two of you. I mean, Brian and I, just. The two of us are not going to win trivia, but maybe if we find some other Disney nerds that have, like, can supplement our knowledge, then we have maybe a fighting chance. Except brain teasers. We can win brain teasers on our own. I just want to put that out there. We're really good at brain teasers.
[00:45:10] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, we really branched out this time. We did a lot more of the music trivias and things like that. Some different ones because we have a kind of a rule to ourselves. Like, if we won that trivia, we don't want to do it again. Because if they are repetitive questions like, we don't. We're not. We're not metal hogs.
[00:45:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:28] Speaker C: And I don't like the people that we keep seeing. The same ones. I'm like, come on, guys.
[00:45:31] Speaker A: Yeah, you.
[00:45:31] Speaker C: You got a perfect score. Like, on the nine, on the. On the 2000s music, 11 teams had a perfect score. What?
[00:45:40] Speaker A: That's crazy. That's really crazy.
[00:45:43] Speaker C: I was impressed. I was very impressed.
[00:45:45] Speaker A: That's not us. We would not have the perfect score on. I mean, we like 2000s music, but we would not be in that group of. Perfect score. Yeah. Well, let's talk about food. Dining is always a big thing. Of course, on Disney. This Was your first time on the Fantasy, did you feel like the food quality and the service quality was up to par with the other ships? Of course. Like I said, this is your first time in the fantasy, so. So it's not like you're comparing to another time on the Fantasy, but comparing to other ships.
[00:46:17] Speaker C: Yeah. The only other time we had a similar experience was on the Dream because they have an enchanted garden, the animators, and then the royal palace instead of Court. But we did the Dream during COVID time. So I was kind of excited to get a longer, extended time with getting that second Enchanted garden menu as well. This visit and the food quality.
I always say now that we're gold, it gets repetitive at times. But I gave a challenge to our server, like, hey, I want you to guide me through everything. And so there were. On the second, I told him, I said, I'm not really a fan of Animator's entrees. He's like, I'm going to bring you curry. I said, okay, let's do it. It was delicious. And then for the rest of the sailing, he brought me curry. So for nights, three, four, five, I had curry every night. And I didn't want to, like, not have it because I'm not. I don't want to waste food. And it was delicious. It was hot. It was always really hot. It was always really fresh. And it was a different type of meat or vegetable each time. So it was a nice change of the routine where I get stuck getting the same thing over and over at the meals. And I appreciate the Fantasy and the Dream Class and the Magic Class ships because our quieter spaces. I felt like the Wish was our last sailing. And I feel like the Wish is. It's hard to have a conversation because as we talked about, like, my kids are always gone during the day. This is my. My chance to get them to sit, to talk to me about their day and what we've all done together. And when you're at Arendale or at Worlds of Marvel, where there's always Lane coming in and out, it's hard to have those connecting conversations with each other because there's always, always a distraction somewhere else. Or on the Wish, there's six inches between you and the next table.
[00:48:06] Speaker A: Yeah, totally understand.
[00:48:09] Speaker C: And you can't go wrong with Disney desserts and having someone else clean up the plates and bring you a fresh drink.
[00:48:15] Speaker A: Absolutely. Now, Ashley, is there anything before we head to a little bit of, I don't know, a thing that shall be named later? Is there anything that we've Missed. Is there any topic that we haven't talked about? Anything like, in particular, you wanted to let folks know about this sailing on the Fantasy, Be it a maritime activity or just a regular activity? Just. I'm not sure if I've missed anything.
[00:48:42] Speaker C: No. The only thing that I was surprised to learn this trip because I felt like listening to you guys and having my own experience. I know a lot about the Disney ships. I was surprised. I got a wonderful facial done at Census Spot Spa. And I was saying, you know, my older son, he's going. Starting to, you know, go through hormones, starting to have some face changes, and it'd be so nice to have this type of pampering for him. And she's like, well, how old is he? I was like, well, 12. She's like, when they're 13, they can start doing some of the spa services.
[00:49:13] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:49:14] Speaker C: Which I was surprised. I'm like, okay, next trip, you're gonna get a facial with me, bud.
[00:49:18] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. That should be really fun. Hopefully he'll enjoy that.
[00:49:21] Speaker C: That probably not.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: It's so relaxing.
[00:49:25] Speaker C: It is relaxing. It is relaxing. But as a preteen boy, having someone touch your face is probably not going to be comfortable. But after a week of the sun and not drinking as much water as I usually do, I felt after the service, I was definitely plumped up and glowing again, where it's like, yes, this is how I should feel on my face all the time.
[00:49:47] Speaker B: Well, Sam, I think we've reached that point in the show where it's time to, like, you've been doing all the talking on the show, because for our listeners out there, we're having a bit of a delay on my mic, so I've been letting Sam lead the show. So it's time for Sam to dive into Rapid fire or the. The. The arbitrary. The round with arbitrary questions, arbitrary rules, and dash of judgment or the round we call rapid fire. So, Sam, take it away.
[00:50:08] Speaker A: All right, Brian, thank you. All right, Ashley, I'm gonna do. We're gonna do just a little verses here. We're gonna do a castaway versus lookout about K verses.
[00:50:21] Speaker C: And.
[00:50:21] Speaker A: I know.
[00:50:22] Speaker C: Hit me with it. I'm ready. I studied.
[00:50:24] Speaker A: Okay, we gotta start with the walk. You can pick which one is. You're gonna pick which one is better. If it's a tie, you can tell me. It's a tie as well. But, yeah, the walk to get to the beach. Is there a better one?
[00:50:39] Speaker C: I'm gonna have to give this one to Castaway because at least I'M seeing a character every once in a while along the path, and you get Mount Rustmore versus just a straight concrete pier. I would what I would say for Lookout, if they could have a placard or two to educate about the different type of fish that you might be able to see while you're walking or about the coral that we're, that they're preserving, I would appreciate that because I'm the type of person that does stop at every placard.
[00:51:09] Speaker A: All right. Fair, Fair. It needs. We need some more information to educate us Disney, so that we aren't, aren't getting annoyed with the length of the walk.
[00:51:17] Speaker C: I'm taking my kids out of school. I have to have an excuse for the teachers that they learned at least something.
[00:51:22] Speaker A: Right. They learned about Bahamian culture. Okay, well, let's talk then. I want to do cultural experience Castaway versus Lookout.
[00:51:31] Speaker C: That's easy to look out. There's not a lot of cultural experiences that you can get on Castaway. So being able to see the different wares and the artisans that were there and actually have them present to talk to them if you wanted to learn more about their arts. And then the lookout key junkening rush, that was a lot of fun. And then I'm trying to think of the other ones that they have, though. Then the actual chances to get and explore the island is huge as well.
[00:51:59] Speaker A: Yeah. By the way, I just said K instead of key, and I can't believe I didn't correct myself. That was really bad. I never do that. Like, I, I, I always correct it when, when people say Coco K for, for royal. Because they always say perfect day. Right. They make it rhyme. But I always. People say K. So I Disney confused as well.
[00:52:22] Speaker C: Because you can buy a shirt that says perfect K and it's like, no, Disney like that. You even say it's key. So why are you having it be.
[00:52:31] Speaker A: I know they're all confused. I'm. Anyway, I got confused today when I asked you the question, so. Okay. But my next question is food. This is, this is a hard one because I know you had the spicy chicken sandwich at both places, but I need to hear, like, it could be food quality. It could be food variety. But which one's better, Castaway or Lookout?
[00:52:57] Speaker C: I enjoyed Lookout better. I liked their bar service better. We had some really good Bahamian drinks. I can't remember what it was called. Something rum. I don't know. Yeah, obviously it was good. I forgot about it.
[00:53:12] Speaker A: You know, it was a good, you.
[00:53:14] Speaker C: Know, it was a good drink. And I also appreciated how, like the layout of the True Tru Barbecue is how they're the. The different kind of connecting plazas to go and eat at versus just that one overall hut kind of a thing for cookies barbecue. I felt like there are little offset things and shoots that you can go to and the lines moved better because if you just. If you didn't want burgers, you could go to a different window. So, like the flow was a little bit easier to palpate.
[00:53:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, tell me, what about water slides and splash pad type features? Because obviously the one at Castaway are in the water and then there's like a small little kid splash pad versus at Lookout. It's really all one in the rush out, gush out. I know your kids weren't super interested in participating, but at least from looking at them. Did you have an idea of which one you think would be. Is a better one?
[00:54:09] Speaker C: I feel like cast my vote will have to go to Castrate on that one because since Pelican Plunge and the climbing feature are in the water, my oldest one, he's not really into that as much as his brother. So he could be in the water area or even sitting reading a book while we're doing the activity versus Lookout. It feels like you have to be purposeful and be separate. And if you have one child, where if you're a single parent or a solo parent on that trip, one kid wants to do the splash pad area and the other kid wants to be in the water, you can't be at both places at once time.
[00:54:44] Speaker A: That's a really good point. Just from the sort of the layout of it, I. I can understand that. I personally like the rush out, gush out at Lookout better, but I. We have one kid between the two of us, so. Yeah, that's a really good point though. If you have two kids, you have to split your attention. You really can't have one in the water and one at the rush out, gush out.
[00:55:05] Speaker C: Yeah. And sometimes it's like the parents, like, even though my husband was there, he. It would be like, well, I'm kind of. He's still playing, but I kind of want to relax.
[00:55:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:55:14] Speaker C: So can we trade?
[00:55:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. What about the beach? This is a. This one's a harder one because obviously you had beautiful weather at Castaway. So set aside the weather conditions because that's. You can't. It's not really a fair comparison. But which did you think had a nicer beach?
[00:55:30] Speaker C: I'm going to say Lookout. Those sands were so soft Totally powder soft and that nice, like, little subtle pink tint to it. And. And I was surprised how much I enjoyed the waves. My husband said, you know, Castaway now feels like a resort pool. There's no waves. It's still.
[00:55:49] Speaker A: Yes, totally still. Yeah. Because it's a protected cove.
[00:55:52] Speaker C: It's completely.
[00:55:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I.
[00:55:53] Speaker C: Which is great for little ones.
[00:55:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:55:55] Speaker C: So if you want that, like, it reminded me of our trips to Aulani where it's like, yes, you get the gentle waves. I was like, give me a boogie board and. Or a skim board and we can have a lot of fun on this beach.
[00:56:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I gotta ask which one I'm gonna ask. My last question is gonna be which one you prefer. But to last question is going to be which one did your kids prefer? Did they prefer lookout or Cast Away?
[00:56:18] Speaker C: I think they're. They're going to be swayed by the weather. I think they would. They would say castaway because of the weather. And right now there's other activities to do on Castaway. Even though they don't always like doing the bike rides with me, and they definitely don't like doing the 5k with me.
[00:56:35] Speaker A: Oh, you make them do the 5k with me.
[00:56:37] Speaker C: I have made my oldest do the 5k.
[00:56:40] Speaker A: We don't make our kiddo do the 5k. We'll.
[00:56:43] Speaker C: He only did it once because I. All he did was argue the whole time.
[00:56:46] Speaker A: So if we are. If we're Both doing the 5k together, we just make our. Our friends hang out with. With Nathan while we do the 5K. So we've been lucky. We've been lucky to sail with friends who are, you know, willing to kind of hang out with him while we go do the 5k.
[00:57:01] Speaker C: And. And if you do have Lookout key fire.
[00:57:04] Speaker A: I. I think they will. I just think that the issue is with the paths, right? The same issue. Why they don't have the bikes ready. They don't have the paths ready. And so until they have sort of seen safe paved pathways, they're not going to let people out there. And they still got active construction. So. Yeah. All right, well, the final question of this round of rapid fire, and notice there's not a lot of judgment because both are so great. And so I don't think you can be. I don't think you can be super wrong on. On either, you know, if you. With either pick. And I think you're. I think you got the most important question right, which is that the beach at Lookout is nicer because the sand is nicer and because it has more waves. But I'm curious as to over again. It's hard to not be skewed by weather, but try not to be skewed by weather. Which do you like better?
[00:57:53] Speaker C: I think I would prefer Lookout Key. We've been on Castaway on our very first trip where it was really windy and it's the same. It's just like, you know, it's not the best day, but a day on the beach at either one is better than a day at home in the office.
And it's kind of like Disneyland versus Disney World. You know, you've got the OG that you have that nostalgia for, but there's a lot of great things that they did with Lookout and that world that they can bring into Castaway and maybe update the bathrooms.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. Yeah, I didn't even ask you the bathrooms, but obviously the bathrooms at Lookout when. So it's not even a question. I think you actually gave more overall, I didn't score you, but you definitely. It all aligns with your last answer, which is that Lookout overall better, especially.
[00:58:42] Speaker C: The potential is definitely there. As it matures, they finish it out. I think it's going to be a beautiful, private destination that will draw many families to really becoming their favorite.
[00:58:53] Speaker B: Well, Ashley, first of all, I want to say there is a right answer to Disneyland versus Disney World. It's Disneyland, but beyond that, Ashley, what's next? Do you have anything booked out there? Did you get a placeholder on board?
[00:59:07] Speaker C: Yes, we always get a placeholder, but we already had uses of a previous placeholder for adults only cruise in February. Back on the dream with my husband and a girlfriend, celebrating my birthday.
[00:59:21] Speaker A: Yay. That sounds awesome.
[00:59:23] Speaker C: Love that the kids have finally figured out that we're going away and they are not happy.
[00:59:29] Speaker A: They're probably also not happy hearing that you're going on a Disney cruise specifically.
[00:59:33] Speaker C: Exactly.
You're not taking us. Not this time, guys.
[00:59:38] Speaker B: Well, Ashley, we just super appreciate you taking time to come on and share your fabulous duo dip cruise. We're going to make Duo Dip a thing. So thank you for sharing your duo dip cruise with all of us. And yeah, we hope to have you back on soon. The next time you sail, let us know. We'd love to have you back, but for now, just thank you for taking the time.
[00:59:56] Speaker C: Thanks, Brian and Sam. And thank you for all the DCL duo listeners that have given us great tips from previous trips so we can use on our vacations as well.
[01:00:07] Speaker A: Oh, thank you so much.
[01:00:13] Speaker B: Well, thanks to everyone out there for listening this week we really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we 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 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 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 letter 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
[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 individuals on the podcast and in no way reflective. Use 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 My Path 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.
[01:02:20] Speaker C: SA.
