[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you see us on board and Sam's heading to the theater, it's at your own peril, whether you.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Yeah, well, listen, I'll say a quick hi if people. If somebody's like wanting to say hi and I'm on the way to the.
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Theater for a show, but she will not break stride.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Yeah, walk with me. Walk with me. We'll take a selfie as we're walking.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: Welcome back, everybody, to this week. Welcome to another live episode of the DCL Duo Podcast, brought to you by My Path Unwinding Travel and also the DCL Magazine.
If you have not heard, although we've been talking about it for months now.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Months now.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: The good folks over at WGW magazine are trying to make DCL magazine a thing and we're trying to help them out. So head over to dcl-magazine.com to sign up to get your issue sent to you of their float out test. You can order as many issues as you'd like. We have five coming to us.
So order your issue over there, sign up, subscribe. If they get enough interest, they're going to turn it into a regular magazine. And we're pretty excited about that prospect. It's always great to, to have more DCL content out there. And so. Yeah, Sam, it's also. Tonight is a big show for us.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: It's a big show, of course, because we have Emily. That's why.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: No.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Who better to celebrate?
[00:01:25] Speaker B: I know. No, we're so. We're so excited to have Emily CARLSON Back from WeDoTravel. Right. Is the name of her travel agency, but she also has this awesome Instagram handle. We do dis. Right. We're so happy to have her back on the show to talk our favorite thing in the entire world. More treasure. I mean, right, Emily? What's our. I mean, it's your favorite thing, too.
[00:01:47] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. I'm just. I'm so addicted. The. The addiction is real at this point.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But the big news is that we are starting season six of season.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Hold on, wait. We got to do this right? Season.
Celebrate. Celebrate.
[00:02:14] Speaker B: Sorry, I can't help myself. I have to dance when that music comes on, I feel like I'm. I'm at like a wedding.
[00:02:20] Speaker C: You're watching from the ship.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: Yeah. I feel like actually I'm at a wedding or a bar mitzvah when I hear that music. Actually, that song. Celebrate.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. My, my, My dad actually worked for a company that they owned this wine brand called Cella and they got cool in the Gang for a commercial to do. Celebrate good times. So there you go. Yeah. Wow. That was my introduction. Introduction to that song. But anyway, we're super excited for season six. It's here. It's happening. All new, Improved.
[00:02:48] Speaker B: That means we've been doing this thing for five years, you guys. That's what that means. So it means, like, we are literally at the end of fifth year, starting the sixth year.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Is that right? Or are we into the. Yes, yes. We're at the end of the sixth year.
[00:03:02] Speaker B: We started in March of 2020, and so we have been doing this for five entire years right now.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: It's crazy, and it feels like it every day.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: That's the deal, though.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: To stay that consistent for, you know, such a long time. That's amazing. And you've helped so many people with their travel adventures and learning more about, you know, each different ship and, you know, beyond that, too. So nice job.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Thank you. And we honestly couldn't do it without great guests like Emily or great people like you all on the other side of the screen watching us or listening to us, or dare I say.
[00:03:42] Speaker A: Dare I say, like, great water. Like Topo Chico.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Or great water Topo Chico. Call me. I'm still waiting for that call.
We have lots of friends and listeners commenting, and so thanks to all of you who are commenting and watching live. And of course, Tracy, who's saying she. To think she's listened to every episode because she has been with us from the very beginning of this whole thing. And she is literally. We refer to her as our number one fan and our first fan because she wrote our first review on Apple.
[00:04:18] Speaker C: She's.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: She's number one fan and fan number one.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: Exactly.
Exactly. So thanks to all of you who've been watching for forever. I got to give the biggest thanks, though, goes to my.
You can't see me, but I'm looking into.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: Oh, is this like a Brady Bunch thing?
[00:04:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: Yeah. So the biggest thanks has to go to Brian, because without this. Without him, this show would not happen. I mean, yeah, occasionally I'll record a show without him. Like, last week, I did a live show without him and recorded some shows without him at times. But, like, he does all of the production. He does all of the guests scheduling. He does all of the show scheduling to figure out, like, okay, what show is going to come out when he does, you know, editing all of the video effects.
[00:05:03] Speaker C: Fireworks.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: The fireworks. Exactly. And even, like, the artwork. Right. Like, all the artwork. Like, he either does. He either has designed it and worked with a designer to make it to bring it into fruition or he has done it with AI tools and designed it. Really.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Don't, don't, don't open that can of worms. A whole bunch of people are going to hate us for having touched AI. But yes, but anyway, on occasion.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: On occasion, like I said, without Brian, this would not happen. As he likes to refer to me. I'm just like the on air talent and I will.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yes, but without you, without you, no one would listen to the show. So I don't know about that. It's a synergy. Is it a synergy or. Yes, maybe it's a symbiotic relationship. Yeah, there you go. There you go. But enough about us. We've got a lot of exciting stuff coming in season six and there's new ships and. Yeah, just all of the things are coming and so actually interesting things on the horizon for the show a little bit here. So we're fingers crossed. We've got some interesting discussions happening. So hopefully we can share more about that later.
Not in this show, but in future episodes. But for now, we got Emily with.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: Us and we gotta hit news real quick.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: Oh, there's news. There's news.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: There's just like two small pieces of news. One is the Destiny hit water for its first time. I mean, she didn't actually go out of her.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Wait, let's. No, let's be very crisp. She did not hit water. She was. She had water gently rose beneath her keel. So.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: Yes, so she has the. She has now been in water. Okay. So she hasn't done her float out yet, but she's done what I think it's called a float up. So they bring the water into where, you know, where she's being built. So that's a pretty cool milestone. So Destiny seems to be on her way. We have not seen. I don't think this. Same with the adventure, but that doesn't mean it's not happening soon.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: She may get water, I don't know.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: But anyway, that's one piece of news. Another piece of news is the Treasure this week had Treasure cast number two on board, meaning that the main stage cast, performers, Coriander and Sage, they have all been replaced with a new brand new cast. So the folks we saw in the maiden voyage, the folks Emily saw real recently, have all gone on their vacations for a few months. And there's a new cast on board thus far, hearing good things. But of course, they're only a couple days into their cruise. I've seen pictures of the new Sage and Coriander they look different than the old Sage.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: Are they still, are they still called Sage and Coriander? That was a question that people were asking.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: They are still called Sage and Coriander. They have not changed their names. So still the storytellers are Sage and Coriander and they're doing the same shows. There are some additions that I've heard. There's perhaps them doing some other retellings like at. They don't say it in the app like they like. It does still say Tales from the Lamp, but in some of the other Sage and Coriander appearances they might be retelling Brave and some other, you know, famous storytelling or some other famous Disney stories. So look out for them. There's also a new Villains game show that was introd, produced on board maybe in I think in February or maybe even January and probably Emily got to see that, but it was not on board early on. We're still hearing that Uncharted Adventure is not up and running. So I don't know if that's. We did get an email for our cruise that's only a few weeks away that was about Uncharted Adventure. So we thought, oh, back up. But no.
[00:08:54] Speaker C: So anyway, when are you sailing on the Treasure next?
[00:08:57] Speaker B: We are sailing in just two and a half weeks. Yeah. So on the. Yeah. So on the. Our sailing leaves on the 12th of April.
[00:09:05] Speaker C: Nice. Yeah, that will be a busy sailing because I think that's school vacation week or coming up to school vacation week.
[00:09:12] Speaker B: Yes, we have a lot of our, our sailing is full. It is our spring break. We expect it to be. It's like the week leading into Easter. Right. It's. We get off the day before Easter and we expect it to be a busy spring break sailing. Of course there is obviously some folks who have spring break in March, some who have spring break in April. But this whole sort of two months tends to be very crowded, particularly on those week long cruises for spring break.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: I just wanted to flag that. We did see and I saw some video of this in the grand hall too. Or the. Yeah, the grand hall that they are staging. Coriander did Brave. Not just.
[00:09:49] Speaker B: That's what I said.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Oh, that's okay. So yeah, so they. Not just Aladdin, but Brave too.
[00:09:53] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: All right. Anyway, let's hear about. Because Emily, you're getting some love here in the comments too.
We love her content on Instagram as well.
All right, let's talk about, let's talk about your sailing on the Treasure, Emily. Right? You just got back.
[00:10:09] Speaker C: Yes. I mean we we had the best time. How could you not have the best time in the Treasure? It's, you know, it's funny because before I went on and I was like, am I just like you know, creating this situation where I just am obsessed with this? Because I just am obsessed with it. Am I, Do I really love it that much? And yes, it is. I love this ship. They, I swear they built this ship for me. I know they really didn't, but you know, I like to think that. But honestly, every inch of that ship, I am, I'm just obsessed with. I love, love, love, love. Just all the thought and all the care and it's truly for that Disney fan and it's just, it's everything that you like about the ship kind of put into this ship.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I love it. Now you had gone on before this, this cruise that you recently got off of. You had been on the preview cruise with me and so you had a three night cruise, but you hadn't had a seven night cruise yet and you had not had the whole family with you on the cruise. So you had this time your kids got to go on, on the Treasure. Last time it was just you, the husband and.
[00:11:21] Speaker C: Yeah, right.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: And some other folks from your, from your agency. You know, tell.
Was it a different experience? Of course, you know, being. It's longer. But other than being longer, was it like a different experience than the first time? And if so like in what ways?
[00:11:39] Speaker C: I think it definitely was a different but a good experience. So it just, I don't know, like I feel as though the, the three nights, even the four nights, it's just a little too quick. But seven nights, you are really getting to know the amazing cast members that are part of the ship. You are getting comfortable, you know your way around.
So it was really nice to kind of be able to get our footing early on and then the kids having that comfortable nature of it because they, they know their way around the wish. So it was a little similar to them. So they, I think they felt really comfortable and which made them feel confident they made friends on the ship. It's just a beautiful thing that happens on those longer sail things.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Absolutely. I love that. I, you know, it's so interesting when you compare like a three night sailing with a seven night sailing. Even just like from the dining perspective. Right. Like you, we only got to see one of the shows, right. We got to see one of the shows in Coco and the same and the new show in Marvel. Right. But on this longer sailing you get all of the shows so four shows in the dining rooms, plus of course two nights at 1923.
Know, what did you think of? I mean, you got the, the night one Coco show that you would only had the night two Coco show. What did you think about Coco? And of course the food and, and how, you know, did it different differ from the experience in that three night cruise as well?
[00:13:11] Speaker C: So Coco still to me stands out as being the front runner of all of the dining experiences. I feel like I've had the best meals there. The entertainment is amazing. I just, I love, like I said, how much thought and care went into each little inch of every part of this ship, but especially that restaurant. It is so special.
I feel like, you know, night one, I'm like in tears. Night two, I'm in tears. It just is such a beautiful show and the music is phenomenal and just, it's so immersive. You feel like you are actually in a different place. You don't feel like you're on a ship. You feel like you are in their backyard having a wonderful celebration with, you know, Miguel's family. So I just. Coco's the standout. Absolutely.
[00:14:03] Speaker A: What do you think? The. For Coco, the food, just real talk for a second. Do you think? I still feel like they're just, they're trying too hard with that. The food, the menu. Like what, what's your impression? Like, Ashley liked night two better than night one in some respects, which is usually not the case. The second night menu is usually not as good as the first night menu. What did you think of the food overall in Cocoa?
[00:14:26] Speaker C: Honestly, I agree. I think the second night I, it was better, better choices than the first night. I think the second night we ended up ordering like more than, you know, we probably should have because there were just so many good choices. The empanadas are incredible and we just couldn't make up our minds. We're like, heck, we'll just, you know, that's the fun part of the cruise. Right.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: For the table, you know, three for the table, you know, the table.
[00:14:54] Speaker C: You know, I, I feel like that the food at Coco I did enjoy immensely. More so than I'm. I mean this is, this is such a too many cruise problem. But getting a little sick in 1923, I wish that they would, you know, revamp the menu a little bit and I don't know.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: Well, and that night two menu at 1923 is not good. Like, I feel like the night one menu is still strong. It's the same as the wish with. I think they changed up one of the desserts because now the churros have to be in cocoa. Right? So that's. It's really, you know, there's only that one slight difference. But that's still such a solid menu. But I feel like that night two menu at 1923, it's a lobster menu. I. I want to put this out there. I love lobster, but I hate lobster on cruise ships. I think the lobster is literally like the worst dish because it's always overcooked and rubbery.
[00:15:49] Speaker C: And that is exactly what my husband Scott says. He's like, I will not order that. Like, no way. Because it's tough.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: It's just they're cooking it in bulk, which.
[00:15:59] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, I know that.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: It's just like, it's like. But give me like a nice sea bass or something that you can make without maybe overcooking to like, like, you know, for like an extra 10 minutes or whatever. Overcooking.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: But Andrew and Vanessa are pointing out they need more choices for hot sauces. Yeah, I'd agree. Mexican restaurant. They should have a nice, healthy selection of. Of hot sauces. Having just returned from Puerto Vallarta. So. So, yes, I agree. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. Emily, I want to ask this. Before you got on the show, I mean, you'd been on previews and such, but, like, what were you most looking forward to your family experiencing on the ship?
[00:16:38] Speaker C: Oh, man, that's a great question. That is a great question. I think that what I was most excited about them experiencing was Coco. As we talked about, I really. That that is a special movie for our family. And another thing was that I wanted my son, Quentin. He is almost 11, and I wanted him to see the Haunted Mansion bar because it is so cool inside and, you know, kids are allowed in there. They just have to leave by. I think it's 9:00. But he thought that it was so neat. He was like, this is just like the ride. I feel like I'm on the ride.
But it was just neat for him to kind of see things through his eyes too, being a Disney fan as well.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. I think that's such a great experience. I mean, all the bars except for Scat Cat and the Rose, those are the only two that are all the time. Those are adults only. And same with obviously the adult only.
[00:17:36] Speaker A: Restaurants, which is funny because Scat Cat, you can get a PB&J sandwich with your drinks. You think they'd let kids in there just to have the. The uncrustables. But yeah, Right outside.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: Scat Cat. Because there is like that out outer bar.
[00:17:47] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. I love that so much. And that's one of the things I love about the fantasy and the dream is that you have that like outside area and it's just in the hub of kind of what's going on. So I love that.
[00:18:01] Speaker B: It's the best people watching spots. Right? Like that's. And that's one of the. I think we don't talk about this enough, but one of the best things to do on a Disney Cruise Line cruise, or really on any cruise is.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: The people watching is play. Is play the game. Who would play them in the movie of the spoons.
[00:18:16] Speaker C: Right? Yeah, that's a great game.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: Okay, so you got on. You're really excited for your son to. You want to see the, the Haunted Mansion parlor?
[00:18:25] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:18:25] Speaker A: Now you get off the ship. Like, what's the stuff your family's still talking about that they're like, oh my God, that was so amazing. We have to go back and see that.
[00:18:33] Speaker C: Like, yeah, you know, it's funny. Kids. Kids are hilarious. Because I feel like, you know, it's that, it's that situation where you order an something from Amazon and they'll play with the Amazon box for, you know, three days and you're like, are you serious? I'm never buying you a Christmas present ever again.
So honestly, I think that the biggest takeaway that they enjoyed the most was the kids clubs. Like I said, I mean it was a seven night cruise. They, they made friends. I actually made a reel about my daughter Beckham.
She's so funny. She, I go to pick her up from the kids club one of the nights and she's like, I'm busy.
I've got like things going on. And she sent me away. And you know, that was nice because I was thinking, you know what? She's having so much fun in there.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: Making friends. She's living her. It's her cruise too.
And you know, she sent me away and oh, oh, shucks. I had to go, you know, go to the bar or whatever.
[00:19:33] Speaker B: But yeah, I had to go a cocktail at Skipper Society. Right.
[00:19:36] Speaker C: Oh, darn.
[00:19:39] Speaker A: You're like, I got things to do too, honey. I got.
[00:19:42] Speaker C: Yeah, she told me she's busy and she had meetings or whatever she was doing. I don't know. But I think that that, that is why I love Disney cruise so much is because they can take the most simplest thing. And yes, the kids clubs are mind blowing. Amazing. They are so incredible. But she's Sitting at a table, coloring with other kids. They're just talking. So she's just making these relationships. But that was. Her takeaway is like, that was really important for her. And same with my son who went to Edge. We signed the waiver for him to go because he's 10 and he's really, really, like, you know, more of an Edge kid. So, you know, they're playing manhunts all over the ship, and they're hanging out and they're swapping numbers, and it's just. It's cool. It's cool to see that they can make those connections.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Yeah, well. And the amount of independence is so wonderful, particularly for. For Quentin. Right. I mean, we feel the same with Nathan. It's like, it's. It's a safe environment for him to get a lot more independence than he can have at home.
[00:20:40] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:40] Speaker B: So he can sort of come and go as he pleases with a curfew and a requirement that he come to dinner. But, like, he's got a lot more freedom and it allows him, like, growth and, like, it allows him to feel, like, proud and kind of adult, even though he's only 11. Right. So it's just. It's fun.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: So, Emily, had your husband been on the ship with you before?
[00:21:01] Speaker C: Yes. He would be on the preview. Yes. And trust me, he lived his best life also. It's his cruise, too. Lived his best life. I think he. There might be a butt imprint on the Haunted Mansion bar seat that is. That belongs to him.
[00:21:16] Speaker B: Belongs to Scott. I love it. That's hilarious.
Really, really funny.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: How do you find the. So, you know, the hallmark of Disney is, like, take the kids, and then the kids get addicted to the Edge or the kids club, and then you're off doing, you know, the adult type things. Right. How do you find that? Because, you know, the Wish. So the Wish has some. Has a bad rep for adults. Right. I actually found the treasure. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the ceiling we were on. The adult area wasn't as oversubscribed. It felt a little bit chiller for the adults. What's your impression of the treasure for. For adult sailing?
[00:21:52] Speaker C: I don't know that my sailing in particular was chill because it was during school vacation week. So they. They had, like, a record number of families, a record number of kids, according to the cast members.
So I'm sure yours is going to break that record now, upcoming. But so I don't know that I would call it chill because it was just. It was very busy. But but there were certainly, if, if you needed to go somewhere and you needed to chill out, you kind of figured out early on where those spots were and you could kind of go there and do your thing. You know, if we needed to kind of escape and have a little quiet, we just go to the Rose, have a drink or something like that. So you kind of found your spots. But like we were saying, the, the opportunity to figure that out sooner rather than later is so much better on the Treasure and those longer sailings because you can kind of get your bearings, you know. The second, third night you're like, good to go, ready to enjoy your vacation. But then on sailing, like the Wish, you're already getting off and it's over. It's already over by the time you've figured it all out.
[00:22:54] Speaker B: Totally. That's a great point though, about the Rose. And actually Nathan is pointing out same about COVID Cafe. He said if you feel the need, if you don't feel the need to go to the back of the bus to the COVID it's great. Love the better themed spaces on the Treasure. I would say, like, particularly for nighttime drinks, Cove is pretty much empty because it's kind of out of the way. Right. It's over by the adult pool space. And while that area tends to be busy and somewhat over subscribed during the day, in the evening it really isn't. And so the COVID is probably empty and that is an adult only bar space in the evening. And the Rose, which is right outside of Enchante and Paulo, it is also off the beaten path. So a lot of people, you're not going to walk by it. You're going to have to go search for it and find it. And so if you want to go there for a drink, same on the Wish. You know, that's going to be a spot that's a lot quieter and a lot less oversubscribed than places that are much closer to sort of the Hub or the Grand Hall. Right. You've got Skipper Society. Of course, I'm wearing the shirt because we're talking about the Treasure and I'm obsessed with this shirt.
But yeah, Skipper Society is right there off the grand hall, as is Scat Cat, as is Haunted Mansion. Those places, those are the ones that are going to be more oversubscribed as far as, you know, bar venues in the evenings.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: What did your, what did you. Are your kids show people? Do they go to the, the shows? Do they like Moana?
[00:24:28] Speaker C: Yes. So my daughter Beckham, she is just, you know, musical. Everything so she loved, absolutely loved Moana. It was. That show is breathtaking.
The first time that we saw it, when we were on the preview.
Oh, my gosh. My husband's gonna kill me for saying this, but he was like. He was in tears because, I don't know, they said something about, like, the grandmother and the family, and he's just, like, bawling because they just hit you with the music and the feelings and in a way that only Disney can do. I'm sorry, but I've seen other shows on other ships, other cruise lines, and no one does it better than Disney. They are such wonderful storytellers. You are just amazed by the music and the dancing and the talent that you see in front of you. So we loved watching Moana. That was amazing. And it made me even more excited, though, for Hercules and coming up on our next ship. So I just don't know.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: I don't know how you outdo. I mean, I've said this. They have raised the bar.
[00:25:32] Speaker C: They're going to do it. But it's Disney. They'll figure it out. They will do it because, again, it's Disney.
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:38] Speaker C: But, yeah, beautiful shows.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: We. We have a great comment from Accessible Adventures with Andrew. I think this might be. It's either Andrew or Vanessa. Are they testing having Moana offered on two nights now? The answer is for sure, yes. I know, at least from our friends. The morals were on last week, and it was both Beauty and the Beast and.
And Moana were both being offered on two nights, back to back nights. And I've seen that on some other sailings. I don't know if it's every sailing. Emily, was that happening on your sailing or not?
[00:26:12] Speaker C: I feel like I don't remember that, but it was really packed. There was no open space, so maybe I could see them adding something because it was just. There was nowhere to go there. Good thing we got there early.
[00:26:24] Speaker A: Or matinee. I'm surprised they don't run a matinee.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Well, they have done that, so they've done matinees. I mean, they did a matinee on the test cruise for that very reason, because they were worried about it. Or the preview cruises that Emily and I were on. They did do matinees, but they can't always fit it in the schedule because the entertainment cast, the main stage cast, does other things. They might be escorting Moana or they might be Moana. Right.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: I think you mean friends with Moana.
[00:26:54] Speaker B: Friends with Moana.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Friends with Moana.
[00:26:56] Speaker B: So occasionally they'll. They'll Do. Yeah. So sometimes they'll do matinees, but they can't always do that. But I have seen them doing, you know, multiple nights, and I think that that's probably because they were having issues with us, particularly on these, like, spring break sales. I don't know if this is going to last for forever, but particularly on holiday sailings, spring break sailings, they are, you know, perhaps having to turn people away from the theater, which nobody would be happy, I mean, if I got turned away from Moana and my only chance to see, I mean, the ship to the ground.
I was on the ship twice. Right. I was on the preview, and then we were on the Maiden. I saw Moana twice, and I honestly considered skipping dinner on both sailings to see it four times. I didn't, because I wanted to. I wanted to go to Coco and I wanted to go to Marvel. But, like, you know, I had to think about. I had to think about it because.
[00:27:51] Speaker C: And, I mean, that's part of it. Right. So you're. You're doing this cruise, and part of it is the entertainment. That's what. That's what's included in the cost. So you do want to make sure that people can see the wonderful shows that they have on offer as well.
[00:28:04] Speaker B: Yes. And they did do a matinee, I want to say, on the maiden voyage for Moana on castaway day and it. Or, yeah, they did a matinee and then the two evening performances. So they have done, you know, they kind of depends on when the. Depends on what they can fit in where.
[00:28:21] Speaker A: So, Emily, between the preview and your most recent sailing, do you notice anything like. Like standout differences or did the mood on the ship feel different? Probably a little celebratory, as people are like, I'm going home.
[00:28:31] Speaker C: Right.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: But, yeah, any. Any differences that you noticed and, you know, the ship or the operations?
[00:28:38] Speaker C: Well, I.
I feel like I noticed that they were training a lot of people, so I would imagine that they are probably doing a lot of training at. When they can now, because they have.
But it's part of my. Honestly, it's part of a problem that I think that I have with Disney Cruise is that, you know, you're putting all your best people into your new ships. But then what happens to our other ships? We still need strong people there. And not saying that people are not strong on the other ships, it's just, I feel like, you know, they're moving people.
[00:29:13] Speaker B: Yeah. They're spreading people.
[00:29:15] Speaker C: Right. And I. In talking to some of the cast members, they said that there are new trainees every single sailing. There are new people that are coming on that are learning, which is so wonderful and you got to start somewhere and you need to learn. But also I hate for it to become a situation where it's like, oh, okay, well, now the Destiny's open. So did my job onto this one. And I think that's kind of what's happening is they're having the same people that are opening these new ships, but that's not really allowing for the more seasoned people to be on certain ships as well.
[00:29:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a really good point. I think as the fleet continues to expand, and I'm, I have said this, I'll say it again, I'm really worried with the adventure. I'm not so worried about the Destiny because operationally she's going to be, you know, completely the same as the Treasure and the Witch in a million ways. Obviously they're with the only difference being different lengths of sailing and some different theming. But like, she's going to be a well oiled machine, even if she's got a lot of new cast members on board or a mix of cast members, you know, senior folks and new cast members. Yeah, the adventure, from what I'm hearing, they're having a lot of cast members being asked, will they go to the adventure? And a lot of them are saying, no, they will not go to the adventure because they don't want to go either because they don't want to sail in Asia, they don't want to be on as big of a ship or I think a huge part is they're worried about what's going to happen to their tips because there is not a tipping culture in Asia. And thus far we have heard that they aren't adjusting the way people get paid.
[00:30:53] Speaker A: Yeah, Lindsey, just answer your question. Yes, the crew absolutely have a say in whether they move ships or not. Now, they're all independent contractors, so if Disney doesn't like their answer, sometimes they can just say, well, I guess you're not going to work on our ships anymore. But often we have found crew members who stayed with particular ships, don't want to go to particular ships, that sort of thing. So they absolutely do. And then I just have to share this one. A PSA from our friend Mr. Chad Pitticuff.
If you see us on board and Sam's heading to the theater, it's at your own peril. Whether you.
[00:31:23] Speaker B: Yeah, well, listen, I'll say a quick hi. If people, if somebody's like wanting to say Hi. And I'm on the way to the.
[00:31:30] Speaker A: Theater for a show, but she will not break stride.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: Yeah, walk with me. Walk with me. We'll take a selfie as we're walking.
[00:31:36] Speaker A: It's a West Wing walk and talk with Sam. Yeah, it's a walk and talk.
[00:31:40] Speaker B: I'm on the way to the theater. Nobody can keep me from that destination.
[00:31:46] Speaker D: Are you listening to our show because you want to make the most out of your next vacation.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: Great news.
[00:31:50] Speaker D: The fabulous team over at MyPath Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable, and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. My Path Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, relaxed at 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 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.
[00:32:45] Speaker A: What's your husband's favorite spots on the ship?
[00:32:48] Speaker C: I mean, like I said, he has a butt imprint now on the the bar seat at Haunted Mansion. I think that, honestly, I think that for us especially, it's about the experience. So if there's a cast member that is just, we're going back and forth, we've got a good banter. We're gonna go where that person is. So what. Whatever bar.
One of our favorite bartenders is of course, Lewis, and he came over from the Wish, and he's now, you know, on the Treasure. So if you see him, say hi and tell him Emily said hi.
But, you know, you find your favorite people, especially when you sail a few times. And, you know, I guess the good thing about people moving up to the different ships is that you'll see some familiar faces if you do a sailing. So that's always a good thing. So I think that we just kind of gravitate towards where is, where are our people, where are the People we're vibing with. You know, I love that.
[00:33:41] Speaker B: I mean we, we love. Kelvin was in Scout.
Yeah, we know Kelvin from like back on the fantasy years and years ago. He's on Wish as well. Like he, he, you know, we've seen him on multiple ships. But then we also made friends with Sam, who's at hey hey Cafe. And so then we actually I had them make each make me an espresso martini and decided which one made a better espresso martini, so.
[00:34:07] Speaker C: Oh, I love that.
[00:34:08] Speaker B: Yeah, so there's just like, like real fun interactions. I totally agree with you. It might not even be like the space that draws me. It might be the cast member that draws me into that space or that draws me to come back to that space over and over again.
[00:34:23] Speaker C: The cast has a big part to do with your experience that you have.
So, you know, it's just one of those things that Disney Cruise Line is so good about, knowing that information because they will keep you coming back too. Like we want to, want to book certain ships because we want to go visit, you know, our people, you know, our friends.
[00:34:44] Speaker B: I'm curious about the cabin because obviously we, when we were on for the preview, we didn't have any choice in our cabin selection. What kind of cabin do you typically choose for your family? And then how did it work for a seven night cruise? Because I know, you know, storage is a challenge on the Wish and the Treasure. I'm curious now that you had four people, you know, in a cabin, how that went.
[00:35:08] Speaker C: So we were just in a deluxe veranda room. So just normally that's what we would get. Sometimes we'll spring for the family one just to get a little bit more space. I don't think we did not have the family one for this one, just a regular one. But we felt like there was plenty of room. I mean, could there always be more room? Of course. But I think that they have kind of, they thought about the closet space a little bit better on the Treasure as compared to the Wish. So that was really helpful. And you know, having sailed before, we kind of brought the different things that we need to kind of maximize our space. You know, we got our laundry basket that we use and so I felt like it was pretty good for space.
No complaints there, I don't think.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I gotta highlight.
[00:35:57] Speaker C: Oh, our room attendant, let me tell you, he should win an award for towel animals. And just he was next level. Next level. And I think it's because maybe like the second night, third night, we were kind of like, hey, any chance you could do a, you know, whatever we said? And he was like, oh, buckle up. And just from then, it, like, escalated to, like. I think he. He was, like, trying to one up himself every day. It was just not the typical things that you'd see. He was going above and beyond.
[00:36:29] Speaker B: I love that. I love a towel animal, first of all. And, like, the more the better, right? Like the. That's. Yeah. Amazing.
[00:36:36] Speaker A: Except they won't sell the dog. We want the dog. Disney.
[00:36:41] Speaker B: My elephant towel animal up there. You can't see because the shelf is. Yeah, there we go. Yeah. Now you can see my elephant towel animal. I have the monkey, too, but he's just not. He's kind of hidden.
[00:36:54] Speaker C: They need more products for us to buy.
[00:36:56] Speaker B: They need more products. Absolutely.
[00:36:58] Speaker A: They decidedly do not because they ran.
[00:37:01] Speaker C: Out of a lot of the stuff that we saw on the inaugural cruise. They did not have the steel Spirit jersey anymore.
There was a lot of things that were not there anymore. So I'm glad that Emily from the past bought some stuff.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: The castaway club gift on board. I saw someone post one, and I thought I could have sworn their bag said maiden voyage on it. And I was like, are they still giving out the maiden voyage bags on? They shouldn't be.
[00:37:26] Speaker B: But the ones are the inaugural season one, not maiden voyage one.
[00:37:32] Speaker C: Now I'm gonna have to look back and see because I. It was different from normal castaway stuff. When do they reset those things?
[00:37:41] Speaker B: So it depends. They actually like the. The inaugural sailings or inaugural season, like, technically is a year while supplies last, but it's. But merchandise is typically doesn't last a full year. At least it didn't with the wish. And so I want to say it was, you know, somewhere between, like six to nine months. I can't remember exactly, but I remember hearing that, like. Like they had run out of some things. And so it was kind of. When they transitioned back, it was kind of a mix of inaugural sailing stuff.
[00:38:11] Speaker A: And regular Craig Sangas says, inaugural sailing, same gifts, but different impact than the Maiden. Okay, so.
[00:38:16] Speaker C: Yeah, because the Maiden was inaugural. Yeah, because our. Our lanyards were different. And that was kind of cool.
You know, we. Speaking of games that you all have, you know, on the ship, I'm going to tell you about one of our games times, and it's called bingo. But it's not the bingo you think. It's. Whenever you see a gold lanyard, you say bingo.
It's just fun. Just fine.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Because.
[00:38:41] Speaker C: So we're like, we're walking Around.
[00:38:42] Speaker B: We're up.
[00:38:43] Speaker C: Bingo. Bingo. Because everyone's got their gold lanyard on. Because that's the one that looks different, right?
[00:38:47] Speaker B: It is. It's the only one that's like a really, like that pops, right. Because the.
[00:38:52] Speaker C: The other colors are very similar.
[00:38:53] Speaker B: They're similar, right? The silver, the platinum, and the pearl are like talking silver. Silver and white. Right. Like, they're all kind of similar. In fact, I think the silver and the platinum ones look way too.
[00:39:05] Speaker C: Way, very, very similar. But those gold, man, they stand out.
[00:39:08] Speaker A: See, Sam, and I love it when you're out there sailing, Emily, because you send us some of the best text messages and we have great conversations around. Around the messages you're sending us. I think we had a whole debate around what counts as castaway club status at one point.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Yeah, right on the wish. Yeah, we. We should actually tell people that because it's. It's funny. We had a debate about whether or not the galactic Galactic star cruiser. You were having a debate, actually.
[00:39:30] Speaker C: Tell us.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: Tell. Tell folks what this debate.
[00:39:32] Speaker C: But I agree with the ruling. I do agree with the ruling. The ruling should be if you get castaway status for the sailing for it, then that. That is what the marker is. And I, I agree with that. It stinks, but I do agree with it.
[00:39:49] Speaker B: Yeah. So now you.
[00:39:50] Speaker C: You're going on the adventure. So is that, that. Does that count?
[00:39:54] Speaker A: Well, we. Let me clarify. We're booked on the adventure, but we're probably gonna have to move the booking out. Yeah, yeah, we're moving the booking out.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: The question is basically, does it count towards a. Whatever you call the adventure, we have different names. The. The original term was grand slam, and that was because it was four ships. Right? So four ships, when you think about a home run, a grand Islam, right, is four bases. Now we have. We like to use the term Fab 5 Big Hero, 6 and 7 dwarfs. We don't have one for eight. We haven't come up. If somebody gives us, you know, give us an idea of what 8 is. But really, we could still use the term grand slam. And so Emily was asking us if did it. Did you need to go on the Galactic Star Cruiser in order to have a grand slam, could you. Could you really not claim it because it is a Disney ship. If you didn't go on the Halcyon and, and Brian and I arbited this disagreement or this question as the DCL experts that we are arbited.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: For everyone out there who loves my big words, there's a new one for you. Arbited as opposed to arbitrated or refereed.
[00:41:01] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, yeah, arbited. Anyway, anyway, we said decidedly no, you did not have to go on the Halcyon for you to have been considered to have a grand slam because it doesn't count towards castaway club status. The adventure will count towards castaway club status because you're booking it through the same DCL website. We don't know what's going to happen with that OLC ship in the future. That one, I think is a big question mark. So that one maybe won't count, but I think the, the answer really is if it counts towards castaway club status.
[00:41:35] Speaker C: That's got to be the marker, right? That has to be. I agree with that. I agree with the rolling book, which is why I came to you both because you are the experts and I thought, you know what?
They need to decide this.
[00:41:48] Speaker B: I love it. I love it. See, I mean, Disney should just call us for decision making because, you know, I, I agree.
[00:41:55] Speaker C: And they should also, they should consult with people who cruise a lot about the hiccups that we face as cruisers. I don't know if you're both having the same issue that I am, but a lot of sailings in my app and man, I, I, it's impossible to check in. I don't even know what's happening with this app, but it's, it scares me. For all that is to come, we, we need to get this technology figured out. This is just, it's not, well, it.
[00:42:21] Speaker A: It'S those, it's those high traffic moments that they are just falling apart because like, so we had a check in recently, but we're Pearl, so I always just wait until the morning after and I go on the app and usually things are fine and you know, we don't have to pick the, the, you know, the arrival times and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, I've gone on at night. It's like, what do you mean? I can't get into this application and it's crashing or the, the weight room. There is a weight room now and like the weight room to just even view the Disney Cruise Line website to look at sailings. And I'm like, I have never seen a Royal Caribbean weight room. You know, like, and so I'm just, I don't understand, like, sooner or later too, that stuff costs you business. Because people like, yeah, I want to book a Disney cruise, but I don't want to sit here. I have five minutes in my day to kind of maybe poke around and see what interests me. And now I'm waiting three of those minutes to get to the website. I'm headed over to Royal Caribbean. Let's see. I'm going to get right in. I'm going to see what sailings are. So like they've gotta fix this, backend it if they're gonna keep.
[00:43:18] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. And, and I will say this is one area where of course having a great travel advisor like Emily or like the folks at MyPath unwinding like this is where that really helps. But it doesn't solve the whole problem because sometimes people just like to go in and browse. Right. Like we like to go in to have maybe some idea even before we reach out to our travel professional to decide like what we wanna book or to at least have a ballpark idea of where what their cruise is going to cost us.
[00:43:45] Speaker A: Yeah. I love this comment. I think it has no clue what happens at midnight eastern on the site. I'm going to say this if we met someone for Disney it one time at Castaway and I will say this confidently. They know exactly. It knows exactly what's happening. Who doesn't know what's happening are the executives that allocate budget for this kind of stuff. And what they need to do is send those executives. Like I think the executives have to book a Disney World vacation through the website and like not well and not and not identify themselves, you know, and like have to book the room and go to the parks and deal with and they should have to book a cruise. And I think they should all have a royal cruise. And like I like I just, I know they do some of this competitive research stuff. Feel like it always.
It's it. Yeah. They should have to do some.
[00:44:31] Speaker B: I got to pull up Chad's comment because I think he's probably right about this. She. He's seen research that the delay makes people book now because they don't want to wait through it again. I bet that's.
[00:44:41] Speaker C: That would be interesting. That would be interesting. I hope that's not their business plan, but definitely.
[00:44:49] Speaker B: Oh my goodness. Well, I want to ask.
Oh, I've just lost my train of thought. I wanted to ask about some of the onboard experiences you got to do. We were really jam packed in those first three days on that preview.
As much as you probably got to see a ton of stuff. Sage and coriander. I've mentioned them before. I mentioned them at the top of the show.
[00:45:14] Speaker A: We can't stop talking about sage and coriander on this show.
[00:45:17] Speaker B: I can't wait. See the new season cooking show now.
[00:45:20] Speaker A: Not a Disney cruise line show.
[00:45:21] Speaker B: I will say I can't imagine anyone being as good as our sage and coriander that we saw as I hope. I. I'm going to say I'm hearing good things about the folks on board, but I'm like, it blows my mind how good the two we saw were. That's what, that's all I'm saying. But I'm curious. Did you get to go. You know.
[00:45:39] Speaker A: You know what? Wait, hold on. I have to pause you, Sam, because you act like these are the only two people who can do these. It's not like Broadway doesn't put on, you know, two dozen shows a night with all star cast.
[00:45:47] Speaker B: So, like, I gotta tell you, I'm worried about Moana because that Moana is like, like mind blowingly good. So I'm not, I'm not saying that they're not going to be good. I'm just saying, like, this is how good the people were. But Emily, I'm curious. Did you get to go to more of the sage and coriander stuff on this sailing? Because it was the seven night and they do all their different shows and you got, you know, tales from the lamp. I hope you brought the kids to that. And Indiana Jones. Choose wisely. And, and the skipper, the, the, the jungle cruiser thing. Yeah, yeah. Did you get to go to all.
[00:46:23] Speaker C: I think out of all of those, I think the, the lamp, the Aladdin re. Retelling, I think that one was my favorite. And I think that it was because the energy that they had was so big that you were just looking around and people were just kind of gravitating towards what was happening. Obviously that's what they want to happen, but it was so just beautifully crafted how people are walking by instead of just continuing to walk. They would stop. Every single person would stop because they were so captivating. One thing, and you're probably going to disagree with me, but I still cannot get behind the choose wisely. I. I don't know, maybe I'm just like, I haven't seen enough Indiana Jones movies for it to like, really resonate with me, but it's like going right over my head. And I just, It's. It's too much for me. It's too much.
I like the idea and I love the concept of it, but I think for me personally, and I think we talked about this a little last time, it's just the wrong story because I don't know the story.
[00:47:24] Speaker B: You don't resonate with the story. Right.
[00:47:26] Speaker C: But if it was a different story like the Lion King or something very basic and simple, like maybe I would feel differently, but it's just not my story.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: I wonder if this is a reflection of our age difference. Emily, you're a few years age difference.
[00:47:40] Speaker C: We're probably the same age. I'm what? I'm 42.
[00:47:43] Speaker A: Okay.
This show just took a turn. This show just took a turn. Do I need to put the fireworks back up?
[00:47:52] Speaker B: No, no. I just. I do think when you like Brian and I. So Brian and I are only three years apart or almost three years apart in age. But there are certain TV shows and.
[00:48:01] Speaker A: Movies that's also a function of the fact that I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with broadcast television. And so yes, I watched he haul and the Jeffersons reru like he.
[00:48:13] Speaker B: He watched probably like and also gender. Right. Like he watched more Indiana Jones than I watched. No question. I've seen all of the movies. But he definitely is a bigger fan. But I do think like fan and Jones are mostly and me 44 fans are probably older than me. So it probably hits like the 50 year old audience the best I would say. And then maybe less so the further away you get from that. But also of course if you're not a big Indiana Jones fan, you can be wrong. It's okay. But if you're not a big Indiana Jones fan, it's not probably not gonna hit as well. But I feel like it's all like Indiana Jones is all also resonates with the Disneyland parks, you know, fans because Indy is such a big ride and so you know, in. In Disneyland it's such an important ride and obviously there isn't, there isn't that ride over in world anymore. And the stunt show is not big like it. You know, the stunt show was really big many, many, many years ago in Disney World. But that's not. Oh, all hate mail. You know what's good? That that email address doesn't actually work. That's not a valid email address. So that's perfect. I'll hate mail.
[00:49:33] Speaker A: But anyway everyone, I've added a bit out of this section of the video show that reads trigger warning all hate.
[00:49:39] Speaker B: Mail to samantha.com with a laughing emoji by the way. But yeah, so anyway, I do think that hope I loved it. But I understand. It's okay. Not everybody's gonna love it. Not everybody loved.
[00:49:53] Speaker C: That's the good thing too about the Disney cruise, right? There's something for everybody. It's. It's your Cruise. It's his cruise, it's her cruise. Whoever you know, it, it. They find stuff. Stuff for people to gravitate towards and to enjoy, and they have lots of options. So if you don't like one thing, go do something else. Find me at bingo.
[00:50:11] Speaker A: There you go. There you go. There. There you go.
[00:50:14] Speaker B: His 50s, and his first thought was, there are five Indiana Jones movies.
[00:50:18] Speaker A: Michael, to be fair, not really. I mean, yes, but we don't count, like the last two, so.
[00:50:24] Speaker B: Yeah, but they do in the show.
[00:50:27] Speaker A: Anyway, I have a question for Emily. So because. Because we're. We're winding down here, I want to. I want to broad question be. Broaden the show a little bit beyond the treasure for a second. Emily, what's the opportunity that Disney Cruise Line has with the new ships coming? So we've got. We've had the. We've had the smaller ships. Magic and the wonder. We've had the dream class. Now we've got the wish class. This new class of ships is coming. Like, what would you like to see them do differently?
Maybe that they haven't even done before on those ships?
[00:50:57] Speaker C: Oh, wow, that's a really great question. I would beg them to please be a little bit more outside the box. And we don't have to put all the same restaurants in the same spots. Let's just start fresh. Not every place needs a 1923. We can do something different and more, you know, diff outside the box different, whatever, you know, I don't know what I would really be looking for. I think that they're. They're getting it right with what I'm looking for personally. But every ship's got a different personality. So you could be a treasure person person. You could be a dream person or a fantasy person. It depends, like, what you're looking for. But one thing I really do like is I love the places to go and have drinks and conversation that is important to me. I like good restaurants. I like good entertainment. So, like, those are things that are important to me.
And of course, a good bingo game. Definitely bingo. Betty needs to continue on her journey. Yeah, but those are things that I. I personally am looking for, but I'm looking for something new. So, like, what else can you do? Show me something else.
[00:52:09] Speaker B: Show me something new, they say.
[00:52:11] Speaker C: What do you guys think? What do you look?
[00:52:13] Speaker B: What does Chef have that's new? No, I totally agree with you. You know, I. I think one of the things I am. Well, I mean, of course I'm looking forward to Duffy being on the adventure. So I can't even, like, I can't even contain myself with that. I feel like Duffy needs to be on the ships in the US like, not just Duffy, I mean, Duffy and friends, right? The whole gang.
Olumel, Shelley, Mae, right. Like, they, they just need to all be around. But I feel like they, they need to be willing to, to do some of these like, new things. And, and I think they're doing a lot of that on the adventure. I mean, they're going to have more Baymax stuff. So I think like some unique characters, some unique character experiences or character shows, like, are a really great start. I really hope that whatever lessons they learn, learn from the adventure, whether good or bad, I hope that they will be willing to bring like the good onto some of the ships in the US Whether they be like, I mean, obviously wouldn't be able to bring it on to the Destiny and probably not going to bring it onto the, the existing ships through dry dock, although that's possible, but onto the new ships that are coming that perhaps are still in the design stage. Right. And so hopefully that will, will sort of, you know, learn from, from those things. But, you know, they got to bring, you know, Mushu's Garden needs to be a restaurant on board, right? Like, there's a bunch. We're gonna make it happen, right?
[00:53:36] Speaker A: You get enough Asian food in the Pacific Northwest, we don't need it at sea too.
[00:53:41] Speaker B: This is so funny, Brian. Actually we have like this running joke because at home I, I literally like, I, I could order Chinese or Thai food pretty much every day. And so Brian went to Puerto Vallarta.
[00:53:53] Speaker A: I lived my best life last week.
Food every day.
[00:53:57] Speaker B: Brian is obsessed with Mexican food. And while I like Mexican food, it's not like the food I crave on a daily basis. And so, you know, it's. Yeah, so he was like, you know what I didn't have for an entire week? Asian food.
[00:54:12] Speaker A: So, so I want to. So Emily, you're, you're spot on with, with me for the, the restaurants. Like, I want to see them do all new restaurants if Worlds of Marvel makes it on there, like, you know.
[00:54:24] Speaker C: Know, like, yeah, we gotta move on.
[00:54:26] Speaker B: We gotta move on.
[00:54:27] Speaker C: We need something different, something fresh.
[00:54:29] Speaker A: I would love to see them do some. Like, to your point though, I'd love to see them put like, go outside the box with this stuff. I mean, we've talked on the show before about, like, wouldn't it be interesting if they had like some sort of conveyor belt style restaurant on the ship or something like that, but also like, I think that some of the other cruise lines are frankly getting ahead of them in the entertainment game. Like the. There's that train restaurant that's on Icon. I think it is Utopia. Utopia. It looks just very interesting and very versatile space. Right. And then I'd love to see them bring the escape room at sea concept. If anyone could tell a story on a cruise ship, you know, in an escape room setting, like, I think Disney could.
I think there's an opportunity to bring some VR on the ship. Although I still, I still question their ability to pull that off in a moving ship in the open ocean. Like, yeah, the custodial staff will have to be paid very well. But like, I can't see them bringing the rides from the Adventure Adventure onto these new ships because they're going to be smaller than the adventure and I think it would eat up a lot of pool deck space. Yeah, I just love to see them like push the envelope. Just try something really, really new. And I hope that like you, I hope experiences like the Halcyon didn't make them skittish or I'm like, okay, we did something too new and it bit us and so we don't want to go too new. Right. But I, so like, new characters would be great, but you know, like, it's just new characters. Like, I want to see something really truly different.
[00:55:49] Speaker B: I want to ask Emily another question, which is, you know, there's a lot of competition out there in the cruising space. I'm curious as to who you think or meaning what other company is out there that is introducing some stuff that piques your interest or that you might say, well, you know, I'm not going to take Disney for this sailing because I want to try X. What is that X factor that you might want to try outside of the Disney bubble?
[00:56:17] Speaker C: Well, I mean, I don't want to try anything outside the Disney bubble, but.
But I will say that Disney, Disney does the kids clubs and getting that, that the kids the buy in. They do that the best. Their kids clubs are better than every other cruise line.
But I will say that Royal Caribbean, they are not something to kind of pushed to the side because they have these ships that are, I mean, they have whole water parks on these ships and the Disney pools. I mean, you're not going on a Disney cruise because their, their pools are so amazing and great. They're okay. I mean they get the job done. There's the fun Aqua Mouse or the, you know, but it's not how Royal Caribbean is doing things they're really trying to take it to the next level. They have a lot more, more active things that you can do around the ship. You can go and do zip lining, you can go and kind of climb over the side of the ship and do these different activities that you're not going to see on Disney Cruise. So if you have family with older kids or maybe more adventurous kids, you know that they could kind of go that way. I did have really great meals too on Royal Caribbean. I went on most recently the Icon last year and, and the food was amazing. I thought the quick service was incredible. So that's a great option. And they do really great deals. They have kids sale free deals, which, how can you pass that off? I know, I appreciate that Disney did the 50% off kids, but it's like, come on, your competitor is doing kids sale free. You should do it too, or do something that's comparable to that.
[00:58:07] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Especially for their off season stuff. Right. Like the stuff schools are in session, you know, that is, those are when they have trouble filling the ships. And so if they're looking to get people on, if they did what Royal did, they would be sailing fuller and they probably wouldn't lose money.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you think we'll ever see Disney?
They're getting a fleet size that's big enough for them to start having to do some sales. Right. Like, and they've really, I mean, like the kids 50% off was one of the first ones I've really ever seen. They usually do that. Like 50% off your deposit for which I keep giving the PSA. It's not a sale. Like, as much as they try to like make it one and it's, I mean, I understand the value of it, but like, it's not a sale. Do you think they'll have to do sales? I mean, I, I can't, I can't tell how well they're doing. Like, you know, at times I don't know.
[00:58:56] Speaker C: And I was thinking about that the other day because I was surprised that they did the Disney plus subscription deal even it saved my family $600. So that's real money. You can't be like, oh, that's nothing. That, that was real money.
But also I wish that they would do something that is more, I don't know, more captivating in any kind of way or more, I don't know, I don't know what, I don't know what that looks like. But Disney Cruise, I think prior to this year didn't have any trouble feeling the, the Ships.
[00:59:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:59:34] Speaker C: However, I feel like there's something that is a red flag when we're going on Memorial Day sailing out of lookout to look out on the Dre and it's Memorial Day weekend. And for sure, I was like, oh, this is gonna sell out. It's on the Disney plus promo. But it's. It's pretty empty. It's pretty empty for Memorial Day weekend and it's pretty cheap, too. So that worries me a little bit that they're not able to fill a weekend and a holiday weekend sailing. I know it's out of Fort Lauderdale and that's something that's a challenge for them a little bit. But still. I don't know.
[01:00:10] Speaker A: But yeah, but should be an affordable sailing, right? I mean, that should be an affordable sailing. Going to. Then probably going to look out, I would have to guess.
[01:00:18] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. Yeah, look out.
[01:00:20] Speaker C: And it is an affordable sailing, too. It's on the Florida resident discount, too. It has guaranteed rooms right now, like, they're trying to fill this ship and I. It's just surprising to me that they would have that much trouble filling a. Like I said, Memorial Day weekend cruise.
[01:00:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, as we wrap up here, I just want to point out you have some. Some news about a mil you are going to hit upcoming this year, this early summer.
[01:00:47] Speaker C: So excited. And I have to tell you, you are the first people that I told. I am not told. I have not told anyone. I haven't told the kids, teachers. I gotta let them know. But you were the first people I told because I was like, oh, they would appreciate this because, you know, when you find your Disney cruise, people, you're like, yeah, they would.
[01:01:04] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[01:01:05] Speaker C: But yes, I'm so, so excited because I'm gonna get to go on the Wonder to Alaska. And that was one of my bucket list things I do. So my family and I are going in June and we are just over the moon, pumped to be able to have the opportunity to go so amazing.
[01:01:23] Speaker B: And this is going to make it your grand Slam or whatever we're calling it the Big Hero 6. This is going to be your Big Hero 6.
[01:01:32] Speaker C: Because the wonders only.
[01:01:34] Speaker B: Yeah, the Wonder is the only ship you haven't been on. I know you're going to be on. You're going to go on the Destiny, of course, when she comes out. But like, yeah, this is your. Your Big Hero 6 and you get to complete her before the Destiny comes out. So that's awesome. I love that. I love that. We're so excited for adventure.
[01:01:51] Speaker C: I'm gonna have to book an adventure.
[01:01:53] Speaker B: Well, you know, you're gonna have to come back on to our show in June as soon as you're back from your Alaska cruise to talk all about it because I know our audience is going to want to hear all about your adventures in Alaska on the Disney Wonder. But before we do that and before Brian tells us what's coming on with our next show, Emily, tell folks where they can find you to follow along on your adventures and also if they'd like to book a cruise or other vacation with you. Sure.
[01:02:21] Speaker C: Well, you can find me on Instagram. We do Disney, right? Very easy to remember.
And please, if you have been on Alaskan cruise, spam me with your packing list or give me your tips. I want them. I welcome them. So please, please, please send me a message and let me know what I should, should expect or what a little tip or trick that you have.
[01:02:42] Speaker B: Yeah, and I know someone, Ashley Norton, who's watching. I know she's going to, I'm sure she's going to tell you.
I was telling you before we started the show. She did. She came on as a guest in one of our best Alaska episodes and had so organized with her like packing information. So organized with her excursion information. She says, I got you covered.
[01:03:06] Speaker C: Covered.
[01:03:06] Speaker B: I know, I know it. I know.
[01:03:08] Speaker C: Thank you. I love a good packing list. I need some tips and tricks, so I welcome that.
[01:03:12] Speaker A: And, and if, if, for whatever reason you end up in Seattle before your cruise or after, you just call us. We'll.
[01:03:18] Speaker C: No, we did flying into Seattle because the flights were a little rough from where we are, so we looked into Boston, jfk. So we're flying out of jfk.
[01:03:26] Speaker A: There you go. There you go. Well, Emily, as always, thank you for coming on and we love having you on. You're welcome back anytime.
Thank you for, for.
As Sam knows, I love to give the what's coming up next. And so we will be back next week, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern. And we will have fan favorite Rebecca from D.C. to Disney, who is now an Adventures by Disney Guide. And she is coming on to talk about what it was like in her first ABD season out there. She was doing river cruising, I think, at least part of the time. So we were excited to see what it was like for her. Yeah.
[01:04:05] Speaker B: And we'll hopefully get an idea of the differences between, you know, being a D.C. dCL cast member and being an ABD cast member, you know, sort of that experience because we've had her on to talk about being a DCL cast member and she's fabulous. So feel free to go back into our catalog and listen to those episodes. She's a fantastic guest and we're super excited to have her on. But with that we'll say thank you for to everybody watching right live, watching later or listening on the podcast channels, don't forget to like and subscribe to us on YouTube and don't forget to hit those five stars for us on Apple Podcasts. If you leave us a written review, we will read it on one of our recorded episodes and with that I will just say thanks again Emily and good night everyone.
[01:04:52] Speaker D: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows so be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us 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 and want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email them at DCLDUOYpathunwinding.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.
[01:06:02] Speaker A: And every month, just head over to.
[01:06:03] Speaker D: The website or patreon.com DCLDUO also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here, at least on a few blog articles that we've written. So DCLDUO.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
[email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-411-35590. That's 402-413-5590. The DCL dual 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.
