[00:00:00] Speaker A: They came out of the jewelry shop, you know, there on the fantasy.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Formerly Tiffany, now something else.
That's hilarious.
[00:00:09] Speaker C: Santa's gotta get Mrs. Claus a little something something for the holidays.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: Yes, he was, you know, multitasking during his time on the Disney fantasy.
[00:00:28] Speaker C: I didn't let the music finish playing. Oh, well, sorry about that. Fol welcome back to this week's live episode of the DCL Duo Podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel, and of course, our good friends from WDW magazine. We have Stephanie here with us this evening to talk a little WDW magazine at the top of the show before we bring Drew and Haley in to talk all about very maritime cruising. Welcome, Stephanie.
[00:00:50] Speaker D: Thank you so much for having me. And happy holidays.
[00:00:53] Speaker C: Thank you. Yes.
[00:00:54] Speaker E: Happy second night of Hanukkah, everyone. Well, those of us who celebrate. And to those of you who don't celebrate, just, you know, is the Festival of Lights. And we need to spread light when it's dark outside. So let's. Let's do that. I gotta give a huge apology to. A lot of folks have been emailing us over the last several weeks and because of our travel and then because we brought home with us a very unhappy gift of being sick after our travel that just really ran through our household and really took us out so bad that of course, we had to delay last week's show. But I just want to apologize if you have email, emailed us or messaged us and are awaiting a response about recording a show or about or any other reason, frankly, I'm sorry, we're just way behind. We're going to try and catch up over the next couple of weeks while we're on vacation.
[00:01:49] Speaker C: I'm hoping to catch up in the next couple of days, actually. Sam and I just need to sit down and go through the inbox together. And so we will do that. Yeah.
[00:01:56] Speaker E: And we're going to. We're going to hopefully get a bunch of folks scheduled for recordings for January and February. We already have some of our recording schedule already filling up for January.
So if, if. And I want to also apologize if we turn down your show just because it's been a while since you got off the ship. That is no like ding on you or insult to your sailing that it wasn't interesting or that you're not going to be a great guest. It's just a matter of we have such a packed schedule. We're heading to Aulani for two weeks, coming on Saturday, and. And our schedule is already filling up for the New Year. And so we just don't want your. Your cruise to be st our audience.
[00:02:40] Speaker C: So good news, good news for everyone out there. It looks like we're going to get through our entire backlog of recording here in January. And so we will be caught up so that you will be getting cruises more real time, hopefully going forward, but, well, as real time. About 30 days instead of this 90 days. We've been operating on that.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:00] Speaker E: So anyway, with that said, we got to turn things over to Stephanie here for a second. We understand that wdw, DCL and DLR magazines got a promo going on right now. Tell us about that.
[00:03:13] Speaker D: Yeah, we've got a great promo and a couple other things that I want because we have that special code, right. DCL Duo, you save 10%, so we actually allow you to stack that too. So what I wanted to tell you guys about, you can actually get a better deal because you guys are fans of this show.
So I know this is a cruise specific show crew, specific audience, plus Disney cruise. Right. So I'm, I'm thinking there's a few other people out there like me who might be parks fans as well, or maybe sometimes you do land and sea vacation.
So right now we have a really special. I think it might be the best deal we've ever done.
We have a bundle on our site right now that's called the Ultimate Park Planning Bundle. And what it is is you get our 2026 Disney World calendar, which has beautiful photos from our photo team and fun facts about the parks and Disney dates like Magic Kingdom open this day. Mickey's birthday is this day, this day. All throughout.
You get that.
[00:04:11] Speaker E: It's hanging up in my office, by the way, at work.
[00:04:14] Speaker D: Fantastic fant. Fantastic.
We you'll get access to our rope drop Guide, which pulls in the DCL Duo podcast as well as some other podcasts as well as all of the content on both our sites, WDW Magazine and Dad's Guide to wdw totally ad free. And it also has some cool trip planning tools that you can use at Disneyland and at Disney World if you are doing those parks adventures. Plus you get your first month of a WDW magazine membership all rolled into that price. So you'd be starting now with our February issue print issue, which is all about love and it's really nice. It's everything from romantic love to family love.
So it's a really special warm and fuzzy kind of February issue. But the value on that is usually 47.99 with the markdown that we have on it now plus your DCL Duo discount. You could get it for 28.34 which that's a very large percentage off girl math time together.
But we also have, we have actually until December 20th. We also have our gift subscriptions for DC or sorry for DLR magazine and WDW magazine. You can get those, they're non renewing subscriptions so they're really great if you just want to like give something, you know to your sister or your friend for the year. We have those on 10% off. But you can also apply the DCL duo code to those.
So.
And we do a printable gift certificate. So like if you are looking to give something when you see somebody in person or under the tree or in a stocking, you can get a nice gift certificate that we've designed and you can fill it all in. So it's, that's something that's pretty popular with people this time of year. So I just wanted to let you guys know about that and if there's still time to get our calendar. If you just want the calendar and nothing else at this time. But I would just wanted to say because especially with, I'm sure you guys heard like D23 magazine is stopping publishing. Star Wars Insider stopping publishing. So I, I've been hearing from tons of fans and all these different Facebook groups that we're in and Reddit groups and people emailing us because they think that we're, we're canceled because they think that we're the same magazine, which we're not. We're totally different magazine. I'm sad about those magazines also. But if you're worried you're not going to get magazines coming to your house, you can.
[00:06:37] Speaker E: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. Listen, I already have a subscription to all the magazines but I like to tell people if they're looking for a holiday gift for me, whether that's Hanukkah or Christmas I size 7 + night Disney cruise. So you know, if you're looking for a gift or like maybe a three.
[00:06:57] Speaker D: Night cruise for like a, like a tiny gift.
[00:06:59] Speaker E: Tiny, yeah, yeah, just like a tiny gift. Absolutely. But that one has to be out of San Diego. Let me put it that way.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Is there any sort of special code they need to get the park planning bundle or is it all up on the website?
[00:07:10] Speaker D: If you go to our website at the top you'll see like gifts, blog, calendar, all those things. If you click Gifts it'll be on that page as a nice like kind of teal greeny background on It. It's real. It really pops out. And if you click that, you'll get the automatic discount. And then you want to put DCL duo in when you actually check out, and you'll get that super awesome discount.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Amazing. Amazing. Well, Stephanie, we can't let you go because we've got very Mary Time Cruising. We'll be talking about it tonight. And you mentioned when we were emailing back and forth that a Very Merry Time Cruise is your first cruise. So I want to ask you favorite thing off of your first Very Merry Time Sailing.
[00:07:50] Speaker D: I don't know if they do this anymore, but Elsa arrived and made it snow in the atrium on our first night. And I was so excited by that.
It was our first crew, our first Disney cruise ever. And I called my husband. It was media cruise, actually. I called my husband to say, just got a call from our rep and they want us to go on a cruise. And Mickey's gonna be there, and Elsa's gonna be there, and Santa's gonna be there. And I was so excited.
I'm a huge Christmas and holidays person, so that was. That was really special. But I also think, you know, the fact that they have the tree lighting ceremony and they have the characters in holiday costumes. There's carolers, there's gingerbread. There's all of these things that just make it feel so amazing. Just like the holidays in the parks, right?
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:39] Speaker C: A little snoop in the atrium. Everyone loves a little Disney Cruise Line Snope. So, yeah, we'll have to ask Haley and Drew if they experience the Snope.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: Great. Well, Stephanie, as always, thank you so much for joining us this evening. And for everyone out there, if you have not subscribed, head over to. You can do wdw-magazine.com or dcl-magazine.com and we're hearing there's going to be another issue hopefully soon.
[00:09:05] Speaker D: In January, we will be putting our membership officially on sale. So it'll be the early spring, April, I believe, when the first issue will actually arrive at people's door.
But in mid, late January. Stay tuned.
I'm sure you guys will have a. Oh, for sure.
[00:09:23] Speaker E: To announce it officially. We love that. Stephanie, thanks so much for coming on again. Happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year, and we can't wait to see you again real soon.
[00:09:35] Speaker D: Safe travels, guys.
[00:09:37] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:09:38] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: We'll see you later, Stephanie. Bye.
All right, we're going to bring in Haley and Drew. There's Drew right on time.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: To go get our cat out of Christmas tree real quick.
[00:09:50] Speaker E: So, I mean, it wouldn't be a Christmas, you know, or maritime episode without a cat in a Christmas tree.
[00:09:58] Speaker C: People can't really see it. But I've got. I've got my ugly Christmas sweater on. That is John McLean crawling through an air duct from Die Hard. So there you go. So we're all decked out for the holidays. Welcome back to Haley and Drew, two of our. Two of our favorite guests and friends of the show, friends of us. Now, we love sailing with them and so hope to get to sail with them again in the future. But you guys are going to talk us through.
[00:10:23] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:10:24] Speaker C: We thought it was April 2026, but it's a year later. So I thought you were scheduling that.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Palo brunch really far in advance, but I was like, okay, go for it.
[00:10:33] Speaker C: The concierge window has not changed to be that far out.
[00:10:37] Speaker E: So, yes, the funny thing is, so to those out there who don't know what we're talking about, we are sailing on the Treasure the. This coming year. So 2026 for Nathan's spring break. We're also sailing on the Treasure for Nathan's spring break in 2027. So the following year, and we were doing. We're. We're sailing concierge for the 2026 sailing. We're not sailing concierge for the 2027 sailing. And we were putting in our requests, and for some reason, I just got it in my head that Haley and Drew were on our 2026 sailing, when in reality, they had told us, no, they're on their R. 2027, our private.
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Charter boat, than we had hoped at this point. But we will sort that out on our end. But, Hayley, Drew, remind folks about your Disney cruising background. Let's start there.
[00:11:29] Speaker B: Yeah. So this was our seventh Disney cruise. So we've been on all the ships except for the Destiny, because it had just started sailing.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: That's next month.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: That's next month. Actually, we got FOMO hearing Brian and Sam talk about their media preview cruise, and then, oops, we. We booked a cruise.
[00:11:48] Speaker C: So Disney pr, If you're listening right there, that's another testimonial.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: I mean, literally, that's exactly what happened. I was like, oh, we gotta do it. Let's just look at the prices.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: And we were already planning to go to farts in January. Festival of the Arts.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Yeah. I was like, we can't just call it that and not explain. So we've been on all the ships, and this was our first time repeating a ship and so. And the fantasy was our first ship and we had not been on her since then. And that was back in September20. Yeah, that was back in September 2018. So it was like.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: And that was when it was a seven night sailing. So.
[00:12:25] Speaker E: Oh my goodness.
So okay, how many nights was this sailing that you booked on the fantasy? It was obviously a very merry time.
Ben, why did you choose, you know, this particular itinerary? Or was it just to get back on the fantasy in particular?
[00:12:41] Speaker A: So this was just three nights stocking stuffer size.
[00:12:44] Speaker E: Yeah, stocking stuffing stuffer size, as Nathan in the comments says. Yeah, yeah.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: And what happened was we. We always love to go the week right after Thanksgiving. It's one of our favorite yes to the parks. Copper Creek is our home resort. Our first home resort, I should say. And so we always try to go the week after Thanksgiving and stay and do a park strip.
When that 40% off sale came out, there was this fantasy selling that left on the Thursday we were going to leave the parks anyway. We only had to take one more day off and it was only three nights. It's real easy to get to Port Canaveral and it was 40% off.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: So that means it's basically free. Right? That's how Disney math works.
[00:13:29] Speaker E: Disney math. Right. Disney math. Somebody said in the comments Disney math is greater than girl math. Oh, it's Linda. Yeah, absolutely. Disney math is great. Is greater than girl math. So yeah, yeah. So it's practically free. You only had to take off one extra day of work. So you were going to miss just that Friday of work. So this is a three.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: We were already missing Monday through Thursday anyway.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: Y.
[00:13:51] Speaker E: So it's basically free as a free day of vacation. And free.
Well, not free, but 40% off.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: It was a three night sailing. We were excited to get back on the fantasy. We had never done a very merry time.
Again, 40% off. Very compelling. And there was only one port which was cast away. So I was like, like I don't really see any downsides. And this gets us. We're. We're currently gold. So this gets us one cruise closer.
[00:14:14] Speaker D: To Platinum and getting that free polo.
[00:14:17] Speaker E: And getting that free Paulo. That's exactly right. Well, let's talk about planning. So you booked this kind of last minute, did you. Was there any planning really that you needed to do for this sailing or were you just like, we're gonna go with the flow. It's only three nights and we're gonna pack in as much as we can. Activities we don't need to Pre book anything.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: So we pre booked Prima Note because we had never done that before and it was available and it. Well, okay. And we. We did Rainforest Room passes. We'd never done those before, but they were available. So it was like.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: Well, we also booked transportation, which we've never.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Yeah, we've never taken DCL transportation before, so.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:14:56] Speaker E: What do you guys.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: We've driven or, you know, we've taken like a lot of European cruises and things like that where we're staying in the port city or.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Yeah, we did private transportation for Norway sailing with. With you guys. Guys. Back in 2022 from London and then Barcelona. We just took a taxi.
San Juan, we took an Uber.
[00:15:19] Speaker E: You know, we.
[00:15:20] Speaker B: It's just the two of us. We don't have children, we don't have any car seats to deal with.
So usually. And we done. We did Uber one time from the parks to Port Canaveral.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: But our original Uber that we had pre scheduled canceled like the morning of. I think they figured out where we were going and they didn't want to go that far. So then we had to scramble to find a different Uber. And so we were like, you know, that was kind of not very fun.
So we were like, I guess we'll do the $45 per person per direction. And we knew that we wanted to be taken straight to the airport after, so it was easy. And actually our bus was the first one to arrive at the port. That worked out nicely.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: We got there and I bet there were.
Once we got upstairs, There were probably 10, 12 other people there, like hardly anyone.
[00:16:08] Speaker B: I mean, we were still boarding group six, so we were still waiting around for a bit. But, you know, in terms of planning, like, we didn't make any plans for Castaway because we've been to Castaway. This was like our fourth time there, I think.
And so we weren't like, we're dying to do anything. It would have been a good day to parasail because there were. All the excursions happened that day, every single one of them, for maybe the.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: First time that we've ever been.
[00:16:33] Speaker E: Yeah, I will say this time of year is actually the, like, best time of year for excursions. So we're. We're past hurricane season. Right. Hurricane season is over and so the winds tend to die down. So this is actually a good time. Holiday time is actually a good time for excursions and into the new year as well, so into January, maybe February, generally a decent time for excursions.
Well, let's. Let's dive in then and Talk about the transportation. We'll start there.
What did you guys think of DCL transportation? You haven't done it before.
Thumbs up, thumbs down.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: Maybe because we were, you know, I don't know if it makes a difference on where you were staying, but at the Wilderness Lodge we were the third pickup. It had already picked up at Poly and Grand Flow. So there were already some people on the bus.
[00:17:27] Speaker B: But we went to Contemporary after and.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: We went to Contemporary after. But we, they filled the bus it. We left and like I said, we were the first ones there. So I didn't have a problem with it.
[00:17:39] Speaker C: Did they do that? Did they do the check in at the hotel and did they let you drop luggage at the hotel?
[00:17:45] Speaker B: They did, yeah. So they came and got the luggage, which was nice.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: Yeah, we had to have it out by. We, we just walked on.
But we, you had to have it outside by seven or eight.
[00:17:55] Speaker B: Yeah, we let them take it.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Oh, we checked our carry ons.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: Yeah, we let them take our carry on backs like our wheel, our wheel roll up board bags. So yeah, that they came to our room at seven. At seven and got them. And that was nice to not have to like wrestle with those on the bus because it was a three night saline. We didn't bother with like trying to bring on any wine or anything like that. I was like, I just don't want to make things more complicated than I need to. It's a three night cruise.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: Did you use the magic bands on board?
[00:18:24] Speaker A: I did.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: You did? Yeah, I couldn't find mine.
[00:18:27] Speaker C: Did they code it at the hotel or did you have to get it coded at the port?
[00:18:30] Speaker E: Port.
[00:18:30] Speaker D: At the port.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: At the port.
[00:18:31] Speaker C: At the port.
[00:18:32] Speaker E: Okay, so wait, you did, did you check in at the port or check in at the hotel? I think check ins at the port. If you're doing the hotels, I think the only place you can do check in ahead of time is mco.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Yeah, we did not check in for the crew. Like we did the, the online check in obviously, but not the. And they could, they did like the rest of the check in. Checking your passport, encoding your magic bands. At the port? Yeah, yeah, at the hotel, right?
[00:18:55] Speaker E: At the hotel, yeah. So just for those, for those listening or watching, if you're going, taking DCL transportation from the airport, from mcl, from the Hyatt, they will sometimes actually do the full sort of cruise check in at the airport.
Other than perhaps coding the bands. I'm not sure about that part, but I think they, they will even look at your passports and things like that just depending upon the sailing. Now, you all were headed to Terminal 8 at Port Canaveral, which is. Is Disney's terminal. So not the old terminal, but Disney's dedicated terminal. Now, you did have to wait a little bit because you were boarding group six, and because you happen to be on the. On the first bus. But how long before, like, what time did you guys board the ship?
[00:19:44] Speaker A: We boarded at, like, 11:45. 11:30. 11:45.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah, that sounds about right.
[00:19:50] Speaker C: That's not terrible.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: Pretty early.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: They do need to update the video in the transportation, though. One of the things, because it still says treasure coming soon in 2024. Late 2024.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: It doesn't even mention the Destiny, so that's super funny.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: I mean, I was like, the video got a little bit like, okay, you're trying to sell me on a Disney cruise, but I'm literally already going on one right now.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Yeah, but every. Everybody books.
[00:20:18] Speaker B: I mean, everybody books the next one.
[00:20:20] Speaker C: When you're on the ship. Right? So, I mean, it's not a hard sell, but, yeah, I mean, they did.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: So I just was, like, tuning the video out and reading my book.
[00:20:29] Speaker E: Book.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: And I think you were always. That's.
[00:20:31] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: And you were.
[00:20:32] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: Listening to your book, I think. So anyway, it was nice.
[00:20:37] Speaker C: Was this your first very merry time sailing or have you done a very. Yes.
[00:20:40] Speaker F: Okay.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: So. So what you think of the. You walk on. They've got the. Yeah. They got the big Christmas tree. A gingerbread house. Yeah. What'd you think?
[00:20:49] Speaker A: Yeah, the gingerbread house was cool, especially since they made the terrible decision to not have one in the grand flow this year. And that made us very sad.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Well, they probably won't ever again.
[00:20:58] Speaker F: I don't know.
[00:20:59] Speaker C: We'll see.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: They said they were going to have one at Wilderness Lodge, and then they were like, psych.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: It was like a little one, and.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: Then they put it away because people kept trying to touch it.
[00:21:07] Speaker E: We can't.
[00:21:08] Speaker B: This is why we can't have nice things.
But no, it was really pretty. I loved all the Christmas decor. We had done a Halloween on the high seas.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: Our very first sailing on the Fantasy was.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: We can only go on the Fantasy when it's holiday themed. Apparently.
These are the rules. I don't make the rules. But no, it was really pretty.
And, you know, the last ship we were on before this was the Treasure. So it was like, oh, yes. This is what the older ships are like.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: They had the scentilizers going. They were pumping those smells out everywhere, like the gingerbread.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: And you Know all those things?
[00:21:43] Speaker E: Yeah, the holiday smells, they really pumped them out on those sailings. For those who have been living maybe under a rock, all of the ships during holiday time have trees, including the Destiny. Now, she did not have as she. She's not doing very maritime sailings this year. And her maiden voyage was a week before Thanksgiving and there was no tree on, but they loaded a tree on. On. I believe it was like December 3rd or December 4th, but for her, like 3rd or 4th sailing. And so even though the Destiny is not doing maritime sailings like the rest of the fleet, she still has a tree. So all of the. Across the fleet, they do put up holiday decorations.
That's generally garland, wreaths, you know, tinsel, that sort of a thing. And of course a gingerbread house. Although the Wish class, if they have. They don't all have gingerbread houses. And sometimes if they do, they're tiny like the one you just described at the Wilderness.
[00:22:46] Speaker C: And the Wish. The Wish is the only ship in the fleet with the white Christmas tree, I think. Is it gold or is it white? I can't remember.
[00:22:53] Speaker E: It's like. I won't call it. Say it.
[00:22:55] Speaker A: Like the weird old aluminum Christmas tree.
[00:22:58] Speaker C: Oh, no, not that bad.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: Single handedly killed by the Charlie Ron Christmas special.
[00:23:02] Speaker E: Yes. Yeah, it's, it's, it's not. Not. It's not green, but.
Well, I. This, this tree, of course on the Fantasy is green. It's very large.
Now when you walk on, it's not lit up. Is that right?
[00:23:17] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: Yes. The lighting ceremony was that night. I don't know if it's always the first night, but it was on the sailing that we did. And jumping ahead to that on, sadly, there was no snow. It was confetti.
[00:23:32] Speaker E: Bummer.
[00:23:32] Speaker B: Okay, so no snow.
[00:23:34] Speaker E: To answer. To answer your question, Drew, yes. Every, every holiday, very maritime sailing does the Christmas tree lighting on the first night of the cruise. And the reason they do that is that way the tree is lit up for the rest of the.
[00:23:49] Speaker B: The cruise.
[00:23:50] Speaker E: Yeah, they do it and they do a, A tree lighting. We'll call it ceremony, but it's like a countdown and the characters come out. Did you guys have.
Which characters showed up for your Christmas tree lighting? And, and was Santa there?
[00:24:09] Speaker B: Santa and Mrs. Claus were both there.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: They came out of the jewelry shop, you know, there on the Fantasy.
[00:24:16] Speaker B: Formerly Tiffany, now something else.
[00:24:21] Speaker C: Santa's gotta get Mrs. Claus a little something something for the holidays.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: He was, you know, multitasking during his time on the Disney Fantasy.
We had Pluto, we had Mickey And Minnie. And we had Goofy.
Did we have Chip and Dale? No, we didn't have Chippendale.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: We saw them up on the deck.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: Right now I can't remember if we had Donald or Daisy. We were, this was. We went to the 10:00pm one because the 7:31 we were, we went, we had early dinner and then we left after the appetizer course and went to Prima Note with a three night sailing. We didn't want to skip rotational dining entirely because we wanted our server to know who we were and also to know our table mates because we didn't request a private table.
Because I like to talk to people.
[00:25:07] Speaker C: How do they do, how they do matching you up for table mates?
[00:25:10] Speaker E: It was good.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: There were two other couples without kids that were, you know, in our approximate age bracket. So I would say for the most.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: Part we've had really good experiences.
[00:25:20] Speaker B: There have been. There was the couple we met on our first cruise. We did two subsequent trips with them.
We like became real friends. But no, the only time we've ever had a weird table pairing was when we were in Norway with my parents. So it was like the two of us in our 30s, four adults and my parents in their like late 50s. And they put us with a family of six, like two adults and four kids. Kids from Canada. I mean, not that the Canadian part is relevant, but like, thank God you.
[00:25:47] Speaker C: Didn'T say the only time they paired you inappropriately is when you were sailing with us.
[00:25:53] Speaker E: Yeah. Because you guys were in early dining and we were in late dining. Yeah.
And we are late dining stands. So that's, that's, that's, that's our only conflict, I think, amongst the four of us.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll have to figure out what we're doing in 2027.
[00:26:08] Speaker E: Yeah, in 2027. Absolutely. We'll have to figure that out.
[00:26:11] Speaker C: So what did you think of, what did you think of Prima Note on the. Was this your first time doing it? It was, it was, it was what you think.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: I enjoyed it, you know, getting to try all the wines, getting to eat the pairings. I think I probably enjoyed the pairings a little more than you, but I like seafood you don't like.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: I gave him my seafood. I was like, here you go.
So, you know, value wise, I drink all the wines though, and I got my own special gnocchi because they give you the normal kind from the menu that has the pine nuts in it. But I'm allergic to nuts. So I alerted them about that and they brought me an allergy friendly Gnocchi which was good. The gnocchi is probably my favorite of the dishes. Or the wagyu beef. Both of those are really good.
But they all. I mean, I thought that all of the pairings were really good with the wine.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: It's interesting because they're not actually offering Prima Note on our treasure sailing. That's coming up in 2026. Yeah. Where it's currently not available to book. Maybe it will open. Open up closer in time. But they only have the regular adult dining. Yeah.
[00:27:15] Speaker E: Yeah. Well. And so for Prima Note, just a tip for those watching or listening, if you have a food preference that's not an allergy, like, I don't eat seafood. I'm not allergic, but I don't eat fish or whatever, you can actually ask them if they are able to substitute courses. So I know you've got a nut allergy, so you already had to substitute the one course, but you could actually. Our friend Tracy is not a fish person, and she has had them substitute, of course, for her. And so it is something you can request. You just let them know at the beginning, hey, I'm not really a fish person. Can. Is there something else that you can do?
[00:27:55] Speaker C: Actually commented. If you tell them you don't like seafood, you might. Extra beef. So there you go.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: Well, now you tell me, Tracy.
[00:28:02] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah. So they'll do something else.
I will say we were texting about Prima Note because you guys were asking me about whether or not you should do Prima Note on a different class of ship. Because we had mentioned before about there being a different. Different pin available.
And I gotta update, folks, and we know this from texting back and forth with you all, but I want to let people know in the. In the audience that it is now the same pin across the fleet. And so it was, for a time, a different pin, I think, because the older ships were using up the stock of the. The pins that they previously had. And so they had introduced some new, newer pins on the wish class, but now everybody is giving out the same pin. So the newer pin that was given out on the Wish class around the one that's got. I don't want to call it polka dots, but it's kind of like polka dots is. That's the pin. So. And the other part, I will tell people, is Prima Note, while not necessarily the exact same experience, because you'll have different sommelier and different seating arrangement depending upon what ship you're on, but it is typically the same food and wine pairings across the fleet. So if you have you Know the noi and the. I think it's the tuna and the beef.
Those are the same dishes you're going to have. Whether you're on the magic or you're on the treasure. It's going to be, you know, the same parents.
[00:29:26] Speaker C: We've got a good question in the chat here from Blue skies and Sunshine Guaranteed. Who's asking? I'm interested to hear about your experience with the service team. They, they are having lots of there. There are lots of reports of service teams struggling recently with cast members being reassigned to other ships. I know we've, we've recorded a few episodes here recently where people have, you know, been. It's been hit or miss. And so I'm curious, how is your serv. And maintaining.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: There was actually a discussion about this in our Facebook group because a lot of people had issues with it. A lot of people had. And we, we talked to the people, or at least I talked to people and a lot of them, this was either their first or second contract. Like they were all still pretty new.
[00:30:08] Speaker B: And the people for whom had. They had just. Their contract had just started. They had been on the ship for like two weeks.
[00:30:13] Speaker A: This was their second sailing, I think second or third sailing. And so we didn't. I think sometimes because Hayley has a nut allergy, we tend to get more seasoned or better servers because they want to give us someone who knows how to handle that and will take care of it and handle it appropriately. I don't have any factual data to back this up. I just get the feeling because we've always had pretty good luck with servers. But I can tell you that there were quite a few people in our Facebook group who, who had this problem. And we kind of saw it with our stateroom host. Every other sailing we've ever been on, we know their name, they know our name the first day we see them multiple times in the hall. I still don't know that guy's name. We. She had to track him down on the last day to give him the envelope.
[00:31:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I, like went outside and I saw somebody out there and they were like. I was like, are you our host? They were like, no, it's so and so. And I was like, oh, okay, I'll. I'll catch up with him later.
[00:31:21] Speaker C: That's sad. That's sad to hear actually, because, you know, when we were on the fantasy a year ago, one of the things I felt like set the ship apart was the crew was just like a well oiled machine. Like, our stateroom host was fantastic. We had just had two mediocre servers on the treasure for her maiden. And these servers were just Johnny on the spot with everything. So like one of the things I felt like the fantasy had going for it was, well, this is a, this is a crew that knows each other. They've worked together a lot. They're, they're, they're killing it right now.
[00:31:52] Speaker B: So I wonder if they didn't siphon off some of their good people to the Destiny.
[00:31:55] Speaker C: Probably.
[00:31:56] Speaker E: And also some of them probably are on vacation because they're heading to the adventure pretty soon because, you know, the adventure's got, I think people don't realize the adventure's got like a 60 day crossing when you consider it's crossing from the Atlantic Ocean, it's crossing through the Panama Canal and then it's crossing through the Pacific Ocean. So it's got like a very long journey. So there's folks who are on, you know, vacation right now so that they are ready to board the adventure, you know, come, I don't know, probably January pretty soon here. So it's definitely right now. I, I do think the fleet is, is a bit stressed in the sense of like the experienced and really good staff. It is just spread. Right. They're just spread more thinly than they have.
[00:32:45] Speaker C: We're getting promoted into manager roles and things like that.
[00:32:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:49] Speaker C: Tracy's saying, I wonder if this is something new because we didn't really get to know our state room host on the Destiny. Same like. Well, actually we knew him but he kept screwing things up in the room, which was just, it was really weird.
[00:32:59] Speaker E: Nothing big.
[00:33:00] Speaker C: Nothing big, but just it's the little things, right.
[00:33:03] Speaker E: When Disney's turned out we didn't have like hand. Right. We didn't have like bar soap in.
[00:33:07] Speaker C: Our room trying to set itself apart on service. Then it's got to be good every time. So this was. I don't think it's a new Tracy. I don't think they're going for this vibe. Like, I think this really is about stretching the really great cast they've built up over many, many years across too many ships at once. And so now there's some growing pains happening.
[00:33:28] Speaker E: Lots of new people. Yeah, lots of new people who are being trained and it's hard to train a lot of new people at once too. It's still probably less impactful that way.
[00:33:38] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, Nathan said he had a.
Nathan saying he had a 14 year vet room host on the Magic and he was absolutely amazing. So, you know, I think it is just hit or miss.
[00:33:47] Speaker E: It is hit or miss. Yeah.
[00:33:48] Speaker C: Sorry, Drew, go ahead.
[00:33:49] Speaker A: No, I was going to say the only time I did see him was when we had the Bright Star across the hall from us.
I've never seen so many people in the white jackets and in that, like, that was crazy. There were stateroom hosts just, like, hauling things in. They had pulled the furniture out in the hallway, and there were, like, people in white jackets everywhere, like the law officers.
[00:34:13] Speaker B: This was like, the morning of. We were going to cast away.
[00:34:15] Speaker C: So, geez. For those who don't know, Disney Cruise line uses a code over the PA system. Bright Star. If it usually is announced into staterooms, it means that there's a medical emergency on board, and then a guest needs a guest or crew member needs help.
[00:34:30] Speaker F: So.
[00:34:30] Speaker C: Yeah. So if you hear that code, that's what that means.
[00:34:33] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:34:34] Speaker E: Well, let's. Let's shift gears and talk about. About some of these maritime activities. Maritime events, maritime character sightings.
Tell us, like, what. What did you guys get to experience on this maritime sailing? I know it's a short sailing, so it's a lot packed in to. To one, right? Like, into just a couple of days. You've got basically two, well, one and a half C days. And then, of course, your castaway day. Castaway day is not real big on maritime events I'm imagining. But what did you guys experience?
Haley, I'll. I'll start you.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Yeah, so we did the tree lighting. There was a 7:31 and a 10:00 clock one. They were the same.
So we did the 10:00 clock one because I wanted to do Prima Note, and I did not want to miss the Aladdin show.
[00:35:21] Speaker E: Oh, yeah.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: So the shows on the fantasy are Aladdin, Frozen, and Believe.
So and of those three, Believe is the one for me that I'm like, I can take it or leave it, but Aladdin and Frozen I wanted to see. So. So we did the 10pm tree lighting. I mean, it's cute. It's.
You know, they come out and they sing.
[00:35:42] Speaker E: What else?
[00:35:43] Speaker B: I'll say secular Christmas songs. You know, we wish you a merry Christmas and Jingle Bells. And so I mean, maritime, like on Disney Cruise Line, if anybody's wondering, is not like a religious thing. It's a. It's a secular Christmas. Like, you get in the park. So, you know, I think it's. If you like that kind of thing, then you'll be. You'll be happy with maritime. So it was very cute. They lit the tree. It took maybe 15 minutes, 20 minutes. I feel like Feel like it sound about right?
Yeah. I don't know. Again, this was post wine pairings, so.
[00:36:13] Speaker E: We have to just keep that in.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: Mind for the details.
[00:36:17] Speaker E: They don't do super long atrium shows one because it's a big crowd of people, right? It's a lot of people really. Especially on the the four classic ships. Right. You've got a lot of people kind of shoved into kind of a smallish area. And so they. They definitely do some singing, some character appearances. They light the tree and then it's of done so that people can disperse to other activities. Now, did you guys go to.
[00:36:45] Speaker C: I love that it was post prima note. Post wine. So did Drew have to remove you from the Christmas tree in the same way?
[00:36:53] Speaker B: I don't usually try to climb it, although that probably would have given me a better view of it. For those who don't know, I'm only like 5:1. I'm very short.
So I will say that if you. If seeing the tree lighting up close is a priority for you, you probably do want to get there before five minutes before. Before time, which is about when we showed.
So there was a lot of like me going like, can I see?
[00:37:15] Speaker A: I found. Yes.
[00:37:16] Speaker B: Yeah, Drew found us a good spot.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: I went over right next to the lighting booth. Lighting booth. And usually they had the whole thing blocked off, but he moved the thing so that we could get right up next to the rail. So.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: And then that works really well for me because I'm the size of a child, but people don't feel bad for me like they do for a child.
[00:37:37] Speaker C: As long as there wasn't a. Ma', am, can you please stop sitting on Santa's lap? He's not doing that right now.
[00:37:41] Speaker F: So there you go.
[00:37:44] Speaker B: So that's good.
[00:37:47] Speaker F: Are you listening to our show because you want to make the most out of your next vacation. Great news. The fabulous team over at MyPath Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. Mypath Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, relaxed at Aulani and swimming 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 DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks my path unwinding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:38:46] Speaker B: So they had the anyone can cook Christmas yule log on our sea day. Oh, so good.
[00:38:53] Speaker C: What is a yule log? I don't even know. It's in a yule log.
[00:38:56] Speaker E: It's like a round. A roll pastry.
[00:38:59] Speaker A: Do you know what a swiss roll cake is?
[00:39:01] Speaker B: A Swiss cake or like a little Debbie?
[00:39:02] Speaker A: It's like that but big.
[00:39:04] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:39:05] Speaker A: Like a whole cake sort of thing.
[00:39:06] Speaker B: But yeah, same idea.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: We went until they handed out samples and then we ate the samples.
[00:39:13] Speaker E: I think that a French name, actually. I think that. Isn't that what they call Noel? Yes, exactly. I remember learning about that in French class back in like middle school. Yeah.
[00:39:24] Speaker B: Oh, nice.
Yeah, that's. That is the French name. And so maybe they talked about that. I don't know. Drew went and got us a seat. I was coming from, oh, I was just sitting on the pool deck because he was getting a pedicure and I was reading my book on the deck and then he was like, hey, are we not going to this thing? And so I was like, oh, let me get there.
[00:39:41] Speaker C: Men can have a beauty routine too, Drew. Men can have a beater routine too, so.
[00:39:44] Speaker B: Well, when the bottom of your feet are as scratchy as his worker, you gotta do something about it.
[00:39:50] Speaker A: Someone told me I should get a.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: Pedicure, so we can't imagine who that would be from.
[00:39:56] Speaker C: Hi, my name is Drew and I'm into cuticle care. There you go.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: There you go. So we went to the yule log thing and I mean, it seemed like it was a really good seminar. Again, we did not stick around for the entire thing because I was like, let's be real. We're not. Neither of us is gonna make this in real life.
I just wanted to eat it. And now that we've gotten to eat it, we can go because we. The problem with a three night cruise is I am not a size three night Disney cruise. I am a size seven night Disney cruise.
So I was like, but if we do this, then we're going to miss these other things, right? And I think especially with the rainforest room that we bought booked the passes for that, I felt like we needed to be doing that to get our money's worth.
So I was trying to. To divide our time. They were going to do. My understanding originally was we were going to have the like deck party, the Christmas deck party at on the last night after Castaway. But they moved it to like 2pm on the C day.
[00:40:55] Speaker E: Oh, interesting.
[00:40:56] Speaker B: Which was odd. And we did not go because we were like, we had a couple's massage I think at 4.
So we were like we're better off just like doing lunch and then going to the Rainforest Room for a while.
[00:41:11] Speaker C: And then doing the facade into people's pool time on a sea day to like have to close down the pool for a deck party.
[00:41:19] Speaker B: It was really an odd choice and I don't know if it was like somehow weather related or something. I don't know because like we had. How was the weather Pirates in the. Oh, the weather was really nice actually.
And we've been to Castaway in January in 2023 and 2025 and have weather like we were on the. In Serenity Bay, the adult beach January of this year on our treasure sailing, just getting blasted by a sand from the wind and it was like we're like shivering under towels on the beach, like okay, we're going to drink a cooler and then we're going to go back to the ship.
It wasn't pleasant to be out there but we had like, our castaway day was perfect. We had 80 degrees, slight breeze. Like could not have been better but they. But it was high winds on the ship on the sea day because they were, they had the sign up that you couldn't ride the, the Aqueduct without having a second person with you people. Yeah, double riders only.
[00:42:16] Speaker E: And it was originally scheduled.
Let me, let me just ask the question. So was it originally scheduled for later and then it was moved to earlier or was it always scheduled for. For that 2:00 clock time slot?
[00:42:28] Speaker B: Well, I thought it was. Was going to be on like scheduled at like in the evening on the, the final night night because we were doing pirates a different day. I don't know. I, maybe that's what I had heard prior to the sailing. Like in the Facebook group somebody who was concierge had said that's what they thought was.
[00:42:49] Speaker E: Oh, that's what they thought was happening.
[00:42:51] Speaker B: And so I was surprised that it got moved to 2pm but yeah, I'm.
[00:42:55] Speaker E: Just wondering if it could have just been cast scheduling issues because maybe you're on a short. So you're on a very short sailing. You've Got a pirate at night. You've got three main stage shows, you've got a sail away party. A lot of these performers are pulling double duty in these things. Right. Like a lot of the performers that are in the shows are also doing some of the deck party things. And so it might just be difficulty with scheduling everybody that, that's maybe why they had to do it at 2pm only because it's a three night sailing. But it, it might not have been. I don't, I don't know what it was. But there's a, there's a question in.
[00:43:35] Speaker C: The chat here whether we think they're test testing out doing more of the shows at the matinee time on the last full day like they're doing for stage shows on the newer ships. Did they keep doing Moana matinees? I don't know if they're still doing matinees on the Treasure of Moana or if that was just sort of inaugural season because everyone wants to see the show.
[00:43:51] Speaker E: They are doing it on some sailings, but not on all sailings.
I think a lot of this stuff has to do with cast scheduling and also when it is a brand new show. I think they do try and add a matinee if they can, but I don't think there's a universal answer to that.
[00:44:10] Speaker C: I do agree with the, the follow up comment here from Blue Skies and Sunshine. Getting it out of the way early to allow time. I, I absolutely think on the yes, that is on the, on the Destiny. I actually think it was super helpful for families who had early dinner and then a late show to be able to get to that matinee.
[00:44:26] Speaker F: So that.
[00:44:27] Speaker C: Because the, the late show ended up being practically. No, it wasn't empty, but there were plenty of seats to go around at the late show, so, so you could have seen the late show and walked in, in at the time it started and still sat down and had a decent view. And I think they did. I think in part a lot of the families went to the matinees so they could pack in the evening after dinner.
[00:44:46] Speaker E: So yeah, now I saw and of course we posted on our socials, lots of pictures of you guys in front of that tree in the, of course in the, in the atrium. And then of course you got some pictures in front of the tree on Castaway. I got asked did you guys wait for Santa pictures? I know Santa pictures are, you know, Santa meet and greets and sometimes even. And Mrs. Claus reads, you know, stories and so you can meet her as well.
Those are often available. You obviously I.
You don't have kids so you weren't looking for like a kid Santa photo. But did you guys do any photos with Santa or is that something you're like, ah, we don't need to do that.
[00:45:25] Speaker A: We didn't. But one thing I liked and appreciated was they had different Santas out there at different times, which I thought was interesting and unique and I had never seen on, you know, in the park or anything else. So it was nice to see it on the ship.
[00:45:42] Speaker B: I did not notice that at all.
[00:45:43] Speaker E: Like diverse Santas, you mean? Or just different white Santas?
[00:45:48] Speaker A: No, diverse ethnicities.
[00:45:50] Speaker E: I love that. That's fabulous.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: Yeah, so they had at least a couple and so I, I thought it was interesting and it was nice to see and there were several families lined up. They were very excited to get their picture taken.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: So that's awesome.
[00:46:07] Speaker E: I have seen some of that at the parks and the park. The parks and resorts. Sometimes they will have. They have certain times that, that certain diverse Santas will be out.
But I have, I personally have not seen that on the cruise line ever.
[00:46:21] Speaker B: There's a really awesome one.
[00:46:23] Speaker E: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:46:24] Speaker B: And not white Santa, who's fabulous. I mean, we didn't. Again, it's kind of weird for 230 somethings without a child to wait in line for Santa. At least I feel that way. Maybe it's just.
[00:46:33] Speaker E: I don't think there. I think I have to disagree with you on that, Haley. I think there's nothing wr.
I mean, I'm Jewish and I am a 40 something and I have waited in line for Santa.
[00:46:45] Speaker C: Santa's not real. What?
[00:46:47] Speaker E: Brian, stop that. We have kids who listen to our show.
Yeah, Santa is real.
[00:46:54] Speaker C: Santa is real. I believe in Santa. That's what I'm trying to say. I believe in Santa.
[00:46:58] Speaker B: So yeah, this is something apparently I need to work through.
But no, we actually, we didn't get any character photos this time either. Again, like I feel like on a three night cruise you're always choosing between something and. Yeah, I, I have such bad FOMO with that stuff. I'm. We only did like maybe two trivias the whole time, which is like, wow.
[00:47:19] Speaker A: Very low for us.
[00:47:20] Speaker B: That's very low for us.
[00:47:22] Speaker C: Did they have any Christmas themed or holiday themed trivia?
[00:47:25] Speaker A: There was a Christmas songs one and something else. There were only like two. But yeah, I did see a couple. We didn't end up going to any either of those because like she said, we hardly got to any. We did not. 90s 2000s yeah, we did do a.
[00:47:42] Speaker B: Couple of the music trivias in the evening.
[00:47:43] Speaker E: I forgot about that.
[00:47:44] Speaker B: But I want to go second both.
[00:47:46] Speaker A: Times because we didn't have Scott.
[00:47:48] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:47:49] Speaker E: Haley's dad is.
He's the ringer.
[00:47:52] Speaker C: That's the box. Yeah.
I want to go back to something that you said earlier in the show and kind of tie it into this diversity Santa discussion that you were just having.
Sam, do you want to talk for a second about. Because it is a secular celebration, celebration of Christmas on board. They do. And they. Well, they have on at least some of the sailings you've been on offered. Like if you're sailing over Christmas, they'll do kind of a Christmas Mass, but they also celebrate Hanukkah on board. If. If there's a group of people who ask to do it. Right.
[00:48:23] Speaker E: So yes and no. Okay. So there doesn't have to be a group of people to ask to do it. The if if you're sailing happens to fall during Hanukkah, specifically, not before Hanukkah, not after Hanukkah, but if is happening during your sailing, they will usually have a candle lighting opportunity. Now, it has varied. It's usually held in cabanas or Marceline market, but that location has varied across the fleet. And it has also varied on whether or not you're actually lighting real flame candles versus just an electric menorah and so on most of the fleet, they've just done it with electric manures. But I have heard of a couple situations where they've done actual lit candles. Now, for those who don't know, the Hanukkah candles are intended and purpose built to melt quickly. So to melt within less than an hour typically.
So it's not like you're going to have an open flame sitting on the ship for a long period of time or anything. But it is guest led, though. Let me just be very clear. It is a space and they may have even latkes and sometimes wine and applesauce and sour cream available, depending upon whether you're an applesauce or a sour cream person on your latke. It's a very big debate. It's like the debate between, I don't know, chocolate and vanilla.
It's a real. It's, it's.
[00:49:46] Speaker B: It can.
Which one are you? What is the right answer, Sam?
[00:49:49] Speaker E: I'm applesauce all the way. Applesauce. I like applesauce.
[00:49:53] Speaker B: I've had luck as an applesauce.
[00:49:54] Speaker C: Just do applesauce sour cream swirl like they do out of the soft serve machine.
[00:49:57] Speaker E: No, no, I don't. I do not eat sour cream.
[00:50:00] Speaker C: This is why I have to have two. Two lots.
[00:50:02] Speaker F: One of each.
[00:50:02] Speaker C: So there you go.
[00:50:03] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:50:03] Speaker A: I will say there was a backdrop too. A Hanukkah backdrop. Even though it wasn't during our sailing, I'm pretty sure they had a backdrop.
[00:50:10] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:50:11] Speaker E: Yeah, they usually have like one little spot where there's like a, A menorah.
[00:50:17] Speaker A: Like I think it was, it was like a blue backdrop and then there was a menorah on like a little.
[00:50:23] Speaker E: Pedestal, on like a little table.
There's usually like one spot. So they're. When they do have the carolers out singing, you will sometimes hear them sing like the Dream Song or O Hanukkah. So they will sing. And same with, you know, Kwanzaa. Know, you might see a Kwanzaa menorah out as well during the holiday season, but you don't really have Kwanzaa activities or Hanukkah activities on board. A Very Merry Time sailing. So while I have to agree that the way Disney Cruise Line celebrates Christmas is in a secular way, it is still a Christian holiday and it is still a, it is the majority holiday holiday in the United States and frankly across much of the world, not all of the world, but a lot of the world. And so it's not a Hanukkah sailing, it's not a Kwanzaa sailing, it's a maritime sailing.
[00:51:20] Speaker C: They give not. They give nods to other. Other. Yeah. And I think if, I think if you were on a sailing and you had a group of people who really wanted to do something to celebrate Kwanzaa, you could reach out in advance and they will typically try to accommodate, as Sam was saying, like a gathering and like cabanas. And they may sort of ask you kind of what you want to do and you know that. So.
[00:51:39] Speaker E: So like space available for you. It's just a matter of they're not going to plan activities for you is really the, the way it kind of works out.
[00:51:45] Speaker B: It was interesting because the survey at the end, they were asking like, you know, if you booked this very merry time sailing based on these various holiday activities. And I think they mentioned carolers and I didn't see anything about carolers in the navigator on the app. So I think that just was not a part of this because it was a three night sailing.
[00:52:05] Speaker A: Yeah, not on the ship. At the parks beforehand. There were a lot more like in park entertain and things than we've noticed in the past.
[00:52:13] Speaker B: Yeah, that was great.
[00:52:15] Speaker E: But they, they were asking in the survey caroler. The answer to that is, you're on a three night sailing. And all of those entertainment cast members, they're the ones who do the caroler thing.
So they, they have too many show things that they're doing. There's no way on a three night sailing they're gonna be able to go caroling.
[00:52:33] Speaker B: So I guess we're gonna have to do another one someday.
[00:52:36] Speaker E: I don't know.
[00:52:37] Speaker B: Oh, no. But they were asking about like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stuff on the survey.
I didn't see any entertainment offerings or anything like, special for that. But I also wasn't looking for it because it's not. Those are not things we celebrate. So, I mean, maybe I just was skimmed past it in the navigator because I was like, not for me.
I don't know.
[00:53:00] Speaker A: Haley loves a post cruiser post.
[00:53:03] Speaker B: I do love to take a survey. I'm a weirdo.
[00:53:06] Speaker A: They're great.
[00:53:06] Speaker C: They're great. They're great to like, get an eye into at least what Disney's thinking about. Yeah.
[00:53:11] Speaker B: I can analyze the them, like from a business standpoint of like, what are they, like, trying to find out. I'm in marketing and advertising, so that's probably what that comes from. But I wanted to mention this tip for embarkation day that we talked about it on the cruise. We were like, we need to mention this when we're on the show.
We. Because we did the rainforest room, we went. And you can't go in the rainforest room on like embarkation day until after the mustard drill, I believe, because they're doing like open houses. And it would be weird if people are like touring the rainforest room and then you're. There's just Drew chilling on a lounger, like hanging out.
[00:53:45] Speaker E: Lounger sleeping.
[00:53:46] Speaker B: Yeah. No, So I understand that. But what we did is we actually put our backpacks in the lockers in the spa locker room on embarkation day as like, we were like, we have rainforest room passes and we wanted to like, they want to see it. And we're like, yeah. And then they showed us the locker room. And then I was just like, I'm just going to put my backpack in this locker now. I mean, I locked it and then we went to lunch and I didn't have to carry my backpack background.
[00:54:12] Speaker C: That's kind of. Well, it is, but I'm just going to tell people, like, I don't know.
[00:54:17] Speaker B: If they'll always let you do that.
[00:54:18] Speaker C: You know, if you rush out and do this and all the lockers get taken because they do do spa treatments in there on embarkation day. Then, then that, that might go the way of the dodo. I'll just, I'll just say that. So it might, it might.
[00:54:30] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:54:30] Speaker B: Let's not all do it at once. But you know, if you have a rainforest room pass or a legitimate reason, it's a tip.
[00:54:38] Speaker A: Only us here and all of our.
[00:54:40] Speaker C: Closest friends listening, all, whatever, thousands of.
[00:54:43] Speaker B: People who listen to the show.
But we're not all going to be on the same ceilings at the same time.
[00:54:47] Speaker E: So it's fine.
Only the DCL duo community will be all right. Will it be all right?
[00:54:53] Speaker B: And it wasn't like I have like, you know, my locker for wine and a locker for. No, we didn't do that. We didn't do that.
[00:55:00] Speaker C: Well, as we round out the show here, let me just ask this question. Well, the two questions I have. One is, sounds like you would do this again that you, you enjoyed the add on experience. Was it, you know, was it enough that you found like extra value in it? Because they actually, I mean they charge a little bit more for these sailings sometimes. And then also, what was your favorite, like part of the very maritime experience? Let me start with you, Drew.
[00:55:23] Speaker A: Yeah, I would definitely do it again. I think it's like an extension of why we love going to the parks at this time of year. It's like if, if, especially if I'm going to do something short that is just going to go like meander around the Caribbean, maybe go to like Nassau or the private islands or something like that. I think having this extra layer of theming and activities of the Christmas season on top of it adds to it and makes it like not just another sailing to Nassau or Castaway or whatever and kind of puts it over the top to me to where I would want to do it again. That's why otherwise we haven't done like another three night sailing. Because like just doing it on any time of year was just. We were both kind of like, nah. But doing it with a theme I think puts it over the top for me. And I would definitely consider doing it again.
[00:56:14] Speaker B: I would do it again, but not for three night sailing. But maybe part of that is just I really don't like a three night sailing. Like it makes me almost angry. Cause I'm just like, why do you.
[00:56:22] Speaker E: Mean I have to leave? I just got here.
[00:56:24] Speaker B: I just got here. I'm not in my like, oh, you're kicking me out already?
Yeah, like I'm like night two, like we finally like, you know, we're clicking with our table mates and, and it was like, well see you never like, you know, like you don't, we don't feel like we were to become Facebook friends when we met like yesterday but you know, after the end of a week long sailing, that definitely feels more like doable. I don't know. So yeah, I mean I think a three night as an add on to an existing park trip I could, I can get behind but I probably would not do a very merry time with the price add on for that unless it was like a seven night cruise and. But I enjoyed the festive atmosphere.
[00:57:03] Speaker D: Atmosphere for sure.
[00:57:04] Speaker C: What was your favorite part? Like.
[00:57:09] Speaker B: Just the vibes, like the decor and the vibes. Like even if I'm not going to every activity, it's just like fun seeing.
[00:57:16] Speaker A: The characters in their.
[00:57:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Like even though I'm not posing with all the characters in their Christmas outfits.
[00:57:20] Speaker A: Even seeing Santa, it just like makes.
[00:57:21] Speaker B: Me happy to see it in passing.
[00:57:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:57:24] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:57:25] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:57:25] Speaker B: And everybody like wearing their Christmas PJs and stuff.
[00:57:28] Speaker E: Yeah. I think it's a really fun, festive time to be on a ship. I think it's, it's, it is really. I, I love seeing everybody in their Christmas PJs or their Christmas onesies or their ugly Christmas sweaters. Right. And people like so many people I feel like get into the holiday spirit and do like the matching family outfits or matching family pajamas and do like their pictures for the holiday. Right. That might be the one time of year that a family is taking pictures together and that's just kind of really nice, I think. I feel like that's the vibe you get on the ship. You get this fun, festive family atmosphere. Whether that family looks like a couple of to 30 something adults or that family is, you know, grandparents to grandkids, like it's just a really like fun festive time. I think the holiday stuff does add a layer to it. And of course you guys got this for 40% discount. So I mean you really can't. Yeah, you can't really beat getting a holiday themed sailing on a discount because that doesn't really happen so often. It's, I mean it's happening more often now. We, as we've seen.
Well, you guys are headed next on the Disney Destiny and as you mentioned, this was a add on FOMO cruise after hearing us report about it. I've got to ask, before we say good night, I've got to ask, what are you looking forward to the most like, what's the most anticipated thing for each of you with the destiny in completing your second seven dwarfs?
[00:59:08] Speaker A: Probably Pride lands or the Dr.
Facilier. Dr. Strange Bar.
[00:59:15] Speaker C: Oh, yes.
[00:59:17] Speaker A: The Sanctum.
[00:59:18] Speaker F: Nice.
[00:59:19] Speaker A: I'm a huge Marvel person.
I don't know if there's gossip about a character trailer that's coming out this weekend that I'm very excited about. I don't know if you've heard it for Doomsday. They're supposed to be coming out with character trailers over the next three weeks and then dropping the full trailer. And there was a leak today about who the first character trailer's supposed to be, and I'm pretty excited about it.
[00:59:42] Speaker E: Oh, I didn't see the leak about who the first one's going to be.
[00:59:45] Speaker A: Oh, do you want to know?
[00:59:48] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:59:49] Speaker A: It's Chris Evans. That Captain America will return in Avengers Doomsday. Yes.
[00:59:56] Speaker C: Welcome to the multiverse.
[00:59:58] Speaker E: I'm not frozen, but I feel like I'm frozen right now.
[01:00:01] Speaker A: Yeah. The three character trailers are supposed to be people that they have not already announced are in Doomsday. And so that's supposed to be the first. First one.
[01:00:09] Speaker C: Wow.
[01:00:10] Speaker B: I think you just blew Sam's mind.
[01:00:12] Speaker E: Yeah. You guys know how much I freaking love Captain America. I mean, I loved both Captain America.
[01:00:18] Speaker C: But is he going to be Bizarro?
Is he going to be Bizarro Captain America?
[01:00:23] Speaker A: Supposedly, it's him in the timeline where he, like, married Peggy and they're living happily ever after and things.
[01:00:35] Speaker E: Oh, my God, I love this. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. You guys all right?
[01:00:38] Speaker C: Haley, what are you. What are you most looking forward?
[01:00:41] Speaker E: Sorry.
[01:00:41] Speaker B: The squirrel. It's probably. It's either Pride Lands or you didn't mention Hercules. What is wrong with you?
[01:00:48] Speaker E: Yeah, Drew, what is wrong with you?
[01:00:50] Speaker A: Oh, and yes, because we want to see Hades. Because we saw him as Hades in Hades.
[01:00:56] Speaker E: Hadestown. That's so crazy.
[01:00:59] Speaker B: So I was like, wait, we know that guy.
[01:01:01] Speaker A: So, you know, it's kind of weird that we're seeing him twice as Hades. If I had a nickel for every time that happened, I'd have two nickels. But it's.
[01:01:10] Speaker E: Yeah. Well, I have to tell you, you got to look out for him around the ship because he, you know, not in costume, but Matthew Patrick Quinn, because he's the Broadway visiting artist, doesn't have to do a lot of the other stuff, you know, that the cast has to do. And so I saw him, like, several times just kind of wandering around the ship.
[01:01:35] Speaker C: There was a Guy who is his doppelganger on the Destiny. Because I know it wasn't him because we were in the atrium, this guy walked by. I'm like, oh, that's Matthew Patrick Quinn. No kidding. It can't be because he literally just finished a show.
[01:01:47] Speaker E: Maybe there was somebody, there was a.
[01:01:48] Speaker C: Doppelganger for that guy on the ship.
[01:01:50] Speaker E: Maybe he has a twin or something. But anyway, I definitely saw him and I like said hi to him. I was like, hi, Matthew. And he looked up at me and like waved this coming down. He was. I was going up the stairs and he was coming down the stairs.
[01:02:04] Speaker C: I don't know why she's calling me Matthew.
[01:02:07] Speaker E: No, but yeah, no, I'm excited for you guys to see Hercules. Drew, I'm really excited for you to see with great power. I think you're gonna love it. You gotta. Oh yes.
[01:02:17] Speaker A: I love the Indiana Jones show. So I think the Marvel one's just going to be even better for me if they put a Star wars one on the next ship. That's going to be like the ultimate for me.
[01:02:26] Speaker E: Yeah. It just keeps getting better and better, you guys.
[01:02:29] Speaker B: All right, we've got all your Destiny content queued up for our holiday drive to Kentucky.
[01:02:35] Speaker F: Nice.
[01:02:36] Speaker E: I love it. I love it.
[01:02:38] Speaker C: Well, we will wrap it up there for the evening and for the year for our live shows. This is our last live show of 2025. So we will see everybody in 2026.
[01:02:51] Speaker E: And that first Monday in January. We've got a great show planned. We've got guest June who's going to be joining us and we're going to be talking about.
[01:02:59] Speaker C: Is it the first Monday in January? Sure.
[01:03:01] Speaker F: Okay.
[01:03:02] Speaker E: Yes. Just make sure the first Sunday in January. We come back Sunday. We'll be live on Monday. We come back from, from Alani on Sunday and we'll be back live on Monday. June's going to come and talk to us us about sailing Down under. She's doing that 10 night Christmas new Year's sailing on the Disney Wonder.
And so she's an American, but she's gone over to do this. It's this only like long sailing on the Wonder where they're doing Australia and New Zealand and so she's going to come and talk to us about that sailing. It's going to be super. It's going to be super interesting trip, I think.
[01:03:38] Speaker C: But we are heading to Aulani at the end of the week for two weeks in Hawaii. We can't wait.
Don't worry.
We got tons of shows releasing through the New year. So there's tons more content coming that'll all be queued up while we're away. So you can still listen to the DCL duo through the holidays. But we will be in Aulani for two weeks, so we will end it here by saying thank you Drew and Haley, for spending some time with us this evening and sharing your fabulous cruise with everyone out there. And I guess, Sam, we should say Mellie. Oh, go ahead.
[01:04:11] Speaker E: I was gonna say we gotta say a special congrat. Congratulations to My Path unwinding travel for 10 year anniversary. 10 years of making magical vacations for clients. So got to give a big shout out to Karen Shelton and the whole, whole team at My Path Unwinding Travel. They just celebrated the 10 year anniversary just like a week ago had their celebration at Walt Disney World. So yeah, big congrats to them. But yes, Brian, we should say to everyone, mela, Mela Koriki to you. It is the way to say Merry Christmas.
[01:04:46] Speaker C: See you next time. See you next time.
[01:04:47] Speaker E: All right, take care.
[01:04:53] Speaker F: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us live, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 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 on one Unwinding Travel. If you want to book your next Disney vacation, head over to mypathunwinding.com forward/dclduo or email them at dclduomypathunwinding.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 where you 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 dc duo also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here at least, and a few blog articles that we've written, so DCLDuo.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
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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 you own travel agent. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL Duo.
[01:06:54] Speaker C: Good night.
