[00:00:00] Speaker A: I highly, highly recommend if you don't get to do it on the cruise at Aulani, they do an very intro ukulele lesson. And it was the thing that first, like, made me fall in love with the instrument. And then we came home, I had bought. I bought a ukulele in Hawaii and then took lessons at home.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: It's a lesson like a test drive for a car, right?
[00:00:23] Speaker A: Yeah. It's not like. Yeah, but they do teach you. They teach you four chords. And as anyone knows, most popular music can be played.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Amazing. Four chords.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Welcome back, everybody, to this week's episode of the DCL Duo podcast. Brought to you by My Path Unwinding, Travel. And Sam, do your jingle. Go for it. Simply the best.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Simply the best.
Better than all the rest.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: There you go. All right. Live jingle. Avoid copyright.
Parody song. All right, this week's listener review comes from. Now, Sam, I'm a little worried. I got to put it out to the listeners. I do not have a good method of tracking which reviews we've read. And so each week I scroll back. I think. I think we've already read this one. I think. Did we already do Robby Abney's review?
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Sam, I think we did Robby's review.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: So do I. Which makes me think that the one we read on the last show is probably one that we have already done as well. You know what? We're just going to. We're just going to pick it up from here. It's just this. This is just what's going to happen. And we will get to the other reviews as we get to them. So this week's review comes from Robbie Abney, Potentially a repeat review. It reads, must in all caps. Listen to DCL podcast, exclamation point, five stars, all caps every time. I love how balanced they are in their reviews and discuss both the good and areas that could be better equally. Couldn't suggest this podcast enough for anyone that loves all things with a little more sprinkle of dcl. So thank you, Robbie. We really appreciate you out there. It was great. I think we've met Robbie a couple.
Didn't we sail with them a couple times?
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Yeah, we didn't sail with them. We've. We actually haven't met them in person. We've only met them virtually. Brian. They've been on the show, the Parks.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Or the show at one point, so. Or, sorry, the Parks.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: Yeah. No, we've met them virtually a number of times.
Lovely. The Abneys are fantastic. And Robbie is. If for anyone who likes to See, you know, some of the Marvel Day at Sea posters and stuff for dcl. Really anything Marvel if it's got Captain America on it. You may be looking at our friend Robbie. He's no longer a friend of Cap, but he was early on in dcl, his earlier on in dcl.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: But he is also no Kroger Cap.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: No, he's no Kroger Cap.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: He's no Kroger Cap. Yeah, there you go. That's what we like to call the, the, what is it? I guess they call them the Thunderbolts now or the New Avengers. The Captain America that plays in that one. Or the.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: I forget what his superhero name is, but it's the guy who's Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn's son. There you go. There you go. All right, well, Sam, I don't even remember his name.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Do you want to introduce our guest and our fun topic for today?
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Yeah. We're so excited to welcome back to the show Karen. Karen, it's been a while since you have been on the show. This is. Sorry for those listening and not watching. It's not Karen Shelton from our show sponsor, My path Unwinding. It is Karen Phillips, who is a friend and patreon of the show who has been, been listening to us, I think, from the very beginning or very close to it. Karen, am I right?
[00:03:36] Speaker C: That's right, yeah.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: And, and I feel like I don't.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: Know how people found us in the beginning. I, I, I, I, I honestly have.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: And she's been with us on Facebook for like, as long as we've had a Facebook group as well. I think she was one of our, like, one of our founding members of our Facebook group. And so, yeah, we're so happy to have you back on the show, Karen.
[00:03:55] Speaker C: Oh, well, thanks for welcoming me.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Yeah, well, we gotta, you know, we gotta refresh our audience. Cause it's been a while since you've been on. You gotta remind folks, I mean, you, you are an, I'm gonna call you an Ultra Pearl. You're not yet a fence person.
Fence person. You're not 50 yet.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: Like, nope, there's. You may hold planks at home, but you don't have a plank on castaway. Right.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: Planks at castaway. Right. But you, but you're ahead of us in your castaway.
Your, your castaway numbers. So, so why don't you tell folks how many times you've sailed with Disney and when you started sailing with Disney and which ships you've covered, which I know the answer to all these Things, but our audience does not.
[00:04:35] Speaker C: Okay, so we started sailing in 2016. That's me and my son, mostly. Sometimes we bring one of his sisters with us as well. I have. I have four older kids, and two of them have sailed with us.
We have sailed 37 times now. By the end. By the end of the year, we'll be at 41.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. So you're. I mean, you're really close to that plank number. That's 50. Is that plank number?
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Yeah, we're close, but I don't think it's happening next year or even the year after, but we'll see. You know, things happen.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Well, you have sailed a ton this year, but you, of course, you've. You know, you sailed a ton in general, and you've been on all the ships. Is that right?
[00:05:19] Speaker C: That's right. And we'll be on the Maiden with you on the Destiny.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: Yay. I love it. Yes. We'll get to meet in real life. I love that. That always makes me so happy when we get to meet folks that we have, like, there's, like, you know, not. I wouldn't say every person who, like, listens to our show that I know who they are, certainly, but there's quite, you know, there's folks who've been with us from the beginning or folks who have. Are very active in our Facebook group, who we interact with a lot on social media that I. I know. Right. Like, I have a relationship with you, and so it's like, when I finally get to meet you in person, it's like just such a wonderful, lovely thing because it's like, you know, this relationship from circle. Yeah, exactly. Full circle. I love that. Awesome.
Now, remind me how old your son is.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: He is 22, and we started cruising when he was 11. 12. He may have been 12. Anyway.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Awesome. Now, this last sale. Well, this last two months, tell folks what you have done in seven weeks.
How many sailings did you do in, like, the last seven weeks?
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Five total. And two of them were more than seven days each.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Now, how did you plan this much sailing in that period of time? And what possessed you to do that and spend so little time at home?
[00:06:43] Speaker C: So Malcolm had been wanting to do a Halloween on the high seas sailing, and Halloween is not particularly one of my favorite things to celebrate, but we haven't done a Halloween sailing since maybe 2017 or 18. So really, really early on, and I was looking at what our options would be if we went over the Labor Day weekend, you know, to kind of use that as a day That I didn't have to take vacation.
I also have the ability to work remotely for a certain number of days a year. And I had a few days left still. So I found that the Wish was going to be having their first Halloween sailing of the season at the end of Labor Day weekend of that week.
So I just kind of started stacking backward from there and found we found ourselves going on the oldest ships of every class. So the Magic and then the Dream and then the Wish. And honestly, I didn't think I'd ever be on the Magic again after our last sailing on the Magic, but happy to report that I'm looking forward to booking the Magic again. We had such a great time.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Oh, I love that. Now I gotta tell folks, you did a side to side to side and you didn't just do it like, you know, out of the slide.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: We need to call it like the DCL electric slide.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Electric slide. Oh, I like that. Boogie woogie. Woogie. Yeah, you totally.
I mean, you, you went a little crazy there because you went Port Canaveral. You mentioned you were only a little.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Only a little.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Just. Only a little crazy. I mean, only crazy.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: Our brand. Our brand of crazy.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Exactly. Our brand of crazy.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: We.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm all in on this brand of crazy. You went on the Magic, you went from Port Canaveral, but on the Dream, you went from Fort Lauderdale and then you went back to Port Canaveral to. For the Wish. Now we're, we're not the. It's funny. People are going to think, oh, we're going to cover three cruises. No, we're actually not even going to talk about these three cruises today because you then only like a couple weeks later went on the Wonder out of Vancouver to Alaska and then stayed on the Wonder to go all the way to Hawaii. So you had five cruises in just these seven weeks. But I do want to touch on the, the side to side to side, because that's a lot of travel and going between the ports. And I want people to understand, like, how you did it and like sort of the timing in between those sailings, because I do. We do get a lot of questions about side to side, whether you're at the same port or different ports. What we talk about side to side is you're switching ships. You're not going back to back on the same ship. And that could be, as I said, the same out of the same port, but just a different terminal. Or it could be out of a different port because you've Got, you know, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral are not. I mean, they're a couple hours away, but they're not. You know, they're in the same state. They're on the same coast. All of that. Tell us how you did all that logistics.
[00:09:42] Speaker C: It was actually easier than I expected it to be because you.
We opted to do a rental car.
So when we. When we disembarked from the Magic, we were picked up by the rental agency. They took us to their.
To their store, basically. We got a car, and we headed south. And that was on, I want to say, a Sunday. So the Sunday before Labor Day.
And next morning, we took that car back to the agency, but now in Port Canaveral, and they shuttled us to the ship. And when we came back, when we disembarked, I had actually booked our rental pickup from the airport instead of being from. I know, I know. So I did have to get an Uber.
Won't make that mistake the next time. We had to get an Uber to the airport to pick up our car and then drove that back to the agency up in Port Canaveral, and they shuttled us again. So there was a bit of an unexpected hiccup on this very last leg. As we pulled in, there was a shuttle that was getting ready to leave, and they said, oh, just go in and grab your paperwork. Leave your bags here. We're going to load them in the van, and then we're going to take you on the shuttle. And so I ran aside, came back out, and was gone.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: Was gone. With your bags.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: With our bags.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: Oh, my God. What happened?
[00:11:07] Speaker C: And I. It, like, I could not make the people understand.
Like, you took our bags, and they're like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Your shuttle is over here. I'm like, no, no, no. The shuttle you told me to get on is gone, because this is a different type of van that's here now. Turns out the shuttle that they sent us on made it to the ship before our bags did. So we just kind of waited on the curb for a few minutes, and their shuttle waited with us until their second shuttle ran in and dropped off, because apparently they were dropping off passengers at other ships before coming to the Wish.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: Oh, my God. That would be terrifying, though, because then you're like, am I going to have my clothes for my third sailing, or am I going to be naked?
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Shops, you know, now that the Disney Cruise Line shops sell things like underwear. So they are equipped for these kinds of moments.
[00:12:01] Speaker A: Yeah, they do. But, you know, there's, like, One kind, right. And it's not like they have a bajillion different sizes and things like that. So you're, whatever they've got is what you're stuck buying if you, if you are stuck without luggage. So yeah, that would be, that would be kind of scary. Well, okay, we got to jump over to, to flying, of course, you know, out going out of Vancouver on the Wonder to Alaska and, and then to Hawaii. Because that's a three week trip, right? A three week cruise. Really? Because it's back to back. It's one week in Alaska and then basic, almost two weeks to Hawaii. I gotta ask, how did you pack for that trip? Because I think that's gonna be the hardest thing. Like I think the planning side of things that, that's actually, to me that seems like the hardest thing to plan.
[00:12:51] Speaker C: So I didn't do a great job as it turns out.
[00:12:55] Speaker A: Tell me what, tell me, what do you mean by that?
[00:12:57] Speaker C: And so Malcolm and I are usually carry on only. We travel carry on only no matter how long our trips are. But that's because we are normally going to one climate.
And so this time we were, we were going to two very different climates.
And I realized probably three days before that carry on only was not going to work. So I pulled out our giant standard size luggage, packed that full of all our warm, our cold weather clothing so we could stay warm and off we went. But I did not pack things like our hand warmers. Let's go at home. Did not pack our wool tennis shoes. Those sat at home in the, in the closet.
Didn't pack my waterproof boots.
Can't imagine why I thought I wouldn't need them.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I got it. Yeah. This is a, a psa. If you are going to Alaska, I don't care what time of year it is, it's unpredictable on the weather. And so if you have some kind of waterproof shoe, it doesn't necessarily have to be a rain boot, but if you have a waterproof shoe, you got a Gore Tex jacket, right? You got maybe some extra warm socks. Like bring those things. You might need summer clothes also, right? Because you might have an 80 degree day in Alaska in the summer. Of course, if you're sailing in Alaska, the summertime is when you're going to sail. But yeah, you need the, you need like, you know, that's why everybody says just like an onion, right? You need these different layers of things. But waterproof is, I think for me that's like number one on the list, right? Because that's Actually what's going to make you colder is if you're wet.
Being wet is the most uncomfortable thing in my life.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: And I, I had heard, you know, layers, layers, layers. And growing up in Seattle, like I know that it's all about the layers. So I had so many layers.
There was definitely no shortage of clothing happening in Alaska. But looking back, I definitely should have focused more on waterproof than I did.
[00:15:03] Speaker A: And that's just a good reminder, I think for anyone. Like that's you. And you may end up with sunny SK guys and never need any of the waterproof things. But like if you bring them, you're going to end up with, it'll be dry, but if you don't bring them, it's going to be wet, right?
[00:15:18] Speaker C: Yeah. And honestly the days that we were there, we didn't get a whole lot of rain, like even just that misty rain that they sometimes get. But the fact was that the ground was wet. So two minutes after stepping off the ship, our feet were wet. So live and learn and next time there will be a next time. Next time we will have our water poop roof, boots and shoes.
[00:15:42] Speaker A: Well, you still though were able to pack for both climates as long. I mean but I, I think that, you know, just the note of you're probably not going to be able to do carry on only if you're going to more than one climate. It's just not really doable now. Did you do laundry on the ship? I'm imagining you would in, in that period of time.
[00:16:01] Speaker C: Yeah, we typically do laundry every four days. That seems to be about the amount of time it takes for us to build up enough clothing that needs to be washed to make it logical. So yeah, about every four days.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: Yeah, that's about what I do on the ships as well. Like even if we're only sailing on a week long cruise, I, I just, well one, I'm a chronic overpacker. But even still I still need to do laundry in like four days and then otherwise I'd be even worse, right. Like if I'd bring like three suitcases if I didn't do the laundry after four days. And so, But I also don't like going home with like, you know, a full suitcase full of dirty laundry if I can avoid it. So we'll like, if I end up with one suitcase of dirty laundry between the three of us, that's okay. I'll do that when we get home. But at least the other two suitcases have all clean clothes in that I just have to put away When I get home. Well, I want to talk, you know, you did Alaska and Hawaii.
You said you hadn't done Alaska before, but you had. I remember we talked to you about Hawaii before. If I'm remembering correctly, we've done Hawaii.
[00:17:07] Speaker C: We actually did the same itinerary last year, and it left on the same day. So, like, I knew what weather to expect.
It was when I saw that come back up and I realized, ooh, we could do this back to back.
It just seemed like the logical thing to do.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, well, and you're west coast based, so at least it's not, you know, flying back. Well, flying up to Vancouver is not too bad. And then of course, flying back from Hawaii is not so bad either. So even though it's, you know, long travel to get to Hawaii, it all kind of, it's all worth it. It's all, it's, you know, it's like Disney math. It's all worth it in the end.
Well, I want to talk some, some highlights from Alaska and then we'll talk some highlights from your Hawaii cruise because obviously we wouldn't be able to cover everything you did on these two cruises in one show. It would just be impossible. But what were, what were the favorite ports and excursions for you and Malcolm in Hawaii?
So sorry, not in Hawaii. In Alaska.
[00:18:09] Speaker C: In Alaska, we actually took advice from a podcast you had aired a couple months earlier, and we changed the excursions that we booked based on, on your guest's recommendation. So we ended up doing the train that was paired with the sled dogs and gold panning.
That was so fun. It was way more fun than I expected.
And the puppies were a lot younger than I expected. I expected these puppies to be a few months old. No, they were puppies. Puppies. Puppies.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: We, we have heard such great things. I, I, I don't even, I think we had a couple of guests who even commented on that excursion. Of course, we did the train and the gold panning, but we didn't do the sled dogs with that one because that one, you go to the sled dog, like, camp where they're, you're on a dirt track, you're not on snow if you're doing, you know, the meet and greet with the dogs and all that, because you're not on the glacier and there isn't snow there, obviously at the camp that they're at. But like, we've heard that that's a great excursion and the dogs are generally very friendly and that the, you know, folks There are fantastic. So definitely sounds like a fantastic excursion. I'm glad. I'm glad you guys booked it. Did. Did Malcolm like the puppies?
[00:19:30] Speaker C: Not as much as I liked the puppies, that's for sure.
They were so cuddly. He's a little apprehensive of dogs in general.
He was willing to pet the puppy, but he wanted me to hold it, so. And that was fine with me.
And they do count the puppies. They knew that two were missing.
They waited until, you know, people coughed up the extra two puppies.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: Oh, they were hiding. People were trying to pocket puppies and.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: Off with them and would have had a puppy stuffed down her coat for sure.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. So when we got to. We didn't get to like, touch the puppies. The puppies that we. We got to see the puppies on the glacier, but they were in like a fenced off area and like, they were born on the glacier. Like, the puppies had never touched dirt before. And so they said it was going to be really funny whenever they take them back to, you know, back to down south, I'll say. But to like continental the continental US or even just to further down south.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: They get to take the helicopter back. And I have this great image in my head of like all the puppies sitting there with their seatbelts on and headphones on, just like riding and looking around like we are. But no, that's not how it works.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: No, they're in the. The carriers. But no, they said that it's funny. It's like if you've ever had a dog when the first time your dog touches snow, the dog is like, very weirded out. They're like, I have like, you know, it's just this new thing, experience for them. They said the same thing. Happy happens with these puppies, but it's for, like with dirt, the first time they touch dirt because they've been running on snow and I. For, you know, for their. Their whole, you know, lives, which is just a couple months at that point. But they're. They're so cute. What were your other excursions in Alaska?
[00:21:12] Speaker C: So we did a bear excursion in Ketchikan. The one where they're on. Where you're on an elevated platform.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: Yep, that's the one we did.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. We saw so many bears, including one that was. I mean, it felt like it was just arm's length away from us. So sleeping on a log, it was just.
Just an amazing, amazing time there.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: Yeah. And that excursion, I think they only make it available In August and September, because that's the best time, at least in that location. That's the best time for seeing bears because it's as they're. It's their feeding season, right. It's their time. They're. They're starting to fatten themselves up before the winter, before hibernation comes, and they need to like. So that's their, like the prime time for them to be eating all that salmon. And that's where they're going where that, over where that overlook is, the platforms that we were at the same location, I'm sure, because that's. It's sort of the classic Ketchikan bear excursion. Yeah. And there's these fisheries. Right. And so it's. The salmon runs are right there and the. It's, you know, shooting fish in a barrel. I mean, it's. They're literally the. Their salmon are everywhere and so they're just. Just feeding and feeding and feeding. But it's. I would also highly recommend. We saw like seven bears when we were there. It was just fantastic. What a great. What a great excursion. And yeah, you feel like you're like arm's length from them. But like I said, it's only, I think, August, September for that excursion, so you got to be going later in the season.
You. You can do. There are other excursions that are geared towards seeing bears, but I don't know, you know, earlier in the season. I don't know how, you know, what percentage of the time they see bears and things like that. Just because it, you know, it matters what season. Of course it is. Yeah.
[00:23:02] Speaker C: And because those things are not in captivity, you know, they really need them to come to feed on the salmon, I think.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: Exactly. You gotta. Yeah, you gotta find them where they're. Where they're hanging out. You go find the bears that their bears are not finding you. Unless. Yeah, unless it's in behind a, you know, a gate. The zoo.
So tell us, what was your. You did. Juneau was your other port. What was your other excursion?
[00:23:29] Speaker C: So this was probably the best excursion that we did and one that I would definitely want to repeat. I'd repeat the bear excursion too, because I think it would be different every time you go.
We had.
We had booked a small. A small vessel, six passenger vessel to do whale watching with Harv and Marv. And when we were in Skagway the day before Juneau, they called us to let us know that they were going to have to cancel but that they could put us on a larger vessel.
And I had really wanted to be on a smaller vessel so we could, you know, really hear some narration from the captain or whoever would be there to, you know, kind of tell us what we're seeing.
So I said, you know, let me think about it and did some quick googling to see, you know, because I had a suspicion the weather is why we were canceled on a small vessel, because the weather was pretty choppy. The, the water was pretty choppy at that point. And while I was googling, first of all, Google did inform me that yes, whales do like to come out and play in bad weather.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Yeah, that's, that was a smart thing to look up though, right? Like, I don't know, I don't know if whales are out there when the weather's bad.
[00:24:40] Speaker C: Right. I thought, you know, if, if, if we're not going to see whales, we, we could just detour to do something else.
And then while I was doing that search, I remembered that I had booked with Harvin Marv because the original provider that I wanted to book with had been full on the day that the ship would be there. So I reached out to Jaylene's of Alaska to see if by chance maybe she had room. And turns out she did. I think everyone had canceled for the day we were going to be there, but she felt comfortable going out on a smaller vessel still.
And being out there I had no, no worries about, you know, her control of the vessel or anything. Yes, it was rocky, but yeah, it was fine. And I did explain to her, you know, that Malcolm has some balance issues.
And she made sure that we were on her boat because she has a whole fleet of boats and captains. She made sure we were on her boat. She took great care of us. They, I didn't need to bring binoculars. She had self focusing binoculars. She had snacks, she had blankets. You could close the door so you could stay warm and cozy inside or you could go out the back and, you know, really get the full Alaska experience. In the back we saw bald eagles, more orcas than I can count.
And we were the only boat there for the longest time.
And when the other boats started coming, she said, you know, let's get out of here and go look for some humpback whales. So she took us to the area. She grew up in Juneau. She has had her own vessel since she was 11 years old or no, I think 10 years old. But her parents started letting her captain it on her own when she was 11.
And so she has grown up knowing these whales by name.
So she took us, we Saw. I think it was Sasha that we saw. And Chacha is Sasha's baby that was there with her.
So we hung out with Sasha and Chacha for a little while.
Then we scooted on to go see if we could find others. We found Magma and Ash, that's a mother and her calf as well.
And they were really, really playful. Jumping, splashing, rolling on their backs.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: Oh, my God. That sounds incredible, Karen. Oh, my God.
[00:27:07] Speaker C: Deals. We saw just. It was just an amazing day. It was only four hours. It felt like the full, full day. It felt like we were out there all day, and it was incredible.
[00:27:19] Speaker A: Now, when you say small vessel, like, how many. How many guests?
Obviously there's some crew, but how many crew and how many guests are on that vessel?
[00:27:30] Speaker C: There was one crew, so it was Captain Jason.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: Just her. Wow.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: Just her. And she kept us informed and showed us all the technology that she was using. She could. She had this device that allowed her to see where the whale's food was in the water, so she could kind of see how far they were diving and how long it might take for them to come back up. She knows these whales really, really, really well. But in total, there were six passengers. There were two from Royal Caribbean, the two of us from Disney, and then two locals that booked with her.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: Oh, cool. Okay, Brian, write down Jaylene, because I, you know, we did. Now we. We were dead set on doing the helicopter, you know, out of Juneau when we went this last time, but we want to go back to Alaska.
And to me, I feel like this would be the way to do it, like, because we. We did get to see tons of whales from the ship, but we don't get. We didn't get to go up close to them. Right. And this. You can be like, right in the middle of the pods. And also, I will say from the ship, we mostly. From what I. From what I could tell, I think we mostly or maybe even exclusively saw humpbacks. I'm not. I don't think we actually saw any orcas from where we were. I mean, it's possible some of the ones in the distance were orcas, but I. I think it was a very large pod of humpbacks that we were kind of like driving through for like hours and hours, or we're coming or were, you know, swimming with us basically for. For several hours. And I would really love to. We didn't do any boat, you know, we didn't do any whale watching boat excursions this time around. My mom did, and they saw, you know, several whales. I Still, I think they mostly saw. I think they mostly saw humpbacks as well. But I would love to. To. And we can. I know. Listen. I know we can do it from Seattle. You can do whale watching from Seattle and go and see the orcas in the right, you know, right time.
But it is a quintessential, of course, Alaska thing. And who wouldn't want to see, you know, pods of orcas and pods of humpbacks and bald eagles and, you know, whatever, you know, and seals and all that. So fantastic. And she.
[00:29:37] Speaker C: We saw. I think we saw two glaciers as well as she had us out touring. I think one was Eagle Glacier. Of course, they were from a distance.
And I think we saw. I think we saw Mendenhall Glacier as well.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: Probably that's the one that is sort of. That most people will, you know, get to see from, you know, nearby in June or out just outside of Juneau, obviously. But, yeah, so that's. That would be pretty likely. Well, that sounds amazing. Karen, did. Did Malcolm enjoy Alaska as much as you did?
[00:30:08] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. We also were looking for Koda on the ship.
[00:30:13] Speaker A: Yes, Koda the bear. So for those who don't know, Koda is from Brother Bear, He's a character from the movie Brother Bear.
And the only time you can spot him on the ship, meaning as a character, is in Alaska. And there's usually two days that he comes out. One is glacier day, and one is Ketchikan day. Did you find Koda?
[00:30:36] Speaker C: We saw Coda from a distance every single time.
So I know we're gonna do another.
Another cruise to Alaska. It will likely be with Disney.
So we are gonna still be hunting for Koda to get our photo.
Every time we saw little brown feet walking away, it was like, oh, run as fast as you can.
We couldn't catch him, so he's elusive.
[00:31:01] Speaker A: I'm gonna give them the pro tip that I understand is Koda does not spend his time on the top deck. Kota spends his time on the promenade deck on deck four. So I don't know that he. I can't say he doesn't make appearances on the top deck, but I think that. I know that he makes at least two appearances on the promenade deck, and one of them on glacier day, and one of them is on Ketchikan day. I will say on Ketchikan day, for us, it was before. Right before we docked in Ketchikan. And so. And I was. I was on a bear hunt because. And this reminds me of the book I'm going On a bear hunt that we used to read to Nathan when he was little. And maybe that's why he loves bears, because we used to read the book I'm going on a bear hunt. But I, he was funny enough, he was on a hunt for real bears, but I was on a hunt for Coda on the ship. I, I will say I had did not see Koda on glacier day because that was such a busy day and we had gone out on the glacier boat excursion and all that. And so I was determined to see him on Ketchikan day. And I did get some clues. I said to one of the cast members that was, you know, a character handler and said, if I were going to see bears today, but on the ship, where and when might I have a chance of seeing a bear? And they gave me a range of when I might see a bear. And so I was there on the promenade deck. I didn't know which side and so I was on one side and then I was like, let me just pop over to the other side. And there was Koda already taking a picture with somebody else. And I waited and I got my picture with Koda. Yeah.
[00:32:48] Speaker C: Worth it. Totally worth it.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: Totally worth it. Totally worth it.
[00:32:52] Speaker B: I mean, I hear if you carry picnic baskets around too, you get to see some bears.
Don't try the method of starting a fire though. Smokey the bear does not show up.
[00:33:00] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. Only you can prevent forest fires.
[00:33:03] Speaker B: Yes. Because only you can prevent them.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: Yes, that's right. Well, Karen, tell us, let's talk a little bit about the back to back process because it's been a while. I mean, we've done it, but we like, we know people ask about this all the time. It's been a while since we've talked about it on the show. Explain to folks what they can expect if they are doing a back to back cruise. Because it's, I'd say it's pretty much the same process no matter which port you're out of, except the location might be different of where you're waiting. But tell, tell people how this works.
[00:33:31] Speaker C: Okay. So just for background, we have done several back to back cruises and people sometimes get the idea that they're going to be off the ship for just a few minutes. And I really think it's more accurate to look at that as being at least an hour to an hour and a half that you're going to be off the ship.
So keep that in mind.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Sometimes it can be even longer than that. Sometimes it can be even like two Hours and it's really customs dependent, not Disney doesn't really have control over that.
[00:34:01] Speaker C: I agree. I absolutely agree.
So this time we were doing back to back on the same ship but we were not staying in the same room. Sometimes we're able to stay in the same room, sometimes we're not. Our friend was joining us, or maybe I should say we were joining her. She was coming to board on the ship that day. We were moving into the room that she had reserved.
So we had to pack up all of our things but we didn't set them outside, we left them in our room. And now here is something that I forgot. Our luggage tags for both cruises. So when we showed up for Alaska we tend to show up when our rooms are going to be available. So it was no problem. We walked on, took our stuff straight to the room. But on that turnover day they were expecting luggage tags on our luggage so that they would know where to move it. They just gave us some of the tags that you would normally use for debarkation and we wrote on their, you know, the move to whatever the stateroom was.
And so they moved our bags for us. We hopped off the ship, walked up to the train station to meet our friend, help her come back to the ship. We stopped for coffee, we stopped to talk to two friends that we met on the street.
Two separate friends. Oh, she needed to run into the drugstore because she thought she had forgotten something.
So she ran in, we made that stop, we came back and the people doing back to back were still waiting to board.
And so it was well over an hour that we had been off the ship at that point and we got to line up and get right back on the ship with them.
[00:35:44] Speaker A: Yeah, well and for folks who haven't done it before, you have to do check in again. So you, you know oftentimes what they will do for debarkation from the first cruise is they will tell you to go to a specific lounge on the ship. Like Azure Lounge is very typical on the wonder as location but it might be another one. But oftentimes they'll tell you go to Azure at you know, 9:30 in the morning. Right. Like and then that way they can do the room turnover, you're out, they know you're out of your room. And then as a group once you're all there, they escort you off of the ship and then you go through the check in process, you know, again and then you at some point are let back on the ship. And now that is what we're Talking about this hour to an hour and a half stuff, it can be longer, it can be shorter, but it's a lot of it is really out of Disney's control. It's when is either US Customs or in this case, Canadian Customs, when are they clearing the ship for reboarding? Right.
And then you'll be the first group back on the ship. And if you were in the same room, you can access your room immediately. You don't have to wait. You just have to like, go under the rope. Right. If you are changing rooms, your room might not be ready. Your room will typically won't be ready. I mean, they might try and get your room ready a little early because they know you're back to back. But typically you're going to wait until everyone's room is ready, which is usually 1:30, but your luggage will obviously already be there, you know, waiting for you either outside, typically outside your room, but it might be inside your room. It just depends on if the room steward was able to get in.
[00:37:27] Speaker B: They move hanging things directly to your new room, Sam. Don't forget. So they, they will hang stuff up in the closet.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: Yeah. So that is one thing. If you didn't want. So if you're moving rooms and you have a really nice room steward, they will usually say if you want to leave stuff on hangers, they'll. Rather than putting that in your suitcase, everything else has to go back in the suitcase. But things that are hung up, they're willing to move for you and just, you know, put it in the closet in the, in the new room.
But, you know, it's, it's a matter.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Of experience where room stewards act like they've never heard of that option. Be prepared that you might.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: That's why I said that you have to have a nice room steward, because I don't think everybody offers to do that because it is obviously more difficult. I mean, it's more work for them. Right.
[00:38:11] Speaker B: It may have also been offered to us because we were in concierge when we sailed back to back.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: Yeah, that was, that is true. We've done it. Yeah, we've. We have sailed. Most of the time when we've sailed back to back, it's been in the same room. I think there was only one time where we, where we were changing rooms.
And I think actually on one sailing we were in concierge and the other sailing we weren't in concierge. And so, yeah, that may be, that may have had to do with, with the offering. All right, well, you've You've reboarded the ship and you're sailing to beautiful Hawaii from Vancouver, British Columbia. What was the, what were the seas like? That's one of those, you know, one of those sailings that can be a little bit rougher. You're sailing across the Pacific. Well, not fully all the way across, but, but a good ways across the Pacific to, to Hawaii. Funny. You get to go to the two.
Two states, the last two states to, to join the union. The only two states.
Yeah. Non contiguous U.S. in, in, in a week's time. You're in both of them. That's kind of a fun contrast. But. Yeah. How are, how is the seas getting out there to Hawaii for us?
[00:39:22] Speaker C: We had no difficulty at all. I don't know that we've ever been seasick on a cruise. So we had, I mean, there was a little bit of rocking, nothing that, that ruined our day for sure.
[00:39:36] Speaker A: Well, and you chose a small boat excursion in Alaska on a day with rough weather. So that kind of helps to inform me. Also, you are not sea sickness people. Yeah. So. Because, because that's the only thing that gives me pause about some of those smaller boat excursions in Alaska is that I get, I can get quite seasick on, on smaller boats, even though I'm fine on, on cruise ships typically.
Yeah.
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[00:41:01] Speaker A: All right, well, how. What were. What were some of the special offerings on board. So this is a great thing about sailing to Hawaii. The. Those two sailings, the sailing to Hawaii and the sailing back from Hawaii. And also the ones that go to Sydney from Hawaii, they tend to offer. Have some special things that happen sometimes. Some special Hawaiian things or just some special performers. I mean, like, tell us. I always love hearing about these cruises. I loved hearing about the one you did previously because they always have just cool stuff going on on the ship.
[00:41:35] Speaker C: So the standouts on this cruise, I would say, were the person that does the daily presentation on all the sea days.
He was a Disney archivist, so he came and talked to us about, you know, how they archive, why they archive, what they're looking to archive.
It's surprising to hear all the things they don't archive.
I think there's a different department that, like, handles things like film and things like that.
So they're really very, very, very selective on the things that they will keep in the. In their archives because they have to store them so protectively.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, if you think about all of the things like the parks, the films, the costumes, right. Like, if you think of all of this, even, like, even sheet music, right? Like, sheet music is something like the original sheet music for Sherman Brothers song. Right. For example. Like, that's. But, like, and. But think about every song that's been written for a Disney movie or for a Disney theme park ride, Right. Or for a Disney parade. Right. Like, every single song there's probably, like, original sheet music for. And then there's original costumes for, and there's original, you know, staging and, you know, so all of these different props and things that they use, these are all potential things that they could archive. But you're right. I mean, you might. They might archive one thing from a particular show, but there's like a, you know, millions of things that they could archive. That's. Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. I love those kinds of talks that they do. Did you have special performers on board?
[00:43:13] Speaker C: We did have special performers. Are you talking about the Alani guests?
[00:43:18] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know who was on. Yeah.
[00:43:21] Speaker B: Who are we talking about?
[00:43:22] Speaker A: Yeah, you tell me, Karen. Sometimes they have Broadway singers, Sometimes they have folk folks from Hawaii. Like, I. Yeah, yeah.
[00:43:29] Speaker C: They definitely had a couple Broadway singers that came on and did some shows for us.
But they. They bring a group from Aulani to come on these cruises because they're Hawaiian cruises and kind of get everybody familiar with Hawaiian culture. And so every evening, I think around 10, typically around 10, 15 on pirate night, I think they did it at 7:30.
So in the atrium you can come and learn about like the shaka. You can learn about.
Oh gosh, I'm drawing a blank on all the other things. Each night is a different topic, but they start by reviewing like, what have we covered before? Of course, now everything is, oh, I love that.
[00:44:07] Speaker A: Well, so different Hawaiian cultural things, right? So do they do storytelling as a part of that? Like I love one of the things they do at Aulani is of course, you know, they'll tell, they'll do some storytelling by the pool. Like they'll tell you about, about Maui and, and, and I don't mean the story of Moana, I mean like the, the legend of Maui in actual.
And so, yeah, they'll tell you those stories and they'll tell you certain cultural like things that have sort of come out of that. And maybe it's the hula or maybe it's the, you know, the shaka or maybe it's. They'll talk to you about making poi. Right? Like just different parts of the culture of Hawaii. It's. Yeah, love that.
[00:44:47] Speaker C: The presentations were shorter than I remembered them being. They were 15 minute presentations, but, you know, it was pretty late at night. So it was, it was just the perfect ending to the evening for us.
The very last night, I think it was the very last night they did a larger show, a longer show that included hula dancing, Tahitian dancing, Maori dancing, or, you know, Maori used the poi balls. Right. Malcolm got to get on stage and perform the haka with a select that joined him up there.
So for the rest of the cruise, and by last night, I mean the last sea night, the rest of the cruise, people kept coming up to him and saying, you did a great job doing the Hawkeye. I could never get up there and do that. And, and we had been doing hula lessons throughout the cruise. They had offered hula lessons. So people that wanted to get up and do the hula could do that. We, we decided to observe because I know people were filming. I was like, no, thanks.
[00:45:54] Speaker A: So you're saying Malcolm is braver than you, Karen?
[00:45:56] Speaker C: He's absolutely braver than me, yes.
[00:46:00] Speaker B: You won't find me hula dancing either, Sam. So just to be fair, a bravery thing is a self preservation thing. All right?
[00:46:06] Speaker C: Exactly. They also offered ukulele lessons.
So we got to sit on, on those. Now you. If you want to do those, you have to get there early because there the room fills up. There are a limited number of instruments and each Lesson progresses. So if you don't get an instrument that first day, it's going to be harder for you to catch up on the second and third, maybe fourth lessons. So you want to. You want to prioritize that activity if. If you're interested in it.
[00:46:34] Speaker A: I highly, highly recommend. If you don't get to do it on the cruise. At Aulani, they do a very intro ukulele lesson. And it was the thing that first, like, made me fall in love with the instrument. And then when we came home, I had bought. I bought. Taught ukulele in Hawaii and then took lessons at home.
[00:46:54] Speaker B: It's a lesson like a test drive for a car, right?
[00:46:57] Speaker A: Yeah. It's not like. Yeah, but they do teach you. They teach you four chords. And as anyone knows, most popular music.
[00:47:05] Speaker B: Can be played using four chords.
[00:47:06] Speaker A: Exactly. So if you can play. If you can play CGA and F, you can play a whole bunch of songs. And so if you play those four chords, you can play a bunch of different songs. And. And that might ignite a pass, a love in, you know, in that instrument. It did for me. I took lessons for several years. I have paused taking lessons for the last year just because, you know, I don't have enough time in my life. If I had unlimited time, I would definitely. It's something I would. I would pick up again because I absolutely love. I think it's a beautiful instrument. It is. Unless you've got really big hands, fat fingers. It's not an instrument for people with fat fingers. But if you have. If you have. Have, you know, smaller fingers, thinner hands, it's easier to play than the guitar because it's only four strings. And it's a beautiful, beautiful sounding instrument. And you can play all kinds of music, from folk music to pop music to rock music. Like, yeah, it's just a gorgeous instrument. I love it. I love it. Can't say enough good things about the ukulele. It's amazing.
Well, Karen, I gotta ask about some of these excursions. You got to go four stops in Hawaii. Of course, you end in Honolulu. Tell us what you did on those excursion days in Hawaii.
[00:48:28] Speaker C: So we. It's funny because we booked excursions for almost every day that we were in Alaska, but in Hawaii, we booked rental cars.
[00:48:37] Speaker A: Ah, nice. I love that.
[00:48:39] Speaker C: Our first stop was actually Honolulu. So we just walked off the ship.
We actually ended up meeting up with some crew members from the concierge. The concierge crew that we had sailed with last year.
And they were like, what are you. What are you Doing. We don't know what to do with, you know, just a few hours in Honolulu. I said, we're just taking the bus to Waikiki.
And they didn't have Internet connection there. I guess their phones weren't set up to have cell service in Hawaii.
Really surprised me, considering they had been in Alaska all summer. But I said, you know, yeah, you can. You can tag along with us. We can show you how to get there. And so Malcolm and I spent the day in Waikiki, had some good food, caught some good waves, and just had a. Had a fun day at the beach.
And then I'm trying to think the next.
I think maybe the next day was Kauai.
I love Kauai.
I'll just start by saying I've heard.
[00:49:38] Speaker A: Wonderful things about Kauai. We have. We have not been. I don't think. Did. Did we stop on our. The one time we did the Hawaii cruise on a celebrity bride. I don't remember who we stopped.
[00:49:47] Speaker B: Stop where?
[00:49:48] Speaker A: Kauai.
[00:49:49] Speaker B: No, I. We stopped at Hilo, Honolulu. I feel like we stopped somewhere in Maui. We may have actually stopped in Kauai. We might have. We might have. You know, what I can do is I can go look on the cruise globe and find.
[00:50:03] Speaker C: Yeah, the port is called Nawiliwili, if that sounds familiar.
[00:50:08] Speaker A: That does sound familiar, actually.
[00:50:10] Speaker C: So we got our. We got our shuttle to the car rental agency like we did last year, but last year we had two. We had an overnight in Kauai. And this year I was like, oh, we're definitely not going to be able to do as much, but I'd like to do as much as possible because it's like our favorite island. And we have some, like, we just love Hanalei. And we have.
[00:50:33] Speaker A: We.
[00:50:33] Speaker C: There's a couple places that we love to eat up there and eat along the way.
And as we were driving, oh, and our friend had never been there. And as we were driving there, I pointed out, I said, oh, there's an overlook here. That's a great spot for photos. And on the way back, it came upon me so fast that I didn't have time to pull over. I just wasn't thinking, oh, it's right here. So I did a U turn. We went back, we got some photos.
We got back on the road, driving toward the ship. Got to make one last stop for our second shave ice of the day.
[00:51:10] Speaker A: Second shave ice is very important.
[00:51:13] Speaker C: And may have lived to regret that because we ended up being late back to the ship.
[00:51:20] Speaker B: Ooh, was there a Pier run?
[00:51:24] Speaker C: What's that?
[00:51:25] Speaker A: Was there a pier run?
[00:51:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Was there a run down the pier?
[00:51:28] Speaker C: There might be video of me running.
I haven't searched for it. Yeah. Yeah. So we apparently were not the only people that were late. There were a bunch of things that just kind of stumbled us into, you know, one fall after another making us late. We. There was a hope that we would not be late, and that hope kind of dwindled. Anyway, there was another family that apparently showed up after us. Our Uber driver did not drop us off at the gate. He drove us like, half a block away from the ship and dropped us off there. There, because technically that's where you're supposed to drop people off. The other Uber driver for the other family dropped them off literally at the gate to the ship. So they were able to get on even sooner, even though they showed up after us. And a couple people told me that there was a tour bus that was late, however, so that would make sense why they.
[00:52:24] Speaker A: Why they held the ship.
[00:52:25] Speaker C: Florida did call me twice to ask how much longer we were going to be.
[00:52:30] Speaker A: Well, yeah, because they. So here's the thing. So this is actually good for people to hear. Like, they.
Some ports, they can't hold the ship at all. Like, they have to. They have to get out the port. Right? Like, the port makes them leave. Right. And some ports, they can stay a little bit longer. They have a little bit of wiggle room, but generally not necessarily a ton unless there's like, an emergency. And of course, if in an emergency, the port will figure stuff out, but if somebody's late, that's not considered an emergency. And the port charges the ship, like, fees for. I don't know if it's every minute later, but it's a. Yeah, they find them for.
[00:53:11] Speaker B: For each minute they stay important. Because, I mean, look, if you think about it, port port operations staff has to stay beyond what they were scheduled for. And so, yeah, they're basically finding the cruise company to pay for that.
[00:53:22] Speaker A: So, yeah, right now. Now there is some wiggle room in that that I'm not trying to tell people. Like, you should be at the ship before all aboard time. So don't. You should be at the ship 15 minutes.
[00:53:32] Speaker B: We'll cover this on the etiquette. The live. The live etiquette show.
[00:53:37] Speaker A: Yeah, we're recording this before the live etiquette show, but this show will come out in a couple of months. But yeah, you. There is. You should be there. Yeah, you should schedule yourself to be there well in advance of that. All Aboard time. But if you're there at all aboard time or even within probably 10 or 15 minutes of all aboard time, you're going to make the ship because it take some time for them to, you know, pack everything up and actually leave. But those gangways do come up eventually. So even if the, even if the ship is technically still tied to the port, if those gangways are up, you may not be getting on that ship because they're probably not putting the gangways back out just for you. And then that means you're having to transport yourself to the next port of call. Now when you're in Hawaii or find.
[00:54:23] Speaker B: Or find Marge in her, in her boat and start chasing.
[00:54:29] Speaker A: Barges. Barges. That's right, yeah. If you are in Hawaii, at least the islands are close to one another and you, you, there is opportunity for you to pay for someone who has a boat or you can, you know, hop, you know, interferry, you know, inter island transport. So there is, it is probably easier than a lot of places to catch up with the ship, but not till the next day because they're not.
[00:54:53] Speaker C: That was, you know, we were not keeping that in account as we were moving throughout our day like our plan.
I knew that we would not be back in time to catch the last shuttle from the rental agency because they stop the shuttles well over an hour before the boat takes off. And I wanted, I was hoping to get back like 30 to 45 minutes before the boat took off. That's. Typically we try to get back an hour before the boat leaves.
[00:55:23] Speaker A: But you had a lot of stuff you wanted to do and you wanted to get shave ice twice. I get it, I get it. Karen, listen, I.
[00:55:29] Speaker C: The island we love, but I know.
[00:55:32] Speaker A: I sympathize, but not again. Don't do it again.
[00:55:34] Speaker C: No, no, I would never recommend that people take, you know, take the chance of that. But yeah, my friend was like, you know, it's okay. We can, we can get a flight to the next island and get a hotel for the night.
We both were like, the ship is not waiting. We are not counting on the ship to be waiting. We got lucky, lucky that the ship was waiting. And I would highly recommend that everyone not be a Karen.
[00:56:02] Speaker A: Don't be a Karen.
Listen, Karen spells her name with the C, not with a K. So.
But don't be that girl.
[00:56:12] Speaker C: Don't be late back to the ship. If you're used to seeing crew members that are welcoming and happy to see you, yeah, you're not going to see that. The day.
[00:56:21] Speaker A: And then passengers, if they recognize you on board, they're going to be like, ah, you were the ones who were.
[00:56:25] Speaker C: Late to de stress. Malcolm and I went straight to the hot tub and we were pounced upon by the people that had been cheering us on as we ran to get back to the ship.
[00:56:37] Speaker A: Oh, well, I'm glad that you made it back on. I'm glad you didn't have to figure out the plans. I mean, at least you had cell service and your Internet was working and all those things. So you, you, you could have.
[00:56:49] Speaker C: We had our passport cards with us so we could have flown.
Because Malcolm doesn't have a real id. He just has his passport card. So when you factor in all these things that had to align, we were in a good position to pull it all back together. But luckily we didn't have to.
[00:57:06] Speaker A: Right, well. And you would have been wearing the same underwear the next day, too.
[00:57:11] Speaker C: No, I would have been wearing the same swimsuit after being in the ocean all day.
Oh, no, no.
[00:57:20] Speaker A: Oh, swimsuit all day.
[00:57:22] Speaker C: No.
[00:57:22] Speaker A: And sleeping. Oh, no, no, no, no. Thank you.
[00:57:26] Speaker B: I would love to do an episode with somebody who was a pure runner who didn't make it just to find out what happened. Yeah, we can protect your identity if we need to. It can be embarrassing, but we'll put you in.
[00:57:38] Speaker A: We'll have you, like, in the shadows with one of those, you know.
Yeah, exactly. We'll blur you or something like that. So to protect your identity. But yeah, no, if you are a peer runner who didn' reach out to us and we will try and get you recorded on, on a show. All right, well, Karen, you had a couple more port stops. I just want to hit the port stops before we close out this show because there are. I mean, this is like these two cruises are such epic cruises. Like I said, each one of these could be multiple episodes. But we, we got, we want to hit the highlights, of course.
[00:58:11] Speaker C: So in Maui, we again knew we were just going to do beach days on, on most of these beaches, court stops, so grabbed our rental car, picked McKenna beach, if you're familiar with. I think is at the east coast of Maui. No, no, sorry, it's the west coast. I think it's the west coast of Maui. Anyway, so we hit McKenna and just hopped from beach to beach up that side of the island. McKenna beach apparently is notorious for having really big crashing waves.
We watched several people just get slammed and need assistance getting out of the water.
And I thought we were doing fine until a wave caught me and I was literally doing somersaults underwater.
[00:58:58] Speaker A: Oh, my God. You got, you know, people don't realize, like, the. The, you know, the Pacific Ocean, she's. She's a mean one. Like, she is. She doesn't play like you. You got to be. You gotta have your wits about you. If you get slammed by a wave that you're not expecting, or even if you're expecting but you. Yeah, yeah, it's.
[00:59:20] Speaker C: It can be rough for the rest of the day. Anytime I look down, sand would fall out of my hair.
[00:59:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:59:29] Speaker C: And that was after me trying to get it out of my hair, you know, in the showers and stuff at the. At the beaches. But we hit several other beaches that were much, much more calm.
Traveling back up the coast before heading back to the ship. Especially in Kihei. There were some really great beaches there that would be good for families.
Really shallow, calm waters, very clear.
I saw lots of kids snorkeling. We didn't have snorkeling gear with us. Shave ice was had. Great fish tacos were had. If. If you've ever been to Kihei, the South Maui fish tacos, it's a food truck, highly recommend.
And then, let's see. Our last stop was in Hilo. The volcano there had been erupting. It's erupted more than 30 times this year alone. The day before we got there, it was erupting. So my plan had been to drive south past the volcano to a black sand beach where I was hoping we could swim with turtles. And I thought, you know, after already being late once on this cruise, do I want to chance it that something would happen with this volcano that's been really active? Nope, I don't think I do. So we headed north up the east coast of the Big island, and it was absolutely gorgeous. There were a couple options where there were scenic drives that we could hop on. So we did those, saw some really beautiful views, came on the way back down, stopped at a gulch that was. Was magnificent. And we kind of had it all to ourselves. There were a couple local people that were there fishing and, you know, had their dogs out playing.
It was really, really relaxing. And then, oh, I would say that the shuttle driver, because in Hilo they do Disney, or maybe the port of Hilo provides a shuttle that will take you from the port to the rental agency. They don't do that in Maui.
They don't do that in Honolulu. The shuttle driver is the same guy that I had last year. He gives the best tips. So if you listen, you will hear things that will serve you well throughout the Day he talked to us about, you know, where the police like to sit. Talked to us about do not go over the speed limit.
The police cars there don't look like the police cars we're used to seeing.
That definitely helped later in the day.
Not that I was going over the speed limit, but just, just that I was aware, like, oh, that's definitely a police officer following me. He, he was also the one that told us about the scenic drive. If we headed north up the coast, I wouldn't have known that that would be scenic.
[01:02:12] Speaker A: You get some great tips from locals. I feel like in general, like wherever you are in Hawaii, like, ask the locals where to eat. Ask the locals what beaches they go to. Right. Like you'll get some really off the beaten path spots that are not crowded and full of tourists and really great food and really great shave ice, you know, all that kind of stuff. Yeah.
[01:02:32] Speaker C: And one of the other recommendations he had was that if you have time on your way back to drop off your car to take, there's like a four mile road that goes past the cruise ship down south of where the cruise is docked and it's, it's four miles. And when you get to the end of that four mile road, there's a beach there and you can sometimes see turtles there. So I, we had been to that same beach because he had recommended it last year, year we'd been to it last year. Didn't get in the water because you have to walk on volcanic rock to get in the water. And we didn't bring our water shoes last year. So this year we came with water shoes. As we were walking in, there were two giant sea turtles just munching away on the algae right there. As you could walk into the water, it was so happy because I didn't expect that they would be there. I thought we'd have to go to this other beach that is much more well known.
There were again, there was a local family there with their grandmas and they were saying, yeah, There were like 13 or 14 turtles here when we got here that were just munching away.
And when by the time we got there, there were two left and they, they departed soon after they were kind of done with their lunch.
[01:03:48] Speaker A: But oh my God, that's so cool though. And to get to see them so close and like so close to land too. That's. Yeah, that's awesome. Karen. Oh my God. Well, sounds like an incredible trip to Hawaii. Now, did you guys go back to Honolulu to end and to Debark? Yeah. Did you stay, I don't know, maybe a place called Aulani in Hawaii after. Or did you head home right after the cruise?
[01:04:15] Speaker C: We actually stayed in Waikiki at the Hale Koa, but we did make a trip out to Aulani for the day. Unfortunately, we waited until the last day to go to Aulani, and Malcolm has made it very clear that the next time we go to Waikiki or Honolulu, he wants to stay. He wants to sleep at Aulani, not just visit, honey.
[01:04:37] Speaker A: Well, and Malcolm is right, because the one thing about Aulani is beautiful. And you can walk around the lobby and you can go to the shops, of course, without being a guest, but you can't use the pools and the lazy river and, I mean, you could eat at the restaurants, but you can't really hang out there unless you're a guest. They do wristbands at the pool. So every day you're there, if you're a guest, you go to this little, like, hut thing, and you actually have to scan your. Your key card and they give you your wristband for the pool for that day, and it's a different color every single day. And they give you your towels as well. And so if you're not a guest or I mean, technically, you could. You could. If you have a friend who's staying at Aulani, they've got to even add you to their room in order to get you a wristband because they. They know how many people are registered to the room, that's how many wristbands they're going to be giving out. So, yeah, they can actually sort of even do that check. But, yeah, I'm with Malcolm. You got to take him to Aulani. You've been to Honolulu too many times to not have stayed there yet, Karen. So.
[01:05:41] Speaker C: And this was our. This was our third time visiting Alani, So he's like, three times is enough. Next time.
[01:05:48] Speaker A: Yeah, that's enough, Mom. That's enough. I'm. I'm with Malcolm. Come on.
[01:05:53] Speaker C: But unfortunately. So we were in Honolulu for the weekend, and it was gorgeous, beautiful, perfect weather until that day that we went to Aulani. It was pouring down rain the entire day. And I, you know, I was really hopeful as we were driving there that, you know, it's. It's Hawaii. It's gonna rain for an hour. It's gonna rain for 10 minutes. It's gonna be different weather on that side of the island. No, no, no, no, no. It was pouring down rain. So we did have lunch there. We bought so much merchandise there.
The shops had really Fun things they.
[01:06:32] Speaker A: Do, they have really, they have really close. There's like three shops at Aulani, two real shops, and then there's one little like, I'll call it a surf shop by the pool. Like that has some additional things, but it's mostly like, like, like some sweat, a couple of swim shirts and some flip flops and some goggles and, and sunscreen. It's mostly like just the stuff you might need for while you're at the pool. Whereas the two shops in the main building are like the shops and one is like the sort of generic gift shop that's got all the Aulani swag. And then there's the one that's kind of the higher end stuff that might have like doonies and Tory Richards clothing and things like that that are, you know, Hawaii and Aulani brand it. So, yeah, really, I'm, I. We're going there for Christmas. This episode will be out in, I believe, January, but we'll be there for Christmas. And I told Brian because he asked me what do I want for Christmas this year. And I, I have nothing on my list. But he told him, don't worry, honey, I will spend plenty of money in the gift shop at Aulani. You don't need to get me anything.
[01:07:32] Speaker B: I don't know that I actually agreed to that.
[01:07:34] Speaker A: No, I know you haven't yet agreed to it, but I told you, you don't need to buy me anything because I already know I'm going to spend a lot of money at the shop.
[01:07:42] Speaker B: I'm looking for a size seven night Eastern Caribbean.
[01:07:45] Speaker A: I mean, you already got me one of those for next year.
[01:07:48] Speaker B: So in the year after that, come to think of it. So there's.
[01:07:52] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, well, Karen, okay, we're gonna jump over to a little rapid fire. I'm gonna give an abbreviated rapid fire.
[01:08:02] Speaker B: Not without the intro. You can't do it after. Without the intro. Because, Karen, I think we have reached that point in the show where it's time to hand you back over to Sam for some arbitrary questions, some arbitrary rules, and a dash of judgment on the round we know as rapid fire. All right, now, Sam, you can take.
[01:08:16] Speaker A: All right, Karen, you have 37 Disney cruises under your belt with more on tap, and I. So I'm going to give you an abbreviated rapid fire round. But I want to ask some updated Disney cruise line favorites because the last time we talked to you, you of course hadn't been on the Treasure yet. And you know, there are some differences. There's some different options. You can choose now for things. So I'm going to jump right to. To what I don't think is the. Well, I don't know. It's the most important Sam question. It might not be the most important question, but it's the most important Sam question, which is, what is your favorite Disney cruise line stage show now?
[01:08:55] Speaker C: Oh, Sam, I didn't realize. I always thought it was frozen until I went on the Treasure and saw Beauty and the Beast again. Like, I've seen it so many times, but. And then when we were on the Dream in August latest, or I guess it was September by the time we got on the Dream, they had to. They couldn't do Beauty and the Beast. I was so bummed because it's so. I actually like Beauty and the Beast more than Moana. I'm. I'm shocked.
[01:09:26] Speaker A: Listen, I. I think it.
[01:09:28] Speaker B: We're just gonna wrap it up there. We're gonna wrap it up there, right, Sam?
[01:09:31] Speaker A: No, no. I actually. So, no, I don't. I still. I don't think if you answer Beauty and the Beast. That's not a wrong answer. That is absolutely not a wrong answer. Like, I, I. I think it's such a close call. That's why the Treasure has the best show lineup, because it's such a close call. Between Tale of Moana and Beauty and the Beast, those are clearly, I think, the best. I mean, Frozen is wonderful. Tangled is wonderful. Those both get honorable mention. But, like, yeah, it's really.
It's Beauty and the Beast, and Tales of Tale of Moana is just that. Yeah. Those are the two. Those are the two best number. I don't know if they're tied for number one or which one's number one. It's. Yeah. F. Both fantastic. The puppetry. H.
You know, you just can't. You can't go wrong. Okay. All right, well, moving on to another important question. Favorite rotational dining.
[01:10:24] Speaker C: Oh, rotational dining. Of the whole. Of the whole.
[01:10:27] Speaker A: Across the whole fleet. Yeah.
[01:10:28] Speaker C: O. If I could pick anywhere to go for dinner. Oh, I really like Triton.
[01:10:35] Speaker A: Oh, hot take. All right. Do you want the chateaubriand there? Is that why?
[01:10:40] Speaker C: I do.
[01:10:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. That's a good pick.
[01:10:43] Speaker C: There is also really good.
[01:10:46] Speaker A: Yeah. I gotta give a shout out to the Salmon on Night 2 in Marvel on the Treasure. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say, because people are not, like, huge fans of the Marvel restaurant. I think, overall, I think most people. Nobody generally probably picks that as their favorite, but that dish is just banger, I gotta say. It's Just so good.
[01:11:08] Speaker B: I think. I think the people of Seattle are going to run you out of town recommending probably. What is. What is frozen Atlantic salmon?
[01:11:15] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sure it's Atlantic salmon.
[01:11:17] Speaker B: Banger of a dish.
[01:11:18] Speaker A: It's a banger of a dish. I'm telling you. It's so good.
[01:11:21] Speaker C: Marvel was surprisingly good on the. On the Fantas. Excuse me. On the Treasure.
[01:11:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, good. All right, I gotta ask.
Favorite itinerary? Now, you've gotten on so many cool itineraries, Karen.
[01:11:36] Speaker C: The one that I liked more than I expected to like, I would say, was the repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Southampton that stopped in Vigo and a Coruna and Lisbon. And I say that after having done Hawaii two years in a row. So that Hawaii sailing, if you can get on it, go for it. It is fantastic.
[01:11:59] Speaker A: Oh, I want to. I got it. I want to go. I want to go. I love that. Yeah. It. And she's probably. Well, we don't know if she's going to do Hawaii yet. When she's not. Well, she probably will do Hawaii before she starts the San Diego season. I just don't think it's. I can't remember if it's out on the next schedule or not. Yeah, I don't think it is because it's. Because obviously we know the ship's not going back to New Zealand and Australia, but if it reverts back to what it was doing before, it would still do that Hawaii sailing. You know, it would just do a sailing to Hawaii and then a sailing back from Hawaii.
[01:12:35] Speaker B: But from the schedule, shouldn't it? Because it goes out to May of 2027. This is their last.
This is going to be their last season in Australia.
[01:12:44] Speaker A: Yeah, but they haven't released the Alaska stuff yet. Right. So they released up to, like, they basically released.
[01:12:51] Speaker C: Oh, I think they actually have released up to Vancouver.
[01:12:56] Speaker A: Oh, you're right. You're right.
[01:12:57] Speaker C: For Disney's Hawaii cruises, they leave out of Vancouver, so it still could be added before the Alaska sailing.
[01:13:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Fingers crossed. We're going to cross our fingers that they're going to revert to doing it again.
[01:13:09] Speaker B: But if they have 2026 out. Sam. Cause she's leaving now, so she has to come back.
[01:13:14] Speaker A: Right, right.
[01:13:15] Speaker B: So they go out to 2027. So you would know whether they were sending the ship back to Hawaii in 2026 at the end of the season. Season.
[01:13:22] Speaker A: Yeah. And they're not. I don't think at the end of the 2026 season, but they might. But I think they used to do that only once a year. They'd only do it either the beginning or the end of the season. They didn't do it twice. They didn't do it at the beginning and the end of the season. They would just do it at the. I can't remember if they would do it at the beginning of the season or the. I think it was at the beginning of the season, but I can't remember.
[01:13:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just looking on the website now to see if. If I search for Hawaii sailings, what pops up?
[01:13:46] Speaker C: I think the very last one is February of. Of 26. That is.
[01:13:51] Speaker B: That is right. February 16 to 26, which means that they would have it on there already for. They would have it going out and back already at the end of 2026, beginning of 2027, and they do not see them. So this may be the last Hawaii sailing for quite some time.
[01:14:06] Speaker A: Well, we don't know. They could. They. They could still do it at the end of the season. They don't have to do it at the beginning of the season.
[01:14:12] Speaker B: No, no, but I'm saying they have both. They have both parts already out on their website. Sam, you're not understanding me. So they go all the way out through 2027. So the ship would normally head back out to Hawaii in this time in October 2026. There's no sailing there and they already have February of 2027 out and there's no sailing there.
[01:14:27] Speaker C: So the soonest it could be is September of 27. So it's going to be a good long while.
[01:14:33] Speaker A: Well, it could be in May of 27 though, because it could be before the Alaska season. Right, that's what I'm saying.
[01:14:39] Speaker B: Yeah, but they already have that, Sam. They already have that.
[01:14:42] Speaker A: Have not 2027.
[01:14:44] Speaker B: Yep, they have. They have departing out to May of.
[01:14:48] Speaker C: 2027 where they land in Vancouver. Right. So they could add it after that.
[01:14:52] Speaker B: They could. But yeah, I think it's. I. I think with the new ship positioning on the west coast, they may just not sail to Hawaii much. It was. I think that was really just kind of a Pacific stop for them to. To get people to get the ship reprovisioned on its way to Australia.
[01:15:06] Speaker A: Yes and no, Brian. The only reason I say yes and no is because they before they ever used to go to Australia and new would do one sailing that from. It would usually. I can't remember if it was in order to reposition.
[01:15:20] Speaker B: The ship usually started after we started. So they haven't always done Hawaii.
[01:15:24] Speaker A: Sure. But, but it was. I'm saying for several years. They did a repositioning before they'd reposition the ship between San Diego and Vancouver, they would do one sailing to Hawaii for several years.
[01:15:35] Speaker B: They sailed out of New Orleans. And they haven't done that forever, Right?
[01:15:38] Speaker A: Fair. Fair. Okay, fair.
[01:15:39] Speaker B: In fact, New Orleans is no longer even on their port, their ports, on their.
[01:15:43] Speaker A: I know, I know. Very, very sad. Okay, all right. The most important. This has not been a very rapid, rapid fire. Let me. Sorry for. For those listening.
[01:15:53] Speaker B: I blame you, Sam. I blame you.
[01:15:55] Speaker A: Hey, this is probably the most important question for in most people's mind, which is, which is your favorite ship? Now, you've sailed on all six. You have sailed many times on, on all of the them.
I don't. I mean, you might have a favorite class or a favorite ship, but which one is it, Karen?
[01:16:15] Speaker C: Oh, gosh. Okay, so the Treasure is unbelievable. It is beautiful. It's a beautiful, beautiful ship. And it's so great to be on it for seven days and not have to, not have to do two mustard drills to get a seven day cruise. Before we sailed on the Treasure, I was wonder all the way. Wonderful was always my favorite. The crew on the Wonder cannot be beat. And these past two cruises, I still believe it's the best crew in the fleet. But if I had to, if someone said I can pick a cruise, I would probably pick to go on the Treasure.
[01:16:52] Speaker A: Wow, that. Yeah, I mean, that's high praise. Like I, I feel, I feel the same way, Karen. I think it's between the Wonder and the Treasure. For me, if I have to pick tomorrow, I'm probably picking the Treasure. But if I could get the crew of the Wonder on the Treasure, if I could merge the two in some way, I would be happy to be on either of those two ships tomorrow. Absolutely. Okay, my last question. Bucket list cruise. I mean, you've been on a ton of bucket list cruises for a lot of people. But what's on the bucket list meaning what? Have you not hit that you really want to get to too?
[01:17:30] Speaker C: So we've got it scheduled. I might be postponing it now that it looks like the Wish is going over to Europe. We've done the Transatlantic eastbound and I really want to do it westbound because I don't like losing hours of sleep. I like gaining hours of sleep.
So westbound it is.
[01:17:48] Speaker A: All right. Well, and you. But you don't want to do it on the Wish.
[01:17:51] Speaker C: No, I do want to do it on the Wish.
[01:17:52] Speaker A: Oh, okay, I see. You're saying because instead of going. So the Dream is scheduled for next summer to do the European season we have predicted. And I know it to be true, not because of any insider information, but because it's the only thing that makes sense from the schedule. And then it has been confirmed because she's showing up on the Athens port schedule. The Wish is showing up on that schedule. Now. Ports can change. So, you know, take that with a grain of salt, but yeah, she's going to Europe. Like it's, it's a done deal.
[01:18:30] Speaker B: Take it with a grain of salt, but it's done.
[01:18:31] Speaker A: No, no, I mean the port of Athens.
[01:18:33] Speaker B: I'm saying never. But I'm saying never.
[01:18:34] Speaker A: No, I'm saying that. I'm saying the Athens thing is a grain of salt because you just don't, you know, their ports can change, but she's going to Europe like those. That confirms it for me, you know, And I, I mean, like I said, I already felt like that had to be true based on the schedule. But yeah, that would be a fantastic. To be able to sail on a Wish class ship back from Europe. Yeah, that's awesome.
[01:18:57] Speaker C: So we have it booked on the Dream for next year and we. We might go ahead and do it two years in a row. I just, I don't think they're going to send the wish more than one year in a row. Like, I think it's just going that one year and the next year it will stay in Port Canaveral. So I don't want to miss the opportunity to do it on. On a Triton class ship.
[01:19:17] Speaker A: Yeah, well, and that's a good point. We don't know. Yeah, we don't know what the future will bring as far as what class will go across for after the Wish goes. We don't know if the Wish will go back. We don't know if maybe the Destiny will or, or the, of course, you know, the next ship of the Wish class, the Treasure. Like, there's going to be a rotation when the Wish comes back, you know, from Europe, and we'll see what, you know, what things. What gets moved around where.
[01:19:45] Speaker B: All right, Sam, I'm going to butt in here and ask the most, the absolute, most important question, which is what's next? Karen, what have you got for us?
[01:19:52] Speaker C: Yeah, Well, I am sailing with both of you on the Destiny, doing a back to back in November.
We'll be boarding on the maiden voyage and staying on for Thanksgiving.
[01:20:05] Speaker A: Fantastic. So you'll be on with us for two cruises then Karen, I love that.
[01:20:09] Speaker B: We'Ll be the people shoving a microphone in your face and asking you all about how your cruise is going to well Karen, it's been delightful catching up with you and what an amazing pair of cruises that you did and what an amazing set, you know cruises you have in front of you as well. So just want to say thank you so much for taking some time out of your weekend to come and share these cruises with our audience. We super appreciate it.
[01:20:33] Speaker C: Definitely it's fun to connect with you anytime.
[01:20:40] Speaker B: 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 podcast and if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com 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 to way 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 we sell some fun fan inspired magnets. Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com DCLDUO also as a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly 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
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[01:22:49] Speaker A: Sam.
