[00:00:00] Speaker A: Yeah, there's nothing better than sitting in the concierge lounge with a hot cup of coffee and eating the like hazelnut chocolate covered Oreo that they put in the lounge every afternoon. That's by far my favorite.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Welcome back to another episode of the DCL Duo Podcast brought to you by my path Unwinding travel. And as you can tell, you are hearing my voice. So Brian is not with me today. I'm solo hosting. But I am super excited about today's show. I am talking with not a first time cruiser, but a first time guest to the show, Casey. Welcome to the show, Casey.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Thanks, Sam. I'm so excited to be here. I've been a longtime listener. In fact, I started listening at the very beginning like right before COVID so.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Oh my God.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: Long time, can't wait.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Oh my God, that's crazy. There are not, I don't know that there are that many people.
Started with us at the very beginning because that was, it was funny enough, it was March of 2020 that we put out our first episode and it was actually like right before or when the world shut down, when we thought it was just going to be like a, you know, we had recorded our first episode right before anything shut down. Then we thought, oh, we're going to be off school and work for. Or off school, I should say for two weeks and working from home for two weeks. Little did we know.
Yeah, A long two weeks.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: Yes. So much has changed in that time. Right. But so excited to be here.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Oh, I'm so excited to have you. And I will say our podcast has gotten a lot better since 2020. So we're just better at our jobs.
Well, I'm excited to talk to you about your 10 night cruise sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia to Hawaii.
But before we dive into that topic, I've got to ask you your Disney background and your dis. Cruising background. If I'm correct, you are now a platinum cruiser, is that right?
[00:02:09] Speaker A: Yes. This was our first platinum cruise. So very exciting.
Definitely felt like we reached a milestone when we got into our stateroom with the platinum lanyards. It was very exciting for sure, but other than that. So obviously this was our 11th cruise.
Growing up we had, we. I grew up in the Phoenix area and so we had annual passes to Disneyland sometime. Growing up, we ended up becoming DVC members. So my parents are Disney Vacation Club members.
Spent at least a week every year at Disney World, obviously went to Disneyland multiple times a year. And then when I was in junior high, we went on our first cruise and Just sort of like fell in love with that experience. Cruising was just. Especially at the time, there was something I could do, there was something my parents could do. It was just phenomenal. And then I'm an only child, so it was always just the three of us. And then growing up, we just sort of kept doing it. And then through adulthood now I just turned 30 and we're still cruising together.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: So I love that. I love, like, my hope is that when Nathan is 30, he'll still want to cruise with us on Disney Cruise Line.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: I'm sure he will.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: I hope so. I'm crossing my fingers and toes because he really loves it right now. So, I mean, and he's grown to love it. Like, we didn't. It's funny, we're recording this episode in kind of mid October and I.
Our first cruise with Nathan was like this week basically back in gosh. I'm trying to remember now when it was. I think it was in 2019 or 2018. Oh, 2018. And so it's popping up in my memories and it's like these pictures. It was a Halloween on the high seas and these like pictures of just like little tiny Nathan on his first cruise and he was so cute and we did costumes and everything because it was Halloween, but it was like, probably like my, like our worst cruise ever. So, yes, it was fair. It was just hard. So like he, you know, was. We were trying. Still figuring out with. For those who don't know and haven't listened to our show before, Nathan, our son, has autism. And we didn't know at our first cruise with him, we were kind of in the. In the process of trying to figure things out. And he was quite a difficult toddler and young child. And now, I mean, now he's like super easy and awesome and we've all been through therapy and all that kind of stuff.
But yeah, it was. It was kind of a. It was a little bit of a rough time. But anyway, I love the idea of like, him sailing with us through the years. And I actually think that cruising with an only child is. Is great because, like, he doesn't have built in friend, you know, with us, with the sibling. Right. But like going to the kids clubs or to the tween club and eventually the teen club, it. It just makes for, you know, fast friendships and he can enjoy himself and we can enjoy ourselves, whereas if we went to a resort, I feel like that might be a little bit. A little bit more difficult to come by.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Yeah, Then that's why I loved cruising during that time. Right. Because I could, I had that time where I could be away from my parents, you know, kind of that fun experience as a junior high boy while my parents could still do their own adult things in the evening. Right. And so that's honestly why we fell in love with cruising to begin with.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: So, yeah, I love that. Well, why did you choose this itinerary? I mean, it's obviously an iconic itinerary. It's a bucket list cruise for a lot of people. Are you still kind of west coast based? You say you're from Phoenix, is not obviously on the coast, but it's the Western U.S.
are you still in the Western U.S. and is that why you chose, you know, a sailing Vancouver?
[00:05:58] Speaker A: My parents are still in Phoenix or the Phoenix area. I'm actually in Oklahoma City now, which is sort of smack dab in the middle.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: But you stole our Sonics, okay?
[00:06:10] Speaker A: We did, yes. But hey, the Thunder just won the championship, so it's working out for us.
No, but, but honestly, we, we choose our sailings. They mostly on the itineraries.
And so we really like the longer itineraries. We've actually done the transatlantic and the Panama Canal on.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Oh, fantastic.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Yeah, so we just love the longer itineraries. And so we were trying to work out what a cruise would look like this year, especially to celebrate my 30th birthday. And so it just sort of made sense. We were actually on the cruise for my birthday and so it was awesome. It ended up really working out, but it really had nothing to do with geography or anything like that.
Just mostly the itinerary.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: Awesome. Now had you been to Hawaii before? Had you sailed out of Vancouver before?
[00:06:58] Speaker A: Yeah, so never been to Van. I've been to Vancouver before. We never sailed out of Vancouver and been to Aulani three times in the past, but never the other islands. So only ever just Oahu in Hawaii.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: Okay, nice. So getting to go to some new ports as well. Okay, so how far in advance did you get to Vancouver and where did you stay?
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Yeah, so we got there just one night before and we stayed at the Pan Pacific.
We loved that hotel. It was really, really nice. Really, really convenient. Obviously we ended up. They upgraded us or something and we ended up having like club level access to their. I forget what they called it, but it was this really nice room at the top floor where we could just have snacks and drinks and that ended up being just a lovely experience.
But yeah, just the one night before.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Yeah, we did the same exact thing and got. And got upgraded the same exact way. I think it had something to do with booking with, like, American. Like, booking through American Express or something like that. And so, yeah, there was some, like, if you book it, like, that certain way. I can't remember, like, how, because Brian does that part of the planning process.
But then, yeah, we got. And it was really nice. Like, we basically had our breakfast there and we're able to get snacks there in the evening and all that was. Yeah, it was a super nice way to do it. For those who don't know, the Pan Pacific is literally on top of the port, basically. And so you can even leave your luggage, or I shouldn't say leave your luggage. You can have them pick up your luggage and take it right to the ship. And then you'll see it at your stateroom on board, rather than you dragging your luggage, you know, down to sort of the parking garage, which is where everybody else has to drop off luggage.
So, yeah, it's super, super convenient. Tell me about embarkation day.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Yeah, so sorry, before I do that, I do wanna. I did get to go to Stanley park the day before.
[00:09:03] Speaker B: Oh, lovely.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Yeah, it was awesome. So I actually got, like, the day pass for, like, the public transportation in Vancouver.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: And so I took the train from the airport to the hotel, which was super convenient, and then just got on a bus straight to Stanley park, basically, like two blocks away from the Pan Pacific.
And I just had such a lovely time. It's just such a gorgeous park. The weather was perfect. I brought my book and I actually sat on a bench and read my book while the seaplanes were taking off and landing. And it was just. It was just such a lovely day. So I just wanted to give a shout out if you're in Vancouver. Stanley park, it's a great time.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. And the aquarium. The Vancouver Aquarium is right there in Stanley park, too. So if you've got kiddos and you're looking for something to do, that's also a great, like. I mean, the park is beautiful.
I've done a race in Stanley Park. It's a wonderful park in general. I mean, it's a huge park. It's like. Like a Central park kind of park. But also there's a lovely aquarium there, and they've got the giant octopus and. Yeah, it's really great aquarium. Yeah. All right, well, let's. Let's talk embarkation day.
What was the embarkation day process like? Was it, you know, smooth sailing? I feel like in Vancouver, it's usually pretty good. And for you guys, it's the very end of season. Right. The end of the end of the Alaska season. They should be a well oiled machine by the time you're there.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Yeah, so they should have been. I agree with that.
And I don't know if we just had just a bad experience. I've actually, you know, I've never heard someone talk about a bad experience out of Vancouver. So I think this might be a little bit of a one off experience. But so we got up, you know, we got up, we had breakfast in the little lounge. Like I said, we called the bellman, they got our bags, that was all lovely, perfect.
And then we got down there a little early, I'll admit. Maybe like 10, 15, 1020. So we were concierge, so we, I think the soonest port arrival time was 11, so I don't think we were supposed to be there till 11. We got down there a little early, admittedly. And when we got there, they were letting some people in, but we kind of got sort of not yelled at, but sort of sternly told that we weren't supposed to be there. And we had to come back at 11, but they were still letting some people in. So I'm not sure if maybe there was a miscommunication there, but we followed the directions and we said, yes, ma', am, we're very sorry. And we just sort of waited. They have like an area outside where you can kind of stand and watch the ship and watch them kind of load the stuff onto the ship and stuff. So we just sort of sat out there and it was a lovely day.
So me and my parents did that and came back at 11.
And so when we got back there at 11, we're now at the back of the concierge line because they were letting some people in. Right. And. And that's fine, it happens, we get it. But then once they start letting us through, and it was a little delayed, I guess there was a problem with some of the customs forms with the ship or anyways they started boarding or they started the process probably 1120, 1115, which. That part was fine. Right. That stuff happens. So once we started moving through the line, the person who checked us in, I don't know if it was her first day or maybe she was just having a bad day, but she couldn't pull up our names in the system.
And so we ended up having to show her. So I showed my QR code first. We ended up having to show her my mom's QR code to see if that one would work.
And then she ended up deleting the forms that we had uploaded.
[00:12:36] Speaker B: Oh no.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: And I watched her do it on the iPad. I mean, she hit the wrong button. But anyways. And so then we ended up having to like go to another desk and had to re upload all of our forms and stuff. It just, it made for a little bit of a sour start for the day.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Well, and if that stuff happens, they do end up usually sending you to a supervisor to kind of get it all fixed. But it is, it's just a, a frustrating way to start. I mean, embarcation day is kind of stressful. I always tell people like, is especially like until you've got your room. I feel like that's. Well, for me it's like until I've got my luggage and. And I'm in my room.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: But like it really is, you know, it's a lot of hurry up and wait type stuff. And so that. Yeah, I can understand that would be kind of a stressful experience. Yeah. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Let's, let's chalk it up to a port employee having a bad day and maybe not having the best training, which is unfortunate because I feel like generally speaking they're quite good, especially later in the season because they've been, you know, I mean the, the Wonder's been sailing by the time you're in Vancouver. The Wonder sailing there since early May. So like they should have everything, you know, a well oiled machine. All right, well how long does it take before you actually got on the ship then from like let's say, because 11 is when you're like finally in line. At what point do you actually walk on the ship?
[00:14:02] Speaker A: So I think we walked on the ship 12 or 12, 15 maybe. So it wasn't that bad. By the time you got through the line, we had to talk to the supervisor. Then you go through U.S. customs in Vancouver, which was. That part was very easy.
That was super fine. The security was great. All of that was easy. And then I think we waited in the little concierge waiting area for not, not too long, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. It really wasn't bad. So I think, I think we ended up boarding later than usual. But it, it, that part was all fine.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and the nice thing about that is then you're not, you're not having to go through customs on the other end, like when you get off in. I don't, I realized this when we went to Alaska. It didn't occur to me before because Norma were sailing, you know, to the Caribbean from, you know, from the US and so you have to go through customs when you come back, but because they have you go through customs at the start of your cruise in Vancouver, if you're going to Alaska or if you're going to Hawaii, when you get off in Hawaii, you don't have to do any customs. You're already. We already did it back in the.
[00:15:05] Speaker C: Right.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a, it's a very. Yeah, it's a kind of a weird different process.
All right, well, you guys have been on, have you been on the Wonder before, I'm assuming. Yes, yes.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: The Wonder is my. Not to spoil rapid fire later, but the Wonder is my favorite ship.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: So we've been on the Wonder. Yeah. Five stars. Five stars are the Wonder. Absolutely. All right, well, so you've, you're, you're heading on to the Wonder for the umpteenth time and your family name is announced.
How, how was that experience? Were you excited to get on this amazing cruise?
[00:15:40] Speaker A: Absolutely. It's just so magical. Right. Captain Mickey was up on the balcony waving down below, and they're announcing our names. It's.
I agree with you that I don't feel settled until I have my bags. But that moment when you're on the ship and they announce your name is really when it starts. You're on vacation now, right? It's real. You're here, you made it. This is such a fun experience.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Absolutely, yes. Oh, love that. Well, and as concierge, you are able to go to the sit down lunch or you can go, of course. Well, of course, any passenger can go to sit down lunch or to the buffet or to the pool deck.
It's your choice. But with concierge, I see most people opt for the sit down lunch because it's when you'll get to meet your concierge host. Did you guys do that?
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Yes, we did. So we ate the sit down lunch at Lumiere's.
Triton's on the Wonder.
I just got off 10 nights on the Wonder. You'd think I would know this. It's Triton's on the Wonder.
So we just, we did the sit down lunch there. And that's always just such a lovely way to start, I think. It's just you get a nice lunch, you get to relax, you know the chaos is outside, but you get to just kind of enjoy that peace and quiet in that space.
Our experience is usually the concierge hosts are in that room kind of coming around and introducing themselves and the services they provide and all of that. Stuff, I guess two of the three concierge hosts turned over that day. So it was two new hosts.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:17:05] Speaker A: And so because of that, there was only one host in there, and she was. She was working very hard, but obviously she just can't make it to the whole. The whole dining room. Right. But it was still. It was still a lovely experience.
We got to meet her kind of at the end. She, like, Amanda caught us as we were walking out and she's like, oh, no family come back. And it was. It was very funny. But we had a lovely. It's always a great lunch.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: Yeah, well. And shout out to Amanda. I love her. She is phenomenal. She was on. When we were on board in Alaska, that was the first time we had met her. And apparently she used to.
So she only recently came back to Disney Cruise Line. She worked on land for a number of years, but she worked in Paulo as a server before she, like, before she left and then now came back in and as a concierge host. And she's just fabulous. Absolutely. Yeah. Love her. I think she's, like, made for the job. Super personable. Wonderful.
Yeah. Well, let's. Let's dive into some of the onboard stuff since, of course, you've got 10 days. But the last kind of. What is it? Last four days are your port days. The first six days are your sea days. This is where it's very different on, you know, it's sort of a. It's a really a repositioning cruise because then the ship is headed to Sydney after it leaves Honolulu. But let's talk about those sea days because there's generally some special stuff that they do on board. The sailing that goes from Vancouver to Hawaii. Really all of these longer sailings, you get things like special performers, special lectures, maybe food demonstrations, things that you don't tend to get on, you know, a five night or even a seven night sailing. So let's talk about some of those things that they had on board, Casey.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So one thing that they did have that we actually didn't experience, but they did. And anyone can cook. So I guess they had some famous chef. And I'm not a foodie, certainly, as we'll learn as we continue here, but.
But I guess it was some famous chef that they had brought on board, and he did a series every morning where he kind of did a demonstration in the D lounge showing you how to cook and you got a recipe card. And we heard really great things from the people we talked to about that.
The other kind of. There was A lot of special things. Another one was they had this, like, performing group that, like, specializes in, like, Polynesian culture and Polynesian performances.
[00:19:32] Speaker B: Oh, cool.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Which. That was really cool. Ironically, they were based out of Orlando, which I just thought was a little funny.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Oh, that is really funny.
I mean, they couldn't get a group that's actually, like, based in Honolulu or something, right?
[00:19:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: And we had read, you know, some previous cruises that they had brought on people from Aulani or whatever. So this was kind of their replacement for that, it seemed like. But they were phenomenal. They actually did a performance in the concierge lounge one afternoon, which was really cool. But they were just. They were phenomenal. They were doing evening performances. They were doing some shows in one of the lounges. They were just. They were fabulous. They were a great addition to a unique sailing.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: I love that. What about Broadway performers? Did they bring on a couple? I mean. I mean, apart from the Broadway visiting performer that is typically in the shows, oftentimes on these longer sailings, they'll bring on a couple of, you know, Broadway or national tour performers that have done often the Disney productions. Right. Like somebody who used was in Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast on Broadway or the national tour. It's very common for them to bring those folks on board for some of these sailings. Did they have anybody like that?
[00:20:44] Speaker A: They did. So that was actually on the second half of the sailing after we were kind of going through all of our Hawaiian ports. But they brought on the original Tarzan from the Tarzan Broadway production and one of the Aladdins on Broadway. And they were just phenomenal. They did an adult only performance.
One of the evenings, that one was pretty late in the Walt Disney Theater. Like, it started at 10:30 or 11.
And then as one of the kind of main shows that they do opposite Dinner, they also did a kind of a performance where they sang, you know, a bunch of different Disney Broadway songs. And it was just. They were phenomenal. I mean, I was. I think it was an hour and a half and I was just on the edge of my seat the whole time. I mean, it was just.
They were. They did some duets and some solos and it was just from the beginning to end, phenomenal. They were incredible.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: I love that. I feel like they just.
I mean, these special sailings, the longer sailings or occasionally or DVC sailings are often ones that have these, like, special performers. Maiden voyages are another, you know, category of cruises that have special performers. But it's, I have to say, like, Disney just knocks it out of the park with these different acts.
And not to say that your regular magician or contortionist isn't a good act. I mean, Disney has some great people, some great magicians. They bring on board, some great comedians, but when you get some Broadway singers, really, there's nothing better, right?
[00:22:16] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. No, it's just phenomenal. And then another special thing that they had is they brought on someone from the Walt Disney archive. And he gave a presentation every morning during the Sea Days in the Walt Disney Theater. And we didn't catch all of them, unfortunately, but he was just, he was really interesting. He. Most of his, like, most of his presentations were presentations that he had given like at D23 or destination D in Walt Disney World or things like that.
He was just really, really an interesting speaker, just really fun. And because of the presentations were at some of, you know, normally at those kind of unique events, it was just really cool to get to experience that on the ship because, I mean, it's just so hard to get to Anaheim for D23 Expo or whatever. So it was just. He was really great. It was just really interesting stories about.
One of his presentations was sort of. It was called down the Rabbit Hole. And it was basically like, how can we connect this piece of Disney history to this piece of modern day Disney? And he would just kind of weave a trail of like, well, this piece of art was this artist. And this artist also wrote or also drew this piece of media. And in this piece of media, the song was written by this person. And it was just crazy, the connections that he weaved. It was just a really engaging presentation.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: Oh, I love that.
And you're right, it is hard to get to D23. I mean, I have. I will admit I've never been to a D23. It's got to fit in the schedule and got to get. Nathan has to be occupied and so it's hard to fit that in.
So it's kind of cool when they bring stuff on board. Well, let's talk about some of the things that you and your parents got up to on board and kind of what are your sort of favorite things that you do on board a Disney cruise, especially one with a lot of sea days.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: So truly my favorite thing to do is to just sit out on deck and sunbathe and enjoy the quiet cove pool and then sunbathe and I get to read my book. And that's probably like top tier my favorite thing to do.
It's always nice when we sail concierge to just have that space in the concierge lounge to just hang out.
We really like that space especially. The beginning of our cruise was pretty rocky, which is pretty common for the Pacific. But the first I think two days are pretty rocky. Pretty chilly leaving Vancouver and so it was just nice to have that indoor space. But we could still see the outside. We could. People watch. That's another one of my favorite activities.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Same. Love that.
[00:24:59] Speaker A: So, yeah, we just. That's what we did for probably most of. During the day especially. That's what we do most of the time is we just like to chill out. Ready?
[00:25:09] Speaker B: Love that. I gotta say. I mean, especially.
I mean, the Wonder has the best, in my opinion. Concierge lounge, like, it's. I mean, the Wish class has a lovely concierge lounge. I will admit I've been in the concierge lounge on the Dream class, but I've never actually sailed concierge on a Dream class ship. I think the dream class is sort of the lowest tier for the concierge lounge, Even though they redid it. And obviously it's.
It's at least on the dream they redid. In the fantasy, as we're talking right now, is currently in dry dock and so hers is getting redone as well.
But I still think, you know, even Magic and Wonder, they're different. The Wonder has a way nicer concierge lounge and of course has a concierge sun deck. So, yeah, fantastic space. And when it is chilly in the Pacific, you, you know, it's nice to be able to sit inside that lounge and have a. A nice cup of hot coffee, tea or.
Or hot chocolate, whatever, and eat all the. And eat all the little bites that they leave out for you every hour. Basically.
Yeah.
[00:26:13] Speaker A: There's nothing better than sitting in the concierge lounge with a hot cup of coffee and eating the like hazelnut chocolate covered Oreo that they put in the lounge every afternoon. That's by far my favorite.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: I will tell you. I had maybe the best figure and goat cheese prosciutto crostini in the concierge lounge on the Wonder. They only had it one day. I had never seen it before in the lounge. I had. I've seen. They always have like a. It's like this fig prosciutto sandwich that they have during tea time. That's wonderful. But this was a like warm crostini. I'm still having dreams about it. I just like. Yeah, there's just like some. These small bites that you can't get in other parts of the ship that they have in the lounge. So it is lovely. Well, I gotta, you know, I've gotta talk about, of course, about the shows.
You know, we would be remiss if, if we didn't. Now, one of the benefits of concierge is early access. Why don't you tell people about this benefit? Because I don't think everybody knows about.
[00:27:14] Speaker A: This, so you're going to be very disappointed. I'm happy to tell everyone about this, but we actually didn't experience a single.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: What?
[00:27:21] Speaker A: None of the three Broadway style shows didn't experience this cruise.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: We have experienced this before on a wonder class ship. And I think it's similar. Or the Magic class ship. I think it's similar across fleet.
They'll give you a location to go to about 45 minutes prior to showtime. And you show up at that location and they will give you kind of secret behind the scenes access to the Walt Disney Theater so you can pick your seat before they let kind of the masses into the theater. And it is truly lovely. I mean, we've literally sat front row for most of the shows at this point because of this benefit. It's incredible.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: Yeah, it's wonderful. And they also will hand you a popcorn and usually a bottle of water as you're walking in. But of course you can bring a soda or cocktail or whatever with you or order one from one of the waitstaff.
Yeah, I love this benefit. To me, that's like one of. I mean, of course, early booking for things is a huge benefit if you're sailing on concierge. But I actually think my favorite benefit is the early access to the theater. I will say I'm not sure the price tag is worth the.
Because it's a, it's a hefty price tag. But it is one of the benefits. If you're already going to do concierge, it's one of the benefits I think people should absolutely take advantage of. All right, well, let's, let's talk about some of the other stuff you guys got up to on board. And then we'll. And then we'll move over to the ports. Of course.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: Yeah, so we obviously, we love, you know, we go to the main dining room for dinner, the three rotational dinings. We love that experience.
We actually. For the first time. I know this is kind of blasphemy to be an 11th cruise and experience this for the first time. Palo brunch.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Oh, my God. You went. This is your first time at Palo Brunch. Oh, my God.
[00:29:10] Speaker A: Loved it. Oh, my gosh.
[00:29:11] Speaker B: Phenomenal. I can't believe you waited till sailing number 11. You waited until it was free or.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: We waited until it was free.
Included. Included. My dad would like me to point out, included included, not free.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: Fair. Yeah. So for those who don't know if you are. If you are a platinum cruiser or above, so platinum and pearl, you get. Get one meal at Palo. It's a price fixed amount included. And so it's for everyone in your stateroom. So even if you've got somebody in your stateroom who's not platinum. And it's only adults, I should say, because it's a specialty dining and only the specialty dining on Disney is only. Is adult only.
But. Yeah. So you. It's only Apollo. And you can pay it for brunch or for dinner. For dinner. It's just whatever the price fix amount is. I think it's up to $60 now. Something like that.
[00:30:04] Speaker A: 55 or 60?
[00:30:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's either 55 or 60. They just changed it. I just can't remember the exact amount. But it's. It's whatever the price fixed amount is. And so if you end up ordering a la carte instead of ordering the price fixed for dinner, then you will. It'll give you a credit for the amount that the price fix cost and then anything above that you pay for. But for brunch, it is. It's just everything except for alcohol is included because brunch is a price fixed fix all you can eat menu. And I cannot believe that you had not been to Palo brunch before. Kasey, that's crazy.
[00:30:38] Speaker A: I know. I'm honestly, like. I'm mad at ourselves that we waited this long after experiencing it. It was fabulous. They start off with bringing you these, like, warm pastries that are just to die for. I mean, I can't speak highly enough of these. These pastries. There was like this hazelnut chocolate croissant.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Just one thing. Yeah, yeah. And then they have the. They have the almond croissants and then they have like a Danish and then they have the plain croissants. Yeah. And then you could get the savory breads, too, which is like the pizza bread and the breadsticks and. And the. What's the other one? It's the.
Like a ciabatta kind of a bread too.
[00:31:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And so we did that too. And that was lovely. We had a. We had a pancake which was really good.
We tried.
We got a couple of the egg options. I don't remember an omelette and a quiche maybe I don't remember the other one, but that was really good. And then. Oh, my gosh, the best chicken parmesan I have ever had.
I know you guys have been talking about it. You're right.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: You're telling you.
I've been telling you to try this. I mean, I don't know how many shows. I've been telling you to try this chicken parmesan. Casey, I can't believe you waited this long, but I'm so glad you. I'm so glad you tasted it, and I'm so glad you agree. I mean, the standout for me is. Is the chicken parm. For Brian, it's the lasagna. I don't think you can go wrong with either of those options, to be perfectly honest.
Did you try one of the flatbreads or, you know, they're pizzas, flatbreads, whatever you want to call em.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: Yes, we also did that again. I can't remember which one we got, but that one was also lovely. It was just. It was just the bread, the flatbread was just so perfectly crispy and just the right amount of toppings. It was. That was lovely. Honest. We actually talked about it, me and my parents afterwards. And if we were to go back, I think we would just do the pastries at the beginning, the flatbread, and then we would split the chicken parmesan and the lasagna between the three of us. And we would be perfectly happy with just that experience.
[00:32:48] Speaker B: Yes. I say skip the pancakes and the eggs. I'm not saying they're bad, but I just think they're the stars and you're wasting precious stomach space. You only have so much stomach space.
Oh, yeah. I mean, if I like, I like, I. I would like to go for Paulo brunch like around lunchtime if I can. If I can get like an 11am reservation and I don't eat anything. I have a. I have a coffee. I have to have a coffee in the morning. But, like, I have a coffee and then I don't eat anything, and then I eat a huge brunch and then I eat like a. A light dinner. I have to admit, I still eat dinner.
[00:33:25] Speaker A: I mean, dinner's like six hours later. You gotta eat something.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: I gotta eat something. I mean, you know, it's. You know, it makes sense. All right, well, let's. Let's shift over to the ports, because you have some fantastic ports that you hit it all. All four in Hawaii.
What was your first port of call?
[00:33:43] Speaker A: So this was. It was kind of a weird. Itinerary so we actually started. We did a port day in Oahu in Honolulu. So even though we were disembarking there several days later, we actually did a port day there. And we actually didn't really. We didn't have a planned excursion that day. We've, like I said, we've been to Aulani a handful of times. We've been on Oahu before, so there wasn't really anything super high on our list. We were obviously going to be there again in a couple of days, so we just sort of got off and walked around.
I'll warn people if you're considering a Hawaii cruise, all of the ports are very industrial, so don't necessarily plan on being able to hang out around the port.
Now, Honolulu is maybe the one exception because it is sort of in their little downtown area.
But even that felt it was very.
It was more like a business park, more than like a. A fun place to, like, shop or anything. You could walk to the shopping mall. I think it was maybe a mile away.
That was a little too much for my parents to do. So we just sort of got off and walked around and got back on. We were maybe off the boat for an hour in Oahu.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: Okay, nice. Well, what was your second port of call?
[00:34:56] Speaker A: So then. So all of these places have cities, city names that I personally cannot pronounce. So I'm not going to try. So I'm just going to give you the islands in Hawaii that we went to. So next we went to Kauai, and we did have a shore excursion there. So it's the. This is probably the only one that I can tell you the Disney name for. But it was Sensational Kauai is what it was called.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: Sensational Kauai. I love the names they give them.
[00:35:22] Speaker A: Oh, I know. It's always great, right?
So we started in.
Obviously, you start in a Disney lounge. So we started in Fathoms. Is that what you call the wonder?
[00:35:35] Speaker B: It's Azure on the other.
[00:35:36] Speaker A: It's Azure on the wonder?
[00:35:37] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, Azure, yeah.
[00:35:40] Speaker A: Yes. So we started in Azure, got off, got on a bus, and they took us to a coffee plantation, which. That was just really fun. We walked around and got to kind of see how the coffee beans are grown and then how they're harvested and roasted. And then we got to try the coffee. At the end.
I wanted to buy some coffee, which we had the opportunity to do that for less than a half pound, was going to be over $50.
And I thought that that was a little steep.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: Wow, that's expensive coffee. I bet it's really good coffee. But that's. Yeah, that's expensive.
[00:36:16] Speaker A: Yeah, that was a little too much for me. So I did not. Did not buy any, but still had a lovely experience there. It was just really interesting learning about all of that.
And so then we got back on the bus, hit some traffic. So that was a little. Ended up being on the bus for longer than we were supposed to, but that was okay. A benefit of being on a Disney Shore excursion, right, is that they make sure that you're on schedule and you can't miss the boat. So definitely we were not worried.
But so from there, we went to kind of a farm on Kauai and we boarded a train and sort of the train took us all around the farm, and we got to see different, like, local Hawaiian plants and some just. Some like wild. Not wild, but domesticated boar and different things. And so that was. It was just sort of a fun kind of light experience. We were sitting on the train listening to the guy. That was. That was actually a lot of fun.
And then we finished that experience by trying authentic Mai Tai. And I didn't know this, but the Mai Tai that you like are used to ordering with, like, you know, it's kind of got the dark rum on top and the light rum on the bottom. That's sort of a modern version of the Mai Tai. But the classic Mai Tai still has both. Has two kinds of rum, the light and the dark rum. But then it's basically just lime juice.
I'm gonna get it wrong now, but it's lime juice, pineapple juice, and simple syrup, and that's it. And it was just.
It was lovely. It was so fresh and so light. It was completely different than what you would get in a Mai Tai at just like a bar. But it was. It was lovely. And the. The bartender that walked us through how to make it, she was just a lot of fun. It was just a fun experience.
[00:38:01] Speaker B: Oh, love that. Now, was this an adult only excursion or was this excursion.
[00:38:08] Speaker A: You know, that's a good question.
No, it had to have been a whoever excursion because there were kids with us, so it was definitely whoever. But obviously the kids didn't get the lights. I don't know.
[00:38:19] Speaker B: Yeah, they probably had a punch or something.
[00:38:22] Speaker A: I think they must have had a punch. I. We were in the back, so I actually didn't pay attention to that. I think it was pog juice.
[00:38:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like pog juice is always the. That's always the. Anything like Polynesian you get, like if it's for kids, like, it's pog juice or it's something with blue cure in it, like if they just wanted to.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Right. Because then it's blue. Yeah.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: Not blue Curacao, but the blue. Yeah, sorry. The blue cloud and blue. Yeah, Cloud and blue. Yeah, yeah, sorry. Yeah, sorry. I'm not giving my kid blue Curacao, but I love blue Curacao. I just think the color. I love the color. Awesome. Well, that sounds like a really good excursion then. It sounds like a fun.
[00:39:00] Speaker A: It was really nice and they got us back like one or two o'. Clock. So it was honestly perfect because then it was just in time to, like, have some lunch.
That was a really nice excursion. And it was. I mean, all of the Hawaiian islands are just so gorgeous. Right. I mean, they're just beautiful. Even on the farm that's like an active farm. I mean, just the views are just immaculate.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: Right.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: It's just incredible.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Yeah. What was your next port of call? Was it Hawaii or the Big island or Maui?
[00:39:26] Speaker A: Maui was next.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: Maui was next. Okay.
[00:39:28] Speaker A: And we actually. So this was actually on October 1, which will be relevant in a second.
And so we had a shore excursion to go up the big mountain. And I apologize, I'm gonna try to pronounce it. Haleakala, I think is right.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: Sounds good to me. I don't know. I don't know any better. Casey.
[00:39:50] Speaker A: That's close. I'm close. I'm pretty confident.
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Didn't they have volcano activity going on? If that is.
[00:39:56] Speaker A: So that's the next day. That was the Big Island. So spoilers. Sam, come on.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: Sorry. Sorry.
[00:40:05] Speaker A: But no. So, and this is a. It's a national park, Haleakala National Park. And it's, It's. So obviously you're at sea level when you're, you know, at the edge of the island. And the tip of this mountain is at over 10,000ft. It's like 10 or 11,000ft. And so you're, you're, you're going up pretty far up this mountain.
And thankfully we were actually really worried because of the current political environment and the government shutdown. We were actually worried going to a national park.
But it ended up being okay. All of the, like, there were no park rangers and all of the, like, there was no store, nothing like that. All of that sort of things were closed. But we could still have access to the park at least. So we took the bus up. A lot of switchbacks, a lot of back and forth. But it was actually kind of funny as you're Going out, it like, gets really, really, like, foggy. You're, like, literally going through the clouds.
And as soon as we got in there, the bus driver was like, don't worry about the fog. Like, it'll clear up by the time we get to the top. And sure enough, you keep going up the switchbacks and the fog clears and now you're above the clouds.
It was just breathtaking. I mean, just as you could see so far, you could see the other, some of the other islands. I mean, it was just, I mean, truly, truly breathtaking views. It was.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: Oh, that's so cool.
I am jealous. I have not been up there.
We have been to Maui once when we did the Hawaiian cruise on Celebrity. Gosh, many, many years ago now. It was 2010, so it was way before Nathan was born.
No, a few years before Nathan was born, but yeah, it was. But I remember Maui being beautiful, but we didn't. Yeah, we were only there for one day. And that's, that's the hard part about these beautiful Hawaiian itineraries because you really are only on each island for one day, and so there's only so much you can do. Yeah, it's such a short amount of time.
[00:42:10] Speaker C: Are you listening to our show because you want to make the most out of your next vacation. Great news. The fabulous team over at My Path Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel travel. My Path Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, relaxed at Aulani, and so much more. Whether it's a Disney cruise, a theme park vacation, or adventures by Disney, or if you are looking to expand beyond the mouse, My Path Unwinding Travel will elevate your next vacation planning experience. Even if you have already booked, reach out for a complimentary copy 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.
[00:43:08] Speaker B: Well, was it, was it, was that the extent of the excursion or did they take you any place else after the mountain view?
[00:43:15] Speaker A: Yeah, so that was about it. It was about like a 60 to 90 minute bus ride up and back. So. But we did, I will say we did stop at 2, 3 different places kind of in the national park we stopped at so we could see.
[00:43:28] Speaker B: Oh, cool.
[00:43:29] Speaker A: Different views, different views. And then the last time we stopped was basically at the kind of apex of the mountain and there was about maybe a half mile hike you could do to actually walk up to the top and back. And so I did that, that without my parents. But it was still. I will say if you're doing that excursion, that little half mile hike is a lot. There's, there's, it's not stairs, but there's like some pretty big rocks you have to climb up. Then yeah, I could do it fine. But I'm, I think if, just if you have mobility concerns or anything like that, be cognizant of that.
But that was really gorgeous. And then they took us back and we actually got back off the boat or I did, I actually got back off the boat and sort of walked again through a very industrial area and then walked across the street. And they had a strip mall, but it had some, some touristy places. So if you're looking for a tchotchke, like a shot glass or something, there is options there in Maui in the port that we stopped at, but not, not again, not a touristy strip mall, but they did have a couple of options there. So at least I got a shot glass for my collection there in Maui.
[00:44:40] Speaker B: I mean, you know, you gotta get whatever you collect. You gotta get, you know, something from each port. Right?
[00:44:45] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:44:46] Speaker B: Yeah. All right, well, your last port of call before, of course, going back to Honolulu is the Big island.
And there was, I remember I, we've talked with, with somebody else who was on your cruise. And I remember that was a volcanic activity going on while you all were there.
Did that impact your excursion and what did you do there?
[00:45:07] Speaker A: Yeah, so we did have an excursion that was the top of my list. When we planned this cruise, I told my parents, like, I have to see the volcano. Like we have to try and see the volcano while we're there. So we booked an excursion that took us to Volcanoes National Park. Again, same thing. Like kind of the ancillary offices and stuff were closed, but the park was still open. And they actually have a hotel there on the park that was also open.
And we actually had booked a guided tour through as part of our Disney excursion.
And so they took us to the volcano to. I think they call it Volcano House is the hotel. So we started there and did again, kind of a short hike, maybe half a mile, maybe even less than that, to kind of see the volcano from the volcanic crater from a couple different angles. And that's when we found out that it had erupted the day before.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:02] Speaker A: Which, I don't know, a little sad we missed it, I guess, but maybe also glad that we weren't.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: Probably good that you weren't. I mean, your tour probably would have gotten canceled. Yeah.
[00:46:11] Speaker A: Right. So maybe for the best, but it was still like kind of erupting with steam and gases. And so that was just.
I mean, again, I don't really have words to describe that experience. I mean, how often do you get to see a volcano spewing?
[00:46:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, seeing an active volcano, like, being active is kind of crazy. Like, that's a once in a lifetime opportunity. That's pretty cool.
[00:46:37] Speaker A: No, it was crazy. It was awesome. And our guide was super cool. She gave us all this fun facts about the volcano and the area and how the island is still growing, which is just wild to think about.
I mean, it was just. It was. It was lovely. And she. She definitely our tour guide, definitely, like. Like used to be or is a kindergarten teacher because she was just full of energy and like, just bouncing around all over the place and.
But no, it was great. And so then they took us back to Volcano House and we had.
I'm gonna call it a lunch. They had some light bites, some, like, flatbreads and some fruit, maybe something else. And then we also got a cocktail included as well. This one also wasn't adults only, but it was only adults on our excursion. There weren't any kids.
But that was also lovely. It was sort of in this big dining room that sort of overlooks the volcano with big bay windows. And it was just. That was just a really cool environment to just sort of have lunch, you know. It was just really cool. We had a great time.
[00:47:46] Speaker B: That's awesome. Well, you know, I did ask about it being, you know, whether it was the other one was adults only, but I should mention, you know, you probably didn't have a lot of kids on your sailing in general because you're talking about late September into early October. Just the timing of that cruise. I mean, the reason why we have not taken one of those cruises either, you know, either Vancouver to Hawaii or Hawaii to Vancouver or Transatlantic or a Trans Pacific, is just the timing is all. All of them. And Panama Canal is no exception. They're all during times where its school is in session, at least here in the States. Yeah. So Actually, was the sailing full? And were the. And what was the demographic of the people? You're shaking your head. No, it was not full. Did you get an idea of like how many people were on?
[00:48:39] Speaker A: So that's a great question. We actually usually we ask this question or find out, but I don't think we even asked anybody. But it definitely, I mean, you could tell it was not full. Right. I mean, none of the spaces were ever very busy. You know, I mean, I've been on cruises before where if you want to go to trivia, you gotta show up, you know, 15 minutes before trivia, especially if you want a seat at least.
But I mean, you could, you could show up right on time for things and find a seat and nothing was full.
The dining rooms, you could tell, were not full.
Our serving, our serving team only had three tables.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:49:13] Speaker A: Dining, which is. Yeah, I think they usually have five, so. Or maybe even six. And so anyways, definitely not a full sailing.
And you're absolutely right. Very few children. Very, very few children. I'll say most people, it was probably mostly couples or couples with their adult children. Kind of like my parents and I.
There were a handful of teenagers because you kind of saw the same, I don't know, maybe 10 or 15 teenagers, which was fine. They weren't doing anything. Right. But just.
[00:49:44] Speaker B: They just hang out with each other. Yeah, right, exactly. They just find each other and then they move as a little like mob around the ship.
[00:49:51] Speaker A: Yeah, a little amoeba.
[00:49:53] Speaker B: Exactly, exactly. And probably some little ones. Right. Some like, sort of young, like preschool age, I feel like, is often, you know, what you see. Yeah.
[00:50:03] Speaker A: And then agreed. And then there was sort of a gap of ages. And then. Yeah, you had kind of that really young kind of toddler. But even that wasn't very many. I mean, again, I don't know the numbers, but I mean, we saw the same maybe 20 to 30 toddlers. I mean, there wasn't a lot. Right. This was not a kid sailing for sure. And we didn't talk about it because we actually didn't experience it on this ship. But one of the other. Or this cruise. But one of the other cool things they do on these longer sailings is they in the evening, they often open the kids clubs with an adults only open house.
And so that's really cool. So we didn't actually experience this on this sailing, but I know they did like stitches, space goo just for adults. So if you're ever interested, if you want to build the space goo with just.
[00:50:49] Speaker B: I want to make the space goo.
[00:50:50] Speaker A: You got to go on one of these longer cruises. Yeah, great.
[00:50:54] Speaker B: Now they do have. I will say that's a great thing to point out, but they also do have oftentimes on a cruise one time where the. Where they'll have open house where you can do such a space school. Both parents and children or adults without children. Right. So they do have it at other times, but having an adult only version is lovely. I feel like they should serve cocktails. And while they're doing it, we did.
[00:51:21] Speaker A: It on our transatlantic cruise. And I don't think there were cocktails in there.
[00:51:25] Speaker B: Probably not, because they don't want to. It just creates, you know, more sticky spaces and just for cleaning purposes is probably why they keep. Probably they keep alcohol out of there in general.
[00:51:35] Speaker A: So, yeah, probably for the best. Just in general. You don't want to, like, leave your glass somewhere.
[00:51:41] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: Maybe not for the best.
[00:51:45] Speaker B: Well, before I subject you to some rapid fire, Casey, is there anything that we've missed that we haven't talked about? I mean, you debarked in, in. In Hawaii, in Honolul. You guys go to Aulani for a few days.
[00:52:00] Speaker A: So we were actually, me and my dad had some pretty lengthy conversations about this. So we actually had a hotel booked in Waikiki and a hotel booked in Aulani.
And we went back and forth. We were wrestling with it. We've only ever stayed at Aulani when we're in Honolulu. And so we decided, well, it's just for one night, so let's do. Let's do Waikiki. Let's experience that side of the island and see what that's all about. And so we actually stayed at the Moana Surf Rider, which is a Westin. And I just bring it up specifically. It was phenomenal.
I'm not like, I'm not getting paid by them, but it was truly incredible. I would highly recommend it. Obviously, Alani is gorgeous and lovely and can't speak highly enough of that either. But if you're looking for another kind of experience, if you're looking for something else, consider them a surf rider. Just the level of service we got. And remember, we just got off a concierge level. Sailing, like, the level of service we were already getting was quite high. So to have one night at this hotel, just the level of service was incredible. Our flight wasn't until really, really late the next day. And they gave us a 5pm checkout.
[00:53:11] Speaker B: Time, which, holy cow, that's unheard of.
[00:53:14] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:15] Speaker A: So we basically got two days at the hotel for the price of one, basically.
I mean, it was just phenomenal. We. They had the, like, beach chairs, and it was. It was just. It was lovely. We. We got two beach days out of the deal, and it was well worth it. We really.
[00:53:31] Speaker B: That's awesome. I don't think I've ever heard of a. Of a late checkout that's been later than, like, 1pm and that's, like, ultra late. I think most places will give you till noon. Like, if you're. If 11:00am Is the normal checkout, they might let you stay an extra hour till noon. And I think we've had. I can't remember which hotel it was, but they let us stay till, like.
But other than that, you're booking a day room if. If the. Yeah. Or another night. Right. Depending upon what the. You know, like, the. We. The. I think of a day room because we think of the Hyatt MCO will let you book a room for the. For the day, and that's really nice because you get the whole day but not the night. And, you know, and if you have a late flight out of mco, that's a great option, but, yeah, fantastic. I mean, you basically got a day room for free. That's awesome.
[00:54:16] Speaker A: It was incredible.
[00:54:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:18] Speaker A: Yeah, we really. We really enjoyed it. Now, my dad. Full disclosure. I guess my dad does have some status with Marriott. Not the highest status, but he does have some status. So maybe that helped. But truly, if. Again, if you're looking for a place to stay. Moana, Surf rider. It's a Weston. It was great.
[00:54:32] Speaker B: Awesome. Awesome. All right, well, now I think it's time for some arbitrary rules, some arbitrary questions, and a dash of judgment or the round we call rapid fire. All right.
[00:54:43] Speaker A: I'm so excited. Excited.
[00:54:44] Speaker B: I'm so excited too, Kasey. Okay, we're gonna start with your Disney favorites, and then we're gonna talk Disney cruise line favorites, of course. Let me ask one question. You've been on all of the Disney ships at this point, is that right?
[00:54:55] Speaker A: I haven't. So I've only been on the four. The first four. So I haven't been on the Wish yet. No. So here's. So here's the problem. Sam and I know you guys understand we're a concierge family. We like concierge very much. And they're just really proud of those concierge rooms on the Wish class right now. Really?
It's tough to justify. We. My dad and I really want to book a treasure cruise. We've been looking at them trying to Find a date that works, but we just can't. I think we're gonna end up doing it with. Not a concierge room, honestly.
[00:55:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:55:29] Speaker A: Two rooms.
[00:55:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:55:31] Speaker A: Regular rooms for the price of what we usually would get a one bedroom for. I mean, it's just been crazy.
[00:55:36] Speaker B: Yes, you. I mean, you're absolutely right. And. And it. It is definitely hard to justify the price. I say go on the Treasure and go non concierge. I don't think that concierge on the Wish class. Oh, this People are going to hate on me about this. I don't think concierge on the wish class is worth it. I. I really only think worth it on the magic class, though. So I'm maybe like. And. And even then, I think it's only worth it, like, some of the time. Right? Like, for a special occasion. But, you know, I. It's. I just. I'd rather sail multiple cruises. I. I think the wish class has a really nice concierge lounge, but I. I just feel like you miss out on other parts of the ship because you spend so much time in the lounge. And the Treasure is so amazing. I'm like. I'm preaching to the choir. But, like, Casey, you have to go on the Treasure as a Parks person, especially, like, you're gonna love it. Okay, well, let's jump into Rapid Fire. We're gonna start with your favorite Disney character. And as always, Disney means everything and anything Disney owns. So it's really anything in the world. Pretty much, yeah.
[00:56:38] Speaker A: So I really struggled with this because I was. I knew that these questions were coming. I think I'm gonna say Cassian Andor. And that' probably just because I just finished the most recent season of Andor, but Cassian Andor.
[00:56:50] Speaker B: I. I gotta tell you, I love that answer. I. Absolutely. You've already won Rapid Fire because I love. I love Cassian. I love that series. I'm obsessed with it. I honestly think it might be next to, like, the Wire. It might be my favorite. Like, like, top. It's definitely top five TV series series, period.
And it might be, like, top two. Like, yeah, the Wire, West Wing. Like, these are. These are, like, high. You know, this is high praise, I think, to give andor that. That level. All right. Favorite Disney movie.
[00:57:26] Speaker A: So I think I'm gonna throw a curveball here a little bit and say Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie.
[00:57:31] Speaker B: All right. Love that. Favorite Disney song.
[00:57:34] Speaker A: See, this one was hard. I just. I have so. I want to give so many answers to this question. I know, but I'm sticking with my beau, the Beast. I'll just. I'll say Beauty and the Beast as my favorite song, but close second is At Last I See the Light from Tangled. That one. Whenever that one comes on, I just smile. So.
[00:57:53] Speaker B: Same.
[00:57:53] Speaker A: Maybe both.
[00:57:54] Speaker B: Yeah. I love that song. I. I would put that one above Beauty and the Beast. I love the movie Beauty and the Beast, but I think I like the song At Last I See the Light better. Yeah. Anyway, I mean, all great. All great options, though. And I do think the song, my favorite song, changes, like, from day to day. You know, for a while it was surface pressure. That's still up there, but it's not. I can't say it's probably number one anymore. All right, favorite Disney Cruise Line stage show. And I mean the main stage shows.
[00:58:22] Speaker A: I think my answer to that one is Tangled Magic.
[00:58:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:58:26] Speaker A: I just love. I love that whole experience. You get to eat there. Well, depending on your rotation. Right. You get to eat there. They turn the bar into the Snuggly Duckling and then you can see the show.
It's just such a tangled filled day and it's just like, lovely.
[00:58:41] Speaker B: It is. But they don't turn the bar into Snuggly Duckling anymore.
[00:58:45] Speaker A: No. Are you serious?
[00:58:47] Speaker B: No, because now it's Soul Cat Lounge and so it's just. Yeah, they don't do any heartbreaking. I'm sorry to tell you, Casey. Yeah, they don't. There's no Snuggly Duckling bar.
[00:58:56] Speaker A: Makes sense, though, but. Oh, that's sad. Okay, well, we.
[00:59:01] Speaker B: I mean, I will tell you when they were. When they did the dry dock on the magic, and we knew that that bar was getting re themed and everyone was hoping, including us, that it would be Snuggly Duckling because it would be perfect. Just like on the Wonder, you've got French Quarter Lounge. Right outside of Tiana's, you would have Snuggly Duckling right outside of Rapunzel's. And then they put the Soul Cat Lounge, which I have to say, the Soul Cat Lounge is beautiful. It's a great space.
No, not hating on it, but it's still. I'm going to say this till the cows come home. It should have been the Snuggly Duckling and they would have knocked it out of the park.
All right.
Okay. Favorite bar space across the fleet.
[00:59:39] Speaker A: Across the fleet. That's a. That's a good question.
I really like what. What's the club kind of atmosphere on the Fantasy. It's the tube, Right.
[00:59:48] Speaker B: The Tube. Yeah.
[00:59:49] Speaker A: I just like that the London theme in there. It's really fun. I'll admit that I turned. That my first cruise after I turned 21 was on the fantasy, so maybe that helps a little bit. I was in college.
That was sort of the vibe I was going for, maybe, but I'm gonna say the tube.
[01:00:05] Speaker B: Awesome. That's a great one. All right, favorite onboard activity, if I can say.
[01:00:10] Speaker A: Just like, hanging out at the quiet cove area, especially on the Wonder. I learned this. This trip. It's really nice. You can set up in the concierge sun deck, which is kind of above the sun deck, and then just sort of walk down a couple of flights of stairs, dip in the pool, come back, go back and forth. That's. I could spend the rest of my life doing that, and I would be perfectly happy. I would run out of money, but I'd be perfectly happy.
[01:00:32] Speaker B: Absolutely love that.
All right, favorite rotational dining. Is it Rapunzel's royal table?
[01:00:39] Speaker A: It's not, actually. It's Tiana's, for sure.
I love the. Just the, like, jazzy music they play in there. It's just. It's just such a fun vibe. I do wish sometimes it was a smidge quieter, but it's a great vibe. I love it.
[01:00:52] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. It is. It's a big party. It's Mardi Gras. You get like. Yeah. And then both, if you're there on a longer cruise, get music both nights. One is Mardi Gras night, and one's just. You get the band. It's still. Yeah. Awesome. All right, we're gonna talk food. Now that we're on dining, I gotta ask you a sweet item and a savory item. We start with the sweets, because, as everyone knows, my favorite are the savories. So I saved the best for last. I would end a meal with a pretzel with a. With a soft Mickey pretzel if I could.
[01:01:22] Speaker A: Perfect.
[01:01:23] Speaker B: But, yeah, let's start with a sweet item. A favorite sweet item on board a Disney cruise. And it can come from any space. It can even come from the. You know, it can even come from Paulo, so.
[01:01:32] Speaker A: So this is going to be a little blasphemous, and I understand that, but I don't love the Disney cruise line desserts. And I know I've heard a couple of other people mention that, too. I just. They look so appetizing, and then they're just so disappointing. And a lot of times they just don't taste like anything to me. And so I find myself ordering Just like a Mickey bar. A lot of the times. I, um, but there was, I don't know, I, I should have looked up the menu before this. There was like a chocolate something on the menu at Palo Brunch and it was lovely. It was like, it was like a lava cake kind of.
[01:02:10] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[01:02:11] Speaker A: It was like a play on a lava cake. It was lovely. It was just, it was hot and it was, it was ooey gooey and melt in your mouth. And the ice cream, it was like a hazelnut ice cream or something that was with it and it was, that was lovely. So I'll say that for sure.
[01:02:26] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I will agree with you being not a huge dessert person myself. Like, I, I think there's only a few desserts on Disney Cruise line that I think are sort of worth the calories for. Right. Like to me, one of them is that Oreo cheesecake at Embarcation Day lunch. And then I love the soft serve ice cream on deck. I, you know, there's every.
I used to eat the sticky date pudding anytime it was on the menu and now I'm kind of, I of got sick of it because I think I had it too many times. It's good, it's. But it's like one of those ones where I just, Yeah, I just, I, I, I just, Yeah, I would order it like every night they would bring it from the other restaurant.
So now I'm off that ziggy tape pudding. But yeah, I, I feel ya. All right. A favorite savory item on a Disney cruise.
[01:03:16] Speaker A: Absolutely. That Chicken parm.
[01:03:17] Speaker B: Yes.
[01:03:18] Speaker A: From Palo. No questions.
Just absolutely no question.
[01:03:23] Speaker B: Awesome. Okay, this is a very important question because you've been on the magic class and you've been on the dream class, but you haven't yet been on the wish class. So I'm only going to ask you two of the three, which is aquadunk versus aquaduck.
[01:03:38] Speaker A: See, I knew you were going to ask me this one too. I think I'm going to say the AquaDunk and maybe it's just because I have an affinity for the classic ships, but it's just such a fun, quick, short, exhilarating. You can just kind of run up and do it over and over again, which I really like.
We try to hit it when it's not as busy, so that's easier to do.
But the AquaDuck is great. But it seriously is more like a commitment. The AquaDunk is just quick, short. All right, that was great.
[01:04:07] Speaker B: It is more of. I like that analogy it's more of a commitment. I love it.
Okay, you previewed this at the beginning of the show, but I'm going to ask the question anyway. Which one is your favorite, favorite ship?
[01:04:20] Speaker A: Absolutely. The Wonder. It's just, it's the right size, the spaces aren't too busy. I don't think it's the. Obviously the concierge lounge is my favorite, which helps, but I just, I love that ship. It's just such a great ship.
[01:04:33] Speaker B: Awesome. All right, the final question of Rapid Fire. What is your bucket list cruise? If you could go anywhere in the world on a Disney Cruise Line ship, and it doesn't even have to be someplace that Disney Cruise Line currently sails. It just needs to be near water. Where are you going?
[01:04:48] Speaker A: I think I'm gonna say Australia, just because. And I know they are doing that now and they're about to not do them anymore, which is disappointing. But I just think that that's a part of the country I've always wanted to explore. Australia, New Zealand, and it's just so hard to get over there. And I think that would be cruising kind of around and seeing different places in Australia I think would be such a perfect way to experience that after you've done the hike to get there.
[01:05:12] Speaker B: So. Yes, absolutely. Totally agree. I think what. Unfortunately one, what they did in Australia, New Zealand doesn't really cater to us because that's what I want to do too. Right. But they're really doing, you know, they've been doing these sort of sailings just out of, well, one port at each time, you know, as they. And then reposition instead of doing longer cruises where you get to see a whole bunch of places. But yeah, it's disappointing that they're not going back to Australia after this last season.
But, you know, we'll see. There'll be new destinations and while you're going to have a West coast based ship. So that's a good trade off, I would say.
[01:05:49] Speaker A: Well, absolutely.
[01:05:50] Speaker B: Casey, I got to ask you, what is next? You talking about the Treasure, but what do you have booked? Or what is. What are you going to book next if you don't have anything booked currently?
[01:06:01] Speaker A: So we actually don't have anything booked currently, which is really sad. We usually try to do a cruise a year and right now we, we don't have a cruise booked for next year.
I actually just personally went on a trip with my friends to Alaska this past year. But we are talking about maybe doing a big family trip that now that I've gone on it and spoke the praises of it. Of course now more people want to go and so maybe a bigger family trip to Alaska next year.
But then I'm advocating pretty fiercely for the Treasure, so I don't know, we'll see where we end end up, but probably looking at something this time of year next year. So we'll see.
[01:06:38] Speaker B: Awesome. Well, you'll have to come back and tell us about it because obviously, I mean either is a great option. Alaska on Disney. I know you went on Holland America recently for Alaska, but there's nothing better than, you know, Disney in Alaska and then the Treasure just can't be beat. It's like such an amazing ship. So either is a good option. But with that I'll just say thanks so much for coming on the show and joining me today guys.
[01:07:04] Speaker A: Casey thanks so much Sam. This was a lot of fun. I really appreciate it.
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