[00:00:00] Speaker A: I hear you, Andrew. You've still got a list of things that you want to do on the Destiny, but so far, so far, what has been your favorite experience on the Destiny?
Hmm.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: It's hard to. Hard to just pick one.
[00:00:20] Speaker C: It's hard to pick one. I know.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome back, everybody, to this week's live episode of the DCL Duo podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding travel. And also our good friends over at the DCL Magazine. Want to send them some love. If you have not already, head over to dcl-magazine.com today and use code DCLDUO ALL CAPS. That's DCLDUO ALL CAPS to take 10 off everything, everything in the wdw magazine store, including the DCL magazine and all of the fun, swag and merch that you can get from them.
People love them a lot. Show them some love. Because showing our sponsors some love is showing us some love. So head over to dcl-magazine.com to get your subscription today. All right, Sam, I'm speeding through this because we got a fun show and a lot to talk about. I'm going to go ahead and. Go ahead and bring in our guests and welcome back to the show. Vanessa and Andrew, welcome.
[00:01:27] Speaker D: Hi.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:01:28] Speaker D: How are you? Good. We're excited to be back.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: We're excited to have you back. For those of you who don't know, Vanessa and Andrew, on to talk all about accessibility on Disney Cruise Line, where we talked about all three classes of ships and, like, which ones have better, like, hallways, which ones have better dining spaces, which ones provide better accommodations for wheelchairs and scooters and the like. And so we have a great show. It's in our back catalog. It's on YouTube. I'd highly suggest watching it on YouTube because we have a great presentation with visuals along with it. And of course, today we have the same wonderful guest back with us and of course, another wonderful presentation with visuals. So for those listening over on the podcast channels, maybe think about heading over to YouTube and watching our show on video because then you can see all the wonderful, you know, visuals that go with the show. But we're super excited to welcome Vanessa and Andrew back. Andrew has a YouTube channel, Accessible Adventures with Andrew. You can find him at YouTube on YouTube at. Andrew Prince. Prince, like Prince Charming. And Andrew just spelled Andrew right?
Andrew, why don't you tell folks what kind of stuff you like to highlight on your YouTube channel?
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Well, I like to highlight my travels.
[00:02:57] Speaker A: Like,
[00:02:59] Speaker B: it's just been a little good travel along with me kind of Kind of like.
The Holgate family.
[00:03:13] Speaker C: Yeah, kind of like the Holgate family. I love that. I love that. You guys do a ton of videos.
[00:03:20] Speaker D: Yeah, he's branched out. He's doing like a Florida section and other place we've been to like South Carolina. Different things like that. He's covering instead of just. It used to be just Disney, but now we're doing a lot of different things.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: I love that.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Sam, we should cover the three quick. We're gonna make these really quick hits on the news because frankly they're news items. But two of them at least require a skilled travel agent to navigate or a lot of reading on your part.
And so actually I'm gonna try to tackle all three really fast so we can get onto the show. So we were talking about it beforehand and Sam was gonna try and tackle one, but there's too much legal disclaimer knowledge to go into some.
First, we just wanted to say that Disney Cruise Line does have an offer up on its website to save up to 30% off voyages on select sailings. You can head over to the website to find this offer. It will list out for you which sailings are eligible for the offer and there are a bunch of important details and restrictions that apply.
[00:04:14] Speaker C: Hence my comments only. Yeah, that sort of a thing. And then there's only specific ships, specific sailing dates, that sort of a thing. So we are not going to go
[00:04:22] Speaker D: through what all they are full payment
[00:04:24] Speaker A: required for everybody at the time of booking for some of these sailings.
[00:04:26] Speaker C: So like just like GTY categories and whatnot.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: So use a travel agent. That's what I'm going to tell you. Use a travel agent, they can sort this out for you.
Similarly, Disney Cruise Line is now doing some onboard bounce back offers. So if you sail on Disney Cruise Line, you can book a stay. I, I can't remember if it's limited to deluxe resorts or if there's like a tiered percentage off, but essentially you could within. I think it's.
[00:04:51] Speaker C: I think that's. That, that's your percentage.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's within seven. Let me just check here.
[00:04:56] Speaker C: No, it's 14 days.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: 14 days. Yeah, I got it, I got it,
[00:05:00] Speaker C: I got it, I got it.
Disembarkation. Sorry.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: I got it, I got it. It's a new special offer. Guests can save up to 35% off of a Walt Disney World Resort hotel stay after disembarking. You have to book within 14 days of disembarking to get the offer. And there are also some limitations on the date ranges when the offer will apply again.
See Disney Cruise Line or Walt Disney World for details. Or better yet, contact a travel professional who can sort of figure out if your stay is going to fall within the window and you're actually going to save some money or not.
Third piece of news that we just want to bring up, Adventure will be arriving at her home port in Singapore later today, which is tomorrow, so check your flux capacitors. I have the.
[00:05:48] Speaker C: I don't even know. It might actually be after midnight tonight, so it might be March 3rd even here, but it's going to be on March 3rd, Singapore time. I just don't can't tell you exactly what time because I can't figure out the time conversion exactly.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: I have the Marina Bay Cruise center in Singapore live cam up on the side over here. So if I happen to see her sailing wistfully into the bay, I will try to pull it up so that we can all watch for a minute together. But I don't, I don't think she's due to arrive. It's 9:26am there and I don't think she's due to arrive until almost 5 o' clock this evening in Singapore time. So I guess mark your calendars. But she will be arriving in Singapore for the first time later tomorrow, our time and her time. I suppose so anyway.
[00:06:33] Speaker D: Yes, exactly.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: So there you go. There's the Disney Cruise Line news.
[00:06:37] Speaker C: The other thing you forgot to mention, Brian, is we booked the DVC member cruise on Saturday.
We're very excited to be going on the cruise, but I'll just tell you it was a mess. It was a hot mess. Express like bookings were supposed to open at 7am Pacific, 10am Eastern Time for two hours. We're calling, we're calling, we're calling. And we kept getting the message that they were closed. So clearly somebody had not flipped or completely completed the flip, the switch from the offline to the we're open and the new menu. But they posted on the website at some point about an hour and a half in that they were having technical difficulties. And then maybe 10 minutes before 9am Pacific Noon Eastern, they posted we will be open at 9am Pacific at noon Eastern. So we had like 10 minutes to rest and like eat something so that we could get back onto the phones.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: So in the words of Dennis Leary, or not Dennis Leary, Dennis Miller, I don't want to get off on a rant here and I'm going to stop, I'm going to stop myself from doing that, I'm just going to say two quick things. One is a huge thank you to Mr. Chad Pennycuff at the My DVC Points podcast. If you are DVC fan and you are not a Patreon of his podcast head over there because he sent his Patreon supporters like the phone tree cheat sheet to get like right into the queue. We dialed at 9am we were clearly the first person that our person had talked to, got booked right away and very smoothly and would not have been able to do that without Mr. Chad Pennycuff's help over there at mydbc points. So thank you so much, Chad for sending us that cheat sheet. Second, kudos I do want to give out for this debacle is that Disney Cruise Line did offer everyone who booked a $50 onboard credit stateroom credit for the inconvenience of having to have been up so early and try to dial phones and not getting through. So kudos to Disney Cruise Line for doing that. And that's I will reserve. I will not rant. So there we go.
[00:08:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I just want to say I know a ton of people who weren't able to get through, who were on hold, who got disconnected, who didn't end up getting to book or only got to put themselves on the wait list. And I know it was just a mess and so I feel horrible for the experience and if like for the community out there it was like just not a good experience. I gotta ask Vanessa and Andrew. You guys are dvc.
Did you book the DVC member cruise?
[00:08:59] Speaker B: No, we didn't.
[00:09:00] Speaker D: I decided when I saw the pricing for even just the two of us that I'd rather go on like three or four other cruises than just the one for the week. And plus we had to factor in the, you know, flying out there. You know, it was adding way up.
Yeah, yeah, I should, I should say. And that was probably an inside room,
[00:09:19] Speaker A: I should say for everyone out there. The cruise is now showing. I just checked the website. Fully sold out. Fully sold out. There is a wait list. If you didn't get through, you can actually your name to the waitlist. We've heard from several people online. I put my name on the last waitlist. I did get through eventually. So like it's there if you want it. Totally agree, Vanessa. The points chart was ridiculous. Yeah.
[00:09:39] Speaker C: And so we had considered booking concierge for that sailing before we saw the point chart and the prices. And then we pivoted very quickly to a ocean view, non veranda stateroom. We even Considered I started looking at, like, those secret porthole, you know, inside staterooms that actually have a partial view, but we ended up just booking an ocean view. But yeah, it was not.
The price was. Was absolutely insane. All right, well, we will. Let's. Let's move on to your side by side sailing. You sailed on the Dream and the Destiny. You guys are Pearl cruisers at this point. You're professional cruisers. Really, Vanessa? How many times have each of you sailed?
Let's just say in this past year, because.
[00:10:29] Speaker D: I know.
I think it was five times this past year. So I'm up to 38 and Andrew's at 32.
[00:10:36] Speaker C: Yeah, we're just my goal.
[00:10:38] Speaker D: I was cast away.
[00:10:39] Speaker C: You got to catch up to mom. Yeah.
[00:10:42] Speaker D: Well, if you want to take him, go ahead.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: You guys are gonna get your plaque before we do. That's impressive.
[00:10:47] Speaker D: I know my goal.
[00:10:50] Speaker C: Yeah, you guys are definitely gonna get your plaque before we do. You definitely. Well, and even though you're in Ohio, you still sometimes in Florida and you're closer to the ports than we are, so. Absolutely. Well, what made you guys. I know. I mean, we were on the Destiny maiden voyage with you all, which was wonderful to get to spend some time together. But what made you decide to book this side by side cruise out of Port Everglades on the Dream and the Destiny?
[00:11:20] Speaker D: Well, we were already on the Destiny and we were going to be driving down to Fort Lauderdale. And I said, well, if we're going to be driving, let's make the most of our time down there. And I looked around to see if there were any side by side cruises, and it just happened to be a three night dream before it. And so I'm like, okay. And then I also happened, being DVC looked at my points, I'm like, I have so many points, I'm going to lose them because I didn't bank them and do all the other stuff. Yeah. So I'm like, you know, I know people say it's not a good deal, but for me, it's better than losing them. So I used our points.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: I'll let you know the secret, Vanessa. I'll let you know the secret. We used points to book our DVC sailing because I was like, I don't think we're going to use these points anyway. So. Yes.
[00:12:03] Speaker D: Not a yeah, yeah, well.
[00:12:06] Speaker C: And yes, you can. And Chad will tell us. He was on the show not too long ago. He told us, like, you can rent your points for more and then pay for your cruise with cash. The problem with that is then you have to go through the rigmarole of finding somebody to rent from or using one of the rental stores, which there are. Are two major ones. There's DVC Rental Store, and then there's David's Vacation Rentals. And both of them are, you know, reputable sources to be able to rent your points through. But you still have to match up with somebody who wants your points. Right. And so if you're. If you're worried about losing those points, you haven't banked them in time or you can't because you, you know, it's too. It's past the time to bank them. I. I definitely think it. While it's not the best use of points, it's if you're going to lose them anyway. Of course you want to do that. Right.
All right, well, I gotta ask each of you what you were looking forward to the most. Let's start with the dream.
Andrew, what were you looking forward to the most with going back on the Dream?
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Just being back on the ship. We haven't been on the.
For a long time.
[00:13:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
Since 2021, when cruising came back. That was our first ship back on.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: Oh, wow. So, yeah, it's been years since you were on the Dream. And then what about for the Destiny? What were each of you. I'll start with Andrew again. What were you looking forward to about the Destiny?
[00:13:39] Speaker B: Just doing the things that we couldn't do on the Maiden.
[00:13:43] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: We still have a West.
[00:13:48] Speaker D: You still have a list?
[00:13:49] Speaker C: You still have a list.
Vanessa, was it that the same for you? And what were the things you were. What were the things you were going to. Hoping to get on. Do on the Destiny?
[00:14:00] Speaker D: Well, we had. Like Andrew said, we had quite the list of things we didn't get to do on the Maiden because there's just so much to do on that ship.
And a lot of it crosses over on each other, so you have to kind of pick.
So we hit our list, but we were also with a lot of our friends, so hanging out with them and doing some trivia and teaching them some of the ropes of the Destiny and everything. But we enjoyed catching all the shows with Zaya and Gamble and again, just seeing things we didn't see before.
[00:14:30] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's start with this great picture of you guys. Is this on the deck of the Dream?
[00:14:38] Speaker D: Yes. Yep. That morning before we were switching over.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: So what clued you in there, Sam? Was it the giant yellow lifeboat hanging over their heads?
[00:14:46] Speaker C: Well, I mean, you could.
[00:14:47] Speaker D: We got Destiny behind us.
[00:14:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I Mean, I thought that was the Destiny behind you, but I guess it could have been the dream behind you, but that was, that was my guess. You know, we got to narrate for the people who can't see the pictures.
[00:14:59] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: What we need is the standard reminder from Brian. Please head over to YouTube to watch all of these great visuals that we're going to present you with. So if you're listening to the audio podcast and actually I am, I am going to be looking into for everyone out there. Apple Podcast has now started really supporting video podcasts on their platform. So we may look at pushing these video podcasts out as the, as the main show. So if, if you have the wherewithal, you can just pick up your phone, not while driving, and watch the visuals too.
[00:15:23] Speaker E: So there you go.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: Yeah. Or you could let the visuals play while you're driving and just listen. Right.
We try to trade as much as we can of what we're seeing, but there's a great picture of Vanessa and Andrew on the deck of the Dream with the Destiny in the background as both ships are parked in port at the same time.
All right, what's the next slide, Brian?
[00:15:44] Speaker A: I'm headed over there now.
There we go.
[00:15:46] Speaker D: All right.
Oh, that's. What are we looking at? One of our friends, I think they were at the Hilton and they took a photo for us of the two ships so we could see what we couldn't see from our.
From Deck 4.
So you can see the Dream and then.
Yeah, and they just started doing this just maybe a couple months ago where before the Dream was down at like terminal 26 or 22 or 24, somewhere further on into the port. And they just started bringing them, been at 2 and 4 recently. So this is kind of new for them on how these side by sides are working, sharing the same parking garage and everything else. So believe me, they don't know. They don't know what they're really doing yet.
[00:16:33] Speaker C: Well, you know, that's a really good point because if you are transferring from one ship to another ship in a side by side sailing, which is what we've called it, where it's not a back to back because you're getting off of one ship and getting onto a different ship versus a back to back where you're staying on same ship, but you have to, you know, disembark and just re embark the same ship.
And we've called side, we've called side to side or side by side a little bit more liberally than maybe others have. I mean I think the classic kind is where you're getting off on the same day and getting on the next ship on the same day. But sometimes it doesn't work out that perfectly and you have a day in between or a couple of days even in between. And this one obviously worked out where it was on the exact, exact same day. But it's interesting because you obviously the ship can't be in the exact same terminal because they can't be on top of each other. So you have, you have to move from one spot to another to get on your new ship. And I'm, you know, one of the things we've been very curious about is sort of the, the communication from Disney. And I know you've got a slide here that will helpfully show us that when it comes to the side by side sailing, so. Oh, there we go. Look at that, perfect timing. Okay, so we got this letter from Disney Cruise Line.
Vanessa, give us just a summary of what the letter says because it might be too small for some people to read it.
[00:17:53] Speaker D: Well, actually I'm gonna take a couple steps backwards because before we even got to the ship and we were doing check in and even before check in I had called a DCL and asked, how is this gonna work?
Will I be able to go to my car and pick up things, drop off things, we're in the same parking garage, everything. And I talked to like four different people, got four different answers. I mean at one point somebody said, well, when you get off the dr, you won't be able to get on the destiny till 1 o'. Clock. And I'm like, I'm Pearl, I can get on group two, so I'm not waiting till one o'.
[00:18:25] Speaker C: Clock.
[00:18:26] Speaker D: And then I finally got a hold of, I even did emails too. And again I have all of them and they all say something different.
Then I finally did the chat on the DCL website and it took maybe 20 minutes. But she was lovely. I mean she's like, I gotta put you on hold, I'm gonna, I gotta do some work behind the scenes. And they were able to link the two reservations together. Then instead of waiting for them to do it on the ship, so it wasn't missed on the ship.
But then also the only other thing I noticed when I was doing the check in for the dream and they ask you for your future travel plans after the cruise, you could click on cruise, but you could only select the dream, you couldn't select the Destiny.
So that's why I kept calling in. It's like, well I'm not going on the dream. I'm going on the Destiny. And I wanted to make sure that everything was going to work out right and I'd get the right luggage tags and everything.
And I even asked that guest services on the dream that first night. He's like, well, you have to wait till you get the letter the last night. So I'm like, okay. So still we had no idea how this was really going to work. We're on a back to back. They often will bring you together in a lounge and you all leave together, go through. Cause you know, and they back on the ship together. Cause we could see them doing that for the Destiny, but for our group, they did not do that. So the letter basically said that we had to be off the ship by 9:15 and to take our luggage over. Told us how to get to the other terminal to go down the walkway to the nearest elevators to the left, proceed up the Level 5 Sky Bridge, proceed over to the Disney destiny in Terminal 4, then down to Level 1. So it's like, oh my gosh, where are we going?
I grabbed a porter because not knowing I could stop at my car, which I could see as we were doing this, I'm like, well, there's my car, but I'm not packed to drop something off, you know, I used a porter who kind of knew where to go and everything.
And he kind of pushed us through the line a little faster too, which was nice.
But then we did drop our bags off once we got over to Terminal 4. And part of the problem is they were still bringing people off the Destiny. But when you got over there, nobody knew what was going on.
They're like, you can't be here, you can't be. I'm like, well, I have this letter because it even says right on the bottom and bulk, please keep this letter with you at all times.
And nobody knew. They're like, one guy told me I had to go sit on a bench and just wait. I'm like, well, that doesn't seem right. So I saw a little group of people going by and I stopped them and I said, what are you guys doing? Are we on the Dream? And they're like, yeah. So I just hopped in line with them and then they had moved us over by the door to the terminal before you'd go in to check in. And then some more people joined and it was still very confusing with the crew members talking to each other. You know, like one was saying one thing, one was saying the other. And yeah. So then we Stood there for about a half an hour and finally went in and we went right through security and sat down. So we didn't do check in quite yet.
[00:21:36] Speaker C: Oh, okay.
[00:21:36] Speaker D: So that was kind of confusing. And then all of a sudden.
Yeah. Because people were still. They're still probably clearing everything.
So then all of a sudden all the back to back cruisers came and they kept them on the other side of the terminal and then they didn't have to go through security. So they did their check in by Castaway Club level. Their status now when it came to the side by sides, they just did us by rows, which was kind of weird. It's like, okay.
So then we went with a couple other people we had been chatting with who were also Pearl and we went and sat up by where you would get onto the.
[00:22:14] Speaker C: You know how you have to go
[00:22:15] Speaker D: in through a little opening and not the mickey ears, but the little opening, rope opening and wind your way around to the entrance. And they're like, no, no, you have to stay over here. You can't sit there. We're like, okay. Thinking they will move us because what she kept saying we'll move you as a group on right after concierge goes.
Well, that never happened. It's like more and more, more and more people are coming in because it's, you know, regular check in now. And we.
So this other family that we were chatting with were like, well, let's just go get on. Because group two is just. They just called group two and we're still here. So we just went on and Andrew and I were actually the third people on because they kind of moved him through with the wheelchair.
I'm kind of surprised it didn't.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: I'm kind of surprised they didn't just put you in with like the back, like merge the back to back and the side to side.
[00:23:04] Speaker C: Yeah, as long as you don't care about having your name announced in the atrium. Right. Because that's one thing that doesn't happen with the back to back cruisers is your name isn't announced into the atrium. But like they should at least have that option and say, hey, if you guys want to come on with the, with the back to back cruisers, like let's just get you. Because you guys at that point have been waiting in the terminal for a much longer time because you got. Got off so early and you really. There's no place to really go. You kind of have to just go from one terminal because you got to leave the first terminal and then you. So then you got to Sit in the second terminal.
[00:23:37] Speaker A: So let me, let me just ask a couple, so a couple questions coming in from the chat. So it sounds like a. They did not move your luggage for you. You had to move your own luggage with a porter between the terminals. To answer Ashley's question in the chat. And then Ashley's also asking how many. Was there a decent sized group doing these side to side sailings or was it pretty small?
[00:23:56] Speaker D: There were like 40 or 50 of us doing it.
[00:23:58] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:23:59] Speaker D: That I could kind of count. I mean there might have been more, but just kind of doing a quick headcount, that's what I got. And there was maybe 30 or 40 back to backers on the other side.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: So it's surprising it's that chaotic with that. I mean, like you would think with that kind of a large group of people, they would figure out how to do this effectively and efficiently. So like how long from when you disembarked the dream. Wait, you got off the Destiny first
[00:24:21] Speaker E: or the Dream first?
[00:24:22] Speaker C: The dream.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: Dream.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: When you disembarked the dream to when you embarked on the Destiny or God, you know, onto the Destiny.
[00:24:28] Speaker E: Like how long are we talking here?
[00:24:29] Speaker A: It sounds like a few hours.
[00:24:31] Speaker D: We were off by nine and through customs and it was well past 10:30 before we were even close to getting on the ship. I didn't quite write down what time that was, but we kept thinking because they brought the back to back people, they opened a little rope for them to go in instead of making them come take the long way around. And that's where they had us, right next to him. We thought, oh, they're going to take us in that way. Nothing.
[00:24:58] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:24:59] Speaker D: It would have been nice if they gave us stickers or something, you know.
You know, something to identify you as
[00:25:05] Speaker C: like the little yellow card they give you when you're back to back. Right. They give you that little. Or green, I forget it's sometimes yellow, sometimes it's green. They give you a little card and identifies you as back to back so that you get on sort of in an express fashion. Yeah, well, this, this is disappointing, especially because, you know, for you guys, I mean even how long is it a far walk between? I'm imagining it's relatively close because they're next to.
[00:25:28] Speaker D: I think I had a picture on there.
Wasn't there a slide of the skyway? Oh yeah, it's quite a ways because you had to go pick up your luggage, go through customs, getting off the dream, go up the elevator to this skyway and I can't remember if it was marked really well because he was just leading us at this point and then all the way across and back down. So it took about 10, 15 minutes to navigate.
[00:25:55] Speaker C: And obviously you've got enough luggage for more than a week. And.
And you're pushing Andrew's stroller. Sorry, not stroller. You're pushing his wheelchair. Sorry.
Yeah, but people are. When people are pushing a wheelchair or somebody who's pushing a stroller, like they're not going to be able to also pull luggage at the same time. It's just not possible.
And so, you know, this is a bit of a. Yeah, this is. The only way you could do this if, you know, if you've got anybody with any mobility issues with you is by getting a. I think to come with you.
[00:26:28] Speaker A: All right, so I want to hear from Andrew for one second and ask. So, Andrew, would you do this again in Fort Lauderdale? Try to do a side by side, or was this a pain?
[00:26:40] Speaker B: I would.
My mom wouldn't probably.
[00:26:45] Speaker C: Your mom wouldn't?
[00:26:46] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, no, I would. I mean, like I said, once you're down there. Because it took us four hours to drive. Well, actually five. Cause there were accidents going on, but you know, made it. If you're going to be there, you might as well do something else. So.
Yeah, I would do it again.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: Yeah, you would.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Okay. Versus a back to back, though. I mean, back to back's a lot easier, obviously.
[00:27:09] Speaker D: Yeah. But I mean, it was nice being on two different ships. Although I didn't like the packing after a three. I don't like three nights. It's a very different type of cruise.
But again, it was nice to be back on the dream and just to have a little bit more in your back pocket about how to do things. So it was fun.
[00:27:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:28] Speaker D: One thing with driving, I'll give a tip to some of your people.
So I follow the Port Everglades Facebook group and about a month before this cruise, they said, if you're driving in and going to Disney Terminal, please come in through the convention center entrance. So you bypass going through the check in point and how you have to go in and then loop back to the terminal. I mean, you literally just go up. The only problem is you end up on level two of the parking garage so you miss the baggage drop.
But what I did, I was like, we have time. It doesn't matter. So Andrew and I took the luggage down and then we went back and got our day bags and stuff. But I mean, I can take two suitcases, a roll on, carry On. And all of our other stuff. Because I just load Andrew up with everything and make him pull something.
[00:28:18] Speaker A: Put everything.
[00:28:18] Speaker C: Yeah, everything on top of Andrew. And then you, Andrew, you probably look like a luggage cart with all the bags and pile of on top of you.
[00:28:26] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, people do offer to help us and everything, so it works out. But it was very convenient going in that way. I mean, we didn't have to stop and talk to anybody. You just went and parked your car.
[00:28:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: So, Sam, Ashley's asking if the Port Canaveral experience is the same. I think it's a little bit more.
[00:28:43] Speaker C: Vanessa did it. Vanessa did it before. Yeah.
[00:28:47] Speaker D: Well, we've driven, but I hear the. Because you can't walk between Terminal 8 and 10. I think they move you on a bus or somehow move you over in Port Canaveral.
[00:28:59] Speaker E: That's what I was saying.
[00:29:00] Speaker D: So then you would be all together. But I don't know what they do because the Terminal 10 is that. That's the other. That's the non Disney one.
It's kind of set up weird. I think you go through security first and then you do check in and so. Yeah. I don't know how they really work it over there.
[00:29:16] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:16] Speaker D: Oh, so you didn't have to load your car.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: So on this, because you're using the skyway, you did not have to go back through security again. Right. Because you never really.
[00:29:24] Speaker D: Yes, we did.
[00:29:24] Speaker A: Oh, you did.
[00:29:25] Speaker D: We did.
[00:29:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:29:26] Speaker C: Because you're still exiting terminal, even though you're. Even though there's a skyway, you're still technically exiting the terminal. And so you're not in a secured space Right. Beyond sort of customs. Yeah, yeah. What a pain. I gotta say, this sounds kind of. I will say though, I have heard from other folks who've done the side by side, both at Port Canaveral and at Port Everglades, that the communication beforehand just sucks and is all wrong. Like you'll get different information from different people. You're there. You're like the third or fourth person we. I feel like I've heard this from that. Like the communication is completely inaccurate and you get different answers from different people. But what I have heard is once you're on board, you will get a letter on that last night that at least tells you what to do the next morning. It's not great, obviously, communication. And it wasn't well organized here, but at least you were told where to go.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: Although, Sam, do you remember the first time we did a back to back and we kept getting promised a letter and the letter never came.
[00:30:23] Speaker C: Yes, that's true, that's true. So yeah, if you, you don't get a letter at your stateroom and you're either back to back or side or side by side on that last night, like when you come, if you, when you come back from dinner, if you don't have a letter, you run your butt over to guest services because you're missing something. So if you're listening to this podcast, you're missing something. If you don't have a letter, an envelope that's got instructions, maybe like a little ticket looking thing like you need, you need those things especially for back to back. Otherwise I mean you'll just go through the entire regular check in process and get on whenever. Your normal boarding group would be the worst thing in the house.
[00:31:04] Speaker A: So from the first time, why wouldn't you want to do it again, you know?
[00:31:06] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well the nice thing with the letter though, because a lot of people in our side by side group were not originally in group two when they did their check in.
So the letter guaranteed them that they would be in group two. So they didn't have to wait until group 10 or whatever they had or 20 or something. So. Yeah, but even though they gave you the little ticket, when you get there, still it's like, like a lot of them said, well, they didn't change it to two. So I don't, I'm like, just keep your letter out. That's all you need.
[00:31:34] Speaker C: So exactly. Keep that letter out. The one. The other thing that I think is, is just confusing is that you get the online portion you were mentioning earlier about how you could put that you were getting on another ship but you, or you, they were getting on another cruise but they didn't have an option to toggle on the list that you were getting on on a different Disney cruise. It just automatically was assuming you were staying on the Dream. And I think, I'm sure they just haven't figured that out yet because this side by side cruising is relatively new. I mean it's not brand new, but it's relatively new in the sense of like now that we have multiple ships that are in port, both Port Canaveral and Port Everglades on the same day. And that's only been going on, you know, for the past like year or so, right? Well, yeah, for Port Canaveral for over, for about a year since the Treasure came out really. But then with the Destiny, it's, you know, the more recent. More recent. So they just haven't Figured out all the glitches.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: So I want to hear. I want to hear for a second from. So you did the destiny maiden.
You got back on the destiny.
I hear you, Andrew. You've still got a list of things that you want to do on the destiny. But so far.
So far, what has been your favorite experience on the destiny?
[00:32:56] Speaker C: Hmm.
[00:33:01] Speaker B: I thought how to just pick one.
[00:33:08] Speaker C: It's hard to pick one. I know.
What about a couple? I know. Like, I know you enjoyed troublemaking with cruella because I was with you and your mom in there the first time I was the.
That was the second time I got to see it. The first time you guys got to see it, and I know you enjoyed that.
Yeah. Would you say that's one of your favorites, or does that fall below?
Yeah, that falls
[00:33:39] Speaker B: medium below.
[00:33:45] Speaker D: Well, you like doing that
[00:33:48] Speaker B: one?
[00:33:49] Speaker D: I was gonna say you like doing that happy hunt thing or haunts or whatever it's called?
[00:33:56] Speaker C: Yeah. Did you do that? Did you do that several times or just the ones just once? I've heard if you do it several times, you just get sent in, like, a different order. I haven't tested that myself, but that's what we've heard from others.
[00:34:08] Speaker A: There was one we couldn't get to work no matter how hard we tried. I can't remember which one it was, but it was like a lobby, like, mirror or something like that. It was supposed to do something. We could just. Like, I was waving my arms like, people probably thought I was just a crazy person on board flailing around, but, like, I couldn't get the thing to read my magic. So. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:34:26] Speaker D: And it was nice because it's one thing Andrew could do with his magic band. He could get them all to activate and stuff, but nice, you know, sometimes you kind of have to slow down or whatever, but yeah, we probably looked at those crazy people, too, you know, it was fine. Yeah.
[00:34:40] Speaker A: Are you listening to our show because
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[00:35:38] Speaker A: What about you, Vanessa? What's been your favorite?
[00:35:41] Speaker D: I really like, probably I'm not saying her name right. Ziya and Gamble.
[00:35:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:35:47] Speaker D: All their shows that they do. And I kept telling people in our group, I'm like, you have to go to the Marvel. What is the.
I can't think what it's called. Yeah, yeah. With great power. Oh, my God. Because they only do it one time and. And it's fun. It was a little different than it was the first time we saw it.
And just all of the different shows they do in the grand Hall, I mean, they're everywhere. And I think that interactive part on the ship makes it like a whole experience because they're at the sail away party, they're at the last night, they're throughout guiding you on your cruise. And I feel they're a very good integral part that the treasure has that, but not as much as that Destiny has. I mean, they're just everywhere. I don't know when they sleep or if they do.
[00:36:32] Speaker C: I don't think they sleep at all. Yeah. Now, did you see. You still saw Destiny cast one, right? They had not switched over yet to the second cast. Okay. Yeah.
[00:36:42] Speaker D: Yeah. They had two more sailings before. So with that, what we got to watch was up on the deck. I think it was the last night they were helping. The new crew members were there to learn the Rockin Pirates Parliament parley.
[00:36:59] Speaker A: Yeah, whatever.
[00:37:00] Speaker C: That they were first thing doing the parlay. Yeah, Parle parties.
[00:37:04] Speaker D: It was fun. We were, you know, everybody was sitting out there in the lounge chairs. So the original cast had done it while the second ones were watching. And then they switched over and we were not allowed to have cameras, phones, or anything out. You couldn't record it.
And you just watched them go through it. And the fun part was that the first group of entertainers were in the back encouraging, you know, cheering them on. And when they hit the right thing, it's at the right time. And it was fun. And just to watch how they're teaching them, you know, this is gonna happen, you know, and how to do it.
It's interesting. But you gotta stay up late. Cause that was at maybe 11 o', clock, 11:30.
[00:37:42] Speaker C: So that's past my bedtime. Yeah.
[00:37:46] Speaker A: All right. So, Andrew, what's on the list? What have you not done now that you really wanna do?
[00:37:54] Speaker D: Oh, I have that written down.
[00:37:59] Speaker C: What's the one that you can remember that you want, that you want to do? Andrew, Is there one that you have in mind?
[00:38:05] Speaker B: The fashion show for Croa.
[00:38:08] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. The Crillo's Runway show.
[00:38:11] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. The fashion show. I forget what it's even called, but Wreck it.
[00:38:18] Speaker D: Wretched Runway.
[00:38:20] Speaker C: Wretched Runway. Thank you. Good job. Yeah, you guys remembered it. I could not remember. That one is really fun. I think what you should do is. I think that you should, like, I don't know, decorate your chair with, like, puppies or something.
Okay.
Yeah. With like little Dalmatian puppies or something.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Stephen, I said what I have to deal with. I think this is what you should do.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, sure.
[00:38:44] Speaker A: No problem.
[00:38:44] Speaker C: Let's do that.
[00:38:45] Speaker D: Yeah.
And you wonder why I have two suitcases, you know.
[00:38:50] Speaker C: But I feel like it would be really fun to be. You know, I was. I'll be honest, I have been in the show twice already at both times in the hero group in slightly different hero outfits.
And yeah, I think it's really fun, but. So there's a hero. For those who are watching or listening and haven't been on the Destiny yet. There's. In the. The fashion show, it's kind of a little competition, and it's a group, A group of heroes, a group of villains, and then a Cruella themed group. So it could be people dressed in Dalmatian stuff or people dressed more as Cruella, but it's all sort of a nod to Cruella. And there's one group that wins at the end, and you can probably guess who it is based on who the judge of the fashion show is.
But it's really fun. I feel like everyone should dress up like it. Bring. Bring. You got to bring an outfit. I mean, you could just put on a cape or something, right? You go like, all out. You could be in the hero group wearing a cape, or you could be in the villain group just wearing, I don't know, a top hat or something like Dr. Facilier.
But I think it's.
[00:39:57] Speaker D: I even had the ears. I had 101 Dalmatian ears. And I.
We. We had a conflict with when it was happening. So yeah, that just didn't happen. And we missed the.
What's Under Her Spell with Maleficent.
[00:40:13] Speaker C: Maleficent.
[00:40:14] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. So we have to do.
[00:40:15] Speaker C: We're.
[00:40:16] Speaker D: We're actually sailing again in August, so that's on our list. Those two things are a priority. So.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:22] Speaker E: Nice.
[00:40:23] Speaker C: I will tell you. I. I got to go to those. But of course, we did three sailings in that first, you know, like, week of. Of our, you know, first set of sailings, because we did the preview and then the Maiden and the second. But the only thing that I missed that I wanted to go see that I have on my list for. It's not until December that we're back on the Destiny is the Sounds of Wakanda, where they did in the. In the Grand.
All the drumming and whatnot and it. And it's.
[00:40:49] Speaker D: That's amazing.
[00:40:51] Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I heard. And I heard there's one where there's interactivity where they let some of the kids.
[00:40:57] Speaker D: Well, it's not just kids. It's me. It just pulls people out of. If you're sitting in the grand hall, you're fair game to get up there. So we've seen little kids all the way up to, you know, grandparents up there, and it's this. The entertainers from Pride Lands who are doing the drums and all that, they're the ones up on the stage doing it. And then to get a visitor at the end who you can meet and greet with Black Panther.
So without standing in line so less
[00:41:24] Speaker A: people think, all we talk about is the destiny. I want to. Like, you've started us off with the dream.
[00:41:28] Speaker C: In your dream. I know I jumped ahead.
[00:41:30] Speaker A: It has been a while since we have been on the dream.
So I'm curious how you found her.
Yeah, just. How was. How are things on the dream?
[00:41:41] Speaker D: It felt like home because I'm so used to the classic ships.
Just how. What is it? Art deco theme? It's not a lot of IP everywhere.
It's just a classic Disney cruise.
I thought the rooms could use a remodel or remake a little bit. Even just a soft goods would be nice changeover. I have a slide I think of some of the rooms with our stateroom looked like.
But you know, this is the grand hall on the left. And then the. Oh, I had to take pictures of Ev all over the place.
[00:42:14] Speaker C: Ev everywhere.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: I love it. You and everyone else, including us. As soon as we get our Ev.
[00:42:19] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, well. And they did not have it on the Destiny at all. They finally got on like Two sailings after us. And they had signs on the window on the Destiny one, so.
[00:42:30] Speaker C: Saying they didn't have it so people wouldn't wait in line for it. Yeah. At least that's nice. At least they did that. So people didn't line up for an hour or whatnot.
[00:42:39] Speaker D: And we could only get one. One per stateroom and they kept a list, so.
[00:42:43] Speaker C: Oh, wow. Well, I mean, that's good. I actually think that's good because that really discourages those merch hounds who go and buy a bunch of stuff and then resell them on ebay. And so. Yeah, yeah.
[00:42:56] Speaker D: So here Andrew's playing the Midship detective, which we haven't done that for a couple years. I mean, we've been on the fantasy more recently than the Dream and their sister ships. So that's kind of a fun way. It's almost like the Happy Hunts where you can go and you. You but use a card so anybody can play with it and you're trying to solve a mystery. And I think we did the Muppet one this time.
[00:43:18] Speaker C: Oh, that's my favorite one. I. I like the Midship Detective Agency. The best of all of the games available. I think it's better than Uncharted Adventure and I think it's better than Happy Hunt. I don't know.
[00:43:31] Speaker D: It's easier. Yeah.
[00:43:32] Speaker C: Andrew, which one do you like better? Do you like Midship or Happy Hunt better?
[00:43:37] Speaker A: Happy Hunt.
[00:43:38] Speaker B: Because it's easier.
[00:43:40] Speaker C: It's easier for you with the band.
Yeah, well, yeah, because the card you have to hold, like, in a very specific position.
So I could imagine. Yeah, I can imagine that the band. Because the band is usually like a waving motion or something like that to activate.
[00:43:55] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:43:56] Speaker A: So I gotta say that Ed has a priceless comment. He says, ebay. They could have sold them on the Destiny. Yeah. If they looked the merch house. Probably more than one. Somebody standing outside the main dining room with a, you know, like one of those, like, old sell New York jackets. Like, I got an Eevee I can
[00:44:09] Speaker C: sell you maybe in my jacket for you with like a set of watches. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:44:15] Speaker D: Yeah. So we went to look out on both of these cruises.
[00:44:20] Speaker C: Love it.
[00:44:21] Speaker D: And we walk the pier. It does not bother me at all. It looks intimidating. But I like to have my churro waffles. So I figure, well, that's my way. I'm walking my waffles off. So
[00:44:33] Speaker A: next time just bring them with you. You can have pier snacks. You know, you can just be walking
[00:44:40] Speaker C: or Andrew, hold a tray of them. As you. And then you can just grab one as you go, right?
[00:44:48] Speaker D: Yeah. But we always like to just kind of see the Junkanoo a little bit, and it's a nice island. I still prefer castaway over lookout.
I think this one's just too spread out versus castaway. But it's nice. I mean, even we were on when it first opened, and it's starting. The vegetation's filling in, and we've gone back and looked at photos. It's like, oh, yeah, this did not look like that before. And now the roads are paved. They just need to pave a little better over to the lighthouse so it's more accessible because you can't.
Andrew has been to the lighthouse, but I can't do it by myself. Get him to the lighthouse.
[00:45:25] Speaker A: Did they solve the. I know one of the first times you went and we had you on the show, you said they did not have the beach chairs available. Like, did they solve that problem?
[00:45:34] Speaker D: Yeah, the Moby mats. Yes. Okay. So.
So they have them, but they're still not the best accessible way to do it. So there was one where I found behind, like, where they do the Junkanoo at the Goombay Culture center, you go down a ramp, but then you hit sand, and then there's a ramp on the other side to get up and over the dune. And then down there were the mats connected to it, but you still had to go.
There was no way to get to that part without going through sand.
And they did have some mats and, like, a little area with chairs set on top of mats. But it was very. It was not marked where they were going to be. It was kind of like, oh, look, here's one. You know, like
[00:46:20] Speaker B: the sand wheel. The sand wheel. Wheelchairs are the same as castaways.
[00:46:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:46:28] Speaker C: Okay. They do have the same wheelchairs now as. Yeah. Which are not great. Right. I know you said they're not great, but there's not a lot of great options out there, unfortunately for them.
But. Yeah, the. But the Connecting the mats is a really important thing. Right. So that you have a fully connected walkway so that you can use a regular wheelchair to get across certain. Certain areas. Well, now we've got the two ships in port. Tell us where this is. This is. Is this Nassau?
[00:46:59] Speaker D: Yes. And the Destiny was not supposed to be there that day, but they could.
Were they supposed to be at Castaway and they couldn't dock or something? So all of a sudden they were pulling in behind us. It's like, oh, we have to get off because we weren't going to get off the Dream because it was too steep. And then when the Destiny was next to us, I'm like, Andrew, we got to get off and get a picture because we need a picture for the dcl duo.
[00:47:23] Speaker E: So.
[00:47:24] Speaker D: But speaking of that, because the ramps can be very steep getting on and off. They will help you, the crew members, because they don't want to have the accident at the bottom of the ramp. Yeah, they will help you get it down and back up if it's the tide is in or something.
[00:47:39] Speaker A: So I was say it's too bad you couldn't have just transferred to that day because they're just sitting right across the easier.
[00:47:44] Speaker C: That would have been an easier transfer. No question. You would have had a porter just help you. Yeah, yeah.
[00:47:50] Speaker D: Wrong ship. I'm sorry, I didn't know that they both start with a D. What did you.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: What did you realize? So like, so it sounds like, look, soft goods refurb still. When was the last time the Dream
[00:48:02] Speaker E: was even in a dry dock? Simcha wasn't.
[00:48:04] Speaker A: That was. Wasn't she just there recently?
[00:48:07] Speaker C: Yeah, it was not this.
So this past year the Fantasy was in Europe and she did her dry. But the year before.
Yeah. So 20. Exactly. 24. The dream did the European sailing and then at the end of the sailing or the season, it went into a dry dock in Brest in September just like the Fantasy just did in 2025.
[00:48:32] Speaker A: It's surprising to hear that they need a reef like a soft goods refurb because why didn't they do it then? And then like Ed in the chat is saying he was on in December of 2024 and the ARM handle of the sofa was literally detached from the sofa. Fun fact. It's velcroed on and they have to hammer it back on. So like I don't understand what the dry dock is for if they're not replacing the soft goods at that point. Like that's. That's crazy.
[00:48:53] Speaker C: They've been doing very short, short dry docks given the age of the older ships. Like, although I will say the Wish is doing her dry dock. It's only a two week dry dock that I can tell from the schedule. Actually it's less than that because she's got to get to breast from wherever she's finishing.
I think it's maybe even in Barcelona or cited to Vecchia, I can't remember. But she's got a little bit of a ways to travel to get to where she's going to. So she's only Going to be doing maybe like a week and a half dry dock.
Now. She's a new. You know, she's a newer ship, so she probably needs less work. But I mean, these kind of things, like, with the sofa, like, they should be fixing those things even in between sailings. Like, these are things you can do now. You can't reupholster an entire couch, but you can swap out
[00:49:44] Speaker A: the curtain.
[00:49:45] Speaker D: Yeah.
Curtains.
You know, it would refresh it a little bit. I don't need the heavy IP because I like the nautical look of the state rooms on the first four ships.
Um, but again, I think those are like, the original blackout curtains that they've had.
I don't. Maybe they're not, but they. They look the same. Um, but, you know, they spent their money putting in that Funnel Suite is what they were doing on those two ships. So that's where all the money went, was. Yeah, getting some more money.
[00:50:13] Speaker C: Right. And moving the edge into Vibe. Right. So they redid the Teen Club to make it. To split it into the Tween and the Teen Club so that they could put the Funnel Suite in, because that's where the Tween Club originally was. I'm actually really disappointed still in that decision because a lot of the tweens loved that Funnel Suite as their own space. And I know they've got a nice space where. Where v. Where it used to be all Vibe. I know it's a nice space, but now they only have half of that space. Each of the. The Teen and the tweens split that.
[00:50:44] Speaker A: I am now twice resisting a rant on air on this show. But I. I would love to know how the Disney executives think that that Tower Suite edition went, because from what I can tell, it's available a heck of a. A lot. So I just. I don't understand. I don't understand that decision. I want to ask about the dream for a second and ask what was the thing that you didn't realize that you missed from those Dream Class ships that you really kind of enjoyed? So let me.
[00:51:14] Speaker C: That's a great question. Either, like, it could be a show, it could be a restaurant, it could be an activity.
Anything. Yeah.
[00:51:21] Speaker E: Andrew.
[00:51:22] Speaker A: Vanessa, like, I'm going to ask you both. So, Andrew, why don't you start? What was the thing that you loved the most about being back on the dream?
[00:51:32] Speaker B: The Golden Mickeys.
[00:51:33] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:51:34] Speaker C: Golden Mickey.
[00:51:36] Speaker A: Hallelujah. Someone else in this world likes the Golden Mickeys. Yes. There we go. I love it. All right.
[00:51:42] Speaker D: He's just playing.
[00:51:44] Speaker C: He knows. He knows. You listen to the song, but they
[00:51:46] Speaker D: changed it a little bit.
Yeah. Bob Iger is not in it anymore.
[00:51:52] Speaker C: Now it's Captain Minnie. Right. Or Mickey. Does it have to Mickey or Minnie?
[00:51:55] Speaker D: Yeah, Minnie, I think. Yeah. Wait, because that was such an old clip anyways.
Yeah, that's nice.
I miss the ease of moving around
[00:52:08] Speaker C: the first four ships.
The hallways, the big hallways.
[00:52:11] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. But it's just so much easier. We could walk around deck four and take a leisurely stroll and not have to worry about just turning around and going up, back and forth.
I enjoyed Animators. I do like that show. We only had the talk with Crush. The Crush show. Just because of the three night.
[00:52:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:52:34] Speaker D: But I like all of their restaurant or the dining rooms. I mean, it's just. I guess it's familiar. So it's like being home again.
[00:52:43] Speaker C: Well, it's a good point about the promenade deck on deck four. It's not just for runners. Right. I mean, although there are plenty of runners who want to do LAPD around Deck 4.
But also, if you just want to take a stroll and get some fresh air, it's really nice to do that on the classic ships. And I've been thoroughly disappointed when I want to walk outside on a Wish Class ship because the only option is really up on one of the top decks where it's real, real windy and it's, you know, it's not as nice of a walk on the promenade deck. So that's a really good point that you guys brought up.
I gotta ask. You know, of course, the shows and the entertainment are what sets the destiny apart. But did you find that you were, like, equally satisfied or satisfied enough with the offerings on the Dream that you would say, oh, I would go back on a Dream Class ship again? Or on one of the classic ships again?
[00:53:43] Speaker D: Yes, because we saw Beauty and the Beast. And I think they've enhanced their projection capability on the Dream Class so you get more of that immersive feel when you're sitting in the audience.
And then what was the other one? Believe. And then the Golden Mickeys. And we haven't seen. I mean, we've seen Beauty and the Beast since we've been on the Dream because it was on the Treasure.
I think sometimes I get them goofed up.
[00:54:07] Speaker C: Got it.
[00:54:07] Speaker D: You got it.
[00:54:07] Speaker C: No, you've got it right. You've got it right.
[00:54:09] Speaker D: You know, but there's still. I mean, you could just keep watching. I know my husband doesn't like to go to him sometimes because he's like, well, I've Already seen that. It's like, well, I haven't seen it maybe in a year or two. I'd like to, you know, so I always go to see the shows, so.
[00:54:23] Speaker C: Yeah, but I know you love the storytellers. Like do you feel like you're missing something by not having the Storytellers on board?
[00:54:33] Speaker D: That was hard because there's only three nights. So it was very fast.
It was, yeah, that's good point. I think it would work on a seven night cruise but not on a three night there. It's just too hard and there's so many first time cruisers on there that it would be hard to get them to know what was going on and stuff. So.
[00:54:52] Speaker C: Yeah, which is why I think why it's never really worked well on the Wish.
And I'm not saying anything bad about the storytellers on the Wish. I just think the concept, I don't think it was ever fully realized on the Wish, the concept of the Storytellers. Because even though there are storytellers on the Wish, they don't play that prominent role that they play on the Destiny and the True Treasure. All right, well, speaking of the Destiny.
[00:55:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I wanted to ask this question from Tracy in the chat really fast, which she's saying, she, she's saying and I, I gotta believe the answer is yes. I'm guessing the accessibility of the main dining rooms is far superior on the Dream than it is on the Destiny. Those spaces feel super tight. Yeah, okay.
[00:55:31] Speaker D: Yes, definitely. Yeah.
[00:55:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
All right, Sam, go ahead.
[00:55:36] Speaker C: Okay, so I want to talk about the, the Disney Destiny.
We've got of course, the, this is you guys at Sail Away and you' your embarkation day picture. You gotta, you know, you gotta take all the pictures.
[00:55:48] Speaker A: Of course you don't, Sam, but we humor you. Yes, we do.
[00:55:55] Speaker D: Because it's free for us.
[00:55:56] Speaker C: Yes, exactly. As a Pearl Cruiser. As a Pearl Cruiser.
[00:56:00] Speaker D: It's.
[00:56:00] Speaker C: The pictures are.
Yeah, you get. One of your perks is you get all of the, you get the unlimited picture package. I gotta ask you about Ziya and Gamble because it had been now, you know, several months between seeing them on the Maiden and then of course seeing them as their more seasoned in their time on the, on the Destiny. Did you find that the experiences were significantly different? Slightly different. And like were they better? Like what, what was sort of your impression of how things have changed or evolved over the, over the couple of. I guess it was like three months in between the two.
[00:56:37] Speaker D: I thought they were a lot better. I mean they were great on the Maiden Voyage. But you could just tell they've been doing this a lot more. It's almost like the second time we saw Sage and Coriander on the Treasure. It's like, you know, you could just tell they were more comfortable with each other in the whole show and how the audiences work and everything.
[00:56:54] Speaker C: So.
[00:56:55] Speaker D: No, they're great. I think it's going to be hard when we go in August because it won't be them. It'll be, the names will be the same, but it won't be those two. So you got to have a different mindset. Like, okay, we got to give them a chance and see how they do it. So.
[00:57:08] Speaker C: Yeah, well, maybe they'll be back. I don't know. Yeah. And by the time you see them, they'll be season two or Destiny two. There'll be a seasoned cast at that point as well, so I'm sure that'll be nice.
[00:57:21] Speaker A: Look at this crowd. This is unreal. In the atrium. I guess maybe I've never. Yeah. Wow. The crowd for Zion Gamble is impressive. Yeah.
[00:57:28] Speaker D: Yeah. So that was the last night the Destiny. What is it?
[00:57:34] Speaker C: Destiny Discovered. Is that what it's called?
[00:57:36] Speaker D: Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah.
[00:57:41] Speaker C: The Destiny Discovered. Treasure or no Treasure. Treasure is found. Treasure found. But yeah, they love all these fun, quirky little names. Yeah, this is great. They, I, I, they have a nice roped off area. That's the accessible area that you guys do not. No, they don't.
[00:57:57] Speaker D: No, we just happen. I just, I just stayed there. I parked myself. Like when they do the little characters and stuff, I'm not moving. I'm just staying here.
But now for this show, they, they don't have it.
[00:58:10] Speaker C: It.
[00:58:10] Speaker D: And they didn't on the dream either.
[00:58:12] Speaker A: That's disappointing for the Farewell.
[00:58:15] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:58:16] Speaker C: Real soon. Or the Destiny Discovered. Yeah, that's a bummer.
[00:58:20] Speaker D: So what she's referring to is like on the deck parties, we have a wheelchair accessible. It's not just for wheelchairs, but a nice area where just the person can go with one other guest. And it's in a roped off area so that they can see and not
[00:58:36] Speaker C: have about to worry.
[00:58:36] Speaker D: Worry about looking over somebody's head and shoulders and kids up on, you know. So.
Yeah. But no, I just have learned to get there early and don't move.
[00:58:45] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:58:47] Speaker D: And I just stand behind him. So it's not like he's only blocking me, not other people. I might be blocking somebody, but yeah,
[00:58:55] Speaker C: tall people can stand behind you.
[00:58:57] Speaker D: Yeah. Well, on the balcony.
[00:59:00] Speaker A: Sam, I'm surprised you didn't Immediately gravitate toward the magic shot that's on this slide.
[00:59:05] Speaker C: I know. I do love a magic shot with Daisy.
I feel like you guys get every magic shot, not just on the ships, but also even in the parks. Like, you guys are always posting on your. On your. At least on Facebook.
Every magic shot. I don't know how you get every single magic shot.
[00:59:24] Speaker D: I'm.
[00:59:24] Speaker C: I'm amazed. We gotta ask.
[00:59:28] Speaker D: But also on the Destiny, they have that new search function and the navigation.
So you could put in a magic shot and then it would pull up all the times and where the magic shots are. Or if you're looking for one of the show, like, even, say, troublemaking. When is that again? Instead of scrolling through every day to try to find it. There's a search function at the top in the navigator app.
[00:59:53] Speaker C: You have blown my mind, Vanessa. This should have been our top of the show news.
Disney cruise Line Navigator app now has search function. We have never.
[01:00:05] Speaker D: It's only on the Destiny. Yeah, only on the Destiny sofa.
[01:00:08] Speaker C: Wow.
[01:00:09] Speaker D: I'm guessing they're trying it out. You know, it must be organic.
[01:00:13] Speaker C: This has been a complaint of everyone, not just us, like, ever since they forced us to use the app. Right. Like, they. When they went away from the paper navigators and they switched us over. Everybody has to use the app, which means you are tied to your phone for your entire cruise, which I'm not complaining too much about, because there is some good functionality in that. It gives you reminders of things, the activity. It gives you a reminder when the happening and where it's happening. So I do like that part. But I gotta say, I am shocked that they have only recently put in a search function because this has been the biggest pet peeve of, like, how can I find out when Mickey is available or how. Where can I find out what. You know, I have to scroll through everything in order to find it. That's driving me crazy because you can,
[01:01:03] Speaker D: you know, it has the little things where, know you. You could go to the characters, but then you still have to go through the whole day trying to find out when it is or something. But this will take you right to that part. So, yeah, it's great. I can't see on all the other ships.
[01:01:16] Speaker A: We've got the staterooms up from both sailings now. And I can definitely see how the Destiny's looking so fresh and so clean
[01:01:25] Speaker D: and the dream's looking. The dream is on the left and then the Destiny is on the right.
[01:01:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Nice.
[01:01:31] Speaker D: So you can see it's like A little more dreary kind of.
[01:01:35] Speaker C: Yeah, it's got those darker vibes, too. It's just the. The decor, like you mentioned, it's more of that nautical. So you got lots of navy blue and browns versus the other.
The newer ships, you tend to have a little bit brighter colors, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but. Oh, yeah, here's the bathroom. This.
[01:01:53] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:01:54] Speaker C: I'm always jealous of your bathrooms because you always have these great big bathrooms because they're the accessible ones. But.
[01:02:00] Speaker D: But we can't. I mean, you. But when you have the split bathroom, that's nicer because it's just. We have to take turns in this room. You know, it's all just one big room, so.
[01:02:09] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, there's a benefit to the split bathroom, but of course there's a benefit to a big bathroom.
[01:02:16] Speaker D: Right.
[01:02:17] Speaker C: Well.
[01:02:18] Speaker D: And one thing, they finally did listen to people because I always complain about. So on the dream, if you look, there's no storage. There's nothing on that sinking area. And chances are that somebody in an accessible room has other people with them or they even need to put their things somewhere. But if you look on the Destiny one, the bottom one, you can see they have the glass shelves and things where, you know, our whole family can unload into the bathroom and not be working through the sink trying to find your own stuff. Everybody had their own shelves and things like that. So nice. They have made some improvements. And then the nightlight, of course, is always a plus on the new show ships.
[01:02:59] Speaker A: Yeah, that is really nice. Oh, these nice balconies too.
[01:03:02] Speaker D: Yeah. So this is a. Both of these were. I call them the pie shaped rooms because they're on the curve. So you go straight back, but then the veranda wraps around to one of the sides of the ship.
So they're, you know, you have the seating area, but then you can keep walking around. And then the other ones. Yeah, we've also had the. I call them the straight back. So they're straight, straight rooms. And then the veranda is very deep, but they're always in the back.
We tend to like the back ones better, even though they're harder to get to the side ones. You have to be careful because on the wish class, there's poles when you first walk in on a couple.
So I have those flagged as no pole. We don't want that one.
Put me in that room. It has all the delicious food.
[01:03:48] Speaker A: Yes. I see a palo graping gorgonzola pizza in there.
All always A big hit.
[01:03:54] Speaker D: What did you like, Andrew? There was something.
[01:03:57] Speaker B: The presets.
[01:03:59] Speaker C: Oh, the double preset.
[01:04:01] Speaker A: See, he knows how to pander to both of us. Sam.
[01:04:04] Speaker D: I love it.
[01:04:05] Speaker C: He told you he likes the golden Mickeys? He tells me he likes the presets. He knows. He knows where to. He knows how to kiss up really well.
[01:04:13] Speaker D: And then the one thing I miss, from the Dream to the Destiny, is you can see the little savory foods or what they had in the COVID Cafe. You know, you could go grab sweets in the daytime, but savory things in the evening, they don't have that on the wish class.
[01:04:31] Speaker A: I am constantly blown away because the wish class has, like. I mean, it's a pain because it's out of the way, but, like, it's a nice adult coffee shop area, and it's like, I want my coffee, and why can't I get a croissant? They're sitting right above cabanas, too, so it's not like it's. It's really hard to get the food up there. So. Yeah.
Yeah. I miss. I miss being able to grab a pastry for. For sure.
Let me ask this as we.
[01:04:53] Speaker C: Maybe it's better that we don't grab a pastry when we grab our coffee anymore.
[01:04:59] Speaker A: Better for who? Better for who?
Let me ask this as we sort of wrap up here, because we're hitting time, Andrew, as between the Dream and the Destiny, which ship do you prefer?
[01:05:23] Speaker B: Destiny.
[01:05:25] Speaker C: Destiny, but Crew 1. Crew 1.
[01:05:27] Speaker A: Destiny. Crew 1. All right, and what's your. What's. Andrew, what's your favorite ship right now? Is it the Destiny, or is it a different ship? Is your favorite?
[01:05:37] Speaker B: I can't pick one.
[01:05:39] Speaker D: I know.
[01:05:41] Speaker C: I understand that. Vanessa, what about you?
What's your favorite? Between the Dream and the Destiny, and then what's your overall favorite?
[01:05:51] Speaker D: The Destiny's not my favorite, but between the Dream and the Destiny, I'd pick the Destiny just because of all the interactive things going on. And, you know, there's. The whole storytelling is amazing.
And, you know, overall, I can't separate the classic ships from the new ships. So I still love the Magic as my favorite ship in that class. And then the Treasure will still is my favorite in the new class.
I just love the feel of the grand hall, just everything in that. And maybe because I like the theme parks, and it's almost like a theme park on the water. So, you know, with all the way they have everything set up. So the Destiny was nice, but if
[01:06:35] Speaker A: the Destiny would sail seven nights, she might be my Favorite ship. But with the Treasure sailing seven nights. Seven nights. And she's like, she's so good. Like it's hard not to put that ship up at the top. I think the seven nights do a lot to help her out.
[01:06:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:06:47] Speaker D: And fortunately this was a five night Destiny cruise where the Maiden was only four and that was just too short.
I mean the wish was a five night Maiden. Why couldn't it should always be a five or more? Because there's just too much to do on that ship.
[01:07:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:07:01] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:07:02] Speaker A: And everyone wants to do everything on the mean voyages. So. Yeah.
[01:07:05] Speaker C: I wanted to. To ask the question about the cues. Right.
In the States we tend to call them lines, but I like that I actually prefer the word they use in the uk, the queue.
I'm curious how the cues compared to let's say the Maiden. Right. Because they were quite long.
Are they still that long? And have some things calmed down a little bit?
[01:07:32] Speaker D: Dr. Facilier's parlor still had a very long line.
We did not choose to do it because I thought, well, we've already done it. Let's let other people have an opportunity. So a lot of one of our other friends, they didn't go and do it again because they're like, again, let's let some other people get in there.
We didn't think we'd be able to get into troublemaking with Cruella because of the problem we had on the Maiden where you had to get in line so long. But there was hardly anybody in line with for it.
And we did go to an 11 o' clock show and we just basically walked in and sat down and it did fill up. But you know, it wasn't like how when we were like quick get in line, you know, because that's where we were standing with you. Like we're not letting. Nobody can leave. You can't even go to the b.
There's your spot.
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
[01:08:23] Speaker A: Well, Vanessa, Andrew, it is always a pleasure to have you, you both on the show. We super appreciate it. For everyone out there, if you are not already subscribed to Andrew's YouTube, head over to ndrewprince on YouTube. We will link to all the ways you can connect with Vanessa and Andrew in the show notes for this episode
[01:08:43] Speaker E: so you can find them easily.
[01:08:45] Speaker A: Quick announcement out there for everybody. We will not be back next week for a live show because I will be traveling and Sam is not the producer so does not know how all this like fancy stuff works on the back end. It's not that fanc yeah.
[01:09:00] Speaker C: The platform that we're currently using, I don't, I have not figured it quite out yet. I have the old platform we used to use. I was able to do. But I am not able to this one. But I will be recording an episode and so we will, we will still have the normal number of episodes. It will just, you'll just have two recorded episodes from us.
But we will be back.
Hold on.
[01:09:21] Speaker A: I got this. I got this. I messaged you to say I got this.
[01:09:25] Speaker D: I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it.
[01:09:27] Speaker A: I got it.
[01:09:30] Speaker C: On the air. This is real life.
[01:09:32] Speaker A: Two weeks from now, we will be back at a regular time, 5.30pm Pacific, 8.30pm Eastern. We will be joined by Whitney talking about her sailing on the Disney Destiny.
And perhaps just slightly more exciting than that. In three weeks, we will be back with Jeremiah from the Laughing Place talking about the Disney Adventure maiden voyage live. So if you want to hear about the Disney adventure, I wanted to preview this. We have a slate of content coming up. We have folks, we have one guest who's going on four back to backs in a row on the adventure to get the whole ship covered. We got Jeremiah coming on live. I think we've got two other guests lined up and we got one more potentially in the hopper who is on right now with the cast previews. And we'll have a brief break and then get on the Maiden and might be able to talk to them. We got to wait until the embargo lifts for everybody, but might try to talk to them in the middle. So we will be covering the adventure so you can, you can hear all about her fabulous sailings out of Singapore, what people think of the new ship, new experiences, new restaurants, all that fun stuff. So have no fear, just because we're not there ourselves does not mean we can't find people who are. So.
So yes. Back in two weeks. Regular time, regular schedule. Vanessa, there was a question in the chat. I want to be sure to fly to you. Someone was asking if there's a good way to reach out to you if they have questions about traveling accessible. Traveling. They have a adult daughter and a we wheelchair and would love to get some travel advice from you.
[01:10:58] Speaker C: Is cute. Apparently. I like.
[01:11:01] Speaker A: There you go.
[01:11:02] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:11:05] Speaker D: You can message me through Facebook under Vanessa Prince or go through Andrew all email.
[01:11:13] Speaker B: Email me directly.
[01:11:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:11:15] Speaker D: For email. All right, we'll give you our email. Yeah, put our emails in. That's fine.
[01:11:19] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll put them in the show notes. So with that, we'll just Say everyone out there, thank you for hanging out with us tonight. Thank you Vanessa Andrew once again and we'll be back. We'll see you in a couple weeks. So thanks everybody. Have a great night.
[01:11:29] Speaker C: Thanks everyone. Bye.
[01:11:35] Speaker A: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week.
[01:11:37] Speaker E: 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 the US live, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple Podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com forward/dclduo or email them at DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way.
[01:12:26] Speaker A: If you've got questions or you'd like
[01:12:27] Speaker E: to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to DCLDuo.com it's got links to all of our things, full catalog of the podcast episodes including a searchable catalog for the podcast, links off to our vlog, a link to our Etsy store where you see we sell some fun fan inspired magnets. Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com DCLDUO also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here at least, and a few blog articles that we've written. So DCLDUO.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
[email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 4 o' clock 413-5590. That's 402-413-5590. The DCL Duo podcast is not affiliated with Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Company or the Disney Family of theme Parks. The views expressed on the show are solely those of the individuals on the podcast and in no way reflective. Use the Disney Company or Disney Cruise Line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or Disney Vacation, please contact the great folks over at my Path Unwinding Travel or Disney directly or you're own travel agent.
[01:13:32] Speaker A: Thanks again for listening and we'll see
[01:13:33] Speaker E: you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL duo.
