[00:00:00] Speaker A: But I was like, nope, I've got to do it. I'm going to put my big girl pants on and I'm going to go for it. I screamed the whole way round.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the DCL Duo Podcast, brought to you by my Path Unwinding Travel. I am your host today, Sam. Brian is not with me today, but I am not alone. I am super excited. I've got a guest from all the way across the pond, all the way over in England. Claire, welcome to the show.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Thank you very much, Sam.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: It's lovely to meet you, Claire. I'm so glad you reached out. You just went on a back to back to back cruise on the Disney Adventure over in Singapore and you reached out to come and talk to the DCL Duo podcast about it. First of all, I got to ask, how did you find us over there in over there in England?
[00:01:02] Speaker A: So I've been listening for quite a few years. So we first went on our first Cruise back in 2024 to Alaska. And before then I was doing a lot of like, research as to what, what could I absorb?
So we started listening to the DCL dude and then yourselves as well. And then I kind of just went through pretty much the whole of your back catalog.
So to start with, I just kind of picked out what I wanted to listen to, but then I was like, oh, I'm really into this. And I got more and more and more.
So yes. So it was just kind of by chance looking on on Apple podcasts and found yourselves and been an avid listener ever since.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Oh, I love that. That's awesome. I will tell folks, we actually, I have a list if anybody's interested in specifically Alaska episodes. I've kept a running list of what episodes. We' covered Alaska because we get a lot of people asking questions specifically because lots of people do the Caribbean and the Bahamas and folks who are interested in Alaska want to know all about the excursions, all about the offerings, and even all about other cruise lines that do Alaska. And so I have a list of our Alaska episodes specifically so that people can go right to those episodes if they really want to focus and get it Sort of a deep dive on that.
Well, tell me first, like, where did your cruising like. Well, actually, let's start back up. Where did your love of Disney come from first? I mean, you're wearing ears, clearly. And I see some other memorabilia, Disney memorabilia in the background. In fact, I see some Duffy and I think it's Lena Bell next to
[00:02:41] Speaker A: Duffy Rebellion in the corner there. Yeah, I love it.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Tell me, where did your Disney affinity come from? Is this like since childhood?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: It is, yes. I had. So I'm pretty much a classic Disney adult millennial.
So raised in that kind of that Renaissance Disney times, or had the old school VHS tapes, watched them on repeat. And then in 1994, I was really, really lucky that my whole family saw my mum, all of our brothers and sisters, my cousins, we all did a big huge trip to Walt Disney World in 1994. And that really just kind of cemented me on this path of being a. Being a Disney adult.
So from then we kind of alternated between Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris here, which will be kind of our local park. And pretty much did that as a kind of a yearly trip every year through my childhood. And then we expanded kind of globally after leaving school. So we went to California for the first time in 2004 and once I finished kind of my big exams and we had a big trip to the west coast and did kind of a bit of a road trip ending in, in California, which was absolutely amazing. And that was back when California Adventure had the big San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge outside and things. And I've got some great pictures of us there with that.
So that, that was brilliant. So I think not long opened when we, when we visited then in 2004 and then, then the Asian parks became a bit more accessible. So kind of. And just before COVID we started exploring the Asian parks and went to Tokyo, we went to Shanghai and we planned to go to Hong Kong in 2020 when kind of the world unfortunately shut down for a little bit.
So we eventually finished then the six parks in 2023. So we finished that in 2023 and then kind of wanted another little bit of a challenge.
So we've always been kind of off cruising a little bit because I'm a really bad traveler, seasickness wise. So in childhood, like I say, we used to go to Disneyland Paris on the ferry over that Dover crossing.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Oh yeah, the Dover to Calais. Yeah, well, but that is actually kind of. So going across the Channel is actually kind of rough. See, people don't realize.
Yeah, like, like the North Sea Sea and the, and going across the, like all of that. All of the waters around the UK are actually pretty rough seas.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Yeah, it's very rough. So that kind of put us off really, because I was always like over the side of the boat, not great at all.
But then my auntie suggested, oh, why don't you try one? I was, I was turning 21 my auntie suggested, why don't you try a cruise? So we just booked like a, like a small cruise over around the Mediterranean with a cruise line that's not even in existence now. But we had such a fantastic time. We loved the process of like kind of going to a different port every day and things, but I was just so sickly the whole time.
We went with my aunt and my cousin who have got stomachs of steel and they were, they were loving life eating the buffet. Absolutely great. And me and my mom were like green the whole time.
So it kind of put us off again.
And then kind of just by chance, a little bit of research, we found the patches and so we thought we'll try on a kind of a bit more of a stable cruise. So we did the Norwegian fjords, which was lovely and smooth with the patches, and we were like, right, this is it. Another lease of life.
So then obviously we've come to the end of doing kind of all of the parks and we thought, right, let's try something new. So we did Alaska in 2024. We did that in the June time with, with Daisy El on the Wonder, which was amazing.
And then we did the fantasy in September of 24. Seven night Western Caribbean, which was lovely. Cast Away. It was Halloween on the high seas. Really, really good.
Loved singing Minnie and Clara Bell and Daisy as the Sanderson sisters, because Hocus Pocus, another one of my real favorites.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you're a kid of the 90s.
Yeah. All of like you mentioned the Disney renaissance and then you've got Hocus Pocus. When you're like, when you're getting into those like upper kid or tween years, hocus Pocus comes out. Yeah.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Loved Hocus Pocus. I still watch it every single year. You just can't go a year without watching it. It's just, it makes Halloween for me. Focus, focus.
And then last year, the September 2025, we did the Hawaii. Vancouver, Hawaii crossing on the Wonder.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Oh, I got to ask you. Okay, so you do the patch, which is the, the prescription patch, I presume the. There, there is an over the counter one. At least in the US it's. There's an over the one. Yeah. So there's, yeah, so there's like a, let's call it a weak patch. And then there's like the real patch. And so. Yeah, and the real patch is.
I, I'm, I'm amazed that. Well, I know it works well for a lot of people. Some people have side effects that they can't tolerate it. But doing Hawaii Vancouver route, that's no joke. That's kind, you know, the Pacific Ocean, she's, she can be nasty. I mean she, you know, so she, you know, like if you're doing a transatlantic across, you know from, from Florida over to the uk like that can be a rough sailing for people. The patch worked for you than even on something like that.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Absolutely fine. Honestly. So the only side effect we do get, we do get a bit of a dry mouth. It normally kind of eases after about 24 hours.
Other than that, honestly it's been life changing.
We can kind of, it's just opened up a whole new world for us. No pun intended.
But yes, it's been brilliant. So we love, we love the longer cruises that sea days and all of that kind of has to offer and then just waking up in a new port and Hawaii was just the most magical cruise and, and the wonder. Just, just, yeah, beautiful.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: So well and it's so far for you. All right, like, I mean so like when else are you going to get to Hawaii? Because I mean even for people from the east coast of the U.S. we're talking about 12 hours of flights. You know a flight to the west coast that takes 5 to 6 hours and then a flight to Hawaii that takes 5 to 6 hours and Then for got to add on the 78 hour flight on the front end from the, from the UK to the US like to New York presumably.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: It was really nice that we only had to do what the flight just on the way back. Yeah. So that, that was really kind of one of them positive things was that we only had to do it on the way back. Yeah, yeah.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: All right, well what made you choose to sail out of Singapore?
You know you did a back to back to back which I applaud you because I think if you're going to, to Asia and you're going for a cruise, like it seems crazy to me to do with just a three night or a four night cruise. I'll be perfectly honest. I know there are people who have done it. We had a couple of people on our show who did it. I, you know I'm wearing my Hong Kong Disneyland shirt today. I, I, I actually haven't been to Hong Kong Disneyland. A friend got this for me. It's got all the Duffy and Friends because, and I'm obsessed with Duffy and Friends.
But I, yeah, I personally think it's nutty for anyone coming over from the US but also from, from Europe.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: It's still a really long flight, really Far, Yeah.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: So how, how long was your flight to get there and where did you fly through?
[00:10:33] Speaker A: Yeah, so we, we flew direct with British Airways. I see a director. We had an, like a domestic flight from Newcastle down to Heathrow and then we flew direct from Heathrow all the way over to Singapore.
I do all of the miles hacking thing, so I'd been collecting my miles, I had a companion voucher. So we managed to fly business class on the way there, which was the first time we've ever flown business class. And it. Honestly, it blew my mind. I was like, I do not want to travel any other way than this,
[00:11:08] Speaker B: especially international.
Yeah. So I have flown domestic first class or business class. And it's like, yeah, you get a nicer meal, but it's not like a game changer. But international business class is a game changer because you get like, you can, you know, you might have lay flat seating, depending upon.
[00:11:27] Speaker A: We had lay flat beds. Yeah.
And like, of course, meals served. Oh, yes, everything.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Did you have tea service on the plane? I love when we didn't have tea
[00:11:36] Speaker A: service because it wasn't the time of day for a tea service. But we did have a full English breakfast on arrival as well. So, yeah.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: I gotta tell you, BA does a great tea service. So, I mean, it's one of those crazy things I like. I love British Airways, so shout out to them if they want to sponsor my show.
But I mean, I love an English tea service in general. So, you know, with the, with the scones and the tea sandwiches and all of that good stuff. I love that Disney Cruise Line has those tea sandwiches in the concierge lounge. I'm kind of obsessed with that. Yeah.
Business class is a game changer. So you had this voucher. Now, did you plan?
Okay, I want to hit the adventure. Like, why did you choose the adventure? Or you could sail this summer on. I think it's a Disney fantasy or the Disney dream, I can't remember. Dream this summer. Yeah. So you could sail, you could sail out of either the UK or out of mainland Europe this summer. If you wanted to get on dcl, why Singapore? Why the adventure?
[00:12:40] Speaker A: So we, we wanted to go to Singapore for a little while. So kind of we wanted to explore Singapore itself as a destination, really. And like I said, we really love the Asian parks. And there's such. They're so brilliant, the Asian parks. And we find like the cast members and the entertainment and this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to kind of combine both what of the things that we really, really like. So At Christmas we've just done, we've just been back to Shanghai in Hong Kong.
So we really enjoy kind of doing a little bit of a multi center there and we just were really looking forward to experiencing the ship and how big it was and all of the new offerings and things and just really enjoying that side of it as well as being able to go to Singapore which was a destination like I said, we've always wanted to go to.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: Awesome. Now tell, tell me who was your travel companion for this sailing?
[00:13:32] Speaker A: So there's always me and my mom. So, so that's how we say mum or mom in, in England, Northeast England, we call it our mom. So. So me and my mom who's in our, in our 60s, so yes. So we, we do everything Disney related together and I always blame her and I say it's her fault because she got me started on this path so she's got nobody to blame but herself, really herself.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: I love it. I love it. Well now, did you spend time in you're sailing? I'm imagining, I mean you, you have a, not as big of a time difference as we do, but you have a significant time difference between, you know, UK time and Singapore time. I'm guessing you want to make some adjustment to the time zone.
[00:14:17] Speaker A: Definitely. So it was a, it was a 14 hour kind of direct flight to get over and then there was a seven hour time difference.
Now we find, I suppose it's like yourselves coming to England, we, we find the going east worse than coming back. So we have, we barely had any jet lag coming home, but going there we do find that that's, that's a bit of a trickier adjustment.
So we had a couple of nights before, before boarding and we just wanted to kind of take quite slow really. The first we knew we had 10 nights on board so we knew we had that time to adjust and we didn't have to to run around and do everything all at once, which was the beauty of really having them 10 nights on board there to be able to have that time.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Now where did you stay pre cruise in Singapore? Did you stay in that harbour area?
[00:15:07] Speaker A: So yes, we stayed at the Pan Pacific because we stayed at the Pan Pacific when we, when we were in Vancouver and we, and we, and we loved it. So it was really lovely and close. We could see the Marina Bay sands from our hotel. You could see the gardens by the bay.
Everything would have been within walking distance. But obviously my mum does have some mobility issues. So we, we used Grab, which is their version of Uber Basically and just taxied to places and it was really cheap, really convenient, didn't have to wait for anything. But yes, like the Merlion statue and the marina bay stands area gardens by the beer was all within kind of 10, 15 minute walk I would have said from that.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that makes it really convenient when you have such a central location for your hotel. Well, I've got to ask about sort of the pre booking process. Did you book any onboard activities? I mean this is a new ship for the fleet, a new ship for you. But were there things that you wanted to book in advance that you were either trying to book in advance or maybe able to, maybe not able to. You're, you're a silver. Well now you're gold, but you were silver when you're booking. So welcome to gold by the way.
But yeah, you were silver when you were booking. But most of the, a lot of the people who are sailing on the adventure are first timers or silver cruisers. Yeah. So you're not, it's not like, it's not like the, the ships in the US where you're competing with Pearl cruisers for booking and whatnot.
[00:16:34] Speaker A: Yeah. So we did initially book some adult dining which we did end up canceling later on.
But we were, we were able to get anything that we wanted to. Everything was available. So drink tastings, adult diner, everything was available to book. And, and I think that is really to your point that the majority of people were first time cruisers.
The cruise director on one of the nights when we were in the theater said who, who's is it? First cruise? And literally the whole theater put their hands up and we were like, everybody was first time cruisers.
So that was, that was very strange that after silver we were, we had our pick and choice of what we wanted but in all honesty we didn't, we were happy just to experience everything that it had on offer because there was so much things going on all of the time.
[00:17:27] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's interesting, we've heard actually that this, the audience that is sailing on the adventure aren't big drinkers too.
So the bars we're hearing are very empty.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: The drink.
Yeah. The drink tastings we're hearing are very empty as well. And so those add on things that we're so used to in the States and also over in Europe of, you know, those things kind of maybe filling up all the less so in the European sailings just because those port days are long.
Yeah, long days where people are kind of exhausted and they just want to crash when they get back but we're finding that, you know, we're hearing from, from cruisers like yourself that those things are, are tending to be sort of less coveted as compared to. Yeah, yeah. Well, okay, so let's dive into embarcation day.
How did you get to the port? Did you take another one of those Grab Uber type things?
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Yeah, so we just, we just ordered a grab a good boarding time. So 11:45 was our boarding time and we were group eight, I want to say. So I'd done that on the 30 day mark and we got there literally within 10 minutes.
So we got there exactly for 11:45. They were already letting in 12:45, so we could have probably gone a little bit earlier. But we're very British. We very follow the rules.
[00:18:50] Speaker B: You queue. Yes, the Brits, they queue, they know how to do it.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: Yeah, we know what the rules are and we follow them. So we didn't arrive until our port arrival time.
[00:19:01] Speaker B: That's one of the things I love about Brits and British culture is like this, such a queuing rule following culture. I think that's such a wonderful. I think it's a wonderful thing.
I've heard. I'm curious how this played out on your cruise because I've heard and I have not experienced this myself because I have to admit, I've actually never.
I've never traveled in Asia ever in my life.
We have plans to eventually travel in Asia and we haven't been to any of the Asian parks.
And I. But I especially Tokyo is where I really want to go.
Yeah, that's what everybody says. It's the best one in the world.
But I have heard from folks sailing on the adventure that perhaps some of the sailors from various parts of Asia. I'm not going to point out a particular country because I think it might be several different countries.
They do not abide by queuing rules and tend to jump lines and kind of lots of shoving and things like that.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: In all honesty, we didn't find it too much. So we have been to the Asian parks.
The first time we went to Shanghai in 2018, I want to say we found that very much.
It was really evident. And there was a lot of queue jumping being offered counterfeit goods whilst in the queues.
Oh, it was, it was very, very strange the first time we went. Yeah, very much like, do you want
[00:20:33] Speaker B: one of these, like counterfeit Disney goods?
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Yes, counterfeit Disney goods. In the queue. In the queue.
[00:20:39] Speaker B: In the parks.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: In the parks, yes.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: My God.
[00:20:42] Speaker A: So that was when we went in 2018. So the park had only been opened a couple of years by that point. But this time and on the cruise as well, we didn't really find any problems with. There was. There was big lines and lots and lots of lines, but we didn't necessarily notice any queue jumping or anything like that.
I can't remember any kind of specific incidents where it was really bad. So, yes, what I probably found the most was one person would be in line and then when we get to the front, suddenly 20 people were in line with that group and we were like, where have they all come from?
So that was more what we found. But there was at least one person. And I think that kind of. That saving seats in the, in the theater is very kind of prevalent.
That one person goes for them seats and is trying to save a whole roar themselves, which is frustrating.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: But you, but you kind of expect that because some of that happens even. I mean, we see it on the ship sailing out of the US where hopefully not a whole row, but where one person is saving seats for an entire group of people. And, you know, there, there's some of that to be expected. And Disney doesn't enforce the rules as much as perhaps should. It's also hard to enforce those rules because, I mean, like sometimes Brian, like Brian and I on this last sailing that we were just on, we would. We went into the theater together, we sat down, got our seats, but then he went out to go get a drink or to go use.
Right. And so you've got to expect that like. So then I'm holding the seat next to me for him, but it's not because he wasn't there.
Yeah. So it's just kind of hard. That's why I think it's hard for Disney to enforce because you don't know who really is in the bathroom. And sometimes you got, you know, a family of five and mom pops out with all three kids to the bathroom and dad's holding all five seats. Right. So it just Definitely.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
And they did. They made announcements to try and say, like, no saving seats.
But yes, it does happen. But I didn't find it a particular. It wasn't an issue that was particularly difficult to deal with.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: Good, that's good to hear. Well, I gotta ask about embarkation day and boarding process. I've heard it's been smooth sailing for embarkation, that that's the process that's working well. I've heard the opposite for maybe disembarkation and some other things. But did you find that embarkation worked well?
[00:23:19] Speaker A: Really smooth?
So we had to technically do it three times right with it with being back to back.
But each time absolutely really, really smooth. No, no issues.
And like I say from us getting there at quarter to 12, we were on board by five past 12.
So within 20 minutes in bags were checked in. They don't send you luggage tags. So outside.
So they're not sending luggage tags out to anybody. I think just with it being so multicultural, lots of different countries and things and mail reliable.
[00:23:56] Speaker B: I mean we've had it happen in our cruise groups where we hear we've had it where we haven't gotten our luggage tags in time. And we've also heard very frequently from folks over in the UK or Europe who are coming to the US for a sailing. Them not getting their luggage in time. So it's very common. So it does. It's not that surprising. You're right. It's such a complete international audience, I would say with you know, 6,000 passengers, while they may have some people from Singapore sailing. Singapore is a tiny country.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah, yeah. So, so they have staff outside and literally where you dropped off and with big cages and they have like these little portable machines that prints off the tags and. And they just tag your bag, pop it straight into the cage and then straight outside the room. And it was really smooth. It was there for us at half past one once we were allowed to our room. So really, really quick, no issues at all. And like I say, we didn't wait.
The other positive was that we did have some castaway club status. So everybody else was waiting in the non castaway club line and we just were straight into that line through, through check in. So that was again another kind of bonus of sailing with DCL before.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a really good point because at Port Canaveral it really doesn't help you being in the. You know, it's because everybody has some castaway club status even and there's tons of even the Pearl and Platinum line is always long because there's so many people sailing with that level of status. But when you're in Singapore, almost nobody's got. Yeah. Status. So that's. That's funny. I want to ask about the back to back before we sort of talk about the cruise more generally. I want to ask about the back to back experience and did you get instructions once you were on board before the second and before the third cruise and tell me what that sort of looked like in terms of what the process was?
[00:25:54] Speaker A: Yes. So the night before we received a letter with very clear instructions. As to what to do if you were wanting to get off and explore Singapore or what if you were wanting to just come straight back on board. And we did it both ways. So between our first cruise we decided we wanted to go to Raffles and have a Singapore Sling and do kind of that quintessential experience that way. So we knew we wanted to go off that day.
But the process was the same for both times was that if you did want to get straight back on, you would meet at the D lounge and at half nine, half nine was one and quarter to ten was the other. So I don't know if it was depending on maybe that there was more back to back cruises on one sailing than the other, but we would meet in day lounge and then we were all escorted off together.
You have to go through the same kind of process that everyone does. So you go through immigration, it's all automated, so you just kind of put your passport in. You have to fill out the Singapore arrival card, which meant we had to do the Singapore arrival card four times for the length of time that we were there.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: So I got right, because you had to do it once, like when you're flying in.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: Flying in, yes.
[00:27:10] Speaker B: Then you have to do it to the. Coming back from the first cruise, getting on the second. I mean, yeah, it's. Yeah, multiple.
[00:27:17] Speaker A: So I was very experienced by the end.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: You can fill it out fast.
[00:27:21] Speaker A: Doing that very quickly.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: And you do that online or through an app. Right?
[00:27:26] Speaker A: You can, you can do it online, you can do it through an app, which I hadn't realized until I was listening to your episode with Luciano after we'd already disembarked. So I was like, oh, I could have done that. But not to worry, it was fine. So Disney give you access to the website.
Even if you don't pay for WI fi, you can get that free access. So. So it's good. You can just do it on, on board.
So I did it one day when I was waiting in line to go to see a show. I was like, right, I'll sit and do this now while I'm. While I'm waiting.
[00:27:58] Speaker C: So yes.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: So you meet there, then you go through your immigration, then you pick up your bags and then you have to go through like a customs. It's a bit like going through security again, but on the way out. So you have to put your bag through the. And the X ray machine.
[00:28:14] Speaker B: Oh, but you don't have to take all your bags, just whatever you're using for the day.
[00:28:17] Speaker A: Right, Whatever you're Using for the day. But like, like at the end of debarkation you have to put your whole case through, which I just found. Really? Really?
[00:28:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Because what, because you didn't go anywhere. All you were was on the ship and they, they know everything that's on the ship because everything that's on the ship had to come through customs basically.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: So it was a really bizarre thing. But yes, that was it. So we then went off for the day and when we came back we were given within that letter we were also given two little like golden tickets. I suppose a bit like Willy Wonka.
There were just like little yellow pieces of card that said back to back and, and it was like a golden ticket because you got like skipped everything.
We went through the concierge line instead and got straight back onto the ship. So we didn't have to wait for anything. When we just. When we did it that way on the second cruise we knew we wanted to get back straight back on because we wanted to, to see the ship when it was empty of people and take advantage of that side of things. So we met in the D lounge at half nine and we were back on the ship by.
So we were escorted through the whole process again. Again. Had to go through those, the scanner and things which I just thought was strange. And then back through again and then we were back on the ship I want to say by about 10 to 11 ish. So. So about an hour. Ish. Ish process. It wasn't, wasn't too long or arduous or anything at all. And we were obviously the first ones back on board and it was lovely to see the ship just so empty.
[00:29:52] Speaker B: Yeah. All you've got is cast and a handful of other back to back sailors and you've got this huge ship all to yourself. If you want to take pictures of parts of the ship without anybody in it, that's going to be your best opportunity. If you don't want to get up in the middle of the night, I mean you could do it in the middle of the night as well. But I don't really want to get
[00:30:08] Speaker A: up some lovely photos of the Disney imagination garden with literally no nobody in it at all. Which was, which was lovely. So that was a real perk doing that.
[00:30:19] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's dive in and talk about some of the experiences on board. I know that the entry, you don't enter into a grand hall or an atrium, so it's not the same entry back on. But I got to ask, I got to ask about your exploration of the ship. Like, what were their favorite areas on the ship, what were the things you loved? And then if there was anything you didn't love about sort of the layout of the ship, I'd love to hear that as, as well.
[00:30:45] Speaker A: So we, we had tried to watch a few vlogs and things before we went on board. Just because we knew it was such a different layout. We wanted to try and kind of plan as to how it would look and where we would be going and things. So I know a lot of people like to avoid spoilers, but I'm a very much an organized, prepared person and try and absorb as much as I can and do that that way.
So yes, you go in and it is a bit like, oh, you're on board.
There's no magical welcome. But having said that, the cast members are so kind and really, really lovely and welcoming in that way. But there isn't that normal Disney welcome? See where we came in, we came in very close to San Fransokyo street the first time we walked on. Literally we made a beeline for there.
We had our little carry on suitcase and things and we just like abandoned it somewhere and ran because lots of people were just not sure where to go and things like that. So it was so quiet that first day when we went on and really, really appreciated that. And it is so detailed. The imagineering that has gone into that place is unreal.
Like the sounds of the, the underground when you, when you're going in there.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: Oh, like you hear like a subway underground sound.
[00:32:08] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So, and like, like train announcements and things.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Oh, cool.
[00:32:14] Speaker A: And the, the map of like the underground, but it's so detailed as to kind of pull the names from Tokyo and pulling names from San Francisco as well to, to highlight all of that, the shop fronts. And I just thought it was such a cool way of integrating like the teen clubs into a central area, but in such a, like an, an amazing way.
Honestly blew my mind. It was brilliant. And that's where the cinema was, the Duffy and Friends shop and the arcade. So it was, it was a really fantastic area.
And I know when I'd watched a little interview with Josh tomorrow, he said that that was his favorite area and I could totally see why because it just was, was amazing. Really, really fantastic. The, the. And the imagineers did like a little, like little Polaroid pictures of themselves, like in a cartoon form of them eating this ramen and things. We took a picture of it because it was so cool. Like that's how they've integrated themselves into it. It was really good.
So that was one area which is amazing. The Imagination Garden is another, like obviously brand new area which was absolutely fantastic.
The only thing is shared. And obviously we are very pale because you're Brit.
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:33:37] Speaker A: Yes, yes. We are not used to sun. We are used to rain and cloud.
[00:33:42] Speaker B: Yeah. You're like us in Seattle. We're not used to this. Our bodies can't handle that giant orb in the sky.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: Definitely not.
And it was like being on the surface of the sun in that Imagination Garden. The sun is just beaten down.
[00:33:58] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: So we went to see Jack. Jack's Diaper Dash in there one day and they'd had the mat set up at the front of the stage but they had to move it because it was just. It was too hot for the babies.
Like if you think of the little. Little pitter pants, too hot. So they moved to the other side where the. The tea had seating is.
But even then part. They had to kind of only use two lanes of it because it was just too hot. And I think that would be one kind of area of improvement that I would say that needs some sort of shared areas. And even like, do you know, like industrial fans like they have in the parks where. Where they've got kind of their misters and industrial fans. There's just nothing like that, which I'm really surprised. When it is built for this hot, humid climate, it was quite surprising. But the variety of shows and things that went on in the Imagination Garden and the Castle and everything was just beautiful. Really, really beautiful.
[00:35:04] Speaker B: Yeah. What did you think of the. Speaking of shows in the Imagination Garden, what did you think of the Avengers show show and the Duffy Show? Those are of course the two that I'm most interested in. I'll. You know, I don't. I don't hide where my interests lie.
[00:35:19] Speaker A: So the Avengers show was brilliant.
And we. I'd spoken to one of the cast members who was coincidentally from. There was lots of British cast members, actually loads of British cast members.
So I got chatting to a lovely girl called Anya who was from Leeds. And so we had so up north as well. So we had a little bit of an affinity together.
And she said, like, you want to be seated on the floor in the middle and you'll get like a really good view. So I kind of tried to avoid a lot of spoilers for that. And it like, it was brilliant.
They were coming from all angles and one day we were. We weren't seeing the show, but we were going somewhere and they were all in the lift. And they were all in character still, though, so. So we. I did like a little bit of a startled jump when I saw them. And Loki was like, yes, they are very scary and intimidating, aren't they? And he was like, so in character. It was absolutely brilliant.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: I love that. I love seeing. When you see a character going to or from like a meet and greet or a show, and they still. They have to stay in character. And of course, the. And we're talking about face characters like the Avengers, where they talk versus, like, the, you know, Mickey and Minnie. And they don't talk, they just pantomime. But it's. They are so incredible.
Yeah. And they improvise in this amazing way because they have to interact with. With, you know, guests all the time, even if they're not doing a meet and greet. It's. Yeah, it's so. That's so cool. Okay. You're a big Duffy fan, so.
[00:36:54] Speaker A: I am a big Duffy fan.
[00:36:56] Speaker B: I gotta ask. Yeah. What you thought of the Duffy and Friends show.
[00:36:59] Speaker A: Brilliant. So I really just. So cute.
Really sweet.
Obviously, the first time we've heard them speak in. In English accents, like in. In English words, I suppose, language.
So we have seen them in Tokyo. There's like a little. At the Cape called Kuk Out. They do a show where you can go and have. Have some food. And they do a little show, but it's obviously all in Japanese, so. But you can kind of. You can understand what's going on, right?
[00:37:29] Speaker B: You can kind of figure out what's going on. Yeah, yeah.
[00:37:32] Speaker A: But. And. But this was so cute that you could hear them obviously talking and things. Just loved the song, the sentiment. Everything was just really, really sweet. So we sat again on the floor.
People queued for. For quite some time and sat on the floor on, like, the artificial turf on the Imagination Garden.
As the show was about to start, some people did try and stand up who were kind of in the front row. The cast members came over and told them to sit down and.
Which I thought was great because I heard them saying, like, if you stand up, everybody has to stand up.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: So if we try and sit down, either everybody sits or everybody stands, but, you know, one or the other.
[00:38:14] Speaker A: So the cast members were really good at keeping, like, everybody in order, really. And it was just a lovely, lovely environment and really, really sweet.
[00:38:23] Speaker B: Love that. Let's talk about some other areas of the ship. Did you get to go to the. I forget the name of it, but it's the pool where they do the Moana show the wayfinder Bay Wayfinder. Thank. Yeah, yeah.
[00:38:34] Speaker A: So the Wayfinder bit is again, another place where it is very, very hot, right at the back of the ship.
So I did see the Moana show that's on early on a morning, but it is so hot. So the cast members were actually advising people to take a towel to sit on and a towel to cover yourself over with.
[00:38:53] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Wow.
[00:38:55] Speaker A: Which I just thought was insane. And then they had cast members afterwards collecting huge, big bundles of towels that they were putting in. I thought, oh, all that laundry was. Well, isn't it?
[00:39:06] Speaker B: Yeah. They just need to create some, like, retractable sun shades. Right. Like Imagination Garden, the Wayfinder, all the pool spaces. From what we're hearing, there's not enough shade.
Yeah. Wow.
[00:39:20] Speaker A: If the show was on like an evening time, it would be perfect. So we actually spent quite a few nights. They had a huge, big screen there and they did, like a movie by the pool on a night.
[00:39:34] Speaker B: Oh, like funnel vision.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: Yeah, a bit like funnel vision, yeah. So we watched Moana, like the original Moana. We watched Luca Jungle Cruise.
So they were on generally about 6 o' clock ish on an evening. So we'd watch that and then go to dinner afterwards. And it was perfect. The sun was setting. It's right at the back of the ship.
It was much cooler. It was a lovely, lovely environment.
But during the day it is super, super hot.
And not.
The pool really wasn't used a lot from what we saw, because I think of just. Just how exposed it is, really.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Now, did you find that you used any of the pools on board, really, or. No. Because of that issue or because you had too many other things to do?
[00:40:21] Speaker A: I think a bit of a combination of a lot of that. So, one, we're not big sunbathers, so we wouldn't necessarily sit out in the heat. Anyway.
There were. The pools on the top deck were full of kids, very much kids soup.
So we. Not an environment we would want to be in.
And they were so hot. Honestly, I did the slides one day because I wanted to just have a little go of everything and things. So we did the slides one day and even just that little bit where you had a walk to take your shoes off and quickly get onto the slide and things was. It was so hot under your foot.
So the. The Sunnyside pool, the one on the. On the top deck, does look like it has been designed to have a sunshade over. So there's poles and things there that look like it should have a shade over, but it Doesn't. So I don't know whether they just haven't got round to putting it up yet. Maybe it wasn't ready in time and maybe it will be added because it definitely looks like it's got the, like the infrastructure there ready for it and it would be so needed. Really.
[00:41:30] Speaker B: Yeah. Now what about the. So I know there's no adult pool.
There's no adult spaces on this ship at all. Yeah. So that's a huge difference of course between the adventure and the other ships that there's just there are no adult only spaces on board. Even though there might be some spaces that do more cater to adults. But I'm curious about that infinity pool and bar. Did you go over there? Cause that's the, the, that's the one that people are telling us that would naturally be like an adult only space because it is a little bit away from other things.
[00:42:05] Speaker A: Yeah. So actually they have on an evening from 6pm made it adult only.
So, so that was something that, that we noticed during our sailing was that on, on an evening time that that area was made adult only.
So I think obviously people had been putting it into the guest services surveys and cruise by cruise things did change into a lot more, we did have a lot more adult only activities. The first cruise there wasn't anything to note.
So we were on the 9th, 10th and 11th sailings of the ship in general.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: Yeah. And so we're talking basically mid April for those listening. Yeah.
[00:42:50] Speaker A: So the first cruise, like I said, there wasn't anything in particular for adults. By the second and third crews that added adult only crafts, adult only trivia.
And then like I said that the infinity pool was put to only after 6pm so do you think they are trying to adjust based on people's feedback? And I think that's really, that's all they can do really. And I think that's really positive.
[00:43:17] Speaker B: Yeah, totally agree. I think it's, it, you know, it's hard because they've got to figure out who their audience is and I'm not sure they've really, I mean their audience is Asia more generally. But I'm not sure that they have honed in on who's actually going to sail. In fact, I've heard, and I'm curious about this from your perspective since you did have three different sailings. I've heard from, from cast members that the demographics of what like nationalities are sailing are changing and swinging vastly from cruise to cruise. Like one sailing you'll have people like everyone's from India and then the next sailing everyone's from China. And then the next sailing everyone's from the States or Europe. Right. Like. So I'm curious what you, you what it kind of. Well, one, was the ship full for your three sailings? And then two, did you notice those demographic swings and if so, what did they look like? Of course, it's hard to, you know, it's hard to know exactly. But I'm just curious what your perception was.
[00:44:14] Speaker A: Yeah, so I did join the Facebook for all three cruises. So I have a little bit of idea there from kind of demographic wise. The ceilings were full.
All three of our sailings were completely fully booked. So There was between 6,200 and 6,500 passengers over the three sailings on our second cruise because it tied with Australian Easter, like Easter break is what we would call it.
So the Australian, there was I think about 1000 plus Australians on that particular sailing because there was an Australian cast member who said she'd been told, you're going to have a great cruise this cruise because you're going to be joined by all of you, all your.
So we did see a lot of Australians.
There was a lot of Thai, Malaysia, that whole kind of Central Asia area.
Some Japanese, obviously Chinese, but more Western than. Than I did imagine. But then like I say, it was also British school holidays. We heard lots of British accents as well.
We did speak to a few Americans. Not a huge amount though. I wouldn't have said there was a huge amount of Americans on board. I would have said more British, Australian. And then like I said that the rest was Asian.
I didn't see a huge difference. Obviously I was part of the Facebook group and Pixie Dustin was honestly unbelievable. These cruises and the kindness and generosity of people was just amazing.
So we did. I didn't do any formal fish extenders or anything like that just because we'd heard about some stealing and things like that. And I didn't want to be upset or anything, but we do like to Pixie dust. So I've made some little, some little Duffy and Friends keychain bag charms that I just kind of made myself.
So like little beaded ones. So we were giving them out and what we got in return, honestly, we literally filled a full carry on suitcase with everything over the three cruises.
Snacks from different parts of the world. So sushi, like seaweed snacks and kimchi snacks and all of these lovely things that, that are brilliant to try and. And that. And yeah, people were very, very kind. And the doors honestly were another level considering everybody is first Time cruisers. I was thinking, like, I was thinking, oh, my door's going to be the best here. But it wasn't at all. People had. I don't know how they got it in their suitcases, but people had bought like curtain poles to hang curtains from and huge, massive balls and. Oh, absolutely. All sorts.
Balloons and fishing nets and things and. But it was amazing to walk. It was actually one of our favorite activities was just to walk along the corridors and see everybody's doors. And everybody was so excited to be on a Disney cruise. And I think and. And sharing in that. That spirit of Disney, which was. Which was lovely to see.
[00:47:31] Speaker B: Yeah, that's wonderful. Especially because, you know, we did hear from several of our guests that those corridors are kind of long and ugly and not. And not. Not. They don't really feel like Disney corridors. Yeah, but if you've got people decorating their doors, then you've got that. That's all the Disney you need. You don't need necessarily the, you know, the walls to have Disney artwork because you've got artwork from it.
[00:47:58] Speaker A: It was. It was brilliant. And we'd wrote. So there was a lovely door who'd had, like lovely handmade decorations on. And I just wrote a little note with alongside my pixie. Justin just said, like, I love your door. How did you make them and things? And I got a lovely little letter in return. And she said, like, you've made my cruise. And like that, that was. That was my magical moment of this cruise was receiving your letter. And I thought, oh, that is so sweet.
So it was just nice to, like, I said to share that with people who were obviously new to take cruise and who really, literally jumped all in for it.
[00:48:34] Speaker B: Yeah, they put a ton of effort in. I love that.
[00:48:38] 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 Karen. Caring, knowledgeable and experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. My Path Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, adventured with Disney, Relaxed at Aulani, and so much more. Whether it's a Disney cruise, a theme park vacation, or adventures by Disney, or if you are looking to expand beyond the mouse, My Path Unwinding Travel will elevate your Next vacation place planning experience. Even if you have already booked, reach out for a complimentary consultation to make your vacation even more magical. Ready to talk to the experts? Head over to mypathunwinding.com forward/dclduo or email dclduoypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks. My path unwinding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:49:37] Speaker B: I gotta ask about food, because you know cruises.
It doesn't matter what cruise line you're on.
A big part of your cruise experience is the food. The food generally is plentiful. Depending on what cruise line you're on, it could be. It could go anywhere from really terrible to really incredible. Right. And I'm curious where now you've been on Disney Cruise Line before, I'm curious where the food fell for you, what you thought about the variety. Because we know that there's obviously more Asian offerings on the cruise line on the adventure than there are on the other sailings.
[00:50:10] Speaker A: Yeah. So I thought the food was amazing and the variety was brilliant. The quick service restaurants. So there's kind of four quick service restaurants. Ohana's Grill, which is like burgers and chips, that kind of thing.
You would say fries.
[00:50:26] Speaker B: Sorry, I know what you meant, Claire, but I'm glad you said it because not everybody from our audience maybe knows that you chips are French fries and crisps are chips.
[00:50:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
And then there is Cosmic Kebabs, which was like shawarma, G. Ross kofta, really lovely, like Middle Eastern Mediterranean type foods.
There was Grandma Talas, which was like Hawaiian and Southeast Asia, like black beef and black bean kind of thing.
But also did like macaroni cheese, chicken tenders or all of your usual things.
And then there was Mowgli's Eatery, which was Indian food, which was phenomenal.
[00:51:14] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm curious. I mean you guys, you guys in the uk, you eat a lot of Indian food.
You love your curries. Yeah, yeah. You thought the, the quality of the curries on board were good.
[00:51:24] Speaker A: Brilliant. So that honestly, the quick service food, we even missed a couple of rotational dinings and just ate there because they were so, so good.
And I think that that was the only thing I would say about obviously a back to back cruise is you are getting the same menus three times, which we hadn't really, really thought about, I suppose so that kind of, that repetitiveness of that.
But because there were so many other varieties of food we really enjoy just, just trying everything really main rotational dining. So we did so there's six different rotational dining restaurants which are split into two rotations of three.
So one of them rotations, the restaurants hold 450 people. So that's the Hollywood Spotlight animators table and the Enchanted Summer restaurant. So and then the other side of that, like kind of your counterparts are Pixar Marketplace animators palette and navigate this club, they hold 700 passengers. So they are literally double in the size in restaurants.
And we found. So we did the Hollywood Spotlight side rotation for the first cruise, the Navigators club rotation for the second cruise and then we just wanted to see which one we like better and we would do that one for the third.
We found the food quality which we were so surprised vastly changed between the two sides of the rotation.
So the larger restaurants, the rest, the food quality was so much poorer than the smaller ones, which we couldn't believe because we were thinking surely it's coming from the same kitchen. But obviously it mustn't have been.
[00:53:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean maybe some of it is, but maybe not all of it.
[00:53:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:16] Speaker A: So really, really vastly different. So I would definitely suggest if you're looking for a rotation, go for the smaller ones, the one that has the Hollywood Spotlight on it. And the Hollywood Spotlight was amazing as a restaurant obviously food quality was brilliant.
Lovely dishes. A lot of it was from 1923 menus they had the burrata and the pepper peppered filet but. So the food was lovely but the entertainment is a new level.
[00:53:47] Speaker B: You get a character show in there and in Navigators.
[00:53:50] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
[00:53:51] Speaker B: So and I love this, this is such a pro tip, Claire. I love this. The hot if you choose the rotation with the Hollywood Spotlight because you're in a smaller dining room for all of
[00:54:01] Speaker A: your rotations so it's much more intimate and just the service was much better as well.
It was much better in the food quality as well.
[00:54:11] Speaker B: Yeah. It's interesting because you know, we know that Disney didn't design the layout of this ship. It was already designed for them and so they could only make certain changes. They couldn't move like any structural walls of course. And so they just had to figure out whatever the spaces, you know, they obviously repurposed spaces because we know there was supposed to be a huge casino on this ship when it was going to be the global dream. So they repurposed the spaces. But there's only so much space for those.
Yeah. And for the rotational dining that I'm guessing that this was sort of something they really couldn't change. Right. Like they wanted to do rotational dining but they had to do it in a different way than what they do on the other ships. So it's interesting that it ends up being with such a difference of 400 versus 700 passengers. And of course, you've got early dining and late dining, and that's what accounts for. And every restaurant.
[00:55:01] Speaker A: Right?
[00:55:01] Speaker B: So, yeah, that accounts for all the. The large number of guests on this. On this ship. Now, you ended up not doing any of the specialty dining.
Mike and Sully's or Paula. You, of course, did a ton of the quick serve. I'm curious why you chose not to do that.
And this is no judgment. I'm just. I'm just honestly curious because you had booked some of it ahead of time.
[00:55:25] Speaker A: We did, yes. And then when. So we'd originally booked for the Japanese steakhouse part of Mike and Sully's, but then when the Met. So it's. It said that it was kind of a $45 price on it. And then when the menus came out, that it was. It wasn't at all. It was kind of. It was an a la carte menu, and the cheapest dish was $45.
So when we looked at the menu, there wasn't anything in particular that we. We were struck by. In. In all fairness.
And then we've never done Paolo before, so we had Paolo brunch, but we didn't necessarily want our first experience of Paolo to be on the Disney adventure.
We wanted it kind of the traditional classic. Yes, exactly. Yeah.
[00:56:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:14] Speaker A: So we have got a cruise book later on in the year, and that is kind of our plan. That's what we want to do on the traditional ships then.
[00:56:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. I love that. I think that's a great idea. Do Paulo brunch on one of the.
One of the regular ships on not the Adventure. And consider maybe Palo dinner, because it is wonderful, but it is similar to what you're talking about as far as there is a price fix menu that is of a certain level, and then everything else is a la carte. But I will say, at least on the. On the other ships, the price fix menu does have several choices in every category. So it is still. I. I personally order the price fix menu when I go to Palo for dinner, and then I add a pasta course in. Okay, so we gotta talk shows in the Walt Disney Theater.
You know, there's obviously the Seize the Adventure. You hadn't seen that because you hadn't been on a wish class.
And then there's the new show, remember? I'm curious what you thought of. Did you go to both shows? Did you go to them more than once?
Okay, so tell me what you thought of them.
[00:57:18] Speaker A: So we did both of them twice.
I actually absolutely loved Seas the Adventure, so I love all of the classic Disney characters. A big fan of Minnie.
And so it was a. I found that short. Really, really super cute. Loved it.
I loved all of the different IP that was used as well. Like I love Hercules.
So I thought that was brilliant. I like that it was frozen too, as well.
So that kind of. A little bit something different, which I really enjoyed.
[00:57:48] Speaker B: Right into the Unknown. That's the high number. Yeah.
[00:57:51] Speaker A: And then the way that they've got these big LED screens all the way around the theater and it's so immersive 3D.
It looks as though you are in. In there. It is so immersive the way that they do it. Brilliant.
We did see, remember, twice. The first time, absolutely brilliant. The second time we had technical difficulties, which I was really upset about. So it stopped for 30 minutes.
So it was a long time. And it was. Obviously, you could see something fall off, basically the wall E kind of component.
And they. Then on the first time we saw it, wallies kind of sat on a little bit of. A little bit of a bench, I suppose, where he kind of moves backwards and forwards and it's really. It was really smooth and like, just amazing the way that they did it. But obviously something had. Had dislodged. So the second time there was four lovely men dressed in black maneuver and wally around the stage. And it just kind of took away from that. Lovely.
[00:59:03] Speaker B: It becomes distracting, basically.
[00:59:05] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. It really took away from the magic. So I feel like that did kind of taint my perception of it.
I really. The puppetry and the. The visual effects and all of that kind of thing was absolutely amazing.
The story. We. We'd actually never seen Wally before. And I know this is. This is ridiculous.
[00:59:29] Speaker B: This is ridiculous.
[00:59:30] Speaker A: Claire. Yeah. So we. We sat and watched it in the room before going. Obviously we knew we were going the next day, so we sat and watched it.
[00:59:39] Speaker B: Oh, good.
[00:59:40] Speaker A: We'd meant to watch it before we came away. And just one thing got away with us. We didn't manage to get it, so we watched it in the room. So we were so pleased because it. Oh, it's such a sweet film. I can't believe I've never watched it. In all fairness.
[00:59:53] Speaker B: I can't. Yeah. I can't believe you hadn't watched it before. It's one of Nathan's favorites. We don't we haven't watched it now in years. But it was one of the. When it first came out, like he wanted to watch it like all the time. And so we watched it many, many times back back when it came out.
[01:00:08] Speaker A: So it was lovely and it really captured the essence of the film and that sentiment and the characters really perfectly.
It was just a shame about the technical difficulties.
The only thing which is probably sounds really pernickety and I think it's because it's for the Asian market is the IP I found and I'm a Renaissance girl, so I love kind of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin and things like that. But I just found it a bit repetitive that it was the same VR guest song and the same them same songs, which I love. But I just thought that they had the opportunity to do something really different to. To use maybe Mulan, which again is something again from the 90s I absolutely love. Or Zootopia is so popular over here
[01:01:02] Speaker B: and Encanto is Kanto. Yeah. Opportunity to use the. Some of the newer or lesser used IP versus using the same.
The most popular ones. Be our guest and also friend like me. Right. Like there are certain ones that are overused because they're so popular. Yeah.
[01:01:22] Speaker A: So I just feel. So that was the only thing that I thought. I just wish that just pushed the.
Just a little bit further.
But yes, it was still magnificently done. But that was me only little hot take.
[01:01:38] Speaker B: All right, two other categories before I take you to Rapid Fire, which is I gotta ask you about character meet and greets and I gotta ask you about the rides.
Let's start with the rides. I know that this is a hot topic because the coaster has had issues and you have to book it in the app and there's not really a clear understanding of when you can book it. I'm curious what your experience was and did you get to go on it?
[01:02:03] Speaker A: Yes. So I do have a bit of a tip. It gets released at midday, the roller coaster.
So when the captain is doing his announcement, that is when it gets released. And you've got to be. It's a bit like the Hunger Games. You've got to be on the button there.
[01:02:18] Speaker B: It's like virtual queues. Then it's just like when you're doing virtual queue in the park at 7am or 1pm you got to be right on there. You got to get your. Have your app out and ready and refresh. Right.
[01:02:29] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. So just keep refreshing it.
So I did manage on my first day by total fluke. To get it for. For the next day. I'm not a huge, I'm not a huge thrill ride. I love Disney rides because they are story based rides. And, and that's what I really like, kind of them story based rides.
But I was like, no, I've got to do it. I'm gonna put my big girl pants on and I'm gonna go for it. I screamed the whole way around. There were little kids.
[01:02:58] Speaker B: What did your mom, what did your mom think?
[01:03:00] Speaker A: Did she go on it? She didn't go on it.
[01:03:01] Speaker B: Oh, she didn't go on it.
[01:03:03] Speaker A: She was just like, no, no, you go, you go. I'll stand and record.
[01:03:07] Speaker B: At least you get video that way.
[01:03:09] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. I don't know if I want anybody to see this video or footage though. I'm literally screaming. There were little kids who had their hands up like love and life. And I was holding on for determination.
You go kind of around the side of the ship, so you're practically like over. And I was like, oh, my word, what if this stops? And. And later on in the cruise it did actually break down. And they were only stuck for about five minutes. But I say only for about five minutes. I would have literally had a heart attack if that had been me.
[01:03:45] Speaker B: Plus, you're also out in the sun. You mentioned it's real hot out there. So if you're up. Yeah. So if you're up there, there's no shade when you're on the coaster. So if you're on that coaster even for five minutes, that could feel like an hour.
[01:03:57] Speaker A: And the only other thing was the rooms underneath. So some people on our cruise group were complaining that when the roller coaster was running, their room was vibrating.
[01:04:07] Speaker B: That's a good pro tip. Don't book one of the rooms that is right under the coaster.
[01:04:12] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. So they said they could feel it when it, when it was running. So it was running from about 3pm till about 7pm every, every night when we were on a CD and you book the day before, the day before for the next day.
[01:04:28] Speaker B: Okay, great pro tip. Listen, I love all of these things, Claire. This is the, this is why we love talking to folks like you. Because we have, we don't have any bookings on the adventure. We didn't go on the maiden or like. So this is great information for, for our listeners out there. Now. Did you go on the other, the other rides? The one that's.
[01:04:48] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[01:04:49] Speaker B: So I rides with air quotes on
[01:04:51] Speaker A: Groot, Groot Galaxy Spin or something like that. It's Called which is just like Dumbo, but smaller. In all fairness, it was quite fast. I will say it's been quite fast. I was, I was recording and to one point I thought, oh, I feel a little bit dizzy here actually. So it was quite fast. Cute. Not really.
We didn't do the PIMS recent. In all fairness, I can't even remember them being on, but my mom said she did see them running, but I can't even remember seeing them running, but they looked very slow. So I was like, oh, I didn't really feel a need to do them ones. But nice that there is something extra. I suppose it's an extra addition, not a bonus or anything like that.
[01:05:36] Speaker B: Yeah. All right. Well, character meet and greets.
There's been obviously a lot of stuff on the Internet about you have to book character meet and greets in the app or if you do those selfie at sea moments where you go, a character's on a stage behind you and you take a selfie of yourself with the character behind you. Did you do a lot of character meet and greets with three sailings? I'm guessing you had. You have more opportunity to, of course, than with one.
[01:06:02] Speaker A: So again, they were released around about 4 or 5pm every day for the following day.
So again, you had to get on and book. I didn't find any issues with booking, in all honesty. I know a lot of people on our cruise group were very upset and that they couldn't get bookings and things and there is so limited character opportunities.
And I really do feel that the people who haven't had that opportunity to meet them and there was some wandering characters, but they were being mobbed. But I think that's just because there wasn't an opportunity to see them at any other time, which was such a shame.
If you think about all of the other, all of the other ships, there are multiple character greetings going on all day every day. And the ones that we did were really well organized. You checked in. So we did BMX a couple of times, which was a. It was really, really good fun with bmx.
And another little kind of tip for that is we told him a joke and he was hilarious and he did. He's very like, huh, huh.
And it was, it was really funny. So a little if you do meet bmx, tell him a joke, he will like it and he gives lovely, lovely hugs and that. And what I will say though as well is people didn't. When we did the kind of. The planned meet and greets, people weren't really talking to the characters.
So they were very much taking their little picture and things, but weren't. So the characters loved. I talked to the characters all of the time.
[01:07:37] Speaker B: Yeah, they loved the interaction.
[01:07:38] Speaker A: They loved it. So we got fantastic interactions I think because we were given them something back. And Ariel was really curious as to why all the Dingle Hoppers were in the kitchen.
She found that really strange. And Jasmine was asking why we were, why we were here and could she visit us in England. And when she. We told her that it was very wet and rainy, she was like, no, definitely not. I'm not coming over there.
And we'd found. I did a little Disney bound Snow White when we were doing the Princess gathering and my mum had a Snow White T shirt on as well and she was like, why is my face not on your T shirt?
So it was. We got some really lovely interactions.
And in the rest, the restaurants, where is another place that you can see obviously the characters Hollywood Spotlight and the Navigators Club, but it is very much a, a pass by and wave. Having said that, I'd had quite like a sparkly dress on. I kind of try and theme my outfits to the, to the area and the characters came over and spent again a lot of time with us, which was lovely and really, really nice. But then I did see some, some obviously they were told that you're not allowed to stand up, you have to stay seated.
You can take a picture as they come past, but you're not allowed to stand up.
And obviously the little kids get excited, they're jumping up, they want a hug. And it was really hard to watch actually where they were told like, obviously the characters would just stand there and the kids were told to sit back down and it was really hard to see, but you could see why they were doing it because there was very limited opportunities elsewhere to see them.
[01:09:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Well, I have heard and this is so this is like some, some inside. We call that inside baseball, but you all don't really do baseball in the uk. But I have heard that Disney is working on bringing on more cast on the adventure in order to satisfy that guest demand for characters. I don't think they anticipated the staffing needs exactly correctly. As we mentioned at the beginning, the bars are empty and they're not drinking a lot. So maybe they need less of certain kind of staff, but more of other kind of staff. And they can't repurpose people because they have specific training for characters in particular. And you know, and they. People have to be certain heights and they have to know how to move. And it's actually, you'd be surprised. So yeah, I don't think people realize you have a different level of training or a different type of training for cast members that are, you know, characters for, you know, it's not. You can't just throw somebody in a Duffy suit and say, go be Duffy. Right. Like you have to.
Yeah. So anyway, I think that's going to be something we'll see coming in the. In the future. Okay. We have, you know, I forgot one topic. We have one topic to talk about before I give you my rapid fire treatment. Claire knew was coming. So I have no. I never feel bad when people come on the show. They know they're getting rapid fire.
Your stateroom. What? We have tons of categories of state on this ship. I'm curious what category you had and what you thought about your stateroom.
[01:11:10] Speaker A: Yeah, so we had a family veranda with, with like an ocean view.
So just kind of a normal ocean view which we loved. So we, we were really quite nervous having seen some of the vlogs and of some of the influences and things prior to going. It looked as though the rooms looked really uncomfortable in all fairness and had very little storage, but we did not find that at all.
So the, the beds weren't quite as comfortable as normal Disney mattresses. I found it absolutely fine. My mum found it a little bit firm for her for her liking.
The.
I would not have wanted to sleep, having said that on the fold out bed it was okay to sit on as a, as a sofa, but I would not have wanted to sleep on that.
But it was fine for a sofa. The little fold out table that is there is brilliant and really, really handy. We use that for lots of different things and that was great.
And they have like a little footstooly type. I think it's just to sit and do your makeup up in front of the mirror. But we use it as a footstool. We had it out on the balcony and put our legs up and things and it was really lovely.
So we found the rooms actually really quite spacious. We liked, we liked the slip bathroom, but we liked that it was a shower only because it was a really quite big, nice shower for us. So. So we really like that.
And the only thing is there was a couple of just things where things are not quite up to like Disney standards of furnishings.
So the first one is that the curtains are so flimsy that they might as well not even be there in all fairness.
So they don't use. They don't really block the light out very well.
And they just don't have like that button to them that make them like that heavier.
[01:13:07] Speaker B: Yeah, that's sort of the blackout curtain.
Think about where you've got. It's like a. A double curtain essentially.
[01:13:13] Speaker A: Yeah. So that they were just really flimsy.
And then the wardrobe is like an open wardrobe with two layers of hanging space but nowhere really to hang any like long dresses or trousers. We did take lots of magnetic hoops, so we were fine. We had plenty of extra space that way.
And the wall in front of the bed is just a blank wall, which isn't really very Disney.
But we. I hung my ears up.
Our animators palette and drawings.
We did win a trivia.
So we hung our medals. So we just decorated ourselves basically. Yeah. But that would. That would be the only thing. But we were midship on deck 11.
And like I said before, I'm not a great traveler. But we didn't even use any seasickness medication. This is this horse time. Because the sea was as smooth as glass. It was just. And we were literally just doing circles in the middle of the orchard.
We weren't really going anywhere, but it was so smooth.
And one of our favorite things was just sitting out on the balcony, just, just watching that. Lovely. We saw dolphins and it was just really lovely. Really, really nice. Yeah. Awesome.
[01:14:30] Speaker B: Well, I mean, sounds like a great trip with that Claire. I've got to bring us over to Rapid Fire. Brian will kill me and tell me that this recording is too long.
So I'm going to subject to you some arbitrary rules, some arbitrary questions and a dash of judgment or the round we know as Rapid Fire. So this is where I ask you of course, some Disney favorites and then Disney Cruise Line favorites and you can answer with the Disney Cruise Line favorites with any answer that is. Is relevant to any ship that you have sailed on. So you can't answer with like the Disney treasure because you haven't sailed on it. But anything else is fair game. I'm going to start with who is your favorite Disney character?
[01:15:10] Speaker A: So it is Belle.
[01:15:12] Speaker B: Love it. All right. What is your favorite Disney movie?
[01:15:15] Speaker A: So I would also say Beauty and the Beast, but I would say an honorable mention to Enchanted.
I just love Enchanted. And it's probably the film that, that if I want something to watch, is the one that I would go and watch.
Just cheers me up. I love it.
[01:15:31] Speaker B: I love it. I love the mix of live action with the animated. It's a real. Yeah, it's fun. It always Is that callback to who framed Roger Rabbit for me? So it's really fun. All right, well, what is your favorite Disney song?
[01:15:46] Speaker A: So I love anything by Alan Menken. Just love, love his kind of music.
And there is a song on in Tokyo Disneyland, there's a ride called Sinbad's Voyage that Alan Menken did the track for. It's called Compass of your heart, and I just absolutely love it.
[01:16:05] Speaker B: All right, I'm have to look it up. I don't know that this is one of those songs I don't know because I haven't been to Tokyo Disney, but I love Alan Menken as well.
[01:16:12] Speaker A: Yeah, it is really lovely.
And there is on YouTube, there's an English version of it. Obviously it's in Japanese, but there is an English version of it and the words are just perfect. Basically, that kind of the last in line is like, follow the compass of your heart and it's just really, really sweet. Love it.
[01:16:31] Speaker B: Love that. All right, we're switching over to Disney Cruise Line. What's your favorite Disney Cruise Line Stage show in the Walt Disney Theater.
[01:16:39] Speaker A: Yes. So I did come into going on the Disney adventure thinking that remember would be my favorite, but I actually preferred, and it sounds strange, but seize the adventure.
I absolutely loved Sees the adventure.
And like I say, I love the IP that was used and I love the characters. So, yes, that's what I'm going to go for.
[01:17:01] Speaker B: I love it. You have to get on the Disney dream or the Disney treasure because you have to see Beauty and the Beast on that Walt Disney Theater stage. It is so good. You will be blown away, I swear.
All right, all right, let's talk favorite rotational dining. I'd love to hear which rotational on any of the ships that you've been on. Which one is your favorite?
[01:17:24] Speaker A: So I'm going to go with the Hollywood spotlight.
So prior to this, I would have said Tiana's on the wonder, but the Hollywood spotlight just took it that. I mean, Mickey and Minnie dance that. Yes. Tuck dancing on the shape if they're singing. Or there's like kind of a lovely girl who does some songs and a pianist at the same time. It's just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
[01:17:52] Speaker B: So, yeah, I love, you know, I love dinner and a show and I. That's why we love Tiana's as well. But that's. That sounds incredible. I love that. All right, I gotta ask you some favorite food items, a favorite sweet item and a favorite savory item on a Disney cruise. It could be from this adventure cruise, but it could be from prior sailings. Let's start with the sweets, because the savories are the best.
[01:18:12] Speaker A: I think there was a lovely UBE creme brulee again on the Hollywood spotlight menu, which was delicious. And I had that, like, multiple times because I really enjoyed it. And then obviously chew or Mickey waffles. And my little tip that I really like to do is get one from breakfast and then wait until ice cream comes on a little bit later and have the banana soft serve with the two of them.
[01:18:41] Speaker B: Banana soft serve. Ah, that's the best.
[01:18:45] Speaker A: That is my kind of ultimate Disney highlight.
[01:18:49] Speaker B: That's a pro tip. I like that one. All right, what about a favorite savory item?
[01:18:54] Speaker A: So we had. We did have some lovely dishes on this cruise, but the one that I keep remembering is. And it's obviously, it's an everyday menu. So it was when we were on the Hawaii cruise. So it was one of the extra menus that we got. There was a. A garlic pasta with scallops, and it was. Was just delicious. Really, really enjoyed it.
[01:19:14] Speaker B: Love that. Love that. All right, Favorite activity to do while on a Disney cruise.
[01:19:20] Speaker A: I am a big fan of trivia. I love trivia. And that was the only thing on this cruise that I will probably say was a bit of a letdown is that they don't tell you what topic it's going to be.
So you what?
[01:19:31] Speaker B: They just say it's trivia and you just show up and then you don't
[01:19:35] Speaker A: know what it is, what it is. So you could be go. So I'm. I'm not a big.
I'm not a very good Marvel fan. A kind of a casual watcher, but not a master fan.
[01:19:44] Speaker B: Not a deep. Yeah, deep.
[01:19:45] Speaker A: So you turn up and it's like, oh, it's Marvel trivia again. And I'm like, I wouldn't have bothered going there.
[01:19:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I would go someplace else. That's a bummer. Yeah, that's weird because on all the other ships, they tell you what trivia is when, so that you can pick which ones you want to go to.
[01:20:01] Speaker A: So when we asked the cast members, they said, oh, it was just their choice.
So they wouldn't.
When whoever was doing it, they just chose what they wanted to do there and then, which I just thought was really, really strange.
[01:20:14] Speaker B: That's really strange.
[01:20:15] Speaker A: And I did put that in the comments. I was like, you need to have set topics for trivia.
[01:20:21] Speaker B: Then you could end up with all Marvel trivia on a sailing or all. Or all parks trivia or all Brain teasers. Right. Like, you have. You have to have variety because you have. Have guests who have different interests and you. I mean, yeah, you don't have to have, like, you know, everything available, but you gotta have some variety of trivias.
[01:20:42] Speaker A: So trivia, I would normally say was. Is my top thing. I do like a good trivia.
[01:20:47] Speaker B: Yeah. All right, the most important question.
Which one is your favorite ship? You've been on the Wonder, you've been on the Fantasy, you've been on the Adventure. Have I missed one?
[01:20:57] Speaker A: No, that's it so far.
[01:20:58] Speaker B: Okay. All right. So you have a choice. I mean, you've got. From three different classes.
Which one is your favorite?
[01:21:07] Speaker A: It's still a Disney wonder.
[01:21:09] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right.
[01:21:10] Speaker A: We loved the Adventure, but there was just something missing. That's what I would say.
I don't know what it was because the cast were lovely, the food was great, the entertainment was fantastic, but I don't know, there was just something missing. Whether it was that just some of them normal Disney things, like Good Morning Disney Wonder with the cruise director. You don't get something that's not on or the see you real soon at the end.
I think just them little tiny Disney touches that make it really special or make the other ships really special. I think.
[01:21:49] Speaker B: Think it's a different product. I think that's what people have to maybe think about when they're deciding between booking the Adventure versus booking one of the other.
One of the other seven ships. Gosh, we're at seven. We're at eight ships now. So you have lots of choices in what you book. And of course, but they're very different parts of the world where you're going to be, and one might be much more convenient than another. So of course that's going to factor in. But I think we have to look at the Adventure as a product of its own category. Right. It's just. And it's not. That's not a bad thing, a good thing. It's just different. And I think. Yeah, and I think that that's the thing I want to convey to people from what we've, you know, from talking to you, Claire, and from talking to Luciana and Rich and Jeremiah, that the adventure is its own thing and we'll have. And in fact, I'm talking later today, I'm going to be talking to an Aussie cruiser who went on the Adventure. And so I'm going to. Yeah. So going to hear their perspect. But I think it's just we got to look at this as a different product, separate from the other ships and enjoy it for what it is and not for what it isn't. And I think you came away with a great attitude about that.
Okay, my last question is a question I ask everyone who does my rapid Fire, which is what is your bucket list cruise? If you could go anywhere in the world on a Disney ship, where is it going to be?
[01:23:14] Speaker A: So I would like to do an Asian cruise around some more Asian ports, though Celebrity, do a lovely cruise between Hong Kong and Singapore, which goes to Thailand, Vietnam and that kind of area, and Malaysia. And I would love to see Disney Adventure or the World Sea ship doing something like that with some different ports. And I would be strict booking that.
[01:23:40] Speaker B: Yeah, love it. All right, well, I've got to ask you, what's next? I think you, you mentioned you've got something booked. I'd love to know what that is. What have you got untapped with Disney Cruise Line or with any other cruise line?
[01:23:51] Speaker A: Yeah, so we have two cruises actually booked on the Dream, so this summer. So we've, we've got a gt, a really good GTY rate for a cruise in July and which is going around the Mediterranean. So it's all Italian port places we've been to before. But we're looking forward to just going and revisiting them.
There's one that we haven't been to. We haven't, we've never been to Sardinia before. And this one stops in Sardinia, so that would be really lovely.
So we're just doing an ocean view GTY on that, so that'll be lovely. And then we've got the transatlantic booked. Oh my God.
[01:24:29] Speaker B: Take those patches, Claire
[01:24:33] Speaker A: for September.
So again, we really like the longer cruises.
[01:24:38] Speaker B: It's going to be fabulous. You're going to have every menu too. You're going to have. That's the great thing about doing that. Instead of like with a back to. Back to back, you got the same menus over and over again. With a Transatlantic or a Trans Pacific or a Panama Canal, you're going to get a different set of menus. You'll get the traditional rotational, but you'll get all these additional menus as well.
[01:24:59] Speaker A: I'm really looking forward to seeing Beauty and the Beast. That's been high on my priority list.
And doing some midship detective and. Yeah, so we're really, really looking forward to that.
And just then the things that come with them, longer cruises like the guest speakers and the special events and things like that that we really, really enjoyed from when we did the Hawaii cruise. So really looking forward to that in September as well.
[01:25:25] Speaker B: Oh fantastic. Well Claire, thank you so much for joining me. Sounds like you've got some, I mean those are bucket list cruises you've got planned for most people. For me at least I've not sailed the Med and not sailed on a transatlantic and it would be amazing to do both of those things. But I just want to say thank you so much for joining me today.
[01:25:45] Speaker A: Thank you so much for having me. Really, really enjoyed it.
[01:25:53] Speaker C: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us live, we have a live show now every week Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple Podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, review, a five star written review. We will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email them at DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. If you've got questions or you'd like to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to dc.
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[01:27:55] Speaker A: Good night.
Sam.
