Ep. 677 - She Paid $3,000 More for Disney Wish Concierge — Was It Worth It?

[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you are not spending most of your time in that concierge lounge and on that concierge pool deck, you are not getting the value for that concierge level. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Welcome back everybody to this week's episode of the DCL Duo podcast. And Sam, do your jingle simply the best. [00:00:32] Speaker C: Better than all the rest. [00:00:35] Speaker B: All right, this week's review comes from Domestic cre Chris, Domestic Kris, K R Y S. I think you would pronounce that Chris. Yeah. Domestic Chris. Yeah, sounds good. All right, so the review is titled Great show with honest reviews. I've been binge listening to the duo for several months now in preparation for a future cruise. We haven't cruised since 2018 and my husband couldn't go due to work and we've had two more children since then. I appreciate the selection of guests they have on who share their gamut of experiences from Royal Suite concierge stays to being quarantined on the ship due to communicable diseases. They also share their own experiences with trip reports and their experiences are just as valid and valuable of those of their guests. It has been fun to listen to older and newer episodes to hear about the changes good and bad about the line. It all makes me appreciate the experience I had in 2018 all the more. First time cruiser had Palo brunch when it was still buffet as well as gets me hyped up and feeling prepared to make our future cruises the best they can be. Thank you, Sam, Brian and Nathan for working so hard on this wonderful resource. [00:01:40] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. Thank you, Domestic Chris. I actually love the shout out to Nathan because even though Nathan's not often on the show anymore, he used to come on a little bit more regularly and now he kind of, he's not really that interested in being on, but he's, he contributes in the sense that like he has to entertain himself while we're on the podcast, recording episodes or doing a live episode. And he knows like not to interrupt us and he's really patient and, and great about that most of the time. [00:02:09] Speaker B: I suspect come July when we do our Adventures by Disney podcast cruise, you're going to hear a little bit from. From Nathan because I am going to. We're gonna. People have been asking us to do the onboard recording for a while and I think we're gonna do that for that cruise. So we'll do a little onboard recording with the folks joining us for podcast cruise version 2.0. So yeah, so we're looking forward to it. But Sam, we have fun guest today. Fun Topic Fun guest intro. The guest and topic. [00:02:33] Speaker C: Yes, I am super excited to welcome back to the show Jen. She since we last saw her she started her own podcast. It's kids travel tales podcast with Mama and Mia. Jen is of course the mama and Mia is her daughter Mia. They have sailed to together on Disney Cruise Line several times, just the two of them. But I'm excited today because we're going to talk to Jen about a family cruise where she was able to drag her non Disney husband and her younger daughter Paloma on. But welcome back to the show Jen. [00:03:07] Speaker A: So good to connect with you guys again. And that review was perfect for this episode because my husband is also Chris. He's sometimes domestic and he hadn't been able to join us on our first three cruises because of work. [00:03:21] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. [00:03:22] Speaker A: So the parallels are uncanny here. So shout out to domestic Chris. [00:03:26] Speaker B: Just please tell me that the intro music for your show if it's not already it should be like Mama and Mia over talking Disney. That's why the jingle people. [00:03:36] Speaker A: I say I could have Mia sing it but as talking to two lawyers here, I'm scared to test my chances in that. [00:03:43] Speaker B: It's parody. It's fair use. [00:03:45] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Parody is a fairy use. So just a little snippet and parody words. Absolutely. [00:03:51] Speaker A: You'll be fine. [00:03:51] Speaker C: Just like Weird Al parodies time. [00:03:55] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:03:56] Speaker C: Jen, we're so happy to have you back on the show. We had so much fun the last time. Why don't you tell us what cruise you all went on this time? Why you? Well actually let's back up. Tell folks your cruising and Disney background. You have three prior cruises. So this is number four, right? [00:04:14] Speaker A: Yes, this was number four. We've done four cruises in four years covering all four three classes of Disney ships here in the United States. Our first three cruises were mother daughter cruises with my older daughter Mia. Some of our favorite memories together. And what I love is that Disney Cruise Line makes solo parenting so easy. And fun fact, after this last fourth cruise, Mia and I each have a different favorite Disney cruise ship which you can ask her about. But I have to be honest with you both going into cruise number four, this was the one I was most nervous for. Which happy to tell you about about why I was so nervous going into cruise number four. [00:04:57] Speaker C: Yeah, tell us about that. Why? Why so nervous? Well, I'm guessing because husband and Paloma and Mia. [00:05:03] Speaker A: So Mia had her heart set on going on the Disney fantasy. She really wanted to be on that ship. But our first cruise back in 2023 was Disney Wish concierge. And I told her I wanted little sister to have the same first cruise experience that she did, particularly in that Arendale restaurant. So. So I was nervous for Mia how she was going to react being back on the Wish again. Would she enjoy it as much? Spoiler alert. Didn't need to worry about that. And then for Paloma, I was worried because we ended up doing a last minute trip to Disney World, Paloma and I, over the winter. I mean, Mia had got three mother daughter Disney cruises. I really wanted to have a Disney mother daughter experience with Paloma. So would Paloma like the Disney cruise as much as Disney World? Spoiler alert. Didn't need to be worried about that either. And then of course, we had the Disney hating husband who I say his spirit animal is Donald Duck. What were we going to say? What were you going to say about the husband who not a Disney fan. And I will say this. So I asked him at the end of the cruise, next time we go, would you rather stay home in the man cave five days solo or come with us on another Disney cruise? And he said, you know, I think I really want to come on the Disney cruise, so. [00:06:19] Speaker C: Oh my God, that's such a win. [00:06:21] Speaker A: Such a win. Yes. He will be with us on the Disney Fantasy next time we go. [00:06:26] Speaker C: Oh, I love. [00:06:27] Speaker A: So excited for that one. Yeah. [00:06:28] Speaker C: Well, I want to talk a little bit about the planning process and I know there was a bit of a, we'll call it a snafu on Disney's part with one of the things that you were really hoping to have worked out. But why don't you tell us, like, when did the planning for this start? And, and did you feel like, why did you book concierge for this cruise in particular? Because I know you've sailed both now concierge and non concierge. [00:06:51] Speaker A: Interestingly, the two times we've done concierge have both been on the Wish. And we did it to put in that request to be up close to the stage at Arendelle. We didn't want a cabana. We weren't going for Bippity Bobbidi. We did do Olaf's Royal Picnic the first cruise. I've heard your reviews on that too. We agree we skipped that the second time and spent the money elsewhere. But yeah. And then our cruises on the Dream and the Magic were non concierge. But again, it was coming back to I wanted Paloma to have the same experience her big sister did with that Arendelle being right up next to the Stage. That's why we booked the Disney Wish again. But, oy, this. This cruise has been in the works for about two to three years. We've punted this particular reservation with the placeholder down the line two or three times until we felt Paloma was ready. Another reason to work with a travel agent. Shout out to Jamie, our travel agent. Do travel. Right. Who I know you guys finally got to meet. [00:07:48] Speaker C: At one point, we met her at Terminal for the Destiny in Fort Lauderdale because she's good friends with Emily, who we know, who's the owner of that agency. And so, yeah, we got to meet. It's funny, Emily had sent me a picture of Jamie, and I saw Jamie in the terminal. He took a selfie and sent it to Emily. So shout out to Jamie. She's a lovely person. All right, so. So you worked with Jamie. You were planning this cruise. You wanted to do the. The same. The same cruise essentially as you had done with Mia the first time. Did you book anything prior to the cruise in terms of onboard activities or shore excursions, anything like that? [00:08:30] Speaker A: You will be excited about this one. I finally got to go to Palo for the first time. [00:08:34] Speaker C: Oh, yay. Did you book brunch or dinner? [00:08:37] Speaker A: No, we booked dinner because we weren't sure how Paloma was going to react to the kids club. So we didn't want to commit ourselves to a two half hour meal if, like, we had to, like, step away to get her out. So we did dinner, and that was one of the biggest, wonderful surprises of the cruise. So our Apollo dinner came for me and my husband. Three courses. Oh, and we did the water tasting. Don't sleep on the water tasting at Paulo. That was such a highlight. Like, so we selected a bottle of water from Australia. So we're. My husband and I are sitting there like, wow, how is this vintage from Australia? It was so much fun. Absolutely. Recommend the water tasting at Paulo, but we get the bill at the end. $150, $55 for both of us because we didn't order any alcohol. And compared to, like a nice restaurant in any major city, that bill was completely comparable. The food quality was completely comparable. So we felt like we got a real bargain doing Palo compared to a date night out in the city for the two of us. And we had an absolutely fabulous time. The food was great, the service was great, the sunset views were am. So Paulo is definitely on our checklist for every cruise my husband and I do together moving forward. [00:09:51] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. I love that. [00:09:53] Speaker A: Oh, but I do like the Amaretto souffle. Better than the chocolate. [00:09:56] Speaker C: There you go. Welcome to Team Amaretto. [00:09:59] Speaker A: We are Team Amaretto all the way. That was fantastic. [00:10:01] Speaker C: I love it. I love it. Listen, the. You can't go wrong with either souffle choice. I just personally think the Amaretto is better. It's not quite as sweet. The chocolate's a little too sweet for me. I'm not a real sweet spoon person, and that's why I go for the Amaretto. Still sweet. It's just not, like, as sweet. All right, well, let's back up to you. Travel down from the D.C. area down to Florida. Friends don't let friends fly in on embarkation day. When did you fly in to Orlando, Sam? [00:10:30] Speaker A: I'm going to sell a friend out here. I actually know a friend who has an upcoming Disney cruise next month, and she's flying in same day. [00:10:36] Speaker C: Oh, my God. [00:10:37] Speaker A: I warned her. From D.C. from D.C. yeah. [00:10:40] Speaker C: You can't drive. That's just. Don't do it. [00:10:44] Speaker A: I warned her. I feel I did my due diligence. [00:10:46] Speaker C: Because if you're driving distance, like, if you. If something happens in your driving distance, like, okay, go for it. Right. But if you are not driving distance, and I'm going to say D.C. is not driving distance to Florida because you need. [00:10:58] Speaker B: At least it is. But not same day. [00:11:00] Speaker C: But not same day. Yeah. I mean, you could. There are people who do drive that, you know, but it's not. You can't drive it in, you know, you can't get up that morning and get there in time for embarkations. So don't do it. Okay, well, all right. So when did you guys get into Orlando? [00:11:15] Speaker A: Which is funny because actually we were delayed that day, so thank goodness we flew in the day early. Also, if you are not flying into term the new Terminal C in Orlando on JetBlue, you all are missing out, especially for kids experiences. [00:11:31] Speaker C: Oh, really? [00:11:31] Speaker A: Have you been in there? It is absolutely stunning. [00:11:34] Speaker C: We have been to Terminal C once or twice, but we always fly Alaska because we fly out of Seattle and that's our hub here. And so we never. We like, never fly JetBlue. Not because there's anything wrong with JetBlue. It's just not like there are no flights for on jet. There's very few flights on JetBlue out of Seattle. I think the only ones that I can think of that are sort of regular are the ones to New York. So, yeah, we typically fly Alaska. [00:12:01] Speaker A: So Terminal C, I believe, is the new international terminal. And there's one US airline that gets to fly in there and it's JetBlue and you get in there at these. There's interactive play walls for kids that just can. Will entertain your kids during any flight delay. That's the terminal with the new dragon flying in the Universal Store. So if Harry Potter fans, that's definitely a highlight to visit. It entertains the kids so much. It's absolutely stunning. I. I know we all love the carpet and the old terminal and the subway ride. The first ride of the trip. [00:12:33] Speaker C: No, you get a chance to welcomes you to Orlando while you're on the train. [00:12:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it is a whole vibe flying into Terminal C. I'll. I'll say that. So. [00:12:43] Speaker C: All right. Well, yes, I wish we could maybe enough. Maybe sometime we'll get to. But yeah, I think we've only had one flight out of Terminal C. One time when it was like brand new, but I don't think it was even finished. All right, well, so you fly into Orlando. Where'd you guys stay the night before the cruise? [00:12:58] Speaker A: We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Cocoa beach, which had about a shuttle for $8 a person over to Port Canaveral in the morning. We got to use those IHG points and it was less than a five minute walk over to the beach. So we walked over, we could see Kennedy Space center and Artemis had just gotten back like a few days earlier. So we were all really excited to be able to see the shuttle launch pad from the beach. And I'm probably one of the only few cruisers who can say they had goat the night before that Disney cruise. [00:13:31] Speaker C: You ate goat? [00:13:32] Speaker A: I ate goat. I could not get the girls to try it, but I loved it. There was a little fantastic Indian place and a strip mall across the street from the Holiday Inn. So we were sitting there in the lobby eating goat and naan and delicious Indian food the night before our Disney cruise. So if you've got those IHG points, highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express Cocoa Beach. They were great. [00:13:51] Speaker C: Awesome. Now, how did you get from the airport down to Cocoa Beach? Did you rent a car or take an Uber or book transportation? Like what did you do for that part? [00:13:59] Speaker A: Oh, I always rely on Jamie's recommendations and the recommendations from WeDoTravel. Right. So they recommended a long time to us a service called Away We Go Clean Cars. Always on time. I was doing the math on, let's say staying in Disney and doing Disney transportation versus using a private shuttle and then doing the hotel room on points. I don't think the math was there for saving as much as I Had hoped, but I, you know, he got the point. You're going to lose them for the hotel eventually. You might as well use them. But I'm big fans of Away We Go and that reliability of a private transportation. [00:14:38] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, you've got. Had a delicious Indian. We love Indian food ourselves. You have a delicious Indian meal the night before the cruise. What time was your port arrival time the next morning? And what time did you head over to the port? You mentioned you were maybe five minutes away. And you take the hotel shuttle. So super easy. [00:14:56] Speaker A: No, I'm just laughing because that hotel shuttle ended up, I think, being one of Paloma's highlights of the cruise, because I know it's such a random. It's a such. And that's what's so magical about these Disney vacations, is always the little moments that you remember afterwards. And that's the magic. But we were in the Holiday Inn shuttle with about 15 other people, all going on Royal Caribbean. So our first stop was Utopia of the Seas. And Paloma's never seen a cruise ship in her life before. And she pulls up next to Utopia this season. She's like, what the heck is this? [00:15:26] Speaker C: It's huge. Yeah, yeah. And that's. That's not even the largest. Utopia is only an Oasis class that's like way smaller than the. The icon and the Star the seas. So. But your icon class. But, yeah, that's. Yeah, that's really. That's quite funny. [00:15:40] Speaker A: And I don't want to spoil Paloma's favorite part of the cruise that you'll hear from her, but Utopia, and looking out for Utopia from her veranda ended up being one of her highlights of the cruise. Utopia left a huge impression on her, I guess you could say literally left a huge impression on her because it's so big. But even with our stop at Royal Caribbean first, I'd still say we were to Terminal 10, where the Disney Wish sails out of by like 10 o'. Clock. We were into the Concierge Lounge by, I'd say 10:30, maybe even 10:45. And I. If you have time, I'd love to talk a little bit about the experience of sailing out of Terminal 10, because I've heard it discussed on your podcast a little bit, but I have some thoughts. [00:16:22] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, tell us. Tell us your thoughts. So Terminal 10, for those who don't know, is not. Is not Disney's terminal. Disney's Terminal is Terminal 8 at Port Canaveral. Terminal 10 is where the wish sails in and out of, because the Wish has three and four nights sailing. So twice a week it's back and forth, you know, to that port. And they can't park all of the ships at Terminal 8 because you've got the Fantasy and the Treasure that are sailing out of Terminal 8. And so because, and, and on Fridays, every other Friday there's two ships in port. Or is it every Friday? It might be actually, but anyway, so it's, it's, it's one of those things where they have to have two places and they can't have the Wish going in from one place and out from the other because people are parking their cars at whatever garage is right there. And so they have to go in and out of 10. Yeah. So tell us about the experience going out of 10. I know it's a lot less magical. We've gone out of Terminal 10 once before, only in the sense that it's not like Disney decorated. [00:17:19] Speaker A: Well, that's not where it wasn't magical. I actually love the theming inside of Terminal 10. I found it very beautiful with these gorgeous white palm trees. The stuff speed was efficient. The staff were very helpful. Now I heard from friends that there were problems later in the day, but we actually were on cruises the same week you guys were on the Treasure, the same week I was on the Wish. So that was the week everyone was having problems with check in everywhere. So I don't think that has anything to do with Terminal 10. The issue is the concierge lounge and that set off a lot of the concierge experience that we're not, you know, we're going to start talk about. The concierge lounge in Terminal 10 is basically non existent. There's, there is no drinks like you find in Terminal 8. There's no chargers, not even a curtain to separate the concierge lounge from the rest of the area. So like your kids could be like dashing out there. A couple. I did see a couple younger ones trying to make a break for it. So that was a little disappointing in terms of comparing it to the concierge experience three years ago. Again, not a deal breaker, but it's just something to be aware of that it's not the same experience as it is for in Terminal 8 for concierge guests. [00:18:31] Speaker C: Well, and that's actually similar to how it is out of let's say San Diego and some of the other ports that are more seasonal ports rather than year round dedicated Disney ports. They don't really have a dedicated concierge like lounge area. So they just kind of Rope off or an area of sort of the waiting part of the terminal. And so it's, it's not the same as the experience you get in Fort Lauderdale or in Port Canaveral where you're out of Disney's own terminal. I will say there was one place where we sailed out of Brian, I can't remember if that was out of Miami. When we sailed out of Miami that one time, they did have a separate room at least. But it's still not the same as having, you know, Disney sort of dedicated term. [00:19:14] Speaker A: See, I didn't know that. See, you guys are two of the foremost Disney cruise experts I know. So I'm already learning so much. And I, I also want to say anything I give as far as my opinions. I want you guys to keep it real with me. I want you guys to tell me if I'm off base because you guys are the experts here. So I'm curious to hear your honest feedback. [00:19:32] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I think I, I mean you're absolutely right. It's just a different experience and it's definitely something to be aware of that it's not. It not quite the most magical experience you will have typically in that waiting area is going to be in Terminal 8 or at Fort Lauderdale in. I forget the number of the terminal, but whatever. Disney's dedicated terminal. So. All right, well, let's talk about boarding process. Of course, as concierge cruisers you get to board before everyone except for back to back cruisers and family of the day. You had been on the Wish before, but the little one and your husband Chris had not been on the any Disney ship yet. So how was that experience? You know, walking on and having your family name announced. Like how did, how did Paloma and Chris react to that? [00:20:18] Speaker A: Well, I think it was an improvement this time. Mia didn't ask to be used to introduce as Unicorn Nia or Axolotl Mia. [00:20:24] Speaker B: So [00:20:27] Speaker A: Mia kept it together this time. No, it's always, it's always magical. That said, Paloma has seen all of Mia's cruise videos ad nauseam in her excitement. So she, she knew it was coming. They were very excited to get up to the pool deck, which is our tradition to be in the pool before everyone else gets there and be one of the first people to ride the Aqua Mouse when there was no line. And I think that's when it started to sicken sink in for my husband. He's on this beautiful pool deck all to himself, watching his girls having the time of their life watching Goofy Movie, which we had never seen. Before, that was a lot of fun. And he's like, okay, I could get used to this. Well, and it's more like a Flynn. Yeah. [00:21:10] Speaker C: And it's before the pool deck gets all crazy, too, because you guys are on early. And then most of the other cruisers that are getting on are heading to lunch, whether that's the concierge lunch for concierge cruisers or other or non concierge cruisers, going to sit down lunch or going to Marceline Market. But that pool deck, it takes a couple hours before that pool deck starts to get kind of crowded. Was that your experience on that day? [00:21:34] Speaker A: We made it through almost the whole Goofy movie before we saw anyone up on the pool deck. Yeah, Four cruises now. We always go straight to the pool deck. And that, I think, is where you really get the value of concierge or doing Disney transportation. When you can get on the ship earlier, you get the whole pool deck to yourself. If you choose to go that route. I just give the kids a big snack in the transport over or have a big breakfast in the morning. So they're swimming in the pool for an hour when no one's there. And then we just change in the pool deck and go have lunch at. They're always their favorite Mickey Festival of Foods. That's. That tradition has worked out really well for us, and it worked out well for my husband, too, because it set the tone for the rest of the cruise, which was nice. [00:22:16] Speaker C: All right, well, let's talk about some of the things you guys got up to on board the ship. I. I know you ended up being joined by some friends on this cruise, even though I think that wasn't in the original plans. [00:22:28] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:22:30] Speaker C: Yeah. So tell us about that. And then how that played into the activities and stuff you ended up doing on board. [00:22:36] Speaker A: I understand what you guys mean now when you say cruise friends are the best friends. This was so special. So my friend and her kids go to school with my kids. She calls me up, surprise. We booked the same cruise you did. This was 25 days before the cruise, too. I was like, wow, I love that spontaneity. And then on past cruises when Mia has met a friend, it's been very hard for us to meet up and for them to do everything together. Mia and her friend from school, who I might add, is a boy, by the way. So there's all that dynamics. If you remember first grade, they were inseparable the entire cruise. It was adorable watching them play in Castaway K together. They were in the kids club together. And when you Have a friend on the cruise. You can kind of help watch each other's kids too. So her two younger ones were exhausted. One night we picked him up from his room at 10 o' clock and they were all dancing together on the pirate firework deck. It was amazing. There may have been some hand holding, but that's. [00:23:34] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness. [00:23:36] Speaker A: Duo podcast, not Days of our Lives podcast. [00:23:39] Speaker D: So [00:23:41] Speaker A: it was, it was wonderful. Oh, and the mom, who's a friend of mine, we got to have Cove Cafe lattes on the back of the ship in the adults only area. And I do not get after this cruise why the adults only area on the Wish Class ships gets so much hate. [00:23:57] Speaker C: It was a. [00:23:58] Speaker A: Was stunning back there. The uninterrupted panoramic views. Like, I love the pool. Adults only pool deck on the Magic. That big pool is fantastic, but you don't get the same scenery views. It was just wonderful being back there. I understand the frustration of COVID Cafe being smaller, like if you're trying to work there. But the adults only area on the Wish Class ship was a win for me. We. We had a great time. [00:24:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I. It is beautiful. It's just smaller. I think that's, it's just. It can get real crowded. I think it's. I think the location is great. I think it's beautiful. All of the things you said are 100% correct. It's just a matter of it being smaller. And so it can get very crowded at times depending upon when you, when you happen to go there. Now, how did, how did things work with Paloma? Now Mia's got her friend, but did Paloma have a friend? Like, were the younger, you know, were the younger kids the same age as Paloma? [00:24:51] Speaker A: Yes. She had a friend in her grade there as well. I don't know if you remember what it's like for four year olds to play together. I know it's been a few years for you guys. They're still working on those dynamics a little bit, but yes, they enjoyed playing with each other as well. One of my favorite memories from this cruise, though, is probably going to be Paloma napping in her little Wish Wish outfit under a concierge bathrobe. Just completely passed out from exhaustion under this beautiful mural of Rapunzel in the concierge room. Oh, next to a plate of chicken fingers nonetheless. So. Yeah. Yep. Nothing says Disney Cruise fun like napping next to a plate of chicken fingers. Yeah, she. And she doesn't nap at home, but she napped a lot more this Disney cruise. And I Was really glad we had a veranda room, which we haven't done. And I'm still a big proponent of doing an ocean view room with the porthole if you're solo parenting. But having the veranda during nap time was a real win for us this cruise. And then Mia and her friend were off somewhere running around the ship in the kids club. [00:25:56] Speaker C: I love that. I love that. So let's talk about the kids club for a bit. Now both of the kids had friends built in friends. Did that make them more willing to go to the kids club? Did you have any concerns like ahead of time about Paloma in particular? Because Mia had already been on the cruises and so she was already familiar with sort of the kids club and how things operate there. But yeah. Did that make the transition into the kids club, do you think, easier for Paloma and how much did she end up using it? [00:26:26] Speaker A: Mia is Disney Cruise Line number one kids club fan and she and her friend had a blast in there, particularly with that Marvel game on the Wish class ships. I'm not sure if that's also on the Dream and Fantasy class ships, but this was the first one she came back talking about that Paloma liked the kids club. She definitely stayed in there the entire time while we were at Palo. So that was a win. I think again a surprise with Paloma and maybe some advice for kids in that three to five year old range. She ended up napping for about one to two hours every day even though she doesn't at home because she was so exhausted from staying up late to meet characters and going to the fireworks. So it wasn't that she didn't like the kids club at all. It's just that she really needed that midday nap. [00:27:11] Speaker C: That's a really good tip. You know, we found like when we did Disney park stuff, Nathan would still, he would like nap in the stroller while we would be walking around the park in sort of that mid afternoon noon time. Even though, even after he had stopped napping at home. But it was just that, you know, from the exhaustion from the heat, all of that, that really, he needed that, that extra time. How, how did the girls do as far as activities? Like did you take them to, you know, crafts and family game shows and trivias and all that good stuff. [00:27:42] Speaker A: So there were two things we did this cruise. One was new for us and one was a tradition for us. The first thing that was new, we finally played the Disney Uncharted. Is that what they call it on that Uncharted adventure? Yes. Yes. Mia and my husband played that while Paloma was in the room napping. That was a great nap time activity. Mia loved it. My husband was a little frustrated it drained the battery on his phone, but she really definitely enjoyed that. And the other is a tradition for us. So Paloma likes to go up to all the Disney characters and likes to challenge them to a Runway fashion walk off. So we wait in line for all the Disney characters. Oh, and then she made the mistake of telling Daisy Duck that Pluto had a better fashion walk, and Daisy was not having it. I don't know who was more. I don't know who was more shocked by that answer. Daisy Duck or her hand or her handler friend. So Daisy Duck redid her fashion walk and really brought it, and that was a highlight of the trip for us. Absolutely. Challenging the characters to dance offs and fashion walk offs. That was. Was a lot of fun. [00:28:48] Speaker C: I gotta say. I think Daisy has the most, like, sass and attitude. And I mean this in the best way possible of all the characters. And so if anyone can do, like, a sassy, confident walk off, it's Daisy. Doc. So I'm surprised. I'm surprised that Paloma and Mia had some feedback for her. [00:29:09] Speaker A: You haven't seen Pluto's fashion walk before. Let me tell you. Pluto has some hidden moves, but Daisy wasn't gonna let Mickey pet outshine her. [00:29:18] Speaker C: I love that. I love that. Now, what about the shows? Did the girls go to the shows in the Walt Disney Theater? [00:29:24] Speaker A: Mia, par for the course, went to one show, and that was about it. Paloma made it to two out of three, and she really enjoyed them and my husband really enjoyed them as well, so that was definitely a win. And I love Uncharted Adventure. That might not. Uncharted Adventure sees the adventure. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Not to say give away any spoilers, but Captain Goofy stole my heart. [00:29:46] Speaker C: Yes. [00:29:47] Speaker A: And the Princess Medley was so original. I really loved that one. I'm happy we finally got to check that one off the list. [00:29:53] Speaker C: It's a really great show. I think it's definitely my favorite of the sort of jukebox musicals that they do on board Disney Cruise Line. It's a really great combination of musical numbers. I have a special place in my heart for the Crush song. You know, go with the flow. It's because it's from the musical that they do at Animal Kingdom, actually, the. [00:30:15] Speaker A: And that was so special for Paloma because she had just been at Animal Kingdom that winter, so she recognized that immediately. I don't know. I Have a question for you all. And I don't know if you felt this way when Nathan was younger. I feel like a Disney cruise is such a good way to get to know what your child is interested in in terms of a vacation because they have things like water slides, they have beach days, they interactive games in the kids club, they have the theater show and they have the drawing and, and food tasting activities. I feel like you come away from a Disney cruise getting a much better sense of your child, what their interests are, particularly in terms of a vacation. Did you all feel that way when Nathan was younger? [00:30:57] Speaker C: 100% now when he was younger, though, he was very different than what? Like, his interests are very different now, actually, because when he was younger, we spent a ton of time on that pool deck and he would go on that yellow Mickey slide on the other ships, on the smaller ships, over and over and over again. He wasn't interested in the big water slide like the AquaDuck or the Aqua Mouse, but that yellow Mickey slide, it was, it was like a revolving door for him. And he would spend more time at the pools or on the, the bigger splash pad, not the little kids splash pad. So, yeah, I would say that that was his interest back then, but now that's, you know, that's really changed now that he's an edge kid and he's all about the video games and being indoors and now he doesn't spend any time at the pool really. He does like the beach. He still likes the beach. He still likes to build sandcastles. Right. Like, he still enjoys a beach day, but he doesn't want three beach days in a row. So that's. We actually love like a, an itinerary that's got a, that has sort of the port days smattered in between sea days because he, he doesn't want to go to the beach, like I said, three days in a row, but he'll go to the beach, you know, two times with, with sea days and, you know, both, both days in between. [00:32:13] Speaker A: So you, you know who would totally agree with Nathan, Mia. That was one of her big takeaways from the Strip. This being her fourth cruise, she really missed that Nassau Day. This was the first itinerary we had Lookout and Cast Away on the same cruise. And she said, yeah, that was fun, but I prefer it when we have NASA on there. So I get an extra day on the pool deck and wandering around the ship and being in the kids club. So that was an interesting takeaway. It was interesting to see that I have One daughter who's way more into theater shows than the other. One daughter who's way more into the beach days than the other. And I feel like being on a Disney cruise gave me a lot of insights into how to plan other family vacations. We have growing up, not growing up. [00:32:58] Speaker C: Well, they are growing up as they grow up. [00:32:59] Speaker A: Coming up. Coming up as they grow up. [00:33:02] Speaker C: I think that's so true. Think it. It helps you choose, like, the right itinerary for your family. Right. Like, I think that even if that's a cruise or if that's even, you know, a day at the parks and sort of. Or a vacation at the parks and choosing like, okay, I'm not going to go to the parks two days in a row. I'm going to do a park stay, and then I'm going to do a resort day, and then I'm going to do another park state. Right. Like, it helps you kind of know what pace your kids are at. And also, you know, do I spend my time on rides or do I spend my time waiting to meet characters? Right. Like, so it helps you sort of learn what's going to be the most enjoyable for. For your kids and for your family. Absolutely. [00:33:38] Speaker A: Well, also enjoyable. This was another big takeaway. I'm not sure if you guys have ever had this scenario as well. Oh, wait, I keep forgetting. We were literally cruising the same week, so you guys had the same ocean temperatures as we did. [00:33:50] Speaker C: So we can. [00:33:50] Speaker A: We're comparing Apple. Yeah, exactly. It was just warm enough to get in one week earlier in April, and I think it would have been too cold. And one of my big takeaways was my older daughter doesn't like to get in the water when it's too cold. So if I'm doing a cruise in January or even a maritime cruise in November or December, am I really going to be getting my money's worth if we're doing these beach days and she doesn't want to get in the water? So it gave me a sense, even though I do love to do multiple Disney cruises a year, maybe that's not going to give me the best value in terms of a family vacation. [00:34:26] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a. I think that's a great takeaway. Now, I want to ask you about dining, because I know this was one of the things, and I know this was a bit of a disappointment, but I know this was also one of the things you were looking forward to the most. Tell us what happened with that dining request, and then tell us what you know. How did the Girls end up enjoying the dining experience and you all enjoying the dining experience on the Disney wish. [00:34:47] Speaker A: My husband may have ended up enjoying the dining experience the most once he realized he could order two entrees for free and two desserts for free. I will say with the dining experience, that is one area where I did notice maybe Mia wasn't excited because she had seen everything thing before. Still loves the wish. But that didn't hit the quite as the same the second time. But yeah, let's talk about what happened with the dining and concierge. So flashback to 2023. Our travel agent puts in the request because that's the whole perk of concierge. You get to enter your request first. And there's no guarantees, of course, that you get them. But it's understood if you're doing concierge, likely you're going to get what you ask for. So we email next to the stage at Arendale. We end up next to the stage. It's one of the most memorable moments being next to Elsa and Anna and the musicians in that first Disney cruise. Flash forward to 2026 Concierge Wish. We enter the exact same request we get to Arendelle. We are three rows back from the stage in the back of the concierge section. I was like, okay, this is interesting. So I go to the lounge. Afterward, they show me their computer. Our request was entered as near the stage, not up close to the stage. And yes, we were near the stage, but unless every other person in the concierge lounge or concierge sailing entered, we want to be up close next to the stage of Arendelle. Why were we in the back? So concierge staff on board. They sent the girls some frozen toys, which was very thoughtful. But I also told them verbatim, I'm like, the girls are none the wiser. They still had a great time at dinner and they definitely do not need any more toys. And any parents this age? No, no more toys. It's the parents who are frustrated because we paid $3,000 more to be concierge level on this sailing versus what the cost of a non concierge sailing would have been. And I and again, we're not upset about the seat in the restaurant at all. That wasn't the point. The point is, and here's a comparison, I kind of think of it as you don't expect the same level of service at Outback Steakhouse as you do at Morton's or Capital Grill when you're paying $3,000 more for something that comes with expectations. And the response we got from the onboard concierge staff was, follow up with guest services when you get home. And I still haven't heard from guest services about this either. So not 30 days. And I think the. And I'm sorry to ramble on. I'll just say one last thing about this. [00:37:19] Speaker C: This is a valid complaint if you, you know, you put in. To your point, not every person who's sailing concierge is going to make this request. In fact, I would guess that most of the folks who were sailing concierge did not make any specific dining requests. They just were like, well, we'll take whatever, you know, rotation. We'll take whatever seating, because they know in general, you're going to typically get closer seating and good servers assigned to you. Sort of the top. The cream of the crop servers. Um, but when you make a request specifically to be seated next to the stage and you happen to be sailing concierge, you do expect that they're going to do their very best to honor that. And so if you're not literally right next to the stage, I would assume to be maybe one table back from the stage. Right. Like, I wouldn't expect to be, like, three rows back. Yeah. [00:38:06] Speaker A: Yes. And I think the other kind of confusion came for me when we were on the wish in 2023. I couldn't find a spoon on the pool deck once to eat Mac and cheese, and someone sent a box of chocolates to us to apologize for trouble. I'm like, okay, yeah, it's a little more uncomfortable for my daughter to eat Mac and cheese with a fork. But we survived. Don't. [00:38:26] Speaker C: We survived. [00:38:27] Speaker A: We survived. But to go from that to 2026, when there's a $3,000 price difference and nothing to kind of be done for the adults who are. I mean, this is our money, you know, that we're spending on this experience. And again, I told them, the kids are fine. It just was Disney a victim of its own success as far as customer service. It was just kind of baffling for us. So I'll keep you posted if I do hear from guest services how it all plays out. [00:38:55] Speaker C: Yeah, would love to definitely hear that. I. I will say one of the things that I'm going to just put out there as a piece of advice, and this is for others in your situation, is if you make a request like that and it's really important to you, as soon as you get on board, talk to the concierge staff or the dining staff. If you're saying concierge, talk to the concierge staff. If you're not saying concierge, talk to the dining staff, but go check with them as to what your seating is, because they might be able to change it as long as they're doing it earlier in the day. Right. They can change it because people haven't boarded yet. So nobody knows their table number yet. And people don't tend to look at their table number until, like, right before dinner. And so I've seen, you know, things get updated in the app, you know, over time. And so they can do a quick switch of a table number for. For folks if it's something you deal with. Right. When you get on. Now, I know of course you put in that request and you assume it's going to be taken care of. But I just say with anything that's, like, really important to you, and I always say this when it comes to, I mean, allergies, other kinds of dining preferences, things like that, like, it will be worth your while to check right when you get on board, as opposed to just hoping it all works out. And I'm not saying you did anything wrong, J. I'm just saying, like, this is just advice for. For others in your situation where something like this matters to you. I'd say take the affirmative step of checking on it just to make sure. Because Disney doesn't always get it right. And sometimes they can. They can make that fix if they've got time to. Once they've got you at a table number, they're kind of stuck because then. Then they gotta, you know, all those tables are closer or taken, and so they can't bump somebody out for you later in the cruise. [00:40:38] Speaker A: And I do have to say, this may have been the desk D server we ever had. It's nothing against the dining server we had. He was fantastic. But no, Sam, that is such a good tip. And I will raise my hand and say mea culpa. I didn't. I should have checked with the concierge staff as soon as we got on board. And such great advice. I just didn't think of it because it was executed perfectly in 2023. But, yeah, you're right. I should have. [00:41:01] Speaker C: You shouldn't have to. It shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't have to. But I just think it's one of those things where if it's important to you, whatever it is that request is, whether it's dining or something else, if it's important to you, check on board to make sure that They've noted it correctly and that they've taken care of it correctly. So because it can. It's fixable in advance. A little bit in advance. [00:41:23] Speaker A: Absolutely. I think this all snowballed too, in a sense that by the end of the cruise, I asked my husband, do you feel like we needed the concierge experience? [00:41:36] Speaker C: That's an interesting question. [00:41:37] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. And again, I also booked this concierge experience for him. I wanted him to have the same first experience than I did. And he said for the price tag for a family of four. No. And that's was one of my big takeaways. I think I've gotten like six, seven friends now to take a Disney cruise. And most of them have all followed my advice and called up Emily and her team at we do travel. Right. So shout out again to them. [00:42:02] Speaker C: But Jenny, you're like a mocking advertisement for them. [00:42:07] Speaker A: I just like, I, I've seen. [00:42:09] Speaker C: It's so true. The referrals are such. Are such the. The best. You know, we talk about. We've talked to many travel advisors that we've become friends with from doing the podcast throughout the Disney space, and they always say the best references are that. Are that customer. Right, that customer reference. [00:42:27] Speaker A: Well, you know, it's really funny. We had family friends who were on your exact same Disney Treasure cruise and they did not use a travel agent. And I think that would have been helpful for them because maybe that could have steered them towards a better Disney experience for their age group. Their kids are maybe eight months younger than ours, and they came away from their first Disney cruise saying it was great. We loved the theming. Seven days was way too long for our kids at that age. And if they had worked with the travel agent, I think they could have helped pair them up better with the right Disney experience. [00:43:01] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, they might have. It might have been better for them to try a four or five night before jumping to a seven night. [00:43:06] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I feel, I feel very passionately that using a travel agent, I know you guys know so many great travel agents and interview so many great travel agents that they really can provide insight to things that you aren't or aren't thinking of. In fact, we were looking at some excursions for Lookout and our travel agent said, I wouldn't spend your money there, there. I haven't heard good reviews about that excursion. I don't think that's where you're going to get the best value. Even though that would have been better for her, she was honest with her feedback and that's What I really appreciate, too. [00:43:37] Speaker C: Well, let's pivot there because you did have a great day. A full day at Lookout, a full day at Castaway on this sailing. And tell us, like, what, you know, how were those experiences and did the family enjoy being, you know, having those two beach days at Disney's private. Both of Disney's Private Island? [00:43:55] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:43:55] Speaker A: I mean, again, you guys were sailing the same week we were. You know, it was windy on certain days that week. Again, you just. It comes with. You're gonna take a cruise vacation. The weather does play a factor into it. Castaway was fantastic. We had great weather. My husband was living his best life on the raft out in the middle of the lagoon. The kids were all playing together with our friends. That was great. Our Lookout day was a little bit windy, so we didn't quite lack last as long. But for the first time ever, they walked both ends of the Lookout pier back and forth by themselves. It takes 3.5 Taylor Swift songs to walk one way on the Lookout cake here. And I'm happy, and I'm happy to report through very scientific study. It also takes about 3.5k pop demon hunter songs to walk to the end of Lookout Pier. So go plan your playlists appropriately. [00:44:50] Speaker C: I love that. Jen, that is a. That is great advice, and thank you for doing that. Scientific research, you know, is very, very important for. For folks to know what it takes. I love that. Now, Jen, is there anything that we've missed, good, bad, or ugly? I want to make sure we have time to talk to the kids a little bit here. [00:45:11] Speaker A: No, I appreciate that. I think I'm gonna try and phrase this the right way. I think in these challenging times where costs of airfare is rising, cost of everything is rising, Disney fans have to look strategically about where and how they're spending their money. It'd be nice if we didn't have to, but you just don't have the money to spend on everything. And I think we came away from this Disney wish concierge experience. Our stateroom attendant was fantastic. Our dining team was fantastic. The ship was spotless and gorgeous. The food was amazing. The staff was amazing. If you are not spending most of your time in that concierge lounge and on that concierge pool deck, you are not getting the value for that concierge level. So I don't know if I would recommend concierge level for a Caribbean cruise for a family or four or more, especially elementary school age or older. The girls were at the point where they really wanted to be on the pool deck, watching Funnel Vision, playing with other kids. And they actually tried to play in the hot tub one day and it was just too small for everybody. The older one this time was playing Uncharted Adventure, running around the ship wanting to be with her friends. We just didn't get the value out of that concierge lounge and experience the way I thought I did. And one other frustration was the whole five to ten free drinks in the concierge lounge. It worked fine for us the first time. This time around 5:00' clock rolled around. My husband was in the gym at five o' clock every day. Good for him. I've his first husband I've ever seen who's in the gym literally every day of his cruise. So glad that worked out for him. But Mia was in the kids club, Paloma was in the room with me, and I just didn't have time or the hands to carry four free drinks down to dinner. And in one couple cases, the drinks they made me one time were ooh, oof. Don't ask them to make you a Midori Sour. That was terrible. So I wanted a different drink. I had to run back eight flights up the floor to get free drinks for dinner. The Disney concierge is going to make one change. To add more benefits to that level. I would say let drinks in the main dining room be free for guests because that was just such a pain in the neck. I love Disney. I will continue to recommend Disney to all my friends. But I think in these times, maybe the value for concierge, depending how many people are in your party and the ages of your kids, isn't quite there. [00:47:33] Speaker B: I have said it before. I will say again, I a thousand percent agree they need to be adding benefits because some of the other cruise lines you sail on Royal, you're gonna get a, you know, well, actually you don't get a full drink package on a rail. It's the same setup, but unlike Virgin, you, you get free drinks as soon as you step on the ship. If you're in, in suite class or at least get a bar tap. Right? Like I can could, I could totally deal with Disney saying, like, we're going to give you a drink credit up to, you know, $50 a day or [00:48:01] Speaker C: outside of the lounge for outside of the lounge. [00:48:03] Speaker B: And so your drinks are covered. Once you hit over 50, we're not paying for them anymore. That's totally fine because I also understand the county countervailing interest they have, which is we don't want to sell. They, they keep surveying on it. But I can't think that they're honestly going to start to sell drink packages on board because then it introduces the problem of, you know, over serving people, and you don't want that around kids. And so, like, I can get, like, it's like the drink ticket thing. At a work party, you get two free drinks on us, and then after that, you better be reaching into your wallet or you're just. You're just cut off because it's a work party. But, yeah, they got to do something because they're charging, in some cases, twice as much as competing cruise lines and providing a half to a third of the. The same benefits. [00:48:43] Speaker A: So, yeah, and I don't even drink that much on Disney cruises because I get motion sick. But, like, if they're off, if they're to bring free drinks as part of the package, I mean, I'm going to get a glass of cloud em for the girls or a glass of wine to have with my truffle presets. One other thing that was interesting about concierge, in terms of if you're motion sick to whether this is a right fit for you. Oh, my gosh. We had never been in aft of the ship before it. We felt the motion so much less sitting in Afton Paulo than we did on deck 12, 13 forward, where all the concierge staterooms are. So if you get motion sick and you're doing concierge, be prepared because you are going to be in the part of the ship literally, where you're feeling the most motion. [00:49:25] Speaker C: Midship is always the midship and actually kind of central. Not too high up, not too far down. Seems to be kind of the best, I think, for. For motion sickness. But I will say I get motion sick, but only if it's really bad Cs. So it really depends on what your level of sensitivity is and, you know, how much that's going to make a difference. Difference. All right, well, well, let's. Let's. Let's bring over Mia and Paloma. Either one or both of them. However you want to do this, Jen. [00:50:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Wanna sit on mama's lap? [00:50:04] Speaker C: Oh. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Mia's like, I got this. [00:50:10] Speaker C: All right. We are now joined by Mia and Paloma. I'm gonna start with Mia and asking her a few questions about this Disney cruise. Mia, tell me, what was your favorite thing about sailing on the wish? This time we're gonna start with you. Mia, tell me, what was your favorite thing about this Disney cruise? The kids club. Oh, the kids club. That's awesome. Can you tell me now, what is your favorite Disney Cruise Line ship now that you've been on the Wish for the second time? The dream. The dream. How come the Dream is your favorite? Because it has the automatic floor. The automatic floor? What do you mean? Like, it has games and. [00:50:54] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, the big light up floor [00:50:55] Speaker C: in the kids club. That light up floor you're talking about in the kids club. Oh, that's so fun. Did you have fun with your friend on this cruise? Was it more fun sailing with a friend? Yes. Did you like showing around little sister Paloma? Yes. What do you think was the most fun thing you all did together as a family? I liked reading the characters. Yeah. Who had the best Runway walk of all the characters? Pluto. Pluto. That's the best. Mom told me that too. What do you think Paloma's favorite part of the cruise was? I don't really know. She hasn't told me. She hasn't told you. What was Mama's favorite part of the cruise? I think the concierge lounge. And what was Papa's favorite part of the cruise? I don't know. Yeah. All right. Can I talk to Paloma? Do you think she wants to talk? Bye. Bye, Mia. [00:51:51] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:51:51] Speaker C: Thank you for joining us. [00:51:55] Speaker A: I should have met. [00:51:56] Speaker C: Oh, there we go. [00:51:58] Speaker A: Oh, Grogu wants to say goodbye. [00:52:03] Speaker C: Now we're joined by Paloma. This was your first Disney cruise. What did you think of it, Paloma? Was it great, good, okay or horrible? [00:52:13] Speaker A: How many thumbs up did you give it? How many thumbs up did you tell me afterwards you gave it? 10 thumbs up. [00:52:20] Speaker C: 10 thumbs up. What was your favorite. What was your favorite thing you got to do on the cruise? [00:52:25] Speaker A: Paloma, what was your favorite part? [00:52:28] Speaker C: Sleep in the bottom bunk. Oh, I love a bunk bed. And what was. Who had the best Runway walk of all the characters? You met Daisy. Daisy? Yeah. She's super sassy and very fashionable. We love Daisy. What do you think Mama's favorite part of the cruise was? The concierge. What do you think Papa's favorite part of the cruise was? The concierge ones. [00:52:57] Speaker A: What did mom and Papa like to do every night? After you guys went to the bed, where did we go sit? On the. [00:53:03] Speaker C: On the pool deck. [00:53:05] Speaker A: Not on the pool deck, on the balcony. Mama and Papa really enjoyed having some screen free time talking to each other. Look, on the balcony. That was our favorite part of the. And Papa's favorite part of the cruise. Hey, Paloma, tell Sam. Tell Sam. What ship were you looking for on the balcony? The whole cruise. What ship were you always looking for. Do you remember the name? [00:53:30] Speaker C: Do you want to. Do you want to go on that ship? [00:53:31] Speaker A: Do you want to go on Utopia? Or was it too big? Too big. Too big. [00:53:35] Speaker C: And there's no Mickey on the Utopia, so. [00:53:37] Speaker B: No. [00:53:39] Speaker C: Yeah. Now, do you want to go back on a Disney cruise? You want to go on another Disney cruise? [00:53:45] Speaker A: What ship do you and Mia want to go on? [00:53:46] Speaker C: The Disney fantasy. [00:53:48] Speaker B: Nice. [00:53:49] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. [00:53:50] Speaker B: Nice. That. [00:53:52] Speaker A: Well, Paloma, funny story, Sam. I asked them. I'm like, if you could guys could go on the Dream or the Wish again sooner, or would you rather wait for the fantasy? Which one would you rather do? And what'd you guys say? You'd rather wait for the. The fantasy? Yeah. So I was surprised by that reaction. They really want to wait until we can get on the fantasy again. [00:54:12] Speaker C: I love it. I love it. All right, well, we're going to say thank you to Paloma for being on the show. Thank you to Mia for being on the show. Oh, we're even getting a heart. You get a heart right back, Paloma. All right, Jen, now, Brian doesn't know this, but you and I cooked up a little surprise for Brian. [00:54:35] Speaker B: No, no, no, that's not. I'm the producer here, Sam. I get to veto anything. But keep going, Keep going. [00:54:42] Speaker C: So we decided that Jen wanted to guest host Rapid Fire, where Brian, you are the contestant. [00:54:51] Speaker B: Oh, all right. [00:54:53] Speaker A: People want to hear from you. [00:54:54] Speaker C: The. To hear from Brian. Brian, you have taken over on a couple of episodes recently. You've taken over my Rapid Fire or [00:55:01] Speaker B: people like it so much. So much or so little? They liked it so little, they're like, nope, don't let him ask the question. [00:55:06] Speaker C: Don't even let him ask the question. And since we did a Rapid Fire with Jen previously. But, Jen, I do have to ask you, what's your favorite ship now? [00:55:15] Speaker A: So Mia said the Dream. I think the Wish is my favorite. It's just so stunning. Aesthetically, it really is every girly girl's dream, which has a special place in my heart. [00:55:26] Speaker C: Awesome. All right, well, I'm gonna hand things over to you, Jen, for some arbitrary rules, some arbitrary questions, and a dash of judgment. Or the round, as we call the kids travel podcast, Rapid Fire, starring Brian as the kids. [00:55:39] Speaker A: The only difference on my past podcast, Sam, is I don't have a dash of judgment. I have, like, a whole tablespoon for maybe a whole. [00:55:46] Speaker B: Great. [00:55:48] Speaker C: I love it. [00:55:48] Speaker B: I'm so, so excited. All right. [00:55:54] Speaker A: On our show, we wrap up every episode with a little game. We Call. Final boarding call. And the question we always start with is, what is your must pack travel essential? In this case, we'll do for a cruise vacation. [00:56:04] Speaker B: Must pack travel essential for a cruise vacation. Gosh, this is tough. Oh, an E reader. I have to have. I have to have, like a. A way to read a book for a beach vacation, because that's. That's when I do. Most of my reading is on vacation. [00:56:16] Speaker C: I gotta say, honorable mention goes to a bell. [00:56:20] Speaker B: Well, that's not for a beach vacation, though. And that's for every vacation he forgets [00:56:24] Speaker C: a belt on, like, every vacation. I can't tell you how many times we've had to buy Brian a new belt because he forgets it. [00:56:30] Speaker B: Maybe my Olukai flip flops too, for a beach vacation. [00:56:32] Speaker A: But yeah, I did forget my flip flops once on a Disney cruise. And paying to replace those in the guest gift shop. Not cheap. So I like your. I like your answers though. And an ebook is more efficient than a big paperback book, so. Good answer. Now, I've listened to the DCL Duo podcast enough to know that the Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny are your two favorite ships right now. But what is your favorite main dining restaurant? [00:56:56] Speaker B: I'm gonna go with Pride Lands. Currently. I really like what they're doing with Pridelands. So, yeah, I'm gonna go with Pride Lands. [00:57:02] Speaker A: Is your favorite dish in there too? [00:57:04] Speaker B: My favorite main dining dish. Gosh, that's tough. I think it might be the. It's not Peri. Peri. What is it? Peri. [00:57:13] Speaker D: Peri. [00:57:13] Speaker B: Chicken in Pride Land. Sam? [00:57:15] Speaker C: No, you love. It's the Berber chicken or the chicken curry. Yeah. [00:57:18] Speaker B: You love both of those? Yeah, I think those are both really good. [00:57:21] Speaker A: All right, maybe I will have to add the Disney Destiny back on the radar. Excellent. What Disney character deserves to be the captain of his or her own cruise ship? [00:57:30] Speaker B: No question. Donald Duck. I mean, every time I see him, I remind him he is the only one with any naval experience on the ship. And they made Mickey and Minnie captain. So like I said, Donald should be like the Commodore now because he was. [00:57:44] Speaker C: And Goofy gets to be captain even in the musical. [00:57:47] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:57:49] Speaker A: Cruise with attitude. I totally agree. Donald Duck would be my answer as well. Last but not least, you are given an all expenses paid vacation, flights included. Would you pick a the Tower Suite on the Disney Treasure or the Disney Adventure, but an inside stateroom. [00:58:11] Speaker B: Jeffrey R. Oh, Tower Suite on the Disney Treasure. Yeah. There's no question. I have really. I think when the adventure came out, I was like, we gotta Check this box. We were planning. We were on the maiden voyage. We were on this, like, booked on the second maiden voyage and then we moved it again. And then we were talking about going next summer. And we've just talked to so many people and there's like one camp that we've talked to that's, oh, it's, there's great things, great things. But even they have a little bit of, you know, heartburn around it. And then there's a group of people we've talked to who are like, do not go on this ship. It is not designed for us. And so I was like, I think we're gonna, we, we may book a Virgin Voyages cruise, [00:58:50] Speaker C: but can I throw in? I think we'd rather have like one of those two bedroom suites on the Treasure than the Tower Suite, I think. Yeah. Because the Tower Suite you don't get a veranda. You don't get like a, you know, a hot tub or anything like that. So I'd actually like, I don't actually like the location of the Funnel Suite, even though there, I mean, it's incredible. We've been inside the Funnel Suite. On which ship was it? I think the Wish, Brian. We went. [00:59:14] Speaker B: It's the Moana one on the Wish, I think. [00:59:16] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah. [00:59:17] Speaker B: So we got to our friend Chris in the concierge lounge. Yeah, yeah. [00:59:20] Speaker C: And anyway, we did get to tour the, the Funnel Suite on the Destiny on the preview. But I will say I didn't. [00:59:27] Speaker B: That's right, you did. I didn't. [00:59:29] Speaker C: That's right. But I, I, I would say, I [00:59:30] Speaker B: was going to say on a Funnel Suite, I would sail on the Tony Stark themed Funnel Suite. [00:59:33] Speaker C: Sure, sure. [00:59:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:59:35] Speaker C: But I actually would rather, if I'm going to sail in a royal suite on that class, I'd actually rather be in the technically smaller two bedroom suite than the Funnel Suite. I think the better locations and you get a variety. So. Yeah, I would choose that if I'm, if I'm choosing. But I agree with Brian. I would rather be on the Treasure than head over for the adventure, even if airfare was included. [00:59:59] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, as Sam usually says, at the end of Rapid Pyre, you plast with flying colors. I mean, I would have picked the adventure, but I'll still say you fast with flying colors. Good job, Brian. [01:00:09] Speaker B: Well, look, if Disney's gonna give me seven nights in a Funnel Suite or like three or four nights on an inside cabin, but take me to Singapore, I'll take the seven nights in the Funnel Suite. All night. [01:00:20] Speaker A: Ah, yeah. [01:00:20] Speaker B: Yes. [01:00:21] Speaker A: I Understand? [01:00:22] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, Jen, tell us what's next. What have you got booked? [01:00:26] Speaker A: Oh, heartburn. The fantasy is booked. But in keeping in line, realizing that my kids really don't like being in that colder water, it's a little bit far away. So we will be listening to the DCL Duo podcast until then to make us feel like we're on our cruise vacation until we can board the Fantasy. [01:00:44] Speaker C: Awesome gent. We. Well, you'll have to join us again. Why don't you tell folks about your podcast. Yeah, tell us about your podcast where they can find you. I know you're on social media, but where they can find your socials and your podcast. [01:00:57] Speaker A: Of course. We are the Kids Travel Tales podcast hosted by myself and Mia. And one thing that makes our show unique is that we do family interviews. We interview parents and kids together about their trips and we get some really great answers. My favorite one, we always ask the kids what's their bucket list? Travel destination. One kid answered, when I turn 21, I want to go drinking around the world at Epcot with my mom. [01:01:22] Speaker C: So nice. Good answer, kid. [01:01:25] Speaker A: Yes. So we talk about Disney World, Disney cruise, best water parks for a first time visit. Comparing Kalahari Great Wolf Lodge. We've done episodes comparing the kids experience for Royal and Carnival. We got some really interesting answers in there there to one family's visit to the North Pole to meet the real. Oh, sorry. To meet Santa Claus. To meet Santa Claus. Because Santa Claus is always real. So we have a lot of fun. We get a little spicy over on our social media channels with the debates. So come join us and if you'd like to be a guest, please feel free to reach out. [01:01:58] Speaker C: Awesome. Thank you so much. We'll make sure to include a link in the show notes. But Jen, we'll just say thank you so much for coming on and say thank you to Mia and Paloma as well. It's always fun catching up with you you. [01:02:11] Speaker A: Thank you guys so much. It's always a blast. [01:02:17] Speaker D: Well, thanks to everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us alive, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific 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. If you've got questions or you'd like to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to DCLDuo.com it's got links to all of our things, full catalog of the podcast episode including a searchable catalog for the podcast links off to our vlog, a link to our Etsy store. We sell some fun fan inspired magnets Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com DCLDUO also as a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly 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 402-413-5590. 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 reflect the views the Disney Company or Disney Cruise Line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or Disney vacation, please come contact the great folks over at My Path Unwinding Travel or Disney directly or your own travel agent. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL Duo. Good night.