Ep. 687 - A Former DCL Cast Member Reviews Her First Disney Dream Sailing: Her Honest Take

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Has DCL over expanded too quickly? And like, it's not like we had any bad crew interactions, but we also didn't have any amazing. Like, it was literally only our service team that I feel like we knew their names. [00:00:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:18] Speaker A: And that is different to what I expect from Disney. [00:00:33] Speaker C: Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the DCL Duo podcast brought to you by WeDoTravel. Right. And I am excited to welcome two guests to the show today. As you can tell from my voice, it's. Brian is not here with me today, but he's actually on a flight home from Norway and so he will be back home in probably like three or four hours. But I am recording with two lovely guests who are speaking to me all the way from around the other side of the globe. From. All the way from Australia, a few hours south of Sydney from my memory. Welcome back to the show, Sarah. Welcome to the show, Chris. Hey, guys. Hey. I am so excited. I was about to say we're excited to have you on. I'm excited to have you on. I know Brian is excited that you're on the show again, Sarah. [00:01:24] Speaker A: You. [00:01:24] Speaker C: He's sorry he wasn't able to join for this recording, but I'm excited to chat with you both. I'm excited to chat with you again, Sarah. Excited to meet you, Chris, and hear about a wonderful Mediterranean cruise that you guys, like, just got back from. Like, you just got back, like maybe two weeks ago back to Australia. Yeah. Oh, there you go. Yeah. From. From sailing on Disney Cruise Line, on the Disney dream in Europe. Now, before we dive into talking about this cruise, we gotta do cruising and Disney background, Sarah. I mean, I'll just give the very. Like, Sarah has, like an extensive Disney Cruise Line and Disney background because she is a former cast member from both the parks and from Disney Cruise Line. She sailed with Disney Cruise Line for several years as a youth activities counselor working in the Oceaneer Club, Oceaneer Lab, and is a platinum cruiser by her own. Right, right. Like that. Meaning paid sailing, Sarah. And I know you've been sailing for quite a long time, Chris. I know you are newer to Disney Cruising. Now, do you have any Disney background or is Sarah the one that got you into Disney in the first place? [00:02:41] Speaker B: It was part of the wedding package. It was sort of getting signed up for. Yeah, I did no cruising before I met Sarah. I. I wasn't a. I a fan of the idea of cruising because it's a different perception in Australia than it is in America. It's more to the drinking culture than anything else. [00:03:03] Speaker C: Oh, Interesting. Okay. [00:03:04] Speaker B: Yeah, with like piano cruising party boats. Party boats, right. [00:03:09] Speaker C: Yeah, we call them booze cruises. That's what we call them. [00:03:11] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly that. But with, for me. So I had a different perception and Sarah, you know, over many conversations, sat me down and just sort of went, no, no, no. And she was getting super excited that the Wonder was coming. So since then, this Europe trip is now my platinum cruise because I've never cruised in the United States. I've never left a United States port or been to a United States port. So yeah, I have become platinum because of the Wonder down under. [00:03:42] Speaker C: Wow. That's a lot. I know. Yeah, I mean, I know that. I think the last time we chatted, Sarah, you had done a back to. Back to back. So you had done three in a row on the Wonder. Was that last year or the year before? I don't even remember now. It probably last year, if I'm remembering right. But yeah, so. So you guys have done. So you've done now 10 cruises, Chris, just really on the Wonder and now the dream. Right. This is just your second, your second ship in the Disney. That's kind of crazy that you've done 10 cruises but you've actually only been on two ships. I mean, it makes sense because of the situation. But I think that's interesting that you say the, the booze cruise mentality because I think that, that there's like two different perceptions in the States about cruising. There is the booze cruise and that's usually like Carnival cruising here in the States, like piano is for you all in Australia. So that's sort of the perception. And then there's like Princess and Holland and maybe celebrity. And there's like that's the old people cruising. That's the. Yeah. So like the two perceptions are booze cruise or old people cruising. Right. Like that's. And then. But there's a lot in the middle that I think people maybe. And that's where I think Disney Cruise Line fits in and where Royal Caribbean fits in. And even where the other cruise lines are trying to kind of market themselves, which is more like family cruising, couples cruising, people of our age cruising. So people who are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, kind of that middle ages of adulthood. Yeah. Cruising that are not, you know, not teenagers or not like 21 year olds and. Or for you all 18 year olds. Yeah. So it's interesting now, was it hard for her to convince you to go or did she just say you're going, you don't have a choice? [00:05:37] Speaker B: No. A Bit of both. It didn't take any convincing because it was a holiday and you're not going to say no, but the theory was on my 40th birthday or how it all tracked out was on my 40th birthday I was suffering from COVID and she put me on a Princess cruise to New Zealand as a surprise because we were going to Melbourne for three weeks and I wasn't explaining why. And then after that I was, I said, okay, and that was a grand Princess cruise. And then she was sort of setting me up and then she says, oh, because she knew that the wonder based on the information that she was getting was coming. [00:06:17] Speaker A: I was hoping. Nothing confirmed but like all the pieces were falling into line. [00:06:22] Speaker C: Right. They were, they were like making port agreements like it hadn't been officially announced but like cast were talking about it. Right. Like you hear rumors and you know, it's like, okay, that's probably happening. We just don't know exactly when. [00:06:33] Speaker A: Yeah. And then there was a gap like on the itinerary release and I had a friend whose uncle works for wholesale down in Melbourne and he accidentally let something slip that he's been talking to Disney and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's happening. [00:06:53] Speaker B: She still could not prepare me for the insanity that is Disney Cruise Line. [00:06:59] Speaker A: So unique. [00:06:59] Speaker B: It is. So for the 17 day cruise or whatever it was a 14 day cruise to New Zealand, I still hadn't grasped what I was up for. So then she put me on the plane to LA to go to Disneyland and she hoped that those two being on a non Disney cruise and being in Disneyland would set me up for a Disney cruise. And the cruises in Australia were phenomenal. I think we'll get to that. Comparing a med cruise to what we experienced and I think, I think we both concluded. I don't think the Australian community quite grasped how good they had it. Yeah. So. But no, it was. [00:07:43] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, that's a really interesting take. I'm, I'm okay, we're going to circle back on that because I absolutely want to get your perspective on that and seeing two, I mean you obviously saw two, two different demographics of cruisers too because of the sailings you guys did out of Australia, out of New Zealand. Like those are all like heavily Aussie and Kiwi population. Right. Whereas in Europe you've got a mixture of Europeans and folks from the US is probably like the primary two groups. Right. [00:08:15] Speaker A: And I think like an Eve. I mean obviously that creates a really different environment. But there were so many more Lanyards Then like Chris did comment on that, we, it was quite an exclusive. Like one of the cruises we did, there was two Pearl, like an American couple who had done a lot. I think they were on their sixth cruise back to back in Australia. And then there was one platinum and that was me and that was you and I think there was one gold and maybe 20 silver. [00:08:51] Speaker C: Our server told us, right, very different, right? New and demographics of new cruisers of like all new cruisers or a very heavily majority new cruises. Very different than people who have experienced Disney Cruise Line multiple, multiple times. Well, let's talk about how you chose this particular cruise, this med cruise. Like it's a long trip to go to Europe, just like it's a long trip to go to the US From Australia. You guys live a couple of hours from Sydney as I mentioned. I know you live in the capital, but people aren't, people aren't going to know. People aren't going to know where that is. American audience hasn't heard of that. So that's why I'm saying. Yeah. So you know, tell us like what, what made you choose this particular itinerary and what made you choose cruising out of Europe as opposed to cruising someplace else in the world? Sarah, I'll start with you there. [00:09:45] Speaker A: So it was again my family's fault. My parents are both from Malta and we've been talking for years about we should get the whole family go to Malta before mom and dad get too old, you know. And like they obviously immigrated for reasons. So a lot of emotion, a lot of family drama. But we kind three years ago, I think we locked in April, May 26, and we were originally considering stopping in Paris as well and doing Disneyland Paris. And then like when the European itineraries released, we realized that the dream was going to be there quite early in May. So we kind of pushed our Malta trip back a bit. So for going to Malta, it was mum, dad, the three girls and our partners, so eight adults and then unfortunately my little sister. So Kate and James weren't able to come on to Barcelona and the cruise with us. So then family dropped down to six adults. But it was the big cruise extravaganza attached to Europe. Bigger extravaganza. [00:11:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean it's a big trip, right? And if you're gonna go all the way to Europe, right, you, you're gonna want, I mean you might not just, I mean a week long cruise is still a long cruise, but it's a long way to travel. And so it does make sense if you can pair it with Some other holiday, whether that's visiting the, you know, visiting a homeland or going to Disneyland Paris or whatever, you can sort of fit in. It does make sense because those. Europe is all very compact. I think people forget like, you know, with the United States and Australia, we are like very big countries. Like we can go like it's six hours to fly from one end of the country to the other. It's not like in Europe they can fly, they can drive to another country in a couple of hours. Right. So it's not to say that it's like, you know, I mean, things are closer together in Europe is, is sort of my point. Well, okay, so you've got six of you all going on this cross cruise. All adults, I assume everybody's, I assume three different rooms. Am I right in that assumption? Okay. [00:12:11] Speaker A: And we did three next to each other. So we happened to have an interconnecting door with my parents which was not planned but was there. So we used it occasionally. But we were all deluxe balconies and they were able to all open up. So we had giant balcony which was amazing. [00:12:30] Speaker C: Ah, that's so wonderful. When you can have, when you can have the open the balcony open between different rooms and as long as you like the people that you're sailing with, then you know, it just, it creates this nice gathering space and you don't have to like sit in each other's rooms, but you also have this sort of private deck space is sort of how I like to, to think about it. All right, well, so how far in advance did you fly over to Europe and then how far in advance of the cruise did you get to Barcelona? Because I think you sailed out of Barcelona, is that right? [00:13:02] Speaker A: Yes, out of Barcelona. So we had 10 days in Malta. So throughout the day before we landed, it was 42 hours I think leaving home to getting to malta. So yeah, 10 days in Malta, which was lovely. Like kind of got us onto time zone and day. Like it was such an adjustment. Kind of have the sun not going down until 8, 9pm so that was really nice. Already started eating way too much European food before we even got on the cruise. [00:13:37] Speaker C: Of course, as one does. [00:13:39] Speaker A: And then two days before the cruise we flew, we were able to get a direct flight from Malta to Barcelona. [00:13:47] Speaker C: Fantastic. Now where did you stay in Barcelona? [00:13:50] Speaker B: I'm going to throw this to Chris Kimpton, the Valida. It's, it was a nice boutique style European style hotel. That means the rooms do feel a little bit smaller than what you probably used to in the States. But it was efficient for us. It was about. Even though it was with very convenient walking distance from everything in Barcelona, it still took a 40, 45 minute drive to the port just because. [00:14:20] Speaker A: Roadworks. [00:14:21] Speaker B: Roadworks. But also the. The taxi had to take a scenic route through the paved. So I was like getting through all this mass of people going, what is this car doing in the middle of the page? Yeah, yeah. So just part of the Red Sea and trying to get through the. [00:14:36] Speaker A: The location was really lovely because it was right in the middle of the Gothic Quarter. But that did mean that the transport was quite restricted. And probably the biggest blah moment was our travel agent from Australia had booked us transport from the airport to the hotel. But the driver who came was obviously not familiar with where exactly the hotel was and actually ended up dropping us. Like it was probably only a block and a half. [00:15:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:05] Speaker A: But six people with international baggage kind of having to navigate streets that we weren't expecting to. That was probably the one moment that was like, oh my gosh, what have we got ourselves into? [00:15:18] Speaker B: And GPS maps didn't quite give us the right place. So it was kind of two blocks, turn right and you're there. And we. Someone did sit out of the corner of their eye. Thankfully we're able to turn back and go. And we found it. But yeah, like, Barcelona is a big heavy city, so it's always packed in paved streets. So we were kind of navigating people while trying to look left and right. [00:15:39] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I love a Kimpton hotel, by the way. We have some Kimpton hotels here in the Seattle area and other major cities in the U.S. i think they are, they're always, always like really unique buildings. Like, I feel like they, they tend to take like older historic buildings and then like make them into a hotel. And so you end up with like some cool architectural features often. I mean, I, Nobody's paying me to say this, but I, I love a Kimpton hotel. They also allow dogs in a lot of them. And I love seeing dogs, so I love saying hi to people's dogs. [00:16:12] Speaker A: It was a really lovely character and the staff were lovely. I, I agree with you about that kind of character element because while the rooms were very small, we actually checked in on my birthday and they had like, there were four helium balloons and they'd written like in lipstick on the mirror. Like it was just this. Yeah. Different vibe. [00:16:38] Speaker C: Yeah, that's very, A very cool vibe. Yeah, that they definitely have. Yeah, that, that's a unique thing. A lot of hotels don't do Stuff like that. So. Yeah, but good point, good point about the size though. And that's the case in, I feel like all. Like all of your. All over Europe. If you're traveling as an American and you're used to certain hotel rooms, like you're. They're much, much smaller. I mean, they're not as small as like a cabin on a cruise ship, but they're not. They're not very big. And we think of hotels, I think in sort of different ways in America. [00:17:15] Speaker A: Like, we could definitely only have one suitcase open at a time. Like, it was good prep for the cruise. [00:17:21] Speaker C: Exactly, exactly. Now, in terms of planning, you know, did you guys, like, plan excursions through Disney Cruise Line? Did you plan excursions on your own? Like, I want to talk about the planning process a little bit pre cruise, obviously you've got the platinum status on your room, Sarah, and then your. Your parents and your sister, do they also have platinum status now? Yeah. So that's really nice because that meant you got an earlier booking window than a lot of other cruisers. Although obviously the concierge and. And pearl get even before you had. But what kinds of things were you. Were the things that you wanted to book either excursions or onboard experiences that you had any difficulty booking? [00:18:04] Speaker A: We were pretty lucky. So port adventure wise, we did a combo of Disney and our own and we were able to get everything we wanted to. And our Sardinia day, we decided very last minute, like, I'd say even new cruiser check in registration would have been able to start happening by then. On board, we knew we wanted to do Apollo, like taking advantage of the platinum gift. So we had decided we wanted to do a dinner. And I mean, for six people, that's complicated. And trying to guess dining rotations is obviously complicated, but we booked that probably when the booking window opened very close to. And luckily we were happy. Like, there was definitely some compromising when we got on board and was seeing our rotation and, you know, jumping ahead. The disappointment, I guess, was that the Color Spin deck show was scheduled for that night. We were in Palo and we did like, that was a new show for all of us. So did consider running out to like see five minutes of it, but we're having too much fun eating all the amazing food. [00:19:22] Speaker C: So hopefully next time, honestly, you made the right choice. And I'm not saying that it's not a fun deck party. It's it. But it's more of like a dance party. Like each character gets a different color and a different 90s song and it's cute. But it's like not worth missing Paulo over. Let me put it that way. It's not like the Heroes Unite deck party. You got in on the wonder. So, like, don't compare it to that. Right. [00:19:51] Speaker A: So it was the soundtrack that I was excited and I'm like, look, I can. I can surely find the soundtrack somewhere at home. [00:19:57] Speaker C: So I. I bet you can. I bet you can. All right, well, let's talk about embarcation day. You mentioned there was kind of a long drive to the port. Did you use a taxi or private transportation? What did you. What did you end up booking to get to the port? Chris, I'll throw this one to you. [00:20:14] Speaker B: So it was a taxi, but it was like a specialized taxi for that area. There are restrictions in Barcelona on the paved road, so it's sort of. Yeah. And the drive wasn't an issue. I think it was more the fact that he was shocked at the amount of luggage we already had for the cruise. Even though there was only six of us. It was. Yeah, I think that was all there wasn't. [00:20:38] Speaker C: Well, you had 10 days. You had 10 days in Malta, a couple days in Barcelona, and then a week long sailing. Right? So, yeah, I mean, you're gonna need quite a bit of luggage. I'm imagining you probably did laundry at some point in the process. Now, did you. Okay, so you. What time was your port arrival time and what time did you sort of get to the port? And. And then of course, what time did you get on board the ship? [00:21:06] Speaker A: Family over the last weekend trying to get this story straight because it was a little more complicated than normal. So originally our port arrival time was 12:15 group 5. So we knew it was always going to be a little bit later because it was there for like, they just finished the crossing. And then we got an email probably a month before the cruise saying that everything had been pushed back. So our port arrival time turned to 2pm we were hoping that that was Disney being very cautious. So we were a little bit naughty and we still got to port probably about 1:30. So definitely not the original time, but a little bit earlier. And we. So by the time we kind of got all of us and all our things out of the taxi, checked up in our big bags, they. I think we waited about two minutes before they opened our line, so we were able to get straight in that line. And then it was probably about a 5 minute queue until we were like at a counter. There were some problems, I think. Like, I remember you guys talking about the switch systems and I think because of platinum. We were checking in so early. I think our check ins got hit by that. So mom and dad were totally fine. We had to. Both us and my sister and her husband had to go into the oh, something's not right line. They only had to fix a couple of things for us. I think they ended up needing to take photos again for Amy and Mike. But, like, even with that extra line and everything, it was maybe 20 minutes. So we were still on board at the port arrival time. And I was so excited to, like, finally have a castaway line to use. And there was no crowd. They were not using that. So, like, the terminal was really smooth despite some technical glitches. [00:23:20] Speaker C: There's been glitches kind of on and off, right. From what we've heard. And so there's times where it seems like everything's fine and then there's times where it seems like nothing can go right. It's just. It's really unclear as to why some days they have no problem checking people in, and some days they seem to have issues checking people in. I'm glad that even though there were some issues, they were able to solve yours really quickly and get you on board now. Chris, this was your first time entering a Dream Class ship. You had been on. You been on the Wonder multiple times. So you knew. You knew, like, the layout. I will say the funny thing about the fantasy and the Dream versus the magic and the Wonder is the layout is actually really, really similar, even though it's, of course, bigger. But what did you. What did you think walking into the. The atrium of the Dream for the first time? Like, did you notice that it was bigger or were you like, oh, it just looks like a Disney ship? [00:24:18] Speaker B: The first thing we got excited about was the number of lifts because I think the elevators in the atrium are in the Wonder are only like four, so there was always a bit of time delay. So having. I think it's six in the atrium, but it just. It felt more open. It definitely took. When we had lunch at, I think it was Enchanted Garden, it took forever to walk down because you walked. [00:24:44] Speaker A: Animators. [00:24:44] Speaker B: Animators. We had to walk past the kitchen and already knew then the size of this ship by walking through, past that kitchen. It was just. Yeah, the size of it just got to me. And I was. We've already got another cruise planned, which is the adventure. And I'm already freaking out how I'm gonna. [00:25:03] Speaker A: If this ship was big. [00:25:04] Speaker C: If that's. Yeah. If the Dream was big, Chris, I might. I similarly am a little worried for you. But no, I mean it is, it is a lot bigger when you think about it. It is. And then the passenger count is a lot higher. And of course you guys, when you sailed on the Wonder some, some of the times when you sailed on the Wonder, they were way below capacity too. So you guys sailed on a smaller ship, but a smaller ship that was like half empty at times and so that can really reception as well. So. Yeah, it's interesting that you notice just the corridor length though because that you're right. Like just walking to one of the restaurants at the back of the ship which is typically. Whereas two of the three restaurants are at the back of the ship. Yeah, you can notice the, the hallway, the difference in the hallways. All right, well let's, let's shift gears a little bit. I want to talk about was this ship full and what would you say the passenger demographic looked like in terms of of course ages? Because I, I will in May. So you're going to have probably less school age children on, but also sort of nationality, that sort of a thing. Yeah. Sarah, what did you notice about the passengers? [00:26:17] Speaker A: Never got a formal guest count. But I. Another really nice thing that was not planned but was amazing was a good friend who I used to work with is still in youth activities and working the dream at the moment. So got to catch up and have pizza in Naples during one of the lunch breaks just like we used to, which was amazing. But she mentioned that it was about three and a half thousand, so not capacity but out of that 3,000 were adults. So very adult skewed, which you would expect at this time of year. And in the med. [00:26:58] Speaker C: Yep, absolutely. Yeah. There'll be more kids there in June and in July and of course at the beginning of August because when American schools are out, when European schools are out, that's when you'll see more kids on board. But in May it's kind of a mix year in the States. At least we've got some kids. I mean our son goes to school till sort of middle almost end of June, whereas some schools end kind of mid May. But it's, I'd say more end at the end of May. So you would have like sort of just missed the sort of end of most of American schools. [00:27:32] Speaker A: At least she did mention like even the next cruise the kid count is starting to go up. The one space in the youth activities that were was busy was the nursery. [00:27:44] Speaker C: Exactly. People with younger children can travel whenever they want to travel shoulder season because that's when it's less expensive. To travel and when the chance to. Yeah, absolutely. If you can get one of the early European sailings or the very late European sailings, the prices are lower on Disney Cruise Line because that that's again shoulder season. So it absolutely makes sense. [00:28:08] Speaker A: Like that was another reason that we were so keen to go then and not July. Like the weather was beautiful. I actually looked it up just before we joined the chat and it was high 60s, low 70s in Fahrenheit. But yeah, like the weather was perfect. We could not have asked for better. [00:28:26] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Now did you get a sense of like nationalities on board? Like, did you get a sense of like, was this heavily European, heavily American? Certainly not a lot of Aussies or Kiwis on board. [00:28:39] Speaker B: So we did spend some time in the adults area and for me a lot of them were either British or European. I think this the way Disney might have done it. I think I noticed a lot more Brazilian and Portuguese. Brazilian and Mexican staff on the cruise. So I think they wanted to make sure they had the Spanish and Portuguese speakers there. It was a couple of French speakers on staff as well. So I think that there was that [00:29:10] Speaker A: you're caring for the language diversity. Yeah, there were definitely a good chunk of Americans and just talking to people, it sounds like a lot of people had done the crossing and then had booked this as a bit of time in Europe because the crossing only has like two European. [00:29:27] Speaker C: Only a couple stops. Yeah, yeah. [00:29:29] Speaker A: So like I don't know numbers, but I think that would have been a big chunk of people on the morning doing back to back process. [00:29:36] Speaker C: Yeah, that makes sense. Now let. Let's talk about the ports a little bit. Because of course when you're sailing in Europe, the ports are the stars. I mean, not to say that the ship isn't the star. Also there's plenty of wonderful things to do on the ship. But did you have four ports or how many ports did you guys have for. Okay, let's start with what was your first port and what'd you guys end up doing there? [00:29:59] Speaker B: So L? Verno was our first port, which is Tuscany, so close to Pisa and Florence, which is what the rest of the group had done. They'd done a Disney port adventure there. We decided to go on our own and do a private tour to Cinque Terre. So that was on Sarah's bucket list. So it was. We looked at the Disney option and. And it was more time in La Spezia, wasn't it? It was more not geared to what Sarah wanted to experience. So we decided to Get a private car. Sarah had organized through a Facebook group to get the car full because we needed a certain amount of people to. And we found an American couple who also wanted to do this and not do the Disney version. And we're able to make arrangements there. And yeah, it was a great time. [00:30:51] Speaker C: Nice. Now, how did you find this, this tour in particular? And was it. So was for the four of you then the two of you and another couple, or did the family join you? [00:31:00] Speaker A: Yeah, it was through Italy Tours, which was a company recommendation we got through your podcast, actually. Sorry, Tangent. One of the highlights in Barcelona was we saw a show at the Palo de la Musica, which was a recommendation from Hayley and drew one of your podcasts and it was just amazing. So I think they had mentioned Italy tours as well. It was a eight person tour originally. It was just us booked, like Chris said. We were then able to find another cup. Joyce and I can't remember her husband's name, joined in. The minimum number for the tour to go ahead was six. And the tour company actually contacted us like this was all in advance, like I reckon four weeks before the cruise. So we would have had time to organize something else if it had fallen through. But they offered for each of us to pay an extra person. So we reached the minimum booking number and if there was late last minute bookings, then we would have got that refunded in the end. That didn't happen. But even paying for three people, it was cheaper than the two of us doing the Disney version. [00:32:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:32:26] Speaker A: And. [00:32:27] Speaker C: And it did what you wanted to do. [00:32:29] Speaker A: Yeah. So the Disney. Disney only has one Cinque Territorra tour and it includes an hour each way, very small boat ride. And despite working on ships, I do get seasick on small boats. And Joyce mentioned that this was her third time trying to do Cinque Terre. But the Disney Port Adventure had been canceled the previous two times because of the weather, because of that small boat element. And talking to people who did do the Disney version, like same day as us, apparently was very bumpy that day. So I'm so glad we put our own puzzle together. [00:33:10] Speaker B: And it was perfect weather that day. So if it was bumpy, it would always be bumpy when it didn't wet. [00:33:16] Speaker C: No, that makes sense. That makes sense. So I, I would say good, good choice, I guess. Thumbs up. Like, was it, did you. Was it everything you hoped it would be? Sarah loved it. Oh, good. [00:33:27] Speaker A: An hour each at three different towns. Again, the Disney one only does two stops, so we got to see a Bit more not doing that extra transport puzzle. And like it didn't include any meals or anything. Like that was up to us. But that meant we could, you know, kind of grab things as we were going or we did actually sit down and have pasta in one of the towns. It was just beautiful. Like yeah, for a bucket list. It lived up to expectations. It was beautiful part of the world. [00:33:58] Speaker B: And saying if you did want to do it, it is also possibly convenient to do it by the train. We didn't really fees it. That in there is a pretty high speed train that goes to all five stops, but all four stops at least. But we just decided the car was more convenient to us and to get back to the ship. That gave us that sort of sense of security. So when we like. And it was good, Very good talk. [00:34:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I, I think that makes sense. I mean you can sort of of do. It's a little more risky to do the train. Right. Because if a train gets delayed and all of that, then you have an issue. But if you, you know, if you've got the car, you have less of [00:34:34] Speaker A: a worry because it was like it's not a formal Disney port adventure. So it doesn't have the same protections as going with Disney. But they are a tour company that specializes in cruise tours. So they did guarantee to get us back to Chevrolet and there was fine print that said if for whatever reason we didn't, they would get us to our next port. And knowing that the next day we were in civil Vecchia, like that wasn't going to be complicated. So we did feel very comfortable kind of doing that. Normally I'd do a much shorter tour if it wasn't an official Disney one. [00:35:10] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a really good point. We always look for that same guarantee if we are booking outside of Disney. And technically speaking, even Disney won't actually wait for you. I mean, you know, from working on the show ship. Sarah. But like they, their guarantee is either the ship waits for you or we get you to our next port of call. So that's Disney's guarantee. Now, of course, if you're going on like a transatlantic or trans Pacific. Right? Yeah, they're, they're going to wait as much as they can because getting you reunited with the ship is not possible really. But like if you are going from one European city to another, like the ship might not be able to wait very long because they have strict certain ports will be like, sorry, you're out. Like Barcelona might say to Disney, Disney dream, you have to leave by this Time. And if you don't leave by this time, we will fine you X thousands of dollars. Yeah, yeah. So it's, it's not. So it's not like they're not trying. I mean, the ship is going to try its best to accommodate if passengers are running late from an excursion, especially if it's a Disney excursion. But sometimes they just don't have, you know, the ability to. [00:36:20] Speaker A: Is some ports, the tides so dramatic that if you don't leave now, you're not leaving. So. [00:36:26] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, and, and, and sending like a small boat for you might be possible, but then they've got the risk of transferring you while at sea. Right. Like, like doing a tender, essentially, and that can be really dangerous as well. So it's just. Yeah, it's, it's very complicated, these sorts of things. All right, well, let's talk about your second port of call. Where did you go now, next? [00:36:48] Speaker A: So we went to Cuba Vecchia and we did a Disney port adventure for that one. It was CV27 and the title summarizes it beautifully. It was Tarquinia by trolley train and olive oil tasting. We went to Tarquinia, which is beautiful medieval town, like on the top of the hill, did a trolley train tour. So we actually did this one with my parents who like, are very healthy for parents, but mum is starting to have some mobility challenges due to arthritis. So that was really nice. You kind of got to do the town. It was like a walking tour, but it was on the trolley and I think we stopped three times, got off the trolley, got to see the view, take photos in front of the church, then back on the trolley to kind of do the winding steep bit. So that was really perfect. [00:37:43] Speaker B: It was definitely a smoother adventure because it was just really, just the train and then olive tasting, olive oil tasting wasn't really any extraneous on the body. It just. [00:37:54] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, that's a great multi generational option because there are some of these tours as, as you mentioned, you know, Chris, about sort of walking around in Barcelona, a lot of these places are cobblestone pavers on the ground. Right. So we're talking about older cities in Europe where walking around it can be kind of strenuous. Maybe it's on a hill, maybe the beautiful lookout spot is walking up a bunch of stairs. Right. Like, so you know these. Europe, in certain parts of Europe are not the most accessible when it. And so when you think about somebody who has any kind of mobility issues, you want to think about that when you're picking your Port excursions. And reading that, reading that fine print about the descriptions as well is really important. And sometimes you can find, you know, online reviews through like TripAdvisor, other websites to kind of find out more about those excursions. [00:38:49] Speaker A: On that. Just to go back the day in L, the rest of our family did do a port adventure, which was a river cruise in Pisa. And looking at the port adventure description, they were very clear that it's steep steps to get onto the boat, then there's like five steps onto the coach. And. And apparently there were a number of families who did have a family member in a wheelchair and technically they were able to do it. But the fact that there were multiple families in that situation just slowed the whole tour down so much and it sounds like it was quite challenging for them. And so, yeah, reading the fine print is really important. And like, I mean, Disney do say, but I think Disney maybe are a little on the side of if you want to do it, if you're able to, we'll let you. But is that really how you want to spend your day? [00:39:53] Speaker C: Yeah, like spending a long time transferring from one to another. Yeah, that's not, that's not the best. That might not be the best fit for an excursion. That's a really good point. And you're right. I think every time I've heard people ask, ask at like the portaventures desk, they will always say, well, if you're able to, you can. It's up to you, do you whether you want to. Right. And they. So they always leave it to the guests, which I understand they don't want to say no, if you can actually do something because, you know, there are people who are primarily wheelchair users who can, who are mobile, who can, you know, ambulate and get up and walk short distances, but maybe can't walk all around a town. Right. So, yeah, so it's, it's hard, I think it's very hard for Disney to know what your level of ability is and what your level of comfort is. And so they, they try to, I think, err on the side of letting the guests make that, that decision, which makes total sense. [00:40:48] Speaker A: But yeah, I think like you summarized, a lot of Europe was built pre accessibility considerations. And even when Disney and the tour guides are doing their best, there's only so much. [00:41:04] Speaker C: Absolutely. What was your third port of call? Oh, the Pizza Capital. [00:41:11] Speaker B: This was definitely the one that we were all looking forward to. So we did a private tour through. Can't think of the name of the place, but. [00:41:20] Speaker A: Well, it Was a bit of a puzzle my sister did. So we decided to do Herculeum instead of Pompeii. So for anyone who doesn't know, it was a town that was buried in the same volcanic eruption as Pompeii, but it was found a little bit later. So it was preserved a lot better than Pompeii. It's also a much smaller site and technically has more shade than Pompeii. It still does not have a lot of shade. I'm very glad we were not there in July. [00:41:51] Speaker C: Pompeii is rough in the summer. God, yeah. [00:41:54] Speaker A: Yeah. So we booked a tour directly with the archaeological park, which was led by an archaeologist who works on the site. We obviously booked the English tour and that was fantastic. And then we booked a private transfer to get us all there through Star Cars Sorrento. Our driver was Lelo. His wife is Australian, So he was just brilliant. Like, this was the day we were most excited about. No questions. But then that was just an extra level. Like, we had such a great chat. He'd spent some time living in Australia, so there were stories all the way to Herculean. And then on the way back, we mentioned we're really keen to stop for pizza. Like, do you have any recommendations? And he actually called his family's favorite pizza place, made a reservation for us and dropped us off, like, at the door. That was like. And he's like, yep. And it'll just be like, left, left, and you can see the ship. And it was perfect. [00:43:04] Speaker C: Oh, that's so cool. Like, what a Cool. Also, to get a recommendation from a local is so great. Right? And in general, because they know the best places, but then to be like, right there at the ship, too. What a. What a perfect. That sounds like a perfect day, I gotta tell you. Like, seeing ruins eating pizza. I'm not sure that there's a better day out there in Italy. I just. Yeah, fantastic. [00:43:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:31] Speaker C: Well. And it sounds like you had great weather for the whole cruise. Is that fair to say? [00:43:35] Speaker B: Yeah, we never got a rainy day, never got an overcast day. Herculean was brilliant. It was also very entertaining because our tour guide, every time he saw a teenage group of school kids doing the School Goes, he would yell at them in Italian. And I've never seen so many groups of teenagers just stop quiet in their tracks and politely leave. So I wanted to learn it, but. Yeah. Yeah. [00:44:02] Speaker C: I wonder what he was saying to them. Wow. I like that. It just a way about him. I bet if you're listening to us right now, Chances are pretty good that you love Disney vacations as much as we do. But even seasoned travelers know there's a ton to keep up with when it comes to Disney Cruise Line line. From cruise itineraries to the perfect stateroom for your family, shore excursions and onboard experiences. And if you're planning to visit the Disney parks before or after your cruise, then there's even more to plan. From the perfect resort to lightning lane strategies, dining reservations, park tickets, special offers, and much, much more. [00:44:36] Speaker D: That's where WeDoTravel Right comes in. Their team of experienced travel advisors specializes in Disney Cruise Line, Disney Parks, and other exciting places all the around the world. They take the time to understand what matters most to your family, providing personalized recommendations and helping you navigate all the details so you can spend less time stressing and more time looking forward to your vacation. Whether it's your first Disney Cruise or your 10th, having an expert in your corner can make all the difference. [00:45:02] Speaker C: Life is short. Take the trip. Visit wedotravelright.com dclduo to connect with a travel advisor and start planning your next unforgettable adventure. [00:45:11] Speaker D: We do travel, right? The crew that handles the planning so you can focus on relaxing. [00:45:18] Speaker C: Well, what was your. What was your fourth port of call? [00:45:22] Speaker A: My dad was like, practicing the pronunciation. Kaliari. [00:45:30] Speaker B: Sardinia. [00:45:30] Speaker A: Sardinia. So again, we did a Disney port adventure. So it was dag 14. [00:45:39] Speaker C: Yeah. I think this was a new port stop for dcl, wasn't it? Yeah, I remember. [00:45:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So it was really tricky to kind of decide exactly what we wanted to do. So this was a panoramic sightseeing tour. It was a lot of sitting on a bus and kind of seeing things out the window. But it was also a really nice overview, like, of somewhere that none of us had been. And I guess there wasn't a lot that kind of jumped out to us. There were some ruins that you could go to, but like, we'd literally just done some amazing ruins the day before. So it was like, I think we'll be done with ruins. A lot of people did use it as a beach day. The beach was beautiful. We got to see it on our drive by. And even as an Australian, that was a beautiful beach. But our family is not really beach people, so it ended up being perfect for us. And probably the one thing that we were excited about, like, Sardinia has wild flamingos, so we were really hoping we'd see a flamingo. And at one point the bus went past salt plains and there were so many flamingos and they were like, like they weren't in the distance. They were right up there against the road waiting to have their photo taken. Like, it was amazing. [00:46:58] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. Are you. So you got to see what do they call it? A flamboyance of flamingos? I think. Yeah. [00:47:07] Speaker B: That was at the seven mile beach, which is the longest beach or biggest beach in Europe. So that's. That was one of the. Yes. [00:47:15] Speaker A: And white sandy beach, which is obviously quite unique for Europe. [00:47:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:47:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, awesome. Wow. I mean it sounds like, honestly, every one of your port days sounds picture perfect. I think it's. It demonstrates though, in part the reason to go to Europe in May instead of going to, you know, in July or August. So because in all of these places that you went both in Barcelona and then also, you know, in all these ports in Italy, like you're dealing with places that get really, really hot in the summer and without a lot of shade, as you mentioned, even Herculeum having more shade than Pompeii. Still not super shady. So yeah, the going at the shoulder season can, can really help with weather. I want to talk about your onboard. Oh, Sarah, just one more thing about ports. [00:48:03] Speaker A: We. So my family, the five of us had done a Mediterranean cruise. It was actually our first Disney Cruise back in 2011. And we had done the big days, like all of our port days except for the Last 1 were 12 hour port days and we had done the, like we're going to Florence where first one's off the ship with the last one's back on and it's exhausting. And we made the decision very early on when planning this one that we're not going to do that. We're only looking at half day excursions. The biggest tour we did was the Cinque Terre one that Chris and I did. And even that was only eight hours. So compared to what you could have done with that day, it was very chill and would highly recommend. [00:48:53] Speaker C: I think that's a great strategy. I also think if you're paying for a Disney Cruise Line like and you're. But you're spending 12 hour days off the ship, like maybe you want to think about paying for a Royal Caribbean cruise or some other brand of cruise because you're just. If you're spending all of your daylight hours, and I know you had a couple of sea days and we're going to pivot and talk about those in a second. But if you're spending all of your daylight hours off the ship, which is a wonderful way to see Europe, no question about that. It's still, like, are you really getting the benefit of all that Disney service and that Disney entertainment and the Disney activities and you know, like, are you getting your money's worth? And I'm not sure that that calculus [00:49:36] Speaker A: is there people who were on early dining, if they were doing those big port days, they were missing dinner. And I mean they did have more food on deck open, I imagine, to cater for that. But, you know, like, like rotational dining is one of the big pluses of Disney. So if you're missing that, I agree. Is it worth it? [00:49:57] Speaker C: Yeah. Well. And one of the things that's interesting about these European sailings is I do think, and we, we try to tell people, like, when you're going to the Caribbean or the Bahamas, like, and you. If you want early dining, you need to make that request like, right away. Like you, when you, you need to book on the early side where you can book later and you'll just be put into late dining. We're late dining people, so it doesn't matter for us. But in Europe it's the opposite. And I think in. But Australia, New Zealand, I'm not sure like, what it was there, but I know in like, Alaska is also similar to in Europe. Like, because you have these long port days, more people tend to book that late dining. And so late dining tends to be the fuller seating. How was speaking of talking about the onboard experience, like, you had late dining. I am presuming you're all adults, you're not sailing with any small children and you're in Europe. There's no reason. But like, is late dining completely full on your sailing? That's what I'm imagining. [00:50:52] Speaker B: Look like. [00:50:53] Speaker A: Yeah, like, and even, even the late dining, there were tables that were empty some nights, which you kind of get used to when you're like, oh, I assume they're at Palo, but I think there were actually a couple of tables that just exhausted themselves and were choosing to do room service to get an early night because they had another early start. So. [00:51:15] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Now in. I want to ask you though, the comparison in Australia when you did those sailings. Like, I know in Europe, Europeans tend to eat later. Americans tend to eat earlier, I think, than Europeans at least. When do Aussies eat? Like, when do you all, like, at home? What's like, normal dinner? And what did people on. On the ship sailing out of New Zealand? [00:51:37] Speaker A: We're a little in between. Yeah. Like, not as early. [00:51:42] Speaker C: I mean, we don't eat at 5:30. To be fair. We. That's. Most Americans probably eat closer to 6:30. But like, yeah, you know, like, I, [00:51:50] Speaker A: I'd say between 7 and 8 is probably typical, as much as you can generalize something like that. For the Australian cruises, I felt it was very similar to the Caribbean cruises. Like, people with young children really wanted the early dining. Yeah. All adult groups tended to want the late dining. [00:52:11] Speaker C: Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. And like I said, in Europe, you're. In general, the late dining is going to be. More people are going to book that more just because even if they. Even people with younger kids will sometimes choose that later dining just knowing they're going to be at port for long hours. Some people will book the early dining, not realizing that and then realizing, oh my God, we just missed dinner, like three nights or four nights of dinner. So it's, it's really, as you mentioned, Sarah, one of those, like, important things to figure out in your planning process. Like, you know, do I care about missing dinner? Right. Is that important to me? Do I? Versus being at the port for a longer period of time. If you have a long port port stay, which a lot of these ports do, especially since you're not traveling that far from one port to another, the ports are relatively close together. Well, let's talk, let's talk about some of the onboard experiences. Chris, I want to ask you about this because, I mean, like, like Sarah knows everything about these ships backwards and forwards with the exception of the Wish class. But, you know. Yeah, I mean, what, like, what kinds of things did you, what spaces did you like to spend your time in on board the Dream? And what kinds of activities did you enjoy doing on the Dream? It's. Obviously there's, there are more spaces and so there's sort of more to do, I'd say, on this class versus on, on the Wonder, but they're all different. [00:53:33] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think comparing it to the Wonder, we were very spotless because living in Australia, we never looked at the port days as being anything serious. So we spent more of our times on the ship. So there was certainly a lot more places within the Wonder where I felt most comfortable or enjoyed myself more. I think the adult spaces on the Dream for me were fairly confusing and compacted. So because it was such a heavily adult to cruise, there was times when we went and did adult activity. Say in the bar, there were 1687 or 687. Yeah, yeah. [00:54:12] Speaker C: the pub. Yeah, yeah. [00:54:14] Speaker B: And it felt very, very claustrophobic because everyone else had the same idea. And I don't think it was really built for that. So there was some odd choices where we're kind of like, could they have done this, say at Evolution or some AR else where there is a bit more space. That's my only sort of real criticism. It was looking around going, I don't think this is planned out as well as it could have been. I found the Wonder to be a lot more personal experience because it's a smaller ship. If I went to the French Quarter, if I went to the Cadillac Lounge, they knew my name. We all talked and we conversed every day. I didn't get that personal connection on the Dream. I found it to be you sort of saw people but you weren't sort of able to say you had that dragon. And it was only because we had two sea days. The spaces that I really enjoyed were more near Cove. So that eating area, we were all able to sit down, it was quiet, there was no screaming kids. That adult area was very good again. Also Cove was very busy. There wasn't any seats around. So again that sort of. We just spent that time sort of outside. But I did like, like a lot of the theming. I thought it was very well done. I wish I had spent more time in Evolution. We only did it once to listen to the Broadway start do their music. The theater and the cinema I think are really good. I think how they've done those made them two stories, made them easily accessible and the shows were great. What else? What was the other question that you asked and what. [00:55:50] Speaker C: Which space? Well, I asked which spaces? You already. You answered on Activities. [00:55:55] Speaker B: I think. Yeah, everyone says this when they go on these types of ships. The Midship Detective Agency is. Yeah, I know. [00:56:02] Speaker C: Best. It's the best. [00:56:03] Speaker A: Right? [00:56:05] Speaker B: We. Yeah, I think that the one was mentioning about the two sea days was that we didn't get to do the golf, we didn't get to do Penelope's. We was just so jam packed doing a lot of things that even on the last day we looked around goes. We haven't done a whole lap of deck four yet. So we went out, made sure we took the dinner. [00:56:23] Speaker C: You gotta go around deck four, you gotta walk around the promenade deck and just. Yeah, at least once around to get a little stroll. [00:56:31] Speaker B: Yeah, we sort of went upstairs and quickly looked at the mini golf and go, okay, we've seen it, let's leave. Because there was kids starting on that and it was like, yeah, okay, no, that's not for us. But the Mitchi Detective Agency, everyone was doing it on the ship. Everyone was having a great time, you know, we did the Muppets one. We made sure that we made and good job, Sarah. [00:56:53] Speaker C: You got the. Yeah. You found. You found whoever was the thief. [00:56:57] Speaker B: Yeah, it was very nicely done. And so I had a lot of great fun doing that and I. And it was good to stop, start and come back because there's a lot of steps, a lot of moving around. But yeah, that was definitely my heart. [00:57:10] Speaker C: It. Yeah, I love that. I think honestly, I mean, the best thing about the Dream Class is the Midship Detective Agency. Anyone who says differently is just wrong. It's the best game. I know that we have a couple of decent games on the newer class. In particular, the Happy Hunt is probably the best one on the newer. On the Destiny and the Treasure, which is the Haunted Mansion themed one using a magic band and screens. But I still maintain that the Midship Detective Agency, which is kind of. For those who have not listened to our show before, this is like a. Think of it as kind of a scavenger hunt where you're playing detective using interactive screens throughout the ship. It's actually the least technologically savvy of the options of games on the. On the ship, but it's the best one because it's very. It doesn't glitch very often. It's very easy to do for adults, kids, the like it really and it's just really fun. And. And if you do the. There's three different storylines. I highly recomm Muppets one, it is the longest of the three. The other two are shorter. But if you, if you want to take your time and as you mentioned, Chris, you don't have to do it all at once. You can do some of it and then come back to it the next day. I highly, highly recommend. And there's ways to, let's say, minimize your walking. Take a picture of Pepe's door. Take a picture of the. The theater board thing that's outside of the theater as well. And that. That will help you from having to zigzag a couple of extra times throughout the ship. [00:58:46] Speaker A: So also highly recommend starting at the top and then you're doing stairs. Down. [00:58:51] Speaker C: Yes, down instead of going up. Absolutely. [00:58:54] Speaker B: Do it from the after. Do it from forward. [00:59:00] Speaker C: I tend to zigzag. I will go like, you know, I'll go like deck nine, forward. Deck nine, aft. Deck eight, aft deck eight. You know, like, I'll do it like that. But I, I appreciate that too. All the tips to. To minimize your walking, even though it actually maximizes your walking regardless. Yeah, it's Fantastic. I gotta ask about, you know, food quality and. And you mentioned the show is, of course, being wonderful. Chris. Sarah, I gotta ask you, since you have a ton of experience with Disney Cruise Line food and shows and all of. All of the things like what. What did you. How did you think this cruise stacked up in terms of that food? Good. [00:59:42] Speaker A: Like, I think it was at Disney standard, the. The deck food was definitely busier, like, and I think it was that kind of people getting back from port. So it did seem busier, but, like, they definitely kept up the tacos. They had a line going, like zigzag line, but worth the wait. [01:00:08] Speaker C: Yeah, the cantina is definitely a great addition to the Dream and the Fantasy that, you know, they added it onto the last dry dock for both of those ships and it was much needed in terms of adding another option, a variety of food on board, on the deck. And also, you know, there's no. There was no really Mexican food on the Dream or the Fantasy. And so this is kind of the first. Not to say that once in a while they'd have a dish or two in cabanas, but not the same. Yeah, this is. It's like a. Think of it. We like to call it Chipotle at Sea. It, of course, was introduced first on the Wish class with Donald's Cantina, and then this one is now Ramon's, I believe, Cantina on the. On the Dream and the Fantasy. So it's been a big hit. I think it's. It's been really successful. [01:00:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Main dining. I think the food was as expected, like, generally good, particularly when you think about how many people they're feeding on such a schedule. They were still using the old menus. I'm not sure if they're going to be doing that for the whole European season or if they're going to switch over. [01:01:10] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm not sure either. I think it'll, you know, thus we haven't really talked. I think you might be the first folks that we've talked to from who've been on the European season. And so I think we'll find out perhaps later in the season if they switch. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they wait until after they come back across the Atlantic before they start switching up to updating the menus just to give the crew it's a. You know, the European season is hard for the crew, as you know, Sarah. It's, you know, you're changing ports every day. It's very busy. It's a lot of a Lot of different nationalities, a lot of different languages on board. The tipping is of course not as good for cast because European culture, unlike American culture, does not, not generally tip as much and so think it's just a different, you know, it's, it's a harder season for them even. Even though a lot of the cast love doing Europe because it means they get to see all of these amazing places in the world. Yeah. [01:02:11] Speaker A: And I imagine also just using like different suppliers than they would be at Porton Avril, etc. They're probably pre ordered, but anyway, we got to have our brie, so that was, was, I was happy about that. [01:02:25] Speaker C: Yeah. And I will say I think you guys got the American chicken tenders as well. Although I think they switched. Yeah, I, I, I did hear the one. I think the cruise after yours, they had, they switched to the European supply. Like so a lot of the stuff you got because you're at the very beginning of, of the European season, you still got the American like sodas and the American chicken tenders and all of that. Like the supplies that came on in, as you mentioned in Florida versus a cruise after yours and then beyond, they start to, those supplies start to dwindle and then they start to be restocking with the European versions. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's a little, a little different. [01:03:06] Speaker B: We got the three, we got the Mickey bars, chicken tenders and Jimmy as a cruise director. [01:03:11] Speaker C: Oh, you got Jimmy as your cruise [01:03:13] Speaker B: director ending his contract. So that was his last brews and so he realized there was Australians on board, so he had to add that I live also on the Gold coast in Australia as well as being an American. So he had to give the whole spill. [01:03:26] Speaker C: Oh, that's awesome. I love that. That's fantastic. Well, is there anything that we, that I've missed? Anything in terms of either onboard? Oh, we didn't, we didn't talk about Paulo. I'm, I'm curious how Paulo dinner was. [01:03:40] Speaker B: And we did Remy as well. Well. [01:03:42] Speaker C: Oh, you did Remy. Oh, okay. [01:03:44] Speaker A: Pa was amazing because Paula is always amazing. [01:03:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:03:47] Speaker A: And our, yeah, it was amazing. We got a sunset like as we were leaving L. Beautiful. We didn't originally intend to do Remy's because we only had two sea days and we've never been on the dream and like you, you know, it just takes up so much time. But there was a bit of FOMO [01:04:09] Speaker B: going on from the brother in laws. We were both like, well, we haven't done Remy's and, and it was hesitant from those that are the family that had Done the cruise and gone. It's not that good. Or it was not. It's. And when. [01:04:24] Speaker A: No, it was the time. [01:04:26] Speaker C: Yeah, it is a big chunk of time. [01:04:29] Speaker A: This time we ended up doing brunch, so really did eat into that second sea day, but it was amazing. [01:04:36] Speaker B: Yeah. I think really the highlight was the servers at Palo at Remy and our server and assistant server. Like we had some of phenomenal guest relations through the serving of food and they were great, all of them. And they made us all feel special. And it was two different experiences. But I think Remy just slightly edged out Pilot because it was a new experience for us. It was sort of a degustation menu and they accommodated for no seafood. They accommodated for the vegan sister that we have. So they were all. And they made everyone feel special, spoiled. And the theming was great. The Meridian bar and just being there, up there before your meal, relaxing. And that was on that day, that morning we saw a pool of dolphins, we saw a turtle and we saw a whale. All in the space of about an hour and a half. Half. Everyone at Meridian in the bar were like, okay, out check the whale, go back in. But we were seeing the dolphins and the turtle from our balcony and we were like telling people and then people just went and go, oh my God, there's a whale. And then we went out and saw the whale. [01:05:47] Speaker C: So yeah, that's incredible. I love, I love when stuff like that happens. It's. It's the, you know, the magic of cruising. Not just on Disney, but like cruising in general. [01:05:57] Speaker B: You. [01:05:57] Speaker C: You can sometimes get those sightings. Sometimes you have a pod of dolphins swimming with you as you're sailing. Sometimes you get to see a whale. I love that. That's. That's fantastic. I think, you know, Meridian, for those who haven't sailed on the Dream and the Fantasy, Meridian is like the secret sauce of bar spaces on that class of ship. Like it is it. It doesn't tend to get crowded really, because I think a lot of people don't know it's there unless they happen to do a drink tasting there or they're going to Palo Remy, because that's, you know, it's right there in between the two restaurants. And to me that's like it's sort of the best kept, maybe not so secret secret. I mean, for people who've sailed a lot with Disney, they know about it. But I, I do think a lot of first time cruisers completely miss it as a bar space. So even if you're not going to Remy or Palo, I Highly recommend going and grabbing a drink there because I, I just think it's a fantastic space. Yeah. Sarah, anything? Oh, you know, we didn't ask the question of, you know, the different. You mentioned being spoiled at the beginning of the show, Chris. I have to now find. I have to circle back before I'm going to ask rapid fire because, Sarah, I've already asked you a rapid fire last time around, but you mentioned getting spoiled in Australia on the Wonder and, and the sort of comparison, or you alluded to a comparison to the Dream. Tell me, what were your sort of takeaways from sailing in Europe on the Dream versus sailing on the Wonder? [01:07:25] Speaker B: I think that's the point I made earlier about how I feel like there was a far more personalized service, that it was a smaller group through smaller guests. So everyone sort of like, hey, and we had that connection with previous servers. So we knew who Sentosa was, we knew who all these people were. And we had this connection go, I saw you last cruise and oh, you had this connection with people in the French Quarter and you could share a joke with them and they entertained you. And we had all these kind of experiences, whereas because we're on the Dream for such a small period of time, we couldn't make those connections. And. But also it just felt like it was so much more busier and it was small pack, but I don't think the staff could even manage to do that. So it, for me, this felt more like a cruise than what the Wonder was, which was more of an experience. And I think. And it was. Both were great, but they were just different experiences. [01:08:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I've heard you and Brian reflect on this and I think we saw it that has dcl over expanded too quickly. And like, it's not like we had any bad crew interactions, but we also didn't have any amazing. Like, it was literally only our service team that I feel like we knew their names. [01:08:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:50] Speaker A: And that is different what I expect from Disney. [01:08:53] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely. I think you're absolutely right. I think there are still those experiences you can have on board on Disney Cruise Line, but I do think that they are fewer than they used to be. And I definitely agree with you, Sarah. And I attribute it to the expansion, the speed of the expansion. And that's not to say that they can't expand, but when you do it so fast, you do, you know, you have to staff up very quickly. And one of the things I heard this mentioned by somebody who works at Disney Cruise Line a couple years ago that when they started the Hiring for like, the Treasure, the Destiny, the Adventure, they had to flip their statistics, right? It used to be like, let's say 100% of people who applied for Disney Cruise Line jobs, they would take the top 20%, right? The best of the 20, you know, 20. 20 out of every 100 they would take. Now, now they have to take 80 of a hundred. Like, so they have to take the the and say no to the bottom 20%. And that just means overall, you're not always getting the cream of the crop. And I'm not saying that these people are bad or. But you, you just. If you're not as choosy with your crew, right, you are going to get some people who are maybe not as Disney quality as you want them to be. And that doesn't mean there aren't those gems sprinkled amongst that group. There are always going to be those gems sprinkled amongst those group. But you're going to have some folks who maybe don't have that same, like, pride and level of service in themselves, no matter how much Disney trains them. And that's just, you know, that's an unfortunate, I think, consequence of that growth. And I mean, my hope is that over time those people will learn from their fellow cast members. Like, that's one of the wonderful things about Disney Cruise Line is you always see these gems throughout the crew. And so if those are your leaders and your mentors for new crew, then hopefully, hopefully they bring that level of service up across the board. And. But it's, you know, there's going to be hits and misses, but I also think there's something just special about the Wonder and you guys got to experience that, you know, multiple times. And I'm jealous that you got so much time on the Wonder because she's such a wonderful ship. Not to be punny on purpose, but it's. There's just, yeah, she's. There's something really special. I don't know, I actually think more so than the magic. And I know that, like, there are other people who think that the magic is. There's something special about her. Of course, she's the first ship, so she's special in her own right. But I don't know, there's something warm about the cast on the Wonder that I, that Brian and I have always felt. And I think there is some self selection. I know, you know, that the cast does have some ability to say, I want to be on that ship and it doesn't always get honored. But you know, of course the company Tries to accommodate where they can. And so. But yeah, I think the personal experience you get on the smaller ships in general, it can't quite be replicated on the larger ships, but. All right, well, Chris, I'm going to subject you to rapid fire at this point, so I think we've reached that point in the show where I've got to give you some arbitrary rules, some arbitrary questions, and a dash of judgment, or the round we know is rapid fire, so. So, Chris, I'm sure you listened to Sarah's rapid fire. I'm gonna tell you that I want your favorites, so don't tell me Sarah's favorites. I want your personal favorites, and they don't have to agree with Sarah's personal favorites. So we're gonna start with your favorite Disney character. And Disney means everything and anything that Disney owns. [01:12:47] Speaker B: Okay. Robin Hood. [01:12:49] Speaker C: Love it. All right. Favorite Disney movie, Robin Hood. Favorite Disney song. [01:12:56] Speaker B: A whole New World. [01:12:58] Speaker C: Oh, I love that. That's a good choice. All right, we're going to move on to Disney Cruise Line ships. I'm going to ask you your favorite Disney Cruise Line stage show. Of course, only from ones that you have seen. So on the dream or on the wonder, it doesn't have to be from this cruise. It could be from any of the cruises. [01:13:15] Speaker B: Dreams on the wonder. [01:13:17] Speaker C: Aw, that's cute. [01:13:19] Speaker A: I think that's him. [01:13:23] Speaker C: All right, what's your favorite onboard activity on Disney Cruise Line? [01:13:28] Speaker B: Other than eating? [01:13:31] Speaker C: Yeah, other than eating. [01:13:32] Speaker B: I think just relaxing in Cadillac Lounge or something like that. Yeah, Piano bar. Yeah, that Cadillac Lounge is one of my favorite spots, so. Yeah. [01:13:46] Speaker C: Yeah. Awesome. All right, speaking of food, since you mentioned, you know, other than food, what's your favorite rotational dining restaurant? [01:13:53] Speaker B: I have to say it's a tie between Tritons and Enchanted Garden, because I think that's the both where you get the deep fried brie and the French onion soup. I think both of those. [01:14:04] Speaker C: Actually, the deep fried brie is in Royal Court. [01:14:07] Speaker B: Royal Court. So it's Royal Court, Royal palace or palace, whatever. [01:14:11] Speaker C: But I never remember which one is which. [01:14:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm a classics girl. [01:14:14] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. [01:14:15] Speaker B: Deep fried brie and the French onion soup bar. [01:14:18] Speaker C: Yeah, that's where you'll be. Okay, I like that. All right, speaking of staying in the category of food, I want to know a favorite sweet item on a Disney cruise and a favorite savory item. Now you can choose from whatever restaurant it could even. It could be pool deck food. It could be ice cream on the pool deck. It could be something in Remy or Paulo. Doesn't really matter. So anywhere on the ship and it could be from any of your cruises. So let's start with the. We're starting with sweets because I like savories the best. So we saved the savory for. For last. [01:14:48] Speaker B: So favorite sweet sweets are creme brulee. I think the options there are very good. Savory. I'm going with the bread course at Palo, I think. [01:15:00] Speaker C: Oh, the bread course is so good. Yeah. [01:15:04] Speaker B: I think the family does love the French cook. The bread servings at Paulo, I think is pretty hot. [01:15:12] Speaker C: Yeah, I love. I like the pizza bread at Paula. Oh, so good. Yeah. And dipping it in the. That balsamic. Oh, so, so yummy. All right, we're gonna switch away from food and I will ask you what some people deem to be a controversial question, which is which one is your favorite ship? If you could choose tomorrow? Are you going on the Wonder? Are you going on the Dream? I think I know the answer. [01:15:35] Speaker B: Yeah. The Wonder, it's a soft spot. It is the first ship I've ever been on from the Disney Cruise Line, but it's. Yeah, it's just a different experience. [01:15:48] Speaker C: Awesome. All right, well, my last question of Rapid fire is your bucket list cruise. And what I mean by that is somewhere you haven't been that you would love to go on a Disney cruise. It doesn't actually have to be like Disney Cruise Line current itinerary. It could be an imaginary itinerary, a made up itinerary, but it has to be real places that are accessible by water. Where would you. [01:16:08] Speaker B: Our bucket list is Alaska for me. But I think the places that I want to go and it is coming up is Japan, I think doing even a Singapore to Japan cruise, because we are currently looking at potentially doing something similar to that because we do have the adventure. But that doesn't go anywhere coming up. But that Disney ship in Japan is something that will be highly sought after. And for Disney to come back to Australia, hopefully with one of the Meridian class ships. Ships, who knows? But we hope so. [01:16:40] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, flying colors. Wonderful. You did wonderfully, Chris. Good job. Sarah has trained you well. You. You did awesome. Yeah, I love it. I honestly, I. I gotta hear back from you guys. I know you're going in September on the adventure out of Singapore you mentioned. Are you on one sailing? Two sailings? What are you guys doing two sailings back to back? Okay, so a three night and a four night. You must come and tell us. I'm very interested to hear, of course, what you think? And of course it will. The ship will have been sailing for about six months at that point, so it'll be interesting to see operationally if things have changed. The other part that I'm super interesting to see is, Chris, you have now sailed on a. A magic class, a dream class, and now you'll be sailing on the adventure. Adventure class and 6000 passengers is a lot of people, so it'll be interesting to hear what you think of those spaces. [01:17:39] Speaker B: Yeah. One of the things that was a highlight was very early at the start of our trip was when we were flying into Singapore on our first flyover and I turned to my wife and said, I wonder if you could see the adventure from out your window. And then she just started screaming because she could see the adventure leaving port. And that was the cruise before it had all the engine problems. So. It was. Yeah. [01:18:05] Speaker C: So that's crazy. [01:18:07] Speaker B: Yeah, it is a huge ship. Just. We took a photo of it, but it couldn't come out. [01:18:12] Speaker A: We were still pretty high and you could tell that was definitely a Disney ship. [01:18:15] Speaker B: There was those funnels, those unmistakable funnels. So, yeah, no, it's. It's definitely going to be, again, a different experience. And I think being on the Dream has given me that kind of insight. Don't expect. Expect the wonder to be what is expected across the whole thing. Everything has its own different style and experience and. [01:18:38] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And different itineraries also change that too, because you know, when you're over and different time of year, I mean, you, you, you guys have sailing in the shoulder season. While you don't have a full ship, you actually have fuller adult spaces and people sometimes, sometimes don't realize. I think we try to impart that on the show. It's wonderful if you can sail in the shoulder season for a lot of reasons. Cost being a primary one, the ship not being full, maybe weather is a great reason also. Right. There's a lot of wonderful things about sailing in shoulder season, but that might also mean that you're sailing without a lot of kids on board. And I know that sounds like a dream for people who maybe don't travel with kids and are like, oh, this is wonderful. I've got to ship a, a ship, a family focused ship that doesn't have any kids. But it's like, no, actually you're. Yeah, you have. These adult spaces are going to be way oversubscribed. Because even if the same adults, if they have. Even in the same number of adults, when we're sailing with Nathan, we spend less time in the adult only areas because we are like doing stuff with him, right? We're going to bed early, things like that. If we are, are sailing without him, even the same two people, we will spend more time in those adult only areas. And so even, you know, so it's not even necessarily the number of people, but the character of who is sailing and who are they sailing with that changes where you spend your time. I think people don't always realize that, but you all obviously are very aware of it from these two, from these different sailings that you've done. I, I want to say thank you for coming back on the show, Sarah. Thank you for joining Sarah today. Craig Paris, it's been a pleasure having you all. I will note it is like 8 o' clock in the morning where you all are and you woke up early to record with me. So I very much appreciate that. So thank you again for joining me and I very much hope you'll come back to chat with us after your adventure cruise in September. [01:20:39] Speaker A: Looking forward to it. [01:20:40] Speaker B: Very excited.