[00:00:00] Speaker A: So I think it's for the parents and at the same time, it's exhausting for the parents. Right. So you have to go in with very clear expectations of, like, we're going to feel like we need a vacation after this, but it's going to be worth it.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the DCL Duo Podcast, brought to you by. We do travel, right? Life is short. Take the trip. And while you concentrate on the relaxing, let the folks that we do travel, right? Concentrate on all of the planning. As you can tell, I'm your host today, Sam. Brian is not with me. He's actually busy working on another great episode. Trying to get it out to you about our river cruises. It will be out before the. Before I finish this episode. That episode will actually be out. But I'm super excited because I'm not alone. Don't worry, I'm not going to be talking to you by myself for an hour.
Instead, I've got a great guest for you today. I'm excited to welcome first time to our show, second time cruiser, new cruiser to the Disney Cruise Line community.
Welcome to the show, Shelby.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: Thank you. Happy to be here.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Happy to have you.
Now you have one prior cruise in your cruise line history.
I got to ask you, like, where does your love of Disney come from? Of course.
And what got you to book that first Disney cruise? And you mentioned it was only six months ago, so you're already on two Disney cruises in less than a year's time. But, yeah, where did the whole Disney bug come from?
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah, so I, you know, I was fortunate to grow up a Disney child.
So, you know, my first visit to the park, I was probably three years old. And then I would say around when I was probably around 6, my parents took us all again, and it just, like, we were hooked and it became this thing. I remember we had originally, that first trip. We had originally booked, like, only a few days and then we were gonna go to, like, Cocoa beach and we left and we were all so sad. At Cocoa beach, my parents were like, we're gonna go back. So, like,
[00:02:18] Speaker B: oh, my God.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Mid trip. Yes. We, like, went back to the ground.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: Oh, my God,
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: I love that. Now, did you go like every couple years then throughout child?
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Yeah, sometimes twice a year, you know, and I would say, like, I was, you know, I'm a 90s babe. And it was just the heyday of Disney World. Like, original fast passes, years of a million wishes. Like, different merchandise at every park and store. And like, you know, it's different now in good ways, right? In different ways. But it was a really special time to grow up. And. And that continued, you know, I ended up doing the Disney college program for, you know, six months when I was, you know, at university. And so, yeah, just, like, love it, breathe it, love the whole thing. So
[00:03:06] Speaker B: what. What was your role in the college program? I always love hearing about that.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Yes. So I. I worked attractions. I worked at Figment and Epcot.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: God, I'm so jealous.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I spent half of my time there, and then at the time, it was Captain eo, the Michael Jackson movie.
So I had this whole spiel, have to sit in the dark and just watch that over and over and over again. So.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Oh, my God, I love that. That's amazing. That's what I would want to do if I. Like, I never did a college program, but if I had done college program, I totally would have wanted to do attractions. Like, I would have just because. Not that I'd be, like, somebody who'd work on the attractions, like, now, but, like, I just think that that would be, like, such a fun job to have in the parks, especially as, like, a young person. I think that's like a. Yeah, it's just a really cool role. All right, now, have you. Had you ever been on another cruise, like, prior to your cruise on Disney six months ago?
[00:04:00] Speaker A: No, never. And so, you know how I even found out? You know, my. My husband and I are both psychologists, and we went separate places for our residency. And so after we got married, we lived apart, and I started watching Disney YouTube, right. To make myself feel better and preoccupy nights.
So a lot of Disney YouTube and podcasts, right. Are about cruising more. So. And so I kind of got introduced to it that way. And then we had our first child 18 months ago. And I remember the, like, literally the week we brought him home, I was like, I'm booking a Disney Cruise. Line Like, I was like, I'm. This is getting me through. Like, you know, I have something to look forward to. So we, you know, we thought it would be easier taking it through the, you know,
[00:04:46] Speaker B: fourth trimester. I think people don't realize, like, you need something to. Fourth trimester
[00:04:51] Speaker A: is
[00:04:52] Speaker B: the first three months of your child' life, FYI, for those who don't know that term. But getting through that, like, you need to, because it's like a. It can. It can be a very dark time, especially for women.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: Yes. Yes.
Yeah. And, you know, we hadn't traveled while I was pregnant, and I'm like, I need a trip. And we're like, okay, maybe a curse will be easier. And so we at the time we booked a four night on the Fantasy with a few park days up front. So we had a nice long year to look forward to that one.
And after we took that one, my parents and I have a sister that I grew up with as well that we're, we're very close. My parents were like, we all want to go. And so they graciously, this was a gift from them to myself. And my sister's family booked one for the summer. My sister's a teacher, so that's really the time that works for her. So it ended up being six months later. So
[00:05:45] Speaker B: amazing. Now did, did like who chose and who was the planner in the family? Like you, you were the expert now, I mean, right. For the family. Because you're who'd been on one cruise before and they hadn't been on a Disney cruise before presumably.
So did you like choose what, you know, sailing you guys were going on and the ship and all of that? Because you had been on the Fantasy before. I know we're going to talk about. You went on the Fantasy again. Like was that purposeful? And you know, Shelby, did you like steer that ship?
[00:06:13] Speaker A: Yeah. So see, I definitely am the planner of the family and I get that from my mom. Like she, she and my dad, they're big travelers. She plans like amazing European trips and diy. Right.
But I'm more the Disney person. We originally were looking at a five night on the Destiny and again, a lot of it had to do with just timing. But we wanted to do a few days at the parks but not a whole week because it was going to be too hot with Littles. So Destiny was in Fort Lauderdale and we were like, you know, we'll stick with the five night fantasy classic ship. Right.
And tack on a few park days up front for some fun and kind of just was the perfect timing and perfect combination of things.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: I love that. I actually think that's the right way to go for like a first. Well for obviously it was your second time experience. But for their first time experience, I think one of the classic ships, one of the first four, when I'm talking about classic ships, I think is a great option. I think the, I think that the Treasure and the Destiny because there's so much to do on board can be actually a little bit overwhelming. I know a lot of people choose the wish for their first cruise because of the three four night cruises. Yeah. And so if they want to kind of just more Dip their toe in Disney cruising the Wish is a great option, but like, I think if you're for your first cruise, regardless of the length of time, I actually think that one of the four classic ships is, is probably a better option. You're less likely to get overwhelmed, I think.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: So, all right, so you're all, you're all heading down to Orlando. Where did you guys stay before and how, how long before the cruise? Because you, you spent your park's time at the beginning and not at the back end, right?
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Yes. So we, you know, for everybody who came, it was myself, my husband and my 18 month old and then my sister, her husband and her five year old and then my parents.
So in total, what does that make us? 8, 8,
[00:08:14] Speaker B: 3, 3 and 2. Right.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: Yes. I
[00:08:18] Speaker B: can math and I'm a lawyer.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: Yep. So yeah, we flew in two days early. So we, we stayed two nights at Caribbean Beach.
That tends to be right now our resort of choice just because it has Skyliner and you know, it's easy.
So
[00:08:37] Speaker B: could get to Epcot in the studios very easily.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: Yep. And the day we got there we actually went to Epcot just for like a half day, kind of in the evening.
Got to enjoy that. And then we did a, a big long Magic Kingdom day. Dinner at Ohana. And
[00:08:53] Speaker B: the best.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: Yeah, the classic, right?
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Yeah, dinner at Ohana is the best. That's the,
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Yeah,
[00:08:57] Speaker B: I, I, if, like if I had my druthers, I would probably choose every trip to Orlando. Dinner at Ohana, honestly. Yeah,
[00:09:06] Speaker A: I love it. It's just. Yeah, it's the best. We've been going there for a long time and the parks were empty. Like, and as much as you say about the heat, like, you know, my son is a crazy early riser and the parks opened at like 7:30 that day. And like we had Fantasyland done by like 8:30. Like it
[00:09:26] Speaker B: was. Oh yeah.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: So nice.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean if you, if you can truly rope drop it. Right. I mean if you're there, you know, you've got to really be there super early.
I know people think, okay, if the park opens at 7:30, it means I have to be there at 7:30. No, it means you have to be there like at seven. Right. And you've got to deal with like buses and all of that and figure out like, if you're taking Disney transportation, like the buses don't always run quite as early as you would like. So you've got to kind of figure all of that out.
Yeah. But rope dropping it, that's going to Your, your mileage is going to really pay off in terms, especially if you're going to go back to the hotel at the. In the afternoon when it's too ungodly hot to be outside. I just. Yeah, yeah. Florida is the face of the sun in the summer.
All right, well, okay, so you had some park days. What was your transportation plan for getting to the port?
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Yeah, so we do DCL transfer, which we did the first time in. We love that. Like we can have a nice.
We did breakfast at Topolino's that morning, like nice leisurely breakfast and show up and it's just smooth. And the really nice thing is, you know, you get on the ship pretty early.
Like so all of that was, was super smooth. We took off around like 10 o' clock and pretty much as soon as we were there at, you know, Port Canaveral, by the time we had walked up stairs into the port, it was time to get on the ship.
So there was really not much sitting around or waiting, which was good.
Traveling with an 18 month old is significantly harder than a 12 month old. And I think I had in my expectation like when he was 12 months it was just so much easier. He was more sleepy and would sleep more on the go. Like he was so overtired by that point, even just from two days right. Of parks.
So it was, it was good. We just got through through the travel and then we could get on the ship and get settled. So
[00:11:23] Speaker B: I think people also don't realize like once you get to the point where they're really mobile, right. Like they're really like walking around and stuff. It's like you're like constantly trying to. I remember this with Nathan, like travel was so much harder because I mean just like sitting on an airplane, right. Like sitting on a bus. Like he. They want to get up and move all the time.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: They're not into it.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: No. And, and, and, and they're not really old enough for screens to entertain them either. So you're like in this weird in between and. Yeah. You're just trying to make sure they don't kill themselves. I mean honestly, like is everything they do is like dangerous. Like they have. There's no impulse control. There's just. They just want to touch everything.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: Yes, 100% yes.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: Now in terms of planning on the front end, were there anything. I mean you're a silver cruiser at this point.
You're. But your folks and your sister and their family are not. They're all first time cruisers. Were there, were there any things you were Looking to book ahead of time, you know, when your onboard booking window opened or when their onboard booking window open.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Yeah, we booked quite a bit. We didn't end up doing it all.
So we booked a mixology for all the guys, so my husband, my brother in law and my dad. And then we booked champagne tasting for all the girls. We didn't end up doing that for different reasons later on, but. And then we also booked a Palo brunch which we were originally going to do. It's just like my sister and I, my parents, we didn't end up doing it. We'll talk. And then we booked the Pirates league for my nephew.
So yeah, and there was like no issues getting those even like the Palo brunch. I, you know, I had to get it on the Nassau day, but I mean it was, there was lots available and even like adding, we couldn't add my parents on until later. My sister and them had been on a cruise once before, so they were also silver. So we added them on later and that was still no issue. So it was like pretty, pretty easy to kind of get basic stuff at least.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: Yeah, well that's great. I mean it's always nice when you're able to get that stuff ahead of time. Not to say that you can't get it on board. It's just one less thing to worry about for like when you first board heading to whatever location in order to, you know, change dining or you know, request something. Well, let, let's talk about embarkation then. You, you take the Disney transportation from the Caribbean beach resort. Did you guys stop at any other res?
Was it just your resort to the port?
[00:13:50] Speaker A: Just our resort and to the port, yep. So it was really quick, simple, you know, good Mickey cartoons on the way and yeah. And pretty much when we got there we were able to get on with group three, which I did not know the first time, the first time we waited and so thanks to your podcast recently this time I was like, no, I'm pretty sure we can. So that's, yeah, that's good to know and yeah, just great to get on and you know, not have to wait in the crowd and.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and
[00:14:22] Speaker A: then
[00:14:22] Speaker B: you can, you can, you know, get something to eat quickly. I'm imagining you are not going to sit down lunch with your toddler and the five year old. I'm imagining you're going to cabanas for lunch.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: Yeah, so we getting on this time was, was hectic like I said, my, my son was very overtired.
So we immediately went to and this is what we did the first time too. Like we just go to the kids club open house and let them rent it out for a bit. And that's like the one time small world nurseries, like open for parents to come to and so kind of just like let him be a kid for a little bit. After a long bus ride, there's hardly anybody in there and it's nice and clean and you know, everybody's friendly. And so that's sort of become our tradition. And then usually we would, we'd go to cabanas, but my sundash really needed a nap, so we went to deck four.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: And walked, walked in the stroller,
[00:15:17] Speaker B: pushing him in the stroller
[00:15:19] Speaker A: and we went and got pool deck food and just hung out on deck four. So
[00:15:23] Speaker B: yeah, no, that's, that's super easy.
Like, and honestly the, I mean the, the pool deck food on all of the ships is good. Of course we talk about the wish class pool deck food because it's a step above all of the others.
But it's a great option, especially if you need to keep moving. Right. And if one person can walk around the, you know, deck four and the other
[00:15:45] Speaker A: one's getting their burrito bowls or whatever. Yes,
[00:15:48] Speaker B: exactly. And then there are those loungers on deck four that you can sit once the, once the kid's asleep, you might,
[00:15:55] Speaker A: you can take a
[00:15:55] Speaker B: nap. You can stop moving. Yeah, you can stop moving. Yeah, yeah, that, that's super smart. Now in terms of kids club, obviously your nephew was going to the Oceaneers Club or was eligible to go to the Oceaneers Club and your kiddo was going to the nursery.
Were you able to get whatever, you know, nursery times you wanted to book. I know you can book some in advance and then some on board.
From what I hear from a lot of folks, you know, we, Nathan, when we started cruising, Nathan was older and so we never used the nursery. But from what I have heard from most people is they're pretty much able to get what they want as long as they book it towards the beginning of the cruise. If you wait later on in the cruise, you have a harder time.
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Yeah. So we, we didn't do the nursery.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Interesting. Okay.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, my son, like, he would just be miserable. Like he, you know, and he goes, he goes to daycare three days a week. But like he knows those people. And so, you know, I, I'm still in that phase where I'm like, I want him to enjoy his vacation and the mom guilt for. Right. But fortunately we had Grandma and grandpa aboard this time, which made a huge difference. And so we were able to get a little adult time, a little bit of help more so. So that helped out. But what we do, what we do do a lot of. Like, we. We actually spend a ton of time in the kids club just during open house, and like, we scout those times out because it's just so great. Like, there's actually like, you know, a good sometimes three, four hours a day of open house, like in the kids club. And you know, my son loves going and playing in Andy's room and the magic play floor and, you know, just getting to kind of run around in there. So that's a big part of just like our everyday activity.
Yeah.
[00:17:42] Speaker B: I got to give you a pro tip. You got to get on the magic or the wonder because they have the slide in Andy's room. Yeah. And so. And that you. I mean, during open house, obviously, is when you can use it.
It's. It's different than the slide on the wish class. The slide on the wish class is to get into the club, so it's not really convenient to go like over. Well, I know you can't really do it over and over again because you gotta go like up and down different deck. Right. Whereas in the. On the Magic and the Wonder, it's inside the club. And so during open house, it's just. Yeah, you could. I mean, Nathan used to do that over and over and over again. So. Yeah, that. That would be my, my Andy's room tip for the toddler. For the toddler crowd. But you're right.
Going to the kids club during open house hours is super smart and a great way to get the Wiggles out. And it doesn't, you know, I. The kids club or the nursery is not necessarily for everyone.
You know, if you're. Some kids are great at those spaces and some kids not so much. And you have grandma and grandpa with you. So I
[00:18:45] Speaker A: love that bonus of traveling with family. Right. And
[00:18:49] Speaker B: yeah.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: But yeah, they, you know, we like, they have designated toddler time too, which, you know, is you can meet other young kids too, like in that space and time. So they do a nice job, I think, making it accessible, like for you at least to have like play places for your kids. Yeah.
[00:19:04] Speaker B: And they do have some of those, like, character like activities that happen in the club. Like, I remember there was one I went to the.
Oh, so fun. Yeah, I love the one that has. Has like Mickey and Minnie and like other Fab five characters. It was like, it was like a Dance party. I want to, like, but it was like a Simon says kind of a dance party activity. I don't remember what it was called. I went to it years ago with Nathan. I have video from it, but we're all wearing masks in the video because it was during the. The COVID era.
Yeah.
Well, I want to jump to ports. You mentioned you had a Nassau day. I'm imagining you went to Castaway as well.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: And Lighthouse.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Oh,
[00:19:48] Speaker A: and
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Lighthouse. Okay, so you had. This was nice. You had a double dip or a. No, not a double dip. A duo dip. A double dip is going to the same place twice. Duo dip going to both islands. All right, well, let's. Let's start with Nassau. You were supposed to do brunch. What happened?
[00:20:06] Speaker A: You were supposed to do brunch. You know, I think what happened is my parents really wanted to get off. They really wanted to get off and explore Nassau. Like, they're big travelers right now, so they did. They, like, got off. They went to the, like, the old town markets and just kind of explored on their own.
It was as hot as the surface of the sun, so I think, you know, didn't last too long out there, but they really enjoyed it. You know, we stayed on the ship as well as my. My sister's family and just kind of used it as, like a day at sea.
My son is a water baby, and so is my nephew, so I think he went down the Mickey slide like 15 times. And, you know, we hung out in Nemo's reef a lot. So. Yeah, you know, and that's the nice thing, too. Like, it's such a great way to travel with a big family, and everybody can do their own thing. But you have these meetup points, especially when you have young kids that are at different ages. Like, they're just on such different schedules. Right. And just making it work is hard, so.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: And people, I think, don't always realize that if you're child is still in diapers, you can't go in the pool.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: I know
[00:21:11] Speaker B: on any cruise.
[00:21:12] Speaker A: That was hard for him this time, too. Well, that was another thing. He's like, why can't I go to the pool? And I'm
[00:21:16] Speaker B: like, yeah, yeah. It's such a hard thing because I think, like, well, I mean, you can do whatever you can to prepare your child, but when you have a toddler, there's no rationalizing and explaining the CDC rules. Right? Like, it's just for those who don't know and haven't heard us talk about this before on all cruise Lines, diapered people, children, adults cannot use the pools. And it's because of the accidents. And the chemicals that they use are not the same as what you use on land. And having to clean the pools, if somebody has a number two in the pool is a problem. And so it shuts down the whole pool for a very long time. And so they just. The CDC has basically said, no, no diapers in the pools. So the only place you can go if you have a child in diapers and if you have an adult in diapers, you are just out of luck. There are no water spaces that you can use. But if you have a young child. I can't remember if it's 4 and under or 6 and under, but they are the splash pads.
I
[00:22:24] Speaker A: know my nephew couldn't go in it and he's
[00:22:26] Speaker B: must be. Yeah, it must be four and under. There it was.
There were differences previously across the fleet, depending upon the ship, because like on the classic ships, the splash pads are much smaller. On the, on the newer ships, the splash pads are much bigger. So when they first, I think opens the ones on the wish class, I think it might have been six and under. And then I think they all, I think they converted them all to being four and under now.
But. Yeah. So if you have a, a young child who is not potty trained, that's what, that's your space. And it's a great little splash pad with little slides and stuff, but it's not a pool. And if your kid is going to cry about not being able to go in the pool, maybe a cruise isn't for you yet.
It's hard. It's because, like I said, you can't rationalize with a toddler. So now your nephew, who's five, I presume, was likely potty trained and was able to go in the pools and on that Mick the Yellow Mickey slide, which is a great option. I'm sure your son will love to be there in a couple of years.
Yeah. Yeah. All right, well, let's, let's talk about our Castaway and Lookout days. Where did you go first?
[00:23:38] Speaker A: Lookout ski was next. And you know, the hot take. Like, I'm a lookout fan. You're
[00:23:44] Speaker B: a lookout girl?
[00:23:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we went there. We went there in our first cruise. We didn't go to Castaway. There is just nothing like that beach. Like, it is amazing. Like, and it's, it's like perfect sand, perfect clear water. It's so big. You never feel crowded. Like, you know, it's so just, just an incredible beach day. And yeah, I think like, you know, just, it almost feels like you're, you know, you're like on some secluded. Right. Like Pirates of the Caribbean. They, they, they dropped you off. Right. Like there's nothing nearby. And so we love that beach and the splash pad there is amazing. The
[00:24:24] Speaker B: rush out, gush out. Yes,
[00:24:25] Speaker A: yes. I mean, so much to do and like so many different options for different kids and adults and just everybody being together. So we loved that, you know, in the walk. Right. We timed it or, you know, tracked it. It's technically the same walking distance to get to the family beach at Castaway. It is. You just have the tram ride at the end.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: I mean, it takes you longer to get to the beach because you have the tram ride, you have the walk and then the tram ride to get to the beach. Versus in Castaway, you e either have a walk or a tram ride. Well, or a short walk plus a tram ride to get to the beach. But you're right. Like, I think people, especially if you're a parks person, if you have been to like Animal Kingdom in the summer,
[00:25:09] Speaker A: gotta walk.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: Yeah, you've got, you have walked, you have walked in the heat without any shade. Like you can, like. I get it. There's not air conditioning, like an air conditioned shop on the other side.
But it, it's, it's not, it's not too bad. The hard part is coming back at the end of the day with your kids who are probably dehydrated and tired and hot. Exactly. Yeah. So I imagine. Did you guys take your stroller with you or did you use one of those wagons? Like what did you.
[00:25:37] Speaker A: Yeah, we took a stroller. They got a wagon for my nephew, you know, and that works really well. They can nap in there too. And that's what we did.
You know, again, like going in August, like, it, the heat is intense and we, we did notice like there wasn't as many characters out, I think because of that and you know, just our capacity to just stand on the blacktop and wait in those lines. Right. Like, it's just less.
But we did. Do they do a really fun like character beach party and they play, you know, just like old school, like pass the sponge over your head and you know, like. And that's like a good 20, you know, 25 minute interaction with characters that's just like really personable and again, you don't have to wait in a line. And it's, it's in the amphitheater, so it's nice and covered.
So we love Doing that. And then we always like watching the Junkanoo, you know, parade. And so, yeah, it's just. It's a super unique place. And just that beach. I could. I could live on that beach.
[00:26:36] Speaker B: Right? It's gorgeous. Yeah. I.
As much as I love Castaway, too, I think I'm with you. I think I. I think I'm. I think I'm a lookout girl at heart because, Yeah, I just like the beach better. And I don't mind. I don't mind the extra walk.
To me, like, it is important for me to get to get to the beach at a time where I can get though a lounger like that has some shade. Exactly. And I really like the loungers that are down by the beach versus the loungers that are up on the berm. Now, if you're going to the splash pad the whole time, you actually want to be up on the berm closer to the splash pad. But I like the. I want to be at the beach. I want to be sitting in that, you know, soft sand. It's. It's just incredible. I'm curious what your parents thought about Lookout. You said they're very well traveled. They. They go to a lot of different places. I'm sure that includes some nice beaches. What did they think of Lookout?
[00:27:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I think they thought it was gorgeous, you know, and they. They also loved the food and.
Yeah. I mean, you can't beat the water. You know, My dad is a huge, huge Jimmy Buffett guy, so I think the Castaway vibe, Right. Was, you know, got his heart a little bit more.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Yes. Cast Away has more Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville vibes, for sure.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: It's got the, you know, just, you know, it's 5:00' clock somewhere, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
[00:27:59] Speaker B: yeah, yeah.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: But they loved both of them.
[00:28:02] Speaker B: Did they go to. They should go to Margaritaville at Nassau. Then there's a Margaritaville resort there. You can go like a day resort that you can go.
Yeah. All right, well, let's hop over to Castaway. What did. I mean, you. Obviously, you have a preference for lookout. You made that clear.
But what did you think of Castaway? Because this was your first time and knowing sort of Castaway is the original for Disney, I mean, that opened in 1998, back when they first started the cruise line.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. I loved the vibes. Like, again, it's like. It is. It's like. It's this whole feeling that kind of comes over you.
Our last day was the castaway day, which is hard when it's on your Last day. Like, again, I think my son was just
[00:28:43] Speaker B: so often on the last day, but it's so hard. Yeah,
[00:28:46] Speaker A: yeah, yeah. I, like, ran into this mom who stopped me, and she's like, what time is it? And I'm like, oh, well, you know, it's 10:30. Whatever. She's like, all right. My son just fell asleep. I need to know, you know, like, we've been up since 4am Right? So you could just feel it. Like everybody. All the kids. Right. Dinners get louder as the week goes on. Right.
But yeah, again, like, my son just loves the sand, loves the beach, so spent a lot of time there. It's really nice, too. They even do, like, fresh cut fruit that they have out during the day. And the whole, you know, you got to buy the Olaf sipper or the Sven zipper. Right. You got to do that and get the smoothie.
And we're runners in our family, too, so we did the five. What was that?
[00:29:26] Speaker B: Like, the coconut looking sipper.
[00:29:29] Speaker A: Yes.
They're great.
Yeah. And we're runners in our family, so we. We did the 5K. So, you know, I think, too, like, there's. There's more options there, like, different types of activities. There was some refurbishment being done on, I think, the pelicans.
[00:29:44] Speaker B: Oh,
[00:29:45] Speaker A: pelican. Pelican plunge. That's what it is.
[00:29:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: Yeah. And the splash pad there is pretty.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: It's a. It's a little baby water fountain. It's not even like. I know they call it a splash pad and it is. I mean, it is a baby splash pad. It's just not. And it doesn't have. It's. The only thing to interact with is the water. It's not. Yeah, it's just little water spurts coming out of the ground. It's not a splash pad like an amusement park splash pad or anything like that. Yeah. Now.
Now, did the whole family do the 5k? Are you pushing kiddo in the stroller and everything?
[00:30:20] Speaker A: No, just myself, my sister and my mom did it and we didn't. You know, we. We originally were like, no, we're not going to do it. It's too hot. And so then we ended up trying to do it in, like, less than optimal shoes. But it's again, it's just this rite of passage. You get sucked into it when you're there and you see the metals and you're like, okay, we'll just. We'll just do it.
So it's very hot, miserable 5K. But, hey, we got
[00:30:44] Speaker B: it,
[00:30:44] Speaker A: right?
[00:30:45] Speaker B: I mean, Shelby, I never do the 5K. If I'm sailing in the summer, that's the old, like I will do the 5k in the winter. I do not do the 5k in the summer. It's too hot. I'm. Give me a margarita or something. I will.
All right, well, a little bit of craziness, but I, I understand it now. I'm imagining you probably didn't book any excursions on Lookout or Castaway and really don't need to. But am I, am I right about that?
[00:31:12] Speaker A: Yeah, no excursions. Just kind of, you know, exploring, enjoying the beach.
[00:31:16] Speaker B: Well, and, and I think that that's the way to go whether you're like a first time cruiser or like a 50th time cruiser. Personally, I. Not that like, I mean I've done parasailing at Castaway, but that's the only excursion that we've actually done. I don't. Not that I wouldn't do. Oh no. We did the stingray one one time and neither Nathan nor I wanted anything to do with the stingrays. Like Brian. Brian was the only one who was like going and feeding the stingrays. Nathan and I. I don't want fish to touch me. I want
[00:31:48] Speaker A: to look. I'm kind of with you there.
[00:31:49] Speaker B: I want to look at fish but from like a little bit of a distance. I don't want them to touch me and I don't want to touch them. No interest in that. Yeah, I don't need to feed, I don't need to feed any kind of sea life.
Although I guess I have swam. We did do like a swimming with dolphins thing in Mexico once and that was cool. But. But that's dolphin. Dolphins are like dolls.
[00:32:11] Speaker A: I know, they're different.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: They're not fish. They're like, they're mammals. Well, I guess some are fish, but some are mammals and they act like mammals.
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. To Disney Cruise 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.
[00:32:47] Speaker C: That's where we do travel, right? Comes in. Their team of experienced travel advisers specializes in Disney Cruise Line, Disney Parks and other exciting places all 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.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: Life is short. Take the trip. Visit wedotravelright.com dclduo to connect with a travel advisor and and start planning your next unforgettable adventure.
[00:33:22] Speaker C: We do travel, right, the crew that handles the planning so you can focus on relaxing.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: All right, well, let's jump back onto the ship.
I'd love to know what everybody got up to on board. Like, what were the, what were the highlight activities for you all? Now you're doing this all with a toddler, so I know obviously you got to hand them off to the parents probably a few times, but what were like the family things that you all got that you all did together?
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So this is where, you know, I think it became more apparent of like, okay, 12 to 18 months is a big difference. Right? Again, my 12, 12 month old would stand in any line, no problem, right. And was solidly on two naps and that worked. My 18 month old, we realized who is normally on one nap needed two naps while on a Disney cruise. Right. And so we were, we were learning on the fly a bit. But he loves characters. We all do, so lots and lots of characters. And that's just so fun, you know, and they had all the usual ones out and it was kind of fun too.
When you go on two cruises back to back on the same one, especially base characters, you tend to see, you know, similar, you know, similar, similar, similar people. So that was exciting.
[00:34:40] Speaker B: I love that. I love when you, I love when you get to see the same character again and they remember you like I've seen you before. Did we
[00:34:48] Speaker A: meet similar friends? Friends of characters, for sure.
Yes. So that was exciting.
We did the live music trivia, which is a really good time. We did. I mean, so the. So challenging some of the tunes that they give. So we did pretty poorly, but that was a good time. Lots of times in the, lots of time in the kids club. And then, yeah, you know, we just enjoyed going down to the lobby and like letting the kids run the hallways and listen to the music.
So they had some great entertainment on board. They, they were doing that Broadway series kind of special.
And we were walking on deck four. We, we would walk a lot on deck four, which is so nice that they have that and we kept running into this guy who like, he just knew he was important. Like, you know, just perfectly poised, amazing posture, smiling and walking fast around this deck for. And I'm like, that guy's got to be somebody. And he ended up being the Broadway star that they had on at that time. I can't, I can't remember his name, but he did like a one man show and like was, you know, doing performances to like evermore from Beauty and the Beast and Step In Time and like it was just so, like, so, so good. Like that is such an amazing thing that they have going on. I hope they continue that.
[00:36:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's. You don't get it on every sailing, like the Broadway Stars series. And it's because it's a partnership with Susan Egan's company, 10th and Maine. And so they, they will bring on. It's usually two. So it's rather than one Broadway star at a time. But it probably just depends on schedules and whatnot. And if they can get, you know, one or two.
But it. And it's not on every sailing. But it's so incredible if you catch one because they do these amazing performances in the Walt Disney Theater and then usually we'll do an adult only performance of essentially they'll do Disney songs in the one that's on the Walt Disney Theater stage and then they'll do Broadway songs that are sometimes Disney but mostly non Disney in the adult only space.
Yeah, they're so, so, so fabulous. I'm curious, like, you got a toddler to sit through music like in a theater?
[00:37:03] Speaker A: Yeah. So he, he loves music. Loves it. So you know, he actually made it through that. And Aladdin, like that was the one matinee show that just worked out timing wise where he could come and that. I mean the genie in that is like, it still makes me laugh like just thinking about it. He was so good and like you can tell they update his jokes to make them so relevant. Like they even had like a shout out to like, you know, the Mufasa movie that they, that they did. Like just random, you know, bluey, like so many, you know, just pop culture things. And so, you know, that was amazing. And yeah, yeah, so he was able to join for that. And then my husband watched him while I was able to go to Believe on the last night. And yeah, that show was amazing too. And the Broadway guest star, they had actually played the professor in Believe.
[00:37:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Broadway visiting artists, they are fantastic in doing the
[00:38:04] Speaker A: role.
[00:38:05] Speaker B: Exactly. Usually. Well, the fantasy they usually play the dad. And then they usually play Jafar in Aladdin. Actually they may or may not have, but you might not have read them because they're in, you know, they've got the, you know, the whole makeup and whatnot.
The long goatee, the Jafar goatee and the hat and all of that. Yeah, but yeah, it's a fantastic. That part. So that's.
So you had a Broadway visiting artist, not the Broadway stars series, I think.
[00:38:34] Speaker A: Yes, I think that's what it was.
[00:38:35] Speaker B: Okay, so the 12th and main partnership is when they just bring on like two people temporarily to come and do like a Broadway stars performance. But the Broadway visiting artists, which they, they typically, they don't have them. I don't know if they have them on the wish class, but they have them on all the classic ships and they're part of the cast, the sage cast. They don't do like character meet and greets and stuff like that which other cast do. But they are a, a Broadway or West End or national tour performer who is on the ship for usually a shorter like half of the contract of one of the normal. Yeah, so like
[00:39:12] Speaker A: I was curious like how long is he on for? Yeah,
[00:39:14] Speaker B: yeah. So it's normally. So each, the main stage folks, right, will be on for like a six month contract and then the Broadway, Broadway visiting artists will be on for like a three month. So they'll have like one Broadway visiting person and then they'll have one come on to take over. And so they have two within a contract of the rest of the cast and they will come and play on the fantasy. Like I said, they'll play the dad and Believe and Jafar in Aladdin. I don't think they're in the, what is it? Frozen, right? Yeah, they're. I don't think they're in Frozen and they don't like I said, they don't do like face characters or non face characters or character handling. They, they basically, they have a more limited role because they are not full time cast. They're sort of, call them temporary cast.
But yeah, fantastic, fantastic thing to get to see on board. All right, well I want to, I want to ask about adult only stuff. Now. You were able to hand off kiddo to the grandparents at times.
What, what if any adult only stuff were you able to get up to on the ship?
[00:40:24] Speaker A: Yeah, so my husband and I and with my sister and brother in law, we all went out one night and kind of checked out Europa. So we were able to kind of go to Ooh La La and Then we also went to, oh, what is it called?
[00:40:38] Speaker B: The tube or
[00:40:40] Speaker A: the one that changes. Oh,
[00:40:42] Speaker B: Skyline.
[00:40:43] Speaker A: Skyline, yes. Which is so, so cool. And I have a feeling you don't even have to
[00:40:47] Speaker B: finish your sentence. Sorry I interrupted you, Shelby. The one that changes. Skyline.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: That's right.
Yeah. My brother in law is, he's, you know, he likes the finer things in life. Right. And
[00:41:01] Speaker B: you could say it, he's bougie. Yes. Cocky
[00:41:04] Speaker A: snob. Right. All the things. And he had this very specific drink that he had, had a Numero Orleans, I think it was called like a Vucaroo or bukaroo or something.
[00:41:15] Speaker B: A view car.
[00:41:17] Speaker A: There you go. Yes, yes.
And he kept, you know, he, he asked for it at Ulala and they, you know, they, they didn't serve it or have it. But then when we, you know, we got to Skyline, he asked for it again and she's like, give me some time. And like we sat there, we got through a drink. It had been like 15 minutes, 20 minutes maybe. She comes back over, I'm working on it, and we see her like on the phone and she's like calling up and they brought down some random server like on the ship that knew how to make this.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: How to make it. Yeah. And they have to make sure they have all the ingredients. And they have, I mean they have lots of ingredients across all the bars on the ship. They have lots of ingredients, but they don't necessarily have them all in one place. And not every bartender knows every drink. They know all the drinks that are on their menus. But. And they know most of the standard drinks. But like, you know, they don't necessarily know every, like they don't know one of the, I mean if he had ordered a Sazerac, I bet they would have known.
Yeah,
[00:42:21] Speaker A: but it's amazing like that, you know, she went out of her way to do this and like you could just see her on the phone and like, you know, it took some time but like they, they tracked this person down who knew how to make the drink. They made it, you know, he loved it.
So, you know, it's just, it's the Disney touch. Right? Like no other place. Right? Are you gonna get that? It's just either no, we don't have it. Right, or we do.
Yeah.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: I love that. I love that. I also love that your parents gave you a night out.
Props to grandma and grandpa for taking care of the 5 year old and the 18 month old. That's not an easy task. I mean, the two are different stages. Speaking of the, the five year old, your, your nephew, I'm curious, like did he do the.
And was your sister and her or her husband, were they able to kind of do a little, I mean it's a little bit different Traveling with a 5 year old than an 18 month old. Were they able to get some adult time outside of using grandma, grandpa?
[00:43:19] Speaker A: No, unfortunately not. Unfortunately not. He's not.
Just, just started kindergarten, you know, last week and you know, going through the fields, right?
No, I think he kept them going most of the day on the pool deck. Deck says the all day pull deck. But yeah, so we, you know, we traded off too. Sometimes we would take him, you know, from my sister and, and her husband to do things and vice versa. So again, it's a nice part about traveling with other families.
I think he would love it if we could get him, you know, there and adjusted. And I think that's, that's just the thing is, you know, probably got to pull the band aid off the first time and be like, just try it for an hour, right?
[00:44:01] Speaker B: Absolutely. And it is good, like to go during open house first so that they can check out the space before you're dropping them off. When it's in secure mode. When you have obviously not a toddler, you can't take them yet to the kids club. They can only go to the nursery. But for a five year old. Yeah, I would recommend go during open house hours, kind of introduce them to some of the counselors and so they can sort of see the space and then just try it for an hour.
Tell them we'll pick, I'll pick you up in an hour and then, you know, actually do that. And then sometimes they'll say, I don't, I don't want to leave. I'm not ready to leave yet. So yeah, inter, it's, it can, you know, it can take some time. But you're right, you have to, you have to pull the band aid off. All right, well, I want to talk about dining. I understand you didn't do adult only dining. You did, of course, eat some delicious pool deck food. I'm imagining you went to cabanas at least for breakfast most of the time. Tell me, what did you think of main dining and how did your little one and how did the 5 year old do with main dining? Those meals can be on the longer side. Of course, I'm assuming you did early dinner, but correct me if I'm wrong. And then. Yeah. How did it all work out?
[00:45:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. No, I mean we love, we love the Disney Cruise Line food. You know, we're big cabanas people for breakfast and lunch.
I love the, like, all the fruit bar and like, so many. I mean, that's amazing.
There's just so many nice options that. And they open early and.
Yeah. So many benefits. And then. Yeah, main dining was great. We had a wonderful serving team. They got our kids food out, like within five minutes of us sitting down.
[00:45:47] Speaker B: That's incredible.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: That's amazing. And that was very different experience for us than our first cruise. So this was like, like notches above.
So, yeah, really, really wonderful serving team.
He would. His name was Duvall. If folks are interested in him. He worked with Natasha. They would always bring us extra entrees just because. Extra desserts just because.
I would often have to leave with my son before dessert, so he would, like, package it up and give us extra stuff.
[00:46:18] Speaker B: I love Shelby. I love when they do that. Like,
[00:46:21] Speaker A: yes,
[00:46:21] Speaker B: very few servers will think ahead of time to pack up a dessert. But if there's like, I'm not a dessert person, so I. I want to leave before dessert because I don't. I don't want to eat dessert. But, like, I see lots of my friends and especially when our kids were younger, like, who are dessert people and want that dessert and they have to leave before dessert.
Yeah. And it's a bummer to pack up the dessert. Yeah. Because
[00:46:48] Speaker A: they can
[00:46:49] Speaker B: eat it. They can eat it someplace else. Yeah.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Pro tip, like, there's nothing like sitting in bed after your child is asleep eating, you know, dcl cruise line dessert. Right. It's a really nice way to wind down your evening. And the fact that they accommodate that is great.
[00:47:05] Speaker B: Yeah. And now you could order, you know, room service. Late night room service, no question. But, like, it doesn't. You don't have all of the options that you have in main dining. There's only a couple of, like, dessert options on that room service menu. I mean, other. Some people want to have an all hands on deck cheese plate at night, and I totally get that. That. But if you want, like the dessert but you need to leave, they'll get you one to go. Just. Yeah. I mean, I think.
I think asking for it is totally a fair thing to do, by the way. But I also just love it when your serving team is anticipating that you're gonna need to do that. Yeah. Now, did the rest of the party kind of stay for the whole dinner? If you would leave early with Kiddo and then.
Yeah,
[00:47:47] Speaker A: of course they would. They would stay. You know, my. My son just. Just he can't hang like, you know, by 7:30, you know, and the dinners are long. Like that is like. And, and I think we noticed it more like it was just the three of us, our first cruise. So we kind of just said like, just get it through with. When you're traveling with six people, like it does take longer. And I think, you know, he was also trying to cater to, you know, the adults. Right. And we did the wine package. Right. And so there's just things that make it even longer when you have a bigger group. But yeah, really fantastic. And then kind of the head, Head server, who. I don't know what the correct term is for that.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: I always call them the area manager. But that, but like, I don't remember. I never. I think it is like head server. But I don't like that because it's confusing with your actual main server. Right.
[00:48:36] Speaker A: I just
[00:48:36] Speaker B: call them the area manager.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: Okay. Well, he was even amazing too and came around one time and it was the day that they had served Indian food for lunch. My husband loves Indian food and asked us, oh, did anybody try the Indian food lunch? My husband was like, I did. I love it. He's like, I'm going to bring you some. And so he went and got like, I think Indian food that they make for the staff. Right. And the cast members and you know, got him like shrimp curry and like okra and like bro. I mean it was a lot of food and on top of what we were already having.
So that was a super fun experience.
[00:49:10] Speaker B: I love that. You know, so I'm hearing on some of the ships that they're not doing
[00:49:15] Speaker A: it.
[00:49:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So I don't know. But I don't know. I think your mileage will vary. I think it, you know, if you've got a top notch serving team, they can usually make magic happen. I feel like. And sounds like you had top notch serving team and top notch area manager and that just. And that always like, especially with young kids, makes the, the trip even better. Now I'm curious, what was. What's your kiddo eating these days? Like, because that's obviously like, you know, they're, they're not on like a full regular diet of food.
[00:49:47] Speaker A: So my, my, my son is an amazing eater, I'm very fortunate to say. And like, that's another reason why I love Disney in general. It's like they have more options than just Mac and cheese and pizza. Some kids need that. Like my, my nephew is a Mac and cheese and pizza kid. Right.
But you know, Izzy
[00:50:05] Speaker B: is still A Mac and cheese kid. Yeah.
[00:50:06] Speaker A: Right. You know, so just different, different strokes for different folks. And so, you know, I was able to get them salmon, right. And sweet potatoes and. And you know, I think one night he had, you know, spaghetti and meatballs. So like that was just so great.
But then you could also ask like, you know, he loves like berries, right? So I could get him berries, right. Like, yeah, yeah. So, you know, just, just like not having to think about any of that is like, that's the best part. Right. Like, and make. Makes these vacations at this age so much easier. Even easier than just Disney World for sure. So
[00:50:47] Speaker B: I'm curious, did you get through animators palette?
[00:50:50] Speaker A: Yes, we did because it was my sister's birthday, so we actually celebrated that night.
So we just kind of forced it till the end.
We did the Crush show.
[00:51:04] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, yeah.
[00:51:05] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:51:06] Speaker B: That is actually probably better because like the animation magic, even though it's maybe more engaging than the Crush show, it's longer than the Crush show too. So it goes. And it doesn't really start until like dessert time. And so it's probably. Yeah. At least Crush is more kind of intermittent. Yeah. Throughout
[00:51:26] Speaker A: dinner.
[00:51:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, good. I'm glad to hear that. I was. Because you know, having to leave early from dinner, you do if you have a dinner show, you might miss some of it. And that's, I mean, like, that's okay. It's just, just, it's a bit of a bummer for you, Shelby. Not for your kid. I mean, your kid's not probably not going to remember any of that.
You know, I, I have to, I have to say, like, I'm curious from your perspective of like, is this trip on a Disney cruise? Is this trip for you and your husband or is this trip for your 11 month old or sorry, 18 month old? Let's be honest.
[00:52:01] Speaker A: I, you know, it's, it's, it's hard to say. I think it's, I think it's a little bit for everyone. Like, I know, I know he won't remember. Right.
But again, you know, it's for me to remember. Right. Like there is nothing like, like seeing them light up, you know, when they see the character and you know, he grabs their nose and.
Right. Like it's just like, you know you'll hold that right forever. Especially like as a kid growing up, like going, you, you, you know, going with my parents this time too. It was this added piece of like my best childhood memories are with them from Disney. Like I can remember such specific things like. Right. Trying to get into the park on New Year's Eve with them, like craziness and so being able to have them there too. And just like.
So I think it's for the parents and at the same time it's exhausting for the parents. Right. So you have to go in with very clear expectations of like, like, we're gonna feel like we need a vacation after this, but it's gonna be worth it. Right? And they love it in the moment,
[00:53:05] Speaker B: right? Absolutely, absolutely. It's. Yeah. I mean they. In the moment, it's for them too. It's just from a memory standpoint, obviously an 18 month old is not gonna remember their first Disney cruise. But that's why I asked the question because I think realistically, like, it's for them in the moment, but it's for us as parents in the moment, plus the memories. And then of course for the grandparents, even more so I'm sure that they, I, your folks were just beaming watching their, their two grandchildren just enjoying these magical Disney moments. Now I'm curious. You mentioned, of course, it's exhausting. I always like to talk about how we have things that are trips and things that are vacations and they are different. You know, traveling in Europe we think of as a trip, traveling on a cruise, we think of as a vacation. They're different experiences. I think when, when you're a parent in the throes of toddlerhood, you are always going a bit on a trip and almost never on a. True, you're on a vacation only when your child is not with you, when someone else is watching your child. But I'm curious how you feel about that and on a Disney cruise in particular and, and compare it to the park situation because obviously you spend a couple days at the parks, you then spent five days on a, on a cruise.
Is, is either of them, does either of them have an element and does the cruise have more of an element of vacation? I'm curious how it sort of worked out for your family.
[00:54:38] Speaker A: For sure.
So yeah, the last two cruises we did, we both went to the parks for about two days prior. And I'll say, you know, the parks at this age, like, it's definitely a trip. Right. And a lot of that is just like it's a different level of exhaustion. Can't get back to your room easily. You know, depending on where you stay and what park you're at, you're having to figure out where you're going to go to eat. Right. And that's not always accessible right away. Right. It's it's just a different level of stimulation where.
[00:55:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, you can't feed exactly. Like you can't feed on demand, right. Like, you have to plan ahead of time either. I mean you can get like some snacks, right. You can get like popcorn fairly quickly, but you can't get like a sit down, like a, and a sit down meal. But like a meal, you can't get a meal quickly.
You have to plan in advance, like you know, mobile ordering and things like that or reservations, those kinds of things. So it's much more complicated in the, in the past. Yeah.
[00:55:38] Speaker A: You know, and we even saw it, right. Like my, my son, he will wake up at like 4am when he is overtired.
So like the first three days of the trip, part of the reason why we're able to be at Magic Kingdom right, at 6:30 in the morning is he's been up since 4:00am and you know, within two days of being on the cruise ship, right. He's back to his normal schedule. And I think you can, you can be more on a schedule and routine and food is ready for you. You can go back to the room in two minutes. Right. If you need to for anything.
Yeah. So in a lot of ways, yes, you know, we, we were able to catch up on rest and just kind of get back on into our normal routine. And you can also choose your own adventure, right. And go as much as you want on the cruise.
And if you choose not to go, go, go. You're still getting tons out of it, right. Because there are so many just right. Like walk into the lobby and see a character. Right. Or walk around deck four. And you know, we, we saw dolphins, right. Like on our day at sea, just like jumping around our ship. Right. Like it's the small moments that like still make you feel like, wow, I'm getting so much out of this.
[00:56:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I, I always think when you're, like I said, when you're traveling with little ones, it, it almost always feels like a trip.
But the only place that we felt like at some point it became or transitioned into a, we could at least see glimpses of a vacation was on the cruise. And I still feel that today. I mean, I'm not gonna let Nathan go. I mean he's 12 and a half actually he's almost 13 as we're recording this. But like, I'm not gonna let him like go around Disney World by himself or even Disneyland and Disneyland is much smaller by himself. I mean, I'll go let him go on a ride by himself. But I'm waiting at the. You know, where he gets out. Right. I'm waiting at the gift shop where he has to walk through.
But.
But at. On the cruise, he. We give him. I mean, free reign is, you know, free reign in the sense of he's not allowed to go into other people's rooms, essentially, or into cast member areas, but other than that, he's allowed to roam free on the ship.
Yeah. And that's kind of amazing because now that gives us, like, the. The ultimate vacation, you know, You're a psychologist.
I feel like these are things we need to do for our mental health, Shelby. I mean.
[00:57:59] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. We do. Right.
[00:58:00] Speaker B: Like, will you. I mean, I know you're. You're. You're a psychologist, not a psychiatrist, but would you write me a prescription for going on a Disney cruise?
[00:58:08] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I talk to patients about all the time. Right. Like, you've got to find. And like you said, your happy place. Right. And you've got to find what helps you pause and, you know, just experience joy. And that's always been Disney for me in any shape, in any capacity. And, like, being able to share that with your loved ones. Like, my husband, he did not grow up. He never went to Disney as a kid. Right. And so bringing it, you know, being able to share that and bring people into that joy, and it's just. It's a moment where everything else. Else stops. Right. And. And you just get to, like, I don't wake up on that ship. Right. And. And think about how many Mickey waffles you're gonna eat and how many characters you're gonna see and if you're gonna get the churro ones. Right,
[00:58:56] Speaker B: right. And what. You have to wonder what pool deck ice cream flavor they're gonna have today. I mean, these are the. These are, like, the pressing questions of the day, is Right. Like, how many. Yeah. And. And maybe, you know, how many conc. Coolers am I gonna drink on Castaway? Right.
[00:59:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:59:12] Speaker B: Hopefully not too many if I'm doing The castaway key. 5K.
[00:59:16] Speaker A: Yes. Or do it after
[00:59:18] Speaker B: or do it. Yeah, exactly. All right, Shelby.
I think we've reached that point in the show, actually. Let me ask you, have we missed anything? Anything that happened on the cruise that was particularly unique or anything where you sort of learned a lesson that you'd want others to know?
You know, like, any kind of. Were there any blunders or did everything go fairly smoothly other than the sleep schedule being a little off at the beginning?
[00:59:44] Speaker A: Yeah. No. I think, you know, it was. It was such special, wonderful time. Right. And you learn stuff as a parent each time you do these things. 18 months harder than 12, but more special. Right. In a lot of ways.
You know, and as always, we had wonderful interactions with. With all the staff on board and the cast and the crew, and our room attendant, he would ask every night, oh, what do you want me to make tonight for a towel? And would make such. He made my nephew like a Pikachu.
Not even a Disney character.
[01:00:19] Speaker B: Wow, that's amazing.
[01:00:22] Speaker A: So you can't help but just feel so loved and taken care of when you're on the ship, too. So
[01:00:29] Speaker B: totally
[01:00:30] Speaker A: wonderful time.
[01:00:30] Speaker B: And honestly, those stateroom attendants, they. They love making the magic happen for the little ones, especially. Like, you can tell. Like, they. They especially. A lot of, you know, a lot of the crew have their own children back at the. At their home countries, and so, you know, they.
Yeah, they just have that. That seeing those little kids light up, they just kind of love it. It makes. It. It makes the magic for them, too. Yeah. All right, Shelby. Well, we've reached that point of the show. We're gonna. I'm gonna. Subject to some arbitrary rules, some arbitrary questions, and a dash of judgment, or the round we call rapid fire.
We're gonna start with. Your favorite cruise ship is the Disney Fantasy.
[01:01:12] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:01:13] Speaker B: All right,
[01:01:14] Speaker A: we'll go with that. Get
[01:01:15] Speaker B: that out of the way.
[01:01:16] Speaker A: She's beautiful.
[01:01:17] Speaker B: She is beautiful. That. The peacock chandelier is.
I actually think it might be my favorite chandelier in the fleet. It's. I wouldn't call the atrium my favorite atrium in the fleet, but I do love that chandelier. It's. It's fantastic.
[01:01:34] Speaker A: Yeah. My son is obsessed with it. He just,
[01:01:35] Speaker B: you know, it's gorgeous. It was also my first ship. The Fantasy was our first. Our first and our second ship, actually. I love it. All right, we're going to start with. Who is your favorite Disney character? And Disney means, of course, anything and everything that Disney owns, which is almost everything thing.
[01:01:52] Speaker A: So I will say Sorcerer Mickey, specifically from Fantasmic.
[01:01:56] Speaker B: Love it. Oh, from Fantasmic. So he's doing his little.
[01:01:59] Speaker A: Yes. Yes.
[01:02:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I love it. Okay.
[01:02:01] Speaker A: Nothing like it.
[01:02:02] Speaker B: I love it. He's in it. He's got his tail tuxedo.
[01:02:05] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:02:07] Speaker B: All right. Who. What is your favorite Disney movie?
[01:02:10] Speaker A: Probably.
I've gone back and forth on this, but we'll go with Moana.
[01:02:14] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
I gotta tell you, I just rewatched that whole first segment from the Disney Legends ceremony.
[01:02:22] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[01:02:23] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Just to watch the tribute for Lin. Lin
[01:02:26] Speaker A: Manuel, like. Yes, yes. Oh,
[01:02:28] Speaker B: my. And Auli Craval doing. Singing I am Moana. Oh, she's just perfection. And then all of like the. It was just that amazing, like, medley of like Encanto and Howard
[01:02:40] Speaker A: and Fisher.
[01:02:41] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. It was just.
I had watched it before, but I needed to watch it again, so I watched it again. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What is your favorite Disney song?
[01:02:52] Speaker A: Happily Ever After.
[01:02:54] Speaker B: Jordan Fisher.
[01:02:56] Speaker A: I love
[01:02:56] Speaker B: it.
[01:02:57] Speaker A: Love
[01:02:57] Speaker B: it.
All right, moving on to the Disney fantasy. What's your favorite stage show?
[01:03:04] Speaker A: Believe I could watch that before bed every night. I would sleep so well.
[01:03:11] Speaker B: Did you watch it on the. Did you rewatch it on the tv? Because they do have it on at certain times.
[01:03:16] Speaker A: No, I need to. I need to. Like on the ship, right?
[01:03:19] Speaker B: Yes. When you're on the ship, it doesn't like, it's not like on demand streaming. Right? Like, you can't do. It's not in the on demand,
[01:03:26] Speaker A: but.
[01:03:26] Speaker B: But it's at certain times. They'll play it at like, so it'll. It'll be like a few minutes after, like the early show. A few minutes after show, and then they'll have it. Then you can watch it at like 10 o' clock at night as well. So it's usually shown three times only on whatever night it is playing in the theater.
But interestingly enough, it is not going to be your current cast. It is usually, I don't know what which cast they'll have on like the fantasy right now, for example. But like on the wish, if you're watching on the tv, you're gonna see like wish cast number one on the Treasure or in the Destiny. You're gonna see those. Their first cast because they, they do like tape recorded essentially for, for replay later.
So yeah, I'm not sure. It might not be from when the fantasy first launched. Maybe a later they may have updated it at some point, but it won't be like your current cast.
I can all but guarantee that. All right, okay. So you love. Believe you like the
[01:04:23] Speaker A: man
[01:04:23] Speaker B: and the flower. All right,
[01:04:25] Speaker A: fair enough.
[01:04:26] Speaker B: Lots of judgment there. Shelby, we got to talk food.
What is your favorite rotational dining restaurant?
[01:04:33] Speaker A: Probably Enchanted Garden.
[01:04:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I like it.
Tell me a favorite sweet item and then a favorite savory item of food on the Disney fantasy.
[01:04:44] Speaker A: So we love the hard serve ice cream and gelato from the fancy ice cream place.
So good. So good. So yeah, yeah, I would say that's the highlight.
[01:04:54] Speaker B: All right, and what about Favorite savory item.
[01:04:57] Speaker A: Yeah. So I would say. And this is probably, you know, hot take. Pirate night menu is my favorite menu.
[01:05:04] Speaker B: Wow. Oh, my God. Okay, what's your favorite? This
[01:05:07] Speaker A: cake is so good.
[01:05:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:05:09] Speaker A: But I'll also do a shout out to the pasta. Truffle pasta.
Right?
[01:05:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you, Albie. You're trying to redeem yourself. I appreciate it.
What's a favorite onboard activity?
[01:05:23] Speaker A: Yeah, probably seeing the characters. Yeah. Like, it's still, like, you know, part of me is like, oh, I want. You know, I want my son to see them. But I think it's.
[01:05:33] Speaker B: It's you,
[01:05:34] Speaker A: it's
[01:05:34] Speaker B: me, I'm the problem. Absolutely.
[01:05:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[01:05:37] Speaker B: I'm the one who wants to see the characters. Also, I gotta ask, Ashley, what was your favorite character interaction on the ship this time around?
[01:05:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you know, Chip and Dale just had so much fun with him. And, you know, like, again, like, my son loves the noses, and so then they started playing with each other's noses and his nose and. Yeah, just, like, so special. Yeah,
[01:06:03] Speaker B: just like stealing a nose. I mean, who doesn't like to steal someone's nose, right? That's what you do with toddlers. I love that. That's awesome.
What I'm gonna ask. I'm throwing in an extra question in here. What. What was. What was the favorite character experience the last time around?
[01:06:20] Speaker A: My son was obsessed with Daisy Duck, which was, like, really? Just, like, kind of. Kind of a surprise. But I will say we ran into Hook and Smee just randomly in the hall. We had missed the meeting, and he thought, again, you know, Smee's big nose, but he also wears glasses like my husband. And so it was, like,
[01:06:43] Speaker B: fascinated by the glasses.
[01:06:45] Speaker A: Like, you have glasses, like, da, da. Right? And so that was just one of those impromptu, like, they stopped. Right. And they didn't have to, but they
[01:06:52] Speaker B: did. Yeah. Oh, I love that. It's funny. Those are like. Like, those are some of the best moments, like, from any cruise. Right. Is just like. Like, it could be a character meet and greet you waited in line for, but it could be just as good a character meet and greet you didn't wait in line for. You just happened to happen upon them in the hallway or at a stairwell or in an elevator or what have you. I love. I love those. All right, Shelby, I already asked your favorite ship. So my final question is your bucket list cruise. If you could go anywhere in the world and you got to do it on a Disney Cruise Line ship, it doesn't even have to Be someplace that Disney Cruise Line currently goes, but just someplace accessible by water.
Where would you go?
[01:07:33] Speaker A: Probably a Greek isles cruise. Yeah,
[01:07:35] Speaker B: yeah,
[01:07:36] Speaker A: yeah. I'd like to get to Greece for sure. We're big Percy Jackson fans.
[01:07:41] Speaker B: Oh, there you go. There you go.
Yeah. All of the Greek gods. You can visit them all while exploring the islands. Well, Shelby, but other than your questionable choices on Disney Cruise Line stage shows, you did just fine. I'll give you a B plus, how about that?
But no, thank you for playing. I gotta ask, what's next? Did you book something or do you have a placeholder that you got on board? I'm imagining. I mean, you could have gotten1 obviously 6 months ago in terms of a placeholder or one that you got this time around, but what are you sort of looking at?
[01:08:18] Speaker A: Yeah, so we are going to do a full week at Disney World for my son's second birthday in February.
So we'll see how that goes. Because I've debated and gone back and forth. Is it too much? But we're doing it.
And then we have a placeholder. And I think I want to get on the Treasure because again, I'm a Parks girly and seven nights sounds good. I like your style. Seven night cruise is my fit. I'm thinking I'm there there.
[01:08:44] Speaker B: I'm a size. If somebody's looking for a gift for me, I'm a size 7 night or more Disney cruise. Absolutely.
It doesn't. I, I will take it on any of the ships. It doesn't really matter. But I'd rather do a seven night or longer cruise as opposed to like, even a back to back shorter cruises. Absolutely. No, I think you'll, I think you'll absolutely love the Treasure. I would highly recommend getting on that ship when you get a chance. And of course, when you've got a little one who isn't in like, like elementary school,
[01:09:14] Speaker A: we can go. Yeah,
[01:09:15] Speaker B: you can go when it's not the, you know, high season. Obviously with your sister being a teacher, they are probably more limited in terms of timing, but. But you probably don't have to worry about school breaks so much. So. Yeah. Take advantage of that, Shelby, with my biggest piece of advice to parents with younger kids, take advantage of the fact that you don't have to revolve your vacations around a school schedule because when your kid gets older, that changes. And it's. It kind of cramps my cruising style, if I'm being honest, you
[01:09:44] Speaker A: know.
Yeah.
[01:09:45] Speaker B: Anyway, well, thank you so much for joining me, Shelby. It's been A pleasure chatting with you.
I hope that you'll come back and join us again maybe after you sail on the Disney treasure.
[01:09:57] Speaker A: Yes, that sounds great. No, thanks for having me. And for all the fun content you put out. It helps to, you know, live vicariously through everyone all year round. So
[01:10:06] Speaker B: same for me. It keeps me getting ready for the next Disney trip.
[01:10:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
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