November 7, 2024 • 35 mins
Join Tony Desiere and Lauren Mallard as they dive into the magical world of Disney Cruise Line in this exciting episode of the Wands and Wishes podcast. Lauren shares her firsthand experiences from her seventh Disney cruise, highlighting essential preparations, potential obstacles, and the myriad of activities available onboard. From the unique rotational dining experience that allows guests to enjoy different themed restaurants while being served by the same attentive staff, to the vibrant entertainment options that make Disney cruises stand out, this episode covers it all. They also discuss the importance of documentation, such as passports or birth certificates, and share tips on how to enjoy a relaxing yet action-packed cruise experience. Whether you're a seasoned cruiser or contemplating your first voyage, this conversation is packed with insights to help you navigate your next Disney cruise adventure.
Takeaways:
- Disney Cruise Line offers a unique experience with family-oriented activities and adult-only spaces.
- Planning ahead for a Disney cruise can enhance the overall experience and reduce chaos.
- Having a valid passport is crucial for emergencies while cruising, even on domestic routes.
- Disney's rotational dining provides a consistent server experience while enjoying different themed restaurants.
- The atmosphere on a Disney cruise balances exciting activities with plenty of relaxation opportunities.
- Families can take advantage of the Oceaneer Club, which offers supervised activities for children.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Disney Cruise Line
- Disney
- Royal Caribbean
- Carnival
- Universal
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
It's another episode of theWands and Wishes podcast.
Glad you could be with us.
I'm Tony Doziri.
All the Magic Travels.
Lauren Mallard went all themagic travel this week.
Oh, my goodness, you are backand all energized from a trip on
the Disney Cruise Line.
That's right.
I love it.
We're going to talk about thatand we're going to give you preparations
for your next Disney cruise,or if you've been thinking about
a Disney cruise, what are someof the obstacles that you may have
(00:27):
to overcome just to get thereand then some other things that you
can enjoy when you're on the ship.
So going to be doing that onthis edition of the Wands and Wishes
podcast.
A reminder, if you've beenlistening to us for a while and you've
not subscribed, please do so.
Leave us a five star reviewwherever you get your podcast.
It certainly helps us out withthe algorithms.
We love helping people planfor their Disney trips, Universal
trips, or whatever trip youhave in mind.
(00:49):
So that's one of the reasonswe do this podcast.
And this is the first timewe've explored the Disney Cruise
Line.
So I love this because Iremember, you know, if I, when I've
studied like the Disneyhistory of like Walt and whatnot,
and how he came up to thetheme park where he went to an amusement
park and he didn't feel likeit was family oriented.
And so here's this animatorfrom Missouri who's in the theme
(01:10):
park business.
And that's a whole differentbusiness than making movies and being
an animator.
So you're learning a wholedifferent industry.
And I remember when Disney gotinto the cruise line business, I
had gone on cruises withCarnival and other other cruise lines
when I was younger.
That was kind of the, kind ofthe present my dad and my mother
would give us when wegraduated school.
And I remember when Disney wasgetting the cruise line, I'm like,
(01:32):
that's an entirely differentbusiness than theme parks and movies.
So it's something that they'vebeen able to conquer and they've
been able to do really, reallywell by hiring some of the best people
to do it.
So how many, what, whatcruise, what amount of number of
cruises is for you?
For Disney?
How many cruises have you beenon with Disney?
Okay, yeah.
So with Disney Cruise Line,this is my seventh cruise.
(01:53):
Awesome.
So with Disney, they havesomething called the Castaway Club.
And so if it's your firstcruise, then actually don't get as
early access to booking thingslike activities and different things
like that, as veteran cruisers do.
So as you cruise more, youbecome silver for 2 through 5, you
become gold for 6 through 10,and then platinum, and then the highest
(02:16):
level is pearl.
And so the higher you are inthe castaway club, the earlier you
get to book.
So this was my seventh cruise,but going back to that, how early
you get to book.
We actually booked this cruiselast Monday.
Yeah, that's what I heard.
You and I were talking aboutthis before our podcast.
You got this pretty quickly.
Yes.
So it was very last minute.
(02:37):
It came up and we're like,let's, you know, we're trying to
find something to do for thelast quarter of the year with the
kids, just because we haven'treally done a big family vacation
this year.
And so this came up, mybrother and his family went and my
mom went.
And so it was kind of a bigextended family thing.
So we booked it on Monday, wetold the kids about it on Thursday
night, and then we left onFriday night.
(03:00):
All right.
So I mentioned earlier in thepodcast about some of the obstacles
you might have when you go ona cruise, because it's not as if
you can just drive down, geton a bus.
Sometimes you need paperworkand you have to get some things.
Do you have to, depending onwhere you go.
What kind of paperwork do youhave to get in order before you go
on a cruise?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I always tell my clientsthe best thing to have is a passport.
(03:21):
So you need a valid passportor a, an original birth certificate.
I think some cruise lines willtake a copy, some cruise lines won't.
So I always say, err on theside of caution.
If you have the original, takethe original.
If you do not have a passport.
But the difference is you can sail.
(03:42):
As long as you are sailingfrom a U.S.
port and back to a U.S.
port, that birth certificateis okay to sail with.
However, if you have a medicalemergency or any reason that you
need to fly home from any ofthe ports, only a valid passport
will get you back home.
Very, very important.
When we went on a cruise, oh,six or seven years ago, I have an
(04:03):
old birth certificate fromKings County, Brooklyn, and it had
folded where my birth date was.
It had, over time, that creasehad become a little worn out.
And they really did anincredible investigation into my
card and another form of IDbecause they just barely could see
the birth date.
And when we got back, one ofthe first things Lori did was order
(04:26):
a brand new birth certificatefor me because she said, this is
this is not going to work outfor any trips you want to take.
So make sure that that is inorder because that.
That it can hold up.
And I was a little nervous.
I was like, oh, my God,they're not going to let me on this
bike, you know?
And I was.
I was very, very worried.
But let me ask you this.
When you get on.
So I always hear from people,I wasn't a cruise guy.
This is a weird thing for mebecause I went on cruises with my
(04:49):
family.
My.
This is again, my parents,we'd graduate, like, high school.
My parents would go on, wetake on a cruise.
And then I even went on acruise on my honeymoon.
And then I didn't cruise for along time until about six or seven
years ago when we went on acruise for my father's 70th birthday.
And then now I'm way into cruising.
Yeah.
So I never did the cruise withthe kids.
I never did the Disney cruisewith the kids.
(05:09):
But I always hear people onother cruise ships say, while there's
a lot to do, I want to relax.
When you're on a Disneycruise, how much of the balance is
being able to relax and somuch else to do on the boat?
Yeah, there is so, so much to do.
So much so that, like, mybiggest tip for people is try not
(05:30):
to get overwhelmed, especiallythe first day.
So there's so much that goeson on that first day, especially
if it's your first timecruising and you don't understand
the ins and outs of the mustermeeting beforehand, which happens
on every cruise line, I should say.
Right.
That's something that they'regoing to inform you of what to do
in case of an emergency.
(05:50):
This is mandatory foreverybody on board, whether you're
six months old or whetheryou're 98 years old.
You have to attend muster meeting.
So that can be overwhelming atfirst and just kind of getting your
bearings on the ship, learningthe layout, different things.
And with Disney, the app kindof transforms.
Once you're in the port, youcan then log on to their wifi and
(06:13):
see a completely differentversion of the app than what you've
been seeing with your planningat home.
That version of the app willthen show you the daily activities.
And it seems like every 15minutes, there's something that somebody
might want to do.
So what I always say is, youknow what?
Pace yourself, because you'vegot, in our case this time, it was
(06:33):
four days.
If you've got longer, you'vegot seven days.
That those are the leastchaotic cruises because you've got
so much time to get in all ofthese activities.
So there's definitelysomething for everybody.
All right, so you talked aboutthe planning.
We always talk to people abouttheir Disney World vacation planning.
And what do you do?
How much planning do you haveto do prior to cruising?
Do you have to sign up forthings in advance or if you're interested
(06:56):
in a some sort of class, doyou have to be, is it, is there a
30 day window to sign up forlike Pilates or something like that
or anything like that?
Yeah, that's a good question.
So it can be done both ways.
So obviously I am the casethat will tell you that we were able
to do pretty much anything wewanted to do on board, even booking
four days ahead of time.
So with planning, there's nota ton that you have to do.
(07:18):
But if you have booked thiscruise well in advance, the things
you're going to want to lookfor is on your final payment date
is usually when your cruiseactivities are going to become available
to you.
Like I said earlier, it'sgoing to come available earlier for
Platinum, Pearl, Gold, Silver.
And then first cruisers will,will get that window last.
Those things are going to bethings like Bibbidi Bobbidi, boutique
(07:43):
appointments, differentbeverage seminars, adult dining on
board, spa appointments, thenthe very coveted cabanas on Castaway
Key.
These are really pricey, butfor some reason they are the most
coveted activity or I guessit's not an activity, but pre bookable
(08:03):
item that cruisers go after.
And so these typically willget booked up by either Pearl or
Platinum or your conciergeguests which actually have access
before even Pearl has accessto different activities.
Okay, so now when anotherthing I hear from people about cruising
and people, people likecruising, like my parents are one
of them.
(08:24):
They've probably gone on 30cruises in their life.
They love going on cruises andthey've got a situation in Florida
where if Royal Caribbean has acruise leaving on Tuesday that's
got discount, they'll just go,you know, they'll just jump on it.
But one of the things I askthem because they go to Disney World
all the time is have you goneon the Disney cruise?
And they go, no, we don't haveany more children.
Sure.
(08:44):
And I think to myself, youdon't need children to go on a Disney
cruise.
Why?
Why do you feel that way?
No, you definitely don't.
And Chris and I actually wenton our very first Disney cruise was
without children and we hadchildren at the time, we just went
without them.
I kind of wanted to see whatit was like.
And to be honest, those adultcruises are even better on Disney
(09:05):
Cruise Line because there areadult areas on every ship and they're
the quietest areas on the ship.
Right.
So if you don't want to seechildren, you will not see or hear
children in those adult areas.
So you can be in the quietpool area, you can be in the spa,
you can be down on Deck 4.
In the case of the Dream whereall of the adults entertainment areas,
(09:29):
the different bars there areso well done because every area of
the ship looks different, ithas a different theming to it.
And so there's something foryou to do whether you're an adult
or whether you're a familywith children.
All right, let's stay with theadults and then I'll get to the some
family with children becausethose who are listening with children
probably want to know whattheir kids could do on the boat.
But let's stay with the adultsfor a second.
There are no casinos on the boat.
But how is the nightlife?
(09:50):
How is the.
Hey, it's after dinner.
I'm having, I'm having a good.
I want to have a good time.
What is that atmosphere likeon a Disney cruise?
Yeah.
So there's usually two or three.
Three different offeringsevery night.
I am an early to bed person soI typically did not take advantage
of those.
But you'll find different trivias.
There was a Star wars triviaone night that.
(10:10):
Yeah.
That was only open to adults,which was a huge bummer because my
husband wanted to take my sonGraham and he's 12 and he went to
try to see if he could justcome in with him and they wouldn't
let him come in, which is understandable.
I, I know it's for adultsonly, but when you got a Star wars
loving 12 year old, it's toughto tell him he can't go do it.
But other things that they'llhave adults, they'll have a game
(10:32):
show on every cruise calledMatch youh Mate.
It's absolutely hilarious.
It's uncensored so you neverknow what you're gonna get.
It's funny that you're.
I'm.
I was gonna lean into that alittle bit because if you go on some
of these cruises there's a.
There's a different comedyshow, there's a different game show.
Like you know it as an adult.
Kids may not get the coderight, but you know what it is?
(10:54):
Do they stay away from that on these?
No, they really don't.
They'll lean right into it.
So they'll pick like three orfour different couples and the questions
that they're asking are allthese different questions that are
open ended and you never knowwhat you're going to hear.
That's great.
It's really funny.
There's always, you know,drinks involved at night if you want,
if you want that.
There's different things like that.
They've always got whatevergame might be on.
(11:15):
If it's on ABC or ESPNespecially then it's going to be
playing in the pub.
So you can go check somethinglike that out.
They've got different bingosthat are offered at night for just
adults or they've got a silentdisco sometimes late at night.
Those are fine, just for adults.
And then they'll have oneduring the day that's, that's for
everybody to enjoy.
So you'll find different things.
There's always a movie playingat night.
(11:37):
So usually you'll find thelate night movies are the ones that
are more geared for adults to enjoy.
My wife and I are going on aRoyal Caribbean cruise in March where
you're looking at drink packages.
Are there drink packages thatare similar to what you would find
on other cruise ships?
There's not.
So I get that question a lot actually.
So there are a couple ofdifferent options.
So first of all, Disney offersa drink of the day every day.
(11:58):
And it's actually a prettygood price.
It's about $6.
So you can always ask what thedrink of the is.
It's usually something tropical.
So that's going to be yourleast expensive option as far as
a drink goes.
The other thing that they willoffer, two other things actually
they'll offer, you canpurchase a beer mug that is for the
price of 16 ounces of beer.
(12:19):
I think you get 22 ounces ofbeer or something along that line.
And then every time youpurchase that, you don't have to
keep up with that mug.
You can just walk up to thebar, tell them that you have the
drink package, they'll scanyour band and they'll give you a
new mug to have that at that point.
The other thing is on the dayof embarkation they offer Disney
(12:39):
cruise line coolers.
This is actually a reallygreat value whether you want to fill
it with waters or whether youwant to fill it with beer.
We love our cooler becauseit's a soft cooler that we've used
many times at home.
I mean for years we get a newone every time we're on and they'll
fill it either with 12 bottledwater or 12 beer of your choice.
And they have six or eightdifferent beers that you can choose
(13:01):
from there.
They'll bring it to yourstateroom full of ice.
Your stateroom host can fillit up with ice for you for ca Passed
away key day.
And there's a slight discountwhen it comes to that on the beer
or on the bottled water whenyou purchase it that way.
Okay, so let's get into dining now.
Because I think this is theone thing I'm missing by not going
on the Disney cruise.
Because I've been on a numberof different cruise lines and I've
(13:23):
enjoyed my dinner and I'veenjoyed the server that I've had
in the same seat in the same table.
But this is different.
There's like rotational diningwhere you get the same staff, but
you're going to a differentplace every night.
Yeah.
So the.
The concept of rotationaldining is on Disney cruise ships.
There's 3D rooms, three maindining rooms on each ship.
And so what you'll do is youdon't find out your rotation until
(13:44):
you're on board.
That's another thing thattransforms in that app.
You'll see on your plans forthe day where you're going for dinner.
There's two times for dinneron Disney cruise line.
There's the main dining, whichis considered early dining.
It's 5:45.
So if you are on main dining,you eat dinner at 5:45 and then you
see the show at night at 8pmif you are on second dining, which
(14:07):
is 8:15, you can see the showat 6pm and then have late dining.
For this cruise, we were onlate dining.
Every cruise we've done in thepast, we've always done late dining.
And I'll get into that in justa little bit too.
About.
About what?
Why you might want to chooseearly dining or late dining.
But so you will find out whereyou're gonna go to dinner the first
night.
(14:27):
And when you sit down fordinner, you'll meet your server.
You have a head server andyou'll have an assistant server.
And these servers become like,like family to you.
Over the course of thiscruise, they will learn what your
kids want to drink.
They'll have it sitting on thetable by night too, usually.
Yeah.
For everybody at the table.
They'll know what you want to drink.
(14:48):
They'll know kind of whatyou're thinking about to order and
why you might want to pickthis on the menu because you know
you liked this last night.
So you might like this andThen they will actually move to each
restaurant with you.
You have the same tablenumber, but that doesn't necessarily
mean that it'll be the samelocation in each restaurant rep in
each restaurant, but you'llhave the same table number and you'll
(15:09):
have the same staff throughout the.
That's great because my, myfather's very picky with wine because
he's Italian.
He's very picky and theylearned his pickiness.
Sure.
Almost immediately.
Absolutely.
It's really cool when they do that.
That's really, really great.
Now let's talk about the food.
All right, so I love when I goon cruises, the first thing I do
is go eat.
That's the first thing I do.
Absolutely.
So let's talk about thedifferent ways you can get food rather
(15:32):
than so much sitting at the restaurant.
But I want to eat at 2 o'clockin the afternoon or I want to eat
at 2 o'clock in the morning.
What are my options of gettingsome chow?
Yeah, there's definitely anoption at any time of the day.
So let's start withembarkation day.
So typically you're going tohave two options available on the
ship when you get on board.
Usually you're on board BYlet's say 12 to 1 o'clock.
(15:55):
This particular cruise therewere some hiccups happening and so
there was a little bit delayedboarding but we were still on board
by 1:00 so everybody wasabsolutely starving.
My typical go to with betweenthe two options is to go to the sit
down lunch because it's goingto be a little more slow paced.
Everybody can sit down.
That's when everybody wants tolook through all the activities on
(16:16):
the app because you're justnow getting to be able to see all
of that.
The other option is the buffet.
In the case of the dream, it'scalled cabanas, this is the faster
option.
You're going to have food onyour plate, plate faster this way.
And so this is what we chosethis cruise and I wish we hadn't
honestly in this case becauseit is so chaotic.
(16:36):
Yeah, it really, it can be really.
Chaotic, especially if you area first time cruiser.
That's why I recommend the sitdown lunch because you're not paying
for either one of them.
You've already paid for itwith the cruise so there's no additional
upcharge either way on DisneyCruise Line.
So I typically say go enjoythe slower pace lunch because when
you get up to cabanas it'stough to find a table.
(16:59):
But there is a Wide array ofoptions up there.
My husband's favorite thing inthe world is crab legs and there
are crab legs galore.
So that's what we had that day.
There's Mac and cheese for thekids, there's different meats that
are being carved, there'sdifferent salads, shrimp cocktail.
I mean I could go on and.
(17:19):
On about how much are yousacrificing in terms of choice if
you decide to go to the sitdown lunch rather than the wide variety
of buffalo.
Yeah, you definitely are.
So what I would say is you cansee that menu online while you're
sitting in the port before,before you get on board, you can
take a look at it.
There's usually three or fourdifferent things that are offered
at the sit down lunch.
If you see something that youlike, great.
(17:40):
If you absolutely don't, thenyou will find something that you
like at Cabanas.
So then we're talking abouttoo, what about let's say when cabanas
is closed for lunch or whenthe main dining rooms are not open?
So what can we have?
So there is, on Disney ships,on the pool deck there are several
different kind of walk upwindows where you can walk up and
(18:01):
you can get a slice of pizzaor you can have hot dogs, dog and
fries, chicken tenders,hamburgers, or a new addition to
the Disney dream this timethat actually it just came out of
dry dock and they've added ataco bar and it was a huge hit with
my family.
Oh, taco bars are great.
Oh, it was great.
You walk up and you tell themso it's not self serve so you don't
have to get freaked out about,you know, like touching all the things
(18:21):
or when I say you, I mean me.
But so you walk up and youtell them whether you want chicken
or steak or I think there's avegetarian option and then there's
beans and rice and cheese andguac and all the good things that
go on tacos.
So you've got that, that onthe pool deck as well.
The other option is you dohave 24 hour room service included.
Or I believe it's 24 hours.
(18:43):
Don't quote me on that, but Ibelieve it is 24 hours and it's already
included in the price of your cruise.
Now what I will say is if youdo order room service, be prepared
to tip a couple dollars for that.
So that is somewhere that theywill accept tips when they deliver
your food.
But there's a lot of thingsthat are on the room service menu,
but there are A few thingsthat I wish they would add.
(19:04):
There were a few days thatCora wanted Mac and cheese in the
middle of the day and therewas nowhere I could get her Mac and
cheese.
And it's not on the roomservice menu.
So you know, there's, there'snot just absolutely anything on it,
but there's quite a bit on it.
So it's, it's midnight, you'reon the, you're looking out on the
vastness of the ocean,contemplating how big the ocean actually
(19:26):
is.
And you are a smallspectacular deck.
And then the urge hits you fora slice of pizza or a cheeseburger.
Is it.
Where is, can you go bounce tosome place and get, and get one of
those?
Yes, you can for sure get iton room service.
I don't know how late the pooldeck food is open.
It's probably only open tillabout 11 or 12, but I would say for
(19:46):
sure room service, get it.
All right.
So now you mentioned diningthat combines with a show.
Now I think this is where ifI'm Disney, this is what I want to
show off off more than anyother cruise company.
I do shows better than anybodyand I'm going to put on a great show.
So talk about theentertainment value of what you're
getting on these cruises.
Yes.
So each ship offers adifferent show typically.
(20:08):
So there will be usually threelive shows at least.
And then if you have more thana three night cruise, then those
other nights are made up forby either showing a new movie at
the showtime or sometimesthere's a variety act, comedian,
something like that.
But usually three of thenights are going to be made up of
(20:29):
a live Broadway style show.
One of those is going to beone of the Disney classics.
On this particular cruise itwas Beauty and the Beast.
Great.
It is fantastically done.
And so it's done in a theater style.
So if you have the 6pm show,which is what we had, you want to
try to get there early, 30minutes early if you can to go ahead
(20:50):
and get a seat.
There is popcorn and soda thatis offered that is not included with
your cruise fare.
That is for an additional charge.
So what I always tell peopleis if you have a Walt Disney World
popcorn bucket, they will takeany popcorn bucket and refill it
for $2.
So it's just like the DisneyWorld popcorn bucket.
(21:11):
Right?
That's great.
But it's not just valid foryour cruise.
What a great tip.
So it can be any popcornbucket that you have.
So we, we would go throughthree or four popcorn buckets.
In a sitting of a show at just$2 each.
And another tip is if youdon't want to purchase a Coke, go
ahead and go up to the pooldeck and get a Coke where it's free
(21:31):
and bring it back down to thetheater with you, because you can
do that.
Or they have canned Cokes.
They also, I think they havesome alcoholic beverages for sale.
Okay.
And before we get to the kidspart of this cruise, again, you,
you mentioned the band how.
Yeah, I've, I've done room cards.
I've done bands on number of cruises.
What's the prefer.
What's the Disney way of beep,beep, beep?
I'm purchasing.
Is it similar to the MagicBand at Disney World?
(21:53):
It is.
So they've actually justunveiled in the last year or so the
use of Magic Band plus onDisney Cruise Line.
Only Magic Band Plus.
Only Magic Band plus.
You have an old Magic bandthat will get you into a theme park
that's not going to work onthe cruise line.
That's right.
And I think I've said in thepast we don't have the new ones,
so.
Oh, yeah, because I wastelling you about the fireworks show
I got to enjoy with mine.
Yeah.
So we've never purchased thenew ones.
(22:15):
So I will talk about both ways.
Actually, my brother and hisfamily used the Magic Band Pluses
for the whole cruise.
They were able to unlock theirdoor for any purchases, anything.
It works the same kind of waythat it does at Disney World.
For those of us that don'thave the MagicBand, plus, if you
are in the Castaway Club,you'll find in your room when you
get there, a lanyard coloredto whatever color you are, gold,
(22:39):
silver, whatever that may be,along with a Key to the World card.
So that's what we had.
And we wore our lanyardsaround to make purchases, to unlock
the door when you're gettingon and off the ship, they will scan
those as well.
So.
Yeah, so you actually, you'lluse the card the whole time you're
on board.
All right, now let's get tothe children part of it, because
(23:00):
I, I have gone on cruises withkids and I've gone without kids.
And I know that when I've goneon cruises with kids, there is just
almost too much to do with.
With children.
What is this like on theDisney cruise?
I'm sure they cater tochildren better than anybody.
Yeah.
So going back to the MagicBand, this is where actually your
kids will get one if they arepart of the Oceaneer Club.
(23:21):
And the Oceaneer Lab, which isages 3 to 10.
So this is the included kidsclub for this age.
If you're kid is younger thanthree, they'll go to the It's a Small
World nursery.
They will not get a band there.
And it is actually paid by the hour.
If you reserve time for yourchild to go in the nursery, which
is highly recommended.
It's wonderful.
(23:42):
The staff is great there.
They have places for them tonap, for them to play.
But going back to the 3 to 10,that's the main kids club on board,
when you register them on thefirst day, they'll give them a magic
band.
It is a magic band plus.
But it's only, it's only goodfor the kids club.
It's not going to unlock theirdoor or anything like that.
(24:02):
That's to identify them.
They'll also put a zip tie onthem on that so that it cannot come
off when they're in the kidsclub because that's what they use
when you come to pick them upto find them.
Okay.
All right.
They actually will say, ohwell, Cora is in the crafts room
right now.
Let me call over there and get her.
And so it's very, very secure.
So when you register themthere for three and four year olds,
(24:26):
this is actually a new thingthat they've started.
They actually have their ownlittle class.
So they walk around togetherwith a counselor or two counselors
that kind of help guide themthrough the different activities.
But they're not kept separatedfrom the different, from the older
children.
So my older daughter Lily, whowas in there, was able to interact
with Cora, but Cora was alsokept with an age group that's more
(24:49):
geared for her.
Okay.
But then when you go to pickup your children, you are on a list
to pick them up.
They're going to scan yourband, they're going to ask your name
and then they're going to askyou a secret word that you have set
up prior to coming.
Oh, very nice.
So it is very, very secure.
Your children will not get outof there unless you're the one picking
(25:09):
them up or unless somebodythat you've authorized to pick them
up.
All right, now the fun stuffwhere you go, where did the, where
did your ship this particulartrip go?
There's it goes.
They go all over the place.
But particular trip, where didyou end up going?
Yeah.
So this ship left from FortLauderdale, Florida.
One quick note, I always tellmy clients, if at all possible, fly
(25:30):
in the day before, drive inthe day before, whatever that may
be.
Get as close to the port aspossible the day before.
So we actually flew in thenight before the cruise.
Last minute.
My husband decided actuallythe day before to fly in the morning
of the crews to be able tomake a prior plan that he had had
(25:51):
for that Friday night.
So he did fly in that morning.
But I was a little bit nervousuntil I knew his plane was on the
ground.
Hey, listen, I've been onplenty of flights traveling around
the country, and I've.
I've been to the.
I was in Houston once for thefinal four, and a couple lady girl
was sitting next to me.
Her boyfriend was sittingahead of her.
And they were panickingbecause they were.
They were leaving from Houstonto go to, to Miami to catch a cruise
(26:13):
that very day, that very morning.
And I, being a very, very niceperson, I kind of leaned and I said,
I, I'm sorry.
She goes, because she wastrying to get a connected flight.
I go, there were two teams onthe final four from Miami.
And I said, so you're probablyloaded with fans.
And because they were hopingto get on standby.
And I said, I don't, I don't know.
They both lost.
(26:33):
So they were both.
So she, she luckily used thatinformation to say, well, maybe I
need to go to Charlotte, toHouston instead of getting direct
flight to Miami.
And that got them.
But she was in panic becauseshe was going on the very day her
cruise was leaving and it wasdelayed and there were problems.
And the boat leaves.
It won't wait for.
It's not waiting for you inports and it's not waiting for you
to leave.
(26:53):
No.
And it won't give you yourmoney back.
Right, exactly.
So, yeah, so we, we got therethat night.
Chris got there that morning,and we did take Disney transportation
over to the port.
And the reason that we did this.
So we do pay for this.
So it's in Fort Lauderdale.
It's $25 per person to get onthe Disney bus to the port.
The reason we did that isbecause we booked so late.
(27:14):
Our port arrival time was very late.
It was like 2:30 to 2:45 inthe afternoon.
Well, if you take Disneytransportation, then your port arrival
time time is completely negated.
So then you are on theearliest bus to the port.
You can then get on the shipas early as possible.
Your boarding groupautomatically moves up so that you're
one of the first people on the ship.
That's good.
(27:34):
That's exactly why we did it.
So I said earlier thateverything was kind of delayed.
That's because the ship camefrom Europe.
And the entire crew, 1500 crewmembers, had to get off the ship,
go through customs and thenget back on.
Get back on.
And so it was a.
It was a mess, mess this day.
And so many people thatcruised with us on the group that
(27:55):
I'm on on Facebook talkedabout what a mess it was and it really
was.
So if that was your first timecruising and you happen to be on
that sailing, it's not typical.
So we get on board.
We're in Fort Lauderdaleactually there.
I don't know what elsehappened that day, but we didn't
leave port till 9:30pm whichis really, really atypical.
That is.
Yeah, there's usually a big.
Yep.
(28:15):
Leaving and you wave to people.
Yes.
So you usually leave at like4:30 or 5:00.
So we left at 9:30.
It did not delay us the firstday we went to Nassau.
So if you've ever been toNassau before, there's not a ton
to do there.
But we actually found areally, really great excursion through
Disney Cruise Line.
It was a day pass to Baja MarResort, which I had read, and I've
(28:39):
actually had a lot of clientsask about this particular resort
for just for an actual vacation.
But this was a day pass totheir water park.
And so Disney Cruise Line tookus over there about 9:30 and we had
had full access to all thewater slides.
We had lunch included.
That included the soft drink.
There were water slides forevery age to enjoy.
(29:01):
Cora had a ball at just thesmaller slides.
And then my big kids were ableto do the water coasters and some
of the plunge slides.
And it was really a highlightfor everybody.
So if you're looking forsomething to do in Nassau, I highly,
highly recommend that one.
All right, now, Now a coupleof places.
So now you've left Nassau.
Where else do you go?
(29:21):
Do you.
Do you go.
Did you go anywhere else?
How many days at sea did youhave on this?
Quick.
Yeah.
So the very next day we wentto Castaway Key, which is awesome.
Yes.
That's Disney's private island.
So we spent the entire day onthe island.
We did mostly just beach time.
My girls went to the kids clubthat day, which is on the island.
They have a lot of wateractivities, sand activities there.
We had lunch on the island,which, if you've ever been to Castaway
(29:43):
Key before, you know, it'shamburgers, hot dogs, ribs.
If you're on the adult side ofthe island, you also get steak included.
So it's a really good barbecuelunch on the island.
There's two water slides on,on Castaway Cay.
My big kids enjoyed doing that.
Graham went for a bike ridewith a buddy that he had met on the
ship.
And so we did that that dayand then we got back on board and
(30:05):
then the very next day was aday at sea.
Awesome.
Now is these boats.
One of the things I don't likeabout some of the other cruise line
is Louis Vuitton and Rolex andall these shops.
And I don't go in there any,anything like that.
I mean, I know they're tryingto get it duty free and if you want
to buy Louis Vuitton bags ata, you know, without the taxes and
all that other stuff.
But what, so what is that likeon a Disney cruise ship?
(30:27):
So the only shop that I canthink of that's like that and I've
never been in it, there is adiamond shop and so obviously high
end jewelry in there.
But then there are two shopson board that are Disney themed shops.
Yeah.
Mickey's main sale and thenthere's one across the way.
I don't know what the name ofit, but it mainly has adult clothing
and like coffee mugs andthings like that.
(30:48):
Any art auctions on the Disney cruise?
No, you know, I've never seen that.
I have.
My Last cruise was 2023 and Ibought four pieces of art.
How cool.
I know, that's awesome.
I went in there and I did notknow what this was and I kept saying,
I'm going to the art auction.
And my whole family was like,sure, yeah.
And I went and I boughtsmaller pieces, but I bought, I ended
(31:12):
up buying four small pieces ofart from the same artist.
Oh, that's.
Yeah, that was kind of, thatwas kind of cool.
But it was, it was, it takesup so much room.
Yeah.
On the boat, I mean, I wasthinking to myself, like, this is
like, it's a whole floorpractically of just paintings and
stuff and that you could look at.
But so now overall, what aresome things that you find on Disney
(31:33):
cruises that, that are alittle different?
Like when, when people tellyou, I went on Carnival, I went to
Royal Caribbean, I went on Celebrity.
What makes Disney different?
What, what do you think is thebig aspect of what makes it different?
Different?
Yeah, there's a few things Iwould say.
Overall, the service on DisneyCruise Line is absolutely unmatched.
I think that the people thatare working on Disney Cruise Line,
(31:55):
I've heard from so many peoplebefore that if you are in the cruise
industry, then typically thegoal is Disney Cruise line because
they know how highly regardedthat it is.
And everybody that we'veencountered, whether it was our stateroom
host, our servers, any of thepeople in the entertainment staff,
the kids clubs, they are justtop notch and they really seem like
(32:17):
they love their job and sothey go out of their way to make
it perfect for you.
So let's say, for instance,the stateroom host, her name was
Anna.
She was amazing, and she knewthat we were traveling.
My mom was in the stateroomnext door that connected to ours,
and she's like, oh, let meopen your balcony.
So then we had one big balcony.
And then she's like, what elsecan I do for you?
I mean, she's constantlylooking for ways to help make our
(32:39):
stateroom more comfortable.
Awesome.
Awesome.
And then talking about thestaterooms, one thing that Disney
does that's different thanother cruise lines is the split bathroom.
And I think we, we may havetalked about this before, but there
are two doors inside yourstate room.
One has a toilet and a sink,and one has a sink and a bath shower
combo.
So that if you're travelingwith your family, you know, state
rooms are not very big.
(33:01):
Right.
So if you're traveling withyour family, then two people can
be getting ready at one time.
All right, very good.
Anything you'd like to add onyour, on your overall experience?
Any stories, antidotes, etc.
Yeah, you know, the entirecruise was just.
It was just incredible.
But I will say this one, withthe chaos on the first day, it.
If that had been my firstcruise, I don't know that I would
(33:24):
feel as excited to cruiseagain, to be honest, just because
of the chaos of it.
But for me, knowing what wasto be expected the rest of the time,
I knew to kind of just sit back.
I would say find places thataren't chaotic if you are worried
about being overwhelmed orjust the planning aspects of it.
(33:45):
There's.
There's really nothing tomajorly plan when it comes to cruising.
So just get on, enjoyyourself, explore.
Find a place on the ship thatreally speaks to you and just, you
know, go with it.
I find, I find libraries to be great.
I love going to find a, like alittle library where they've got
a place I can read or relax.
I do that most of the time.
Is, is, is.
(34:06):
Is.
I, I'm a, I'm a theme park guy.
I love theme parks.
I love the hustle and bustleof it.
But when I get on cruises, Idon't mind spending two hours just
sitting in a corner reading abook and relaxing and doing nothing,
you know, and, and just eatingevery two hours.
Exactly.
That's all I want to do.
Exactly.
And try everything.
If you see two or three thingson the menu that you want, order
(34:26):
all three of them.
That's right.
And walking around late atnight, that's one of my favorite
things to do on boats.
Well that is awesome.
So again reach out to Lauren,Lauren at all the magic travel.
If you're interested in aDisney vacation, whether it's cruise,
whether it's Disney WorldUniversal, you can reach me at Travelwood
Tony D gmail.com we absolutelywould love to help you plan and execute
your very, very best vacation.
All right, again like thispodcast, give us a five star review
(34:48):
and reach out to us if youhave any questions we'd be glad to
answer it on this edition ofWands and Wishes podcast.
Take care everybody and happy vaccine.
It's another episode of theWands and Wishes podcast.
Glad you could be with us.
I'm Tony Doziri.
All the Magic Travels.
Lauren Mallard went all themagic travel this week.
Oh, my goodness, you are backand all energized from a trip on
the Disney Cruise Line.
That's right.
I love it.
We're going to talk about thatand we're going to give you preparations
for your next Disney cruise,or if you've been thinking about
a Disney cruise, what are someof the obstacles that you may have
(00:27):
to overcome just to get thereand then some other things that you
can enjoy when you're on the ship.
So going to be doing that onthis edition of the Wands and Wishes
podcast.
A reminder, if you've beenlistening to us for a while and you've
not subscribed, please do so.
Leave us a five star reviewwherever you get your podcast.
It certainly helps us out withthe algorithms.
We love helping people planfor their Disney trips, Universal
trips, or whatever trip youhave in mind.
(00:49):
So that's one of the reasonswe do this podcast.
And this is the first timewe've explored the Disney Cruise
Line.
So I love this because Iremember, you know, if I, when I've
studied like the Disneyhistory of like Walt and whatnot,
and how he came up to thetheme park where he went to an amusement
park and he didn't feel likeit was family oriented.
And so here's this animatorfrom Missouri who's in the theme
(01:10):
park business.
And that's a whole differentbusiness than making movies and being
an animator.
So you're learning a wholedifferent industry.
And I remember when Disney gotinto the cruise line business, I
had gone on cruises withCarnival and other other cruise lines
when I was younger.
That was kind of the, kind ofthe present my dad and my mother
would give us when wegraduated school.
And I remember when Disney wasgetting the cruise line, I'm like,
(01:32):
that's an entirely differentbusiness than theme parks and movies.
So it's something that they'vebeen able to conquer and they've
been able to do really, reallywell by hiring some of the best people
to do it.
So how many, what, whatcruise, what amount of number of
cruises is for you?
For Disney?
How many cruises have you beenon with Disney?
Okay, yeah.
So with Disney Cruise Line,this is my seventh cruise.
(01:53):
Awesome.
So with Disney, they havesomething called the Castaway Club.
And so if it's your firstcruise, then actually don't get as
early access to booking thingslike activities and different things
like that, as veteran cruisers do.
So as you cruise more, youbecome silver for 2 through 5, you
become gold for 6 through 10,and then platinum, and then the highest
(02:16):
level is pearl.
And so the higher you are inthe castaway club, the earlier you
get to book.
So this was my seventh cruise,but going back to that, how early
you get to book.
We actually booked this cruiselast Monday.
Yeah, that's what I heard.
You and I were talking aboutthis before our podcast.
You got this pretty quickly.
Yes.
So it was very last minute.
(02:37):
It came up and we're like,let's, you know, we're trying to
find something to do for thelast quarter of the year with the
kids, just because we haven'treally done a big family vacation
this year.
And so this came up, mybrother and his family went and my
mom went.
And so it was kind of a bigextended family thing.
So we booked it on Monday, wetold the kids about it on Thursday
night, and then we left onFriday night.
(03:00):
All right.
So I mentioned earlier in thepodcast about some of the obstacles
you might have when you go ona cruise, because it's not as if
you can just drive down, geton a bus.
Sometimes you need paperworkand you have to get some things.
Do you have to, depending onwhere you go.
What kind of paperwork do youhave to get in order before you go
on a cruise?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I always tell my clientsthe best thing to have is a passport.
(03:21):
So you need a valid passportor a, an original birth certificate.
I think some cruise lines willtake a copy, some cruise lines won't.
So I always say, err on theside of caution.
If you have the original, takethe original.
If you do not have a passport.
But the difference is you can sail.
(03:42):
As long as you are sailingfrom a U.S.
port and back to a U.S.
port, that birth certificateis okay to sail with.
However, if you have a medicalemergency or any reason that you
need to fly home from any ofthe ports, only a valid passport
will get you back home.
Very, very important.
When we went on a cruise, oh,six or seven years ago, I have an
(04:03):
old birth certificate fromKings County, Brooklyn, and it had
folded where my birth date was.
It had, over time, that creasehad become a little worn out.
And they really did anincredible investigation into my
card and another form of IDbecause they just barely could see
the birth date.
And when we got back, one ofthe first things Lori did was order
(04:26):
a brand new birth certificatefor me because she said, this is
this is not going to work outfor any trips you want to take.
So make sure that that is inorder because that.
That it can hold up.
And I was a little nervous.
I was like, oh, my God,they're not going to let me on this
bike, you know?
And I was.
I was very, very worried.
But let me ask you this.
When you get on.
So I always hear from people,I wasn't a cruise guy.
This is a weird thing for mebecause I went on cruises with my
(04:49):
family.
My.
This is again, my parents,we'd graduate, like, high school.
My parents would go on, wetake on a cruise.
And then I even went on acruise on my honeymoon.
And then I didn't cruise for along time until about six or seven
years ago when we went on acruise for my father's 70th birthday.
And then now I'm way into cruising.
Yeah.
So I never did the cruise withthe kids.
I never did the Disney cruisewith the kids.
(05:09):
But I always hear people onother cruise ships say, while there's
a lot to do, I want to relax.
When you're on a Disneycruise, how much of the balance is
being able to relax and somuch else to do on the boat?
Yeah, there is so, so much to do.
So much so that, like, mybiggest tip for people is try not
(05:30):
to get overwhelmed, especiallythe first day.
So there's so much that goeson on that first day, especially
if it's your first timecruising and you don't understand
the ins and outs of the mustermeeting beforehand, which happens
on every cruise line, I should say.
Right.
That's something that they'regoing to inform you of what to do
in case of an emergency.
(05:50):
This is mandatory foreverybody on board, whether you're
six months old or whetheryou're 98 years old.
You have to attend muster meeting.
So that can be overwhelming atfirst and just kind of getting your
bearings on the ship, learningthe layout, different things.
And with Disney, the app kindof transforms.
Once you're in the port, youcan then log on to their wifi and
(06:13):
see a completely differentversion of the app than what you've
been seeing with your planningat home.
That version of the app willthen show you the daily activities.
And it seems like every 15minutes, there's something that somebody
might want to do.
So what I always say is, youknow what?
Pace yourself, because you'vegot, in our case this time, it was
(06:33):
four days.
If you've got longer, you'vegot seven days.
That those are the leastchaotic cruises because you've got
so much time to get in all ofthese activities.
So there's definitelysomething for everybody.
All right, so you talked aboutthe planning.
We always talk to people abouttheir Disney World vacation planning.
And what do you do?
How much planning do you haveto do prior to cruising?
Do you have to sign up forthings in advance or if you're interested
(06:56):
in a some sort of class, doyou have to be, is it, is there a
30 day window to sign up forlike Pilates or something like that
or anything like that?
Yeah, that's a good question.
So it can be done both ways.
So obviously I am the casethat will tell you that we were able
to do pretty much anything wewanted to do on board, even booking
four days ahead of time.
So with planning, there's nota ton that you have to do.
(07:18):
But if you have booked thiscruise well in advance, the things
you're going to want to lookfor is on your final payment date
is usually when your cruiseactivities are going to become available
to you.
Like I said earlier, it'sgoing to come available earlier for
Platinum, Pearl, Gold, Silver.
And then first cruisers will,will get that window last.
Those things are going to bethings like Bibbidi Bobbidi, boutique
(07:43):
appointments, differentbeverage seminars, adult dining on
board, spa appointments, thenthe very coveted cabanas on Castaway
Key.
These are really pricey, butfor some reason they are the most
coveted activity or I guessit's not an activity, but pre bookable
(08:03):
item that cruisers go after.
And so these typically willget booked up by either Pearl or
Platinum or your conciergeguests which actually have access
before even Pearl has accessto different activities.
Okay, so now when anotherthing I hear from people about cruising
and people, people likecruising, like my parents are one
of them.
(08:24):
They've probably gone on 30cruises in their life.
They love going on cruises andthey've got a situation in Florida
where if Royal Caribbean has acruise leaving on Tuesday that's
got discount, they'll just go,you know, they'll just jump on it.
But one of the things I askthem because they go to Disney World
all the time is have you goneon the Disney cruise?
And they go, no, we don't haveany more children.
Sure.
(08:44):
And I think to myself, youdon't need children to go on a Disney
cruise.
Why?
Why do you feel that way?
No, you definitely don't.
And Chris and I actually wenton our very first Disney cruise was
without children and we hadchildren at the time, we just went
without them.
I kind of wanted to see whatit was like.
And to be honest, those adultcruises are even better on Disney
(09:05):
Cruise Line because there areadult areas on every ship and they're
the quietest areas on the ship.
Right.
So if you don't want to seechildren, you will not see or hear
children in those adult areas.
So you can be in the quietpool area, you can be in the spa,
you can be down on Deck 4.
In the case of the Dream whereall of the adults entertainment areas,
(09:29):
the different bars there areso well done because every area of
the ship looks different, ithas a different theming to it.
And so there's something foryou to do whether you're an adult
or whether you're a familywith children.
All right, let's stay with theadults and then I'll get to the some
family with children becausethose who are listening with children
probably want to know whattheir kids could do on the boat.
But let's stay with the adultsfor a second.
There are no casinos on the boat.
But how is the nightlife?
(09:50):
How is the.
Hey, it's after dinner.
I'm having, I'm having a good.
I want to have a good time.
What is that atmosphere likeon a Disney cruise?
Yeah.
So there's usually two or three.
Three different offeringsevery night.
I am an early to bed person soI typically did not take advantage
of those.
But you'll find different trivias.
There was a Star wars triviaone night that.
(10:10):
Yeah.
That was only open to adults,which was a huge bummer because my
husband wanted to take my sonGraham and he's 12 and he went to
try to see if he could justcome in with him and they wouldn't
let him come in, which is understandable.
I, I know it's for adultsonly, but when you got a Star wars
loving 12 year old, it's toughto tell him he can't go do it.
But other things that they'llhave adults, they'll have a game
(10:32):
show on every cruise calledMatch youh Mate.
It's absolutely hilarious.
It's uncensored so you neverknow what you're gonna get.
It's funny that you're.
I'm.
I was gonna lean into that alittle bit because if you go on some
of these cruises there's a.
There's a different comedyshow, there's a different game show.
Like you know it as an adult.
Kids may not get the coderight, but you know what it is?
(10:54):
Do they stay away from that on these?
No, they really don't.
They'll lean right into it.
So they'll pick like three orfour different couples and the questions
that they're asking are allthese different questions that are
open ended and you never knowwhat you're going to hear.
That's great.
It's really funny.
There's always, you know,drinks involved at night if you want,
if you want that.
There's different things like that.
They've always got whatevergame might be on.
(11:15):
If it's on ABC or ESPNespecially then it's going to be
playing in the pub.
So you can go check somethinglike that out.
They've got different bingosthat are offered at night for just
adults or they've got a silentdisco sometimes late at night.
Those are fine, just for adults.
And then they'll have oneduring the day that's, that's for
everybody to enjoy.
So you'll find different things.
There's always a movie playingat night.
(11:37):
So usually you'll find thelate night movies are the ones that
are more geared for adults to enjoy.
My wife and I are going on aRoyal Caribbean cruise in March where
you're looking at drink packages.
Are there drink packages thatare similar to what you would find
on other cruise ships?
There's not.
So I get that question a lot actually.
So there are a couple ofdifferent options.
So first of all, Disney offersa drink of the day every day.
(11:58):
And it's actually a prettygood price.
It's about $6.
So you can always ask what thedrink of the is.
It's usually something tropical.
So that's going to be yourleast expensive option as far as
a drink goes.
The other thing that they willoffer, two other things actually
they'll offer, you canpurchase a beer mug that is for the
price of 16 ounces of beer.
(12:19):
I think you get 22 ounces ofbeer or something along that line.
And then every time youpurchase that, you don't have to
keep up with that mug.
You can just walk up to thebar, tell them that you have the
drink package, they'll scanyour band and they'll give you a
new mug to have that at that point.
The other thing is on the dayof embarkation they offer Disney
(12:39):
cruise line coolers.
This is actually a reallygreat value whether you want to fill
it with waters or whether youwant to fill it with beer.
We love our cooler becauseit's a soft cooler that we've used
many times at home.
I mean for years we get a newone every time we're on and they'll
fill it either with 12 bottledwater or 12 beer of your choice.
And they have six or eightdifferent beers that you can choose
(13:01):
from there.
They'll bring it to yourstateroom full of ice.
Your stateroom host can fillit up with ice for you for ca Passed
away key day.
And there's a slight discountwhen it comes to that on the beer
or on the bottled water whenyou purchase it that way.
Okay, so let's get into dining now.
Because I think this is theone thing I'm missing by not going
on the Disney cruise.
Because I've been on a numberof different cruise lines and I've
(13:23):
enjoyed my dinner and I'veenjoyed the server that I've had
in the same seat in the same table.
But this is different.
There's like rotational diningwhere you get the same staff, but
you're going to a differentplace every night.
Yeah.
So the.
The concept of rotationaldining is on Disney cruise ships.
There's 3D rooms, three maindining rooms on each ship.
And so what you'll do is youdon't find out your rotation until
(13:44):
you're on board.
That's another thing thattransforms in that app.
You'll see on your plans forthe day where you're going for dinner.
There's two times for dinneron Disney cruise line.
There's the main dining, whichis considered early dining.
It's 5:45.
So if you are on main dining,you eat dinner at 5:45 and then you
see the show at night at 8pmif you are on second dining, which
(14:07):
is 8:15, you can see the showat 6pm and then have late dining.
For this cruise, we were onlate dining.
Every cruise we've done in thepast, we've always done late dining.
And I'll get into that in justa little bit too.
About.
About what?
Why you might want to chooseearly dining or late dining.
But so you will find out whereyou're gonna go to dinner the first
night.
(14:27):
And when you sit down fordinner, you'll meet your server.
You have a head server andyou'll have an assistant server.
And these servers become like,like family to you.
Over the course of thiscruise, they will learn what your
kids want to drink.
They'll have it sitting on thetable by night too, usually.
Yeah.
For everybody at the table.
They'll know what you want to drink.
(14:48):
They'll know kind of whatyou're thinking about to order and
why you might want to pickthis on the menu because you know
you liked this last night.
So you might like this andThen they will actually move to each
restaurant with you.
You have the same tablenumber, but that doesn't necessarily
mean that it'll be the samelocation in each restaurant rep in
each restaurant, but you'llhave the same table number and you'll
(15:09):
have the same staff throughout the.
That's great because my, myfather's very picky with wine because
he's Italian.
He's very picky and theylearned his pickiness.
Sure.
Almost immediately.
Absolutely.
It's really cool when they do that.
That's really, really great.
Now let's talk about the food.
All right, so I love when I goon cruises, the first thing I do
is go eat.
That's the first thing I do.
Absolutely.
So let's talk about thedifferent ways you can get food rather
(15:32):
than so much sitting at the restaurant.
But I want to eat at 2 o'clockin the afternoon or I want to eat
at 2 o'clock in the morning.
What are my options of gettingsome chow?
Yeah, there's definitely anoption at any time of the day.
So let's start withembarkation day.
So typically you're going tohave two options available on the
ship when you get on board.
Usually you're on board BYlet's say 12 to 1 o'clock.
(15:55):
This particular cruise therewere some hiccups happening and so
there was a little bit delayedboarding but we were still on board
by 1:00 so everybody wasabsolutely starving.
My typical go to with betweenthe two options is to go to the sit
down lunch because it's goingto be a little more slow paced.
Everybody can sit down.
That's when everybody wants tolook through all the activities on
(16:16):
the app because you're justnow getting to be able to see all
of that.
The other option is the buffet.
In the case of the dream, it'scalled cabanas, this is the faster
option.
You're going to have food onyour plate, plate faster this way.
And so this is what we chosethis cruise and I wish we hadn't
honestly in this case becauseit is so chaotic.
(16:36):
Yeah, it really, it can be really.
Chaotic, especially if you area first time cruiser.
That's why I recommend the sitdown lunch because you're not paying
for either one of them.
You've already paid for itwith the cruise so there's no additional
upcharge either way on DisneyCruise Line.
So I typically say go enjoythe slower pace lunch because when
you get up to cabanas it'stough to find a table.
(16:59):
But there is a Wide array ofoptions up there.
My husband's favorite thing inthe world is crab legs and there
are crab legs galore.
So that's what we had that day.
There's Mac and cheese for thekids, there's different meats that
are being carved, there'sdifferent salads, shrimp cocktail.
I mean I could go on and.
(17:19):
On about how much are yousacrificing in terms of choice if
you decide to go to the sitdown lunch rather than the wide variety
of buffalo.
Yeah, you definitely are.
So what I would say is you cansee that menu online while you're
sitting in the port before,before you get on board, you can
take a look at it.
There's usually three or fourdifferent things that are offered
at the sit down lunch.
If you see something that youlike, great.
(17:40):
If you absolutely don't, thenyou will find something that you
like at Cabanas.
So then we're talking abouttoo, what about let's say when cabanas
is closed for lunch or whenthe main dining rooms are not open?
So what can we have?
So there is, on Disney ships,on the pool deck there are several
different kind of walk upwindows where you can walk up and
(18:01):
you can get a slice of pizzaor you can have hot dogs, dog and
fries, chicken tenders,hamburgers, or a new addition to
the Disney dream this timethat actually it just came out of
dry dock and they've added ataco bar and it was a huge hit with
my family.
Oh, taco bars are great.
Oh, it was great.
You walk up and you tell themso it's not self serve so you don't
have to get freaked out about,you know, like touching all the things
(18:21):
or when I say you, I mean me.
But so you walk up and youtell them whether you want chicken
or steak or I think there's avegetarian option and then there's
beans and rice and cheese andguac and all the good things that
go on tacos.
So you've got that, that onthe pool deck as well.
The other option is you dohave 24 hour room service included.
Or I believe it's 24 hours.
(18:43):
Don't quote me on that, but Ibelieve it is 24 hours and it's already
included in the price of your cruise.
Now what I will say is if youdo order room service, be prepared
to tip a couple dollars for that.
So that is somewhere that theywill accept tips when they deliver
your food.
But there's a lot of thingsthat are on the room service menu,
but there are A few thingsthat I wish they would add.
(19:04):
There were a few days thatCora wanted Mac and cheese in the
middle of the day and therewas nowhere I could get her Mac and
cheese.
And it's not on the roomservice menu.
So you know, there's, there'snot just absolutely anything on it,
but there's quite a bit on it.
So it's, it's midnight, you'reon the, you're looking out on the
vastness of the ocean,contemplating how big the ocean actually
(19:26):
is.
And you are a smallspectacular deck.
And then the urge hits you fora slice of pizza or a cheeseburger.
Is it.
Where is, can you go bounce tosome place and get, and get one of
those?
Yes, you can for sure get iton room service.
I don't know how late the pooldeck food is open.
It's probably only open tillabout 11 or 12, but I would say for
(19:46):
sure room service, get it.
All right.
So now you mentioned diningthat combines with a show.
Now I think this is where ifI'm Disney, this is what I want to
show off off more than anyother cruise company.
I do shows better than anybodyand I'm going to put on a great show.
So talk about theentertainment value of what you're
getting on these cruises.
Yes.
So each ship offers adifferent show typically.
(20:08):
So there will be usually threelive shows at least.
And then if you have more thana three night cruise, then those
other nights are made up forby either showing a new movie at
the showtime or sometimesthere's a variety act, comedian,
something like that.
But usually three of thenights are going to be made up of
(20:29):
a live Broadway style show.
One of those is going to beone of the Disney classics.
On this particular cruise itwas Beauty and the Beast.
Great.
It is fantastically done.
And so it's done in a theater style.
So if you have the 6pm show,which is what we had, you want to
try to get there early, 30minutes early if you can to go ahead
(20:50):
and get a seat.
There is popcorn and soda thatis offered that is not included with
your cruise fare.
That is for an additional charge.
So what I always tell peopleis if you have a Walt Disney World
popcorn bucket, they will takeany popcorn bucket and refill it
for $2.
So it's just like the DisneyWorld popcorn bucket.
(21:11):
Right?
That's great.
But it's not just valid foryour cruise.
What a great tip.
So it can be any popcornbucket that you have.
So we, we would go throughthree or four popcorn buckets.
In a sitting of a show at just$2 each.
And another tip is if youdon't want to purchase a Coke, go
ahead and go up to the pooldeck and get a Coke where it's free
(21:31):
and bring it back down to thetheater with you, because you can
do that.
Or they have canned Cokes.
They also, I think they havesome alcoholic beverages for sale.
Okay.
And before we get to the kidspart of this cruise, again, you,
you mentioned the band how.
Yeah, I've, I've done room cards.
I've done bands on number of cruises.
What's the prefer.
What's the Disney way of beep,beep, beep?
I'm purchasing.
Is it similar to the MagicBand at Disney World?
(21:53):
It is.
So they've actually justunveiled in the last year or so the
use of Magic Band plus onDisney Cruise Line.
Only Magic Band Plus.
Only Magic Band plus.
You have an old Magic bandthat will get you into a theme park
that's not going to work onthe cruise line.
That's right.
And I think I've said in thepast we don't have the new ones,
so.
Oh, yeah, because I wastelling you about the fireworks show
I got to enjoy with mine.
Yeah.
So we've never purchased thenew ones.
(22:15):
So I will talk about both ways.
Actually, my brother and hisfamily used the Magic Band Pluses
for the whole cruise.
They were able to unlock theirdoor for any purchases, anything.
It works the same kind of waythat it does at Disney World.
For those of us that don'thave the MagicBand, plus, if you
are in the Castaway Club,you'll find in your room when you
get there, a lanyard coloredto whatever color you are, gold,
(22:39):
silver, whatever that may be,along with a Key to the World card.
So that's what we had.
And we wore our lanyardsaround to make purchases, to unlock
the door when you're gettingon and off the ship, they will scan
those as well.
So.
Yeah, so you actually, you'lluse the card the whole time you're
on board.
All right, now let's get tothe children part of it, because
(23:00):
I, I have gone on cruises withkids and I've gone without kids.
And I know that when I've goneon cruises with kids, there is just
almost too much to do with.
With children.
What is this like on theDisney cruise?
I'm sure they cater tochildren better than anybody.
Yeah.
So going back to the MagicBand, this is where actually your
kids will get one if they arepart of the Oceaneer Club.
(23:21):
And the Oceaneer Lab, which isages 3 to 10.
So this is the included kidsclub for this age.
If you're kid is younger thanthree, they'll go to the It's a Small
World nursery.
They will not get a band there.
And it is actually paid by the hour.
If you reserve time for yourchild to go in the nursery, which
is highly recommended.
It's wonderful.
(23:42):
The staff is great there.
They have places for them tonap, for them to play.
But going back to the 3 to 10,that's the main kids club on board,
when you register them on thefirst day, they'll give them a magic
band.
It is a magic band plus.
But it's only, it's only goodfor the kids club.
It's not going to unlock theirdoor or anything like that.
(24:02):
That's to identify them.
They'll also put a zip tie onthem on that so that it cannot come
off when they're in the kidsclub because that's what they use
when you come to pick them upto find them.
Okay.
All right.
They actually will say, ohwell, Cora is in the crafts room
right now.
Let me call over there and get her.
And so it's very, very secure.
So when you register themthere for three and four year olds,
(24:26):
this is actually a new thingthat they've started.
They actually have their ownlittle class.
So they walk around togetherwith a counselor or two counselors
that kind of help guide themthrough the different activities.
But they're not kept separatedfrom the different, from the older
children.
So my older daughter Lily, whowas in there, was able to interact
with Cora, but Cora was alsokept with an age group that's more
(24:49):
geared for her.
Okay.
But then when you go to pickup your children, you are on a list
to pick them up.
They're going to scan yourband, they're going to ask your name
and then they're going to askyou a secret word that you have set
up prior to coming.
Oh, very nice.
So it is very, very secure.
Your children will not get outof there unless you're the one picking
(25:09):
them up or unless somebodythat you've authorized to pick them
up.
All right, now the fun stuffwhere you go, where did the, where
did your ship this particulartrip go?
There's it goes.
They go all over the place.
But particular trip, where didyou end up going?
Yeah.
So this ship left from FortLauderdale, Florida.
One quick note, I always tellmy clients, if at all possible, fly
(25:30):
in the day before, drive inthe day before, whatever that may
be.
Get as close to the port aspossible the day before.
So we actually flew in thenight before the cruise.
Last minute.
My husband decided actuallythe day before to fly in the morning
of the crews to be able tomake a prior plan that he had had
(25:51):
for that Friday night.
So he did fly in that morning.
But I was a little bit nervousuntil I knew his plane was on the
ground.
Hey, listen, I've been onplenty of flights traveling around
the country, and I've.
I've been to the.
I was in Houston once for thefinal four, and a couple lady girl
was sitting next to me.
Her boyfriend was sittingahead of her.
And they were panickingbecause they were.
They were leaving from Houstonto go to, to Miami to catch a cruise
(26:13):
that very day, that very morning.
And I, being a very, very niceperson, I kind of leaned and I said,
I, I'm sorry.
She goes, because she wastrying to get a connected flight.
I go, there were two teams onthe final four from Miami.
And I said, so you're probablyloaded with fans.
And because they were hopingto get on standby.
And I said, I don't, I don't know.
They both lost.
(26:33):
So they were both.
So she, she luckily used thatinformation to say, well, maybe I
need to go to Charlotte, toHouston instead of getting direct
flight to Miami.
And that got them.
But she was in panic becauseshe was going on the very day her
cruise was leaving and it wasdelayed and there were problems.
And the boat leaves.
It won't wait for.
It's not waiting for you inports and it's not waiting for you
to leave.
(26:53):
No.
And it won't give you yourmoney back.
Right, exactly.
So, yeah, so we, we got therethat night.
Chris got there that morning,and we did take Disney transportation
over to the port.
And the reason that we did this.
So we do pay for this.
So it's in Fort Lauderdale.
It's $25 per person to get onthe Disney bus to the port.
The reason we did that isbecause we booked so late.
(27:14):
Our port arrival time was very late.
It was like 2:30 to 2:45 inthe afternoon.
Well, if you take Disneytransportation, then your port arrival
time time is completely negated.
So then you are on theearliest bus to the port.
You can then get on the shipas early as possible.
Your boarding groupautomatically moves up so that you're
one of the first people on the ship.
That's good.
(27:34):
That's exactly why we did it.
So I said earlier thateverything was kind of delayed.
That's because the ship camefrom Europe.
And the entire crew, 1500 crewmembers, had to get off the ship,
go through customs and thenget back on.
Get back on.
And so it was a.
It was a mess, mess this day.
And so many people thatcruised with us on the group that
(27:55):
I'm on on Facebook talkedabout what a mess it was and it really
was.
So if that was your first timecruising and you happen to be on
that sailing, it's not typical.
So we get on board.
We're in Fort Lauderdaleactually there.
I don't know what elsehappened that day, but we didn't
leave port till 9:30pm whichis really, really atypical.
That is.
Yeah, there's usually a big.
Yep.
(28:15):
Leaving and you wave to people.
Yes.
So you usually leave at like4:30 or 5:00.
So we left at 9:30.
It did not delay us the firstday we went to Nassau.
So if you've ever been toNassau before, there's not a ton
to do there.
But we actually found areally, really great excursion through
Disney Cruise Line.
It was a day pass to Baja MarResort, which I had read, and I've
(28:39):
actually had a lot of clientsask about this particular resort
for just for an actual vacation.
But this was a day pass totheir water park.
And so Disney Cruise Line tookus over there about 9:30 and we had
had full access to all thewater slides.
We had lunch included.
That included the soft drink.
There were water slides forevery age to enjoy.
(29:01):
Cora had a ball at just thesmaller slides.
And then my big kids were ableto do the water coasters and some
of the plunge slides.
And it was really a highlightfor everybody.
So if you're looking forsomething to do in Nassau, I highly,
highly recommend that one.
All right, now, Now a coupleof places.
So now you've left Nassau.
Where else do you go?
(29:21):
Do you.
Do you go.
Did you go anywhere else?
How many days at sea did youhave on this?
Quick.
Yeah.
So the very next day we wentto Castaway Key, which is awesome.
Yes.
That's Disney's private island.
So we spent the entire day onthe island.
We did mostly just beach time.
My girls went to the kids clubthat day, which is on the island.
They have a lot of wateractivities, sand activities there.
We had lunch on the island,which, if you've ever been to Castaway
(29:43):
Key before, you know, it'shamburgers, hot dogs, ribs.
If you're on the adult side ofthe island, you also get steak included.
So it's a really good barbecuelunch on the island.
There's two water slides on,on Castaway Cay.
My big kids enjoyed doing that.
Graham went for a bike ridewith a buddy that he had met on the
ship.
And so we did that that dayand then we got back on board and
(30:05):
then the very next day was aday at sea.
Awesome.
Now is these boats.
One of the things I don't likeabout some of the other cruise line
is Louis Vuitton and Rolex andall these shops.
And I don't go in there any,anything like that.
I mean, I know they're tryingto get it duty free and if you want
to buy Louis Vuitton bags ata, you know, without the taxes and
all that other stuff.
But what, so what is that likeon a Disney cruise ship?
(30:27):
So the only shop that I canthink of that's like that and I've
never been in it, there is adiamond shop and so obviously high
end jewelry in there.
But then there are two shopson board that are Disney themed shops.
Yeah.
Mickey's main sale and thenthere's one across the way.
I don't know what the name ofit, but it mainly has adult clothing
and like coffee mugs andthings like that.
(30:48):
Any art auctions on the Disney cruise?
No, you know, I've never seen that.
I have.
My Last cruise was 2023 and Ibought four pieces of art.
How cool.
I know, that's awesome.
I went in there and I did notknow what this was and I kept saying,
I'm going to the art auction.
And my whole family was like,sure, yeah.
And I went and I boughtsmaller pieces, but I bought, I ended
(31:12):
up buying four small pieces ofart from the same artist.
Oh, that's.
Yeah, that was kind of, thatwas kind of cool.
But it was, it was, it takesup so much room.
Yeah.
On the boat, I mean, I wasthinking to myself, like, this is
like, it's a whole floorpractically of just paintings and
stuff and that you could look at.
But so now overall, what aresome things that you find on Disney
(31:33):
cruises that, that are alittle different?
Like when, when people tellyou, I went on Carnival, I went to
Royal Caribbean, I went on Celebrity.
What makes Disney different?
What, what do you think is thebig aspect of what makes it different?
Different?
Yeah, there's a few things Iwould say.
Overall, the service on DisneyCruise Line is absolutely unmatched.
I think that the people thatare working on Disney Cruise Line,
(31:55):
I've heard from so many peoplebefore that if you are in the cruise
industry, then typically thegoal is Disney Cruise line because
they know how highly regardedthat it is.
And everybody that we'veencountered, whether it was our stateroom
host, our servers, any of thepeople in the entertainment staff,
the kids clubs, they are justtop notch and they really seem like
(32:17):
they love their job and sothey go out of their way to make
it perfect for you.
So let's say, for instance,the stateroom host, her name was
Anna.
She was amazing, and she knewthat we were traveling.
My mom was in the stateroomnext door that connected to ours,
and she's like, oh, let meopen your balcony.
So then we had one big balcony.
And then she's like, what elsecan I do for you?
I mean, she's constantlylooking for ways to help make our
(32:39):
stateroom more comfortable.
Awesome.
Awesome.
And then talking about thestaterooms, one thing that Disney
does that's different thanother cruise lines is the split bathroom.
And I think we, we may havetalked about this before, but there
are two doors inside yourstate room.
One has a toilet and a sink,and one has a sink and a bath shower
combo.
So that if you're travelingwith your family, you know, state
rooms are not very big.
(33:01):
Right.
So if you're traveling withyour family, then two people can
be getting ready at one time.
All right, very good.
Anything you'd like to add onyour, on your overall experience?
Any stories, antidotes, etc.
Yeah, you know, the entirecruise was just.
It was just incredible.
But I will say this one, withthe chaos on the first day, it.
If that had been my firstcruise, I don't know that I would
(33:24):
feel as excited to cruiseagain, to be honest, just because
of the chaos of it.
But for me, knowing what wasto be expected the rest of the time,
I knew to kind of just sit back.
I would say find places thataren't chaotic if you are worried
about being overwhelmed orjust the planning aspects of it.
(33:45):
There's.
There's really nothing tomajorly plan when it comes to cruising.
So just get on, enjoyyourself, explore.
Find a place on the ship thatreally speaks to you and just, you
know, go with it.
I find, I find libraries to be great.
I love going to find a, like alittle library where they've got
a place I can read or relax.
I do that most of the time.
Is, is, is.
(34:06):
Is.
I, I'm a, I'm a theme park guy.
I love theme parks.
I love the hustle and bustleof it.
But when I get on cruises, Idon't mind spending two hours just
sitting in a corner reading abook and relaxing and doing nothing,
you know, and, and just eatingevery two hours.
Exactly.
That's all I want to do.
Exactly.
And try everything.
If you see two or three thingson the menu that you want, order
(34:26):
all three of them.
That's right.
And walking around late atnight, that's one of my favorite
things to do on boats.
Well that is awesome.
So again reach out to Lauren,Lauren at all the magic travel.
If you're interested in aDisney vacation, whether it's cruise,
whether it's Disney WorldUniversal, you can reach me at Travelwood
Tony D gmail.com we absolutelywould love to help you plan and execute
your very, very best vacation.
All right, again like thispodcast, give us a five star review
(34:48):
and reach out to us if youhave any questions we'd be glad to
answer it on this edition ofWands and Wishes podcast.
Take care everybody and happy vaccine.
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