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

It's another episode of the Wands and Wishes podcast.

Glad you could be with us.

I'm Tony Doziri.

All the Magic Travels.

Lauren Mallard went all the magic travel this week.

Oh, my goodness, you are back and all energized from a trip on the Disney Cruise Line.

That's right.

I love it.

We're going to talk about that and we're going to give you preparations for your next Disney cruise, or if you've been thinking about a Disney cruise, what are some of the obstacles that you may have to overcome just to get there and then some other things that you can enjoy when you're on the ship.

So going to be doing that on this edition of the Wands and Wishes podcast.

A reminder, if you've been listening to us for a while and you've not subscribed, please do so.

Leave us a five star review wherever you get your podcast.

It certainly helps us out with the algorithms.

We love helping people plan for their Disney trips, Universal trips, or whatever trip you have in mind.

So that's one of the reasons we do this podcast.

And this is the first time we've explored the Disney Cruise Line.

So I love this because I remember, you know, if I, when I've studied like the Disney history of like Walt and whatnot, and how he came up to the theme park where he went to an amusement park and he didn't feel like it was family oriented.

And so here's this animator from Missouri who's in the theme park business.

And that's a whole different business than making movies and being an animator.

So you're learning a whole different industry.

And I remember when Disney got into the cruise line business, I had gone on cruises with Carnival and other other cruise lines when I was younger.

That was kind of the, kind of the present my dad and my mother would give us when we graduated school.

And I remember when Disney was getting the cruise line, I'm like, that's an entirely different business than theme parks and movies.

So it's something that they've been able to conquer and they've been able to do really, really well by hiring some of the best people to do it.

So how many, what, what cruise, what amount of number of cruises is for you?

For Disney?

How many cruises have you been on with Disney?

Okay, yeah.

So with Disney Cruise Line, this is my seventh cruise.

Awesome.

So with Disney, they have something called the Castaway Club.

And so if it's your first cruise, then actually don't get as early access to booking things like activities and different things like that, as veteran cruisers do.

So as you cruise more, you become silver for 2 through 5, you become gold for 6 through 10, and then platinum, and then the highest level is pearl.

And so the higher you are in the 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 cruise last Monday.

Yeah, that's what I heard.

You and I were talking about this before our podcast.

You got this pretty quickly.

Yes.

So it was very last minute.

It came up and we're like, let's, you know, we're trying to find something to do for the last quarter of the year with the kids, just because we haven't really done a big family vacation this year.

And so this came up, my brother and his family went and my mom went.

And so it was kind of a big extended family thing.

So we booked it on Monday, we told the kids about it on Thursday night, and then we left on Friday night.

All right.

So I mentioned earlier in the podcast about some of the obstacles you might have when you go on a cruise, because it's not as if you can just drive down, get on a bus.

Sometimes you need paperwork and you have to get some things.

Do you have to, depending on where you go.

What kind of paperwork do you have to get in order before you go on a cruise?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So I always tell my clients the best thing to have is a passport.

So you need a valid passport or a, an original birth certificate.

I think some cruise lines will take a copy, some cruise lines won't.

So I always say, err on the side of caution.

If you have the original, take the original.

If you do not have a passport.

But the difference is you can sail.

As long as you are sailing from a U.S.

port and back to a U.S.

port, that birth certificate is okay to sail with.

However, if you have a medical emergency or any reason that you need to fly home from any of the 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 old birth certificate from Kings County, Brooklyn, and it had folded where my birth date was.

It had, over time, that crease had become a little worn out.

And they really did an incredible investigation into my card and another form of ID because they just barely could see the birth date.

And when we got back, one of the first things Lori did was order a brand new birth certificate for me because she said, this is this is not going to work out for any trips you want to take.

So make sure that that is in order 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 me because I went on cruises with my family.

My.

This is again, my parents, we'd graduate, like, high school.

My parents would go on, we take on a cruise.

And then I even went on a cruise on my honeymoon.

And then I didn't cruise for a long time until about six or seven years ago when we went on a cruise for my father's 70th birthday.

And then now I'm way into cruising.

Yeah.

So I never did the cruise with the kids.

I never did the Disney cruise with the kids.

But I always hear people on other cruise ships say, while there's a lot to do, I want to relax.

When you're on a Disney cruise, how much of the balance is being able to relax and so much else to do on the boat?

Yeah, there is so, so much to do.

So much so that, like, my biggest tip for people is try not to get overwhelmed, especially the first day.

So there's so much that goes on on that first day, especially if it's your first time cruising and you don't understand the ins and outs of the muster meeting beforehand, which happens on every cruise line, I should say.

Right.

That's something that they're going to inform you of what to do in case of an emergency.

This is mandatory for everybody on board, whether you're six months old or whether you're 98 years old.

You have to attend muster meeting.

So that can be overwhelming at first and just kind of getting your bearings on the ship, learning the layout, different things.

And with Disney, the app kind of transforms.

Once you're in the port, you can then log on to their wifi and see a completely different version of the app than what you've been seeing with your planning at home.

That version of the app will then show you the daily activities.

And it seems like every 15 minutes, there's something that somebody might want to do.

So what I always say is, you know what?

Pace yourself, because you've got, in our case this time, it was four days.

If you've got longer, you've got seven days.

That those are the least chaotic cruises because you've got so much time to get in all of these activities.

So there's definitely something for everybody.

All right, so you talked about the planning.

We always talk to people about their Disney World vacation planning.

And what do you do?

How much planning do you have to do prior to cruising?

Do you have to sign up for things in advance or if you're interested in a some sort of class, do you have to be, is it, is there a 30 day window to sign up for like 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 case that will tell you that we were able to do pretty much anything we wanted to do on board, even booking four days ahead of time.

So with planning, there's not a ton that you have to do.

But if you have booked this cruise well in advance, the things you're going to want to look for is on your final payment date is usually when your cruise activities are going to become available to you.

Like I said earlier, it's going to come available earlier for Platinum, Pearl, Gold, Silver.

And then first cruisers will, will get that window last.

Those things are going to be things like Bibbidi Bobbidi, boutique appointments, different beverage seminars, adult dining on board, spa appointments, then the very coveted cabanas on Castaway Key.

These are really pricey, but for some reason they are the most coveted activity or I guess it's not an activity, but pre bookable item that cruisers go after.

And so these typically will get booked up by either Pearl or Platinum or your concierge guests which actually have access before even Pearl has access to different activities.

Okay, so now when another thing I hear from people about cruising and people, people like cruising, like my parents are one of them.

They've probably gone on 30 cruises in their life.

They love going on cruises and they've got a situation in Florida where if Royal Caribbean has a cruise 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 ask them because they go to Disney World all the time is have you gone on the Disney cruise?

And they go, no, we don't have any more children.

Sure.

And I think to myself, you don'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 went on our very first Disney cruise was without children and we had children at the time, we just went without them.

I kind of wanted to see what it was like.

And to be honest, those adult cruises are even better on Disney Cruise Line because there are adult areas on every ship and they're the quietest areas on the ship.

Right.

So if you don't want to see children, you will not see or hear children in those adult areas.

So you can be in the quiet pool area, you can be in the spa, you can be down on Deck 4.

In the case of the Dream where all of the adults entertainment areas, the different bars there are so well done because every area of the ship looks different, it has a different theming to it.

And so there's something for you to do whether you're an adult or whether you're a family with children.

All right, let's stay with the adults and then I'll get to the some family with children because those who are listening with children probably want to know what their kids could do on the boat.

But let's stay with the adults for a second.

There are no casinos on the boat.

But how is the nightlife?

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 like on a Disney cruise?

Yeah.

So there's usually two or three.

Three different offerings every night.

I am an early to bed person so I typically did not take advantage of those.

But you'll find different trivias.

There was a Star wars trivia one night that.

Yeah.

That was only open to adults, which was a huge bummer because my husband wanted to take my son Graham and he's 12 and he went to try to see if he could just come in with him and they wouldn't let him come in, which is understandable.

I, I know it's for adults only, but when you got a Star wars loving 12 year old, it's tough to tell him he can't go do it.

But other things that they'll have adults, they'll have a game show on every cruise called Match youh Mate.

It's absolutely hilarious.

It's uncensored so you never know what you're gonna get.

It's funny that you're.

I'm.

I was gonna lean into that a little bit because if you go on some of these cruises there's a.

There's a different comedy show, there's a different game show.

Like you know it as an adult.

Kids may not get the code right, but you know what it is?

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 or four different couples and the questions that they're asking are all these different questions that are open ended and you never know what 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 whatever game might be on.

If it's on ABC or ESPN especially then it's going to be playing in the pub.

So you can go check something like that out.

They've got different bingos that are offered at night for just adults or they've got a silent disco sometimes late at night.

Those are fine, just for adults.

And then they'll have one during the day that's, that's for everybody to enjoy.

So you'll find different things.

There's always a movie playing at night.

So usually you'll find the late night movies are the ones that are more geared for adults to enjoy.

My wife and I are going on a Royal Caribbean cruise in March where you're looking at drink packages.

Are there drink packages that are 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 of different options.

So first of all, Disney offers a drink of the day every day.

And it's actually a pretty good price.

It's about $6.

So you can always ask what the drink of the is.

It's usually something tropical.

So that's going to be your least expensive option as far as a drink goes.

The other thing that they will offer, two other things actually they'll offer, you can purchase a beer mug that is for the price of 16 ounces of beer.

I think you get 22 ounces of beer or something along that line.

And then every time you purchase that, you don't have to keep up with that mug.

You can just walk up to the bar, tell them that you have the drink package, they'll scan your band and they'll give you a new mug to have that at that point.

The other thing is on the day of embarkation they offer Disney cruise line coolers.

This is actually a really great value whether you want to fill it with waters or whether you want to fill it with beer.

We love our cooler because it's a soft cooler that we've used many times at home.

I mean for years we get a new one every time we're on and they'll fill it either with 12 bottled water or 12 beer of your choice.

And they have six or eight different beers that you can choose from there.

They'll bring it to your stateroom full of ice.

Your stateroom host can fill it up with ice for you for ca Passed away key day.

And there's a slight discount when it comes to that on the beer or on the bottled water when you purchase it that way.

Okay, so let's get into dining now.

Because I think this is the one thing I'm missing by not going on the Disney cruise.

Because I've been on a number of different cruise lines and I've enjoyed my dinner and I've enjoyed the server that I've had in the same seat in the same table.

But this is different.

There's like rotational dining where you get the same staff, but you're going to a different place every night.

Yeah.

So the.

The concept of rotational dining is on Disney cruise ships.

There's 3D rooms, three main dining rooms on each ship.

And so what you'll do is you don't find out your rotation until you're on board.

That's another thing that transforms in that app.

You'll see on your plans for the day where you're going for dinner.

There's two times for dinner on Disney cruise line.

There's the main dining, which is 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 8pm if you are on second dining, which is 8:15, you can see the show at 6pm and then have late dining.

For this cruise, we were on late dining.

Every cruise we've done in the past, we've always done late dining.

And I'll get into that in just a little bit too.

About.

About what?

Why you might want to choose early dining or late dining.

But so you will find out where you're gonna go to dinner the first night.

And when you sit down for dinner, you'll meet your server.

You have a head server and you'll have an assistant server.

And these servers become like, like family to you.

Over the course of this cruise, they will learn what your kids want to drink.

They'll have it sitting on the table by night too, usually.

Yeah.

For everybody at the table.

They'll know what you want to drink.

They'll know kind of what you're thinking about to order and why you might want to pick this on the menu because you know you liked this last night.

So you might like this and Then they will actually move to each restaurant with you.

You have the same table number, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be the same location in each restaurant rep in each restaurant, but you'll have the same table number and you'll have the same staff throughout the.

That's great because my, my father's very picky with wine because he's Italian.

He's very picky and they learned 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 go on cruises, the first thing I do is go eat.

That's the first thing I do.

Absolutely.

So let's talk about the different ways you can get food rather than so much sitting at the restaurant.

But I want to eat at 2 o'clock in the afternoon or I want to eat at 2 o'clock in the morning.

What are my options of getting some chow?

Yeah, there's definitely an option at any time of the day.

So let's start with embarkation day.

So typically you're going to have two options available on the ship when you get on board.

Usually you're on board BY let's say 12 to 1 o'clock.

This particular cruise there were some hiccups happening and so there was a little bit delayed boarding but we were still on board by 1:00 so everybody was absolutely starving.

My typical go to with between the two options is to go to the sit down lunch because it's going to be a little more slow paced.

Everybody can sit down.

That's when everybody wants to look through all the activities on the app because you're just now getting to be able to see all of that.

The other option is the buffet.

In the case of the dream, it's called cabanas, this is the faster option.

You're going to have food on your plate, plate faster this way.

And so this is what we chose this cruise and I wish we hadn't honestly in this case because it is so chaotic.

Yeah, it really, it can be really.

Chaotic, especially if you are a first time cruiser.

That's why I recommend the sit down lunch because you're not paying for either one of them.

You've already paid for it with the cruise so there's no additional upcharge either way on Disney Cruise Line.

So I typically say go enjoy the slower pace lunch because when you get up to cabanas it's tough to find a table.

But there is a Wide array of options up there.

My husband's favorite thing in the world is crab legs and there are crab legs galore.

So that's what we had that day.

There's Mac and cheese for the kids, there's different meats that are being carved, there's different salads, shrimp cocktail.

I mean I could go on and.

On about how much are you sacrificing in terms of choice if you decide to go to the sit down lunch rather than the wide variety of buffalo.

Yeah, you definitely are.

So what I would say is you can see 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 four different things that are offered at the sit down lunch.

If you see something that you like, great.

If you absolutely don't, then you will find something that you like at Cabanas.

So then we're talking about too, what about let's say when cabanas is closed for lunch or when the 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 up windows where you can walk up and you can get a slice of pizza or you can have hot dogs, dog and fries, chicken tenders, hamburgers, or a new addition to the Disney dream this time that actually it just came out of dry dock and they've added a taco 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 them so it's not self serve so you don't have to get freaked out about, you know, like touching all the things or when I say you, I mean me.

But so you walk up and you tell them whether you want chicken or steak or I think there's a vegetarian option and then there's beans and rice and cheese and guac and all the good things that go on tacos.

So you've got that, that on the pool deck as well.

The other option is you do have 24 hour room service included.

Or I believe it's 24 hours.

Don't quote me on that, but I believe it is 24 hours and it's already included in the price of your cruise.

Now what I will say is if you do order room service, be prepared to tip a couple dollars for that.

So that is somewhere that they will accept tips when they deliver your food.

But there's a lot of things that are on the room service menu, but there are A few things that I wish they would add.

There were a few days that Cora wanted Mac and cheese in the middle of the day and there was nowhere I could get her Mac and cheese.

And it's not on the room service menu.

So you know, there's, there's not just absolutely anything on it, but there's quite a bit on it.

So it's, it's midnight, you're on the, you're looking out on the vastness of the ocean, contemplating how big the ocean actually is.

And you are a small spectacular deck.

And then the urge hits you for a slice of pizza or a cheeseburger.

Is it.

Where is, can you go bounce to some place and get, and get one of those?

Yes, you can for sure get it on room service.

I don't know how late the pool deck food is open.

It's probably only open till about 11 or 12, but I would say for sure room service, get it.

All right.

So now you mentioned dining that combines with a show.

Now I think this is where if I'm Disney, this is what I want to show off off more than any other cruise company.

I do shows better than anybody and I'm going to put on a great show.

So talk about the entertainment value of what you're getting on these cruises.

Yes.

So each ship offers a different show typically.

So there will be usually three live shows at least.

And then if you have more than a three night cruise, then those other nights are made up for by either showing a new movie at the showtime or sometimes there's a variety act, comedian, something like that.

But usually three of the nights are going to be made up of a live Broadway style show.

One of those is going to be one of the Disney classics.

On this particular cruise it was 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, 30 minutes early if you can to go ahead and get a seat.

There is popcorn and soda that is offered that is not included with your cruise fare.

That is for an additional charge.

So what I always tell people is if you have a Walt Disney World popcorn bucket, they will take any popcorn bucket and refill it for $2.

So it's just like the Disney World popcorn bucket.

Right?

That's great.

But it's not just valid for your cruise.

What a great tip.

So it can be any popcorn bucket that you have.

So we, we would go through three or four popcorn buckets.

In a sitting of a show at just $2 each.

And another tip is if you don't want to purchase a Coke, go ahead and go up to the pool deck and get a Coke where it's free and bring it back down to the theater with you, because you can do that.

Or they have canned Cokes.

They also, I think they have some alcoholic beverages for sale.

Okay.

And before we get to the kids part 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 Magic Band at Disney World?

It is.

So they've actually just unveiled in the last year or so the use of Magic Band plus on Disney Cruise Line.

Only Magic Band Plus.

Only Magic Band plus.

You have an old Magic band that will get you into a theme park that's not going to work on the cruise line.

That's right.

And I think I've said in the past we don't have the new ones, so.

Oh, yeah, because I was telling you about the fireworks show I got to enjoy with mine.

Yeah.

So we've never purchased the new ones.

So I will talk about both ways.

Actually, my brother and his family used the Magic Band Pluses for the whole cruise.

They were able to unlock their door for any purchases, anything.

It works the same kind of way that it does at Disney World.

For those of us that don't have the MagicBand, plus, if you are in the Castaway Club, you'll find in your room when you get there, a lanyard colored to whatever color you are, gold, silver, whatever that may be, along with a Key to the World card.

So that's what we had.

And we wore our lanyards around to make purchases, to unlock the door when you're getting on and off the ship, they will scan those as well.

So.

Yeah, so you actually, you'll use the card the whole time you're on board.

All right, now let's get to the children part of it, because I, I have gone on cruises with kids and I've gone without kids.

And I know that when I've gone on cruises with kids, there is just almost too much to do with.

With children.

What is this like on the Disney cruise?

I'm sure they cater to children better than anybody.

Yeah.

So going back to the Magic Band, this is where actually your kids will get one if they are part of the Oceaneer Club.

And the Oceaneer Lab, which is ages 3 to 10.

So this is the included kids club for this age.

If you're kid is younger than three, 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 your child to go in the nursery, which is highly recommended.

It's wonderful.

The staff is great there.

They have places for them to nap, 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 the first day, they'll give them a magic band.

It is a magic band plus.

But it's only, it's only good for the kids club.

It's not going to unlock their door or anything like that.

That's to identify them.

They'll also put a zip tie on them on that so that it cannot come off when they're in the kids club because that's what they use when you come to pick them up to find them.

Okay.

All right.

They actually will say, oh well, 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 them there for three and four year olds, this is actually a new thing that they've started.

They actually have their own little class.

So they walk around together with a counselor or two counselors that kind of help guide them through the different activities.

But they're not kept separated from the different, from the older children.

So my older daughter Lily, who was in there, was able to interact with Cora, but Cora was also kept with an age group that's more geared for her.

Okay.

But then when you go to pick up your children, you are on a list to pick them up.

They're going to scan your band, they're going to ask your name and then they're going to ask you 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 out of there unless you're the one picking them up or unless somebody that you've authorized to pick them up.

All right, now the fun stuff where you go, where did the, where did your ship this particular trip go?

There's it goes.

They go all over the place.

But particular trip, where did you end up going?

Yeah.

So this ship left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

One quick note, I always tell my clients, if at all possible, fly in the day before, drive in the day before, whatever that may be.

Get as close to the port as possible the day before.

So we actually flew in the night before the cruise.

Last minute.

My husband decided actually the day before to fly in the morning of the crews to be able to make a prior plan that he had had for that Friday night.

So he did fly in that morning.

But I was a little bit nervous until I knew his plane was on the ground.

Hey, listen, I've been on plenty of flights traveling around the country, and I've.

I've been to the.

I was in Houston once for the final four, and a couple lady girl was sitting next to me.

Her boyfriend was sitting ahead of her.

And they were panicking because they were.

They were leaving from Houston to go to, to Miami to catch a cruise that very day, that very morning.

And I, being a very, very nice person, I kind of leaned and I said, I, I'm sorry.

She goes, because she was trying to get a connected flight.

I go, there were two teams on the final four from Miami.

And I said, so you're probably loaded with fans.

And because they were hoping to get on standby.

And I said, I don't, I don't know.

They both lost.

So they were both.

So she, she luckily used that information to say, well, maybe I need to go to Charlotte, to Houston instead of getting direct flight to Miami.

And that got them.

But she was in panic because she was going on the very day her cruise was leaving and it was delayed and there were problems.

And the boat leaves.

It won't wait for.

It's not waiting for you in ports and it's not waiting for you to leave.

No.

And it won't give you your money back.

Right, exactly.

So, yeah, so we, we got there that 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 on the Disney bus to the port.

The reason we did that is because we booked so late.

Our port arrival time was very late.

It was like 2:30 to 2:45 in the afternoon.

Well, if you take Disney transportation, then your port arrival time time is completely negated.

So then you are on the earliest bus to the port.

You can then get on the ship as early as possible.

Your boarding group automatically moves up so that you're one of the first people on the ship.

That's good.

That's exactly why we did it.

So I said earlier that everything was kind of delayed.

That's because the ship came from Europe.

Get back on.

And so it was a.

It was a mess, mess this day.

And so many people that cruised with us on the group that I'm on on Facebook talked about what a mess it was and it really was.

So if that was your first time cruising and you happen to be on that sailing, it's not typical.

So we get on board.

We're in Fort Lauderdale actually there.

I don't know what else happened that day, but we didn't leave port till 9:30pm which is really, really atypical.

That is.

Yeah, there's usually a big.

Yep.

Leaving and you wave to people.

Yes.

So you usually leave at like 4:30 or 5:00.

So we left at 9:30.

It did not delay us the first day we went to Nassau.

So if you've ever been to Nassau before, there's not a ton to do there.

But we actually found a really, really great excursion through Disney Cruise Line.

It was a day pass to Baja Mar Resort, which I had read, and I've actually had a lot of clients ask about this particular resort for just for an actual vacation.

But this was a day pass to their water park.

And so Disney Cruise Line took us over there about 9:30 and we had had full access to all the water slides.

We had lunch included.

That included the soft drink.

There were water slides for every age to enjoy.

Cora had a ball at just the smaller slides.

And then my big kids were able to do the water coasters and some of the plunge slides.

And it was really a highlight for everybody.

So if you're looking for something to do in Nassau, I highly, highly recommend that one.

All right, now, Now a couple of places.

So now you've left Nassau.

Where else do you go?

Do you.

Do you go.

Did you go anywhere else?

How many days at sea did you have on this?

Quick.

Yeah.

So the very next day we went to Castaway Key, which is awesome.

Yes.

That's Disney's private island.

So we spent the entire day on the island.

We did mostly just beach time.

My girls went to the kids club that day, which is on the island.

They have a lot of water activities, sand activities there.

We had lunch on the island, which, if you've ever been to Castaway Key before, you know, it's hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs.

If you're on the adult side of the island, you also get steak included.

So it's a really good barbecue lunch on the island.

There's two water slides on, on Castaway Cay.

My big kids enjoyed doing that.

Graham went for a bike ride with a buddy that he had met on the ship.

And so we did that that day and then we got back on board and then the very next day was a day at sea.

Awesome.

Now is these boats.

One of the things I don't like about some of the other cruise line is Louis Vuitton and Rolex and all these shops.

And I don't go in there any, anything like that.

I mean, I know they're trying to get it duty free and if you want to buy Louis Vuitton bags at a, you know, without the taxes and all that other stuff.

But what, so what is that like on a Disney cruise ship?

So the only shop that I can think of that's like that and I've never been in it, there is a diamond shop and so obviously high end jewelry in there.

But then there are two shops on board that are Disney themed shops.

Yeah.

Mickey's main sale and then there's one across the way.

I don't know what the name of it, but it mainly has adult clothing and like coffee mugs and things like that.

Any art auctions on the Disney cruise?

No, you know, I've never seen that.

I have.

How cool.

I know, that's awesome.

I went in there and I did not know 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 bought smaller pieces, but I bought, I ended up buying four small pieces of art from the same artist.

Oh, that's.

Yeah, that was kind of, that was kind of cool.

But it was, it was, it takes up so much room.

Yeah.

On the boat, I mean, I was thinking to myself, like, this is like, it's a whole floor practically of just paintings and stuff and that you could look at.

But so now overall, what are some things that you find on Disney cruises that, that are a little different?

Like when, when people tell you, I went on Carnival, I went to Royal Caribbean, I went on Celebrity.

What makes Disney different?

What, what do you think is the big aspect of what makes it different?

Different?

Yeah, there's a few things I would say.

Overall, the service on Disney Cruise Line is absolutely unmatched.

I think that the people that are working on Disney Cruise Line, I've heard from so many people before that if you are in the cruise industry, then typically the goal is Disney Cruise line because they know how highly regarded that it is.

And everybody that we've encountered, whether it was our stateroom host, our servers, any of the people in the entertainment staff, the kids clubs, they are just top notch and they really seem like they love their job and so they 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 knew that we were traveling.

My mom was in the stateroom next door that connected to ours, and she's like, oh, let me open your balcony.

So then we had one big balcony.

And then she's like, what else can I do for you?

I mean, she's constantly looking for ways to help make our stateroom more comfortable.

Awesome.

Awesome.

And then talking about the staterooms, one thing that Disney does that's different than other cruise lines is the split bathroom.

And I think we, we may have talked about this before, but there are two doors inside your state room.

One has a toilet and a sink, and one has a sink and a bath shower combo.

So that if you're traveling with your family, you know, state rooms are not very big.

Right.

So if you're traveling with your family, then two people can be getting ready at one time.

All right, very good.

Anything you'd like to add on your, on your overall experience?

Any stories, antidotes, etc.

Yeah, you know, the entire cruise was just.

It was just incredible.

But I will say this one, with the chaos on the first day, it.

If that had been my first cruise, I don't know that I would feel as excited to cruise again, to be honest, just because of the chaos of it.

But for me, knowing what was to be expected the rest of the time, I knew to kind of just sit back.

I would say find places that aren't chaotic if you are worried about being overwhelmed or just the planning aspects of it.

There's.

There's really nothing to majorly plan when it comes to cruising.

So just get on, enjoy yourself, explore.

Find a place on the ship that really 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 a little library where they've got a place I can read or relax.

I do that most of the time.

Is, is, is.

Is.

I, I'm a, I'm a theme park guy.

I love theme parks.

I love the hustle and bustle of it.

But when I get on cruises, I don't mind spending two hours just sitting in a corner reading a book and relaxing and doing nothing, you know, and, and just eating every two hours.

Exactly.

That's all I want to do.

Exactly.

And try everything.

If you see two or three things on the menu that you want, order all three of them.

That's right.

And walking around late at night, 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 a Disney vacation, whether it's cruise, whether it's Disney World Universal, you can reach me at Travelwood Tony D gmail.com we absolutely would love to help you plan and execute your very, very best vacation.

All right, again like this podcast, give us a five star review and reach out to us if you have any questions we'd be glad to answer it on this edition of Wands and Wishes podcast.

Take care everybody and happy vaccine.