Lido Loop Podcast
Lido Loop is a podcast dedicated to the joy of cruising, theme parks and travel. Hosted by Jack and Jesse, these two blend travel insight, industry news and personal stories to inspire your next adventure.
Lido Loop Podcast
The Lido Loop: Cruise FAQ'S & Listener Questions
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Welcome back to the Lido Loop Podcast! This week, Jack and Jesse break down the latest news from the cruise and theme park industries.
In cruise news, we discuss how much money Royal Caribbean actually makes per passenger ticket—and the numbers may surprise you. We also take a look at Carnival’s upcoming Sail & Sign changes, rumors that Perfect Day Mexico could be getting new additions, and Carnival’s continued rollout of new dining options across its fleet.
On the theme park side, we cover a rough week for ride operations as Sky Screamer became stuck at Six Flags St. Louis and Siren’s Curse experienced a stoppage at Cedar Point. We also discuss Carowinds’ announcement that Rip Roarin’ Falls will open in 2027 featuring the world’s tallest log flume drop, plus Disney’s latest updates on the highly anticipated Monsters, Inc. land "Monstropolis" coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
For our main topic, we’re answering some of the most common cruise questions from listeners and first-time cruisers. What’s included in your cruise fare? Which dining time should you choose? How do purchases work onboard? What travel documents do you need before sailing? And is travel insurance worth the extra cost?
Whether you’re planning your first cruise, your next vacation, or just love keeping up with the latest cruise and theme park news, we’ve got you covered.
Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and follow Lido Loop for more cruise and theme park content every week.
Welcome to this week's episode of The Leto Loop. I'm your host, Jack McCraw. With me is always my good friend, Jesse Barboza. And hey, Jesse, I was right. The New York Knicks have won the NBA championship. That's rare, as you know, for me to be right on sports picks.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh, definitely. Uh, as long as you don't lose your ticket in the casino when you bet on them. That is definitely a good story for another day.
SPEAKER_01Uh, but yes, as you know, we talked about last week, the Six Flags Fiesta Texas now has to have the New York Knicks colors throughout the park. Yeah, post a big sign on their front entrance and say, Go Knicks, and then of course they have to make a you know donation to a charity of Six Flags Great Adventures Choice. Do you think they should do it for more than just a day?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think a day is kind of like like nothing. I mean, they probably did it on a day that they're closed or something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, right. Yeah, we're here for maintenance, but yeah, there's that New York Knicks sign right there. But you know, congratulations to New York Knicks and you know for all the Spurs fans listening. I'm sorry, but y'all will be back next year. But let's focus on the this year and the right now. So, Jesse, what's the latest and greatest in the cruise world?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we're first gonna start off with the Reddit story showing that how much rural Caribbean makes per ticket, and you might actually be surprised. Uh and Carnival is now gonna be rolling out a new sell-in sign card, and that will be coming real soon. Uh Perfect Day Mexico may actually see new life, and Carnival rolls out some new restaurants.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I can't wait to hear about those big, awesome new restaurants coming in. As long as Shaq's chicken or guy's burgers doesn't get replaced, I'll be good with that. And then in the theme park side of things, another sky spinner has gotten stuck this time at Six Lags St. Louis. Siren's Curse at Cedar Point has also had some maintenance issues leaving riders stuck over the weekend. Carol Wins has announced a brand new logflume ride that will be the world's tallest logflume ride with the longest drop. And Disney has announced some new information about Monsters Inc. and of course all the additions coming to Hollywood Studios. That and today we're going to be talking about frequently asked questions for not only first-time cruisers but regular cruisers as well. And Jesse and I will do our best to try to answer as many as we can. That and much more on this week's episode of the Lito Loop. So kicking off the show, we're going to talk about the latest and greatest in the cruise news. And Jesse, there was an interesting story you said on Reddit about how much money Royal Caribbean actually makes per ticket. And you're saying that us and the listeners are going to be pretty surprised by this answer? Oh, oh, yeah, you're definitely.
SPEAKER_00I think you will be surprised by this answer. So, Jack, so how much do you think you would pay per person to get on board for that ticket? Not profit, just if you if you were to pay money out that's coming out of your bank, how much money do you think it'd be?
SPEAKER_01For Royal Caribbean, uh I would assume somewhere between just like getting on the ship, a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars. Yeah, I I I I say that's a good guess.
SPEAKER_00That's a good guess. Um and how much do you think is the profit of that ticket?
SPEAKER_01So you know, my dummy math says half, but I think it's even less than that. So I'm gonna say about for a thousand dollars to get on Royal Caribbean, I'm gonna say it's gonna be about three hundred dollars is how much profit they make.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so so this was this is what someone did all the calculations for us, so we know exactly what it is. So the average ticket sales per passenger, you're pretty close. It was $1,324 and 90 cents. So it was like right in the middle. Yeah, right in the middle, you're pretty close. Uh the per ticket sold, the profit they make is actually negative $121.85.
SPEAKER_01See, I was not gonna get that. I could have guessed an astronomical number, like they make a thousand dollar profit and it still would have been dead wrong instead of three hundred.
SPEAKER_00So, I mean, that's definitely a big reason why that you they make you pay gratuities ahead of time, right? Or you don't have to just pay gratuities in general. And that's why they're also big on nickel and diming you because they want you to uh like spend money on board because they're not making money on when you get on board at all. So I'm sure the first couple of cruises I went on, uh just me being on board cost the money because I hardly spent any money on board.
SPEAKER_01I think that they're kind of have they have this method, it's similar to casinos where they're trying to get as many people on board, so they entice them, you know, with these cheap rooms, and they're actually working at that net loss, but where they will spend money is the drinks where the in the casino, or you know, just even like photographs, you know, extra upcharges for dinner, you know, other activities on board the ship. Uh bingo, I mean they bankrupt people when they go to bingo. Oh oh yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00So uh this is another question I have for you. So how much revenue do you do you think that they get from a passenger? Like once they well, after they pay for their ticket, how much do you think they spend on board, I should say? Or after they pay for so that it includes ex anything like onboard, drinks, all that. How much do you think? Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01Um you know the money, it seems like it's gonna be negative again by how this question is being asked, but I'm gonna go ahead and say they could potentially make I'm gonna I'm gonna go a little bit higher with maybe like five hundred dollars per person. Dang that's actually almost right on the money.
SPEAKER_00So it's five hundred and seventy-three dollars and sixty-eight cents.
SPEAKER_01I'm just thinking of how much money I've lost in the casino every time I go on a cruise ship.
SPEAKER_00So so actually the total profit per passenger is about four hundred and fifty-one uh dollars and eighty-three cents. So that's how they make their money, is once you get on board, you're spending money in the casino, gifts, um, buying drinks, um buying overpriced souvenirs um, and you know, donating to casino, like I said.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, like, because every time you walk by the casino, it is so enticing because you do see the flashing lights and the you know the sounds, and then you see the blackjack tables, you know, people having a good time there, you know, meeting new people at the craps table, you know, like I did. That that's definitely a perk of the crews, and I think that's actually where probably casinos make a good chunk of their money. It's just you know, giving back to the casino.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you can definitely can see that they know they make so much money casino because you know, like Carnival, they've been like expanding the casino. Uh I was talking to you off air the other day about how Carnival Glory they went away with the kids club and they made that into a casino for the summer.
SPEAKER_01Well, they couldn't make it a kids' casino, so they had to just make it like full-on adult casino.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm in in reality, I'm I'm sure that that would make sense that the kid actually kids on board makes them lose money because they're not, you know, I'm being serious because they're not spending any money on drinks, right? They're not spending any money in the casino kids are. So they're they're actually probably costing the cruise line more money, but they're of course they're not gonna be on board. Parents aren't gonna take the kids there if they're not gonna have fun, so they have to have these activities in order to generate revenue and get the parents on board to spend money at the casino.
SPEAKER_01So what you're saying is they have these daycares available so parents can go gamble and go drink away. Exactly. I was gonna I was gonna say maybe the spa would be another good place where the cruisers makes a lot of money. Because that is a very overpriced part of a cruise ship.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but I'm surprised, like the spas actually owned a lot of them are actually owned by a third party. Yeah, it's like it's just like uh yeah, I didn't I actually just found that out not that long ago either. So that's why uh that's why they're they they do the same thing. They push, like as soon as you get a massage or anything like that, they push, they try to sell you this oil that's like five hundred dollars, you know, and it's like it's supposed to make you lose 20 pounds, and you're only on the ship for a week.
SPEAKER_01So by the time you know you get off the ship and you've gained 20 pounds, you can't sue them anymore. Exactly. That's what it is. Uh you know, another thing that made me think of that situation was my first time that you know we all went on a cruise together with you, family, Jacob Maddie. You know, they were giving out like these like drinks, and I thought, oh, you know, in the you know, the carnival tumbler.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, yeah. Like yeah, when you walk on board, yeah, they're usually like walking around with the souvenir cup. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I thought that was all inclusive because I was about to grab one, and before you like, hey, uh, you probably shouldn't do that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, because it's those definitely overpriced too. I'm pretty sure it's like 20 bucks at least, because you gotta pay for the drink and the souvenir, probably more than that. It's gotta be. I've never bought it because I knew it was gonna be overpriced. So I didn't even I've never even thought to ask. But here, of course, here in Galveston, we don't have the drink package, doesn't start on day one. So the whatever drink you buy first, you have to spend money on no matter what, so it doesn't matter if you have drink package, and plus, actually does put even other ports, none of those souvenir cups are included in the drink package, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I actually think alcohol is probably another big reason why they do make that kind of money. And you know, the last cruise ship I went on, you know, the The Glory, I didn't have the drink package, and there was one night where we did end up drinking, and I was I was kind of surprised it wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be. Like it was your typical, you know, higher-end bar prices, definitely not dive bar prices, but you know, reasonable for a cruise ship bar, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so another uh this is a casino question off question, Jack. How does it feel spending $15 on a drink or $15 losing $15 in the slots? It seems a lot easier spent putting $15 in the slots than I mean where does your money go farther?
SPEAKER_01It's like that $15 drink or that $15 you put in Buffalo. Me personally, I would rather spend that $15 on a slot machine than a drink. Because I mean a drink can only last you so far. Well, I guess depending on which drink you get. But if you spend $15, you could also potentially get $15 plus more at the slot machines. What do you think? Or you just lose $15 and have no drink. And that, my friends, is what gambling is all about, which we will get to later in the show because a popular viewer has a certain question about her gambling tendencies. But another question I do have for you, Jesse, is Carnival has a new sale inside card coming out soon. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so for the longest time since I've been selling, the the selling sign card has always looked the same, has always been horizontal, and it has still has a hole on the top, so you can put your only lanyard, and it has, you know, the color, of course, is gonna be whatever blue or red or gold or platinum or uh depending on your status. Yeah, exactly. Depending on your status. So this new card, we kind of talked about it off-air, but it has gone from portrait to now it's gone to TikTok.
SPEAKER_01It's when you said that off air, I had to stop you and say, what are you talking about? It's gone to TikTok. So because you know the term was vertical and horizontal, like that makes sense. Yeah. Now, so that's what kids are saying now. It's like, hey, we're going from portrait mode to TikTok mode.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's just like, you know, like if if I ask my daughter, you know, to take a picture, she's gonna like hold her hand up like she's taking a picture from her camera, right? I mean from like her phone, you know. Us, we're gonna have it two hands right up and like taking a picture like we holding a camera, right?
SPEAKER_01That's like the the call moniker. Like, I've I don't know if you've seen that video on TikTok or any kind of social media where it's like ask a millennial how do you call someone? You you put your pinky and your thumb out, put it next to your hand. When you ask a you know, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, they hold they just it looks like they're holding a brick and put it next to their head.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. It is it's the same thing. So I think uh Carnival has decided to get with the times and with their TikTok version of their uh selling sign card. So the new the new card, the only big difference I see first off, it looks like the whole card's gonna be the color instead of like half the card. So if you're platinum, the whole thing's like platinum card, which looks pretty cool. Uh and this one thing they're also gonna add is the days selled at the bottom of it. So they never had that on the card. So if you sell a hundred days, it'll say a hundred days. So like my next one's gonna say twenty, no, it's gonna be like in the 30s. So that's 30 days. Catching up to your age right there. Yeah, with carnival. So yeah, I mean it's really not too exciting, I guess. I guess it might be a little bit easier to see and all that, because you know, with the lanyard it always made it like lopsided when it was like horizontal. Now it's vertical, it's easier to read, I guess, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was gonna say like if you have a lanyard on and you just see the card right here, it has your name, it has a carnival logo, and it you know, it has your not class, but y it has your your status on there as well. So I I guess maybe it's just more of an aesthetic thing. It's more appeasing to the eyes instead of seeing a crooked, you know, card being swung around back and forth.
SPEAKER_00But one thing I think Carnival does need to do is like all the newer, like Carnival Jubilee and all the newer ships like that, they're all tap. So like to get in your room is tap. To get in, you know, to pay for some is tap. But like Carnival Glory, I don't know if you remember, they swiped everything. Like to get in your room, even to get in your room, it's like the old hotel. You just like go in and out. So that's one thing I didn't like about like the older ships is that you have to you have to literally swipe everywhere. So you can't have like any type of holder or anything like that where you could just you know tap.
SPEAKER_01I'm just gonna say it. They're copying Disney because that's how you get in your hotel at Disney uh hotels, you have a magic band, you tap the door and you open it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know like Princess Cruises, they have medallions, and I know Disney has something like that. Even MSC, MSC has like this little watch you can buy and has where you can get into everything.
SPEAKER_01So I mean it's definitely more convenient because that like that reader is configured directly to your room, and then if you want to make a purchase, you just tap it, or you know, you want to get into anything, you don't have to worry about carrying your wallet with you or anything like that. So the convenience is there, and I like that. And I like how Carnival could eventually transition fully to that, but with these older ships, you you know, I guess it is what it is. It's more of an archaic time frame for that one to swipe a card.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and actually, I think it's princess cruises. They you can actually not even have to tap it, but they just know the people around the the reader, and they if they know your name, they don't even have to tap it, they say, Oh, I got your name, and then they say the names around, and and then they'll say, Hey, so you're there, so they say, Oh, Jack. And then and you're like, Yeah, that's me. And then the they don't need to scan it, it's just they just read it around. It's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it's it's crazy how technology is like getting more and more advanced, and then like they're also upping the guest experience on these cruise ships. I mean, the the even like the housekeepers, they know your name before you even get there, and they remember you. It's almost like they write it down study. It's it's amazing. And then, you know, kind of transitioning over to a different story though. Uh Jesse, perfect day Mexico may see new life. What's the latest on that?
SPEAKER_00So I know where it seems like we're like flip-flopping every every week. We say, Oh, perfect day Mexico's a go, and then next week we say perfect day Mexico's a no-go. This week, for at least for this week's time, is perfect day may see a new life. So apparently the Mexican government has announced that they are allowing them to have a perfect day, but just not in that location. So, which is kind of you know, I'm sure Royal Cribbin's kind of upset about that because what does that mean? Like, does it mean they can't have a a beach resort, or does it mean they have to like put it inward where they can't even have like a you know, land like around a beach, or they have to it only be swimming pools, you know. They they didn't really specify exactly where they can build this at. And I know uh rural Caribbean has spent over 200 and something million dollars on that land, so that land's gonna get undeveloped. And then they also already bought the Cosamaya port, and they're not gonna really do anything with that, and because they're expecting to build it right next to the perfect Mexico. So uh, I mean, we'll see exactly what the plans are and exactly where they're gonna put it, but I don't know. What do you think, Jack? Do you think that they're gonna be able to work a deal out or something?
SPEAKER_01I I feel like if they give the you know Mexican government enough money, uh something will come about. Because it's just weird how it goes from.
SPEAKER_00Money money does talk. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'll say, yeah, building a new bridge in Tampa, luxury, that that luxury is gonna be paid for real soon. Uh, you know, and we've already talked about other you know cruise issues as far as you know not being able to build around reefs, money will solve that problem as well. So, yes, I do think it's eventually gonna get built. Where, how, no idea yet. But it's I don't think Royal Caribbean is just gonna say, oh well, we lost $200 million on this plot of land, we're just gonna sell it, see what we get for it. I think they have the land, and if you know Mexico said they need to build somewhere else, they might work a deal out to buy more land or you know, work a deal out where they sell the land back to Mexico and get a new part to build this land. It's it's gonna be a long process. Like, I don't think see perfectly Mexico opening if it does open for what five, maybe ten plus years.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean I think they uh plan on open next year sometime. That that they know they're gonna be even if they started today. I don't believe that they would be able to open up. So I mean, I'm actually really excited because I um I'm because I actually plan on going to Icon next year, and I was hoping to go to Perfect Day, Mexico, but it don't seem like I'm gonna be going there anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we'll guys keep you updated on all the latest and greatest happening with Perfect Day. I mean, it seems like it's a weekly story at this point, but you know, someone who can't stay out of the news carnival, but in the good way, is rolling out some new restaurants. Now, Jesse, is Guy's burger safe? That's what our viewers really want to know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely. Don't worry, Guy's burger, uh blue iguana, and Shaq's Big Chicken and Pirate's Pizza, those are all safe.
SPEAKER_01That's like the four, that's like the Mount Rushmore of Carnival dining. So I'm glad that they're not being touched. I don't think this is Carnival. I think that's just cruise dining. That's like the Mount Rushmore. That's the four horsemen of cruise dining. You you have to go to at least one of those four, if not all four on every cruise.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh so actually, so Carnival, they actually just announced that there's gonna be several new dining concepts. They're actually gonna be debuting on the Carnival Festival in 2027 and Carnival Tropical, which will be home port and Gallaston, in 2028. Um, apparently they're gonna be a Emerald Coastal Seafood. It's a new seafood restaurant created by the chief culinary officer, Emerald Laguisa. I think that's how you say his name. I think that's close enough. Uh they focus on coastal inspired seafood dishes. And then the next one, meaning you kept going back and forth how to pronounce it. I think it's called uka lele or lele, how you say it.
SPEAKER_01So I thought it was like ukulele, kind of like the you know, Hawaiian guitar, but the actual proper pronunciation is ukulele. So ukulele.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So you gotta say it with that Hawaiian kind of ukulele. And as you can imagine, if this is gonna be a Hawaiian and Polynesian inspired cuisine. They're also gonna be featuring like Asian specialties. So I you would think you would think that they would have had this a long time ago, right? Because I mean, when you're on a cruise, you're kind of tropical. You're thinking tropical, you think Hawaiian. You know, you a lot of people actually wear it, like I'm on them, like wear a Hawaiian shirt, you know.
SPEAKER_01I think every cruise passenger owns a Hawaiian shirt when they go on a cruise ship. Even though they're not going to Hawaii, right? Yeah, it's like, yeah, I don't want to have an eight-hour flight all the way to Hawaii. I'd rather, you know, spend a couple days on a cruise ship instead.
SPEAKER_00And some people may hate this, but I have an Astros Hawaiian shirt too. So I know I know what some people are gonna say. So I mean it can't be as bad as my cowboys one. I think I'll get more hate for that one, honestly. Uh so um I'm I'm actually looking forward to that one because it's it's very simple. First off, there's not nothing like it on board. I know they got the Chebang on on uh on Jubilee and all the um all the XL class ships, uh, which is like an Asian and Mexican cuisine cuisine. Um but this one's gonna be Hawaiian and Asian, you know, food, which that that'd be pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I do think that there should be more Asian food on you know carnival ships because I mean, yeah, they'll have quote orange chicken, which basically is just you know chicken nuggets sauce with orange sauce in the buffet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's really not that good though, right?
SPEAKER_01No, I mean it's it's what you expect at a carnival buffet.
SPEAKER_00Uh I me personally I've never really been a fan of the buffets anywhere, and especially Carnival.
SPEAKER_01The ones on MSE was actually way better than Carnival, but I think the only time I actually go to the buffets for breakfast. Uh, you know, lunch, guys burger, you know, if there's a guy's barbecue, we go to that one as well.
SPEAKER_00I didn't even mention I didn't even mention that. I shouldn't mention that. That should be the fifth, fifth place. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That that's a that that's your all time starting five for cruise dining.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh play center.
SPEAKER_00So the next one's actually gonna be called Fedacini, which is a Mediterranean concept. Combining Italian and Greek flavors, which is that actually sounds really good because usually they got like Cochina, I actually said it right this time, uh as that's the Italian restaurant. But now this new one's going to combine Italian and Greek flavors, which I think that's that's actually sounds really good.
SPEAKER_01I like that Carnival is getting a lot more diverse in their you know menus because you know, if you're on a cruise ship, you like we talked about earlier, you only have so many options, but now they're giving these more options, even if they're paid options, people will pay them just so that way they can have something different than you know cheeseburger, fries, chicken strips.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and to be honest though, that they had they even match they didn't even say like if these are gonna be paid or if they're gonna be included, which I don't know because like when you go on the XL class ships, the first time you go to Chebang, uh it's free. And then if you go to what's the other oh, it's uh the Italian restaurant, Cuccino, that's that's included too the first time. And the I mean if you want to go again, it's only like five dollars per person, so it's not crazy either. So and that's like a specialty dining on any other ship. If you go on like if you go to the Italian restaurant Glory, it's specialty dining. But if you go on uh the XL class ships, it's included. So I'm hoping that a lot of these there is actually one more, it's called La Bistro Musical. What do you think? This what type of restaurant do you think this is gonna be? Oh, this is an Italian with a piano bar, duh. Nope. It's a it's actually a French cuisine pair with live music. It's it's but the piano bar is still there. No, kidding. But but apparently this one's gonna be exclusive to Carnival Festival. I'm guessing maybe because they're I don't know, they maybe they're making it more French, that one, you know, and it they they I guess they don't think that Texas liked the French, I guess. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Hey, France did used to own us. I mean that is true. That is one of the flags and six flags, right? Okay, yes. After double checking our research, France did claim parts of Texas and is one of the famous six flags over Texas. So, yes, we're we're correct. Thank you, Google.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so um, so the existing fleet, they're still gonna have the same restaurant. So um they are still gonna do. I think we mentioned a couple uh episodes ago about how they're gonna have a Carnival crews favorite on the menu so that the crew the items that the crew members like, they're gonna have a selection on all the existing sellings. But that should be rolling out by the end of the year on all ships that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm looking forward to having you know a bunch of new restaurants to try eventually. And like I said, I like how Carnival is diversifying its you know cuisine portfolio, if you will.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so that kind of covers all of our uh cruise news. Uh so on theme park news, Jack. So what's up with this uh ride that gets stuck at Six Flags in St.
SPEAKER_01Louis? Yeah, so there it was a skyscreamer attraction in the Six Flags St. Louis. And if you remember a couple weeks ago we talked about the Starflyer attraction at Fiesta, Texas, Wonder Woman's first flight, which we didn't know it was the name of it, but now we do. Uh it got stuck for about you know 10 to 15 minutes because someone was using their phone. Well, in this case, uh the ride got stuck as part of a maintenance issue. And you know, it was about halfway up, and there's only actually only four passengers on you know on this ride. So kind of makes me think it was a slower day at Six Flags St. Louis. But it did take about they the riders were stuck about there for about 20 minutes, and you know, they were you know eventually we were able to get them down and then get them off the ride. But it's weird that this has happened twice with the same kind of attraction, don't you think? Yeah, that's definitely crazy, especially because there was another one stuck too, right? Yes, and this time it was actually a roller coaster. It was Sirens Cursed at uh Cedar Point. Now, I showed you the video, and first off, what do you think of that whole coaster design where it's a it's a track and instead of you know the coaster just going down on the track, the track goes down, but the coaster stays on the track and then gets released.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I mean I'm guessing what happened was the sensors saying that it wasn't completely engaged. I'm guessing the track it had to have been.
SPEAKER_01I mean, unless you did it say any other type of what would happen or so yeah, so it was just a safety feature that locked that the the train in place on the ride. So which I mean it's good that the train just can't just slip off the track. Yeah, because that would be my biggest fear of riding one of those type of rides. So I mean, apparently it worked perfectly fine in for the day, but it actually got stuck twice. So they fixed the problem initially and then it happened again on a later ride. So they definitely what do you think? Do you think they need to see shut down this ride and figure out what's going on? Yeah, I would say, you know, if it happens twice in the same day, you need to look at this. And this ride isn't old by any means. So it opened, it's barely been open a year. So it'll be a year after this, you know, podcast is released that this ride has been open. And actually, a similar ride is coming to a new theme park in Austin, which we're gonna talk about here in a future episode. But yeah, it's weird that, like I said, this weird that this has happened twice. And you know, it's also seemingly odd that this we've seen an uptick in rides with maintenance issues from the Starflyer at Fiesta St. Louis, the Iron Shark here at Galveston, and now Siren's Curse at Cedar Point. I mean, maybe some of these attractions are older, so they're just routine maintenance that just hasn't been fixed. Uh, but you know, it's it's weird. We're seeing it on a more of a national scale now, don't you think?
SPEAKER_00Oh, oh yeah, definitely. Um I th I don't know if maybe there's just more safety features on these things. I don't I don't know. What do you think? You think it's more safety features, or you think that there's just like they're just running these rides like constantly that they just have no time for maintenance?
SPEAKER_01I think a little bit of both, honestly. And it's weird because with these six flags parts that they do have downtime. Like Cedar Point and St. Louis definitely are not open in the wintertime. So yeah, so it should give them plenty of time to fix these rides, right?
SPEAKER_00I mean, you would think.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you would think. Like, I would I could I mean even Pleasure Pier is not open year-round. Like, I think it's only open on weekends. And you know, Fiesta, Texas, for the most part, is open. I I think it only closes two months out of the year just because you know it's relatively warm in San Antonio throughout most of the year, except January and February. So, yeah, I think that these rides just need to go down for maintenance and just better be safe than sorry. And it's crazy that this is happening to six flags tractions, but Universal and Disney and you know, SeaWorld to some extent, they're open every single day. And you know, these maintenance, if they go down for maintenance, you know, they get them back up real quick. Yeah, yeah. Uh I guess maybe that's just the quality of their engineers, right? I probably, yeah. Disney has all the you know the best uh theme park engineers, but you know, so Jesse, I know you're a big roller coaster guy, but how do you feel about log flume rides?
SPEAKER_00Uh it depends on the time of year. Like if it's uh cold outside, I'm not really big into log plume rides. But if it's hey, if it's two o'clock in the middle of Texas, uh and it's a hundred degrees outside, hey, I'm I'm getting on that ride for sure.
SPEAKER_01It's a little off topic, but when we went to Disney World, it was you know in the 60 degrees, so we decided to ride, you know, what was Splash Mountain now, Tiana's Bayou Adventure. I'm so thankful that the ride got stuck and we didn't have to go down any of the big splashes because I was sitting in the second row, I was about to get soaked because a certain person, Maddie, didn't want to sit in the front. But uh going back on topic, so there's a park, Carowins. For those of you that don't know, Carowins, you know, was a former Cedar Fair park. It was now absorbed into the new you know Six Flags brand. Its gimmick is it's located directly on the state line between North and South Carolina, located around the Charlotte area. And they have actually have one of the best roller coasters in the world in Fury 325. So definitely recommend checking that out. It's it's been rated as constantly one of the best coasters. But anyway, Carolins is now about to get a new record-breaking logflume ride called Rip Roarin Falls Log Flume. And, you know, I shared the POV. It was a virtual POV, but still, of what the ride's gonna look like on our Facebook page. You know, it's definitely very themed to like a lumber mill with you know beavers, you know, deterring your your pathway. And it's set to break three records as far as the loggest, excuse me, the tallest logflume drop in the world at 100 feet, tallest reverse drop on a log plume at 42 feet, and of course the longest reverse camelback on a log plume ride at 32 feet. So this another thing about this ride, it will be six and a half minutes long. I mean, that's pretty long for uh any kind of theme park ride, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I I it makes you wonder how long you're like going up to the top of the hill, you know, like are you just like Yeah, watch that's that's three minutes part of it. It's probably more than that, honestly. I mean, it had gotta be because I think you could go a lot far farther downhill than uphill, right?
SPEAKER_01That's that's that would be crazy if that was how just four minutes just going straight up and then all of a sudden just turn, turn, go down. That's the ride. No. Uh but it definitely looks very interesting. Carrowinds is one of those parks I eventually want to visit. I just need a a reason to go to North Carolina. I mean, I that's a state I've never been to. I mean, you've never been there either, right? Uh no, never been to North Carolina. Uh is definitely on my bucket list though, for sure. Yeah, that and you know, of course, just up north is Bush Gardens, Williamsburg. We were in Virginia when we went to DC, but you know, we were looking at the monument, stuff like that. We weren't thinking of theme parks then, except for Six Flags America, rest in peace. Which is probably for the best. Oh yeah. Uh yeah. Whatever Kevin Durant and his company want to do with that, you know, get rid of that park as quickly as possible.
SPEAKER_00So uh uh and other news. So what's the update with Monsters Inc. land and Hollywood Studios? Well, I know we said no more Muppets talk on this, you know, podcast.
SPEAKER_01You just said Muppets. This is replacing the Muppets. So the Muppets Courtyard is now gonna be, you know, Monsters Inc., and the name of the land is going to be called Monstropolis. So, you know, according to new reports, they're gonna build the uh be the first ever suspended coaster built in by Disney. You remember that scene in Monsters Inc. when you know Mike and Sully are on the doors and they're riding around. It's essentially gonna be that. You're just I guess you're gonna be on a door that's gonna be suspended. Um I mean it's not gonna, I don't think it has any inversions, but it's gonna be like a family suspended coaster just themed to Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_00So what did you think the age range? Do you think it's for like anybody or is it mainly specific ages?
SPEAKER_01Disney is gonna be very inclusive. Uh I mean most of their I'd say their most thrilling ride at is gonna be, you know, rock and roller coaster starring the Muppets. One more Muppets reference.
SPEAKER_00Oh man, Jack. Come on.
SPEAKER_01What we're gonna have a Muppets jar at this point. Um yeah, I would say it's definitely gonna be more family-oriented. It's not gonna be like a thrill ride like, you know, Batman the ride, or you know, the great white shark at you know SeaWorld or Land, or excuse me, San Antonio. Uh the other things that other things that will happen, uh there's gonna be a a restaurant that's gonna be themed to I believe it's uh the sushi restaurant that was in the first Monsters Inc. movie. There's gonna be a live show, of course, character experiences. You're gonna want to meet, you know, Mike and Sully and maybe some other Monsters Inc. characters. But it seems like it's gonna be a good addition to the park because when we went to Hollywood Studios, there really is only about 12 attractions. They're great attractions, don't get me wrong, but you know, you could spend like half a day and ride everything, and especially if you have fast passes, so at least they're adding something new to that park as well.
SPEAKER_00Is this the first time that Disney's doing something with the Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_01or in their parks? Uh at in the Florida parks, yes. There is a Monsters Inc. dark ride at California Adventure that funny enough is they're talking about taking that down to build Avatar Land. Oh, I was gonna- I thought you were gonna say Muppets or something. No, no. No, they actually tore Muppets down right next to Monsters Inc., so they're they're trying to get rid of the Muppets, except that rock and roller coaster. But yeah, no, it would be a good addition. Uh it looks like this land, it has the possibility of opening sometime late next year because construction is already being done. Uh, but more than likely it will be a 2028 opening for that attraction. So that'll do it for the theme park news. Now, we're gonna do something we haven't done on the show before and start taking some listener questions. Now, if you listen to us, there is you know comments that you can leave on our YouTube channel, you know, any of our Facebook page, correct? Uh, I believe you can comment on you know Apple Podcasts, right? Yeah, I think you can leave a comment there as well. So, you know, feel free to you know ask us any questions in regards to cruising and theme parks. Uh, you know, this topic we're gonna talk about is more so the frequently asked questions when going on cruise ships, you know. And you know, right off the bat, uh we had one of our most famous listeners, Maddie. Uh what was the question that she asked in regards to casinos, Jesse? Yeah, so this is what she said.
SPEAKER_00I'm reading word for word exactly how she typed it up. She said, uh, I am tapping on the screen on the slot machines, but still not winning. What am I doing wrong? You gotta either tap harder or you know, you have to hit the button multiple times. Yeah, that's I I was gonna say the exact same thing. Like, I don't know, is she like not hitting hard enough? Or you know what? I thought I was really just thinking about it. I think she doesn't have a cigarette in her left hand. I think you have to have like puff puff hit hit, and then that's how you do it. And you have to hit all the squares at the exact same time.
SPEAKER_01You have to cross your leg too when you're in the chair, you know, just lean back, you know, just have the cigarette in the ashtray right there. Yeah, you also need to have at least a couple drinks, but not finish them and just let them stand all over the kiss the slot machine. That yeah, exactly. So, Maddie, just take our advice. I guarantee you next time you will be a winner. The craziest one I've seen is there was a guy, he was kissing the screen on every reel that was coming down. I don't can't say, I mean, I can't say if he won or not, or how sanitary that is, but hey, it's only weird if it doesn't work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh in all seriousness though, have you I mean, if you anyone that's been to a casino, you see how hard some of these machines, these screens get hit. There's no wonder why there's like this thick glass like they put on the machines because of how hard they get hit.
SPEAKER_01I mean they get hit because people are losing money. Like you and I have seen videos of guys pull up chairs and hitting the machine as if it's the machine's fault. They put you know their life savings away in Buffalo. So uh we did we did have another listener, right?
SPEAKER_00Question?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was an anonymous question. Um, yeah, what was that question, Jesse? It was it was what was our favorite cruise ship? Yeah, and also feel free to leave your name. You we can shout you out on the show. We don't have to only just shout out Maddie. But I appreciate the you know anonymous comment. Uh my favorite ship I went on, I would say probably the breeze. I mean, I've been on the the glory, the triumph, the breeze. Triumph? Yeah, I was back on the carnival triumph like way back in the day. Was that the good? Yes, that was the that ship. Like I'd say on the podcast before, I was on that ship, but I wasn't on the poop cruise. I was I was there like I was before the poop cruise was cool. But yes, I was on the breeze, the triumph, the freedom, and the glory. So yeah, I would say breeze. And that was you know also my first time going with like just friends and family instead of just you know my parents or you know, someone else's family.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh, I guess mine. Um for a while it was a freedom. I think it was just because that was like my first cruise, and that was a you know, you everyone remembers the first cruise and how amazing it was, and they remember those great memories, and they try to re every time they get on a cruise, they try to relive those same exact memories. Yeah, I love getting kicked out of the casino when I was 17 years old. Uh they should kick you out a lot more now. I think I I think I give them too much money, that's why they don't kick me out now. Yeah, that's probably why. Uh but honestly, I think my favorite I really did like the breeze. That I I liked it because it was like a medium, like it wasn't too small like the freedom was, and it wasn't too big like the XL class. It was like right in the middle, so it wasn't like going up and down the stairs weren't too crazy, but they still have a lot of stuff to do and stuff on on board. But I still think my favorite is gonna be, man, it's gotta be uh Jubilee, which I'll be going again in September.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, uh if you didn't like it, you definitely wouldn't be going again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um the first so the first time I went on Jubilee, we went to the um the Western Caribbean, which is with it was Costa Maya, Coza Mela, Rootan. Uh this time it's now gonna be going to uh Half Moon K, uh Celebration Key, and then Nassau Bahamas. So we're kind of looking at hey, because we're we're we're really big on stopping in Cosama and going to like you know Mr. Sancho's and this this one. We're gonna we're gonna be going to the opposite direction, you know, the Eastern Caribbean and being in all the Bahamas.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean it's definitely nice that you can go tour a different part of that, and I hope that Celebration Key will be better this time around for you than it was when we went on the carnival game.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, when it was all raining, like it wasn't fun at all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're right.
SPEAKER_00It was so cold.
SPEAKER_01It wasn't exact it wasn't their fault. There's nothing you can do about the weather, but yeah, I mean the water was freezing, the ocean was the only good part about that whole thing, and you know, there was an abundance of chairs. And one thing we never really talked about, Celebration Key, there wasn't a lot of people there. I mean, it was a brand new island. I understand you can only like get who's on the ship there, but did it not feel it wasn't crowded whatsoever?
SPEAKER_00It's because we were the only ship there, and and Carnival Glory isn't a big ship, so so that makes sense. They can actually hold two ships now, so it won't it'll be it can be a lot more packed. So and being on Carnival Jubilee, which is XL class ships, like twice the size, there's gonna be it's gonna be more packed, I'm sure, whenever I'm there. But the but the but the main reason why I actually like I didn't really say I guess specify exactly why I like Carnival Jubilee. Um the number one thing is the amount of food to eat on board. Um on Glory, what was it what was there? Do you remember what was what there was to eat? It was the same, like we kind of talked about, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you had you had the four horsemen. You had Guys Burger, you had Pirate Pizza, you had Blue Iguana. They didn't even have the barbecue, they had like what the chicken waffle places.
SPEAKER_00We didn't even go to that, right? Yeah, I don't think and I don't even think they had like shacks like anything on that ship. No, they didn't, but so Jubilee, man, they have so much, it's hard to even mention. They have all those. They have shacks, they had uh a barbecue, guys barbecue, they had like the street eats, they had of course they got Chebang, they got man, there there's a bunch of other I'm sure I missed. Uh, and of course, Guy's burger, the best burger at sea for sure. Uh but I think that's why I like all the food, and I like I like that there's so much to do on the ship. There's so much, there's a got roller coasters, there's so much events going on. And you can make that ship how you want to make it. If you're a party atmosphere, hang out on the Lido deck or go to the clubs at night, or if you're relaxing, like I'm more of the relaxing type, chilling and you know you're a tides bar kind of guy. Yeah, exactly. Hanging out with the back of the ship and where it's not too loud, but still a little bit, you know, uh people, you know, being a little rowdy, but not nothing like on the Lido deck, right? Um so and you kind of like it's such a big ship that you make it, you know, and it really they did really good at dispersing people by putting the food throughout the ship. And so it never really felt crowded except for the first day, which every ship, you know, every ship the first day.
SPEAKER_01Because there's nowhere to go except for on the Lido deck, or you know, you can go downstairs, like the Keen's casino's not even open. It's it's more so just like, hey, grab a table and hope for the best, and then there's a mile-long line at any sort of food, especially Guy's burger.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh, one thing I do tell people is don't think that the cruise uh is gonna be the same once you get on board. That the first day is the most hectic day. Those are my two least favorite days. I mean, I liked embarkation day, but I hate how busy it is. But my my least favorite day, you know my least favorite day on a cruise.
SPEAKER_01Debarkation day.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, of course. I can be in 14 days and still be sad getting off the cruise ship.
SPEAKER_01You didn't cry when either of your kids were born, but every single debarkation day, I just see a little tear in your eye. Uh it's a gangster tear. Oh, it's you gotta get that tattooed on you. Um, so some of our other frequently asked questions, Jesse. Um, you know, we've gotten this question before on the show, but what all is included in your cruise fare?
SPEAKER_00So typically what's included in most cruise lines, of course, I'm not can't speak for all of them, because some of them are, you know, like Norwegians got free at sea, and that's and more included, but your typical Carnival, Royal, MSE. Uh, you're always gonna have all your food, your your normal food, like you'll have a dining restaurant assigned to you uh that will be included as well. Uh of course a buffet, and some of them like like Carnival, they got a bunch of like you know, Guys burgers, blue iguana, that's all included in your fare. Of course, your hotel stays. Uh, usually gratuity is not included unless you prepay gratuities. I like to prepay gratuities. We'll talk more about the gratuities either this episode or next episode. Um but uh like drinks that are included, of course, water, usually tea. Uh no, breakfast, they have juices. They have I think lemonade is also included, no? Uh yes, there is lemonade. Uh unless it's most cruise line cruise lines do it, unless it's like fresh squeeze. Like any fresh squeeze, lemonade, fresh squeeze, orange juice, none of that's usually included. Um but they got tea, which carnival's tea is literally the worst tea ever. Uh I can I can agree to that. It doesn't even taste like uh like tea like Americans would drink. I don't think anyone in the whole world should drink it. It's so bad. I don't know why it's that bad. But, anyways, back on topic. Uh yeah, it's pretty much just juice. Oh, coffees include like regular. Regular coffee like at breakfast. And I don't know. I love Carnival's coffee. I think it's fine. Even I'll get I even have the uh always get the drink package like every single time. And I never get the specialty coffees because honestly, I like regular coffee. Just a little coffee with half and half, and that I'm fine with that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you did give me one of those coffees before with like the espresso.
SPEAKER_00Hey, you're gonna get me kicked off this off the drink package.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I found it. You know, you didn't finish it. Oh no, what what happened? But yes, I I have tried one of those before, and you know, I think the specialty coffee is uh is you know worth the if you have the drink package, yeah, it's it's definitely worth it. At least once. But yeah, the regular coffee, it goes a long way as well. Um, you know, there are certain like you know, all the games are included. Like, I know if you're on Lido deck, if you want to like play shuffleboard or if you want to play like you know, basketball or yeah, the slides.
SPEAKER_00I know I know MSC they had like it was weird. You had to like you had to rent the pool tables. It was weird. It was like six dollars for like 30 minutes. It was kind of weird. Yeah, I don't know. Was there that high of a demand for that? I I honestly didn't see one person playing it. Because they're charging six dollars for a pool table. Yeah, but nothing like other car arcades included, none of that. But like usually like the they always got trivia, those are always included. Um, any of the extra like bingo dill and no deal, that's usually costs extra money. Don't do the bingo guys, but um honestly, do you think this is another question I can ask you? Do you think if you you could go on board and not spend any money and still have blasts? Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Because I mean, if you really think about it, all of your food is paid for, all of your you know, entertainment. Yeah, entertainment, you can go see the shows for free. I mean, I I know we talked about in a previous episode where they might start charging for certain shows on certain cruise lines, but let's just talk carnival. Norwegian. Yeah, Norwegian, really. But let's just talk carnival because they have some pretty good shows out there that you can go see. I mean, you don't have to necessarily drink. I mean, people do that. They go on a cruise and don't spend a dime in the casino or on alcohol. And you know, all the buffet is essentially open all the time, and you can get pizza literally any time. So, Jack, you're saying you can go on cruise and not go to the casino? It is possible. I mean, I did it, I had to do my first cruise, you know, that's why I got kicked out when I was 17 years old. They're like, so I see your ID and I put my you know chips on the table. I only I I found chips on the floor. So but there's like a dollar chip. Maybe you could. I know Maddie couldn't. Oh no. I I Maddie is the type of person that will churn the chair around and then wait for the crews to open, turn that chair back around, say that's hers. Yeah, exactly. How do you feel about chair turn? I know we're getting a little off topic.
SPEAKER_00Uh I think that no one should expect you to hold a chair for them. Honestly, I think that's if you're not gambling, you're not spending money, that chair is open.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I the machine should be right there. Like, just because that's your specific machine, I mean, other people want to play that as well.
SPEAKER_00Well, I hate more than any even chair spinners is people that sit in chairs and don't gamble and they and you want to get on like you want to gamble on that machine and they're just sitting there watching their friends. Yeah, because there's only so many Dragon Link or Buffalo machines, and those are the two main machines I play. Exactly. And then I hate it when they've got three friends not gambling at all, to sit in there watching that one person. It's like, yeah, just stand behind them, just be polite, guys.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, that's our little casino etiquette right there. Another question, uh kind of going back to dining though, what dining do you prefer? Now, I think you and I are of the same agreement that we kind of prefer a little bit earlier dining than late dining. But you know, what is the benefit of having that early dining?
SPEAKER_00So let me first start. There's like multiple dining options you can get. You can either get early dining, which is typically 5 30 to 6, 6 30 latest. Uh, and then they have late dining, which is usually 8 and on. And then they have any time dining where you actually have to like um check in for your dining time and whenever a table's ready. That which means you can from 5 30 to 8 o'clock, you can go whenever you want. And that sounds better in reality, but sometimes you have to actually wait, and you may not get the same waiter you had the whole night. Because if you get a set time dining, you're gonna have the same waiter. He's they're gonna know your drinks ahead of time, they know exactly what you like, what you don't like, they know your allergies already if you have allergies. So, I mean, me me personally, like you said, we're kind of the same page. Um and I like the early dining, you know, because I like to usually go eat, usually you're done 7 30 at latest, right? I like to take the time eating too. I don't like I like relaxing eating I don't like to rest.
SPEAKER_01Hey you have to finish both your entrees that you order.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'll hey two entrees, two desserts, two breads, two, two, two breads, two appetizers. Hey, Carnival's where it's at, man. They let you get two of everything.
SPEAKER_01That was a game changer when I found out I could get two entrees. I could get both. I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty funny. I actually had to pause the podcast because I was laughing so hard. Uh yes, you know, we we don't fat shame here on the show, but if you want to order two entrees, you're welcome to do so. For me, I guess it does show.
SPEAKER_00But but there is another option. You can actually just not go to dining at all, right? You know, you can just go to the buffet or get pizza, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that is an option. Um so if when you go ahead.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say, yeah, if if you're if you're like, hey, I I got a show at 6 30 and you don't have enough time, you know, to go to the dining room, it's perfectly fine going to the buffet or whatever. You don't have to go to the dining room every night. Or you don't have to go to the buffet every night. You know, you can whatever option, if you have specialty dining that one night and you say, Hey, I'm gonna go to the steakhouse instead, you know, they don't care. You don't need to let anyone know, you just go. I mean, yeah, the waiter might be a little sad that, you know, they don't get to see you. No, I'm pretty sure they're happy because that was one less person they gotta take care of.
SPEAKER_01I was saying, yeah, that that's less entrees that you have to eat there too. But yeah, I like that the carnival does have that option because I remember one of there was a time where I wanted to watch the NBA Finals and we had that early dining, so it ended perfectly in time for me to go watch the game. Or, you know, if you want to go see a show, you can go see the show. Because usually most shows start at I think at 6 or 8. So if you get in 5.30, you can kind of get in and out and still have time to see that, or especially the eight o'clock showings. So I just like that you have that more flexibility to do more things at night, versus like if you go at eight o'clock, you are number one, you're waiting kind of late, and a lot of stuff does start to shut down around 10 or 11.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. You're gonna miss, I guarantee you're gonna miss all the shows. I I sometimes like to go to the dine, uh the dive-in theater, I mean the dive-in movie on the Lido deck, watching a movie. It's awesome watching a movie at on the Lido deck at night. I don't know what it is, but it's awesome.
SPEAKER_01Game-changing experience, watching an NFL game on the Lido deck. Uh it was uh the last time we you know went on the glory, they had like the Buccaneers, because you know, we went out of Florida, so that's their team anyway. So there's a bunch of football fans there, had my Geisberger in hand watching the game. Definitely recommend that experience. Uh, you know, another question that we have is you know, how do you buy stuff on a cruise? So, I mean, the common answer is you know, cat or card. I think some places still accept cash, or is it mostly cardless?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, pretty much everything's gonna be cardless while you're on cells. Cashless, excuse me. Yeah, yeah, cashless on while you're on a cruise ship. And this may seem like for a veteran, like, of course, you just use your selling sign card. Yeah, that yes, but some people I've seen this multiple times on cruise forums, like for first time. They're afraid, like, hey, how much cash should I bring, or how much, you know, uh, you know, uh, do you have which debit card is it gonna, you know, is it gonna cancel because I'm in international waters? You know, they say it's different things like that. So the the simple thing answer is how it works is you usually put a card, like a credit card or debit card, it's recommended credit card put on the board. Um but put a credit card on file, and as you swipe stuff and you're selling sign card, uh it depends on how long the cruise is. Usually, if it's like seven days, they'll they'll charge you a card twice, one halfway through and then one at the end of all your purchases that you've made. So that's why you want to also make sure you keep up with your expenses and look at your app and see if there's anything that looks fishy or anything like that. But the simple answer is just you're it's called a sell and sign card or uh anything like your cruise card. And rural Caribbean is different, but they every all of them have a cruise card, that's how you pay for stuff.
SPEAKER_01I would say when in doubt, you could always ask someone. I mean, because any cruise ship will happily take your money. They'll figure they'll figure out a way to you know put you attach that card. I think you attach the your credit card to the sale and side card before you even get on board, as long as you like log in with like the carnival app and you know go from there, you can attach the card to it. And then you know, certain other things.
SPEAKER_00And you can and well the one another thing, you can actually I it's to you can actually do a cash account too. So what it is is as soon as you get on board, they have like a kind of I guess it's an ATM. Uh you swipe your card, your selling sign card, and you can add cash to it. So as you spend it and you get below it, you have to add more cash or whatever. And that I guess that's nice. So if you don't have a debit card or a credit card, you can just pay cash with it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's um, I mean, like I said, they'll definitely help you find ways to spend money there, but yeah, at least they do have a m multiple options for you to you know get whatever you need and get whatever you need to purchase. Uh, how about travel documents? I mean, obviously you're leaving the country, so you're gonna need a passport, but is there any other side kind of travel documents you need? You really don't need a passport though, Jack. That is right, because you can get on a ship with just your birth certificate. However, that is not recommended because isn't the process a lot longer, you know, getting on board and getting off the ship as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, not just that, like I I well, first first story, I guess I'm gonna say is I remember getting off every time I get off the ship, the there's there's uh two lines. They say birth certificate line and passport line. Birth certificate line, you're sitting here actually talking to a uh immigration agent as you're getting off the ship. The passport line, you just keep walking. They use facial recognition and just you never stop. You just keep walking. You know, I guess they'll pull you off randomly. I'm guessing they do random searches. But another reason is so say you you uh little you uh drank a little too much at Mr. Sancho's and you're uh decided you woke up and it's eight o'clock at night and you're still laying on loungers at Mr. Sancho's and the ship has left you. Carnival will not come get you. So you have to get either to your next port or you gotta fly home. And let's just say the Mexican government's not happy with you uh going to airport with your birth certificate. They don't care about that. They prefer you to bring a passport have a passport, right? So so you don't have to go to your consulate in whatever country it is, you can just uh have a passport and just fly out if you you know.
SPEAKER_01Also, highly recommend you don't do that because it's gonna be an incredibly expensive endeavor if you get left behind in other country, especially if you don't have a passport.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Yeah, depending on what what could happen, and plus you never know, you could have a medical emergency and have to get off the ship, and then you have to, or you have medical emergency and you gotta fly back home and you now you have a passport emergency too. You gotta get emergency passport. Emergency passports are ridiculous too, having to buy emergency passport in order to get home.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so guys, limit yourself at Mr. Sancho's. Uh, you know, yes, traveling with a passport is definitely more recommended than a birth certificate. Uh, you know, what other kind of I guess an identification card? I mean, that passport does count for that, but you know, sometimes you just need to ID, like just showing your state ID would be perfectly fine as well, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, yeah, that's that's that's actually a good point because you don't they actually recommend you not when you get off the ship actually have your passport. They don't want you to, like at the ports, because someone can steal it pretty easy and stuff like that. So apparently what happens if you do get left behind, they will bring your passport down. They'll go in your room, get your passport, and leave it with the uh, I guess the port agents, I'm guessing, that actually on that port, and then they'll leave all your stuff there too, apparently. I haven't seen it, but I'm sure they would uh everyone I've it's like breaking up with someone and leaving their stuff on the side and they said the house.
SPEAKER_01I guess they are kind of breaking up with you at that point, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're not gonna be sailing on Carnival anytime soon afterwards as well. Um, but yeah, they a lot a lot of places do recommend you bring your driver's license, but when you do go to the port, you have to have a a picture ID, which is the on every website has a it has to be a government ID. I think they do do student IDs uh up to 17 years old, if I'm not mistaken, maybe 16 years old, but they do uh use student IDs for that. Um but up to I think 13 or 14 or whatever it is, you don't have to have any type of student ID or anything. You just you know you just go on with the birth certificate. But me personally, I got me and all my kids, they all got my kids and my wife, we all have birth certificates. I mean, uh, we all have passports.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you see obviously you don't want to wait in that birth certificate line. Yeah. And uh last question we're gonna ask on this show, um, should you get travel insurance? Now, you and I kind of differ on this question. I I think it's good to get just in case, but I personally don't do it just because if I do go on a cruise or any sort of vacation, I hardly I rarely ever cancel, so I don't see the value in it unless you're you know unless it's just something that's like so far down the line that you don't know if it's actually happening or not.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, so a lot of people think that that that's what travel insurance is for. It's not just for that though. So travel insurance also say you have a medical evacuation. Say you haven't say your you know your your pancreas decides to go out or whatever, you have some infection, they have to fly you off the ship. Flying off a ship is like 25 grand. And if you don't have any type of insurance, like travel insurance, you're paying that out of your pocket. And it's same same if you go to the uh uh the medical doctor on board for like an aspirin, it's like two hundred dollars.
SPEAKER_01So they don't take blue cross, blue shield over on carnival ships?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so they don't take yeah, exactly. So they don't take any of these uh uh like what you you have in the in the States or you know whatever. Um so it's actually really good that if you did have it, but it I guess it depends, you know. If you're older, I'd definitely say 100%. If you're younger and you're healthy, yeah, you never know it could happen still, but chances are a lot less likely. I like to have it because I got kids and you know you never know what could happen. I'm not really worried about getting on the ship because I know, hey, whatever happens, if if if I have to drive there with three wheels instead of four wheels, I'm getting on that ship. But say rain or shot. I mean you you left a blizzard in Texas to go on that ship.
SPEAKER_01If I have to flint stone there, I'm getting on that ship. So I guess another question I can have on top of that is what is there cheap to get travel insurance, or is it um in does Carnival pr offer it for, let's just say, for example, directly through them?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Carnival does offer it through them individually. I found that if you go multiple cruises a year, it's cheaper to get an annual policy. You can find them as little as $150 to $200 a year, when that's that's about the same cost it costs per cruise if you go through Carnival and stuff like that. So and it's it's plus you can use it throughout the year. Even if you go, say you like me and you, we usually go to San Antonio like once a year or something like that. That would count as travel. You know, you drive in there or anything. So if anything happened medically with you or or you had to cancel something because of something come up, you have that travel insurance to back you up.
SPEAKER_01Well, there you have it, guys. So travel insurance isn't a complete waste of money after all, especially. I mean, especially when you talk about that medical, you know, that that's like the absolute worst case scenario because no one no one thinks about that when you're on a cruise ship. But yeah, you're in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, something happens to you, you need to be airlifted. I mean, you might as well be dead after those prices. But that'll do it for this week's episode of the Lido Loop. As always, you can follow us on YouTube and Facebook. You know, we're starting to post a little bit more regularly there as well. You know, you've seen our new YouTube shorts, you know, go ahead and check us out over there. We're gonna continuously post there. Uh, you can find our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you get your podcast. And as always, I'm Jack. That's Jesse, and we will see you on the Lido deck. Or hanging out at the Tides Bar on the Lido Loop.