Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mouse Ears Podcast, where we talk about all things travel, but mostly Disney. Brought to you by fairy Tale Journeys. Travel.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: Good evening, everyone. Good morning, good afternoon. Whatever time of day you're listening to us. Hidey ho there, neighbors. I just stole your line, Brooks.
[00:00:31] Speaker C: Okay, I've been saying that for how many episodes now?
[00:00:36] Speaker B: I know. I just looked at you.
It came. It came from the depths of my soul, I tell you. Oh, man. Hi, everyone. I'm just.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Shove it back down there. Get down there.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Well, as you can tell, I'm one of your hosts. As long with Brooks. How are you, Brooks? Come up with a different tagline, please.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Good afternoon, good evening, good night, everyone.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: She said that too, but you know. Try again.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Hey, one time you said jumbo, right? When it was like an Animal Kingdom episode, or am I totally making that one up?
[00:01:12] Speaker A: No, I said jumbo because it was an Animal Kingdom episode.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: All right, this is going off.
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Paper or plastic? I don't know.
You throw me off my game.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: I know. I'm so sorry. I really.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: I'm sorry. You've thrown off Brooks's groove.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: I did. How about you, Kelton? How are you? You're one of our hosts this evening.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: I am. I'm here in my messy office.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: I'm a messy. It's messy in my head.
[00:01:37] Speaker C: Oh, you. I'm zoomed in so you can't see my mess.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: It's just a fantastic Thursday. And with us, we've got a brand new guest.
Never has she been on the Mouse Ears podcast, God bless her soul.
FTJ agent, Brittany Young. Thank you. How are you? I'm great.
A little bit of a hot mess. This. This entrance to this episode. I don't know what happened to me, honestly. I'm so sorry.
We do know what we're talking about on this episode you're doing on this podcast.
[00:02:20] Speaker C: Think of it like the asterisks from Thunderbolts.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Exactly.
We have no idea.
[00:02:28] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. Okay, let me start over. I gotta. I gotta find my center. So, for all of you listening, this episode is all about the Sandals Love tour that Britney was on not too long ago. And you're probably wondering what that means. Well, so are we. But before we get into that, we're gonna bring it to Kelton today for the new news. Your favorite segment. Take it away, Kelly.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: I honestly thought you had forgotten about me. The way that was just going. So. Here we go.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: I pressed the wrong button.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: I know. Now I'm gonna have to edit that out. So, breaking down our new News for Thursday, November 14th or this would actually be Monday the 18th. Here we go. Beginning at November 13th so Wednesday. Last Wednesday, Disney plus subscribers can enjoy a special priced Disneyland Resort holiday ticket offer only for a limited time y'all. At Disney plus subscribers can buy a two day buy two day tickets and get one day free at the Disneyland Resort theme park. Make special holiday memories visiting Disneyland or Disney California Adventure park during the most magical time of the year. You can be riding your favorite attractions, watch watching the dazzling nighttime spectaculars and so much more. Visit three days from November 18 through December 27, 2024. Make sure to get with your favorite fairy Tale Journeys travel agent now to take advantage of this holiday deal that the whole family can enjoy.
Next on the desk, we have new details.
[00:04:33] Speaker B: What I said I wish it could go. I really think that's such a fantastic deal. And for the whole, it's a long.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Flight from the East Coast.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: It is. It's five hours. But honestly, when have you heard in the winter you get a free day at a Disney park?
I don't know. To me, this is probably one of the greatest gifts Disney could have been giving. I just wish I had more time to prepare so I can actually go being on the East Coast. But I told Michael this and he's like, can we go? I'm like no.
I wish even he wishes we could go.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: So oh, one day. So we have some new details in news have been revealed regarding the Downtown Disney expansion, Avengers Reserve and the D Lounder, if I pronounced that correctly, shop will both officially open on December 6, 2024.
More announcements are coming soon for more winter opening dates, so stay tuned. Steph will definitely be updating that on the Announcers blog and podcast on Instagram.
And one of the biggest things out of Disney this week, the Disney treasure, she arrived finally to her home port of Port Canaveral, Florida ahead of the maiden voyage on December 21st.
More exciting is that we can all watch the christening live on November 19th at 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time.
Will you be tuning in? I think I will.
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Should we do like a. Should we record our reactions live to it?
Let us know in the comments.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: The 19th is that.
[00:06:28] Speaker A: That is a Tuesday.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm all for it.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Additionally, Disney announced that the Disney Treasures honorary role of the godparent, or godparents, I should say will be the Walt Disney Company cast crew, imagineers and employees from all around the world. Disney also said this is the first time in Disney Cruise Line history that more than 200,000 magic makers who created Meaningful lifelong Disney memories for families every day are being recognized with this important role.
So way to go. Disney cast members and Disney Cruise Line for their newest ship, the Disney Treasure.
[00:07:16] Speaker D: And they've already saved people.
[00:07:18] Speaker A: They saved four people that were on a sinking catamaran in the Atlantic.
[00:07:24] Speaker D: Amazing.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: So the treasure's off to a heck of a start there for.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: I mean, I would sink my shit to get on the treasure.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Oh, you know what?
[00:07:32] Speaker D: People are gonna totally try.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah. And you know what, if you were following Fairy Tale Journey's page on Instagram or Facebook, you would see that the queen of dco, our friend Laura Greco, made her way down to Port Canaveral on that day to get some exclusive pictures of the beautiful Disney treasure once it arrived at port. And goodness.
[00:08:00] Speaker C: And the horns are spectacular.
[00:08:03] Speaker B: I'm mesmerized by like the filigree with Captain Hook and Peter Pan in the back. Oh my goodness. I think it's just fantastic. I'm obsessed, truly. So anyways, if you haven't gone to Fairy Tale Journeys page to see those pictures, I encourage you to do so.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Very good.
We got a couple of more here.
We have unfortunately, but it's well needed. Refurbishments are coming to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. We've got three of them. Here we go.
Disney's Wilderness lodge. From mid May 2025 to summer of 2025, the Copper Creek Villa and Cabins are going to be undergoing refurbishment at Port Orleans Resort Riverside. You got April 2025 through the end of January 2026, the Magnolia Bend area is going to be under refurbishment.
And I. This one hurts me because I swear they just did it. Pop Century March 2025 for a very long 11 month refurbishment. February to 2026 there for guests.
[00:09:19] Speaker C: I don't know where they can refurbish those.
[00:09:21] Speaker A: They're going to build a whole new resort. It seems while all the amenities are going to be available, you're just going to either hear and or see some construction during the daytime hours. And the last thing that is not on this list, cranes have been spotted over at Disney's Fort Wilderness to start building what we think is Reflections, which is going to be a DVC resort. However, we still don't have any actual confirmation about what it's going to be. So stay tuned to us and hopefully we'll be able to tell you more.
That's all I got, Steph. Right on back to you.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Thank you, Kelton. Yeah. You did a fantastic job. There's a lot of great news, although I don't know how good refurbishments are, but it's good to know, right?
[00:10:12] Speaker A: I feel like refurbishments are good.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: Yeah. And we're always being asked all the time. So throwing that one in. We haven't done that kind of a new news before. So anyways, and you know what's crazy is like, it's these three, plus the Swan and Dolphin is also undergoing an expansion and they're having construction over there, the Grand Floridian. They're almost done, but they're still working.
It's never done of a time for Disney.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: It's never done.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Yep. So, anyways, on that note, Brooks, you want to do our trivia for tonight, please?
[00:10:52] Speaker C: Yes. So, everyone, tonight's trivia question is brought to you by Magic Candle Company. Next time you want a Disney inspired scent to fill your home or office, whether it be a candle room spray or more or an oil diffuser, use a special promo code mousehears for 15% off. That is M O U S E E A R S for 15 discount off of any future Magic Candle Company purchase. So tonight's trivia question is, in 2024, what is the most visited island in the Caribbean or the Caribbean, however you want to pronounce it.
Stay tuned to the end of the episode to find out. And now back to the face of the Mouse Ears podcast. Steph, you're so sweet.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Thank you, Brooks. Thank you.
All right, so you're probably wondering what the heck is the Sandals Love Tour that's Young was on?
[00:12:00] Speaker A: I am. I'm wondering, Full disclosure, we're not talking.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: About the Love Boat.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Not the Love Boat.
Full disclosure, Britney and I had to get on a phone call so she could explain to me what it is that she did. Even though she did a fantastic job in posting on social media and we saw how much fun she had. But what exactly was this?
I promise we'll, we'll get to that shortly.
But the meat in the potatoes is that this is a Sandals and Beaches all inclusive resort episode.
Maybe you heard our episode from season two with Stephanie Hefner. Maybe you didn't. We did do an overview of Sandals and Beaches so that you had an idea of what it is.
So as a refresher, what is Sandals and Beaches? What are the differences between Sandals and Beaches? Well, Sandals and Beaches are both all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean that are part of Sandals Resort International.
Sandals is geared towards couples and adults only, where Beaches is for the whole family to enjoy. For the sake of this episode, we will be focusing more on Sandals as that is where Brittany did travel to.
But you're probably wondering what islands are home to these all inclusive resorts. Well, Sandals has 17 all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean or Caribbean.
Those islands in which these resorts inhabit include Jamaica, which is where Britney was, St. Vincent, Curacao, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, Antigua, Granada and Barbados.
In contrast, Beaches has three resorts on two islands. Those two islands are Turks and Caicos and Jamaica.
So Brittany, why don't you tell us a little bit about what your trip was about what you did in a nutshell and then we'll be able to kind of do a deep dive as the episode progresses.
[00:14:10] Speaker D: Sure, yeah. So just to kind of touch on, you know, what you talked about something that I think is really important for people to know where on Sandals where it's adults only, it is geared toward couples, but that doesn't mean you have to be a couple to go. The main thing is that you just have to be willing to share a king bet. That is the only betting option. So I've had like mom and daughter go. They wanted to just. They really like the brand and they were fine with that and that is okay. They are starting to do more like wanting to have bachelorette parties, bachelor parties. And so it is geared toward couples. But you don't feel like you have to be a couple to go. As long as you're fine sharing that king bed.
And then yeah, beaches, they just have those three. But. But they recently closed down Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma and they are turning that into a beaches. So very excited for the Bahamas to get a beaches resort because they don't really have a family all inclusive there.
And there are more resorts coming. So super excited about that. We spent an entire week in Jamaica. That's really where it started.
And they.
It's Sandals Jamaica. Love it was to fall in love with Jamaica and to share that with others so that they can go and fall in love with Jamaica as well.
And it was middle of October. It was actually scheduled for the end of September and they rescheduled it because it got to be such a big deal. The prime minister of Jamaica said I want to be there, but he couldn't go the original dates. So when you're the prime minister of the country, they move the dates for you. So but it was amazing. There were so many travel advisors there, close to 500. And we were spread out through all the different resorts. So we all had these. We were in different groups, had different itineraries.
We were all arriving on the same day. So Sandals is very good. I mean they've Got things down really well. It was a little bit different because I don't normally have hundreds of people arriving at one location in the same day, but they greeted us at the airport. They provided Club Mo Bay for us, which meant we had expedited service through customs. And that is something guests, we can add for our clients as well is the Club Mo Bay experience. We got to do that arriving and departing. So upon when you're arriving, it's really. The main thing is your. It's like a. It's like a lightning lane through customs.
So love that. And of course, I have the Sandals Lounge. The thing also had a food truck for us where we could get patties. They had welcome drinks and then we took shuttles to all of our different resorts. So my group, I was staying.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Oh, what are patties?
[00:17:07] Speaker D: Oh, it's like you can. They had all different kinds. So like beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetarian. And it's just like whatever, you know, type you choose inside of, I don't know, probably like a fried tortilla.
I don't know.
I am. I admit I am not a foodie, but it was good and that was nice because I was going to the Ocho Rios area. It's a little bit of a drive there. Takes you about 90 minutes through traffic to get from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios.
Now, American does fly into the Ocho Rios airport in Fleming on Wednesdays and Saturdays, I believe, but otherwise it's about a 90 minute transfer and something the prime minister shared. They're working. They have plans for a bypass to make that easier. So I loved hearing that.
And then also an international airport in Negril making that transfer easier.
So got on the bus and my first resort was Sandals Ochi. I had never actually had not been to the Ocho Rios area before. I'd stayed at the Montego Bay resorts.
I have had a lot of clients go to Sandals Ochi. I quote that a lot. It's really great for those that are really budget conscious and trying to really keep costs down. Ochia is a great resort for that.
So we're all at our different resorts.
Monday was resort tours.
We toured all of the resorts in Ocho Rios. And this is kind of usually the side that we don't. We don't show, you know, don't look behind the curtain because it's just a lot of walking, a lot of, you know, we're meeting people. They've got wedding setups for us. We get the pretty pictures and that's what we show.
But, you know, you don't see everybody like sweating and trudging everywhere.
And then Tuesday was the Reading road trip.
I don't know if you want me to talk about that now or you want to come back to that, but come back to it it was. And then Wednesday, everybody. So whether you were in Ocho Rios, whether you in Negril south goes. Everybody met back up Montego Bay. We had police escorts from our resorts back to Montego Bay so that we could get there on time. I mean, that's how big of a deal it was because the Prime Minister was coming, they wanted us there on time. Like it was in all of the newspapers that all these travel advisors were there. And that's important to them for us to come because they know when we come. They kept saying, you come, you see, you sell. So if we're going to go, we're going to see it, we're going to fall in love with it and we're going to pass on that love to others because they're so dependent on tourism, they want to continue to have people coming to their beautiful country.
So Wednesday was the big convention.
We heard from, of course, the Prime Minister, the US Ambassador, Adam Stewart, who is the executive chair of Sandals. His dad started the company.
We heard from a lot of, you know, upper executives. We heard from like the head honcho from American Airlines and Air Canada.
It. Yeah, it. So many people were there.
We had tons of food like they had like from the restaurants at the resorts. They had little stations set up. So we ate very well that day, really all week, but.
And then that evening we went to new resorts. So everybody went to a different place than you had been already. So my second resort was Sandals Royal Caribbean. I had been there but not stayed there.
Thursday we had our excursions and then Friday were our new resort tours.
Saturday was our national booking day to really take all the stuff we've gotten from the week and really work on our bookings. We had special booking incentives. And then Sunday was Come back Home. We did get Club Mo Bay on the way back home.
There's a very nice lounge to sit and relax in. There was food there and drink. So I really liked. There's just more space. You know, some of those gates at Montego Bay airport are super crowded and there's not a lot of space.
So expedited through security and nice place to sit before our flight home.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: Talk about a jam packed week. Wow. Like.
And yes, I completely understand all the running around to get pictures, get content, learn the area, not get lost sweating. Yeah, that's awesome.
[00:22:16] Speaker D: But if you're gonna do that, if you're gonna be working hard, work hard in Jamaica.
[00:22:21] Speaker B: Absolutely, why not? I hope you were able to enjoy some of the beaches and pool as well because you know, when in Jamaica. So.
So there's a lot to unpack with this awesome week long tour that you were invited to.
But one of the things that people absolutely love when it comes to all inclusive is knowing what is included in the all inclusive. Right. At least that's important to me because.
[00:22:52] Speaker D: They'Re not all created equal. They are not all the same. That is very important.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: But all the Sandals and beaches have at least the same base. Yes, and then some. So just to kind of go over a little bit, Sandals has to start specialty restaurants and we're talking like 11 plus per resort.
Correct me if I'm saying this wrong. A PADI certified scuba diving.
Patty, do people say it that way? I don't know.
[00:23:29] Speaker D: I think it's Patty.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Patty.
Okay.
Snorkeling trips, water sports, land sports, championship golf, round trip airport transfers, premium liquors, premium wines at up to 13 bars per resort to, to enjoy.
All tips, taxes and gratuities are included and so much more. And that's just Sandals. Then you go over to the beaches side and they have all of that plus water parks, Caribbean adventures with Sesame street. And yes, you have Sesame street characters for children to meet and greet and kids camp. So you do get time to relax and the kids get to have fun off doing whatever activities they've got. So. And this is just like scraping the surface. Now the reason why we're bringing up what the activities are included in these resorts is because more often than not people tend to stay on property and not leave on property. But there are several, several things you can do off property that Sandals does take care of. And that is a good portion of what we're going to be talking about today because, well, people don't always feel safe. People don't always know what to do. People just go to these resorts, eat, drink and suntan. So, so Britney is here to shed some light. She's going to tell us some of the excursions she did, how Sandal treats you guys, all the details that go with it and some of the options that are offered off property. Take it away, Britney, please.
[00:25:13] Speaker D: All right, so I, you know, obviously, yeah, people have concerns about safety going off of resort with Sandals. They partner with island roots and you can book excursions and you can add that to your package. You can add things while you're there. But I encourage my clients to go ahead and book it ahead of time. One it might fill up and then you're going to miss out on that opportunity and it allows you to plan ahead so you know how to pack. Because some of these excursions require certain attire. So for example, my excursion in Montego Bay, we did zip landing and horseback riding.
Now when we were given options to sign up, we could do that or academy. And we got those choices after we were already there. So I didn't, I didn't know when I was packing my bag that I would be going ziplining and horseback riding. And it requires close toed shoes. I had a pair of close toed shoes, but I have borrowed these nice shoes from my stepmom and that we knew they told us that you're gonna get wet.
I was not about to get her shoes wet.
So they did have water shoes we could purchase at the excursion. So I did that. They were actually, they were only $20, which I thought was not too bad because I was like I was going to be stuck. I just had to. So I was like, that's not so bad.
But if I had known ahead of time, I could have planned better. So that's why I do encourage book ahead. That way you know exactly what to pack and you're prepared.
But I definitely encourage taking advantage of these island routes opportunities. There's such a wide variety.
There's some, they're going to vary by destination.
Some destinations are going to have things that others don't, but you really get to experience more of the island, more of the destination.
And Sandals, because they partner with island roots, they're not going to send their guests somewhere that they don't feel that they are going to be safe.
Their guest safety is a huge priority. So you can rest easy knowing that if Sandals is, you know, backing this, you're going to be in good hands. They're going to pick you up at your resort, take you to your excursion and bring you back. So you're not just off on your own trying to find your own ride or anything like that. It's all going to be taken care of.
So our excursion in Montego Bay, the ziplining and horseback riding was so much fun.
There's actually even more to do there. They also had ATVs and there's, you know, like they had a restaurant and a bar and a pool. So we weren't doing a full day there. We did just the two things. But if you were spending a full day there, there were options where it could include Your meal and things like that. They had lockers, like I said, the little shop where I could buy my swim shoes.
So it was a really nice little place and it almost felt like a separate little adventure resort.
So that was really neat.
We were the first group to arrive and so kind of got a little private orientation.
But as other groups started arriving, they have, like a PA system, so they would, like, call your group when it was your turn to report for your activity. We started with the zip lining, and even within that, like, they're very well trained. They made sure we understood all of the rules so that we were safe when we were participating in the activity. Because for a lot of us, it was our first, like, it was my first time to zipline. I've never zip lined before, but I felt very comfortable. They made me feel very safe. I knew that I was in good hands and it was. It was so much fun. And, yeah, I definitely would. I definitely would do it again. We had a great time. And then we did the horseback riding. And again, they go over all the safety measures. I have been horseback riding before, but a lot of the others, it's their first time. And, you know, you incorporate a live animal into things and it can make people a little nervous because you don't always have control over them.
My horse got a little sassy with me at one point.
She was trying to take her own little path, and so I was like, no, we are going to go over here. And she just stopped. She whipped her head around and looked at me like, excuse me. I was like, hey, I'm the boss here.
But, yeah, her name was Postcard. She was a little sassy, but she was. We had fun and we did. So we had like a trail ride, and then we also got to ride in the water, which was. I had never ridden a horse in the water, so that was new as well.
So again, just getting to get out there and experience a different part of the island, meet other, you know, people from the island was great.
And then my excursion in Ocho Rios, I told Stephanie this was my favorite part of the whole trip. It sounds crazy, but it truly was the best part. And it's the Sandals Reading road trip. So if you are someone who likes to give back with your vacation, you like to get involved with the community, there are some great opportunities to do that. So one other thing we did is, and anybody can do this when you're going to a Sandals or Beaches resort is pack for a purpose, and you can take up to five pounds of school supplies, pack them in your suitcase and then you just drop them off at the check in desk when you arrive. And they will donate that to a local school. So we all did that. I will definitely continue to do that on future trips. But just little things like they kind of had a list and they have a list on the Sandals foundation page if you're curious of what to get. But things like crayons, sharpeners, pencils, erasers, just really simple things. They're small, they're not going to take up a lot of space in your suitcase, which I will tell you. I was there for a week and I did not check a pack.
I'm not sure how I accomplished that. But yeah, even with the school supplies.
So you can pack for a purpose. And then the other thing is the Sandals Reading road trip and it's $35 per person and that's an excursion you can book with island roots. We can add that to your Sandals package.
I think it's available for all destinations. Except I didn't see it for St. Vincent yet. That is their newest resort. So I think maybe it, maybe that would come later.
But you get to go to a local school.
We spent, I don't know, about two hours with the kids there. And of course there's a very large group of us this time because there's a bunch of advisors. But we went to the Ocho Rios Primary School.
All the kids are in this kind of outdoor covered area and they had basically two students at a desk and we would sit down with them, we read books with them.
They had some worksheets and that they're working on. They could color. Someone at some point started making paper airplanes. So then there's just paper airplanes flying everywhere. I had taken my little microphone for my phone and the little girl that I was with, she, I mean, like, she was just like, she wanted to do her own interview. She just was like, can I talk into that? I said, yeah, sure. I gave it to her and she, you guys could have her on the podcast because she was a hoot and just watching them play and dance and they sang songs, it was so much fun. I have, I have a lot of videos that I still need to share from that. But it was definitely the highlight of the trip, just getting to spend time with them. And so again, that's something that guests can do. And it was pretty standard. 35 A person just covered, you know, the cost of getting there and things like that.
[00:33:45] Speaker B: So I, yeah, when you told me that, I was like, oh my goodness, that is so neat. That they're incorporating, you know, this element of giving with your trip. So I didn't know it was called Sandals foundation, but I did look it up while you were explaining that. And I just want to read little tidbits so people have a better understanding.
[00:34:09] Speaker C: So.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: The Sandals foundation is a nonprofit organization launched in March 2009 to help sandals Resort International continue to make a difference in the Caribbean. All costs associated with administration and management is supported by Sandals Resort international. So that 100% of every dollar donated goes directly towards funding impactful and meaningful initiatives within the key areas of education, community and environment.
That's awesome.
So honestly, I had no idea that Sandals did do excursions to give back. I think that's a beautiful thing.
[00:34:51] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:34:51] Speaker B: And just, I don't know, makes your trip that much more meaningful. Takes it to a whole other level.
But do you guys have anything to add about the non profit organization excursion? If not, we'll go back to some of the other excursions.
[00:35:09] Speaker C: But no, I just, I was just gonna say echo that. Like, that's, that's really cool that they offer that. And then also, like with the donating the school supplies, like that, that's really cool. And I mean, that's the first time I've ever heard of any place like that. You know, just having that as a standard, hey, we do like, we do this all the time, not once in a while type thing. So that, that's really cool that they offer that. And then also the reading tour as well.
[00:35:46] Speaker B: And for those of you curious, if you do go on their website, you will find some of the other types of nonprofit, quote unquote excursions or just activities that they do to help give back to the community, to the people of Jamaica. I mean, this includes, you know, soccer, cleaning up the ocean, not just packing for purpose. And the reading road trip that you did.
There's, you know, stuff in there in regards to food and providing healthy, healthy food and diets to the people of the island as well. So. And more so by all means, please, we'll have it in the show notes for you to go check out Sandals Foundation. And if it's something you're interested, I definitely encourage you to speak to your FTJ agent helping you with your Sandals trip. And, and Brittany, how long would you say, I know you did a lot of different things and this wasn't like an ordinary trip, but how long would you say that you were doing the reading portion of your excursion?
[00:36:55] Speaker D: I want to say, how long was that? We were probably at the school for like an hour and a half, two hours.
And yeah, I'm not sure that because there were so many of us, we may have been there longer than normal, but it wasn't. I didn't ever feel like it went by really fast. I didn't feel like I was there that long. We were having a good time.
[00:37:20] Speaker B: That's awesome.
Anyway, so going back a little bit to some of the other excursions you did, I really want to highlight the fact that you felt safe because. Okay, so little. Little personal story. I went to doctor A couple summers ago for a wedding I had and a wedding I attended. And I remember how we wanted to go on an excursion off property, off out of the. All inclusive. And, you know, like most people, we were told, hey, do not leave property. That's where you're gonna be safe. Especially in Dr. Noted, like, you know, not messing around.
But still, we. We knew people, so we ended up doing this excursion.
But one thing I want to highlight that you said that I didn't experience, and I think there's a lot of weight to that, is the fact that Sandals was the one to provide the transportation to and from, you know, out of the resort. You didn't have to go off property trying to find someone, Find someone, or, you know, call an Uber. I know that's not really how it works there, but, you know, for the. For the sake of argument, you know what I mean? Like trying to contact someone to pick you up outside of the realms of the resort where they know and they vet everyone that's handling you, basically, that speaks volumes.
Again, it just. It all comes down to safety. And I know Sandals is a great brand. Brand can trust, but when you're. When you're out of your element and in this case, you know, a different country, in an island, no less, you know, people can get skeptical for all the right reasons.
[00:39:08] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:39:09] Speaker B: So.
But having you come on and explain your. Your experience, I want people to take away that there are so many things you can do and things for you to experience, because at the end of the day, yes, you can go to Sandals and disconnect and recharge, and that's exactly what it's for.
But not everyone, like myself, likes to just chill out and do nothing else. So for those that are more adventure seekers and want to do something, you know, besides the land and sports activities that are provided at Sandals, because, yes, that is also something there.
You know, each island has their own fantastic beauty for you to explore.
That's just the reality. I'm sure if you go horseback Riding on one island, it'll look and feel different on another island. That's a reality. And I'm sure they don't all have horseback riding and they have other excursions and activities to supplement whatever that island has to offer.
So my point is, it's really fantastic to hear from you, from a trusted source who came on and told us, yes, we did this. Not only was it, not only was it excellent and awesome and just super fun from what you told me, um, but also that you didn't feel a difference between being on property versus off property because of who was handling your trip. Yeah, you know, I think that speaks volumes.
And the fact that there's a lot of, the lot of activities, it's not just two or three.
Do you know what other activities they offer off by chance? I know you were at different locations.
[00:41:09] Speaker D: Looking at like a lot of locations are going to have probably a horse. You know, I think horseback riding, zip lining, ATVs, a catamaran cruise, something with like dolphins though I see those at a lot of destinations. So those are all very common. But then you're also going to have things that are exclusive to a destination. So like, do you have any Pirates of the Caribbean fans? You go to St. Vincent, there's. You can go and visit where they filmed the Port Royal scene.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: Oh, I'd die.
[00:41:43] Speaker D: Yeah. So cool stuff like that. And St. Vincent.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:41:48] Speaker D: Brand new resort. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to go there. I can't. I mean, I, I'm not. I mean, I don't have anything scheduled, but I am. It's so gorgeous.
Mountains, ocean, I mean, you got everything but just cool stuff like that that you, you know, you might, you would miss if you didn't even look at what was available. So.
And you can, you know, very easily go and look at the different options for each destination.
But yeah, just getting to experience the island and the people beyond.
Beyond that. And they actually have like at Curacao, if you are butler level, they have a dine out program. So they will give you funds to go eat in downtown Curacao because they want you to go experience the town.
And I think that's amazing. So they're doing more innovative things like that, which I. That's just so cool. Like what? I don't know of any other resort that will say, like, here we're gonna give you money to go eat off resort.
Right. So just so cool.
And to just, yeah, really take in everything that the destination has to offer.
[00:43:01] Speaker C: That's cool.
[00:43:03] Speaker B: Yeah, so I have family in Curacao and I've been. And I absolutely.
When I heard that there's a Sandals in Kurusa, I'm like, if I could start anywhere, I would love to start there. Yeah, I know Sandals is definitely bucket list for me so far. Haven't been able to make it there.
Okay, so you stayed at three different locations on Jamaica for Sandals, All Sandals resorts.
Which one was your favorite and why?
[00:43:36] Speaker D: Okay, well, this trip I just stayed at two different ones. I'm sorry, but we had privile. So that's the cool thing about Sandals. When there's more than one in an area you can get. So like we were staying at Royal Caribbean, but Royal Caribbean and Montego Bay have privileges with each other. There's a shuttle that goes back and forth. So like in summer of 23, I stayed at Sandals, Montego Bay, spent time at both. And so this one reverse. I stayed at Royal Caribbean but spent a lot of time over at Montego Bay because they're, they're very different. And this is really where an agent is going to help you kind of find, find your vibe because they, it's, you're not gonna be able to see this by looking at the pictures, but having been there, they have different vibes. And something my Sandals BDM always says is you shouldn't like all of them because they're like, they're different. Like you should have opinions. You should like favor one over the other, you know, just because they're different.
So like where Sandals, Montego Bay. To me, like great beach, nice long beach. But if you're someone who likes to chill by a pool, unless you have a swim up suite, like that's probably not going to be for you. It's not really a pool resort. Other resorts are better for that. So just kind of knowing those things.
Montego Bay is very lively.
Royal Caribbean is a little more laid back, quiet. There's still stuff to do. It's not boring, but just different vibes and feels.
So I've been to both of those. I stayed at Sandals Ochi and then I've also been to, I was at Sandals Emerald Bay, but that one's not gonna be a Sandals anymore. I didn't really like that one.
And then I've been to beaches, Turks and Caicos beaches. Turks and Caicos is my favorite hands down.
[00:45:31] Speaker B: It is from everything you've been.
[00:45:34] Speaker D: Yes, yes. Like probably everything. Everything. I, I went once on an agent trip and then I took my family this past summer.
It's just so that the two beaches resorts in Jamaica are. There's. They're a little bit smaller than Turks. Turks is a lot bigger. So they're going to have more of like a, like the people there are going to get to know you like if you're there for you know, six, seven nights. This, you know, the staff's really going to get to know you better. You're not going to have that much as Turks just because it's so much bigger.
The staff is still great. I don't mean to say that but you know, you kind of have a different.
The bartenders were like you to remember you at the Jamaican resorts. But of course the water is amazing. I mean just beautiful turquoise water.
So much to offer. Yeah. So that's my, that's my favorite overall of the Sandals resorts that I've been to for. Just thinking about those.
I didn't stay there but I think Dunn's river would be my favorite. We got to tour there and I have booked Dunge river for 2026 for our 20th anniversary.
They have these sky Villa Rondovalls. So they're butler suites. It's a Rondoval. So they're like the little round hut looking buildings except you can go up on the roof and they have a sun deck up there. They have telescopes.
It's got like a private.
[00:47:17] Speaker A: That sounds cool plunge pool.
[00:47:19] Speaker D: It's swim up. It has a butler.
[00:47:22] Speaker A: So that's, that's the best part.
[00:47:24] Speaker D: That's my, that's my splurge for our 20th anniversary. I've got two years to save up for it. But I, that, that is the. They had had this property previously and then it, they had sold it off and then it's now back with Sandals and it's all new.
It's there. They, they call it sandals 2.0. So sandals Den River, Dunn's river and sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines are sandals 2.0. It's just the next level of Sandals. So.
Yeah. So even though I haven't stayed there yet, I'm gonna say Dunge river would be my favorite. Sandals.
[00:48:03] Speaker B: I'll take it. I'll take it. So I guess to kind of recap, not only is Sandals and Beaches, you know, some of the best all inclusive resorts. Exactly.
That offer just about every amenity you could possibly want. And then on top of that some unbelievable excursions that Sandals takes care of so that you still have the same level of care and attention on property as well as off. And then on top of all that you also have the ability to give to the community with the nonprofit foundation. I mean, talk about getting coming full circle with a vacation. It's giving you everything you possibly give. So I guess my last question would probably be, you know, biggest takeaways from your tour, from your love tour. Why did you refall in love with Jamaica?
[00:49:08] Speaker D: Yeah, honestly, it's. I mean, it's the people. You know, to me, like the people make the place. Whether you are. Whether it's like just the staff or you know, the people you just encounter when you're out, like the other people that are there.
But it's just.
It really is a beautiful country. So I hope people do want to go and experience it and get out and that they get off resort and experience more beyond just the beach and the beautiful water, which are great. But to do some of these other things, they do have so much to offer. And I continue, you know, I feel like I have a really good foundation, but I always learn more. In fact, I got to have breakfast one morning with Melissa Young, who is the national director of dive sales for Sandals. And just getting to talk to her and hear about, you know, pick her brain about diving. And.
And that's one thing again, as agents, we get to build these relationships.
So I now I've learned so much, like, oh, for if. Cuz I don't know anything about scuba. I'm not, you know, I've never done scuba.
But to know that like, okay, like Jamaica is a great place for beginning scuba because you're not really fighting the current. You can focus on practicing your skills.
And these other, you know, we talked about destinations that are good. If you like to see dolphins or turtles or whales or all these different things, this place is good for coral.
So we have those connections. Again, it's the people. Because like she is so passionate about that. And then just getting to sit and listen to her and then I get to pass that on.
So it's really the people. And the people are just the people of Sandals, the people of Jamaica, the people of, you know, whatever destination you're going to are really what make it so amazing.
[00:51:20] Speaker B: I mean, I can feel the passion from you.
Like, you make me want to go.
[00:51:26] Speaker D: See, I got the love bug.
[00:51:28] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sold.
[00:51:29] Speaker B: Yeah, no, absolutely right.
[00:51:32] Speaker D: Agency exclusive. Back to the beach, right? We all need to go, please.
[00:51:37] Speaker B: That'd be amazing.
[00:51:39] Speaker D: We're gonna tell our. We're gonna tell Kimberly at Summit because our agency, BBM Sandals, will be there at Summit. So we will have to tell her. We need to. We're ready to all go together.
[00:51:52] Speaker B: Oh, yes, we are. Oh yes we are.
So, gents, do you guys have any questions for Britney?
[00:52:01] Speaker A: Not off the top of my head. I think you nailed, you know, I think you nailed most especially, you know, get it really breaking down on what can happen, what you can do outside the, the resort. Because like you had said, Steph, that's, that seems to be everybody's main concern when, not even when you go to like the crib, but when you travel outside of your comfort zone, that's, you know, the main thing. So I, my favorite, honestly, my favorite thing is the.
You can pay to do the concierge pickup from the, and drop off from the airport. I'm all about that. So, you know, they're, they definitely take care of you when you go, when you go to places like that. So good for sandals on that one.
[00:52:46] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:52:49] Speaker C: No.
[00:52:49] Speaker B: Brittany, is there anything out or Brooks? Yes.
[00:52:52] Speaker C: No, I was just going to say echo that, you know, especially, you know, because I've always, you know, I've always had the question, you know, we want to do this, but not sure if it's 100 safe.
[00:53:10] Speaker A: How safe is it? Yeah, yeah, right.
[00:53:12] Speaker C: But, you know, it's good to hear that they take the extra and that's.
[00:53:21] Speaker B: Why, you know, we want our audience to also feel comfortable and confident booking with an FTJ agent such as Brittany, who's been there, who can speak from experience with the same passion. I mean it, it goes a long way at the end of the day.
[00:53:37] Speaker D: And even just things like not just, you know, beyond safety, but just having been personally there. So like, because if you've never traveled internationally before, that can be just overwhelming. Like, like, what do I do? And to be able to just walk them through it, like, yes, I can tell them, okay, when you land in Turks, you're going to land and you're going to get out of the plane outside and then you're going to walk in and then you're going to go through customs, then you're going to grab your luggage. When you walk out, you're going to turn left and at the end there's a beach's desk and they, they're going to take, you're like, I can tell them exactly what to do step for step and that just provide some calm because they know exactly what to expect. And so, you know, I know we're always encouraging our agents. We want to, we want to be in these places. We want to walk what our clients are walking because it's different when you've actually walked it rather than just like reading it on a piece of paper.
[00:54:33] Speaker B: Exactly true. Exactly. So Brittany, is there anything else from your tour that you would like for us to know in the audience that maybe we didn't touch about, touch upon or you want to elaborate a little bit more or any last minute thoughts or tips? We love tips.
[00:54:52] Speaker D: Yeah. So I know people always love to save. Something your FTJ agent can do is price monitor. Every Wednesday, Sandals has what they their 777 promotion and everyone's I was 777 mean. So they have seven rooms that are an additional 7% off for seven days. Now that, that seven days does not mean you have to go for seven days. It just means this. They're going to be on sale for a week and then after that week's over, a new set of rooms are going to come. So there's always seven rooms. They just change up each week.
If you are already booked, as long as there's availability, you can apply. Apply that after the fact. So I love sharing this story. I had a honeymoon couple. We booked them at Sandals Royal Bahamian. And I'm not even kidding, like the very next week, their exact room went on 777. And I told them, I said book it now because then I are. Then I know you're on my radar. I know exactly what we're watching for. And so as soon as that hit first thing in the morning, I'm. And they had actually booked. I think they booked five nights. They wanted more, but budget kind of, they had to scale back. They were able to add a night and they still saved money because as soon as I saw their room was on 777, I'm emailing and I'm like, let's, let's get this promotion applied.
So FTJ agents can save you time and money. So that's very important.
And then they have other promotions and things that go on as well.
I had another thought and I just totally lost it. But that is the beauty of having. Because then you don't have to worry about checking that every week. I'm doing that for all my clients. And sometimes that might mean, hey, there's a, an upgrade available. Like this room is not your room, but it's a nicer room. We could upgrade and maybe it's just a little bit extra or maybe it's not any extra and just giving them that option.
And again, like we have connections.
When I'm going to these resorts, I make a point, I want to meet the managers there. And so when my clients are headed to Sandals, I send an email. Hey, this is Britney. We met when I visited, and we have mutual clients. They are arriving on this date, and they. I mean, they will tell us, let us know when your clients are coming. So that's just an extra little thing. And then if there is an issue that comes up, we've already established a connection in a relationship, and so you just get a little bit extra there when, you know, when we've already built that relationship. So I think that's, again, going back to the people. The people. Make it happen.
[00:57:48] Speaker B: Great tip, honestly. Yeah. Work with a travel agent. It doesn't cost you a dime. Not with fpj. And you can still most likely save money one way or another.
[00:57:58] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:57:58] Speaker B: So, honestly, Brittany, thank you so much for coming on. You gave us all such great information. Things that we. You know, I'll be honest. It wasn't until you reached out to us to tell us that you were doing this. You were doing this tour, you know, and you became on our radar to do this episode, and we're like, what. What is our angle gonna be?
[00:58:20] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:58:21] Speaker B: And we were. Honestly, we didn't even have an angle because everything that you've talked about is new information.
Maybe just a little bit of, like, repeats, like, what is Sandals and Beaches? But not really, because all this, at one point or another, is valuable information to help anyone in our audience know, hey, do you want to take a trip? These are your options. It's not just Disney all the time.
[00:58:46] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:58:48] Speaker A: It is always good to talk about, you know, because especially with sandals and, you know, being more couple, you know, directed, it is kind of nice to have a bit of a variety, you know, on the show.
[00:59:03] Speaker D: Well, and then, like, our clients kind of you, you know, if you start with a honeymoon client, and then eventually they're gonna have kids and they're gonna grow up and they're gonna take those kids to Disney. If they're not, I mean, a lot of my clients are going to Disney before they have kids, too. But, you know, like, it just gives so many different options that fit different seasons of life even.
[00:59:28] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:59:29] Speaker A: Then they turn into Disney Cruise Line people.
[00:59:31] Speaker D: That's right.
[00:59:32] Speaker A: I mean, right at retirement.
[00:59:35] Speaker C: Aurora Caribbean Cruise.
[00:59:37] Speaker A: People loyal to Royal Baby. Let's go take the.
[00:59:40] Speaker D: The Disney Cruise. And then you take the day pass to the Sandals Resort at your port.
[00:59:48] Speaker A: Yeah. See?
[00:59:50] Speaker B: Coming full circle.
[00:59:52] Speaker D: We can do it all.
[00:59:54] Speaker B: Let's do it. Oh, man. Wow, What a great episode. Seriously, I. I learned a lot. I. I think it again, I'm an adventure girl. I like to relax, but I can only relax so much before I start to get antsy. So, yeah, there are options. Yeah. And I know I'm not the only one out there. So, Britney, thank you so much.
[01:00:19] Speaker A: Yeah, thank you, Britney.
[01:00:19] Speaker B: This is awesome. Seriously.
Before we close off this episode, we're going to bring it back to Brooks with our trivia question of the evening.
[01:00:29] Speaker C: Yes. So if you remember our trivia question in 2024, what is the most visited island in the Caribbean or Caribbean? Does anyone want to take a guess?
[01:00:42] Speaker A: I think I have no idea.
[01:00:47] Speaker C: So I did not know this until.
[01:00:50] Speaker B: I think it'd be the Bahamas. I just think of all the cruises that port there.
[01:00:54] Speaker C: Yeah. So I wonder if.
[01:00:56] Speaker D: Does that count? Does that count?
[01:00:58] Speaker B: I have no idea because not in the Caribbean. Technically, it's in the Bahamas. You're right. I totally over my head.
[01:01:06] Speaker D: No, I'm just saying. But no, but it's like, does visiting the cruise port, you know, like, does that count as a visit?
[01:01:15] Speaker B: Gotcha. I see what I mean. Yeah, I see what you're saying.
[01:01:18] Speaker C: But the most visited island is the Dominican Republic.
[01:01:25] Speaker B: Beautiful island.
[01:01:26] Speaker A: Good old doctor Baby.
[01:01:29] Speaker C: Always, every time I hear Dominican Republic, I think of the.
The.
The musical in. In the Heights. Because they always. They mention Dominican Republic a lot.
[01:01:43] Speaker B: That's a great movie.
[01:01:44] Speaker C: Us Navi.
[01:01:46] Speaker B: Wow. Dr. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've visited and I know people continue to visit, but I did not, I didn't expect it to be the most visited, I'll be honest. Pretty cool. Pretty cool.
[01:01:57] Speaker D: So we're going to get people to the other islands, get more. More visiting.
[01:02:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. Sandals isn't on Dr. Yet. I wonder if that's in the works yet.
[01:02:06] Speaker A: Give it time. Give it time.
[01:02:10] Speaker B: Anyways, I think that about does it for this week's episode of the Mouse Ears podcast. Don't forget to join our Mouse Ears podcast on Facebook, follow our TikTok and Instagram to stay up to date with all things travel, but mostly Disney. And if you're interested in having a fairy tale journeys agent, book your next trip. Visit fairytalejourneys.com and let them know the podcast sent you. Or if you would like Brittany to be your agent for any Sandals trip, you can find her at FTJ by Brittany Young.
[01:02:40] Speaker D: Yeah. On Facebook @ftjbybritney Young on Instagram and tick tock@ftjbybritney.
[01:02:48] Speaker B: Thank you for the clarity.
Lastly, if you enjoy our weekly episodes of the Masters podcast, we'd love for you to leave us a review wherever you listen to us until the next episode. And yes, people, the next episode is our.
Is it our Family Feud?
[01:03:05] Speaker C: Family Feud.
[01:03:06] Speaker B: It is our Family Feud.
So you don't want to miss that one, is what I'm trying to say.
[01:03:11] Speaker D: Do you know my family was on Family Feud? I gotta watch.
[01:03:15] Speaker A: That's right.
[01:03:16] Speaker B: You need to watch. So anyways, until that episode, Bye, everyone.
[01:03:22] Speaker C: Bye.
