Ep. 652 - Live Bonus Show - Is Celebrity Ascent's The Retreat Worth It? Two DCL Fans' Honest Takes

DCL Duo Podcast: A Disney Cruise Line Fan Podcast

Brian Flock

Hobbies, Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Leisure

4.9 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Karen and Kaley from My Path Unwinding Travel didn't book Celebrity Ascent's The Retreat just for fun — they went as Disney Cruise Line travel advisors on a deliberate mission: evaluate The Retreat so they could give their DCL concierge clients an honest, informed recommendation. They came back with some real surprises, and this episode covers all of it. In this episode: How The Retreat's all-in value — premium Wi-Fi, beverages from 7:30am to midnight, and a private suite restaurant — compares to what DCL concierge guests get and pay for Inside Kaley's Edge Villa: a two-story suite with a plunge pool, butler reachable via WhatsApp, and a shoreside concierge call asking how she'd like her complimentary pajamas embroidered Luminae vs. Palo: how Celebrity Ascent's suite-class dining stacks up for DCL fine dining fans — including where it hit, and where it slightly missed Royal Beach Club pool cabana at Nassau — and how the all-day experience compares to a Castaway Cay cabana day Entertainment on board: the ABBA sing-along that had Karen declaring her cruise complete, a three-floor atrium silent disco, martini bar shows, and more DCL news: kids sail 50% off promotion, a new internet pre-purchase pilot on the Dream and Wish, and Lorcana cards on the Disney Magic "And the one that I got the kick out of was how would we like our pajamas to be embroidered?" — Kaley Support the Show: Book your next Disney Cruise Line vacation with My Path Unwinding Travel Subscribe to DCL Magazine and use promo code DCLDUO for 10% off Stay Connected with DCL Duo: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group We're Ranked as a Top Podcast by Feedspot: Top 30 Disney Cruise Line Podcasts (#1) | Top 20 Cruise Podcasts (#2) | Top Disney Podcasts (#4) | Top 20 Disney Cruise Line Influencers (#12) The views expressed in this podcast are our own and do not reflect the views of the Walt Disney Company, Disney Cruise Line or any other travel provider discussed or mentioned.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I lived for the Abba sing-along, and it was the first night.
0:06.7	We had done it on the retreat, but having it in this space on the Edge class was so much better.
0:14.6	And it was just the most fun that I was like, okay, my cruise is over.
0:19.3	I've done everything I need to do.
0:33.1	Welcome back, everybody to this week's live episode of the DCL duo podcast brought to you by my path unwinding travel and also our good friends over at, uh, backwards.
0:44.5	The DCL, I can't get it in there.
0:46.8	You got it right there.
0:48.0	The DCL magazine.
0:49.1	Yeah.
0:49.4	Look, right there.
0:50.4	Right there's the article.
0:51.8	There's the infamous article by me.
0:53.4	It keeps getting screwed up on my fake green screen here. But, uh, yes, there's the article. There's the infamous article by me. It keeps getting screwed up
0:54.4	by my fake green screen here. But yes, if you have not already, head over to DCL-magstein.com.
1:01.9	That's DCL-magstein.com today to subscribe to the DCL magazine. I have another article. I have
1:09.9	to write by the 30th to get over there. So it'll be another article for yours truly in the DCL magazine. I have another article. I have to write by the 30th to get over there. So it'll be
1:12.3	another article for yours truly in the DCL magazine. One of these days we're going to get Sam to write
1:16.1	something because I'm writing all the articles around here. But head over there today. I edit them.
1:22.2	You do, you do. Head over there today to check out their magazine you can take 10% off everything in the
1:30.0	broader portfolio of the DCL magazine the WDW magazine store if you use code all caps DCL duo
1:37.0	that's all caps DCL duo so head over there check them out it's a great publication we love
1:42.3	the whole team over there at the DCL magazine so So shout out to them. And with that, we have to bring in our guests this evening from our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel with Karen and Kaylee. Welcome guys to the show.
	...

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