DCL Duo Podcast: A Disney Cruise Line Fan Podcast

Nathan and Alicea from Adventures and Mousecapades just got back from a brand-new 7-Night Eastern Caribbean sailing on the Disney Destiny, hitting two ports the Destiny doesn't usually visit: St. Martin and San Juan. Nathan even crewed an actual 1980s America's Cup 12-meter racing yacht in St. Martin, no motors, no electric winches involved. We break down the whole week.

In this episode:

• Why Nathan and Alicea picked the second...

Kevin — you might know him as @dadslovedisney — joins Sam and Brian LIVE for a wide-ranging conversation about Disney Cruise Line, his journey as a content creator, and his honest take on the Hyperspace Lounge after his most recent Disney Wish sailing. He also shares the story of how he proposed to his now-wife on a Disney cruise, and it's a genuinely sweet one.

In this episode:

• Kevin's Disney Cruise Line origin st...

Ashley's family turned a corner on a South Africa game drive and came face to face with an angry male rhino — who chased their Jeep for 15 minutes straight. That's one of many stories from their Adventures by Disney safari, shared live on this episode along with a real look at everything it takes to prep for 10 days of Jeeps, flights, and almost no downtime.

In this live episode:

• A rhino chase, a packing list, and 14+ mo...

He crossed the finish line of a 100-mile ultramarathon in the Florida Keys, showered on the beach, and drove straight to Fort Lauderdale to board the brand-new Disney Destiny the next morning. Nine-time DCL sailor Josh joins us to break down how he pairs grueling endurance races with Disney cruises — and what boarding a ship on legs that just ran four marathons back to back actually feels like.

In this episode:

• How Josh ...

Gabe is back — and this time he traded a stormy, port-skipping Disney Fantasy cruise for the very first Disney Wonder Alaska sailing of 2026. His family lucked into a full week of sunny, 70-degree weather, and Gabe walks us through the planning, the ports, the excursions, and an honest verdict on whether DCL Alaska lives up to years of anticipation.

In this episode:

• How choosing early May kept the price down — and ...

Eight days, two countries, nineteen windmills, and one official certificate proving Sam is not a witch. We're back from Adventures by Disney's Holland & Belgium River Cruise aboard the AmaLea, and this is the full trip report — every port, every excursion, the ones worth your money and the one Brian would trade for a chocolate-making class. After two ABD river cruises, we give you our verdict on whether the premium is jus...

At 12 years old, sitting on Main Street USA, Theresa looked down at a single brick and decided it was hers — then spent 24 years at the Walt Disney Company proving it. She managed hotels, sold Disney Vacation Club onboard the ships for a dozen years, and came out the other side of a spinal cord injury that four doctors first mistook for ALS. This conversation covers all of it, plus the book she wrote about finishing hard thin...

Jenn brought her whole crew back to the Disney Wish in concierge — her older daughter who'd sailed before, her younger daughter on her very first cruise, and a husband who needed convincing. They entered the same Arendelle dining request that gave them a front-row table in 2023, but this time, after spending roughly $3,000 more for concierge, the family ended up three rows back. Jenn walks us through what concierge delivered,...

Two years ago, Meghan told us Castaway Cay was her favorite island. After sailing a five-night Disney Fantasy itinerary that stopped at both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay on back-to-back days, she changed her answer — and her reasoning comes down to a $1,000 cabana and a free beach day that delivered just as much. She's back to break down both islands, the Disney Fantasy, and a multi-generational trip with her parents.

In this...

Longtime listener and Patreon supporter Matt joins Sam (solo this week) to unpack a 4-night Disney Fantasy spring break sailing that turned into a string of firsts. The biggest one arrived by email two weeks out: a complimentary upgrade to concierge from Disney shoreside concierge services, with no added room cost — just the concierge gratuities. His honest take on whether it's worth it when you're the one paying might surpri...

After 21 Disney cruises, Kelly came home from the Disney Wonder calling her Alaska sailing a contender for her favorite ever. She is back on the show to break down what a Disney Cruise Line trip to Alaska is really like with an 18-person group: three glaciers in one week, a ship that felt surprisingly empty in peak June, and the excursion strategy that kept everyone together.

In this episode:

• The Castaway Club booking trick fo...

CT — aka Tin Foil Mouse Ears — came back from an Adventures by Disney Rhine River Cruise from Basel to Amsterdam and joined Sam and Brian live to break it all down. Castles, chocolate, a music cabinet museum, a perfume house that became the trip's surprise highlight, and a brutally honest answer to the question every DCL fan eventually asks: is Adventures by Disney worth the price?

In this episode:

• A day-by-day bre...

Jason returns to the show — this time with his sister Paris joining for the first time — to break down the family's first seven-night cruise: Concierge on the Disney Treasure through the Eastern Caribbean. Six travelers, three generations, two birthdays on board, and a long-awaited jump from short sailings to a full week. After a four-night Wish cruise that left everyone wanting more, the longer itinerary changed the wh...

Rich just got back from a seven-night Disney Wonder Alaska sailing — and he came prepared, with a full slide deck, a family of four platinum-status DCL sailors, and a fresh frame of reference from a previous Antarctica expedition cruise. The result is one of the most practical and specific Alaska trip reports we've had on the show. 

In this episode:

• The honest cost breakdown for Alaska excursions — Rich estima...

Lyndsey had one rule for this trip: book the Disney Treasure, Eastern Caribbean, before 24 weeks pregnant — or the babymoon doesn't happen. Between a stage four endometriosis diagnosis and a surgery-to-conception timeline she had to map backward from her sailing cutoff, this cruise required more planning than most. It all came together perfectly, right down to a Enchantè lunch her dad is still talking about.

In this episode:<...

Danny and Stephanie have been on the Disney Destiny since before it launched — from the shipyard in Germany to the christening cruise — but this sailing was different. They brought Jacob, their nine-year-old nephew, for his very first Disney cruise, and what followed was part Marvel pilgrimage, part parenting crash course, and entirely unforgettable. 

Jacob had the deck layout memorized from Danny and Stephanie's Y...

Cathy sailed the Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady on its Mermaiden Voyage — the maiden sailing out of Seattle to Alaska — and she's here to give us the full, unfiltered report. From Richard Branson stopping by her dinner table on night one to a Scarlet Night line that stretched the length of the ship, this episode is packed with the kind of firsthand intel you can only get from someone who was actually there. 

In this...

You couldn't script a more magical first day on the Disney Destiny: Sarah's family bounded their way onto the ship in matching Minnie Mouse outfits, got pulled out of the boarding line as Family of the Day, and walked into a private meet-and-greet with Hero Minnie in the Grand Hall before anyone else boarded. And that was just Day One.

Five DCL sailings deep and freshly minted as a Gold Castaway Club member, Sarah brings one of the...

When Oliver turned 12, his parents told him he could go anywhere in the United States. He picked Alaska. "He's not a dummy," his dad Wesley said. "He knows his parents." And going to Alaska ended up, very quickly, becoming a Disney Wonder sailing — making this one of the most intentional, joyful trip reports we've heard in a long time.

In this episode:

• The family tradition of solo parent-kid trips that made this cruise e...