Disney Cruises have become a bit of an obsession for us as of late. We went from never sailing on ANY cruise – to my now having cruised 6 times – with 3 more booked. Whoopsies haha!
I am a big fan of Disney Cruises for a million reasons, but here are a few. Firstly, I love that everything is included and you don’t need to worry about the cost of that 4 course sit down meal at the end of the day. Secondly, I love the quality of service. I love the amenities (best. beds. EVER) and the room stewards and the food and entertainment quality. Lastly, there is just the right amount of things to do. It’s magical without being grueling. It can be both quiet or loud, depending on what you want. It’s exciting, and recharging and everything I want in a vacation, all wrapped into one.
In 2022, we were introduced to the Disney Wish, which I’ve had the pleasure of sailing on twice. It was a dream come true in EVERY way. You can read about my impressions here (our impressions) and here (exploring the ship). We knew that there would be at least 2 more “wish class ships” coming – the Treasure and the Destiny (we now know that there is an additional ship as well!) I was invited on an inaugaral sailing on the Treasure – and if I can be totally and brutally honest – I thought there’s no WAY that the Treasure could hold a candle to the Wish. But where the Wish is daunty and delicate and beautiful – the Treasure is rich, ornate, adventurous. I could go on and on – but let’s break things down!
All Disney Cruise ships have a lot to offer, and I recommend doing them all. You will always find a top notch experience, service and quality. I love that room service is included, I love that the app is so robust and easy to use, and I love that there is magic around every corner.
But let’s look at what makes the Treasure different!
The Layout
While some have complained about no midship elevators, I love everything about the new layout. There is something around every corner – and the mid-ship atruim called “The Grand Hall” literally took my breath away when we entered. You will be introduced as you walk in – and don’t forget to look up to see Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine or another Disney favourite character! The colors are rich purples and jades and golds, and every detail is spectacular. The stairwell is my favourite AND don’t forget to look UP to the Arabian-nights themed chandalier!
I love that there are multiple coffee shops, shops and spaces in general. It feels more exclusive and ornate to me and I love that you never know what’s aroudn teh next corner! Pro tip: To tell whether you are going foreward or aft – if the characters on the carpet are right side up, you are going towards the front. If they are upside down, you are heading towards the back of the ship!
The movie theatres and nighttime theature for the shows is also really beautiful and there are so many thoughtful details!
Instead of a midnight kiss like on the wish, head to the Grand Hall at Midnight to see the chandalier light up!
Your stateroom will also probably be a huge highlight of your time. The verandah rooms are amazing, but even the inside staterooms are spacious! I love the theming and we waited for it to be a surprise as to the theme of our room til we arrived! And of course the towel animals at the end of the night are great too! While you are out in the mornings the room stewards will do their magic and fix up your room – and turn down service at dinner includes bringing out the beds (if you are more than 2 people) and making everything is just perfect!
Don’t forget to fill out your room service card before you go to bed to have tea or coffee, fruit and pastries in your bed before heading up for the day!
The Entertainment
You can’t deny that Disney does stageshows well, and honestly, the stage shows aboard a Disney Cruise is NO exception. The treasure features THREE stageshows. NO photos allowed – but they are spectacular.
If you are first dining, you will eat THEN see your show – for second dining, that is reversed! Protip: Bring a popcorn bucket from a previous cruise or Walt Disney World and fill it up for the first run movies or stageshows! It’s only between $1.50-$2 a refill! For the other nights you can just enjoy all the ship has to offer, or there will be other entertainers some of the nights (comedians, magicians, etc).
Disney Seas the Adventure
This will be a staple on all Disney Wish ships – but even though I have seen it twice before, it just doesn’t disappoint!
Enjoy Goofy naratate a show that incorportates Princess and the Frog, Moana, Frozen 2, Tangled and Hercules!
Tale of Moana
A beautiful musical representation of the movie! The ending will take your breath away and the acting was top-notch! Some of the effects and creative choices will take your breath away.
Beauty and the Beast
Done in the most breathtaking baroque style – this musical is every 90 childs dream come true!
Pirate Night
A classic on most Disney sailings, this is a true highlight of the Disney Treasure because it just fits the whole theming so well! And they BRING IT with a live band and elevate the whole experience! It’s encouraged to bring pirate gear but if you are packing light, stripes, white and the provided bandana works! There is an earlier younger focused deck party early – and then post the second show/dinner is the Rockin’ Pirate Party complete with fireworks to end the night – you do NOT want to miss this!
The Dining Rooms
There are 3 dining rooms on the Treasure (1923, Plaza de Coco and Worlds of Marvel). You will experience each one twice with TWO different experiences at Coco and Marvel – and then your extra night will be pirate night that has the same menu no matter which of the 3 dining rooms you are in! Additionally, whatever restaurant you are at on the last night, you will eat at your final morning.
1923
This is the same as the Wish (all Wish class ships will have it). It’s more subtle in theming, but a beautiful tribute to Walt and his brother Roy (two mirrored dining rooms to eat in). The little details are what makes this special. Additionally the food we found to be elevated and really top-notch! Dress your best for this dining experience (or don’t – because it’s YOUR cruise!) we enjoyed dressing a little 20’s but a black dress/black dress shirt is also a great choice!
Worlds of Marvel
This is also identical to the Wish – however the second show is different. The first night is “Avengers: Quantum Encounter” and features Spider-man or Ant Man.The second night is exclusive to Treasure and is “Marvel Celebration of Heroes: Groot Remix”. This is very heavily featuring screens. We liked the trivia aspect – but to make it more enjoyable, we would’ve loved to have seen them keep track of the scores to make it a bit more competitive (that might just be us though haha!)
Plaza de Coco
Coco themed and 100% fantastic. Right from the hallway leading up you can tell this is going to be special! Both shows feature the wonderful music of Coco, and are incredibly detailed and moving. They have set this up to have the show in the middle of the dining area – and you will have little pockets of time that they will tell a story and have music. This will surely be a highlight!
Rotational dining protip: Our family likes to order ALL of the desserts (even the sugar free one!) because while all delicious, we are always surprised which one we love the most! It’s almost always one we wouldn’t have picked if we only ordered one (if someone is dead set on something – order 2 or 3 of them in your group!)
The Lounges
Truly, this is where the Wish class ships shine. The lounges aren’t anything to write home about until NOW. I should point out that neither Dan nor I drink alcohol- so my personal opinion is based off of ambiance, other’s in our party that DID try a drink, and the quality of the non-alcoholic beverages. If you have kids that would like to experience and see the lounges, be sure to visit before 9pm – after that it becomes adult only exclusive areas!
Skipper Society
While in a bit of an awkward location (right in middle of the ship) – the theming of this lounge is not to be missed! Enjoy a drink and have a moment before or after dinner – or join in the fun with a Disney trivia – all while taking in the subtle and not so subtle Jungle Cruise themed area!
Haunted Mansion Parler
The theming here is 10/10! Stay long enough to experience some of the fun features and immersive elements. We loved the fishtank, the secret menu and the living portaits. This is truly any Haunted Mansions fans dream! We did find the non-alcoholic drink selection to be terrible here – that is my only complaint. However I bought a hatbox ghost sipper so that definitely helped!
Scat Cat Lounge
The Treasure is a longer itinreary ship and i’m here to say that you ABSOLUTELY need 7 nights to fully enjoy this ship. We only got a chance to pop into this Aristocats themed bar -but it was absolutely adorable! The signature drink here is the Cat’s Meow – which comes with a souvenir cat decor glass!
Periscope Pub
While the theming didn’t have me blown away (we’ve seen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea thanks to the Disney Movie Challenge we are doing with watching every single Disney movie ever made!) this pubs theming was just ok – but the drinks were the best on the ship! I think I wish they had done something more current/relevant -but I can appreciate that the octopus and nautical theming works for the room.
The Coffee shops
While you will find Cove Cafe on all of Disneys ships (adult only coffee shop) and i’m a fan – I couldn’t get over the theming of HeiHei Cafe and Jade Cricket Cafe. You will find the same delicious specialty beverages at all (for a small cost)- but the theming makes it worth exploring ALL of them! Pro tip: Don’t forget your Cafe Fanatic rewards card – every 5th drink earns you a free drink! There is also a wonderful machine in Marceline’s Market!
Deck food and Marceline’s market
Speaking of which- while the OG 4 ships have Cabanas which is fun – Wish class ships have Marceline’s Market and Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods. Marceline’s is the buffet – but it’s got wonderful nods to Walt’s past, nostalgic pieces, and elevated decor. The food is also excellent – and rotates so you aren’t always getting the same thing. Omelette station, sea food station, unlimited soda, dessert bar, characutery – you can’t go wrong!
If you’re not up for a buffet, head to the deck (mid day – check the app for exact times) for tacos, bbq (this is a MUST), hot dogs, burgers, chicken strips – you name it. You won’t have a bad bite here!
Sage and Coriander and other onboard offerings
Two storytellers that make the voyage great to incredible! When you get on board, I always recommend that guests go up to Marceline’s Market and then check out the app and “favourite” or “heart” any and all things that might interest you. Any and anything that interests you, mark it so you get a notification and can make a decision when things come up! Sage and Coriander weave a story that adds so much to the experience, I highlighy recommend seeing them as much as you can! Trivia, walking tours, game shows – there is endless options of things to do and see. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have your full cruise and wish you had even more time to explore this amazing ship!
For kids and Teens
As on every Disney ship, Disney’s kid areas are absolutely top notch.There is care for babies 6 months to 3 years in the “it’s a small world nursery”. Kids are taken care of in the most spectactular Kids area called the “Oceanear Club”. There is so many areas to explore – build your own roller coaster, Princess area, Marvel Area and Star Wars. The pre-teen and teen areas are Edge (11-14) and Vibe (14-18). Check out our Wish post for more details as it’s the same – but just know it’s highly unlikely you will see your kids. And bonus – the kids clubs often stay open ’til 1am – so you know they are well taken care of!
Excursions and getting off the ship
There isn’t enough space to even begin to scratch the surface of the amazing places you will also stop when you are on the Disney Treasure. One of the things I love assisting families with though is insider info on the Port stops – especially Disney’s two exclusive islands – Disney Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.
Watch for another blog post soon about these two islands!
Have you been on a Disney Cruise before? Which is your favourite and why? We’d love to hear from you as always!