Brimming with colorful, vibrant experiences, Disney Cruise Line's new, 4,000-passenger Disney Treasure officially debuted December 21 on an inaugural Caribbean voyage from Port Canaveral, FL. So, what's good for travel advisors to know?
Here's insight from Travel Agent as well as several travel advisors who sailed on a three-night preview cruise earlier this month. Coming in January 2025, look for our separate story with photos from our stay in an accessible Family Deluxe Veranda Stateroom, No. 8604.
A Growing, Diverse Fleet
In the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the 144,256-gross-ton Disney Treasure is a sister to Disney Wish. Both vessels are powered by clean-burning liquid natural gas (LNG) and also equipped for shore power. Both are also slightly larger than the 129,690-gross-ton Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Those two sister vessels, in turn, are themselves approximately 40 percent larger than Disney's first two ships, the 83,969-gross-ton Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.
What's coming up? Disney is currently on a fast-track for fleet growth. In 2025, two more new ships will launch—Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure, the latter to be home ported in Singapore. Disney's current six-ship fleet will increase to 13 ships by 2031.
Disney Treasure's Design and Theming
Design-wise, one top differentiator for Disney Treasure is that its interior color scheme is much bolder and more vibrant than that of sister Disney Wish, which sports a softer color palette. Theming, too, is quite different. While the atrium of Disney Wish offers "Cinderella" and princess theming, the new ship's atrium and other spaces instead strongly embrace adventure, discovery and some more modern Disney threads.
So, guests will discover public venues that strongly delve into Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel theming and characters. For instance, Disney Treasure's atrium is themed around the 2019 movie "Aladdin." Also, Sarabi—named for the lioness matriarch from Disney’s “The Lion King"—is a daytime activity space and evening entertainment venue. But cruisers will also discover several creative new venues that honor a few beloved Disney theme park attractions.
Together, that combination of Disney-themed spaces provides a strong sense of both "familiarity" and "comfort" onboard, according to Tim Elrod, vice president of development, Travelmation in Sharpsburg, GA. That's a perspective echoed by Elyssa and Greg Antonelle, co-owners, MickeyTravels in Windermere, FL.
New Venue: Haunted Mansion Parlor
During our brief time aboard, we truly loved Disney Treasure's inventive design and bold colors, which flowed well throughout the ship. One new venue is the Haunted Mansion Parlor. Guests entering this adults-only lounge might spot ghost-like figures as well as paintings with eyes that move. In the core of the lounge is a huge, blue-lighted, octopus-topped aquarium—but with fish that are skeletons! Elyssa Antonelle describes it as a "crown jewel" of new spaces aboard.
Essentially, this new lounge pays homage to the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disney's theme parks. And that resonates well with guests who've previously experienced that. In fact, as Antonelle walked into the parlor, she felt as though she'd just "left" the theme park ride's vehicle and was walking around to explore. Quipping that "I would have gotten thrown out of the park" for doing that," she tells us that it was just so much fun to stroll through and look at everything in this eerie, new lounge. We'd have to agree.
That said, the parlor also has a bit of a maritime twist. Disney's story line is as follows: This parlor once belonged to a jovial sea captain and his strange but captivating fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened to the happy couple following their sudden disappearance, but lounge guests—as they sip on curated cocktails and mocktails—might discover the truth when they decipher clues hidden around the bar.
While the lounge is spellbinding, the space itself is modest in size. So, given the lounge's wild popularity, during the new ship's inaugural voyage, Disney has placed a sign at the venue to alert guests that their time on any seating inside the Haunted Mansion Parlor will be limited to just 45 minutes. The goal during the ship's introductory phase is to give as many guests as possible a chance of experiencing this new, frightfully fun space.
And while that's not a lot of time, we'd definitely suggest guests venture in. From our perspective, it's worth it to "soak up" the Haunted Mansion vibe. From advisor Greg Antonelle's perspective, this venue is his absolute favorite aboard the new Disney Treasure.
New Dining Concept: Plaza de Coco
Another new colorful concept on Disney Treasure is Plaza de Coco, the first theatrical dining experience themed to the 2017 animated Disney and Pixar film, "Coco." This venue celebrates the tale of Miguel and his family and continues where the story left off on the big screen.
As the doors open, guests will see and hear Mexican singing, dancing, costumes and Mariachi music. Some performers are smiling and cheery; others are wearing Day of the Dead masks (culturally typical for Dia de Los Muertos celebrations designed to connect with people who have passed). Overall, though, it's an upbeat experience.
"Oh my gosh, that's one of my favorite movies," says Elrod. In enjoying the related Disney Cruise Line dining experience, "I love the music, tacos" and so on, he adds. And he likes feeling that he was almost "dining in the movie as the show was right there in front" of him.
As for menu choices in Plaza de Coco, guests can expect dishes that reflect modern twists on traditional Mexican cuisine. We can highly recommend the beef birria empanada; the watermelon, orange and jicama salad; and Ernesto de la Cruz's grilled seafood and tomato rice. And, of course, for dessert, we simply had to order Miguel's churros calientes.
The food was fantastic. Our only could-be-improved is that the table/chairs are very close to the adjacent table/chairs. So, it was a bit tough, in some cases, for the servers to navigate behind guests to deliver plates of food while people are seated and the venue is full. But the experience overpowered any little nits. For Elyssa Antonelle, Plaza de Coco was her favorite venue aboard.
Greg Antonelle also cites Plaza de Coco as a good example of how "everything on the ship is immersive and colorful—from the carpets, the tile work, the tapestries" and so on. He stresses that Disney focuses on "every detail." He also says that can be as ornate as decor in the Plaza de Coco or theming for the Haunted Mansion. Or, he adds, it can be a bit more subtle. For example, he points to butterflies in the design of the carpeting outside his stateroom.
It's worth noting that Plaza de Coco is one of the three main dining concepts onboard Disney Treasure. So, guests assigned to a table onboard will rotate through those multiple venues (typically twice at each during a seven-night sailing). They'll have the same tablemates nightly, plus their table's servers will move with them nightly. The benefit is three-fold—familiarity, personalized service delivery (as the server knows what drinks the guests like, for example) and, yet, variety as guests dine at different restaurants.
Worlds of Marvel
Another dining venue that's part of the "main dining rotation" is Worlds of Marvel, with two different animated video screen shows on different nights. This venue is also on Disney Wish, although that ship operates shorter voyages so there is just one show. Many screens surround the entire dining room. Sitting down for dinner, as guests await their meal or even after it arrives, they can feel they're interacting with their favorite Marvel characters and stories including Spider-Man.
On our evening there, a humorous tale with a Q&A game unfolded between Marvel film characters on the screens. We guessed which of four answers was correct by hitting buttons on a tabletop lightbox. That lantern lighted up green if we were correct in picking the right answer. But it showed up pink, blue or another color if we weren't.
Coincidentally, we observed one tween at the next table fascinated with the game and socializing with his family throughout the evening, rather than staring at a cell phone. That's something we saw throughout our voyage—family members socializing and sharing whether dining, walking the corridors of the ship or participating in activities. "It's a little bit more unplugging and having a little more family time," agrees Elyssa Antonelle.
The third restaurant for the "main dining room rotation" is 1923, which is also a restaurant on Disney Wish. Steeped in the glamour of Hollywood’s golden age, 1923 represents the founding date for Walt Disney Animation Studios. So, the restaurant itself is a fitting tribute to Walt and Roy Disney with exploration-themed artwork from both modern and classic animated films. Think of 1923 as an elegant, more refined and sophisticated (yet still comfortable) dining experience than the other two main restaurants.
In addition to this trio of main family restaurants, the new ship also offers quick bites, casual dining, 24-hour room service, specialty treats, gourmet cafes and upscale specialty dining just for adults. One tasty new option is Jumbeaux’s Sweets, inspired by the ice cream parlor featured in Disney’s animated film “Zootopia.”
Top Takeaways
Our top takeaway from Disney Treasure is that guests will walk aboard and discover a colorful, well-themed ship reflecting Disney's intricate attention to detail. They'll discover movie-themed venues, plus a few affiliated with beloved theme park attractions. With the new stylish, retro-feeling Periscope Pub, for instance, "they even nailed the throwback to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,'" says Elyssa Antonelle. The new pub is throwback to the Disney movie of 1954 and the Disney theme park attraction of the same name (open between 1971 and 1994).
"I think it's the stories that you're familiar with that they've really just pushed into" that are important on this ship," emphasizes Elrod. "You feel at home. That's kind of a Disney Cruise Line thing in general. Walking down the corridor you're not hearing pop music. You're hearing Disney music that you know and love."
As for his favorite spot aboard, he'd split the top choice (50-50) between the Haunted Mansion and Plaza de Coco. Another plus of Disney Treasure, mentioned by all three advisors, is the stunningly gorgeous artwork. In particular, Elrod cited one large wall art piece that resembles layers of paper, yet it also has moving parts. "The art is a different level on this ship," Elyssa Antonelle stresses.
Greg Antonelle tells us that he and his wife moved down to Florida from the Northeast five years ago. In fact, they moved 10 minutes from Walt Disney World "because we're huge Disney fans and we wanted to be in the parks literally every day, which we almost are." He says many others do the same, but many of those folks haven't been on a Disney cruise.
He believes the difference between a Disney theme park visit versus the Disney cruise experience is that you go to the parks "because you love it, but you're waiting in line and you're looking at your phone as you're making your dining reservations. Here [on Disney Treasure] it's all done for you, for the most part. The beauty of it is that you're busy all the time, but it's not stressful at all."
Stay tuned for our next story on Disney Treasure —a photologue look at our accessible Disney Family Oceanview Stateroom with Veranda. For more information on Disney Cruise Line, visit disneycruise.disney.go.com.
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