TREASURE TROVE: Adventure abounds on Disney's newest cruise ship

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Walt Disney was a fan of exploration and travel, and of course bringing families together, so little surprise that Disney Cruise Line pays homage to their famous founder, uniting those themes and more on its newest ship, the Disney Treasure.

Like its sister ship the Disney Wish, which launched in 2022, the Treasure is more than three-and-a-half football fields in length at 1,119 feet and has 1,254 staterooms with a capacity of 4,000 passengers. The ship’s maiden voyage for its seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries set off Dec. 21, but I took part in a preview sailing (along with my sister and twin nieces) earlier this month.

While the Wish is a castle at sea, the Treasure’s theme is rooted in adventure, which you can tell before even stepping on board. To set the scene, the stern’s signature sculptures are Peter Pan levitating as an angry Captain Hook leans out a porthole and the bow’s artwork is Voyager Minnie Mouse.

Then when you get inside, the Grand Hall welcomes you with Jasmine and Aladdin on a magic carpet looking like they’re ready to fly away on an adventure. The rich jewel-tones and mosaic design in the beautiful space are inspired by Morocco, Asia and Africa, a perfect introduction to everything you’ll explore on the ship.

Plus, on the Treasure, Walt Disney Imagineers did something they hadn’t done before — they brought some of the most iconic Disney Parks attractions to sea for the first time.

Here are some highlights we discovered aboard the Disney Treasure.

HAUNTED MANSION PARLOR

Welcome foolish mortals and have some spirits with your spirits as grim grinning ghosts entertain you in this first-of-its-kind bar. Paying homage to the classic attraction, Haunted Mansion Parlor feels like a theatrical experience with music, strobe lighting and illusions that pop to life around you while you’re enjoying drinks.

What makes it so cool is the attention to detail: An aquarium with ghost fish, characters from the park attraction such as the hitchhiking ghosts and band materializing in the bar mirror, the paintings that transform and sing, the classic wallpaper and wall sconces. There’s even a storyline with a captain and a murderous mermaid — you can find out how their marriage and his death at her hands came to be by looking for clues in the fish tank and the items on the shelves.

Not to be outdone, the beverages are a spooky delight too. The menu is Madame Leota’s spell book, which when you turn upright, one of her riddles appears and leads to the Restless Spirits drink experience. Served on a gargoyle inspired by the stanchions when you walk into the theme park attraction, it has two drinks — one gin and one whiskey (all come with zero-proof options too as the lounge, which opens at 5 p.m., is all ages until later in the night).

For kids, there’s mocktails with eye-catching ingredients like floating eyeball gummies and a sipper of the Hatbox Ghost, plus a specialty line of sugar-free sodas that look like potions when you shake them up.

(TIP: Be sure to sit in different spots each visit because you might hear or see something new depending on where you are in the room!)

PERISCOPE PUB

For the first time on Disney Cruise Line, a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-inspired pub blends a variety of inspirations from the film and the attractions to make it feel like you’re on a submarine.

As soon as you enter, you spot a blue ceiling with hints of creatures of the deep — fish, sharks, other sea life — floating above you. Then there’s the details of the gauges and hatches and sub equipment, including a depth and pressure gauge in which each of the numbers correspond to a hull number on a Disney Cruise Line ship. With the Treasure being 718, the dial is pointing to the Treasure.

Disney Imagineers like to hide things for all varying levels of fans to find so the beer taps handles include a diver, a twisted tentacle, and a new figure that references both Kirk Douglas’ character in the 1954 movie and a light fixture found in O’Gills Pub on the Disney Fantasy.

SKAT CAT LOUNGE

This bar is inspired by both The Aristocats movie and the Grand Hall, since the spaces are connected, so it has hints of the 1970 film as well as Moroccan, African and Agrabah architecture.

Some of the fun details include the paw prints on the piano that replicate the dance moves of Thomas O’Malley, Scat Cat and Marie during Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat. There are also hidden cats and Roquefort the mouse in the murals, and piano details in the carpet, borders, lounge chairs and barstool backs, which have piano keys. It’s a great spot to wind down the day at sea listening to pianists.

SKIPPER SOCIETY

Skipper Society takes inspiration from Jungle Cruise attractions and gives guests the experience of hopping off the river boat and visiting a lounge. The bar canopy features foliage and flowers that guests see on the actual attraction and animals come to life around the proscenium where you can enjoy live music throughout the cruise.

JUMBEAUX’S SWEETS

Zootopia! stars Nick — with an elephant-sized spoon — and Judy — with her little rabbit-sized spoon — welcome guests into this sweet shop that brings the 2016 animated film to life. Fans can spot the lemmings chowing down popsicles with their own mini private door and other Easter eggs like the wedding cake Mr. Big gave to his daughter.

The shop sells 16 flavours of ice cream including sorbet, plant-based and no-sugar-added, and up to 20 types of homemade gelato — some inspired by the movie like Judy Hopps Carrot Cake. There’s also up to 40 toppings, the most in any Disney Cruise Line sweet shop, and other firsts like chocolate bark and chocolate dip strawberries that look like carrots.

PLAZA DE COCO

The Mexican dinner setting is the plaza in Santa Cecilia where the Rivera family hangs out in the film. As the Treasure does seven-day voyages, guests dine at each restaurant — including Worlds of Marvel (Baby Groot is the host of a new interactive show) and 1923 — twice (with the same servers each night but different menus).

Night one at Coco is about familia, the story takes place three years after the 2017 film, so Miguel is now a teenager, and music is a part of their family. This evening feels as though you are hanging out with the family while they get ready for the Day of the Dead, while the second seating takes place on Dia de los Muertos. The show starts off with an ofrenda Miguel has made for his great-great-grandfather and then lots of magic unfolds throughout the evening where he reconnects with Hector again and they sing songs from the film as well as traditional beloved Mexican songs.

“A great entree with a side of tears,” is how Mario Trujillo, the venue’s cultural consultant, accurately described the dinner to me, because it really touches your heart.

DISNEY THE TALE OF MOANA

OMG. The first stage adaptation of Moana is AMAZING.

Disney The Tale of Moana “celebrates and honours a culture in a fully dimensional experience — not just in the design or in the text, it’s in the dance, the casting, the costumes, every last detail, so much thought and care and love was put into it,” director Connor Gallagher told me. It’s a Broadway-style show but being on a ship it has a much smaller crew, so the actors break down the set while they change their costumes and Gallagher noted how that authentic community energy spills onto the stage.

The Te Ka to Te Fiti transformation alone is worth the voyage, and stars Kaena Kekoa as Moana and Jodi Kimura as Gramma Tala had the audience both singing and crying. (FUN FACT: The cast rehearsed in Toronto from July to mid-September.)

TOMORROW TOWER SUITE

The two-storey, 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom and 4.5-bathroom suite inside the funnel is in high demand and hard to land but what a work of art in such a unique space.

The Tomorrow Tower Suite accommodates eight guests and has its own elevator. It is designed in the theme of Epcot and looks futuristic, with a magnificent chandelier featuring iridescent glass panels that reflect a kaleidoscope of colours when the sun shines through the windows (which have an automated frosting feature for extra privacy). The touches to the park even include a sphere light that changes colour at dusk and a Figment the dragon.

IF YOU GO

Disney Treasure is the sixth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, which will be expanding to 13 ships by 2031.

Find out more at disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/treasure.

cmcleod@postmedia.com