Back in April my husband and I decided to take our moms on a Disney Cruise. The Treasure had just done her maiden voyage back in December and she was now in her inaugural sailing season. My husband and I want to sail on every Disney ship, and this was the perfect opportunity to get the Treasure under our belt. With only the Fantasy and the Wish under our belts we were so very excited for a new ship with new things to offer like new dining, new shows and an all-new theme! In this post I’ll go over the things we liked about the ship and our Western Caribbean itinerary.
Ship Basics
The Treasure is the second of the Wish Class ships and is a sister ship to the Disney Wish. This just means that have the same layout but the theming is different. The Wish boasts soft colors and delicate features giving the feeling you’ve stepped into a classic fairytale, I feel like this is the princess ship of the fleet and my first time on it met my girly princess dreams. The Treasure is rich with deeper jewel tones and exotic feeling decor. I remember following the progress of the Treasure as she was being built in Germany and looking at all the concept art and thinking I might not like this ship, it felt dark and moody. I was not correct. This ship is like stated before rich, playful and exotic.
The atrium has Aladin and Jasmin on their flying carpet friend inviting you to explore a whole new world, which is exactly what this trip was.
This main atrium is where a lot of character meet and greets happen and while Disney does well to control the crowds sometimes it can be busy around that area on deck 3 and get a bit crowded.
My one big dislike with the Wish class ships is that they only have 2 banks of elevators, one forward and one aft, while the Dream and Fantasy ships also have midship elevator bank which I feel helps disburse the people. The Wish class ships I think forwent the midship elevators in lieu of more space for different guest spaces, equipment and technical housing.
The Treasure has 15 decks. Deck 1 is where you will find the tender lobbies and the health center. Deck 2 has staterooms and kids clubs while decks 3, 4 and 5 are where lots of lounges, entertainment like the Walt Disney Theatre, and Senses Spa are located. Decks 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are all guest staterooms. Deck 11is the main pool deck where you can watch funnel vision with your complimentary soft serve ice-cream, swim to cool off or grab a quick bite at Mickey’s Festival of Foods. There are also some staterooms on deck 11. Deck 12 has upper deck pools; kids splash zone and adult dining like Palo and Enchante. The teen club Vibe is on deck 12 along with the Hero Zone and concierge staterooms. Deck 13 has the adult only pool area and Cove Cafe. Decks 14 and 15 have the tower suites.
Let’s Talk About Food
One of my favorite things about Disney Cruise Line is the rotational dining. I like going to a different restaurant each night with a different theme, but my always incredible serving team stay with me. Having your serving team stay with you is great because they remember your preferences, allergies, favorite drinks etc. As someone with a kind of weird (at least I think it’s weird) food allergy (mango) it’s really nice knowing I have someone looking out for me. I can and do self-monitor but sometimes things can be missed or in my case they aren’t always disclosed or obvious.
The Treasure has 3 main restaurants: 1923, Worlds of Marvel and Plaza de Coco. Each has their own flare, theme and flavors.
1923 is on deck 3 on the aft side of the grand hall. This restaurant is named after the year the Walt Disney Studios was founded and has an old Hollywood feel to it. In this space you’ll see sketches of new and classic movies! Here you will dine on fresh California cuisine. I love how posh this dining experience is. There is no show or big screen here, so this is a great for a quieter meal with no extra entertainment.
Worlds of Marvel, located on deck 4 aft, is in my opinion one of the best dinner entertainment restaurants. Like 1923 this is also on the Wish. Here is where you get really fun creative food with interactive entertainment via the “Quantum Core” on your table. You can choose to participate or not, but it’s loads of fun especially for the Marvel fan. On one of our dining nights here Spider-Man came around for a quick visit. This is a very fast interaction! So, once you know he’s in your area have those camera’s ready!
Quantum Core-this is also your table marker! For this sailing our table was 401 so each night no matter where we dined that was our table number. There are 4 buttons on the core that you can push when prompted by the screens in the dining room. And they help move the story along and make you feel like you’re helping fight bad guys!
Plaza de Coco is a dinner show type restaurant with a center stage and live music/entertainment. You can find this restaurant on deck 5 aft. Here you get the flavors of Mexico. One the first night you dine here Miguel, and the town will entertain you with mariachi. On your second night you get to have a Dia de Los Muertos celebration! This is a very fun and lively experience. I do think it can be a bit loud and for those with noise sensitivity, ear plugs like Loops would be a great help.
Marceline Market is the buffet on the Wish class ships. This has a different type of feel than say Cabanas on the Dream and Fantasy. I feel like here the food is much more compartmentalized. Marceline’s is named after Walt Disney’s childhood town from Missouri.
Marceline’s is open for breakfast and lunch and offers familiar foods along with eclectic and international offerings and with plant-based foods so there is something for everyone. The staff is always very friendly and helpful. Don’t ever be shy to ask for help. Once all I could find was giant spoons and well my neurodivergent brain was having a struggled with that. I asked a buffet attendant for a smaller spoon, and they brought me one.
Even the kids get a kid height counter with kid friendly options.
There are attendants at each counter and will gladly help your kid get any food they want.
The Treasure has you covered if you like more fancy coffee like I do. Jade Cricket Cafe is on Deck 5 midship overlooking the Grand Hall. This is a walk-up cafe and does not require any kind of reservation. Sometimes lines can form but the service us usually pretty quick. There is seating to sit and enjoy the area or you can take your coffee to go! Most coffees come with a coffee art. Feel free to request your favorite character. It is important to note that specialty coffee is not included in your cruise fare, but I find the prices to be reasonable, similar or less than a typical Starbucks.
On Deck 4 midship in front of the aft elevators you will find the Hei Hei Cafe. This Moana themed walk-up cafe has specialty coffees and teas. Each walk-up cafe has their own menu with their own specialty drinks. But you ask for more common ones at either. If you plan on having several specialty coffees, ask for the punch card. Once you get 5 drinks you will get your 6th free! My husband I usually go through 1 or 2 per cruise.
Deck 11 is where you will find Mickey’s Festival of Foods. These quick service restaurants are perfect for lunch, snacks and treats. There are five different counters to get all sorts of snacks, treats and quick meals. Mickey’s Smokehouse BBQ has an assortment of BBQ items with a sauce cart! Sweet Minnies Ice Cream is where you will find soft serve ice cream. Donalds Cantina offers chipotle style burrito bowls, burritos and tacos. Daisy’s Pizza Pies is where you will get your pizza fix, they have your typical cheese and pepperoni but also offer some made to order and pizza of the day flavors. Goofy’s Grill has your burgers, fries, hot dogs and chicken strips. These quick service counters are included in your cruise fare; there is no extra charge to get food from these places.
The last food option I will talk about is Jumbeaux’s Sweets. This Zootopia themed sweet shop has all sorts of goodies to help satisfy that sweet tooth. The theming is so much fun and there are loads of nods to different parts of the movie here, even you don’t buy anything it’s fun to look around! Items in this shop are an additional purchase and not included in your cruise fare. Jumbeaux’s is located on Deck 11 on the other side of the pools from Mickey’s Festival of Foods.
Ports of Call and Port Adventures
This was a Western Caribbean Cruise itinerary that included the ports of Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay. Our first port was Cozumel, now my husband and I have stopped here several times in the past, and we have decided that Cozumel is just not for us and so we did not disembark the ship at this port this time. I think it Cozumel has great things to offer and I encourage people to explore and try new things. Just because I do not particularly like a certain port doesn’t mean you won’t! I also will not, not choose an itinerary with this port because I can just stay on the ship.
Staying on the ship on a port day is a great way to experience the ship with less people because most guests are off the ship doing a port adventure. We used this day to ride the AquaMouse water coaster! The lines were much shorter. We also used this time to really enjoy Senses Spa as most people were off ship. Disney offers entertainment all over as well, like trivia, mixology classes, alcohol tastings and more. The kid’s clubs are also open with activities.
Our next port was Grand Cayman. I love this island and it’s one of my favorite places to go in the Caribbean. Disney ports at Georgetown and it is important to know that Grand Cayman is a tendered port, that means that the cruise ship will anchor away from the island and smaller boats will take you from the ship to the port. This is because this port is shallow and cannot fit a ship of that size. Here is a photo from the back of our tender boat docked up to the ship. You can see the other tender boat lined up to board passengers. The tender is included and does not cost extra. Tenders are run through the port not the cruise line, so if you thought your tender crew was great tips are always appreciated.
To board the tender, go down to Deck 1. When disembarking make sure you have your room key or Key to the World card along with your ID. Every adult needs their Key to the World Card and ID to get back on the ship. Keep the tender in mind when planning your time in port. Make sure to arrive early to designated meeting spots for Port Adventures and if you are exploring on your own, be sure to allow for plenty of time to get back on the ship.
For this cruise we chose to do the Crystal Caves Port Adventure (PA). When we went and at the time of writing this, this PA cost $129 per adult and $119 per child (5-9). When booking PA make sure to look at age restrictions, this one had a restriction of no children under 5. Our Jamaica PA also had age restrictions. When I booked this I ran into a little bit of an issue, there wasn’t enough room in the PA for my whole party and since we were in 2 different staterooms under different reservations it allowed me to book myself and my husband for one time and our moms in another. I contacted the Port Adventures team to ask if there was any way we could all go together. The Port Adventures team was able to call the tour vendor, and they were able to make space so all of us could go together. Lucky for us it was just a matter of adding one person, so it was an easy fix. This really shows the great customer care DCL has and they do try very hard to make everything work out.
This adventure has the code G91 on the Disney Cruise Line site. It is labeled as a Moderate activity level and a duration of 3.5 to 4 hours. Something to keep in mind with these duration times is they usually are including the travel time in these estimations. For this PA we had about a 45min bus ride to the actual activity. We arrived at the Crystal Caves and were handed off to our cave guide. Here they provided complimentary mosquito repellant which was highly suggested we use. We only needed to put it on the backs of our knees, elbows and back of the neck. I sprayed my ankles and shoes a bit too because I am very yummy to mosquitos. You can also bring your own bug spray if you like.
I really liked this PA, but I wish Disney had maybe mentioned how many stairs and narrow trails there would be. We were lead down narrow trails lined with poison oak type trees, so we had to walk single file. Moderate is a good activity level grade for this, just know you will be walking up and down dirt trails, so if anyone is not sure footed this may not be the adventure for you. My mother-in-law had a knee replacement 5-6 months prior, so she was recovered and physically able to do this but not knowing about the semi-off-road nature of the trails and some caves had steep steps made it a little difficult. You don’t have to be able to run a marathon for this PA, but you should be sure footed and able to do a lot of stairs, not just a few.
There was also a cave that was home to Caribbean bats! It was a lot of fun to see them on the ceiling and swooping to get bugs. If you or someone in your party is afraid of bats, I would opt out of this cave. They were very high on the ceiling, and the cave was large but still if someone is not comfortable around wildlife that may be a little off putting.
Below is the Know Before You Go section of the description of the PA. I recommend that you read the PA descriptions thoroughly before committing to the PA. DCL is good at letting you know what you can expect on these PA, but I would always take these with a grain of salt. This tour would be difficult for someone who is not used to standing for long periods of time, not used to walking on unpaved surfaces and is not able to go up and down steps. I included a photo of the stairs into one of the caves we went into.
- Guests must be ambulatory. Wheelchairs (collapsible or electric) will not be permitted. Tour operators will deny participation to Guests arriving in wheelchairs or electric scooters.
- Guests are recommended to wear comfortable walking shoes and sunscreen and bring a water bottle.
- This tour is not recommended for Guests who suffer from claustrophobia.
- Guests will be able to access a free water refill station in the reception area at the start of the tour.
- Guests will have access to the following facilities, restroom, snack bar, and souvenir shop.
- Guests are encouraged to bring currency and credit cards to purchase extras such as souvenirs or snacks.
I thought this tour was a lot of fun and would have preferred to do the morning time but since we were accommodated, I took the time that was offered to me. The bus was very full and not the most luxury vehicle. Some folks had to sit on little fold out jump seats that went into the isle of the bus/van. Our driver and tour guide were very nice.
Our next port of call was Jamaica! This is a popular port for lots of people and lots of different types of excursions you can do. On this cruise my husband really wanted a dune buggy type of excursion. I found a Buggy Ride and Secret Blue Hole Port Adventure. The PA I booked was under the code FA95. At the time of writing this, this excursion was no longer listed. The PA cost about $209 per adult. The Buggy rental had of course age restrictions no one under 16 without a valid driver’s license and no one over the age of 70 could drive. Good thing they had 4-seater buggies because both our moms are over 70, even though they don’t look it! This tour took us to the Yamann adventure park. We were not allowed phones while on the dune buggy trail so I will stock images from DCL from their current buggy tour.
We had a good 45min-1hour bus ride to get to the adventure park. Disney ports in Falmouth and this port seems to be removed from a lot of the “touristy” things to do. Every time I have done a Jamaica tour I have had a long bus ride to get to and from the port to the excursion. The images above are for the current buggy ride PA offered, where you go through the Good Hope Estate. In the initial Know Before You Go section of our PA it was lightly suggested that we may get dirty and to bring a change of clothes. I did not listen. I have regrets. I let my husband drive us around in a buggy where they purposefully muddy the trails. This is red clay mud. We were orange head to toe after this tour. If it is ever suggested at all to bring a change of clothes, DO IT.
Another drawback of this tour was other drivers were very hesitant, which is fair if you are not used to off roading. My husband was in the army and in the Calvery, he did a lot of driving in some very remote areas, so he wanted to full throttle the whole way but ended up having to stop and allow the drivers in front of us to get farther ahead so he could sprint to catch up. I also recommend that if you are renting any kind of vehicle, you purchase their insurance. For this tour it was $10 so if something happened to the vehicle it was covered.
Before our buggy tour we got to go to the Secret Blue Hole. This is a freshwater attraction that has refreshing mineralized water. The water is a stunning turquoise blue color. You can jump in from a platform or enter the water on the “beached entrance”, the entrance is very rocky, and you can slip and fall so water shoes are recommended, I’m glad we had ours. You must wear a life vest that they will give you once you get down there. Getting to the Blue Hole was interesting. The adventure park had old tractors pulling tailers with seats to get us to the Blue Hole. Once there you had a lot of stairs go down to get to the Blue Hole. When we were done swimming, we had to climb back up the stairs and then wait for the tractor tram to come get us.
We had a lot of fun on this PA, but I felt it was not well represented on the website. The tour itself felt disjointed and not well thought through. The stairs in the photo are just a small portion of what we had to climb. The tractor tram was definitely sketchy and not up to any kind of safety code. Once we were done with the buggy, we had the ability to shower off. Took forever to get the mud clay out of my clothes enough that I felt comfortable getting back onto the bus. Our towels were completely ruined, didn’t even bring them back to the ship, they were unsalvageable, sorry Disney. We did dispose of our towel properly though; we didn’t just leave them lying around.
The cool thing about this tour is that it included lunch. That was great for everyone but me. Even though Disney is fantastic about food allergies, the tour company was not. Luckily, I am very good at self-monitoring and the punch they served was not safe for me to drink, what I didn’t like is I was not offered anything else to drink, I had to purchase a Powerade. I felt uncomfortable eating the jerk chicken as well, so I was left with a rice and pasta side. It was good just I was hungry after all that. Would I suggest this tour to clients, no. Did we have fun, yes, but the quality of this tour was definitely not up to Disney standards, and I think that is why it is no longer offered. Once back on the ship I had to shower twice! before I felt clean enough to even go into the spa where we scrubbed our bodies down with the scrubs we bought from the spa. I had to shampoo and condition my hair 3 times to get the water to run clear. That clay mud is no joke, my swim top is not the same, it will never be the same color again, just a warning for those wanting to get dirty in that clay mud, it will stay with you long after your excursion is done.
Castaway Cay was our last Port of Call on this trip. Since my mother-in-law has never been we decided to do the snorkeling. We brought our own snorkeling equipment, but my mother-in-law rented from Castaway Cay and boy did the prices go up. It was $45 for her to rent the mask and fins and snorkel vest. When we bring our own equipment Disney will just give us a vest for free since you have to have it to snorkel. If you plan on snorkeling, it may be less expensive to just bring your own equipment. I felt that $45 was a lot. Another fun thing to do on the island is bike rentals, I think it’s only $15 for the day or several hours to rent a bike and go ride around the trails. Castaway Cay is mostly nature preserve so there’s loads of birds and nature around to see. A lot of people love Cookies BBQ and Cookie Too. I find the food on Castaway Cay just ok, and I think we ended up getting more lunch or an afternoon snack at Mickey’s Festival of Foods on the pool deck later.
Ship Spaces
The Treasure has some pretty unique lounges and spaces for adults and kids. The lounge we spent the most time in was the Skipper Society as that’s where lots of the Disney trivia was held. This lounge space pays homage to the Jungle Cruise ride from the parks. The lounge itself is supposed to feel like you’ve stepped aboard a Jungle Cruise boat, this one is called the Ems Empress, giving a nod to the Ems river where the Disney Treasure made her first voyage out to sea. During the day this is a flex space and is used for multiple types of activities, at night this space becomes and adult only lounge with a bar that offers cocktails, specialty coffees and snacks. Deck 3 Midship is where you can find this fun club.
Another space we spent a lot of time in was Senses Spa. Here you can get a massage, facial, acupuncture and more. They also have the Rainforest Room with heated sun loungers (my personal favorite and in the photo on the right), hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and even and ice room! We purchased the weeklong pass for the spa, so we had unlimited access to the Rainforest Room. This is the one big splurge we budget into our cruises every time. It’s so nice to be able to go to the spa after a Port Adventure and sit in the all the relaxing spaces. There are changing rooms and showers there too. You can find Senses on Deck 5 Forward.
Scat Cat Lounge is a piano bar, jazz club that is an adult exclusive area on Deck 3 Midship. You can get Aristocats themed cocktails, listen to jazzy music and bring the show of “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” from the film to real life. You can also get cocktails to go from this lounge as they have a bar that is accessible from the outside of the lounge.
The space on the Treasure that got the most hype was the Haunted Mansion Parlor. This parlor is themed after the Haunted Mansion attractions in the Disney parks with lots of fun special effects and specialty cocktails. These themed lounges are really neat spaces but are not open for good chunks of the day and really mostly come to life in the afternoons and evenings as they are considered adult exclusive spaces. We did go in to check it out, but it was pretty busy, so we did not end up staying long. It is a very fun and neat space though. Find the entrance to this parlor next to Scat Cat’s on Deck 3 Midship
Other notable spaces would be Periscope Pub, located on Deck 5 Midship, which is themed after 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and sports “glass ceilings” to see the undersea world, has specialty crafted beer themed to the movie and attraction. This was also our muster station. They also have screens playing sports with lots of comfy seating. Sarabi is a cool space that is Lion King themed and offers a bar for cocktails but during the day this space is used for all sorts of activities like trivia, karaoke and live music. The first level is on Deck 4 Midship and the second level in on Deck 5. The Rose which is on all Wish class ships is a Beauty & the Beast themed lounge wish high quality wines and cocktails along with gourmet eats by 3-Michelin-starred Chef Arnaud Lallement. Find this on Deck 12 Aft, it’s the entrance to adult only dining Palo Steakhouse and Enchante.
Kid’s Spaces
Disney of course has great spaces for kids. For little ones loving the water but are still in swim diapers the Toy Story Splash Zone is great with water features to play in and fun water slides perfect for smaller kids. Kids (and adults) can also go on the AquaMouse water coaster and enjoy the pools. This splash zone is located on Deck 12 near the Forward elevators.
The “it’s a small world nursery” is for babies and small kid aged 6 months to 3 years. Specialty trained counselors look after your little one while you enjoy some adult only dining, spa time or even just relaxing without the kids. The nursery does require reservations and there is a fee to use nursery services unlike the other kids’ clubs that are included in your cruise fare.
Oceaneer’s Club and Oceaneer’s Lab are for kids 3-10. Here kids can do supervised activities with Cast Members all throughout the day. They can meet characters, do arts and crafts, have free play or watch movies. Oceaneer’s Club is geared more towards play while the Lab has more educational elements. The Club and the Lab are connected so kids can freely move back and forth from activities! You can find Oceaneer’s Club on Deck 2 Mid-ship
Edge is for kids age 11-14, this space is specifically for tweens! Equipped with high-tech entertainment including flat-screen TVs, iPads and video games and featuring daily guided activities with fun counselors this club is a great place for tweens to hang out together and have their own space. Find Edge on Deck 5 near the Aft elevator bay.
Vibe is for teens 14-17. This hangout space offers things like dance parties, karaoke, movies and games. This club is chaperoned, and the kids are encouraged to participate and interact with each other. Vibe is up on Deck 12 and the Aft elevators.
Hero Zone is where families and kids can do all sorts of things! Run the Incredi-Course which is an Incredibles themed obstacle course with themed obstacles for each Incredible! When Hero Zone is not set up as an obstacle course, you can play sports like basketball, tabletop games such as foosball, air hockey and table tennis. You find the Hero Zone on Deck 12.
Broadway Shows
Disney Cruise Line is known for their Broadway style shows. My husband is not a big theatre guy, but he LOVES going to the shows on the ship, we never miss one! Each ship has their own line up of shows. The Treasure had Beauty & the Beast, The Tale of Moana and Seas the Adventure. My biggest advice for these shows is to get there early. Remember that Concierge guests get priority seating so those prime seats can fill up. There are always two performances of the show, so if you have later dining like we do you would go to the earlier show before dinner and if you had the early dining time you would go to later show after your dinner. Some shows are more popular than others, my husband stood in line at the theatre 2.5 hours before Moana. This was important him that we go good seats for this show because he was the most excited about it. There were a lot of dads holding places in line for their families so walking up 15 min before show time, you had slim pickings of seats. It is important to know that there is not recording or photos to be taken during these performances, as is proper live performance etiquette. If a cast member sees your phone recording, with flash on or anything like that you will be asked to turn it off and they absolutely enforce this. The photos are stock from Disney; I did not take photos during performances.
Beauty & the Beast is done in that Rococo style of the live action film and follows that storyline a little bit more than the animated version. I’m not a big Beauty & the Beast fan; she’s not my favorite princess or anything like that but this show was fantastic! If you really like Beauty & the Beast this show is for you. There are extravagant costumes and sets along with amazing puppets for characters like Lumiere and Cogsworth. The Walt Disney Theatre is so well designed and can host some really spectacular special effects as well.
Seas the Adventure is a shorter show that is great for smaller kids who maybe aren’t quite ready for a full Broadway show or maybe can’t follow that full of a story line. This is show is explained best by the DCL website “When Captain Minnie hands the helm over to her lovable pal Goofy, a heartwarming tale of self-discovery unfolds, bursting with song and laughter. Goofy, suddenly sailing solo in uncharted waters, realizes he needs to uncover his “inner captain” and sets off on a hilarious and inspiring journey.” In this show you’ll see tons of your familiar favorite characters from all sorts of Disney Classic films singing familiar songs. This show isn’t just for children adults love it too!
Tale of Moana is a retelling of Moana as it would have been passed down through the generations of Motunui. This is one of the best stage shows I have ever seen. My husband loves Moana and was so excited for this show. There are amazing moving sets, transforming puppets, projections and confetti! I don’t even know how they did some of the stuff on stage that I saw, it was like actual magic. I cried in this show it was so good. If you see one show on this ship, let it be this one. It was worth standing in line for 2.5 hours to get good seats. We are also wanting to try concierge for some of our cruises and the perk of priority seating for a show like this is worth that price tag for me, I think.
Final Thoughts
The Disney Treasure I think is one of my favorite ships, next to the Disney Fantasy, I will even rank this ship over the Wish. I am so excited to see the Disney Destiny to see how she compares to the Treasure. I’m a little shocked I liked this ship as much as I did, it just goes to show not to judge too much before you try something. Next time I sail on the Treasure, I think it will be an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, and I can see how they compare on the same ship. I am partial to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary as I like the ports more typically. There is no bad interary on this ship in my opinion. Some cruises I do for the itinerary while others are for the ship I will be on. This is a ship you could do without having to get off at port if you didn’t want too. There is so much to do. I hope you found my overview helpful and if you are ready to book your first or next Disney Cruise, I would love to help you! You can send me an email or use the free quote option on my website below. Using me as your travel agent is no cost to you. Be sure to follow me on social media to keep up with all the Disney travel news!
