Ship Review: Digging up Disney Treasure

I am sitting on a crushed velvet settee in an elegant piano lounge, sipping a gin-based cocktail poured from a bejeweled teapot into a Turkish tea glass.  Inside recessed nooks are cozy booths, behind which are sepia-toned murals of tropical foliage. The walls beyond are painted a deep burgundy, and on them hang family portraits framed in hunter green and gold. If you aren’t looking carefully, you might miss the cats painted into the vintage murals, the kittens featured in the family portraits, and the paw prints on the grand piano. And so it is on Disney Cruise Lines’ newest ship, Disney Treasure. If you know nothing, or don’t care to know anything, about Disney’s vault of intellectual property, you might not even realize you are on a Disney ship, at least not initially.  However, if, like me, you have prepared for this moment by rewatching Disney’s The Aristocats for the first time in decades, you will look around the room with delight. For those who grew up watching Disney movies on Sunday night TV, or who love going to the Disney Parks, your entire experience on the ship will be punctuated by these moments of happy recognition, of tiny reunions with some of your favorite characters and attractions. While Disney Treasure may not be for everyone, it is certainly designed to be. An Eye for Design I am not being hyperbolic when I say that Disney Treasure is the most beautiful cruise ship I have ever been on and one of the most beautifully designed spaces I have ever been in. Everywhere on the ship are bold colors: royal blues, mustard yellows, deep purples, and peacock greens. Inside are velvet textures, dark woods, geometrically patterned tiles, and Moroccan-inspired brass light fixtures, including the massive chandelier that illuminates the Great Hall and whose colors change throughout the day.  The same interplay of color and texture is reflected in my cabin, a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom. Lightly themed after Disney’s feature film Aladdin, the navy blue and teal mosaic pattern of the carpet reminds me of Marrakesh’s Jardin Majorelle. Recessed into an alcove above the bed is a large mural of the fictional city of Agrabah at dusk, which can be illuminated at night with the bedside switch labeled “Artwork.”  The rest of the cabin is swathed in neutral colors and natural textures, while the pale gold of the fixtures and a thread in the sofa’s woven fabric allow for a hint of shimmer.  My favorite feature of my cabin is the floor-to-ceiling porthole, which later becomes the perfect perch from which to watch the Pirate Night fireworks show in my pajamas and away from the crowds. My cabin is thoughtfully designed to maximize every inch of its 237 square feet.  The queen bed with its luxurious Frette 300-thread-count, 100-percent cotton linens is raised, so I store my suitcase underneath the frame to hide visual reminders of disembarkation day, which I know will come all too quickly.  Even as a solo traveler who does not need to share my space with anyone, I appreciate the split bathroom configuration and the updated shower/tub combo with bright white subway tile and a hard-sided door. These are small but significant improvements over the older ships’ single bathroom and shower curtains.  Had I been traveling with family or friends, the convertible sofa, a twin bed that the stateroom host can pull down from the ceiling to create a bunk bed, three floor to ceiling closets, and a curtain room divider would have allowed everyone to have a place for their things and a bit of privacy. Delicious Variations Disney Cruise Line employs a rotational dining strategy, which means every night guests dine at one of three main dining rooms. The wait staff also rotates with their guests, which provides a continuity of service.  During my 7-night cruise, I eat at 1923, named for the year the Disney Company was created, three times.  Since I enjoy the California-style cuisine, I’m happy with my rotation.  On the other nights, I dine at a Mexican restaurant themed after the Disney film Coco, and World of Marvel.  (If the Marvel restaurant menu had a coherent identity, I couldn’t discern what it was.) As this is my second solo Disney Cruise, I knew I would be seated at a table with other independent travelers.  I am not an extrovert and initially envision awkward meals.  However, just like on my previous solo Disney Cruise, my tablemates and I all share a love of independent travel, Disney, and Disney Cruises, and conversation is easy. Even when I have an early meal of fish and chips at Periscope Pub, I go up to dinner anyway because I want to hear about my tablemates’ days. I do leave rotational dining behind once in order to try the Collection tasting menu at Enchante ($), the adults-only fine-dining restaurant designed by three-Michelin-starred Chef Arnaud Lallement. Over two hours, I am treated to a modern take on classic French cuisine. One of the most surprising standouts is the “tomato water” that comes with an amuse bouche of tomatoes presented three ways.  Also outstanding is the third course, a beautifully caramelized turbot a la plancha, similarly accompanied by onions three ways. With my meal, I choose to go on the “Champagne Journey” and am guided through tasting renowned vintages such as Dom Perignon 2013 and Louis Roederer Cristal 2014.  An Active Sailing While Disney Cruise Line is known as a family-oriented cruise line with an array of options and entertainment for children, I am here to let you in on a well-kept secret: Disney Cruise Line is also a summer camp for adults.  Adults-only activities I participate in on this sailing include: trivia (Disney food, National Geographic); bingo; an Indiana Jones–themed Sarabi Supper Club and a very adult, raucous retelling of all five Indiana Jones films called “Choose Wisely”; guided fitness classes (free Morning Stretch and additional-charge Pure Form Pilates and Slow Flow Yoga); crafts; the Cove trio of infinity pool, café, and bar; improv performances by Coriander and Sage; 80s hits with live band The Dublooners; and three acupuncture sessions ($) by the gifted practitioner Emily at the Senses Spa. In addition, I purchased the 7 Night Unlimited Rainforest Pass, which gives me access to Senses Spa’s Rainforest Room.  On Treasure, this includes a tranquil indoor area with various showers, a dry sauna, a hammam, a “Frigidarium” or ice room, and heated lounge chairs where I read in peace.  Unlike the smaller ships, this Rainforest Room also includes a spacious, private outdoor deck with hot tubs, comfortable lounge chairs, and suspended daybeds.  While I hear some adults complaining about the size of the adults’ Cove pool and an inadequate number of chairs, I never have a hard time finding a quiet place to relax in the Rainforest Room. I typically plan my own port excursions through third parties, but on this cruise, I book one of Disney’s adults-only excursions called the “Salty Piracy Adventure” ($). This turns out to be a 7-hour pirate-themed escape room … only the escape room consists of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John.  It is incredible.  Final Thoughts Toward the end of my cruise, I join the Imagineering the Disney Ships tour. A fantastic cast member, Hannah, points out how the Disney Imagineers intentionally designed every aspect of the ship and deliberately chose each piece of art in order to tell a story. Since I teach a college course on “The Rhetoric of Walt Disney World,” I am, as my students say, HERE FOR IT. Unlike the first four Disney ships that were designed to evoke the golden age of cruising with Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles, for the Triton class — the line’s newest and largest class of ships — the Imagineers wanted to tell a different story.  The Wish, Treasure, and upcoming Destiny are each designed around a motif and not an art style.  To illustrate, Hannah walks us through the Skipper Society, the Haunted Mansion Parlor, Periscope Pub, and the Scat Cat Lounge. Each of these spaces is themed around Disney attractions (the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion) or Disney films (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Aristocats). She notes how each attraction, film, and lounge tells a story of a journey, an adventure. The motif of Treasure is just that: it is the journey, the adventure, that leads you to find your treasure. I hope mine leads me back to this ship.  By Jennifer Wells To read more cruise and travel reviews like this, subscribe to Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine.
Appeared first on: Porthole.com