Touring Disney's New Cruise Ship: The Disney Treasure

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, I've got my travel buddy here, Joe. But Joe,

(00:02):
I brought bigger kids. You brought your young kids and
your wife on this Disney cruise, their newest the Treasure,
And I have my thoughts.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
But I wanted to ask.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
You, since we're dealing with different seasons in our life,
what was it like for you, a busy dad with
kids on this cruise, Because I'll tell you my experience
was perfection, but it was easy. What about you?

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Well, I look, I loved it. We had a great time.
Now again, I used to be a cruise snob. I
just didn't I didn't understand or just know the appeal
of it. Or I always thought like it was something
like that at an extravagant expense that I would never,
you know, want to want to commit to.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Ditto.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
So I went on the Disney Wish three or four,
two or three years ago whenever that was for their
inaugural launch. Took my family and it was great. It
was unbelievable. I understand the appeal. It's it's it's a
Disney park on the water. It's a you know, it's
a it's it's a it's a spa, it's a salon.
It's everything on the ship. I mean, ships and cruises

(01:03):
are amazing, especially and Disney does it best. Took my
family there this time around. We went in knowing the
options we had, so one of the big things like
again the Disney. The Disney cruises are great for families,
but there's great for adults too. I mean, if you're
an adult traveling with no kids, I would still pick

(01:24):
a Disney cruise. There's so many awesome things to do
and entertain you. My favorite point of on the ship
was the Haunted Mansion themed you know, lounge to some bar.
It's for twenty one and up. It's grown ups, no
kids laugh. So we got little kids on the boat.
My kids are six and nine. They've got the Disney
Kids Clubs. They've got them for little kids, they've got

(01:46):
them for teens. These are areas that are secured and
staffed and you know, themed, plenty of entertainment options, so
you can check your kids in at the Disney Kids Club,
they ride a slide to get into the thing first.
You know again that you wash your hands when you
go in, you wash your hands when you go out,
and you know, they do activities or the kids can

(02:08):
just do this thing, wander and play. There's a Marvel
room with all kinds of virtual reality games and just
stuff and props. There's a Star Wars deming room again,
I mean funny stuff to do, arts and crafts room.
I mean the area is huge. I mean it's almost
I mean it's it had to have been say a
fourth of the deck. That deck is all this kid's club. Right.

(02:29):
So again at first we felt like or you know,
we're just kind of dump Are we dumping our kids off?
But no, it's like it's it's designed.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
It cannot be.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Away from us. They don't want to be parented it
all the time, you know, they want to relax and
just have fun. And that's where these these these like
camp they're like camp counselors in there. You know. It's
called the Oceaneer's Club. I remember one time one night
we dropped the kids off after dinner. Uh so we
went had a drink and we went to pick them
up for the play, which or the you know which

(02:57):
I'm sure we'll talk about.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Again again for per Foremance.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yes, so yeah, and I just kind of I'm at
the desk to pick them up, and I can see
in there and they've got a lot of the kids
together in front of these big giant I mean thirty
foot TVs. And they've got like this big dance thing
going on and it's a routine. My daughter's in there
just doing this routine dance and I mean having fun,
and it's great. She didn't want to leave, like okay,

(03:21):
let's go see this play like she knows like, oh,
I'm having fun. I don't want to leave yet.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
And then the that's what what parents would hope.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Right, absolutely. Yeah, So again for this cruise, we took
more advantage of that and we got to go just
have a quiet drink with ourselves and just time to
on wine and relax. And so it was great. I
see the appeal as you know, part of a family
of four, and I see the appeal as just just
me and my wife going, you know.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
So exactly.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
And I went with my youngest son and his wife
and Joe. If you don't have kids around, I didn't
even see the kids. I mean I saw your kids.
There were kids, but it's not like it's just just
kids everywhere. It was so beautifully and elegantly done. When
I walked into that main lobby area, very Aladdin, very

(04:10):
elegant and velvet, and I'm thinking I've been on cruises before,
this was one of the most luxurious cruises. Everywhere you went,
it was just so well thought. Make the customer smile.
I mean literally I smiled the whole time, whether it
was eating for with the buffet that was so nicely done,

(04:32):
windows right looking out to the ocean. Everyone didn't you
notice the weight staff, our servers.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
They're like your friends. They were so kind.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
And at night time we'd go to the themed restaurant
Plaza del Coco, Plaza des Coco, which was of course
Miguel and they were all performing, which was such a treat.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
But you had the same waiters ours was.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Me me Loose, Me Loose, or I think is me
Loose from Bosnia and Maria from Brazil. They were your
weight staff the entire time you were there, so they
got they already had my ic waiting for me.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
It was just beautifully done right.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
And the thing about too, like I remember the first
day I think it was one of it was really
early on. You just kind of mentioned to me or
something like, man, this is this is first class everywhere
you go, and that's a great it's a great point.
I mean, the course, the ship's brand new, but they
design it's it's it's got that Disney magic that you
go if you're a fan of the parks, like the
parks are so clean and you know, everything's every day,

(05:34):
it's freshly painted, and food is phenomenal. It's the same
sensibility with the ship. Everything is. I mean, I almost
felt like I don't don't know if I belong here,
just it seems so ex gravig it and expensive.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
And when you walk into these restaurants, we were in
the world of Marble, Marvel. We were in Plaza dey Coco.
I kept saying, we're on a ship. I couldn't believe
we were on a ship the way that they did it.
And we had the pleasure of interviewing a lot of
people who you know, from their hearts made this ship
what it is and they put their heart and soul
into it, and that was the whole purpose, taking the

(06:09):
park and somehow with their Disney magic, getting it on
the ship.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Right.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Can we talk entertainment? Oh my god, that's what I
love about ships. I don't care if my family goes
with me. I'm going to the show at night. It
brings me so much joy. These shows. They kept saying
it's Broadway esque.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
It was.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
It was Broadway level shows from the sees the Adventure
with Goofy, you know, commandeering the cruise ship, and then
we met all the characters and it was the world
premiere of Mowana.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
Right. Well, and I'll tell you one better because I'm
I'm I'm kind of again. I always was a snob
about theater, right Like, I went and saw you know,
I saw Wicked, and I saw a Book of Mormon
and things like that, and I enjoyed those. But so
the theaters that I saw those in, you know, the
classic old school, you know, just probably like a lot

(07:03):
of New York there. I've never seen a show in
New York, but I imagine, you know, the buildings are
old and everything. Disney's theater on these ships are so modernized.
Like the end, I didn't even realize, like the entire
wall around the stage above it, below it, I mean,
every entire wall is some kind of either a screen
for a projector or it's a screen that's kind of

(07:25):
hidden and throughout the shows, like at one point that
the show you're talking about the first one a night
one they had tinker Bell come out and fly around
like she was real.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
She was like right there.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
It's got that slight three D effect to it. It
just it just you don't see it coming. And then
plus they also at certain points they'll drop confetti across
the entire audience. I mean, or I mean we saw
a little mermaid on the Disney whist last boat and
bubbles came down everywhere again, so to me even too,
just it's just it's this wow factor. It's just it's

(07:57):
they've taken it another level and they've made it more
entertained in that fun family way. You know. I don't
think it's not traditional theater, but it takes the best
of traditional theater. Is that Disney movie spin you know?

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Uh yeah?

Speaker 2 (08:11):
That that uh Moana all right, Moana World premiere?

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Never did it live anywhere else but on the Disney
Treasure Grandma was interactive with the audience. She was hilarious,
I mean, so comfortable. Everyone just fell in love with her.
And then every single character I felt, you know what,
I felt like like they were cartoon characters. They were
they were in the movie as a cartoon, but they

(08:39):
were real life, which means their voices were a little
I mean, it was just I can't even explain it.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
You have to go see it yourself.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
So another thing that was interesting points So again the
first time I didn't I wasn't quite paying attention. I
didn't know what all my options were. The first cruise
right right right on, Hey, there's a theater. There's also
two movie theaters, and we didn't hit any of those,
but they've got movies going that are in the theaters. Now.
I'm a want of two.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Kind up on the deck outside the.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Cool playing on one. You know. So again families or
adults either way. So for the play last cruise, we
saw a little Mermaid and I was blown away. I
mean the bubbles thing, you know at the under the
Sea performance, the song and everything. My daughter was like
my daughter's picking up confetti off the floor to keep
it because she was having some so good. But I
didn't realize until this one they do a different show

(09:27):
every night. It's like, hey, so the night one was
kind of a Disney Verse like all the like, several
different characters and Princess came out and that was a short,
little thirty five minute minute show. Bwana full on production
was I mean it was. It was definitely I think
it was.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Over an hour, but it was fifteen minutes, which again was.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
Great because if if you've got kids, for them to
sit through an extended show and take an intermission and
leave and come back, no intermission to these shows just
brisk and they're brilliant and they're great. Performances are great,
and I'm still blown away by the I wish I
would have recorded it. I think I think it's.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
We're allowed to record it right right.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Well, yeah, and I didn't want to, but I just
I want to remember this forever that I love the
Muana movie. But that point where Taka the big Giant
monster was, they had a multiperson puppet that was a great.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
Look, Oh my gosh, the.

Speaker 3 (10:18):
Way it I just it was some kind of magic trick.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
It was real. It was like it was real.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
It was a physical puppet, and they did some kind
of live costume change right in front of you where
the skin comes off and all of a sudden, it's
you know, it's what's the what's the the goddess's name
TAFEEDI Now I was under that and and you know,
and she just kind of transformed. It's just amazing and

(10:43):
it just looks so cool and it's a physical puppet.
You can't figure out how they quite did that, so
so quick and easy.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
And okay, how about the last night Beauty and the
Beast all the set changes and the movement.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
So here's the deal.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
You know, I'm obsessed with dancing, and there was one
dancer that I was like, oh my gosh, this guy's amazing.
Well not only was he a dancer, they sing, and
then he was also moving the scenery around the sets
to enable Beauty to climb up the stairs and the
Beast to do this.

Speaker 2 (11:11):
I mean, oh my gosh.

Speaker 3 (11:13):
So I I this might bring up another good point.
I didn't get to see that one because my son,
Ozzie had had enough at that night three He's like, anyone,
I want to go do something else.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
So but your wife saw it.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
Yeah, my wife and my daughter stayed and watched it
there in the front row. So I took Ozzie and again,
we've got all these options to do. There's so much
going on. If you can entertain yourself, you're covered. If
you're like, hey, I don't know what to do, you're covered.
So I'm just looking at their likeinery, and they've got
all these you know, all these things that available. They
had movie quote trivia in one of the lounges I

(11:47):
think where our first meeting was. You and I went to.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
It's a nice little stage area.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
So we went in and they had this big stage
and they're just they had a game show host and
they're just doing movie quote trivia and me and my
son he had a little milkshake and I had a
drink and we're just sitting there playing and again a
little twenty minute, thirty minute little game and just things
like that are happening all the time, so there's there's
always options to do, and.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
It always They're so comfortable, so comfortable.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
The cabins are great. We got photos and videos on
our social media. The cabins were huge. I mean as
large as any you know hotel room. I mean your
basic hotel room. You've got plenty of room. Family four recovered.
I do want to go back to the food real quick,
because food is all phenomenal. I mean, you know, I

(12:34):
have this term I throw out theme park food right
because I've gone I love theme parks. I grew up
in Cincinnati King's Island, but you know, theme park food,
it's like it's it's such mass food and it's made
super quick and get it out, you know, and it's
just it's fast food ishs but slightly but not at Disney.
You know, any food you buy at the Disney Park
is phenomenal, especially during the Wine and Food Festival. Everything

(12:58):
you eat, there was nothing I eight that I wasn't.
This is a this is amazing, you know. So on
the cruise, this is the part that's all inclusive. Like
you you know, if you've paid your ticket, you paid
your anything you eat you don't have to pay for.
They've got on the deck where the pools are, they've

(13:18):
got basically I call it a food court. But again
it's not to diminish it. But they've got like stages
of restaurants around there, burgers and barbecue and pizza places,
you know, like a taco place and I mean ice cream,
so all that's available at anytime. It's all great. You
just walk up and take it go. Then they've got
what was the market, was it Marisel's Market? Yes, that

(13:41):
was the Buffet's that's the buffet and breakfast, lunch and
dinner that's available. They're unbelievable eggs, Benedict, the chartuueri board,
they've just got clotacked glass. You want one. Here's some
smoked salmon chicken.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
Oh my gosh, I love the chicken. The roast beef
was incredible, the cold amazing.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
All these little desserts, I mean, and you take as
many as you want, but just they're all fancy and
and you know, and then the kids station too, so
they've got a special lowered spot for pancakes and whatever.
Kids can walk up and get their own stuff. Just
fun little thing, unbelievable, all you can eat, just go whenever.

(14:21):
So then the restaurants, the themed restaurants, and there were three.
First one was as you said, positive cocoa, high end
Mexican food, I mean unbelievable, I mean the top notch stuff.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
I mean I had the most amazing bass. I don't
know what you got your first night, but I had
the bass and the chips were to die for.

Speaker 3 (14:40):
Nam Yeah, I mean again, we we ordered every I
mean we got every appetizer.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah you can order everything.

Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, and again yeah you can eat, you can eat.
So then second night Marvel World of Marvel, and so
I went to this on the Disney Wish and and
I almost skipped it just because we were trying to
work in I think Malwana too was that night or
Mawana the.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
Play We wanted to go to the earlier show.

Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, so I was like, when move we skipped dinner,
we can make sure we get that see the early Anyway,
we we ended up not. My wife talked me and letya,
let's just stick with a dinner plan, and I'm so
glad I did. That was my favorite meal of the
of the trip at that World of Marvel. And again
it's a high end restaurant. It's just themed Marvel style
and they've got screens up and they've got Marvel Trivia going.

(15:29):
So my son was entertained and we're talking. We got there.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
It's like a.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
Machine on the table that you would answer the questions
asked on the screen.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
So everyone was engaged right right.

Speaker 3 (15:37):
This was a great time. And then the all the
servers did a dance and stuff at one point. Yep.
That was that was That was my favorite food and
my favorite experience of the night.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
I had black pasta.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
I had black pasta with shrimp that they wrapped up
into this amazing little It looked like this little little
pod and then you unraveled it and I'm.

Speaker 2 (15:58):
Like, this is the best I've ever had black pasta.
It was so good.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
And then night three in nineteen twenty three, that's the
the you know, it's like a mini a really high end,
classy New York style, classic New York style Art deco
with a museum of.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
Sorts of all drawings and sketches.

Speaker 3 (16:18):
From Disney's history. So yeah, phenomenal time, phenomenal.

Speaker 1 (16:22):
Alt and roy and it was like a speakeasy. It
was like a beautiful, elegant type speakeasy. And that night
I went for it because it was our last night.
I was so depressed. I ordered the lobster tail, which
the major d came and cracked the shell and got it.
It was huge lobster tail with the butter. But I
also had the venison. Oh my gosh, it was perfection.

(16:46):
I mean, I'm going, I'm on a Disney cruise and
I'm eating purely elegant food.

Speaker 2 (16:50):
It was. It was amazing.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
Now you do have to pay for your drinks, and
I did run up quite the drink bell, but the
drinks were phenomenal as well.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
I mean everything I watched, you, I know, the thing
that I paid extra for was the specialty coffees. You
had to pay extra, but the coffee alone was just amazing.
I'm a big coffee drinker and that was just so good.
With that cream, I'm like, this cream is amazing. Everything
was the thing that I loved about it so much
is they thought about what you needed before you.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
Even knew you needed it, right absolutely, And.

Speaker 1 (17:20):
When they set your room up, I mean I didn't
even realize we had a bunk bed coming down from
the ceiling right and the blanket. I was like, I
want this blanket, and they had it decorated each night
when you walked in, and the person in charge of
your room, he was watching. I mean, he always knew
when to go in and make that room so comfortable
for you.

Speaker 3 (17:39):
And a little I mean they give you a little
gifts and stuff, a little pla house ears and stuff
like that every day or.

Speaker 2 (17:44):
Something every day.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yeah. And then the other thing I would point out
is because we went, of course in December, so definitely
it's it's warm enough to get in the pools and
the pools are heated. My kids didn't you know, they
didn't miss a beat.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
You know, we didn't even mentioned when we when we landed,
when we hit Kah's wait Key and I went in
the water. It was chili, but it was so beautiful
and green and crystal clear. I had to check it
out so that we've got video of that too, right, And.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
So my daughter and I we did. They've got a
five they've got a bike trail in five k on
the island. So if you want to walk the five
k and you earn a little finisher metal.

Speaker 2 (18:26):
So that was a big metal.

Speaker 1 (18:27):
That wasn't little, that was a pretty so yeah Disney metal,
you know, so we.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
Each earned one. It was we went on the walk
on the island and I'm usually not a big salt
water like. I mean, I'll get in with my kids
and stuff. But I was totally fine. Not I didn't
get in the water really this time. I waited. I
just walked in and yeah, chili, totally fine. Again. There's
food on the island.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
Amazing barbecue. Oh those ribs were so good. But so
you say, well, why did you guys get to go
Because we wanted to preview it for our listeners because
we're sending a family, right, I can't wait.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
So what I think we ought to do is. I'd
love to. I want to. I want to do a
podcast with who if they'll, if they'll do it, if
they're'll do it. I want to you and me talk
to the whoever we picked to be the winner. You know,
it's random draw from everyone who's registered on our website,
but I'd love to get to have a podcast with
them before and we just kind of here's what to

(19:19):
look here's what to look out for, here's what to try,
here's what to do. And then afterwards too, we want
to know, like how was it? Tell us everything?

Speaker 1 (19:26):
And the thing is, either way, whether you've already been
on a cruise before or you've never been on a cruise,
you will be like they say, you never know what
to expect on a Disney cruise. So even if you've
been on a Disney cruise in the past, this is
their newest cruise ship, the Treasure, and it's taken all
of the best of cruise ships in the past and

(19:47):
put it on.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
This unbelievably beautiful ship.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
Right.

Speaker 1 (19:51):
So from beginning to end, I just I love the
whole experience. I smiled all the way through every performance.
I kept going, you know, there's some shows I'm going
I'm not smiling. I'm not smiling this one I go.
I'm smiling, like from beginning to end. And I know
my kids, I mean Nash Is twenty nine and his
wife Claire, they were besought.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
They had so much fun. What a great gift for
your family.

Speaker 3 (20:13):
Absolutely, I can't wait to send somebody.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, so all you have to do is just register.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
Keep registering at Sunday ninety nine dot com, get one
hundred dollars to set you up, and then you could
be going on.

Speaker 2 (20:23):
It really is a dream cruise.

Speaker 1 (20:24):
And one of the people that I spoke with, I
think his name was Brennan. He said, this is a
cruise ship where you really will treasure the memories you
will