Skeletal fish sing and dance in a spooky aquarium, eyes peer and blink from cobwebbed portraits and the spirits are well and truly out of the bottle. Welcome to the Haunted Mansion parlour aboard the new Disney Treasure cruise ship. Here, drinkers can sample cocktails such as The Chilling Challenge, Happily Never After and Final Vow. If you fancy somewhere a little less ominous, dive into the Periscope Pub, inspired by 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, where a display of ‘water’ shimmering on the ceiling gives the impression of being in a submarine.
Any other cruise line would be worried about having mice on board. But with Disney, Mickey and Minnie are the stars of the show in every way. They and pals such as Donald Duck and Goofy lead singing and dancing and pop up around the ship, waving to guests and greeting children.
Mickey and Minnie even have their own 760ft water ride – AquaMouse – which propels riders on inflatable rafts around a series of clear tubes way above the top deck. But it’s not only classic cartoon characters on board the 4,000-passenger ship, which I joined on a preview cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, ahead of its highly anticipated maiden voyage last week.
French Polynesian princess Moana stars in a stunning new stage version of the film. As you might expect with Disney, production and performance levels match – or even exceed – those in the West End or Broadway. Hawaiian actress Kaena Kekoa is impressive in the central role as she navigates sinister sea mists and confronts giant puppets.
