Food Disappointment BIG Time...

[Itinkso]

Fav restaurant in WDW is Le Cellier. Comparing the Dream this past August to Le Cellier last December, many nights food was better. It's not Victoria & Albert...

Also, as a comparison, Cabanas buffet is 1000 times better than any breakfast or dinner buffet at WDW.

You should start a new thread titled "Eating on the Dream is better than ___________ @ WDW!" The subtitle can be "Let the Flaming Begin!"

 

[darkwing818]

I am so glad the thread was helpful to you! I know I have learned a lot and will know better how to make the most of my dining experience with DCL in the future.

OK here's my 2 cents worth of advise to the OP. Based on her original post, she didn't even have one good meal on her cruise . Having sailed on all 4 Disney ships, we've found the food in the MDRs, the buffets, etc. to be pretty much the same, from ship to ship.
So here's my recommendation to the OP, if you book another cruise again, try a different cruise line, before giving Disney another shot. Cruises are not cheap & if a person can not even enjoy 1 good meal, that would be a deal breaker for us. While we don't cruise for the food, having 7 days (even 4 days) of bad food would certainly put a strain on the total vacation, regardless of everything else happening on board. I would check out new cruise line, & hope for better food.

 

[OurDogCisco]

OK here's my 2 cents worth of advise to the OP. Based on her original post, she didn't even have one good meal on her cruise . Having sailed on all 4 Disney ships, we've found the food in the MDRs, the buffets, etc. to be pretty much the same, from ship to ship.
So here's my recommendation to the OP, if you book another cruise again, try a different cruise line, before giving Disney another shot. Cruises are not cheap & if a person can not even enjoy 1 good meal, that would be a deal breaker for us. While we don't cruise for the food, having 7 days (even 4 days) of bad food would certainly put a strain on the total vacation, regardless of everything else happening on board. I would check out new cruise line, & hope for better food.

I agree.. I'm little concerned because I've been on 5 cruises and I never thought the food was so bad it was inedible. And, I feel like I have pretty fancy tastes in my food requirements. There was always something I could enjoy at any of the restaurants, quick service, etc... Now, I do believe my food tastes have changed a lot since I've had kids ;-)

 

[zstyles]

I see alot of people complaining but do you say anything? If you don't like it, it tastes bad SEND IT BACK!

 

[Clotho]

I agree.. I'm little concerned because I've been on 5 cruises and I never thought the food was so bad it was inedible. And, I feel like I have pretty fancy tastes in my food requirements. There was always something I could enjoy at any of the restaurants, quick service, etc... Now, I do believe my food tastes have changed a lot since I've had kids ;-)

I never said it was "inedible". I said it was disappointing. Please, everyone, don't put words in my mouth. I am not angry, but I see this happen a lot in threads where people take another poster's comments to an extreme that is not accurate.

I had read MANY threads raving about their food experiences. I did not think it would be 5-star, I did not expect fine dining. I did expect to have a few mediocre meals (come in, it's a cruise AND it's Disney--I was prepared for some shortcomings in the food department), but I also expected to have a few that made me go "Wow, this is yummy!" I never had that latter experience, it was all mediocre and some were truly bad. As I said, overcooked, overly salty, fatty, etc. This doesn't render them inedible, but it sure does spoil the fullest enjoyment of a meal of any quality or expectation. And as indicated by many comments here, others agree with this sentiment; and so, too, there were people with better experiences than mine. All this information is valuable to me in the context of my original posted question.

I see alot of people complaining but do you say anything? If you don't like it, it tastes bad SEND IT BACK!

I know this thread is long, but if you had read it fully before commenting you would see why I didn't send it back. I never left hungry, but I never left happy either. I didn't order anything else because 1) To order something else would have delayed our entire table's meal/evening, which is something I didn't want to do, and 2) I tasted other things my tablemates had ordered and none of them were any better, so I was never convinced it was worth delaying everyone's dinner to get something else that wasn't going to improve it.

And clearly I am not alone in my assessment--there are many people here who have admitted to similar disappointment. So please, understand that everyone has different experiences than you and it is no reflection on you personally. Try to empathize with what it would have been like if you had gone on a fun vacation and never left a meal with a food-induced smile on your face. Kind of a bummer, right? That is the source of my disappointment.

As to the suggestion made above to go on another cruise line, this is part of why I started the thread, as you can see from my original post. We have been researching that possibility. But also as I said in previous posts, we love everything else about Disney, and we were hoping this was just a fluke and we would be assured that it would be better on another ship or itinerary. Sadly, it is not stacking up that way. BUT, the question for us is this: is the other Disney touches important enough to take another gamble on the food? We are leaning toward yes, because we loved so much else about our trip! But it is a fair question we will continue to investigate before we book again. Thanks!

 

[dclcruiser88]

did anyone find that after the dinner seating the food was a scare commodity?? Maybe we were looking in the wrong areas because the only thing we could find after like 9PM was the beverage station. If you slept thru dinner (guilty!!) it was like they had you on a diet. I was so hungry when I got off that ship - and no, I am not as big as a ship (size 12 @ 5ft 1in).

What about the hotdog and pizza outlets?
They are not closed at 9pm are they?

 

[Itinkso]

What about the hotdog and pizza outlets?
They are not closed at 9pm are they?

Depends on the ship. They are open later on Fantasy and Dream!

 

[dlhvac]

What about the hotdog and pizza outlets?
They are not closed at 9pm are they?

Room service free anytime ?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Fav restaurant in WDW is Le Cellier. Comparing the Dream this past August to Le Cellier last December, many nights food was better. It's not Victoria & Albert...

Also, as a comparison, Cabanas buffet is 1000 times better than any breakfast or dinner buffet at WDW.

I think the buffet at The Captain's Grille at breakfast was much better than what we had at Cabanas. JMO. I for one enjoyed the food very much on my Dream vacation last month, but for me, the breakfast buffet was the least enjoyable meal.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Room service free anytime ?

Room service is included in your cruise fare, however, sodas and prepackaged snacks (candy stuff) has an extra cost, as well as alcoholic drinks. Tipping the CM who brings it is normal.

 

[dlhvac]

Room service is included in your cruise fare, however, sodas and prepackaged snacks (candy stuff) has an extra cost, as well as alcoholic drinks. Tipping the CM who brings it is normal.

Soda is free I believe

 

[sissy_ib]

Soda is free I believe

Not from room service. For free soda go to the drink station on the pool deck. DH waits in the room for the food and I go to get the Diet Cokes!

 

[dclcruiser88]

Depends on the ship. They are open later on Fantasy and Dream!

They are closed at 9pm now on the Magic and Wonder?!!!
i "wonder" why. Seems so early?

 

[Itinkso]

They are closed at 9pm now on the Magic and Wonder?!!!
i "wonder" why. Seems so early?

Dream and Fantasy are open later because of the Funnel Vision movies on deck. Those movies start @ 8:00 and run until almost midnight.

 

[sissy_ib]

Dream and Fantasy are open later because of the Funnel Vision movies on deck. Those movies start @ 8:00 and run until almost midnight.

Don't they do movies on deck on the Magic and Wonder?

 

[tajz90]

Don't they do movies on deck on the Magic and Wonder?

Yes.

 

[Itinkso]

Don't they do movies on deck on the Magic and Wonder?

Yes, and the Navigators show that when there are Funnel Vision movies the Pizzeria is open until midnight. This was a Magic Navigator...

 

[jdb in AZ]

I "Wonder" if the Alaskan cruises had funnel vision at night -- seems rather chilly, and during the summer, Alaska doesn't get dark til late.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I "Wonder" if the Alaskan cruises had funnel vision at night -- seems rather chilly, and during the summer, Alaska doesn't get dark til late.

The funnelvision is visible during daytime hours also.

 

[MillauFr]

And clearly I am not alone in my assessment--there are many people here who have admitted to similar disappointment. So please, understand that everyone has different experiences than you and it is no reflection on you personally. Try to empathize with what it would have been like if you had gone on a fun vacation and never left a meal with a food-induced smile on your face. Kind of a bummer, right? That is the source of my disappointment.

I agree with her assessment 100%. She is spot on. I just don't understand why the food is such a big weak spot. I give the MDR food at best a C. Palo food was a B. Everything else on the ship, entertainment, service, kids club, were all A and A+.