What is your opinion of Disney cruise line food?

[alytwo]

I think the food in the dining room has gotten too fancy. Yes it looks great but taste wise, just doesn't make me smile. Cruised on a small RC ship and the food was hands down better.

 

[carpenta]

I'm curious about something. We always choose 2nd seating as it fits our schedule better than first seating. Many of the comments on this thread have noted that the food seemed dry and warm instead of hot and fresh. For those of you who have done both first and second seating, have you noticed any difference in food quality? I'm wondering if the second seating food sits under a heat lamp longer than the food served at the first seating????

I have done both seatings and I did not notice any difference in that aspect.

 

[Husurdady]

It might be worth mentioning that the food quality seems to have decreased over the years....just my opinion. I'm not sure if I'm reacting to some of my favorites being removed from the menus or if it is an overall thing though.

After 10 cruises in the past 8 years [no cruisin' in 05 and 2011].......We think like you..........I do hope DLC-QC is taking notes.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I have done both seatings and I did not notice any difference in that aspect.

We haven't noticed any difference either.

RE: NCL food. Even my pregnant niece lost weight on the only cruise we did with NCL. Never again! We had rellies seeking out Pizza Hut while in port so they could get a decent meal. And food wasn't the worst of NCL's problems.

 

[MCK588]

Just got off the Dream yesterday, it was my first cruise. DH has cruised and my parents have cruised extensively (not on Disney) and all I ever heard about was how great the food was, so my expectations were high going into the trip. I admit that I didn't do Palo or Remy, but by night 3 I didn't even want to go to the MDR because the entire experience was ho-hum. On night 4 we decided not to go to dinner and eat at Cabana's instead, only to find out that Cabana's doesn't serve dinner on the last night! We still opted not to eat at the MDR and just got a slice of pizza at Flo's...that's how uneventful I felt the MDR dinner experience was.

And the Mickey waffles at Cabana's were just awful But besides for that we did have a great time!

 

[realityland]

After 10 cruises in the past 8 years [no cruisin' in 05 and 2011].......We think like you..........I do hope DLC-QC is taking notes.

This is a sad trend in the hospitality industry. Pay more, get less. It seems to be "what is the bare minimum that we can offer folks without them complaining." We are leaving on the Dream tomorrow for our first cruise ever, so we'll find out first hand. Most big corporations that operate in the hospitality industry are beholden to their bottom line/shareholders far more than maintaining any standard in the dining room. It is a race to bottom, brought about by the Walmart mentality that "cheaper is better." The list of those that have fallen from grace is endless. It would be difficult to name a large corporation in hospitality that operates under the same quality standards that they did 5 or 10 years ago. Outback Steakhouse is one that comes to mind. 10 to 15 years ago their standards were impeccable, and the food was consistent - with waits of 2 hours on a weekend being common. Now they are just ho-hum.

 

[MoukyMouse]

My (&DH's) 1st cruise was with DCL on our honeymoon in 2000. We had NO idea how cruising & food MDR worked which made for a terrible experience. The MDR menus were too different for me (escargot)& I felt like for as much my new DH had paid for the then Land & Sea pkg, I wanted to be able to eat the food. It wasn't until the last night (after we had ordered) that my DH saw in tiny print at the bottom of the menu where steak was an option.

Now, 13yrs & 2 kids later our DSs have begged for a birthday cruise & we gave in. We sail on the Dream in April & we still don't really know how DCL food works. I've read some of the posts on here where you can order as much as you want (second helpings) in the MDR & if you don't like your 1st order that you can order a different entree. Also, I've seen where ALL food on board is No Extra Charge.

Is there an official website where I could find this out. Maybe Disney Cruising for Dummies?

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Yes, you will find those who dislike the food. Food is really a subjective subject. What one person likes, another won't touch. You have to allow for the fact that they are not cooking specific meals for individual people (except at Palo and Remy). They are producing banquet style food for masses of people.

Personally, I think the food we've had on DCL has been in the good to great range.

There's only so much you can do with meat, chicken, and fish.

Right on point!

 

[bats]

My (&DH's) 1st cruise was with DCL on our honeymoon in 2000. We had NO idea how cruising & food MDR worked which made for a terrible experience. The MDR menus were too different for me (escargot)& I felt like for as much my new DH had paid for the then Land & Sea pkg, I wanted to be able to eat the food. It wasn't until the last night (after we had ordered) that my DH saw in tiny print at the bottom of the menu where steak was an option.

Now, 13yrs & 2 kids later our DSs have begged for a birthday cruise & we gave in. We sail on the Dream in April & we still don't really know how DCL food works. I've read some of the posts on here where you can order as much as you want (second helpings) in the MDR & if you don't like your 1st order that you can order a different entree. Also, I've seen where ALL food on board is No Extra Charge.

Is there an official website where I could find this out. Maybe Disney Cruising for Dummies?

Yes, you can order whatever you like!!

I am a very awkward vegetarian, allergic to peppers and onions which are staple veggie ingredients really! They cater for me very well. I can mix and match different meals, have 2 starters put together for my main meal and/or have 2 desserts!!
The children can order from the adult menu if they prefer too ... Steaks .. Anything!!

All the food is included yes. The snacks throughout the day, the dinners, the breakfasts .. All of it. The only thing you'll pay for is snacks bought from the shop prior to going to going into a show/cinema .. Stuff like popcorn etc.
You can also order room service 24/7 but is customary to tip for this (we do $1 per plate roughly).

Of course, you probably already know that Palo and Remy, the over 18 restaurants have a nominal fee charged.

 

[mawhite424]

I think the food is of good quality considering it's cruise fare. We've only cruised NCL (specialty restaurants are the only way to get a good meal!) and DCL. If you really look the menu over carefully, and know that you can order from the kids menu and they from yours, plus the fact that you can always order grilled chicken breast, salmon (or is it just fish?) and GRASS FED sirloin steak if you don't like the menu items - it's not bad at all.

The pool-side food is pretty good too. The pizza, the tacos, and the chicken strips were all good. I didn't try the hamburgers. For breakfast you can get an omelet or eggs cooked to order if you don't like anything on the buffet. Fresh fruit is available. Our grandkids loved the donuts, and the last day we saw the empty boxes from Krispy Kreme!

We have eaten during the main dining and late seating without noticing a difference.

They really went above an beyond to make sure grandson had plenty of gluten-free choices.

I'm with one of the previous posters who said if she didn't have to cook and clean up after, it was all good!

 

[Wshop]

I don't go on the cruise for the food. I am lucky to experience some of the best dining in the world and eat out often. On DCL, I find the appetizers better than the main courses and order 2 of them instead of a main dish. The service on DCL, however, has been fabulous, and I am thankful for it. I agree with the others, however, if you don't see something that you'd like, speak up...they do their best to accommodate you.

 

[itsmeamanda]

I didn't care for it. We sailed on the Dream in October 2011 (first cruise on any cruiseline), and when we got off and drove home, we stopped at a pizza place and I ate a whole pizza myself because I was so hungry.

 

[2Princess&aPrince]

The food is absolutely delicious!! So much variety too. Any food that I don't have to make and clean up after is a great taste!!!! . Just lucky to be able to do the cruise at all...don't want to waste time complaining about any of it!!! Delish!!! IMHO anyways

 

[Bunless]

On DCL, I find the appetizers better than the main courses and order 2 of them instead of a main dish.

I agree with this. Also, they do a great jobs with soups and salads. Much better than the main courses. The 1st and 2nd course is often very creative, which I value when eating out.

I did miss ethnic food,

YES!!! I agree. On our last time on the Magic, our waiter told us that the Pirate menu was "the menu of doom" and offered a Masala dish that the chefs cooked a lot. It was GOOD.

 

[CrusingFamily4]

We loved the food on the fantasy compared to the wonder. Their were a few hiccups, but seriously way better than the wonder. I had warned my parents, avid cruisers, that the food was not great, but had to literally eat my words.

 

[FlyingBelle]

We leave next week
I just love DCL - but on our last cruise it seemed multiple dishes on the menu each night had mushrooms - and DH and I can't stand mushrooms! I tried one night ordering the pork with out the mushroom sauce, and it was so terribly bland.

I had a DD3 with us at the time who was high maintenance at meal time, so I didn't take the time to talk with the waiter much - it was a "quick, find something, eat - while attending to DD, and then get her out of the dining room so the rest of our family could eat in peace".

Do you know if the waiters will work with me on this cruise? We're leaving the kiddos at home - just me and DH!

FYI - an update to my earlier post...

We didn't have a stellar experience on this trip. The first evening I asked our server if he could replace the vegetable from the dish I wanted with a vegetable from another dish on the menu. It didn't seem like he understood, but he said "sure, no problem". Well... the dish came out exactly like on the menu, not with the replacement veggie. Turns out it was not a big deal because it wasn't what I thought it would be and was actually pretty good. I didn't say anything, I probably should have I guess.

The rest of the meals I didn't ask for anything different - except the last night at Animator's - both DH & I couldn't find one appetizer, soup or salad that looked remotely interesting - so we both ordered a basic salad with ranch - which was fine.

I know the other two couples at our table had similar experiences. Nothing major, but not the type of service where I've seen so many other rave about on disboards. Really felt pressured to give an "excellent" rating on the last two nights also - he kept saying it over and over again (interesting since that was one of the questions on the survey - did you feel pressured to give an excellent rating)