How did you decide what night for Palo?

[rkandmjsmommy]

We are doing the Costa Maya Western next September and beyond thrilled, we booked it backin Feb and I have been obsessively planning since then We REALLY want to do Palo but I have NO IDEA how to plan what night.

We dont want to miss Animator's Palate, Pirate night for Captains Gala, I wouldnt mind missing Luminere's/Parrot Cay for one night, we will have 10 people with us, kids ages are 10,9,6 & 3 at time of cruise, how do I figure out my rotation and plan Palo.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[pppiglet]

We did Palo on Formal night because we didn't want to dress up 3 separate nights. It just happened to fit well into our rotation. (LAP) We were 3 adults.

 

[colbybug]

We did the Nov. '06 Western double dip and for us it was simply "the process of elimination" so to speak. We didn't want to miss the first three nights rotation (Sat, Sun, Mon) and we didn't want to miss Pirate Night (Wed) nor Lobster night (Thurs) and we didn't want to wait until Friday to experience Palo, so that really only left us Tuesday which worked out perfectly! We did an early brunch on Thursday which still left room for lobster! Happy planning!

Kathy

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

colbybug,

How was brunch? Will we miss out if we dont have dinner? What time did you eat? Did you have kids with you? What was your rotation? Was Tuesday an at sea day? We have the late seating

Sorry about all the questions

 

[villagesbarbara]

On our last 7 day cruise we went to Palo on the last night. Since we had early seating we didn't want to feel rushed coming onboard from Castaway Cay. We had a 7:30 reservation, plenty of time to dress, feed the kids & get them to Flounders and the Club, do most of our packing and then go and celebrate our great trip. It was like the icing on the cake.

 

[Johnna_Story]

On our last 7 day cruise we went to Palo on the last night. Since we had early seating we didn't want to feel rushed coming onboard from Castaway Cay. We had a 7:30 reservation, plenty of time to dress, feed the kids & get them to Flounders and the Club, do most of our packing and then go and celebrate our great trip. It was like the icing on the cake.

Ditto! It's a great ending to a great week. We've gone on the last night for the last two years, and will do so again in '08.

 

[5infam]

We did the Nov. '06 Western double dip and for us it was simply "the process of elimination" so to speak. We didn't want to miss the first three nights rotation (Sat, Sun, Mon) and we didn't want to miss Pirate Night (Wed) nor Lobster night (Thurs) and we didn't want to wait until Friday to experience Palo, so that really only left us Tuesday which worked out perfectly! We did an early brunch on Thursday which still left room for lobster! Happy planning!

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

We are doing the Western this Thanksgiving, and although it is not a double dip like yours, I was under the impression that Pirate Night was Tuesday, so we booked Palo for Wednesday. I got that it was Tuesday by going to the link here on the DIS that shows the Navigators (from the 2/24/07 cruise). I used the same logic you did to pick my Palo date, but now I am concerned I got it wrong somehow. Anyone know if Pirate night changes on the Western?

 

[Caitsmama]

I was just jumping on to post the same question! LOL We can book our Palo ressie next month, and i am confused which night to book it...
Which menu is the lobster on? That would help with the elimination.. LOL


5infam -- i believe (and i could be wrong) but i think pirate night is always the night you are in cozumel on the 7 night western...

 

[Mickeyhugger]

You can also do what my DH and I always do (we have late seating.) We book Palo early (6-630ish,) and still enjoy dinner with our DD in the dining room. Regardless of what night it is in the dining room, there always seems to be some sort of fun or surprises. DH and I don't actually have dinner again in the dining room, just coffee. We also visit with our table-mates. This way, you don't worry about missing out on anything.

 

[Caitsmama]

If you had to pick palo for either brunch OR dinner, which would you pick & why??

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

If you had to pick palo for either brunch OR dinner, which would you pick & why??

We have not gone on a disney cruise yet, but we are leaning more towards the Brunch for one reason only ALASKAN CRAB LEGS But on the other hand I really want to eat at night in Palo. We are curising with friends so maybe we can each make a ressie???? We are linkined together, can we each make a ressie for 4 on separate days/night?

Thanks

 

[michboro]

Hi Kathy,

We are doing the Western this Thanksgiving, and although it is not a double dip like yours, I was under the impression that Pirate Night was Tuesday, so we booked Palo for Wednesday. I got that it was Tuesday by going to the link here on the DIS that shows the Navigators (from the 2/24/07 cruise). I used the same logic you did to pick my Palo date, but now I am concerned I got it wrong somehow. Anyone know if Pirate night changes on the Western?

I had heard that Pirate Night is usually Tuesday night (Grand Cayman), but ocassionally is switched to Wed., Cozumel day, if the ship decides to stay longer there.

 

[eva]

I had heard that Pirate Night is usually Tuesday night (Grand Cayman), but ocassionally is switched to Wed., Cozumel day, if the ship decides to stay longer there.

Nope. Pirate Night is normally on Wednesday (Cozumel). The last posted Navigators from 02/2007 have it with Pirate Night on Tuesday because they extended the stay at Cozumel. But that is not normal. Our Western (09/22) leaves Cozumel at 4:30. So I am pretty sure Pirate Night will be on Wednesday for our cruise.

I choose Tuesday night for Palo. I didn't want to miss the first three nights (Although I'm not sure why, since we have been before.) and of all the other nights, the menu for Master Chefs just didn't seem all that appealing to me.

PS - If they do switch Pirate Night to Tuesday it won't be the end of the world. We don't paln on really dressing up and we can still go to the party.

 

[colbybug]

Brunch was FABULOUS! I like that it is buffet style so that you can sample a little bit of everything without feeling like a pig and possibly wasting an entire entree....lots of variety. But don't get me wrong, dinner was excellent also. But if I had to pick between the brunch and dinner, I would choose brunch however you are allowed to make one ressie for each. This year we are CC members so I was able to make them at 90 days and was able to include my mother and sister on my ressie and they have never sailed with Disney before.

If I remember correctly, brunch is only offered on sea days so I think on the Western that only gives you two days to choose from.....I am SURE someone will correct me if I'm wrong We ate around 6:00 to 6:30 because we still wanted to be able to have a view of outside and hopefully the sun setting. You can tell what time that will be if you can get your hands on some Western navigators for the time of year you will be sailing. The times that the sun rises and sets are posted on the front page of each days' navigator. We had early dining (6:00 pm time) and our rotation was Animators Palate, Parrot Cay, then the "L" restaurant that I can't spell!!!!

Pirate Night was definitely Wednesday when we were in Cozumel (Costa Maya was Tuesday) and Lobster night is Thursday (on semi-formal night) I did one of our reservations early in the cruise because I wanted to set the tone for our long awaited vacation and then our second ressie was towards the end so we could end with a bang!

I did keep a copy of all my Western navigators for 11/06 so I could check them if anyone has any specific questions for that time of year. I have no clue how to post them

Kathy

 

[5infam]

Well now I see where I went wrong with the Navigators - I guess that is what I get for trying to plan too much!! The only savior for me is that we have an early dinner seating, so I am hoping to take the kids to Pirate Night and just not eat (that will be a tough one), and then drop them at the kids clubs after dinner, then go to Palo at 8:30 which is the only reservation I could get anyway (Tuesday was all booked up when I went to reserve online, and now everything is booked so it is too late to change it). Or, I could try and switch it when I get on board. Speakign of which - we really wanted to do brunch - are we allowed to do a Palo brunch and a dinner, or just one trip to Palo for each cruise??

 

[colbybug]

You can do one brunch and one dinner. My last cruise I couldn't book anything in advance (everything was gone) but when I boarded, I went to the Rockin' D bar and got ressies for both brunch and dinner at decent times too!

If you "have dinner and then drop off your kids at the club" then both you and your children will be missing the true party. Pirate Night does not really begin until 9:30 p.m. Yes, it kind of begins at dinner where you get your pirate bandana but the real party begins on deck later and it goes on and on. If you want your kids to be a part of the dancing, singing, characters and fireworks, you will want them with you on deck - probably by 9:00 pm so you get a good spot. Sorry about both messages (the PM and this) - I am just being anal and don't want you to miss out! Good luck!

Kathy

 

[Caitsmama]

Ok, can anyone confirm about the brunch only being offered on sea days? I want to make sure i have it right when i book it next month.. Thanks!!

 

[5infam]

I can't confirm the sea days thing - but I can tell you that when I booked, it only gave me the options that were available. So if Brunch is available when you book online, once you click on it, it will give you the available dates and times and then you can confirm it. If brunch is not an option, then you know it is booked already.

 

[michboro]

Ok, can anyone confirm about the brunch only being offered on sea days? I want to make sure i have it right when i book it next month.. Thanks!!

When I went to book Palo ressies last month, there was also an option for brunch on Sunday, Key West day, as well as the 2 at sea days.

 

[LadyShiva]

Thanks for the tip about lobster night! We'll be skipping that due to shellfish and milk allergies, so that makes it perfect for Palo night!

ETA: After checking the calendar, I noticed it was our 9th wedding anniversary, too! How perfect!

Thanks again!
Brandie