2 Wonder Pacific Coast Cruise questions (abt food!)

[mullysisters]

First time cruisers here. On a five night cruise how will rotational dining work? Repeat two restaurants?
Secondly, if you would like to eat at one dining room every night, or more than the scheduled rotation, would that be possible? I eat fish, not shellfish, no meat, fowl or dairy, so some menus work better than others.

 

[diablodancer]

First time cruisers here. On a five night cruise how will rotational dining work? Repeat two restaurants?
Secondly, if you would like to eat at one dining room every night, or more than the scheduled rotation, would that be possible? I eat fish, not shellfish, no meat, fowl or dairy, so some menus work better than others.

Dining’s always on a rotation so you can’t go to the same one every night. View the menus more as guides, make sure you notify them of your dietary requirements in advance and talk to your head server once you board - they’ll adapt things or make you something from scratch that suits (I’m vegan so often can’t eat off the menus and never have any trouble getting food on board).

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have no first hand experience, except I have sat with folks who have ordered the next day’s dinner on the day before. So, I do think DCL will accommodate you. Maybe go to where the restaurant people are on boarding day to discuss what you need? I think a TA can give you direction, or if not, call DCL.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

You either rotate or don’t attend that night as it’s all or nothing as your spot will be filled by others.

you will eat in 2 dining rooms twice, one once but with unique menus each night (you’ll eat the restaurants main menu the first and a different menu the 2nd)

That said there is always salmon (I think it is) available nightly (under the lighter side) plus by adding your needs will get you more customized meals (most likely by ordering the night before like most allergy meals do)

once return to sail happens and menus get confirmed you can have a good idea of what would work to have a baseline to tell the servers

 

[HiStitch626]

First time cruisers here. On a five night cruise how will rotational dining work? Repeat two restaurants?
Secondly, if you would like to eat at one dining room every night, or more than the scheduled rotation, would that be possible? I eat fish, not shellfish, no meat, fowl or dairy, so some menus work better than others.

On a five night cruise you will repeat two of the restaurants, so it may be something like ABCAB or AABBC or ABBAC. On three of the nights you will get what is called the rotational menu. These can be seen on Scott's page, although there may be changes when the Wonder starts sailing again - https://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/

On these nights, it may be possible to get something from the menu at one of the other restaurants.

One two of the nights, the restaurants will all be serving the same menu such as Pirates or Til We Meet Again. So, there will not be the same flexibility.
On all nights there are vegetarian options and the lighter notes section of the menu always features salmon.

 

[Geomom]

First time cruisers here. On a five night cruise how will rotational dining work? Repeat two restaurants?
Secondly, if you would like to eat at one dining room every night, or more than the scheduled rotation, would that be possible? I eat fish, not shellfish, no meat, fowl or dairy, so some menus work better than others.

There is a different menu each night, it never repeats. Each restaurant serves their menu once, one night would have the pirate menu and I'm not sure what menu they'd do for the 5th night. I don't think you'd be allowed to dine off your schedule as other people would occupy that table the other nights. But your servers may be able to get you something from one of the other restaurants if they share the kitchen.

 

[TestingH2O]

and I'm not sure what menu they'd do for the 5th night.

They usually do either the see ya real soon on the last night or the welcome aboard menu the first night to fill out the 5 nights.

 

[RedHead0186]

First time cruisers here. On a five night cruise how will rotational dining work? Repeat two restaurants?
Secondly, if you would like to eat at one dining room every night, or more than the scheduled rotation, would that be possible? I eat fish, not shellfish, no meat, fowl or dairy, so some menus work better than others.

As others have said, they will work with you on your dietary restrictions. I had a friend with soy and gluten intolderance, she told the servers about it the first night and they were very strict about it going forward. She got the nexts night's menu the night before so she could pre-order her food and they refused to serve her anything that could have soy or gluten (since it was an intolerance not an allergy, sometimes she wanted to try something but they would not give it to her). Given that, I imagine if you communicate yours up front they will be very attentive to and helpful with it.

 

[Weedy]

The day you board there will be an area (it will be listed in the Navigator) where you can make dining requests. If you do have a special request make it ahead of time and not the first night in the restaurant.
Your serving team is taking care of multiple tables and tries very hard to get what you need but it’s not always possible.
Disney is good at handling allergies.
It’s not an easy request for your server (yes it has happened for some people) to get something from another restaurant.
On the Dream and Fantasy there are 4000 passengers divided into three restaurants with two seating. So 600 plus people sit down at the same time per restaurant.
The restaurants serve all different courses at the same time. It’s crazy busy.
There is always a menu called on the lighter side that will have a few more choices.

 

[mullysisters]

Thank you to all who responded. I'm pretty easy going, I would never want to request anything unreasonable from the hosts/hostesses. I thought that perhaps a number of the passengers might eat at Cabanas each night leaving a few open tables at each the main dining rooms.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Very few people eat at Cabanas. It is only open for a few hours - usually 6:30 to 8:30 - and serves the same thing as in the main dining rooms. Your server at the main dining room will want to make sure you have what you want to eat and you are happy, no matter which physical dining room you are eating in that night.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you to all who responded. I'm pretty easy going, I would never want to request anything unreasonable from the hosts/hostesses. I thought that perhaps a number of the passengers might eat at Cabanas each night leaving a few open tables at each the main dining rooms.

Cabanas is open for dinner some nights; definitely not the first night or last night. That is a little more casual in that you don't have to go at your assigned dinner time, but it is still a sit-down service for dinner (not a buffet). They usually have selections from the MDRs and maybe a couple other items. The quick-service locations and room-service are other options if you really don't wish to eat in a particular MDR.

 

[Weedy]

Thank you to all who responded. I'm pretty easy going, I would never want to request anything unreasonable from the hosts/hostesses. I thought that perhaps a number of the passengers might eat at Cabanas each night leaving a few open tables at each the main dining rooms.

On the cruise you are assigned a table. There will be a number on the table. You will have the same number at every restaurant.
They won’t know if someone isn’t showing up so they can’t give the table away.
**Some times people will have a Palo or Remy reservation and will let their serving team know ahead of time but not always.
When serving that many people at a time it runs like a well oiled machine but unfortunately it’s hard to deviate.

 

[bedgraynexl]

Like the others have said, Disney is phenomenal at taking care of their guests.
I do not think you will have any issues at all.

Trust me, once you experience Disney's hospitality you'll understand their system.
The staff really gets to know you. On about the third day of our Baja Cruise we encountered our main server in Triton's for lunch.
He was supervising but told the waiter at the table he sat us at what to get us for our drinks and kept checking on us as he walked the section.
At dinner that night he asked us about lunch and how we felt taken care of.

It's things like that that really make a Disney Cruise a Disney Cruise

 

[DisneyConvert]

I have sat with folks who have ordered the next day’s dinner on the day before. So, I do think DCL will accommodate you.

Yes, they will.

My wonderful wife has many food allergies and requirements and DCL always comes through (and we are always generous with our Servers and the HeadWaiter! who watch out for her very capably).
It is actually easier for them if we "pre-plan" her order for the next night after dessert as our child is older and off to his adventures, and we like to linger.
That way we don't keep folks waiting with Q&A each night when everyone ("normal") is ordering.

Also, FWIW:
a) on many nights, the menu's among the 3 different restaurants are actually similar (oops! DCL "secret"). It's the theming and the show and the costumes that are different!
b) with a little preparation and patience (all the menu's are on the DCL app btw), one can ask nicely and order from the other menu's if one is patient, depending on your Server' teams' workload. We usually do 2nd Dining (less crowded) and don't mind lingering.
As the kitchens for the two restaurants on the 3rd Deck(s) are shared, this is not as arduous for the Servers as one might think it would be.

 

[mullysisters]

I'm not really used to making "off menu" requests. I have no allergies, I just dont eat meat, shellfish. They do have vegetarian options that seem nice but on a cruise like this I would rather not have pasta for dinner. They seem to mix meat and seafood together(except for the baked salmon), I guess there aren't many people who eat fish but not meat. I make it work but may not eat at the MDR if there is nothing I want. My food choices dont really fit a label but it's not like I have allergies where I would suffer health issues either. I really appreciate all the great advice!

 

[Starwind]

The "lighter fare" section of the menu always has a fish dish. It will be fairly basic, but you could ask for sides from one or more of the main section dishes to accompany it instead of the plain rice or baked potato and steamed veggies it normally comes with.

The main entrees will almost always have a fish option.

I suggest speaking with your serving team the first night and asking if it is easier to order your dinner each night as normal, or to pre-order the night before as someone with a food allergy would. Let them be your guide.

You can get an idea of historical menus here: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/