Alaska Cruise menus and dinner schedule

[franandaj]

I know that Disney changes it up from time to time, but I'm wondering if anyone who has been on an Alaskan Cruise can share with me what the general dining rotation is for the cruises. I know there are three nights of rotational dining, this summer there is a Pixar Pals dinner, and that leaves three nights. I'm trying to decide which night to do Palo dinner and wondering which menu to skip. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Aby]

From my own research on the topic for our cruise this August, this was the dining rotation & menus for the 2015 set of cruises:

Day 1 - embarkation - standard rotational menu, cruise casual
Day 2 - sea day - standard rotational menu, formal night
Day 3 - sea day/Tracy arm - standard rotational menu, cruise casual
Day 4 - Skagway - Frozen menu, cruise casual
Day 5 - Juneau - Toy Story menu, semi-formal night
Day 6 - Ketchikan - Taste of Alaska menu, cruise casual
Day 7 - sea day - Till we meet again menu, cruise casual

Unfortunately it seems like this schedule has changed almost yearly as things are taken away, added, etc, and we won't really know what the 2016 cruises will bring until we get the first reports from the early cruisers in May.

As far as which night to do Palo, no matter what you choose, you will miss one of the menus - I'd suggest having a look at the menus from previous years to see which one appeals to you the least, and book Palo on that night if you can when your booking window opens. When the reports start to roll in, you may be able to change your reservation to better suit the schedule if need be. Worst comes to worst, you should be able to make changes as soon as you board if your assigned rotation conflicts with your plans. Personally, I wouldn't skip the Taste of Alaska menu - it was the favourite on both of our previous Alaska cruises!

Aby

 

[franandaj]

Thanks! This is exactly what I wanted to know! My booking window opened 50 minutes ago and I got everything but Palo dinner. I realized that I only knew when formal night was and nothing else. I knew that the Taste of Alaska was not to be missed. I also love Triton's rotational menu and Parrot Cay. The Frozen night looks the least appealing, so if they do that one again on Skagway night, that's when I booked. I will be anxiously awaiting the early TRs once the cruises start in May!

 

[Viviene Anthony]

As far as which night to do Palo, no matter what you choose, you will miss one of the menus - I'd suggest having a look at the menus from previous years to see which one appeals to you the least, and book Palo on that night if you can when your booking window opens. When the reports start to roll in, you may be able to change your reservation to better suit the schedule if need be. Worst comes to worst, you should be able to make changes as soon as you board if your assigned rotation conflicts with your plans. Personally, I wouldn't skip the Taste of Alaska menu - it was the favourite on both of our previous Alaska cruises

Thanks for all the info. I was wondering the same thing as the OP since I'd also like to dine at Palo. DH and I are going on the Alaska Cruise in August And because this will be our first Disney Cruise, I'd hate to miss any of the dinner menus, so I was thinking that brunch at Palo could be an option for us. Any input/opinions on brunch vs. dinner at Palo?

 

[franandaj]

Thanks for all the info. I was wondering the same thing as the OP since I'd also like to dine at Palo. DH and I are going on the Alaska Cruise in August And because this will be our first Disney Cruise, I'd hate to miss any of the dinner menus, so I was thinking that brunch at Palo could be an option for us. Any input/opinions on brunch vs. dinner at Palo?

I put both on my list as a "must do". They are very different. I would pick one of the nights to "bite the bullet" and miss one night in the MDR to experience the wonderful chocolate souffle. I am partial to the lamb, but they do a wonderful halibut and filet as well. The starters are phenomenal. We've tried many of them. I wouldn't miss Palo on a first cruise!
Normally it's an easy choice for us, as we skip on Pirate Night, but there isn't one of those in Alaska. I chose the night we are in Skagway as the previous poster mentioned in 2015 it was a Frozen menu. That was my least favorite of the special menus. I have become rather fond of the rotational menus and have my go to favorites on each one.

 

[sambycat]

We've been in 8 cruises now and often still struggle with what night is "safe" to miss a new dining experience - and often aim for Palo brunch instead of dinner partially for that reason! I just want to throw out there that although I agree that the new Frozen menu looks.... I would say less appealing, it was our favorite menu last December. We were all really pleasantly surprised. The names and even descriptions of some of the dishes did not do them justice! DH and DS loved the scallops appetizer and my dinner (I chose the vegetarian option) was probably the best and freshest tasting meal of our week long cruise!

Just to muddy the waters!

 

[Viviene Anthony]

I put both on my list as a "must do". They are very different. I would pick one of the nights to "bite the bullet" and miss one night in the MDR to experience the wonderful chocolate souffle. I am partial to the lamb, but they do a wonderful halibut and filet as well. The starters are phenomenal. We've tried many of them. I wouldn't miss Palo on a first cruise!
Normally it's an easy choice for us, as we skip on Pirate Night, but there isn't one of those in Alaska. I chose the night we are in Skagway as the previous poster mentioned in 2015 it was a Frozen menu. That was my least favorite of the special menus. I have become rather fond of the rotational menus and have my go to favorites on each one.

Thanks for the helpful info! I guess I'm more excited to experience it all and don't want to miss out on any of it, especially being that this is our first cruise. I suppose as long as I'm able to dine at each of the main dining rooms at some point, it will be alright to miss out on one of the menus. I still have time to research some more and decide before I make reservations, but the yummy food you've mentioned are already making me drool!

 

[Viviene Anthony]

We've been in 8 cruises now and often still struggle with what night is "safe" to miss a new dining experience - and often aim for Palo brunch instead of dinner partially for that reason!

At least I know now that it's not just me being a first time cruiser!

 

[wjs3]

Hi--

We're going on our 7th cruise and struggle mightily with this question every time, as we hate having to pick a rotational dinner to miss and we really enjoy Palo/Remy. So it is definitely not a first time cruiser thing.

In your shoes, I'd make the call on the cruise, after you see your rotation. You can discuss with servers (or with the dining staff on embarkation) what the menus are and what you should do. For what it's worth--and I'm not guaranteeing this, of course--we've never had a problem making or changing Remy/Palo reservations once on board.

Also, for what it's worth, we tend to like to do Remy/Palo later in the cruised (every one is settled in so much better!) and we like to do it on a sea day or a day with an early all aboard time so we have time to get kids sorted out for their dinners, in clubs, etc.

Good luck. You'll love it. Alaska is an amazing cruise. Bring layers!

WJS3

 

[Flossbolna]

Before our cruise I had read some rather not so favourable comments on the Frozen menu and was very surprised how much we liked it. If you are interested, I can post some pictures of what we had. On the Wonder I most likely would miss AP rotational menu. I am also not a huge fan of the Toy Story menu and the Till we Meet Again menu.

 

[franandaj]

In your shoes, I'd make the call on the cruise, after you see your rotation.

We may have to do this anyways. Being Gold, our booking window opened last night. I got everything I wanted. However my parents are joining us and they are 1st time cruisers. If they can't get a similar time and date to our Palo reservation we may need to change it upon boarding.

Before our cruise I had read some rather not so favourable comments on the Frozen menu and was very surprised how much we liked it. If you are interested, I can post some pictures of what we had.

I'm still holding out hope that it will come up in the TR. But I would be interested in seeing your choices. When I looked online, I saw there were some salmon selections and other items that I could either take it or leave it.

On the Wonder I most likely would miss AP rotational menu. I am also not a huge fan of the Toy Story menu and the Till we Meet Again menu.

I really like what I've been doing at AP for dinner for the past three cruises, plus I'd like my parents to see the "show". I weighed the Frozen menu against Toy story and decided that Toy Story won by a hair. If the "Til we meet again" menu is the same as it was in October, there was this Indian Lamb dish with spices and raita that was just fabulous. I wouldn't want to miss that.

 

[Viviene Anthony]

Hi--

We're going on our 7th cruise and struggle mightily with this question every time, as we hate having to pick a rotational dinner to miss and we really enjoy Palo/Remy. So it is definitely not a first time cruiser thing.

In your shoes, I'd make the call on the cruise, after you see your rotation. You can discuss with servers (or with the dining staff on embarkation) what the menus are and what you should do. For what it's worth--and I'm not guaranteeing this, of course--we've never had a problem making or changing Remy/Palo reservations once on board.

Also, for what it's worth, we tend to like to do Remy/Palo later in the cruised (every one is settled in so much better!) and we like to do it on a sea day or a day with an early all aboard time so we have time to get kids sorted out for their dinners, in clubs, etc.

Good luck. You'll love it. Alaska is an amazing cruise. Bring layers!

WJS3

Thank you, thank you! Your post has been very helpful.

I really like what I've been doing at AP for dinner for the past three cruises, plus I'd like my parents to see the "show".

Just by what I've researched and heard, I feel like I wouldn't want to miss the AP rotational and the "show" either.

 

[DLgeeks]

Just to muddy the waters a little further, I just did my check in for our June cruise last week and while the Pixar party was listed under the ship activities, the Frozen party was not - so they may not be doing that menu/party again this year. I guess we'll all have to wait until May to see what the schedule is for this year! I went ahead and just booked Palo for us on the Tracy Arm night so that I had something on the books, I figure I can always move it later on if new info comes out.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

Yes, and remember that they always hold back some tables for Palo so hurry to Wavebands when you board to get a reservation!

 

[anricat]

The Till We Meet Again menu is our least favorite and while we hate to miss our serving team on the last night, we don't mind missing that menu. There just really isn't much on there DH or I really like so we've decided on Palo for that night.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting a reservation once on board should you decide on a night!

 

[Viviene Anthony]

The Till We Meet Again menu is our least favorite and while we hate to miss our serving team on the last night, we don't mind missing that menu. There just really isn't much on there DH or I really like so we've decided on Palo for that night.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting a reservation once on board should you decide on a night!

DH and I always like to do something special on the last night of our vacations, so I was thinking about Palo being a last night dinner. And thanks for your input. Definitely a lot to learn about cruising. I know I can even ask the Staff while onboard if I have questions, but I like to know about a few things ahead of time. Even though I sort of butted in on OP's thread, everyone has been so helpful all over the boards.

 

[Snowwhyt]

In 2010 when we went to AP on formal night there was no show. Then the second night we selected Palo and missed our only chance at the show. In 2014 we went to AP twice and had a different show each day. Don't forget we get back pretty late from Ketchikan and Skagway.

 

[Agent 86]

I had the same issue. We ended up choosing the fourth night.

IF the main / standard dining on that evening looks irresistible, then maybe we'll ask whether we can simply have a starter during the early dining rotation before going to dinner at Palo.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I had the same issue. We ended up choosing the fourth night.

IF the main / standard dining on that evening looks irresistible, then maybe we'll ask whether we can simply have a starter during the early dining rotation before going to dinner at Palo.

I'd suggest that you not do that. A "starter" in the MDR won't be a good start to a Palo meal.

You certainly may go to the MDR, however, and just sit there/see the show.

 

[The Grays]

Is there a night that they have crab legs? Our DD loves them.