Anyone else not into the dinner shows on new ships?

[Scalemaster34]

Would be great to have this... in practice I don't know how that could work though. Perhaps a limited sit-down dinner menu in Cabanas for those who don't want the show. Not a buffet, but a sit-down meal with items already on offer in the other dining rooms. And, advance reservations required at established dining times.

They use to do it... so it's not like trying to create something new. It was a sit-down meal with no reservations required, never was too busy so wait was pretty short. We (just two of us), because they had seated us with a family of three at dinner and it didn't go great the first night. They had no other table but told us about eating at Cabanas for dinner. COVID killed it....

We didn't mind the server that were used, were still in training....

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

...

We didn't mind the server that were used, were still in training....

It would still be a great way to train new staff because as quickly as they are expanding, there are bound to be issues. It could be used to train replacements for people whose contracts are ending and aren't renewing, or even as a remedial course for people who show promise but are maybe struggling a little.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

We love the shows on all the ships. We just got off the Wish (3 night). I have heard repeatedly that the sound is way to loud in Arendelle. We were pretty close to the stage and it was actually too quiet. We noticed the main singer touch her mike more than once as of to signal it was too low. We also noticed that all of the singers were not loud at all.
Marvel was loud for sure

 

[vakamalua]

Why doesn’t DCL just have one side of the buffet open every dinner time just like all the other mass market cruise lines? Now that most of the DCL dining rooms are too loud & packed tight every night to even have a conversation with no alternative but room service & limited junk food, repeat cruising is far less attractive.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Why doesn’t DCL just have one side of the buffet open every dinner time just like all the other mass market cruise lines? Now that most of the DCL dining rooms are too loud & packed tight every night to even have a conversation with no alternative but room service & limited junk food, repeat cruising is far less attractive.

Staffing is the most likely explanation. The people working the buffet for breakfast and lunch are the same people working the MDRs for dinner so there probably isn't much, if any given corporations drive to do more with less/nothing, spare serving staff to work the buffet at night.

 

[OKW Lover]

Why doesn’t DCL just have one side of the buffet open every dinner time just like all the other mass market cruise lines?

Possibly because DCL doesn't think of its product the same way as the mass market cruise lines?

 

[jwalk03]

Why doesn’t DCL just have one side of the buffet open every dinner time just like all the other mass market cruise lines? Now that most of the DCL dining rooms are too loud & packed tight every night to even have a conversation with no alternative but room service & limited junk food, repeat cruising is far less attractive.

Because it seems to be a vocal minority here that is really clamoring for this- and Disney likely doesn't think its worth the added expense.

 

[Mommb]

Why doesn’t DCL just have one side of the buffet open every dinner time just like all the other mass market cruise lines?

Staffing is the most likely explanation. The people working the buffet for breakfast and lunch are the same people working the MDRs for dinner so there probably isn't much, if any given corporations drive to do more with less/nothing, spare serving staff to work the buffet at night.

This is my thinking too. I have no knowledge of staffing on Disney ships (or any other ships) but I know there is a fixed amount of cabin space for crew members, so adding staff may be difficult. Clearly, opening the buffet either as a buffet or for sit-down dining will require more serving staff and more kitchen staff.

It feels as if I've seen more servers filling in for absent servers than pre-COVID. It wouldn't surprise me if DCL has tightened standards on keeping staff away from guests if they are at all ill. If that's the case, they may be leery of assigning "extra" staffers to an alternative dinner option in case they are needed in the main dining rooms.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Would be great to have this... in practice I don't know how that could work though. Perhaps a limited sit-down dinner menu in Cabanas for those who don't want the show. Not a buffet, but a sit-down meal with items already on offer in the other dining rooms. And, advance reservations required at established dining times.

I absolutely love this idea. I am sure there are plenty of children and adults with sensory issues or just families who would like a nice relatively quiet dinner in a real restaurant. (I realize this may not be 100% practical, but I still thinks it's a fantastic idea).

 

[Cfabar1]

I absolutely love this idea. I am sure there are plenty of children and adults with sensory issues or just families who would like a nice relatively quiet dinner in a real restaurant. (I realize this may not be 100% practical, but I still thinks it's a fantastic idea).

Yeah... kind of similar to what used to be offered, but not entirely...

 

[greeneyedchick]

I absolutely love this idea. I am sure there are plenty of children and adults with sensory issues or just families who would like a nice relatively quiet dinner in a real restaurant. (I realize this may not be 100% practical, but I still thinks it's a fantastic idea).

They used to offer this before Covid. It can be done. I get the impression that Disney has done away with it to save money.

 

[jwalk03]

They used to offer this before Covid. It can be done. I get the impression that Disney has done away with it to save money.

It was likely under utilized and they no longer felt it was worth the added expense to offer it.

I only went on one cruise pre-covid and we actually did eat at Cabana's one night for dinner and there was only like one other table besides us. Obviously this is a very limited example- but I'm sure Disney has the numbers on how much it was utilized and has made the business decision that it's not worth offering again.

 

[holula]

I fully get why they don’t open Cabanas for a limited sit down dinner. What I don’t understand is why the pool deck places shut at 6pm. I know they keep one open until later, but for me even if they opened the others until 7pm it would mean you could skip dinner and still eat at a fairly normal time. (Personally I’d like to see them all open until 8pm.)

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

I fully get why they don’t open Cabanas for a limited sit down dinner. What I don’t understand is why the pool deck places shut at 6pm. I know they keep one open until later, but for me even if they opened the others until 7pm it would mean you could skip dinner and still eat at a fairly normal time. (Personally I’d like to see them all open until 8pm.)

Same reason they don't open Cabanas, staffing. The fact they have one open indicates they do keep a few extra hands onboard. I'm guessing if enough MDR servers weren't available for whatever reason, they would close the one place open on deck to cover the MDR.

 

[DCL58]

We also are not interested in the dinner shows - new or old ones. We just sailed 15 nights on the Magic. 4 of those nights had some sort of Rapunzel show. Which meant that some assorted characters interrupted our dinner on all those nights. I honestly have zero interest in chatting with Flynn Rider. DCL needs a non interaction seating area!

And, so many of the seats in the dining rooms have a bad view of the stage that it’s hard to follow along if you get a bad table. If you were interested in the show!

 

[bakerworld]

We too are tired of the MDR and the Dinner Shows. They're the same. It's like the Hoop-De-Doo where I can mouth all the jokes and sing along. We go to the one dinner that I like their food but basically we do the QS for dinners. After day 2, I'm usually 'full' anyway. Our next cruise we quality for a free dinner at Palo or Remy so we'll see what all the hoopla is about.

 

[Mommb]

Our next cruise we quality for a free dinner at Palo or Remy so we'll see what all the hoopla is about.

If you're becoming Platinum, you qualify for a free dinner at Palo, and may be able to use your benefit for brunch instead, at the discretion of the Palo manager. Unfortunately, you'd still have to pay for a meal at Remy.

 

[holula]

Same reason they don't open Cabanas, staffing. The fact they have one open indicates they do keep a few extra hands onboard. I'm guessing if enough MDR servers weren't available for whatever reason, they would close the one place open on deck to cover the MDR.

I’d also take them rotating the place that’s open, especially on the Wish class.