Anyone have this issue with Palo?

[KaitlinsMom]

Hello - Just back from the Magic Halloween Cruise - Had a great time -

Had some problems with Palo - First day, KEH (Karen) tried to book High tea and she was there at 12:30 - Both days were already sold out - They took her name and stateroom number and said they would call if something opened up - They never did - Found out from others that were there, there were very few tables occupied for high tea and lots of tables open -

My husband and I met a wonderful lady that is in charge of the dining for Disney Cruises (yes, both ships) - We met her in the Cove - We were talking to her about how we are kind of disappointed with the food in the dining room - She asked if we have ever eaten at Palo - We said no - She took our name and stateroom number and said she would give our information to Palo and we would be called on Wednesday AM and given our dinner time - The phone call never came - Our table mates had Dinner at the Palo that Wed evening - They told us that Palo was empty - Lots of empty tables - So why weren't we called?


Have heard this from several people we had met on the cruise - Just wondering if we were having an off cruise or is this typical?


Karen

 

[SandraLee]

I had Brunch on the Monday of the Magic 10/11 cruise -- Our reservation was at 10:30 and it was basically empty. It was not packed when we left at 11:45 or 12:00.

And, our dinner was Wednesday (Cozumel day) at 6:30. Our server told us they had a TON of cancellations that day and that was the reason the dining room was not full. I have no idea if they even tried to call the wait list. I wonder if anyone just stopped by or called around 4:00 if you could get a table there anynight.

 

[disneystyle]

We sailed last May and was able to get a High Tea reservation. We were one of only two tables occupied for Tea. We made a comment to the waiter and he said it was because the Jackpot for Bingo was so high.
Sounds fishy to me.
By the way Tea at Palo is just o.k. I'm not going to take time out and do it again. However, Dinner and Brunch is a MUST....

Good luck in your quest for info...

 

[ThreeCircles]

We've had the opportunity to enjoy Palo for dinner, High Tea, and Champagne Brunch and only have excellent things to say about all three.

High Tea tends to fill up *very* fast as they do not open the entire restaurant for this event. It seems that they usually allocate a set number of tables for individuals who wish to experience it. During our High Tea it seemed as if most of Palo was empty, and it was, but that did not mean that those empty tables were available for High Tea itself.

I think that part of the problem with High Tea is that they do not charge any type of "cover" for it. I would suggest that they impose a five-dollar charge, as they do for dinner, that is non-refundable if you book a spot and then choose not to show up. I think many people DO book High Tea and then, when it comes around, decide to skip it. This takes away from those individuals who really do want to enjoy the experience.

As for dinner, again, it may seem that many tables are empty but that does not meant that someone has reserved that spot and is running late, on their way, etc. If a table is booked, Palo will not give it away unless they have a call confirming that the guest(s) have decided not to attend. I'm sure that many people decide they don't want to go to Palo, after having booked, but do not call to let the restaurant know.

As for someone telling you that they will take care of your dinner at Palo, it seems that that would be hard to do. How would she know that she could even get a free table?

The best advice I can give is to get to Palo for reservations as soon as you board and make sure that you're among the first to board the ship.

I would also wonder if you would find Palo to your liking since you state that you had issues with the food in the other restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I love Palo, but I think the food is of equal caliber in the other restaurants as well.

And finally, I believe they do call the wait lists if they have cancellations. On our cruise in May we were unable to secure a spot for High Tea. However, about two hours after we finished Champagne Brunch they called to let us know that they had a cancellation for High Tea. Since we had just left Palo, we opted not to take the slot.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Originally posted by ThreeCircles


As for someone telling you that they will take care of your dinner at Palo, it seems that that would be hard to do. How would she know that she could even get a free table?


I would also wonder if you would find Palo to your liking since you state that you had issues with the food in the other restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I love Palo, but I think the food is of equal caliber in the other restaurants as well.

The reason we believed the person could get us in was because she is the lady in charge of all the dining for the Disney Cruises - She is high up on the chain of command - The people that were with her spoke very highly of her and said she would be able to do it, no problems -

I have heard from so many people that Palo's food is much better than the dining restuarants. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the food, just on some nights, it seemed a bit disappointing -

We, as well as our table mates were on a waiting list, and never received a call.

 

[LibertyBelle]

I thought we were the only ones

Hubby and I have sailed 5 times on DCL and have been able to enjoy Palo. However on one of our sailings, we were put on the waiting list. They told us they would call and let us know if anything came up. We waited for the call but it never came... When it was time for our regular dinner seating we decided to call Palo and check on it. We were not able to get through so we decided that we would just go eat in the dining room. After dinner and the show we returned to our room and the light was blinking, we assumed that Palo had called just after we left so we played it back and it was in fact Palo's however they were calling to find out why we did not show up for our reservation. I called back the next day and explained that we had been on the waiting list and no one had ever called to inform us that we had cleared the list and in fact had a reservation. We were told that they would not charge us (obviously) but , in not so many words, he made it seem like it was our fault and that he could not believe we were not called. Needless to say that trip we did not go to Palo's.

 

[inkkognito]

Don't blame Palo for your experience, but rather the rudeness of fellow cruisers who book high tea and then don't show up, nor do they call to cancel. This does not leave any time for Palo to call other people because by the time they see how many people haven't come, it is too late. They can't call and then wait for others, as they have to get the restaurant ready for dinner right afterwards.
High tea is one of my all-time favorite experiences on the 7-day cruise, and the rudeness of last-minute no-shows realls irks me. Personally, I think that Disney should impose a $10 or $15 per person no-show fee. That way, the people who really want to experience it would be able to do so, and if not, the people who prevented them from doing so would at least be penalized.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[kimtenn]

DisneyStyle --

I agree, Palo's high tea really isn't worth it. Definitely do brunch and dinner, but skip tea.

I too had trouble with my ressies we made right when boarding the boat. I showed up on the correct day to meet a fellow DIS'er for tea, but they said I had the wrong day, so I went back to my cabin to check. Nope, I had the correct day, so I figured they botched my reservation. So later my DH called Palo to ask what happened and they said they sent me away by mistake and yes, my ressie was for that day. They should have called my room right away to try to reach me, but they didn't, which really disappointed me. If DH hadn't called, I would have never known what happened. They did, however, offer to reschedule the ressie for the next day. So I said sure, but I wasn't real happy because I inadvertently stood up my DIS board friend. I complained to customer service, too, who offered to patch me to my friend's room, so I could explain why I didn't show, but she wasn't very nice about it :-( and said she had to have tea "all alone" because I didn't show. I just said I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault. She still sounded upset, so I just wrote it off as a bad experience all the way around. There wasn't much else I could do.

Then once I did finally do the tea, Palo was really empty with maybe only 3 tables. Service was not the usual attentive service you get at brunch and dinner, and the food was just mediocre. It was almost like they were rushing us through and wanted to get us out of there as quickly as possible. I just decided I'm not going through that again on any future cruises.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Barb, I think you bring up a good idea - I am sure a lot of people just don't show up - And with it being only $5, it's no big deal - $10-15 would help -

Just a question, do they call to remind you of your time? That might help as well - Just a thought -

 

[goodfaerie]

So then, if we aren't able to get reservations, should we "drop in" at tea time or brunch time and see if we can get in?

I am so willing to crash that party! LOL

GoodFaerie

 

[SandraLee]

I think it is worth a try.

And, for those that make the reservation and don't show up . . . I wonder how long Palo 'holds' their table. I would think they should allocate the tables after 15 minutes to walkins.

 

[Doctor P]

We had an early brunch reservation on the 7/19 Magic cruise and the place very quickly filled up. We got a wonderful window table, but by the time we were half way through our brunch, the entire place was full.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We sailed on the 10/11 Magic. We asked about High Tea when we reserved dinner at Palo and were told that it was all booked. Nobody offered to put us on a waitlist for it either.

We did get to do brunch and dinner. Brunch was nice as we met up with Diser's but we were placed into the separate room which was really, really hot. When we commented on the heat of the room we were told that there was nothing that could be done about it. The food and service was ok, not great just ok.

Dinner was not ok. Our server was not very helpful at all. When he put the pizza down he said that it wasn't like the pizza we were used to at Pizza Hut. Found that comment to be quite snobbish. I think our server was upset that we didn't order any wine or drinks. He did probably the bare minimum that he was required to do. We both had filet mignon and it was overcooked and tough. The only good part of dinner was dessert -- the chocolate souffle was delicious.

When our main server in the dining room asked how our dinner went we both said that we'd never go back and would rather have been in the dining room.

We also saw when we were checking in at Palo something that upset us. There was a couple there and the gentleman wasn't wearing a jacket -- the Palo CM was then having trouble finding their reservation either though they had the receipt thing that they had received when they booked the reservation. Palo was not full either -- lots of empty tables. We figured that the problem was that the gentleman wasn't wearing a jacket -- if that was in fact the case why didn't they just say so?? We didn't see the couple getting seated and they weren't there when we left.

I know we are in the minority with our opinions of Palo but for the extra money we spent we just didn't feel it was worth it and won't be eating there again.

 

[Doucia]

Hi Kaitlin's mom,
We were on the same cruise.

Palos
We dined at Palo's twice. The first time was very difficult to get a reservation for six people. When we got in, the place was empty. When we asked why this was so because we tried to get reservations for another night, our server politely told us that it was because they kept tables open to spend more time on each dining guest. Why not higher more staff??? It doesn't seem fair...

So how did we get another reservation? We complained to the manager of Palo's...my BIL complained about the food on the ship ect....and guess what...suddenly there was an opening! Tada!
More importantly...someone told us if you slip him some money, you'll get your reservation...I don't think that is fair either.
I mean Palo's is great, but they should fill it up and only give fifteen minutes. If you are late...than to bad. Call the next person on the list!
It should not be that exclusive....
We did try to get in for a third night, and my feeling was that they didn't want to do this because then our dining room servers wouldn't get their tip...which we wouldn't do anyway. But, I guess it is an issue so they really try to limit you at Palo's.

Wasn't the Cove just the best.? DH and I had a riot with Miguel and Carolina. They got my hubby really drunk on shooters one night! hahahahahaha...he didn't feel a thing and Miguel kept trying to get him! Well...when we left DH was dancing and then passed out once we got to our stateroom...Miguel and My DH's brothers had a good laugh!
I miss the Cove, Miguel and Carolina ...I would take another Disney cruise just to see them again. They were just superb.

Kim

 

[gometros]

That's why on the Live thread, I recommended that anyone that really wants to try High Tea and can't get an original reservation, stop by at 3:30 just to see if there is anything open. We found the same thing many of you have, that people do not always honor their reservations.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Kim, the Cove was the best - Although I am afraid to talk about it because I don't want anyone else to find my favorite spot!!

Miguel was wonderful - Very kind and very sweet - We ended up giving him a phone card and a tip because he was so great!

I had to drag my husband in there the first time - We both thought it was going to be just a coffee bar - My husband does not drink coffee - Did not take long for my husband to warm up and we ended up going there every night! I am sure we were in there at the same time at some point - Too bad we didn't know!

I was posting on the DIS board and Miguel delivered my drink to me - He asked me what I was doing - I told him about the DIS and that he had great feedback on the board - He said he would take a look when he was off work, but I don't know if he will remember the web address! I should have wrote it down for him! Definitely one of my favorite places to go - We used to love going to the piano bar (Sessions?) but we didn't even go there once this time - Glad to see that others feel the same way!

Karen

 

[Doucia]

We probably were there at the same time...too bad we didn't know!

I think that's the part I miss the most is Miguel and Carolina, they really did make you feel at home.

I'm still unpacking and having major Disney withdrawals. I do however have to get organized because I'm planning to write to Disney about Flounders Reef.

I don't think we will be able to keep Cove a secret though...everyone will pretty much discover it and fall in love with the little corner on the ship!

Kim

 

[KaitlinsMom]

I saw your post about flounders reef - I definitely would write Disney regarding that one! Let us know of any response you may get!

 

[inkkognito]

cdnmickeylover,
I doubt the lack of a jacket had anything to do with the "missing" reservation. In 34 cruises, hubby and I have seen all manner of dress at Palo. If they let in the barefoot bimbo wearing jeans and the fashionplate couple in which the man was wearing jeans and a blindingly pink shirt while wifey was in a tacky sundress and rubber flip flops, I think they would let in someone without a jacket!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Twinave]

Palo..The only not so nice memory of our otherwise fabulous 10/11/03 Western with a bunch of Disers. Terrible time trying to make reservations, OK food, OK service, the staff acted as if they were doing us a "special favor" to wait on us. And I heard similar comments through out our cruise. My guess is that they just do not want to take care of tables larger than 2-4 people. Last year 9/28/02, no problems with reservations, wonderful service, wonderful food for brunch and dinner. But that's OK, on our return trip, 10/02/04 we will skip Palo. No point spending money and time in a place you are clearly not wanted.
Palo lovers, please don't flame me. Just wanted to say my peace.