Cabanas on Fantasy at dinner

[LCoulter]

Cabanas on Fantasy at dinner

So what can I expect if we end up eating dinner here? I assume they give you a menu with a selection of what is in the main dining rooms that night? Is any part of the buffet open for dinner? Maybe salad bar?

I am on a low carb diet due to diabetes and was hoping for extra veggies, besides just salads. Would that be a problem here?

 

[ACQUADUCK]

Cabanas on Fantasy at dinner

So what can I expect if we end up eating dinner here? I assume they give you a menu with a selection of what is in the main dining rooms that night? Is any part of the buffet open for dinner? Maybe salad bar?

I am on a low carb diet due to diabetes and was hoping for extra veggies, besides just salads. Would that be a problem here?

Yes your right it's a selection from MDRs and sit down service with things like a salad bar.

The only Disney Ship that can have dinner buffet is the Disney Magic in Europe, typically in places like St Petersburg and Reykjavik where it stays late, and that Cabanas buffet is fantastic.

When you go in, inform servers if your dietary needs. They will advise.

 

[dcassetta]

Cabanas on Fantasy at dinner

So what can I expect if we end up eating dinner here? I assume they give you a menu with a selection of what is in the main dining rooms that night? Is any part of the buffet open for dinner? Maybe salad bar?

I am on a low carb diet due to diabetes and was hoping for extra veggies, besides just salads. Would that be a problem here?

All the menus feature vegetarian options, although they may not necessarily be low-carb. The lighter fare grill menu items are served with vegetables, so you could ask for an extra serving of those. The chefs will work with to meet your medical needs.

 

[mswhittaker]

We just did Cabanas last week on the Fantasy for dinner. They have the same menu each night, and it had a good list of choices, more than the main dining rooms. I remember there were vegetarian options on there, I think there was at least one salad as well.

Be aware, in case you weren't, that Cabanas dinner is for training the servers. Service is not as good as the main dining room and we found it to be very slow. Took us longer to have dinner up there than it does in the main dining room.

 

[LCoulter]

Be aware, in case you weren't, that Cabanas dinner is for training the servers. Service is not as good as the main dining room and we found it to be very slow. Took us longer to have dinner up there than it does in the main dining room.

Thanks for the warning on this. On our last cruise our serving team in the main dining room were painfully slow and it really got annoying. I can't imagine they will be as bad as our serving team on that cruise. On the worst night, we were given dinner menus just as everyone around us got dessert:-( Sitting there for all that time watching others get food while we had nothing got old by the seventh night.

 

[Dug720]

Also remember that Cabanas is not open the first or last night.

I thought I was going to eat there once, but it was like they purposely picked my least favorite things off the menus and combined them. I did not see any indication of a carving station. I left.

 

[moremouse]

We just did Cabanas last week on the Fantasy for dinner. They have the same menu each night, and it had a good list of choices, more than the main dining rooms. I remember there were vegetarian options on there, I think there was at least one salad as well.

Be aware, in case you weren't, that Cabanas dinner is for training the servers. Service is not as good as the main dining room and we found it to be very slow. Took us longer to have dinner up there than it does in the main dining room.

Too bad that you got slow service in Cabanas at dinner. It was the best service on the ship for us on our last two sailings. Those servers in training are aiming to please to get into the dining room. They spent a lot of time with us/on us. We only spent about a total of 40 minutes in there. It was quiet and relaxing.

They have the BEST ribeye in there every night! They have sirloins in the MDRs which seem tasteless to me.

Our server Lily was fabulous!

 

[LCoulter]

Also remember that Cabanas is not open the first or last night.

I thought I was going to eat there once, but it was like they purposely picked my least favorite things off the menus and combined them. I did not see any indication of a carving station. I left.

I am worried about that myself. I saw a menu posted on another site of the menu and it just had seafood and pasta...I shouldn't have pasta and I hate seafood. Even the salad was with seafood. It did have the everyday sirloin but I am really hoping to have other cuts of beef and chicken.

 

[LCoulter]

Too bad that you got slow service in Cabanas at dinner. It was the best service on the ship for us on our last two sailings. Those servers in training are aiming to please to get into the dining room. They spent a lot of time with us/on us. We only spent about a total of 40 minutes in there. It was quiet and relaxing.

They have the BEST ribeye in there every night! They have sirloins in the MDRs which seem tasteless to me.

Our server Lily was fabulous!

I did see ribeye on the menu so I will try that. Good to hear service isn't always slow.

 

[Dug720]

I am worried about that myself. I saw a menu posted on another site of the menu and it just had seafood and pasta...I shouldn't have pasta and I hate seafood. Even the salad was with seafood. It did have the everyday sirloin but I am really hoping to have other cuts of beef and chicken.

Yeah. I could have done the sirloin, but at that point I might as well have checked on changing to a private table which I did since it was the solo dump table I had issues with.

 

[lspst8]

We ate at Cabanas last week on the Dream and had a great time. Service was very quick, and the food was good too. When ordering, I would ask for extra vegetables if you want them. my husband ordered a vegetarian Indian dish that was on the menu, and he loved it.

 

[cougar87]

Is Cabanas open for dinner on the Dream on the 4 night cruises?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is Cabanas open for dinner on the Dream on the 4 night cruises?

On nights 2 & 3. Not the first and last nights.

 

[xavier2001]

Thanks for the warning on this. On our last cruise our serving team in the main dining room were painfully slow and it really got annoying. I can't imagine they will be as bad as our serving team on that cruise. On the worst night, we were given dinner menus just as everyone around us got dessert:-( Sitting there for all that time watching others get food while we had nothing got old by the seventh night.

My advice fir next cruise, say something to the head server, they will bend over backwards to fix the problem because they depend on this excellent ratings. We politely asked to speed up service in Alaska and it got MUCH better after that. If they don’t know the problem, they can’t fix it.

 

[Dug720]

My advice fir next cruise, say something to the head server, they will bend over backwards to fix the problem because they depend on this excellent ratings. We politely asked to speed up service in Alaska and it got MUCH better after that. If they don’t know the problem, they can’t fix it.

This. The head server SHOULD be aware of his/her teams and how things are going, but sometimes for whatever reason they may not notice a timing issue. If things are obviously slow - like you are not getting food and other sections are - that is the time to speak with your head server. If they have not introduced themselves, ask the dining room manager (would be at the podium). They will do what they can to improve things - be it discussing with the service team how to speed things up (understanding that there is a pace to the dinner...though it sounds like the team in question was just slow) overall OR stepping in and finding out why things are slowed for a couple of tables. (I experienced the second the last night of our Magic cruise. We had not noticed that things were appreciably slower on previous nights - slightly, but we attributed that to the no less than 10 celebrations each night where servers were expected to go and participate. But the final night, it was BAD. At first we chalked it up to the fact that our main server had been quarantined to his cabin for the evening (just as a precaution - he was back and fine the next morning for final breakfast), so we had a sub with our assistant. But then I noticed the LARGE table in our section that was obviously a couple of them combined. I can only guess that our regular server kept them in check and they decided to take full advantage of him being gone. The adults each had an alcoholic beverage of some kind. They would call our assistant over when one or two needed seconds. He would observe that several more were almost finished and ask if they wanted a second and was told no. But the moment he got back with the ordered drinks, a couple more would decide they DID really want a refill. Repeat checking with everyone, being told no, and on and on. Until the food got there. Then the kids kicked it into gear, one even verging on a screaming temper tantrum the moment his ketchup didn't look like a Mickey head any longer - as in every time he dipped his fry into the ketchup. My dad finally got up and went to the dining room manager who immediately got our head waiter (not a clue what he was doing and why he wasn't watching his not-usual-team closely) who came over and did immediately get on things. At least for the entree. My dad ended up having to skip dessert because our bags needed to be put out because we were doing onboard airline check-in and the entrees took so long. Our assistant felt awful and wanted to give us something to take back to him, so I think we got a sampler plate of a few of the desserts. We held the head server the most accountable in that because it IS his job to make sure everything is running smoothly.)

 

[gatordoc]

The ribeye I had last week at Cabanas on the Dream was the best steak I've had on a Disney cruise outside of Palo or Remy. I think it was because it was cooked at the time I ordered it. Juicy, and at exactly the temperature I requested. Plus our servers were great, too.

 

[WDdaughter]

Speed of service in the dining rooms is my biggest pet peeve. I have been on 16 DCL cruises and only once on a 4 day did my server ask on the first night if we had any requests ie fast service. I was so excited that she had asked and of course jumped at it. Unfortunately, that request lasted for 1 night only and then we were told she was ill for the remainder of the cruise. We have very gently asked a few times for faster service but didn't have any luck. It then gets especially frustrating watching others receive food when they didn't even have menus yet after we had ordered. I understand what the issue is and I'm not sure how it can be resolved. I've watched and see that the servers are trying to get all of their tables on a similar timeline so that they can bring all of the appetizers at once etc. So, next cruise we are waitlisted for main dining (10 months out!!), and have decided to try Cabanas to hopefully avoid the issue of servers waiting until others have arrived before serving us. We have trouble lingering much past 45 minutes and are hoping for this. Wish us luck!

 

[serenitynow]

We have the same issues in the MDRs. We never order appetizers in hopes of speeding things up. We have never made it to dessert. I have MS and can’t sit in one position for more than about 45 minutes to an hour without getting painful leg spasms which make it even more difficult to walk. The restaurants are so crowded that I park my ECV and use my cane in the restaurants, but if I stay much more than 45 minutes my sweet hubby has to help me out of the restaurant.

 

[xavier2001]

We have the same issues in the MDRs. We never order appetizers in hopes of speeding things up. We have never made it to dessert. I have MS and can’t sit in one position for more than about 45 minutes to an hour without getting painful leg spasms which make it even more difficult to walk. The restaurants are so crowded that I park my ECV and use my cane in the restaurants, but if I stay much more than 45 minutes my sweet hubby has to help me out of the restaurant.

Not ordering an app wouldn't speed things up. They have a general timeline for when to get all the apps out, entrees, etc. They don't have the entrees ready and plated right when the dining room opens because they plan on the experience taking 60-90 minutes. So let your server know you like fast service and order that app. I don't think 45 minutes start-finish is long enough to get the full dining room experience. On our last cruise dinner was 5:45 and once the service sped up we were able to get to 7:30 activities so dinner was still around 90 minutes. That's part of the cruise experience for us and one of the things we enjoy most is the family time catching up on our days during dinner.

 

[serenitynow]

Not ordering an app wouldn't speed things up. They have a general timeline for when to get all the apps out, entrees, etc. They don't have the entrees ready and plated right when the dining room opens because they plan on the experience taking 60-90 minutes. So let your server know you like fast service and order that app. I don't think 45 minutes start-finish is long enough to get the full dining room experience. On our last cruise dinner was 5:45 and once the service sped up we were able to get to 7:30 activities so dinner was still around 90 minutes. That's part of the cruise experience for us and one of the things we enjoy most is the family time catching up on our days during dinner.

Well, maybe the MDR experience is just not for us then. Our serving team was able to deliver our main course while everyone else was getting their appetizers on the last cruise, but it still took forever. Luckily one can always find food on a cruise ship.