Changes to Palo brunch

[kmmfl2va]

We were on the last sailing of the Fantasy. Mid week, cast members began serving all food/drink from the buffet and the drink station. In Palo, the buffet was roped off, guests approached the rope and asked for different items.

 

[EllinK]

I'm a caviar avoider. Would be happy to have the buffet served to me and would not mind at all asking for more (crab, smoked salmon, scallops). Without the buffet, however, the brunch would be a pass for us.

 

[Clojel]

I’m actually all about changes to the brunch! While I agree, the food is phenomenal, the “buffet” aspect is the thing I like the least about it! If I wanted to serve myself, I’d stay home! I’m a mom on vacation- bring the food to me, please

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I am enjoying all of these caviar stories. This thread makes me wonder if we should start a DCL Caviar Appreciation Thread Does anyone know if Palo serves caviar during dinner or is it just for brunch?

Plenty of people out there who don't care for it and that's ok....Even Leo doesn't like it.

 

[ajo]

I have no problem with any format changes to the brunch - it's the food that makes the experience for me. And y'all can eat all of my share of the caviar!

 

[Bishoparc]

The Dream and Fantasy have had people serving the food off and on through the past few years. My second brunch was like that actually. I enjoyed having someone serve me actually! They suggested I try some things I wouldn’t have otherwise and it was great!

Same here! Sometimes they've even carried it back to the table for us too or our server has brought us more without us asking if they know we like something.

 

[o&smom]

All of this caviar conversation reminds me of our very first cruise on Disney. Some of the menu items in the main dining rooms had a little caviar. Our DS who had just turned 7 was really enjoying it. One night at dinner he says, “This caviar is really good. We have to get some when we get home!” We had to explain to him how that was not going to happen, but he could get more on our next cruise. We ended up doing the Baltic cruise with Disney when he was 10. When we ported in St Petersburg I made sure that one of the things that we did was to let him have his very own caviar tasting.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

All of this caviar conversation reminds me of our very first cruise on Disney. Some of the menu items in the main dining rooms had a little caviar. Our DS who had just turned 7 was really enjoying it. One night at dinner he says, “This caviar is really good. We have to get some when we get home!” We had to explain to him how that was not going to happen, but he could get more on our next cruise. We ended up doing the Baltic cruise with Disney when he was 10. When we ported in St Petersburg I made sure that one of the things that we did was to let him have his very own caviar tasting.

That's neat that Disney had caviar in the MDR back in the day. It would be great if they brought it back but I'm guessing it's a cost and popularity issue.

 

[o&smom]

That's neat that Disney had caviar in the MDR back in the day. It would be great if they brought it back but I'm guessing it's a cost and popularity issue.

It was just a garnish on some of the dishes.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I feel like it would be really easy for them to implement full service in the buffet at Palo. I have a friend we have traveled with in the past that has limited mobility and they always assisted her with the buffet and she said it was always very helpful.

As someone else mentioned, I think the portion sizes are going to be the biggest challenge. Usually I end up with a lot more of whatever I asked for than I anticipated. (asked for 1 creme brulee, got 4).

Edit: I am also Team Caviar. Palo Brunch isn't complete without it.

 

[Starwind]

This is the article by the way. Applied fluorescent paint to one person, had 10 people dine buffet style. All 10 ended up with paint, 3 on their faces.

As someone with food allergies, I have spent quite a bit of time waiting in Disney buffet restaurants (including Cabanas on the Dream and Fantasy) for my safe food to be brought from the kitchen. I often people-watch while waiting, including watching the buffet itself. Lets just say that it is surprising what people [both adults and kids] can get up to in even a short space of buffet: even if the food was perfectly safe when it was first put down, it and its serving utensils are quickly contaminated and and cross-contaminated by the guests. One can clearly understand why when there is an outbreak they switch to CMs doing the serving, and I can see why with covid when they resume they may well adopt that model.

SW

 

[PeachKeen]

When we ate Palo brunch, they insisted upon serving us and not allowing us to serve ourselves from the buffet. There was no outbreak at the time (Sept 2019), it was just them trying to provide better service I thought. That being said, besides it being more sanitary to have them serve you from the buffet line, I also suspect it makes better business sense because - as others have noted above - people may be embarrassed to ask for more of something for fear of judgement, leading to people eating less overall and saving Disney money. Saving money under the guise of safety? That's a win-win for the D!

 

[jennypenny]

If they need to reduce the number of tables in the main dining rooms and limit the number of people in the buffet, they might need to use Palo as an additional restaurant in the regular rotation. Remy too on the bigger ships, at least for dinner.

 

[NC State]

I'm OK with them serving....as long as I'm there...I can always ask for MORE!