Ck in time is 12:30 should we eat lunch before or on the ship?

[Nicbar]

Hi! We have a 12:30 check in time and didn't know if there are resturants open on the ship for lunch??? and if so, which ones and when do they close?
thank you!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

They serve a really good lunch.

Cabanas the buffet and one MDR are open

HAVE.a great cruise

AKK

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They serve a really good lunch.

Cabanas the buffet and one MDR are open

HAVE.a great cruise

AKK

Also, the quick serve food locations on the pool deck are open.

 

[over50visits]

Hi! We have a 12:30 check in time and didn't know if there are resturants open on the ship for lunch??? and if so, which ones and when do they close?
thank you!

Oh yes, eat on board.

I don't know for your cruise, of course, but if Disney keeps doing what they have for years, Cabanas will be open until 3pm, and the MDR used for lunch will be open until 2pm. Eat, relax, eat, take a ship tour, eat....

 

[Lizzards]

Eat on the ship!!!

 

[MunFam]

I have slightly different advice. I would either eat a late breakfast or eat before. A 12:30 PAT may mean a boarding time of 2 or later. We had a PAT of 11am (and arrived on time) and did not get on the ship until almost 1:30 by the time our boarding group was called and then we did embarkation photos. I was glad we ate before hand because we got on board, went to our stateroom almost immediately, dropped off our bags, then we needed to go to the port adventures desk and guest services to get special meet and greet tickets and also behind the scenes tour tickets. Then we went to the MDR to book a few tastings and mixology classes. By the time we were done, they were shutting everything down for the muster drill. We did not eat til our 2nd seating dinner.

 

[jdb in AZ]

With a PAT of 12:30, most of the crowd will already be on the ship, so the lines will be shorter. If you do miss lunch because of other stuff you want to do before the muster drill, you can always grab a snack after the drill. But keep in mind that dinner will be very filling, so allow yourself time to digest.

 

[Otimon]

Take a snack to tide you over before boarding and then enjoy the onboard lunch.

 

[Skywalker]

Reminds me of an episode of Frasier where they went on a cruise. They were going to the buffet for lunch and Niles says something like "I won't join you, I ate before we got onboard" and the father was like "Wow, rookie mistake!" lol. But yeah, that embarkation day lunch is your first included meal so I say wait and eat onboard.

 

[DISGRL13]

So many lunch options on board! Eat lunch on the ship.

 

[rcchello]

If you check in at 12:30, you will probably be onboard at 1:00. The first thing the Disney people will do is direct you to one of the restaurants for lunch. Unless you have a preference, go with the flow. It will be a buffet and there will be a large selection of food.

Once lunch is done, your room will probably be ready and if your lucky your luggage will start appearing.

It takes a lot of work to go hungry on a cruise, food is available almost constantly.

 

[sambycat]

we usually do a late-ish breakfast wherever and then eat lunch on board. one cruise in 8, i didn't make lunch in a restaurant (can't remember what the deal was there, i think DCL transfers and just go onboard closer to 3pm), but there is food to be had and it will be dinner time before you know it. this might be the last day you experience anything approaching hunger for the entirety of your cruise!

 

[Nicbar]

THANKS EVERYONE!! We are going to bring a snack (at least for the kids) on the drive over and EAT ON THE SHIP!!

 

[Otimon]

Way to go, Nicbar. Enjoy.

 

[clten]

One other option -- room service starts as soon as the rooms are available (1:30 usually). So outside of the time everything closes for muster drill, there are many options for lunch. So even if things are running delayed for your cruise (which it is not normal for them to be still calling boarding groups at 1:30) there are options for getting a quick bite if you just need to tide yourself over until dinner.