DCL Food - What to expect?

[IceSkatingPrincess]

The only thing I have ever had and thought was just plain awful was the wasabi mashed potatoes (& plenty of people like it so that is probably just a me thing). Now I just ask for regular mashed potatoes with that particular dish (the rest of it is great) and have had no issues. The main dining rooms aren't crazy fancy, but they are pretty darn good for mass quantity banquet food in my opinion. Cabana's has its hits and misses but there is enough variety that it is a non-issue.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I would keep your expectations low for the food lol. DCL isn’t a standout and is on par with all the Mid-tier big cruise lines. The food in the MDR ranges from ok to awful IMO.

I believe it’s a logistical issue more than anything. There’s just no way to cook truly good food for so many people at the same time out of such a small galley. So much has to be pre-made and everything is prepared to the lowest common denominator.

Remy is good. The times I dined there it did have some issues, but was overall a nice experience.

I have an upcoming cruise on Crystal, which is regarded as having the best food at sea so I’m curious is they can do any better. However, my expectations are low and I plan to eat in port or in specialty restaurants as on every other cruise.

 

[kylaura]

I liked the comment about going in with banquet food expectations. They are serving a bunch of people at the same time in the main dining rooms. They past few times we have been pleasantly surprised. Sometimes you may get soup that's not very hot, you may avoid that if you like hot soup - hubby doesn't care.
Definitely try Remy and Palo. We've been for brunch and dinner at Remy and enjoyed it. Have been for brunch at Palo. Trying dinner at Palo next cruise.
Teen daughter says she really likes the food, went as a pescatarian last cruise - only ate seafood as an adventure because she could.

 

[darnheather]

There’s a lot more to DCL than the food. I like the food for the most part but even if I didn’t I will still be going on DCL.

I guess I can't understand this because I can't imagine being trapped in a place for 7 to 14 nights and not enjoying the food no matter how great everything else is. I would be miserable in an Applebees for that long for example.

 

[lilsonicfan]

People get all riled up about food, it's so interesting. I've seen people who insist that DCL food is more magical, more special, tastier, etc. I've seen people say that the cost of the Palo brunch upgrade at $40 is still an amazing deal b/c on land it would cost at least $80 (never mind that on land you didn't pay for another lunch first, whatever). I agree about banquet food and would actually call it not exactly "upper end" banquet food, I would say it's mostly average but sometimes has the potential to be upper end. The service, however, is outstanding (usually). i've never not found something I like on the menu (in fairness I feel this way about the other cruise lines I've tried too). Honestly what I miss most is Asian food on a cruise - really haven't ever had the good stuff on any cruise line.

 

[starvenger]

Honestly what I miss most is Asian food on a cruise - really haven't ever had the good stuff on any cruise line.

Doesn't exist for the standard restaurants on cruise lines like DCL and Royal. This is not an indictment of the cruise lines, but for a Chinese kid growing up in Toronto, whatever they put out is not going to match up to what I can get at home, so I don't expect it to. I will give credit to DCL for trying to incorporate maki into the buffet, and Royal usually has some South Asian and South East Asian fare among their buffet items, and it's usually fine but nothing that you wouldn't find at home. Harmony of the Seas actually had congee for breakfast, which is pretty cool to see but inconsistent in flavour and texture.

So yeah. Usually our first meal back after a trip is basically our greatest hits of HK-style food (link)

Now, one cruise line where Asian food might be pretty good is Crystal, where Nobu is a complimentary dining choice. I've not been, but my parents have a few times, and they like Nobu.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We’ve only sailed Disney once and I thought the food was all over the place. Some things were amazing, some were ok and some were bad. I was really disappointed in my dinners the first two nights. I ordered steak twice and both times it was terrible and much more we’ll done than what I asked for. I live outside of Boston and we have some awesome steak restaurants that we frequent regularly and my expectations were not aligned to the reality of cruising. The other nights I liked my dinner a lot more.

I found a lot of the Disney food to look really tempting but to taste kind of meh - particularly the buffet food. I would get a lot of different things and end up eating only half of them. A lot of the treats in Cove Cafe were like this for me too. They looked awesome but ended up not really feeling like they were worth the calories.

But this is just my opinion. I loved the trip and will sail Disney again. It just won’t be because of the food.

 

[Gentry2004]

I’ve only been on one cruise so far (eastern on the Fantasy) but the food in the MDR exceeded my expectations. I actually found it to be surprisingly good. I think a lot of it depends on what you order. I read a lot of reviews in advance of my trip and purposely ordered things that people raved about, even if I otherwise might have ordered something else.

I also thought Cabanas was decent for a buffet. I did think the pool deck food left a lot to be desired. I didn’t think it was as tasty as Disney park quick service food (which I mostly like.)

 

[darnheather]

We’ve only sailed Disney once and I thought the food was all over the place. Some things were amazing, some were ok and some were bad. I was really disappointed in my dinners the first two nights. I ordered steak twice and both times it was terrible and much more we’ll done than what I asked for. I live outside of Boston and we have some awesome steak restaurants that we frequent regularly and my expectations were not aligned to the reality of cruising. The other nights I liked my dinner a lot more.

I found a lot of the Disney food to look really tempting but to taste kind of meh - particularly the buffet food. I would get a lot of different things and end up eating only half of them. A lot of the treats in Cove Cafe were like this for me too. They looked awesome but ended up not really feeling like they were worth the calories.

But this is just my opinion. I loved the trip and will sail Disney again. It just won’t be because of the food.

Did you send the steaks back? In Cabanas did you try the cuisine of the day? I found that to be the best especially the Moroccan.

 

[lorimay]

There are things we like and things we don't.
We are satisfied with our DCL meals. We are coming up on our 18th Disney Cruise this week.
We have done many of the menus many times, we love our "floatng hotel" and all the places it takes us.
I am hoping for a couple new menus to try on this extended cruise!

 

[jdb in AZ]

I’ve only been on one cruise so far (eastern on the Fantasy) but the food in the MDR exceeded my expectations. I actually found it to be surprisingly good. I think a lot of it depends on what you order. I read a lot of reviews in advance of my trip and purposely ordered things that people raved about, even if I otherwise might have ordered something else.

I also thought Cabanas was decent for a buffet. I did think the pool deck food left a lot to be desired. I didn’t think it was as tasty as Disney park quick service food (which I mostly like.)

Our waiters recommended dishes to us each night. They know what's a hit and what's a miss.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We’ve only sailed Disney once and I thought the food was all over the place. Some things were amazing, some were ok and some were bad. I was really disappointed in my dinners the first two nights. I ordered steak twice and both times it was terrible and much more we’ll done than what I asked for. I live outside of Boston and we have some awesome steak restaurants that we frequent regularly and my expectations were not aligned to the reality of cruising. The other nights I liked my dinner a lot more.

On our DCL Hawaii cruise they had a barbeque up on deck, including steaks burned as you watch. The rest of the food was o.k; I just don't like cremated steak.

 

[Gentry2004]

I don’t think I ordered any red meat on the trip, even though I eat and enjoy it. Most of the recommendations I read were for other dishes. I ate a lot of seafood and it was all good. My favorite was the sea bass.

 

[cedricandsophie]

After over 20 Disney cruises and a few cruises on other lines I personally think the food is quite good. There are hits and misses of course but I think the Mdrs are 4 to 3 star for the most part. We are adventurous eaters and always find something to like. The appetizers tend to be more interesting than the entrees. So I have been known to order 3 appetizers with no entree. Or order entree size of a certain appetizer. We have been to Remy. The food and service is lovely. And I adore Palo dinner. I find Palo dinner food excellent. We have not done Palo brunch mainly because we just find it too much food.

For breakfast my husband gets cereal and fruit. And I’ll usualoy go to the cove cafe for a latte and one of their pastries which are excellent. There is a charge for drinks but not food.

Lunch is usually a salad or wrap from one of the fast food places. Or a chicken sandwich from the grill.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I would keep your expectations low for the food lol. DCL isn’t a standout and is on par with all the Mid-tier big cruise lines. The food in the MDR ranges from ok to awful IMO.

I believe it’s a logistical issue more than anything. There’s just no way to cook truly good food for so many people at the same time out of such a small galley. So much has to be pre-made and everything is prepared to the lowest common denominator.

Remy is good. The times I dined there it did have some issues, but was overall a nice experience.

I have an upcoming cruise on Crystal, which is regarded as having the best food at sea so I’m curious is they can do any better. However, my expectations are low and I plan to eat in port or in specialty restaurants as on every other cruise.

We have done several crystal cruises. I have found the food to be very good. Prego and Nobu are excellent too. The grill on the top deck is good too. And there is an ice cream bar that is very dangerous! The coffee bar makes excellent lattes and puts out a nice spread at lunch for cold cuts and bagels etc for breakfast. I hope you enjoy crystal. The staff is amazing. They know your name and drink preferences within an hour of boarding. Be sure to visit the piano bar, great place for before or after dinner drinks and good music. Crystal has some amazing itineraries. Our last one was Bali to Singapore.

 

[lindsay0526]

My brother-in-law went on a Disney cruise a few years ago and he said that he enjoyed the food. I don't have super high hopes/expectations, but I am looking forward to not cooking/cleaning my kitchen for a week, so I'm sure that alone makes the food taste better. Also, my kids can order whatever they want (versus what I make for dinner each night and that's what's for dinner), so I'm sure they will feel like they are living like queens. If it comes down to me eating salad, chicken tenders, fries, and a few mickey bars for the week... I can't say that I'll be disappointed...

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

We have done several crystal cruises. I have found the food to be very good. Prego and Nobu are excellent too. The grill on the top deck is good too. And there is an ice cream bar that is very dangerous! The coffee bar makes excellent lattes and puts out a nice spread at lunch for cold cuts and bagels etc for breakfast. I hope you enjoy crystal. The staff is amazing. They know your name and drink preferences within an hour of boarding. Be sure to visit the piano bar, great place for before or after dinner drinks and good music. Crystal has some amazing itineraries. Our last one was Bali to Singapore.

That’s good to know! Thanks for responding I don’t do well without my espresso so knowing there’s a place onboard to get a decent one is great. We have made our one pre-cruise reservation for each specialty restaurant. We are on for 17days HK to Tokyo. I’m a bit nervous about the size of the room (we’re in a PH room but not a suite on Symphony) as we’ve always gone in a suite on other lines.

Any other tips? I’ve had a difficult time finding specific info over on the cruise place (not sure if we can name websites but I’m sure you know). Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind answering if you know, do they have pay for send out laundry service as well as the washing machines? How busy are those washing machines?

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We are big foodies. And I cook-alot. I must admit I am pretty fussy about my food and how it is prepared. That being said, the food is not bad. You have to consider they are feeding like 2000 people at a main dinner seating. There are things done very well, pretty well, ok and just ok. Everyone's palate, likes and dislikes are different. All in all, not bad. We cruised NCL before we had kids and the food there was ok too- especially if you got the German offerings (the head chef was German). I just choose carefully based on my taste and my knowledge of how things are prepared. We find Palo (both brunch and dinner) to be a step above the MDR's and the service to be very good. The ultimate foodie trip was Remy for us. The service, food was outstanding. Some of the best we experienced. It is vacation after all. A vacation with a couple of thousand other folks, floating around in the sea. That all have differing tastes, allergies etc. For me, when I keep my expectations in check, I find plenty to eat that I enjoy, time off the the kitchen is a big plus, and come home happy. Hope you enjoy!

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Did you send the steaks back? In Cabanas did you try the cuisine of the day? I found that to be the best especially the Moroccan.

I did not send the steaks back. I had an 18m old who screamed through every meal and a server that wasn't very good. He always seemed like he had way too much going on. We would barely see him, and he couldn't manage to bring things that I did ask for. Like a side of fruit so that my toddler would stop screaming. I definitely did not want to prolong dinner by sending my meal back. I now know that I should have spoken to the head waiter about the service and the food, but at the time I had no idea and I didn't want to make a fuss.

I didn't realize there was a cuisine of the day, I'll have to check that out next time . But even the breakfast stuff can be hit or miss.

 

[mevelandry]

We Are DCL newbies and would love some food opinions. We consider ourselves “foodies”, live in a big city with incredible restaurants that we visit often. There isn’t much we won’t try.

All of my other cruise experience is with RCI and we really dislike the food except the specialty restaurants. We always find both the breakfast and lunch buffets really unappealing and the dinners in the main dining room close to inedible.

Not expecting to feel like we are dining at a 5 star restaurant in the main dining rooms but hoping the food on DCL is better based on the higher cost alone. I do have a Remy dinner booked and crossing my fingers for a Palo brunch reservation to open up.

What are your thoughts?

Unfortunately, the higher cost is due to the Mouse and it does not reflect in the quality of the food.

The food in the MDR is banquet food (sometimes good, sometimes not good). The counters near the pool are just okay (with very few exceptions).

You should be able to score a reservation for Palo brunch on embarkation day if you go as soon as you board the ship.

I would also recommend booking Palo dinner as well (very different from Palo Brunch). Remy is expensive but a good choice.