Decided against Palos' - now I'm thinking we should go for it??

[wdwobsessed]

I have been going back and forth, back and forth about Palo's.

We are only doing the 3 night ... and this means missing one of the other restuarants ... or double dipping.

We have a 2 year old and a 6 year old .... and I'm worried about getting enough time at Flounders for the two year old.

I'm also not crazy about dressing up. I don't mind a silky pants suit ... but not a dress and don't want to feel out of place. DH also wants to leave the suit at home and just bring a shirt and tie.

Not sure what to do ... is it really all that Great?

I just keep hearing .."dont' miss it" ... and how it's romantic and well worth the effort.....

DH and I never go out ... so we want to do some dancing and stuff ... have fun, let loose.... should we add Palo's to that list?

I need opinions!

Thanks

wdwo

 

[Michelle]

YES, definitely go to Palo!

You don't have to wear anything different from what you said; a dressy pantsuit for you and shirt and tie for your husband is perfectly fine. It is a quiet, romantic restaurant with lovely food and lovely service and with two young kids you no doubt could use a nice evening out alone.

With little kids you won't want to miss Animator's Palate night but you could go on either of the other two nights with no regrets.

Enjoy!

 

[Casey's mom]

I agree. We just got back from the 7 night cruise and went twice. The food is fabulous and the restaurant is so quiet and relaxing. We ate there the second night of the cruise (formal night) and again on the 4th night. Attire ran completely across the spectrum. Some people on formal night wore tuxes and gowns, others had on polo shirts and khakis. My DH wore a jacket and tie both nights and I wore a short dress one night and a skirt and top the other. I would not have felt out of place in a pantsuit at all and your DH will be fine in a shirt and tie -- or even a nice shirt with a jacket and no tie -- whatever he prefers. Our last cruise (3 night, June 2001), my DH just wore a nice shirt -- no tie, no jacket -- and maybe that wasn't the recommended attire, but he did not look or feel out of place and we had a great dinner! ENjoy!

 

[pal2pluto]

And try the souffle.....it's out of this world......

 

[mikeymars]

Ate at Palos on St. Marteen night (Tuesday) on the 3/23 Magic cruise. We had the APL rotation, so this made sense (Animator's was our least favorite restaurant, and we'd already seen the "show" there on Saturday. Also, we didn't want to blow formal -- Sunday -- or lobster -- Thursday -- night on Palos)

So, anyway: regarding Palos, first, the good news:

- high level of service compared to the normal rotation dining, and perhaps up there with better restaurants in large cities.
- decent by-the-glass wine choices.
- reasonably broad range of choices on menu
- beautiful setting - we intentionally reserved for "first seating" (6pm) and got to watch the sun set as the other cruise ships sailed away from the harbor. I highly recommend that night and timing!! We'ren't rushed at all, spent over an hour an a half at dinner. Our server said there is less "rushing" if you eat there earlier (after 7:30, he said despite the DCL propoganda servers sometimes do feel some pressure to turn tables over).

The so- so news:

- recommended dinner special (gnocchi) was O.K. - not bad, not fantastic, excellent, or very good - it was O.K. My wife thought her choice (halibut special) was so-so - a little on the dry side (we're native coastal New Englanders and know what good, fresh fish is. That halibut wasn't). Salads were frankly the highlight of what we ate that evening.
- Maybe it's just us, but neither my spouse nor I understood what the continued mega-hype over the infamous (but to us, comparatively generic) chocolate dessert souffle is. It was good, but we've had better in both New York and Boston.

The not-so-good news:

- When I got my bill on Saturday morning, DCL had creatively added a $132.00 wine purchase to that Palos dinner. Problem was, we had made no such purchase. Suffice to say the passenger services staff down on deck 3 was beyond apologetic when I pointed this out and politely requested it be removed. That "error' unfortunately erased whatever limited social capital Palos had developed with us back on Tuesday night.

The bottom line:

So. would I recommend it? Yes - for the sake of variety and a quiet dinner -- but if you've travelled widely and done a lot of serious, major-league urban upscale dining, don't go up there expecting the dining experience to die for (you WILL be disappointed). Rather, appreciate it for what it is - a comfortable and inviting retreat from the normal dining experience on the ship!

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

If you don't do Palo's-life will not end (that's how I've had to view it anyway!! LOL). We've been on 2 cruises and had Palo's ressies both times as well as brunch ressies. DS who can be selectivly shy at times always chose those evenings to refuse to go to the kids clubs. We had to cancel every ressie and I remember spending hours carefully chosing the nights and times to attend to get maximum fun out of our cruise. At first I was not too happy with DS, but since I couldn't throw him overboard I rolled with the punches and still had a great time. Our 3rd cruise is coming up May 11. I swear I may have to duck tape him to that big octopus in the kids club, but as God is my witness I'm making it to Palo's this time!!! If not-it gives me another reason to bug DH to go again!!!

 

[sallyo]

Just returned from the 3/23 7 day cruise and went to Palo's for the first time. We did the 4 day and 3 day cruises prior but never made it. I am glad we did but if this is your first cruise, I wouldn't feel like you really missed something big if you didn't make it to Palo's. If you just want a night without the kids, put them in the kids clubs on the night you go to Tritans and have a quiet dinner there. The service was good and food was good, but nothing I couldn't live without! You'll have a great time anyway, wish I was going again.

 

[KenP]

Don't go. There are too many people that really want to go and too few reservations for them.

 

[ragdoll]

I know my opinion is in the minority, buy I really thought that Palos was overrated. I would rather experience the other restaraunts, especially since you are just doing the 3 day cruise.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Thanks for all the input.

I'm probably going to go with my initial feeling .... and skip Palo's. After all, if we enjoy the cruise, I think we will do one again.

I'd rather spend that alone time with hubby dancing and .....

well non-ya-business!!!

lol

wdwo