Disney Cruisers want more options for dinner - Article from Apple News!

[Girl of the South]

This popped up in my Apple News feed . . . maybe DCL will pick this up since it's outside of a public forum? If the link doesn't work, I'll copy and paste.

 

[Girl of the South]

Woops, here is the link:

Disney Dinners on Apple News

 

[Drfate102]

This has been one of the biggest complaints. Disney has to be looking into it.

 

[mcd2745]

I've always complained they should have the buffet open - as a buffet - for dinner.

 

[jimmymc]

It's very unique of Disney to not offer a dinner buffet and limited other options. I think they're reading the surveys, and hopefully they'll do some pilot programs for certain cruises.

 

[MalvernPa]

We are not a fan of buffets. They have to much of an ick factor for us, especially in passing along bacterial sicknesses.

Did DCL used have sit-down dinner option at the buffet before COVID?

 

[jwalk03]

We are not a fan of buffets. They have to much of an ick factor for us, especially in passing along bacterial sicknesses.

Did DCL used have sit-down dinner option at the buffet before COVID?

Yes Cabana's was open in the evening but it wasn't a buffet. It was a sit down dinner. The menu had a selection of entrees from the regular dinning room menus, but was a more casual and faster dinner experience.

 

[Pens Fan]

It's my number one complaint about DCL. Some nights we just don't feel like a huge, drawn out MDR meal. On other lines (especially after a long port day) we love being able to grab something quick and tasty at the buffet and then just chill for the evening. DCL should offer something other than room service or their crappy pizza. Even just keeping the rest of the pool deck food open until a reasonable dinner time would be an improvement.

I know the buffet is often (maybe mostly?) staffed by the MDR servers, so I know that's an issue. But they managed to keep it open (albeit usually not as a buffet) pre Covid. Heck, I recall them even having the actual buffet open for dinner during some of the European cruises that had unusually long hours in port. It seems they could do something, but are choosing not to. Which is disappointing and definitely deters me from taking an overly long cruise on DCL. And we love long cruises - on other lines.

 

[OhThePain]

I think this is another case where the minority is very vocal which makes it seem like a bigger issue and higher demand than it is. Sure, are people who have been on the ships several times going to get bored of the dining rooms? Yes. But most people, particularly those who have never been on a given ship before, are not likely to miss out on a DCL dining room experience. You can't compare DCL to other lines because other lines either have 1 big MDR and/or have several other dinner options. They aren't providing entertainment in their MDRs on 2/3 of the nights. People are going to be a lot more willing to skip the MDR on other lines. FOMO on DCL is a thing, especially for those that don't cruise as much or as often as some of you.

Yes, pre-covid DCL had the buffet as an option for dinner. 1, that was when 1 dining room offered entertainment, which most if not all the ships now offer it in 2 of the dining rooms. 2, covid caused prices to increase quite a bit and those prices never really came back down. The cost for them to run a dinner buffet every night is probably a lot more expensive than the value for a couple of groups of people to eat there.

I do agree that a fair option would be to have the food on the pool deck open later. I am not saying they have to be open until midnight, but I think them being open until 8 or 9 instead of 6 is perfectly reasonable and would be a fair compromise.

 

[lanejudy]

I know the buffet is often (maybe mostly?) staffed by the MDR servers, so I know that's an issue. But they managed to keep it open (albeit usually not as a buffet) pre Covid. Heck, I recall them even having the actual buffet open for dinner during some of the European cruises that had unusually long hours in port. It seems they could do something, but are choosing not to.

The MDR servers work Cabanas as well as the pool-area locations. Pre-covid when there was dinner service at Cabanas it was handled by CMs "in training." I'm not sure DCL staffs that many trainees anymore; more serving staff simply means higher fares.

 

[jwalk03]

I think this is another case where the minority is very vocal which makes it seem like a bigger issue and higher demand than it is. Sure, are people who have been on the ships several times going to get bored of the dining rooms? Yes. But most people, particularly those who have never been on a given ship before, are not likely to miss out on a DCL dining room experience. You can't compare DCL to other lines because other lines either have 1 big MDR and/or have several other dinner options. They aren't providing entertainment in their MDRs on 2/3 of the nights. People are going to be a lot more willing to skip the MDR on other lines. FOMO on DCL is a thing, especially for those that don't cruise as much or as often as some of you.

Yes, pre-covid DCL had the buffet as an option for dinner. 1, that was when 1 dining room offered entertainment, which most if not all the ships now offer it in 2 of the dining rooms. 2, covid caused prices to increase quite a bit and those prices never really came back down. The cost for them to run a dinner buffet every night is probably a lot more expensive than the value for a couple of groups of people to eat there.

I do agree that a fair option would be to have the food on the pool deck open later. I am not saying they have to be open until midnight, but I think them being open until 8 or 9 instead of 6 is perfectly reasonable and would be a fair compromise.

I agree with this. I really enjoy the MDR experience would would not want to miss out on that to eat at Cabana's instead. But understand that some people have seen all the shows and experienced the dining rooms multiple times and maybe would be more likely to do that.

I think the pool deck option is a good one. And maybe to not have to increase the staff too much- what if it just rotated around which station stayed open late? So day 1 its the burgers, day 2 its the Cantina, day 3 its BBQ or whatever. That way there is always an option but its not always just pizza.

 

[DCL58]

I just wish they would change up the menus every now and then. Eating the same things every cruise gets old.

 

[jwalk03]

I just wish they would change up the menus every now and then. Eating the same things every cruise gets old.

The menus all have multiple entrees- just order something different each cruise.

 

[Girl of the South]

This is the first time I saw the issue picked up as a News Story. I am going to email it to Customer Service. Just to point it out.

The Dinner at Cabanas (which was a sit down meal) appealed to my family because the kids got fidgety, and we didn't want to eat at 5:15 or 8:30 (or whatever the times were). We wanted to eat when we were hungry. It was convenient and it was quick. And it was hot. It was QUIET. And it was 'civil'. It was sit down at a table with a tablecloth.

And the space was empty - it was only on the right side of Cabanas. Not a lot of tables. Food was the same as the MDR (not as many options) although I remember a small salad bar.

The problem with the Pool Deck Option is the food is not good. The pizza is really bad. And eating outside in the evening can be windy and cold. Even if they just offered 4 entrees. A vegetarian, a pasta, maybe something Indian, and then chicken. I don't know, something of slightly higher quality than chicken tenders and fries. I tried the Mexican food Cantina the last time I was on the Dream. Had high hopes. It wasn't very good either.

And the dinner shows . . . yes, they do get old. And I think they are getting louder!

I know this has been mentioned many times. Just thought it was interesting that it's a national (?) news story.

 

[Disnsyncey]

Heck, I recall them even having the actual buffet open for dinner during some of the European cruises that had unusually long hours in port.

I think it is at least a good idea to have for those people who won't be able to make their early dining time because of being off the ship (I recall a post recently about missing dinner for a glacier explorer excursion) or for some other reason....or for people who are hungry all the time HAAHHAAH

 

[DCL58]

The menus all have multiple entrees- just order something different each cruise.

We cruise a good bit. And I don’t like everything DCL serves. I eat the same things off each menu on every cruise.

 

[emilymad]

We have definitely chosen to not book with DCL for this exact reason. Sometimes we just can't take another cruise of the same dining experience and same menus again. We are getting ready for a Treasure sailing but after that we may be kind of done with DCL mostly because of the dinner issue.

 

[brentm77]

I think this is another case where the minority is very vocal which makes it seem like a bigger issue and higher demand than it is. Sure, are people who have been on the ships several times going to get bored of the dining rooms? Yes. But most people, particularly those who have never been on a given ship before, are not likely to miss out on a DCL dining room experience. You can't compare DCL to other lines because other lines either have 1 big MDR and/or have several other dinner options. They aren't providing entertainment in their MDRs on 2/3 of the nights. People are going to be a lot more willing to skip the MDR on other lines. FOMO on DCL is a thing, especially for those that don't cruise as much or as often as some of you.

Yes, pre-covid DCL had the buffet as an option for dinner. 1, that was when 1 dining room offered entertainment, which most if not all the ships now offer it in 2 of the dining rooms. 2, covid caused prices to increase quite a bit and those prices never really came back down. The cost for them to run a dinner buffet every night is probably a lot more expensive than the value for a couple of groups of people to eat there.

I do agree that a fair option would be to have the food on the pool deck open later. I am not saying they have to be open until midnight, but I think them being open until 8 or 9 instead of 6 is perfectly reasonable and would be a fair compromise.

You could be right, even though I am part of the vocal minority. But even if I am in the minority, I think DCL really needs to up their game. It's one thing to have the same repetitive menus for two decades, but it's another for them to decline in quality over the years. That makes the repetitiveness harder to enjoy. DCL also relies on a high volume of repeat cruisers, which is a catch 22. They are probably worried about angering the repeat cruises, but it comes at the cost of turning off repeat cruisers who crave some variation.

I also agree with the other poster that once you have had the option of a quick and easy stop at the buffet after a long day at port on another line, it becomes a drawback on DCL that the MDR is the only real option unless you want bad burgers or pizza, at least on the classic ships. I would be pretty happy if they just improved the quality of the pool deck food and had better hours on the classic ships.

 

[supercarrie]

I still need to write up my Wish vs Utopia of the Seas review, having just got off the trip where we did them two weekends in a row, but I can say that doing the Wish first, followed by Utopia, one of the things we loved about Utopia was having the buffet option for dinner. Their buffet has many of the main dining room entree options, plus quite a few other options and things unique to the buffet (crab legs the last night, freshly made funnel cakes night 2, a chocolate fountain on one night, etc.)

Utopia obviously doesn't have the main dining room entertainment, but we felt like the shows on the Wish could be "one and done" for us - we really enjoyed them, but I'm not rushing back on the Wish specifically for the Marvel or Arendelle show.

 

[WorldCruiser]

I still need to write up my Wish vs Utopia of the Seas review, having just got off the trip where we did them two weekends in a row, but I can say that doing the Wish first, followed by Utopia, one of the things we loved about Utopia was having the buffet option for dinner. Their buffet has many of the main dining room entree options, plus quite a few other options and things unique to the buffet (crab legs the last night, freshly made funnel cakes night 2, a chocolate fountain on one night, etc.)

Utopia obviously doesn't have the main dining room entertainment, but we felt like the shows on the Wish could be "one and done" for us - we really enjoyed them, but I'm not rushing back on the Wish specifically for the Marvel or Arendelle show.

I think Disney is overestimating how many people enjoy the dinner shows. I think a lot more guests would enjoy just a normal dinner. I’m not looking forward to the Treasure dinners mainly because there is a show 4/7 nights. Way to excessive for my taste.