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

[holula]

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.

This is the option I would vote for if DCL expanded their post 6pm offerings. I don’t think it makes sense to have a full buffet every night in Cabanas considering most of the ships have dinner shows 2/3 of the nights on most cruises. I do think that it would be nice to have other options that aren’t just one pool deck place as just sometimes I do not want a full sit down meal.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

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.

I agree. I like the concept of having the shows, but in reality it doesn't work all that well. Several times the show had started before our servers were able to take our orders, so we were having to shout our orders at them (since it got even louder with the show), and I never really felt like I understood what was even going on in the shows because it was hard to pay attention with interruptions, other noise, servers walking around in front of screens, etc. Some parts were neat - I liked the songs at Coco, but overall, I don't feel like I need to experience those again.

We've done 4 disney cruises, never cruised any other line, and I think I would definitely be ready to try something where there are more options to eat on my own schedule.

 

[brentm77]

I agree. I like the concept of having the shows, but in reality it doesn't work all that well. Several times the show had started before our servers were able to take our orders, so we were having to shout our orders at them (since it got even louder with the show), and I never really felt like I understood what was even going on in the shows because it was hard to pay attention with interruptions, other noise, servers walking around in front of screens, etc. Some parts were neat - I liked the songs at Coco, but overall, I don't feel like I need to experience those again.

We've done 4 disney cruises, never cruised any other line, and I think I would definitely be ready to try something where there are more options to eat on my own schedule.

I agree. Although, I thought the classic ships found the right balance with one out of the three restaurants having a show. It provided something different and unique to Disney, appealed to the kids, but left most of the dinners open for family/friend conversations and a more relaxing dinner.

 

[sethschroeder]

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

See I dont view more options as a .... buffet....

When I think options I think as an example Royal which has a wide variety of options. I know some people like the buffet so that should be a thing as well though.

Its one of a number of things that just point me in the direction of the high prices of Disney not being worth it.

 

[jwalk03]

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.

No they aren't. The dinner shows are consistently very highly rated on the guest surveys. And honestly Disney's unique rotational dining and diner shows are a huge differentiator for Disney over the other lines.

 

[jwalk03]

I agree. Although, I thought the classic ships found the right balance with one out of the three restaurants having a show. It provided something different and unique to Disney, appealed to the kids, but left most of the dinners open for family/friend conversations and a more relaxing dinner.

The Magic & Wonder now have 2 dinner show restaurants each with Animator's Palate & Rapunzel/Tiana.

Only the Dream & Fantasy have a single one with AP- and I wouldn't be surprised to see that change next time they have a dry dock for them to add another dinner show on those ships.

 

[Kwami]

We've done 4 disney cruises, never cruised any other line, and I think I would definitely be ready to try something where there are more options to eat on my own schedule.

I did that once. I took a 10-night cruise with NCL and on that cruise, I could eat whenever I wanted to!

Well, at least, that was the sales pitch. In reality.

1. If you wanted to eat at the MDR, then you had to get there early or else be prepared for a 1-2 hour wait.
2. If you wanted to eat at the specialty restaurants, then you had to pay extra and, in most cases, you had to have a reservation made before the cruise started.
3. You could eat at the buffet, but the food was exceptionally bad and there was often vomit on the floor.
4. You couldn't eat that the American diner on deck. It was usually closed because of wind. It was always closed at night. When it was open, the wind was so strong that you couldn't really eat and the food got cold very quickly. It's just a bad setup.
5. That left the pub. You could totally get a good burger at the pub. They never once gave me the promised pickle, but I guess I can't be too picky.

I'll take Disney's noisy dinner shows over the mess that was "eat whenever you want" any day.

 

[happycamper47]

more serving staff simply means higher fares.

If they can even find more people to work...

 

[RedHead0186]

The Magic & Wonder now have 2 dinner show restaurants each with Animator's Palate & Rapunzel/Tiana.

Only the Dream & Fantasy have a single one with AP- and I wouldn't be surprised to see that change next time they have a dry dock for them to add another dinner show on those ships.

Dream just did a big dry dock last Fall, and I don't think they added another dinner show. (There was a big rumor that they were retheming Enchanted Garden, but that turned out to not be true.)

 

[jwalk03]

Dream just did a big dry dock last Fall, and I don't think they added another dinner show. (There was a big rumor that they were retheming Enchanted Garden, but that turned out to not be true.)

You are correct that they did not. The Fantasy will dry dock this year after the Europe Summer season. I would guess it will just get the same updates as Dream; but who knows for sure until they tell us.

I also don’t know how far in advance they would have to start planning out something like a whole new restaurant.

I do know from the ship tour I took on the Magic that during the dry dock it only took 1 day for them to tear out the old restaurant and put in all of Rapunzel- which is crazy. So everything had to be pre fabricated and ready to go prior to the dry dock even starting.

 

[brentm77]

The Magic & Wonder now have 2 dinner show restaurants each with Animator's Palate & Rapunzel/Tiana.

Only the Dream & Fantasy have a single one with AP- and I wouldn't be surprised to see that change next time they have a dry dock for them to add another dinner show on those ships.

You are right. I forgot about that, even though I have sailed both. I prefer the way the Fantasy and Dream do it.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Pre-Covid, the room service menu had many more items and many more “dinner” type offerings. Their burgers were really good. Lasagna, cold cut sandwiches, cheesesteak, pasta. The last room service menu I saw was very lacking anything substantial.

Some of the kids on DCL don’t do well in very loud environments. I could see where the long, loud dinner shows are too much for them. What do they do?

My last cruise was non-DCL and having the buffet open every night was very nice. Having a nice salad bar, Indian food, sushi, carved meat, was heaven. Although I will admit the dining room only took 45 minutes - 1 hour have drinks and all courses. The number of kids on the cruise was less than 10. They also had a late night offering at the buffet that was a bit more limited. Their room service had many nice “dinner” type items. There are many things I like about DCL (and I’m pearl) but the new ships aren’t drawing me in. I’m searching for a new go-to cruise line especially since the first dip of my toe into the scary world of other cruise lines turned out so well. (I did cruise other lines prior to DCL but that was over 20 years ago and cruising has changed so much)

 

[dreamer17555]

You are correct that they did not. The Fantasy will dry dock this year after the Europe Summer season. I would guess it will just get the same updates as Dream; but who knows for sure until they tell us.

I also don’t know how far in advance they would have to start planning out something like a whole new restaurant.

I do know from the ship tour I took on the Magic that during the dry dock it only took 1 day for them to tear out the old restaurant and put in all of Rapunzel- which is crazy. So everything had to be pre fabricated and ready to go prior to the dry dock even starting.

DCL recently announced the dry dock changes for the Fantasy- all of them were copies of the changes made on the dream. They did not mention an update to the oceaneers club like they did for the dream but I suspect that’s coming as well.

 

[brentm77]

The dinner shows are consistently very highly rated on the guest surveys.

Out of curiosity, how do you know this?

 

[WorldCruiser]

No they aren't. The dinner shows are consistently very highly rated on the guest surveys. And honestly Disney's unique rotational dining and diner shows are a huge differentiator for Disney over the other lines.

See I don’t agree. The Disney Fantasy probably the most popular/favorite ship of DCL which has one show and it’s really only during desert. While for the Wish class a constant complaint is how loud the dining rooms are. This comes from not only how tight the tables are but also the shows. I don’t know how you have access to the surveys, but I would wager most people would prefer 1-2 dinner shows versus 4. A lot of people like to have a conversation at dinner.

 

[Cfabar1]

With the rapid expansion of vessels, I do not think they are likely to put "more" into the Dream and Fantasy besides what they have done... Nearly all the updates in the drydock were meant to enhance profits - particularly the expansion of Concierge.

I'm not even sure where the Dream and Fantasy find themselves stationed by the end of the decade...

 

[jwalk03]

With the rapid expansion of vessels, I do not think they are likely to put "more" into the Dream and Fantasy besides what they have done... Nearly all the updates in the drydock were meant to enhance profits - particularly the expansion of Concierge.

I'm not even sure where the Dream and Fantasy find themselves stationed by the end of the decade...

So much of Disney’s entire business is based on nostalgia. I personally don’t think the classic ships are going anywhere anytime soon. I truly believe even the Magic & Wonder will be around another 15 years and more like 20-25 years for Dream & Fantasy.

But to keep these older ships around that long they require regular dry docks and also new fun enhancements to keep them widely appealing. So I really do think the Dream & Fantasy will have more enhancements beyond these dry docks in the not too distant future.

 

[princesscinderella]

I would love more dinner options on the longer sailings. I really do I don’t think they are necessary on the 3/4 night cruises because most want to eat in the MDRs once and possibly Palo/Enchante. We had late dining as we booked late and we never cleared the waitlist for main dining and we were hungry early and would try to quickly get a bite from the pool deck before it closed down at 6.

 

[sethschroeder]

No they aren't. The dinner shows are consistently very highly rated on the guest surveys. And honestly Disney's unique rotational dining and diner shows are a huge differentiator for Disney over the other lines.

I enjoy the rotational dining but a counter point:
Palo/Remy/Enchanté

These are all sold out extremely quickly and don't provide options for families with kids who want a better class of food compared to MDR or alternatives to certain menus that might in the MDR for the night.

I also think dinner shows would be an even bigger hit if you made the rooms smaller so everyone had a good seat. This wouldn't work on the short cruises but on the ships dedicated to a 6/7+ night cruise they could schedule you for the dinner show on a single night out of the whole cruise. They could additionally split the rooms even. One of the issues I have is that you can end up in a far part of the room and with little kids there is little chance for them to actually see because its not a theater its a flat dining room construction.

 

[jwalk03]

I enjoy the rotational dining but a counter point:
Palo/Remy/Enchanté

These are all sold out extremely quickly and don't provide options for families with kids who want a better class of food compared to MDR or alternatives to certain menus that might in the MDR for the night.

I also think dinner shows would be an even bigger hit if you made the rooms smaller so everyone had a good seat. This wouldn't work on the short cruises but on the ships dedicated to a 6/7+ night cruise they could schedule you for the dinner show on a single night out of the whole cruise. They could additionally split the rooms even. One of the issues I have is that you can end up in a far part of the room and with little kids there is little chance for them to actually see because its not a theater its a flat dining room construction.

Sold out extremely quickly? That has not been my experience. Just spent 7-nights on the Magic which only has Palo not the others- but there were dinner reservations available every single night of the cruise. Not a single night was sold out.

Brunch is a different story. I wasn't able to book that at all even though I tried as soon as it opened and our cruise had 3 sea days and it was offered on all 3! I also joined the wait list on board for Brunch and wasn't able to get it that way either. But I could have had dinner at Palo as many times as I wanted.

The lunch & brunch options tend to sell out very quickly because they don't force you to chose between missing a MDR meal/show and enjoying the elevated adults only experience.