Embarkation dining on the Wish

[nicoledj23]

Where would you eat “lunch” when you first board the ship? We are boarding group 10.
The last time (and only time for the kids) we cruised was last Spring Break and the ship was only half full. I hear Marceline Market and Festival of Foods is packed. Just trying to brace ourselves for the ship to feel much fuller. Thoughts?

 

[happycamper47]

We were on the WISH the day after Christmas 26/30 and had no problems getting lunch in Marceline and we were group 11.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Disney_David]

Where would you eat “lunch” when you first board the ship? We are boarding group 10.
The last time (and only time for the kids) we cruised was last Spring Break and the ship was only half full. I hear Marceline Market and Festival of Foods is packed. Just trying to brace ourselves for the ship to feel much fuller. Thoughts?

We just did the Wish this weekend. We boarded group 5 and did our own little tour before going to Marceline Market, so I’d imagine by the time we got there (after 12:30PM), that would be about the time group 10 boarded?

Marceline was not at all packed and the ship was sold out. Plenty of seats free. I think you’ll be fine!

 

[Disney_David]

“Lunch?” That is lunch where I come from. Well, maybe a bit late, as we eat at 11 or 11:30.

Would you rather have a sit-down meal where it’s a little more peaceful? Or wanting the shrimp and crab claws and usual buffet upstairs? Perhaps served a side of crowd.

Is food or atmosphere more significant? If concerned with crowds, head to the sit-down choice (1923, right there off the Atrium as you enter). Then begin the exploring.

My nieces said the Mexican burrito bowl / tacos was a great choice.

I second the bowl! Marceline was great! I will say I thought 1923 sit down lunch was our worst meal! The bowl was waaaaay better (halibut should have been called halibullet )

 

[TRTRguy]

You should be able to get into the Frozen restaurant still when you board for sit down lunch

 

[Disney_David]

You should be able to get into the Frozen restaurant still when you board for sit down lunch

I forgot about that. Our options were Arandelle or Marceline on embarkation day. 1923 was reserved for concierge. Marceline serves until 3PM but it was open a little later (I actually went twice, once at 12:30PM and then for a snack at 2:50PM).

Someone else will know the exact times. Arandelle closes before Marceline (I believe 2PM?

 

[JWG]

We were on the WISH the day after Christmas 26/30 and had no problems getting lunch in Marceline and we were group 11.

We were on your cruise!

We ate at Arandelle without a wait. We were boarding group 7. We slowly made are way there.

 

[kshu2014]

We loved heading up to Marceline Market right when we arrived - we were in Boarding Group 15 and it wasn't too bad. If you head straight to the back, where all the seafood is, it's surprisingly not crowded. Also kicks off your cruise with the excitement of seeing the top deck!

 

[Anna131517]

We were group 11 but boarded about an hour late due to various bathroom breaks on our way to the port and in port (3 kids!). We ate at Marcelina Market. It took a minute to find a table for 5 but not too long. If I had it to do again I’d go to the Festival of foods on the pool deck. My kids absolutely loved the cheeseburgers and pizza there. I think they may have each eaten two cheeseburgers a day! And of course there’s free soft serve too!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I'm thinking about the same thing. We were on the Fantasy 12/25, boarding group 8, I think. We went right to Cabanas for lunch and it was packed! Could hardly move around, get to the food....ate outside which was very, very cold. Not enjoyable. I know most are saying Marceline market won't be that crowded, but there's a video I saw the other day and the guy is in Marceline market and saying it's so crowded, hard to get a table, people with the carry-on's, etc....and do yourself a favor and just go to the MDR for a more peacful lunch. If you want to to know which video it was, let me know. I think I could find it again.

 

[Disney_David]

I would check when you’re on board. If it’s too busy for your, head to Arandelle. And go into the dining are, there was always a crowd by the hand wash stations,

Every stateroom was booked this weekend and on the walking tour the guide said there were 3600 or 3700 guests out of a capacity of 4000. Even after touring around, Marceline was not busy by the time we got there. We still got a window seat. We went later and it was still fine. I was first in line for most stations.

Check it out, see how busy it is, and if it’s too busy for you, head to one of the other options.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

When we sailed in Nov 22 on the Wish we ate in Arendelle for sit down lunch when we first got on the ship. With carryons, trying to navigate Marceline was a bit more than we wanted to do.

The menu is pretty standard at the sit down option for lunch on embark day. I usually get the prime rib. Start the trip off correct. We typically like this option as we can make friends with other serving teams. We always tend to find one of our old servers and this cruise was no exception! One of our previous Assistant servers saw us and came over to say hi. We had great luck, He was our assigned rotational dining server also.

For us the vacation starts when I sit down and I'm handed that menu. Its much more relaxing than the Cafeteria style of Marceline. I usually reserve that for breakfast and lunch on sea day.

Plus, sitting at the sit down dining venues feels like we really get the most out of our tips. Some of our favorite conversations happen when the serving teams are able to relax and just be themselves.

 

[kiford]

Our options were Arendelle and Marcelline Market. We used to go to the buffet but after a number of cruises, we realized that it's much more relaxing to do the sit down restaurant (even when they had a small buffet) especially if you're on board too early to put your bags into the room. So we went to Arendelle. I had hoped to have the muffuletta sandwich but my server told me it was off limits due to one of my allergies and so were several other offerings so I had to order the sliced roasted beef sirloin, something that is generally too large and too heavy for me at lunch. I was surprised to find that it was quite delicious and I really enjoyed it. It was actually quite a nice start to the cruise.

If we hadn't gone to Arendelle, we probably would have had to wait until after our rooms were ready because we all had large carry ons and there was no way I was going to go to Marcelline Market and try to walk around with a plate or two with that. And we were starving because we'd had no breakfast that day.

 

[Calantha]

We have always gone to sit-down lunch on arrival. Arendelle had the same menu as AP would on the other ships, but it was tasty as always (and you could get some of the specialty Arendelle drinks). Yes, it can take a little longer, but I find it very relaxing. Also, usually as we finish up, there's a few minutes to explore and then rooms are ready.