Embarkation Lunch - Where do you go?

[CamColt]

I like to do the sit down meal and then head up to the top decks so we can officially kick things off with the first adult beverage

I laughed at your post because that is exactly what we do after lunch. We head to the Cove Bar, meet the bartender who will be there for the cruise and find out who else is at which bars, then have our "dessert" of a BBC. Always a BBC to start off the cruise...except for the time they had no bananas on board yet.

 

[accio]

I actually really like food on DCL. Out of the lines we’ve sailed on, Disney’s buffet has probably been the best. Looking forward to our traditional embarkation day lunch in Cabanas next week

 

[CarolynFH]

We cruise from Galveston, which is close enough to home that we can drive down and eat at one of our favorite restaurants in the city, then board the ship. So I checked that we’d skip embarkation lunch. But if at some point we embark at a different port, we’ll probably eat lunch in the MDR.

 

[NAB]

We eat at the buffet. We have gone to the dinning room but found it to be long and to heavy for lunch the first day or can’t find anything on the menu I really want that day.

Sometimes that is the only time we do the buffet the whole trip.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I’ve only been on two Disney ships. My second voyage was on The Wish. I had my eye on the quiet cove infinity pool, imagining for months how cool it would be to have it all to myself. So I skipped lunch entirely and went straight up there. I didn’t leave that pool till my room was ready at 2pm. Two wonderful hours. It was just how I had imagined it!

 

[Michaelene De Boer]

If we are one of the first on then the buffett; otherwise, we do a sit down lunch.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I go to the MDR for lunch, and then by the time Im finished, the rooms are open. The MDR on embarkation day for me on The Magic and Dream have been at the front of the ship and I usually get a forward room, so it works out well that I come out of the restaurant, use the Forward elevator and go straight to the room.

 

[NJMermaid]

We have done both the buffet and MDR, prefer the MDR, but enjoyed sitting outside from the buffet. Next year, we are concierge for the first time, so will be going to concierge lunch.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I go to the MDR for lunch, and then by the time Im finished, the rooms are open. The MDR on embarkation day for me on The Magic and Dream have been at the front of the ship and I usually get a forward room, so it works out well that I come out of the restaurant, use the Forward elevator and go straight to the room.

The MDRs on both ships are either midship or aft. On the Magic, two of the MDRs are aft and one is midship while it’s the opposite arrangement on the Dream. In fact, all MDRs across the DCL fleet are either midship or aft. Best case would be dining in the midship MDR and then walking to the forward elevator lobby after you leave the dining room. Usually, the concierge embarkation lunch is served in one of the midship dining rooms.

 

[elsawasajedi]

So, I am curious how everyone wants to start their cruises. Lots of different options - but wondering which one people tend to think is the best way to start their cruise!

suits on under clothes and hit the pool and graze maybe. there are so few people in the pool during this time! (*for Florida cruises - for nyc and Europe its cabanas)

saw others doing it our first cruise and has been the plan since.

 

[bayri]

Our first cruise we did the MDR lunch on the Fantasy in Animator's Palette -- it was a great intro to the vacation for my husband (and me, but I watched way more videos in excitement lol). For our second cruise, we drove into San Diego and had breakfast in the city, so we weren't too hungry. I ended up going to Cabanas after the room was ready (husband needed a nap bc we stayed up all night and left for our drive at like, 2am LOL) to peruse and have a small snack. Not sure what we'll end up doing later this month!

 

[Jsoenning]

If not concierge Cabanas for sure. Make a straight line* for the shrimp and usually add a side of whatever stir fried rice or noodles are available. Mini-desserts and / or scooped ice cream for dessert.

*after assisting kids with their food and finding a place to sit so zig-zag straight line? :O)

 

[kylenne]

First timer going on the Wish, but from past experience on RCCL I was going to have us skip Marceline in favor of the Festival of Foods. Buffet on embarkation day I think would be too chaotic for gf and I'm not a fan of it. I didn't realize MDR was an option though, I really like that idea.

 

[ichoose2believe]

We have tried Cabanas and MDR and I liked the MDR the best because it was quieter and didn't feel like we were in a rush. I also liked that we could leave our bags at the front of the restaurant.

 

[brentm77]

Cabanas. It's crowded, and hard to find a seat if you don't board early, but I love the views and the excitement in the air.

 

[sponica]

First timer going on the Wish, but from past experience on RCCL I was going to have us skip Marceline in favor of the Festival of Foods. Buffet on embarkation day I think would be too chaotic for gf and I'm not a fan of it. I didn't realize MDR was an option though, I really like that idea.

We did the MDR lunch on embarkation day on the Wish, we were up early and tired and wanted something quiet. Lunch at Arendelle worked. And the rooms were open by the time we finished up.

 

[kylenne]

We did the MDR lunch on embarkation day on the Wish, we were up early and tired and wanted something quiet. Lunch at Arendelle worked. And the rooms were open by the time we finished up.

This sounds exactly up our alley. I suspect it will also be an early start for us too, we are taking the port transfer from the Grand Floridian. After 5 days at the parks, a slammed buffet to start the cruise doesn't sound too appealing!

 

[sponica]

This sounds exactly up our alley. I suspect it will also be an early start for us too, we are taking the port transfer from the Grand Floridian. After 5 days at the parks, a slammed buffet to start the cruise doesn't sound too appealing!

Yeah we had port tranfers from POR and hit some traffic getting to the port, we were seated at Arendelle around 12:30 ish and took our time eating, so I think were done around 130 or so? The rooms were open by the time we got out.

 

[BlovesC]

Mickey's festival of foods!!!

Although DH is determined to try a sit-down lunch on our next cruise in October.

 

[sponica]

Mickey's festival of foods!!!

Although DH is determined to try a sit-down lunch on our next cruise in October.

I think if my kids were older and could get their own food without spilling it, we'd be inclined to do this....