Fantasy dining options & drinking water

[kay_nl]

We have been on one cruise (Royal Caribbean for honeymoon, before kids). We are going on our first Disney cruise on Aug. 29 onboard the Fantasy. I've been reading some things, trying to figure out what to pack and whatnot... I have 2 questions!

75% of my family hates dressing up, and I was reading that no shorts are permitted in dining room. Since we are flying a long way, I'm not really keen on shopping for dressy clothes we might only wear once, adding clothes to our luggage for only 1-2 hours a day for 7 days. Kids have no pants except for jogging pants and leggings, neither one of them particularly like skirts. This is vacation and it's not supposed to be stressful, and I'm not enjoying that it is stressing me out. So.... Are there alternate dining options? Can we opt out of dining room meals, and if so will we miss out on anything?

I noticed that they pre-charge your tips to your account. If that's the case and we never go to the dining rooms, do we have to tell somebody we won't be going so that we don't get charged a tip? Or do we get charged a tip regardless? There is no indication, that I have seen, what the amount of the tip might be...

Also, drinking water. It appears that water is not included on the list of free drinks, but pop is? Two of us only drink water and don't like pop. Is the tap water on the boat safe to drink?

Thank in advance!!

 

[dcassetta]

Shorts are permitted in the main dining rooms, Disney does ask that you not wear swimwear or tank tops. On your seven night cruise, there will be one semi formal and one formal evening. Some people will dress up for those evenings, some will not, and you are not required to.

There are dining alternatives to the main dining rooms. Cabanas offers a less formal sitdown dinner, room service is available 24 hours a day, and you can also eat from the quick service places on the pool deck. They feature things like sandwiches, burgers, chicken tenders, and pizza.

The tips are $12 per day per person. These go to your state room host, server, Assistant server and head server. The tips cover all dining service, including those at breakfast and lunch. Many feel it is appropriate to tip even if you do not eat in the main dining rooms every night.

I find the drinking water on the ship perfectly fine. Some do not, and bottled water is available for purchase if your family decides they need it.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Cruising has become a lot more casual over the past 20 years, so yes, shorts are allowed, even on formal night. Some people still like to dress up for family pictures that night, but no one is turned away from the main dining rooms for wearing shorts even on formal night. You'll see everything from tuxes to t-shirts.

The Fantasy dining rooms have very classy decor -- with Disney, it's all in the details. Animator's Palette has two digital shows including an interactive "turtle talk" with Crush. Another night everyone in the dining room draws a stick figure on a place mat -- no artistic skills required -- then the mats are collected and magically compiled into an animated show presented during dessert. It's Disney imagineering at its finest.

We don't mind the water on the ship. There's no charge for tap water. You can buy bottled water by the case on the ship, but it's way over-priced. We usually get a bottle or two in port to take on excursions with us.

 

[hubbard53]

we never dress up for dinner and there are alternative dining options. Cabanas turns into a sit down with server type restaurant in the evenings and we often just go there. You can get anything that is being served in any of the other dining rooms, it seems fresher, and it is much, much, much more casual and the service is awesome. On top of that it's less crowded ... shhhh! don't tell anyone or it might change

tap water is just fine. we drink it all the time,

have fun!

 

[JennyT1]

We are on the same cruise! On our first dcl, I brought all kinds of dressier clothes. My son especially fought it as he hates suit jackets! You should have seen his face when other boys his age were in nice shorts and polo shirts most nights!
So now on our 3rd cruise, our clothes are more relaxed. My son 12 will wear nice golf type shorts and golf shirts or jeans. Formal night he will wear a dress shirt and tie but refuses dress shoes. My daughter 14 has her own style - she knows that all dinner attire must be "nicer" so she's doing a mix of sun dresses and leggings with cute tops. Maybe jeans. It's my vacation too so I've learned to not stress about the clothes! Like others have said, you will see all manners of dress at dinner.
Enjoy!

 

[Quellman]

I noticed that they pre-charge your tips to your account. If that's the case and we never go to the dining rooms, do we have to tell somebody we won't be going so that we don't get charged a tip? Or do we get charged a tip regardless? There is no indication, that I have seen, what the amount of the tip might be...

This is a very touchy subject, tipping. You can always go to guest services to change the tip amount, either up or down. BUT.....
Just because you are not in the main dining room does not mean that you are not using services. The dining teams at dinner rotate where they work during the day. For example at breakfast and lunch, they will either rotate to Enchanted Garden, Royal Court, or the Cabanas buffet (Animators Palate does not serve breakfast or lunch). This means the people that you would normally tip as part of your dinner service team might actually be serving you, cleaning up, or assisting in the cabanas or elsewhere. Because you plan to eat sometime on the ship, tipping for those positions is a social norm, since the cruise workers don't receive high wages to begin with. Now, if you plan on only ordering room service, the quick service take away options at Flos cafe, or the Cove and Vista cafes, then by all means don't feel obligated for tipping.

Others have addressed your dining room clothing concerns. You can never go wrong with Jeans and a shirt. In fact you can wear Jeans multiple times without washing. The President of Levis says to never wash them! However, I think you are limiting your ability to enjoy some great meals by not dining in any of the dining rooms. Each have great themes, different menus each night, and an attentive staff. The one warning I have is that the first meal on board is sometimes more chaotic one since people are trying to still figure out where to go, meeting their servers the first time etc. After that people know what is what and can be much more enjoyable.

 

[JTBE]

My kids wore shorts often to the dining rooms. Lots of people wear shorts to the dining rooms. Disney is more laid back about it. Never dressed up really for any of the dining except for Palo- wore a sundress. I would highly recommend going to the dining rooms. If you are thinking of passing it because your family doesn't like to dress up then don't worry. People are really varied in their dress from casual to dressed-up. It's the one nice things about Disney not having to dress up which I realize it's a disappointment for other people who love dressing up esp with the other cruise lines. I would say go to the dining rooms-- the food is better than most other cruise lines.

And yes, I would recommend to tip your servers even if you don't show up to the dining rooms because those servers were assigned to your table and rely on those tips.

Tap water on the ship is probably fine. We take bottled water to drink on our excursions because I personally don't want to give my kids water from the caribbean, don't really know how safe the water is to drink on the islands. So, we have enough water to drink while on the ship as well.

 

[squirk]

We have been on one cruise (Royal Caribbean for honeymoon, before kids). We are going on our first Disney cruise on Aug. 29 onboard the Fantasy. I've been reading some things, trying to figure out what to pack and whatnot... I have 2 questions!

75% of my family hates dressing up, and I was reading that no shorts are permitted in dining room.

Where did you read that? If it was a message board or a blog, be advised that there is a contingent of self-appointed "attire police" who presume to tell other cruisers what is and is not "appropriate" to wear in the MDR.

As Kevin once said, that's crap. It's your vacation, and your money is as green as anybody else's. If shorts in the MDR are OK with DCL (which they are), then have fun and don't give it a second thought.

And yes, the tap water is just fine. Don't let them pressure you into the "bottled water package".

 

[perditax]

Please don't withdraw your tips. That seems to be the only way a lot of those folks even get paid. One of the more annoying aspects of cruising.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Where did you read that? If it was a message board or a blog, be advised that there is a contingent of self-appointed "attire police" who presume to tell other cruisers what is and is not "appropriate" to wear in the MDR.

As Kevin once said, that's crap. It's your vacation, and your money is as green as anybody else's. If shorts in the MDR are OK with DCL (which they are), then have fun and don't give it a second thought.

And yes, the tap water is just fine. Don't let them pressure you into the "bottled water package".

Disney used to have a "no shorts in the dining rooms" policy but so many people disregarded it, and the crew didn't enforce it, so DCL caved into the pressure and they allow shorts now.

I don't remember the exact date of the change, but it hasn't been that long ago, so OP probably just read some outdated information.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Q:
What should I wear to dinner?

A:
The dress code for dinner varies by the venue or theme night of your cruise. In general, most meals are "cruise casual"—no swimwear or tank tops. Most cruises also have special theme nights with optional opportunities to get dressed up for a special family photo. Here's a breakdown of events by cruise itinerary:

On 3-night cruises:
•One cruise casual night—No swimwear or tank tops
•One pirate or tropical night (deck party)
•One "optional dress-up night"—jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women

On 4-night cruises:
•First night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops
•One pirate or tropical night (deck party)
•One optional dress-up night—jacket for men, and dress or pantsuit for women
•Final night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops

On 7-night cruises:
•First night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops
•One themed night (pirate, tropical or other themed deck party)
•3 additional cruise casual nights—no swimwear or tank tops
•One formal and one semi-formal night—two great opportunities to dress-up and take advantage of the onboard photography services. Though optional, we recommend: Dress pants with a jacket or a suit for men, and dress or pantsuit for women

Dress code at Palo:
•Men: Dress pants and dress shirt (a jacket is optional)
•Women: Dress or pantsuit
•No jeans, shorts, capri pants, flip-flops or tennis shoes

Dress code at Remy:
•Men: Dress pants with jacket (sports or suit jacket) is required—ties are optional.
•Women: A dress, cocktail dress, pantsuit or skirt/blouse is required
•No jeans, shorts, capri pants, flip-flops or tennis shoes

 

[squirk]

Disney used to have a "no shorts in the dining rooms" policy but so many people disregarded it, and the crew didn't enforce it, so DCL caved into the pressure and they allow shorts now.

I don't remember the exact date of the change, but it hasn't been that long ago, so OP probably just read some outdated information.

I think that was at the beginning of '13.