First time on DCL - thoughts after the trip

[Pens Fan]

They have shawarma in the quick service locations?!

They do on the Magic, and I'm pretty sure on the Wonder as well. They had a choice of lamb or chicken and several veggies and toppings to choose from. It's really pretty good, at least until they ran out of pita bread. Then, they started serving it with tortillas . That happened on two different cruises we were on. Oh, Disney!

 

[starvenger]

They have shawarma in the quick service locations?!

I am curious about this as well. I remember the one time we ventured to Windjammer for late lunch on the Harmony (I think we were in San Juan) they allegedly had shawarma but it looked more like doner/gyro meat. I was not impressed.

Then, they started serving it with tortillas

I have a good one about tortillas. After our cruise on DCL Fantasy, we were staying one night in Orlando, so we went to Ming Court (which I believe is now closed). Kids wanted Peking Duck, so we ordered that. But instead of the thin crepes we're used to getting (or even some bao), we got... tortillas. Let me tell you... it's just not the same.

 

[Lisa F]

They do on the Magic, and I'm pretty sure on the Wonder as well. They had a choice of lamb or chicken and several veggies and toppings to choose from. It's really pretty good, at least until they ran out of pita bread. Then, they started serving it with tortillas . That happened on two different cruises we were on. Oh, Disney!

oh we're on the dream have to stick with chicken tenders I guess. Wondering what the "make your own salad" is though.

 

[gsmith0113]

What ship were you on? The Magic and Wonder have more options at the pool.
The pool side food on the Dream and Fantasy is not good.
Some people say it's subjective, but if you don't like eating unhealthy hamburgers and hot dogs there's not a lot of options.

We were on the fantasy for a SWDAS cruise. The cruise itself started out rocky , the other poster from the ship can confirm that!
It got better as we went, but the options for food were not great during the day (after 2:15) IMO...

 

[Pens Fan]

I am curious about this as well. I remember the one time we ventured to Windjammer for late lunch on the Harmony (I think we were in San Juan) they allegedly had shawarma but it looked more like doner/gyro meat. I was not impressed.

Well, to be honest, Disney's is pretty much like doner/gyro meat as well. But it was still pretty good. At least we thought so, and found it much better than the other pizza/burger/wrap options they had.

 

[starvenger]

That's cool. And I should point out that I'm not against doners or gyros (unless it's a Halifax Donair, which I've determined is not my thing. Apologies to any Haligonians out there.), but if your menu says "shawarma", my expectations are that I'm getting shawarma.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Buffet food on DCL is similar to what we had at Chef Mickey's at WDW two weeks ago. Except the restaurant gouged us $32.00 per person mainly to see a few characters. At least the restaurant's pastries were fresh. On DCL they serve thawed Krispy Kreme donuts. DCL needs a pastry chef who's been trained by the chefs at the French pastry shop in EPCOT.

 

[Shanti]

What ship were you on? The Magic and Wonder have more options at the pool.
The pool side food on the Dream and Fantasy is not good.
Some people say it's subjective, but if you don't like eating unhealthy hamburgers and hot dogs there's not a lot of options.

oh we're on the dream have to stick with chicken tenders I guess. Wondering what the "make your own salad" is though.

I sailed on the Dream last month, and they did have a counter for wraps & other relatively healthy food on the pool deck right next to the hamburger counter. It's the furthest food counter to the right, so it's easy to miss if you're not checking everything out.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I definitely find good things to eat at Cabanas! They have delicious lamb chops and peel and eat shrimp and snow crab legs. Those are my favorite, but I try lots of other things.

I love Princess Cruises, but their buffet food does not appeal to either of us, DH and me. We are Platinum on both.

Food is truly subjective.

 

[Shanti]

We just got back from our first DCL trip...The food - it got better as the cruise went on, but the food was not good to start the cruise. The quality of the food was simply not there. the quick service option by the pool offered little in the way of options besides pre-made items, which would have been fine, but...The availability of food at the buffet - the buffet was only open certain hours during the day (until 2:15 PM), we would come back from being at the ports and only have the quick service burgers/hotdogs/chicken fingers and fries station open.

Had you ever been on a cruise before? On all mass market cruises, the food isn't going to match the food sold at the best land-based restaurants, as they have to serve thousands of people at once. Within that limitation, I've been quite satisfied with DCL's food.

One tip that has helped me really enjoy the food on our cruises is that the best food in DCL's MDRs are the meals your servers recommend you have for dinner each night. They recommend those for a reason- they tend to be better than the other items on the menu. If you dine in the MDRs, eating the recommended entrees, your experience will be better than if you try the more obscure items on the menu.

 

[gotomu212]

I agree that I wish the buffet was open longer in the afternoons to accommodate port excursions. It doesn’t even need to be the full elaborate Cabana spread.

We were on the Fantasy in December and my complaint with the pool side deli was that there were only 2 wrap choices our whole cruise, and the wraps are cut into very small appetizer size. I completely understand food waste, but my husband had to ask for 6 to get what would be a normal small sized 2 wrap lunch serving and he felt like an idiot asking for that many.

The pizza and hamburgers taste like low fast food to me. I did really like the spicy chicken sandwich and hat was my go to.

Room service is great but sometimes in the afternoons the wait was 45 minutes and I really wish we could have walked into a small buffet instead.

 

[Sytrace]

The pepperoni and plain cheese pizzas are made on a thinner crust then the other options, I'm assuming because they move more that they need them to cook faster as well as be cheaper and the thinner crust is terrible. I'm not saying all thin crust pizza is terrible, just that thin crust pizza.

See, we LIKE the thin crust pizza on the ship more than the regular crust pizza. lol

 

[Shanti]

See, we LIKE the thin crust pizza on the ship more than the regular crust pizza. lol

My son really likes their gluten-free pizza. As he's gf it's his go-to meal on the pool deck. I'm a DCL chicken-finger & fries addict. It's weird, but I look forward to those as much as I do to my chocolate souffle at Palo.

 

[Lisa F]

I sailed on the Dream last month, and they did have a counter for wraps & other relatively healthy food on the pool deck right next to the hamburger counter. It's the furthest food counter to the right, so it's easy to miss if you're not checking everything out.

do you know what their "freshly hand tossed with your favorite ingredients" salads are like? I see it on the menu but the only picture I saw was a boring premade lettuce and tomato bowls.

 

[Shanti]

do you know what their "freshly hand tossed with your favorite ingredients" salads are like? I see it on the menu but the only picture I saw was a boring premade lettuce and tomato bowls.

No, sorry, I never eat healthy food on the pool deck. I noticed the healthy food counter while waiting for them to custom-make my son's gf pizza.

 

[cruiser21]

I sailed on the Dream last month, and they did have a counter for wraps & other relatively healthy food on the pool deck right next to the hamburger counter. It's the furthest food counter to the right, so it's easy to miss if you're not checking everything out.

Im very familar with all the offerings, but pre- made sandwiches aren't great. I'm not sure they are much healthier then a burger. I'm not opposed to unhealthy food. If I'm going to eat unhealthy I want it to be be good quality and taste good. If I eat fast food it's generally the highrler end variety. Although in an out is pretty darn good for a great price.

 

[Sytrace]

My son really likes their gluten-free pizza. As he's gf it's his go-to meal on the pool deck. I'm a DCL chicken-finger & fries addict. It's weird, but I look forward to those as much as I do to my chocolate souffle at Palo.

My husband also loves the chicken fingers and steak fries. It is so cute! That is what he beelines for on embarkation day. And sometimes he has too many of those chicken fingers and fries and will have a salad at dinner because he is not hungry anymore.

 

[Sunshine2U]

We find DCL food mediocre at best. But I do realize it is cooking for the masses and I don't sail for the quality of the food. I can't tell you how sad I was to not find a single dessert that was epic - it's a sad day when the ice cream is the best bet. NCL Escape was marginally better - but there are so many more options there. MSC Yacht Club was divine! Even though you may not be in love with the poolside food, it is incredibly convenient to have that food on the deck where you don't have to dry all the little people off and put on their shoes just so you can drag them into the buffet. NCL and MSC do not have that.

We sail DCL because we are taking (grand)children and we want them to have the Disney experience. They are happy with the food choices and that makes it fine with me. In the meantime, I'll embrace the chicken fingers!

 

[cadien]

It may depend on the NCL ship. We had hot dogs and burgers and ice cream on the pool deck of the Star. There was no room to actually get in the pool, but there was food...

 

[lds0191]

I totally agree with the previous posts about the chicken fingers. We joke that they put crack in them because they are so addicting!