Food Disappointment BIG Time...

[disneydreaming92701]

I agree with her assessment 100%. She is spot on. I just don't understand why the food is such a big weak spot. I give the MDR food at best a C. Palo food was a B. Everything else on the ship, entertainment, service, kids club, were all A and A+.

That is a great point. I wonder what Disney thinks about their cruise food reviews?

 

[Clotho]

I agree with her assessment 100%. She is spot on. I just don't understand why the food is such a big weak spot. I give the MDR food at best a C. Palo food was a B. Everything else on the ship, entertainment, service, kids club, were all A and A+.

Back atcha 100%! Everything else was so stellar, as I have always come to love Disney for!

 

[disneydreaming92701]

Back atcha 100%! Everything else was so stellar, as I have always come to love Disney for![/QUOTE

I wonder if the food on the dvc member cruises are different since some corporate Disney folks are on the boats? My biggest gripe is i wish the buffets were open longer maybe one all day...

 

[disneydreaming92701]

Sorry my post somehow was attached to a former posts quote. Darn phones.

 

[y2khardtop]

Just got off of the Fantasy, buffet was great, the dining room meals were a huge dissapontment. Bland dishes, tiny servings, rushed service. The going away breakfast even disappointed, as they brought my a tiny scoop of eggs, and my wife RAW wheat pancakes!

 

[DisSarahK]

I "Wonder" if the Alaskan cruises had funnel vision at night -- seems rather chilly, and during the summer, Alaska doesn't get dark til late.

Due to noise regulation in Alaska, Funnelvision couldn't be used at some points in the cruise.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Food is never a priority for us on a cruise. You have to take into consideration that with cruises the food has to be massed produced. You will never get a 5* restaurant meal cooked to order in the dining rooms nor can you expect it no matter what you paid for your cruise. They have to feed 2000-4000 people in a short time. A 5* restaurant on land doesn't feed that many on any given night. Everyone's taste is different so they will never be able to please 100% of the guests. If food is the number one reason for vacationing then perhaps a land vacation would be best.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are going again next week on the Dream and will have late dining. I'll take pics and post a review then. But honestly, how much can you expect when you pack that many people into a dining service? I take it all with a grain of salt, literally I just try to eat the non-processed, cooked foods. Don't get my started on Cookies on Cast Away Cay. How can they possibly call that bar-b-que? I am from the midwest and we take bar-b-que quite seriously.

Yes, I know what you mean but I think they mean BBQ in that it's a gas grill, not electric. They are not allowed to use gas for cooking on the ship but they can on CC. I'm sure folks from down south wouldn't call that BBQ either.

My experience is that the food quality on DCL has decreased markedly over the years. Some of our favorite menu items have been eliminated, and we were not thrilled with the quality on our last few cruises. As you said--great service, super entertainment, but food quality was not the best. In fact, we cruised a different line in August and found MUCH better food.

OK, there are exceptions....if you eat dinner in the pool deck restaurant, you lose the "experience" of the main dining room, but we found the food to be better--even though it is the same stuff as on the main menu.

I don't think the issue is in the menu selections on DCL so much as I think it is the preparation/serving system that is decreasing the quality....but that's just me. I'm basing that on having the same item 2 nights in a row--once in a MDR, once at Topsiders. The food at Topsiders was MUCH better.

We have 2013 booked on 2 different lines. It looks like we will be on DCL, but the family agrees that the food is better on the other. THey just feel that the entertainment on DCL outweighs the food quality.

I agree. Each line has its pros & cons whether it's food, ship style, price, entertainment, itinerary, etc. Also there's the "little things" like having a casino, focus on smoking/drinking, having to sign pool towels in & out, etc.

For us DCL has the most pros and fewest cons or at least the cons are not of high priority factors. Do I love every meal? no. If food were at the top of my priority list, I'd probably be on a line that doesn't offer DCL's kind of entertainment.
We had better food on Carnival but I'd rather go to work than watch a hairy chest contest or see that my 9 yr old's upcoming activity that night is a "Coke-tail" party.
We were on the Wonder in August/Sept and recalled the food on the Dream (April) to be much better.

 

[tanyam76]

Yes, I know what you mean but I think they mean BBQ in that it's a gas grill, not electric. They are not allowed to use gas for cooking on the ship but they can on CC. I'm sure folks from down south wouldn't call that BBQ either.

I agree. Each line has its pros & cons whether it's food, ship style, price, entertainment, itinerary, etc. Also there's the "little things" like having a casino, focus on smoking/drinking, having to sign pool towels in & out, etc.

For us DCL has the most pros and fewest cons or at least the cons are not of high priority factors. Do I love every meal? no. If food were at the top of my priority list, I'd probably be on a line that doesn't offer DCL's kind of entertainment.
We had better food on Carnival but I'd rather go to work than watch a hairy chest contest or see that my 9 yr old's upcoming activity that night is a "Coke-tail" party.
We were on the Wonder in August/Sept and recalled the food on the Dream (April) to be much better.[/QUOTE

I have to say DCL met and exceeded all my expectations except food. I would give it a 6. The 'ice cream' by the pools was not ice cream unless ordered at dinner or ordered at the lunch buffet. I'm not picky but it was ok. That was my only complaint. .. otherwise we loved it and we will continue to cruise with DCL.

 

[Started With a Mouse]

It's food costs, plain and simple. You have a budget to adhere to. The more the guests eat, the the quality of the food lowers. Unfortunate, but true.

 

[JohnDS]

Some Disney fanatics think that criticizing anything Disney is blasphemy, but it is what it is.

I found the timing of the re-appearance of this thread hilarious. And the above comment is so true.

 

[4mousefans]

On our January Fantasy cruise the five men in our party all ordered steaks, medium rare. When the steaks arrived, all struggled with trying to cut the meat- it was tough, full of fat and stringy (as though it had not been cut by the butcher correctly). My husband, when asked by our server, let him know that it was not a good cut of meat. The head server came over with the chef...I was initially embarrased by the fuss...but the crew wanted to understand the problem and correct it. They thanked the guys for their feedback..they said that a new vendor was being used and that this was not the first problem that they had encountered. The guys were encouraged to try other dishes and as a way to make things right, the next night our entire table of twelve was served the fillet (or tenderloin...cant remember... not much of a carnivore, but it was like butter!) from Palo, cooked to our specifications and with our selected sides. It certainly wasnt our intention to cause a stir but I felt like our comments were well received and appreciated. We appreciate the attention to detail and outstanding service on DCL....nothing in life is perfect, but DCL sure comes close.

 

[LeslieG]

We were pretty disappointed with the main dining rooms on our Magic cruise recently, but our kids ate up at Cabanas one evening when we went to Palo, and they thought it was better. So I think on our next cruise that will be our plan, to eat at Cabanas in the evening and see how that goes.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

We were pretty disappointed with the main dining rooms on our Magic cruise recently, but our kids ate up at Cabanas one evening when we went to Palo, and they thought it was better. So I think on our next cruise that will be our plan, to eat at Cabanas in the evening and see how that goes.

As an FYI, Cabana's is not open for dinner on the first or last night of the cruise.