Food options on Magic

[grossguy]

We have the late dining time. I see the buffet closes at 2:00. If we want something to eat between 2:00 and 8:00, what options are there? Snack bar by the pool? Room service? Anything else?

Did the buffet always close at 2:00 or is that a Covid thing?

 

[Cheburashka]

We have the late dining time. I see the buffet closes at 2:00. If we want something to eat between 2:00 and 8:00, what options are there? Snack bar by the pool? Room service? Anything else?

Did the buffet always close at 2:00 or is that a Covid thing?

DCL has never offered a dinner buffet, unlike many cruise lines, because they focus their resources on the rotational dining experience. Cabanas used to be open for dinner on some nights, but it was a full service dinner with a menu that selected entrees from the main dining rooms; it was not a buffet. That has not returned. On Pirate Night, Cabanas does open up a special late night buffet, and that has returned since reopening.

You can get quick service food from the pool deck into the early evening- hours vary by ship and destination. You can also get (mostly) complimentary food from room service 24/7, just be sure to tip the delivery person. The room service menu is not as sophisticated or extensive as a dining room menu, of course. You can also book last minute dining at an adult upcharge restaurant, pending availability. And there are cafes and bars where adults can purchase upcharge drinks and snacks, etc.

No need to go hungry. There's always food available somewhere.

 

[auntlynne]

The hours are definitely restrictive. After lunch, done unless it’s Pirate Night (at least on the Dream, when there is the Pirate Buffet.). And there used to be a sit-down option for dinner on nights 2 onward.

Bar-type snacks available in O’Gill’s Pub at night (Free). Not sure what time they are put out.

 

[lilsonicfan]

In addition to snacks/quick service by the pool, soft serve ice cream, and room service, there may be small pastries and treats available at Cove Cafe. That is one thing about DCL, the food options are somewhat limited, even more so if you don't want to dine in the MDR, as that is their main focus.

 

[Kwami]

In addition to snacks/quick service by the pool, soft serve ice cream, and room service, there may be small pastries and treats available at Cove Cafe. That is one thing about DCL, the food options are somewhat limited, even more so if you don't want to dine in the MDR, as that is their main focus.

I don't think that room service, pool deck food, ice cream, and snacks at Cove Cafe is "limited", especially since all of that food is included as part of the cruise.

You can also buy pub food at the pub.

 

[auntlynne]

I don't think that room service, pool deck food, ice cream, and snacks at Cove Cafe is "limited", especially since all of that food is included as part of the cruise.

You can also buy pub food at the pub.

Seriously, do you look for things to criticize? Or is English not your first language - if so, then I apologize.

The poster said that food options are somewhat limited. Compared to other cruise lines with their Specialty Dining or other-free or included food, DCL does not have as many options of places to eat.

On NCL, I watched the buffet switch from breakfast to lunch offerings while service continued. It was a great show in efficiency. Cabanas completely closes.

And there are times between scheduled meals when there are not a lot of choices. Want something other than MDR for dinner? Go to your room and eat Room Service. Not much else.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I don't think that room service, pool deck food, ice cream, and snacks at Cove Cafe is "limited", especially since all of that food is included as part of the cruise.

You can also buy pub food at the pub.

Compared to other cruise lines, which is what I meant but didn't say, it is definitely limited, particularly when you consider that the buffet doesn't open for dinner. It's not a criticism, just an observation. DCL's MDR is great. But okay, we are on Holland America next month on a ship that is not too far off of the Magic/Wonder, maybe just a bit bigger. They have a cafe that is open from 7ish to 10pm that serves not only specialty coffees but sandwiches, dutch pancakes, treats. Their buffet appears to be open most of the day, including dinner hours. Their pizza/deli is also open most of the day, including late into the evening. There's also a grill/quick service station. Just more options, that's all.

 

[Kwami]

Seriously, do you look for things to criticize? Or is English not your first language - if so, then I apologize.

The poster said that food options are somewhat limited. Compared to other cruise lines with their Specialty Dining or other-free or included food, DCL does not have as many options of places to eat.

Disagreement isn't criticism. I'm not sure what you're getting at.

Anyway, the topic was about what to eat between 2pm when Cabanas closes and 8pm when the original poster has dinner. I don't think that specialty dining is relevant since in that case, dinner at 8pm wouldn't matter.

Compared to other cruise lines, which is what I meant but didn't say, it is definitely limited, particularly when you consider that the buffet doesn't open for dinner. It's not a criticism, just an observation. DCL's MDR is great. But okay, we are on Holland America next month on a ship that is not too far off of the Magic/Wonder, maybe just a bit bigger. They have a cafe that is open from 7ish to 10pm that serves not only specialty coffees but sandwiches, dutch pancakes, treats. Their buffet appears to be open most of the day, including dinner hours. Their pizza/deli is also open most of the day, including late into the evening. There's also a grill/quick service station. Just more options, that's all.

Fair enough. I don't see much difference, though. The Magic has pastries and desserts and small sandwiches at Cove Cafe (for adults), a rather large room service selection, Duck-In Diner (shawarma, burgers, hot dogs, etc.), Pinocchio's Pizza, Daisy's De-Lites (sandwiches, wraps, salads, fruit), and O'Gills (pub snacks for a charge). No buffet after lunch, but otherwise it seems pretty much the same as your example.

 

[Cheburashka]

And there are times between scheduled meals when there are not a lot of choices. Want something other than MDR for dinner? Go to your room and eat Room Service. Not much else.

Or go to the pool deck. Or go to an upcharge restaurant. Or to a bar. You aren't "sent to your room" lol.

The only thing DCL doesn't have in the evenings that many other lines have is a dinner buffet. Some people really want that, but it's unlikely DCL can offer both a full dinner buffet and keep the complimentary MDRs going at their current quality, in terms of food, service and entertainment. The MDRs are a key part of the DCL experience.

 

[tvguy]

DCL has never offered a dinner buffet, unlike many cruise lines, because they focus their resources on the rotational dining experience.

Today that is apparently true. But other than the last night, the Magic used offered a nightly buffet option in the past. Not sure when it ended and became table service..

 

[tidefan]

Disagreement isn't criticism. I'm not sure what you're getting at.

Anyway, the topic was about what to eat between 2pm when Cabanas closes and 8pm when the original poster has dinner. I don't think that specialty dining is relevant since in that case, dinner at 8pm wouldn't matter.



Fair enough. I don't see much difference, though. The Magic has pastries and desserts and small sandwiches at Cove Cafe (for adults), a rather large room service selection, Duck-In Diner (shawarma, burgers, hot dogs, etc.), Pinocchio's Pizza, Daisy's De-Lites (sandwiches, wraps, salads, fruit), and O'Gills (pub snacks for a charge). No buffet after lunch, but otherwise it seems pretty much the same as your example.

Just to note... the mini-buffet in O'Gill's on the Magic is complementary.

 

[Kwami]

Just to note... the mini-buffet in O'Gill's on the Magic is complementary.

Yes, but I don't think it's available in the 2pm-8pm time period that the original poster is asking about. Is it?

 

[lilsonicfan]

Fair enough. I don't see much difference, though. The Magic has pastries and desserts and small sandwiches at Cove Cafe (for adults), a rather large room service selection, Duck-In Diner (shawarma, burgers, hot dogs, etc.), Pinocchio's Pizza, Daisy's De-Lites (sandwiches, wraps, salads, fruit), and O'Gills (pub snacks for a charge). No buffet after lunch, but otherwise it seems pretty much the same as your example.

I don’t think it’s at all the same. I would point out that on my 13 nights on the Magic, there were no sandwiches at Cove. It’s not at all like the cafe offered on Princess or HAL which has more substantial food available all day/evening The options are definitely slimmer on DCL after Cabanas and the MDRs close for lunch. The pizza/deli place on HAL has a much bigger menu than all of the DCL pool deck options combined. (Also, they don’t use the frozen crusts!)

As well, the hours that food is available is also somewhat limited. I recognize that the Op was asking about 2-8pm but my original comment was re: DCL as a whole. Late night snacks at the pub weren’t even offered on the WBPC, so it was just not very good pizza and room service. It’s fine, no one starves on a cruise ship. But it wouldn’t be accurate to say that DCL’s food options as as plentiful as on other lines. That’s all.

 

[Budzooka]

Yes, but I don't think it's available in the 2pm-8pm time period that the original poster is asking about. Is it?

We grabbed some snacks from there about 5:30pm one afternoon. I can’t say it was there everyday but was on that day.

No reason to ever go hungry. I agree that the hours on Cabanas are restrictive, but there are plenty of other options.

 

[yowcruiser]

Back to the OP's question.... 2pm closing time for Cabana's is not a COVID thing, it has pretty much always been the case (well, at least for the last 7+ years). Yes, it used to reopen for a full service sit down meal for dinner, except usually on 1st and last night.

Are the eating options as plentiful as other cruise lines in between normal meal times - in some cases, no. Are they limited? Well, I have never been hungry even though Pizza, Burgers, Chicken fingers, Shawarmas, Salads, Soups/Bowls, Room service, Pastries/Appetizers (Cove), Ice Cream, Popcorn may not be as fancy as having the full seafood buffet...

 

[Ronneeaght]

This is a snip of a pre-Covid navigator, and might not be applicable to each day, but you can see that from 2-8 the Duck-In Diner is available for bugers, hot dogs, shwarma, chicken fingers, fries (it says closes at 6 for lunch, but then opens at 6 for dinner), and from 2-6 you could get pizza from Pinocchio's Pizza or a salad, sandwich, bowl, fruit from Daisy's De-Lites.

 

[Cheburashka]

This is a snip of a pre-Covid navigator...

Ah, the paper navigator. So much easy-to-access info in one place, so much clarity, so little hassle...

 

[Ronneeaght]

Ah, the paper navigator. So much easy-to-access info in one place, so much clarity, so little hassle...

Hahaha, right? I understand the flexibility and detail of the app, but prefer all that info so easy to glance at....

 

[Snowwhyt]

Wasn’t able to get my parents to navigate the app for entertainment or person to person texting. They were embarrassed by their misunderstandings of how to work it and searching was a nightmare.

Today we started to create our own Navigator on 4x6 index cards that we will pre-print, with activities empty except for dinner and time of main show. Next week, I will type up stickers that we can fit on the lines for bingo, trivia, and adult entertainment. Each activity will be the correct length (30, 45, 60, 90 minutes) placed on the 4x6 card for a Display just like the former navigator.
On the back of the card I will write the open food hours with deck and ship location. Maybe a map with elevators for reference because they could not figure out how to use the app. Elevator usually has much of the information they needed. Past finding the app on the phone, they couldn’t consistently use the menus. Once the couldn’t find out where the had to be because mom couldn’t figure out why they only had character meet and greets and no other activities. Yup, accidentally changed it to character times. So she figured trivia was canceled. Ugh.