food question

[3DisneyNUTS]

never been on a cruise how does eating work? I know they have seating times we have 6pm but does that mean we can only eat there or can we eat at the restaurants too? What meals are included on the ship and what has to be paid for? I am a total newbie and don't know what to expect.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

The assigned time is your dinner time. You'll rotate through the three different restaurants during the week, keeping the same tablemates and serving staff. For breakfast and lunch, there are lots of options, including the buffet, the snack bars on deck 9, and room service, among others. There is also an alternative adults-only restaurant, called Palo, for which you need to make reservations (do this right after you board on the first day).

The food for the most part is "free." That is, it is included in the price of the cruise. There is a surcharge to eat at Palo. Room service is also "free," but you should tip the person who brings it to you.

Sodas are included in the dining rooms, but cost extra at the bars, snack bars, and with room service.

 

[bsktbllmagi33]

alright, heres how its going to work for you. you wake up, and you have a couple places to choose from for breakfast. whether you like the buffet, room service, what ever floats your boat. at lunch time, there are snack places throughout the deck. pizza, chicken, ice cream, hamburgersm hot dogs, and alot more. you may be also able to dine in a restaurant for lunch, like a buffet, or sit down luch. i am not sure bout that becasue i never did eat at a restaurant for lunch. and for dinner, yes, you go to the restaurant you are assigned to for 6 oclock. you may eat as much as you like, and if your still hungry, theres room service, and other things. if you look into disney websites, and cruise the web alot, youll find alot of the answers you may have to questions you may be thinking. also, there is a book that we got, the unofficial guide to walt disney world. it has resorts, the cruise, EVERYTHING. it answere all of my questions. i enjoyed reading it soo incredibly much. i learned something new everytime i picked it up. yet it was thrilling becasue it made me think ahead that soon, we'd be cruising. it tells perfect times to do rides, eat, where, where to park, when to regestir for your cruise. secrets, soooo many awsome things. i highly reccomend this book. hope any of this info helps.

and if any of you have questions about cruising, the land and sea package, disney world, ANYTHING, go ahead and drop me a line at Emale13@msn.com. ill answer anything i can. also about the book, if you cant find it, or dont want to buy it, ill be happy to help with anything that you may have questions about.

Robert

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

Stehanie - Congrats on booking your first cruise! We took our first Disney cruise in May 2003 for our honeymoon and it was awesome! We purchased the Passporter for the DCL -- it was a lifesaver! Here's the FAQ on food from Disney - http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/disneycruiseline/faq/faqgroupingindex?id=DiningOnBoardFAQGrping

Food in included (w/ exception of small fee for Palo for brunch) - alcohol is not included, nor sodas (except at meal times) - if you are hungry before/after your meal time or don't want to go to your designated restaurant, you can always get hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, fries, frozen yogurt, etc

Have a MAGICAL time!
Stacy

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

OMG GUYS I AM PSYCHED!!!! I had no clue! YAY!! Going with my son who is 3 1/2 will be 4 on departure nothing is more stressful then having a kid complain about being hungry an hour before reservations OH YAY!!! I cannot wait!!!

 

[tvguy]

Only food short coming on Disney is they don't have the traditional nightly midnight buffet.
We always have late seating for dinner, so that wasn't and issue for us. For some early seating folks it might be.
I've been on 7 cruises and found Disney to be more geared to the early to rise, early to bed set than other ships. That's not a bad thing, just different.
We pick late seating so we have time to get ready for dinner, then go to the show afterwards. On Disney, however, the shows are BEFORE dinner for late seating folks, so that was a bit of a surprise. For one show, however, they had a great idea. Late seating show was at 6:30 pm, and early seatings show was at 8:30, and then there was a THIRD show at 11 pm for anyone who wanted to go, or to see the show a second time. They should do that for all the shows. For one of the other shows, on a day at sea, a third show was at 2 pm, I didn't care for that as much.

 

[PiperG]

Originally posted by tvguy
Only food short coming on Disney is they don't have the traditional nightly midnight buffet.
We always have late seating for dinner, so that wasn't and issue for us. For some early seating folks it might be.

Not to worry! We always have early seating. Then about midnight, while sitting on the verandah, we order room service! There is nothing like a yummy personal pizza to tide you over until morning

 

[TheWog]

An idea for your son in the morning. We ordered room service to come with a variety of things to hold him over until we were ready to go to breakfast. Cereal, pastries, milk, juice water whatever it lists. Have it there as early as you like and then get ready, I think it begins being delivered around 7 a.m. if I remember correctly. He won't be starving and causing you to rush. You also have the option at night to skip your dining room and go to Topsiders for dinner. Casual different menu. We went once and it was nice. You can make whatever you like. And like one of the earlier posts, it is so nice to have a cheeseburger or pizza on your verandah late at night while your son is sleeping and you are reading a book relaxing. ENJOY!

 

[jrabbit]

Since the topics of where and when to eat have been answered, I'll give you my opinion on WHAT to eat.

In the dinning rooms, I will try things that I normally wouldn't give a try in a restaurant at home (because of the expense.) On the cruise you can be adventurous in your dinning choices, because if you don't like something, they will bring you something else. If you see two or three entrees that strike your fancy, order all three and they will bring them for you (just don't try to eat everything they put infront of you - can't be done!!).

You can combine different entrees too. If you want the fish thats on the meny, but want the potatoes that come with the steak instead of the rice, just ask and it will be done!!

If you're eating in Parrot Cay and really want the Creame Brulee from the Lumieres menu, just ask and they will try to make it appear for you. etc, etc, etc. Unfortunatly you can only get the Souflee if you eat in Palo!

Just because there are 4 courses (appetizer, soup/salad, entree and dessert) doesn't mean you have to have something from each course.

Enjoy!!

 

[skyhawk]

Stephanie,

May I suggest you order the Disney Cruise Line video or DVD (I rcommend the DVD as it is interactive and has alot more information than the tape). This will give you details of how the whole dining thing works and has good views of the dining areas. You can go to the Disney Cruise website and order it for free.

 

[Pixie Mom 3]

passporter for Dcl is a must for all.... Food Food Food... You and your son will not go hungry trust me.... One thing not mentioned was the drink program, Buy a mug and get Pop at any time of the day for free... They also put a sticker on your card so you do not have to carry the mug with you everywhere you go, this is also good on castaway cay.

my son age 6 had on average 6 slices of pizza a day from pinochos pizza, and Icecream, and fri's from plutos plus breakfast,lunch, and dinner late seating...