How buffet'd out are you at the end of a cruise?

[YawningDodo]

I've just added a day in WDW to the end of my cruise plans. I'll be getting a rental car at the Miami airport and dropping it off at the WDW Car Care Center at the other end of a four hour drive, and my current itinerary has me either going to Disney Springs or relaxing by the pool until it's time for a 5:30 reservation at Boma I snagged last night. I've been wanting to eat at Boma for years, though it ended up being lower priority than Hoop Dee Doo last time I went to WDW. Normally I'd be really jazzed about the idea, but right now I'm looking at it and wondering if it wouldn't be better to skip the big dinner and go to Animal Kingdom that night to right Flight of Passage at closing time (word elsewhere on the board is that late-night waits are only 60-90 minutes). Otherwise, my Saturday plans have me getting up at the crack of dawn to arrive at the AK gate at 7:00 in the morning to rope drop the ride. If I manage to ride FoP on Friday night and skip it the next day, I can get up an hour and a half later and have a better shot at taking advantage of the late night EMH at MK. Right now I've only got a one day ticket, but I'm in a position where I could add a day without any real problem.

So...how sick of rich food are you by the time you get off the boat? It just seems to me with a multi-course dinner every night and access to a buffet every breakfast and lunch, Boma might just feel superfluous by the time I get to it. If I'm not going to do it I have to cancel the reservation before I leave on the trip, as they want at least a day's notice and I won't have internet access on the ship, otherwise I'd just wait and see how I feel about it that day. I may be able to get a reservation that morning if I'm lucky, but I'm not really sure I can count on it.

 

[lklgoodman]

Just because there is a lot of food offered on the ship, it doesn't mean you have to eat it. I usually skip the bread and either an appetizer or soup/salad at dinner unless it's something I really want. If you really want to eat at the restaurant at WDW, then keep your reservation. I don't find the buffets on the ship all that great, so it's easy to not over eat from them.

 

[dcassetta]

I agree with the above. Well the food in the buffets on the cruise is perfectly acceptable, it does not compare with Boma, a place that's really unique and interesting.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We were on the 7 day Fantasy last year and then did a dinner at Narcossee the night we got off the ship. It didn't bother us.

I'd say if you've been wanting to go for years, you should. Which is more important, the restaurant or the ride/sleep. I would always recommend getting up for RD even if you weren't trying for FOP. There will be something else to get a head-start on. That said, if you do FOP the night before, you may want to get up early just so you can do it again.

 

[tcufrog]

The food on the cruise is nothing like Boma and I don't remember eating at a lot of buffets on the cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The food on the cruise is nothing like Boma and I don't remember eating at a lot of buffets on the cruise.

Just curious, where did you eat breakfast & lunch onboard?

 

[YawningDodo]

Good to know that the consensus so far is that Boma beats out the cruise buffets. My big focus food-wise on trips is usually trying to eat things I can't get at home, and that includes pretty much everything on the Boma menu.

]I'd say if you've been wanting to go for years, you should. Which is more important, the restaurant or the ride/sleep. I would always recommend getting up for RD even if you weren't trying for FOP. There will be something else to get a head-start on. That said, if you do FOP the night before, you may want to get up early just so you can do it again.

Absolutely agreed about RD. If I weren't doing FoP at AK, I'd probably RD Epcot for FEA, since that opened after my last visit as well -- it'd make for a lighter day, since Epcot's opening an hour later than AK that morning and I probably wouldn't feel the need to go back to AK. Right now I've got an early evening FP for FEA, which is all that's available. With AK a must in the morning, Epcot on my list for evening, and MK open until midnight that night, it's looking like a three park day. And, well, once I'm doing three I feel like I might as well do four. I've done a four park day once before and had a blast, but it was absolutely exhausting (it was my goodbye tour at the end of my College Program). Knowing myself I'll probably do it again anyway, even knowing that. Doing AK the night before might help me resist the temptation a bit better and get more rest...but I'm not sure how much I want to resist anyway.

 

[cmph]

Boma is awesome, and if you're trying all of the unique things - nothing at all like the food on the ship. I do feel like detoxing slightly after a cruise, but not literally the day I get off. It is pretty busy and crowded in there, though, so if you are looking or something that gets you out of that crowded ship and/or parks feeling - maybe try Sanaa if you've never been? But if you're asking purely from the food overload aspect, I can't say I feel the need to avoid big meals that quickly. It's a feeling that doesn't really kick in for me until I get home and back to real life!

 

[Starwind]

As others have noted, Boma is different from normal buffets.

On the cruise, we eat almost exclusively at the MDRs due to food allergies. Even when we eat in Cabanas, we are eating pre-ordered food not off the buffet.

We find the MDR dinners to be WAY too much food for us. So we don't eat all of the courses. We do the bread, a soup OR salad, skip the appetizer because none of them appeal to us (or we are very allergic to them), entree (but often off the lighter fare menu), and a dessert. At home we don't normally eat dessert, so this is a special treat. Even just eating that it is really too much food. By the end of the cruise I am usually lighter fare entree and sides and a dessert and that is it.

You have control over what you eat; exercise it. Note you may need to do some explaining to your serving team -- we ended up having to explain " we don't eat dessert at home, so we only have it at dinner here" because at lunch the servers would pester us about dessert. We told our main servers too, and they briefly looked at us like were were a little weird, but then moved on

SW

 

[YawningDodo]

Boma is awesome, and if you're trying all of the unique things - nothing at all like the food on the ship. I do feel like detoxing slightly after a cruise, but not literally the day I get off. It is pretty busy and crowded in there, though, so if you are looking or something that gets you out of that crowded ship and/or parks feeling - maybe try Sanaa if you've never been? But if you're asking purely from the food overload aspect, I can't say I feel the need to avoid big meals that quickly. It's a feeling that doesn't really kick in for me until I get home and back to real life!

I think I'm just going to accept that my stop at WDW is going to be a hectic one. I don't think taking it slow when I have only an evening and a day to visit is in my vocabulary, so getting back into some hustle and bustle that evening is probably actually good prep for the big park day the next morning. I've never been to Sanaa either; I glanced at the menu and I'm sure I'd enjoy it, but we are able to get Indian food a couple times each year when we visit Missoula. Much less on the Boma menu is familiar, and I do want to try new things.

As others have noted, Boma is different from normal buffets.

On the cruise, we eat almost exclusively at the MDRs due to food allergies. Even when we eat in Cabanas, we are eating pre-ordered food not off the buffet.

We find the MDR dinners to be WAY too much food for us. So we don't eat all of the courses. We do the bread, a soup OR salad, skip the appetizer because none of them appeal to us (or we are very allergic to them), entree (but often off the lighter fare menu), and a dessert. At home we don't normally eat dessert, so this is a special treat. Even just eating that it is really too much food. By the end of the cruise I am usually lighter fare entree and sides and a dessert and that is it.

You have control over what you eat; exercise it. Note you may need to do some explaining to your serving team -- we ended up having to explain " we don't eat dessert at home, so we only have it at dinner here" because at lunch the servers would pester us about dessert. We told our main servers too, and they briefly looked at us like were were a little weird, but then moved on

SW

Huh. I guess it hadn't even really occurred to me that it'd be so weird to turn down dessert at all; I figured it was like a regular restaurant where they'd offer it but understand if you said no. I'm kind of excited about the idea of multi-course meals, but even so I can't imagine I'll eat every course every night. It's just not going to feel good. I'm not sure how many lunches I'll eat in the MDR versus Cabanas...I have a bit of a weakness for buffets in general. They've just always appealed to me, and we don't have any good ones where I live. I'm fortunate enough not to have any food allergies; my corn intolerance is mild enough and I've lived with it long enough that I can pretty much just exercise my judgment about what I can and can't eat without having to put in any special requests or avoid situations where there might be cross contamination. No knowing if I'll always be able to do that, so I like to enjoy it when I have the opportunity.

 

[bumbershoot]

So...how sick of rich food are you by the time you get off the boat?

I don't even eat all that much on cruises, and I'm sick of eating by the time I'm done with a cruise. Royal or Disney, doesn't matter. I'm sick of food after a WDW cruise. I wouldn't want to do it.

Huh. I guess it hadn't even really occurred to me that it'd be so weird to turn down dessert at all; I figured it was like a regular restaurant where they'd offer it but understand if you said no.

My serving teams on both cruiselines I've been on have been tweaky with us, and especially me, about what we/I eat and don't eat. I think they are so used to people eating ALL the food that it weirds them out to see people who don't or can't. Our very first Disney server was VERY upset with me that I couldn't finish the risotto our first night. It took a few explanations for him to get it. At the time I was very actively doing weight watchers. Now I just don't eat THAT much. And I just don't much LIKE Disney or Royal cruiseline food all that much. And I really dislike most desserts on both lines.

 

[Shanti]

There is a lot of food available on a cruise, but as others said, it's your choice how much to eat. Don't overdo it- just eat regular portions at regular mealtimes and you'll be fine. I've read about some people making themselves sick from overeating & that's just due to a lack of self-restraint. If you want to eat at Boma the day your cruise ends, skip breakfast on disembarkation day of the cruise and then eat at Boma. You're going to need to eat that day, so you might as well eat somewhere you've always wanted to eat. We ate at Tusker House the morning after our cruise & liked it a lot. We skipped breakfast on the ship & scheduled our meal at TH for 10:35. By the time we actually got to eat our food at TH- around 11am, we were really hungry.

 

[amym2]

We ate at 'Ohana two nights post-cruise and didn't have an issue! We ate in Cabanas a few times on the cruise, but often we prefer to eat in the other dining rooms. That said, I am not good at turning down dessert and did have it at lunch and dinner. I don't worry about it on vacation! I ate appetizer, soup/salad, and entree at dinner and only once felt over-full. The portions aren't huge.

I love Boma enough that I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to eat there post-cruise. Just think of it as a continuation of your cruise!

 

[ludari]

I usually do not visit the buffets on the cruise ships very often and usually prefer to order my meals so I never really overdo it. One buffet that I do enjoy is Boma and usually go out of my way during my WDW visits to enjoy at least one meal at that restaurant. Boma's buffett is a little different than the rest so I'm sure you'll enjoy a nice meal there. My biggest problem is after spending a week or more on the cruise and then immediately dine at WDW I have on occasion before receiving my bill almost walked away from the restaurant without paying (thinking I was still on the cruise). Luckily this has never happened.

 

[jane01jp]

We usually skip the buffets on board the cruises. We are not big Boma fans either.

The place that we really like at WDW is Ohana.

 

[lizabu]

I only do cabanas for breakfast the first day because I’m too tempted to try everything and I can’t eat like that every day. Instead I eat breakfast in the MDR and order something a little more sensible.

 

[darnheather]

You don't ever have to eat at the buffet. There are tons of options on board. Personally I love Cabanas especially the daily themed options. However, Boma is one of the best places I've eaten anywhere and would never turn it down.

 

[YawningDodo]

My serving teams on both cruiselines I've been on have been tweaky with us, and especially me, about what we/I eat and don't eat. I think they are so used to people eating ALL the food that it weirds them out to see people who don't or can't. Our very first Disney server was VERY upset with me that I couldn't finish the risotto our first night. It took a few explanations for him to get it. At the time I was very actively doing weight watchers. Now I just don't eat THAT much. And I just don't much LIKE Disney or Royal cruiseline food all that much. And I really dislike most desserts on both lines.

Good to know...I'm actually on Weight Watchers now, though I'm not planning to track my food on this trip. My plan right now is to just make sure at least two meals every day conform to what I think of as "sensible" standards of healthiness -- mostly vegetables, lean proteins, etc. Dinner on the ship is when I plan to let myself eat more freely, but I still just can't imagine I'll have room for every course every time. That's alright, though; I'll know going in that I need to be firm if I don't want something.

There is a lot of food available on a cruise, but as others said, it's your choice how much to eat. Don't overdo it- just eat regular portions at regular mealtimes and you'll be fine. I've read about some people making themselves sick from overeating & that's just due to a lack of self-restraint. If you want to eat at Boma the day your cruise ends, skip breakfast on disembarkation day of the cruise and then eat at Boma. You're going to need to eat that day, so you might as well eat somewhere you've always wanted to eat. We ate at Tusker House the morning after our cruise & liked it a lot. We skipped breakfast on the ship & scheduled our meal at TH for 10:35. By the time we actually got to eat our food at TH- around 11am, we were really hungry.

Unfortunately since my ship sails from Miami, it'll be four hours of travel (plus allowing time to pick up and then return the car on either end). My current plan is to eat a filling breakfast on the ship, then light or no lunch, followed by what I'm sure will feel like an early dinner (I'm on late dining rotation on the ship, but my current Boma reservation is for 5:30). The alternative is skipping Boma in favor of going to AK in the evening, in which case I'd pick up something from the Harambe Market, since I liked it a lot when I last ate there. Boma's sounding like a more relaxed end to the day and earlier bedtime, which is worth considering when I'm planning for my Saturday to be long and intense.

 

[laceltris3]

We usually eat breakfast and lunch in the open MDR. We just got off a Christmas cruise and over 7 nights, we ate in the buffet twice, and only because we had the earliest excursion times.

 

[Vicki106]

We cruised on the Fantasy for 7 nights this past August on a Western Caribbean route. We did not eat a single meal at the buffet. We prefer to eat our lunches in whichever MDR is open for lunch most days and grabbed a couple of lunches from the quick service places on the pool deck. As for breakfast, we always just ordered something from room service to eat on the balcony or in our staterooms. There was nothing wrong with the buffet, as we had eaten some meals there on our last cruise on the Dream, but we just found that we enjoyed a quiet, slow paced breakfast, and that we enjoyed the sit down meal in the MDRs better.

To each their own. YMMV.