I wish DCL offered a dinner buffet

[DietCokeMommy]

I really enjoy the MDRs and haven't found myself wishing for the buffet. I'm not usually huge on buffets, I feel like I have to try a whole bunch of stuff and I'll end up liking one or two things. And then a lot of stuff goes to waste.

Our dinners in the MDR lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. We had early dining and were usually done by 7. We go out to eat a lot at home and it would be rare that we could be in and out in under an hour, so this wasn't too much longer. We also developed a routine of my husband taking the kids for a walk to see the sunset and take pictures right after we ordered, so that ate up a decent amount of time.

 

[TestingH2O]

What I usually find myself missing on a cruise is cheese. I wish Cabana's buffet offered cheese - they have fruit and yogurt but I haven't seen cheese. So far the only place we found cheese was the Cove Cafe (very small offering and I'm never sure if I have to pay for it or not so I don't get it) and during the late serving at the sports bar (it disappeared in like 20 minutes with no refresh). I usually get a cheese tray from room service.

I have always found meats and cheeses towards the back of Cabanas. They are small offerings like in Cove, but I have had parmesan, brie, etc. along with some cured meats.

 

[StarSeven7]

What I usually find myself missing on a cruise is cheese. I wish Cabana's buffet offered cheese - they have fruit and yogurt but I haven't seen cheese. So far the only place we found cheese was the Cove Cafe (very small offering and I'm never sure if I have to pay for it or not so I don't get it) and during the late serving at the sports bar (it disappeared in like 20 minutes with no refresh). I usually get a cheese tray from room service.

As far as the MDR's we go to 2 because that is all I can handle. The first night because I am starving and the last night so we can hand out the tips.

They definitely have cheese at breakfast! I feel like there was some at lunch too but we didn't eat at Cabana's at lunch too often.

 

[StarSeven7]

For those who have eaten dinner at Cabanas, how busy is it? I am skeptical that there's really the demand to not eat at the MDR. And I'm generally a fan of buffets and on another line I'd probably eat at them more often than not, but the different menus and experiences, to me are a major feature of the cruise.

But I'm wondering if not a lot of people go to Cabana's because it's still a sit-down restaurant so you're not really saving much time or getting any different food than what's in the MDR?

I wonder even if they didn't set up Cabana's like a buffet, what if they made it a more casual menu, rather than selections from the MDR? Like if was the same menu as room service or something?

 

[lwilliam]

I didn't say it had to be high quality, just a buffet!!! Honestly, if they offered the exact same buffet that they have at lunch I would be perfectly satisfied!!

Love Cabanas buffet at lunch. Never thought of a dinner one but that would be great, getting tired of the same menus in restaurants (I’m very fortunate to have sailed 21 times on a Disney Cruise for the last 20 years)

 

[KashasMom]

Totally agree!! We don't get warm and fuzzy with our serving team nor are we interested in dining with other passengers (we've had mixed experiences on Disney with that). Food quality has gone down in MDR, we've seen the same "shows" too many times, and don't care to spend a long time having dinner. And I'm not even getting into the one server who ruined dinner each night with his comment card rating speech. We normally do second seating and feel we have a little bit of control speeding it up. Our last cruise we had first seating and yikes!!! The noise level. No way was that an enjoyable dining experience! I'll take a buffet any day.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I would love to see a small dinner buffet on DCL! On our last 7-night cruise, we ate at the sit-down Cabanas dinner. They used servers-in-training, and it was even slower than the MDR!

Last summer, we cruised on RCCL's Anthem of the Seas to Bermuda. We ended up eating dinner at the buffet restaurant twice, and I really liked it! The theme changed each night, there were meat carving stations and cake carving stations. In fact, my mom and sister chose to eat at the buffet every single night.

 

[belle032]

I absolutely agree that there needs to be a dinner option other than a full on sit down dining experience. We had a great time in the MDRs, had awesome table mates and a wonderful service staff, but there were a few nights that we just wanted to grab something quick from a buffet and make it to an activity on time. Considering we also had late dining, we did not get out of dinner until 10-10:30 every night. By that time it was already late in the evening and the adult activities have already started. I think allowing Cabanas to just be a buffet would be beneficial. You can go have your sit down meal or you can grab-and-go from the buffet. Both options available!

And like I said, our serving team was wonderful, but I know that if we had skipped dinner one night, they would have been very questioning and concerned about it. Not in a bad way, but a more "are we not doing a good enough job for you?!" type of way. There were a few nights I just skipped dessert and you would have thought I fired them from their jobs. I understand that all they want to do is make sure we are having the best time and the best service and they are wonderful at their jobs, but to have to constantly reassure them "I'm just not hungry for dessert, I promise!" can be a tiny bit tiring. First world problems, I know.

 

[cwis]

I absolutely agree that there needs to be a dinner option other than a full on sit down dining experience. We had a great time in the MDRs, had awesome table mates and a wonderful service staff, but there were a few nights that we just wanted to grab something quick from a buffet and make it to an activity on time. Considering we also had late dining, we did not get out of dinner until 10-10:30 every night. By that time it was already late in the evening and the adult activities have already started. I think allowing Cabanas to just be a buffet would be beneficial. You can go have your sit down meal or you can grab-and-go from the buffet. Both options available!

And like I said, our serving team was wonderful, but I know that if we had skipped dinner one night, they would have been very questioning and concerned about it. Not in a bad way, but a more "are we not doing a good enough job for you?!" type of way. There were a few nights I just skipped dessert and you would have thought I fired them from their jobs. I understand that all they want to do is make sure we are having the best time and the best service and they are wonderful at their jobs, but to have to constantly reassure them "I'm just not hungry for dessert, I promise!" can be a tiny bit tiring. First world problems, I know.

Maybe let them know it won't affect their tips. That should help them relax.

 

[randumb0]

Totally agree!! We don't get warm and fuzzy with our serving team nor are we interested in dining with other passengers (we've had mixed experiences on Disney with that). Food quality has gone down in MDR, we've seen the same "shows" too many times, and don't care to spend a long time having dinner. And I'm not even getting into the one server who ruined dinner each night with his comment card rating speech. We normally do second seating and feel we have a little bit of control speeding it up. Our last cruise we had first seating and yikes!!! The noise level. No way was that an enjoyable dining experience! I'll take a buffet any day.

Lol you make the cruise experience sound awful

 

[JM_97]

I absolutely agree that there needs to be a dinner option other than a full on sit down dining experience. We had a great time in the MDRs, had awesome table mates and a wonderful service staff, but there were a few nights that we just wanted to grab something quick from a buffet and make it to an activity on time. Considering we also had late dining, we did not get out of dinner until 10-10:30 every night. By that time it was already late in the evening and the adult activities have already started. I think allowing Cabanas to just be a buffet would be beneficial. You can go have your sit down meal or you can grab-and-go from the buffet. Both options available!

And like I said, our serving team was wonderful, but I know that if we had skipped dinner one night, they would have been very questioning and concerned about it. Not in a bad way, but a more "are we not doing a good enough job for you?!" type of way. There were a few nights I just skipped dessert and you would have thought I fired them from their jobs. I understand that all they want to do is make sure we are having the best time and the best service and they are wonderful at their jobs, but to have to constantly reassure them "I'm just not hungry for dessert, I promise!" can be a tiny bit tiring. First world problems, I know.

That was the one thing I didn't like about my dining experience on the Wonder. I think it was Nassau night, but we were exhausted and just did our own thing for dinner that night. Kind of felt bad for "abandoning" the servers but we just were so tired that we weren't feeling a sit down and just did room service. Our servers were still top notch but we kinda got that feeling too when we really just wanted a laid back meal after a long day.

But a buffet would be nice. Just to go up and get what you want. Obviously would use the MDRs as much as possible, but at least you could have an option. I went on a Norwegian cruise and we did that a few nights and it was nice to have a low key dinner.

 

[mcd2745]

I would love a buffet option for dinner. Some nights the MDR just doesn't work for you schedule-wise. Also, the night we go to Palo, our kids (both teenagers) do not want to go the MDR without us. So they usually just eat pizza or tenders on the pool deck. If they had a buffet though, that could go there.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We normally do second seating and feel we have a little bit of control speeding it up. Our last cruise we had first seating and yikes!!! The noise level. No way was that an enjoyable dining experience! I'll take a buffet any day.

The lunch buffet at cabanas is so noisy. i doubt a dinner buffet would be any quieter than the MDR, especially if young families head there because their kids won't behave during a lengthy dinner.

 

[KashasMom]

Lol you make the cruise experience sound awful

Those have been our experiences on Disney, which is why we've become super picky with the Disney cruises we choose. We enjoy dinner options on other lines more.

 

[KashasMom]

The lunch buffet at cabanas is so noisy. i doubt a dinner buffet would be any quieter than the MDR, especially if young families head there because their kids won't behave during a lengthy dinner.

I expect a lot of noise at a buffet, not in the main dining room which is supposed to be one of the great "DCL experiences".

 

[belle032]

That was the one thing I didn't like about my dining experience on the Wonder. I think it was Nassau night, but we were exhausted and just did our own thing for dinner that night. Kind of felt bad for "abandoning" the servers but we just were so tired that we weren't feeling a sit down and just did room service. Our servers were still top notch but we kinda got that feeling too when we really just wanted a laid back meal after a long day.

But a buffet would be nice. Just to go up and get what you want. Obviously would use the MDRs as much as possible, but at least you could have an option. I went on a Norwegian cruise and we did that a few nights and it was nice to have a low key dinner.

Yes! It was to the point where I literally felt guilty for not going to a dinner. So we went to every single one. Don't get me wrong, I love the Disney MDR experience...the service, the restaurants, the theming, entertainment...all top-notch that I know you're not going to get anywhere else. But I do appreciate that other cruise lines we've sailed offer more options for dinner when we're just not feeling the full sit-down, drawn out dinner experience. I've also come to really appreciate the "your-time/freestyle" dinner options as well. It just fits our cruising style much better than set dining times at this point in our lives. I understand why DCL can't easily offer that with the rotating dining, but I wish they could figure it out

 

[tarheelz]

We attend MDR every night just so we don't get interrogated by the wait staff.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We attend MDR every night just so we don't get interrogated by the wait staff.

Passengers are on an expensive vacation. They should not be interrogated by employees.

 

[JM_97]

Yes! It was to the point where I literally felt guilty for not going to a dinner. So we went to every single one. Don't get me wrong, I love the Disney MDR experience...the service, the restaurants, the theming, entertainment...all top-notch that I know you're not going to get anywhere else. But I do appreciate that other cruise lines we've sailed offer more options for dinner when we're just not feeling the full sit-down, drawn out dinner experience. I've also come to really appreciate the "your-time/freestyle" dinner options as well. It just fits our cruising style much better than set dining times at this point in our lives. I understand why DCL can't easily offer that with the rotating dining, but I wish they could figure it out

Yeah I'm not sure how you get around that since Disney advertises the rotational dining so much. Even if you gave people the choice like Norwegian did, you'd have to add more restaurants that aren't for a fee. I enjoy both for different reasons!

 

[cdoc29]

I am definitely in the would like to see a buffet option camp. Our first cruise we went to Cabanas expecting it to be a buffet, what we found was a poor experience compared to the MDR. Some nights on a 7 night cruise (especially with extended family sailing) my wife and I want to grab a quick dinner other than burgers/pizza and be on our way to enjoy the night.