I'm a little disappointed in the cost cutting done at Cabana's

[insureman]

Not saying they couldn't, but it's a special machine that only makes donuts it's not a deep fryer, It would be this, probably on a larger scale. Unlike the deep fryers that can be used for chicken, fries, fish etc.

Not recommended on a rolling pitching ship.

 

[insureman]

Here are the 4 items that I noticed and I'm sure there are more

1. No more Jonah crab legs. They now use a cheaper crab
2. No more Pirate Night buffet. I know that brought it back last year for a few sailings but at this point I don't think it will ever come back
3. No more Krispy Kreme doughnuts
4. No more salad station

Welcome to the DCL Covid 19 cost cutting excuse that's getting tired really fast.

 

[tvguy]

If they offered fresh baked that would be great, but unfortunately they don't. Now what they offer tastes like pre packaged doughnuts you'd find at a gas station

The other pastries they offered are fresh baked, just the Krispy Kremes are boxed and frozen.

 

[tvguy]

That would be wonderful too, if they made donuts on board. However most donuts are usually fried, not baked, which requires a special machine.

But the other fresh made pastries are AMAZING.

 

[AquaDame]

Heck we weren't even offered pastries at Palo brunch on the Fantasy this past week... they brought out a bread basket that had mostly the same as they serve at dinner. I admit I forgot to ask about the sticky bun which someone had mentioned getting by asking.

I wouldn't mind the loss of the pirate night buffet if it were possible to get crepes some other time. They were missed! I also didn't mind the premade salads as much as I minded it was the same three or four choices every. single. day. and were the same out on the pool deck as well. The salads I ordered in the MDR were swimming in dressing except the few the server has to pour on for you.

It also felt like the cuts of meat were lower quality than before (well, the tenderloin was probably tough due to their insistence on serving medium well when you ask for medium rare). The wellington in animators had a shockingly thick layer of duxelles which I assume was to allow for less beef. Or perhaps a training issue... it kept the pastry so wet it did not cook fully. Now I get why some recipes call for a layer of crepe as a buffer. The chicken breast I had up in Cabanas was so thin it made me laugh - they must have a very sharp knife! The pork in the noodles I tried was mostly small strings of fatty meat, and I'm already used to fatty cuts of meat when eating that kind of dish overseas so I don't think I'm just being fussy. My husband got the worst of it though - we think we got food poisoning from the sesame tuna at animators... it didn't taste very tuna-y and did not seem as cold as you would expect. We eat a lot of sashimi at home (in fact we had some bluefin tonight for dinner) and we definitely could tell something was off. I had a bite and had a few stomach stabs that night. He ate far more and had a full 24 hours of... well, you can imagine... before he felt fine again.

I was also told no for the first time ever when I asked for a poached egg at the egg station. I always ask for them made to order because the ones they serve for benedict elsewhere on the line are way overdone - I like my yolks runny. I wonder if they did not trust those to be undercooked either?

 

[darnheather]

The salad station allowed you to create your own and had more toppings available

Had both salad station and Krispy Kreme on our December trip on the Magic.

 

[cmash95]

thecontract with KK expired and wasn't renewed.It's as simple as that

 

[lollidrop]

I wouldn't mind the loss of the pirate night buffet if it were possible to get crepes some other time. They were missed! I also didn't mind the premade salads as much as I minded it was the same three or four choices every. single. day. and were the same out on the pool deck as well. The salads I ordered in the MDR were swimming in dressing except the few the server has to pour on for you.

If you were on the Bermuda route, they did have a teeny station for crepes at lunch one day. But it was easy to miss.

 

[Dug720]

I think they were contemplating removing the Pirate Buffet even before Covid. I had a few Waiters tell me pre-covid that to much food was wasted during it since everyone already ate in the dining rooms.

I can almost guarantee that preventing waste is the reasoning here. I walked through - well, fought my way through - the feeding frenzy once to see what the big deal was. The way people were grabbing food you'd have thought they'd been beneath the water line rowing the ship to propel it with no food the whole cruise.

But the tables with abandoned plates piled high with only a few bites taken out of them was honestly disgusting. So. Much. Waste.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

But the tables with abandoned plates piled high with only a few bites taken out of them was honestly disgusting. So. Much. Waste.

This was someone's table that was "finished" eating on one of our Wonder cruises.

 

[Dug720]

This was someone's table that was "finished" eating on one of our Wonder cruises.

View attachment 756497

Oh yeah - there is definitely waste during the day too. It was extreme at the feeding frenzy after the fireworks. I am pretty sure I saw at least one turkey(?) leg with ONE BITE out of it before being abandoned.

 

[AquaDame]

If you were on the Bermuda route, they did have a teeny station for crepes at lunch one day. But it was easy to miss.

We were, but unless it was magically that one day we had lunch in Cabanas I would have missed them regardless! We did something else for lunch the other seven days. Glad to know they had their time to shine! ^^;