Not Impressed by Palo

[freshmanjs]

Glad to hear others agree about the food being meh.

Why are you glad to hear that others had meh food? Wouldn't it be nicer if everyone else had awesome food?

 

[xiphoid76]

There are plenty of people that agree with you We have gone a few times because it is free as platinum members, but for us it is not worth the extra tip money. We prefer the food in the MDR or even the chicken fingers by the pool - I crave those

 

[Pooh2]

One and done here too for the dinner. Would like to try the brunch next time.
Our server was fine, the food was interesting but not our preference. Preferred our meals in the main dining room.
We did enjoy the quieter atmosphere over the loud din of the main dining room.

 

[cgolf]

We had always done Palo for Brunch and enjoyed it along with the experience. We tried Palo for supper one night on a back to back instead of Brunch and were very disappointed in the food. It wasn't awful by any stretch, but yes if I pay extra, I expect it to be better than the MDR food and really wasn't.

I guess we are just MDR people. In our 15 cruises we have eaten every supper in the MDRs except that one, and I wish we had that one back. Really don't have any plans to change up that trend in the future.

 

[bakerworld]

We've never experience either Palo or Remy. We thought it's where you eat if you want to dress up. We're not dressy so it's not an experience we'll probably ever seek to enjoy. We did assume that it would be a 'hovering' experience so I'm very surprised the wait staff was sparse.

 

[Dug720]

I think - having experienced it now myself - that if the Dream and Fantasy are going to have outside tables for Palo they should have a server assigned just to those tables and not split them between inside and outside. I've never found them to be overly hovering at Palo (and they certainly do not walk you to the bathroom as I've heard they do in Remy - yet another strike against that one in my book), but this past cruise, while my server was attentive when he was there, he was assigned the outside tables too, and that did take him away from being able to attend to the 2 he had inside as much (granted, the outside diners could have been extra demanding of time - and that can happen even with the indoor tables, but adding him having to go in and out and navigate the door made it challenging).

My meal was still good, and I'm not sorry I went. But I did make that observation and mentioned it in my follow-up email. Whether that will make any difference, who knows.

 

[Pooh93]

I think - having experienced it now myself - that if the Dream and Fantasy are going to have outside tables for Palo they should have a server assigned just to those tables and not split them between inside and outside. I've never found them to be overly hovering at Palo (and they certainly do not walk you to the bathroom as I've heard they do in Remy - yet another strike against that one in my book), but this past cruise, while my server was attentive when he was there, he was assigned the outside tables too, and that did take him away from being able to attend to the 2 he had inside as much (granted, the outside diners could have been extra demanding of time - and that can happen even with the indoor tables, but adding him having to go in and out and navigate the door made it challenging).

My meal was still good, and I'm not sorry I went. But I did make that observation and mentioned it in my follow-up email. Whether that will make any difference, who knows.

Good points. We are not sorry we went to Palo and will probably do brunch again on our next sailing which will be on the Magic in 2020. At that time, we will be celebrating daughters college graduations and getting real jobs! Lol Food and service are very subjective to individuals. We don't dress up and go out to eat as a family very often due to everyone's schedules and it was an enjoyable experience for us.

 

[Dug720]

Good points. We are not sorry we went to Palo and will probably do brunch again on our next sailing which will be on the Magic in 2020. At that time, we will be celebrating daughters college graduations and getting real jobs! Lol Food and service are very subjective to individuals. We don't dress up and go out to eat as a family very often due to everyone's schedules and it was an enjoyable experience for us.

To my knowledge the Classics don't have the outdoor seating option, so that helps!

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

same thing happened to us during one of our brunches. Wife asked for shrimp and they put two on her plate She had to ask for more...
The guy wanted to make my caviar toasts for me - I felt silly so I just asked for a plate of caviar, toast, egg, and onion so I could make my own back at the table. It was indeed super-annoying.



This is my usual experience in Palo for brunch and dinner. I can't remember our server's name but we've had him a few times - he's from Italy, lots of charisma, loves that we love prosecco (we usually get multiple refills on the house), and loves that we love GOOD balsamic (he gets something special for us). He always remembers us and he gets a gratuity reflective of his superb service. Is the food incredible? Not really. But for $40 we get our fill on shrimp, caviar, parmesan, and other cheeses. Plus it's a reprieve from the crowd in Cabanas.

By any chance, is his name Luca - on the Fantasy? Your description fits him perfectly.

 

[hubbard53]

By any chance, is his name Luca - on the Fantasy? Your description fits him perfectly.

YES, Luca.. thanks for the reminder! He's the perfect waiter.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

YES, Luca.. thanks for the reminder! He's the perfect waiter.

We board the Fantasy tomorrow and our youngest is now 18 yo so she finally gets to go to Palo with the rest of us. As you can probably guess, we plan to request Luca if he is there. Without a doubt, he is one of our favourites on DCL!

 

[DCLDVC1]

I wish DCL would give Platinum members the option of taking a $40 OBC (or a complimentary tasting class or insert other activity here) instead of a Palo meal.

 

[GeneralTso]

That's what is so great about cruises! Everyone has a choice to eat where they want and how they want.

We love the Palo and Remy experience. This past trip we did the brunch at Palo and that was new for us. It was fantastic.
We were a larger party so we were seated in the Wine Room of Remy with servers and sommeliers with us and interacting with us the whole time. It was awesome.

We enjoy dressing up and having the fancy experiences. Many don't, and that's fine.
We also have had stellar meals at both places, so no complaints from us.

 

[speicher46]

So sorry you had a bad experience. My family is Platinum and have been on 15 cruises. On each cruise we always do at least one brunch and one dinner at Palo. Sometime we visit Palo more than once a cruise. Each time has been a memorable experience with exceptional service and food. I would certainly mention it to the Palo manager if your experience was not exceptional.

 

[TestingH2O]

I wish DCL would give Platinum members the option of taking a $40 OBC (or a complimentary tasting class or insert other activity here) instead of a Palo meal.

I'd also like the option to apply the credit to Remy.

 

[Froxfield 2012]

For us Palo is a must do. On a seven day (or more) cruise we will likely do both brunch and dinner. We try to book dinner for Pirate night as that MDR menu has never really appealed! We find the food compares well with other "speciality" dining on the other lines we have tried: although we love Murano on Celebrity. Still, if you don't like it, don't go: it takes all tastes to make a world. Noone's view is necessarily wrong.

 

[MomOTwins]

I wish DCL would give Platinum members the option of taking a $40 OBC (or a complimentary tasting class or insert other activity here) instead of a Palo meal.

I believe there are other options you can have for a platinum gift--e.g., a bottle of prosecco in the room.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I believe there are other options you can have for a platinum gift--e.g., a bottle of prosecco in the room.

We also get the choice of a bottle of sparkling wine, a fruit tray or box of chocolates in addition to the complimentary Palo meal.

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

DH and I went to Palo for the first time on the Dream this week. We were really looking forward to the exclusive dining experience. We read so many wonderful things about the atmosphere, the food, and the service. We were greatly disappointed. The atmosphere was nice. Our dining time was at 8:00pm, so it was dark outside and made a nice dimly-lit ambiance. However, the food and service were lacking. Our server was not very attentive, and I spent most of my meal without a drink. He always seemed rushed and we didn't see him very much. We only saw him at one other table, so I don't think he was overbooked. The food, we found, was equal to the food we had in the MDR. We each ordered the beef tenderloin. It was good, but again, we didn't find it any more tasty or tender than the beef we had in the MDR. It was nice to go there once, but we will never do it again. Has anyone else had this same experience, or feel that Palo is overrated? I'm just curious if anyone else feels the same.

Same here. Not impressed by Palo dinner. May try brunch next time. Another point worth mentioning is the entire MDR experience could be magical or just blah. Just depends on the servers. Unfortunately, we have had mediocre servers the only 2 cruises we have taken. It is even sad when you see that the servers in the next table making the extra effort to make the time special. Disney needs to do a better job at hiring top talent for the amount they charge. The difference in service among the MDR crew is remarkable!