Palo Brunch vs. Palo Dinner

[AMusicLifeForMe]

There is so much more to the brunch than the "welcome drink". LOL.

True. Right now I'm feeling like brunch would be hurried. I'm leaning towards dinner since I know I could sit down, relax, and not feel hurried.

Now the question would be...Should I skip Pirate Night dinner or schedule it for a formal night?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

True. Right now I'm feeling like brunch would be hurried. I'm leaning towards dinner since I know I could sit down, relax, and not feel hurried.

Now the question would be...Should I skip Pirate Night dinner or schedule it for a formal night?

Brunch is definitely NOT hurried. You are taken to your table. You sit and your server will come and take your drink order, then escort you on a tour of the buffet. Then you fill your plate, and return to your table. Once there, order your entree and enjoy. If you wish to return to the buffet, you may do so. Or just eat what you've already selected and your entree when it comes.

As to whether you skip the (new) pirate menu, or whatever the menu is on formal night - that's your call. Have you checked out the menus on the blog?

 

[Dug720]

True. Right now I'm feeling like brunch would be hurried. I'm leaning towards dinner since I know I could sit down, relax, and not feel hurried.

Now the question would be...Should I skip Pirate Night dinner or schedule it for a formal night?

As Shmoo said, brunch is NOT hurried at all! Very chill and relaxed.

I have liked starting the cruise at Palo because it just feels like a nice way to start it off - and I'd request a rotation starting in my least favorite MDR to miss that menu (usually the Royal whatever on Dream class and Lumiere's/Triton's on the Classics - well, it would have been except this last time my parents wanted to experience all the MDRs so we did Pirate night). Now that I'm gluten-free, however, it seems more important to meet my service team that first night - even if I'm not a fan of the main menus in all the MDRs. Looking at the menus, Pirate night has the least naturally gluten-free options I'd eat, so I guess I'll be a Pirate Night Palo-goer from now on (which TBH kinda stinks as usually my rotation has put me in Animator's on Pirate Night and I love the atmosphere).

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

As Shmoo said, brunch is NOT hurried at all! Very chill and relaxed.

I have liked starting the cruise at Palo because it just feels like a nice way to start it off - and I'd request a rotation starting in my least favorite MDR to miss that menu (usually the Royal whatever on Dream class and Lumiere's/Triton's on the Classics - well, it would have been except this last time my parents wanted to experience all the MDRs so we did Pirate night). Now that I'm gluten-free, however, it seems more important to meet my service team that first night - even if I'm not a fan of the main menus in all the MDRs. Looking at the menus, Pirate night has the least naturally gluten-free options I'd eat, so I guess I'll be a Pirate Night Palo-goer from now on (which TBH kinda stinks as usually my rotation has put me in Animator's on Pirate Night and I love the atmosphere).

Brunch is definitely NOT hurried. You are taken to your table. You sit and your server will come and take your drink order, then escort you on a tour of the buffet. Then you fill your plate, and return to your table. Once there, order your entree and enjoy. If you wish to return to the buffet, you may do so. Or just eat what you've already selected and your entree when it comes.

As to whether you skip the (new) pirate menu, or whatever the menu is on formal night - that's your call. Have you checked out the menus on the blog?

I would say that the Pirate Night menu is my least favorite. I just had that menu on the Magic in December, and I wasn't impressed. I only like the crab cakes.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Can you do both?

We ended up doing both on our cruise last month and I thought both experiences were incredible. We had such a fantastic waiter for dinner that we requested him for brunch again and really got to know him quite well. He became a highlight of our trip!

I'm not sure I could pick a favorite as they were very different in menu selection and layout. We were there the same amount of time, too (about 2 hours).

Food was incredible both times. Matter of fact, all the MDR experiences were a total letdown after Palo

(I had a peach bellini at brunch - was offered that or a mimosa)

I've got some pictures if that helps! A sampling of dinner:

Brunch

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

So, I literally got online at 11 p.m. (when the window opened). My Dad and I are in silver, but this will be the cruise the jumps us up to gold. When I went to book brunch, there were no times available for any sea days. I then went to book dinner on Pirate Night, and they only had 7:30, 8:00, and 8:30 p.m. times available. I guess everyone is going to Palo now on Pirate Night. I then decided to get dinner on a night where we should be pulling out of port around the time of our reservation.

 

[vakamalua]

Like dinner much more than brunch! Think the food is better and the service and interaction with the staff is wonderful. It is something special to look forward to at the end of the day; brunch takes up too much time on relaxing sea days.

 

[KDG]

We liked the brunch much more. More food selections to choose from and we enjoyed being able to see outside while we ate.

 

[Ware Bears]

We much preferred brunch. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed dinner but found it a bit underwhelming and doubt we'd go again. But love the brunch.

 

[kerry1379]

Regarding the non-alcoholic drink options, we just got off the Magic and had the Palo brunch. We had Martinellis Sparkling Cider. It was great!

 

[Trera]

We like the brunch because it is so easy to try a bunch of different things. The dinner with Chocolate Souffle is wonderful as well.

I think the Magic and Wonder Palo experiences are the best as far as the dining room layout and food presentation. Also the let you serve yourself, unlike the Dream the last time we were on board. Hopefully they have changed that for our upcoming May cruise.

 

[hanscarlet]

if I was forced to pick one it would be brunch.... we're doing both brunch and dinner on our next cruise and doing dinner on pirate night too

 

[BrdWalker]

I like being able to select my portion sizes with brunch, the dinner plates always have more of several items than I would normally care to eat. We have never been rushed at brunch and out servers have always had time to talk to us about their homes and travels.

 

[DisneyParkFan]

Do you still get the same "service" with a waiter/waitress for brunch? When we went for dinner, we went on Pirate Night and basically had one on one service since no one was there. I know that probably won't happen, but it was fun talking to our waiter during our dinner that night.

I've only done brunch once and that was on the Alaskan cruise. I want to say my server provided quality service and it felt like one-to-one although I realized he had other tables he was attending to. He took the time to talk with me and I discovered he had gone to Washington University and knew where I was from. The buffet was more food food than I could imagine ever eating and I custom ordered my eggs. I found the experience well worth the added cost.

 

[MrsMang]

My husband and I are going on our first Disney cruise in October and we are interested in Palo, either for brunch or dinner, and maybe could be talked into both. However it is a 4 night cruise, and I am worried that since we wont know our dining rotation it would be hard to book ahead. We don't want to miss any of the main dining rooms (once each), and therefore wouldn't know when to book the Palo dinner. Has anyone had trouble booking the dinners once you are on board and know your rotation? Or is it something we would definitely need to book ahead?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My husband and I are going on our first Disney cruise in October and we are interested in Palo, either for brunch or dinner, and maybe could be talked into both. However it is a 4 night cruise, and I am worried that since we wont know our dining rotation it would be hard to book ahead. We don't want to miss any of the main dining rooms (once each), and therefore wouldn't know when to book the Palo dinner. Has anyone had trouble booking the dinners once you are on board and know your rotation? Or is it something we would definitely need to book ahead?

I'd suggest that you go ahead a book something ahead. Once you get your dining rotation, you can see about see about changing it, if it conflicts. It's often easier to change a reservation than make a totally new one once onboard.

Just a note, most 4 night cruises have a 1223 rotation (with night 3 being Pirate night).

 

[Dug720]

My husband and I are going on our first Disney cruise in October and we are interested in Palo, either for brunch or dinner, and maybe could be talked into both. However it is a 4 night cruise, and I am worried that since we wont know our dining rotation it would be hard to book ahead. We don't want to miss any of the main dining rooms (once each), and therefore wouldn't know when to book the Palo dinner. Has anyone had trouble booking the dinners once you are on board and know your rotation? Or is it something we would definitely need to book ahead?

Or you could just book dinner for Pirate Night (which can be found by looking at the Onboard Fun for when Bibbidi bobbidi boutique is Pirate League and then you won't miss any of the rotational menus. That's what my parents and I did for our recent 4-night which was our first time on the Magic.

 

[MrsMang]

Or you could just book dinner for Pirate Night (which can be found by looking at the Onboard Fun for when Bibbidi bobbidi boutique is Pirate League and then you won't miss any of the rotational menus. That's what my parents and I did for our recent 4-night which was our first time on the Magic.

Was that also a night where it would have been one of two times you were in a restaurant? I don't know that I care as much about the menus as I do about eating in each place... But it's definitely a good idea.

 

[MrsMang]

I'd suggest that you go ahead a book something ahead. Once you get your dining rotation, you can see about see about changing it, if it conflicts. It's often easier to change a reservation than make a totally new one once onboard.

Just a note, most 4 night cruises have a 1223 rotation (with night 3 being Pirate night).

Thanks! Good tip! Is it hard to get reservations? I've seen posts that worry me, and being our first Disney cruise we won't have any sort of status. We may not have a choice but to try to book on the ship!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks! Good tip! Is it hard to get reservations? I've seen posts that worry me, and being our first Disney cruise we won't have any sort of status. We may not have a choice but to try to book on the ship!

If there's no availability when you do your activities bookings, just keep checking. Sometimes people book "just in case" and cancel as the cruise gets closer. DCL also holds back some reservations for booking onboard. So, if you can't get anything pre-cruise, just go to where the Palo dining changes are being handled (it'll be noted in the Navigator you get in the terminal where/when this is) once onboard to see about making a reservation, or getting on the wait list.

Our very first cruise, I was able to snag a dinner reservation about 4 weeks prior to the cruise.