Palo meal same as Captains Gala :(

[micheleq]

Fresh of the Magic NYE cruise and we had a wonderful time! Great staff, happy with service and stateroom, but I have one little complaint that I wanted to share and see if others had noticed this?

DH and I had brunch and dinner at Palo during our cruise. Andrew was our fabulous server. Overall the food was good, but nothing that blew me away this trip.

At brunch, I ordered the red snapper entree, and lo behold, a surprisingly similar entree was featured a few nights later on the Captains Gala menu.

In my opinion, no entree from Palo should be replicated in the MDRs on the same cruise. Has anyone else experienced this? What do you think?

We will continue to enjoy Palo and Remy on further cruises, but I will steer clear of items that I could have another night in the MDR.

Also on this trip, the Palo chef did not come out either time to discuss my DHs gluten allergy. In previous visits the chefs were far more engaging and accommodating. At brunch we were the last reservation seated so it was not a busy time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Fresh of the Magic NYE cruise and we had a wonderful time! Great staff, happy with service and stateroom, but I have one little complaint that I wanted to share and see if others had noticed this?

DH and I had brunch and dinner at Palo during our cruise. Andrew was our fabulous server. Overall the food was good, but nothing that blew me away this trip.

At brunch, I ordered the red snapper entree, and lo behold, a surprisingly similar entree was featured a few nights later on the Captains Gala menu.

In my opinion, no entree from Palo should be replicated in the MDRs on the same cruise. Has anyone else experienced this? What do you think?

We will continue to enjoy Palo and Remy on further cruises, but I will steer clear of items that I could have another night in the MDR.

Also on this trip, the Palo chef did not come out either time to discuss my DHs gluten allergy. In previous visits the chefs were far more engaging and accommodating. At brunch we were the last reservation seated so it was not a busy time.

While the ingredients may be the same, I wouldn't expect the actual entree to be identical. I've read that Palo keeps the best ingredients to use. And the actual prep will be better in Palo.

In looking at the Palo brunch menu it says:
ROASTED RED SNAPPER FILET
with Rosemary Roasted Fennel, Cerignola Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and a Saffron Potato

On the Captain's Gala menu:
ROASTED RED SNAPPER
served on a bed of fennel, olives, sweet peppers, and Yukon Gold Potato Ragout, with saffron broth

Similar ingredients, different preps.

 

[gotomu212]

I know they've had the chocolate soufflé on the MDR before but it is a COMPLETELY different dish than the Palo soufflés.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know they've had the chocolate soufflé on the MDR before but it is a COMPLETELY different dish than the Palo soufflés.

Well, they have the Chocolate Lava Cake in the MDRs. I've never seen an actual chocolate souffle on the menu in the MDR.
Chocolate Lava Cake:


Chocolate souffle:

There's a Grand Marnier Souffle (love it) in the MDR.

And, in the past, some people were able to order the chocolate souffle from Palo to the MDR (that's stopped now).

 

[micheleq]

While the ingredients may be the same, I wouldn't expect the actual entree to be identical. I've read that Palo keeps the best ingredients to use. And the actual prep will be better in Palo.

In looking at the Palo brunch menu it says:
ROASTED RED SNAPPER FILET
with Rosemary Roasted Fennel, Cerignola Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and a Saffron Potato

On the Captain's Gala menu:
ROASTED RED SNAPPER
served on a bed of fennel, olives, sweet peppers, and Yukon Gold Potato Ragout, with saffron broth

Similar ingredients, different preps.

Good point! Prepping 20 entrees vs 200 is a big difference.

I know they've had the chocolate soufflé on the MDR before but it is a COMPLETELY different dish than the Palo soufflés.

Again, good point. Palo did have a knock your socks off amaretto soufflé at dinner last week!

 

[cmph]

Oh my gosh, it's so funny that you posted this!! On the Wonder last week, we had Palo brunch on the night we had the captain's menu. I was so irritated b/c the eggplant app is pretty much exactly what I ordered in Palo that day (the descriptions are almost exactly the same), and the prosciutto app was composed of all things I had eaten there too. At the end of the day, DH and I both thought the Palo experience was fine and that we liked the atmosphere, but it was a real bummer we paid $60 for the same stuff we later were offered at dinner for no upcharge. I was kicking myself that I hadn't looked at the dinner menu in advance and eaten different items.

We didn't have a chef come out, either, for DH's gluten allergy (really, celiac).

 

[micheleq]

Oh my gosh, it's so funny that you posted this!! On the Wonder last week, we had Palo brunch on the night we had the captain's menu. I was so irritated b/c the eggplant app is pretty much exactly what I ordered in Palo that day (the descriptions are almost exactly the same), and the prosciutto app was composed of all things I had eaten there too. At the end of the day, DH and I both thought the Palo experience was fine and that we liked the atmosphere, but it was a real bummer we paid $60 for the same stuff we later were offered at dinner for no upcharge. I was kicking myself that I hadn't looked at the dinner menu in advance and eaten different items.

We didn't have a chef come out, either, for DH's gluten allergy (really, celiac).

Ok so it's not just me lol! Again, I'm not expecting the meal of my life, but one menu dedicated to Palo doesn't seem to be too much to ask?

I'm sorry they weren't more helpful with your DH. In the past we've found the chefs at Palo and Remy to be very helpful. On the Fantasy in 2014, the chef set aside a few portions of several entrees that are normally not GF so they could be prepared that way if my DH was interested.

 

[cmph]

Ok so it's not just me lol! Again, I'm not expecting the meal of my life, but one menu dedicated to Palo doesn't seem to be too much to ask?

I'm sorry they weren't more helpful with your DH. In the past we've found the chefs at Palo and Remy to be very helpful. On the Fantasy in 2014, the chef set aside a few portions of several entrees that are normally not GF so they could be prepared that way if my DH was interested.

Our server was totally fine as a go-between for what to order that would be safe in regards to GF, very knowledgeable and helpful, so we weren't really bothered that a chef didn't come out to our table. With the kitchen open as it is, and where we were seated - we could see her talking to him. We weren't really concerned, and he didn't get sick.

But yeah, I have to say - I don't know that we'll consider Palo brunch a must-do in the future. Definitely more of a wishy-washy maybe-do. Or maybe we'd be in the minority that like Palo dinner better than brunch. Props to the atmosphere, for sure. But the "good" cheese table had parm and manchego currently in my fridge at home, so I didn't think it was that special; I actually had a couple desserts in Cabanas at lunch that I liked better than the 4 or 5 things I tried at Palo; and the entree similarity issue with dinner that night was a real disappointment. The eggplant dishes looked exactly the same; I don't believe prosciutto was on mine at Palo as previously listed, think they turned that into a veg entree. DH ordered the snapper and steak and didn't find the steak to be better than some of the main dining room beef entrees, either. Maybe the European cruises on the Magic have some really awesome cheeses and charcuterie and other ingredients that they wouldn't get on-board the US sailings? Doesn't help the menu similarity issue though. At least our Palo food was hotter and obviously more freshly-made than MDR stuff... and the gf dessert made for him was definitely special and a highlight.

 

[kiford]

While the ingredients may be the same, I wouldn't expect the actual entree to be identical.

Dishes in the MDRs are also prepared en masse. Dishes at Palo are prepared when ordered.

 

[Flossbolna]

I can see how one might be dissappointed in the lack of different choices. However, for me there are huge differences in quality between Palo and MDR. For example, I love tuna and you could tell that the tuna that was on the buffet at Palo brunch was a better grade then the one you could get in a few dishes in the MDR. Also, for me the prosciutto in Palo was definitely of a higher quality than the in the appetizer on the Captain's Dinner MDR menu. The same for the parmesan cheese. At Palo we got some that was properly aged, nice crumbly and lots of taste. The one that came with the same appetizer as the prosciutto in the MDR was so new that is was still squeaky and was so bland. And for example the best dish we had during Palo brunch was the lasagna. It was amazing. Another dish that would be repeated on the ship. But this Palo lasagna might have been the best lasagna I ever had, so really not comparable at all.

My experiences are from my recent Fantasy cruise. It is possible that things are different on the Magic and the Wonder when they are not based in Port Canaveral as Disney might be using different suppliers in other ports and therefore get other ingredients.

However, I have to agree with one previous poster who was disappointed by the cheese selection at Palo brunch. I do agree with that. The only interesting cheese I have gotten on a DCL ship is at Remy. There the cheese is fantastic!!