Palo & Spa reservations??

[jnc1970]

For anyone who has done the 7-day western, here are a couple of questions:

Do we need to be at the Port when it opens to be able to get on the ship early to make reservations to Palo's dinner, brunch & the spa?

Assuming that we arrive at the Port parking lot at 10:00 a.m. and get on the ship, what are our chances of getting these reservations?

Do they allow you to board the ship and immediately go to the reservations area, or do you have to wait for a designated time to make reservations?

I am trying to find out if we are going to have to break our necks to get there early, or if we can meander over to the port and miss some of the inital rush, while still getting to go to Palo's. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[TootyJane]

Well, we just did the 6/19 Western. We had a Cat. 2 so I was able to call before the cruise to make our Palo (brunch and dinner) reservations. I chose not to make reservations for High Tea. I can't attest to the line for the spa as I opted not to do any spa treatments on this cruise.

As you board you are directed to Parrot Cay or up to Topsiders for lunch or you can go directly to Rockin' Bar D to make Palo reservations from 12 Noon to 3:30pm and again from 5pm to 6pm in Palo. The spa has Open House from 11:45am to 8pm but is closed for the mandatory fire drill.

Since we had our Palo reservations done, we decided to eat lunch in Parrot Cay. After that, I went to register my 9yo ds for the Club and this was one of the things offered at the Concierge meet. Ds and I walked down to Concierge meet we had to pass the line for Palo which was long. Concierge meet was pretty crowded and after about a 20 minute wait both ds and I decided to walk up to the Club and just register him there. The long line for Palo was even longer now. I was able to register ds the moment we walked into the Club.

With all this said, if Palo is something you really want to do my advice is to get to the Port early. I don't think "you need to break your neck" getting there but the reservations do fill up fast. Also, have alternate dates and/or times chosen in case the one(s) you have chosen are not available. Palo reservations are taken on a first-come basis. HTH and have a great cruise.

 

[jnc1970]

Thanks for the info!!

 

[natdencro]

If you cant get to reservations when you board, then call Palo each morning 9ish to see if there are any cancellations. You can generally get booked in if you persevere daily. Nat

 

[kcashner]

I've cruised on the Magic 10 times. It seems to me that this board makes way too big a deal of getting ressies. I've always been able to get what I wanted.

We get to the port about 11. This puts us in the first 150 or so on board. We deal first with any dining changes, then with Palo, Spa, and Tea with Wendy tickets (don't do that one any more, but....) Then go to lunch at Parrot Cay, and then register kiddo. We typically encounter no line or a wait behind 1-2 people for ressies. It has never been more than that.


Do be aware that the concierge has a "hold" on a certain number of ressies when you first board. These are held for cat 1-3 guests. If they don't use them, they are released for the general guest population about the time the safety drill ends. Thus, if you can't get what you want initially, ask to be "wait listed" for it, and meanwhile book another day. We've never had to do the wait list thing, but it can work.

Also, only one person needs to go to the ressie places. Thus, you can do spa ressies while DH does Palo (if you trust him!)

It is FAR easier to get ressies on a 7 day cruise than on a 4. There are the same number of passengers, and twice as many slots. If you want to "double dip" at Palo, they will give you a second ressie on the day of the brunch or dinner if they have any availability. Another way to accomplish the same thing (I think this one is cheating, but people do it) is that if you are travelling with friends, each cabin can book a ressie for 4. We've always travelled alone, but...it does work.

I'd suggest that you relax, but be sure to be at the port before noon. Remember that the busses from WDW don't leave there till 12:30-1, so you are way ahead of those people.

We've been able to book ressies immediately upon boarding. The locations for the ressies do change, but are listed in the "Welcome aboard" letter you get when you check in. THere is NO rush to register the kids. Every kid on board has a slot in the kid program. Just get there the first afternoon sometime.