recent negative food comments

[deebs]

We just got off the 5/8 MAGIC. Must say that the food was absolutely awful. Our October, 2003 sailing on WONDER was much better food-wise.

Pizza at Pinocchio's reminded me of grade school pizza in Brooklyn circa 1975.

Buffets were unedable on certain days (Mexican day -- what were they thinking?!).

Don't even attempt pancakes at breakfast... go for a custom omelette at the buffets if you want your food hot.

Lunches were almost universally bad with the exception of the chicken tenders by the Mickey pool. The chicken breasts used in their sandwiches might as well have been cardboard.

Dinners were mostly awful with the exception of Palo. Wish we could have eaten there every night.

Our waiter staff was so morose that we complained to the head waiter and we got "fake" smiles the rest of the cruise.

After about 12 sailings on various cruise lines (this being our third Disney cruise), I must say that food service is headed in the wrong direction... DOWN!

I think our family actually LOST WEIGHT on this cruise!

 

[traycie2201]

It's great that so many people do enjoy the meals offered on DCL but a quick question for those who didn't did you let the wait staff know - and what did they do to rectify it ?
Have you mailed DCL to let them know in order to improve.
Just curious

Traycie

 

[tkd lisa]

We've done two cruises on DCL. Magic in May 2002 and Wonder in Jan 2003. Overall I agree the food was good to very good.

I only got one thing that I really didn't like, and it was because I had asked for something unusual. I wanted to try the polenta because I had seen Emeril make it. The server asked me if I was sure, because most people didn't like it. The head server even came over and said "I just wanted to talk to the lady who wanted polenta". It wasn't good. But they had warned me, so that was my fault. The server kept saying "I'll bring you something else". I just kept saying "It's fine. Honestly, I'm not that hungry, I know it's not your fault, I just really don't want anything else!" Clearly the server knows that some people blame them if the food isn't perfect.

The rest of the food on both cruises was certainly enjoyable. It wasn't something that I'd rave about for the rest of my life, but I take DCL cruises to enjoy quality time with (and without) my kids (and husband), and to visit really nice places. Not for gourmet quality food.

Several people have complained about the pizza at Pinnochios. I think whoever said that their DD loved it but their DH hated it, got the point. That pizza is made for the kids. It's the kind of pizza that the average kid likes (medium crust, sweet sauce). My DS probably ate his weight in cheese pizza. The first evening, he ordered cheese pizza in the dining room, since he had loved the pizza on deck. Imagine his surprise when the pizza in the dining room was TOTALLY different! He got a grilled cheese instead.

To the original poster, relax and enjoy your cruise. If you don't like what you ordered, ask the server for something else. If you don't like the buffet, try the dining room for a sit-down breakfast and lunch. But be flexible, and you'll probably do fine. Have a great trip!

 

[abbyndrewmom]

YIKES!!!! Now you all have me very scared. My Dh is a chef and food is a major part of our holidays. Part of the reason we love WDW so much is the quality of the food at the sit down restaurants. We love to try new things and eat out in Epcot a couple of times per vacation. The best part of planning our WDW vacation is where we will eat. We have our favorites and then always try a couple of new restaurants as well.

Food that is on par with TGI Fridays, Applebees and Olive Garden will not cut it. We have cruised before and have had okay food. Given our experience with the food in WDW we thought DCL would have outstanding food.

I guess we will have to rethink the Disney Cruise we would all be disappointed if the food was just okay.

 

[BethA]

For the family with the morose servers--who were they? We are cruising in 1 month and would want to change if we got them. The servers can make your cruise.

I agree with the pizza comments. It's the kind my 8 year old loves, but not what I'd call good pizza. It is frozen, not something they are making for each order.

Why do they serve things like polenta if they know everyone-or nearly everyone doesn't like it?

I'm still hoping for the best food wise. Food isn't the most important part of my vacation and it would be a bonus to me to not gain weight.

Beth

 

[Mjasp]

Originally posted by abbyndrewmom
YIKES!!!! Now you all have me very scared. My Dh is a chef and food is a major part of our holidays. Part of the reason we love WDW so much is the quality of the food at the sit down restaurants. We love to try new things and eat out in Epcot a couple of times per vacation. The best part of planning our WDW vacation is where we will eat. We have our favorites and then always try a couple of new restaurants as well.

If you like the food in WDW, then you will LOVE the food on DCL. We do not like the food in WDW, sit down restaurants, Epcot or anywhere. So going in with the expectations that the food was going to be like WDW, we were quite happy with the food as it is much better than WDW. Relax and enjoy your cruise.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by abbyndrewmom
YIKES!!!! Now you all have me very scared. My Dh is a chef and food is a major part of our holidays. Part of the reason we love WDW so much is the quality of the food at the sit down restaurants. We love to try new things and eat out in Epcot a couple of times per vacation. The best part of planning our WDW vacation is where we will eat. We have our favorites and then always try a couple of new restaurants as well.

Food that is on par with TGI Fridays, Applebees and Olive Garden will not cut it. We have cruised before and have had okay food. Given our experience with the food in WDW we thought DCL would have outstanding food.

I guess we will have to rethink the Disney Cruise we would all be disappointed if the food was just okay.

Allison, There are also many people who don't like the food at WDW and I wouldn't be surprised if some of those also don't like the food on DCL.

We love the food at WDW (with few exceptions) and loved the food on DCL (also with few exceptions). Amazing how people can look at the same thing so differently.

Friends of ours who are really into the gourmet stuff (we would be too if we had the resources for it) loved the food on the cruise so much they canceled their Palo reservation because they didn't want to miss one of the dining rooms. They are members of the disney dining club and go to gourmet events at disney all year round and during the food and wine festival they must spend thousands on all of the fancy food programs (I'm jealous!) It sounds like you have similar tastes to them (and us) and I think you don't really have anything to be worried about.

BTW, I can't stand TGI Fridays or Applebees and only go to the Olive Garden once every year or two or three when I have a craving for what I call "junk italian" food (sometimes I get a craving for a wendy's spicy chicken sandwich too!) and I think the food on DCL is nothing like those chains.

 

[Hygiene99]

trying to think of a large chain to compare to IMO

and would agree With Lisa F. that is Several notches above those chains..

We haved Dined ALL OVER DISNEY.. EVERYtime we go we do a fav.. Place Usually The Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk..
LOVE it. and we Always try some place new ..

We went to Disney 5 times last year and cruise once a year...
and 5 times year before that and so on...

And For the most part have been very happy with our Dining Expierence at the World ... and would say that the food on the ship either u like it or u dont.. Depending on your taste
But consider it terrible I dont know about that

Dcl spends thousands of dollars on research and devlopment ... does that make food better on the ship I Believe it does..

Not To Your liking Also Maybe True...


Also I dont know if people EVER thought To Ask for Something that they may Enjoy... IE.. Boneless Chicken with Broccoli...
Salad


Ask and u shall recieve ..

I do know that My Sil.. is the world pickyest Eater and A Vegaterian to Boot And She was happy With the food on the ship was able to find Something To her liking .... Even if she had to ask for something not Offered on the menu..

I f u feel they have the Stuff the would get it for u ............

EVEN tried a few new Dishes ...

Boston Pétér

 

[mostyn17]

On our 3 day cruise there is not enough time to enjoy the food....lol But on our 7 day western, we did not care for the food. However, last august, we did the eastern and the food was much better! We could tell that they were trying to improve the quality. Much more selection on the menu's and overall I found something I liked everynight. However Palo's is still my favorite!

Travis

 

[Mjasp]

Hey Boston Pete!!!

Like your new name LOL

 

[crisi]

Originally posted by abbyndrewmom
YIKES!!!! Now you all have me very scared. My Dh is a chef and food is a major part of our holidays. Part of the reason we love WDW so much is the quality of the food at the sit down restaurants. We love to try new things and eat out in Epcot a couple of times per vacation. The best part of planning our WDW vacation is where we will eat. We have our favorites and then always try a couple of new restaurants as well.

Food that is on par with TGI Fridays, Applebees and Olive Garden will not cut it. We have cruised before and have had okay food. Given our experience with the food in WDW we thought DCL would have outstanding food.

I guess we will have to rethink the Disney Cruise we would all be disappointed if the food was just okay.

If your husband is a chef, you probably have a realistic expectation of what the quality of food is going to be feeding several hundred people at once out of each kitchen twice an evening, with ingredients that have to be brought on board a few days in advance, off a set menu. In my opinion, Disney does a wonderful job of this (take a look at the floor plans and you can see how much space is dedicated to food preperation). Its definately beyond Friday's for food quality. But it isn't Charlie Trotters (to use the example given earlier) or any other five star dining establishment you are likely to find.

A friend of mine is the pastry chef at a really good place - her desserts change daily depending on what ingredients look freshest and best when she shops that morning. If she wants to serve strawberry shortcake and the strawberries aren't at their peak, she chooses a different dessert for the evening. The other chefs at the restaurant do the same - taking advantage of the freshest and best available in the market that morning. The restaurant will only feed maybe 100 people on a busy night. DCL doesn't have this luxury - they serve strawberry shortcake on the AP first night menu every trip - and IIRC the strawberries are from a can.

For reference, this is what I'm comparing to for great food: http://www.goodfellowsrestaurant.com And this is the Twin Cities best restaurant, I know that there are restaurants in New York or LA or DC or San Francisco or Chicago that could wipe the table with this place.

 

[deebs]

Beth,

If you happen to be assigned to Ancill and Roland (we were at table 34 on MAGIC), RUN, don't walk, to the manager for a re-assignment.

These guys were really on auto-pilot and didn't care much for doing anything other than the basics -- take an order and bringing your food.

 

[invaderzim]

I'm sorry, I did not read every one of these postings on this thread -- but did someone actually complain about the entrees being lukewarm and their gazpacho was cold??? If so, that poster should be made aware that gazpacho IS a cold soup! My husband works for a food company, and the receipe for gazpacho is it is to be served cold. Just thought you should know.

As for the food, I (for some unfathomable reason), have really gotten caught up in the excitement of these boards this past week since we booked our 14-day cruise for next year. A LOT of useful, nonbiased, and helpful information is displayed on these boards on a daily basis.

But then there are those groups of posters, and they do seem to come in clumps, who have nothing nice to say about the majority of things on DCL. Reading all those types of postings over the past five days has been somewhat discouraging. I especially feel bad for all those first time cruisers -- it must be overwhelming to see so much negative stuff about a vacation you are shilling out a lot of money for.

Let me say this -- many great comments have been made, including the person that stated (and I paraphrase), they may be saying negative things about the food, but they keep returning!

We have NEVER (yes, never) had a bad meal on our past cruises. Even room service was good. There are a lot of entrees I ordered for fun not sure if I'd like them (like sea bass). If I didn't like it, that has nothing to do with the quality, but it's fun to try things. There are SO many entrees and appetizers and so many restaurants and buffets, I cannot believe that you wouldn't find something you like.

Please don't let negative food reviews spoil your anticipation of this cruise. DCL has so much to offer.

I would compare the food to a very fine restaurant in your area -- NOT fine dining in NYC, but upscale dining -- not TGIF or Red Lobster or Goodfellows Pizza or even Olive Garden or Bertucci's. A step above all of them. AND THE FOOD IS BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED. If you have a Bahama Breeze chain in your area, try them. Some of their entrees remind me very much of some of the offerings in Parrot Cay.

As for the dining rooms -- Lumiere's/Tritons offers the upscale menus. Parrot Cay is our favorite - very tropical. Animator's Palate is also very good -- but we usually skip the second night of that for Palo's since they don't light up the colors on the second go around.

We've gotten sandwiches, cheese platters, soups, deserts and fruit platters from room service - all good. We've ordered breakfast twice -- and it is delivered promptly! And is very convenient if you want to get off the ship in a hurry.

Topsider's/Beach Blanket Buffet we have found to be quite excellent. Their breakfasts are fresh and hot and at lunch they offer themes (mexican, asian, barbeque, etc.). They even have an omelet station. Their buffet beats things like Country Buffet by a New York mile!

Sorry -- I tend to go off, but I get passionate about misinformation.

PLEASE GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS!

 

[traycie2201]

INVADERZIM - Don't worry i'm not put off , i happen to like TGI's on the odd occasion , also occasionally like Fine Dining and fast food depending on the hunger level / budget /occasion etc so i'm sure i'll be more than happy with the food on offer with DCL , the positives have far outweighed the negatives and everyone as i've mentioned before has different taste but as long as my tummys full and there's a cocktail in my hand i'll be sorted, and if the foods not to my taste another cocktail or two will fill the gap

 

[Mjasp]

Invaderzim...Well said, what is great for one can be horrible for another. Just like one's likes and dislikes of a doctor.

By the way...Why don't you stop by the 8/28/04 cruise thread and say HI.

Joanna

 

[crisi]

I'm sorry, I did not read every one of these postings on this thread -- but did someone actually complain about the entrees being lukewarm and their gazpacho was cold??? If so, that poster should be made aware that gazpacho IS a cold soup! My husband works for a food company, and the receipe for gazpacho is it is to be served cold. Just thought you should know.

Nobody here. I think the comment was that when they ordered gazpacho they were warned it was a cold soup by their waiter, something they knew, but not everyone does - and something the waiter had learned to explain before bringing it out and hearing "This soup is cold!"

Not every DCL cruiser is going to have been exposed to camerbert fritters, escargot, soft shell crab, duck or baked alaska, is going to know what a spring roll is or be familiar with pot stickers or calamari. A few months ago there was a thread where people were asking just these questions.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

I can't believe some of the comments that cruisers have posted about the food on board the DCL ships. On our cruise last summer the food was fabulous. I got the opportunity to try foods that I would never order from a restaurant for fear of not liking them such as roasted duck and escargot. Granted I wasn't really impressed with either but at least I had the chance to try them without wasting money on them. And our servers were more than happy to bring out a different entree. The deserts were absolutely devine and my DW and I would each get a different one then share. Now we aren't the type to go out to dinner at 5 star restaurants on a regular basis but it sure was a pleasure to be able to experience fine dining without the fine cost. We are looking very forward to the food on our 7 day eastern cruise in November. DW is drooling for the lobster on Capt' Gala night and I've never met a steak I didn't like. Sorry to hear that there have been so many disappointed diners lately.

 

[dclwdwlover]

What IS a pot sticker???

 

[kpgclark]

A potsticker is a steamed dumpling. My kids love them! They can be filled with veggies or meat and have a brown dipping sauce that is often spicy and tastes kinda like soy sauce.

 

[dclwdwlover]

kpgclark - Thanks!

Wow, never heard of them & I'm originally from PA, too.