Self-serve returning to Cabanas

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Self serve or served I really don't care but the food choices and quality were not up to DCL standards at Cabanas on our February 26th Fantasy cruise so that issue needs to be fixed. We almost thought that they were doing it on purpose to drive everyone to the restaurants for breakfast and lunch.

I'm not so much concerned about the serve yourself, but I have seen so many reports about quality and availability of choices. Food barely warm and many choices missing. For what you are paying for a disney cruise, you should have hot AND delicious food offerings. I believe the omelette bar and eggs benedict have been gone, I hope they return. I have eggs benedict in Cabanas every single morning.

We did a buffet at WDW not too long ago. One thing that we did was have a bottle of hand sanitizer on our table and as soon as we returned with a plate, we used it before we touched anything on the table.

 

[insureman]

I'm not so much concerned about the serve yourself, but I have seen so many reports about quality and availability of choices. Food barely warm and many choices missing. For what you are paying for a disney cruise, you should have hot AND delicious food offerings. I believe the omelette bar and eggs benedict have been gone, I hope they return. I have eggs benedict in Cabanas every single morning.

We did a buffet at WDW not too long ago. One thing that we did was have a bottle of hand sanitizer on our table and as soon as we returned with a plate, we used it before we touched anything on the table.

I had to go to one of the MDRs to get eggs benedict in February. The MDR breakfasts were 10 times better than Cabanas and we were always ate at Cabanas on our previous cruises.

 

[squirk]

I knew there were no sit down options on the island. I was not sure if they had a MDR open on Castaway Day since more people have to be on island for serving.

I am almost positive they keep an MDR open for lunch on CC days.

 

[Dug720]

I am almost positive they keep an MDR open for lunch on CC days.

Thanks. It's never occurred to me to WANT to leave the island until I have to on CC day - especially as much time as it would take to come back just for lunch, so I've never paid attention.

 

[Calantha]

The MDR breakfasts were 10 times better than Cabanas

Definitely this on the Dream in January. The one day we ate at cabanas I did not enjoy it. So the other mornings we went to the restaurants. That being said, we will have to play it by ear in Alaska, because I’m not sure what time we’ll need to get off the boat.

 

[anricat]

I wasn't suggesting that catching some other virus would have somehow helped maintain my immunity to the common cold, but I guess that's what you took from my words. Maybe you've encountered that particular misunderstanding before and assumed it here?

Yup. Earlier on in the pandemic, one of the arguments I heard A LOT for why we should't lock down was that our immune systems wouldn't work properly after being confined because they weren't being "used" and that our immune responses for ALL things would be poor after a period of lockdown because the immune system needs to be consistently "activated" and exposed to colds and flu and such in order to work properly. That's what I thought you meant.

The thing about colds, though, there are tons of them and they are constantly mutating and changing (as we've started to see with the variants of our current coronavirus, cousin to the cold) so odd are pretty good you really hadn't ever had that particular iteration of the virus that made you sick.

I have heard of a sort of nasty thing going around. I had it a few weeks ago. Sore throat, cough, the works. I ended up with a secondary infection and needed antibiotics. My whole family had it. I would have thought it Covid, but it started in my daughter a couple of weeks after she had Covid (so the odds were pretty slim she was infected again after just a couple of weeks) and then it made it's way through the whole family, all of us testing negative multiple times. I had one friend with it and landed in the hospital, but she also tested negative on a rapid antigen and PCR. Docs there told her it's going around and they are seeing it regularly. Just a really nasty virus. She also ended up with a secondary infection. My daughter's pediatrician said it's turning into walking pneumonia for a lot of folks.

 

[squirk]

Thanks. It's never occurred to me to WANT to leave the island until I have to on CC day - especially as much time as it would take to come back just for lunch, so I've never paid attention.

I might be making this up, but one year, Cookies was super-crowded, and we asked a CM what dining options were simultaneously available on the ship. Pretty sure they mentioned Cabanas and an MDR (maybe EG).

 

[AquaDame]

Count me with the group that is saddened by the return to buffet style, but we'll just either be there when they open or eat elsewhere for lunch. We mostly do room service for something small at breakfast already since I'm not very hungry until later.

 

[Kariyaffa]

Someone on the Fantasy today confirmed on another site that everything is self serve in Cabanas and that the carving stations were back as well as the variety of food that was available pre-Covid

 

[anjuan]

They typically have at least one MDR open for breakfast and lunch - they do take up a good bit of time though. I'm not positive about Castaway day though...there may be no sit-down option for lunch on that day.

I just got off the Fantasy. They didn’t have an MDR option on CC day.

I’m glad that they were serving us on my cruise. I noticed some of the things were back for Cabanas like the make to order omelette. I thought the options at lunch were still a little less than pre-COVID.

 

[anricat]

I just got off the Fantasy. They didn’t have an MDR option on CC day.

I’m glad that they were serving us on my cruise. I noticed some of the things were back for Cabanas like the make to order omelette. I thought the options at lunch were still a little less than pre-COVID.

I had a made to order omelet on the Wonder in November.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

When we just went to Norwegian it was full buffet and Texas de Brazil had full buffet open with tongs too during pandemic. If you don’t want to go don’t go I’m glad there’s sit down options for you.

 

[Cheburashka]

I just got off the Fantasy. They didn’t have an MDR option on CC day.

Yes, they never offer that because the servers are working at the lunch spots on Castaway Cay.

 

[Cheburashka]

I have heard of a sort of nasty thing going around. I had it a few weeks ago. Sore throat, cough, the works. I ended up with a secondary infection and needed antibiotics. My whole family had it.

Yes, I caught a nasty & persistent cold last month, too. I Covid tested 5 times throughout the 2 weeks I had symptoms (I'm a teacher), so I know it wasn't Covid.

 

[mousefan73]

as we are up 5am all the time. DH and anyone else sleeping in will
look elsewhere.

On my last cruise when the dishes were being served I did not see nearly the piles of wasted food
on tables when guests left.

This is what I loved the most about the change where CMs served. For us the whole dining experience seemed calmer and honestly more CIVILIZED. A pet peeve of mine and DCL guests are no exception, is the wastefullness and simply pigness of how some people conduct themselves around buffets. No wonder some people feel ill at sea if they are stuffing themselves with 3 plates of food and then often leave half full plates on the table. And then you get those tables that stack half eaten plates to make room for more and its like watching for a deck of cards to collapse.

what gets me is sure put masses in buffett lines, no distanciing, touching stuff yet FEs are still banned due to covid.. such a joke.. On our cruise we are all meeting up in groups to exchange. So I guess actually meeting up and exchanging common air is ok but a quick drop off in the halls in not.

 

[Dug720]

Yes, they never offer that because the servers are working at the lunch spots on Castaway Cay.

That is what I thought.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

This is what I loved the most about the change where CMs served. For us the whole dining experience seemed calmer and honestly more CIVILIZED. A pet peeve of mine and DCL guests are no exception, is the wastefullness and simply pigness of how some people conduct themselves around buffets. No wonder some people feel ill at sea if they are stuffing themselves with 3 plates of food and then often leave half full plates on the table. And then you get those tables that stack half eaten plates to make room for more and its like watching for a deck of cards to collapse.

what gets me is sure put masses in buffett lines, no distanciing, touching stuff yet FEs are still banned due to covid.. such a joke.. On our cruise we are all meeting up in groups to exchange. So I guess actually meeting up and exchanging common air is ok but a quick drop off in the halls in not.

Honestly I almost wonder if they will never truly permit FE again, at this point I really don't think its truly a covid thing.

 

[TestingH2O]

Pirate night is back... it was back 2 weeks ago on the WBPC... felt almost as a pre-pandemic pirate night...only thing that didn't make it so was the ship being at ~ 60% capacity so the deck wasn't full of ppl.
Not sure about other sailings afterwards but it sure appeared as DCL decided to bring them back

Pirate night is still a modified experience with no pirate deck party on regular sailings. There is a short show in the dining room, bandannas are handed out at dinner, etc. On 3 night sailings, even that is not being offered.

Deck parties were offered on the EBPC as well, but, unless they started again in the past two days (and I haven’t seen a report of that,) there are still no sail away or pirate deck parties on board.

 

[mab2012]

A pet peeve of mine and DCL guests are no exception, is the wastefullness and simply pigness of how some people conduct themselves around buffets. No wonder some people feel ill at sea if they are stuffing themselves with 3 plates of food and then often leave half full plates on the table.

Putting aside the judginess of these comments... why do you think having employees serve makes any difference at all to how much people eat? It's still a buffet; if people want more, they can and will return as many times as they want.

Also, as many have pointed out, having someone else serve is at least as likely to mean that you're given more food than you wanted than the opposite. I've had this happen myself many times.

 

[xiphoid76]

That pendulum swings both ways. I would ask for 3 slices of bacon and get 6, or 1 of something and get 3, or 1/2 spoon full and get a full scoop, that was more the norm than the exception and rarely did the CM remove anything from the plate.

I was the same way. Hated cast members serving me food because they always put too much on the plate. I hate wasting food and would take very small portions myself.