Talk to me about lunch on embarkation day

[CamColt]

On the first 4 ships (and our first 24 Disney cruises) we have always gone to the buffet. I love being up there, looking out, or eating outside, knowing I'm on a ship. I don't want to go to the dining room. Plus the buffet usually has a great variety. With that said, on our last cruise, on the Wish, we did the same and went to Marceline Market. This was our only dining disappointment on this ship. There wasn't as much variety for things I liked and it was crowded (we used to get Platinum boarding group 1 so no crowds in the past). I wish I had known how great the Festival of Food was and I would have dined there instead.

 

[randumb0]

My very first cruise involved eating at Enchanted Garden on embarkation day. I remember there being crab legs and it was buffet style

 

[Louise97]

We've done one cruise so far and we opted for the MDR for embarkation lunch. We were tired after being up early so we just wanted to sit down and have someone bring food! We've got our second cruise in a couple of months so will see how we feel about the buffet - we didn't make it to Cabanas at all on our last cruise so I want to give it a try at some point.

 

[kiford]

My very first cruise involved eating at Enchanted Garden on embarkation day. I remember there being crab legs and it was buffet style

The sit-down restaurants on embarkation day used to be a small-ish buffet (I remember it was Enchanted Garden on the Fantasy and what used to be Parrot Cay that became Carioca's and which IIRC is now Rapunzel's Royal Table on the Magic) but the servers would bring you drinks and you'd be seated at a table rather than just trying to find one on your own. I believe since Covid, they've removed the buffet from the sit-down restaurants on all ships and on embarkation day have just gone to a regular menu.

 

[Kwami]

Cabanas often has themed days when something interesting is happening. My last cruise left on Halloween and Cabanas had all kinds of fun Halloween-themed foods and desserts and decorations. We would have missed those if we had lunch at the table service restaurant.

On a normal day, I could go either way.

 

[Dug720]

I'm gluten-free, but have never had an issue with the buffet on embarkation (or ever). I frankly don't want to deal with a huge meal at lunch AND at dinner.

 

[sjuncfan]

The sit-down restaurants on embarkation day used to be a small-ish buffet (I remember it was Enchanted Garden on the Fantasy and what used to be Parrot Cay that became Carioca's and which IIRC is now Rapunzel's Royal Table on the Magic) but the servers would bring you drinks and you'd be seated at a table rather than just trying to find one on your own. I believe since Covid, they've removed the buffet from the sit-down restaurants on all ships and on embarkation day have just gone to a regular menu.

They got rid of the buffet in the MDR way before COVID. I can't recall exactly but I think by like 2018 it was all table service.

 

[Kwami]

They got rid of the buffet in the MDR way before COVID. I can't recall exactly but I think by like 2018 it was all table service.

According to the DCL blog link posted earlier, the Wonder has been serving a sit-down lunch in Triton's since the 2016 dry dock that replaced Parrot Cay with Tiana's Place, removing the old buffet space.

 

[Ronneeaght]

I’ve done both sit-down and buffet / pool deck and like both. I think for me the buffet slightly edges the sit-down because we can get pool deck pizza for the kids and park them in front of funnel vision while DH and I take turns going to the buffet. The atmosphere is more upbeat and “first-day-of-vacation” for the whole family that way rather than “behave-in-a-restaurant” for the kids.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Anna131517]

If you need some peace to start the cruise, head to sit down. There will always be more people moving around in a buffet.

I have only gone to full service a few times. I like to be able to get up and leave when I want. And can go back and get more or something different. (I don’t think the buffet has great food, and I have basically gotten the same things year after year). A variety for the different tastes in our group leads us to the buffet, too.

I also enjoy the unlimited shrimp and crab claws - serve yourself - no judgment - and no food waste from being served bunches if you only want a few. Ask the server for melted butter if you enjoy it with the crab.

If you have first/early dinner - it comes up pretty quickly after lunch, so take that into consideration. “It‘s dinner time already?” is said almost daily by stuffed people who have eaten breakfast, lunch and poolside snacks when 5:30 comes.

Restaurant menus are also posted outside each restaurant - the MDR off the atrium often has theirs by the side door (entrance without steps, off the Promenade). The other two venues have them by their front door. They post each meal’s menu at the end of the previous one, I believe.

I have not done quick service for lunch. And typically just utilize it for French Fries or late night pizza while watching a movie under the stars. On the Wish, I expect to enjoy the Mexican stand, based on reports from my family. I was excited about the BBQ, but they report that it is “a product of people who don’t live where BBQ is eaten.” My sister describes the brisket as being seasoned like corned beef.

If you want the shrimp, you can go to the buffet and just have them, in addition to a sit-down meal. They don’t limit you to just one place.

The Festival of Food on The Wish is absolutely fantastic. I never do that type of food on cruise ships but our kids tried it and fell in love so we tried it and we ended up going back a lot (like several times a day). I don’t think I’ve ever seen my kids eat so much food! And they don’t eat fries.

 

[Alicatt]

We were in an earlier boarding group and went to Marceline. There were no lines and a ridiculous amount of choices. There was a carving station, mussels, crab legs, a few kinds of shrimp, chicken tikka masala, salads, you name it. We had plenty of room for our carry-ons. The Cast members were super attentive. Offering to carry things or get anything for us. It was a great beginning to the cruise. My only complaint was that I had only one stomach and only tried a very small amount of what was offered.

 

[cedricandsophie]

My goal is to find a chair in the cove section, park my carry on bags, get a wrap or Salad from quick service, put on my bathing suit and relax. I hate cabanas and have never done a sit down. I want to be outside in the sun and use the slide when it opens. As soon as cabins open, we take carry ons to Room and go back to pool.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We learned quickly that buffets with a young toddler were a miss and did table service breakfast and lunch almost entirely on our last cruise (I did not consider lunch to be heavy at all - we got burgers, sandwiches, etc), but on embarkation day we were one of the first on the ship and did the buffet and it was great! We had an entire dining room to ourselves for the first 30 minutes or so which made navigating with a two year old much easier.

So our plan this time is buffet, if we are an early boarding time, or sit down if we aren't. I hate crowds and lines.

 

[bakerworld]

Our first 5 cruises on DCL we always went to Cabanas and sometimes it was crazy but not always. However, it was always crowded and I felt we were taking up a seat if we relaxed. The last two cruises were on the Wish and Marcelina's Market is a totally different eating experience. The AC is better and there was a lot of more seating. We totally felt we could relax. The food was very good. I would totally do the Market. I don't know why there is such a different experience.

 

[sadiecatie]

Thanks for all the replies! I still don’t know what we want to do but that’s OK. Perhaps just playing it by ear day of - and knowing the pros and cons of the different options helps!

 

[Carohs]

We are Cabanas people. Especially on the Wonder. It's a smaller ship and they do an ok job of staggering people onboard. Maybe we've been fortunate with boarding times, but it hasn't felt that crowded to me. That and it's my home city so there's something a little extra special about grabbing a plate of food and eating outside and taking in the scenery and ocean air. It puts me more in cruise mode than sitting inside a restaurant. The serving staff is really amazing too, helping out my kids (7 and 9) with filling drinks or getting silverware. Plus there's something magical when the kids are so excited and wide eyed about all the buffet options especially the dessert section.