The food is just so-so

[jrabbit]

I don't think that anyone "dreads" going to dinner on the ships, but at least on the Magic and 7 days of very good, very ample food, you start to think that you can't look at food again. This might be a reason some people start to think that the food is so-so - because we've eaten so-so MUCH . I'm a big guy, but after a few days I've eaten WAY to much . So for me I generally skip lunch (will have a snack of some fruit and a chocolate chip cookie sometime during the afternoon) so that dinners don't become a "chore" - gotta go, gotta keep eating. Frankly, I don't know what its going to be like on the repo cruise!

 

[abitjaded]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
In other words, DCL tries to keep the food inoffensive.

Perfect. I think this is spot on. Hopefully you will have good, experienced servers. We had a great team on one cruise and they knew exactly what to bring. Once they realized we were willing to eat something different each night, they would say, oh if you want seafood, wait for the ...... on a certain night. Or if you want beef, have the .... on another night. Every time I ordered something they DID NOT think was good, they were right. Nothing is bad, some is good. Have to second Horace Horse Collar's opinion on the sit down lunches and breakfasts in Lumierie's. You are better off eating from the buffets at Parrot Cay. If you give the chefs making to-order the noodles or pasta a bit of a free hand, they can show you just how well they CAN cook. All the first courses were O.K. at sit down lunch, but the entrees very mundane. Our servers often came to the rescue here, too. If they were serving where we lunched or breakfasted (eww?), magic things would appear, such as huge bowls of fresh raspberries. I found all the desserts, with Palo the exception, pretty lame. But this time I am going to follow my DH's lead and get the ice cream sundaes. They always looked wonderful.

Carla

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by jrabbit
Frankly, I don't know what its going to be like on the repo cruise!

I've been on a few long cruises before, and it's always works like this for me:

• Days 1 and 2: Food, glorious food! I am in an eating frenzy!
• Day 3 through Debarkation-2: I eat relatively normally. I'll have a moderate lunch in order to save room for dinner.
• Debarkation-1 to the end: The end is nigh. Eat like a pig!

 

[jkovick]

DH and I found the food on the Magic good but not great. We had some really good things and some not so good. Dinners in the dining rooms were better than the daytime buffets. Breakfast was nothing special. I have had better food on other cruise lines, but I would never call DCL's food bad. I think it's all about expectations, like others have already posted.

 

[mrsltg]

I am one of the people who has said the food is so-so, and to me, it is. DCL is preparing a massive amount of meals and that's all fine well and good. The food was still uninspired and often just bland. It wasn't bad - not at all- but it was rarely the case that I was excited by my meal choice.

I would compare DCL to the quality of your local Friday's, Macaroni Grill, Outback. All of these places are fine and can be tasty, but they are not fine dining. The service, on the other hand, was outstanding and definitely something that I would go back for.

It all comes down to what you are used to and what your expectations are. I was not expecting much (I work in downtown DC and my job often calls for meals at extravagant restaurants), and I was right on target. If your family is used to eating at the Golden Coral or the Sizzler, I think you'll be happy. If you're used to The Palm or The Grille at the Ritz, you're going to be disappointed if you don't adjust your expectations.

Erin

 

[luvalldisney]

Sometimes the food depends on what you have and when. At Palo's brunch the crab legs were cold or watery when I got them, about 20 minutes later my dd went to the buffet and picked some up and they were excellent. Why? Same food, same place, just a few minutes difference. At the same brunch my eggs benedict's poached eggs were not properly drained, therefore my whole dish was poor, however, the pizza my mil had was delicious. I have a chronic intestinal disorder that is aggravated by some spices and grease. My wait staff was excellent in trying to accomodate my needs. One meal we decided on a shrimp dish that was realively mild according to the servers booklet. When it came, it was spicy. It turns out the chef was trying to make it "better" and added spices not in the original recipe, which is innovative, but not acceptable to those with food allergies etc. The chef was reprimanded for using something that was not preapproved. Imagine the problems if someone with an allergy to the spice was assurred it was not in the food, and it appeared!The servers have a book that lists all the food, ingredients, suggestions for those with allergies (all kinds) that they have checked and rechecked. As things are changed in the kitchen they get supplements. I know that Disney is trying to please everyone and accomodate all needs, and I praise them for it. Some dishes are not innovative because they are trying to standarize the fare to take care of all needs. Was the food just so-so? No, it was very good, far better than I have had at some high end resturants. It is not a TGIF or Macaroni Grille, it is better, but I am not expecting 5 star quality just food that I would be willing to have on a "fancy" night out.

 

[markey]

We have been on 5 cruises and do not think the food is so-so. I think some things are better then others but all in all we enjoy the food. Like to see the fancy dishes but then we were raised in Lebanon County (Pa. Dutch area) where pig stomach is our treat so we probably are not ones to judge. I do however think the desserts are not as good as they were when we first cruised 5 years ago, maybe some improvements need to be made there.

 

[chrisn]

But not wonderful and we are not picky. Palo was excellent though. In comparing DCL's food to RCCL's, RCCL's was YUMMY! DCL's was just good. No complaints though.

 

[janetlynn]

I heard the food is GREAT in Palo, first time cruiser what should I order there (or anywhere else on the ship) that is really good.

 

[Azptcruiser]

Well, all that I can add to this, is that the food is a great deal better than what I have at home. With the main meal at our house being, tacos, cheese crisps, and the quick fix types of meals, it was a joy to have some of the food that was provided.

People have mentioned Palo's...this is a DON'T MISS event. Go expecting to order anything and everything. Do not be afraid of ordering a couple of items. Ask your server...they will lead you down the right path.

Bottom line, the food was excellent compared to my normal feast!

 

[goin2disneyagain]

We did not find the food to be that great. My brother and sister-in-law said the food on RCCL was better. It was my first cruise so I didn't have another cruise line to compare it too. I was not overly impressed though. I would have to agree on the food being so-so.

 

[travellady]

I've heard so much about Palos from many posters. But, since it's only a 3 day for us, I will skip it as I want to experience each restaurant in the rotation. I guess that will have to wait for the time when we take a 7 day.

 

[jkovick]

I also think that RCCL food is better.

 

[NCRedding]

We have always enjoyed the food on DCL, and found the food to be very good. I was worried because of the negative reviews, but found the food on the shortened 9/27 cruise to be just as good as always.

We've only done one other cruise line. We thought the food on RCCL Radiance of the Seas was bland and the presentation lacking. The food was served lukewarm, not hot.

 

[westjones]

I will say this:

It is MUCH better than what I make at home!


DJ

 

[mickeyboat]

westjones -

Denae

 

[Pidge]

Pretty funny! My kids will probably be thinking the same thing about me once we get there!

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I really dont understand everyone saying the food is just so-so. I have dined at many fine resturaunts such as California Grille, Chirco in Las Vegas and other fine resturaunts in cities all over the world. The food was good at lots of them, California Grille had great food. The food on DCL is maybe not 5 Star like you would get a formal small resturaunt at the Bellagio but its for sure better then Fridays. Some of the entress seemd a little to exotic for me. I really just dont understand people sayings it just so-so. I rate it very good-excellent. I am looki ng forward to 10 nights on wonderful food on the Magic coming up. I think anyone who goes on DCL will enjoy there food. But people do have strange and different tastes somtimes.
Matt

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by janetlynn
I heard the food is GREAT in Palo, first time cruiser what should I order there (or anywhere else on the ship) that is really good.

For dinner, the tuna steak was amazing (my meal) and the filet mignon was also amazing (dh's meal). We also split an appetizer pizza du jour, and it was great.

I had a buffalo mozzarella salad which I loved, and dh had the calimari, which he adored. I'veheard compaints about both on the boards, but when we had them, they were awesome.

 

[tvguy]

The majority of people will find the food quality is great. They try and have a wide variety of foods.
Here's a simple question....what is meal time like in your house?
Everybody like everything being served?
Multiply that by about 500. That's what it's like serving food on a cruise.
To paraphrase from Andy Rooney, "if I wanted home cooking, I'd eat at home".