The really BIG problem with dinner on the Wish Class ships

[Mommb]

You have luck getting a Palo or an Enchante dinner reservation the day of if you decide MDR is not what you want that evening? Have you had luck walking up with no reservation?

My family was able to book dinner at Palo while onboard the Fantasy when we realized there was a night when we wouldn't like much on the main dining room menu. Guests are restricted to booking 1 meal of each type (e.g., Palo brunch, Palo dinner, Remy brunch, Remy dinner) in advance of a cruise, but additional reservations can be made on board if there is availability.

My recollection based on reports from pre-2021 cruisers is that when Cabanas was open for dinner, the menu was selected from the main dining room menus, so it wasn't different food, just a different environment. Given that people commented on how much less crowded it was there, I am guessing that Disney Cruise decided it wasn't worth the additional cost of crew to staff it, and that it would be better to have "swing" staff in the main dining rooms.

Disney has 2 ships (Dream and Fantasy) with no live dining room shows, and 2 ships (Magic and Wonder) with 1 dining room with live shows. Those ships are available for people who want a Disney experience without as many shows as on the Wish, Treasure, and Destiny.

 

[RedHead0186]

Disney has 2 ships (Dream and Fantasy) with no live dining room shows, and 2 ships (Magic and Wonder) with 1 dining room with live shows. Those ships are available for people who want a Disney experience without as many shows as on the Wish, Treasure, and Destiny.

The Dream and Fantasy have Animator's Palate, which have the Crush show and Amination Magic on longer sailings. While that's not a 'live'' show with actual people on a stage, it is a dinner show (that happens sporadically throughout dinner, though Crush is probably the less 'obtrusive' of the two).

 

[asgur5]

Enchante/Remy is minimum $135 a person. I would not call that "cheap."

I will agree that Palo is much more financially accessible, and I think it's a good value for what you get (especially compared to restaurants where I live in Chicago).

Enchante and remy would be 300 dollars on land. Its a massive multi hour dinner. If thats all there was though i would agree with the complaints. But palo is also available.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

The Dream and Fantasy have Animator's Palate, which have the Crush show and Amination Magic on longer sailings. While that's not a 'live'' show with actual people on a stage, it is a dinner show (that happens sporadically throughout dinner, though Crush is probably the less 'obtrusive' of the two).

I had to laugh at your comment re: Crush being less obtrusive. My wife is an extreme introvert & the last time we were on Dream (10th cruise on her!) Crush zero'd in on her and started talking to her. She was blushing & stammering while I did my very best to not burst into laughter. I know for others, this isn't a laughing matter, but between us, we had a good laugh later at HOW. MUCH. SHE. HATED. THAT.

 

[gatordoc]

My recollection based on reports from pre-2021 cruisers is that when Cabanas was open for dinner, the menu was selected from the main dining room menus, so it wasn't different food, just a different environment.

That’s mostly but not completely true. While much of the menu was from main dining, there were always a few other selections. This included our go-to, which was ribeye steaks (not the “Lighter Note” sirloins) cooked to order in their kitchen - hot, fresh, and better quality than any MDR steak we’ve ever had.

I will also add to others who feel the pool deck is an acceptable option, that that would be true if they offered full menus. But on the smaller ships, things like shawarma are only offered until 6PM, and the larger ships also have very limited offerings at dinner time (if I could get barbecue or Mexican on the Wish class ships, for example, I would be very satisfied).

 

[Liastaob]

As a person who actually really enjoys the Coco and Arendelle shows, the Marvel one has become pretty stale after the 3rd time. At least my daughter adores Spiderman for now...

I Wish they'd do something to mix that one up a bit.

 

[Joanna71985]

The Dream and Fantasy have Animator's Palate, which have the Crush show and Amination Magic on longer sailings. While that's not a 'live'' show with actual people on a stage, it is a dinner show (that happens sporadically throughout dinner, though Crush is probably the less 'obtrusive' of the two).

I prefer the animation show over the Crush show

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

Can’t figure out why they can’t just shuffle out a new video here or there. It can’t be that hard to do

 

[jujubiee4]

The Dream and Fantasy have Animator's Palate, which have the Crush show and Amination Magic on longer sailings. While that's not a 'live'' show with actual people on a stage, it is a dinner show (that happens sporadically throughout dinner, though Crush is probably the less 'obtrusive' of the two).

I love this show! I literally have saved all my kids drawings and put them in a Disney Scrapbook.
They always get a kick out of how much their drawings have changed over the years.

 

[2010dvcfan]

If you think they are a significant cost then how do you even afford a disney cruise? They are so cheap compared to anything on land even remotely equivalent. And make a reservation just like anywhere else in this world. And if you want a quick meal with kids then go for the food on the top deck. Everyone is catered for on this ship. Quick junk food perfect for kids then top deck, moderate family restaurant then main dining rooms or quality food then one of two fine dining restaurants. Everyone is catered for. The complaints here are just ridiculous.

What people decide is of value to them when they spend their money has nothing to do with whether they can afford it or not.

Upgraded dining experiences are very time consuming you have to commit to missing trivia, show times etc. It isn't something I personally would want to do multiple times a cruise especially when traveling with minors who can't join us for dinner.

You may not even be allowed to do it multiple nights in the same cruise, you can reserve one dinner and one brunch, unless your conceirge. Then you have to ask if they have any openings for the other nights, the first night of the cruise is usually wide open and I have been allowed to go more then one night for dinner several times on solo crusies but it isn't something I think you could count on. It depends on the demand from the guests. Even concerige is not garunteed every night, but they do try very hard to make it happen in my experience you might have to be flexible with the time you eat.

I do wish DCL would bring back some of the room service items they removed that BLT had to have had half pound of bacon on it. Grilled cheese, mediterrean salad, steak pannini are missed dearly by my family. I also remember when Cabanas was open for sit down dining in evening for training purposes of the new staff, that was nice also wouldn't mind that for an option again. If they had that awesome PIRATE BUFFET back then we wouldn't even worry about dinner on pirate night and hit the buffet after the pirate show. Watch funnel vision till 1 AM. Miss that too Disney!

Disney has decreased the options for food alot in my opinon and I don't feel that we are as catered to as we once were on DCL. Especially for their repeat crusiers who step on the same ship multiple times a year and there are alot of us out there.

None of this means we won't keep crusing DCL, on the Wish again Feb but probably will eat Tacos and BBQ for dinner before 6 PM or hamburger in the room. Not a big fan of the MDR on the Wish at all.

 

[SL6827]

I heard nothing but awesomeness about the BBQ on the newer ships.

 

[holula]

I heard nothing but awesomeness about the BBQ on the newer ships.

The only complaint about the bbq is that it closes at 6pm. Same with the cantina.

 

[DCL58]

I heard nothing but awesomeness about the BBQ on the newer ships.

It is delicious.

 

[DCLGirlie]

r.e. bold -- if value for $$$ spent is important and *Disney * takes a back seat to true relaxation, venturing out is wise.



r.e. bold - Been there and done that since 2019 on our other Cruise Line and have saved $$$$$ = more cruises below DCL pricing with greater service.

There is some wins and losses I've found with other cruise lines. In particular Princess Cruises seem to go out of their way to try and bring you drinks not included in the drink packages even if you ask for something that is included in their drink packages and that makes me unwilling to give them the time of day, even if they would cost less even with upcharges added in. Whenever I cruise with a non-Disney line I am the one who does the budgeting for the trip, so I like a trip where my wife doesn't need to clarify a million things on what we budgeted for vs what we didn't budget for.

There is both palos and enchante. Excellent food and service. Why are people pretending these restaurants dont exist.

Because they are adult only upcharge options. It isn't just adults that get overwhelmed by dinner shows, it is kids as well.

Also both adults and kids don't always want to spend the sheer amount of time the MDRs take. On the past 5 or so cruises I've taken with Disney our late dinner always is 1:45-2 hours, and I'd rather have something significantly shorter so I don't always miss the adult entertainment for the evening. When the buffet was open it wasn't a buffet, it was sit down, but it moved at a speed much closer to MDR lunches which is the exact speed I prefer to have my food served.

 

[asgur5]

There is some wins and losses I've found with other cruise lines. In particular Princess Cruises seem to go out of their way to try and bring you drinks not included in the drink packages even if you ask for something that is included in their drink packages and that makes me unwilling to give them the time of day, even if they would cost less even with upcharges added in. Whenever I cruise with a non-Disney line I am the one who does the budgeting for the trip, so I like a trip where my wife doesn't need to clarify a million things on what we budgeted for vs what we didn't budget for.


Because they are adult only upcharge options. It isn't just adults that get overwhelmed by dinner shows, it is kids as well.

Also both adults and kids don't always want to spend the sheer amount of time the MDRs take. On the past 5 or so cruises I've taken with Disney our late dinner always is 1:45-2 hours, and I'd rather have something significantly shorter so I don't always miss the adult entertainment for the evening. When the buffet was open it wasn't a buffet, it was sit down, but it moved at a speed much closer to MDR lunches which is the exact speed I prefer to have my food served.

And kids just want chicken tenders, pizzas, or hot dogs and chips. All on the top deck.

 

[SL6827]

And kids just want chicken tenders, pizzas, or hot dogs and chips. All on the top deck.

So do they have these foods for kids at the MDRs?

 

[RedHead0186]

Yes, all the MDRs have a kids menu.

 

[Mango7100]

And kids just want chicken tenders, pizzas, or hot dogs and chips. All on the top deck.

Please do not tell other people what their kids want. You do not get to decide what other kids want to eat, nor do you get to decide what some parents may want to feed their kids (maybe some parents want healthier options than chips and hot dogs for their kids). Your opinion is not a fact that can be applied to every family. it is just your opinion, and your opinion is no less right or wrong than another person who has the exact opposite opinion of finding the deck quick service insufficient for their family for every dinner.

 

[DCLGirlie]

Please do not tell other people what their kids want. You do not get to decide what other kids want to eat, nor do you get to decide what some parents may want to feed their kids (maybe some parents want healthier options than chips and hot dogs for their kids). Your opinion is not a fact that can be applied to every family. it is just your opinion, and your opinion is no less right or wrong than another person who has the exact opposite opinion of finding the deck quick service insufficient for their family for every dinner.

Thanks. It makes me roll my eyes when people think kids are incapable of wanting actual good food to eat as well. Honestly it makes me sad that some folks default to giving kids junk food without even giving them the option of something like a salad or grilled chicken.

Tbh I don't know why people go out of their way to defend everything Disney does, even when it actively worse than industry standard in some ways like dining options

 

[asgur5]

Please do not tell other people what their kids want. You do not get to decide what other kids want to eat, nor do you get to decide what some parents may want to feed their kids (maybe some parents want healthier options than chips and hot dogs for their kids). Your opinion is not a fact that can be applied to every family. it is just your opinion, and your opinion is no less right or wrong than another person who has the exact opposite opinion of finding the deck quick service insufficient for their family for every dinner.

Oh please. I said what kids want. Not what your kids want or any specific kid wants. I was being generic. Im sorry you misread a post and then responded to a post that was never written. And its not an opinion. In the western world the stats and capitalism back it up. most kids just want those things on holidays when at restaurants. And for a one off meal, as distinct to every meal its fine for the majority. Plus on the newer ships there is more variety then described above anyway.