Tips For A First Timer On The Dream?

[DVacationer]

I just booked the first cruise of my life. I chose the Disney Dream for 4 days, merrytime. I know you guys on here are very seasoned and passionate and would love some tips to make the most of my trip, so please share! Here are a few things I’m curious about:

Can you eat at any restaurant for lunch any day instead of Cabanas? Should you? Do the menus change?

My cruise is 4 nights but I think there is 3 restaurants, What restaurant do you repeat? Can you choose what you repeat? Does the menu change on the repeat night?

I like to eat dinner late, so I chose the 8ish pm seating, will I miss the live shows because of that?

Remy or Palo? Brunch or Dinner? Which Night?

Im adding this onto a WDW vacation which takes place the same day I checkout of the Polynesian, what time should I plan to arrive in Miami? I was thinking of cutting my WDW trip short to get to Miami a day early but I REALLY don’t want to cut it short.

Thanks!

 

[RedHead0186]

I just booked the first cruise of my life. I chose the Disney Dream for 4 days, merrytime. I know you guys on here are very seasoned and passionate and would love some tips to make the most of my trip, so please share! Here are a few things I’m curious about:

Can you eat at any restaurant for lunch any day instead of Cabanas? Should you? Do the menus change?

My cruise is 4 nights but I think there is 3 restaurants, What restaurant do you repeat? Can you choose what you repeat? Does the menu change on the repeat night?

I like to eat dinner late, so I chose the 8ish pm seating, will I miss the live shows because of that?

Remy or Palo? Brunch or Dinner? Which Night?

Im adding this onto a WDW vacation which takes place the same day I checkout of the Polynesian, what time should I plan to arrive in Miami? I was thinking of cutting my WDW trip short to get to Miami a day early but I REALLY don’t want to cut it short.

Thanks!

Not sure about the lunch restaurant answer, so I will leave that for someone else.

You won't know which restaurant you repeat until you get on the ship. Different people have different rotations and you won't know yours until you board, unfortunately. But yes, the menu will change on the repeat night.

They offer the live shows twice, during each dinner seating. So if you have late dinner seating, you can go to the early show and then to dinner (and vice versa for the early dinner seating)

I've only ever done Palo, both dinner and brunch, and both were amazing (and different). If I had to only pick one I would say dinner. I like doing Palo dinner formal night because then you can dress up (if that appeals to you).

Once you do online check 30 days out in you'll get a port arrival time, that's when you will need to arrive. I would plan a cushion though, as others on here have said traffic from WDW to Miami can be bad. You should be able to do it the morning of, but it'll depend slightly on port arrival time and how early you want to get up/get moving.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I just booked the first cruise of my life. I chose the Disney Dream for 4 days, merrytime. I know you guys on here are very seasoned and passionate and would love some tips to make the most of my trip, so please share! Here are a few things I’m curious about:

Can you eat at any restaurant for lunch any day instead of Cabanas? Should you? Do the menus change? Menus for lunch are different. Usually Sit down breakfast and lunch are available in Royal Palace on the dream. I love the lunch menus.

My cruise is 4 nights but I think there is 3 restaurants, What restaurant do you repeat? Can you choose what you repeat? Does the menu change on the repeat night? You can request to repeat a specific restaurant. The 4th menu is the Pirate night menu. Everyone has the same menu that night. Enchanted Garden is my favorite, so I always request that twice.

I like to eat dinner late, so I chose the 8ish pm seating, will I miss the live shows because of that? There are two performances of the live shows each evening Usually at 6 and 8/8:30. With your later dining, you'll go to your show before dinner. Vice versa if you had the early dinner (Dinner, then show)

Remy or Palo? Brunch or Dinner? Which Night? Palo brunch (If available) on the sea day is always my preference. Most people like to book Palo/Remy for pirate night since the menu is often not most peoples preference. This can make it harder to get a res. If you haven't sailed before, I highly recommend brunch. That way you won't miss any of the dinner menus. We love pirate night but we are the exception.

Im adding this onto a WDW vacation which takes place the same day I checkout of the Polynesian, what time should I plan to arrive in Miami? I was thinking of cutting my WDW trip short to get to Miami a day early but I REALLY don’t want to cut it short. We live in Orlando and usually drive to Miami same day. The earlier you can drive down the better. When we sailed in Nov. we left Orlando at 7am and arrived into Miami around 10am Worked out perfectly and avoided most of the miami rush hour traffic.

Thanks!

Answers in bold.

 

[DVacationer]

Not sure about the lunch restaurant answer, so I will leave that for someone else.

You won't know which restaurant you repeat until you get on the ship. Different people have different rotations and you won't know yours until you board, unfortunately. But yes, the menu will change on the repeat night.

They offer the live shows twice, during each dinner seating. So if you have late dinner seating, you can go to the early show and then to dinner (and vice versa for the early dinner seating)

I've only ever done Palo, both dinner and brunch, and both were amazing (and different). If I had to only pick one I would say dinner. I like doing Palo dinner formal night because then you can dress up (if that appeals to you).

Once you do online check 30 days out in you'll get a port arrival time, that's when you will need to arrive. I would plan a cushion though, as others on here have said traffic from WDW to Miami can be bad. You should be able to do it the morning of, but it'll depend slightly on port arrival time and how early you want to get up/get moving.

Thank you so much! Did Palo let you order multiple entrees for dinner like the included dining venues do?

Answers in bold.

Wow thank you! Im assuming Palo brunch was very different and higher quality then the food at Cabanas. Can you order multiple entrees?

 

[egoldber]

I just booked the first cruise of my life. I chose the Disney Dream for 4 days, merrytime. I know you guys on here are very seasoned and passionate and would love some tips to make the most of my trip, so please share! Here are a few things I’m curious about:

Can you eat at any restaurant for lunch any day instead of Cabanas? Should you? Do the menus change?

My cruise is 4 nights but I think there is 3 restaurants, What restaurant do you repeat? Can you choose what you repeat? Does the menu change on the repeat night?

I like to eat dinner late, so I chose the 8ish pm seating, will I miss the live shows because of that?

Remy or Palo? Brunch or Dinner? Which Night?

Im adding this onto a WDW vacation which takes place the same day I checkout of the Polynesian, what time should I plan to arrive in Miami? I was thinking of cutting my WDW trip short to get to Miami a day early but I REALLY don’t want to cut it short.

Thanks!

There is always one of the main dining rooms MDRs open for lunch usually it’s royal table but not always it will be listed in the navigator app
I prefer the MDR because I am in a wheelchair and cabanas is hard for me there are also the poolside options i don’t feel the need to do Palo or Remy I have eaten at Palo and enjoyed it

 

[RedHead0186]

Thank you so much! Did Palo let you order multiple entrees for dinner like the included dining venues do?


Wow thank you! Im assuming Palo brunch was very different and higher quality then the food at Cabanas. Can you order multiple entrees?

I can't recall if Palo let us do multiple entrees, but we had so much food from the other courses I don't think we would have wanted any other courses. However, that was in 2018, and I believe they've redone the menu so I don't think that would be an option now (haven't cruised on DCL since they made the change so can't say for sure, but that's based on how the menu is presented).

I know the second question was for DCLCruiseFan09, but I'll share my two cents. Palo brunch is (or again, at least was in 2018 last time I did it) very different than Cabanas and higher quality food. There I think you had more options to get multiples of anything you wanted (but again, that was four years ago and things might be different now . . .)

 

[DVacationer]

There is always one of the main dining rooms MDRs open for lunch usually it’s royal table but not always it will be listed in the navigator app
I prefer the MDR because I am in a wheelchair and cabanas is hard for me there are also the poolside options i don’t feel the need to do Palo or Remy I have eaten at Palo and enjoyed it

Is the food at the MDRs for lunch a unique menu or is it the same as cabanas food, or from dinner?

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

So, Palo Dinner has Two Options, the (extremely) limited 3 course pre fix menu or a la carte pricing.

Palo brunch is $45 flat not including the tip and everything is included which, in my mind makes it far more worthwhile. The food is far more upscale than Cabanas or even the main Dining rooms.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Is the food at the MDRs for lunch a unique menu or is it the same as cabanas food, or from dinner?

They are unique menus for each lunch.

 

[DVacationer]

So, Palo Dinner has Two Options, the (extremely) limited 3 course pre fix menu or a la carte pricing.

Palo brunch is $45 flat not including the tip and everything is included which, in my mind makes it far more worthwhile. The food is far more upscale than Cabanas or even the main Dining rooms.

This sounds perfect. $45 Palo brunch with more choices then Palo dinner (I’m not paying a la cart) and I don’t miss Pirate Night dinner. Thank you!

 

[DVacationer]

They are unique menus for each lunch.

So you’re saying eat at MDRs lunch EVERYDAY (AND CABANAS). Got it. Lol. I’m just going to be rolling around the ship.

 

[Kwami]

You can have as many entrees as you'd like at Palo brunch. You can order anything on the menu for your $45, as much as you'd like. The only exception is alcoholic drinks, which cost extra.

One other tip: It's hard to find time for ice cream or gelato because there's so much other food to enjoy, but visiting Vanellope's Sweets & Treats is fun even if you don't get any ice cream. The ice cream and gelato are actually quite good, too!

 

[Mommb]

Some additional information:

Menus for lunch (and dinner ) used to be posted outside the restaurant entrances. If that is still happening, it can help you decide whether to dine at the sit-down restaurant that is open for lunch or at Cabana’s.

Remy is a different experience from Palo and the main dining rooms. For $125, you have your choice of 2 multi-course complete menus. If you have specific dietary restrictions, the chef can work around them. Each course is small but exquisitely prepared. I’m not sure it is worth trying on a first cruise, since the main dining rooms are fun experiences the first time, but you may want to look into Remy for your next cruise if you are interested in gourmet food.