To Palo or Not to Palo (3day)

[bjkj]

Ahh, this is so tough.

I know that we can't possibly do everything we want to do on our short cruise, so I want to choose the best few things and relax and enjoy the rest as it comes.

So...... would you skip Palo and go with the normal dining ect. or would you try and do it. Everyone raves about the experience. I would love to spend a few romantic hours with my DH but I can't imagine not enjoying all of the restaruants with my kids.

I don't know if we want to skip a show. I know we don't want to miss the sail away party (what time is it?) or the pirate party. I know I'm rambling, but I am so confused!


Thanks for any advice!

 

[lbgraves]

We didn't do Palo on our first 7 day because we didn't want to miss the fun we were having in the dining rooms with our servers & tablemates. We did go last cruise but plan to only do the brunch on our next. If I just had three nights I would stick with the rotation just so that I could experience everything. It will give you a reason to come back. You wont have to worry about missing shows or the pirate party. The sail away starts at 4:30, the pirate deck party starts at 9:45 on the Magic.

 

[AspiringCindy]

On our first DCL, we didn't go to Palo...so I am definitely booking it this time out! We too don't want to miss anything with our kids...so...we are double dipping on the 2nd night! We will take the kids to our regular seating(early seating), but DH and I will only eat an appetizer while the kids eat! Later that night, we plan on a romantic dinner for 2 while the kids go to the Club and Lab!

 

[Snow Dog Mom]

We had dinner with our kids at 6:00 and ate at Palo's at 7:30. Don't miss it. You will be sorry. Agnes was our server and she was great! We had 2 desserts since we could not decide on what to have! WONDERFUL!!!!

 

[mommasita]

I second the double dipping!!!!!!!!! Just to echo most people, the dinner rotation is so fun, and every night being different, we never wanted to miss our servers, or any fun. We double dipped, and will do that again...We just eat an appetizer (at least I do) so that we have plenty of room for later..

It is a very romantic restaurant...We do not get to go out very often without the kids, so for us, it is a must do..

 

[staceymerrill]

OK, double dipping sounds good to me if you do not miss any of the shows, which IMO are the best....

If this is your first cruise, all of the rotation restaurants are hard to miss, especially since the change of menus have really provided an upgrade in food quality (especially Animators)...

If you have APT, you will be in Parrot Cay on Pirate Night, very appropriate....also, Tritons is elegant and not to be missed...Animators is of course, a highlight of the cruise....

 

[gottaluvdis]

Try not to miss Palo, even on the 3-day. It was a highlight for us. We also took the 3-day last May and we booked Palo for Friday evening (Nassau night). We put our daughter in the kids club and she ate with the kids (and had a blast doing so). We missed our dining rotation at Parrot Cay, but I made sure we ate lunch there instead on embarkation day (immediately after embarking), so we didn't feel we missed any of the 3 restaurants. Our Palo reservation was for 7:00, which gave us time to enjoy our meal and pick our daughter up at the club prior to the 8:30 show that evening. We really didn't miss anything and were very glad we got the chance to experience Palo.

 

[bjkj]

Thanks everyone! I'll talk to DH and see what he thinks. I'm already thinking that a seven day is in our future!

 

[crystaldri]

I wouldn't do the Palo. We did the Palo dinner and brunch on the 7 day cruise and would not do it again.

 

[bjkj]

Anyone else? I appreciate the comments!

 

[WDWLVR]

We didn't do Palo until cruise #5. It is a wonderful experience, but on a 3 day I would skip it and do the regular rotations and shows. BTW - it will give you an excuse to go back for a longer cruise so you can do Palo!

 

[chunkster20uk]

I wouldn't do the Palo. We did the Palo dinner and brunch on the 7 day cruise and would not do it again.

I totally disagree (just my opinion) that the Palo Dinner and Brunch are the best two meals on the Disney Cruise by far, and well worth the $10.

On your first 3 night cruise should you go? if I went on a 3 day now (have done a 7 and 4) I would skip either PC or AP, but you need to see AP at least once. I would be inclined to pop into PC have a starter and share a main, and maybe go to Palo later, or skip PC all together.

 

[firstcruiser]

We're going in August. I booked Palo for our Castaway Cay night. I know our kids will be exhausted from a day at the island so we're planning to order them room service and the adults will eat at Palo and then come back and get them for the show.

We went to Palo on our last cruise which was a 7 day and it was very enjoyable to have an evening with just the adults at a fancy restaurant without the fancy price.

 

[debloco]

I would go, even on a 3 day. Double dip or go so early enough so you don't miss the Pirate Night deck party later. That said, try to schedule it for the night you would have been in Parrot Cay. Do not miss Animator's Palette.

 

[bjkj]

Thanks everyone! This is such a great board!

 

[Snow Dog Mom]

We did the 3 day and double dipped. We scheduled Palo for 7:30 after having dinner at 6:00. We then had enough time to change and hit the pirate party! What a blast!!!

Kim

 

[westjones]

We did it on our first cruise (a four night), but haven't gone back on the other 5 cruises we have taken since then. We liked it, but we enjoyed being with out kids at dinner more (and they hated eating with the club).

Now we are thinking of trying Palo again by doing the double dipping others have mentioned. I hesitate, thought, because DH and I are not big eaters. We are thinking of doing it the first night because we figure we won't feel so stuff on the first day (usually we feel very stuffed all through the cruise, and I can never finish dinner).

We are doing early dining on our upcoming cruise, so someone suggested a 9:00 reservation (or whatever the latest time is) so we can go to dinner, then the show, then to Palo. I also hear that it is easier to get reservations on the first night since most people want to just check out the ship that night (it will be our 7th cruise, so we already know our way around).

So, if you want to try it, try the double dipping and go to both your regular rotation and Palo in one night. That way you don't miss out on anything.

DJ