What day is lobster night in an 8 day cruise?

[TiggerBouncy]

DW is very allergic to shellfish and we found out previously that we absolutely can NOT be in the MDR on "lobster night" (I assume that's always formal night). We have an 8 day cruise in October (Fantasy, Oct 19-27th) and I want to make sure we get Palo that night.

Any idea what night lobster night (is that always formal night?) on an 8 day is, or does it depend on the itinerary? The max we have done previously is a 7 day.

 

[freshmanjs]

DW is very allergic to shellfish and we found out previously that we absolutely can NOT be in the MDR on "lobster night" (I assume that's always formal night). We have an 8 day cruise in October (Fantasy, Oct 19-27th) and I want to make sure we get Palo that night.

Any idea what night lobster night (is that always formal night?) on an 8 day is, or does it depend on the itinerary? The max we have done previously is a 7 day.

Not sure why you are assuming lobster is on formal night. It has not been on any of my cruises.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

DW is very allergic to shellfish and we found out previously that we absolutely can NOT be in the MDR on "lobster night" (I assume that's always formal night). We have an 8 day cruise in October (Fantasy, Oct 19-27th) and I want to make sure we get Palo that night.

Any idea what night lobster night (is that always formal night?) on an 8 day is, or does it depend on the itinerary? The max we have done previously is a 7 day.

Typically, the lobster is served on semi-formal night (on a 7 night cruise) which is night 6. The menu it's on is the Captain's Gala menu.

My suggestion, pick a night (probably toward the end of the cruise) and book Palo. Then, once onboard, check the Navigator app to see the menus. If the Palo reservation you have doesn't coincide with the proper night, go to where the Palo dining changes are being handled and ask to move to the correct night.

BTW, you might want to check the other menus, also. There may be shellfish served on other nights, if your wife is so allergic she can't even be in the same room with it.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

The 8 night cruises on the Fantasy are rare. I found a set of Navigators from an 8 night Fantasy cruise from 2016: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...ribbean-cruise-port-canaveral-october-1-2016/

The lobster is on the Captain's Gala menu, which is on night 6 of the cruise I found the Navigator's for.

On the 7 night cruises, the lobster is served on the semi-formal night, not the formal night. It appears to be the same on the 8 night cruise.

But be aware that while the lobster tails are only served on the Captain's Gala menu, that doesn't mean all other nights are shellfish free. Shrimp is on the several other menus. Stone crab is served daily in Cabanas. And there are other dishes with lobster in them served on other nights.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Not sure why you are assuming lobster is on formal night. It has not been on any of my cruises.

That was why I asked if it was indeed on formal night.... Did you miss that being a key question?

Typically, the lobster is served on semi-formal night (on a 7 night cruise) which is night 6. The menu it's on is the Captain's Gala menu.

Thank You, Shmoo! Can I assume that you also have a picture?

My suggestion, pick a night (probably toward the end of the cruise) and book Palo. Then, once onboard, check the Navigator app to see the menus. If the Palo reservation you have doesn't coincide with the proper night, go to where the Palo dining changes are being handled and ask to move to the correct night.

I would think that the chances of Palo being able to accommodate us that late would be terrible, wouldn't it? I thought they usually fill up pretty fast. I know they hold SOME tables for booking on the ship, but if we don't get there right away, what are our chances? Again, never done an 8 day, so I guess maybe they typically have more availability since it's more spread out... but still seems risky.

There are no standards for 8 day cruises?

 

[DCLPrincess]

Do they not serve shell fish at Palo? Just wondering, I've never been but assumed they did.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The 8 night cruises on the Fantasy are rare. I found a set of Navigators from an 8 night Fantasy cruise from 2016: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...ribbean-cruise-port-canaveral-october-1-2016/

The lobster is on the Captain's Gala menu, which is on night 6 of the cruise I found the Navigator's for.

On the 7 night cruises, the lobster is served on the semi-formal night, not the formal night. It appears to be the same on the 8 night cruise.

But be aware that while the lobster tails are only served on the Captain's Gala menu, that doesn't mean all other nights are shellfish free. Shrimp is on the several other menus. Stone crab is served daily in Cabanas. And there are other dishes with lobster in them served on other nights.

That is VERY helpful! Thank you!

We know that shellfish is served on other nights. She does not usually have a reaction to one or two people at a table eating lobster or shrimp. We usually tell the waiter she has an allergy and they have her food prepared separately.

The problem with the Captains Gala menu is that all the waiters run out with handfuls of tails and crack them in the air spraying the juices everywhere. So it's not just one lobster or even a few - it's tons of them being cracked by the waiters all held up high (at least on ours they did).

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Do they not serve shell fish at Palo? Just wondering, I've never been but assumed they did.

They do, but as I mentioned in another thread, one person eating shellfish is not a problem for her, and as long as we tell the waiter, they prepare hers separately so it doesn't get contaminated.

The problem is on the Captains Gala menu, they bring out tons of lobsters and crack the tails in the air in some big celebration which sprays the juices all over everything (or they did that on the one time we attended - we have since skipped and eaten elsewhere). Palo doesn't do that for just a few people ordering.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I would think that the chances of Palo being able to accommodate us that late would be terrible, wouldn't it? I thought they usually fill up pretty fast. I know they hold SOME tables for booking on the ship, but if we don't get there right away, what are our chances? Again, never done an 8 day, so I guess maybe they typically have more availability since it's more spread out... but still seems risky.

There are no standards for 8 day cruises?

I don't think you'll have that much difficulty switching your Palo dinner as long as you do it the first day of the cruise. You can verify once you are onboard which night has the Captain's Gala menu and make the change if necessary.

Do they not serve shell fish at Palo? Just wondering, I've never been but assumed they did.

Palo serves king crab at brunch, but they don't have any crustacea on the dinner menu. Crustacea is the type of shellfish most likely to cause an allergic reaction. Scallops are on the dinner menu, but they are considered a mollusk. It's possible the OP's wife isn't allergic to mollusks.

 

[Capitalangel]

When the booking window opens/ after PIF date it should show what night is formal/ semi formal/ Pirate etc. I would hesitate to rely on the one from 2016 because it was only a 8 night due to weather so that was not planned.

As a side note: see you on the Fantasy in Oct!!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Palo serves king crab at brunch, but they don't have any crustacea on the dinner menu. Crustacea is the type of shellfish most likely to cause an allergic reaction. Scallops are on the dinner menu, but they are considered a mollusk. It's possible the OP's wife isn't allergic to mollusks.

To be honest, I am not sure if she is allergic to mollusks. We have debated that in the past, but never tested it (the basis for the debate being exactly that - scallops vs crustacea).

in any event, she is perfectly okay eating at a table where someone else has shellfish as long as they don't crack open a tail and spray the juice in her face. Even being at a table with a few people is generally okay. She can go to most nice restaurants or even like a Red Lobster and be okay.

However on our Honeymoon we were on the Fantasy (this was 6 years ago for the inaugural cruise, so maybe it was a rare thing?) and it was our first DCL cruise. On Captains Gala night, all the waiters came out dancing with lobsters held high and did this dance,cracking the tails in the air and making a show of it. i don't know if that was a one off thing or a regular thing, but the juices were literally EVERYWHERE. The air was misted with lobster juice and it practically sent her to sick bay.

I have to say the crew was exemplary. She left to sit in the lobby and the head waiter went out to watch her himself and when he had to come back, he found another waiter to check on her who then sent someone else. They kept a steady stream of people watching her until she felt better and were horribly apologetic over the issue, even though it was not their fault.

But since then we have had to make sure we make other accommodations on that night.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

When the booking window opens/ after PIF date it should show what night is formal/ semi formal/ Pirate etc. I would hesitate to rely on the one from 2016 because it was only a 8 night due to weather so that was not planned.

As a side note: see you on the Fantasy in Oct!!

We are looking forward to it! We've missed the Fantasy.

I take it you are on our cruise then!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

and crack the tails in the air in some big celebration which sprays the juices all over everything

I've never seen that. When my husband gets the lobster, the will de-shell it, but no cracking involved, as it's pretty much already split. Unlike steamed lobster, the lobster on DCL is oven baked. Maybe they have to split the shell before baking?


Captain's Gala menu (Enchanted Garden) on the Fantasy:

 

[freshmanjs]

That was why I asked if it was indeed on formal night.... Did you miss that being a key question?

Did you miss where you literally said "Assume that's always formal night"? -- Again, why would you assume that?

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I've never seen that. When my husband gets the lobster, the will de-shell it, but no cracking involved, as it's pretty much already split. Unlike steamed lobster, the lobster on DCL is oven baked. Maybe they have to split the shell before baking?
View attachment 372970

Captain's Gala menu (Enchanted Garden) on the Fantasy:
View attachment 372971

So as I mentioned, this was 6 years ago. I assume it's not just that they changed it since then as I know you have been going on DCL for some time.

However, it was on the 3rd sailing of the Fantasy (the first for the eastern itinerary). So it's possible that was a special event during the inaugural sailings?

She won't eat in the MDR on that night now. She doesn't care to risk it. I mean, it literally almost put her into shock, so I get why.

I mean I know my memory is going, but I am sure it happened. I got a really cool souvenir out of it thanks to our head waiter. That thing now sits in my office. (looking....) Yup. It's still there.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

To be honest, I am not sure if she is allergic to mollusks. We have debated that in the past, but never tested it (the basis for the debate being exactly that - scallops vs crustacea).

I totally understand your DW not wanting to test whether her allergy extends to mollusks or not. Somethings are just better left alone.

So as I mentioned, this was 6 years ago. I assume it's not just that they changed it since then as I know you have been going on DCL for some time.

However, it was on the 3rd sailing of the Fantasy (the first for the eastern itinerary). So it's possible that was a special event during the inaugural sailings?

I've been on 2 Fantasy sailings with the Captain's Gala menu and have never experienced servers dancing, cracking lobster tails in the air. I think I'd crack up if I ever witnessed that. My experience has been similar to PrincessShmoo's with the tails coming out already spit open on a plate. Perhaps it was your DW's experience that made them reconsider their approach to serving lobster tails. She is definitely not the only person sailing DCL with a shellfish allergy.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I've been on 2 Fantasy sailings with the Captain's Gala menu and have never experienced servers dancing, cracking lobster tails in the air. I think I'd crack up if I ever witnessed that. My experience has been similar to PrincessShmoo's with the tails coming out already spit open on a plate. Perhaps it was your DW's experience that made them reconsider their approach to serving lobster tails. She is definitely not the only person sailing DCL with a shellfish allergy.

I would think that, but I am sure that Shmoo has been on sailings dating back more than 6 years. Unless it was specific to the Fantasy during those early sailings.

As I mentioned, if it wasn't for the souvenir, I would question my recollection of the event. You could interpret the meaning of "waiters dancing", but they MOST CERTAINLY did not come out pre-filleted like the images above. They were certainly in the shell and had to be cracked, and I am 99.9% certain my memory is correct that the waiters cracked them. What I CAN'T remember is if they cracked shells and brought those back to the kitchen to prepare and bring them back out for people to eat or if they cracked them in front of the diners and set them down immediately. (Edit: reworded for clarity)

At WORST my memory is completely wasted and the people cracked the shells themselves (certainly a possibility giving how well I am at remembering things - I have a mind like a steel sieve). However, I am fairly certain that's not true as all the waiters came out at once bearing lobsters - it was quite a production and not treated like a "normal" dinner where lobster happened to be a dish. My dish came later since I didn't get the lobster and those were brought out all together. The biggest problem for my wife not being that lobster was on plates, but that the cracking of the tails high in the air sprayed juice over everything like a fog in the air... so actually it couldn't be the guests, because they would not have raised the tails up to crack them.

And of course there is the part of the staff apologizing that her allergic reaction was caused because of the waving of the lobsters around.

 

[freshmanjs]

So as I mentioned, this was 6 years ago. I assume it's not just that they changed it since then as I know you have been going on DCL for some time.

However, it was on the 3rd sailing of the Fantasy (the first for the eastern itinerary). So it's possible that was a special event during the inaugural sailings?

She won't eat in the MDR on that night now. She doesn't care to risk it. I mean, it literally almost put her into shock, so I get why.

I mean I know my memory is going, but I am sure it happened. I got a really cool souvenir out of it thanks to our head waiter. That thing now sits in my office. (looking....) Yup. It's still there.

There are lobster dishes served on other nights as well FYI. They also don't have shells cracking, just as the lobster tail night does not.

 

[Capitalangel]

We are looking forward to it! We've missed the Fantasy.

I take it you are on our cruise then!

Yes, we have been on the other ships but never the Fantasy and always shorter trips. I am looking forward to really getting to relax, seeing new places, and also getting to return to Castaway!

 

[Dug720]

I totally understand your DW not wanting to test whether her allergy extends to mollusks or not. Somethings are just better left alone.

My allergist pretty exclusively does any food allergy testing via blood tests rather than scratch tests because of the possibility of sending someone into anaphylaxis from the scratch test.