Would you consider DCL's menus too American?

[brentm77]

The one thing I keep thinking about from our last Fantasy cruise is how bored I am with DCL's menus. The food is fine, and even above-average sometimes, but predictable. Not just from cruise-to-cruise, but from restaurant-to-restaurant. There seems to be a somewhat predictable pattern to the way they menu has been put together. One type of this dish, one type of that. And while the menus seem to borrow from various international cuisines, they somehow seem to make most of the dishes have a similar Americanized taste, with few exceptions. By the third or forth night, I start to crave something different than what DCL is offering. We even skipped dining one night for the first time ever on our last cruise because nothing on the menu looked great.

Am I wrong? What are some examples of DCL international menu items that haven't been Americanized? Would others welcome more international dishes, or themed nights? It seems like the U.S. in general has embraced a wide-variety of international cuisines and DCL is behind the curve. I know the goal is to appeal to the widest audience, but everyone I know loves food from all over the world. It's not like they couldn't always have a few "safe" options for the less adventurous. I guess the menus feel a little bit like something my grandma would have considered fancy in the 80's or 90's. I know I would enjoy the dining more if different nights featured cuisine from different countries or regions or the world. Are other cruise lines better about mixing up the cuisine?

 

[Phoneix8]

I completely concur. I just got off an 11nt Northern Europe cruise on the Dream and felt the food got tiring (even though it was superb at times). There either needs to be more specialty restaurants catering to other cuisines like asian, latin, etc. OR one of the main dining rooms need to be. Sometimes I look at the specialty restaurant, Izumi, on RCL and wish that was an option on DCL

Btw, on one of the nights the dining manager saw how much we were enjoying one of the Indian curry dishes and offered to bring the full spread that was off the menu the following night. Sure enough, it was a full table feast; Basmati rice, tofu curry, tomato/pea curry, naan bread, papadum.

 

[DCLMP]

I completely concur. I just got off an 11nt Northern Europe cruise on the Dream and felt the food got tiring (even though it was superb at times). There either needs to be more specialty restaurants catering to other cuisines like asian, latin, etc. OR one of the main dining rooms need to be. Sometimes I look at the specialty restaurant, Izumi, on RCL and wish that was an option on DCL

Btw, on one of the nights the dining manager saw how much we were enjoying one of the Indian curry dishes and offered to bring the full spread that was off the menu the following night. Sure enough, it was a full table feast; Basmati rice, tofu curry, tomato/pea curry, naan bread, papadum.

We were on the same cruise and we thought the food was barely edible. We did have some good food in the port cities to make up for it.

 

[DCLMP]

The one thing I keep thinking about from our last Fantasy cruise is how bored I am with DCL's menus. The food is fine, and even above-average sometimes, but predictable. Not just from cruise-to-cruise, but from restaurant-to-restaurant. There seems to be a somewhat predictable pattern to the way they menu has been put together. One type of this dish, one type of that. And while the menus seem to borrow from various international cuisines, they somehow seem to make most of the dishes have a similar Americanized taste, with few exceptions. By the third or forth night, I start to crave something different than what DCL is offering. We even skipped dining one night for the first time ever on our last cruise because nothing on the menu looked great.

Am I wrong? What are some examples of DCL international menu items that haven't been Americanized? Would others welcome more international dishes, or themed nights? It seems like the U.S. in general has embraced a wide-variety of international cuisines and DCL is behind the curve. I know the goal is to appeal to the widest audience, but everyone I know loves food from all over the world. It's not like they couldn't always have a few "safe" options for the less adventurous. I guess the menus feel a little bit like something my grandma would have considered fancy in the 80's or 90's. I know I would enjoy the dining more if different nights featured cuisine from different countries or regions or the world. Are other cruise lines better about mixing up the cuisine?

The menus haven't changed since we started in 2011.

 

[Phoneix8]

We were on the same cruise and we thought the food was barely edible. We did have some good food in the port cities to make up for it.

Very true! Forgot about that, had the best food on the trip at all the amazing port cities for sure! I did have Remy one night for dinner, and still didn't feel like that was worth the high price tag (around $650 for 2). Definitely stick to brunch for either Palo/Remy lol

 

[o&smom]

We were on the same cruise and we thought the food was barely edible. We did have some good food in the port cities to make up for it.

We were on the Dream in June/July and felt the food was not as good as usual over all.

 

[Pens Fan]

Let's face it. I don't think too many people sail DCL for the food. But I agree the menus are pretty boring and the execution isn't great. It's very bland for my taste. That said, I haven't ever gone hungry either!

I'd love more specialty restaurants on board, myself - even if there was an upcharge. It's funny, but my favorite restaurant that I've been to on any cruise ship is Food Republic on NCL. It's not fancy or expensive, but offers tasting sized portions from various cuisines. The food is delicious and we've gotten to try things we've never had before. Our last cruise was a 10 day cruise and we ate there three times. I'd love more things like that on DCL but would be shocked if it happens. They are playing to their market - families with kids. I can't blame them for that. I just go into a DCL cruise knowing if I want more adventurous food I'll need to find it in port.

 

[Phoneix8]

Let's face it. I don't think too many people sail DCL for the food. But I agree the menus are pretty boring and the execution isn't great. It's very bland for my taste. That said, I haven't ever gone hungry either!

I'd love more specialty restaurants on board, myself - even if there was an upcharge. It's funny, but my favorite restaurant that I've been to on any cruise ship is Food Republic on NCL. It's not fancy or expensive, but offers tasting sized portions from various cuisines. The food is delicious and we've gotten to try things we've never had before. Our last cruise was a 10 day cruise and we ate there three times. I'd love more things like that on DCL but would be shocked if it happens. They are playing to their market - families with kids. I can't blame them for that. I just go into a DCL cruise knowing if I want more adventurous food I'll need to find it in port.

I just looked up the menu for Food Republic per your recommendation and all I can say is WOW! If DCL had a place like this on the ship I'd end up eating there way more than the MDR!

 

[brentm77]

Sure enough, it was a full table feast; Basmati rice, tofu curry, tomato/pea curry, naan bread, papadum.

That's sounds amazing! Twice I have had waiters offer early on to bring me some or the Indian food off menu later in the week, but they always forget and I hate to ask when they seem so busy already. The curry that is on menu is pretty bland in my opinion. I would love some great Indian food one night, Mexican another, Brazilian, well-prepared Chinese, Thai, or Japanese, etc. Or dishes like Sanaa, Yak and Yeti, or some of the other fun places at WDW. Just more flavor and variety in general.

My concern about upcharge additions on DCL is the pressure to then cheapen the main dining. But it might just be worth it if I could pick from a variety of options every night.

 

[Ohmymonty]

100000% agree. I started cruising with DCL in 2013 and the menus are largely the same. I don't recall having a dish that blew my socks off at any restaurant onboard. Generally, I think Palo and Remy are better but even their menus are feeling pretty stale. Enchantee was not good when I first tried it and it is hard to justify that price point to give it another shot.

On 5 of my 9 cruises, I brought a DCL newbie, so I went out of my way to give them the opportunity to try all the restaurants. But left to my own devices or when going with someone who has already experienced the MDRs, I'm just as likely to go get deck food and save myself the time I would have spent sitting at Dinner.

I would really love it if DCL let the ship chefs decide on a special or two that would be a little more out there. Especially with the diversity of the crew, I would hope we could explore some flavor profiles we may not be exposed to normally. Personally, I'm not even picky about WHAT just so long as it's something different.


....though I would love some Moroccan food.

 

[Pens Fan]

I just looked up the menu for Food Republic per your recommendation and all I can say is WOW! If DCL had a place like this on the ship I'd end up eating there way more than the MDR!

It's so good and there so many things to choose from. Once nice thing is if you book a dining package which pretty much everyone does (Free at Sea and all that jazz ) , you can use your credits there. One dining credit gets you four plates which is way too much food for one person. My husband and I figured out that we could go and just use one of our dining credits, split four plates and if we were still hungry just pay OOP for something else, then go back another night with the other person's credit. It was great use of our dining credits.

 

[Phoneix8]

100000% agree. I started cruising with DCL in 2013 and the menus are largely the same. I don't recall having a dish that blew my socks off at any restaurant onboard. Generally, I think Palo and Remy are better but even their menus are feeling pretty stale. Enchantee was not good when I first tried it and it is hard to justify that price point to give it another shot.

On 5 of my 9 cruises, I brought a DCL newbie, so I went out of my way to give them the opportunity to try all the restaurants. But left to my own devices or when going with someone who has already experienced the MDRs, I'm just as likely to go get deck food and save myself the time I would have spent sitting at Dinner.

I would really love it if DCL let the ship chefs decide on a special or two that would be a little more out there. Especially with the diversity of the crew, I would hope we could explore some flavor profiles we may not be exposed to normally. Personally, I'm not even picky about WHAT just so long as it's something different.


....though I would love some Moroccan food.

Those are good points! I too would love some Moroccan, or Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, Persian, etc!! A Hercules-themed Greek eatery on the pool deck would be bomb.

 

[Phoneix8]

That's sounds amazing! Twice I have had waiters offer early on to bring me some or the Indian food off menu later in the week, but they always forget and I hate to ask when they seem so busy already. The curry that is on menu is pretty bland in my opinion. I would love some great Indian food one night, Mexican another, Brazilian, well-prepared Chinese, Thai, or Japanese, etc. Or dishes like Sanaa, Yak and Yeti, or some of the other fun places at WDW. Just more flavor and variety in general.

My concern about upcharge additions on DCL is the pressure to then cheapen the main dining. But it might just be worth it if I could pick from a variety of options every night.

Imagine if DCL put a Sanaa or Yak & Yeti onto the ship?!?! One can dream.....

 

[DCLMP]

Royal did a different theme every night. Such as American, British, Italian, Indian, Greek, Asian etc you get the picture. It was decent and certainly better than the Dream. We sailed on the Magic last year and I thought the food was the best I ever had on a DCL cruise, but the ship was not full.



I think the biggest problem with DCL is there is just not enough dining venues. The poolside food is also sub par.

We also had a dry night on the ship as in no alcohol sold onboard for 24 hours that was bizarre.I have no idea what that was about, but I think DCL forgot to pay some fees or something.

 

[DCLMP]

That's sounds amazing! Twice I have had waiters offer early on to bring me some or the Indian food off menu later in the week, but they always forget and I hate to ask when they seem so busy already. The curry that is on menu is pretty bland in my opinion. I would love some great Indian food one night, Mexican another, Brazilian, well-prepared Chinese, Thai, or Japanese, etc. Or dishes like Sanaa, Yak and Yeti, or some of the other fun places at WDW. Just more flavor and variety in general.

My concern about upcharge additions on DCL is the pressure to then cheapen the main dining. But it might just be worth it if I could pick from a variety of options every night.

I would love to get great Mexican food on a cruise, but I don’t know if cruise ships are capable of doing anything great. If you are used to authentic Indian or Mexican food you’re probably going to be disappointed with the ships version.

 

[Scottishdisneyfan]

So being from Europe im used to coming to the states and the food being a bit more meat and potatoes than on travels in the likes of italy. I think the quality of food in DCL is genuinely good, im not a buffet kinda guy, so usually eat in the dining room at lunch and enjoy the offerings. I would love some mexican, indian and thai food on the ships. Lets face it, we’re going on DCL for the entertainment, the kids, the shows and the disney sparkle. Things like the free room service are fantastic, im not booking disney for Michelin star dining.

 

[Sykes]

If you are used to authentic Indian or Mexican food you’re probably going to be disappointed with the ships version.

I agree about Mexican food, but IMO you can somewhat reliably get authentic Indian food on a ship because it's what a large percentage of the crew is eating.

 

[tvguy]

Let's face it. I don't think too many people sail DCL for the food. But I agree the menus are pretty boring and the execution isn't great. It's very bland for my taste. That said, I haven't ever gone hungry either!
.

I disagree. I think people DO sail Disney for the food. They are parents with kids on the cruise and the food has to appeal to kids. Kids are Disney's business.
I was lucky enough as part of my job when I was a TV News Photographer to spend two weeks on the MS Mermoz, a luxury French cruise ship featuring gourmet. I think a lot of Disney cruiser's heads would explode if they had to endure the meals on that ship. No quick service food or room service. Dinner had one seating at 6 pm. It was 12 courses and took 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The best food I have ever had. And then starting at Midnight to 2 am, a grand buffet.
And if between dinner and the buffet you needed to work some of that food off, the night clubs and disco FINALLY opened at 2 am.

 

[Garyjames220]

Not sure but I’m from uk and I love American food

 

[Ohmymonty]

Those are good points! I too would love some Moroccan, or Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, Persian, etc!! A Hercules-themed Greek eatery on the pool deck would be bomb.

Yes!! And a Herculade cocktail!!!