You need PS ressies for shipboard eating??

[fam4jc]

HI. I don't understand the priority seating thing onboard the ships. You have to call the regular number and getting a ps while on the cruise or at the 90 day mark? Why? I guess I just don't understand about the different options for eating. Can anyone explain this to me?

 

[ericamanda01]

When you make your reservations for the cruise they will ask if you want early or late seating. Meaning do you want to eat dinner at 6 or 8 pm. The only PS dinning is at Palos and you have to make those reservations as soon as you get on board the first day. There is no 90 day call to worry about. Hope this helps.

 

[bbowers]

You are assigned either late (8:30) or early (6:00) seating. You may make a request, but it cannot be guaranteed. You then are assigned a rotation through the 3 restaurants on the ship - Triton's/Lumierre, Animator's Palate, and Parrot Cay.

When you board your KTTW card will show you your rotation (designated by the first letter of the restaurant) and you will have "tickets" which have your seating time and assigned table number on them.

You just need to show up at the right place at the right time, OR eat at Topsider's, room service, "snack" places, etc.

The only time you have to make reservations (and unless you have the REAS package you cannot do it until you board) is if you would like to try Palo's, which has an extra cover charge of $10 per person.

 

[staylor]

For dinner you chose between early (6 pm) and late seating (8:30 pm). For breakfast and lunch you have many options to choose from. But do not need a PS. Now, if you want to eat in Palo (adults only) you'll need to get a reservation. On the 7 night cruise Palo has brunch, tea, and dinner. Each stateroom is allowed to make 1 dinner ressie, 1 brunch ressie, and 1 tea ressie. The only thing is you need to go to the palo reservations line immediately upon entering the ship on embarkation day. They have a certain number of slots for each meal and when they are gone, they're gone. If you do not get a reservation or don't get the day and time you want. You can put yourself on a waiting list. Or call Palo that day and see if they have had any cancellations.
Hope this helps.
Staci

 

[staylor]

Wow, it looks like we were all typing at once.

 

[crisi]

There is currently a thread on for someone who will be at WDW 90 days after they get off the cruise and wants to make reservations for Cindy's while on the ship. Perhaps that is why you are confused?

The only reservations you need to worry about on the ship are Palo and Spa reservations. Both of these are done onboard, and you will hear people talk about the ressie rush. Other people choose to spend money and book the REAS (Romantic Escape at Sea) which pre-books your Palo and Spa reservations (you get some other goodies as well, but for a lot of folks the cost is worth it for the couples massage and Palo reservation).

 

[fam4jc]

Thank you! For some reason I thought I had to reserve all the restaurants! I just paid the deposit today for Dec 10 2005 7 night cruise! I decided to go ahead and make the committment for our 10th anniversary. We have requested late seating.

I am interested in the romance package, but we will have both our girls. I guess they would get a kick out of the flower petals on the bed!

Does everyone who wants to eat a Palos get an opportunity to? Would you recommend I purchase one of those cruise books, like passporter? This is our first cruise and a special one at that

 

[TammiMcMan]

We were first time cruisers back in May and I picked up a copy of the Passporter. I read it from cover to cover and found it to contain lots of great information. I'd definitely recommend them.

As for Palo's, this is very popular and probably more difficult to get if you're on a shorter cruise. I'd still recommend getting in line for those reservations as soon as you board. If you purchase the REAS package, they can be done ahead of time.

 

[crisi]

We went on a short cruise.

On the second night our tablemates decided they'd heard a lot about Palo and wanted to try it. Palo was booked solid, but they were put on a waitlist - they had to be one of the last names on the waitlist.

They were called with the opportunity to eat the final night of the cruise. There is currently a post that says the last night a lot of people cancel.

So, I'd say that if you aren't picky about times, and maybe willing to waitlist, there shouldn't be any problem eating a Palo. If you want to eat there a certain night (skipping a restaurant menu you aren't interested in, or a certain restaurant, or a certain theme in the regular rotation), you may want to consider the REAS package - particularly if you are the type that this sort of thing makes or breaks your vacation.

I really enjoyed the Passporter. Not sure how much value it added to our cruise, but guidebooks are worth it for the pre-dreaming as much as the value they add to the actual vacation.

 

[cristit14]

fam4jc
I see that you are booked on Dec 10, 05 cruise. We will be on that one too. Come on over to the cruise meet board and join us.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

After visiting WDW for over thirty years I purchased a PassPorter Guide Booktwo years ago and loved it. When I booked my 1st cruise a few weeks ago the first thing I did was order the PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line guide it arrived yesterday and I have been reading all-day. (I'M LOVEN IT)

 

[FreeTime]

Where can I order the Passporter DCL guide? Thanks!

 

[SeaSpray]

You can order one right from their site: http://www.passporter.com/

Here's a link directly to their DCL page: http://www.passporter.com/dcl/guidebook2e.htm

They also sell them at most major book stores, and amazon.com.

 

[dis-happy]

For Passporter, check out overstock.com---they have a great price!!!!