Palo or Remy Dinner on Fantasy?

Hi Cruisers!

We are sailing on the Fantasy on 10/1/15 & have booked Remy for dinner for the final night of the cruise. (It happens to be the eve of my 40th birthday!)

I see so many wonderful reviews of Palo & a few wonderful reviews of Remy. Is this because less people choose

Remy due to the cost? We really don't mind the cost of either for this occasion.

We aren't wine drinkers, so won't be adding the wine pairings. Would we be just as happy or happier at Palo? Can someone who has experienced them both compare/contrast the two for me a bit please?

Thank you!!!

Gwyndylan

OK...Palo is northern Italian cuisine. We actually prefer Palo on the Magic rather than on the Fantasy because on the Fantasy it is bigger and feels less intimate. The food is very good. We love the filet mignon, I like the tuna steak. There is a good shrimp appetizer and a nice ravioli. A dinner there typically takes us 90 minutes or very close to that, but we are not coffee drinkers, so don't chill out after dinner. It is a NICE restaurant, but is on a level that I might go on land for a special occasion.

Remy is basically French, and the most comparable land restaurant is Victoria and Albert at WDW. It is dining as an "EXPERIENCE" where a meal will take up to 3 hours. The servings are small, but there are many of them (you'll be well more than full!) This is "over the top" for us; I wouldn't go to this sort of place in the course of my life on land. Some of the selections are rather odd. If you are a "foodie," you'll get into this. If you are a "meat and potato" person, this is probably too much for you.

Hope this helps......

I think some people would discount Remy based solely upon the cost.

That said, there is no right answer to your question that anyone on here can give you. Your taste buds are yours, food is subjection to give an opinion that you may or may not agree with, so unless you want superior service and many courses of meals, go for Remy, but otherwise, the answer is on the website.

I'm just saying that because what one person may think the food is delicious, another may not.

Google the menus and see if they appeal to you and your partner.

ex techie

Thanks for the speedy replies, you guys are the best.

I'm sure they're both excellent versions of what they are. I suppose we are looking for an experience unlikely to be found at home here in South Dakota. I guess my first choice of Remy would be that. Thanks for putting it that way moki'smommy, it kinda made it click into place for me. :)

I'm not looking for a "right answer" per se, just personal opinions from experienced cruisers, and those are not on the website, that's why I'm here.

I know it's hard to interpret tone in a text forum reply, but you sound a little cranky about my question ex techie. Maybe that's not the case, but I was just trying to strike up a conversation about something that's on my mind this evening, and I thought that is what these forums were for.

Gwyndylan

I live in a medium sized city in the midwest....there is NOTHING like Remy around here. Without looking it up, I believe dinner at V&A (comparable to Remy) starts at about $125 per person before gratuity.

I can find restaurants with food/service comparable to Palo around here....not a lot, but they are out there. I would put a Palo dinner on land at about $60-75 per person.

I'm sure there are people out there who will dispute my price approximation, but...well, that's what I would guess.

SO...difference in atmosphere, style of food, attentiveness of service (Palo is not lacking, but Remy is basically one on one). I'm not sure what more to tell you. In my world, Remy would be a few times in a lifetime meal (if that). Palo is something that normal people like us would do.

I know it's hard to interpret tone in a text forum reply, but you sound a little cranky about my question ex techie. Maybe that's not the case, but I was just trying to strike up a conversation about something that's on my mind this evening, and I thought that is what these forums were for.

 

Gwyndylan

Sorry if I came across that way. It wasn't intentional!

I just meant that some people are more adventurous than others and a menu that is not really able to be altered to suit one persons taste may ruin the experience, and one restaurant may suit another more so.

The menu's on the DCL site give you an idea of what to expect, and some people may prefer the more simple and less adventurous Palo menu to others, especially if you are not a fan of seafood as Remy does have a larger fish menu.

Apologies again if I came across as rude.

ex techie

We have some great restaurants locally too, and I think we could approximate the Palo experience here maybe.

We joked that we want to feel like we are acclaimed members of the judging panel on Top Chef. Not that we have anything to compare it to, or that we want to critique the food, just that we've always loved watching that show & the artful little plates, etc.

Ex techie,

I know you wouldn't intentionally be rude, I've read so many of your replies on this board & count your voice as one I can take as truth. I thought maybe just a case of the delayed Mondays :). I know it probably gets old having newbs like me ask the same simple questions over & over.

Bizarre, my profile pic in your quoted reply is the one from this winter walking my daughter to school with my eyelashes frozen shut (-40F wind chills, good times). Makes me even more glad to be sweating it out at 90F here now!

I agree with all of the comments and suggestions, and would add that the Remy menu is prepared in consultation with a chef from a Michelin 3 star restaurant. So, Remy is a food experience of high cuisine. Palo is quite good but a bit more down to earth, in a good way.

Ex techie,

 

I know you wouldn't intentionally be rude, I've read so many of your replies on this board & count your voice as one I can take as truth. I thought maybe just a case of the delayed Mondays :). I know it probably gets old having newbs like me ask the same simple questions over & over.

Sorry I came across that way and not at all.

My 2 cents.

I'm not a huge fan of fish, I disagree with veal, so although I think I would love the whole experience of dining at Remy, the types of food that the menu is created around probably would make it less of great food experience for me personally. I've just looked at a menu, and the lamb and beef are probably the only things that appeal to me.

Now if it were more of a Palo menu with the serving and many small courses of Remy, that would be fantastic for me!

ex techie

I would enjoy that too, I'm a Midwestern steak girl at heart!

I would enjoy that too, I'm a Midwestern steak girl at heart!

Then go to Palo and order the tenderloin (also known as filet). If you want to try another entree, order that as well. We've only had it be less than wonderful once. Most of the time, it is great. And at least one of us orders it each time we do Palo.

Maybe I should splurge & do a dinner at each. I finished booking the rest of our port excursions today, so heck, what's another $50 - $75 + ;)

Maybe I should splurge & do a dinner at each. I finished booking the rest of our port excursions today, so heck, what's another $50 - $75 + ;)

That will definitely tell you which you like better!:)

Maybe I should splurge & do a dinner at each. I finished booking the rest of our port excursions today, so heck, what's another $50 - $75 + ;)

I like your thinking! :D

ex techie

Maybe I should splurge & do a dinner at each. I finished booking the rest of our port excursions today, so heck, what's another $50 - $75 + ;)

We have a winner!!!!!

Now just to make it more confusing for you, in case you weren't aware, you can also have brunch at Palo and Remy, so now you have four possible dining options to mix and match.

On my family's last cruise on the Fantasy, my wife and I had brunch at Palo, the Champagne Brunch at Remy and dinner with the wine tastings, also at Remy. Palo was good, not great - and by that, I mean that we would do it again, but wouldn't be heartbroken if we couldn't get a reservation. Remy, at both brunch and dinner, was out of this world and if we were unable to do both again on our next Disney sailing (whenever that may be...), we would be extremely disappointed.

Much like you, my wife and I pretended that we were judges on the Food Network, and as declasse as it might have been, at dinner, she ordered the menu created by Arnaud Lallement and I ordered the menu created by Scott Hunnel, and we shared each other's plates and voted after each course as to which was the winning dish (not that there was a losing dish, as both were fantastic).

Ultimately, no matter what which restaurant you choose and for which meal, there really isn't a bad decision to be made in this situation.

We wanted to do the Palo brunch on a day at sea, but they were already booked. :(

We wanted to do the Palo brunch on a day at sea, but they were already booked. :(

Cheer up! There is still hope!

About half of the adult dining reservations are held back until after boarding' date=' some by the Palo manager, some by the concierge staff. Just go to Palo Dining at the location listed in your Welcome Aboard navigator to make a reservation. if it is not available, ask to be waitlisted. If the concierge staff doesn't use all that they are holding, they return to the "general" pool on day 2, so waitlists do get met.

 

We've actually been able to waitlist for a second dinner several times and a second brunch once and had it come thru.[/quote']

 

ex techie

We wanted to do the Palo brunch on a day at sea, but they were already booked. :(

Half the bookings are held back till after boarding...so, first you can keep checking on line as people do sometimes cancel. Then, after boarding go to the location listed on your Welcome Aboard Navigator for "Palo Reservations" and see if anything is available. On our cruise, this could be done in Royal or at Palo, but check the Navigator as they do sometimes move the locations.

Great! Thanks!