Is Disney food as bad as reviews say??

[Linco711]

Comparing to the food on our 2 DCL cruises, we have had better and have had worse elsewhere. Not a deal breaker for us. FWIW, the first thing when I think of the word "Disney" isn't food. :)

 

very subjective...but compared to other lines we sailed I'd say it is better than RCCL..but not as good as Celebrity...We had very average food at best on the Freedom of the Seas..desserts, which by the way are my favorites were terrible!

IMHO I'd rate it as good...and the dessert choices as very good..:)

[Linco711]

I just have to laugh. People complain about every cruise line's food! I have yet to be on Disney (sailing in May). I can honestly say that I never worry about food on a cruise anymore. I think some people have it in their mind that you are supposed to eat, eat, eat on a cruise! Sure a good meal is nice to have but I never expect something mind-blowing. I've been on RCI, NCL, Princess, and Carnival so far. They were all the same quality to me. :)

 

I so agree with this...we tend to start our cruise eating so much more than we do at home and don't allow ourselves to get hungry before our next meal time..and by the time we get to dinner nothing sounds appealing. I think if we didn't stuff ourselves at each meal we'd all enjoy the food more:)

[disneylovers14]

We have had pretty good food on all 5 of our cruises. They always offer a steak, chicken and a fish dish. On several evenings, we just ordered a variety of the appetizers and made a meal out of them. Be sure to speak up-they will have the chef come and talk to you and they will do what they can to accommodate. The room service food is acceptable-fast food "ish". One evening, we had our server send our meal directly to our cabin because we didn't want to go to the dining room.

[Ekat]

Odd seems you posted this on other broads as well. Also odd yours was the ONLY report of food poisoning.........As many posted in answer to your post.mention the many other causes your tummy ache could have come from.

 

Now I know you feel the guests relations didn't show you enough attention' date=' but how many other places are you going to go and dig up threads??

 

[b']You must be confusing me with someone else. I've never posted this on any board before. The only cruiseline I've been on is Disney. Also, no report to customer service...[/b]

[Tonka's Skipper]

Odd seems you posted this on other broads as well. Also odd yours was the ONLY report of food poisoning.........As many posted in answer to your post.mention the many other causes your tummy ache could have come from.

 

Now I know you feel the guests relations didn't show you enough attention' date=' but how many other places are you going to go and dig up threads??

 

[b']You must be confusing me with someone else. I've never posted this on any board before. The only cruiseline I've been on is Disney. Also, no report to customer service...[/b]

 

 

I am indeed sorry .........there was another posted that seemed more upset that posters were not in totally agreement with him.............I pardon for the confusion!

 

AKK

[mistergq]

I did a galley tour on Serenade of the Seas (not disney but I think worth mentioning). When you see what needs to be done for the MDR and buffet, you are actually amazed the food is edible. These plates are being prepared all day long, being precooked before dinner service, and using a factory style line to create.

 

In the specialty restaurants, they can create the plates one at a time. That is why the taste difference is so big.

 

So yes, if you are expecting a 5 star dinning, you are in the wrong place.

[kath00]

As someone who has cruised on other lines, like Princess and RCCL, I have a basis of comparison, unlike first time cruisers who may RAVE about everything.

 

Yes, the food on my most recent Disney Wonder cruise was aweful! Just terrible. Cold, chewy, overcooked and super greasy. One night was great (I had cod) but the rest were just terrible. The buffet is tiny and has very limited hours (like 2h at lunch and 3h at dinner at best). It was worse than my old school cafeteria food. All afternoon the only thing open is the shack by the pool which serves greasy fried foods and fries. This is the only thing open between 3 and dinner, which is coincidentally when EVERYONE in my family is hungry after an excursion or a fun day swimming.

 

We still had a good time on the cruise, but everyone in the family, including my kids, now want to go back to other cruise lines (especially Royal Caribbean). We did Disney once, glad we experienced it, but we are all done with it at this point. Once you sail another line, you will see why!

 

Kath

[jlat]

just did the Dream. Wasn't overly impressed with the MDR's. Couldn't cook a steak right to save them. Mass produced, so you get mass produced food. None of the MDRs on the Dream, were great either. They seemed cramped and jammed and we had late seating. Annimator's wasn't working because of Pirate night. Our lead server was first rate, his assistant, well she was cute so she got a pass at least from me.. Remy and Palo though, totally different story

[awaywego0000]

just did the Dream. Wasn't overly impressed with the MDR's. Couldn't cook a steak right to save them. Mass produced, so you get mass produced food. None of the MDRs on the Dream, were great either. They seemed cramped and jammed and we had late seating. Annimator's wasn't working because of Pirate night. Our lead server was first rate, his assistant, well she was cute so she got a pass at least from me.. Remy and Palo though, totally different story

 

As you said, the food in Palo is totally different. I noticed that as well. I noticed the same thing on NCL. The restaurants that were not included in the cost of the cruise were much better. Just an observation.

[kath00]

Agree! Palo was fabulous although quite heavy. We had brunch one day and dinner another.

 

I don't really appreciate it tho when cruise lines serve junky food except if you pay more for it. That's not the way things used to be. Now many ships have pay restaurants (more and more lounges and public spaces converting to steak houses, Italian eateries, etc) but with significant cover charges. :(

[awaywego0000]

Agree! Palo was fabulous although quite heavy. We had brunch one day and dinner another.

 

I don't really appreciate it tho when cruise lines serve junky food except if you pay more for it. That's not the way things used to be. Now many ships have pay restaurants (more and more lounges and public spaces converting to steak houses, Italian eateries, etc) but with significant cover charges. :(

 

Totally agree. We pay enough for the cruise that it should include the good food. I wonder if they made it blah in the other restaurants on purpose so we are forced to go pay for a good meal.

[EchoSix]

I wonder if they made it blah in the other restaurants on purpose so we are forced to go pay for a good meal.

 

 

I've wondered that myself, many times. It's actually a normal marketing technique. But that certainly doesn't make it more comforting, does it? :/

 

 

Remy is excellent but pretty expensive, compared to how much the cruise itself costs. You definitely get wonderful food there, but that cuisine isn't enough to turn me on to going back again. My wife loved it and we've got reservations to go on The Fantasy this October.

 

Palo is worth it though! Their food is is well worth the extra charge! I adore Italian cuisine and Palo does it well! We've got TWO reservations for our upcoming cruise, at Palo. One of them is dinner and another is brunch.

 

There's no comparison to the other restaurants on the ship. Their food is mediocre at best.

[richg35]

Just got off the Magic today. I thought the food was really very good.

 

Much much much better than on the Carnival Dream in 2011 and pretty comparable to the Crown Princess sailing we did in 2007.

 

I think the problem with all the newer "mega" ships is that there are just too many people and it kills service and quality. I have not been on any smaller ships with Carnival, but felt on the Carnival Dream our waiter and assistant just had too many things to deal with and could not provide attentive service.

 

On the Disney Magic, which is a much smaller ship where our waiter had one or two other tables, the service was really outstanding. The courses came out hot and after the first night our drinks were brought out almost as we were sitting down. All the kids at our table were fed in time for the Oceaneer Club pick up at 9:15 every night which they seemed more excited about than dinner. Our waiter on the Magic also said he didn't really care to try working on the newer Disney boats because he just felt there were too many people.

 

The only misses for me on the Magic were an overcooked hamburger at Lumiere's for sit down lunch one day and some excessively greasy Beignets for dessert at that same lunch.

[mikeymars]

We've sailed RCCL, Carnival, Princess and Disney. Disney has the best food we have had on a cruise. We consider ourselves foodies and we understand when we cruise that cruises cater to the masses. Most of the cruise food is not better than your local neighborhood, non-chain restaurant.

 

If you had sailed Celebrity, you'd be telling a different story. Their food, dining room service and panache for presentation make all the other lines you mentioned look like school cafeterias.

 

But when it comes to Remy, I do believe that it is the finest dining at sea.

 

Remy? Not even close to the experience in a Celebrity speciality restaurant.

 

Below is what you see when sitting down in one of those:

 

[richg35]

Does Celebrity's fancier plates make the food taste better?

[mikeymars]

Does Celebrity's fancier plates make the food taste better?

 

The food stands on its own. The table settings and presentation are just another element of an obsession with excellence, one that is the foundation of the dining operation on their ships.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

If you had sailed Celebrity, you'd be telling a different story. Their food, dining room service and panache for presentation make all the other lines you mentioned look like school cafeterias.

 

 

 

Remy? Not even close to the experience in a Celebrity speciality restaurant.

 

Below is what you see when sitting down in one of those:

 

 

That looks lovely.

[kmc143]

Just got off the DCL Dream on a 4-night Bahamas cruise last week. Compared to our previous 3 DCL Wonder cruises, the food quality seemed to go down a bit.

1. The meat were a bit dry (although we ordered them medium well). The food quality was better on our previous 3 DCL cruises compared to our last one.

2. The portions were a bit small to what we remembered before.

3. During the Pirate night celebration the buffet is now in the Cabanas instead of being laid-out on the deck. We're not aware of this and only found out after the party and the food are being cleared. Although we're still full from dinner but still we were expecting a nice spread on deck.

4. Also, during dinner the service staff seemed to be always hustling and the food seemed to be always late. Maybe it's because of the larger crowd on the Disney Dream and smaller wait staff? And no more show from the servers during dinner?

 

I think DCL is trying to cut corners to maximize profit and it's showing on the food choices, quality and overall service experience. I could hear some of the DCL Dream service staff preferring the assignment on smaller ships due to the large crowds.

[cruisingbuddy3]

Hi Everyone! I have a quick question about the dinners on the DCL (Magic). Do they serve half portions of the menu items? I'm a little embarassed to say but I just spent an hour looking at all the amazing looking items on all the menus and I really want to try a couple entrees on quite a few of them, but I don't want to waste food. Thanks in advance!

[Shmoo here]

Hi Everyone! I have a quick question about the dinners on the DCL (Magic). Do they serve half portions of the menu items? I'm a little embarassed to say but I just spent an hour looking at all the amazing looking items on all the menus and I really want to try a couple entrees on quite a few of them, but I don't want to waste food. Thanks in advance!

 

You can certainly ask for half portions, but don't be surprised if you get the actual size portion. Since most of the plates are mass set-up, it takes more time to get one that's specially prepared. And you server won't want to keep you waiting.

 

:)

[Rinderoo]

As bad as who says? :p

 

No one starves on a cruise ship and there are going to be hits and misses no matter where you go.

 

I've never had inedible meals, but I do find that food is not highly seasoned on DCL. They're catering to American passengers who may not like food with stronger flavors.

 

You might want to take the recommendations of your server, and if they tell you to skip something, then skip it. On the Fantasy earlier this year they had a "popcorn soup". Four of us thought it was disgusting, four loved it. I got it to try, and while it was not a hit with me my tablemates enjoyed my leftovers.

 

So look at food as part of your adventure, and try it. You can always order two entrees.

[ilovetexas]

Our food on the Wonder a few years ago was very good (except the buffet, it was awful). On the Fantasy earlier this year, it was mostly good. Buffet was still awful but Palo was really good and Remy was excellent.

 

There are other lines for better food but DCL certainly puts several good meals in front of you in a week's time. There were only a few that were complete misses and if you ate out every meal for seven days on land you would expect a few misses there as well.

[meccanaje]

You will have a great time and the food was good to me.

[kath00]

Hi Everyone! I have a quick question about the dinners on the DCL (Magic). Do they serve half portions of the menu items? I'm a little embarassed to say but I just spent an hour looking at all the amazing looking items on all the menus and I really want to try a couple entrees on quite a few of them, but I don't want to waste food. Thanks in advance!

 

No. Everything is assembly line produced. They will bring you different options from the menu happily but you can't ask for anything special, like 1/2 a plate or more potatoes than others, etc. They only do special requests if you call ahead 24h earlier. I found this out when I asked for a sundae with no nuts (allergic to peanuts) and no caramel (don't like it) and they told me it's not possible for me to get a special sundae. Now don't ask me how that is since you clearly can't preplate ice cream too far in advance, but clearly they have no incentive to hold up the kitchen with special requests.

 

Funny but Princess and RCCL ALWAYS accomodate my special requests on their ships that night. So somehow other cruise lines manage to do mass produced food AND give you an extra side of broccoli if you'd like... And their food is much better seasoned even though it too is catered to Americans (we like flavor too).

[awaywego0000]

Hi Everyone! I have a quick question about the dinners on the DCL (Magic). Do they serve half portions of the menu items? I'm a little embarassed to say but I just spent an hour looking at all the amazing looking items on all the menus and I really want to try a couple entrees on quite a few of them, but I don't want to waste food. Thanks in advance!

 

Our server seemed to love to keep bringing us food. My daughter would circle her meal choice and I would realize (after the server left with our order) that she circled two entrees. I knew she could not eat all that food. Our server would bring her whatever she asked for. He also brought us seconds of lobster when we didn't even ask for it. I don't think they will give you half sizes but they will bring you two whole meals. Maybe you and another person can split your entree. My husband and I do that at restaurants when we can't decide between two things.