Food Question

[flhokie]

It's been 15 years since I sailed Disney. I swore then that I'd never sail them again, but now I have a little girl who loves Disney so I'm thinking about giving it another try.

 

The biggest issue before was the food. Being a lifelong cruiser, I was used to being able to try different foods (ex. Order 2 soups that looked good or an appetizer, soup, salad, entree & dessert). On Disney it was very strictly enforced that you had a choice of an appetizer, a soup or a salad---under no condition could you get 1 of each (& no ordering another option if you didn't like what you ordered). Portions were tiny. Room service ran out of most foods (45 min wait to try to order) and there was a 45 minute wait for food on Castaway Cay. Food was very limited outside of dining times. It was the only cruise I've disembarked from starving.

 

Please let me know if their dining has gotten better. If you can order what you want, there's more food available outside of dining times, etc I might give it a try with DD. If not, we will stick with going to the parks & with Royal Caribbean for cruising (DD loved Allure).

[ducklite]

I've been on two DCL cruises in two different ships and haven't found any problems with ordering what one wants off the menu. I know in the a magic there was at least one night that my son made dinner out of several appetizers and dessert, but no entree. The only exception would be Remy, but that's a different scenario altogether.

 

We never had a problem getting what we wanted from room service or in CC, either, without long waits.

 

There were plenty of options outside of dining times as well.

[moki'smommy]

Ah yes, I well remember 1998 when room service took as much as an hour.

 

OK, the food on DCL is not as amazing as on some other lines, BUT it is very good and plentiful. If you want to try 3 entrees, go for it; no problem. We did one cruise where the table got one of each dessert each night for sampling; sometimes we'd then order another of a favorite or ourselves. They will bring you as much food as you wish in any arrangement of courses. The only kicker is that when a course is done, it is done and gone--so if you want 2 appetizers, order them as soon as you know; if they have finished appetizer service, there is likely to be no more available (of course, some tables may be on entrees while some are still doing appetizers).

 

The food offerings on the pool decks have improved greatly to include some more healthy choices as well. There are wraps, salads, etc.

 

We were on the inaugural sailing of the Magic...and I agree that the food SERVICE left a lot to be desired on that cruise. Since then, the service has improved greatly. Unfortunately, the food quality went way up, but has been drifting downward in recent years. Still, food is plentiful and quite decent.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

The food is OK for what it is, mass catering, but you will not have problems like you had before.

 

You can have whatever you want. In the MDRs, we normally have an appetizer, then soup or salad, entree and dessert, I have asked for cheese (to wash my port down;)) which wasn't on the menu and got it no problem.

 

Our tablemates last time were ordering lots of different things, two entrees etc.. Some nights I found it difficult trying to find one I liked, they aren't bad pr se but I don't like orange, fennel and a host of other things the dishes were made with.

 

We did Remy and Palo where things are more "set" but I have heard of diners in Palo asking for a second entree. I was so full before my entree arrived I couldn't eat much off it!

 

Castaway is fine, but we use adult beach and never had a problem with BBQ running out or waiting in line for more than 2 mins or so. Room service was efficient too, they forgot one of our dishes and he literally ran off to get it.

 

Breakfast and lunch buffet style is plentiful too, only food area I think is lacking is in the pool deck area, although I found a nice salad I liked.

Edited February 19, 2014 by CELTICGIRLCRUISER

[Loonbeam]

I ordered two entrees at one meal this past October because I couldn't choose (ok, technically I told the server to surprise me and he brought both, but still).

[moki'smommy]

No limits....it's like that line from Mary Poppins:

"Order what you will, there'll be no bill......"

 

Seriously, if you want 6 entrees, you can have them. As you noted, the portions are a bit small compared to what Americans are used to, but there is no need to take home munchies.....and they are happy to bring you another if you want more.

 

Our first DCL cruise was so bad that only a "personal" letter from the cruise line president and a nice discount coupon toward a future cruise (this in response to my complaint/suggestion letter) got me back on board. Our second cruise was totally amazing and ALL the problems had been fixed by then.

Edited February 19, 2014 by moki'smommy

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Never heard of a limit on anything. Cruise Disney, you will LOVE it. All cruise lines change in decades, and it was the best service and most interesting and beautiful presented cruise food we have had. And if we were unhappy with anything, we were given chocolate covered strawberries or something to instantly put the magic back in our experience. We ordered two soups, salads, whatever we wanted.

[ducklite]

I didn't find portions at all small. If anything they were too large. But the again, a TGIF meal is the equivalent of three meals to me. Overall Americans eat way too much.

[moki'smommy]

I didn't find portions at all small. If anything they were too large. But the again, a TGIF meal is the equivalent of three meals to me. Overall Americans eat way too much.

 

That's what I was getting at with the comment about not taking home munchies. When I eat at a typical US restaurant, I take home enough to make 1-2 more meals. On the ship, I sometimes don't finish my entree (which worries the servers no end.....), but I'm certainly never hungry.

[vacation_junkie]

It's been 15 years since I sailed Disney. I swore then that I'd never sail them again, but now I have a little girl who loves Disney so I'm thinking about giving it another try.

 

The biggest issue before was the food. Being a lifelong cruiser, I was used to being able to try different foods (ex. Order 2 soups that looked good or an appetizer, soup, salad, entree & dessert). On Disney it was very strictly enforced that you had a choice of an appetizer, a soup or a salad---under no condition could you get 1 of each (& no ordering another option if you didn't like what you ordered). Portions were tiny. Room service ran out of most foods (45 min wait to try to order) and there was a 45 minute wait for food on Castaway Cay. Food was very limited outside of dining times. It was the only cruise I've disembarked from starving.

 

Please let me know if their dining has gotten better. If you can order what you want, there's more food available outside of dining times, etc I might give it a try with DD. If not, we will stick with going to the parks & with Royal Caribbean for cruising (DD loved Allure).

 

Our recent experience...

Dining experience: While we had no problems receiving a second appetizer or even an additional entrée the food was not at all up to par. Veggies were undercooked and 99% of our meals were cold.

 

Room service: Took about 40 min. Our orders were never correct. I'd ask for tea and I'd get the cup, tea bags, cream and sugar but no hot water. Or hot water , a cup and no tea bag! If we ordered more then 4 things they'd miss one.

 

We were less then pleased with our last Disney Cruise. Before we left we planned on booking another one on board...instead we got off the shipped and booked on the Allure!

[mdvlprof]

Food service is great.

DH likes cheesecake. Our server made sure DH had cheesecake every night, even when it wasn't on the menu. If it was being served somewhere onboard, a slice magically appeared for DH.

[lovely_serenity]

I've been on the Dsney Wonder a few years back, and I recall the food being quite good! I remember the regular meals were pretty good, but the special nights (ie. crab, lobster, lamb, steak etc.) were quite impressive in style and quality. The portions were always plentiful and I always left a meal extremely full. You can basically order whatever you want in the dining room LOL. They don't really care. If you wanted, you could order only desserts! (They'd probably judge you ^^ but they'd still give it to you)! Room service was fine. It did take a while for things to arrive on busy nights, but typically, I doubt they'd actually run out of anything. Hope that helps!

[Modern_Viking]

The only limitations I have heard of recently in the main dining rooms is in Animator's Palate at night during the new show where passengers draw figures to contribute to the show. I believe this is now on 3 ships, but not the Wonder. That night, the dinner menu is quite limited in choices and courses, because the food service needs to be timed to the show and diners need time to draw.

 

I have not been on a cruise with the new show, so I have no first hand experience.

[flhokie]

Thank you everyone for your responses!! They've been very helpful!! I will be keeping an eye out for some decent rates (I know that's rare with Disney, but I'm just not willing to pay more than double what I would for RCCL). We are FL residents & can often go with little notice so hopefully that will help.

[moki'smommy]

Thank you everyone for your responses!! They've been very helpful!! I will be keeping an eye out for some decent rates (I know that's rare with Disney, but I'm just not willing to pay more than double what I would for RCCL). We are FL residents & can often go with little notice so hopefully that will help.

 

Fl res rates can be great! There are TAs who will inform you via e-mail or Facebook when these rates are released if you sign up for their newsletter or "like" them on FB. I get a once a week e-mail about Disney and other lines...enough to keep me informed without feeling like "ENOUGH ALREADY." Easy to hit a delete button if I'm not looking for a cruise.

[e2011]

Our recent experience...

Dining experience: While we had no problems receiving a second appetizer or even an additional entrée the food was not at all up to par. Veggies were undercooked and 99% of our meals were cold.

 

Room service: Took about 40 min. Our orders were never correct. I'd ask for tea and I'd get the cup, tea bags, cream and sugar but no hot water. Or hot water , a cup and no tea bag! If we ordered more then 4 things they'd miss one.

 

We were less then pleased with our last Disney Cruise. Before we left we planned on booking another one on board...instead we got off the shipped and booked on the Allure!

 

We find the food in the rotational dining to be typical mass production cruise ship food. Some is good, some is not edible. We love To'Maters Grill area by the pool. they have some nice comfort food and sandwiches but most of it closes at night. I remember only one window was open on some nights. Other nights the whole thing was closed. We have never tried room service nor Remy or Palo. By the way, we loved both the Allure and Oasis. Nothing else like them in the cruise ship world!

Edited February 26, 2014 by e2011

[rktilleryj]

We have been on 6 cruises with DCL over the last 3 years (our son is at that prime age for DCL) and have never had a cold meal served to us and have never had room service take longer than 20 minutes. Food is completely subjective - we found meals in the MDRs to range from average to very good. Never ran into anything that I would consider inedible.

[moki'smommy]

We did back to back cruises summer 2013. The first leg, we had a server who was (at best) not very caring. Our food was cold every night. We sent it back a couple of times and did speak to the head server--it improved minimally.

 

For the second leg, we spoke to the head server in advance and told him what our concerns/desires were. Specifically, we didn't care if the food took a little longer, but we wanted it hot and fresh (not cold and had been sitting on some counter for a while). We specifically asked for a different server and told him that we liked our assistant server from leg 1. On the second leg, we had a new server, same assistant, and MUCH better food--hot and fresh every night.

 

I'm not sure whether it was the server who made the difference or the talk with the head server, but it worked. Also, on the second leg, we were joined by family of the other people at the table. The newbies griped about the slowness of our service...all of us who had done the first leg repeatedly told them how much better the second leg was!