Day 1 Disney Magic and not impressed

[dwg]

It seems you were very happy on Royal and focusing your issue with Disney on the food comparison while comparing to specialty dining on Royal. I don't believe that is a fair comparison. You should be comparing Royal Specialty dining to Disney specialty dining or MDR to MDR. You said yourself that all buffets are similar so why start a thread complaining about the buffet on Disney? There are many intangibles for me that make me a loyal Disney Cruise Customer. There are many more passengers on a Royal Cruise ship vs a Disney ship that allows Royal and other cruise lines to keep their price down. Even though you stay clear of the casinos they are a huge money maker for the cruise line and also help to keep your per passenger cost down. My SIL/BIL who are Royal Pinnacle Club members didn't want to see the shows on Royal recently because they were too crowded and there was no attempt to at least keep empty seats between people. While I can't speak for today, my understanding is that in the main theater Disney was ensuring families were separated by empty seats and they added a show time to decrease the numbers in each show. There are first run movies on the cruise that have just come out and are playing in movie theaters at the same time. Does Royal have that?

My point is that yes Disney is more expensive but if you dig deep, in my opinion, there are reasons why beyond food. I can tell you that no cruise line will be perfect and I have had issues come up on past cruises. Usually if you bring it to the crew or officers attention they will fall all over you and do what they can to rectify the situation and make you happy. It may be the same on other cruise lines but I have no interest in finding out right now. Maybe in the future. I believe that each person who has cruised previously probably has their favorite cruise line based on their experiences. Maybe based on your recent positive experiences on Royal you will be happier on a Royal cruise regardless of what happens on your Disney cruise.

 

[Cheburashka]

It is our first Disney Cruise ever. We sailed Royal and get the unlimited specialty dining. So Disney has some big shoes to fill. We should have sat down at Rapunzels for lunch. We did the buffet. I was out voted. It is also Marvel cruise. So let’s see how the menus lay out. But they two nights for the duplicates seemed to be the same. Will keep updated.

You're comparing apples to oranges if you expect DCL's pool deck & buffet food, or even the MDRs, to measure up to Royal Caribbean's specialty dining. DCL also has specialty dining. It is at Palo (on all ships) and Remy (on Dream and Fantasy only). You have to pay an upcharge for these. They would likely fill the "big shoes" from Royal, but they aren't cheap.

DCL is expensive- no secret about that. You aren't going to get unlimited specialty dining with Disney. But specialty dining is offered and it is excellent. You just have to pay for it.

 

[Cheburashka]

So, this is not your first cruise and on your regular cruiseline you pay extra to get better(?) food. My question then would be: Why did you decide to pay extra on Royal?
And what do you think of the buffet on Royal?

And then, "What did you think of the upcharge restaurants on DCL?" It sounds like the OP isn't even planning to go to those. So the comparison between the cruise lines is completely imbalanced.

 

[mmouse37]

Not impressed with the buffet anywhere. Even WDW. But I hear great reviews of Cabanas. Daisies was better. And the ice cream. Well, as Roy Kent says, it’s ice cream.

Cabanas often has hard packed ice cream and not the ice milk stuff/yogurt you get at the self serve machine.

We were on the Magic in January and our rotation was RRLLA. I heard it was that way as one of the MDR each night was shut down due to low numbers.

MJ

 

[tidefan]

we did it in Harm In 2019 and Symphony this July. We find the money we save over Disney pays for drink package and unlimited dining. We didn’t see the MDR ever. It was awesome and great service. Don’t have time to add more now. But it was well worth the price.

We did Oasis in January and can tell you that the non-upcharge food is mediocre at best and downright terrible at worst. The Windjammer had a couple decent indian dishes, but that was about it. The pastries/desserts were terrible. The MDR had a couple of decent items, but overall, we felt was nowhere near the quality of DCL. There was a small Park Cafe, but all it had was basically chips and a not great roast beef sandwich (though others liked it better than we did). On a positive note, we did enjoy the included "El Loco Fresh" place and wish they had more eateries like this (see Carnival below). My problem with RCCL was the upcharging of everything. They closed down the "free" soft-serve ice cream at 5:30 everyday, but you could go get a $4-$6 cone at Sugar Beach until 10pm. Same with nighttime food options. They just weren't there except for the MDR and the Pizza place (which also was lacking - though, in fairness, I am not sure Pinocchio's on DCL is much better). I just hate all of the upcharging. I know that all I hear on these boards is "Oh, well RCCL is so much better because I can add these options and it's still a lot cheaper than Disney", which is true, however...

...where I think that argument falls flat is in comparison of RCCL to other, non-Disney lines.

We are sailing Princess later this year to Alaska. On Princess, the Buffet, especially on the Royal Class ships, is infinitely better than what the Windjammer was, both in quality, selection, AND the amount of time it was open (Windjammer tended to be closed a lot, at least on our cruise). Also, the MDR food is IMHO, way better on Princess than on RCCL. In addition, most Princess ships have an Alfredo's, which has amazing Pizza in addition to a newly expanded italian menu and is included. Also, Room Service is included on Princess (not on Royal). Also unlike Royal (and like DCL), Princess has food options out on the pool deck, including a grill (burgers, dogs, BBQ, etc.) and another decent (but not as good as Alfredo's, but better than Royal and DCL) Pizza place, both of which are open fairly late. On Princess, we never feel like we have to do the upcharge dining. However, if you do, the steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian are only $29pp, much less than the $50 pp on Royal (at least that's about what it was on our Oasis sailing). Lastly, our other favorite on Princess ships is the International Cafe, which is open 24/7 and is always full of good items. Royal tried to have something similar with "Cafe Promenade", but we felt it wasn't even close to IC on Princess.

Even better, we felt, than Princess was Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. However, the food on Virgin is the best at sea IMHO. There is no MDR, they are all "specialty" restaurants and are included. No buffet either, a "food hall" type place where items are cooked to order. To top it off, the ice cream is "gelato" style and included, and there is a place where you can get all the gummy bears, twizzlers, and taffy you can eat (and who doesn't like that!) (Also, the Ms. Pac Man tabletop game is free of charge, and dang, it took me back to the 80's...)

Lastly, you may say, well the above two examples are more "Premium" cruise lines. First, that may be, but our Princess cruise to Alaska, which we have the included drink, wifi, and gratuities package was less than a comparable stateroom on Quantum of the Seas without any of those additions. Second, we will be going on the Carnival Mardi Gras shortly. While I won't begin to guess how the MDR stacks up, the sheer amount of included food options is way more than what we had on the Oasis. You want burgers on the deck? On Royal it's $10 a pop at Johnny Rockets. On Carnival, it's the included (and awesome) Guy's Burger Joint. Blue Iguana Cantina is more or less the same as Loco Fresh on Royal. There is nothing like Shaq's Big Chicken. Oh, and the BBQ place (also Guy Fieri) is complimentary on Carnival, not an upcharge like Royal. Also got an e-mail about our sailing today that the Cucina Del Capitano and ChiBang specialty restaurants are also complimentary on our cruise (INCLUDING dinner). I'm really interested to sail Mardi Gras because where I think so many people like Royal is all the "Eye Candy" stuff like waterslides, flow riders, rock walls and all that stuff. Well, Mardi Gras has a roller coaster, a ropes course, waterslides, etc. too. And it was a good bit cheaper out of Port Canaveral than Harmony of the Seas was when we booked...

 

[Happy100]

My husband likes the shawarma, I like the chicken fingers on the pool deck. Enjoy your cruise.

 

[mjr0483]

We did Oasis in January and can tell you that the non-upcharge food is mediocre at best and downright terrible at worst. The Windjammer had a couple decent indian dishes, but that was about it. The pastries/desserts were terrible. The MDR had a couple of decent items, but overall, we felt was nowhere near the quality of DCL. There was a small Park Cafe, but all it had was basically chips and a not great roast beef sandwich (though others liked it better than we did). On a positive note, we did enjoy the included "El Loco Fresh" place and wish they had more eateries like this (see Carnival below). My problem with RCCL was the upcharging of everything. They closed down the "free" soft-serve ice cream at 5:30 everyday, but you could go get a $4-$6 cone at Sugar Beach until 10pm. Same with nighttime food options. They just weren't there except for the MDR and the Pizza place (which also was lacking - though, in fairness, I am not sure Pinocchio's on DCL is much better). I just hate all of the upcharging. I know that all I hear on these boards is "Oh, well RCCL is so much better because I can add these options and it's still a lot cheaper than Disney", which is true, however... ...where I think that argument falls flat is in comparison of RCCL to other, non-Disney lines. We are sailing Princess later this year to Alaska. On Princess, the Buffet, especially on the Royal Class ships, is infinitely better than what the Windjammer was, both in quality, selection, AND the amount of time it was open (Windjammer tended to be closed a lot, at least on our cruise). Also, the MDR food is IMHO, way better on Princess than on RCCL. In addition, most Princess ships have an Alfredo's, which has amazing Pizza in addition to a newly expanded italian menu and is included. Also, Room Service is included on Princess (not on Royal). Also unlike Royal (and like DCL), Princess has food options out on the pool deck, including a grill (burgers, dogs, BBQ, etc.) and another decent (but not as good as Alfredo's, but better than Royal and DCL) Pizza place, both of which are open fairly late. On Princess, we never feel like we have to do the upcharge dining. However, if you do, the steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian are only $29pp, much less than the $50 pp on Royal (at least that's about what it was on our Oasis sailing). Lastly, our other favorite on Princess ships is the International Cafe, which is open 24/7 and is always full of good items. Royal tried to have something similar with "Cafe Promenade", but we felt it wasn't even close to IC on Princess. Even better, we felt, than Princess was Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. However, the food on Virgin is the best at sea IMHO. There is no MDR, they are all "specialty" restaurants and are included. No buffet either, a "food hall" type place where items are cooked to order. To top it off, the ice cream is "gelato" style and included, and there is a place where you can get all the gummy bears, twizzlers, and taffy you can eat (and who doesn't like that!) (Also, the Ms. Pac Man tabletop game is free of charge, and dang, it took me back to the 80's...) Lastly, you may say, well the above two examples are more "Premium" cruise lines. First, that may be, but our Princess cruise to Alaska, which we have the included drink, wifi, and gratuities package was less than a comparable stateroom on Quantum of the Seas without any of those additions. Second, we will be going on the Carnival Mardi Gras shortly. While I won't begin to guess how the MDR stacks up, the sheer amount of included food options is way more than what we had on the Oasis. You want burgers on the deck? On Royal it's $10 a pop at Johnny Rockets. On Carnival, it's the included (and awesome) Guy's Burger Joint. Blue Iguana Cantina is more or less the same as Loco Fresh on Royal. There is nothing like Shaq's Big Chicken. Oh, and the BBQ place (also Guy Fieri) is complimentary on Carnival, not an upcharge like Royal. Also got an e-mail about our sailing today that the Cucina Del Capitano and ChiBang specialty restaurants are also complimentary on our cruise (INCLUDING dinner). I'm really interested to sail Mardi Gras because where I think so many people like Royal is all the "Eye Candy" stuff like waterslides, flow riders, rock walls and all that stuff. Well, Mardi Gras has a roller coaster, a ropes course, waterslides, etc. too. And it was a good bit cheaper out of Port Canaveral than Harmony of the Seas was when we booked...

We did Oasis in January and can tell you that the non-upcharge food is mediocre at best and downright terrible at worst. The Windjammer had a couple decent indian dishes, but that was about it. The pastries/desserts were terrible. The MDR had a couple of decent items, but overall, we felt was nowhere near the quality of DCL. There was a small Park Cafe, but all it had was basically chips and a not great roast beef sandwich (though others liked it better than we did). On a positive note, we did enjoy the included "El Loco Fresh" place and wish they had more eateries like this (see Carnival below). My problem with RCCL was the upcharging of everything. They closed down the "free" soft-serve ice cream at 5:30 everyday, but you could go get a $4-$6 cone at Sugar Beach until 10pm. Same with nighttime food options. They just weren't there except for the MDR and the Pizza place (which also was lacking - though, in fairness, I am not sure Pinocchio's on DCL is much better). I just hate all of the upcharging. I know that all I hear on these boards is "Oh, well RCCL is so much better because I can add these options and it's still a lot cheaper than Disney", which is true, however... ...where I think that argument falls flat is in comparison of RCCL to other, non-Disney lines. We are sailing Princess later this year to Alaska. On Princess, the Buffet, especially on the Royal Class ships, is infinitely better than what the Windjammer was, both in quality, selection, AND the amount of time it was open (Windjammer tended to be closed a lot, at least on our cruise). Also, the MDR food is IMHO, way better on Princess than on RCCL. In addition, most Princess ships have an Alfredo's, which has amazing Pizza in addition to a newly expanded italian menu and is included. Also, Room Service is included on Princess (not on Royal). Also unlike Royal (and like DCL), Princess has food options out on the pool deck, including a grill (burgers, dogs, BBQ, etc.) and another decent (but not as good as Alfredo's, but better than Royal and DCL) Pizza place, both of which are open fairly late. On Princess, we never feel like we have to do the upcharge dining. However, if you do, the steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian are only $29pp, much less than the $50 pp on Royal (at least that's about what it was on our Oasis sailing). Lastly, our other favorite on Princess ships is the International Cafe, which is open 24/7 and is always full of good items. Royal tried to have something similar with "Cafe Promenade", but we felt it wasn't even close to IC on Princess. Even better, we felt, than Princess was Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. However, the food on Virgin is the best at sea IMHO. There is no MDR, they are all "specialty" restaurants and are included. No buffet either, a "food hall" type place where items are cooked to order. To top it off, the ice cream is "gelato" style and included, and there is a place where you can get all the gummy bears, twizzlers, and taffy you can eat (and who doesn't like that!) (Also, the Ms. Pac Man tabletop game is free of charge, and dang, it took me back to the 80's...) Lastly, you may say, well the above two examples are more "Premium" cruise lines. First, that may be, but our Princess cruise to Alaska, which we have the included drink, wifi, and gratuities package was less than a comparable stateroom on Quantum of the Seas without any of those additions. Second, we will be going on the Carnival Mardi Gras shortly. While I won't begin to guess how the MDR stacks up, the sheer amount of included food options is way more than what we had on the Oasis. You want burgers on the deck? On Royal it's $10 a pop at Johnny Rockets. On Carnival, it's the included (and awesome) Guy's Burger Joint. Blue Iguana Cantina is more or less the same as Loco Fresh on Royal. There is nothing like Shaq's Big Chicken. Oh, and the BBQ place (also Guy Fieri) is complimentary on Carnival, not an upcharge like Royal. Also got an e-mail about our sailing today that the Cucina Del Capitano and ChiBang specialty restaurants are also complimentary on our cruise (INCLUDING dinner). I'm really interested to sail Mardi Gras because where I think so many people like Royal is all the "Eye Candy" stuff like waterslides, flow riders, rock walls and all that stuff. Well, Mardi Gras has a roller coaster, a ropes course, waterslides, etc. too. And it was a good bit cheaper out of Port Canaveral than Harmony of the Seas was when we booked...

My husband likes the shawarma, I like the chicken fingers on the pool deck. Enjoy your cruise.

We did Oasis in January and can tell you that the non-upcharge food is mediocre at best and downright terrible at worst. The Windjammer had a couple decent indian dishes, but that was about it. The pastries/desserts were terrible. The MDR had a couple of decent items, but overall, we felt was nowhere near the quality of DCL. There was a small Park Cafe, but all it had was basically chips and a not great roast beef sandwich (though others liked it better than we did). On a positive note, we did enjoy the included "El Loco Fresh" place and wish they had more eateries like this (see Carnival below). My problem with RCCL was the upcharging of everything. They closed down the "free" soft-serve ice cream at 5:30 everyday, but you could go get a $4-$6 cone at Sugar Beach until 10pm. Same with nighttime food options. They just weren't there except for the MDR and the Pizza place (which also was lacking - though, in fairness, I am not sure Pinocchio's on DCL is much better). I just hate all of the upcharging. I know that all I hear on these boards is "Oh, well RCCL is so much better because I can add these options and it's still a lot cheaper than Disney", which is true, however... ...where I think that argument falls flat is in comparison of RCCL to other, non-Disney lines. We are sailing Princess later this year to Alaska. On Princess, the Buffet, especially on the Royal Class ships, is infinitely better than what the Windjammer was, both in quality, selection, AND the amount of time it was open (Windjammer tended to be closed a lot, at least on our cruise). Also, the MDR food is IMHO, way better on Princess than on RCCL. In addition, most Princess ships have an Alfredo's, which has amazing Pizza in addition to a newly expanded italian menu and is included. Also, Room Service is included on Princess (not on Royal). Also unlike Royal (and like DCL), Princess has food options out on the pool deck, including a grill (burgers, dogs, BBQ, etc.) and another decent (but not as good as Alfredo's, but better than Royal and DCL) Pizza place, both of which are open fairly late. On Princess, we never feel like we have to do the upcharge dining. However, if you do, the steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian are only $29pp, much less than the $50 pp on Royal (at least that's about what it was on our Oasis sailing). Lastly, our other favorite on Princess ships is the International Cafe, which is open 24/7 and is always full of good items. Royal tried to have something similar with "Cafe Promenade", but we felt it wasn't even close to IC on Princess. Even better, we felt, than Princess was Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. However, the food on Virgin is the best at sea IMHO. There is no MDR, they are all "specialty" restaurants and are included. No buffet either, a "food hall" type place where items are cooked to order. To top it off, the ice cream is "gelato" style and included, and there is a place where you can get all the gummy bears, twizzlers, and taffy you can eat (and who doesn't like that!) (Also, the Ms. Pac Man tabletop game is free of charge, and dang, it took me back to the 80's...) Lastly, you may say, well the above two examples are more "Premium" cruise lines. First, that may be, but our Princess cruise to Alaska, which we have the included drink, wifi, and gratuities package was less than a comparable stateroom on Quantum of the Seas without any of those additions. Second, we will be going on the Carnival Mardi Gras shortly. While I won't begin to guess how the MDR stacks up, the sheer amount of included food options is way more than what we had on the Oasis. You want burgers on the deck? On Royal it's $10 a pop at Johnny Rockets. On Carnival, it's the included (and awesome) Guy's Burger Joint. Blue Iguana Cantina is more or less the same as Loco Fresh on Royal. There is nothing like Shaq's Big Chicken. Oh, and the BBQ place (also Guy Fieri) is complimentary on Carnival, not an upcharge like Royal. Also got an e-mail about our sailing today that the Cucina Del Capitano and ChiBang specialty restaurants are also complimentary on our cruise (INCLUDING dinner). I'm really interested to sail Mardi Gras because where I think so many people like Royal is all the "Eye Candy" stuff like waterslides, flow riders, rock walls and all that stuff. Well, Mardi Gras has a roller coaster, a ropes course, waterslides, etc. too. And it was a good bit cheaper out of Port Canaveral than Harmony of the Seas was when we booked...

 

[mjr0483]

We did Oasis in January and can tell you that the non-upcharge food is mediocre at best and downright terrible at worst. The Windjammer had a couple decent indian dishes, but that was about it. The pastries/desserts were terrible. The MDR had a couple of decent items, but overall, we felt was nowhere near the quality of DCL. There was a small Park Cafe, but all it had was basically chips and a not great roast beef sandwich (though others liked it better than we did). On a positive note, we did enjoy the included "El Loco Fresh" place and wish they had more eateries like this (see Carnival below). My problem with RCCL was the upcharging of everything. They closed down the "free" soft-serve ice cream at 5:30 everyday, but you could go get a $4-$6 cone at Sugar Beach until 10pm. Same with nighttime food options. They just weren't there except for the MDR and the Pizza place (which also was lacking - though, in fairness, I am not sure Pinocchio's on DCL is much better). I just hate all of the upcharging. I know that all I hear on these boards is "Oh, well RCCL is so much better because I can add these options and it's still a lot cheaper than Disney", which is true, however... ...where I think that argument falls flat is in comparison of RCCL to other, non-Disney lines. We are sailing Princess later this year to Alaska. On Princess, the Buffet, especially on the Royal Class ships, is infinitely better than what the Windjammer was, both in quality, selection, AND the amount of time it was open (Windjammer tended to be closed a lot, at least on our cruise). Also, the MDR food is IMHO, way better on Princess than on RCCL. In addition, most Princess ships have an Alfredo's, which has amazing Pizza in addition to a newly expanded italian menu and is included. Also, Room Service is included on Princess (not on Royal). Also unlike Royal (and like DCL), Princess has food options out on the pool deck, including a grill (burgers, dogs, BBQ, etc.) and another decent (but not as good as Alfredo's, but better than Royal and DCL) Pizza place, both of which are open fairly late. On Princess, we never feel like we have to do the upcharge dining. However, if you do, the steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian are only $29pp, much less than the $50 pp on Royal (at least that's about what it was on our Oasis sailing). Lastly, our other favorite on Princess ships is the International Cafe, which is open 24/7 and is always full of good items. Royal tried to have something similar with "Cafe Promenade", but we felt it wasn't even close to IC on Princess. Even better, we felt, than Princess was Virgin Voyages, though that is adult only. However, the food on Virgin is the best at sea IMHO. There is no MDR, they are all "specialty" restaurants and are included. No buffet either, a "food hall" type place where items are cooked to order. To top it off, the ice cream is "gelato" style and included, and there is a place where you can get all the gummy bears, twizzlers, and taffy you can eat (and who doesn't like that!) (Also, the Ms. Pac Man tabletop game is free of charge, and dang, it took me back to the 80's...) Lastly, you may say, well the above two examples are more "Premium" cruise lines. First, that may be, but our Princess cruise to Alaska, which we have the included drink, wifi, and gratuities package was less than a comparable stateroom on Quantum of the Seas without any of those additions. Second, we will be going on the Carnival Mardi Gras shortly. While I won't begin to guess how the MDR stacks up, the sheer amount of included food options is way more than what we had on the Oasis. You want burgers on the deck? On Royal it's $10 a pop at Johnny Rockets. On Carnival, it's the included (and awesome) Guy's Burger Joint. Blue Iguana Cantina is more or less the same as Loco Fresh on Royal. There is nothing like Shaq's Big Chicken. Oh, and the BBQ place (also Guy Fieri) is complimentary on Carnival, not an upcharge like Royal. Also got an e-mail about our sailing today that the Cucina Del Capitano and ChiBang specialty restaurants are also complimentary on our cruise (INCLUDING dinner). I'm really interested to sail Mardi Gras because where I think so many people like Royal is all the "Eye Candy" stuff like waterslides, flow riders, rock walls and all that stuff. Well, Mardi Gras has a roller coaster, a ropes course, waterslides, etc. too. And it was a good bit cheaper out of Port Canaveral than Harmony of the Seas was when we booked...

it’s funny you say RCL is all up charge. Maybe you are confusing DCL. Disney is up charge everything. RCL has unlimited Wi-Fi. Disney I am afraid to even turn it on because I don’t know what the bill will be. RCL has prices on their bar menus and DCL doesn’t so you don’t even know. Wow you get free soda in a couple locations and at dinner. For $12 a day for the price of 2 lava smoothie s you get unlimited soda at ALL locations and smoothies and virgin drinks including shakes at Johnny Rockets. And unlimited virgin drinks from robot bartender.
We ate at Rupenzels Royal table last night and it was ok. And the 3 of us each got something different and my wife was on the bathroom floor all night and is now missing Castaway Cay. The service is the same we get on Royal. The difference is Disney characters and Disney theming and entertainment. Not worth paying 50% more.
I do agree Carnival burgers are the bomb. But if you go unlimited with RCL Johnny Rocket’s is included.
RCL pizza much better and better casual options.

 

[mjr0483]

And then, "What did you think of the upcharge restaurants on DCL?" It sounds like the OP isn't even planning to go to those. So the comparison between the cruise lines is completely imbalanced.

We are planning on Palo Brunch day 4. I will report back. At $45 pp for one meal. RCL $169 for 7 nights unlimited and lunch during sea days. I posted a review of R today. Wife is down with food poisoning.

 

[diablodancer]

We are planning on Palo Brunch day 4. I will report back. At $45 pp for one meal. RCL $169 for 7 nights unlimited and lunch during sea days. I posted a review of R today. Wife is down with food poisoning.

Do report the food poisoning to the medical centre - I got suspected food poisoning on the Magic last September (as did a number of people on that cruise) - you can get anti-nausea tablets for free from guest services and think it’s good for DCL to be aware in case it’s a wider issue (and to have it logged if you want to complain). Sorry your wife’s feeling poorly, it sucks to have that happen and I know it took me about four days to feel normal again.

 

[mjr0483]

I am not a Disney hater. Been a DVC member since 2000. Been to WDW over 100 times. Disneyland twice and Disneyland Paris. My 19 DD been going since 6 months old and goes to UCF so goes to Disney when she doesn’t have homework on the weekends.
I am not just giving Disney a pass because it’s Disney. It’s honest opinions.

High expectations for Marvel Day at Sea tomorrow.
On a positive note. This is the last cruise with masks and while we aren’t up close and personal like Galactic Star Cruiser, they are letting you left masks for pictures.

 

[mjr0483]

Do report the food poisoning to the medical centre - I got suspected food poisoning on the Magic last September (as did a number of people on that cruise) - you can get anti-nausea tablets for free from guest services and think it’s good for DCL to be aware in case it’s a wider issue (and to have it logged if you want to complain). Sorry your wife’s feeling poorly, it sucks to have that happen and I know it took me about four days to feel normal again.

Thanks
I asked her if she wanted to go to medical but she didn’t want to get up. She finally made it from the bathroom floor to the bed as we left for the Island.

She just called at 11:30 and is making her way over.

 

[NurseDave]

FYI the chicken strips and fries on the pool deck are delicious.

 

[Cheburashka]

FYI the chicken strips and fries on the pool deck are delicious.

Or at least they used to be. I always looked forward to that as my embarkation day lunch, but after boarding the Magic in October, the chicken strips were a different type and not as good. I hope that was a one-off (it was the Magic's first USA cruise since reopening), and that the chicken strips will be the type they used to have when I sail on the Fantasy next week.

 

[Cheburashka]

We are planning on Palo Brunch day 4. I will report back. At $45 pp for one meal. RCL $169 for 7 nights unlimited and lunch during sea days.

Yep, Disney is expensive. No surprises there. They can charge more because they're Disney, a brand that families worldwide know and flock to. Be careful not to hold their specialty restaurants to a different standard because they cost more than on RCCL. Everything costs more on DCL than on RCCL.

You've complained a lot about how things are on DCL in comparison to RCCL. I think this cruise was a mistake for you and you should stick to the cruise line you were already happy with: RCCL. When you like something that much, it's a mistake to give another line a half-hearted try, because it won't be just like the line you're already satisfied with. I've cruised DCL seven times and am happy with it, so won't be cruising with another line anytime soon because it meets my current needs almost perfectly. If I "tried" another line the way you're "trying" DCL, I would probably be picking everything apart, too. Different lines meet the needs of different people.

 

[Cheburashka]

it’s funny you say RCL is all up charge. Maybe you are confusing DCL. Disney is up charge everything. RCL has unlimited Wi-Fi. Disney I am afraid to even turn it on because I don’t know what the bill will be. RCL has prices on their bar menus and DCL doesn’t so you don’t even know. Wow you get free soda in a couple locations and at dinner. For $12 a day for the price of 2 lava smoothie s you get unlimited soda at ALL locations and smoothies and virgin drinks including shakes at Johnny Rockets. And unlimited virgin drinks from robot bartender.

If you read the PP's post more carefully, you would have noticed the PP said that DCL is still more expensive so the upcharge comparison doesn't work with DCL, but that the PP found RCCL upcharges to be annoying compared to other mass market lines, such as Princess.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would call that repet


I would call that repetitive dining and not rotational.
its 1,2,2,3,3
Instead of 1,2,3,1,2
Wouldn’t that make more sense?

They call it rotational dining because on other cruise lines, Carnival and RCCL at least, you have one dining room the whole cruise.

 

[mullysisters]

Not impressed with the buffet anywhere. Even WDW. But I hear great reviews of Cabanas. Daisies was better. And the ice cream. Well, as Roy Kent says, it’s ice cream.

We are second guessing our July cruise. We enjoy our meals and really dont want to pay extra for Palo/Remy. I know people tend to be negative about the food at the parks (11 trips to WDW) mostly we have enjoyed it with a very few exceptions. We do eat at buffets at WDW. From looking at videos/blogs the pre Covid Cabanas looks good, lots of salads, wraps, fruit? Fries tend to be the worst anywhere but we know that. After spending time on this thread people are not impressed with the MDR food either? Our PIF day is in May for an Alaskan cruise aboard the Wonder. Anyone really enjoy the food?

 

[tidefan]

If you read the PP's post more carefully, you would have noticed the PP said that DCL is still more expensive so the upcharge comparison doesn't work with DCL, but that the PP found RCCL upcharges to be annoying compared to other mass market lines, such as Princess.

Correct. On lines like Princess we don’t have to pay an extra $400 for two to enjoy decent food or get an ice cream after 5:30…

 

[diablodancer]

We are second guessing our July cruise. We enjoy our meals and really dont want to pay extra for Palo/Remy. I know people tend to be negative about the food at the parks (11 trips to WDW) mostly we have enjoyed it with a very few exceptions. We do eat at buffets at WDW. From looking at videos/blogs the pre Covid Cabanas looks good, lots of salads, wraps, fruit? Fries tend to be the worst anywhere but we know that. After spending time on this thread people are not impressed with the MDR food either? Our PIF day is in May for an Alaskan cruise aboard the Wonder. Anyone really enjoy the food?

Yes, I love the MDR food usually. I’ve got dietary requirements and they go above and beyond to give me food I can eat and enjoy. I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad meal in the MDR at night.