Which night for Palo?

Mnholls

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 8, 2017
I am super pumped we booked our first Disney Cruise! Our boys are 5 and 8.

We are doing 5 nights Western Caribbean.

I was wondering the best night to book Palo?

I figure probably not the first couple nights while the kids are getting used to things?

But then we have Marvel Day at Sea, Pirate night and then the last night before embarkation...any advice? I don't want the kids to miss any of the special entertainment, but am not really sure of the flow since being a first timer.
 
Do it on a day that you repeat a restaurant. (But without it being pirate night). You might be able to call and ask the reservationists what your schedule rotation is for the dining room.
 
As a first time cruiser you may not have a full range of choices, keep in mind. Try to be flexible!
 
I am super pumped we booked our first Disney Cruise! Our boys are 5 and 8.

We are doing 5 nights Western Caribbean.

I was wondering the best night to book Palo?

I figure probably not the first couple nights while the kids are getting used to things?

But then we have Marvel Day at Sea, Pirate night and then the last night before embarkation...any advice? I don't want the kids to miss any of the special entertainment, but am not really sure of the flow since being a first timer.
Typically, for a first time cruiser and with a short cruise, I'd suggest skipping Palo and enjoying the many activities available. That way you'll be able to make your own choice as to "what to skip" for the extra cost dining on a future cruise.

If you're really set on it, I'd suggest Palo brunch (if you can get one of those reservations). That way, you'd get to enjoy Palo, and still experience the nighttime activities. Or, maybe, night 2.
 


I am super pumped we booked our first Disney Cruise! Our boys are 5 and 8.

We are doing 5 nights Western Caribbean.

I was wondering the best night to book Palo?

I figure probably not the first couple nights while the kids are getting used to things?

But then we have Marvel Day at Sea, Pirate night and then the last night before embarkation...any advice? I don't want the kids to miss any of the special entertainment, but am not really sure of the flow since being a first timer.

We always book it either on Pirate night or the last night (Castaway Cay day) before debarkation morning. We don't care about the pirate night menu and since we have spent time all week with the serving team, the kids are comfortable dining there without us. Sometimes, if I get an early enough dining time and we are second seating, I will go sit with the kids while they eat and chat with our serving team. We are doing this cruise in January as well. :)
 
We skipped Palo on our first cruise with no regrets. I agree, I would experience all the menus this first time around and perhaps try a brunch. I prefer brunch anyway.

I don't recommend it on the night before disembarkation. It makes packing really tricky and (if this matters to you) there are no photographers there that night. We did it on our last night in Alaska and we returned to our room to literally throw things into our suitcase and get them into the hall with minutes to spare. It was very stressful.
 


We skipped Palo on our first cruise with no regrets. I agree, I would experience all the menus this first time around and perhaps try a brunch. I prefer brunch anyway.

I don't recommend it on the night before disembarkation. It makes packing really tricky and (if this matters to you) there are no photographers there that night. We did it on our last night in Alaska and we returned to our room to literally throw things into our suitcase and get them into the hall with minutes to spare. It was very stressful.

And I find it exactly opposite as I am packed up prior to dinner and just throw our Palo clothes in a garment bag to go out into the hallway. :) I can see where it could be stressful though.
 
We always book it either on Pirate night or the last night (Castaway Cay day) before debarkation morning. We don't care about the pirate night menu and since we have spent time all week with the serving team, the kids are comfortable dining there without us. Sometimes, if I get an early enough dining time and we are second seating, I will go sit with the kids while they eat and chat with our serving team. We are doing this cruise in January as well. :)
Another vote for Pirate night.
 
There's so many different opinions on this. One reason to avoid Palo on the last night -- if you want to personally hand your wait staff their tip envelopes. We like to do Palo on Pirate Night because it's our least-favorite menu in the MDR.

Just choose whatever works for your family. We prefer brunch over dinner anyway.
 
We chose Prince & Princess menu night; I'm not a fan of the menu. I also made sure to request a dining rotation that would make sure I didn't miss AP (because my boys love the shows).
If I didn't have kids, I would choose Pirate night: I don't like that menu either. But my kids love the activities and dressing for dinner.
 
Typically, for a first time cruiser and with a short cruise, I'd suggest skipping Palo and enjoying the many activities available. That way you'll be able to make your own choice as to "what to skip" for the extra cost dining on a future cruise.

Have to agree. We did Palo on our first cruise (4 day) and ended up missing Triton's (on the Wonder). We've never cruised on the Wonder since and I regret having missed it.
 
And I find it exactly opposite as I am packed up prior to dinner and just throw our Palo clothes in a garment bag to go out into the hallway. :) I can see where it could be stressful though.

We know better now! We had a day jam packed with activities on that last day. Our daughter was participating in the talent show and we had also seen a movie. There was just not really much time otherwise to pack.
 
For a 5 night I would skip Palo dinner and do brunch on a sea day instead. I love Palo brunch. You can read about it in my latest trip report - we also had a Marvel Day at Sea which was fantastic!
If you were on a longer cruise then you could probably swing it one night. But on a 5 night and your first cruise definitely experience all the offerings and the shows on the ship. Our first cruise was a 5-night and we skipped Palo dinner and were very happy with it.

For what it's worth, on our third Disney cruise we did do Palo dinner for the first time on our last night of our 7-night cruise. We had packed prior to dinner (we had a late dinner at 8pm) - and left our stuff outside the stateroom. They do have a farewell show on the last night with opportunities for character pictures. That started at around 10pm and we just made it to the show as it started. I personally think Palo is better for brunch, yes dinner is nice and the food was good, but dinner can take a long time.

If I had to do it again however, I'd do it on Pirate night. I was not in love with the Pirate menu. One other option is if you have early seating, to go to dinner with your kids but don't eat anything, and schedule Palo for right after. However it may be a little tight if you don't' want to miss any of the late shows. Do not miss the Marvel deck show in any case, it is awesome!

I hope this helps your decision making somewhat - IMO I think you should skip it on your first cruise then decide after what night would have been a good night to go! Put a deposit down for your next cruise in the meantime while onboard! :)
 
You guys are the best! We would prefer dinner as we love to wind down with a glass of wine etc. But I have heard brunch is fab. I would be fine skipping it but I'm sort of looking for retribution from our family vacation from last year that we took with each of our moms and didn't even get one meal away to ourselves!:headache::mad:
 
Since this will be your first DCL cruise, you would have to check availability at Palo when it is time to do your bookings. There is always the possibility that there will not be any openings available or any suitable times for you. If not, then you can always plan on trying to book it on your next DCL cruise when you will be silver CC members!
 
I say do it!! The dining rooms are nice. Palo is wonderful. It’s nice to have a quiet dinner one night after the craziness of the main dining rooms.
Also sitting down for a long dinner for 5 nights is a lot for a 5 and 8 year old.
When our kids were young we would pick up food from the pool deck (there is fruit and milk available) and bring it back to the room and let them eat as we got ready for dinner. You can also order room service.
I personally don’t like Pirate night but your kids will enjoy for their first cruise.
Sooo I suggest night 3. This way they get a break from a long dinner but will do Pirate night.
One more thing. To make the last night easier I use an empty suitcase for dirty clothes as the week goes on and pack things we are done with (pirate costumes, dress shoes and clothes).
 
If there is any "formal night", do it then--then no need to dress up twice!!! That's what we do on the 7 night Fantasy cruises.
 
If you have main dining and don't mind keeping your kids up a bit late, you can do both. Schedule your Palo reservation for 7:30 or so. Take your kids to the main dining room; tell the servers that only the kids are eating and advise them of your reservation time. The kids' meals come out fast, and they'll be done in plenty of time for your reservation.
 
Since this will be your first DCL cruise, you would have to check availability at Palo when it is time to do your bookings. There is always the possibility that there will not be any openings available or any suitable times for you. If not, then you can always plan on trying to book it on your next DCL cruise when you will be silver CC members!

They hold aside reservations for booking on board so even if you can't get one during online checkin, there should be some once on board.
 

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