Chance of getting Palo brunch as a first time cruiser?

[sadiecatie]

I’m trying to set my expectations realistically - my husband and me would love to do Palo brunch on one of our sea days on our June Alaska cruise, but it’s our first sailing and I know pretty much everyone else gets to book stuff before us. What are the chances of there actually being availability once we’re able to book? Does Palo brunch pretty much always fill up, or is there a good chance we could get a reservation?

 

[CapnCrunch]

They will hold reservations back that can be booked once you board the ship. Best thing you can do if it's booked up at your initial booking window, is try to get the earliest PAT (check in at midnight of your 30 day mark). Once onboard the ship, go directly to dining services (it's usually located in front of Enchanted Garden on the Dream/Fantasy, not sure about about the Wonder).

 

[MomOTwins]

I’ve never seen it still available by the first time cruiser booking date. Especially on the classic ships where there is no Remy brunch to compete. And June is peak summer crowd season so your ship likely had a lot of returning cruisers. I’m going to with pretty close to zero for your odds on this one, sorry.

 

[RedHead0186]

I second the suggestion of trying to get a reservation once you're on the ship. When we sailed in September, there were no Palo brunch bookings available ahead of time (Remy either). I went straight to the reservations table when we boarded and was able to score a Palo brunch for one of our sea days.

 

[cruisenews411]

You can also look as you get closer to cruise date-I just booked a brunch for a cruise leaving in 2 weeks. As people adjust plans, things sometimes open up. If it hadn’t opened up-we we’re going to try once onboard. It’s always worth trying-worst that happens is the answer is no.

 

[Jsoenning]

I think you stand a good chance as others have stated of nothing else booking on board. We went to brunch in December and Palo was << 50% full.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Also once onboard the ship if you check for Palo brunch reservations onboard and there are still none available, there will be a waitlist. Go ahead and add yourself to that list. You never know what might happen/change during your cruise to open up additional spots. Hurricanes are great for this. If a spot opens up, they will call your stateroom and leave a message asking you to call back to confirm your reservation.

But yes as a first time cruiser I think it's a good idea to set the realistic expectation that you probably will not get a brunch reservation. On a first cruise there is so much going on and so many other foods to try, I don't think you will miss it overmuch.

 

[mamaburrito]

It’s possible. Probably not on your booking night. Your best bet is to keep checking for openings or once on board.

 

[larie21]

We are first time cruisers going on the Magic later this month. There were several options for Palo brunch & dinner on our booking day. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Sam207]

I had no issue

 

[MomOTwins]

We are first time cruisers going on the Magic later this month. There were several options for Palo brunch & dinner on our booking day. I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, and if OP was going in January (other than MLK day), early May, September after labor day or any other off-season time, I’d say they’d have no trouble either. June in Alaska is a completely different kettle of fish.

 

[kiford]

We put ourselves on the wait list one cruise when we boarded (and we usually boarded around 1-ish). They did call us a couple of days later but we had already booked something else by then so I guess they went to the next people on the list. No guarantee, but it's possible.

 

[sadiecatie]

Thanks for the replies! I guess I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and keep checking if we can’t get it when our booking window opens (and check when we get on the ship). The last sea day on our cruise is also Father’s Day, and my husband loves brunch, so I’m going to hope for a little magic to be able to pull that off for him

 

[Husker Mike]

First day? Probably zero. But I've been able to eventually book it twice down the line on attempts for our first cruise (both ended up being cancelled; thanks COVID). On Nassau cruises, Disney frequently adds Palo Brunch on Nassau day if the demand on the sea day was strong.

 

[kiford]

On Nassau cruises, Disney frequently adds Palo Brunch on Nassau day if the demand on the sea day was strong.

On our upcoming Jan 30 cruise, there is Palo brunch offered on both Nassau and sea day though both are fully booked on the site.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Dream March 4-9th all of the Remy and Palo's are still available. This is odd right?

 

[Minniemoo15]

Dream March 4-9th all of the Remy and Palo's are still available. This is odd right?

View attachment 730553

Dinner was wide open for our sailing even up until boarding. Brunch is the tricky one because it’s not offered every day.

Brunch was sold out for us as first timers but I was able to get it by refreshing and checking several times a day. About a week of doing this and it popped up. We just got off the Dream and brunch was delicious ! Worth all the refreshing.

 

[cmph]

We actually got Palo brunch on our first bookable night as first-time cruisers. This was also on the Wonder, but not Alaska. It was a Dec 30th 7-nt out of Galveston, which isn't a popular departure port, but that was probably balanced out due to being a popular time. This was Dec 2016/Jan 2017, and with the calendar the way it was that holiday season, our kids (and clearly many others) were all off that whole first week in Jan. So - you never know! Good luck.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I’ve never seen it still available by the first time cruiser booking date.

We recently booked a DCL cruise (after the first time cruiser booking window) and later (a couple of weeks) we booked Palo brunch.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I’m trying to book Palo brunch. I see that it is marked “sold out” on one of the days. But on another day it doesn’t say “sold out” and it allows me to click “Select”, but then it says “try again later” or “book onboard”. If I can’t book it, why doesn’t it just say say “sold out”?