Palo brunch First timer

[WishUponAStarryNight]

The baked yogurt dessert!! Sounds odd, but easily my favorite dessert.

 

[dcassetta]

This thread has me all excited as my first experience at Palo is coming up in about 64 days.. I've been perusing the menu and I'm definitely going to order the lasagna and chicken parm. Can anyone suggest the eggs benedict? It's a favorite of mine but I know they have it at cabanas on most mornings.

The best advice I've read:

Do not eat anything in the morning.

I don't think there's any comparison between the eggs Benedict at Palo and those found on the buffet. The ones on the buffet are made in mass quantities and often sit out for a while. The ones at Palo have freshly poached eggs and freshly made hollandaise.

 

[TestingH2O]

Our server on the Magic offered the grape and gorgonzola pizza as an off menu option. It was always a fun treat, so it's worth asking.

Last time, the hummus was really outstanding.

The take-home message is probably to try as many things as possible.

 

[aboveH20]

What is an appropriate tip for brunch? Tip for the waiter, not tip about what to eat.

 

[MichelleCanada]

Also a first timer. If I am able to book Palo Brunch (sea days only, right?) and then decide once we are on the cruise that we want to cancel, is there a fee for canceling? As as a first time cruiser, I’m not sure there’s even much of a chance I’ll be able to book.

When I talked to DCL this week they told me that you can cancel any of your onboard bookings (tasting classes, Palo, etc.) 24 hrs ahead of time with no penalty. However, if what you have booked is on the first day then you need to cancel 3 days before your cruise because that is when they close the booking system (both online and calling in) for your cruise.

 

[MomOTwins]

What is an appropriate tip for brunch? Tip for the waiter, not tip about what to eat.

There was a post about this a little while back. The consensus seemed to be that for lunch or dinner at Palo, tip based on what you think the meal would cost at a nice restaurant, although platinum guests that dined free often tipped higher. I think for brunch this worked out to about the same or maybe a little higher than tipping off the $30 per person surcharge (e.g., for two people, I'd probably tip around $15-20 because 20% would be $12 but is in an ordinary restaurant I might pay around $40 for a really nice brunch like that, and there would also be the two mimosas added to the bill). For dinner the consensus seemed to be that it should be quite a bit higher because a meal like that would cost far more than $30, though the tip amounts varied quite a bit person to person.

 

[aboveH20]

There was a post about this a little while back. The consensus seemed to be that for lunch or dinner at Palo, tip based on what you think the meal would cost at a nice restaurant, although platinum guests that dined free often tipped higher. I think for brunch this worked out to about the same or maybe a little higher than tipping off the $30 per person surcharge (e.g., for two people, I'd probably tip around $15-20 because 20% would be $12 but is in an ordinary restaurant I might pay around $40 for a really nice brunch like that, and there would also be the two mimosas added to the bill). For dinner the consensus seemed to be that it should be quite a bit higher because a meal like that would cost far more than $30, though the tip amounts varied quite a bit person to person.

Thanks. We had dinner at Palo on our last cruise and I remember quite the discussion about what to tip. This time we're hoping to book brunch. I'm not trying to be cheap, I'm just trying to figure out what is appropriate.

 

[Angie_T]

I love Palo brunch. Pretty sure the dessert table is my favorite. Me and hubby each ordered a dish and split a pizza. Hot cross buns are excellent. You'll hear no complaints from me, actually, now I'm hungry...

 

[apple9117]

It's a buffet, so definitely try a little bit of everything!

 

[jrabbit]

This thread has me all excited as my first experience at Palo is coming up in about 64 days.. I've been perusing the menu and I'm definitely going to order the lasagna and chicken parm. Can anyone suggest the eggs benedict? It's a favorite of mine but I know they have it at cabanas on most mornings.

The best advice I've read:

Do not eat anything in the morning.

DW has the cabanas Eggs Benedict. The ones in Palo are much better - and it's easy to order a half order of this. She has started "skipping" these at Palo - but ends up with a half order sometime before we leave

 

[jrabbit]

What is an appropriate tip for brunch? Tip for the waiter, not tip about what to eat.

for us...
For Brunch: 2 or 3 guests I tip $10 per person. for 4 guests I tip $50
For Dinner: 2 guests = $30, 3 guest $40, 4 guests: $60.

note: we do not usually get any additional drinks. Drinks probably carry the automatic gratuity.

These are our general amounts for the past several years for Palo gratuities.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

DW has the cabanas Eggs Benedict. The ones in Palo are much better - and it's easy to order a half order of this. She has started "skipping" these at Palo - but ends up with a half order sometime before we leave

Thanks for the info! Sounds like I'll be "skipping" the eggs benedict at cabanas so I can really enjoy the ones at Palo.

How many do they give you per order?

for us...
For Brunch: 2 or 3 guests I tip $10 per person. for 4 guests I tip $50
For Dinner: 2 guests = $30, 3 guest $40, 4 guests: $60.

note: we do not usually get any additional drinks. Drinks probably carry the automatic gratuity.

These are our general amounts for the past several years for Palo gratuities.

Thanks for this. I was also curious how much cash I should take for the waiter. I'm guessing cash is preferred, but you can still charge everything to the stateroom? It will be for 2 so I think $20-25 will be fine for the both of us.

 

[AngelDisney]

Thanks for the info! Sounds like I'll be "skipping" the eggs benedict at cabanas so I can really enjoy the ones at Palo.

How many do they give you per order?



Thanks for this. I was also curious how much cash I should take for the waiter. I'm guessing cash is preferred, but you can still charge everything to the stateroom? It will be for 2 so I think $20-25 will be fine for the both of us.

We used to pay cash but decided to charge everything to our account on our cruise last August, except for tips on room service.

 

[jrabbit]

We put everything on the room account. My assumption is that DCL is "one big happy family" ... but cash can and will walk away at times when the owner isn't watching it carefully. I prefer that my paycheck gets direct deposited, and I assume that the wait staff does as well.

@DIS_MIKE - eggs Benedict orders come with 2 eggs. I should note that Palo also has Eggs Julia and I think a 3rd variation. And there are two schools of thought on the Cabanas Eggs Benedict - have them on the days leading up to Palo, then be blown away by those in Palo (or not) or wait until after Palo then be disappointed in the Cabanas version

 

[aboveH20]

for us...
For Brunch: 2 or 3 guests I tip $10 per person. for 4 guests I tip $50
For Dinner: 2 guests = $30, 3 guest $40, 4 guests: $60.

note: we do not usually get any additional drinks. Drinks probably carry the automatic gratuity.

These are our general amounts for the past several years for Palo gratuities.

Thank you. That sounds reasonable, although from what I've been reading, sounds like it's the chefs we should be tipping! <---- not entirely sure what the expression is, but I like it

 

[DIS_MIKE]

We put everything on the room account. My assumption is that DCL is "one big happy family" ... but cash can and will walk away at times when the owner isn't watching it carefully. I prefer that my paycheck gets direct deposited, and I assume that the wait staff does as well.

@DIS_MIKE - eggs Benedict orders come with 2 eggs. I should note that Palo also has Eggs Julia and I think a 3rd variation. And there are two schools of thought on the Cabanas Eggs Benedict - have them on the days leading up to Palo, then be blown away by those in Palo (or not) or wait until after Palo then be disappointed in the Cabanas version

2 eggs will be perfect. I've never had Eggs Julia before.

You've convinced me now....I think I'll have to grab one off the buffet the day before just so I can compare them. I have a feeling I'll never have them at Cabanas again.

 

[pangyal]

Slight thread hijack...apologies in advance. What are everyone’s thoughts on solo dining at Palo brunch? Hubby won’t be there for my and DS’ Halloween cruise, and I’ve booked Palo for myself, but am really waffling about whether to keep it.

 

[serenitynow]

Bump

 

[aboveH20]

Slight thread hijack...apologies in advance. What are everyone’s thoughts on solo dining at Palo brunch? Hubby won’t be there for my and DS’ Halloween cruise, and I’ve booked Palo for myself, but am really waffling about whether to keep it.

I have not done Palo solo, but because I may do it on my next cruise I was interested when I read the answer to that question in some other thread and the reply was that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would not hesitate to do it again.

Enjoy!

 

[OKW Lover]

Another vote for the Chicken Parm!!!! Be sure to save room for it. As far as the other dishes go, there are so many good choices I really couldn't decide so I just take a little bit of everything.