Palo brunch - what's it like?

[hcox31]

We were on the Dream last week and did the Palo brunch on Saturday while at Nassau. We, too, are platinum so we did not have to pay for it. It is one of the benefits of being platinum cruisers. Anyway, our server was Danny from Scotland and he was AMAZING! While we have dined in Palo's in the past, he still went over the menu items and then took us on our 'tour' of the buffet. I started with the tomato basil soup which was delicious. I ordered the eggplant which was sliced very thin and rolled in panko bread crumbs and stuffed with cheese .. omg it was so good! When it was first placed in front of me, the bowl was gigantic and my though was that they were skimpy on the food.. but in the end, it was just right. The red sauce was not to spicy and not bland, just right. We still had the buffet to pick from! DH had the chicken parmesan which was a huge portion and to my surprise he ate the whole thing! At the buffet there was a selection of breads and rolls, then there was a seafood selection and the next station was cheeses and caviar and proscuito and roasted asparagas and more.. Then of course the finale.. the desserts.. omg I could have dined on just these! The great thing is they are small portions, a few bites.. so you get to try everything! The tiramsue was the best. We took pictures but have not uploaded them yet..

As for the dress code, let me just say that on our last cruise my DH was in dress pants and shirt and tie but had on sneakers due to us forgetting to pack his dress shoes.. so upon checkin at Palo desk, the cast member noticed his sneakers and mentioned the dress code and then immediately offered him a pair of dress shoes from their 'stash' She stated that men tend to forget their dress shoes so they have a few pairs of most sizes available.

On this cruise, I was hoping to see a cruise photographer to take a picture of us since we were dressed up.. however, there were none to be seen at brunch so I was a bit disappointed. Our server, Danny, was kind enough to take a picture of us with our own camera but the quality is nothing like what the ship photographers use. Oh well, next time...

All in all, we love Palo's brunch. We tend to reserve it while in Nassau.

Try it out and let us know what you think!

and most importantly have a magical cruise!

we had Danny from Scotland for our Palo dinner on our first cruise! He was fantastic!

 

[DisneyLove2015]

What's the likelihood of getting a reservation when you board? They are sold out for our sailing in January and I'd love to try to get one when we board. We have a PAT of 12:30 though.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Sorry to hijack the thread, just wondering... would it be ok to go to brunch on my own? DH may have to stay home because something came up

Would it be weird if I went by myself

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Sorry to hijack the thread, just wondering... would it be ok to go to brunch on my own? DH may have to stay home because something came up

Would it be weird if I went by myself

Definitely go, enjoy! Our DD cruises solo and eats at Palo most cruises, although she prefers dinner to brunch.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry to hijack the thread, just wondering... would it be ok to go to brunch on my own? DH may have to stay home because something came up

Would it be weird if I went by myself

Not at all. I've seen plenty of solo people in Palo eating.

 

[Shanti]

Sorry to hijack the thread, just wondering... would it be ok to go to brunch on my own? DH may have to stay home because something came up

Would it be weird if I went by myself

I went alone on the Fantasy and it was great.

 

[Shanti]

We don't do a lot of brunch things at home, but I do love a good buffet...Also, why Palo brunch over Remy brunch?

It is a very good buffet, so you'll like that. I actually plan to skip the "main course" next Palo brunch as I didn't like it as much as just sampling items from the buffet. I preferred Palo brunch to Remy brunch because Palo offered lots of choices, while Remy brunch offered none (it is a multi-course, set menu with no buffet), and I didn't happen to like the types of food served at the Remy brunch.

 

[mlp1933]

lol - pool wear? Some people!

So, is 10:30 for brunch too early? We have early seating.

It wasn't tasteful pool wear either! Haha
That's a great time! We like anytime 10:30 or later so it feels like a true brunch and we can eat two meals worth of food.

 

[mlp1933]

Oh my. Reading all the wonderful reviews makes us look forward to our Christmas Day brunch even more!

Christmas day brunch!? That sounds like heaven!!!

 

[nicco5family]

You guys have me really excited! We are cruising for our 25th anniversary (the 3 night, then Universal) and I've booked Palo Dinner the first night, Palo Brunch the second day, and Palo Dinner the third night.

Bring on the stretchy dress pants!

 

[dclpluto]

I just did the brunch on the fantasy on Thursday. It was amazing. I’m not into breakfast food so I went at 12 o’clock. Anti pasta set up was great. Never had red or green cheese before but it was great. Big breakfast set up with pastries and a big sea food set up. Not into sea food either. After my anti pasta I had lasagna and than than calzone. Next time I’m just ordering lasagna til I get full. Lasagna was the best I ever had. Calzone I will never get again it was good. It was big. I don’t waste food so I ate the whole thing. Next was the dessert. What a great setup. Had 6 desserts they are small.

 

[ludari]

Palo brunch is m favorite and enjoy the meal selections, ambiance, etc., but on my last cruise I noticed that they had severs filling plates at the buffet tables. Personally I prefer to fill my own plate.

 

[phinz]

Palo brunch is m favorite and enjoy the meal selections, ambiance, etc., but on my last cruise I noticed that they had severs filling plates at the buffet tables. Personally I prefer to fill my own plate.

This seems to happen on occasion. Sometimes it's because of a Norovirus outbreak, but sometimes it just seems to be the standard of the day. Our last time we were left to our own devices, but other times we've had to wait for them to fill our plate.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

My absolute favorite thing to do on a Disney Cruise is Palo brunch. One of the main reasons I love it, it is so quiet! My first time there, I took my MIL. We walked into the restaurant, and it was instantly peaceful. It was so lovely. We were there with a party of 10, 5 of them being very loud kids, so the quiet was much appreciated it. I could sit there for hours, just watching the water.

The service is impeccable. Every time we got up, our plates were cleared and our napkins refolded. I seriously thought they were replacing our napkins each time we got up and I thought that was a bit much, but I made it back to the table to witness our server refolding mine. It made me laugh a little, but it added that extra special magic.

The food is simply amazing, especially the dessert table. I made two trips, just to get desserts. I have not tried anything there that I didn't like.

I highly recommend trying it!

 

[Sytrace]

And why is it so great?

We don't do a lot of brunch things at home, but I do love a good buffet. What sorts of foods will they have at the brunch that they might not have elsewhere? I assume it's worth the $30?

Also, why Palo brunch over Remy brunch?

Oh yeah, is the dress code still the same for brunch? Are sandals okay or a no-no?

Honestly, and I am probably in the minority here...lol...but I did not care for Palo Brunch at all. Don't get me wrong, the food was fine and there were lots of good choices that were exceptional and well prepared and laid out. BUT, I enjoy dinner far more for the ambiance and romance of the moonlight on the water.
I do not care for French food, so Remy is not really on my list of things I must do so no feedback for you there.

The Brunch dress code at Palo is more casual even than dinner and Dinner became less formal the past year or so. Remy is still more dressy.
I wore nice dressy black sandals and that was fine. They were slides and not flip flop type sandals though.

 

[Sytrace]

What's the likelihood of getting a reservation when you board? They are sold out for our sailing in January and I'd love to try to get one when we board. We have a PAT of 12:30 though.

Quite good actually. They will have a location set up to go and get Palo or Remy reservations that will begin at 1:00 PM (Usually in Royal Court/Palace on the Dream or Fantasy) There might be a line up because that is where they have folks go for dining changes as well. A CM will ask you what you need help with and direct you to the correct person based on your answer.

What sailing are you on? We are on the Magic on January 7th.

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Quite good actually. They will have a location set up to go and get Palo or Remy reservations that will begin at 1:00 PM (Usually in Royal Court/Palace on the Dream or Fantasy) There might be a line up because that is where they have folks go for dining changes as well. A CM will ask you what you need help with and direct you to the correct person based on your answer.

What sailing are you on? We are on the Magic on January 7th.

Thanks!!! I may try as soon as we get on board. Of course I have a 2 year old so if we can get it, I need to see if the nursery has spots open. Do you know if I make the Palo Res and then there isn't any room in the nursery, can I cancel (departure day, so not day of Res?

We are the Jan 28th sailing on the Wonder.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks!!! I may try as soon as we get on board. Of course I have a 2 year old so if we can get it, I need to see if the nursery has spots open. Do you know if I make the Palo Res and then there isn't any room in the nursery, can I cancel (departure day, so not day of Res?

We are the Jan 28th sailing on the Wonder.

It's my understanding that, if you book a last minute Palo reservation, the nursery will work with you to book hours.

And vice versa.