Day 3 of this Disney Fantasy eastern Caribbean cruise finds us with another sea day. We’ll take advantage of this by discussing all things Disney Cruise Line dining, one of my favorite subjects.
There are countless reasons we enjoy cruising, but as you’ll notice with many of Scott’s posts, along with my own, they always seem to come back around to food—and rightly so. Cruise dining is a major factor for most experienced cruisers, just as much as the ports of call.
While no cruise line can be perfect, they all try to offer as much variety as they can to appease the masses. After all, when was the last time you tried cooking a meal for 4,000 guests? Now think about doing that three meals a day for a week!
Flo’s Cafe on Disney Fantasy
It’s safe to say that all cruise lines will offer the staples on the pool deck. Think basic burgers, pizza, wraps, chicken tenders, and fries. That’s exactly what you’ll get at Flo’s—perfect for a grab-and-go snack between soaking up the sun and cooling off in the pool. You’ll also find a plate of fresh fruit and a toppings bar for your sandwiches.
Eye Scream
Another pool deck staple is ice cream! Soft serve in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint, or a swirl combination is available at this self-service station.
Cabanas
Next, you’ll find the buffets. Again, they’re going to be pretty similar across most lines, with a few items that may distinguish one from another. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can find peel-and-eat shrimp and king crab legs every single day at the Cabanas service counter.
You’ll also find a carving station with different offerings throughout the week, such as turkey, ham, steamship, or chicken. There’s also a daily special station that rotates between selections like Asian cuisine and sushi, build-your-own tacos, build-your-own subs, pasta stations, and others.
The breakfast buffet will get you all the favorites: scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, pancakes—yada yada yada. What’s one thing you’ll only find on DCL? MICKEY WAFFLES! Been there, done that? Let’s kick it up a notch with CHURRO Mickey Waffles!
Yes, that’s right—a traditional final sea day treat aboard the Fantasy is a Mickey waffle tossed in cinnamon sugar. It’s a sweet way to fuel your day, and as our server says, “calories don’t count when you’re on vacation.”
You can also get made-to-order omelettes, whole fruit, and an assortment of pastries.
Disney Fantasy’s Main Dining Rooms & Rotational Dining
So, if you’ve been following along, you’ve seen me refer to our dining rotation. One way Disney Cruise Line changes it up from other lines is the use of rotational dining between the three Main Dining Rooms. These consist of Enchanted Garden, Royal Court, and Animator’s Palate. With three dining rooms over seven nights, you’ll spend at least two dinners in each, with one getting a three-peat. Your rotation is noted in your Navigator app.
Don’t worry, though—the menus in each restaurant change for your first and second experiences in that venue. You’ll notice I’ve labeled the menus as “Night 1.” There will be an alternate menu when we return for the second round of the rotation.
A great benefit of this system is that if you know there’s a particular item you enjoy, you can ask your server to get it for you, even if it’s on a menu from a different dining room. For example, the Fried Brie appetizer on Royal Court’s Night 1 menu is one of my favorites. Since the Animator’s Palate Night 1 menu doesn’t have an appetizer I love, I asked to have the Brie again—no problem! As long as it’s being offered somewhere that night, your servers will do their best to make it a great experience. However, you can’t request an item from a menu that’s already switched over to Menu 2 for the week.
All MDRs (Main Dining Rooms) are included in your cruise fare, with only alcoholic beverages incurring additional fees. These are also “all you care to enjoy.” Can’t decide between two options? Get them both! Want to try something new but aren’t sure about it? Order it. If you find it’s not to your liking, your server will gladly replace it with something else. Want a protein from one entrée but the side dishes from another? Just let your server know!
At the time of booking, you can select between 5:45 or 8:15 dining times. With the number of families with younglings onboard, the early dining time generally fills up months before sailing, leaving only the 8:15 seating. While we’ve encountered this a few times, we always make sure to get added to the waitlist for early dining. So far, we’ve always managed to get changed to the 5:45 slot, our preferred time.
The downside to eating dinner this early is that you have to be careful not to eat too much—or too late—a lunch. Easier said than done!
Disney Rotational Dining Room Team
With Disney Cruise Line, you have a designated dining team for the entire voyage. This consists of a Head Server, Server, and Beverage Server. The Head Server is more of a manager, overseeing a section of the restaurant. The Server and Beverage Server work in tandem with each other and generally manage about 4-5 tables, depending on party sizes.
With rotational dining, the dining team travels with you each night throughout the MDRs. This allows time for you to get to know them and vice versa. By the third night, they’ll likely have your preferred beverage waiting for you when you sit down. You don’t have to repeatedly inform them of food allergies or preferences, as you might on other lines where you have different servers each day.
The key member of the dining team is your Server. They are the person you will have the most contact with on a regular basis. The Beverage Server acts as their assistant, while the Head Server typically comes around once or twice a night to ensure you’re being taken care of and to offer assistance.
This is the fourth cruise we’ve had our current Server, Ida from Indonesia, as we put in a request for him prior to boarding. It’s fairly common on DCL for guests to find a particular Server they love and try to get them each time they return, even exchanging contact information to stay in touch while back in the “real world.” We’ve even talked to other guests who choose which ship to book based on where their Server is currently stationed.
This truly is a special part of the experience, as you get to know them personally and learn about their home and families—they become part of your “cruise family.”
Palo Brunch on Disney Fantasy
Today we experienced Palo Brunch for the first time—simply fabulous Italian fine dining. This is in the adult dining restaurant and comes with a $50 per person upcharge. Reservations are required and have proven to be hard to come by, as it books up quickly as soon as the reservation window opens. We got lucky last week and noticed a cancellation, so we scooped it up quickly.
While it is menu service, this is an all-you-care-to-enjoy affair. We’d done some research prior to booking and found that the most popular recommendation is to order a little of everything and share it family-style. Our server for this meal was Junior, from Brazil, and he did a wonderful job of going through the menu and keeping the food flowing. This was a slow-paced meal with adequate spacing between courses.
We began with Antipasto—“the meal before your meal”—and a pastry plate.
What a way to start off! The croissant had an almond filling that was sweet but not too sweet. Those little cinnamon buns not only had Nutella on top but inside as well! Now that was a delicious jolt of chocolatey goodness!
The Antipasto offered a light selection of seafood accompanied by a charcuterie plate. Both were good and provided a nice way to balance the sweet and savory courses.
Next up came the breakfast portion of our brunch. We ordered a Cinnamon Apple Waffle along with a poached egg with rosemary ham and hollandaise sauce—another winning combo. This wasn’t your typical Mickey waffle; it was as big as the plate, perfectly fluffy, with a cinnamon dusting and apple pieces.
What better way to transition into lunch than a stone fire pizza? With the ability to do a half and half we selected Margherita and Spicy Italian Sausage toppings. I had to limit myself to a single slice of each in order to have any room left for our entrees. It wasn’t easy seeing the half a pie being carried away from the table!
What better way to transition into lunch than with a stone-fired pizza? With the option to do a half-and-half, we selected Margherita and Spicy Italian Sausage toppings. I had to limit myself to a single slice of each to save room for our entrées. It wasn’t easy watching half a pie being carried away from the table!
Not one to let a little thing like being full stop me from finishing a meal, we moved on to the main course. We selected a combination of Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breast, Veal Saltimbocca, and Roasted Red Snapper Filet.
The clear winner here was the Chicken Parmesan—pounded thin with a light breading, creamy rice risotto, and plenty of melted mozzarella on top. The veal was decent, with thin slices; however, the sauce was a little too rich and salty, which overpowered the flavor of the meat. If I were to order this again, I’d ask for the sauce on the side to give the veal a fair chance.
The snapper had an incredible herb crust that gave it a hearty taste; however, it was overcooked, causing it to be tough and chewy.
The overall Palo Brunch experience was wonderful—plenty of good food, a beautiful venue with views of the sea while you dine, and great service. The only negatives were the veal sauce and the overcooked snapper, both of which are easy fixes, and I’d definitely give them another shot. As mentioned, this was a slow, relaxed meal. We arrived for our reservation at 11:30 and left shortly after 1:30.
After this it was up to Satellite Falls for the food coma to set in.
New Year’s Eve on Disney Fantasy
After an incredible Palo Brunch experience, it’s time for some rest to gear up for tonight’s highly anticipated New Year’s Eve celebration! Stay tuned for a full report on how Disney Fantasy rings in the new year in spectacular style.
From dazzling entertainment to festive dining and exclusive events, I’ll give you the inside scoop on all the happenings. Curious about the themed parties, countdown celebrations, and how Disney sprinkles its signature magic over the evening? I’ll cover it in the next post.
Don’t miss out—it’s going to be an unforgettable night on the high seas as we welcome the new year Disney-style!