3. Find Hidden Treats: Ask your server to start each meal with a cheese (similar to All Hands On Dec

Kim L. is our Disney cruise guru around here! (Seriously. She knows EVERYTHING about cruising and was even the Disney World Moms Panel Cruise new york city travel packages Specialist her second term on the panel.) She s put together her top 10 tips to get the most out of your Disney Cruise dining experience, but we want to hear your tips as well, pretty please. Will you add yours in the comments section below?
1. Order The Cake of the Day: Order the Cake of the Day from Room Service ! Room service is complimentary (although a gratuity is appreciated) and it s fun to sample (um, okay, devour ) different cake slices.
3. Find Hidden Treats: Ask your server to start each meal with a cheese (similar to All Hands On Deck) or seafood platter (I saw shrimp served in the Mediterranean) for the entire table to enjoy. It s not on the menu. Parents can request cheese, grapes, and crackers for the kids. Just ask if it s available during your voyage!
4. Late Night Dining: If you re dining late and the kids are getting hungry, stop by one of the counter-service restaurants (or call Room Service) for a snack prior to the show. Then, you ll be able to bypass the expensive concession stand outside the theatre.
5. Miss Dinner?: If you have a family member that is unable to make dinner due to an illness, wardrobe mishap, etc., ask your server for a meal to bring back to your stateroom. The Wait Staff will go out of their way to accommodate your dining needs whenever possible.
6. Always Ask: Mickey ice cream bars (not always available on European cruises) are not on the Room Service menu but if you request one, it ll be delivered to your stateroom. Need a PB J Uncrustable for a picky eater? Just ask! These are also available at the dining rooms by request.
7. Tea Time: At table-service restaurants there will be some herbal tea available, while the self-serve Beverage Station s selection is quite small. For your tea fix, visit the spa. There s always a selection of complimentary tasty teas set out for patrons and you don t need an appointment to enter the fitness center hallway on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. Likewise, new york city travel packages you can get some tea in the relaxation room aboard the Dream! Stop in for your spot of tea or take a tea bag (or two) with you.
8. Don t Forget the Vino!: new york city travel packages Pre-purchase a wine package. Each night at dinner, you ll be able to pair a wine with your meal. The bottle can be enjoyed throughout your meal. Any remaining wine can be sent to your stateroom!
10. Mix and Match!: You can mix and match menu items. At dinner, try two appetizers. Have a soup and salad, then two desserts. Don t feel obligated new york city travel packages to have every course. And don t feel shy about adding an extra portion of your favorite dish.
We love everything about the food and the service on DCL. My daughter especially loves the pool side counter service options. When we got hungry in the late afternoon and still had a few hours until dinner, she would make a snack run up to Pluto s Dog House and pick up some chicken nuggets and pizza. Then she d go back up for the drinks! She loved this bit of freedom new york city travel packages and responsibility she was 10 at the time! We can t wait to check out the Dream in 2012!
We re going on our first disney new york city travel packages cruise in October, new york city travel packages and I m actually really nervous about the food. I m soy intolerant, and I ve had a few restaurants at WDW that don t see to know how to handle that. So hopefully the Dream (which I notified in advance) will be able to.
Wow! I had NO idea about many of these tips, including the cake of the day and cheese platters. Thank you so much for that! I will absolutely use these tips on my next cruise on the Dream this August.
My only tip is that there is a miniature late-night buffet outside the District every night, from something like 11pm to midnight. It s great for a late-night snack of mini-sandwiches, wings, desserts, etc. (I assume there is one at the Magic Wonder s adult-areas as well )
I m a somewhat picky eater and on certain nights, I didn t feel like a lot of fancy food with unusual sauces, veggies, textures, etc. In addition new york city travel packages to the tip above that you can skip courses you don t care for, you (as an adult) can also ask for a kids menu and order something off that.
Great post! Thanks for the tips! Two questions new york city travel packages if you please: They will allow sandwiches and other hot foods brought into the show theaters? And please tell us more about the secret pre-dinner seafood platter!
Also, does the Cake of the Day from Room Service correspond to something served in the dining rooms that day or is it a completely different and independent offering? Is it more of a generic birthday cake with frosting/icing new york city travel packages type item or something fancier?
#2. You are not suppose to take food off or on the ship unless it is completely prepackaged and sealed due to regulations. You can get away with it but it is frowned upon. Pick packaged cereal or Uncrustables from room service (asked for them to remained new york city travel packages sealed, sometimes they open them for you).
#3 While you CAN do this, if everyone did this it would throw the servers off, especially on the Dream where they are already running. They aren t on the menu so not prepared in the kitchen. They have to go out of the norm to get the special request. You can order a cheese platter from room service to enjoy while you get ready if this is a must.
#4 Unless you are in a concierge suite, don t expect to get your dinner service meal in your room. It may be done, but it is far from the norm. You have a better new york city travel packages chance finding a seat at 2nd seating or ordering from the room service menu.
#1 #2 are my favorite! Cake of the Day? Yes please. AND never would have thought of bringing lunch on excursions. Do you order the night before? Lots of the excursions leave early. Can t wait for our Med Cruise. Only 5 more weeks!!!
I have tried to bring food into the theaters on the Wonder and was told absolutely not . I had some sandwiches and a plate of fries that I thought me and my friends could munch on while watching the evening show but was told that I would have to eat all the food outside the theater. I thought it was odd because new york city travel packages you can bring candy and popcorn in but no luck for me!
I had the wine package on the Dream and did not even open one of the bottles new york city travel packages so I was able to take that with me when we disembarked. I tried to give it to our assistant waiter but he said he was not allowed to accept that kind of gift:(
Jeanine- maybe I ve sailed during strawberry season! At any rate, cruisers should at least ask for the strawberries. I love the ones coated in white chocolate. VIP guests do get these as daily amenities so they are on the ship!
Everyone I m sure there is more leniency with meals being sent to rooms, etc. on off-season cruises, etc. I typically sail in January although our Med cruise was in May. I have never heard of anyone being denied their meal in their room on any of the cruises that I ve been on. Of course your meal is only going to be sent on a platter, you won t get white-gloved service in your cabin. I ve sat with guests that weren t feeling well (ya know how it is that first night out of Port Canaveral) and their meals were sent to their cabins. Of course, suite staterooms get this service automatically! I had the pleasure of interviewing new york city travel packages many of the officers, kitchen staff, etc during my Moms Panel cruise training trip in addition to my own personal sailings and everyone on the Disney cruise is very accommodating!
I ve never eaten in the theater but my son has munched on cookies, etc during the shows. We ve never been turned away. Of course, I ve never entered with a full plate of Pluto s offerings! I was thinking more in the line of a snack rather than a meal. I just love hearing of all of your own personal experiences! And the best part of working for the Moms Panel, etc is the continued learning experience! new york city travel packages Let s share the magic! Details about cake, etc. coming soon. I m at a Dude Ranch in Wyoming. Yee-haw!
As well, bringing any food, even sealed into ports, it is my understanding it is a big no no. DCL does not like it but will most likely new york city travel packages not say anything, the ports themselves have very strict rules on this. Alaska will not allow any food brought into ports, and that is not a foreign country for most of us.
And like Tracy mentioned, while the waiters will NEVER ever let on, any special request like the cheese platter does add to their work load. While we do not see it, things really do run on a fast paced system in the back and anything out of the norm takes extra effort on their part. So it could probably be done if you had good waitstaff, but I do not think I personally would put that on them.
Thanks so much for the tips! We had the pleasure of sailing on the Wonder in the Walt Disney Suite and can t wait to try the Dream. Some thoughts on all of the posts: Suite guests have all of the restaurants menus in the room and can have them delivered. new york city travel packages I m told, by the concierge team, that it s a suite perk, but I am sure someone who missed their seating or as ill would also be able to do so. It has been said, repeatedly, here that servers frown on, Disney doesn t like, etc etc about asking for things out of the norm. The fact is, is that Disney is very customer service new york city travel packages oriented. A Cruise line that caters to kids has to be. While the most out of the ordinary item we asked for was plain pasta that wasn t on the menu, for our kids, I m sure we could have had anything we needed. Incidentaly, our server offered to bring us a cheese platter one night at dinner, (Wasn t on the menu), with no prompting from us. When it arrived we found it to be totally different from the one served through new york city travel packages room service. I m an easy client new york city travel packages so I wouldn t run my server ragged but if you ask for extras remember two things: 1. They may say no, or it s not something they can do. and 2. Remember all those extras when it ccomes time to tip you waitstaff!!!!!!!!!!
Omg! I am a seasoned cruiser new york city travel packages (9 so far) and am taking my first Disney cruise on Dream this February. Your tips a