Low quality food on the islands and Cabanas

[SL6827]

That would definitely be a hard sell. But I've started to see other cruiselines offer paid quick service food and more specialty dining options than in the past.

I personally like the idea of offering a cheap cruise with port stops every day and limited food. But I think unlimited food is a huge reason most cruisers vacation that way.

I agree. I just think this is in the back of the mind of the cruise industry right now. If the food is getting bad on DCL, I cant imagine what is up with some of the other lines.

 

[Kwami]

I agree. I just think this is in the back of the mind of the cruise industry right now. If the food is getting bad on DCL, I cant imagine what is up with some of the other lines.

I sailed with NCL last spring and the food was so, so much worse than DCL's food.

 

[brentm77]

That would definitely be a hard sell. But I've started to see other cruiselines offer paid quick service food and more specialty dining options than in the past.

I personally like the idea of offering a cheap cruise with port stops every day and limited food. But I think unlimited food is a huge reason most cruisers vacation that way.

Sure, it wouldn't be as bad if it worked out that way. But I think what we will get is the same or higher fares, without the included food if it happens. I can't think of an industry post pandemic that has cut prices to match the cut benefits. If the parks are any indication, we will just get less for more money on DCL.

 

[Pixarfans]

Sometimes cabanas and the pool tenders are different. Fortunately there is plenty to eat, even if some is not to your liking.

 

[DCLMP]

That would definitely be a hard sell. But I've started to see other cruiselines offer paid quick service food and more specialty dining options than in the past.

I personally like the idea of offering a cheap cruise with port stops every day and limited food. But I think unlimited food is a huge reason most cruisers vacation that way.

I agree I think people cruise because it's an all inclusive vacation.

 

[jwalk03]

Not providing free food on cruises would be a huge mistake. The current model of offering upcharge options is one thing, but taking away that "all-inclusive" feel would be a huge mistake IMO.

 

[DCLMP]

I agree. I just think this is in the back of the mind of the cruise industry right now. If the food is getting bad on DCL, I cant imagine what is up with some of the other lines.

They are all about the same in my opinion.

 

[Atlantix2000]

I got that idea from reading message boards and talking to people who had cruised before, Everyone in my party had cruised before. They have all even been on the Dream. They all said they don't remember the food being this bad,

I expected the buffet to be at least as good as the kids buffet at Boma, Cape May, etc. Decent fresh chicken nuggets, decent m&c, pasta with meatballs, etc. It wasn't even that good.

I cancelled Palo reservations after being so underwhelmed. I am a foodie. I have been to V & A's and loved it, so many quality restaurants in NYC, SF, LA, etc. Maybe I wasn't expecting fine dining like I am having in 2 weeks in Las Vegas, but I EXPECTED FUN FOOD THAT TASTED GOOD! LOL! I EXPECTED COCKTAIL SAUCE WITH MY PEEL AND EAT SHRIMP! I EXPECTED FRESH FRUIT FROM THE ISLANDS, NOT FROM CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA!!!

You Disney apologists keep spending your money with them. Enjoy the sub-mediocrity.

But did anyone in your party do a European cruise before? The vast majority of comments and experience here is going to be Americans eating American style food sourced from American vendors. It's no secret that European food is different. It's also unfair to expect DCL to dump all their European sourced food the moment they arrive on this side of the Atlantic. I'm not saying I would have thought about this in advance and avoided the first cruise or two after a trans-atlantic, but maybe I will in the future.

It's also no secret that everything eaten on DCL's islands comes off the ship when you arrive. I believe that's standard practice for all the major cruise lines and their private islands. To get fresh fruit from the islands, you'd have to visit a port that allows you leave the cruise line's bubble but even then you'll find that the islands import much of their food too!

 

[DCLMP]

Not providing free food on cruises would be a huge mistake. The current model of offering upcharge options is one thing, but taking away that "all-inclusive" feel would be a huge mistake IMO.

It's not free it's part of the cruise fare.

 

[SL6827]

It's not free it's part of the cruise fare.

True. It's part of the fare right now. Ten years, who knows? I may be wrong on this, hopefully so for those who cruise a lot.

I would never imagined years ago all the benefits Disney would take from their hotel guest.

 

[SL6827]

They are all about the same in my opinion.

Sad. Disney should have a higher standard.

 

[SL6827]

Days gone by.

 

[DCLMP]

Sad. Disney should have a higher standard.

You have the high end cruise lines which I’ve heard have great food. The mass market cruise lines like DCL are all about the same. I’ve read princess has the best pizza, but have yet to try that line.

 

[toontoy]

In our experience other lines such as Royal and princess have improved the quality of the food but disney has declined. My favorite cruise line food was on Princess but they had a lot of seafood options. The sad thing about Disney is that the old stuff they used to do are gone and are pretty much lining up with the market standard. They even state industry standards when you ask about a cutback or change they made. For me our next Disney cruise is an idea as we can book 2 to 3 cruises on Royal and Princess for the same price. Our last 4-night cruise on Royal was fun and the ship had so much to do for our kids. They loved the food options in the buffet and the poolside tacos. I think they need to step up the bar, it seems now they are more interested in dinner shows than quality foods. Quality of ingredients is always a major concern for me as we only eat whole foods at home, not heavily processed foods. I like European foods, but they also have cheap food which tastes terrible. It sounds like the OP had some of that. I dont think the OP had unrealistic expectations. Disney charges a premium and boasts about what you get. I have found lately they overpromise and under-deliver. I am a fan but right now, I'm holding off since I dont see the value anymore in Disney World or Disney Cruises.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

People rave about the BBQ on the islands but we think it very mediocre. Very low quality.
Cabanas food quality and selection is not what it was pre covid on any of the ships.
Not even SYSCO nor SHAMROCK institutional quality.

Quality goes up and down and has been down for years now.
Nothing inspirational.

Disney tries hard to keep their stock above $100 and they do it with high prices and cheap quality. It closed at $116 Friday and expect more mediocre quality to try to keep it there. Read that: Try to.

Magic ran Cabanas at dinner BTW. Passengers were shocked.

 

[Pixie Dust Believer]

I will say I was impressed with the LHP family cabanas food station. I had very low expectations after my visits to castaway, but I was pleasantly surprised. They offered steaks and fish made to order by the Palo chefs in addition to other options. The salmon was delicious and I almost always split a second serving.

I wasn't impressed with the majority drinks at LHP and much prefer Castaway Cay. Honestly I prefer the ship over both islands. One exception is the Eluthera elixar which was refreshing on hot days

 

[SL6827]

DCL is probably wanting to cater to the first time cruiser or the very rarely cruiser, like myself. If you very rarely cruise with them, you might not notice these changes. Like with WDW, they love the once in a lifetime guest.

 

[greensombrero]

Food can be very subjective but we did one of the triple dip cruises on the Fantasy in October and I thought the food on Castaway and Lookout was great. We got a different menu our second Castaway stop and it was my favorite Castaway food ever. They had a sweet and purple potato salad that was awesome along with some good fish. I thought the food on Lookout was generally better than Castaway but the lines were bad when we went which negatively impacted it a bit and meant I couldn’t go back and try some other things.

I’m generally not a huge Cabanas fan and this last cruise I felt breakfast had a little less variety and the lunches were rather meh but we did have good chicken tenders.

Our main dining food seemed better than usual though.

All that to say I do think it varies from person to person and cruise to cruise. It sounds like you may have had some especially bad luck. I do have to wonder if the Dream had some leftovers from Europe in the freezer they were trying to get rid of.

 

[Cfabar1]

Why did the magic run dinner in cabanas on Friday? Of all the ships, I would be most surprised to hear dinner is making a cabana's comeback on the magic...