What Food Are You Most Looking Forward To On The Ship?

While eating dinner last night, the husband asked me what food I was most looking forward to eating on the ship.  Of course, he is referring to our upcoming Disney Cruise on board the Disney Fantasy.  Since this will be our sixth Disney Cruise, we are not strangers to the food or menus on the ship.

My answer to the husband's question came momentarily, as there is so much good food to consider, that I needed to pause and consider my reply.  Soups.  Soups and seafood.  Those were my first responses.  The husband probed more, inquiring about any particular soup.  Nope.  All soups.

While each main dining room on the ship has a lovely menu with soups, salads, appetizers, and main entrees, I am known to order more than one soup.  Actually, I have forgone an entree selection and instead ordered multiple soups, salads, and appetizers.

Then, there's the seafood.  Many options, including some in soup form!  Also, there will be one day on the ship where the buffet style restaurant will have a seafood theme along with multiple seafood selections.  

I did add on to the answer to the husband's question.  Creme brulee.  I warmed him that if Creme brulee is served for dessert, I will be ordering more than one.  The husband chuckled and said that he would be ordering more than one entree.  Fair enough.  He also said he was looking forward to beef;  large servings of beef.

The last answer I gave was that I was looking forward to our Champagne Brunch at Remy and the foods we would get to try.  The husband agreed.

We are definitely looking forward to our next Disney Cruise!

Flo's V-8 Cafe on the Disney Dream

The husband and I were lamenting the other day because we miss “our ship.”  It was near dinner time and we were wistfully reminded of the ease of obtaining food on the Disney Dream.  In addition to the three main dining rooms and Cabanas, Deck 11 offers even more choices with Flo’s V-8 Café.

Taking a nod from Cars, Flo’s V-8 Café features Luigi’s Pizza, Doc’s Grill, and Fillmore’s Favorites.  These three “counters” are located mid-ship on Deck 11 on the Disney Dream and feature their own “road” painted on the floor.  Guests can get their tank refilled typically from 11:00 am until late in the evening, 11:00 pm or midnight.  Hours of operation are posted in the daily Navigators.

Luigi’s Pizza offers a variety of pizza toppings and features a “pizza of the day” advertised on a sign on the counter.  The boy’s favorite is BBQ chicken pizza.  Various selections are displayed in the glass case and you order by the slice or slices.

Doc’s Grill is known for its burgers and then some.  Hot dogs, brats, fish burgers, chicken strips, fries, veggie burgers, and chicken sandwiches can all be found on the menu.  A wide selection of condiments are available just across from Doc’s Grill.

Fillmore’s favorites features salads, fresh fruit—either the whole fruit or cut and sliced in a bow, yogurt, deli sandwiches, wraps, pasta, and grilled panini sandwiches.

As you can tell this is the place for a quick meal or a quick snack.  With self-serve ice cream just around the corner, and drink stations on the other side of the pool, it is hard to imagine ever having to leave this area.

Having now sailed 10 nights on the Disney Dream, we have figured out how to make the most of Flo’s V-8 Café.  Here are our hints and tips:

• The square plates at Luigi’s pizza are great for carrying drinks from the drink station.  One plate can hold 4 cups.  So, we ask for a plate from Luigi’s and head to the drink station to get our drinks then return to Luigi’s to place our order.  The plate of pizza goes on top of the drinks.  Stacking the plates and the drinks makes it easier to carry if you are taking it to your stateroom or another location.
• Hold the fries.  At Doc’s Grill if you are ordering for more than one person but don’t have extra hands, ask them to put more than one “entrée” on a plate and then hold the fries or put a few on the side.  We can get a cheeseburger, chicken strips, and brat all onto one plate—again, easier to carry.
• All of these locations share the same kitchen.  If you want pizza and a cheeseburger, tell them at either location before taking your plate.  The crew will pass your plate to the next counter inside the kitchen, other items will be added, and you can pick up your plate at the next counter.  The crew prefers this rather than you handing them a plate that you have already taken from the other counter to have additional food added at the next counter.
• If you are eating anywhere other than Deck 11, be sure to use the midship doors to get to the midship elevators as they open automatically.  For me, this is the best addition to the Disney Dream as usually just one of us heads out to get a snack for all of us.  Multiple plates and drinks means hands are full so an automatic door is appreciated.

When people ask me why a Disney Cruise vacation is our easiest vacation, especially if traveling with children, I give examples of how easy it is to feed your kids on the ship.  If the boy is hungry, we can get him fresh fruit, pizza, and a glass of milk within minutes and it is all included in the price of our cruise.  Imagine trying to do that at a Disney park!  And, now that he is older, he is able to do that for himself; all you can eat pizza and ice cream equals paradise for a 10 year old boy.

What if you are sailing on the Disney Magic and Wonder?  Well, these same offerings are available on Deck 9, with Pluto’s Dog House, Goofy’s Galley, and Pinocchio’s Pizzeria, they just aren’t as conveniently located as Flo’s V-8 Café.

The Mystery of Table 106

When sailing on a Disney cruise, guests often find themselves assigned to a dining table with others.  We refer to these folks as tablemates.  Whether or not you will have tablemates and who they will be is one of those adventurous mysteries that will remain unknown until you arrive for dinner on the first night of your cruise, unless you are traveling with a larger party or family.

On our first Disney cruise, we were tablemates with a family of 5 from Miami, making our table a round number or 8.  They had kids, we had a kid, it was nice at best and awkward at worst. 

On our second Disney cruise, we had a table to ourselves.  There was a family from Japan sitting at the table next to us with a little girl about the boy’s age and he learned how to say hello in Japanese. 

The third cruise our tablemates were Jane, Robert, and Becky, a family from New Jersey.  We definitely had the most in common with them and enjoyed their company.  We lingered after dinner visiting while the boy and Becky headed to the kids club. 

On the Dream for the first time, we were assigned table 111 with an extended family from New York—grandmother, mother, aunt/sister, and two young girls.  Again, interesting, but no connections.

Know that the various tablemate assignments did not detract or distract us from having great meals and great service while sailing.  We still looked forward to going to dinner each night in the various dining rooms. 

Our most recent cruise, we were assigned again to table 111, or at least, that is what our dining tickets said.  But sometime during the first afternoon on board, we received a phone call from Zan, one of the Dining Room Managers.  He told us that they had us assigned to a table of 23 people traveling together and had just realized we weren’t a part of that group.  He then asked us if we would like to be assigned to a different table.  I agree.  We checked in with Zan with our dining ticket the first night and were reassigned to table 106—a table of 4, just for us. 

Throughout our trip, I kept looking for that party of 23 at dinner.  Zan had also told us that they had Asian names, not that it mattered, but it made looking for the group a bit easier.  We even eye-spied our table from our last cruise in the various dining rooms and nothing—no party of 23.  So, was Zan pulling our leg and telling us a story because he needed to change our table due to a guest request that afternoon?

My guess is yes.  My guess is that family or friends traveling together made sure they were dining together when they got on board, which caused reassignments in the dining room.  We were okay with the change, even though we were looking forward to having tablemates, and had Zan simply told us they needed to change our tables it would have been just fine.

The story of tables 111 and 106 and the traveling party of 23 will live on and we look forward to dining on the Fantasy for our next Disney cruise!

Dining at Enchanted Garden on the Disney Dream

Just as on any cruise, dining on a Disney Cruise is all part of the wondrous adventure that is cruising.  On our 5 night cruise aboard the beautiful Disney Dream, we ate at the Enchanted Garden dining room twice—once for dinner and once for breakfast.

Guests aboard a Disney ship will rotate through three main dining rooms while their wait staff—server, assistant server, and head server rotate with them.  There are two ways guests are informed of their dining rotation—the first is when they receive their Key to the World Card, as the dining rotation will be a series of letters on the front of the card.  Ours was AERRA:  A for Animator’s Palate, E for Enchanted Garden, and R for Royal Palace.  You can see from the order of the letters the order in which we dined in the various dining rooms on board. 

The second way for guests to know their dining rotation is to look at the dining tickets in their stateroom on their first day on board.  The tickets indicate the dining rotation, time of dining, and table number.  Guests need to bring these tickets with them to dinner their first night on board.  After that first night, there is no need, as the table number will stay the same.  Know that the same table number will be located in various areas in each of the three main dining rooms.

We ate in the Enchanted Garden on our second night of our five night cruise.

The Enchanted Garden is located on Deck 2 aft.  Guests may use the mid-ship elevators or the stairs in the Lobby Atrium to make their way to the Enchanted Garden.  The bathrooms are located just outside the dining room entrance on both sides of the hallway—men’s on one side women’s on the other.  There are also Shutters kiosks located in the hallway so that guests can check their photos or manage their photo accounts.

When entering the Enchanted Garden, guests are transported to a garden scene inspired by the gardens of Versailles in France.  There are garden scenes on either side of the entrance way.  A fountain is the middle of the dining room.

While dining, the garden transforms from day to night.  We enjoyed watching the flower petals on the lights open and close.

The menu is described as market cuisine.  Click here to read the menu.

I had the Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower—with the Wasabi dressing (I couldn’t resist as Tow Mater has a great scene in Cars 2 with Wasabi dressing),  Baby Spinach Salad, and the Pan-Seared Sea Bass.  The husband had Lobster Ravioli, the Wedge salad, and Grilled NY Strip Steak.  I know I had the Banana’s Foster Sundae for dessert.  I don’t remember what the husband had.

What’s great is there is also a children’s menu combining kids’ favorites like chicken strips with some more daring fares such as the Lobster Ravioli.  The boy ate well (you can see the Lobster Ravioli on his face if you look closely at the photo at the beginning of this post), even trying our dishes, which he typically does, and he ordered the Banana’s Foster for dessert off the adult menu.  And, this type of ordering is okay on a Disney cruise.  If there was an appetizer on the adult menu that he wanted, such as Lobster Bisque which is one of his favorites, but it isn’t listed on the children’s menu, go ahead and order it anyway.  Again, it is okay to do this.

We dined at the Enchanted Garden the next morning, on our “at sea” day for breakfast.  The breakfast is buffet style offering traditional breakfast items, and we dined at a different table and got another perspective of the dining room.

Enchanted Garden is also open for lunch.  Check Navigators for specific days and times the Enchanted Garden is available for breakfast and lunch.

In terms of the 3 main dining rooms, Enchanted Garden would rank 2^nd.  It wasn’t our favorite, but it wasn’t our least favorite either.  We enjoyed ourselves and the new atmosphere, as there is no Enchanted Garden on the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder, so this was a first for us.

Click here to read about dining at Cabanas on Deck 11.

Click here to read about dining at Animator’s Palate, one ofthe three main dining rooms.

Dining on a Cruise Ship

I bumped into friend, neighbor, and fellow cruiser the other day and our conversation turned to cruising.  And, while our conversation sailed from one topic to another about cruising in general, the subject of dining on a cruise ship surfaced.  Let’s talk more about dining on a cruise ship. . .

Part of the cruising experience is enjoying being served during a meal.  Yes, that meal may take a bit longer than a pizza or burger.  Yes, there will an expectation of tipping your servers at the end of the cruise—more about that later.  Yes, you may be seated with other guests.  And, yes, your servers want you to enjoy your meal.

Time:  Dining on a cruise ship in a main dining room does take time.  That’s why there are usually “dinner seatings” and guests are assigned a time.  Some cruise lines have “free style” cruising, but if you want to eat something other than a buffet, you’ll have to make reservations for a specific time.  One reason the dining takes more time is that there are courses to the meal:  appetizer, soup and salad, entrée, and dessert.  On Disney Cruise Line, there is typically a “show” of sorts in some of the main dining rooms.

Sometimes it can be difficult for a child to sit through a meal that may take 90 minutes or more.  The “show” helps, especially at Animator’s Palette.  We also come prepared with toys, hand held games, etc.  On Disney Cruise Line, you will find crayons and children’s menus for coloring, etc.  We have also had the boy’s entire meal—minus dessert it if it something that would melt—served when we are served our appetizer.  When he is done eating, he heads to the kids club and everyone enjoys the rest of the meal time.

Tipping:  It is a cruise line expectation to tip those that serve you.  Some cruise lines have “service charges” rather than specific tips.  There’s a great web-site that will help you calculate your tips or service charges—click here.  Yes, tips are per person, so children, even wee ones, count.

Interestingly, I have read in some on-line forums, about cruisers forgoing the main dining rooms and opting for other dining options on board citing reasons such as the meals are too formal, take too much time, and the food is too “gourmetish.”  The husband and I were visiting about this the other night and I’m speculating some folks may avoid the dining rooms to reduce tipping.  Hmmm. . .

Eating with others:  Depending on the size of your travel party, you may be seated with other guests for dinner.  Of our 3 Disney cruises, we have shared tables with other cruises twice.  On our first cruise, we were seated with a family of 5 from Miami.  It was the first Disney cruise for both of our families.  We enjoyed the company, but it wasn't until our last cruise that we looked forward to dining with our tablemates who were a family of 3 from New Jersey.  Disney did a great job of pairing us up. . . it was the 3rd cruise for both of our families, we had children about the same age, and had similar occupations--even though I have no idea how Disney knew that!



It can be great fun to visit with others over a meal, especially after a day of adventures in port.  And, while this can concern some prospective cruise guests, I assure you, it will be just fine.  Go ahead, give it a try. 

Please, enjoy your meal:  Chefs and dining room servers want you to enjoy your meal.  This means that you can order pretty much whatever is on the menu.  I have had a meal of just appetizers before.  Now, while this didn’t concern my server, he still wanted to make sure I was satisfied.  If you see two salads you want to try, go for it!  The husband has ordered two entrees before.  Go ahead, it’s okay.

One day the boy was going through the buffet line for lunch and put steamed broccoli on his plate—he loves steamed broccoli.  Well, as sometimes will happen, his tray fell.  And, while he was getting a new one there was either no more steamed broccoli or he overlooked it in the line.  A few minutes later, a whole plate of steamed broccoli was delivered to him.  We will always remember that.

On our last cruise, one of the dinner meals featured asparagus as a side vegetable with one of the entrees.  Asparagus is the husband’s favorite.  Our table mates ordered that same entry and since we knew them pretty well by this time, when their plates arrived, the husband ended up with a heap of asparagus from their plates to his.  Our server noticed this and soon a plate full of asparagus arrived at the table.  And, while the husband loved every bite, he felt the affects later—if you have ever eaten asparagus, you will know what I’m talking about. 

If you order something that you try and don’t like, don’t hesitate to send it back or ask for something different.  Your servers will be offended if you don’t like your meal.  Want something that isn’t on the menu?  Ask.  Chances are, what you are asking for is being served somewhere on the ship and your server could get it for you.  This is your cruise and your wait staff wants you to enjoy your meal.