Just Back From The Disney Dream…

[jujubiee4]

As far as food goes I go to other lines cruise forums and I hear the same complaints. Poor cuts
of meat tasteless food watery soup etc.

I remember Pete and crew did a review on Wonder Alaska cruise and they used words like
mediocre and cafeteria quality. We sailed the Wish earlier this month and I thought the food
was better than the Fantasy which we sailed in September....and markedly better than the May
Wonder cruise.

I'm a simple eater though and don't like salt or season on anything.

Appreciate your honest review.

 

[happycamper47]

This is starting to make me think they either recently changed the dining quality or maybe I got a bad anomaly cruise??

The quality of what the provisions supplier had available is also part of the equation. A chef can only do so much to make a bad cut of meat taste good. All the cruise lines are at the mercy of the current supply chain issues.

 

[mgpan]

Food on Celebrity and NCL over 5 or 6 cruises was far and above DCL food. The popcorn soup they once served was perhaps the worst cruise dish I ever had the displeasure to order. Avoid anything with tomato sauce at all costs. Beats Carnival to me hands down though but as they say YMMV. The cleanliness, service and quality of all other cruise aspects had better be spot on for me to not feel ripped off by the % higher prices of DCL. So far that has been the case, we'll see what happens on the next voyage. I have to say that NCL has upped the ante on cleanliness and service depending on the ship.

 

[DVacationer]

I personally think the BBQ at Serenity Bay is the worst food I eat when I go on the Dream. Our tastes are very different!

Ditto this!

OK so this is really making me think I got a bad cruise out of pattern or they recently severly downgraded the main dining room food on the Dream. I mean EVERYTHING at the Castaway Cay bbq tasted better then EVERYTHING in the main dining rooms. And trust me , we tried EVERYTHING. Something is wrong here.

Hi can I get the link to your YouTube review? I would love to see it as I was tentatively planning
something next year. Dh does not like Miami at all though so may be just me kids and grandma.

Its not up yet but should be in a few days as it was at the end of my 10 day December WDW trip (a back to back) and Im still uploading all those days in order.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Im not a gourmet eater by any means. Im fine with Mcdonalds (wish they had that on board to be honest over the bad food they served me). This is starting to make me think they either recently changed the dining quality or maybe I got a bad anomaly cruise??

Another possibility would be if there's a new chef onboard. Even if the menus are the same fleetwide, how the chef runs his/her kitchen and has the food prepped can change things.

Like others I find onboard food fine, but I'm not a gourmet diner and basic foods work for me.

 

[DVacationer]

Food on Celebrity and NCL over 5 or 6 cruises was far and above DCL food. The popcorn soup they once served was perhaps the worst cruise dish I ever had the displeasure to order. Avoid anything with tomato sauce at all costs. Beats Carnival to me hands down though but as they say YMMV. The cleanliness, service and quality of all other cruise aspects had better be spot on for me to not feel ripped off by the % higher prices of DCL. So far that has been the case, we'll see what happens on the next voyage. I have to say that NCL has upped the ante on cleanliness and service depending on the ship.

Thats the thing. I wanted to love the cruise SO MUCH. Because everything else was awsome. The food was such a glaring problem though. It would be one thing if the food was meh, I could overlook it , but Im telling you it was BAD. I even saw this beautiful spirit jersey of mickey / fanstasia and the dream logo but couldnt bare to buy it as I didnt fall in love with the ship, because of how atrocious the food was. I hate saying that but its really how we all felt.

 

[SleepyDeb]

If you ever want to try another cruise, the food on Norwegian was GREAT on our cruise. I don't particularly like the food on DCL either, but we just generally like the atmosphere on DCL better.

 

[tvguy]

I personally think the BBQ at Serenity Bay is the worst food I eat when I go on the Dream. Our tastes are very different!

A good point on tastes because the BBQ at Serenity Bay gets high marks from most Disney cruisers.

I know on our cruise on the Magic a gentleman at the next table didn't seem to have any experience with dishes other than plain protein, vegetable and potatoes. He ordered Beef Wellington and clearly did not know what he was ordering. He was quite vocal about it with the servers, asking "why would anyone ruin a piece of beef by putting pastry on it?"
I suspect it was also his first cruise, because he wore the same black sweat shirt and sweat pants to dinner all 7 nights.

 

[happycamper47]

I suspect it was also his first cruise, because he wore the same black sweat shirt and sweat pants to dinner all 7 nights.

Sounds like someone who was seated by us on our first Dream cruise in 2011, T-shirt, shorts and ball cap every night.

 

[Eastcoast02]

No the food is bad. I think I got sick from it one night. That said looking forward to putting myself thru it again in April.
On a side note, I think 90% of the food at WDW is bad. The 10% good is breakfast. Breakfast never does me dirty.

 

[epcotrulz]

I AM a foodie and did a four night on the Dream earlier this month, I found the MDR food to be very good for what it is. The sea bass at Enchanted Garden is one of my favorite seafood dishes anywhere….

Brunch at Remy was phenomenal…

Sorry your experience wasn’t the same. If the food was inedible you should have spoken to someone … especially since all you was going was eating and seeing shows.

 

[DVacationer]

I AM a foodie and did a four night on the Dream earlier this month, I found the MDR food to be very good for what it is. The sea bass at Enchanted Garden is one of my favorite seafood dishes anywhere….

Brunch at Remy was phenomenal…

Sorry your experience wasn’t the same. If the food was inedible you should have spoken to someone … especially since all you was going was eating and seeing shows.

I spoke to guest services. multiple times. Including the head chef. I was told I’d get contacted the next day by a manager. Then no one contacted me. So I had to keep going back to follow up. All they did was apologize and used the excuse that cooking for thousands of people is why the food is bad. Pretty embarrassing . Manager claimed he was powerless to do anything except have someone from guest relations call me after the trip. Still waiting on that call. They were all nice and courteous but how far does that go when you spend thousands and they do nothing of substance except apologize?

 

[Lilsia]

No this was actually AWFUL (MDR). I wasn't the only one on this cruise with that opinion. There were multiple parties thruought the cruise we casually talked to that had the same experience. Cooking for thousands doesn’t excuse them to not add any seasoning to food, use the absolute worst cuts of protein, make actually bad sauces for every dish. Temperature I can understand. It’s not like these thousands of guests are paying pennies on the dollar for this cruise. And Im not picky. When we got off the ship, we went to Mcdonalds and I was in HEAVEN. seriously, the food was that bad.

That has not been our experience but it has been a few years since we went on the Dream. I wonder if they have gone with a different supplier recently. I feel like they start with a good dish, and then gradually "dumb" it down. I hear so many people complain about how the menu is "too fancy". This dish has always been one of my favorites, what did you think of it? Marinated Angus Beef Tenderloin — carved to order on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind-Barbecue Reduction

 

[Lilsia]

I personally think the BBQ at Serenity Bay is the worst food I eat when I go on the Dream. Our tastes are very different!

I agree with you. I don't even eat on the Island anymore. I just go back to the ship to eat. The food is ALWAYS cold. And the last thing that I want is to get sick from food that is not at the proper temperature.

 

[DVacationer]

That has not been our experience but it has been a few years since we went on the Dream. I wonder if they have gone with a different supplier recently. I feel like they start with a good dish, and then gradually "dumb" it down. I hear so many people complain about how the menu is "too fancy". This dish has always been one of my favorites, what did you think of it? Marinated Angus Beef Tenderloin — carved to order on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind-Barbecue Reduction

No good. That was on our last night at Animators. The beef was tough to chew and had a taste and smell of beef that has no seasoning or anything and just was like boiled? Not sure how to explain. All their beef dishes on the cruise had a “just beef” smell and taste.

I agree with you. I don't even eat on the Island anymore. I just go back to the ship to eat. The food is ALWAYS cold. And the last thing that I want is to get sick from food that is not at the proper temperature.

The bbq at Serenity Bay we had was fresh and hot. The teriyaki glazed grilled salmon was particularly tasty.

 

[bigAWL]

Question about your experience that isn't food-related... How was the embarkation and debarkation process in Miami?

In particular, what time did you arrive at the port, was the process well-organized, and how long did it take to board?

Leaving the ship, did you attend your assigned breakfast, and was the debarkation and baggage pickup process well-organized or take very long?

 

[holula]

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve had anything bad at any Walt Disneyworld eatery whether it was table service or quick service. Maybe a couple not to my personal liking in some cases, but I wouldn’t consider them bad. In any case here are some of my favorites and go-to’s at WDW:
pizza at via napoli
cheeseburger eggrolls in Adventureland
salmon at Rainforest Cafe
kids salmon at sunshine seasons (great value too)
fish and chips at Yorkshire fish shop
grilled chicken sandwich & mac n cheese at Gasparilla Island Grill
Mahi sandwich at boathouse
Broccoli cheese soup at Earl of Sandwich
Fruit waffle at sleepy hollow
The burger and onion rings at Reagle Eagle
The walking taco at Pecos Bills

I would say we eat very differently as most of those things I don’t like at all.

And I totally agree that the BBQ on Castaway is worse than the food on board. I normally go back to the ship for lunch

 

[xiphoid76]

These threads are always fun to read. People like different things and that is the fun of the reviews Take it all for what it is worth. I am not a foodie at all so DCL is right up my alley - good plain food. Plus I would eat off the kids menu many nights If you are a foodie, then maybe it would not be your taste. Went to Kona Cafe recently and all the food was too exotic for me, so ordered a kids cheeseburger and it was delicious. Food is an important part of the cruise though so if it is not to your liking then I can certainly see not wanting to go on another one. Unlimited hamburgers and chicken fingers for me and I am a happy camper!

 

[NAB]

I agree with you. I don't even eat on the Island anymore. I just go back to the ship to eat. The food is ALWAYS cold. And the last thing that I want is to get sick from food that is not at the proper temperature.

Yeah I usually don’t eat much on the island but the ice cream and cookies…lol

 

[happycamper47]

And I totally agree that the BBQ on Castaway is worse than the food on board. I normally go back to the ship for lunch

It's Beach/Picnic food..