Just Back From The Disney Dream…

[DVacationer]

I just returned from my 1st cruise EVER. It was a 4 night merrytime cruise on the Disney Dream out of Port Miami. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about regarding cruising and how it compares to my all time favorite vacation destination, Disneyworld. Here are my rapid fire thoughts

• The Dream was beautiful and cozy
• I paid $1900 for a guaranteed verandah and ended up getting assigned a family stateroom verandah
• The stateroom was AWSOME. Verandah is a must. Loved seeing the ocean from the bed
• Split bathroom is great.
• water pressure is even better then some WDW hotel rooms
• Felt AMAZING coming back to the room (and the beautiful ship) after various activities
• As an adults only party, there was plenty for us to do
• All we did was eat & see the main shows like Beauty and the Beast and our days were full
• 4 nighter was perfect but 3 nights would be doable too
• Nassau Bahamas is dirty and felt unsafe, no desire to ever go back there
• Viisited Atlantis too and regretted it
• Nassau and Miami South Beach just felt like people were trying to swindle you left and right
• Castaway Cay is heaven on earth. Serenity Bay is the most beautiful and tranquil places Ive seen in my life
• Ocean water in castaway cay is cleaner and clearer then most pools
• main dining and room service food was ATROCIOUS. HORRIBLE. TASTLESS. and we tasted EVERYTHING. Every beef dish was very low grade meat and tasted gamey, chicken was tasteless, food was lukewarm, most raviolis were sour, most sauces were just bad, kids chicken tenders, fries, and baked potato with butter were the best things on the whole da** ship
• Because of the horrible food, I will never go back on the Disney Dream. Buffet was ok. BBQ at Castaway was really good.
• All the shows were awsome including the Golden Mickeys, Beauty and the Beast, and Believe. I don’t have the desire to re watch them again though
• The christmas decorations really added beauty to the ship and will be what I would book (IF I go again)
• It wasn’t any more relaxing then my WDW trips. I could just hang out at the Polynesian all day at WDW and relax if I wanted to.
• Didnt meet any characters or any extra activities. Just ate, enjoyed the room, watched the main shows, and went out to port. Felt like we did plenty still
• Felt dizzy the first hour from the ship rocking then didnt effect me, actually felt relaxing to me once I got used to it.
• Disneyworld is better. If I could only afford one, WDW would be my choice everytime
• I do want to experience the Disney Wish now but not at its current price & only if I know the food will be good
• Ill never sail out of Port Miami again. It was dirty and the people felt “cold”
• Spent a night at Miami in South Beach and it was SO UNDERWHELMING. Never going back there. Just a bunch of lackluster hotels and small cuban inspired restaurants. The beach was nice but nothing special. (Comparatively , recently went to Waikiki Beach in Hawaii and its on another level, people are warmer and energy is so positive there)
• Disney music playing in the room and hallways adds so much charm, loved that
• Watching Avatar 2 in the theater was very cool
• Palo brunch was also underwhelming, a one and done. Food was OK but its because all the other food is horrible ( celery soup and eggs benedict were really good though)
• Documented this trip on YouTube if you are curious to see these thoughts play out in real time. It’ll be up in a couple days as I am uploading my WDW trip in order and this cruise was at the tail end of that (It was a back to back).
• please forgive my spelling and punctuation. Lots of thoughts, little time.

To some it up, never going on the Disney Dream again because of the food. I cant imagine food being any worse then this, honestly. Service and entertainment were top notch though. I still think about Castaway Cay and that wonderful stateroom with the ocean views so thats what may nudge me to cruise again sometime in the future. In the meantime, give me the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, and all the rest of Disneyworld at my leisure and I’m fine forever.

 

[CamColt]

Thanks for the review, however I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy the food.

 

[jimmymc]

Great summary! Unfortunately the food is a big problem with Disney ships. The Wish is the only one I've heard is significantly better.

 

[Cheburashka]

I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise, although both your positive and negative statements seem exaggerated. For example, I've sailed out of Miami three times and have never found its seaport to be dirty. And while Castaway Cay is my favorite port of call, I think it's a bit much to describe it as "heaven on earth". It is a special place, though, and very peaceful, as you pointed out.

You've learned that complimentary cruise ship food is not the same quality as land-based restaurant food. This is true of all mass market cruise lines. It's because they're feeding thousands of people and it's about volume, and also because the food is "complimentary", there's a limit to what a mass-market line will spend on the ingredients. I disagree with your characterization of the MDR and pool deck food as "awful", but it can be average or lackluster, especially if you have dietary restrictions (WDW is much better at accommodating those while simultaneously keeping the food tasty). If you're a "foodie", MDR & pool deck meals won't satisfy you, but if you're less picky, it does just fine. If you ever sail DCL again, you should have dinner at Palo and Remy (better than brunch imo). I've never sailed the Wish, but have sailed all of the other ships, and can tell you that the food will be the same on those.

And yes, south Florida beaches aren't going to favorably compare with Hawaii beaches. There's a reason why people pay the crazy airfare to fly to Hawaii instead of staying on the mainland.

 

[auntlynne]

That’s a fairly good wrap up of cruising in general, with Disney specifically.

I don’t think the food was just the Dream; sounds like for your tastes, all Disney ships would be similar in this regard (they use the same menus and, I imagine, the same suppliers).

I also love Serenity Bay and its clear water and peaceful environment.

Agree about Port of Miami and Hawaii.

You gave it a try, came away with some positives, and will probably appreciate your WDW resorts even more the next stay.

Thanks for your review.

 

[DVacationer]

I'm glad you enjoyed your first cruise. You've learned that cruise ship food is not the same quality as land-based restaurant food. This is true of all mass market cruise lines. It's because they're feeding thousands of people and it's about volume, and also because the food is "complimentary", there's a limit to what a mass-market line will spend on the ingredients. I disagree with your characterization of the MDR and pool deck food as "awful", but it can be average or lackluster, especially if you have dietary restrictions (WDW is much better at accommodating those while simultaneously keeping the food tasty). If you're a foodie, MDR & pool deck meals won't satisfy you, but if you're less picky, it does just fine. If you ever sail DCL again, you should have dinner at Palo and Remy (better than brunch imo). I've never sailed the Wish, but have sailed all of the other ships, and can tell you that the food will be the same on those.

And yeah, south Florida isn't going to favorably compare with Hawaii. Lol.

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.

 

[Cheburashka]

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.

You have the right to your opinion. There are many, many others who do not agree, though. You're an adult only party, and spent your whole onboard time eating and going to shows, which indicates that you probably thought the food would be a highlight of the cruise. I pointed out that was an unrealistic expectation for a mass market cruise line. Plenty of foodie adults won't like it, but families who want a solid meal in the midst of other activities typically enjoy it just fine. I don't want people who haven't sailed yet to be scared off by exaggerations. No, DCL's complimentary food isn't as good as the WDW table service food, but it's fine, especially if you select the best dishes and don't have dietary restrictions. And the upcharge restaurant dinners are really good.

 

[DVacationer]

You have the right to your opinion. There are many, many others who do not agree, though. You're an adult only party, and spent your whole onboard time eating and going to shows, which indicates that you probably thought the food would be a highlight of the cruise. I pointed out that was an unrealistic expectation for a mass market cruise line. Plenty of foodie adults won't like it, but families who want a solid meal in the midst of other activities typically enjoy it just fine. I don't want people who haven't sailed yet to be scared off by exaggerations. No, DCL's complimentary food isn't as good as the WDW table service food, but it's fine, especially if you select the best dishes and don't have dietary restrictions. And the upcharge restaurant dinners are really good.

There are many others who do agree that were on the actual cruise. It is a realistic expectation to have food that has an actual taste or isn’t disgusting. You were not on this particular cruise correct? Since you are basing your experience on your previous Disney Dream cruises and the other ships, its not valid for you to assume I am exaggerating. Your love for Disney should want to make them better, not silence you when you have a bad experience. I want them to be amazing. Don’t settle or overlook issues because of your love for Disney. Claiming I am exaggerating when you weren’t on this cruise is quite disrespectful. The mature response to my experience when you havn’t had bad food on the Disney Dream would be that you didn’t experience the bad food so maybe it was an exception? Not that I am exaggerating.You don’t want people to read my negative experience so they will sail the Dream? I don’t want people that haven’t sailed yet to spend their hard earned money on a lackluster experience. Don’t you think it would be better for new cruisers to pick a different DCL ship and experience possibly better food then to not tell them the food on the Dream is bad right now and they get a bad experience? Don’t settle. Everyones opinions are valid. No negative review should be censored because of loyalty to a company . Be more mindful of your response.

 

[auntlynne]

I was assuming this was just standard poor cruise food. I wonder if it was actually worse than usual. Maybe it could have been better.

Funny, I did not read this as a negative review. Not until that was mentioned. I just thought you hadn’t drunk enough of the Kool-Aid. It seemed rather balanced - some things good, others not. (I wasn’t sure if this came across in my previous post).

 

[tvguy]

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.

Well, I've been on these boards nearly 20 years. Yes, some feel Disney food is less seasoned than they like. It is because a big chunk of their customers are children who would not eat more seasoned food.
I really became aware of that when I went to Disneyland with my then 4 year old son and we were trying to find something he would eat. A very helpful staffer heard us and said "he can get the spaghetti with no sauce". While the spaghetti dish they were serving from all had marinara sauce on it, they got us a plate of plain spaghetti from the back. Disney knows their audience for food.

 

[DCLMP]

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.

I have always found the food to be about a 4 on scale of 1-10. Some cruises are better than others. Maybe with the rising cost of food they are are cutting back on quality? We cruised on the Dream in September and the food was decent, but nothing to get excited about.

 

[dreamer17555]

I did a five night on the Dream earlier this month (Dec 5-10th) and thought the food (especially the scallops) was really good. The pool food pales in comparison to the Wish but is similar to WDW parks quick service. If we had a dish we didn’t love (happened with the lamb) they were happy to bring me something else. Also palo brunch was excellent.

I think nothing is overly seasoned but that is to appeal to a wide range of tastes. May I ask what meals you love at WDW? because with the exception of a few restaurants I feel most of the food is of similar quality to non signature sit down service at WDW.

 

[DCLMP]

When we went on our first cruise I was expecting the food to be a lot better. I was surprised by how mediocre it was. After 30 cruises I kind of know what to expect and have lowered my standards. I don’t find it surprising that someone was not impressed.
These days I’m just happy I don’t have to cook or clean.

Im looking forward to trying the new and improved pool food on the Wish because it’s really bad on the other ships.

 

[holula]

I did a five night on the Dream earlier this month (Dec 5-10th) and thought the food (especially the scallops) was really good. The pool food pales in comparison to the Wish but is similar to WDW parks quick service. If we had a dish we didn’t love (happened with the lamb) they were happy to bring me something else. Also palo brunch was excellent.

I think nothing is overly seasoned but that is to appeal to a wide range of tastes. May I ask what meals you love at WDW? because with the exception of a few restaurants I feel most of the food is of similar quality to non signature sit down service at WDW.

I agree with this. I was on the Wonder a few weeks ago and I was actually surprised the food was better than my previous few cruises. Palo dinner in particular was excellent.

I also think what you order on board makes a huge difference. Like, I will never order the pasta on Pirate Night again, it is the blandest of the bland.

 

[happycamper47]

Personally we have never had a "bad meal" on any of the ships, but then we are not "gourmet eaters". As with any restaurant it all depends on who was the chef preparing the food and the person who is eating. We took our entire family (15) on the Dream in June with the youngest being 10 and everyone thought the meals were very good in the MDR's and Cabana's. It is all subjective, just like liquor, wine, clothes, cars and houses. To each his own.

 

[DVacationer]

I did a five night on the Dream earlier this month (Dec 5-10th) and thought the food (especially the scallops) was really good. The pool food pales in comparison to the Wish but is similar to WDW parks quick service. If we had a dish we didn’t love (happened with the lamb) they were happy to bring me something else. Also palo brunch was excellent.

I think nothing is overly seasoned but that is to appeal to a wide range of tastes. May I ask what meals you love at WDW? because with the exception of a few restaurants I feel most of the food is of similar quality to non signature sit down service at WDW.

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

 

[DVacationer]

Personally we have never had a "bad meal" on any of the ships, but then we are not "gourmet eaters". As with any restaurant it all depends on who was the chef preparing the food and the person who is eating. We took our entire family (15) on the Dream in June with the youngest being 10 and everyone thought the meals were very good in the MDR's and Cabana's. It is all subjective, just like liquor, wine, clothes, cars and houses. To each his own.

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??

 

[bobbiwoz]

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!

 

[jujubiee4]

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??

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.

 

[dreamer17555]

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!