Palo Dinner Times

[sclauss]

Does anyone know the earliest time that Palo begins serving dinner? I am on a 3 night cruise in January and was hoping to book a 5:00 dinner, see the show and then have dinner again (I know....) in our rotation dining to see each of the restaurants.

Thanks much!
Sharon

[OceanLiner]

Your gastromic determination is to be commended, go for it! You really have several options, but just make sure that you do not set this up for the night at Animators Palate, because that night is the most Disney of all the venues and is a not to missed part of your trip.

Here are two options that I would consider:

1 - dump the caribbean themed venue for dinner. The theme is okay, and the least cool of all the dinners, they also serve lunch so you could easily try it out. You really won't miss anything if you don't get to this spot for dinner.

2 - during days at sea, Palo has a great brunch, perhaps the best meal of the entire cruise. We did not think much of Palo for dinner, don't get me wrong, it was good, just not that great for all the hassle of reservations and the hype. But Palo for brunch was so good that we went back several times. Also, not everyone realizes that Palo brunch is even offered so reservations are easier, and let's not forget that Palo is at the top of the ship which means that the view is sort of wasted at night but is GREAT during the day. (The brunch pasteries are fantastic.)

Have fun!

[sclauss]

Thank you for the advise. We are only on the 3 night which means no sea days or brunch. We were going to blow off Parrot Cay but realized that they have Roast Rib Eye and Creme Brulee Cheesecake, neither of which I want to miss. We think we are going to give it a try on night 1 with Tritons / Palo. Already checked out the menu and will give the Duck a taste at Tritons and then on to Palo for the Rack of Lamb (yum). Sounds good in theory but we will see how we hold up after Victoria & Alberts, California Grill, Cinderellas Castle Dinner etc... I just hope the midnight dessert buffet isn't on the same night!!!! On Jenny Craig now preparing for the trip in early January!

Either way... it will be a great trip!!!

Thanks for your help!
Sharon

[lborne]

Maybe someone who can book on-line can take a look an see what time Palo reservations begin, and what time increments they book. When you book on-line, does it show you only what is available? I'll be able to book on line starting next week.

[sclauss]

Please report back on your booking experience! I'm wondering if I wake up at 12:01 the morning my booking becomes available if I can book. Not sure how tough it is to get the reservations.

I thought calling in 6 months in advance at exactly 7:00am would get me the chefs table at Victoria and Alberts. Didn't happen! Tried for 4 mornings without success.

I'll be interested to hear how the online booking works. Good luck!
Sharon

[lborne]

I'll let you know. I could have booked earler since I am a castaway club member, but we want to dine with 2 other couples, and this is their first cruise. We are all going to try to book at the same time - should be fun to coordinate. And then we will ask to be seated together once on board.

[lborne]

Just booked my Palo dinner reservations on-line. I had to wait until now (75 days before) even though I was a Castaway club member. We did not make final payment until today, AND I mistakenly thought the other 2 families we are traveling with would have to make their own reservations, and they are not CC members.

So I went to my cruises on the web site, and clicked on the Palo reservation button. I only had one option (dinner) since I am on the 3 night cruise. I also had an option for 1-2, 3-4, or 5-6 people. I choose 5-6, and selected Friday night. Then, it gave me the options of 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 8:00 or 8:30. I really wanted 7:30, but obviously, so did many others.

All in all, pretty easy. I thought I had read here or somewhere that the max I could book was for 4 people. But you can do it for up to 6. Of course, if they only have room for 4, it will limit your day or time options.

Hope that helped.

[sclauss]

Thanks so much. That helped. I'm on the 3 day as well. Did you get up at 3am to do the reservation? I heard that was the time that the reservations first opened and that if you didn't do it at that time, you may not get a reservation at all.

I'm glad you were able to get a table for your entire group. There are just 2 of us, so that may make it easier.

Thanks so much!
Sharon

[lborne]

No, I did not get up early. As I said, I was already late as it was, so I did it around 7:00pm EST. All days were available for 5-6 people, and multiple times each day. When you select how many people you want to reserve, then it updates to let you know which days are available.

I plan to have a review and post the latest Navigators when I get back - late November.

[sclauss]

I hope you have a great cruise! I look forward to your review.

Thanks for your feedback!
Sharon

[lborne]

One more thing. I may have been able to book up to 6 people because we put the cruise fare for the other 2 families coming with us on our credit card, so the entire thing is in my name.