Magic dining rotation + Palo on Pirate Night timing

[earfulofmagic]

DH and I are sailing 5 nights on the Magic this November. Very Merrytime, Baja (Cabo, Ensenada, 2 days at sea). Will be at Disneyland before the cruise, and we always do second seating on board.

First: what's the usual dining rotation 5 nights on the Magic? Like is it 12233, 12312, 12331, etc.?

Main event: opinions on doing Palo on Pirate Night when you DO want to participate in all the pirate festivities? Pirates falls on day 4, day at sea, on this cruise. Somehow, we have never really done Pirate Night, or had dinner at Palo.

1. First cruise: 3 night HOTHS on the Dream so we wore our Halloween costumes on what was technically Pirate Night, but no pirate menu. And it did feel a lot more Halloween than pirate around the ship. We ate at Palo for brunch on this cruise, and we canceled a Palo dinner so we could experience all 3 MDRs.
2. Second cruise: 4 night Very Merrytime on the Wish; on pirate night we had the special menu in the MDR, but we didn't wear pirate garb nor did we participate in the deck party! We spent a lot of time in the concierge spaces and that night was super rainy. We had brunch and dinner at Enchante on this sailing.

We've never experienced the LTMB or TWMA menus either -- not sure which but it sounds like we'll have one -- so I don't think we want to do Palo on the 1st or 5th nights. We liked the notoriously unpopular Pirate Night menu and are not specifically trying to avoid that. It just seems the only way to do Palo dinner and experience all the other menus is to go on Pirate Night. However, our Palo reservation is at 6pm and timing is kind of awkward. Is it doable to be in full pirate garb for the character meets and such in the afternoon, change into appropriate attire for Palo at 6, then transform back into pirates and do all the pirate party stuff after dinner? I am not really clear on when all of the deck festivities will start on this itinerary, but I don't want to miss any of it this time.

And on top of it all... is Palo dinner even worth it now?! I'm sure we will enjoy the quiet, adult retreat nature of it. But... we're eating at Napa Rose before the cruise already, and we're booked on another (3 night) Wish sailing next year where we'll definitely do Palo for dinner (included). But I thought it'd be fun to finally do Palo dinner on the Magic, being the original ship.

Yaaarrrghhh... thoughts?

 

[Mathmagicland]

DH and I are sailing 5 nights on the Magic this November. Very Merrytime, Baja (Cabo, Ensenada, 2 days at sea). Will be at Disneyland before the cruise, and we always do second seating on board.

First: what's the usual dining rotation 5 nights on the Magic? Like is it 12233, 12312, 12331, etc.?

Main event: opinions on doing Palo on Pirate Night when you DO want to participate in all the pirate festivities? Pirates falls on day 4, day at sea, on this cruise. Somehow, we have never really done Pirate Night, or had dinner at Palo.

1. First cruise: 3 night HOTHS on the Dream so we wore our Halloween costumes on what was technically Pirate Night, but no pirate menu. And it did feel a lot more Halloween than pirate around the ship. We ate at Palo for brunch on this cruise, and we canceled a Palo dinner so we could experience all 3 MDRs.
2. Second cruise: 4 night Very Merrytime on the Wish; on pirate night we had the special menu in the MDR, but we didn't wear pirate garb nor did we participate in the deck party! We spent a lot of time in the concierge spaces and that night was super rainy. We had brunch and dinner at Enchante on this sailing.

We've never experienced the LTMB or TWMA menus either -- not sure which but it sounds like we'll have one -- so I don't think we want to do Palo on the 1st or 5th nights. We liked the notoriously unpopular Pirate Night menu and are not specifically trying to avoid that. It just seems the only way to do Palo dinner and experience all the other menus is to go on Pirate Night. However, our Palo reservation is at 6pm and timing is kind of awkward. Is it doable to be in full pirate garb for the character meets and such in the afternoon, change into appropriate attire for Palo at 6, then transform back into pirates and do all the pirate party stuff after dinner? I am not really clear on when all of the deck festivities will start on this itinerary, but I don't want to miss any of it this time.

And on top of it all... is Palo dinner even worth it now?! I'm sure we will enjoy the quiet, adult retreat nature of it. But... we're eating at Napa Rose before the cruise already, and we're booked on another (3 night) Wish sailing next year where we'll definitely do Palo for dinner (included). But I thought it'd be fun to finally do Palo dinner on the Magic, being the original ship.

Yaaarrrghhh... thoughts?

I was on this itinerary in February on the Wonder, and the pirate night deck activities including fireworks started at 07:30pm, between the two dinner seatings. Pirate night was on the Cabo day. Don’t know if the timing will be different with it being on the Magic this fall.

I don’t remember the dining rotation, but I think I recall repeating the dining room from the night before Pirates so you were not in a new room with a different menu the first time…,but don’t hold me to that. Since the Wonder was on night 3 & it will be night 4 on the Magic, that pattern may not apply.

 

[earfulofmagic]

Thanks @Mathmagicland! Having it start at 7:30 between the two main seating times is what worries me, I don't think we'd make it (at least not in costume) if we're at Palo


Looking at a similar-ish past navigator for the Magic, 5 nights, with pirates on day 4 (sea day)... it looks like the deck festivities started around 10, which would give us enough time to do Palo and get back into pirate garb... if it turns out the same for our sailing: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...ern-caribbean-cruise-from-miami-june-24-2023/

 

[auntlynne]

If the Pirate Party had to move to the Atrium for weather and you had skipped Palo, would you regret missing Palo?

The dining room will be different (smaller) on the Magic and the view from the seats by the windows are not as good on the Magic (there is a deck right outside). I think the Wish has a steak house menu - just checked; looks like it is the new standard menu with additional beef offerings (if you do a la carte).

For $50, you are getting a limited- choice 4-course meal. If you are happy with the options and enjoy the environment with less people, no children, waiters who are not rushing around, and no loud dinner show, it would be a reasonable option. It is not necessarily “quiet - I could hear and feel vibration on the Magic in May. You can also opt to go a la carte; you could just have a lighter meal, possibly less expensive.

If your pirate outfit doesn’t include extensive make-up and hair, it seems reasonable to get afternoon photos and then change for dinner. And then change back.

I wonder if pirates ever dine in Palo?

It‘s been 10+ years since I was at Napa Rose. The food was more nuanced than the Palo menu (which has the curse of cruise food: toned down for the broader American audience, of which I am one. Remy and Enchante seem to be more comparable, food wise, to Napa Rose.

Just some thoughts; I would read the menus to make the decision. And consider if you would appreciate a smaller dinner venue.

 

[auntlynne]

From the link you posted, dinner was Day 1-Let The Magic Begin, 2-Rotation, 3-Rotation, 4-pirates, 5-Rotation. I would expect that to be 11223 dining room pattern, as I feel they like you to visit new rooms to experience their Rotation menu before going to a new restaurant (that is my perception, based on a bunch of cruises.)

 

[JAM9842]

You can call DCL or do the chat to find out what the dining rotation for your cruise will be. I do it every cruise.