FOOD
This is a polarizing topic, and the 14-nighter does little to bridge any gaps.
First of all, MDR dining continues to be terrific. The staples on the menu with their daily variations - fish fillet, chicken breast, and steak - are your go-to. The rotation and choice of the appetizers also dials it up right at the outset. The Seasons menu brings out exciting new items every few days, and the themed nights add their own variety. When coupled with dining entertainment, the
DCL MDRs are hard to beat.
We had a brunch and a dinner at Palo too. I think $45 cover doesn't do justice to how good the Palo food is. The brunch, in particular, is our favorite DCL meal. Two hours of pure bliss from hot breakfast preparations to lunch flourishes to some amazingly presented dessert items. The brunch was very difficult to secure - not surprisingly but possibly also because of the heavy mix of Platinum guests.
Now, on a 14-night sailing with 10 sea days, just like entertainment, you want variety in food too. And this is where you start to see why DCL ships are better suited for 3- to 7-night itineraries. Regardless of the quality of food preparation, serving team, and dining entertainment, Wonder still has just one specialty restaurant. The food items in the MDRs, despite all the hard work, start to repeat and give you that feeling of deja vu. I know the chefs try their best to mix things up, but it can't really replicate a true specialty dining experience. Because of the ports, we didn't notice it much previously on the big European sailings - but this 14-nighter with 10 sea days brought the issue to the fore.
Lunch is probably the weak link. Cabanas food is OK, and the convenience of getting it quickly served probably trumps dialing up quality that could slow things down. The best sitdown option for lunch, on this sailing, was at Tiana's - open between 12.00 PM and 1.30 PM - which would get incredibly busy.
Again, a lack of ports shifted the focus a whole lot more to what was available at lunch time.
Rating: 7/10