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Cruising During COVID: Dining

Credit: PaulaK

My family and I just returned from a seven night cruise on the Disney Fantasy. The trip was not work related and we weren’t sponsored by Disney, this was a family vacation. I thought I’d share some of our experiences with you, so that you can make your own decision on whether or not a Disney Cruise is right for you during these strange times.

Credit: PaulaK

Dining is an important part of any Disney Cruise Line vacation. Here is what we experienced.

Related: Cruising During COVID: Before You Board

Cabanas is still a buffet, but you do not serve yourself. There are Crew Members who will get you whatever you want, and place it on the plate for you. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch, and it felt like there was much less offered than on past cruises.

Also on Deck 11, there are two drink stations. The coffee and hot drinks were served by a Crew Member, the cold drinks were self-serve. We needed to use a new cup to get our drinks, even though we had refillable bottles.

Credit: PaulaK

There was a line created for Flo’s V8 Cafe, designed for social distancing. A friendly Crew Member would direct us to which widow to go to once we made it to the front.

Related: Cruising During COVID: Safety Onboard

Rotational Dining was a highlight of the voyage, just as it has been in the past. This is one thing that sets Disney Cruise Line above the others. We were assigned one of the three main restaurants each night, and our dining team came with us to each restaurant.

Related: Cruising During COVID: Entertainment

There are two dining rotations each evening, we had second dining. There is only one party at each table right now, they are not combining families.

Credit: PaulaK

There was plenty of room between parties. The dining rooms did not feel crowded at all. The service was exceptional, like always. The menus were found in the Navigator App.

We did not dine at either Remy or Palo.

Related: Cruising During COVID: Characters

Related: Cruising During COVID: Ports of Call

Room Service was still available. The menu is listed in the Navigator App, it took me a while to find it. The menu is limited, although they were able to deliver to us something that was not on the menu and there was no charge.

Credit: PaulaK

Related: Cruising During COVID: Star Wars Day at Sea

Related: Cruising During COVID: The End of the Cruise

These are some of the highlights from our dining experiences on the Disney Fantasy. In many ways, it felt like our cruises before the pandemic.

About PaulaK

I grew up in Western Massachusetts. When I was nine my family went to Disneyland and I was hooked. I grew up, attended New England College in Henniker, NH and eventually moved to Virginia. I worked as a disc jockey, married and became a full time mom when our daughter was born. Fast forward several years. In 2010 we moved to Central Florida and my Disney obsession grew. I now work as a freelance writer and spend my spare time in the parks. Under the name Paula Brown I penned the novels Dream Wanderers and The Coffee Cruiser. I also am a co-author of Dining at Walt Disney World: The Definitive Guide. I'm obsessed with Star Wars, so this is a good time to live in Central Florida. I've been a vegetarian for well over a decade, a choice that my daughter eventually made as well. While my husband still hasn't joined us fully he has given up most meats except for seafood. I was relieved to find that vegetarian dining is not difficult at Walt Disney World.