Many people look forward to enjoying the spread of food while going on a cruise, including me.
Ahead of Disney Adventure’s maiden voyage on Tuesday (March 10), I got to try a wide variety of dishes offered on the cruise ship.
From themed rotational restaurants to quick-service eateries, there is no shortage of food options.
Now that I’ve tasted the food, here’s a guide to what cruisers can expect to stuff their faces with on the Disney Adventure.
Rotational dining
The Disney Adventure offers rotational dining where guests can pick three out of six unique Disney restaurants — Hollywood Spotlight Club, Navigator’s Club, Animator’s Palate, Animator’s Table, Enchanted Summer Restaurant, and Pixar Market Restaurant — to dine in during their voyage.
All these restaurants serve a blend of international and regional cuisines.
A dining schedule is included with each booking, with two seatings for dinner at 5.45pm and 8.15pm. Guests will also be accompanied by the same service team assigned to their dining party throughout their voyage.
Information on guests’ assigned restaurant schedule, seating time, and table number can be found in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app.
For sailings longer than three nights, guests will visit an assigned dining venue more than once.
Enchanted Summer Restaurant
For buffet-style breakfast and lunch, there’s Enchanted Summer Restaurant, inspired by Disney’s Tangled and Frozen and located on Deck 6 of the ship.
In the evening, the restaurant switches to table-service dinner mode.
Guests can dine in two dining rooms — Maximus, which resembles the lantern festival at Rapunzel’s Corona Castle, as well as Olaf, designed like a summer solstice in Arendelle.
I had my breakfast here several times and was pleased with how extensive the spread was.
This is also one of the restaurants where diners can get their hands on Mickey Waffles.
Pixar Market Restaurant
Pixar Market Restaurant, located on Deck 17, also offers buffet-style breakfast and lunch, and switches to table-service dinner in the evening.
The restaurant’s interior is inspired by Pixar films such as Ratatouille and Inside Out.
I tried both the buffet and table-service dining here. The buffet spread also left me spoilt for choice.
During dinner, my dining companion and I sampled dishes such as the Pork and Shrimp Shumai, Porcini Sacchetti, Hot Sour Soup, Shiromaru (Udon with pork), and Roasted Prime Rib of Beef.
I enjoyed the Porcini Sacchetti — pasta stuffed with porcini mushrooms and drenched in a creamy prosecco wine sauce. I also liked the Hot Sour Soup, which tasted nostalgic.
My dining companion was pleased with the Roasted Prime Rib of Beef and remarked that it was tender and very juicy. The Shiromaru, however, was too bland for our liking.
Navigator’s Club and Hollywood Spotlight Club
Every guest on Disney Adventure will get to enjoy a dining experience at one of the ship’s two entertainment restaurants — Navigator’s Club and Hollywood Spotlight Club — which feature appearances and interactions with popular characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck.
I dined at the Navigator’s Club, which is designed to look like a classic cruise ship, complete with vintage maps, charts, and art deco flourishes.
My dining companion and I tried dishes such as Duck Confit Pastilla, Porcini-spiced Ahi Tuna Sashimi, Peppered Filet Mignon, Miso-glazed Chilean Seabass, and Hainanese Chicken Rice.
My favourite of the lot was the Miso-glazed Chilean Seabass. The fish was buttery, fork-tender, and marinated well. I also enjoyed the Peppered Filet Mignon, which was juicy and cooked to a nice medium rare.
I was surprised by the Hainanese Chicken Rice. I had expected the meat to be on the drier side, but it was surprisingly moist and tender.
However, I was disappointed by the Porcini-spiced Ahi Tuna Sashimi, which didn’t have much taste.
Animator’s Palate and Animator’s Table
Guests also get to dine at one of two magically animated restaurants — Animator’s Palate and Animator’s Table — celebrating the artistry of Disney and Pixar animated films.
During the immersive dining experience at Animator’s Table, guests are seated in a gallery setting, with screens showcasing authentic artwork from films like Aladdin, Frozen, and Finding Nemo.
Before their meal, guests are provided markers to draw any character they desire onto a template. During the meal, these sketches are transformed into animations that are cast onto the screens.
The unique experience was fun for both kids and kids at heart, and I enjoyed drawing a character from my imagination and seeing it come to life.
I dined at Animator’s Palate and sampled dishes such as the Pan-seared Pacific Scallops, Laksa Lemak, and Carved Slow-Roasted Rosemary Beef Tenderloin.
I enjoyed the Pan-seared Pacific Scallops which were paired with a creamy truffle cremini mushroom risotto.
I was disappointed by the Laksa Lemak, however. The gravy was watery and didn’t have the creaminess and richness that one would expect from a bowl of laksa. The dish’s saving grace was the generous amount of large and crunchy prawns.
I also wasn’t a fan of the Dragon Roll, where the rice had a strong vinegar taste.
For desserts, I had the Salted Caramel Cheesecake, which was creamy and decadent.
Quick-service restaurants
Apart from the dining halls, there are several quick-service restaurants onboard Disney Adventure, with many serving regional flavours.
Cosmic Kebabs
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Cosmic Kebabs is a casual eatery specialising in Middle Eastern cuisine. The restaurant, which can be found within Disney Discovery Reef, honours Marvel’s first Muslim-American Super Hero Kamala Khan.
Inspired by the aesthetic of Ms Marvel, Cosmic Kebabs is a vibrant Jersey City loft decked with colourful graphic art.
Diners can build their own bowl or platter with menu items such as Grilled Kebabs, Pita, Shawarma, Tabbouleh and Baba Ghanoush.
Food here is served tray-line style (or for Singaporeans, cai fan-style), so guests can pick the dishes they want, and a staff member will plate the food for them.
We really enjoyed the food here, especially the char-grilled spiced sausage and grilled kebabs.
Gramma Tala’s Kitchen
This quick-service eatery, located in Imagination Garden, was a hot favourite among many of the other cruisers I spoke to. Several of them told me they dined here multiple times.
The restaurant’s interior is inspired by the island vibes of Disney movie Moana and has South Pacific-style decor, art and backgrounds.
The menu features flavours from the Pacific region and Asia, and has dishes such as Huli-Huli BBQ chicken, Black Pepper Beef, and Hainanese Chicken.
I’m very fussy when it comes to Hainanese Chicken and was pleased to find that the meat was extremely moist and tender.
I also liked that there were several rice options to choose from, such as coconut rice and chicken rice.
Mowgli’s Eatery
Another popular eatery that earned plenty of praise from cruisers sailing on Disney Adventure is Mowgli’s Eatery.
Located within the Disney Imagination Garden, the eatery serves Indian fare.
Drawing inspiration from Disney classic The Jungle Book, Mowgli’s Eatery features elements from the movie’s early concept art.
Diners can choose from a range of regional and vegetarian dishes such as Tandoori Lamb Hariyali and Butter Chicken.
This is one of my favourite restaurants onboard — there was not a single dish I tried that I didn’t like. I enjoyed Tandoori Lamb Hariyali the most.
Stitch’s Ohana Grill
A Hawaiian-style eatery inspired by the film Lilo and Stitch, Stitch’s Ohana Grill serves up classic American fare such as juicy burgers and sandwiches.
The interior resembles a relaxed hangout at the beach, complete with surfboards that line the walls and raffia-grass decor.
The menu offers dishes such as Barbeque Huli-Huli Pork, Gochujang Burger, and Impossible Burger.
I sampled the Barbeque Huli-Huli Pork because it was stuffed with ingredients such as pineapple and onion rings, and I had no regrets choosing it.
Pizza Planet
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Craving pizza? There’s a pizza parlour inspired by the iconic pizza arcade in Disney and Pixar’s animated classic Toy Story.
This was a huge hit with cruisers, especially those who were feeling peckish at night.
The pizzas, prepared fresh on the spot, feature classic flavours such as pepperoni and margarita.
Wheezy’s Freezies
Need something cooling to beat the heat? Head over to Wheezy’s Freezies, an ice cream spot near the poolside, that is inspired by the lovable penguin from Toy Story 2.
The booth has free-flow soft serves in flavours such as vanilla and strawberry.
24-hour room service
While I did not order room service as I was full after eating at the rotational dining and quick-service restaurants, my colleague did so several times throughout the voyage, especially late at night.
It was a very efficient and convenient way of getting food, and the best part? It was free.
Some menu items include pizza and Dan-Dan Noodles. There is also a continental breakfast menu for mornings when you feel too lazy to go down to the dining hall.
Premium dining
Looking for a more luxurious dining experience?
Disney Adventure offers several fine dining options, which are available for reservation at an additional charge.
Palo Trattoria, set within an open-air breezeway resembling a seaside village, serves Northern Italian cuisine, offering a variety of antipasti, pasta, pizzas and mains such as Fritto di Calamari e Gamberi (US$17), Chilean Sea Bass (US$36), and Barolo Mushroom Risotto (US$21).
There is also Mike & Sulley’s, a premier dining establishment which has four distinct experiences, including a full-service Japanese steakhouse, teppanyaki room, bar with Omakase-style dining, and an outdoor sushi and sashimi offering.
Teppanyaki fans can opt for Zen Flame (US$115) and Zen Ember (US$175). If you’re craving for omakase, it costs US$200 and comes with dishes such as Uni Negitoro, Smoked Hotategai, and Sansho Chicken Katsu.
Adults can also enjoy a tipple at a range of restaurants, bars and lounges including Buccaneer Bar, Tiana’s Bayou Lounge, Spellbound and Taverna Portorosso.
Do note that alcohol is not included in the cruise fare.
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melissateo@asiaone.com
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