Disney Cruise Recap Part II – What I Ate

In case you missed it: Disney Cruise Recap, Part I

You guys. Y’all. This food was so so good. Even the buffet was excellent (in my opinion, buffets are typically mass-produced sub-par food that encourages over eating). I took less pictures than I planned to, mostly because I was too excited to eat whatever had been placed before me. My “paleo approach” to the cruise was to strive to eat gluten-free and limit my dairy. I know those are the two biggest triggers for me. So I told the wait staff that I had an intolerance to gluten/wheat and they were extremely careful and proactive about it. There were several gluten free options on the menu, but if I saw something that I wanted that wasn’t listed as gluten-free, they did what they could to accommodate me. Our server was pretty funny and would never let me look at the dessert menu. I was always given the “chef’s special” – which may or may not have been on the menu. Thankfully, it was almost always an excellent dessert. The one night it wasn’t (Thursday), I was a little over dessert at that point and didn’t mind passing on the sweets for the evening.

So although I didn’t take pictures of every dinner, I wrote it all down! Each dinner was a 4 course meal: appetizer, soup/salad course, entree, and dessert. You can order as many different options as you like! I didn’t…but I kind of loved knowing that I could! Sometimes I passed on the appetizer or soup/salad course because I wanted to still be hungry for my entree. All of the photos were taken with my iPhone in dark restaurants, please excuse the quality!

Monday Dinner (Triton’s – French Theme)

Salad Course: Arugula Salad with Red Onions, Poached Pear and Sherry Vinaigrette

Entree: Crispy Roasted Duck with Honey Parsnip Puree and Braised Cabbage with Bacon

Dessert: Creme Brûlée

Tuesday Lunch

Tuesday Dinner (Animator’s Palate – American Theme)

Appetizer: Smoked Salmon Tartar with Capers, Onions, Horseradish, and Sour Cream + Cucumbers (a favorite for sure)

Soup Course: Butternut Squash Soup

Entree: Lemon-Thyme Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Root Vegetables

Dessert: Crunch Walnut Mousse Cake

Wednesday Dinner (Parrot Cay – Caribbean Theme)

I started the evening with some delicious sangria that was mixed and served nightly in the ship’s atrium.

Appetizer: Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower with Wasabi and Plantain Chips (another favorite)

Soup Course: Tomato Basil Soup

Entree: Mixed Grill (Lamb + Stead Medallion + Bacon-Wrapped Sausage + Shrimp + Aspargus + Mushrooms)

Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream (another favorite)

We told them I was celebrating my graduation and so on Wednesday they came and sang “Congratulations to You” to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’ – the best part was immediately after they finished singing when our sever yelled “but don’t eat this, it’s not gluten free!!” One of our Aussie friends had passed on dessert and was glad to enjoy it for me. 🙂

Thursday Breakfast

Thursday Dinner (Toy Story Theme)

Appetizer: Shrimp, Lobster and Crab Cocktail

Entree: Woody’s Rib Eye Steak with Sweet Potato Gratin, Carrots and Sautéed Collards (another favorite)

Dessert: A questionable gluten-free dessert…the one I passed on.

Friday Dinner – On Friday evening we ate at the adult-only restaurant, Palo. The restaurant offers even more exceptional service and food with an Italian theme as the ship was built in Italy! It was such a fun experience and as we were dining we had the US on our right and Canada on our left!