Step up to the plate Disney Cruise Line!

[ScooterPie]

After reading of the changes coming to the Wonder, I can’t help but believe they will fall as short as the menu in Tiana’s place. The art of total immersion, which in years past has been unbelievable, is now appearing as a half baked attempt to placate. If you, Disney Cruise Line, are going to have a Cajun, New Orleans themed restaurant then dear God, OFFER AUTHENTIC CAJUN FOOD. It’s that simple. The fact that you are adding a New Orleans style lounge means you plan to keep Tiana’s Place around for the foreseeable future. Fine! Great! Step up to the plate and give cruisers true Cajun food not this stuff you’re offering now. Offer boudin balls, real boudin balls, as one of the appetizers. For the main course, offer a roux’ based gumbo, crawfish ettouffee’, po’boys! Immerse in the REAL Cajun cuisine. It and jazz are what made New Orleans famous. You’re missing it Disney! You’re missing it!

 

[Kadie]

We love, love, love cruising with Disney. However, the quality of the food is the one thing I really wish they would improve.

 

[ScooterPie]

It would be so easy to serve good Cajun food that excites the palate. I’m always disappointed in the food at Tiana’s Place, which constantly misses the mark. The cruise line has wonderful chefs and cook staff so why can’t someone do it right?

 

[islandsnoopy]

Count me in ! I like the sea bass on the current menu but the rest of it could use an update.

 

[squirk]

Tiana, as well as anything French Quarter-themed, would probably be serving Creole dishes vs. Cajun, no?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

plz to bring the cajun chicken nuggets and pizza

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

After reading of the changes coming to the Wonder, I can’t help but believe they will fall as short as the menu in Tiana’s place. The art of total immersion, which in years past has been unbelievable, is now appearing as a half baked attempt to placate. If you, Disney Cruise Line, are going to have a Cajun, New Orleans themed restaurant then dear God, OFFER AUTHENTIC CAJUN FOOD. It’s that simple. The fact that you are adding a New Orleans style lounge means you plan to keep Tiana’s Place around for the foreseeable future. Fine! Great! Step up to the plate and give cruisers true Cajun food not this stuff you’re offering now. Offer boudin balls, real boudin balls, as one of the appetizers. For the main course, offer a roux’ based gumbo, crawfish ettouffee’, po’boys! Immerse in the REAL Cajun cuisine. It and jazz are what made New Orleans famous. You’re missing it Disney! You’re missing it!

I agree, the food does not really represent cajun or creole. Chocolate sauce with beignets? Where did that come from? Plus they need to put some Tony's and Louisiana Hot Sauce on the tables.... And offer cups of Community coffee with chicory.

Also, I wish they would get rid of that band and replace them with a band that actually sounds like the are from LA. They do not sound like any band I have heard from Louisiana.

 

[tigerchic89]

I was about to mention (laugh!) at the chocolate sauce with the beignets. But otherwise, I thought that the beignets were okay. And yes, please stock a few bottles of Crystal and shakers of Tonys. Everytime we cruise, we can sometimes only get a bottle of Tabasco. One cruise, our servers tried to make us something from the kitchen when we asked if there was any other hot sauce other than Tabasco. Bless their hearts, they brought out a bowl of stewed tomatoes and peppers or something.. they said "it's spicy"

 

[ember1205]

I will tell you unequivocally that serving ONLY cajun food would deter me heavily. Period.

While I can totally appreciate where your heart is with this post, it's important to understand that delving very far down into "authentic" items pushes far more people away than it attracts. They need to have things geared toward the masses.

Now, with that said, I do love being able to try new things for food on a cruise. So, having something available to me at dinner as something to TRY would be great.

 

[tigerchic89]

Agreed on not changing the menu to "only" cajun/creole/ Tiana's food. I think that everyone is saying is that if DCL is going to put something "New Orleans Themed" onto the menu, then at least do it right.... either offer and serve beignets as "real" beignets.. or else just list a dessert as "deep fried pastry with a side of powered sugar and chocolate sauce"

 

[Karin1984]

Why would you limit this to just Tiana's?
I start to cringe when I just look at the shawarma (I'm not from Turkey, but we have a large Turkish community in NL and many Turkish restaurants) or the Dutch Pea Soup as is served on the longer cruises for the 'around the world' menu. The dishes are inspired by, nothing is authentic. I'm sure the French have a thing or two to say about the menu at Lumiere's.

The food is modified to appeal to a large group of people, but also easy to make for a large group in a relatively small space.

 

[ember1205]

Why would you limit this to just Tiana's?
I start to cringe when I just look at the shawarma (I'm not from Turkey, but we have a large Turkish community in NL and many Turkish restaurants) or the Dutch Pea Soup as is served on the longer cruises for the 'around the world' menu. The dishes are inspired by, nothing is authentic. I'm sure the French have a thing or two to say about the menu at Lumiere's.

The food is modified to appeal to a large group of people, but also easy to make for a large group in a relatively small space.

I believe that the reality is this: Any place that you're dealing with very large collections of people (like a cruise), you're NEVER going to get "authentic" food and will always receive food that is "inspired by." Why? Three reasons:

1) There is a very large cookstaff that's preparing the food. They are from around the world and not necessarily all well-versed at preparing a specific cuisine type.

2) Professional chefs spend YEARS honing their craft when it's focused on one specific type of cuisine. How long would it take to develop their skills in two types? Three? People will not choose a cruise because of the type of cuisine, so you would at least have to have multiple types that the staff is able to cook "authentically" at different restaurants.

3) Most people don't like authentic food from other regions - they like authentic food from home. I believe this is ESPECIALLY true for children (and we're talking about DCL, here). I travel all over the US and seldom find myself loving the local cuisine of specific areas. I might like one dish or something, but the entire cuisine? Definitely not. Cruises cater to people from all over the world. That's too many different cuisines to try and get a handle on.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Why would you limit this to just Tiana's?
I start to cringe when I just look at the shawarma (I'm not from Turkey, but we have a large Turkish community in NL and many Turkish restaurants) or the Dutch Pea Soup as is served on the longer cruises for the 'around the world' menu. The dishes are inspired by, nothing is authentic. I'm sure the French have a thing or two to say about the menu at Lumiere's.

The food is modified to appeal to a large group of people, but also easy to make for a large group in a relatively small space.

I appreciate the shawarma - it's nice to be able to find something other than the typical pizza/burger/hot dog/chicken nugget by the pool.

 

[Karin1984]

I appreciate the shawarma - it's nice to be able to find something other than the typical pizza/burger/hot dog/chicken nugget by the pool.

That's a good thing, and it's definitely better than the other quick service options you mention, but the discussion was about the authenticity of food.

Just checked on the website, it's promoted as 'Middle Eastern'-inspired..

 

[LittleMissMagic]

That's a good thing, and it's definitely better than the other quick service options you mention, but the discussion was about the authenticity of food.

Just checked on the website, it's promoted as 'Middle Eastern'-inspired..

Like someone mentioned above, I think "inspired" is the best DCL is ever going to do. I mean, look at the theme parks - I wouldn't describe French Market, Cafe Orleans, or Blue Bayou as anything other than "Cajun-inspired." It's not authentic..... and that's just because it's corporate food, it's not going to be authentic.

I grew up in the south, but have lived in Los Angeles for the past 5 years.... I haven't found any true, authentic barbecue, and I don't expect to. I guess it's "inspired," haha!

 

[ember1205]

Like someone mentioned above, I think "inspired" is the best DCL is ever going to do. I mean, look at the theme parks - I wouldn't describe French Market, Cafe Orleans, or Blue Bayou as anything other than "Cajun-inspired." It's not authentic..... and that's just because it's corporate food, it's not going to be authentic.

I grew up in the south, but have lived in Los Angeles for the past 5 years.... I haven't found any true, authentic barbecue, and I don't expect to. I guess it's "inspired," haha!

Regional cuisine is regional for a reason.

 

[MomOTwins]

I would enjoy more authentic food too. But if they have an authentic Sazarac, that would probably leave me pretty satisfied

 

[KVH]

Technically, they could make all the food better. Pick pizza, for example. They pretty much use the same ingredients any other place uses, but shipboard pizza is nowhere near what it could be. Why doesn't pool pizza taste the same as sausage flatbread from Palo? Again, same ingredients and for the most part, cooked the same way. Well, that is the same story for almost anything on board. Part of it is the chef's choice, part of it economics. But, as already has been mentioned, it's the appeal to the broadest cross section of diners.

A good gumbo would be killer though.

 

[dbenlee]

While this sounds good, the first hurdle would be to get the chefs to learn how to properly make Cajun food, and I'm not sure that's possible. Second would be that a lot of people probably wouldn't appreciate the spice of some Cajun food. Having lived most of my life on the edge of Cajun country, I have learned not to expect much in "authentic" Cajun food outside of Cajun country (I cringe every time I see "authentic" gumbo with tomatoes).

 

[fhtpdw20]

I think the Tiana inspired theme would be better on the Fantasy ship with the 1920's style of Minnie statue outside the dining room. I am hoping with the new ships that they theme a separate dining instead of doing practically the same Royal Court like they did with the Dream and Fantasy.