Is Palo worth it on a Disney cruise? The price, brunch or dinner, and how to get a table

How much is Palo on a Disney cruise?

$55 a person for brunch or dinner, at Palo and Palo Steakhouse alike, since Disney raised both by $5 in June 2025, according to the Disney Cruise Line Blog. Disney's planDisney panel gave the same $55 in December 2025. Drinks are extra.

Guides still printing $50 are quoting the old price, The Points Guy's 2023 review among them.

The gratuity is where sources disagree. Disney's gratuities FAQ puts 18% on adult dining. planDisney's answer says the 18% is added to the dinner check but already included in the brunch price. Check your folio after brunch. At dinner, two people pay about $130 with the 18%.

Should you book Palo brunch or dinner?

Brunch runs mainly on sea days, according to planDisney, and it does not cost you a dinner. One planning site's 2026 visit found a choice of seafood or charcuterie antipasti, soups, then dishes such as chicken parmesan and a margherita flatbread, and a dessert tray with tiramisu and a pistachio cake.⁶

Dinner replaces that night's rotational dining room, which Disney's FAQ states plainly, so pick a night whose restaurant you mind missing least. The chocolate soufflé is the dessert people talk about; planDisney's panelist and The Points Guy both single it out. At Palo Steakhouse, a TouringPlans forum member splurged on A5 wagyu as an extra-cost starter, so the bill can climb past $55.

If you can do only one, brunch is the easier fit. It uses a sea day, and you keep every rotational dinner.

How do you get a Palo reservation?

Pay the cruise in full, then book in My Plans on the website or the Navigator app when your window opens. Disney's windows, by Castaway Club level:

• First cruise — 75 days
• Silver — 90 days
• Gold — 105 days
• Platinum — 120 days
• Pearl — 123 days
• Concierge — 130 days by phone, 123 online

Be there when it opens. planDisney warns that brunch books up very fast. One TouringPlans forum member stayed up until midnight for their window, and another found only tables for three left for their dates. Our booking windows page works out your date.

If you miss out, try again once you board; planDisney says there is still a chance, subject to availability. Palo is 18 and over.

What should you wear, and what if you cancel?

Disney recommends formal or semi-formal, and allows polished dress-casual: dress trousers, jeans in good condition, collared shirts, dressy tops. For brunch at Palo and Palo Steakhouse, dress shorts are fine. T-shirts, swimwear and sports clothes are not allowed.

Cancel at least 24 hours ahead. Disney's policy charges 100% of the per-person price to anyone who cancels later or does not show.

Can you get Palo for free?

Platinum and Pearl Castaway Club members get one free Palo dinner per stateroom per sailing, at Palo, Palo Steakhouse or Palo Trattoria, according to Disney. It covers the set menu, or the same value as a credit toward à la carte dishes. The member has to be at the table, and anything over the set-menu price, plus its gratuity, is charged.

Is Palo worth it?

The outlets that have eaten there agree more than they usually do:

• Traveling Ears, August 2026: worth it for adults who want one quieter meal, but not something every guest needs on every cruise.
• Disney Cruise Planning, 2026: worth the cost, especially brunch.
• The Points Guy, 2023: a comparative steal next to the ship's other extras.

At $55 against $145 for Remy or Enchanté, Palo is the cheapest way to an adults-only meal on the fleet. Skip it if your kids will not settle in the kids' club, if you love your rotational restaurants, or on a short cruise where every night is spoken for. For what the extras add to the whole trip, see what a Disney cruise costs.