MDR for breakfast/lunch

[mexico5]

Hi, you can eat the MDR for breakfast and lunch on HAL ships right? We loved the breakfast on NCL in the dining room and never ate at the buffet once for any meals!

 

Anyone recall if they serve salmon/spinach eggs benedict and lox/cream cheese/bagels in the dining room for breakfast? Those were my 2 favs!

 

Lastly, for breakfast and lunch in the MDR can you wear shorts?

 

Thanks!

[Mary Ellen]

The MDR isn't always open for breakfast/lunch. Sometimes on port days they are closed. Check your Daily Program.

 

I've never seen salmon/spinach eggs Benedict on the MDR menu, but (on some ships) there are daily 'specials'. That may appear. Lox/cream cheese/bagels are on the MDR breakfast menu.

 

Shorts aren't tabu in the MDR during the day.

[TracieABD]

On our last Rotterdam cruise, the MDR was open for lunch and breakfast every day, but the hours were limited.

People did wear shorts, but since it was an Alaska tour, you did not see a lot of shorts anywhere.

[mexico5]

So if the MDR is closed for breakfast we will probably order room service and have it on our balcony. Will the room service breakfast menu be limited on days that the MDR is closed? Will there still be hot items available?

[GeriatricNurse]

Hi, you can eat the MDR for breakfast and lunch on HAL ships right? We loved the breakfast on NCL in the dining room and never ate at the buffet once for any meals!

 

Anyone recall if they serve salmon/spinach eggs benedict and lox/cream cheese/bagels in the dining room for breakfast? Those were my 2 favs!

 

Lastly, for breakfast and lunch in the MDR can you wear shorts?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Yes, you may eat breakfast & lunch in the MDR on HAL ships, although the MDR will not open until 8:00 a.m. (and from my experience, the service is SLOW)! If you have a morning shorex booked, you will want to eat in the LIDO, which opens, for full service, at 7:00 a.m.! (continental service opens at 6:30 a.m.)!:)

Yes, you may wear shorts in the MDR for both breakfast & lunch!

[GeriatricNurse]

So if the MDR is closed for breakfast we will probably order room service and have it on our balcony. Will the room service breakfast menu be limited on days that the MDR is closed? Will there still be hot items available?

 

Why not consider having breakfast in the Lido? No, the room service breakfast is a constant & never changes! Yes, there will (always) be hot items available!:)

[mexico5]

Thanks! Good to hear that is is open every day...the hours will be fine and we are very patient people (on holidays that is!) so it's okay if it is slow. Now if it is ridiculously slow we might rethink it! On NCL the service was super fast in the MDR but that could be because most people seemed to eat at the buffet for breakfast because there were probably more families there then we will see on HAL.

 

We like to have a bloody mary or mimosa sometimes for breakfast so the MDR is nicer for that...and less screaming children!

[mexico5]

On Princess and NCL we did not care for the buffet place...too busy...too loud...took forever to find a table so we discovered on NCL the wonders of the MDR for breakfast!

[AlanAllyn]

On the Amsterdam this summer, they served Scottish Eggs Benedict some mornings. It had smoked salmon instead of Canadian bacon and was very good.

[mexico5]

Thanks Alan, good to know!

[dach]

Anyone recall if they serve salmon/spinach eggs benedict and lox/cream cheese/bagels in the dining room for breakfast? Those were my 2 favs!

 

Yes, on veendam which I just got back from, we ordered those both days we had bfast in mdr. MDR was only place corn beef hash was available. Otherwise the food was approximately the same as lido, plus or minus special french toast and pancakes

[liketraveling]

I have been on 3 HAL cruises and I have eaten breakfast only once. This was on embarktion day!

 

I have to agree with the OP. It sure is allot nicer.

 

I usually don't make the time frames that the MDR is openj.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have been on 3 HAL cruises and I have eaten breakfast only once. This was on embarktion day!

 

I have to agree with the OP. It sure is allot nicer.

 

I usually don't make the time frames that the MDR is openj.

 

Curious as to how you could have breakfast on embarkation day??

[Krazy Kruizers]

The dining is ALWAYS open for breakfast every morning. The time differs by ship and itinerary. On some ships it will open at 7:30 while on others it will open at 8.

DH loves the Scottish Eggs Benedict (with the salmon).

As for lunch -- check your daily program as the dining will be closed on some port days -- to give the staff a couple of hours off.

The cabin breakfast menu is the same every day -- very nice one for all cabin categories.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Cabin Breakfast Menu

Preferred Time Frame

6 AM - 6:30 AM 7 AM - 7:30 AM 8 AM - 8:30 AM 9 AM - 9:30 AM

6:30 AM - 7 AM 7:30 AM - 8 AM 8:30 AM - 9 AM 9:30 AM - 10 AM

Juices

Grapefruit; Orange:; Cranberry; V-8; Prune, Tomato

Fresh Fruit

Half Grapefruit; Sliced Bananas; Diced Oranges; Mixed Fruit; Seasonal Melons; Stewed Prunes

Low Fat Yogurt

Plain; Fruit

Breads

English Muffin; White Toast; Wheat Toast; Rye Toast; Danish; Croissant; Blueberry Muffin; Bran Muffin; Bagel

Preserves

Assorted Jams; Marmalade; Honey; Butter; Margarine; Cream Cheese

Cereals

Corn Flakes; Special K; Mueslix; Raisin Bran; Granola; Fruit Loops; Frosted Flakes; Rice Krispies; Shredded Wheat

With: Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk

Eggs & Meats

Two Eggs: Scrambled or sunnyside up or over easy

Omelet: With Cheese or With Ham and Cheese

Eggbeaters: Scrambled or Omelet with Cheese or Omelet with Ham and Cheese

Meat: Ham or Sausage or Bacon

Beverages

Regular Coffee; Decaf Coffee; Tea; Hot Chocolate; Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk; Half & Half

 

If you can wait until the main dining room opens -- usually 7:30 on port days and 8 on sea days, you can write in anything you want like Eggs Benedict. Waffles, Chocolate croisonts, etc.

[liketraveling]

Curious as to how you could have breakfast on embarkation day??

 

Opps! I meant disembarktion!

[Essiesmom]

Check out the Lido for Breakfast...HAL ships have a place where there are six or eight versions of Eggs Benedict. they are yummy! EM

[mearsfansinboise]

We sailed the Volendam in June. The MDR was always open for breakfast 8am-10am. The menu stayed the same for the most part with 2 new things every day...i.e. breakfast fajitas or something like that. I don't remember any salmon or bagels & lox...however I don't care for those so if they were on there I may not have noticed anyway. We would usually do room service breakfast - a little fruit and croissant (which are teeny, so order more than you think you want because they are mini mini mini) with some coffee at around 6am....then to the MDR for a more substantial meal.

The MDR was only open for lunch I would say about 4 of the 7 days - maybe the days it wasn't were the port days actually.

[fann1sh]

I almost never eat in the Lido.

 

I sometimes *raid* the Lido for food I can take with me (especially cookies).

And I often sit there when meals aren't being served, gab with someone over a cup of tea, watch the world go by.

 

So, while there are a few meals the MDR isn't open for, I can vouch for the fact you can usually eat breakfast and lunch in the main dining room.

[cruz chic]

On Princess and NCL we did not care for the buffet place...too busy...too loud...took forever to find a table so we discovered on NCL the wonders of the MDR for breakfast!

You will find the Lido the same...very busy and hard to find a place to sit. I'm sure some posters will tell you something different. I find the buffet on Princess easier to take then HALs. A good cruise is one where I never eat in the Lido. I would rather pay for the Pinnacle or eat ashore then having to go to the Lido for lunch.

[musicismylife]

We love eating breakfast in the MDR, why carry your own food when you can be waited on? We liked that the menu slightly changed everyday and that we had the opportunity to meet different people everyday. It made for a pleasant cruise when you could say hi to your breakfast mates when you saw them around the ship.

[Typhoon1]

We try to eat all our meals in the MDR. Unless, of course, it is closed for lunch on a port day,

 

I am on vacation, and am not going to be jumping up and down to get my own food. We enjoy being pampered in the atmosphere of the MDR.

[mexico5]

We agree, we do not like buffets!

 

Another question...for breakfast in the MDR can you still have a table for 2? We don't care if we have to wait.

 

Glad to hear the reports of smoked salmon, etc...for breakfast!

[northernphoenix]

We also had all of our meals in the MDR, with the exception of disembarkation. We had breakfast in the Lido; we quickly realized that we would continue to use the MDR on any future cruise. The Lido is not a bad venue for breakfast, but we certainly preferred the MDR. We had fixed seating for our party of four at a table for four each evening for dinner. As previously posted we did enjoy this opportunity to meet other passengers during breakfast and lunch. Our last breakfast in the MDR was interesting. We live in a small community in Northern Ontario, Canada. Our tablemates were from North Carolina. After only a few questions were asked and answered the couple revealed that the female party had been raised in our area. When asked her maiden name, I realized that she was the aunt of an acquaintance. HAL is a very small world.

Marilyn

 

Marilyn

[cruz chic]

We agree, we do not like buffets!

 

Another question...for breakfast in the MDR can you still have a table for 2? We don't care if we have to wait.

 

Glad to hear the reports of smoked salmon, etc...for breakfast!

You can for sure request a table for 2. You may have to wait depending if it's a Sea Day or not. Smoked salmon is pretty much my breakie everyday:). It's something that's not great in Calgary so I take full advantage on a cruise.