Picky Eater - April 2017 Coral Panama Canal Cruise

[pathi]

No one mentioned the Burger, and the hot dog that are on the room service menu. Very Tasty!

[rjohn40787]

Additional Coral questions...

 

Does the MDR offer burgers as part of their regular menu (i.e., available any night), or would he need to go to the Grill or order from room service?

 

Can he get donuts (as opposed to other danishes or pastries) at the IC?

 

I read about fresh-baked cookies. Are the available on the Coral? If so, when and where?

 

Are milkshakes (or malts) sold at the Ice Cream Bar?

[kathyt939]

If you buy the soda and more card he can get malts and milkshakes and virgin drinks plus sofa with no additional cost. There are always fresh cookies. Usually chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, double chocolate, and peanut butter. Usually rotated through the day in the buffet. I've seen donuts at the IC. Not always though.

 

 

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[kathyt939]

Soda

 

 

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[diane.in.ny]

If memory serves me correctly, hamburgers are also available on the room service menu

[chloe45]

I wasn't aware that you could get the MDR menu delivered to our suite the night before. That is very helpful to know. Thanks.

 

This is my favorite suite perk. In my opinion eating in the MDR takes too long.

[chloe45]

I'm mid 50s and order off the kids menu sometimes.

 

I have a small appetite and hate to waste food. Never thought of the kids menu. What is usually on it?

[rjohn40787]

Thanks for the responses. What I was hoping to learn was:

 

In the absence of a beverage card, can you currently purchase milkshakes or malts at the Coral's Ice Cream Bar.

 

Also, is there a specific time and/or ship location when warm, just-baked cookies are put out...or does that happen throughout the day and evening.

[kathyt939]

Hers. You can. I believe that they are 2.50?

 

 

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[shredie]

I have a small appetite and hate to waste food. Never thought of the kids menu. What is usually on it?

 

There are a couple of things on the kids' menu I get when I've had enough MDR food. :) They have a soup that is essentially chicken noodle with the alphabet noodles instead of the regular ones. There is also a garden salad that is just a basic lettuce-type salad with no exotic ingredients. You have your choice of dressing. The spaghetti and meatballs is very like the adult version on Italian night, but it's available every night. I like it a lot. The chicken fingers are real chicken, not some frozen nugget thing. Beware, though, it comes with a mountain of fries.

[CallistaSkye]

There are a couple of things on the kids' menu I get when I've had enough MDR food. :) They have a soup that is essentially chicken noodle with the alphabet noodles instead of the regular ones. There is also a garden salad that is just a basic lettuce-type salad with no exotic ingredients. You have your choice of dressing. The spaghetti and meatballs is very like the adult version on Italian night, but it's available every night. I like it a lot. The chicken fingers are real chicken, not some frozen nugget thing. Beware, though, it comes with a mountain of fries.

 

Ohhh good to know! I love pasta so that's great to know about the spaghetti, and the soup sounds good too.

 

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[yuccaman]

The "always available" dining room dinner menu lately has featured a burger instead of beef medallions

 

 

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[gooch47]

It is really easy to suggest he try different things, so maybe you should meet my teenage granddaughter. On our latest cruise with her she ate exactly the same thing for breakfast and dinner. Scrambled eggs with yellow cheese and bacon for breakfast. If it wasn't yellow cheese it was refused. Shrimp (no sauce) and steak for dinner, cheesecake for dessert. Pizza or nothing for lunch. Yes, she is spoiled rotten, but not by us. She did try a bite of lobster but turned up her nose at it. Not sure what she eats on a daily basis at home.

 

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[notentirelynormal]

For afternoon snacks in the buffet, there's guacamole and chips, sandwiches or they'll make you a sandwich. Burgers are always available in the MDR lunch and breakfast. Plenty of pancakes and french toast. About the bacon, it's not the best bacon nor are the sausages. If he likes fruit, there's plenty of that. Also at the hamburger grill there's chicken nuggets, french fries, hot dogs, polish-type sausages, grilled onions, etc. They won't put cheese on the burger unless you ask for it. Have fun and good luck.

 

All these years and I've never seen chicken nuggets on the menu or seen them served. Is this a new thing?

 

My grand daughter is autistic and doesn't like to try new things. On the last cruise I told her the food is free and if she wants to try something new and spit it out if she doesn't like it I would be fine with it. She can eat as much as she likes or as little. Every single day she tried something new. I was so proud of her. She even ordered from the adult menu.

 

Now, my grandson, he is a different story. While still a kid and not very adventurous he was told the same thing. Try it and if you don't like it you don't have to eat it. We get back home and my DD asks me if he tried the Fettuccine. Tried it? TRIED IT? Are you kidding me! He not only ate the main course version every night he also ate the country chicken every night. THEN he ordered something from that night's menu. LOL. He has never eaten so much in his life.

 

Oh, she tried different lunch items too. My point is - let him know that if he doesn't like it - fine. No problem, no arguments, no I paid $12 for this chicken and you are going to eat it. You just - okay - and move on.

 

I can tell you my DD was stunned how much new items they tried. They almost never got to the desserts. Oh, she even tried cheesecake. She didn't like it but she tried it.

Edited October 26, 2016 by notentirelynormal

[caribill]

All these years and I've never seen chicken nuggets on the menu or seen them served. Is this a new thing?

 

 

It's on the children's menu as "Chick-Chick chicken fingers."

 

Longer than nuggets.

[notentirelynormal]

It's on the children's menu as "Chick-Chick chicken fingers."

 

Longer than nuggets.

 

Huh. I don't read the children's menu unless I have children but that is a good option for me and my small stomach when nothing else sounds good.

[JimmyVWine]

He's a young adult, so I don't think the kid's menu would be applicable...plus he has a healthy appetite.

Again, because you are new to cruising, you should know that you don't have to be concerned with portion size. You can pretty much ask for whatever you want in whatever portion you want. So, for example, if the children's menu has spaghetti and meatballs, (which I believe it does), you can ask your server for that in a large, adult-sized portion. And if you think the burger or hot dog off of the children's menu might not be enough, ask for two. If they bring me extra lobster tails, I am sure they can bring you extra spaghetti. :)

[Viv0828]

I have notice that when some picky eaters are presented with a lot of interesting choices, they sometimes decide to try something new.

 

 

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[stoneharborlady]

The childrens menu in the dining room features hamburgers and hot dogs every night.

[Kingofcool1947]

We are new to cruising and will be traveling with someone who is a very picky eater. We will have a suite. He is happiest with hamburgers (but not cheeseburgers), hot dogs, tacos, burritos, spaghetti with meat sauce, pepperoni pizza, chips & salsa...you get the idea. I understand The Grill has burgers and hot dogs only until 6 p.m.

 

Are there other options for him to get these items on board the ship after 6 p.m.? Does the buffet offer any of these items as part of their selections? If so, every night or only on selected nights?

 

Can he get pancakes and bacon for breakfast?

 

Thanks in advance for any and all detailed information.

 

Everything can be prepared to order. He wiil not have any trouble finding something he can eat. Just be careful not to over eat. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

[Kingofcool1947]

We are new to cruising and will be traveling with someone who is a very picky eater. We will have a suite. He is happiest with hamburgers (but not cheeseburgers), hot dogs, tacos, burritos, spaghetti with meat sauce, pepperoni pizza, chips & salsa...you get the idea. I understand The Grill has burgers and hot dogs only until 6 p.m.

 

Are there other options for him to get these items on board the ship after 6 p.m.? Does the buffet offer any of these items as part of their selections? If so, every night or only on selected nights?

 

Can he get pancakes and bacon for breakfast?

 

Thanks in advance for any and all detailed information.

 

Almost everything can be prepared to order. Just ask. He wiil not have any trouble finding something he can eat. Any time of day. Just be careful he does not to over eat.......which, as you know. is easy to do. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Kingofcool1947

[Cruisin' Chick]

aww, I am a picky eater. Better now that I used to be... I legit did not try Chinese food or Mexican food until i was high school. I would CRY as a child if I had to stay over at a friends for dinner unless it was one friend whose family made mac and cheese.

Eating at other peoples houses was the worst anxiety ridden experience ever for me. I have issues with the textures of a lot of foods, so it was really difficult to try to explain that as a kid.

 

He should be totally fine on the ship! I basically have to customize everything I ever order when I eat out because I don't like condiments, sauces, pickles, lettuce, etc etc. The staff were always extremely kind in dealing with this, and it was never a problem at all.

The buffet was easy since you literally get whatever looks good yourself. Plus like others have said, maybe he will be inspired to try something new.

 

Sounds like my daughter and me. I grew up on basically hamburgers, steak and mac n'cheese. I did get a little better growing up but I won't eat anything with condiments or salad dressing (lemon juice okay on my salad, but I gag if someone has poured on a ton of vinegar on their salad nearby).

 

My daughter would tend to survive on pizza and hot dogs on her first few cruises. she actually tried a tiny edge of a hamburger once but it must have disgusted her because she handed it off to me and has never tried another one (my hubby and I have stopped eating red meat for health reasons so it seems good to me that she isn't into burgers anyway)

 

On our last cruise when she was 15, we were gifted with a dinner in sabatinis. she decided to try calamari and decided she likes it. so often whenever she sees it on the menu when we go out, she'll order it.

 

I find with a stubborn picky eater, don't even try to shame them into trying something they don't want. I won't eat something because of that. Maybe on their own, they'll try something.

 

On Princess cruises, there's plenty of choices. If you're like me and don't like fish (I am allergic to shellfish, but even non-shellfish, I haven't liked any that I've tried). chicken is easy if you like it as it's on the menu every day. My hubby and I would often get a grilled chicken sandwich at the poolside grill many times for lunch. It's open even on port days (usually the MDR won't be on port days).

 

If your ship has the International Cafe (I believe the Coral did have one put in), it's on the Plaza deck and is a group of display cases with food. You just tell the crew member working there want you want and you'll get the item plated. You can eat nearby if you find a table or take your food just about anywhere on the ship, including your cabin. sometime during the day, the cookies will be available (love the chocolate chip ones). It's open 24/7.

 

this will give you some info: http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

There's a lot of other info on your ship on the princess website, too. and on the first day, when you get to your cabin, the ship's newsletter, the Patter will have plenty of info about different venues on the ship with the hours of operation.

[caribill]

If your ship has the International Cafe (I believe the Coral did have one put in)' date=' it's on the Plaza deck and is a group of display cases with food. [/quote']

 

On the Coral the IC is on deck 6, the Fiesta deck.

[CallistaSkye]

Sounds like my daughter and me. I grew up on basically hamburgers' date=' steak and mac n'cheese. I did get a little better growing up but I won't eat anything with condiments or salad dressing (lemon juice okay on my salad, but I gag if someone has poured on a ton of vinegar on their salad nearby).

 

My daughter would tend to survive on pizza and hot dogs on her first few cruises. she actually tried a tiny edge of a hamburger once but it must have disgusted her because she handed it off to me and has never tried another one (my hubby and I have stopped eating red meat for health reasons so it seems good to me that she isn't into burgers anyway)

 

On our last cruise when she was 15, we were gifted with a dinner in sabatinis. she decided to try calamari and decided she likes it. so often whenever she sees it on the menu when we go out, she'll order it.

 

I find with a stubborn picky eater, don't even try to shame them into trying something they don't want. I won't eat something because of that. Maybe on their own, they'll try something.

 

On Princess cruises, there's plenty of choices. If you're like me and don't like fish (I am allergic to shellfish, but even non-shellfish, I haven't liked any that I've tried). chicken is easy if you like it as it's on the menu every day. My hubby and I would often get a grilled chicken sandwich at the poolside grill many times for lunch. It's open even on port days (usually the MDR won't be on port days).

 

If your ship has the International Cafe (I believe the Coral did have one put in), it's on the Plaza deck and is a group of display cases with food. You just tell the crew member working there want you want and you'll get the item plated. You can eat nearby if you find a table or take your food just about anywhere on the ship, including your cabin. sometime during the day, the cookies will be available (love the chocolate chip ones). It's open 24/7.

 

this will give you some info: http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

There's a lot of other info on your ship on the princess website, too. and on the first day, when you get to your cabin, the ship's newsletter, the Patter will have plenty of info about different venues on the ship with the hours of operation.[/quote']

 

aww! Thank you for your kind post. I commiserate with you. Definitely am the same way about people wanting to "force" me to eat things. The more people tried, the more i would just resist because I am stubborn and resent it being a "thing" that people think is HILARIOUS to do. Thankfully my own family was respectful, but friends families not so much. The IC is my favorite place to eat on board. I actually prefered it to the dining room on this cruise. I love the ham and cheese sandwiches toasted. The puddings are one of my favorite things ever. This time we tried the buffet and I really like it especially for breakfast. For some weird reason, watermelon is super good in the morning. I also like the frosted flakes with cut up banana in them, as boring as that is haha. The pizza place was also a favorite of mine. I feel like the dining rooms are definitely more for "foodie" people...but the Princess Classics saved me with the alfredo when I didn't think any of the mains looked good. They had some kind of....odd combos on seafood night to me. But there was always a good selection and I certainly never starved!

[KruzPrincess]

Your picky eater will not go hungry. Ask to look at the kid's menu. I've eaten from it and I'm older. They will bring an adult sized portion of anything on the menu. They will always have a hamburger and fries in the MDR. You can order a whole pizza from room service if you don't want to eat by the pool. There's a $3 charge for delivery of the pizza. The Trident Grill has always been open late on my cruises. Pizza, too. HAL closes their grill early. I hope Princess doesn't do that. There's usually a mac and cheese or some simple pasta dish at the buffet. On Mexican night they will have something similar to burritos or tacos in the buffet. I can't swear that they have pancakes every day in the buffet, but they usually have waffles. It's all good.