Ordering From A Different MDR Menu On E Class

[helen haywood]

We’ve sailed Edge several times in Select Dining.  Every time we’ve requested an item from another of the MDRs.  Say the Cyprus entree while dining in Tuscan.  We’ve even had a waiter in Tuscan tell us he wanted us to eat there every night… that he could get us any dish from any of the other MDRs’ menus.

 

Now I’m hearing that this is discouraged.  I’m not interested in breaking or bending rules.  Can anyone who has dined recently on Edge or Apex chime in if this is no longer allowed?  And I’m just curious why it would be a problem.  I thought the four restaurants shared a kitchen and therefore it would be easy to share menus.

 

It reminds me of dining in Blu on Equinox when some people reported one could order off the MDR menu…and others said it was not possible.  Our experience was the Blu hostess told us, unasked, that we could order any dish off the MDR menu…but I realized that wasn’t official policy but her call.

[Talex831]

Just go to the dining room you that has the food you want.  Asking for something that’s not offered is tacky. Imagine if every table asked for something special. The servers want to please and will go out of their way, but why would you want to do that to them, they already work hard enough. 

[NantahalaCruiser]

22 minutes ago, Talex831 said:

Just go to the dining room you that has the food you want.  Asking for something that’s not offered is tacky. Imagine if every table asked for something special. The servers want to please and will go out of their way, but why would you want to do that to them, they already work hard enough. 

On the other hand, we just booked a New Zealand cruise in March 2024 and, although two years out, were forced to choose a traditional dining time and wait list for select. If we are not able to switch to select, then we will be assigned to a single MDR. If that is the case, I will have no reservations (no pun intended) about ordering from the other three MDR's menus.

[jelayne]

Our experience is that ordering the specialty items from another restaurant is not a problem and isn’t discouraged.  If you find you like a particular dining room and like your wait staff there is no reason to change. 

[Denny01]

1 hour ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

On the other hand, we just booked a New Zealand cruise in March 2024 and, although two years out, were forced to choose a traditional dining time and wait list for select. If we are not able to switch to select, then we will be assigned to a single MDR. If that is the case, I will have no reservations (no pun intended) about ordering from the other three MDR's menus.

Even when you are ‘traditional’ dining, you can move over to any of the other MDRs. We’ve been on 2 Edge, prior to the Pandemic, and 1 Apex, in Nov ‘21, and we had traditional dining at 6pm in the Cypress. We showed up there the first night. As we left, we asked the Matre de for reservations at 6:30pm at one of the others. No prob. we dined at all 4 with no issues. 

 

So I think the ‘traditional’ is good for those that want the same MDR, same table, same waitstaff, but it’s no longer the only choice you have. Its much the same as Select, and in my opinion Better because I have a set time and place for the first hectic night and can move as we wish. 

 

Heck, when we went back to Cypress, our favorite, we had the same table and waitstaff we had the 1st night. We enjoyed all the 4 MDR venues, but liked the Cypress entrees a bit more. 

 

We loved the MDRs so much, I kind of ‘sad’ (not really) that we are trying a Suite and will be dining in the Luminae…..but I’ve heard (well, read on these lovely threads) that we can go to a MDR if we wish. 

 

Den

[Cathy in Boston]

We just came back from our cruise yesterday, 11 days on the Silhouette, and were in a suite.  Let’s put this to bed.  First, yes you most certainly can order from the MDR in Luminae.  Not only that, once the staff knows that you may order from the MDR, they will bring you both menus.  Second, you can mix and match.  There was one night when our appetizer came from the MDR menu and our entree from the Luminae menu.  Third, it is not in any way tacky.  In fact, the head waiter told us that they have no issues doing that for anyone.  Finally, it can be done for sure on S class,  not sure about E class.  
 

Y’know, everyone who works on the ship knows you’ve spent a lot of money booking your cruise.  They will go out of their way to help with your dining requests, so long as it isn’t ridiculous.  Ordering from the MDR menu in Luminae is not ridiculous.

[helen haywood]

Well, I am the OP and my question regarded ordering from one of the other MDR menus while at a different one.  And I specifically asked the question of Edge Class ships.  I’m not in a suite so Luminae doesn’t enter into my question.  Thank you all for your responses; seems I was correct in thinking peoples experiences differed.

[jelayne]

25 minutes ago, Cathy in Boston said:

We just came back from our cruise yesterday, 11 days on the Silhouette, and were in a suite.  Let’s put this to bed.  First, yes you most certainly can order from the MDR in Luminae.  Not only that, once the staff knows that you may order from the MDR, they will bring you both menus.  Second, you can mix and match.  There was one night when our appetizer came from the MDR menu and our entree from the Luminae menu.  Third, it is not in any way tacky.  In fact, the head waiter told us that they have no issues doing that for anyone.  Finally, it can be done for sure on S class,  not sure about E class.  
 

On the M and S class ships Suite guests can order from the MDR or Blu menu as the kitchens are all in the same area and that has been possible since Luminae was created.

On the Edge & Apex Luminae is on Deck 12 forward and on the Beyond Luminae is on Deck 16 forward, one heck of a long way from the MDR kitchen.

[LGW59]

41 minutes ago, Cathy in Boston said:

We just came back from our cruise yesterday, 11 days on the Silhouette, and were in a suite.  Let’s put this to bed.  First, yes you most certainly can order from the MDR in Luminae.  Not only that, once the staff knows that you may order from the MDR, they will bring you both menus.  Second, you can mix and match.  There was one night when our appetizer came from the MDR menu and our entree from the Luminae menu.  Third, it is not in any way tacky.  In fact, the head waiter told us that they have no issues doing that for anyone.  Finally, it can be done for sure on S class,  not sure about E class.  
 

Y’know, everyone who works on the ship knows you’ve spent a lot of money booking your cruise.  They will go out of their way to help with your dining requests, so long as it isn’t ridiculous.  Ordering from the MDR menu in Luminae is not ridiculous.

E class was the question…

[NantahalaCruiser]

10 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Even when you are ‘traditional’ dining, you can move over to any of the other MDRs. We’ve been on 2 Edge, prior to the Pandemic, and 1 Apex, in Nov ‘21, and we had traditional dining at 6pm in the Cypress. We showed up there the first night. As we left, we asked the Matre de for reservations at 6:30pm at one of the others. No prob. we dined at all 4 with no issues. 

 

So I think the ‘traditional’ is good for those that want the same MDR, same table, same waitstaff, but it’s no longer the only choice you have. Its much the same as Select, and in my opinion Better because I have a set time and place for the first hectic night and can move as we wish. 

 

Heck, when we went back to Cypress, our favorite, we had the same table and waitstaff we had the 1st night. We enjoyed all the 4 MDR venues, but liked the Cypress entrees a bit more. 

 

We loved the MDRs so much, I kind of ‘sad’ (not really) that we are trying a Suite and will be dining in the Luminae…..but I’ve heard (well, read on these lovely threads) that we can go to a MDR if we wish. 

 

Den

 

Thanks for the info Den; makes me feel much better about having to have the traditional seating.

[Denny01]

1 minute ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

 

Thanks for the info Den; makes me feel much better about having to have the traditional seating.

No sweat.  Enjoy. Remember these Lines are trying their best to meet our wishes…….within reason!  
 

den

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Cathy in Boston said:

on the Silhouette...Let’s put this to bed...  you most certainly can order from the MDR in Luminae.

Put what to bed? Ordering from the MDR in Luminae on S-class is not questioned.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Specifically for the E-Class MDRs, you can order off any of the MDR menus since they all share the same galley...It is not discouraged nor is it extra work for the waitstaff yet some may make it sound like they're doing you favor in hopes of a tip/survey recognition

[Julma]

1 hour ago, Cathy in Boston said:

We just came back from our cruise yesterday, 11 days on the Silhouette, and were in a suite.  Let’s put this to bed.  First, yes you most certainly can order from the MDR in Luminae.  Not only that, once the staff knows that you may order from the MDR, they will bring you both menus.  Second, you can mix and match.  There was one night when our appetizer came from the MDR menu and our entree from the Luminae menu.  Third, it is not in any way tacky.  In fact, the head waiter told us that they have no issues doing that for anyone.  Finally, it can be done for sure on S class,  not sure about E class.  
 

Y’know, everyone who works on the ship knows you’ve spent a lot of money booking your cruise.  They will go out of their way to help with your dining requests, so long as it isn’t ridiculous.  Ordering from the MDR menu in Luminae is not ridiculous.

This is true on the S and M class but not on the E class ships.  Luminae's kitchen is quite a distance from main dining room's kitchen and really causes an issue with dining crew.  They will usually do anything to make you happy, but it makes it difficult.  On the Edge the table next to us was ordering items from MDR menu and the Maitre'd finally asked them to check in with him the day before and he would make sure items were in the Luminae kitchen to prepare to their liking.  They certainly go out of their way, but to make last minute requests is just not fair.  It's not a private ship...now that you pay "a lot of money" for.

[NutsAboutGolf]

16 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Now I’m hearing that this is discouraged.

 

The better question is WHO told you this and did they specifically mention the E-Class MDRs?

 

I asked the waitstaff if it was extra work on the Edge this past July, was told told my headwaiter: "it's no extra work" for them.

[helen haywood]

I asked a poster currently doing a beautiful review on Edge.  BennyBrun’s.  He agreed it was “discouraged.”  Enough people piled on saying it was tacky to do so that I didn’t want to hijack his thread and so started this one.

 

As I could not see how on E Class it could be any extra work I was surprised to hear it sounded like it was a no-no now.

Edited April 9, 2022 by helen haywood

[Julma]

13 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

I asked a poster currently doing a beautiful review on Edge.  BennyBrun’s.  He agreed it was “discouraged.”  Enough people piled on saying it was tacky to do so that I didn’t want to hijack his thread and so started this one.

 

As I could not see how on E Class it could be any extra work I was surprised to hear it sounded like it was a no-no now.

People really do attack.  It's not tacky, I think it's just misunderstood.  Many people have travelled on then M & S class and don't realize the difference.  I can confirm after 6 weeks on E class since Sep 2021, it is discouraged.  Will they do it, yes, but I think it is easier to communicate your wants, in advance and make use of the system in place.  Everyone will be better served this way.

[Peteymil]

Just going to add this Anna's an additional question. On the E class I know that Blu is on level five. Can you order from any of the main dining rooms if you are in Blu as sometimes there is an entrée we'd love it really like to try. 
We were just on the constellation and the waiter would bring us both menus, but I know that the dining room set up is different on the E class so wondering if this would work. 

[Denny01]

36 minutes ago, Julma said:

People really do attack.  It's not tacky, I think it's just misunderstood.  Many people have travelled on then M & S class and don't realize the difference.  I can confirm after 6 weeks on E class since Sep 2021, it is discouraged.  Will they do it, yes, but I think it is easier to communicate your wants, in advance and make use of the system in place.  Everyone will be better served this way.

Who is ‘discouraging’ this? And how are they doing that?  Doesn’t seem to track when one kitchen is supporting all 4 MDRs. And how does this interfere in some way of how everyone is better served? Just trying to understand how this is an issue. 
 

Our table mates did this with No issues. We would use all 4 MDRs just to experience the differing venues and we aren’t big on one set of waitstaff or assigned table. 
 

den

[amyr]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Specifically for the E-Class MDRs, you can order off any of the MDR menus since they all share the same galley...It is not discouraged nor is it extra work for the waitstaff yet some may make it sound like they're doing you favor in hopes of a tip/survey recognition

We just returned from the behind the scenes tour on Edge, which was worth every penny, and I was really amazed to find out it’s NOT one big MDR galley like I think they have on M and S class.  Each of the four restaurants has their own galley.  We started walking through the Normandie galley, exited, and then went through Tuscan.  Our guide said that the galleys were identical upstairs, but up there was also the pastry galley, where they hand make all the breads 24/7.  I wanted to ask if they had a dumbwaiter to shuttle menu items at least up/down, but I didn’t get the chance.  The crew/service lifts were right there though.   Each of the two galleys we toured had a line where the waiters line up to grab their dishes, and there were pictures of each dish.  Each station along the line prepared two plates at a time.  It was a lot different than other galley tours I’ve done on M & S class ships.  We didn’t see any galleys or areas that prepared for Blu, Eden, etc., and I got kind of turned around as to where everything was.  

 

Not helpful for the original question, I know, but certainly a plug for the two hour tour!  Talk around the ship seems to be that some people have had no problem ordering from other dining rooms and some have been told it wasn’t possible. Maybe some waiters weren’t okay with grabbing items from a galley on a different floor?

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

Who is ‘discouraging’ this? And how are they doing that?  Doesn’t seem to track when one kitchen is supporting all 4 MDRs. And how does this interfere in some way of how everyone is better served? Just trying to understand how this is an issue. 
 

Our table mates did this with No issues. We would use all 4 MDRs just to experience the differing venues and we aren’t big on one set of waitstaff or assigned table. 
 

den

I think some of these posts are referring to Luminae sometimes with specifying and other the MDRs  so it is getting a bid confusing. 

[helen haywood]

Well, we board Edge tomorrow and I’ll report our personal experience!

[micruiser2002]

I wish everyone would stick to the question, it is specifically about the 4 different E class MAIN dining room restaurants, not Luminae, not BLU.  

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, micruiser2002 said:

I wish everyone would stick to the question

Welcome to Cruise Critic 😄

[Torfamm]

On 4/8/2022 at 6:26 PM, helen haywood said:

We’ve sailed Edge several times in Select Dining.  Every time we’ve requested an item from another of the MDRs.  Say the Cyprus entree while dining in Tuscan.  We’ve even had a waiter in Tuscan tell us he wanted us to eat there every night… that he could get us any dish from any of the other MDRs’ menus.

 

Now I’m hearing that this is discouraged.  I’m not interested in breaking or bending rules.  Can anyone who has dined recently on Edge or Apex chime in if this is no longer allowed?  And I’m just curious why it would be a problem.  I thought the four restaurants shared a kitchen and therefore it would be easy to share menus.

 

We were on the Apex last month and were told exactly what you were. All four restaurants share the same kitchen and to feel free to order from any of the menus