Food not on ship menu’s

[lenquixote66]

Do you ever request something not on the menu ?

[jlawrence01]

I have many Filipino employees over the years in the US and in call centers in Manila.  We were on the Carnival Splendor in 2019 and our three waiters were all Filipinos.  I jokingly asked the head waiter, "what night will we have adobo?" which is the national dish of the Philippines.  He laughed.

 

On the last night of the cruise, he said, "I have something special for you."  He brought my wife and I a bowl of chicken adobo which was on the crew mess that night.  It wasn't presented with the same flair as the other dishes but it was quite good.

 

It has been my experience in that you can generally get just about anything you want if you ask for it ahead of time.

 

By the way, the MDR food on the Carnival Splendor was quite excellent.

[CntPAcruiser]

We have often made special requests on our sailings with Royal, but nowadays they are rarely accommodated anymore. They were in the past, such as requests for specific bread items, Indian food, special desserts, but not lately. The one thing I did get that I asked for was Indian pickle to eat along with curries and other Indian food. But it was only because our head waiter was Indian and had some. There was a large Indian family in our section, and they had brought in a few things like that for their group. 

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said:

We have often made special requests on our sailings with Royal, but nowadays they are rarely accommodated anymore. They were in the past, such as requests for specific bread items, Indian food, special desserts, but not lately. The one thing I did get that I asked for was Indian pickle to eat along with curries and other Indian food. But it was only because our head waiter was Indian and had some. There was a large Indian family in our section, and they had brought in a few things like that for their group. 

I cannot recall ever having Indian food (which I love) on a cruise.

[Harters]

When we first started cruising in the 80s , P & O always had a curry on its lunch menu. 

[jlawrence01]

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I cannot recall ever having Indian food (which I love) on a cruise.

A lot of the Princess and Celebrity ships have several Indian dishes each day   and on any of the ships, a lot of the crew mess will consist of Indian food.

[CntPAcruiser]

Royal has Indian food in the Windjammer for lunch and dinner (possibly breakfast too), and an Indian selection on the main dining room menu each night. It has always been available on the buffet, but has come and gone on the MDR menu, so at times we've had to ask for it.

[lenquixote66]

8 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

Royal has Indian food in the Windjammer for lunch and dinner (possibly breakfast too), and an Indian selection on the main dining room menu each night. It has always been available on the buffet, but has come and gone on the MDR menu, so at times we've had to ask for it.

I never ate meals in the WJ

[CntPAcruiser]

4 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never ate meals in the WJ

 

In olden days it was sometimes worth it, or good for a snack. Nowadays not so much, sadly.

 

[lenquixote66]

3 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

In olden days it was sometimes worth it, or good for a snack. Nowadays not so much, sadly.

 

The only time we would go to the WJ was for a snack in afternoons on sea days.

[Hlitner]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:36 PM, lenquixote66 said:

I cannot recall ever having Indian food (which I love) on a cruise.

We have had some terrific Indian food on Seabourn.  On one particular cruise, the executive chef was Indian and he did a lot of the cooking for the "Indian Night" in the Collonade (a buffet/service combination) which was simply amazing.

 

Hank

[shecritic]

It's always nice when the crew can accommodate special requests. I've had success asking for things off-menu before too. It never hurts to politely inquire - the worst they can say is no! Your waiter hooking you up with adobo sounds awesome. Filipino food is the best. Hope you find some Indian options on your next cruise. The group talking about their experiences is making me hungry! 😋

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have had some terrific Indian food on Seabourn.  On one particular cruise, the executive chef was Indian and he did a lot of the cooking for the "Indian Night" in the Collonade (a buffet/service combination) which was simply amazing.

 

Hank

I have never heard of Seabourn.

[jlawrence01]

Seabourn is a super luxury line.

 

Princess and Celebrity have Indian options at nearly every meal in their buffet.

[lenquixote66]

I never sailed on Princess.Although I have been on Celebrity a few times I;cannot recall ever seeing Indiana food on the menu.

[BruceMuzz]

18 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never sailed on Princess.Although I have been on Celebrity a few times I;cannot recall ever seeing Indiana food on the menu.

You should try the Pennsylvania food, then.

[Lois R]

19 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have never heard of Seabourn.

Really? Seabourn is part of the Carnival Corp.  They are smaller vessels, in the "Luxury Category".....most of their ships hold less than 500 guests.  Seabourn, Silversea, Regent.......those are luxury lines. 

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

You should try the Pennsylvania food, then.

I do not understand this

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

Really? Seabourn is part of the Carnival Corp.  They are smaller vessels, in the "Luxury Category".....most of their ships hold less than 500 guests.  Seabourn, Silversea, Regent.......those are luxury lines. 

I never heard of any of these 

[Lois R]

34 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never heard of any of these 

You have now😃

[lenquixote66]

5 minutes ago, Lois R said:

You have now😃

You are correct,Lois R

[CntPAcruiser]

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I do not understand this

 

The quoted message includes "Indiana" instead of Indian, hence Pennsylvania. I live in Pennsylvania and I don't recommend it. In Central PA they add tons of sugar to everything: salads, sauces, even sausage!

[lenquixote66]

11 minutes ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

The quoted message includes "Indiana" instead of Indian, hence Pennsylvania. I live in Pennsylvania and I don't recommend it. In Central PA they add tons of sugar to everything: salads, sauces, even sausage!

Interesting in that whenever my daughter and husband drive from NY to Indiana to visit their daughter in college they make a stop in Harrisburg to sleep and eat..

[CntPAcruiser]

1 minute ago, lenquixote66 said:

Interesting in that whenever my daughter and husband drive from NY to Indiana to visit their daughter in college they make a stop in Harrisburg to sleep and eat..

 

We live on the other side of the river from HBG. It's not that you can't find some good food, but we do refer to our area as a food desert. Even the national chain restaurants struggle to put out a good meal here.

[lenquixote66]

16 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said:

 

We live on the other side of the river from HBG. It's not that you can't find some good food, but we do refer to our area as a food desert. Even the national chain restaurants struggle to put out a good meal here.

I have a longtime close friend who has relatives in HBG.I recall about 50 years ago her family going every summer to visit them.One of her cousins was a high ranking Police Officer.