One entree at the time MDR?

[mcatmcat]

Hi 

I stopped going with Royal right in the time that they were enforcing the MDR of one entree at a time until you are done with it. 
 

I was wondering if they still following that rule? 

[cruiseboy89130]

1 hour ago, mcatmcat said:

Hi 

I stopped going with Royal right in the time that they were enforcing the MDR of one entree at a time until you are done with it. 
 

I was wondering if they still following that rule? 

Not really - you may have to push it a bit to the Maitre....

[Mick B]

Sorry, but I may upset a few here, and it is not my intension, but...

 

Is not 1 entree more than enough at dinner time?

 

Are there not enough places around the ship during the day/early evening where you can get some food/nibbles if still a bit peckish?

 

I have witnessed so many people, so many timers ordering food and then either not eating all of it because the main course came out before they could finish all the entrees they had ordered.

 

Food wastage on board a cruise ship is one of things that helps the prices to go up, yet it is something that we can help to avoid if we are careful.

 

Given that the cruise line seems to gearing to get you in and out in 90 minutes (possibly to give your seats to My Time Dinning guest) surely, 1 entree is all your going to have time for if you are going to have an enjoyable 3 course meal plus a coffee etc before having to make a mad dash to the other end of the ship to get a decent seat for the show etc.

 

Mick.

 

 

[kitkat343]

17 minutes ago, Mick B said:

Sorry, but I may upset a few here, and it is not my intension, but...

 

Is not 1 entree more than enough at dinner time?

 

Are there not enough places around the ship during the day/early evening where you can get some food/nibbles if still a bit peckish?

 

I have witnessed so many people, so many timers ordering food and then either not eating all of it because the main course came out before they could finish all the entrees they had ordered.

 

Food wastage on board a cruise ship is one of things that helps the prices to go up, yet it is something that we can help to avoid if we are careful.

 

Given that the cruise line seems to gearing to get you in and out in 90 minutes (possibly to give your seats to My Time Dinning guest) surely, 1 entree is all your going to have time for if you are going to have an enjoyable 3 course meal plus a coffee etc before having to make a mad dash to the other end of the ship to get a decent seat for the show etc.

 

Mick.

 

 

We have 3 kids, and often travel with 2 grandparents.  So with 7 people we order 7 entrees.  On average, when 7 people order  7 entrees on a cruise line with good food like RC or Princess 2-3 entrees are excellent, 2 are good and 1-2 are bad.  On our last cruise, RC quite kindly pushed out our kids food quickly, and some of our kids order off the main menu.  If something was really good that our kids ordered we'd order another one because each night one person wasn't able to eat the entree they'd already ordered.  So ordering one extra entree for a large table didn't create food waste - one of the meals wasn't going to be eaten, and that person either waits for a second entree to be cooked or goes to the buffet.  For two people, I'd imagine you might not get an inedible dish every night and there might be a lot of food waste if you always order 3 entrees.

 

I don't know that the food waste in the MDR is entirely caused by people over ordering  - a significant amount could also be due to the inconsistency in food quality that is inevitable when cooking for huge numbers of people at one time. 

Edited January 3 by kitkat343

[Scottdalfonso]

On Oasis, we usually order one for each of us, then one "different" entree that we may not have ordered other wise so we can all try it. When we did that, he normally brought it to us so we could all share- the few times I asked for a 2nd one for myself because I knew I'd eat two (I'm looking at you, tiny lasagna) he would bring one, then the next one when I finished. 

[Ocean Boy]

So typical. "Observing" how others eat, how much others eat, suggesting how they should eat, etc. I guess worrying about how other dress and tip isn't occupying enough of some people's time. Some folks really need to learn to mind their own business.

[mcatmcat]

2 hours ago, Mick B said:

Sorry, but I may upset a few here, and it is not my intension, but...

 

Is not 1 entree more than enough at dinner time?

 

Are there not enough places around the ship during the day/early evening where you can get some food/nibbles if still a bit peckish?

 

I have witnessed so many people, so many timers ordering food and then either not eating all of it because the main course came out before they could finish all the entrees they had ordered.

 

Food wastage on board a cruise ship is one of things that helps the prices to go up, yet it is something that we can help to avoid if we are careful.

 

Given that the cruise line seems to gearing to get you in and out in 90 minutes (possibly to give your seats to My Time Dinning guest) surely, 1 entree is all your going to have time for if you are going to have an enjoyable 3 course meal plus a coffee etc before having to make a mad dash to the other end of the ship to get a decent seat for the show etc.

 

Mick.

 

 

Hi

For me 1 entree is not enough. I understand that there is food waste but I eat everything in the plate in fact I even tell the waiter what not to put in the plate because I know what I will eat and what I’m not going to.  Yet, he insist in putting the vegetables and all of that.  For example I like the steak with the risotto. Or the lobster with the steak or maybe the salmon and spaghetti.  Btw I eat super fast, I wish they could keep up with my speed. I sit in the MDR and I don’t even ask for a menu, we know what we want and I even ask for desert. When I get a fantastic waiter I can be out in less than 40 mins but lately that’s not happening. 
im going back to royal bc my friends are going for the weekend but I’m really happy with celebrity since I sailed with them for the first time. 

[Nabalab]

When we were on Oasis back in December, it was one at a time. 

 

In 2021-2022ish (and probably earlier), if there was an additional entree that my wife and I wanted to share (Risotto, for example) - the waiter would bring out ours... then put the risotto in the middle - all at the same time.

 

In December, he would bring out the risotto once one of us was finished with our entree.  Came as no surprise since we knew this was how things are now.

[Mick B]

Hi,

To be honest, my comment was never intended to dictate how anyone should eat, and in the MDR things are not as bad as elsewhere.

 

Where I have noticed it, and sometimes cannot ignore it as it is happening right in front of me, is in the WJ when the person stood next to me at the counter has taken just about everything there is and pilled it up on his/her plate.

 

I totally agree that you are entitled to do what you want, and I have never said anything to anyone who takes loads of food, but I find it a little sad as I know most of that food will end up as waste.

 

Mick.

[HappyTexan44]

 

But aren't there reports of twice as much on one entree plate being reliably allowed?   

 

DH eats more than the average person because he's extremely active.  So, I can see him eating more than normal.   I eat less than normal, but I could see myself skipping dessert and appetizer because none appeals, and just eating two of the small entrees, although in that case one at a time would be fine.  I also don't plan on eating crap.  So, if someone observed us, they might think we were wasting food.  

 

 

[smokeybandit]

My last cruise a couple ordered 3-4 apps (brought out at one time) and 2-3 entrees (brought out separately) for every meal.

 

They didn't seem to mind waiting an extra minute or two in between entrees

[rncruiser]

My son, who at 32 remains a fussy eater, often ordered 2-3 entrees on our recent Odyssey cruise. He sees a cruise as a time to try something new. The entrees were brought to him one at a time, but he did not have to wait until he was finished with one until he received the next. The portions on the meat entrees are huge, but on fish, vegetarian, vegan and the Indian entrees  are fairly small. 

[mcatmcat]

56 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

My last cruise a couple ordered 3-4 apps (brought out at one time) and 2-3 entrees (brought out separately) for every meal.

 

They didn't seem to mind waiting an extra minute or two in between entrees

An extra minute or two, you were lucky. I had to wait almost 15 mins 

[goldfish65]

Never had any issues, three cruises in 2023. 

 

 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

12 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

I stopped going with Royal right in the time that they were enforcing the MDR of one entree at a time until you are done with it.

I've ordered two appetizers (never two entrees), and they were brought out one at a time -- but the second followed quickly and timing was not a problem.  

I really think it has to do with the small size of the tables.  

7 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I'm looking at you, tiny lasagna

My husband had the lasagna, and it certainly wasn't tiny -- maybe you had a bad piece?  

He didn't think it was very good though.  Specifically, he complained about the "beef ragout" instead of ground meat.  

4 hours ago, vision14k said:

First, I’m astounded you have seen people “so many times” not eating what they ordered.  I couldn’t tell you what the people at any of our neighboring tables even ordered, guess why…. because we mind our own business!!!

Very good point.  I hear a lot of "all the time", "everyone", "so many people" ... and it's something I might've observed once.  

2 hours ago, rncruiser said:

The portions on the meat entrees are huge, but on fish, vegetarian, vegan and the Indian entrees  are fairly small. 

I agree that the entree sizes are rather unpredictable.  

[Scottdalfonso]

17 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

My husband had the lasagna, and it certainly wasn't tiny -- maybe you had a bad piece?  

He didn't think it was very good though.  Specifically, he complained about the "beef ragout" instead of ground meat.  

 

17 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

agree that the entree sizes are rather unpredictable.

These two quotes nailed it. My cruise in February they gave me a piece of lasagna that was about a 3x3 inch square... it was tiny. But the 2nd time, same ship a few months later it was a pretty nice size. So I guess I got the end or something the first time. 

[Airbear232]

Not at all, quite the opposite experience- we had to tell our waiter to stop bringing so much food. 

[HSDerm348]

 Emoji

6 hours ago, Nabalab said:

When we were on Oasis back in December, it was one at a time. 

 

 

When I was on Oasis in November, there were three of us and we each ordered an entree and then we ordered a single shared entree to try amongst the three of us.  It all came out at the same time.  But our server treated us completely like nothing had ever changed - at the end of the cruise he told he had been there for more than 15 years.  I think it depends on your server, how busy they are, and what they have been trained and are willing to do.  

Edited January 3 by HSDerm348
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[Newcruiser215]

Do people also order multiple entrees when they go to restaurants? 

[moposh]

On cruise in August, I saw people get multiple entrees, appetizers, and desserts simultaneously.  I did order two appetizers instead of an entree and got both at the same time.

Edited January 3 by moposh

[HSDerm348]

7 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

Do people also order multiple entrees when they go to restaurants? 

As someone who was a restaurant server for over 20 years.  Yes.  People do order multiple entrees in restaurants, but it is usually to share something.  It was pretty rare for people to order two full entrees for themselves, but keep in mind, USA portions are much larger than most MDR portions.... 

[not-enough-cruising]

6 minutes ago, moposh said:

On cruise in August, I saw people get multiple entrees, appetizers, and desserts simultaneously.  I did order two appetizers instead of an entree and got both at the same time.

People in restaurants order whatever they pay for 

People on a cruise have paid for unlimited food. 

[DallasGuy75219]

23 minutes ago, HSDerm348 said:

I think it depends on your server, how busy they are, and what they have been trained and are willing to do.  

Also if they know management is watching them.

[Tree_skier]

I have noticed that MDR portions have gotten a little smaller but honestly I'm not disappointed. I always eat to much on a cruise and slightly smaller portions help a little bit.  I still managed to gain 10 pound on my 14 days on Harmony in Dec so clearly I'm not going hungry.  

[Jcol5786]

While not exactly the same we like to order an extra plate of steamed vegetables along with our entrees. Our waiters usually start adding it automatically by the second or third night. The extra veggie plate comes out with our entrees. In case anyone is wondering,, yes I like my veggies. I like to think it's one of the few healthy things I do on a cruise.