MDR - can I have what was served yesterday? Or will be offered tomorrow?

[Honolulu Blue]

Here's something I always wanted to ask, but didn't want to get screamed at by the waiters and/or Maitre'd - if an item is on the MDR menu on one day during a cruise, can I order it and get it on some future day on that cruise?  Or if it's due to be on the menu later in the cruise, can I have it today?

 

Let's assume that it's an item that's not on the "every day" menu, if the cruise line has such.

 

I assume a lot of the answers here will be some variation of "it depends".  And that's fine.  Perhaps the best answers will be what happened when you did it, and where you did it.

 

Thanks in advance!

[GeezerCouple]

7 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Here's something I always wanted to ask, but didn't want to get screamed at by the waiters and/or Maitre'd - if an item is on the MDR menu on one day during a cruise, can I order it and get it on some future day on that cruise?  Or if it's due to be on the menu later in the cruise, can I have it today?

 

Let's assume that it's an item that's not on the "every day" menu, if the cruise line has such.

 

I assume a lot of the answers here will be some variation of "it depends".  And that's fine.  Perhaps the best answers will be what happened when you did it, and where you did it.

 

Thanks in advance!

What cruise line/ship are you thinking about?

 

Because, yes, "It depends", 😉 but in part that "depends" upon where you are.

 

Some of the premium/luxury lines are able to accommodate special requests (including occasionally something that is not on the regular menu at all, if they have the ingredients, etc.).  That's part of what the extra costs might include (among many other niceties, of course).

 

GC

[NotADopey1]

On what cruise line do you travel that would allow waiters and Maitre d scream at you?  You should always feel safe in asking questions that pertain to enhancing your paid experience.

[Honolulu Blue]

30 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

What cruise line/ship are you thinking about?

 

Because, yes, "It depends", 😉 but in part that "depends" upon where you are.

 

Some of the premium/luxury lines are able to accommodate special requests (including occasionally something that is not on the regular menu at all, if they have the ingredients, etc.).  That's part of what the extra costs might include (among many other niceties, of course).

I mostly cruise on mainstream cruise lines for... reasons, but your answer in re: premium/luxury lines and their ability to whip up special orders is enlightening.  Thank you for it.

[CruiserBruce]

37 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I mostly cruise on mainstream cruise lines for... reasons, but your answer in re: premium/luxury lines and their ability to whip up special orders is enlightening.  Thank you for it.

I wouldn't show up at your table and request something from last night. But requesting it a day or two in advance improves your odds.

[Essiesmom]

I think there are health regulations that cover food storage, so you couldn’t get leftovers…they would have to prepare it special for you.  If you really want it two days in a row you might make a request of the maitre d’ before you leave the dining room.  If you are traveling in the Cunard Grills, or MSC Yacht Club it probably would. It be a problem.  Nor on the luxury lines, but they aren’t main stream.  EM

[KreinKrunker]

On Princess we've had pretty good luck requesting something from one night to be served the next. Just talk to your waiter about it, he gets in touch with the head waiter, and the next night it magically appears.  We've even requested some things that were not on the menu, like peanut butter pie, key lime pie, or apple streusel. 

[Donald]

There are no leftovers on a cruise ship.

USPH Regulations require that any prepared food must be consumed or discarded within 4 hours.

Since all protein food items must be frozen until they are prepared (USPH Regulation), it is not easy to make a quick menu change or handle a quick request.

Mass market ships follow a corporate menu. All the protein items must be requisitioned a day or two in advance to receive them and thaw them out before preparation. Most big ship chefs are too busy to take time for one special request.

On much smaller ships (Read higher standards, better quality, and more expensive) it is far easier for the Chef to run to the freezer, grab whatever is needed, thaw it out, and prepare it for you. This sort of thing happens all the time on the better cruise lines.

[bg2310]

A very strange question. If the dish isn't being prepared that night and there's a whole menu of other things actually being prepared for that day, why on earth would they specially make something else just for you?

 

Seems a bit entitled if you ask me. Simply wait and order it the next day! And if you missed out from a previous, it's life. You order off the menu you get!

 

Can't help but thinking of the line "make it make sense!"

[ldubs]

Not items from a previous or future day's menu, but on just about every family group cruise we have been on we are provided dishes that are not on the menu.  Always served family style.  Only once that I can remember was the offered item not provided because the kitchen was too busy.  

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks everyone.  A few quickie comments on your comments and lessons learned:

 

• Perhaps "scream at me" is an exaggeration.  The polished MDR employees are unlikely to scream at their passengers, even me.  They're more likely to scream at the chef when he rebuffs my request, which doesn't make me feel much better.  Or they're likely to put me on the crew dartboard for the week as the most unreasonable passenger they've had to deal with.  That doesn't make me feel any better either.
• It doesn't seem to be popular among this veteran group, but perhaps that was just the weekend crowd.
• Why ask about what is apparently such a radical thing?  The stomach wants what it wants.  I'm sure many of you have food cravings and/or memories of meals from the recent past.  I wondered about how flexible MDR menus actually are.  It turns out that they're not too flexible.  Flowers are red.  Green leaves are green.  There's no need to see MDR menus any other way than the way they always have been seen.
• The "proper" procedure for this seems to be similar to the special needs menus - ask beforehand and maybe I'll get what I want.  It sounds like too much hassle for all involved for me to try it (even on luxury lines), so I don't think I'll be doing this any time soon.  Some of you, I'm sure are breathing a sigh of relief.
• I briefly forgot about MDR pre-plating.  I'm sure regular restaurants at sea and land do the same (especially with popular meals/entrees), but not to the same degree as everyone's favorite MDRs.

 

Thanks again, and I look forward to continued replies with more wisdom.

[shipgeeks]

I think that several years ago, this was much more likely; now not so much.  It was not that long ago that if one person at the table said they loved the mushrooms or other dish, and some of the rest of us smiled, there would be a platter of that, for the table, every night.

Now, because so many pax complain if a three-course dinner takes more than 45 minutes, the system is apparently set up to provide maximum speed for all diners, whether we want speed or not.  There's probably not much wiggle room in the new system for any exception to the rule. I'm just happy if I can manage to get my turkey dinner without the corn, but I rarely expect to be able to ask for broccoli instead of corn.  

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 4/29/2024 at 12:55 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

 It sounds like too much hassle for all involved for me to try it (even on luxury lines), so I don't think I'll be doing this any time soon.  

If you are on a luxury line, this is one of those things that you have your butler handle.

 

[Kiwi Afloat]

We were on Seabourn Pursuit Feb/Mar and were at a private birthday dinner when they had lamb shanks and crème brûlée on the MDR menu. On the way out we asked if we could have both the following night. We joined another couple for dinner the following night (last minute) and ordered our entree off that night’s menu and had our lamb shanks for main and crème brûlée for dessert as requested. Oh and no butlers on this ship just great crew! 

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, Kiwi Afloat said:

We were on Seabourn Pursuit Feb/Mar and were at a private birthday dinner when they had lamb shanks and crème brûlée on the MDR menu. On the way out we asked if we could have both the following night. We joined another couple for dinner the following night (last minute) and ordered our entree off that night’s menu and had our lamb shanks for main and crème brûlée for dessert as requested. Oh and no butlers on this ship just great crew! 

However, Seabourn is a high end luxury line, where as discussed previously in the thread, it would be much more likely to happen.

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:00 AM, GeezerCouple said:

Some of the premium/luxury lines are able to accommodate special requests (including occasionally something that is not on the regular menu at all, if they have the ingredients, etc.).  That's part of what the extra costs might include (among many other niceties, of course).

We are fortunate enough to sail with high end lines when we travel, and many times it is the staff who solicits us about what we would like from on or off the menu and not us soliciting them. We are truly interested in their suggestions, and being on smaller ships allows us not to be rushed and to listen to what the staff has to say. Then, too, we have to be honest enough to certainly realize being in a named suite helps.

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

We are fortunate enough to sail with high end lines when we travel, and many times it is the staff who solicits us about what we would like from on or off the menu and not us soliciting them. We are truly interested in their suggestions, and being on smaller ships allows us not to be rushed and to listen to what the staff has to say. Then, too, we have to be honest enough to certainly realize being in a named suite helps.

 

Same here (see post #10).  The off menu items offered are almost always initiated by the staff.  In our case, with me as an exception, it is driven by a shared nationality/language with the crew involved.  

[Mum2Mercury]

I've seen last night's MDR offerings served in the Windjammer the next day.  They appear to be fresh-cooked, so I assume these are things that were prepped but not cooked the night before.  

[Honolulu Blue]

38 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I've seen last night's MDR offerings served in the Windjammer the next day.  They appear to be fresh-cooked, so I assume these are things that were prepped but not cooked the night before.  

Thanks for noting this.  I've seen the same.

[ecs66]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:55 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm sure many of you have food cravings and/or memories of meals from the recent past.

YEARS ago -- maybe a couple decades -- Princess had a dish on the dinner menu that was a bowtie pasta with (I think) veal in a yummy sauce.  That is my memory of a meal from the (not) recent past.  I'd be in Heaven if I saw it appear again on our next cruise.