Serving Size: Did you find them to be way too SMALL in the MDR?

[RodneyG]

I was on the Diamond from SG to Sydney 3 yrs ago - we had docked in some port in vietnam and it was breakfast time , there was a flotilla of vietnam boat ppl , thin and scrawny with a bowl of rice etc on their little boats clustering around the ship , and I was in the horizon court watching folk load up serving platter sized plates with all manner of delicacies and not eating 60% or more of it , not that I wasnt guilty of the same..but it made me feel real uncomfortable at the time , the gulf between the haves and the have nots was smack you in the face visible.

Kinda like going into a KFC and walking out with a 21 piece bucket for 4 ppl and having to studiously ignore the homeless guy outside begging for a crust........

I live in south africa and in some of the the black culture here , obese women with large buttocks are considered beautiful and as wives are considered a showcase for the fact that thier husband can provide for them.

the odd thing is that in the days when western culture and foods werent prevalent , the fatter folk were healthy , it seems obesity linked to refined and western type foods is the "bad" fatness.

[Sincity]

Portions are fine....just gives me the opportunity to try more items.

[Sauvignon]

While this thread might on the surface be as one poster put it be 'a non issue' it has raised some interesting points about cultural difference and the 'poor' standard of western diet. In our office recently we worked out that just about everyones' BMI put them in the obese category or very close to it, that was a revelation.

 

It is without doubt I imagine though that poition sizes are determined by cost control and waste reduction policies, with the latter, i would hope being judged not only from a cost perstpective but form a moral point of view also.

 

We have never had a problem asking for an extra potion of vegetables and the waiters have always been at pains to ensure we take full advantage of everything the menu has to offer. If the majority of plates come back empty then they have got the balance about right - well unless you are in some Asian countries when to clear you plate is considered rude as it implies you host isn't looking after you sufficiently.

 

Vive la difference!

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

On my very first cruise yes I can recall that far back,

 

our table mates ate everything, bread, fruit, cheese etc with there meal,

 

so I had a word with the waiter and said what ever they order double the size he was happy to join in as they were a pain, they ate the lot plus fruit, cheese etc, so the next night 3 times the helpings, well the plates were piled high when they arrived at the table, and they got stuck in and turned green the waiters thought it was great fun seeing these pigs make themseves ill.

 

 

yours Shogun

[kkochenber]

Hmmm. I though you didn't do desserts or snacks;)

OMG.. talk about portion size!!!!:eek::D

Loved looking thru your photos.

[kooljamming]

Hmmm. I though you didn't do desserts or snacks;)

OMG.. talk about portion size!!!!:eek::D

Loved looking thru your photos.

 

I promise there is a good explanation. As soon as I figure it out I will let you for:D. For now just say SIZE MATTERS:p

[cruiserbryce]

by the time we ate an app, first course, main course and dessert I was pretty full...so while the main may be a little smaller I still got plenty of food

[u2cruiser]

I promise there is a good explanation. As soon as I figure it out I will let you for:D. For now just say SIZE MATTERS:p

 

 

LMAO!!!! that takes some licking....and I always thought 'less is more'!:D

[dresch25]

While it's not a problem for me or something that I'd complain about, I do think portions have decreased in size since my first Princess cruise in 2002.

 

DH and I did mention specifically in a review of our Emerald Princess sailing in January that the portions of the pub lunch in Wheelhouse Lounge were quite small. We had the Ploughman's lunch and fish & chips, and saw others with bangers mash and the cottage pie. All the portions were small, and without other menu options, some might not find this to be a satisfying meal.

 

To the OP: Your food photos are fabulous!

 

Bon Appetit!

Chris

 

Are bangers and mash only served in the Wheelhouse Lounge and only on the Emerald? I'll be on the Ruby at the end of this month.

I remember the first time I had bangers and mash along with bubble and squeak, dear friends husband is from Ireland and he cooked for us yum.

[rcacace]

Are bangers and mash only served in the Wheelhouse Lounge and only on the Emerald? I'll be on the Ruby at the end of this month.

I remember the first time I had bangers and mash along with bubble and squeak, dear friends husband is from Ireland and he cooked for us yum.

 

They had it on the Ruby also.

[Sauvignon]

I think that the sooner people realize that we ought to being paying MORE for food the better. The sooner the 'Costco Culture' dies the better.

 

'Less is more' and 'quality not quantity' is the way forward.

[caber]

I understand what you are saying.

Although there is more than enough to eat I found the veg portions to be small and often a little too "al dente" for me. Also there was only one tiny potato on the plate.

 

I know I could have fries or a baked potoato every night tooif I had wanted.

 

On the whole the food was good but not quite as good as previous cruises. I was on Sea Princess on January.

[kooljamming]

]I think that the sooner[/b] people realize that we ought to being paying MORE for food the better. The sooner the 'Costco Culture' dies the better.

'Less is more' and 'quality not quantity' is the way forward.

 

In this economy with people loosing everything they own' date=' you are advocating paying [b']MORE[/b]:confused: Less is more is for people who have never been hungry or watch their children go without. It's only fair for me to respect your opinion, not to say I agree with it. I am not trying to address the weight problem in America. It's clearly BIGGER than I am.

 

Back to portions, it's not my imagination they are changing:p

[cruiserus]

I have been on several cruise lines, including RCL, Celebrity, and Seabourn, and I feel that the food on Princess has been about par with other lines on quantity. All the finer land-based restaurants usually offer similar size portions. When I eat the soup or salad, entree, and a roll, I am usually pretty full.

[Minoushka]

When we first cruised 8 years ago a normal meal was enough to satisfy any hunger .Lately I too have found portions on the petite size ...nouvelle cuisine and all.

So it's easy we order 2 different meals .It gives us an opportunity to taste all kinds of food .The only place that we had too much food ..but boy it was GOOd is Sabatini's

On our last cruise our table mates shared many meals with us to taste .We were one happy family nibbling off each other's plates and it was fine

I always order extra veggies and share them with my son I have a FONdNESS for asparagus

We wasted very little ..so I do not mind the smaller portions

[coo359a2]

Whenever Prime Rib is served in the MDR, my husband orders a double cut. It's nice and thick the way he likes beef. Guess you could do this for other cuts of meat too.

[Sauvignon]

In this economy with people loosing everything they own, you are advocating paying MORE:confused: Less is more is for people who have never been hungry or watch their children go without. It's only fair for me to respect your opinion, not to say I agree with it. I am not trying to address the weight problem in America. It's clearly BIGGER than I am.

 

Back to portions, it's not my imagination they are changing:p

 

 

Yes ironically the ...unintended consequence of the current economic issues are that people will hopefully start to appreciate the VALUE of food. This is a huge can of worms but as I say quality is also important here and remember if we pay very little in the shops then how much is the farmer getting? We are in some ways moving away from the thread a little but these are issues that in actual fact directly relevant to the thread in terms are peoples expectations and therefore cannot really be ignored.

 

Once again. 'less is more' and ' quality not quantity'

 

Finally, please don't take any of this as in anyway a personal criticism, it is is not directed at any one individual but at society as a whole, and I am probably as guilty as anyone else is in trangressing.

[kooljamming]

When we first cruised 8 years ago a normal meal was enough to satisfy any hunger .Lately I too have found portions on the petite size ...nouvelle cuisine and all.

So it's easy we order 2 different meals .It gives us an opportunity to taste all kinds of food .The only place that we had too much food ..but boy it was GOOd is Sabatini's

On our last cruise our table mates shared many meals with us to taste .We were one happy family nibbling off each other's plates and it was fine

I always order extra veggies and share them with my son I have a FONdNESS for asparagus

We wasted very little ..so I do not mind the smaller portions

 

We first cruised 15 years ago. Then I wouldn't consider ordering double portions unless I curious about a dish. I might consider a new routine of afternoon tea as a snack.:p Hmmmm, I never said collectively there wasn't enough food

 

NO, I DIDN'T EAT ALL THIS:D

 

[chloe kitty]

It occurred to me in reading this thread that some people may not know that Princess has intentionally decreased its portion sizes somewhat, partially based on passenger comments and partially to help avoid waist.

 

As I've mentioned in other posts, we were fortunate to be included in both the Chef's Table and Ultimate Ship Tour on the Ruby last December, and during the tours of the galley as part of both events, this was discussed. They particularly discussed the really disturbing amount of wasted food they had traditionally seen from people not finishing meals or portions of meals before. Their thinking is, as others here have said, that you can always order more if you like. In fact, I've never been on a cruise where I haven't been ENCOURAGED to order more. ;)

 

As you may be aware, they also now offer many menu items (such as the much loved fettuccine alfredo) in half portions so that people can try many different things during a meal if they like.

 

Personally, I very much like this change. And, while I honestly don't recall the specific numbers recited, I recall being amazed in the reduction in wasted food Princess has been able to realize with this change (if memory serves, the savings was measured in TONS!)

 

Just trying to help add a little info straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. :)

 

I agree with what was written above. We have been cruising on Princess as far back as the original Pacific Princess. The meals were quite a bit larger, but SO MUCH Waste. Personally, I am very glad that they reduced the size of their meals. The meals are perfect for a smaller to medium appetite. For those with a larger appetite, like my husband, just order a second main course (even try something different). This all makes more sense than wasting so much food.

[chloe kitty]

I find the portion sizes to be ok on Princess. You want to see tiny portions go cruising on Holland America.

 

I agree. We were just on the Rotterdam thru the Panama Canal. The meals on board were very small. Since I didn't want to overeat, most of the time they were ok, but they were much smaller than Princess.

 

I usually look at the menu and find two items that I like. I will ask for half of each. Most of the time they just bring two full meals, and I eat half of each. Luckily my husband has a hollow leg and finishes most of it for me.

 

It is easy to have meals the way you want them.

[captainron]

Folks,

 

The great thing about MDR dining (Trad or Anytime) is that you can always order more than one portion. For example the Beef Wellington is more than often served with Duchesse potatoes and glazed carrots.

If you wish you could order a complete additional entree or request from your waiter extra veggies or potatoes. Same goes for soup, salad or dessert.

 

HOWEVER, ( and there's always someone there to make the rest of us look bad) I saw a table of 8 not too far from us on Coral who constantly ordered doubles of everything (appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts), gave the wait team a rough time when it arrived and had no consideration to the fact that they were making double trips (with full tray loads) for them. What was so disgusting was the fact that more than half of the duplicate orders were just left as waste.

 

The answer is though, yes you can always ask for extra and the wait staff will get it for you. After a day or so of establishing a rapport with your wait team, they will sometimes second guess you and often bring you an extra of something anyway.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[cruisercarib]

Never had a problem with the serving sizes. Always more than enough food in the main dining room, buffet, and other restaurants on the ship.

[Minoushka]

The worst waste I ever saw was on Celebrity Galaxy at a special midnight buffet they had in a dining room .We had barely finished dinner our asst waiter insisted we come as she was serving .We were not hungry ...I do not think anyone was but they had display and displays of food which was hardly touched .People on this ship really went to bed EARLY

We walked around looked at the FAbulous decoration and watched as they cleaned up and told us They WOULD THROW EVERYTHING OUT .Some VERY expensive lavish plates

What a SHAME .Why could they not have the spread on a SEADAY at lunch time .It would have gotten eaten considering I found the food YUCK during the day!!!.I was VERY disappointed in food selection on that ship ...not to say I would not try Celebrity again but I was NOT impressed by Galaxy...

To me to waste that much food :( :( :( while we are cruising very poor Caribbean islands is a sin

[Parrot Mom]

The worst waste I ever saw was on Celebrity Galaxy at a special midnight buffet they had in a dining room .We had barely finished dinner our asst waiter insisted we come as she was serving .We were not hungry ...I do not think anyone was but they had display and displays of food which was hardly touched .People on this ship really went to bed EARLY

We walked around looked at the FAbulous decoration and watched as they cleaned up and told us They WOULD THROW EVERYTHING OUT .Some VERY expensive lavish plates

What a SHAME .Why could they not have the spread on a SEADAY at lunch time .It would have gotten eaten considering I found the food YUCK during the day!!!.I was VERY disappointed in food selection on that ship ...not to say I would not try Celebrity again but I was NOT impressed by Galaxy...

To me to waste that much food :( :( :( while we are cruising very poor Caribbean islands is a sin

 

 

I wonder if some of that food went down to the Crews buffets..I hope it did.. Lately, Celebrity has been having a brunch, two on t/a cruises and we managed to get to one and I told the Food Manager I thought it was a complete waste of manpower and food.. He said they were many comments on it and they were re-thinking it.. Now, I don't know what and when you were on the Galaxy but we truly enjoyed the food and the crew.. Sadly, the menu was changed and it's not up to our original cruise on the Century..Of the three ships, Galaxy, Century and Constellation.. I would pick the Century for food and the Constellation for signage, service, cleanliness and everything else.. We have not sailed Princess before, but are scheduled on the Pacific Princess 4/10 so I haVE nothing to compare...yet. One of the things we do enjoy is a fruit/cheese platter for the table before our meal.. wonder if Princess will go along with this.

[chamima]

We have not sailed Princess before, but are scheduled on the Pacific Princess 4/10 so I haVE nothing to compare...yet. One of the things we do enjoy is a fruit/cheese platter for the table before our meal.. wonder if Princess will go along with this.

 

If you're in traditional dining just let the waiter know and it will be on the table waiting for you each night.:D

(I think the Pacific only has traditional)