Has anyone ordered everything on the menu in the dining rooms since it's free?

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Well, there we have it then! No waste at all! So the multiple entrees we order are not wasteful afterall and are NOT being just thrown away. I will take one of everything, thank you!

Ex Techie

 

[Henlady]

On both of our 2011 Dream cruises, I was able to order an entree and then get a "side" of something from another entree..... I ordered the pork tenderloin entree at Enchanted and asked for a side of the scallops and I was presented with exactly that the entree and a side dish with 3 beautiful scallops. At another meal I ordered a beef tenderloin entree and a side of the seasoned checken breast and got just that. DH has, in the past, asked that he have a shrimp cocktail each night as his appetizer and every night our server produced one for him.
Most servers will be happy to accomodate you if it is within their ability, you just need to ask.
I would think that servers would get frustrated if someone constantly ordered more food than they could eat and ended up wasting it.

 

[fairytalelover]

Can we agree to disagree?

Ex Techie

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Ex Techie

 

[TXDCLfan]

So we have been on only other Disney Cruise on the Wonder for our honeymoon back in 2005 and we read on the message boards that some people tell their server to bring one of everything from the menu for them to sample, since it's free. So my husband and I ordered multiple entrees and appetizers when we were in our dining rotations and it was really fun. Has anyone else done that? Do they still allow that?

This is a blatant waste of food and is one of the reason some cruise lines have someone dispensing bacon at the breakfast buffet, a few years ago on Disney I watched a 13-14 yo boy load up a plate with bacon and then only eat a few pieces Yes you pay for the food and should be able to order as much as you can consume but to just want to sample a little of everything is wrong. The bottom line is the final cost will be handed down to the customer so if everyone did this the price of the cruise will do up.

 

[Niebz]

On both of our 2011 Dream cruises, I was able to order an entree and then get a "side" of something from another entree..... I ordered the pork tenderloin entree at Enchanted and asked for a side of the scallops and I was presented with exactly that the entree and a side dish with 3 beautiful scallops. At another meal I ordered a beef tenderloin entree and a side of the seasoned checken breast and got just that. DH has, in the past, asked that he have a shrimp cocktail each night as his appetizer and every night our server produced one for him.
Most servers will be happy to accomodate you if it is within their ability, you just need to ask.
I would think that servers would get frustrated if someone constantly ordered more food than they could eat and ended up wasting it.

I thought it was the opposite. Aren't the meals plated in advance in the kitchen? I've heard it's easier for the server to just bring a full meal rather than have to divide it up into smaller portions which would essentially just give them more work. Not sure where I heard this or if it's true or not. What do you guys think?

 

[ashleyt]

It seems like a reasonable approach, especially for the undecided. Personally, I don't get that excited by food, so I don't spend a lot of time weighing the merits of one choice over another. 30-45 minutes later I feel the same regardless of what I chose.

Sampling sounds like fun, but I do worry about some of the public gluttony. Overeating is terrible for one's health, so as long as the sampling is small, the caloric intake can stay within an acceptable range.

My brother-in-law cruises regularly and now weighs in excess of 300lbs (he weighed only 180lbs 5 years ago). He always orders multiple entree's and appetizers, and usually all the desserts. The difference is he actually eats everything! He gains between 10-15 lbs every cruise (and then loses a few in between), and uses his weight gain as a measuring stick for getting "value for his money". Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins as they say.

 

[tinkerone]

on night on our last cruise, we noticed that a table across from us seemed to have an awful lot of food coming out. it looked like they had one of everything, EVERYTHING. we wondered if they were food critics, there seemed to be a lot of staff around them. head waiter showed up to speak with them a few times. this went on for several nights. we finally decided they were not food critics. it was a man and woman and a small child. they seemed more like problem guests than anything however that may not be very charitable. i can't judge as i don't know but it was very odd.

 

[fairytalelover]

It seems like a reasonable approach, especially for the undecided. Personally, I don't get that excited by food, so I don't spend a lot of time weighing the merits of one choice over another. 30-45 minutes later I feel the same regardless of what I chose.

Sampling sounds like fun, but I do worry about some of the public gluttony. Overeating is terrible for one's health, so as long as the sampling is small, the caloric intake can stay within an acceptable range.

My brother-in-law cruises regularly and now weighs in excess of 300lbs (he weighed only 180lbs 5 years ago). He always orders multiple entree's and appetizers, and usually all the desserts. The difference is he actually eats everything! He gains between 10-15 lbs every cruise (and then loses a few in between), and uses his weight gain as a measuring stick for getting "value for his money". Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins as they say.

Thankfully that is not one of our problems. We are all thin and take care of ourselves. I currently weigh 114 pounds and actually am trying to lose a couple of vanity pounds prior to the cruise. We love food, however, and like to let loose and have fun on vacations eating whatever and however much we like since we watch what we eat at home.

 

[Twinkledust]

I've only been on one cruise so far...the next is just 3 days away...and I seemed to have a difficult time choosing between the seafood and the vegetarian entrees. Our server was amazing and would bring me a seafood entree with a small side of the veggie entree. Worked out perfectly....and I must say that on Lobster night, the risotto with asparagus should ALWAYS be paired with the Lobster!

 

[waltdisney427]

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[waltdisney427]

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[waltdisney427]

I've never ordered everything, but I have ordered a lot of desserts on some nights. I guess you could say its a little wasteful if you just eat a little bit from different plates and you don't finish everything but I mean, hey, these cruises are pretty expensive so in my eyes, you paid for all of it! And people throw out food all the time in the buffets, I guess its not a good thing, but it happens. And sample dishes would definitely be a good thing for DCL to look into!

 

[kcashner]

A couple of years ago (before the mini-dessert option) we were at a table of 5. We ordered one of each dessert each night--that way we could each have a taste of anything we wanted to try...and if someone wanted a full serving of something, they could order it.

It was fun, and I tried things I certainly wouldn't have otherwise. And a dessert split 5 ways amounts to about 2 bites per person, so there was not much waste . Many times there was no waste. I think it all went to waist.

 

[sissy_ib]

I guess when you said one of everything I was thinking one of each soup, app, main course, side dish and dessert, then only take a few bites of each. That is just dumb. If you mean one of main course that is not as bad but still to much, IMHO. Plus I would NEVER order something I know I don't really like just because it was "free".

Honestly, I can eat! But I was stuffed at each dinner and I only ordered all the courses once in 7 nights. My DH and I usually tasted off each others plates if we got different things but we usually do that everywhere. (We had the most fun doing this at Victoria and Albert's which we did before the cruise) I know next cruise there are a few apps we may order more than one of, but in that case we would skip the soup and maybe dessert.

 

[helenb]

Thankfully that is not one of our problems. We are all thin and take care of ourselves. I currently weigh 114 pounds and actually am trying to lose a couple of vanity pounds prior to the cruise. We love food, however, and like to let loose and have fun on vacations eating whatever and however much we like since we watch what we eat at home.

I'm very happy with my weight as well. I work hard to ensure that I don't gain that 'pound per year' they say tends to accumulate on people as they get older. I'm basically watching what I eat all year 'round, although I do schedule 'cheat' meals for myself on weekends as part of my plan.

When I'm on vacation, I don't want to do that. I want to enjoy myself! So on cruise ships I will pig out and have fun with my food. Then the moment I get home (literally, the very moment I have set foot in my house) I am back on my regular eating plan. Sometimes it will take a month or two to get off those last 3 pounds, but I make sure I do it before the next vacation.

So if I want extra desserts and pastas and entrees on the cruise, I have them!

As an aside... we HATE waiting for the elevators, and their slowness once you're on. We never take the elevator on a cruise ship unless we have our luggage (i.e. at embarcation and disembarcation). I'm pretty sure going up and down those stairs all day helps out with some of the extra food intake. Also, when we're at theme parks, we tend to race around all day (commandos that we are) and you wouldn't believe how that ups our metabolisms! We're cruising Fantasy in June, but then spending a week at Disney and Universal. I'm curious to see how much 'net' I've gained when we get home from that one.

 

[trimix]

On both of our 2011 Dream cruises, I was able to order an entree and then get a "side" of something from another entree..... I ordered the pork tenderloin entree at Enchanted and asked for a side of the scallops and I was presented with exactly that the entree and a side dish with 3 beautiful scallops. At another meal I ordered a beef tenderloin entree and a side of the seasoned checken breast and got just that. DH has, in the past, asked that he have a shrimp cocktail each night as his appetizer and every night our server produced one for him.
Most servers will be happy to accomodate you if it is within their ability, you just need to ask.
I would think that servers would get frustrated if someone constantly ordered more food than they could eat and ended up wasting it.

On my first cruise I did the same thing one night. Then my wife took the galley tour and told me it is easier for them to bring an entire plate. When my server confirmed this, I would order two plates - even though I only planned to eat one set of sides.

This is a blatant waste of food and is one of the reason some cruise lines have someone dispensing bacon at the breakfast buffet, a few years ago on Disney I watched a 13-14 yo boy load up a plate with bacon and then only eat a few pieces Yes you pay for the food and should be able to order as much as you can consume but to just want to sample a little of everything is wrong. The bottom line is the final cost will be handed down to the customer so if everyone did this the price of the cruise will do up.

The cost is already there! The ships sail with a lot more food than they need to accommodate these requests. And I would suspect - though I could be wrong - that a lot of food is pre-made in anticipation of demand, in which case food will go to the fish even if no passenger wastes any.

 

[KaryCam]

...

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

The cost is already there! The ships sail with a lot more food than they need to accommodate these requests. And I would suspect - though I could be wrong - that a lot of food is pre-made in anticipation of demand, in which case food will go to the fish even if no passenger wastes any.

It is true that the cost is already paid BUT if food costs continue to rise and DCL notices an upward trend in wastage (which is tracked), they may start making more cost-cutting decisions while simultaneously raising cruise prices to accommodate rising food costs.

 

[ashleyt]

So many of your servers sound wonderful. Our server was very reluctant to give second entrees....

It is probably hard for them to watch. Many of the servers come from countries where the average worker earns only a few dollars a day. The vast majority of their budgets are spent on feeding their family. Therefore food is precious and sacred. Every morsel not used is saved and eaten at another meal or used to cook the next meal. The food wastage by cruise patrons must be downright shocking to them.

We are fortunate to live in a part of the world where food is plentiful and cheap relative to our wages. That said, I still like the idea of trying different things and a sampling menu/plate is a great idea.

We would never order more than one dish with our family mostly for our kids sake. We are trying to teach them to respect food; to not overeat (especially desserts), avoid junkfood, and not waste. Ordering an extra dish and multiple desserts would send exactly the wrong message. Kids learn more from what they watch us do (and others do) than from what we say.

One of the biggest deterrants for us taking another cruise is this exact problem. It is hard to answer all the questions about other's lifestyles in plain view on a cruise like "Why does our new friend we met at the pool get to have 6 desserts for lunch without having anything healthy? She got to eat 4 donuts for breakfast and ice cream all morning whenever she wanted. Can we do that too....just on vacation?" Everytime they bring it up, we wince a little.