All you can eat....really???

[Frwinkley]

My only other cruise experience was last summer on Royal. In the main dining room at dinner, the people we sailed with sometimes ordered 2 appetizers, entrees and desserts per person, simply because they wanted to try a variety of things. They were not wasteful...they ate every bite! The wait staff had absolutely no trouble with this and were quite eager to accommodate everyone.

Is this typical or is this frowned upon?

 

[Sytrace]

Very typical. We have had wait staff on Disney that will actually bring food out for us to "try". My husband will have a salad and maybe an entrée every night and they are always checking to make sure he does not need more food. IBut in a thoughtful way and almost like they cannot believe that someone on a cruise would not eat more than that. lol

 

[spinandmarty]

Never been on a cruise... no desire,,, not for me,,, I would go nut's.... but my sister on an Alaskan cruise,, table mates two teen age sons,,, first night dinner didn't know what entree to order.... brought them both.... rest of cruise server didn't ask just brought them both every meal.....

 

[chris31997]

The norm. Our first cruise hubby couldn't decide between 3 entrees. Server brought all three. AND all the desserts because we wanted to try them all.

 

[Starwind]

I often ordered just a soup and then a meat, rice and steamed veggies from the lighter fare menu and then sometimes a desert. Our servers the first coupel nights would ask multiple times if we were sure that is all we wanted and seemed shocked when told yep that really was. I got the impression they expect people to eat a lot more than we were. After a couple nights they got the hang of us and would only check once that we had had enough and didn't want anything mroe

SW

 

[anricat]

If I can't decide, but I know I'm not going to eat two portions of something, I ask the server to bring an appetizer portion of something. They are happy to let you try things and they don't mind bringing whatever portion size you want of something.

 

[phinz]

I told my servers I loved the pot stickers. I wound up with a double order every night.

 

[SgtTibbs]

The single greatest experience of my life:

"Sir, you have finished your lobster, would you like another?"

 

[diznymom]

If I can't decide, but I know I'm not going to eat two portions of something, I ask the server to bring an appetizer portion of something. They are happy to let you try things and they don't mind bringing whatever portion size you want of something.

That is good to know. Sometimes I just want small portions.

 

[Agent 86]

It's the norm.

The only (completely understandable) issue I had is that sometimes I wanted to order a half-size portion of a main meal as a starter, but they could only do that by bringing out both dishes (i.e. starter and main) at the same time (because if it was a main, then they couldn't prepare it at the same time that they were preparing the starters for the entire restaurant).

I'd also ask for various "sides" (e.g. mashed potatoes) depending upon what I was craving. They would basically bend over backwards to accommodate any request. And if you ordered something and didn't like it, they were happy for you to order something else.

 

[Lilylogan]

Totally the norm. On a Disney cruise my mom asked the server which dessert he would recommend and he said "OK!" and brought her one of each lol

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Yup it's the norm and it's a great way to try something you normally wouldn't want to order!

 

[bumbershoot]

Whereas I ordered two salads (b/c they are small and I LOVE salad) at AP on Dream, and they brought me one and told me to ask them for the second if I wanted the next one. Meanwhile they brought the entree and were on to dessert before I felt I had a chance to ask for the second. Which I wanted. And didn't get.

Sigh.

I love salad.


And on our first DCL cruise (concierge, and I've been told that they put concierge with very experienced servers) our server was nearly upset with me because I couldn't finish my mushroom risotto and thought I was being insulting. It was a relatively huge portion, and I was full! And yes that's an appetizer that I used as my entree, which also takes the servers awhile to get used to; that there's maybe one night that ONE of us will order salad, appetizer, and entree.

Just realized that it was AP night that I had both issues, though for opposite reasons, and 2 years apart.

 

[Barbydoll8]

yep. I see it all the time. There is never a shortage of food on a cruise. I like others never order and app & salad w/ dinner. It's just too much food. The servers always, always ask me if I'm feeling ok or if I want something special that's not on the menu.
Nope, it's just too much for me to eat.

I read someone once on the boards right this and it's so true. On a cruise you eat on your way to eat. Then after you eat, you eat on your way to eat again. After eating that you can eat in between while you wait to eat and then eat again later. It's unbelievable how much food is eaten on a cruise. lol

 

[DisneyMom111]

I totally agree with PP, it's SO much food. They LOVE to bring you food. Every time my son or I asked to have a dish we like a second time, they doubled the size of it. By the last night of our cruise, they brought my son 4 pieces of cheesecake! Really?! lol It was pretty funny.

 

[lucas]

Dh and I always get a soup OR salad, an app, an entrée and a dessert. Never more than 1 of any of the above. But, people around us always seem to be eating way less. Plus, when we get what I mentioned above, it seems like we are ordering too much and slows service waaaaay down. It makes me feel like we're eating too much and should cut down on something!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

A couple of times when my husband really liked something, he'd order another one and sometimes the waiter can tell he enjoyed it and offered. I think just about everyone orders extra lobsters on the night that is being served.

 

[Expatriat]

Dh and I always get a soup OR salad, an app, an entrée and a dessert. Never more than 1 of any of the above.

This is what my husband and I do also, and sometimes skip the dessert. Having an excess of food on the table or seeing people over-indulge is a major appetite killer for us, so we try not to look. For us, there is plenty of food on the ship for us to enjoy in reasonable amounts at reasonable intervals. We make our selections carefully and don't feel a need to "try everything." But the servers won't discourage guests from eating or trying whatever they want. Sometimes I think it's a game with them trying to get people (especially Americans) to keep eating!

 

[Ariel484]

Yes! My brother asked for 3 servings of lobster on the Fantasy in October. The serving team thought it was hilarious and were more than happy to bring him alllll of it (and he ate alllll of it!).

 

[Ariel484]

Dh and I always get a soup OR salad, an app, an entrée and a dessert. Never more than 1 of any of the above.

This is what I've been trying to do lately - getting out of the mindset that I *must* order all 4 courses and that I need to get my money's worth. That way I don't hit the food wall and I don't come back bummed that I gained (too much) weight.