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

[RedSox68]

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?

Absolutely typical. I have my mainstay dishes that I love -- whether it be appetizers, salad, soup or entree -- that I get two of. When getting two entrees, you can ask that the sides not be included on the second plate. Like when they have the lobster -- I get two lobster tales on one plate (YUM). You can also get as many desserts as you want, but we usually stick to one each

Some nights if I don't like the main menu, I'll order extra appetizers, etc. and maybe just a steak or grilled chicken with no sides.

 

[cheermom2four]

I agree its just too much food. DH and I on our first cruise, the first night we ordered from each section (the 4 sections)of the menu. By the 2nd night it was down to 3 choices and by the 3rd night I was so sick of food I only ordered a main course and nothing else. Our waitstaff was so accommodating but was concerned we werent happy with the food. Its just too much food for me anyways.

 

[RedSox68]

I agree its just too much food. DH and I on our first cruise, the first night we ordered from each section (the 4 sections)of the menu. By the 2nd night it was down to 3 choices and by the 3rd night I was so sick of food I only ordered a main course and nothing else. Our waitstaff was so accommodating but was concerned we werent happy with the food. Its just too much food for me anyways.

Too funny -- when I do anything longer than a 7-day cruise I burn out on the restaurants quickly and just order burgers and salads from room service at the end LOL

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well--all you want to eat IF you actually eat it!!

Saw a kid at Tow Maters last cruise who must have had 3 hotdogs, 3 hamburgers, and a couple of wraps--all on one plate walking back to his table. One of the hamburgers actually fell off the plate onto the floor as he was hauling it all back. About 15 minutes later the family up and left--with almost everything he hauled back to the table un-eaten.

IT had all been for him and he probably had no intention of even eating most of it.

 

[RedSox68]

Well--all you want to eat IF you actually eat it!!

Saw a kid at Tow Maters last cruise who must have had 3 hotdogs, 3 hamburgers, and a couple of wraps--all on one plate walking back to his table. One of the hamburgers actually fell off the plate onto the floor as he was hauling it all back. About 15 minutes later the family up and left--with almost everything he hauled back to the table un-eaten.

IT had all been for him and he probably had no intention of even eating most of it.

THIS I really hate -- we always taught my daughter never to take more than you can eat because you can always go back for more if you are still hungry. On our first cruise (which was a Disney cruise), we were at breakfast the first morning and saw our server bussing tables. He was from Croatia and this was in 2000. We saw him hauling plate after plate to the trash can just full of uneaten food. The look on his face was of such dismay because he'd probably love to have that kind of food to give his family back home. It was embarrassing to see such waste!

 

[DnA2010]

THIS I really hate -- we always taught my daughter never to take more than you can eat because you can always go back for more if you are still hungry. On our first cruise (which was a Disney cruise), we were at breakfast the first morning and saw our server bussing tables. He was from Croatia and this was in 2000. We saw him hauling plate after plate to the trash can just full of uneaten food. The look on his face was of such dismay because he'd probably love to have that kind of food to give his family back home. It was embarrassing to see such waste!

This is prob the only thing I hate about cruising- how wasteful people are with food- the amount of times I saw kids with no parent supervision loading up with food and then leaving 95% of it- drove me crazy. Like seriously people.

 

[CastMember 02]

Maybe with all the food waste is why DCL has become so expensive?

 

[Expatriat]

Maybe with all the food waste is why DCL has become so expensive?

It would certainly be factored in to the expenses. NOTHING is really free. We DO all have to pay for it one way or another.

 

[wcw57]

other countries have no food..we have a television channel dedicated to food.....
the "it's my cruise and I paid for it and I'll do what I want" mentality applies to food as well AND it's taught to the next generation....

 

[FigmentSpark]

It would certainly be factored in to the expenses. NOTHING is really free. We DO all have to pay for it one way or another.

If people do that on DCL, they do it everywhere. While it's factored into the cost, it's not the reason DCL is more expensive than other lines.

 

[Expatriat]

If people do that on DCL, they do it everywhere. While it's factored into the cost, it's not the reason DCL is more expensive than other lines.

No, and I did not say it was. I meant that the over-indulgence combined with waste of food ordered and not eaten has surely been at least a part of DCL's continued price hikes within its own line, having nothing to do with the price of cruising on other lines or whether DCL is more or less than others. I've sailed on DCL from their start, and I have noticed an increasing tendency for people to order or eat (whether encouraged or not) much more than what I used to observe. It used to be that it seemed the "all you can eat" attitude was only at the buffets. Now it often carries over to the MDRs and even Palo dinner. Since the servers work for tips and want to keep people happy, they have allowed it to happen and some do even encourage it.

 

[OKW Lover]

Is this typical or is this frowned upon?

Its very typical. I've got a couple of friends who have big appetites and they regularly order more than one appetizer/entree/dessert at meals. No problem at all. The servers are eager to please.

 

[phinz]

If people do that on DCL, they do it everywhere. While it's factored into the cost, it's not the reason DCL is more expensive than other lines.

I didn't see nearly as much waste on my recent Princess cruise, nor did I see the same level of gluttony. The amount of waste on my Disney cruises has been epic.

 

[MrsScooby]

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?

Well I wouldn't say "typical" it is not frowned upon by the servers to order as much as you want at a meal.
Cruisers at nearby tables will apparently keep track and judge you though....

 

[Steelers0854]

...... Wait I'm only supposed to order 1 of each course???

 

[Sytrace]

The single greatest experience of my life:

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

Lobster night is the only time my husband doesn't have a salad and an appetizer or entrée which is his typical meal. Sometimes just a salad. lol
He tells our wait team that he loves lobster and one night he had 5. ( I was really surprised...and so were the servers ) They just kept bringing him more.

 

[Sytrace]

Well--all you want to eat IF you actually eat it!!

Saw a kid at Tow Maters last cruise who must have had 3 hotdogs, 3 hamburgers, and a couple of wraps--all on one plate walking back to his table. One of the hamburgers actually fell off the plate onto the floor as he was hauling it all back. About 15 minutes later the family up and left--with almost everything he hauled back to the table un-eaten.

IT had all been for him and he probably had no intention of even eating most of it.

We have seen a lot of younger kids do this and it really is upsetting. Between the ice cream and the deck 11 quick serve places, the amount of food thrown away is seriously disheartening.

 

[kiford]

It depends somewhat on your server. We had a server on our Northern European cruise last summer who was really good. Sometimes I just wasn't hungry so I would tell him right when I was ordering that I wasn't very hungry and he'd direct me to the lighter items. Then the assistant server would find me a glass of wine that would pair nicely (usually those items didn't have a pairing listed in the menu).

I almost never eat dessert but will normally have a liqueur instead. On one of our cruises, the server knew I never ate dessert and tried to guess each night which liqueur I would order.

Rather than trying to feed me more food, they were more concerned with trying to find me something that would make me happy. Best kind of server.

 

[lucas]

It would certainly be factored in to the expenses. NOTHING is really free. We DO all have to pay for it one way or another.

Including the "free" sodas!

 

[tinkerone]

Well--all you want to eat IF you actually eat it!!

Saw a kid at Tow Maters last cruise who must have had 3 hotdogs, 3 hamburgers, and a couple of wraps--all on one plate walking back to his table. One of the hamburgers actually fell off the plate onto the floor as he was hauling it all back. About 15 minutes later the family up and left--with almost everything he hauled back to the table un-eaten.

IT had all been for him and he probably had no intention of even eating most of it.

On one of our past cruises DH and I noticed a table near us that had a man, woman and girl (maybe 10) seated at their own table. This would never have caught my eye except for the fact they ordered every thing on the menu every night. It was the oddest thing. The family were on the larger side (not making a negative comment, just stating a fact) but there was no way they were going to finish it all. I'm talking every soup, salad, entrée, dessert. Not sure what the problem was but on the fourth or fifth night the wait team, the head waiter and someone else was at the table and it seemed like everyone was having a bit of an argument.
They continued to do this until the final night which they did not make it to.

It was just so strange and the waste was horrible. I'm all for ordering seconds if you can eat it but everything? No reason for it.