Indian food on board

[Philharmagicfamily]

We just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Fantasy, and we booked the Transatlantic cruise for next year while onboard. Our head server asked us one night if we liked Indian food, and since we do, he brought us delicious Indian food two nights. I know this was absolutely pixie dust, but is it relatively common pixie dust? And do they ever do this for other cuisines?

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It isn't unheard of but being pixie dust, there is never any guarantee it will happen. I know on one of our cruises, our tablemates were from the Phillipines I think, don't recall exactly, and the server brought out a giant bowl of something for the whole table one night. It generally has to be something from a country whose dishes the kitchen staff is familiar with to put something together so more likely to get something from a country they are from.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

I have celiac disease and our server took such good care of me, often bringing special dishes just for me including gluten free chicken curry several times. It seemed much spicier than the standard MDR curry, and it was so delicious!!

 

[starvenger]

If you like a certain ethnic food, you should definitely ask. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Bonnie1222]

We just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Fantasy, and we booked the Transatlantic cruise for next year while onboard. Our head server asked us one night if we liked Indian food, and since we do, he brought us delicious Indian food two nights. I know this was absolutely pixie dust, but is it relatively common pixie dust? And do they ever do this for other cuisines?

We were pixie dusted too 2 weeks ago.

Who was your head server?

 

[Philharmagicfamily]

We were pixie dusted too 2 weeks ago.

Who was your head server?

Our head server was Engelbert from India, and our main server was Lavendra. They were both fantastic! The biryani they brought on the last night was so, so tasty!

 

[BadPinkTink]

As a former chef, while I think its great that they sometimes do, unless you have a medical reason for not being able to eat the food on the restaurant menu, I think its very entitled to request Indian or Ethnic food.

 

[TheMandalorians2ndCousin]

Wow!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've never been offered anything off the menu and I would never ask for something different. I don't like to be a high need person. Of course, food sensitivities are different. My husband has many of those and our servers have always recommended which items to get - which are on the menu.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I've never been offered anything off the menu and I would never ask for something different. I don't like to be a high need person. Of course, food sensitivities are different. My husband has many of those and our servers have always recommended which items to get - which are on the menu.

Other than medical reasons, people should not be requesting special food just because they can. While I have not worked in a ship restaurant, I have worked many many high volume restaurants. The servers on Disney Cruise will do things like bring you off menu food and food from other restaurants only because Disney expects them to never refuse a request from a guest. Disney expects high customer service levels from its employees, which in turn leads to entitled guests and guests expecting "pixie dust" because its Disney.

The servers in the restaurants and the chefs in the kitchens run to a very tight schedule and everything has to be in sync. Menus are planned and the food is there for a reason. Menu planning is not just about the style of food, but also involves things like cooking methods, chef skills, and a balance of ingredients and flavors.

I admit, I do sometimes do order off menu, but when I do, its only because I know how certain dishes are constructed and what is and is not possible regarding substitutions etc.

On a Disney cruise I would never have a meal in Lumieres and ask the server to bring me a dessert from Animators Palette.
On a Disney cruise I would never have a meal in Animators Palette and ask the server about ethnic food.

I'm researching for my first cruise and I'm so amazed at the planning blogs and YouTube videos which suggest this. Working as a server and chef is hard enough, with the regular duties and things to do, that to me its very unfair to then expect them to "pixie dust" and bring off menu food.

 

[starvenger]

A fair point. I still think it's reasonable to ask, provided that it is a request and not a demand.

For me personally, I would not take offence if the kitchen staff refused the request because they could not accommodate last minute. I know on Royal I've made inquiries regarding some dishes (generally some sort of vegetable outside of the cauliflower/broccoli/carrot combo) and have gotten "no, we can't do that" or "no we don't have that" - and this is fine!

But I've also gone to Chinese restaurants and ordered food completely off menu, with zero issues. Now granted, I can speak Cantonese (I'm HK-Canadian) so that probably helps in that regard.

So a bit of entitlement? Yeah, I have to concede that there is some.
Unreasonable request? I think it varies based on the situation at hand.

 

[TestingH2O]

The curries offered in the MDRs are the same that are served in the crew mess and not specially made for guests. Hence they rotate daily and even include some meats that a typical American might not enjoy. DD doesn't like the kids menu offerings, and she once told a head server that her favorite food was Chicken tikka masala and he started bringing her curry at dinner. She now regularly gets curries for dinner as do several other tables on every cruise we go on.

To suggest that there is some problem using a service that Disney offers because you wouldn't do it or it wouldn't work out in and based restaurant is absurd. Disney wants people to enjoy the experience and provides various food alternatives within the context of the MDR.

 

[Bonnie1222]

As a former chef, while I think its great that they sometimes do, unless you have a medical reason for not being able to eat the food on the restaurant menu, I think its very entitled to request Indian or Ethnic food.

the Original poster (and I) did not say anything about requesting it... we were offered; others may have asked but we did not. We request our head server on every cruise, and when we are lucky enough to get him, he sometimes asks us if we would like anything special and we ALWAYS tell him whatever they are making already if it is something not on the menu- nothing that would require them to go out of their way for a special dish

We have gotten the Indian food on the last 3 cruises. We did not request it, we were offered. We had families from the region near us in the dining room on 2 of the cruises and the head server asked if we would like to try. The other cruise, our head server told us they have 1 offering each night, and would be like to try it.

I agree, these chefs have way too much to do to request something special unless it is for a specific dietary need, but when it is offered, I will accept it every time. For all I know the chefs make a specific amount each night as a plan to handle the need, and when they do not have enough people with that dietary requirement, they tell the head servers to offer it to their tables so the food does not go to waste.

I have celiac disease and our server took such good care of me, often bringing special dishes just for me including gluten free chicken curry several times. It seemed much spicier than the standard MDR curry, and it was so delicious!!

Yes, the Indian food on the ship was much spicier that you get the restaurants I have gone to, I am wondering if that is closer to authentic and the restaurants I go to serve it more to the American pallet as @TestingH2O said.

 

[BadPinkTink]

The curries offered in the MDRs are the same that are served in the crew mess and not specially made for guests. Hence they rotate daily and even include some meats that a typical American might not enjoy. DD doesn't like the kids menu offerings, and she once told a head server that her favorite food was Chicken tikka masala and he started bringing her curry at dinner. She now regularly gets curries for dinner as do several other tables on every cruise we go on.

To suggest that there is some problem using a service that Disney offers because you wouldn't do it or it wouldn't work out in and based restaurant is absurd. Disney wants people to enjoy the experience and provides various food alternatives within the context of the MDR.

exactly, its crew food, from the crew quarters , many floors down from the MDR. Also its food Disney provides for the crew, not the guests.

Its only become guest food, as the servers are obliged by their employer, Disney to not refuse a guest request. Its only become known about as its being recommended by the cruise planning blogs and videos.

It obviously started out as a once off gesture of goodwill which is now being exploited by entitled guests.

Disney does not provide it as a service to you the guest. They provide that food for the crew. The food for you is what is on the MDR menu.

Its extremely selfish and unfair to the servers what this beast has turned into. The servers spend their shift on their feet, walking goodness knows how many miles, just to complete their regular tasks in the MDR they have been assigned for that shift. To then have to go all the way down to the crew areas and carry food back up the MDR for guests is just not right.

They will do it and they will do it with a smile, as thats whats expected of them, but I wonder if you asked, how many would say they don't like doing it and only do it because they want to keep their job and are afraid that if they refuse, the guest will complain.

 

[TestingH2O]

exactly, its crew food, from the crew quarters , many floors down from the MDR. Also its food Disney provides for the crew, not the guests.

Its only become guest food, as the servers are obliged by their employer, Disney to not refuse a guest request. Its only become known about as its being recommended by the cruise planning blogs and videos.

It obviously started out as a once off gesture of goodwill which is now being exploited by entitled guests.

Disney does not provide it as a service to you the guest. They provide that food for the crew. The food for you is what is on the MDR menu.

Its extremely selfish and unfair to the servers what this beast has turned into. The servers spend their shift on their feet, walking goodness knows how many miles, just to complete their regular tasks in the MDR they have been assigned for that shift. To then have to go all the way down to the crew areas and carry food back up the MDR for guests is just not right.

They will do it and they will do it with a smile, as thats whats expected of them, but I wonder if you asked, how many would say they don't like doing it and only do it because they want to keep their job and are afraid that if they refuse, the guest will complain.

Ok. You do you. The rest of us, who have actually been on DCL cruises, will continue to enjoy ourselves. I'm sure you'll be happy to come back and tell us all about how the food doesn't live up to the high standards that you have outlined previously.

 

[Bonnie1222]

One additional thing I will add.... I make sure my server, assistant server and head server are compensated for the additional work. I make sure to add generously to their standard gratuities in addition to thanking them for their service.

 

[Lisa F]

We just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Fantasy, and we booked the Transatlantic cruise for next year while onboard. Our head server asked us one night if we liked Indian food, and since we do, he brought us delicious Indian food two nights. I know this was absolutely pixie dust, but is it relatively common pixie dust? And do they ever do this for other cuisines?

It's something I've read about a whole bunch, probably because a fair amount of the crew is Indian. And since it was offered I would not feel one bit bad about saying yes.

 

[Lisa F]

The servers on Disney Cruise will do things like bring you off menu food and food from other restaurants only because Disney expects them to never refuse a request from a guest.

That is patently not true and there are plenty of instances where Disney will refuse a guest (politely.) For what I am spending to be there, I have absolutely zero problem with making special requests. If they can accommodate I am appreciative (both verbally and in a monetary way) and if they can't for whatever reason that is fine too. But for $600+ a night, I do not feel like I need to act like I'm at some cafeteria where "you get what you get and you don't get upset."

 

[Mitura]

On 1 cruise our server asked us if we wanted to try Indian food it since he is Indian and we said yes. He brought it in addition to our main meal. After we tried it it wasn't totally our thing but I am glad to have tried it. (We are a traditional Italian food family).

On our most recent cruise our server went overboard. Too much overboard. When he found out on day 1 and 2 that we liked a specific meal (such as the fettuccine) he brought them back over multiple nights just in case. It got to the point that it was almost a boasting of "see what I can do". So every night we would have almost 2 of every course. I finally had to put my foot down and say enough was enough. Though he didn't get the hint. An example is I said that even though I liked the rice pudding I preferred a Mickey bar for dessert. He brought 2 mickey bars and 2 rice puddings. That was too much.

@Bonnie1222 you said "I make sure to add generously to their standard gratuities." What does one consider "add generously"? 10% above, 20% above. I don't have unlimited funds and I believe that what is already being given is a fair amount, though I do give more. I wonder what others give?

Thanks!

 

[starvenger]

What does one consider "add generously"? 10% above, 20% above. I don't have unlimited funds and I believe that what is already being given is a fair amount, though I do give more. I wonder what others give?

"Generous" is subjective. And you are right, the amount given is fair. If you don't want to tip any more than the standard, that is your right, and this is perfectly fine.

If you want to tip more, I'd recommend doing the math based on per person per night, and going with what feels right. Example: an extra $1 pp/pn means an extra $28 on a 7 night for a party of 4, over and above the $126/$98/28 the Server/Assistant/Captain gets. Is that too much? Too little? That's up to you.