Newbie question- Is it truly all-you-can-eat?

[mamaofami]

On my first cruise, which wasn't on HAL, I was so worried about all the stories I had heard about how much food there is and how much weight people gain, that I insisted on a table for two so I wouldn't be tempted by what other people were eating. It worked.

 

On my first HAL cruise, we boarded early (8AM) because DH was working on the ship. I heard someone who was waiting in the Lido say she had gained 20 pounds. I think it was a 7 day cruise. That did it for me.

 

I eat one breakfast(usually room service) one lunch, one dinner and sometimes I get tempted to have ice cream in the afternoon. I never go to the late buffet. SO far, that's worked for me.

[vicocala]

On my first cruise, which wasn't on HAL, I was so worried about all the stories I had heard about how much food there is and how much weight people gain, that I insisted on a table for two so I wouldn't be tempted by what other people were eating. It worked.

 

On my first HAL cruise, we boarded early (8AM) because DH was working on the ship. I heard someone who was waiting in the Lido say she had gained 20 pounds. I think it was a 7 day cruise. That did it for me.

 

I eat one breakfast(usually room service) one lunch, one dinner and sometimes I get tempted to have ice cream in the afternoon. I never go to the late buffet. SO far, that's worked for me.

 

I usually lose weight on a cruise. I try to use the stairs wherever I go, walk a lot on the excursions (or swim).

[sail7seas]

I hardly gain weight on cruises but have seen a pattern of gaining after we come home. I make strong effort to remain on my healthy diet while on the ships and I enjoy lots of salads, fruit, veggies...... I love I don't have to do all the cutting up and prep work. :) But it seems to increase my appetite for when we come home. Though what I ate was, for the most part healthy, I eat more than at home.

 

I've now learned to be very careful the first few weeks home until my appetite shrinks back to normal for me.

 

[innlady1]

I do as Carol does: three meals a day and ice cream or an afternoon tea only occasionally. Even at that, by the end of a 14 day cruise, I am so sick of thinking about food!

[vicocala]

Eight meals, I highly doubt Bruce's statistics are valid. One of those meals was a bowl of ice cream. I guess some kids would do that. I also highly doubt that they only spend $12-15 per passenger per day. If so, then the tipping charge is way out of whack.

 

Bruce gives us some excellent information, but call me dubious on this one.

[Cruising-along]

Eight meals, I highly doubt Bruce's statistics are valid. One of those meals was a bowl of ice cream. I guess some kids would do that. I also highly doubt that they only spend $12-15 per passenger per day. If so, then the tipping charge is way out of whack.

 

Bruce gives us some excellent information, but call me dubious on this one.

 

And I keep wondering how they tracked the pax who got ice cream in this study. Yes we give our cabin # in the MDR and (sometimes) the Lido, but the ice cream station? :confused: Unless someone is trailing the pax all day (which would be ridiculous), this is hard to believe.

[Teris50]

One time I had a client that told me when they cruise he tells he wife, no hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and taters, we get that at home..go for the shrimp, lobster, steaks!!! LOL

[Islander34]

I remember on our first cruise with Carnival they had a midnight buffet. My wife and I were still full from dinner but we went to the midnight buffet just to see what they were serving. We promised each other that we would look but we wouldn't touch. Almost like zombies, we soon found ourselves waiting in line, getting a plate, then filling up the plate with food. We had become gluttons- eating when we weren't even hungry. I'm not sure but I may have gone back for seconds.

[babyher]

I remember on our first cruise with Carnival they had a midnight buffet. My wife and I were still full from dinner but we went to the midnight buffet just to see what they were serving. We promised each other that we would look but we wouldn't touch. Almost like zombies, we soon found ourselves waiting in line, getting a plate, then filling up the plate with food. We had become gluttons- eating when we weren't even hungry. I'm not sure but I may have gone back for seconds.

 

 

*LOL* If its out there and in front of you, people will eat. You could have just ate a huge meal and be stuffed to the gills. My mom feels bad if she doesn't make a pot of coffee and put out cake , or a platter of cold cuts or whatever. Everyone says no no no .......but there sure aren't any leftovers :)

 

 

I always thought it was an Italian thing...but its everyone. *LOL*

 

 

Remember the old commercial "I'm not hungry, I'll just pick"

[holacanada]

Tamarind on Eurodam is stil $15 per person, or it was last week when I made the reservation.

 

15,00$ for Lunch....

 

Holacanada

[superoma]

15,00$ for Lunch....

 

Holacanada

 

no $15 for dinner - we have 5:30 reservations. From what I understand you can't reserve for lunch online, only dinner.

[sparky-elpaso]

*LOL* If its out there and in front of you, people will eat. You could have just ate a huge meal and be stuffed to the gills. My mom feels bad if she doesn't make a pot of coffee and put out cake , or a platter of cold cuts or whatever. Everyone says no no no .......but there sure aren't any leftovers :)

 

 

I always thought it was an Italian thing...but its everyone. *LOL*

 

 

Remember the old commercial "I'm not hungry, I'll just pick"

 

DH's aunt was the same way. We would try to plan a visit so that it wasn't at a meal time but it didn't matter - if you stopped by their house you were going to eat. :) And she was a fantastic cook.

[sail7seas]

One time I had a client that told me when they cruise he tells he wife, no hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and taters, we get that at home..go for the shrimp, lobster, steaks!!! LOL

 

 

This is funny.

Couldn't they get shrimp, lobster and steaks at home? :D

I know, I know,,,,,, I get it. :D

[iriemon]

We have learned through the years that over eating is for newbies. We eat 3 meals a day and maybe a snack and that is it unless we pass something that we just can't resist (we had that problem the last time on Princess in the Atrium Cafe). We also tend to walk a lot more on the ship than we do at home so that helps to keep things under control. A lot of times we will be sitting and people watching and we can usually pick the people whose first cruise it is, their plates are loaded, they are running to everything that is being offered, etc. We reminice about how we used to do the same thing but have learned from our mistakes and that this was a RELAXING vacation.

[ASIWISH]

is it truly all you can eat?

 

I would say it's more like "truly all your pants will let you eat!"

 

Good luck, and ENJOY!!!!

[whip52]

I try to make healthy choices most of the time. But things tempt me. Escargot for instance. And duck. And lamb. Things I don't normally have at home. I usually eat at the lido and ask for smaller portions. The kitchen crew sizes me up and try to overload my plate as I look like I eat a lot. After a few days they know and expect me to ask for less.

 

If a shore tour has a lot of physical exertion or walking, I can really chow down in the evenings. There goes the diet!:D

 

I use the stairs as much as possible and walk the ship for exercise.

[hugger]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Remember that you pay to eat in the speciality restaurants.

Pinnacle:

Lunch - $10 per person

Dinner - $25 per person

Tamarind:

Lunch - free -- set menu -- can't get seconds

Dinner - $15 per person

Canaletto:

Not open for lunch

Dinner - $10 per person -- maybe -- depends on ship -- some ships are now charging -- others are not.

At all of the above specialty restaurants you can order as many appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes and desserts as you want. If you want a second entree, you will have to pay another fee for it.

I never knew that you could order another appetizer or side or dessert etc - anything but the main entree???

Lots of times we go as a small group to dine in the Pinnacle. Would be nice to try some different things like we often do in the MDR. If there is something that we all want to try we will order it for the table as opposed to individually.

Is this true on all HAL ships???

[Valen9]

I never knew that you could order another appetizer or side or dessert etc - anything but the main entree???

Lots of times we go as a small group to dine in the Pinnacle. Would be nice to try some different things like we often do in the MDR. If there is something that we all want to try we will order it for the table as opposed to individually.

Is this true on all HAL ships???

 

I think it's true on most cruise lines. I've cruised on NCL and CC (my first HAL is next month) and they have no problem bringing you more than one of anything except the entree. I don't do it often but whenever I've expressed indecision between two things, the server has offered to bring me both.

 

The only time I've had trouble is when I've gotten hungry at times of limited service and I was allergic to too much of the menu... but I have a whole lot of unusual allergies.