Charge for second entree?

[ldubs]

41 minutes ago, ditmar2007 said:

Is this a normal thing to do in your culture? Where I come from I would expect to pay for both.

 

If something were wrong it could be sent back for replacement.  For example, your med-rare steak was delivered well done.  Otherwise, no it is not normal where I come from.  

 

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

I feel a little queesy when I eat in the US. I lose my appetite just by the sight of the portions.

 

 

 

Then you must lose a lot of weight on a cruise ship. 

 

 

[rkkunk]

17 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

 

Interesting. A few here have it. Americans are notoriously large orderers of food, I am in the business, but we are also large complainers so many restaurants are not up for the fight.

Hey Tinkr2, I really didn’t mean to get anyone upset. I guess it just ruffled my feathers a little that you said “Americans” which to me implies all Americans. I just don’t like it when any one lumps a group of people together like they are all the same. Hope that you can understand. Happy cruising!

[nelblu]

5 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

Is this a normal thing to do in your culture? Where I come from I would expect to pay for both.

 

So if your 1st entrée was crap, you would pay for it.  Just crazy.

[Balsam12]

7 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

So if your 1st entrée was crap, you would pay for it.  Just crazy.

If there's something wrong with it, then I wouldn't be paying for it.

 

If, however, I decided to order something I hadn't eaten before, and simply didn't like it, then that's my own fault. Why should the restaurant (or ship in this case) have to wear the cost of that?

Not having sailed with RC before, I don't know exactly how it will be, but I can't see any set of circumstances where i will be going to bed hungry...

 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

6 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

If there's something wrong with it, then I wouldn't be paying for it.

 

If, however, I decided to order something I hadn't eaten before, and simply didn't like it, then that's my own fault. Why should the restaurant (or ship in this case) have to wear the cost of that?

Not having sailed with RC before, I don't know exactly how it will be, but I can't see any set of circumstances where i will be going to bed hungry...

 

You are a reasonable person, and thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

As the posterchild for trying more than one entree or appetizer on cruises (oh yeah, and sometimes a dessert), rest assure that it's neither uncommon nor a big deal.  It's actually not something they expect people to pay for as extra, since they make assumptions for how many meals to prepare that rarely pan out perfectly.

 

On one of our kitchen tours on board, we were told they plan food on the basis of having a meal for every person ("plus some extra"). Since not everyone dines every night in the main dining room, and some passengers (such as kids) don't eat any of the entrees...in the end...there is plenty of food for those who want an extra item (or two)...assuming everyone doesn't request it of course. 

 

We've actually had servers ask "would you like another one" on lobster night, where it seemed a number of folks can't eat shellfish. OK...I confess...I had 3. 😨🤣

[nelblu]

37 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

If there's something wrong with it, then I wouldn't be paying for it.

 

If, however, I decided to order something I hadn't eaten before, and simply didn't like it, then that's my own fault. Why should the restaurant (or ship in this case) have to wear the cost of that?

Not having sailed with RC before, I don't know exactly how it will be, but I can't see any set of circumstances where i will be going to bed hungry...

 

 

Not having sailed on RCL, you basically don't know how large or small the entrees are.  In essence most of the portions are small as they are in many fancy restaurants.   Keep in mind, that after a certain hour, there's no venue for food, other than pay for room service or the stuff that is being presented in the  Café Promenade.  However, there's lots of drinking places.

 

Remember, food is one of the main selling points for cruise lines.  If one has to pay for food, might as well vacation on land.

 

Also, many restaurants in the US, have a skinny menu portions for light eaters. 

[sparks1093]

15 hours ago, buddylover said:

Totally agree.....the buffet is where the majority of 'wasted' food comes from.  This is not to 'reduce waste' as they are trying to sell the public, but about making more $$ on the bottom line....and maybe even the first step in removing a FREE MDR......?????

As I just mentioned in another forum with this same topic there are two types of waste, the first is the actual uneaten food (which is ground up and discharged for the fish to enjoy) and the cost of the uneaten food. If they can find a way to reduce the amount of uneaten food then they will reduce their costs. Now, I don't know how much of the uneaten food comes from people ordering second main dishes, but the cruise lines do know. How much did that airline save by putting one less cherry tomato in the salad?

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

Is this a normal thing to do in your culture? Where I come from I would expect to pay for both.

It is normal on a cruise ship (for some) to try a dish one hasn't tried before to see if one likes it. I have no idea how many people do this. Personally if I order something I intend to eat it and do unless there is something really wrong with it (I don't even send steak back for not being cooked to my order unless it's so over done that I can't eat it). 

[Iamcruzin]

3 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

As I just mentioned in another forum with this same topic there are two types of waste, the first is the actual uneaten food (which is ground up and discharged for the fish to enjoy) and the cost of the uneaten food. If they can find a way to reduce the amount of uneaten food then they will reduce their costs. Now, I don't know how much of the uneaten food comes from people ordering second main dishes, but the cruise lines do know. How much did that airline save by putting one less cherry tomato in the salad?

The airlines saved even more when they stopped serving food altogether. I guess that wasn't enough because they are selling snacks and meals now.  Does anyone see the writing on the wall with all of these specialty dining packages that are being marketed with a discount if you pre purchase?

[sparks1093]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

The airlines saved even more when they stopped serving food altogether. I guess that wasn't enough because they are selling snacks and meals now.  Does anyone see the writing on the wall with all of these specialty dining packages that are being marketed with a discount if you pre purchase?

There are a lot of trends but until the seating in the specialty dining venues exceeds the seating in the MDR I'm not too worried. Personally I'll not pay for food when it is included in the fare and when the day comes that the MDR doesn't meet my basic needs then I'll probably stop cruising (but I suspect I'll have shuffled off this mortal coil long before that happens).

[nelblu]

9 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

The airlines saved even more when they stopped serving food altogether. I guess that wasn't enough because they are selling snacks and meals now.  Does anyone see the writing on the wall with all of these specialty dining packages that are being marketed with a discount if you pre purchase?

 

That is why US airline companies are rated some of the worst in the world.  I could not believe the difference when we took a connecting flight to Barcelona that wine/beer was been served, gratis.  It also included snacks, etc.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

20 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

That is why US airline companies are rated some of the worst in the world.  I could not believe the difference when we took a connecting flight to Barcelona that wine/beer was been served, gratis.  It also included snacks, etc.

Different strokes.  We've had some great service on U.S. airlines (other than the cheapo ones like Southwest, Frontier, etc.). The airline food service is typically based on the flight duration. Frequent fliers often get food & beverage perks.

 

If someone feels its important to get liquored up...they can do that on plenty of flights.

 

None of that applies to cruises except for the last point ( which will cost folks plenty to accomplish getting sloshed on a cruise, and if so, please stay away from us).

Edited March 5, 2019 by CRUISEFAN0001

[Mikew0805]

56 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

As I just mentioned in another forum with this same topic there are two types of waste, the first is the actual uneaten food (which is ground up and discharged for the fish to enjoy) and the cost of the uneaten food. If they can find a way to reduce the amount of uneaten food then they will reduce their costs. Now, I don't know how much of the uneaten food comes from people ordering second main dishes, but the cruise lines do know. How much did that airline save by putting one less cherry tomato in the salad?

I think it was an olive.. and I think it was $50k or something for the year. Do something that not many would or should notice, and save a lot of money. 

 

I think that is more in line with the premise the chocolates on pillows were removed. I'm sure that was a big savings, especially when you consider future savings with all the berths currently in play. I probably should not bring this up, as it may be a sore subject for some. 🤣

[Balsam12]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

 

Not having sailed on RCL, you basically don't know how large or small the entrees are.  In essence most of the portions are small as they are in many fancy restaurants.   Keep in mind, that after a certain hour, there's no venue for food, other than pay for room service or the stuff that is being presented in the  Café Promenade.  However, there's lots of drinking places.

 

Remember, food is one of the main selling points for cruise lines.  If one has to pay for food, might as well vacation on land.

 

Also, many restaurants in the US, have a skinny menu portions for light eaters. 

Since I booked my cruise, I've been working on the principle that I could order as many appetisers and desserts as I want, but only one main course.

 

I thought I had read that somewhere, but I can't find it now, so may be mistaken (or maybe it was only applicable to speciality dining?).

 

In any case, I actually thought that was a pretty fair deal, and that after the first night, if I found the serving size of the main too small, would simply order extra on the other courses. We tend to eat later, normally 7:30ish at home, and when on holiday, have a large breakfast, then some lighter snacks/meals during the day. A smaller dinner shouldn't be a problem, but after a soup, appetiser, main, dessert, and cheese board, I'm confident I'll be pretty full.

 

I have also purchased a three night dining package for an eight night cruise. As a first cruise, I wanted to try a few things. If we cruise RC again, we may or may not  use specialty dining again depending on our experience this time.

 

Anyway, this extra charge doesn't apply to RC at the moment, so it's not an issue.

 

We also have the beverage package as I'm confident it will work out cheaper, but also because I don't want to have to worry about a bill at the end of the trip.

[HBE4]

7 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

Is this a normal thing to do in your culture? Where I come from I would expect to pay for both.

 

Not really. Fortunately, DW is not a picky eater and I usually stick with things I know I like.  So unless the food it truly inedible or really far off on how it's cooked to order (served rare steak when we order well-done), we almost never send the food back just because it's not as tasty as we'd like. I would not expect to pay for it. Even when on a cruise in the MDR.

 

Having said that, there have been times when the wait staff on a ship has encouraged us to try new things and if we didn't like it, we could always get something else as "the food is already prepared in the kitchen" and could be brought out quickly.

 

I have ordered a second item a couple of times in the past, usually when I've missed lunch or - being a night owl - know I'll be up late and it can be tough to get food after 9:00 pm.

[LMaxwell]

This thread confirms my belief that a lot of people are just corporate sheep.  

 

This move is designed solely to minimize the role of MDR, push people to specialty, and condition people to constant daily spending on the ships.  We order additional entrees to share from time to time, not every meal, but some.  Being charged would rub me the wrong way.  People can overeat and overdrink for a week or so at a time without any major long term adverse impact.  People buy UNLIMITED alcohol packages, and yet here we have a thread of people blasting others for ordering another entree with 4oz of protein.  Do these people drink UNLIMITED alcohol daily?  NO!  They are on vacation.  For a week at a time, no problem. 

 

Cruising is about indulgence, being pampered with services, and enjoying a carefree environment.   Some freshly minted MBA came out with a rather stupid idea that will bite them in the butt short term, but long term definitely signals where the industry is heading.  Cruise lines understand ONE language, money.  Nothing else.  Only money. 

 

Those in favor of these charges ought to be in favor of limiting drink packages, charging for deck chairs and shows, etc. 

 

Cruising is quickly becoming like any other vacation where you need to grab your wallet every couple hours.  It was bad enough they charge you in the dining room for food that used to be included, then they went from 5 courses to 3, and now if you want to indulge they charge more on top of that.  

 

It's going to continue until consumers speak the same language as the cruise line.    

[Scillycruisers]

Just off the Symphony, only ate in MDR except for 1 night in Solarium as we wanted an earlier meal, we were on late dining.

Portions were reasonable - plenty when combined with a starter and dessert. I think I am a fairly average eater! In addition to what we ordered, our waiters (without any prompting from us) also fetched us a cheese plate and an additional main course (different from what we ordered) to try between us nearly every night.

They also fetched our son a mixed fruit cup in addition to what he ordered. Between the 3 of us we didn’t leave much, but the extra was not really needed!

Regarding lobster my husband was given 2 on his first plate, then asked if he would like another and was given another 2! He refused the next offer. I don’t like lobster so I stuck with steak!

[sparks1093]

2 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

This thread confirms my belief that a lot of people are just corporate sheep.  

 

This move is designed solely to minimize the role of MDR, push people to specialty, and condition people to constant daily spending on the ships.  We order additional entrees to share from time to time, not every meal, but some.  Being charged would rub me the wrong way.  People can overeat and overdrink for a week or so at a time without any major long term adverse impact.  People buy UNLIMITED alcohol packages, and yet here we have a thread of people blasting others for ordering another entree with 4oz of protein.  Do these people drink UNLIMITED alcohol daily?  NO!  They are on vacation.  For a week at a time, no problem. 

 

Cruising is about indulgence, being pampered with services, and enjoying a carefree environment.   Some freshly minted MBA came out with a rather stupid idea that will bite them in the butt short term, but long term definitely signals where the industry is heading.  Cruise lines understand ONE language, money.  Nothing else.  Only money. 

 

Those in favor of these charges ought to be in favor of limiting drink packages, charging for deck chairs and shows, etc. 

 

Cruising is quickly becoming like any other vacation where you need to grab your wallet every couple hours.  It was bad enough they charge you in the dining room for food that used to be included, then they went from 5 courses to 3, and now if you want to indulge they charge more on top of that.  

 

It's going to continue until consumers speak the same language as the cruise line.    

I don't see how this move minimizes the role of the MDR at all. Is it not true that if you want more than one main in a specialty restaurant that you have to pay for it? That's my understanding for the two cruise lines that I've sailed with but of course I haven't tried Royal yet. Yes, there is no doubt that some bean counter ran some numbers and saw a way to save the company some money. And of course the cruise lines understand one language, they are a business and that is what businesses do. 

[Balsam12]

Interesting thoughts... I don't like it anytime a company starts charging for something that was previously included.

 

The flipside to that is that if it's something that doesn't affect me, it helps keeps prices down on things that do affect me.

 

If charging people for ordering two main courses means they can keep the cost of the beverage package down, I'm all in favour. Unfortunately, the next person might be a non-drinker that loves their food, so they would say the exact opposite.

 

Old saying... You can't please all the people all the time. I'm sure that budgeting for a cruise ship is a pretty big job. Many years in hospitality have also taught me that trying to balance budgets with service standards is very tricky.

[LMaxwell]

Just now, sparks1093 said:

I don't see how this move minimizes the role of the MDR at all. Is it not true that if you want more than one main in a specialty restaurant that you have to pay for it? That's my understanding for the two cruise lines that I've sailed with but of course I haven't tried Royal yet. Yes, there is no doubt that some bean counter ran some numbers and saw a way to save the company some money. And of course the cruise lines understand one language, they are a business and that is what businesses do. 

 

one extra per day = $70.  May just be enough to make someone pop $89 and try a 3 night dining package instead.  

 

Removing "complimentary" items and associating costs with them is to push people to higher cost items.  It's not about a savings.  You can't save your way to profitability.  You need to generate revenue for that. 

 

See:  Key.  A bunch of perks associated with loyalty benefits + internet for slightly more than the price of internet.  Some perks don't apply to all cruises, and some are just marketing smoke and mirrors to start with, but they found a way to ensure people pay more for a week of internet.  Very clever.  

 

I read in this thread or another thread that the charges for popcorn are to make sure guests don't trash the ship with popcorn.  Funny, no charge for popcorn on Carnival or Princess and the guests don't trash the ship there.  Just a revenue generator.  They know it is likely to be a one time impulse purchase so they want to get money out of you while they can.  

 

I don't blame businesses for operating like a business.  But I'm not getting a share of the profit and I don't work for them.  I find the constant cost-associated items to be very tacky and pushing me more and more towards other forms of vacation.  Even if I don't buy them, don't want them, can go right past, the constant dollar signs in my face removes the carefree feeling of cruising that I enjoy.  In short, they are ruining the relaxing multiple thousand dollar vacations for me by pumping me for another $2, $5, $10.  

 

And out of principle I won't pay it.  

 

If Royal REALLY wanted to save money they would put a daily limit on the alcohol package.  There is more waste there than with food. 

[Sitzmark]

2 hours ago, Balsam12 said:

If there's something wrong with it, then I wouldn't be paying for it.

 

If, however, I decided to order something I hadn't eaten before, and simply didn't like it, then that's my own fault. Why should the restaurant (or ship in this case) have to wear the cost of that?
 

 

I was once eating at a restaurant in South Carolina that was reputed to have very good food.  I was told the Collard greens were excellent.  I had never had them before so I figured, go for it and try something new.  I hated them.  When the server asked if there was something wrong with them, I assured him that they were probably just fine but I didn't care for them.  He wanted to bring something else but I assured him it was neither his fault or the cooks fault that I chose something I didn't like.  I'll send back improperly prepared food, but my mistakes are on me, I now know not to order that item.  The ribs and other items I ordered for my dinner were excellent.

[nelblu]

18 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

Since I booked my cruise, I've been working on the principle that I could order as many appetisers and desserts as I want, but only one main course.

 

I thought I had read that somewhere, but I can't find it now, so may be mistaken (or maybe it was only applicable to speciality dining?).

 

In any case, I actually thought that was a pretty fair deal, and that after the first night, if I found the serving size of the main too small, would simply order extra on the other courses. We tend to eat later, normally 7:30ish at home, and when on holiday, have a large breakfast, then some lighter snacks/meals during the day. A smaller dinner shouldn't be a problem, but after a soup, appetiser, main, dessert, and cheese board, I'm confident I'll be pretty full.

 

I have also purchased a three night dining package for an eight night cruise. As a first cruise, I wanted to try a few things. If we cruise RC again, we may or may not  use specialty dining again depending on our experience this time.

 

Anyway, this extra charge doesn't apply to RC at the moment, so it's not an issue.

 

We also have the beverage package as I'm confident it will work out cheaper, but also because I don't want to have to worry about a bill at the end of the trip.

 

Yes, you could order as many appetizers, entrees and desserts in the MDR, however, if you want a second entrée in the SR, there's a $10 charge per. 

 

You should know that the entrees in the SR are much tastier and larger than the MDR.  Don't know which vessel or which SR you are eying and folks on this board can assist.

 

We usually have an early seating as my wife is diabetic.  If I don't like the sound of the appetizers, I'll ask for a second entrée, usually a pasta, as substitute for the appetizers.

 

Also, we are not into large breakfasts and look forward to lunch in the MDR on sea days only and dinner.

 

FYI:  My first cruise was out of NYC on the since departed Oceanic in the mid-70s, and the quality and quantity of the food selections puts the current offerings on cruise lines to shame.

M

 

 

[Balsam12]

8 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

 

If Royal REALLY wanted to save money they would put a daily limit on the alcohol package.  There is more waste there than with food. 

This is probably the most offensive thing I have read on Cruise Critic.

 

Wash your mouth out and go stand in the corner until you realise the error of your ways...

 

🥂🍻🍹🍺🍸🍷

[Sitzmark]

35 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

 

 

I think that is more in line with the premise the chocolates on pillows were removed. I'm sure that was a big savings, especially when you consider future savings with all the berths currently in play. I probably should not bring this up, as it may be a sore subject for some. 🤣

I'm one that is happy they don't put chocolates on pillows,  I'd only pitch it in the garbage and wonder how many others are just throwing them away as well.