World's Pickiest Eater on the Oosterdam

[beaming90]

Help!  I have been going over the sample menus I am finding for the main dining room on the Oosterdam and I am the worlds pickiest eater.  I know I can ask for steak, can I ask for chicken?  i see sometimes it is chicken with rice pilaf.  But I like fries or potatoes of some kind, can I order fries like I always did on Carnival?  I think the worst part is there is no description on a lot of the menus and I have no idea what to expect.  Thank you all!!!

[iflyrc5]

1 minute ago, beaming90 said:

Help!  I have been going over the sample menus I am finding for the main dining room on the Oosterdam and I am the worlds pickiest eater.  I know I can ask for steak, can I ask for chicken?  i see sometimes it is chicken with rice pilaf.  But I like fries or potatoes of some kind, can I order fries like I always did on Carnival?  I think the worst part is there is no description on a lot of the menus and I have no idea what to expect.  Thank you all!!!

Chicken is on the "Always Available" menu in MDR and you can ask for mashed or baked - don't know for sure about fries.

[beaming90]

I am good with mashed or baked.  I will be part of a group and I know I will be driving them crazy with my strange food requests.  Thanks for answering!

[canadianbear]

4 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

I am good with mashed or baked.  I will be part of a group and I know I will be driving them crazy with my strange food requests.  Thanks for answering!

Are you fixed dining?  You may want to speak to the dining room maître d  but I’m pretty sure it won’t be an issue.  

[bEwAbG]

I believe they offer fries on the kids menu every night.  I agree that you might want to talk to the dining room manager on the first day and see what they recommend.  They're pretty flexible, but I'm sure would appreciate advance notice.  

[beaming90]

We are anytime dining but I will check the first day, thank you for the suggestion!!

[RuthC]

You don't have to be a child to order from the children's menu.  However, it's better to look over the menu the night before, and order from the Children's menu then, if that's what you want to do.

[igraf]

A large part of cruising is doing things differently than your usual routine.  Get crazy.  Order something that you normally would not eat at home.

 

igraf

 

 

 

[mkl55]

Not to worry.  I am a member of the picky eater club and I have always found something (many things) to enjoy.  The secret is to not read the descriptions too closely as some of the things I would normally dislike are served on the side or in such a small quantity that it really doesn't matter.  The waiters are fabulous at making sure your dinner is to your liking.  You will be fine!

[cruzin4us]

This isn't meant to sound mean, but you could always eat in the Lido....there is usually something there you may like.  PLUS, if you are really picky this gives you the advantage of seeing what you are getting rather than assuming it will be good when the descriptions on the MDR menu never seem to match what I have visualized in my head....

 

I'm just the opposite....I can eat anything (except black licorice...gag).

[HamOp]

2 hours ago, igraf said:

A large part of cruising is doing things differently than your usual routine.  Get crazy.  Order something that you normally would not eat at home.

 

igraf

How very true.  I still can't get over that I tried (and liked) ox tail soup on the Rotterdam years ago.

2 hours ago, igraf said:

 

 

 

 

[fatcat04]

11 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

I believe they offer fries on the kids menu every night.  I agree that you might want to talk to the dining room manager on the first day and see what they recommend.  They're pretty flexible, but I'm sure would appreciate advance notice.  

Yes, they do have fries on the kids menu so I am sure they are available to anyone and they also have a very tasty mac n cheese which was our daughters favorite. I sampled it and it was yummy!! 

[terrydtx]

,On our last HAL cruise my BIL who is also a very picky eater, we found a solution to the sometimes weird descriptions of the MDR food. The Lido buffet serves most of the same dishes served in the MDR at night, he would go to the Lido at 5:30 and look over the food to find something he would try and then go to the MDR and order.

Edited March 27, 2019 by terrydtx

[WisRiver]

I do not like baked or mashed potatoes.  When I see it on the menu with an entree in MDR, there has been no problem when I ask for a substitution of rice or french fries.  You can also ask for a side order of fries.  The HAL wait staff is very accommodating.

[mamakits]

Tooo funny HamOp!   Thought  to myself....."oh, crap.....there is an ant on my computer screen".... then I realized it was part of your signature 🐜 

[beaming90]

21 hours ago, igraf said:

A large part of cruising is doing things differently than your usual routine.  Get crazy.  Order something that you normally would not eat at home.

 

igraf

On my last cruise we all tried a little bite of each others dinner and I tried escargot for the first time - didn't hate it, didn't love it but wasn't awful.  I tried lobster and YUCK.  But I tried and I am willing to try again.

 

 

[terrydtx]

28 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

I tried lobster and YUCK.  But I tried and I am willing to try again.

Do not judge lobster by the usually horrible over cooked and tough lobsters that are usually served on cruise ships. If you are ever in New England try a steamed fresh caught lobster and you might fall in love with it. The best lobster, steamed mussels and scallops I have ever eaten were in Portland Maine, the lobster was so good I find it hard to eat anywhere else. Up there they locals serve lobster rolls for lunch and they are unbelievably good.

[3rdGenCunarder]

26 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Do not judge lobster by the usually horrible over cooked and tough lobsters that are usually served on cruise ships. If you are ever in New England try a steamed fresh caught lobster and you might fall in love with it. The best lobster, steamed mussels and scallops I have ever eaten were in Portland Maine, the lobster was so good I find it hard to eat anywhere else. Up there they locals serve lobster rolls for lunch and they are unbelievably good.

 

I don't bother with lobster on the ship. New England and Canada have taught me what good lobster is. 

[HamOp]

3 hours ago, mamakits said:

Tooo funny HamOp!   Thought  to myself....."oh, crap.....there is an ant on my computer screen".... then I realized it was part of your signature 🐜 

The "bug" has been with me for quite a while now.  Seems I've caught another one, glad you found him funny.

[travellersrest]

4 hours ago, mamakits said:

Tooo funny HamOp!   Thought  to myself....."oh, crap.....there is an ant on my computer screen".... then I realized it was part of your signature 🐜 

LOL! I actually tried to swat it off, the first time I saw it move up my screen as I scrolled down!

[fatcat04]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Do not judge lobster by the usually horrible over cooked and tough lobsters that are usually served on cruise ships. If you are ever in New England try a steamed fresh caught lobster and you might fall in love with it. The best lobster, steamed mussels and scallops I have ever eaten were in Portland Maine, the lobster was so good I find it hard to eat anywhere else. Up there they locals serve lobster rolls for lunch and they are unbelievably good.

1000 times yes! I have never had a lobster on a cruise ship because we have had the real deal in NE. We are spoiled. Lobster rolls in that part of the world are some of the best eating anywhere.

Okay now I wanna take another Canada/NE cruise. Done it twice. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Edited March 28, 2019 by fatcat04

[3rdGenCunarder]

38 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

1000 times yes! I have never had a lobster on a cruise ship because we have had the real deal in NE. We are spoiled. Lobster rolls in that part of the world are some of the best eating anywhere.

Okay now I wanna take another Canada/NE cruise. Done it twice. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

On one of our Canada/NE cruises, I made it my mission to have lobster roll in every port! 

[terrydtx]

49 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

1000 times yes! I have never had a lobster on a cruise ship because we have had the real deal in NE. We are spoiled. Lobster rolls in that part of the world are some of the best eating anywhere.

Okay now I wanna take another Canada/NE cruise. Done it twice. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

We were visiting friends in Portland and some small town outside of Portland had a lobster festival, nothing but vendors serving lobster and scallop rolls. That was 20 years ago and I still remember how good they were. 

[fatcat04]

33 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

On one of our Canada/NE cruises, I made it my mission to have lobster roll in every port! 

I like the cut of your jib! 😀

[fatcat04]

19 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We were visiting friends in Portland and some small town outside of Portland had a lobster festival, nothing but vendors serving lobster and scallop rolls. That was 20 years ago and I still remember how good they were. 

Sounds like Heaven. 🥂