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Off-menu in MDR?


Underwatr
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10 minutes ago, mk-ultra said:

 

You'd hate my cocktail sauce.  It's 90% freshly-grated horseradish and a direct punch-in-the-face with it :-P.

I've just never got 'into' it! I suppose it's down to how you were given it/used to it as a child etc - and trust me I've persevered with it over the years - maybe it's never been as strong as yours ha ha

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20 minutes ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

I've just never got 'into' it! I suppose it's down to how you were given it/used to it as a child etc - and trust me I've persevered with it over the years - maybe it's never been as strong as yours ha ha

 

For me, horseradish and wasabi are just fun.  You get a 5 second flash of OMG MY FACE IS ON FIRE, and it stops (unlike something genuinely hot like a 50K+ Scoville chili which you'll regret for two days).

Edited by mk-ultra
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15 minutes ago, atush said:

Nope, its fantastic.  Horseradish is the best.

 

Last i heard they were discontinuing the awful salad cream lol.  Never ben a fan even though lived in t he uk 30 years

The power of the masses changed their minds - a bit like Snickers is going back to being called it's proper name - Marathon!

 

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We had an amazing set of servers on the Oasis last month.  Even though we had MTD, we always were placed at the same table with the same servers.  Our assistant server started bringing us out Indian dishes to sample from the first day. The curries were unbelievable. When he found out we loved Indian food, he kept it coming.  Then the head guy, Robinson, (forgot his title) started bringing out Asian dishes.  By the time we got to the menu to order, we were already stuffed.

 

Amarendra explained to us that they have numerous different ethnic foods prepared every night that are not on the menu for passengers that prefer meals from home.  You just have to ask what is available. Not sure if this was just for a Med sailing with many different countries on board or if it is across the company.  We sampled so many different great things every night, made us not want to go anywhere but the MDR for dinner!  Our dinner at Chops for our 35th was boring and mundane (and not as good of food) and left us wishing for our table at the MDR for our nightly food tasting party.

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2 hours ago, ZiggaZagga17 said:

I've never had a problem with anything I've asked for and here is a couple of personal examples :

 

1 - when ordering prawns/shrimp cocktail I prefer the slightly pinker 'prawn cocktail' sauce over the more 'red' shrimp sauce found pretty much everywhere in the US. A fair proportion of the time they have it ( I guess when there's a lot of Brits onboard?), but knowing also how to make it myself, it's been known to pass on the ingredients and before you know it someone's gone to the trouble to knock a bowl of it up ready! It's then been available for the rest of the cruise.

 

2 - i absolutely adore pistachio ice cream, and although it's available sometimes as a particular days' choice, i ask for it on day 1 and they generally always come up trumps! 

 

My advice is such - if you don't ask, then you won't get! 

 

Happy Cruising

 

The last time I cruised, the shrimp cocktail were tiny shrimp in the red sauce.  Has anyone had success with requesting the larger shrimp?

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57 minutes ago, cured said:

We had an amazing set of servers on the Oasis last month.  Even though we had MTD, we always were placed at the same table with the same servers.  Our assistant server started bringing us out Indian dishes to sample from the first day. The curries were unbelievable. When he found out we loved Indian food, he kept it coming.  Then the head guy, Robinson, (forgot his title) started bringing out Asian dishes.  By the time we got to the menu to order, we were already stuffed.

 

Amarendra explained to us that they have numerous different ethnic foods prepared every night that are not on the menu for passengers that prefer meals from home.  You just have to ask what is available. Not sure if this was just for a Med sailing with many different countries on board or if it is across the company.  We sampled so many different great things every night, made us not want to go anywhere but the MDR for dinner!  Our dinner at Chops for our 35th was boring and mundane (and not as good of food) and left us wishing for our table at the MDR for our nightly food tasting party.

Agree, Chops is not same was 20yrs ago. Neither is Main Dining, but never hurts to ask. Was Single Dad raising 3 and back in 90's when started taking my kids on Cruises. My oldest(11) she was adventurous one. Every nite, including Indian/Curry, Asian, Escargot, Caviar... Now she's a Mom, a Great Cook but half stuff she prepares too strong/rich for me...

Edited by ONECRUISER
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4 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree, Chops is not same was 20yrs ago. Neither is Main Dining, but never hurts to ask. Was Single Dad raising 3 and back in 90's when started taking my kids on Cruises. My oldest(11) she was adventurous one. Every nite, including Indian/Curry, Asian, Escargot, Caviar... Now she's a Mom, a Great Cook but half stuff she prepares too strong/rich for me...

We like our upscale restaurants and can say we were totally spoiled in the MDR.  Our head waiter told us that we had the assistant waiter to thank for that. Told us that he scoped out all the food every night and always picked the best off the line for us.  I believe it because we had prime rib at Chops and then had it again in the MDR.  The one picked for us in the MDR was twice as thick and a much better cut than the $300 dinner one at Chops (large group.) I was not impressed at Chops at all. 

 

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40 minutes ago, cured said:

We like our upscale restaurants and can say we were totally spoiled in the MDR.  Our head waiter told us that we had the assistant waiter to thank for that. Told us that he scoped out all the food every night and always picked the best off the line for us.  I believe it because we had prime rib at Chops and then had it again in the MDR.  The one picked for us in the MDR was twice as thick and a much better cut than the $300 dinner one at Chops (large group.) I was not impressed at Chops at all. 

 

"Well Done"....yes, who have as Waiter and even Head Waiter makes the difference. Was on same Brilliance Repo 4 yrs straight. Same Head Waiter would bring my Special meal out, even if was Reg menu item. Was always Hot and could tell Choice foods

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Late in one Anthem sailing hw (not ours) stopped by to chat during lunch.  When asked about mdr experience dw voiced disappointment that there had been no souffles all cruise.  HW went into kitchen and then returned to tell us that chef would personally make dw souffle's for dinner that night.  Sure enough, that evening chef came to table and presented dw with two chocolate souffles.  

 

My elderly mil who has diabetes used to sail with us.  Most sailings our waiter would come by after dinner and go over next evening's menu with her.  Waiter would explain how each dish is prepared and offer alternative techniques.  Being able to place her order a day ahead made things easier for everyone.

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I think some things may be requested and the wait staff will try to accommodate.  I do remember reading a couple of years ago where a woman was told by someone on a website that you could order anything you want and the kitchen will make it for you.

 

She asked for wiener schnitzel and was told they didn't make that and she went into a huge rant that she was told she could order whatever she wanted and that's what she wanted.  I believe she was escorted out of the dining room after her tirade.

 

So, keep in mind, you are free to ask, but you may not get what you request.  Enjoy!

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In the same vein (sort of), when we were on Enchantment OTS in February, I had a craving for fresh ginger root (I'm a ginger fanatic!) to put on my stir fry that I had gotten from the buffet.  I went back to the "line" where I had gotten the stir fry, and asked one of the cooks if I could get some fresh ginger.  He said he would bring it to me; 3 minutes later he came to where I was sitting, with a huge hunk of ginger root -- complete with peel.  I explained that I just wanted some sliced ginger to put on my stir fry; he nodded knowingly, and came back a few minutes later with a salad plate with about 2 inches of sliced ginger -- yum!!

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19 hours ago, Underwatr said:

Hi, everyone. We'll be cruising on Freedom of the Seas (first RCCL cruise although I have about 15 cruises on other lines). I've been watching YouTube videos to become more familiar with Freedom and with Royal Caribbean in general.

In one particular video the person mentions being able to make off-menu requests in the main dining room. He begins by saying "If you have any dietary restrictions don't hesitate to make them known..." but eventually he mentions that anyone can order anything within reason with some advance warning, for example he sometimes orders something like an Indian curry (with 24 hours notice) because he likes a good curry and they're happy to oblige.

Is this true? Does it require an extraordinary relationship with the head waiter?

 

Was this guy being over-optimistic?

Last time on Indy I asked the head waiter on the first night  for a few Indian dishes throughout the cruise.  On our 15 night TA I think at least 5 - 6 times he brought some thing out additional for me as the main course was being served.  Once or twice it was a very large order to be shared by the table.  happy cruising.

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On 9/22/2019 at 10:55 AM, mk-ultra said:

 

You'd hate my cocktail sauce.  It's 90% freshly-grated horseradish and a direct punch-in-the-face with it :-P.

 

Sounds like mine.  It is pink, but due to the amount of horseradish.

 

We used to be able to get it fresh grated in the Baltimore markets.  Literally, you would ask for a bottle, and they would grate it into the bottle, cap it and hand it to you.

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On 9/22/2019 at 10:55 AM, mk-ultra said:

 

You'd hate my cocktail sauce.  It's 90% freshly-grated horseradish and a direct punch-in-the-face with it :-P.

 

Sounds like mine.  It is pink, but due to the amount of horseradish.

 

We used to be able to get it fresh grated in the Baltimore markets.  Literally, you would ask for a bottle, and they would grate it into the bottle, cap it and hand it to you.

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On 9/21/2019 at 11:02 PM, barb in ga said:

We also asked for Savory Bites(small triangular poppy seed rolls) and had them for the rest of the cruise. You can order ice cream(one scoop or two) with berries, and my favorite chilled fruit soup--peach.

Barb

love the chilled soups and peach is my favorite too!

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Last two sailings FoS and HotS. 

 

On fish night (which menu just says baked etc fish).  I was able to ask for it to be breaded, deep fried with some fries on the side, was really good fish and chips. This was never shown on any menu, lunch or dining. 

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