New Policy, only one entree at a time?

[ldubs]

In some other thread some time ago, I suggested that the MDR should offer a sampler platter for those folks who wanted a taste of the different offerings.   This thread reminds me that might be a good option.   

[not-enough-cruising]

16 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

For the uncharge, I suppose it is wishful thinking that the second lobster would the cold water (Maine lobster) type.

Since the menu change, the MDR lobsters have been cold water tails

[rimmit]

4 hours ago, kruzerci said:

It’s incredible to me that people on social media will defend absolutely every cutback blindly no matter what it is. The blind loyalty people have to this company is perplexing. I used to love their product, but was also logical. 

This!

[garywatson]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Because instead of one partially consumed meal there would be two partially consumed meals.  

 

I wondered if the "waste" argument was the primary reason behind this change, suspecting instead it might be reducing cost.  Thinking about it, I suspect there is a tremendous amount of food going to waste.  If reducing waste is the driver, I wonder if this new policy might backfire because all of those second orders sitting in the serving cart might not even make it to the table.  Then, into the trash bin they go.   

 

I think a lot of people are trying to order two entrees because statistically one of them is going to be inedible, and they want at least one thing they can eat.

 

For myself, I usually book specialty dining for half the nights, and scavenge around WJ the other nights trying to find something I like.  I don't go to the MDR too often anymore - maybe three times across the four cruises I went on during CY2022.

[garywatson]

11 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Since the menu change, the MDR lobsters have been cold water tails

 

Last time I paid for the lobster upgrade, they brought me half of a whole lobster instead of the lobster tail I was expecting. Significantly below restaurant-quality but it was edible.

[jrapps]

2 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

If you want two entrees you order them both at the same time, but they only put one on the table at a time. The other stays on the server's cart until you finish the first. One trip to the kitchen. 

 

I thought the whole reason for doing this was to reduce waste, so if you were full then you don't need the 2nd entrée. If the waiter already has it on their cart, they aren't going to return it to kitchen and serve it to someone else...so it's the same amount of waste. At that point, just give them both to you at the same time.

 

For me, my issue with this is I frequently order multiple entrees because I like to try multiple things. I may only eat half of a chicken dish and then start on my steak entrée. We like to share things at the table too so my wife may share my chicken. But she easts slower than I do...so do I need to wait for my wife to finish her entrée, and THEN taste my chicken before they bring my steak? I may be done with the chicken, that doesn't mean the table is done with it.

 

Sometimes I taste both meals and whichever I like more is the one I eat first. Can't do that anymore I guess.

 

 

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

I will be on the Enchantment at the end of April. When we have dined in the MDR, we always just ordered straight from the menu. I am more concerned about the chef making the best meal from the available ingredients that he is supplied with than a huge selection of entrees. Hot food served hot and vice-a-versa. I do not mind smaller portions knowing that I can order more if necessary.

 

By about the third day, I do not need large portions. I get up early and have my Windjammer breakfast with fruit for dessert. Lunch rolls around and I hit the Park-Cafe or Windjammer. I taste small samples and maybe go back for one more serving of what I felt was best.  If I am hungry in the afternoon, the Park-Cafe is available.

 

By the time dinner comes around, I am ready to taste test again. I normally do not eat three full meals per day let alone add in-between meals or snacks. I actually like smaller portions later in the day.

 

My last cruise in September on the Oasis was very hit or miss in MDR. My wife and I did not have the motivation to go to the MDR just to get lobster after quite a few misses. I will not just go one night to the MDR and call it quits because of one dining experience unless it is a fiasco (served severely undercooked fish, served a steak that cannot be cut with a reasonable amount of force). I will let them know about it, but my vacation is too short to solve all of RCI's problems in one week.

 

I am trying to keep an open mind. I do not think the menu changes will affect me as much as poor food preparation and delivery. The staff can control those issues.

[Cherries Jubilee]

My biggest problem with this rule is that sometimes your first entree is not very good so you move on to your second option only to find that one is much worse. If you’ve already given back your first entree in order to receive the second one you are stuck with it.

 

And before anyone says you can head to the buffet if your MDR food isn’t good, the buffet food is not as fresh as MDR food and for that reason it doesn’t compare.

 

Also some of us have late dining which the cruise line is happy we chose because they simply can’t accommodate the number of people who prefer early dining. The buffet is often shutting down by the time you’ve been fully served at late dining.

 

 I’m willing to try it this way but I am going to have to be much more insistent about which item is brought to me first. Servers usually didn’t bring entrees in any order and I never bothered to tell them I wanted them in the other order because they were bringing both at about the same time.

 

[ldubs]

37 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Since the menu change, the MDR lobsters have been cold water tails

 

Excellent news!

[ldubs]

28 minutes ago, garywatson said:

 

I think a lot of people are trying to order two entrees because statistically one of them is going to be inedible, and they want at least one thing they can eat.

 

For myself, I usually book specialty dining for half the nights, and scavenge around WJ the other nights trying to find something I like.  I don't go to the MDR too often anymore - maybe three times across the four cruises I went on during CY2022.

 

While I might disagree that half the MDR menu is inedible, we also enjoy having dinner in WJ for a lot of reasons.  Casual, relaxed, take our time, sample different things, etc etc.  

 

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

1 hour ago, garywatson said:

I think a lot of people are trying to order two entrees because statistically one of them is going to be inedible, and they want at least one thing they can eat.

Really?  50% of the food is going to be "inedible"?  I've only been on 4 cruises, ate at MDR every night and have yet to have a single dish be "inedible".  What does that do for your "statistics"? 

[LB_NJ]

15 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

I know Royas has a new menu but I read that a passenger wanted to have 2 entrees as the main but the waiter told him that it will come out after they were done with the first. In other words , you now cant have a lobster with steak or ice cream with cake because each entree/ dessert will nt come together?

Please let me know this is not a new rule.

 

 

Another reason not to sail RCL.

[pittnh]

14 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Same exact situation for me on Oasis on second formal night.

 

forgot to mention I was also on Oasis

[marci22]

1 hour ago, garywatson said:

I think a lot of people are trying to order two entrees because statistically one of them is going to be inedible, and they want at least one thing they can eat.

I mean, I don't want to be harsh, but this is practical advice.

[HappyTexan44]

37 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Really?  50% of the food is going to be "inedible"?  I've only been on 4 cruises, ate at MDR every night and have yet to have a single dish be "inedible".  What does that do for your "statistics"? 

I'm not him, but I've been watching the new menu reviews.  "Inedible" is frequently used.  
Unless those 4 cruises were with the new menus, that data isn't useful.  

[marci22]

42 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Really?  50% of the food is going to be "inedible"?  I've only been on 4 cruises, ate at MDR every night and have yet to have a single dish be "inedible".  What does that do for your "statistics"? 

Maybe not really 'inedible', but I wouldn't want to eat it, if avoidable.

[c-leg5]

4 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

There is no free lunch.   Dinner was just pre-paid with the cruise fare.  

This would be particularly annoying because of the "No substitutions" rule.   So, if you can't eat the side that comes with the main part of the entrée you'd like, you are forced to waste that side and also order something else.  
 

The quote was in response to your land based restaurant where I would certainly expect them to bring you a second entre because presumably you were paying per item not all inclusive? There they would profit from each item presumably.

 

I think I have been on enough cruises to know how meals are ordered and paid for on board.
 

Most “ sides” are not big enough or significant enough to be of great concern to me and certainly not worth ordering another entree for. Shortage of vegetables, without ordering an extra plate of vegetables, in MDR has always surprised me (for years) and would seem to be an obvious way to bulk out a plate while decreasing more expensive protein.
 

There are enough food options on board to find an alternative source at another time and subsequently express my feelings in the survey (for what that’s worth).

[S.A.M.J.R.]

13 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I'm not him, but I've been watching the new menu reviews.  "Inedible" is frequently used.  
Unless those 4 cruises were with the new menus, that data isn't useful.  

I've been on CC long enough to know what some people qualify as "inedible" varies greatly. 

 

I mean, along with all of these other changes, why would you continue to sail with Royal if HALF of the meals presented to you can't be eaten?  

 

I've read post after post about people complaining about poor meals, poor service, poor everything, I have yet to read a single post that's "I'm no longer sailing Royal!"  So either people just have to complain about something, or it's not as bad as some people let on. 

[karebare22]

Just came off Harmony recently, our first experience with the new menus and change in the dining experience (1 entree at time). In the past,  my husband has always enjoyed having the “surf and turf” on the second formal night, however he would just ask for the lobster tail only, to be added to his beef tenderloin (now strip steak) plate. My daughters and I don’t eat lobster. We are pretty easygoing, but enjoy dressing up and having a nicer family dinner experience in the MDR vs windjammer. A few notes about our dining experience:

 

a) Entree portions were smaller. Previously, I could never finish everything on my plate, so hubby would help me out with that. We don’t like to waste food, and this allowed him to have a taste of whatever dish I was having, and order something else for himself. With the smaller portions, I was actually able to finish my meal most nights, and hubby ordered more appetizers vs a second entree.

b) Prime rib and beef tenderloin- this was the first time we were told that the only 2 options were medium rare or medium well. This wasn’t a big issue (although I normally ask for Medium 🙄).

 

c) We verified with our waiter that my husband could not have the lobster with his steak. She mentioned that the managers were carefully watching, and that if they saw 2 entrees in front of someone, that they would be in trouble. We felt bad for her. 
 

d) Substitutions are fine - as long as it is something on the menu. For example my husband was able to have mashed potatoes vs a baked potato with the steak.

 

e) It’s only the appetizer and entree that are served 1 at a time. The desserts were all served at the same time if multiple were ordered. 

 

f) My biggest pet peeve (this isn’t related to the new menus) - coffee and tea service with dessert! I thought maybe this was a my time dining vs main dining issue, but having done many cruises this past year, that doesn’t seem to matter. Crew either not trained about this or the assistant waiters are given too many tables to handle. If you want coffee or tea with dessert, be sure to mention it when you place your order.

 

g) As a cruising guest, the menu changes haven’t made my dining experience any better, or much worse. I did enjoy having some new menu options to choose from, but missed having the everyday available classics - for the first time I actually ordered an entree from the kids menu since nothing else appealed to me! No real complaints about the taste/quality of food. Note that it will vary from ship to ship, day to day, etc. On our B2B, hubby said the lobster on week 1 was so-so, but excellent texture/taste for week 2. No difference in the food temperature or length of the dining service, although Royal has highlighted these as improvements to the guest dining experience with the menu change.

[Engineroom Snipe]

28 minutes ago, karebare22 said:

Just came off Harmony recently, our first experience with the new menus and change in the dining experience (1 entree at time). In the past,  my husband has always enjoyed having the “surf and turf” on the second formal night, however he would just ask for the lobster tail only, to be added to his beef tenderloin (now strip steak) plate. My daughters and I don’t eat lobster. We are pretty easygoing, but enjoy dressing up and having a nicer family dinner experience in the MDR vs windjammer. A few notes about our dining experience:

 

a) Entree portions were smaller. Previously, I could never finish everything on my plate, so hubby would help me out with that. We don’t like to waste food, and this allowed him to have a taste of whatever dish I was having, and order something else for himself. With the smaller portions, I was actually able to finish my meal most nights, and hubby ordered more appetizers vs a second entree.

b) Prime rib and beef tenderloin- this was the first time we were told that the only 2 options were medium rare or medium well. This wasn’t a big issue (although I normally ask for Medium 🙄).

 

c) We verified with our waiter that my husband could not have the lobster with his steak. She mentioned that the managers were carefully watching, and that if they saw 2 entrees in front of someone, that they would be in trouble. We felt bad for her. 
 

d) Substitutions are fine - as long as it is something on the menu. For example my husband was able to have mashed potatoes vs a baked potato with the steak.

 

e) It’s only the appetizer and entree that are served 1 at a time. The desserts were all served at the same time if multiple were ordered. 

 

f) My biggest pet peeve (this isn’t related to the new menus) - coffee and tea service with dessert! I thought maybe this was a my time dining vs main dining issue, but having done many cruises this past year, that doesn’t seem to matter. Crew either not trained about this or the assistant waiters are given too many tables to handle. If you want coffee or tea with dessert, be sure to mention it when you place your order.

 

g) As a cruising guest, the menu changes haven’t made my dining experience any better, or much worse. I did enjoy having some new menu options to choose from, but missed having the everyday available classics - for the first time I actually ordered an entree from the kids menu since nothing else appealed to me! No real complaints about the taste/quality of food. Note that it will vary from ship to ship, day to day, etc. On our B2B, hubby said the lobster on week 1 was so-so, but excellent texture/taste for week 2. No difference in the food temperature or length of the dining service, although Royal has highlighted these as improvements to the guest dining experience with the menu change.

 

Extremely well balanced and nuanced review. I would like to have on occasion two appetizers served at once, like yourself, not going to ruin my meal if it does not happen but I will just have to take a little more time. We just want a reasonable dish, served properly.

 

Your review was encouraging that the overall experience was positive.

 

That said, things have changed. Only time will tell whether for the better or worse.

[George C]

I never asked for two entrees in my approximately 75 cruises, may have two appetizers or deserts . 

[steveru621]

13 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

How many land restaurants will refuse to serve you 2 entrees that you ordered - treating you like a 5 year old?

 

Assuming you paid for two entrees?

 

This is what you are going to berate a crew member for?

[DerekB]

Where I live (Netherlands) there are several "all you can eat" restaurants, where you can order up to 3 items at a time. You can order as many rounds of 3 as you want within a set period (usually 2 or 3 hours). The only catch is that you must pay 3 Euro for any item not consumed. Would that be a way to allow people to order as many entrees up front as they want, while being charged for any they don't consume? 

Edited March 14, 2023 by DerekB
English

[cruiseboy89130]

1 hour ago, steveru621 said:

This is what you are going to berate a crew member for?

Absolutely! I will give them problems if they impose that rule on me! I want all apps and mains and desserts served together!

Edited March 14, 2023 by cruiseboy89130

[c-leg5]

7 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We pay 💰for our cruises, which includes food. it most definitely isn’t free. 

Obviously,  but that wasn’t what the poster I quoted was talking about at the time. It helps when you compare apples to apples. There is nothing like bringing extraneous arguments into a debate to muddy the waters. 
 

A few more first-hand reports like post #69 would be helpful and less speculation which is the basis of most of this thread.