Even if You are Not Very Hungry?

[sail7seas]

Do you order something from each course on the menu at dinner even if you aren't particularly hungry that night? Just to take a little taste? A chance to sample new foods?

[caribbean girl]

No...I never eat if I'm not hungry. It seems a waste to order food nobody is going to finish.

[mountainmare]

sail--funny timing on the question.

We just booked our first Celebrity cruise to the Med and over on their board someone asked the question about ordering two appetizers in the $30pp specialty rest. Apparently you can't and you can order an appetizer OR soup OR salad plus entree and dessert. So I've had my hand slapped over there a bit.

 

I order what I want to eat. Sometimes if there are two of my very best favorite in the world soups I'll order one as an appetizer and one as a soup. If I'm not too hungry sometimes I order an appetizer for dinner. On every cruise we've been on (usually 10day or longer) my waiters have figured out everyones tastes, allergies and quirks and can make good suggestions. Frequently there will just be a medley of desserts that we all share.

I agree that I don't feel tied to every course and I do fine that by eating wise choices throughout an extended meal I can actually lose weight on a cruise. Did you ever notice that when you go out to eat after a cruise that the land portions seem HUGE?

[jhannah]

Not always. Maybe half and half. If I'm not real hungry I will generally leave out either the appetizer or salad. Of course, that's easier said than done! ;)

[Marbella]

No...I never eat if I'm not hungry. It seems a waste to order food nobody is going to finish.

 

 

I second that thought!!

[kakalina]

Why would anyone want to do this? If you eat when you are not hungry it would seem a poor way of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I do not maintain a healthy lifestyle so of course I have read all about what one should be :D

[fridayeyes]

I very frequently skip a course at dinner. It's just too much to eat otherwise. :) By the 3rd day of the cruise, I am sometimes skipping whole meals. It's going to be interesting this time, though. My doc wants me to eat 5-6 mini meals a day, about 300 cals each. Literally, that is half a sandwich, half an apple and two strawberries. It's easy and enjoyable here at home, but I'm afraid it will look very gauche in the dining room. I'll have to eat half a meal, which I doubt anyone will care about, but then I'll have to have the rest boxed up for me, which is just going to look piggish since there's so much food around. I suppose I could eat half of my dining room lunch, let them clear the other half away and have my '2nd lunch' in the Lido, but I can't abide the thought of being purposefully wasteful.

[purplenorway]

I always thought that ordering from each course seemed the polite thing to do. It can be awkward not eating anything while everyone else is and tablemates are never sure when they should begin to eat or wait for you to be served. However, when we had an officer at our table, and were sure we must order all the courses to be polite, he did not.

[HeatherInFlorida]

No I don't. I often skip the soup, but rarely the appetizer;) . And I rarely finish my salad.

 

But if I waited to be hungry to eat, I would probably not eat but every other day. No matter how little I eat in a given day, I have never known hunger. Iknow what cravings feel like, but not hunger.

 

Somehow, I've never skipped dessert. I'll leave some of my entree before I'll forego dessert:D !

[SF49erfan]

If I'm not hungry or items don't appeal to me, I'll skip a course. Often I will order the entre and just have tea for dessert. (I lost a ton of weight last year and have managed to keep it off through three cruises this year just by doing that!!!:) )

[fridayeyes]

*SQUeeeeeaalL* Your otter av is absolutely adorable. :)

[BJane]

I can't ever recall a cruise where it didn't take our waiters a couple of dinners to realize that I have almost no appetite and can get along just fine on small amounts of food. They were always asking if I was sure that was all I wanted. The portions served these days seem to be smaller than when I first began cruising, but I still never finish my entree.

[Nancyquilts]

Since there are generally appetizers, soups and salads, we usually order our two favorites from that selection, eat the entree, and have room for dessert. (Maybe if I had tea for dessert, I would lose weight, but I haven't seen "chocolate" tea listed.) Nancy

[sail7seas]

I never order all courses. Simply is too much food for me.

 

We had a wonderful dining steward on Ryndam in April. He realized our first/second night that I might only order an entree, vegetable and coffee. He would take my order, then DH's and woudl then turn back to me to verify all I wanted was an entree. He was politely confirming I was aware that was all I had asked for. GREAT waiter in all ways IMO This was a nice way of him giving me the opportunity to order more if I had neglected to ask for everything that I wanted.

 

If we dine at an officer's (Captain's) Table, the menu is fixed and one only orders between a choice for entree. Everyone has the same soup, salad, appetizer.....That is too much food for me but there is no need to make any comment. I simply taste/eat what I wish and leave the rest. It has never been any issue at all.

[Slinkiecat]

It seems that on a ship, it's much like a land restaurant in that a full meal is designed for a large man. If I ate all of it at every meal I would soon be the size of a large man, and I prefer being a small woman. I eat lightly, never take dessert, and stop eating when I've eaten my vegetables, even if the meat or fish is not finished.

 

Here on land, the portions are almost double what they are on the ship, but that's without appetizers, soup and dessert.

 

Slinkie

[CCCM]

I usually eat less in the heat and humidity and drink more. I have ordered two appetizers and an entree. If I can't finish entree DH does. I would hate to waste. But if it is something I love, like brie, then I have to get it. Dessert depends on what there is to choose from. Tea is a great way to end the meal.

 

Wonder what I would do on a cruise where the weather was cool??? Guess I will have to find out next year. :)

[cruisinjudy]

I frequently skip courses and just let my tablemates know when the course is delivered that they may eat without me. Sometimes I only order vegetables for an entre. Somehow I never manage to skip dessert. It does tend to worry the waiter that I am not eating much, until he realizes that I never skip dessert.

[twinkletoes4445]

Do you order something from each course on the menu at dinner even if you aren't particularly hungry that night? Just to take a little taste? A chance to sample new foods?

 

No, I don't. Well, sometimes hubby and I will order something to share, knowing we may not like it. But for the most part, I look at the menu and only order what I know I will eat. If I think I am going to have two desserts...and I've only done this once, I skip the salad and/or appetizer. I hate to waste food.

[rkacruiser]

For me, it depends upon the items on the menu that day and how hungry I am. I almost always will have an appetizer and soup or two appetizers and no soup and am more likely than not to skip the salad. Unless Lobster is on the menu, I will only order one entree and dessert, of course.

 

I love good bread and have to be careful not to fill up too quickly on bread. (I am particularly fond of the breadsticks I have been served on Princess' and Sitmar's vessels.)

[obriendan]

With my weight problem, I try not to order all the courses! On occasion I will ask for a small portion of something particularly appealing just to taste in addition to my dinner. Why is it they never seem to give you just a small portion?

[Scrumpy]

I don't eat when I'm not hungry (unless I'm ill). We both skip courses, but I skip more of them. Sometimes I'm not very hungry and sometimes I don't find the offerings appealing. I remember too many holiday dinners where everyone was stuffed and miserable to do that to myself on purpose!

[LHC]

Not but I have done all appetizers multiple shrimp cocktail, or all lobster tails, or appy and dessert! why not veggies only...

Linda

[kryos]

Do you order something from each course on the menu at dinner even if you aren't particularly hungry that night? Just to take a little taste? A chance to sample new foods?

Nope! I only eat when I am hungry ... whether onboard ship or at home.

 

I generally lose weight during a cruise ... especially if I'm running around in a lot of ports. I think on my 30-day cruise, I only gained like four pounds ... and that was with a lot of sea days of lounging around.

 

I lost that four pounds within two weeks after arriving home.

 

I used to be downright obese when I was young. Then one day it dawned on me. Just because it is meal time doesn't mean you have to eat. Just eat when you are hungry. The weight dropped. While I am not what you would call skinny, today I maintain a very manageable weight level ... and with little or no effort on my part.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[caribbean girl]

I believe the reason why the portions seem smaller on HAL than on land, is that it is the European style of dining...lots of courses, but not tons of food in each, which is actually pretty wise.

 

Re: dessert...I must have been crazy but, on one 11 day, I had jello for dessert almost every night, to justify the rest of it all.:rolleyes: Fortunately, it worked. I don't believe I have ever gained a substantial amount of weight on any trip. A reasonable activity level helps (and thank goodness for the gym!!) I choose healthy things at every meal. It's soooo easy to justify overdoing it...after all, it's sitting there, staring at you.:eek: It makes me wonder how the wait staff interprets all the overindulgence, since they seem to lead such a Spartan lifestyle, due to their jobs and perhaps their culture.

[NorthernNeighbour]

On occassion, if I am not particularly hungry and find two starters on the menu, I asked the waiter to serve me one starter as a starter and the other starter as the main course.

 

Me wife and I (when dining on an Italian menu) will share a pasta.

 

We often skip dessert on land, so at sea we sometimes share a dessert. Also, I try to order the sugar-free ice cream (for dessert) if available, not because I am diabetic but because it is less calories (but still by no means low in calories).

 

I am not in favour of eating when not hungry or wasting food -- but on a cruise there is also the social aspect. Therefore, we try at least to order something small (if not too hungry) for each course so others do not feel uncomfortable.

 

If we are truly not hungry, we just skip dinner altogether -- or perhaps order room service and get out a good book to read.