Menu tip for frist time cruisers

[MEOWSMURPHY]

That can be difficult, but 16 is not too young to begin eating like an adult. They can't take that behavior into adulthood. ;)

 

Thanks for all who gave suggestions... I dont intend to tell them there is a kids menu...I agree that they should at least TRY something before they turn their noses up...I just wanted an alternative in my back pocket besides the pizza which IS the best in the cruise industry...

 

G'ma Emmy

[linda_22003]

Thanks for all who gave suggestions... I dont intend to tell them there is a kids menu...I agree that they should at least TRY something before they turn their noses up...

 

Very good. When I was young, there was a "no-thank-you-helping" rule at dinner. I could have just a small spoonful of it, but I had to try it. Since that was done when I was six or seven, it wasn't needed by the time I was sixteen. :)

[Drew B]

I don't think anyone is going to quite that extreme. All I'm saying is if they feel the request is out of line, they will say "no, it's not possible". And you mean to tell me you or your significant other have never slipped someone a couple of bucks to go above and beyond? If not, you've been missing out on some stuff! Don't do that! Life is too short and you never know what you may get in return. While our requests have never been extreme, we have gotten some extra special attention or the "just right" table a time or two because of those few extra bucks. And, when it all boils down, it is in fact YOUR vacation and your money. Within reason, I don't think it is ever out of line to ask someone to do the unexpected and you just never know, they may actually say YES!;)

 

In general, the wait staff is trained and motivated NOT to say "no", even if they might wish to. That may be okay for some types of requests, but others impose too much of a burden on them. And perhaps this never occurred to you, but while the waiter or assistant waiter is going out of his/her way to accommodate special requests for one guest, the service all of his other tables receive is likely to suffer. Is that fair to THEM?

 

On my last cruise, I asked the waiter for crushed red pepper flakes for my pasta. I thought it was a fairly standard request. They didn't know what I was talking about, so I tried to explain it, and I mentioned that they had them up at the pizza station. The assistant waiter immediately offered to go get some. I begged him not to, saying it was way too much trouble. He seemed to acquiesce. For the next twenty minutes, I didn't see him (and during that time, nobody at any of his tables were given drinks or bread or anything like that). Finally, he returned with something (whole peppers in fact), even though I had asked him not to go. The beaming waiter told me that he had ordered his assistant to get it because they didn't want me to be disappointed. I was mortified, and had to eat whole peppers so that they wouldn't feel bad...

[Kurbanfan]

Wasn't trying to start trouble. I thought that I read on the Carnival site that it was possible to order from any menu. Not trying to be rediculous (sp?) Just sometimes I like to have a hamburger instead of chicken or pasta? I do agree with the person that said WE are paying for the vacation. (of course they would be tipped) And that IS their job?. Not trying to sound like an (**)$%&)#)($ or anything.

 

 

 

:)

 

Don't worry.......some people simply live for the drama:rolleyes: They do have an alternative menu at dinner which I believe you can order a hamburger....

I know I ordered french fries from it:).........

You will surely find something you will like.......

[dan40]

Wasn't trying to start trouble. I thought that I read on the Carnival site that it was possible to order from any menu. Not trying to be rediculous (sp?) Just sometimes I like to have a hamburger instead of chicken or pasta? I do agree with the person that said WE are paying for the vacation. (of course they would be tipped) And that IS their job?. Not trying to sound like an (**)$%&)#)($ or anything.

 

 

 

:)

 

EACH day, posted on the wall outside the dining room is the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus for that day. Read the dinner menu, if you cannot find anything to your liking, go to the buffet [better burgers] altho you could get a burger from the child's menu in the dining room. If you want pizza from the Lido, GO there. Asking the waiter to serve you from the Lido deck is going way overboard.

It might be because we dine out once or twice a week but we NEVER eat every dinner in the dining room. 4 of 7 would be normal with a buffet, a supper club and a dinner ashore rounding out the cruise.

Also, if it pleased you, you could order an entrée for an appetizer, an entrée for the entrée, AND another entrée for dessert. Or all appetizers for dinner, HOWEVER you want. But running your waitstaff [AND MINE!!!] all over the ship just hain't right.

 

Dan

[Wolfie48]

Wasn't trying to start trouble. I thought that I read on the Carnival site that it was possible to order from any menu. Not trying to be rediculous (sp?) Just sometimes I like to have a hamburger instead of chicken or pasta? I do agree with the person that said WE are paying for the vacation. (of course they would be tipped) And that IS their job?. Not trying to sound like an (**)$%&)#)($ or anything.

 

 

 

:)

 

It's good to keep in mind there are 2,600 other pax and if everyone asked for something special no one would ever get served. Each of the head servers have to wait on several tables. If they have to run around getting things which aren't on the menu someone's service will suffer. JMO

[dobiemom]

I like that adults can order from the kid's menu (and kids can order from the "adult" menu!) ;)

[Donnask8pro]

My hubby orders banana split from the kids meal after dinner every night instead of one of the "adult" desserts.

[sam1148]

My SO wanted to stay in the cabin..wasn't up to getting cleaned up for dinner. I went up the dining room and ordered a few things...ask them to get the plate covers..brought a tray/silver ware from the lido desk. Do it yourself room service, no problem. I'll be doing this again for hot breakfast as I don't care for the cold stuff from room service.

[Carol51]

Two ideas for newbies:

 

If you like the dining room and your spouse could care less about food, this is one vacation where you can go to breakfast and/or lunch in the dining room while your spouse skips the meal entirely or grabs something at the buffet. (DH is happy with one meal a day, food is an important part of the cruise for me.)

 

Waiter can often give exellent suggestions, especially if you are undecided between two entrees. I've had them (gently) steer me away when the prime rib was tough or some other meal wasn't really good quality. They see what is coming out of the kitchen, they know if some meal is not as good as usual - and quality of ingredients can vary. If the waiter is willing to give advice, I've always found it excellent.

[smileeys]

Most of the tips I am reading do not sound like they would be a hardship for the waiter. I am going on my second cruise MONDAY and it helped us alot to read tips I found before our cruise. My husband who really does not seem to be much into food at home really surprised me when he ordered another entree' one night. I had told him we could but really didn't expect it. I really liked the small potatoes they had and every night without our asking the waiter brought potatoes for us. The first night I ordered tea and my DH and DD ordered lemonade - they brought that to us every night without our asking.

 

We also had an experience requesting something that I thought was routine. I think it was a kind of steak sauce that is common in America but our waiters had not heard of it but they finally brought something they thought was it (can't remeber all the details) and seemed to be so proud of themselves - of course we ate it:-)

 

One tip for newbies is during breakfast and lunch, you are seated with other people at different times. As much as I read before our cruise, I had not read this. An example of what I mean is that the three of us went to lunch and were seated on one side of a booth. We ordered and then another lady was seated across from us. Later, another couple was seated. We got our food before the others - it was awkward for us because we have been taught that you don't eat in front of others. For some reason, theirs took a long time, and they kept talking about how long it was taking and how hungry they were while we chomped away.:)

[balcony bound]

We like eating breakfast in the dining room (love the eggs benedict). I learned early on... the hash browns are wonderful but small... order extra!

[francesro]

Once I fast baked boxed (store bought) chocolate brownie mix and left the center still soft.

Sure tastes like the chocolate melting cake onboard.

[o2banotter]

The Ecstasy had chocolate melting cake as of 2/15-20... I'm guessing it hadn't been discontinued at that point (it's fabulous, BTW)

and eating onions gives me tourettes. If I taste onion on a hamburger or in potato salad or in tuna salad, I start cussing a blue streak:D

[hill6]

My tips are a few:

 

1. Don't be afraid to order more than one thing. I have ordered 4 appetizers and no main meal.

 

2. If you don't like something don't be afraid to ask for something else.

 

3. You can get two ice creams to go with the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (WCMC).

 

4. Don't be embarrased to order the WCMC every night. You can't get it at home.

 

5. Lunch is the dining room can be fun. It is usually not crowded.

 

6. You can check out the day's menus in the morning so you can have your mouth water about what dinner will be all day long.

 

7. Almost every cruise I have been on the waitstaff is very friendly and will enjoy talking to you.

[serene56]

6. You can check out the day's menus in the morning so you can have your mouth water about what dinner will be all day long..

 

if your ship has funvision you can check the lunch AND dinner menu on the tv

[dan40]

if your ship has funvision you can check the lunch AND dinner menu on the tv

 

 

I've found that the TV guy and the chef don't seem to communicate well. Lots of wrong menus on the tube.