Asking for extra appetizer and entries at mdr

[snoopycr]

Is it OK to ask for extra appetizers or entrees during mdr on a royal Caribbean cruise? 

 

Will they charge you more? 

[Essiesmom]

You can ask for everything on the menu of you want, on any cruise line, as long as there is not a notation that an item incurs an extra charge.  Of course, you can opt for that item and pay the charge.  If you find an appetizer you particularly liked, you can ask for seconds, or even order it for dessert.  EM

[sparks1093]

You can also get a plate of something to share with your dinner companion. This is one of the reasons that I like cruising, I can try new things without having to worry about paying for something that I do not like. 

[psppcojeff]

Absolutely acceptable and I’d encourage you to try numerous things. There are some who, in my opinion, go overboard by ordering damn near everything from the menu… but that’s not my business.  
 

I always order a couple of extra things. 

[Joebucks]

First formal night on longer cruise is always both lobster and prime rib for me. Great meal.

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, psppcojeff said:

Absolutely acceptable and I’d encourage you to try numerous things. There are some who, in my opinion, go overboard by ordering damn near everything from the menu… but that’s not my business.  
 

I always order a couple of extra things. 

On our first cruise with our teenage sons, on the first night the middle one couldn't decide between two entrées so the waiter just said; "Why not order both?" That blew his mind! 🤯 Every night for the rest of the cruise it was appetizers from the buffet, then an hour later, double appetizers and double entrees in the MDR.  I've never seen a human being eat so much in a seven day period! 

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[snoopycr]

14 hours ago, snoopycr said:

Is it OK to ask for extra appetizers or entrees during mdr on a royal Caribbean cruise? 

 

Will they charge you more? 

Thank you for all your responses. How about at a specialty restaurant, like chops or Park 150.

 

Can you ask for extra appetizers or main course? 

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, snoopycr said:

Is it OK to ask for extra appetizers or entrees during mdr on a royal Caribbean cruise? 

 

Will they charge you more? 

I was on a cruise and sitting with strangers.One couple asked for extra everything every night .On the 14th and last night of the cruise everyone was discussing tipping.The couple who had three portions of everything for 14 nights stated that they never tip extra to the wait staff.

[cruisemom42]

40 minutes ago, snoopycr said:

Thank you for all your responses. How about at a specialty restaurant, like chops or Park 150.

 

Can you ask for extra appetizers or main course? 

 

I'm not sure if it is standard across all cruise lines or specialty restaurants, but in the several I've dined in, you can usually order a second appetizer but not a second entree.

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

First formal night on longer cruise is always both lobster and prime rib for me. Great meal.

We have found lobster only on the 2nd formal night on RCI...but that may vary according to your experience. We like to order a side of just the lobster tail with our meat option and they always bring the whole dinner...what a waste.

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, snoopycr said:

Thank you for all your responses. How about at a specialty restaurant, like chops or Park 150.

 

Can you ask for extra appetizers or main course? 

Additional appetizers is fine, but not main courses.  That would be the case with any of the specialty restaurants, with the exception of Izumi's and Hibachi's.  Most of the menu at Izumi's is a la carte so that would cover anything requested.  They do also offer a few dinner combination selections at a fixed price, so additional separate entrées would not be included.  Hibachi's is also a fixed selection menu with planned courses, so extra's would not be provided.

Edited March 26, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, psppcojeff said:

There are some who, in my opinion, go overboard by ordering damn near everything from the menu… but that’s not my business.  

 

Once had a tablemate who ordered multiple appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  She would take 2-3 bites of each and let the rest go to waste.  In a sense, such behavior is my business because it slows down the service for the entire table and our dinners took longer than they otherwise would.

 

4 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I've never seen a human being eat so much in a seven day period! 

 

In the '50's and '60's when smorgasbords were popular in some restaurants, the owner of the restaurant probably groaned when they saw my Brother and me walk in with our parents.  The restaurant probably lost money on us.  But, we didn't waste food.  We ate all that we put on our plates.  

 

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

We like to order a side of just the lobster tail with our meat option and they always bring the whole dinner...what a waste.

 

Such service irritates me, too.  I don't like to see food wasted!

 

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

specialty restaurants, but in the several I've dined in, you can usually order a second appetizer but not a second entree.

 

That is my experience as well.  Appetizer, a soup, a salad, an entree, and dessert seems acceptable if one wants to order that many courses.  

[slidergirl]

From rkcruiser:

"Once had a tablemate who ordered multiple appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  She would take 2-3 bites of each and let the rest go to waste.  In a sense, such behavior is my business because it slows down the service for the entire table and our dinners took longer than they otherwise would."

 

That bothers me to no end everywhere, the MDRs and any buffet.   

I have an issue with folks who pile up the food like it's their last Death Row meal and then leave 3/4 of it on the plate when they leave.  

 

In the MDR, if you want to ask for an extra appy or a taste of another entree, go ahead.  

Edited March 26, 2022 by slidergirl

[donaldsc]

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Once had a tablemate who ordered multiple appetizers, entrees, and desserts.  She would take 2-3 bites of each and let the rest go to waste.  In a sense, such behavior is my business because it slows down the service for the entire table and our dinners took longer than they otherwise would.

 

 

In the '50's and '60's when smorgasbords were popular in some restaurants, the owner of the restaurant probably groaned when they saw my Brother and me walk in with our parents.  The restaurant probably lost money on us.  But, we didn't waste food.  We ate all that we put on our plates.  

 

 

Such service irritates me, too.  I don't like to see food wasted!

 

 

That is my experience as well.  Appetizer, a soup, a salad, an entree, and dessert seems acceptable if one wants to order that many courses.  

 

Re the multiple orderers, I would tell the wait staff that I need to get somewhere at a specific time so please serve me promptly w/o letting the person who orders everything hold me up.  We have done that on occasion when we wanted to be sure that we got seats at a show or at another on board event.   The waitstaff will do their best to accommodate you.  I guess that if everyone at the table did that, that would leave the multiple orderers alone at the table at the end of the meal.

 

DON

[brillohead]

In the MDR, other than the for-cost items listed at the bottom of the menu, you can have anything and everything listed, and even some things that aren't listed.  

Now that I cruise several weeks in a row at a time, the menu gets a bit boring, so I switch it up based on my mood each night. 

If you want a baked potato but your entree is listed as coming with fries, just ask for a baked potato instead of the fries. 

If my entree comes with roasted root vegetables but I want broccoli, I ask for it. 

If I want extra broccoli or extra asparagus (because they only give you two pieces of each), I ask for it. 

If I want the fried scallops that come on the seafood platter, but I want a different entree, I ask for just the scallops to be added to my entree plate.

If I want just some strawberries and kiwi instead of all the melon that comes on the fruit plate, I just ask for strawberries and kiwi.  

You can also ask for items from the vegan menu or the kiddie menu, or ask if they have an Indian curry dish to offer. 

This way the foods that I won't eat / don't want don't go to waste, because they stay back in the kitchen and don't come out to the table.   And I get a more enjoyable menu from over a month at sea. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by brillohead

[vacationlover_mn]

On a related note, you can also just order apps, and have some come when the other main courses come out 🙂. Since they haven’t switched up their menu in a while, and I don’t have a huge appetite, I often will just get my favorite apps, and spread them out over the entire meal 🙂. I’m sure that if they refresh their menu, I’ll go back to trying the entrees 🙂. That reminds me- I really need to start asking if I can try the Indian food that isn’t on the menu- I’ve heard it’s very good!!!

[EdandMary]

extra's are never a problem, BUT, understand that normally each course is sequentially served, so if you wish extra's you can ask for all of them to be served at the same time so you or your table mates don't have to wait while you slowly eat 14 appetizers for them to receive their maid course or disserts.

[CatLadyFemme]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

In the MDR, other than the for-cost items listed at the bottom of the menu, you can have anything and everything listed, and even some things that aren't listed.

You can also usually ask for cold soups, which were on the old menu but aren’t anymore. I love those and the Indian meals so much!

[MississippiMom]

We have ordered a double portion of an appetizer as our entree, especially for the kids.  Multiple desserts to try is always a must.  And don’t forget that adults can also order off the kids menu.  Sometimes, I’d just like a cookie at the end of my meal.

[ditmar2007]

On 3/26/2022 at 4:42 PM, lenquixote66 said:

I was on a cruise and sitting with strangers.One couple asked for extra everything every night .On the 14th and last night of the cruise everyone was discussing tipping.The couple who had three portions of everything for 14 nights stated that they never tip extra to the wait staff.

I may be able to accept that, but ordering a lot of food just because you paid for it AND NOT EAT IT!!! That is - IMNSHO - so much waste of resources. WW2 makes waves in Europe several generations after the event.

If you are hungry enough to eat it - go for it. 

 

[RoperDK]

Can you order the pasta entree as an appetizer portion?  I like to do that on other cruise lines.

[flamingos]

23 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

The restaurant probably lost money on us.  But, we didn't waste food.  We ate all that we put on our plates.  

I miss those days.  Sadly, I simply cannot consume mass quantities anymore. It was glorious while it lasted.  🙂

[smplybcause]

25 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Can you order the pasta entree as an appetizer portion?  I like to do that on other cruise lines.

 

You can. 50/50 on whether it's actually a smaller portion lol 

[smplybcause]

3 hours ago, EdandMary said:

extra's are never a problem, BUT, understand that normally each course is sequentially served, so if you wish extra's you can ask for all of them to be served at the same time so you or your table mates don't have to wait while you slowly eat 14 appetizers for them to receive their maid course or disserts.

 

Since the restart across several lines they pretty much put all the dishes you asked for on the table at about the same time. Now if you ordered 5 they can't fit them, but my last royal cruise they'd always put the second item ordered on the table once everyone got their first one. 

[sandy toes]

1 hour ago, RoperDK said:

Can you order the pasta entree as an appetizer portion?  I like to do that on other cruise lines.

I have done this, with a salad, and a scoop of ice cream, as my meal.