Half Portions in MDR

[dallasdan]

I was on the Miracle a couple of weeks ago and I tried to order a half portion of the entrée and our waiter looked at me like I was crazy.  He told me they didn't do half orders.  So I every night I only ordered the entrée, no appetizer or desert.  The waiter brought me an extra lobster on elegant night.  I guess he thought I was crazy for only ordering 1.  Has anyone had success in ordering half portions? 

[Earthworm Jim]

Well, you could have only eaten half of your full portion, and still had room for an appetizer/dessert.

 

Since all the plates are prepared in advance, they probably think it isn't worth the trouble and time to prepare a special half portion. They'd rather serve you a full portion and just throw half of it out when you're done.

[EngIceDave]

It's all pre-portioned line work

 

They don't even have a photo of half plates to match it to.

 

 

[n6uqqq]

The portions are pretty small now. Off the Radiance last week and the fried chicken, which used to be two decent pieces of chicken, was tiny now and tasted like frozen Banquet chicken. I used to like their fried chicken dinner, but not so much now. 

[pe4all]

I ask for an appetizer portion of some of the entrees such as the carbonara, and have never been told no.

[dallasdan]

When they announced that they are starting to charge for the 3rd Entrée it was stated that you could order half portions.  I had gastric sleeve 8 years ago and can only eat a small amount of food.  For example, I can eat a Guys burger without the bun and a few fries.  I will be really full afterword.  I was really looking forward to half portions.

[pjhootch]

13 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

When they announced that they are starting to charge for the 3rd Entrée it was stated that you could order half portions.  I had gastric sleeve 8 years ago and can only eat a small amount of food.  For example, I can eat a Guys burger without the bun and a few fries.  I will be really full afterword.  I was really looking forward to half portions.

 

It sure was.  I remember that too.  But I got the “we don’t do that” response when I requested a half portion of carbonara on the Celebration in January.  I don’t like wasting food, but sometimes it is just too much!

[mz-s]

That is curious. They even have a slide showing on the jumbotron saying that you can order half portions or appetizer sized portions, and to refuse bread if you don't want any - to help curb waste. While they're printing thousands of pictures just to throw away a few decks below your feet.

[Mic101680]

6 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

The portions are pretty small now. Off the Radiance last week and the fried chicken, which used to be two decent pieces of chicken, was tiny now and tasted like frozen Banquet chicken. I used to like their fried chicken dinner, but not so much now. 

I think this entirely depends on what you order too. Most of the pasta dishes are waaaay too much for a single portion, but some of the meat and fish portions are pretty small.

 

It never hurts to ask for a small portion, but like others have said, you can always just eat half of what you're served. I will sometimes split a plate with a friend if I know it's going to be too much for me.

[BlerkOne]

We've always been able to order the pasta dish as a starter/appetizer size. I recall posts from some screaming cutback when the pasta dishes began showing up under both Appetizers and Mains sections, even though you could always do that.

 

Some menus from the Celebration Transatlantic:

 

QR-MENU-D4-50-112022-baked-alaskaCB.pdf

QR-MENU-D5-50-112022CB.pdf QR-D7-112022CB.pdf

[BlerkOne]

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1109/~/dinner-menu-and-steakhouse-selections-in-the-main-dining-room

 

Menu items (excluding Steakhouse Selections) are complimentary in the main dining room. Guests can order a second entrée and keep in mind, you can also request half portions if something looks too enticing to pass up.  If a third entrée is ordered, a $5 USD charge will be assessed. 

[asalligo]

I thought the portions had become half portions when I returned to cruising after Covid. 

 

[fwbgirlie]

On the Celebration, I ordered the appetizer size of I believe the carbonara, but the waiter still put in the full size even after I said I wasn’t very hungry so the rest went to waste. 

[figmentdj]

Just curious, is it 3 entree per person limit? We usually order one entree for her, one for me and one for the middle. Still cool?

[dallasdan]

Yes, you can order 2 entree per person for no charge.  when you order the 3rd they charge $5.

[pjhootch]

19 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1109/~/dinner-menu-and-steakhouse-selections-in-the-main-dining-room

 

Menu items (excluding Steakhouse Selections) are complimentary in the main dining room. Guests can order a second entrée and keep in mind, you can also request half portions if something looks too enticing to pass up.  If a third entrée is ordered, a $5 USD charge will be assessed. 

 

Yes. It says that. But our waiter very clearly said “no’”.  He did not say it in a confused way- or as if he didn’t know what I meant.  He was very firm that half portions were simply not going to happen.   I can only guess that perhaps ordering a half portion glitches their ordering or slows it down since everything is preplated.  I wasn’t going to make an issue of it so shrugged it off and just ate half.

[dallasdan]

I also gave up trying to order half portions after the waiter said they don't do that.  I just only ate half and didn't order desert.  One night I did only order a couple of appetizers instead of an entree.  

[asalligo]

13 hours ago, pjhootch said:

 

Yes. It says that. But our waiter very clearly said “no’”.  He did not say it in a confused way- or as if he didn’t know what I meant.  He was very firm that half portions were simply not going to happen.   I can only guess that perhaps ordering a half portion glitches their ordering or slows it down since everything is preplated.  I wasn’t going to make an issue of it so shrugged it off and just ate half.

This was always a slight issue due to the way the kitchen works. It's kind of a big deal for him to get someone to make a half portion and now with a skeleton crew I bet it is almost impossible. If I were a Carnival waiter when someone said half portion I would just grab the smallest portion when I went into the kitchen. 

[mz-s]

3 minutes ago, asalligo said:

This was always a slight issue due to the way the kitchen works. It's kind of a big deal for him to get someone to make a half portion and now with a skeleton crew I bet it is almost impossible. If I were a Carnival waiter when someone said half portion I would just grab the smallest portion when I went into the kitchen. 

 

The smallest portion of the lasagna is still enormous I'm sure! I love that lasagna and I'm usually a pretty big eater for supper but it looks like I've barely touched that slab when I give up.

[BlerkOne]

When lasagna is in the menu as a main, it is also available starter sized, as stated on the menu.

[pjhootch]

8 hours ago, asalligo said:

This was always a slight issue due to the way the kitchen works. It's kind of a big deal for him to get someone to make a half portion and now with a skeleton crew I bet it is almost impossible. If I were a Carnival waiter when someone said half portion I would just grab the smallest portion when I went into the kitchen. 

 

 

That makes perfect sense to me.  The waiters are carrying a lot more tables now on many nights.   I can imagine that anything out of the ordinary will throw off the rhythm of service.  I am already the "difficult" diner that sometimes asks for coffee BEFORE dinner instead of afterwards- so I have no desire to disrupt the flow of service.  I am always relieved when I see another person near us with coffee before a meal, because it is much easier for them to remember to bring the coffee when multiple people near each other are drinking it. 

[staceyglow]

On 3/21/2023 at 5:13 AM, fwbgirlie said:

On the Celebration, I ordered the appetizer size of I believe the carbonara, but the waiter still put in the full size even after I said I wasn’t very hungry so the rest went to waste. 

It's going to waste one way or another, either on your plate or back in the kitchen as food that doesn't get served. At least "on your plate" doesn't create extra work for your server. 

[EL Pitman]

As another member of the weight loss surgery team, I was so excited to hear we could now order 1/2 entrees!  This is a huge bummer.  I really hate any kind of waste.  All that said, I'm going to waste what ever I need to and still eat my dessert!  I cruise every 2 years and I really like getting dessert after every meal.  It was on a cruise that I realized that a danish is simply the dessert of breakfast!!!  🙂  

[1025cruise]

Just remember in the MDR food isn't cooked/plated to order. There are many plated plates that never see a table and get wasted. 

[Joebucks]

On 3/20/2023 at 5:32 PM, n6uqqq said:

The portions are pretty small now. Off the Radiance last week and the fried chicken, which used to be two decent pieces of chicken, was tiny now and tasted like frozen Banquet chicken. I used to like their fried chicken dinner, but not so much now. 

 

That didn't take long. As we all must know, people are leaving dinner completely starving.