Master Chef Dinner - Master Disaster

Just got back from the March 13 Eastern Caribbean on the Eurodam. The quality of service has slipped noticeably since our last Eurodam cruise just a year ago. The most egregious example is the raucous Master Chef Dinner where overworked wait staff are forced to juggle rolls, sing, and dance around tables waving napkins while the hapless guests wear paper chef hats. Even though we selected “As You Wish Dining,” on the last night the entire ship has only two fixed seatings: 5:30 or 8:00 pm. The line to be seated is long, slow, and chaotic - at least in the open seating restaurant because there are no fixed table assignments. The menu is severely restricted – most of the courses other than the main course are pre-determined. Each place setting has a pre-selected roll on the butter plate and no other bread is available. Everyone must have the same salad (with a thimbleful of dressing already applied). The “always available” menu items are missing. Service is very slow (we finished our entrée after 90 minutes). We skipped dessert and the additional hoopla surrounding the inevitable baked Alaska. I understand that this kind of dining experience might appeal to large groups or perhaps to those with small children. But if you are hoping to have a farewell dinner with new friends enjoying HAL’s normally excellent cuisine and service, this is definitely the night to go to the Pinnacle or Tamarind. It’s puzzling why HAL would want the last dining experience of the cruise to be so irritating, tacky, and chaotic accompanied by a (mostly) fixed menu of substandard quality.

We experienced this twice on our B2B in Feb. I , also, was not impressed. You CAN request the 'always available' choices even though they are not listed on the special menu. But seated by the window on the upper level, we could not see much of what was going on, and my impression was that if they want the waiters to dance and sing, they need to send them to boot camp with Carnival waiters. THEY have it down to a science...EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You should have joined sooner. Many of us here could have warned you about the Master Chef Dinner being on the last night of the cruise.

And I have posted the menu for many here over the years.

We definitely no longer go to it.

We were on the Zaandam San Diego - Hawaii - San Diego. The Master Chefs dinner was on a day when the clocks were turned ahead at 2 in the afternoon (I still can't figure out why they change the clocks then, but that is another thread). Therefore, since early dinner is called for 5:30, it was the equivalent of 4:30. I still can't figure out why, when you have 5 sea days, you have to have this early dinner on a short day. We chose to skip this and begged a reservation at the nearly empty Italian restaurant near the buffet instead.

It really gripes me that now, if you want to spend one last evening with "new friends" at your dinner table, you are subjected to the MCD. We've attended the last 2 simply in order to spend time with delightful tablemates.

... when the clocks were turned ahead at 2 in the afternoon (I still can't figure out why they change the clocks then, but that is another thread).

We were on the Zaandam San Diego - Hawaii - San Diego. The Master Chefs dinner was on a day when the clocks were turned ahead at 2 in the afternoon (I still can't figure out why they change the clocks then, but that is another thread). Therefore, since early dinner is called for 5:30, it was the equivalent of 4:30. I still can't figure out why, when you have 5 sea days, you have to have this early dinner on a short day. We chose to skip this and begged a reservation at the nearly empty Italian restaurant near the buffet instead.

Could you tell me which day this was? We'll be on this cruise in 2 weeks and it would be nice to know ahead of time which night to avoid the MDR. :)

Last night of cruise + master chefs dinner + fixed menu = get rid of the leftovers in the coolers and freezers! :eek:

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You should have joined sooner. Many of us here could have warned you about the Master Chef Dinner being on the last night of the cruise.

 

And I have posted the menu for many here over the years.

 

We definitely no longer go to it.

We're with KK, we avoid this dinner if at all posible.

We were on the Zaandam San Diego - Hawaii - San Diego. The Master Chefs dinner was on a day when the clocks were turned ahead at 2 in the afternoon (I still can't figure out why they change the clocks then, but that is another thread). Therefore, since early dinner is called for 5:30, it was the equivalent of 4:30. I still can't figure out why, when you have 5 sea days, you have to have this early dinner on a short day. We chose to skip this and begged a reservation at the nearly empty Italian restaurant near the buffet instead.

We were on the Amsterdam in 2006 and we also turned the clocks ahead at 2 in the afternoon on our Hawaiian cruise.

The crew was complaining because they lost an hour of work and pay.

Last night of cruise + master chefs dinner + fixed menu = get rid of the leftovers in the coolers and freezers! :eek:

You've got that one right:D.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You should have joined sooner. Many of us here could have warned you about the Master Chef Dinner being on the last night of the cruise.

 

And I have posted the menu for many here over the years.

 

We definitely no longer go to it.

On the last night? I hope they don't do this on our Maasdam cruise in August.

We're with KK, we avoid this dinner if at all posible.

Someone should make a poll for ending this too! I bet more people would end this before formal night.

I'd much rather be dressed up for a civilized meal than the "carnivalesque" hoopla. I made a choice to never sail carnival again for a reason!

Thanks to previous threads we knew to skip this on our cruise to the Caribbean on the Westerdam and instead have a nice dinner in the Lido - with white tablecloths and stemmed water glasses and candles on the tables.

Someone should make a poll for ending this too! I bet more people would end this before formal night.

 

I'd much rather be dressed up for a civilized meal than the "carnivalesque" hoopla. I made a choice to never sail carnival again for a reason!

Isn't that the truth. Seems like HAL reads these boards. You think they would see this is not well liked and put us all out of our pain.

On the last night? I hope they don't do this on our Maasdam cruise in August.

It's been my experience this is now on the last night. Seems pretty consistant with what others are reporting as well. I think the last night is a pretty safe bet.

Cruising-along - I can't remember the exact night of the Master Chef's Dinner on the Hawaii cruise, but it was not the last night (Ensenada) and it was not the first night out of Hawaii. It was also not the first night they changed the clocks. It was the second night that they changed the clocks back. I'd have to guess the 3rd to the last or next to the last night of the cruise.

I would watch for the first night they change the clocks forward on the way to Hawaii, and it will probably match that number of nights out of San Diego.

Cruising-along - I can't remember the exact night of the Master Chef's Dinner on the Hawaii cruise, but it was not the last night (Ensenada) and it was not the first night out of Hawaii. It was also not the first night they changed the clocks. It was the second night that they changed the clocks back. I'd have to guess the 3rd to the last or next to the last night of the cruise.

 

I would watch for the first night they change the clocks forward on the way to Hawaii, and it will probably match that number of nights out of San Diego.

Thanks, that helps!

On the last night? I hope they don't do this on our Maasdam cruise in August.

Be prepared, Jade.

We had a Master Chef dinner last night of the cruise on Maasdam, Westerdam and Eurodam in the last 8 months.

Unless something changes between now and then, you will be treated to the Master Chef Dinner on Maasdam.

We're with KK, we avoid this dinner if at all posible.

Someone should make a poll for ending this too! I bet more people would end this before formal night.

I'd much rather be dressed up for a civilized meal than the "carnivalesque" hoopla. I made a choice to never sail carnival again for a reason!

Master Chef Dinner on last night is never a formal night. Last night of every cruise is always smart casual or whatever they call it.

We had the Master Chef Dinner the last night of our cruise or we wouldn't have gone, but the last night we really do like to eat in the dining room, say a special good bye to our Steward, etc. So we went.

It's the 2nd I've experienced and probably the last. It's too noisy, too silly. The Stewards are so good natured about it and such good sports, but it's got to be exhausting for them. I could go on and on, but I don't need to because everyone here knows!!!:D

But one of our friends decided to order the flourless chocolate cake to replace the Baked Alaska. The rest of us went with the Baked Alaska partly out of habit, partly because it's tradition.

But she said it was the best cake she has ever had on a cruise and I was soooooo envious!!!

I always insist on something other than baked Alaska for dessert. I don't care for it at all, and the "stuff" they serve on HAL takes it (IMHO) to a new low :)

The MCD was held on the last night of our recent Volendam cruise around New Zealand. After enduring the ordeal of the MCD on two prior cruises, we chose to dine in the Pinnacle Grill that night. Why HAL chose to have the MCD in its current format is beyond me, even more so why HAL now has the MCD on the last night of every cruise.

Well what a simpleton child I must be, because I thoroughly enjoyed the attempt on the Oosterdam 2 weeks ago.

No, they couldn't juggle, they were just starting to get the Rockette's kick down, and I dressed in jeans and my cigar smoking shirt so I was comfy casual.

We were port side and we must be the wierdos because we all wore our hats and had fun - vs. the starboard guests that all sat with an insulted arrogance. Why go if you hate it so much?