What do you think HAL should do about the Master Chef Dinner (MCD)?

As promised. Poll coming. :)

Chris and I HATE the MCD, called "Master Disaster" by the crew who work too hard as it is without jumping through the hoops the ENTERTRAINMENT dept. director makes them do for this tacky event. NONE of our friends like it and we all avoid it, all the time.

We hate the MCD -- so I guess you can figure out how I voted.

As promised. Poll coming. :)

Thanks for the poll but my suggestion would be to have less options to get better results.

Keep

get rid of

Don't care

The MCD is a throwback to the old Baked Alaska parade and the percieved need to "party it up" one night in the dining room, IMO.

Our's have been very ordinary meals and have caused the limited dining room staff extra work resulting in slower service and a very long time for diners to finish their meal.

In addition, there are additonal costs to HAL for all the hats and specially configured menus, which are promptly thrown in the trash.

I'd be happy to see it quietly go away.

I voted to keep it but move it to a different night. I've only been to one MCD. It's not my thing, but I understand some folks like it. What I really don't like is HAL having it on the last night. Since I like traditional dining at a large table, I want to spend the last evening enjoying my tablemates. It was really hard to do that with juggling food, loud music, and dancing servers. If they had it on a different night, I might attend anyway or chose either the buffet or an alternate restaurant. I wasn't really impressed with the menu so I'd probably chose the alternate restaurant.

i haven't experienced it, nor do i intend to. i'll be going to the pinnacle that night.

call me cynical, but I wonder if that is why they keep having the thing. increases pinnacle bookings.

One time was more than enough.:eek::eek: Never, ever, again!

We experienced it on our last cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the Eurodam in early February. I hated it. The cruise before that was in Alaska Aug. of 2008 and it was the thing with the parading baked Alaska which I also hated, but not as much. I just don't know why they must have the wonderful servers and other personnel in the MDR performing. Isn't it enough that they provide excellent, and elegant service? Why is it necessary for them to prance around throwing napkins and whatever else it is they were doing? I think it's humiliating and I would really be surprised if they didn't think so as well.

Please, please HAL, stop this!!! Most of us don't like it.

As promised. Poll coming. :)

Hopefully Dutch by Association will see this and get HAL to cancel.

Of my 7 HAL cruises, I have never experienced the MSD, although I have experienced something similar on other lines. In those cases, I found the experience quite fun and entertaining, but then, I'm only 69, lol. I expect that I shall experience my first HAL MSD in just a few short weeks and I will report back.

How many years have they been doing this?

I know they have the Dutch thing with hats and stuff too. Same kind of show?

call me cynical, but I wonder if that is why they keep having the thing. increases pinnacle bookings.

I think you are on to something:D.

Hopefully Dutch by Association will see this and get HAL to cancel.

That would be great, but what would also help is if everyone who hates it as much as we do would say so on their end-of-cruise comment cards. :)

I guess that's another question: do you comment about the MCD on your comment cards?

That would be great, but what would also help is if everyone who hates it as much as we do would say so on their end-of-cruise comment cards. :)

 

I guess that's another question: do you comment about the MCD on your comment cards?

We forgot to, this time. There were so many other things that needed comment.

Well I have voted to scrap it. Wonder if HAL will ever see this, hope so!

I voted to get rid of it, too. It's demeaning to the crew who work so hard and manage to be gracious and not subservient at the same time. And it's hard to enjoy your meal when you're embarrassed.

Mrs M

That would be great, but what would also help is if everyone who hates it as much as we do would say so on their end-of-cruise comment cards. :)

 

I guess that's another question: do you comment about the MCD on your comment cards?

I always put it on my comment cards. That's one thing I'm interested in getting rid of.

Thanks so much for doing this poll:).

23701592[/size]]As promised. Poll coming. :)

Thanks AlexandNessa for the poll. I wanted to do this one but could not figure out how to do a poll. I pressed all the buttons but had no success' date=' so I thank you for doing it.[/b']

I voted to ditch the MCD and would like to add: "please please, please".

We have experienced it several times on different ships. We don't care for the decreased choices on the menu and are not fans of many of the offerings. We love the regular menus and on a short cruise it pains us to miss one.

We have been good sports long enough and have decided that we will not attend another MCD. After all, there is the Lido, Caneletto on a growing number of ships, and room service. If this is what HAL is aiming for, fine. And, no, we aren't going to pay for the Pinnacle just to escape the MCD.

What I would like is to see Dutch Night back: please, please, please. At least the menu was varied and the whole dinner was not a show and it nicely measured up to the dignified HAL ambience that we are used to and enjoy.

That would be great, but what would also help is if everyone who hates it as much as we do would say so on their end-of-cruise comment cards. :)

 

I guess that's another question: do you comment about the MCD on your comment cards?

On the end-of-cruise comment card on the March 13-20 Eurodam, there was a specific listing on the form for the Master Chef Dinner. Needless to say, we gave it the lowest possible grade. However, many of our friends had already turned in their comment cards before dinner and regretted not having an opportunity to rate the MCD.

M,Veal,and the Oops

We no like MCD either. It is just plain embarrassing for the waiters and assistant waiters to have to jump through the hoops they make them jump through. They work hard enough just serving the passengers. If they want to continue the MCD, let the damn cruise director and entertainers do all the fluff and leave the wait staff alone.

Ed/Jeff

We do like Easter bunnies though (big easter bunnies)

I would vote to keep it but vary the menu a bit and move it to a night other than the last night. Return the backed Alaska to the Captain's Farwell Dinner and save the last night to where it was originally and have the stewards do their traditional farwell.

I voted to ditch the MCD and would like to add: "please please, please".

 

We have experienced it several times on different ships. We don't care for the decreased choices on the menu and are not fans of many of the offerings. We love the regular menus and on a short cruise it pains us to miss one.

 

We have been good sports long enough and have decided that we will not attend another MCD. After all, there is the Lido, Caneletto on a growing number of ships, and room service. If this is what HAL is aiming for, fine. And, no, we aren't going to pay for the Pinnacle just to escape the MCD.

 

What I would like is to see Dutch Night back: please, please, please. At least the menu was varied and the whole dinner was not a show and it nicely measured up to the dignified HAL ambience that we are used to and enjoy.

I also would like HAL to loose the MCD and bring back Dutch night.

That would be great, but what would also help is if everyone who hates it as much as we do would say so on their end-of-cruise comment cards. :)

 

I guess that's another question: do you comment about the MCD on your comment cards?

Do we comment? YES, and rate it a "1", the worst rating possible.