Master Chef Dinner - Master Disaster

[Conniepo]

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.

 

WOW - this sounds absolutely civilized! I will remember for our next cruise. :)

 

Connie

[MikePowers]

I am just wondering, why would they be excited about a show that they have to do over and over, every week? The devil's advocate in me says that they want you to be there for the speech about tips that the captain gives after dinner? :P *runs*

 

Perhaps its a change of pace for the servers. In no way did we think the crew was shilling for tips. If one looks to find things wrong at every opportunity, they will.

 

Mike

[Sailkeywest]

Mike, Not playing he said she said! I am glad that you had a wonderful experience :)

[Bakincakes]

On our last Holland cruise our waitstaff wanted to make certain we didn't miss the MCD or their "show". They work hard on these presentations and appreciate our attendance.

 

Having said that the MCD can be tedious and I don't really care for the menus.:( But if our waitstaff request our presence..we go. They like to have a cheering section just for them.:)

[cruzn single]

We were on the May 9 Ryndam sailing to Alaska. They had it on last night. No chef's hats, thankfully. We were not pleased with you must eat at 5:30 or 8:15!!!!!!! Hated the menu--too much "seafood" as I have an allergy, so I think I had the main course, and that was it! Stupid way to end a cruise. Since we had baked Alaska every night on the regular menu saw no reason for the baked Alaska parade--certainly not like previous cruises! IMHO, just skip it!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I don't understand why HAL continues the MCD when most repeat HAL cruisers don't like it. I noticed on a recent Carnival cruise ( I hate to admit we did one but it was celebratory for friends' major birthdays), the only entertainment in the dining room were card tricks done by one person. No singing, no dancing on the tables etc. Please HAL stop the MCD. We've been to two and avoid them now.

[Willem Ruys]

and it''s one of the many many reasons, after more than 1,600 days in HAL ships, and a recent 5 month stay in the RTDM there are NO HAL ships in my adjacent count-down clocks

[Sailkeywest]

Willem, I love your choice of cruises, Hong Kong?! 5 months on the Rotterdam?! Will you adopt me? or marry me? oh wait, I am already married. Ok, just post the photos then, so I can live vicariously through you :)

[world~citizen]

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.

 

The Master Chef dinner doesn't seem to have been well thought out.

 

Smooth sailing...

[VAtravelers100]

Thanks to the information on this thread, we will happily avoid the MCD on our upcoming Zuiderdam cruise. We were planning to do one dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, so I think this will be the night.

 

Does anyone know whether the Zuiderdam alaska trip has a MCD night? If so, do you have a hunch which night it would be be? (Can you tell which 2 nights are likely to be the formal nights?)

 

Thanks!

 

 

July 3 Vancouver

July 4 At Sea

July 5 Tracy Arm, Juneau until 10:30 PM

July 6 Skagway 7 AM-9 PM

July 7 Glacier Bay 7 AM-4 PM

July 8 Ketchikan 10 AM-6 PM

July 9 At Sea

July 10 Vancouver

[kyriecat]

. . . Dinner was steak and lobster - but the butter for the lobster didn't come out until after the lobster was eaten. . .

Has the menu for MCD been changed? On my cruise, they served steak and lobster on one of the formal nights not during MCD. If there is a new MCD menu, does anyone have a copy? I'm curious.

[cruz chic]

Has the menu for MCD been changed? On my cruise, they served steak and lobster on one of the formal nights not during MCD. If there is a new MCD menu, does anyone have a copy? I'm curious.

I thought that was a little odd too. I'm surpised that they had it. I wonder if the poster mixed that up with the formal night.

[kyriecat]

I thought that was a little odd too. I'm surpised that they had it. I wonder if the poster mixed that up with the formal night.

Maybe MCD is different on Zuiderdam for the AK cruise because it's only 7 nights. Firemans_Flame mentions the dancers with napkins being on the same night as the steak/lobster. I know we only had the dancers on MCD night, but ours was on the last cruise night not second to last. I was wondering if HAL decided to change the menu and night since many people who don't mind the singing/dancing didn't care for the menu and some people (like me) didn't like having the MCD on the last cruise night.

 

It will be interesting to see if there are other reports of different menus or evenings for the MCD.

[jmps]

We went to our first MCD on the Westerdam during spring break with some trepidation. We missed it on our first HAL cruise. Both my wife and I liked the menu and the "show" was pretty minimal and was fully of energy and fun. Our waiter didn't seem put out by it. If you are new to HAL I suggest giving it a try before you decide.

 

Perhaps if we had seen this many times we would feel the same as many here. We would then make sure we were in the Pinnacle that night. Problem solved.

[mearsfansinboise]

As we will be sailing with 2 small kids, I suspect we will enjoy this...except for the food which sounds like it's a little less stellar than the other nights.

 

Question: do you know in advance when it will be. Sounds like it IS on the last night...but does it say that on the paper that you get the night before....(just in case it's another night)....?

[Cruising-along]

As we will be sailing with 2 small kids, I suspect we will enjoy this...except for the food which sounds like it's a little less stellar than the other nights.

 

Question: do you know in advance when it will be. Sounds like it IS on the last night...but does it say that on the paper that you get the night before....(just in case it's another night)....?

 

On our 15-day Hawaii cruise it was night 13. And yes, the daily program we received the night before did say this. :)

[mexico5]

I'm very glad I read this post. This is an "event" that my DH and I will not want to go to...especially DH!

 

We are not sailing until December...I think I read somewhere that you can make advance reservations for the specialty restaurant, the Pinnacle? Or do you have to wait until you board the ship. If we make reservations for the last night and they change the night of the Chef's Dinner to another one is there a penalty for cancelling at Pinnacle?

 

Hopefully they will know when we board what night the Chef's Dinner is so we can make alternate plans. Glad there are other options!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I'm very glad I read this post. This is an "event" that my DH and I will not want to go to...especially DH!

 

We are not sailing until December...I think I read somewhere that you can make advance reservations for the specialty restaurant, the Pinnacle? Or do you have to wait until you board the ship. If we make reservations for the last night and they change the night of the Chef's Dinner to another one is there a penalty for cancelling at Pinnacle?

 

Hopefully they will know when we board what night the Chef's Dinner is so we can make alternate plans. Glad there are other options!

 

It is rare when HAL will change the day for the Master Chef dinner -- for your cruise -- last night of the cruise.

You can make your reservations now for the date and time you want by either booking it on line or calling Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 (ask for an e-mail conforming this).. Once you are on the ship go to the Pinnacle -- reconfirm the night of the MCD and reconfirm your reservation. If for some reason you change you mind about not going to the Pinnacle, you will be given shipboard credit for the cancellation -- no penalities.

[m steve]

you should not go but there was nothing wrong with the menu or meal except waiting for desert and the baked Alaska. We just skip out before all of that at the end. I personally like the selections.

[iancal]

For us, it is a meal to miss. Our experience is that it is really schmaltzy, the dinner is not great,and I won't even comment on the baked alaska. Reminds me of a high school graduation dinner. This is the night to give the MDR a miss.