Oy yoy yoy....eurodam final night calamity...

[kazu]

Thanks for your post. The last few cruises I have been on the dinner was very toned down and quite decent. I thought HAL was toning them down a bit. :confused: Looks like it varies from ship to ship.

[janmcn]

Yes, you now know why most seasoned HAL cruisers, unless they really like it, stay away from the MCD (Master Chef's Dinner)...now you, too, are "in the know." (It's Lido for us on that night.) I have never heard of anyone who really liked it, so I'm surprised they continue with it.

[spacepotatoes]

Wow. Add me to the list of HAL newbies who are grateful for this information! Whenever I saw a thread with "Chef's Dinner" in the title, I just assumed it was similar to the Chef's Table on Carnival, which is optional and you pay to participate.

 

Thanks, OP, for an enticing thread title and a very informative thread ;):)

[gentlemancruiser]

The Lido should be open for dinner, we did that on the Statendam a few years ago. The Master Chef's Dinner is the only time when we have eaten dinner in the Lido. I've been to one too many of those dancing waiters and swinging napkins.

[gentlemancruiser]

Since this will be our first HAL cruise I had no idea what the "master chef dinner" was, although I had seen lots of posts about it. Calling it by name but not describing what it is does not tell new cruisers to HAL what to expect. Thanks so much for filling us in. I am torn. I can't eat cream in any form and hearing that we can't order anything else makes me very warry. That said we will be sailing with our two children who will be 7 and 19 at the time and it sounds like they would love all the carryings-on and they would love to see all the adults acting like children flipping their napkins over their heads....:D

 

We have a fixed early dinner time in the dining room at a table of 4. We also like baked alaska and it was our dessert at our wedding as it was the dessert at my parent's wedding in 1955 so I wanted to do that for them. The kids would love it as they have never had it.

 

I will now talk to my husband and see what we should do. I may even talk to the TA about this. Most things in restaurants come in cream sauce which has ruined more than one meal for me. I remember going to one of the top restaurants in Barbados where they absolutely refused to serve scollops without their cream sauce and the chef suggested I try the roasted vegetables!:mad: I wasn't about to pay that price for flippn' roasted vegetables....I left hungry.

 

This would have been a very nasty surprise at the end of our long-awaited cruise and I really appreciate you describing what Master Chef Diner was all about.

 

Gail

 

 

The menu choices for the Master Chef's dinner are not the best that HAL can offer, I would very strongly suggest you try the Lido or another venue for dinner. I really hate how long dinner takes when they are doing all that stupid hoop-la.

[m steve]

I happen to like the menu for the Chef's dinner but we don't eat the baked Alaska. Some cruises we bail as soon as we finish the main course and just go to a bar as our dessert. I also thought that they stopped the show except the Alaska parade.

[luvcruisn']

I didn't like the choices on the Master Chef's dinner on my last cruise on the Veendam. I am not a fan of oxtail soup, nor Baked Alaska for dessert. The meat entree was okay. The problem being, I was sailing solo, and wanted to have the final dinner with my tablemates rather than dining on my own in the Lido or Canaletto. Our group had already dined in the Canaletto on a previous evening. I hope that eventually HAL does away with this dinner, as there are so few choices that come with it.

[the2ofus]

LarryF,

Your post was a valuable service to those who may be choosing As You Wish dining. What I liked most, though, was your light touch in describing your experience. It set the tone for a pleasant and civilized discussion of the baked alaska parade and Master Chef's Dinner. I'll be sure to mention this to the newbies on our upcoming cruise so they can make informed decisions.

[Infi]

Sorry to hear you got stuck with the Master Chef's dinner and that it was an unpleasant experience. I agree that the menu is very limited that night and all the singing and dancing is very silly - not a great way to end the cruise, and not HAL's usual style. We experienced our first MCD last year on Westerdam and once was more than enough. My daughter also hates Baked Alaska and had similar difficulties with ordering a different dessert on that night: the waitstaff made a real issue of it, unfortunately.

 

Luckily I had read on the boards before the cruise that the MCD was alive and well on the Eurodam and pre-booked Tamarind for that final night. We were sad to leave our great waitstaff, but the calm and wonderful dining experience in the Tamarind made up for it. I noticed both the Tamarind and Pinnacle were very crowded on the final night on our cruise, so I think the word about how awful the MCD is has gotten out. :eek:

[scopewest]

We tried the MC dinner, it was okay, but we decided to prebook the PG online for the last night dinner (MC night) before our next cruise to make sure we had reservations. We enjoyed eating there that night so much that it's now our "tradition."

[serendipity1499]

So I guess it would be safe to assume no one left an additional tip to the waiter nor said goobye and thank you !!! :eek:

 

The OP was in open seating & it was only the last night when those in Open seating have fixed seating.. Normally you don't have the same waiter in open seating & there really is no one to say good by too & thank..

However, on the "Veendam" last year and also once on the "Maasdam", when we booked last minute, we had open seating but were fortunate enough to have the same waiters, wine stewards for the entire week as we made reservations for the same table each night..In those instances we were able to thank our waiters & say good by, but that is not the norm in open seating..

I would imagine that those in fixed seating, who made other arrangements, thanked & said good by to their waiters & wine steward either before or after the last night..Therefore, IMO it's not safe to assume otherwise...

Cheers...:)Betty

[taxmantoo]

..Therefore, IMO it's not safe to assume otherwise...

 

Cheers...:)Betty

 

I felt very safe in my assumption :rolleyes: when the OP admitted sneaking out when the waiter was not around...

[madera1]

Good information. We went to the chef's dinner while on the Eurodam in May 2010 and to me it was my least favorite meal of the trip. We will again be on the ship in a few months and had been debating whether to go to the Pinnacle on the last night ( it will be our 40th anniversary that day). We are dining at the late seating so will have had the same waiters and our normal practice is to tip them on this last night so have too been feeling guilty to not be there that last night.:)

[FoxyTerrier]

That being said, it was to my great surprise that on the last night of the cruise they do not have open seating and you are assigned a specific table at a specific time. We were given this information at dinner the evening before and were asked whether we preferred early or late seating. The next day I tried to make reservations at the Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind, but they were completely full. So, I decided one night of traditional dining wouldn't kill me and went to dinner with a positive outlook. The room was very festive when we entered and everyone was wearing a chef's hat which I wore as well...hey, when in Rome...:rolleyes:

 

Do you recall the times for the early and late seatings? Is it the same as the normal fixed dining times?

[3rdGenCunarder]

Do you recall the times for the early and late seatings? Is it the same as the normal fixed dining times?

 

Yes. People already on the fixed seatings had no change in time.

[serendipity1499]

I felt very safe in my assumption :rolleyes: when the OP admitted sneaking out when the waiter was not around...

 

The OP never admitted to Sneaking Out! That is your assumption & IMO it's wrong..

This is what the OP said:

Quote Dinner began at 8pm and it was now twenty minutes to 10pm. We all ordered out desserts as the dining room began clearing out. Most of us also ordered coffee. The dessert was served at 9:55pm and we all gulped it up as fast as possible so we could make the 10:15 final show. At 10:10pm we still had not been served our coffee and our dancing waiter had disappeared. I think he may have od'd on the Baked Alaska! :D So, everyone at the table got up and made a mad scramble for the Theatre Unquote

Now why would you assume they Sneaked Out? Making a Mad Dash is not Sneaking Out! In addition they were in OPEN seating & never said they had the same waiter the entire cruise...So why in heavens name would they wait until the waiter returned to thank him & give him a tip if they were late for the show?

If we wanted to see the show & still had not been served coffee five minutes before show time, we would do the same thing...The waiter in this instance doesn't deserve thanks or a tip & that probably was the reason he never came back to their table with their coffee..

Cheers....:)Betty

[Hlitner]

We wonder if HA monitors these boards. If they do, they could read dozens of comments about the Master Chef's Dinner...and nearly none of them are positive. Last year we did a 42 day cruise on the Prinsendam and to our delight they did not have a Master Chef's dinner during that cruise! Perhaps that is just one more reason why the Prinsendam has a loyal following :)

 

Hank

[Cruizer Bill]

We sat through our first Chef's Dinner recently on the Noordam (always booked the Pinnacle Grill on that night before). We had Open Seating and they told us when to come but did not assign us a table. The meal was as bad as OP said but in one major way it was even worse! The waiters begged to get "9" scores on their cruise evaluations. It was embarrasing the way they carried on saying how much they deserved their precious scores of 9 on the evaluation.

Next time we go to another venue!

Bill

[TwinCruiserMom]

I appreciate this information as this is our first cruise on HAL. I am a bit concerned about the limited menu and would like to know if anyone knows what is on this menu. We will be on the Veendam.

 

Why do they use a limited menu that last night with the Baked Alaskan parade? On Princess they are able to have the silly parade and they give you a normal menu for the evening.

 

I can live with the time constraints, I can live with the parade and dancing, but I want a decent menu to choose our last dinner from. :(

 

Will the evening room service menu be the same? Does room service have an always available evening selection?

 

Maybe we will just eat in Canaletto that night.

 

How sad that HAL has not listened to its seasoned cruisers and made some changes to this supposed special night of dining. :rolleyes:

[celle]

I appreciate this information as this is our first cruise on HAL. I am a bit concerned about the limited menu and would like to know if anyone knows what is on this menu. We will be on the Veendam.

 

. . . . . (some content deleted)

 

How sad that HAL has not listened to its seasoned cruisers and made some changes to this supposed special night of dining. :rolleyes:

 

Like TwinCruiserMom, I'd appreciate information on the menu on this night.

 

Is there a vegetarian option?

 

We will be on Eurodam.

 

Thank you.

[Infi]

For those interested in the MCD menu, here it is. There is one vegetarian option available, a mushroom strudel.

 

[LarryF]

So I guess it would be safe to assume no one left an additional tip to the waiter nor said goobye and thank you !!! :eek:

 

We had open seat dining and our tips were billed to our portfolio. Open seating participants pay $11 each per night that includes tips for the waiters and cabin steward in case you didn't know. We would love to have said goodbye to the waiter if we could have found him!

 

Larry

[serendipity1499]

I appreciate this information as this is our first cruise on HAL. I am a bit concerned about the limited menu and would like to know if anyone knows what is on this menu. We will be on the Veendam.

 

Why do they use a limited menu that last night with the Baked Alaskan parade? On Princess they are able to have the silly parade and they give you a normal menu for the evening.

 

I can live with the time constraints, I can live with the parade and dancing, but I want a decent menu to choose our last dinner from. :(

 

Will the evening room service menu be the same? Does room service have an always available evening selection?

 

Maybe we will just eat in Canaletto that night.

 

How sad that HAL has not listened to its seasoned cruisers and made some changes to this supposed special night of dining. :rolleyes:

 

There are still many seasoned cruisers who enjoy the Master Chad's dinner!

Although I'm sick of partaking of the Master Chef's dinner on umpteen times, IMO the entire menu is not limited that much..

Yes the first course (Act 1), & salad (Act 2), are limited & there are only two choices of appetizers & soups, but the entrées many & certainly not limited..IMO there is a very good choice of entrées & don't believe that any one will go hungry..For those who can't eat or don't like Baked Alaska there are other options from the regular desert menu..

I would recommend that you see it at least once, before you pass judgement....

Cheers....:)Betty

[LarryF]

The OP never admitted to Sneaking Out! That is your assumption & IMO it's wrong..

 

This is what the OP said:

 

Quote Dinner began at 8pm and it was now twenty minutes to 10pm. We all ordered out desserts as the dining room began clearing out. Most of us also ordered coffee. The dessert was served at 9:55pm and we all gulped it up as fast as possible so we could make the 10:15 final show. At 10:10pm we still had not been served our coffee and our dancing waiter had disappeared. I think he may have od'd on the Baked Alaska! So, everyone at the table got up and made a mad scramble for the Theatre Unquote

 

Now why would you assume they Sneaked Out? Making a Mad Dash is not Sneaking Out! In addition they were in OPEN seating & never said they had the same waiter the entire cruise...So why in heavens name would they wait until the waiter returned to thank him & give him a tip if they were late for the show?

 

If we wanted to see the show & still had not been served coffee five minutes before show time, we would do the same thing...The waiter in this instance doesn't deserve thanks or a tip & that probably was the reason he never came back to their table with their coffee..

 

Cheers....Betty

 

Betty, thanks for standing up for me, However, the actual truth is we did sort of sneak out on the waiter. ;) You see my wife covered her head with one of the white table cloths so she could blend in with the tables. She then bravely crawled to the waiters station and pulled down the waiters socks to create a diversion. :D When the waiter looked down to see what was happening, the rest of us quickly ran out of the dining room. After hours of interogation my wife finally made it back to the cabin. She's not uttered a word since then and her therapist said she is suffering from post traumatic syndrome. :rolleyes: I guess we'll never know what happened during the interrogation, but sometimes at night she takes the pillow case off the pillow and starts waving it around her head yelling "no more baked alaska, no more baked alaska!" :eek:

 

I am glad that I could help all of you who will be cruising on HAL in the future...I've learned so much over the last 10 years or so on these boards, it's the least I can do. Isn't cruising great! :)

 

Larry

[3rdGenCunarder]

We had open seat dining and our tips were billed to our portfolio. Open seating participants pay $11 each per night that includes tips for the waiters and cabin steward in case you didn't know. We would love to have said goodbye to the waiter if we could have found him!

 

Larry

 

Passengers with fixed dining also pay that service charge (or whatever they call it). But many people who have the same waiters every night and feel that the service is good say thank you by tipping extra on the last night. The hectic nature of the MCD can made it difficult to find a moment to do that.