Pay More...... Get More.

[igraf]

Very insightful response. So many people on this board don't seem to have a grasp around the whole concept of preparing 10,000 meals a day.

 

Any sort of "pay extra" scheme would cause a lot of extra work for the waiters, create a lot of billing errors to contest at the end of the cruise (what a headache), and a general inefficiency that would increase the costs for all.

 

Not a good idea at all. We should stop worrying about how someone else is eating more or less than others. We all benefit from the economy of scale.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

The main dining room setup is such that they have what is in reality a banquet style dinner to feed 1900 to 2000 people in a short time. To do this, the kitchen production has to be limited and focused. They are not set up to offer a wider variety of menu items . It would make the whole operation suffer on a mass market ship. I love Holland America but too, respect its limitations. Even at an increase in price the operation , number of chefs and physical limits cant pull it off. This is where the speciality places come in. However Holland Americas ships are out of room for more.

 

...

[dakrewser]

What's wrong with Caneletto?

 

Overcooked pasta in the Lido? I'd much rather have Olive Garden (and Ihaven't been in one of those for a dozen years).

[rkacruiser]

I agree with MightyQuinn's point of view.

 

I have not seen quality cavier on a HAL menu for awhile. But, gee whiz, I enjoyed my dining experience and cruise without it!

 

Personally, I would rather that they increase the cruise price somewhat in order to have such "luxuries" once in awhile.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Unless HAL starts to buy quality meats -- it wouldn't make any difference how many menus there are in the main dining room.

Dover Sole was offered on our Alaskan cruise.

[kazu]

Very interesting threads and good comments from all.

 

For myself - no, I don't want more specialty restaurants - that takes more public space and shrinks the space to passenger ratio.

 

Heck we managed very well on the Prinsendam with just the Pinnacle Grill (outstanding!) and no Cannaletto.

 

Food varies on the HAL ships somewhat - I have noticed that. However, to go to charging for x somehow takes away the feel to me of what HAL has always been about - that's just me I know - not sure what the right answer is - but if another specialty restaurant is going to take more space - I don't think that is the answer either:)

[wander]

Gosh,

Are not some of the same people who complain about being "nickeled and dimed" by HAL now suggesting their willingness to pay 10s or 100s more dollars for extras?

[sail7seas]

Lots of interesting comments.........

Thanks. :)

Goodness knows, we never go hungry on any cruise. We are well fed.

[Typhoon1]

I like that idea.

 

If I want a menu of top shelf items, I would certainly be willing to pay a few dollars extra. After all, you get what you pay for.

[kazu]

I like that idea.

 

If I want a menu of top shelf items, I would certainly be willing to pay a few dollars extra. After all, you get what you pay for.

 

Theoretically speaking - if implemented - guaranteed that the MDR quality would go way down quickly (take a look at NCL) so you would literally have to eat in a specialty restaurant or order off the 'expensive' menu.

 

for me, depending on the costs of course - if I have to pay extra to get a decent meal (as you do on NCL IMO) then either the fares have to go down to balance it (guaranteed that won't happen) or the more expensive cruise lines just got another plus why you should sail with them. JMVHO

[sandij]

I never like the idea of charging extra for anything, it only encourages them to keep charging for things that should be included and used to be.

[solocanadian]

I wonder.......

 

How would you feel about HAL offering two dinner menus in MDR?

 

At the time of booking, how about if they offer Dining Room Plan A or Dining Room Plan B? Pay a little more and get a more deluxe, luxurious menu with some of those offerings we used to have but no longer are an option. I miss Dover Sole, for example, and if given the opportunity to order that by paying a bit more for a different menu was available, I might do that.

 

What do you think?

Absolutely not! That's what Pinnacle is for. Forget monster steaks and monster baked potatoes - bring on the Dover Sole (real stuff), King Crab Legs, Sturgeon Caviar & never mind talking about sustainability.:)

[solocanadian]

Unless HAL starts to buy quality meats -- it wouldn't make any difference how many menus there are in the main dining room.

 

Dover Sole was offered on our Alaskan cruise.

Wonder if it was truly Dover Sole or Alaskan ground fish?

[fann1sh]

Sail, you start the most intriguing threads.

 

Here's why I'm going to say "No, Thank You":

 

In landside restaurants, I'm always the "snake bitten" one. My rare steak comes well done. Or, my food isn't even close to what I actually ordered. ("Chicken? But I wrote down meat loaf!")

 

Honestly, my friends giggle over it.

 

On a cruise ship, I never worry - I can blow off a bad or weird course and have more of the next one.

 

With a premium menu, what do I do if my order is just wrong? I mean, I paid for it. (I know, I know - I paid for the included food too. But.....)

 

Servers are harder to flag in a MDR than in a land restaurant.

 

Travelling solo, I'm apt to be at a larger table. I hate sending anything back in front of strangers.

 

And, if my returned order throws off the rhythm of the rest of the meal service, they won't thank me.

 

So, I'll pass. :)

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I never like the idea of charging extra for anything, it only encourages them to keep charging for things that should be included and used to be.

 

I agree with this 100%. I would not be willing to pay extra for anything in the MDR. It is banquet food and offering additional items for a fee would only make things harder in the kitchen and for the servers. Speciality restaurants serve the purpose of "better" food. If I want outstanding food, I go to a local restaurant in my city where I know what to expect.

[sail7seas]

Sail, you start the most intriguing threads.

 

Here's why I'm going to say "No, Thank You":

 

:o I'm sorry. I'll try to limit some of these subjects I tend to raise but I admit I usually find the conversation interesting.

 

I'll try to restrain myself. :)

 

 

 

fann1sh (con't.)

In landside restaurants, I'm always the "snake bitten" one. My rare steak comes well done. Or, my food isn't even close to what I actually ordered. ("Chicken? But I wrote down meat loaf!")

 

Honestly, my friends giggle over it.

 

On a cruise ship, I never worry - I can blow off a bad or weird course and have more of the next one.

 

With a premium menu, what do I do if my order is just wrong? I mean, I paid for it. (I know, I know - I paid for the included food too. But.....)

 

Servers are harder to flag in a MDR than in a land restaurant.

 

Travelling solo, I'm apt to be at a larger table. I hate sending anything back in front of strangers.

 

And, if my returned order throws off the rhythm of the rest of the meal service, they won't thank me.

 

So, I'll pass. :)

[PathfinderEss]

Not wanting to come across as Simon Legree, but we have not noticed cat-o-nine tails being whipped over the dining crews on ships we have been on. In fact, because of the variety of dining options late-seating fixed dining often has many empty tables on most nights so the MDR workload is a lot less than before.

 

Things may be busier down in the "anytime" dining simply because there is no set formula for bringing out meals in order of courses like there is in fixed-dining. Perhaps this is more a result of "anytime" dining rather than change in staffing policies.

 

I see smart and efficient teamwork and very timely dining service with the usual smiles and comraderie on the ships we have been on. A little confusion over who orders and brings the wine on the last cruise but that I gather is because it is undergoing transition.

 

I didn't mean to imply, in fact I didn't say they were being whipped with a cat-o-nine tails. They are covering more tables then ever before. Now with having to cover all your drinks too, it makes it very tough on them. Yes it will take them time to get in sink with the new policy, but I'm sure they can and will handle it with their normal happy depositions. I would think you would agree these new policy of Hal's does make it harder on them.

[maxout]

:o I'm sorry. I'll try to limit some of these subjects I tend to raise but I admit I usually find the conversation interesting.

 

I'll try to restrain myself. :)

 

 

Oh please don't! you have raised some great stuff here, keep up the good work. :D

[3rdGenCunarder]

I didn't mean to imply, in fact I didn't say they were being whipped with a cat-o-nine tails. They are covering more tables then ever before. Now with having to cover all your drinks too, it makes it very tough on them. Yes it will take them time to get in sink with the new policy, but I'm sure they can and will handle it with their normal happy depositions. I would think you would agree these new policy of Hal's does make it harder on them.

 

The waiters do have a lot of tables. Because of where we sat on Maasdam, I could see all of our waiter's tables, and it seemed like he and his assistant were taking care of a lot of people. I don't know how they managed, but they did it very well. Nobody seemed to be waiting for a long time for anything. And if someone looked around, one of the pair would be right there asking "do you need anything?"

 

Unfortunately, some of the waiters can't handle the larger loads. Our friends said they had very slow service on Veendam. they had to skip coffee and dessert if they wanted to go to the show. They complained, and their service got better. but they noticed that a nearby table became the "slow" table. So that waiter had one more table than he could handle.

[fann1sh]

Oh please don't! you have raised some great stuff here, keep up the good work. :D

 

 

Ditto.

[Sea42]

For us it doesn't matter one way or another. While we enjoy good food, I can't say that there is anything we've had on a ship that we would pay extra for. That includes our dinner at the Pinnacle Grill which was complimentary for doing a Collector's Cruise. Food is just not that big of a deal to us and it certainly is not something we would pay extra for if we are already paying for food in our base price.

With our upcoming cruise of the Mediterranean, I look at ship food as something to tide us over until we can get ashore.

[innlady1]

While I would like a few upscale offerings in the Main Dining Room and would be more than willing to pay for this I really do not see HAL doing anything like this. Like Dan mentioned the Main Dining Room is basically banquet style dining with a much larger venue. If I am going to pay extra I go to the Specialty venues. I see HAL in the Future adding more optional (Pay) dining venues but doubt they would ever do like RCI does to pay extra for one item in the Main Dining Room. My understanding this is not working that well for them.

 

I agree. The dining stewards in the MDR are already overworked. Why add more complications to their agenda? I think the Pinnacle, Tamarind, etc. are equipped for the variants in the menu. Additional "pay for" venues would be the way to go. JMO, but it sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen if the MDR was subjected to this.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I agree. The dining stewards in the MDR are already overworked. Why add more complications to their agenda? I think the Pinnacle, Tamarind, etc. are equipped for the variants in the menu. Additional "pay for" venues would be the way to go. JMO, but it sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen if the MDR was subjected to this.

 

I haven't sailed with a line that has "pay extra" items on the menu, but it just seems awkward. What does the menu look like? Is the price clearly shown, or is there a discrete asterisk? Someone orders the fish, and the waiter writes it down. Someone orders the pasta, and the waiter writes it down.You ask for the steak and the waiter says "May I have your card, please." How strange is that?

[English_in_Spain]

Theoretically speaking - if implemented - guaranteed that the MDR quality would go way down quickly (take a look at NCL) so you would literally have to eat in a specialty restaurant or order off the 'expensive' menu.

 

for me, depending on the costs of course - if I have to pay extra to get a decent meal (as you do on NCL IMO) then either the fares have to go down to balance it (guaranteed that won't happen) or the more expensive cruise lines just got another plus why you should sail with them. JMVHO

 

Have you ever sailed with NCL? If so, how long ago?

 

We were on NCL Jade a couple of months ago and did not feel we had to eat in a speciality restaurant to get good food. The food in the MDRs (there were 2) was fine.

 

We did eat in a couple of the speciality restaurants but that was by choice the way that we go to Pinnacle on HAL.

 

We have also been on RCI where there is the option in the MDR to pay extra for a higher quality steak. It is quite clear on the menu that this is an 'extra charge' item. We never did this as the regular steak was fine for us. If they had offered something special that I wanted, I would have been happy to pay for it.

 

There didn't seem to be any problem with the waiters charging the people who had the extra cost item. They took their card at the end of the meal the same way they do when you buy wine.

 

[kazu]

Have you ever sailed with NCL? If so, how long ago?

 

We were on NCL Jade a couple of months ago and did not feel we had to eat in a speciality restaurant to get good food. The food in the MDRs (there were 2) was fine.

 

We did eat in a couple of the speciality restaurants but that was by choice the way that we go to Pinnacle on HAL.

 

We have also been on RCI where there is the option in the MDR to pay extra for a higher quality steak. It is quite clear on the menu that this is an 'extra charge' item. We never did this as the regular steak was fine for us. If they had offered something special that I wanted, I would have been happy to pay for it.

 

There didn't seem to be any problem with the waiters charging the people who had the extra cost item. They took their card at the end of the meal the same way they do when you buy wine.

 

 

Glad to hear it Carol - yes I have sailed on NCL as have my retired TA friends.:) We found the MDR was better before the addition of the extra specialty restaurants. They were very disappointed last time with the MDR (sailed less than 8 months ago). Like you, we choose to go to specialty restaurants - they do not - so they ate only in the MDR. NCL was at one time their number 1 line of choice. No longer - glad yours was good though:D edited to say - we have not sailed on the Jade, however.

[kazu]

Oh please don't! you have raised some great stuff here, keep up the good work. :D

 

Ditto too:)