If You Ran Food Service Corporate for HAL.........

[kazu]

As much as I enjoy dressing up - I DON'T want to go back to casual, informal and formal. Then it does get complicated for packing;)

 

In the old days when there were long excursions, HAL would offer a nice supper on the Lido for those returning. Doesn't seem to be happening now - so in that case, the Lido should probably be open another 1/2 hour or so to permit those who are back to get something decent to eat.

 

Usually only an issue in Europe, but I remember returning with the bbq all set, or different nice sandwiches, or sampling of foods, etc., beers/vodka/whatever from the port we were at. A sampling of the different foods - it was a lot of fun:p

 

It's pretty hard to go truly hungry on a ship just the same.

[lcand1923]

I haven't sailed HAL in years, so I'm going to base my comments upon what I've read. One of the big pleasures of sailing on HAL had been the Fixed Dining Times in the MDR. If you didn't like what was on the menu, or came back from a Shore Excursion on the late side, you could eat in the Lido or call for room service. From what I've read, it seems that HAL has blurred the lines in their dining options. The MDR now tries to accomodate fixed and anytime dining with a lesser staff. The Lido seems to have joined in the mix with the Caneleto option. HAL seems to be trying to please everyone and only marginally succeeding. (I'll be going on a HAL cruise in a few more months and will see how I like the changes.)

[rkacruiser]

For the most part, I am pleased with the current dining available on HAL's ships. I think the number of items offered on the MDR menus is very satisfactory and their preparation and presentation meets my expectations. An increase in the service staff could make the dining experience more personalized. The creation of the Culinary Council with the additions of receipes from these gentlemen on the menu is a great idea. As a suggestion, perhaps more menu items could be added that would reflect the region in which the ship is sailing.

 

I like the fixed dining time and would hate to see that done away with. I like the formal table settings. Casual and Formal nights should be maintained; don't go back to the informal nights.

 

I know I am in the minority, but my Pinnacle Grill experiences have not matched what I think I should be having in an up-scale restaurant. Mostly, they have been good; not great or outstanding. Improvement is needed in that area, I think.

 

And, I loved Tamarind! It would be a good addition for all of the ships. (But, where would they put it?)

 

One food item's receipe that MUST not change is the croissants. Oh, how good they are! (Just make them larger, please.) In fact, I think all of HAL's bread items, i.e. danish, donuts, different breads, are very, very good.

[CtheW0rld]

I didn't want anyone to be under the wrong impression. :)

 

I'm retired and don't work for anyone (and haven't for a long time) :)

seriously doubt HAL has any interest in anything I write here. ;)

 

 

weren't you a hal ambassador or something? i remember an article and photo about you in the mariner magazine in the past.

[lazey1]

Based on the other thread I started re: dining today, I wonder........

 

If you were given the chance to reconfigure all dining venues on HAL ships, would you make any changes?

 

Would you continue the choice of Traditional or Flexible Dining in the Main Dining Room?

Would you continue to have the lovely white clothes and table settings, mor formal dining service? Would you make it more casual as some of the Five Star Hotels are doing now?

 

Would you leave the alternative restaurants the way they are or what changes would you propose?

 

How about Lido?

 

BIG questions here, I know, but could be interesting what ideas people have and what they would like.

 

 

Here are our 2 cents worth.

 

#1. Have only Traditional dining in the Main Dining room.

#2. Continue the white cloths and beautiful table settings

#3. Have the Lido open from 5 a.m. until midnight every day.

#4. Change the Caneletto to a Mexican restaurant.

#5. Put a Tamarind and Silk Den on every ship.

 

Jane and Gary

[Cornishpastyman1]

Overall I am a big fan of HAL's food but the shrimps/prawns look good but are utterly tasteless. They can't be cheap so do away with them and put the money into more exotic fruit (especially mango) so that every fruit salad appetiser doesn't have to be 90% watermelon.

[sail7seas]

weren't you a hal ambassador or something? i remember an article and photo about you in the mariner magazine in the past.

 

 

Yes, we are.

 

[CaveDiving]

time marches on, BUT, i would like to see hal go back to their more traditional roots:

• smart casual, informal and formal dress codes (and enforce it)
  
• higher crew-to-passenger ratio
  
• fixed seating only in the MDR
  
• higher food cost daily - not a lot, even $5 day more would be a huge difference
  

have a casual, anytime venue for those that want it, of course. hal has become too much like the other mass-market lines.

 

I agree with you completely.

 

I believe the Grand Voyage cruises come closer to your ideas than HAL’s shorter cruises and we make the other accommodations ourselves. Following up on your desires….

 

1) On non-formal nights, we always dress according to HAL’s previous definition of “informal” in that Karen always wears a nice dress and I always wear a jacket. On formal nights we dress formally. So we have, in effect, gone back to the earlier cruising model.

2) The Grand Voyages do have a higher crew to passenger ratio.

3) The Grand Voyages have fixed seating only in the MDR while on other cruises we reserve early enough to request fixed seating. We always request a round table for eight so we can have interesting dinner discussions with our tablemates.

4) The food selection is somewhat more varied on the Grand Voyages.

 

So we have, in our own little way, returned to our more traditional cruising.

 

Scott & Karen

[Pettifogger]

What is a HAL Ambassador?

[Taxguy77]

I rarely use any of the alternative dining options, so I can only comment about the MDR.

 

I'm entirely satisfied with the food and more than satisfied with the service, the only persistent problem is the preponderance of open dining availability as compared to fixed dining. I believe many new passengers are disappointed that they are refused the fixed dining they prefer and some of them, I have no idea how many, on their next cruise, go elsewhere.If ever there was a thought that most passengers would come to love open dining if only they would try it, I think it's time to face the reality that they won't.

 

And it would be so easy to fix; just exchange the larger areas for open dining and the smaller ones for fixed.

 

I'll probably be one of them. Service in the open MDR was less than satisfactory.

[Topsham]

On a recent cruise I was assigned 'as you wish' and I thought I would give it a shot.

 

First evening I called and asked to get into Pinnacle... it is usually not too busy first night. I was told they were full and should have made a reservation as soon as I bame aboard at noon. Actually I boarded at 3 but that is neither here nor there. I then said, "OK... I'll taake a taable in Canaletto." Again I was told that I should have made a reservation as soon as I came aboard. Finally i asked at what time I could come to the MDR for a table and was told to come and wait in line with everyone else.

 

I put the phone down and called room service!!!!!!!

[BruceMuzz]

I rarely use any of the alternative dining options, so I can only comment about the MDR.

 

I'm entirely satisfied with the food and more than satisfied with the service, the only persistent problem is the preponderance of open dining availability as compared to fixed dining. I believe many new passengers are disappointed that they are refused the fixed dining they prefer and some of them, I have no idea how many, on their next cruise, go elsewhere.

 

If ever there was a thought that most passengers would come to love open dining if only they would try it, I think it's time to face the reality that they won't.

 

And it would be so easy to fix; just exchange the larger areas for open dining and the smaller ones for fixed.

 

All the major cruise lines - at one time or another - have polled their passengers to find exactly how many of them want fixed dining and how many want open dining. Princess still has this question on their guest comment cards every cruise.

Not surprisingly, all the mass market lines received nearly identical results.

 

65% tell us they prefer open dining; 35% tell us they prefer fixed dining.

 

Unless those millions of passengers have been lying to us, you are wrong.

Bear in mind that these percentages can vary from cruise to cruise, but from year to year, they never change.

 

If those disappointed new passengers you mentioned go elsewhere, they will find the same situation on any other mass market cruise line - for the very same reasons.

[lettienets]

........

Anyway, I'm perfectly happy the way things are...but the Lido left open all day and later in the evening would be great. Seems that I'm always getting there once lunch has been closed. We don't have dinner there so that's not a problem for us.

 

.........

Definitely longer Lido hours. It seems everytime I get back from an excursion, lunch is over and you are left with the same old pasta, salads etc.

In the evening, you can't wait too late or they are already taking away the dinner! I usually eat late traditional seating but sometimes I would like to have late casual in the Lido!

Very annoying short hours open.

[Pettifogger]

I wonder why, if only just over a third of HAL's cruise passengers prefer fixed dining and roughly that portion of the space in the MDR is assigned to fixed dining, we so frequently see reports on this board that it's so hard to get fixed dining and we hardly ever see reports that it's hard to get open dining?

 

Perhaps it wouldn't matter if HAL were a mass market line, but I, and many others, consider it to be a premium line.

[Yodalicious]

I dont mind either fixed or open seating, but I really dont want to share a table. :(. Just give us a table for 2, ans we are happy as clams

[sppunk]

I wonder why, if only just over a third of HAL's cruise passengers prefer fixed dining and roughly that portion of the space in the MDR is assigned to fixed dining, we so frequently see reports on this board that it's so hard to get fixed dining and we hardly ever see reports that it's hard to get open dining?

 

Perhaps it wouldn't matter if HAL were a mass market line, but I, and many others, consider it to be a premium line.

 

There is no limit on open dining slots like there is for fixed dining.

 

The majority of cruisers now want open seating, they have voted for this with their pocketbooks. To pretend the trend isn't set in stone is ignoring the facts.

[Pettifogger]

I wonder why the Grand Voyages have just fixed seating.

[sppunk]

Because they cater to a specific audience and being on a ship for 68+ days with the same people is different than a 7 or 10 day jaunt. The feeling of community, etc. builds.

 

The audience is older, have generally sailed much more, and want a different product than the mass market lines offer. Hence why most lines don't do them in the first place.

[sail7seas]

Are all the Grand Voyages on Prinsendam or does Amsterdam do some as well (aside from World Cruise)?

 

[RuthC]

Are all the Grand Voyages on Prinsendam or does Amsterdam do some as well (aside from World Cruise)?

 

Amsterdam does a Circle Pacific, which is a Grand Cruise over 60 days in length. Maasdam does a round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Europe, which I believe is considered a Grand Cruise.

[ldog]

I like the MDR as it is now. We prefer late fixed dining.

 

I would, however, like to see the menus changed to add more choices from the countries that we visit. That's one of the joys of travel.

 

The menus haven't changed much in the last few years.

[sail7seas]

I like the MDR as it is now. We prefer late fixed dining.

 

I would, however, like to see the menus changed to add more choices from the countries that we visit. That's one of the joys of travel.

 

The menus haven't changed much in the last few years.

 

Actually, the menus have changed a lot in the last several years.

 

Each cruise we go, we see changes.

Certainly some of the basics and favorites still appear (such as prime rib) but if you compare menus from three years ago to today's menus, I think you'll see a great many changes.

 

[luvs2travl]

One of the main reasons we choose HAL is for their great food and service, and their dining options. We enjoy the anytime dining in the MDR and have seldom had to wait for a table. We are ususally in and out in about an hour and a half. When we know we want a table for two, we just make a reservation that is within our "likes" for a dining time - usually between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

 

We also LOVE the Pinnacle and eat there for dinner at least 2 - 3 times per cruise, depending on the length, and quite often for lunch if we are on board at lunchtime...;)! Not much on buffets, so we seldom eat at the Lido, just once in awhile for breakfast.

 

I do agree with one of the previous posters, and would really love to see HAL put in something similar to Princess' International Cafe in the Atrium area. That would be truly awesome.

 

Smooth Sailing!!!

[Pettifogger]

Ruth C:

 

Do you think that if we tried to create a customer clamor for a Maasdam round trip Grand Voyage to Europe they would hear in Seattle?

 

For me, Grand Voyages are a little like flying first class but don't cost nearly as much more. If they could provide a Grand Voyage quality cruise experience on the Maasdam and take us to Europe without an expensive, overnight flight, I'd make every effort to be on it.

 

I know the Maasdam has done the round trip, but I'm not aware that it was a Grand Voyage. If they made it one and added just a few more days in Europe, it would be as attractive an option as anything for which we could ask.

 

One danger: I would hope they wouldn't dilute the Grand Voyage experience on the Prinsendam and the Amsterdam by diverting some of the best crew members from those ships to the Maasdam; they would hopefully assemble it from scratch.

 

There aren't enough Grand Voyages!

[sail7seas]

Ruth C:

 

Do you think that if we tried to create a customer clamor for a Maasdam round trip Grand Voyage to Europe they would hear in Seattle?

 

For me, Grand Voyages are a little like flying first class but don't cost nearly as much more. If they could provide a Grand Voyage quality cruise experience on the Maasdam and take us to Europe without an expensive, overnight flight, I'd make every effort to be on it.

 

I know the Maasdam has done the round trip, but I'm not aware that it was a Grand Voyage. If they made it one and added just a few more days in Europe, it would be as attractive an option as anything for which we could ask.

 

One danger: I would hope they wouldn't dilute the Grand Voyage experience on the Prinsendam and the Amsterdam by diverting some of the best crew members from those ships to the Maasdam; they would hopefully assemble it from scratch.

 

There aren't enough Grand Voyages!

 

 

They wouldn't need to 'divert crew' to Maasdam. She has an outstanding crew! They are wonderful.