Food on the Statendam Alaska Cruise

[desertr0se]

My husband and I took this cruise from Seward, AK to Victoria B.C. The cruise was itself was lovely but the food left much to be desired. We ate in the Pinnacle Grill twice and one in the Italian restaurant. The lobster was brown. Not the nice white flesh I'm use to. The taste was different too like maybe they soaked it in something before grilling it.

 

The scalloped potatoes had a nasty spice in them and the creamed spinach tasted like they added the same spice to it too. I could not eat either one and I'm not a finicky eater. Forget about being able to find REAL cheesecake on board, they don't provide it anymore. What they call cheesecake is a fake version of the real thing. I was so disappointed. Oh and our cabin did not have hot water. We complained daily but all they could do was provide water that was barely warm. They finally gave us a $100 credit because they couldn't fix it and couldn't move us as the ship was full.

 

I am hoping the next trip to the Panama Canal in April will be more enjoyable. They need to replace the chef in the Pinnacle Grill. Gordon Ramsey sure wouldn't stand for the taste of the food.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Agree about Chef's -- we have encountered some bad ones as well.

This is so funny. In 2006 we sailed on the Statendam -- 14 day Alaska -- northbound and southbound. And it was the main dining room chef who was destroying all the food with his version of what everything should be. Most of the food had a burnt taste.

We ended up eating in the Pinnacle most of the time.

[desertr0se]

I filled out a survey at the end of the cruise that was emailed to me. Hopefully they will remove the chef and replace him with someone who has some cooking knowledge. I really could not believe it.

[SilvertoGold]

My husband and I took this cruise from Seward, AK to Victoria B.C. The cruise was itself was lovely but the food left much to be desired. We ate in the Pinnacle Grill twice and one in the Italian restaurant. The lobster was brown. Not the nice white flesh I'm use to. The taste was different too like maybe they soaked it in something before grilling it.

 

The scalloped potatoes had a nasty spice in them and the creamed spinach tasted like they added the same spice to it too. I could not eat either one and I'm not a finicky eater. Forget about being able to find REAL cheesecake on board, they don't provide it anymore. What they call cheesecake is a fake version of the real thing. I was so disappointed. Oh and our cabin did not have hot water. We complained daily but all they could do was provide water that was barely warm. They finally gave us a $100 credit because they couldn't fix it and couldn't move us as the ship was full.

 

I am hoping the next trip to the Panama Canal in April will be more enjoyable. They need to replace the chef in the Pinnacle Grill. Gordon Ramsey sure wouldn't stand for the taste of the food.

 

We were on this cruise and the one before.

 

I had the lobster in our first Pinnacle dinner and was disappointed that it seemed grilled and dry, not poached or steamed as usual. The scalloped potatoes were very different from usual, too, not creamy at all. This is one thing I order at every Pinnacle meal, but I gave up after the second try on this ship.

All other items we ordered in 3 dinners and one lunch in the Pinnacle were excellent, as was the service. Manager Peter was a perfect host, too.

 

Desserts are not HAL's forte. The one dessert in the Lido and at the Afternoon Tea that was worth the calories was a Swiss Roll type of cake. Excellent! Hazelnut-coffee and the chocolate were outstanding, the strawberry and raspberry ones were good.

[desertr0se]

I have to agree with you on the desserts. They look pretty but the taste is lacking. I just wanted a good slice of New York Cheesecake. Next time, I'll get it just prior to the cruise at some bakery. I was hoping to find it on board, no such luck. They have the bread pudding down pat. That has remained good for years.

[cruz chic]

I have to agree with you on the desserts. They look pretty but the taste is lacking. I just wanted a good slice of New York Cheesecake. Next time, I'll get it just prior to the cruise at some bakery. I was hoping to find it on board, no such luck. They have the bread pudding down pat. That has remained good for years.

 

They used to make such good cheesecake. When I did a cruise in 1999 (after a long break btw my first one) they had NY style cheesecake every night. It was sooooooooo good. Now they make it with low fat crem cheese. The chef s/b shot for that:D.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL's desserts -we really don't care for them. Years ago they were good.