Lost Weight from Westerdam's Food May 9-16th Alaska

[CrusinAgain]

Myself and 2 other sisters took this cruise, ages 54-65. We have 18+ cruises before this but first time on a Holland American ship. Great price for a suite for an Alaska cruise is what drew us to them and we were able to get their early special which included the beverage package, Pinnacle Grill, Cannaletto, and onboard credit. We were so excited and counted down the days. 2 of us had already been to Alaska before but it was our younger sisters first time.

 

Margaret in Neptune Lounge was a lovely person and had set up our speciality dinners for the first and 2nd nights and the Pinnacle Grill was great.

 

After that everything went downhill fast with food quality and lunch service in the dining room (especially Glacier Bay day) and in the Lido (no where else to eat folks that are use to perhaps pool side venue all day).

 

We expressed our concerns every day to eiher the dining management, Margaret or Ivy in the Neptune Lounge and to the front office and never have been on a cruiseline where nothing was offered to us for the unedible food we experienced except lip service to give them a try again.

 

No offer to eat for a discount in the Pinnacle Grill which was the only edible food which I personally did ask for and got a deaf ear. We did get a small zippered Westerdam pouch for the inedible food.

 

As far as I and the other sisters are concerned Holland America is running neck and neck with NCL which we will never take again as well so they lost some good revenue with us as much as we go on cruises and as time goes by the more we cruise.

 

We were not the only ones complaining as we talked to many people who did not like the food or the choices on the very limited menus.

 

Going back to Royal Caribbean and Princess where we can enjoy our vacation and get some much needed stress relief. We do not cruise for the food but we do expect better than a Denny's type quality and service.

 

Bartenders attitudes were hit and miss as well. Some bent over backwards to treat you as their quest but others were downrude rude.

 

Upsales on everything. Small casino, dark ship, very limited activities and movies. Always thought we could grab a movie and get popcorn - heck no not on this ship.

 

Thanks Westerdam I got home today and the scale showed 10 pounds loss instead of 5 pounds gained.

[sail7seas]

Sorry for your unhappy experience.

Hope your next cruise is more to your liking.

How many days was your cruise? I can't keep up with all the itineraries for 15 ships.

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by sail7seas

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry you were disappointed in the Westerdam and especially the food.

What exactly was wrong with the food?

[1of4]

So sorry to hear this. We spent 20 days on the Westerdam ending on May 1st and enjoyed every meal no matter where we chose to order from (Lido, dining room, Pinnacle Grill). Even my two children had no complaints and always had more than enough choice for each meal.

 

I hope you enjoyed Alaska, despite the hunger pangs.

[albingirl]

Oh, Westerdam is awful? Seriously, we had the cruise of a lifetime with our son and daughter-in-law in March. Sorry your experience was terrible. We did not experience this.

[serendipity1499]

After not eating for 5 days and them asking what can we do to help I suggested that and yes Royal and Princess is better but not to those that like "initimate" ships. What would you say after being asked "what can we do"? What is wrong with a discount on Pinnacle - we were in a Neptune Suite which is not cheap. Are you saying that they couldn''t afford that?

 

What was wrong with the food & why do you believe you should have received a discount at the Pinnacle? ..:confused::confused:

 

wish I could lose 10 lbs on a cruise..:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[ellieanne]

10 pounds on a 7 day cruise? I call shenanigans.

 

Well, I lost 4 pounds on my 14-day cruise, and that was with walking at least 3 miles every morning around the Promenade Deck.

 

Food is so subjective. But even so, I am very surprised there was nothing edible on the whole ship -- I know for a fact the kitchen staff will go out of their way to prepare something to your liking.

 

I'm calling hard-to-please, pain-in-the-rear.

[janmcn]

Two weeks on Westerdam in January and had no complaints about food, other than that the dining room service was slow, so we opted (as usual) to eat in the Lido. Never any "inedible" food. Desserts aren't Holland America's best thing, but that's a good thing in my book.

Sorry you didn't care for it...you can return to the maxi ships and enjoy them.

[ellieanne]

I have never been on the Westerdam, so I can make no comparisons. However, with all of the food complaints.... not once have you said what was wrong with the food. Please tell us. The only time I found the food on a HAL ship to be inedible, not unedible, was when we boarded the Veendam in Quebec last year and went to the late night feeding. We boarded late, never thought of room service, went to the Lido and the food was all picked over and very dry. But that was after 11 PM. So please tell us what was so bad about the food. Thank you.

 

I agree, what was wrong with the food that it was inedible? Was it spoiled or rotten? Was it under- or overcooked? Too salty? Not salty enough? Underseasoned? Merely stating the food was inedible is not really saying anything useful, or helpful. Even if I were a guest in your house for dinner and stated that the food was inedible, I have not offered anyway for you to correct the problem. There is nothing to be said, which is probably why the people to whom the original poster complained offered no advice other than "try again."

 

(Though I do find it very hard to believe that the only place there was anything edible was the Pinnacle Grill)

Edited May 17, 2015 by ellieanne

[whogo]

I was hoping for a description of the problems you had with the food, CruisinAgain. Too salty? Steaks well done when ordered medium? Raw potatoes? Burnt peas? Always?

 

I am no Holland America cheerleader. I have had some bad meals. But there are a few things that are hard to screw up to the point where they are inedible: boxed cereals, sliced fruit, ham, sandwiches, ice cream, salad bar, yogurt containers, and fresh squeezed orange juice. I see can see that mainline cruise ship may not be good enough for some people, but I am surprised that food on Holland America is that much worse than on Princess and Royal Caribbean.

[CrusinAgain]

I have never been on the Westerdam, so I can make no comparisons. However, with all of the food complaints.... not once have you said what was wrong with the food. Please tell us. The only time I found the food on a HAL ship to be inedible, not unedible, was when we boarded the Veendam in Quebec last year and went to the late night feeding. We boarded late, never thought of room service, went to the Lido and the food was all picked over and very dry. But that was after 11 PM. So please tell us what was so bad about the food. Thank you.

 

Bacon: undercooked and greasy, limp

Mashed Potatoes: no taste even though they were the red potatoes - tasted like from a box so probably too much liquid

Yellow Yukon gold baby potatoes: suppose to be tasty already - have no idea why they were not unless bought from some other country

Meats: Veal, chicken, steak - tough and grissly - tasteless

Salads: Good

Shrimp Cocktail: good

Spaghetti: made from box and boxes were on display but noodles were lumpy and meat sauce was spread too thin

Prime Rib: No taste and tough meat

New York Strip Steak: Extremely tough and that was medium rare

Pastries: Good

Yogurt: Good in containers

Eggs: They were in Lido frozen in big lumps when being put in omelette pan

Premade sandwiches: Okay but got old

Dive-In: They forgot my order after a 45 minute wait

Potato Chips: Edible

Desserts: Only 2 offerings on Lido - none were good - icecreme was good

Hashbrowns - triangles only even in Pinnacle Grill and not tasty

 

 

Foods tasted like bought from big box store frozen and not what we are use to - from scratch on a ship.

 

There were two tables on first breakfast morning in Pinnacle Grill that had not received their food and we had received ours and had eaten. They were extremely upset and made that known to the manager. We thought they were just drinking their coffee.

 

The three of us would offer a bite from what ever the other got and all agreed about the food.

 

Hope this helps you. I normally can find sugar free desserts at least 2 offerings on Lido but only once found a sugar free muffin.

[kazu]

sorry to hear this. We just got off the Westerdam at the beginning of May after 3 weeks on her and the food was quite edible, so I am surprised.

 

PG food was excellent when we were on and certainly worth the surcharge.

 

I wonder if there was a staff turnaround of some sort?

 

I notice the Neptune Lounge concierges have changed.

 

I just can't fathom how a ship could change so much in just over a week unless there was a major staff change?

[CrusinAgain]

sorry to hear this. We just got off the Westerdam at the beginning of May after 3 weeks on her and the food was quite edible, so I am surprised.

 

PG food was excellent when we were on and certainly worth the surcharge.

 

I wonder if there was a staff turnaround of some sort?

 

I notice the Neptune Lounge concierges have changed.

 

I just can't fathom how a ship could change so much in just over a week unless there was a major staff change?

 

That could have happened but wouldn't the crew still know how to cook? Forgot about lobster - that it was rubbery.

 

Go to Alaska and no crab legs???????

 

We were blown away - Princess always had crab legs and yes we asked. If you google you will find alot of complaints about the food on the Westerdam.

[sail7seas]

If I thought it would be a promise, I'd book Westerdam immediately to drop the ten pounds I'm lugging around I'd like to be rid of. :eek: :D

 

Seriously, I'm sorry you were disappointed with the food. I've sailed HAL more than 80 cruises, all in Neptune Suites, and try as I might, I couldn't drop ten pounds in a week no matter I tried. :D

 

Hope the next ship you sail will offer food more to your taste.

JMO but I do not think it reasonable to expect they would give the three of you a free dinner in Pinnacle. You certainly could have booked and gone there on your own if you were utterly unable to find any other food you liked. Certainly you could find places in ports to have great lunches.

 

Edited May 18, 2015 by sail7seas

[sunviking90]

CruisinAgain,

 

I am sorry your post was attacked by one or two posters. I think maybe more specifics in the first post would have been helpful. I believe your comments are very valid, as our experience on the Westerdam (our 4th or 5th time on her), last fall was very similar. My comments from a post at that time are below:

 

"On our recent coastal cruise on the Westerdam, I was served partly raw salmon at the embarkation lunch and again later in the week at dinner. I ordered a breakfast parfait the first morning and it arrived with a mouldy strawberry on top of soggy granola. My turkey dinner later in the week was served lukewarm. I was served a salad of spring greens with a lump of black rotten lettuce in the middle. I complained about the salad and the turkey, but let the rest slide, because they just apologize and what good does it do? There was a noticeable decline in quality.

 

We have cruised with HAL many times and we are not that picky. I have always been happy with the MDR and never expected a 5 star dining experience. I do expect to be served food that is cooked properly and safely and not rotting."

 

I was encouraged to hear that recent cruisers in the Westrdam had good experiences with the food. I am giving HAL one more chance with a short cruise on the Amsterdam next week, but after our wonderful first cruise on Celebrity last year I will be likely be looking at them in the future.

Edited May 18, 2015 by sunviking90

[kazu]

That could have happened but wouldn't the crew still know how to cook? Forgot about lobster - that it was rubbery.

 

Go to Alaska and no crab legs???????

 

We were blown away - Princess always had crab legs and yes we asked. If you google you will find alot of complaints about the food on the Westerdam.

 

I don't need to google thanks. I've read enough reviews but I also know to take some with a grain of salt. I have been on the Westerdam twice and both of our experiences were very good.

 

But, I am wondering who your Hotel Director was? Wondering if that changed. I am still perplexed how food can change that much in less than 2 weeks.

[cruisevers]

sorry to hear this. We just got off the Westerdam at the beginning of May after 3 weeks on her and the food was quite edible, so I am surprised.

 

PG food was excellent when we were on and certainly worth the surcharge.

 

I wonder if there was a staff turnaround of some sort?

 

I notice the Neptune Lounge concierges have changed.

 

I just can't fathom how a ship could change so much in just over a week unless there was a major staff change?

 

We just got off her yesterday and the concierges were Margaret and Ivy. I thought they were the same ones as your cruise?

 

We enjoyed the food except for the Pinnacle Grill dinner. We did eat in the Lido and room service since we spent our time mostly on the balcony watching for wildlife tho.

[lovesublime]

I can't believe someone actually suggested the OP could have made do with boxes of cereal and ham sandwiches.

[cbr663]

<snip>

 

Foods tasted like bought from big box store frozen and not what we are use to - from scratch on a ship.

 

 

I think that this statement sums up your experience. Fact is that HAL has been eliminating much of the made from scratch menu items and relying more and more on opening a can or box. All protein is frozen, breads and pastries are frozen and mass produced and most of the sauces start out from a can. If you are not use to eating these items, it can be jolt to your taste buds to suddenly finding this every where you go.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

 

Going back to Royal Caribbean and Princess where we can enjoy our vacation and get some much needed stress relief. We do not cruise for the food but we do expect better than a Denny's type quality and service.

 

I am sorry you did not like the choices of food and thought the food was inedible. It really is sad to plan a cruise especially with others and come home and say you lost weight because the food was so bad But I guess it is just another proven fact the Food is VERY Subjective. The two cruise lines you mention are the two that I will never return to because of the food and service. With the first one you mentioned I still cringe at the thought of eating in the Main Dining Room. I just kept saying get me off this ship. The second one you mention unless I want to eat Pizza all week I found the Quality extremely low.....Now interestingly enough my last three NCL cruises I had some of the best meals I have ever had at Sea and including some of the nice restaurants I have access to here in Vegas. The Sea Bass in Cagney's was amazing and the Blue Crab Crab Cakes I had in the Main Dining Room just thinking about them make my mouth water.

 

I think it is good that we have choices and you just figured out what you do not want to do again. :)