just off Eurodam, are dining expectations realistic or unrealistic?

[Khaos WolfKat]

I never said anything about caviar. I did mention I had veal that was like a rough piece of beef.

 

Carnival advertises as being fun. Princess advertises as being the way to vacation to come back anew.

 

But Holland America says they are, "A signature of excellence."

 

The way I see it, if I want to limbo and have a good time I'll go on Carnival, if I want a relaxing adventure I'll do Princess, but if I want sophisticated I will do HAL. Except HAL is not delivering.

 

Sure, if one lives in the middle of nowhere, and a trip to Dairy Queen is an epicurean adventure, then a HAL trip is adventurous- I suppose. But most people are not so sheltered. Most people know that last night's lemon chicken dressed up as chicken cacciatore is NOT a signature of excellence.

 

Raise the price a bit, deliver excellence and people will come, people who value quality. How much more per passenger would a quartette cost over the price of a duo? How much more would real veal cost over a cheap cut of beef? Charge me that, I would have paid. But I'll never again pay to be a captive diner forced to eat food that doesn't even equal the local Home Town Buffet.

I stand corrected. You have now made it abundantly clear that neither I, nor the majority of posters in this thread will ever be your equal. It is probably best that you steer clear of HAL in the future, lest you be sullied by the plebeian masses. Luckily for you, this won't be a problem, as you can recognise and afford true quality, whilst leaving the likes of us, with our sheltered and uncultivated tastes, to our coarse, low brow fare. I have truly been put in my place, and thank you for your wise and timely correction.

 

PS:

I wonder if there will be a barn dance on my upcoming HAL cruise. I can hardly wait! I even mended last year's overalls and turned them into a gown for Gala Night!

Edited July 11, 2015 by Khaos WolfKat
missing comma

[ellieanne]

Sure, if one lives in the middle of nowhere, and a trip to Dairy Queen is an epicurean adventure, then a HAL trip is adventurous- I suppose. But most people are not so sheltered. Most people know that last night's lemon chicken dressed up as chicken cacciatore is NOT a signature of excellence.

 

Raise the price a bit, deliver excellence and people will come, people who value quality. How much more per passenger would a quartette cost over the price of a duo? How much more would real veal cost over a cheap cut of beef? Charge me that, I would have paid. But I'll never again pay to be a captive diner forced to eat food that doesn't even equal the local Home Town Buffet.

 

Wow! It must be really nice to be able to waste food in such a manner to never have to deal with leftovers. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Personally, I find it quite excellent that HAL finds a way to re-use leftovers rather than wasting them. And if you think other lines/5-Star restaurants do not do the same, obviously you have never been in a restaurant kitchen! Wasted food is lost money, and a thing to be avoided at all costs.

 

I've had 5-Star restaurant cuisine. Most of them are "art projects disguised as dinner." Just because the chef CAN make a foam out of apples and agar agar doesn't mean he SHOULD.

 

I think too many of use expect Top Chef or Heston Blumenthal major when we read "gourmet" when the reality is something very different. Many people come to New Orleans and go to the classic old restaurants and come away disappointed because what they are served is peasant food. It's GOOD peasant food, but it's still, at its heart, peasant food. That does not make it bad, or not gourmet. Gourmet dining is not the same as dining with all the new bells and whistles.

[Khaos WolfKat]

Wow! It must be really nice to be able to waste food in such a manner to never have to deal with leftovers. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

(...) Gourmet dining is not the same as dining with all the new bells and whistles.

Now now Ellieanne; We peasants must remember our place in the presence of our betters.

[Diver2014]

Y'all made me laugh this morning. I love the cuisine on HAL. Sure do miss those prunes at the Lido. Y'all have a nice day now, hear? :D

[POA1]

Y'all made me laugh this morning. I love the cuisine on HAL. Sure do miss those prunes at the Lido. Y'all have a nice day now, hear? :D

 

Here. Hope this can hold you over.

[AZNative2000]

vmom

For years I have noticed on this board folks who brag about choosing a TA that saves them even just $25 (really ... On a seven day or longer cruise is that significant?) and yet they somehow do not see the contradiction between the proliferation of bargain fares and the expectation that service not decline.

 

Actually this seems to be a prevalent attitude all over these days. It is reinforced by retail stores who always have some sort of sale or special going on every day. Folks just don't wish to feel like they have paid full price for anything these days. This attitude has consequences on quality and service.

 

This may have to do with folks who think ALL companies make huge profits and any bit they can keep for themselves is a win.

 

Heard back in the 60s ... "stick it to the man".

 

Find it amazing that some people complain about what they get for the price they paid. Come on now - price out a hotel room with twice daily cleaning, 3 fantastic meals a day plus snacks, teas, room service, entertainment, attending a movie, listening to a (usually) decent lecture, etc. for a land vacation and then be thankful you paid so much less for your cruise - plus the adventure of new ports/sights/cultures is thrown in for free!

 

I have done this comparison. Each time I do, I laugh while I'm on hold with my (HAL) PCC making my next booking.:)

 

Cheers!

[chefestelle]

Find it amazing that some people complain about what they get for the price they paid. Come on now - price out a hotel room with twice daily cleaning, 3 fantastic meals a day plus snacks, teas, room service, entertainment, attending a movie, listening to a (usually) decent lecture, etc. for a land vacation and then be thankful you paid so much less for your cruise - plus the adventure of new ports/sights/cultures is thrown in for free!

 

 

I find this post on this thread closest to home for me. I didn't pick a cruise because I thought it would be an old time luxury vacation. I booked it because my daughter wanted a vacation that allowed her to do a mini sampler of the Mediterranean. We picked HAL because our travel agent said its itinerary best combined our travel interests in the area. We have done lots of land travelling of the team budget, quick get away, business/pleasure, all inclusive and freestyle varieties. We enjoy them all for their own reasons. She's 14 so sometimes our interests really vary.

While I love the idea of a cruise and its comforts, I appreciate that there is only so much you can expect for the price. Do I find it inexpensive? No. But I appreciate that I would pay an awful lot more for the same star service, amenities, food, entertainment etc on land. I just wouldn't wake up in so many different places. So I have adjusted my expectations for what I expect for the price. I know I will enjoy the experience that way (except if my a/c or toilet don't work - then I'll boil!)

[RuthC]

We peasants must remember our place in the presence of our betters.

Thanks for my first laugh of the day (they've been in short supply lately :().

 

The more of your posts that I read, the more I know I would love to sail with you some day.

[cl61447]

Thanks for my first laugh of the day (they've been in short supply lately :().

 

The more of your posts that I read, the more I know I would love to sail with you some day.

 

My thoughts also Keep em coming

[Diver2014]

 

Here. Hope this can hold you over.

 

Ouch! I just hurt my fingers trying to reach into my screen! :D

[carolcp]

We were on the back to back cruise also. First the Baltic and then the Norway/Scotland cruise.

 

Saw some "minor" differences between the food in the two cruises. Nothing major just different. The "biggest" and it was minor was on the Baltic cruise the salmon roses in the breakfast were all one big tray with the capers in a bowl and for the Scotland/Norway cruise there were two roses on a plate and 3-4 capers. Horrors - having to only get two pieces of salmon at a time.

 

The chocolates in the explorers lounge in the Baltic was dark and the Norway/Scotland milk chocolate. Don't like milk chocolate so I didn't take any.

 

Talking of milk chocolate, only saw chocolate milk out one time at breakfast.

 

For the Baltic cruise we ate dinner in the Lido more than half the time. I like the better choice of veggies in the Lido.

 

We didn't have good luck with tables in the main dining room. We were seated at a time for 10 and there might be three of us. Or us 2 at one end of the table and a party of 4 together sat at the other end ignoring us at the other end. One night we were seated a table where we were the only English speakers, the others were from Sweden and Denmark. That night we didn't add much to the conversation.

 

A couple of nights we meet some really interesting folks and had fun swapping stories of our adventures in port.

 

The worst was breakfast. Five times I walked up to a table being cleared or the people were leaving and just as I was putting my plates down a family swooped in from the other side of the table and took it over and just grinned up with a smile of too bad you loose. No room for hubby who was still getting his coffee so I was off to look for another location.

 

 

Loved the ports and the experiences. Hard to find a quiet place to work (sad to say had to bring work with me for the sea days) away from the music and loud conversations until the LAST day when hubby found a retreat up by the spa that is open for all, not just those with a spa pass. If I had found that I would have not had to keep moving just to get away from the noise and still be able to watch sea. The silk den was usually my choice until loud conversations were too distracting. Then on to explorers lounge until the art auctions and then the crows nest until other meetings.

 

Since I am not a big foodie, the food was good enough for the most part. I thought that most of the food was pretty good.

[Jameseric]

...first cruise on August 29th, so I can't speak, personally, about the food and service, but I have seen LOTS of threads on here where folks are complaining about how terrible the service and food is, with comments that make it sound like low end hospital cafeteria food, but then, when queried, they are comparing it to Olive Garden and Applebees... as though those are SOOO low brow. That, along with some of the really snobby comments in some of the attire threads had me wondering if I had made a big mistake in booking a cruise at all, cause I "don't belong".

Yes, well put. We are relative newbies to the art and science of doing cruises, so we may bring a naive expectation that posting folk on CC will behave decently, if not generously. Most do. But there are those others who are, whether because of or in spite of their comfy socio-economic status, routinely and overtly rude. Announcing that all the onboard wine is nasty plonk. Furnishing harsh critiques of someone's patent leather shoes. Dissing the espresso, for goodness sake. Trashing those "plebians" in non-suite cabins (one bozo, probably shooting quite prosperous cufflinks as he typed, compared his cabin-inferiors to jungle tribes). No smiley face, no remotely implied humor. Ill-advised posts can happen to anybody -- where you'd give anything to be able to delete something you posted because it came out badly as though written by an insensitive jerk. Which is not remotely your character. But this stuff I've described, whoa, it takes practice. Thus endeth the anti-troll rant.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Jameseric

[cruiseJMO]

We were on the back to back cruise also. First the Baltic and then the Norway/Scotland cruise.

 

Saw some "minor" differences between the food in the two cruises. Nothing major just different. The "biggest" and it was minor was on the Baltic cruise the salmon roses in the breakfast were all one big tray with the capers in a bowl and for the Scotland/Norway cruise there were two roses on a plate and 3-4 capers. Horrors - having to only get two pieces of salmon at a time.

 

The chocolates in the explorers lounge in the Baltic was dark and the Norway/Scotland milk chocolate. Don't like milk chocolate so I didn't take any.

 

Talking of milk chocolate, only saw chocolate milk out one time at breakfast.

 

For the Baltic cruise we ate dinner in the Lido more than half the time. I like the better choice of veggies in the Lido.

 

We didn't have good luck with tables in the main dining room. We were seated at a time for 10 and there might be three of us. Or us 2 at one end of the table and a party of 4 together sat at the other end ignoring us at the other end. One night we were seated a table where we were the only English speakers, the others were from Sweden and Denmark. That night we didn't add much to the conversation.

 

A couple of nights we meet some really interesting folks and had fun swapping stories of our adventures in port.

 

The worst was breakfast. Five times I walked up to a table being cleared or the people were leaving and just as I was putting my plates down a family swooped in from the other side of the table and took it over and just grinned up with a smile of too bad you loose. No room for hubby who was still getting his coffee so I was off to look for another location.

 

 

Loved the ports and the experiences. Hard to find a quiet place to work (sad to say had to bring work with me for the sea days) away from the music and loud conversations until the LAST day when hubby found a retreat up by the spa that is open for all, not just those with a spa pass. If I had found that I would have not had to keep moving just to get away from the noise and still be able to watch sea. The silk den was usually my choice until loud conversations were too distracting. Then on to explorers lounge until the art auctions and then the crows nest until other meetings.

 

Since I am not a big foodie, the food was good enough for the most part. I thought that most of the food was pretty good.

 

"Horrors - having to only get two pieces of salmon at a time.". I thought you were just being funny, but are you serious?

This and the chocolates seems pretty picky, so I thought you were joking around til I got all the way thru what you wrote.

And, if other people bother you, shouldn't you choose a more private cruise than on a major cruise line?

[worldtrekker]

The responses to this thread have been very amusing :p

 

I would not expect any venue that serves hundreds or thousands of people to be 5 star. I have not tried HAL yet, but the other cruises I have been on have food which is perfectly acceptable for what it is. We recently went to a land-based resort for holiday and it was lovely, but the food was super mediocre AND I had to pay extra for it. The amount I paid for my teen alone could have funded her spot on a cruise! So, the fact that the food is included, I don't have to make it, or clean up after it, and it is served with a smile makes it wonderful. I do not cruise for the food - I go for the adventure!

 

I also wonder if our collective palate is changing as specialty foods become more prevalent. My 11 year old will comment on the "nutty quality" of maasdam cheese. Gosh, at that age I think I knew cheddar and colby. Perhaps that is guiding expectations as well.

 

And, finally, what is up with those prunes? I never buy them, but I cannot resist them when they are on a buffet. My family mocks me, but am weak in their presence. :D

[Khaos WolfKat]

Thanks for my first laugh of the day (they've been in short supply lately :().

 

The more of your posts that I read, the more I know I would love to sail with you some day.

 

My thoughts also Keep em coming

 

Well, thank you, to you both! :)

I try VERY hard to remain civil in most any situation. Sometimes it requires some additional creativity. Thankfully, I was raised in the South, so I am well equipped for such things.

 

Horrors - having to only get two pieces of salmon at a time.

.:: gasp! ::. Obviously, that simply will not do! What sort of provincial bumpkins do they think you are!? The very idea!

 

The chocolates in the explorers lounge in the Baltic was dark and the Norway/Scotland milk chocolate. Don't like milk chocolate so I didn't take any.

And this is why I shall be bringing my own supply of 86%+ dark chocolates. ;)

 

The worst was breakfast. Five times I walked up to a table being cleared or the people were leaving and just as I was putting my plates down a family swooped in from the other side of the table and took it over and just grinned up with a smile of too bad you loose. No room for hubby who was still getting his coffee so I was off to look for another location.

 

Seriously!? I would have politely, but firmly, informed them that the table was taken and that they would have to find another. I MIGHT offer to share the table with them, depending on their attitude. If they were jerks about it, I would "nicely offer" to ask a waiter/server/employee/whatever they call them on the ship to help them find an available table. There is a definite line between civility and doormat! (NOT saying you're a doormat, and I do understand that confrontation is much harder for many than it is for me!)

I'm very glad to read that the majority of your cruise was enjoyable, and am looking forward to a wonderful cruise myself. I'll just have steel myself for such atrocities as limits on the amount of food I'm allowed to cram onto my plate at one time.

[POA1]

And, finally, what is up with those prunes? I never buy them, but I cannot resist them when they are on a buffet. My family mocks me, but am weak in their presence. :D

 

Maybe it's just our dumb luck, but I swear that they bring a rail car of prunes into Port Everglades every time we cruise. We had prunes on our cheese plates, big, heaping trays of breakfast prunes, and on the Noordam last Spring there was a Prune Drink of the Day. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Sadly, it was not called a Pruna Colada.

[cruiseJMO]

Maybe it's just our dumb luck, but I swear that they bring a rail car of prunes into Port Everglades every time we cruise. We had prunes on our cheese plates, big, heaping trays of breakfast prunes, and on the Noordam last Spring there was a Prune Drink of the Day. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Sadly, it was not called a Pruna Colada.

😂😄😆

I knew it wouldn't take you long to reply.

Where's the link to your pics with the awesome commentary again? I was trying to show my mother, but couldn't find it.

[CinWin]

I love prunes and the juice that comes with them. Can't wait to get my fill at breakfast in the Lido. :D

[headhunterke]

This is the trend that's been going on in the travel industry for a while now. People demand low bottom prices, but expect top notch service. You can't have both and companies are forced to find a very difficult balance.

And believe me, those who pay the least, complain the most. It's mostly these kind of folks that also run into trouble when flying a lowcost airline and arrive with triple the amount of handbags they can take.

[POA1]

😂😄😆

I knew it wouldn't take you long to reply.

Where's the link to your pics with the awesome commentary again? I was trying to show my mother, but couldn't find it.

Thanks. It starts here, and goes on pretty much forever.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2132818

[POA1]

I love prunes and the juice that comes with them. Can't wait to get my fill at breakfast in the Lido. :D

I never understood that. Prunes are dried plums. Why is there juice? The dried apricots, which sit right next to the prunes, are dry. Like you'd expect dried fruit to be. Raisins don't have any juice either. It's downright disturbing, I tell you.

Edited July 12, 2015 by POA1
Left out a comma. I hate when I do that.

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

I'm definitely in the camp who believes HAL is slipping. My last three cruises had me saying, "What the heck is happening with HAL. So many factors are at play but maybe some of the problems can be attributed to the generally low pricing points on seven day cruises. My last three HAL cruises were shaky in the most basic things like dirty cabin not fully cleaned, housekeeping issues around the ship, bland uninspired MDR food served by surly waiters, ect. I know mass market ships aren't five star but HAL truly needs to work on the basics. I "discovered" HAL after some bad cruises on Princess. For a while up until about two years ago they were my favorite line. It's kinda sad to see how they are becoming a shadow of their former self. Last October I sailed on Crown Princess for a week in the Mexican Riviera and was amazed by the standard of food and service on-board. Clearly, Princess has upped their game. I'll be sailing on the Zaandam next week. Despite the problems that sometimes exist, I still come back to HAL for the ships and overall MELLOW atmosphere.

[Khaos WolfKat]

The responses to this thread have been very amusing :p

Indeed. ;)

I also wonder if our collective palate is changing as specialty foods become more prevalent. My 11 year old will comment on the "nutty quality" of maasdam cheese. Gosh, at that age I think I knew cheddar and colby. Perhaps that is guiding expectations as well.

Y'know, I think you may be on to something there. It kind of reminds me of when my grandson (now 5) was 2. I am a "bit" of a cheese connoisseur, and my grandson regularly visits with me for a day or few at a time, and he eats what I eat. So, we were all over at my parents' house for a weekend, and my grandson asked my dad for some cheese. My dad pulled out a Kraft single and gave it to him, at which, my grandson leveld a horrified look on him, held the single out betwixt thumb and forefinger like it was covered in dog poop, and stated firmly, "No, I want some real cheese!" After my dad tried, unsuccessfully, and with much laughter and no support, whatsoever from myself, my daughter, or my mom, to convince the child that the "cheese food" was, in fact, cheese, he broke down and gave him some Grana Padano and all was well. It still makes me chuckle every time I think about it!

Yes, well put. We are relative newbies to the art and science of doing cruises, so we may bring a naive expectation that posting folk on CC will behave decently, if not generously. Most do. But there are those others[...]

 

I'm afraid there are always those "others", wherever you go. Thankfully, they appear to be in the minority.

[GeorgesGal]

We cruise to experience being at sea, to get to visit certain ports, to get home from visits to family in Europe; we do not cruise to experience gourmet meals. We have found the service on HAL to be regularly at, or above, expectation, and the food to be enjoyable. The only thing unsatisfactory on a HAL ship is the occasional pretentious complainer - but we have been fortunate in being able to avoid (or at least ignore) them.

 

Navybankerteacher, Each time I see one of your posts I mean to say this to you:

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!

 

Now said.

 

Donna

[iancal]

Same here. We have reasonable expectations based on pricing and the current offerings of the mass market lines.

 

As long as the ship is in reasonably good condition, our cabin is clean and everything in it works, the food is reasonable, and the service is good we are happy. Our expectations are exceeded 95 percent or more of our cruises. But we are careful in the selection of ships/cruise lines.

 

We tend to book late. We certainly do not buy the most expensive cabins. I sometimes wonder what the expectations are, especially of the MDR, of those who are paying considerably more that we do. Price can be one of the attributions of expectation. If we pay $1400 for a last minute verandah gty and others have paid $2800 for the same type of cabin does this imply that we have different expectations? Or even more for a mini suite or suite that have the same on board benefits. I do not know.

 

I guess this is the challenge for cruise ships and why they are trying so hard to differentiate product...especially in the dining environment.

Edited July 12, 2015 by iancal