LAFFNVEGAS "LIVE" from the Nieuw Amsterdam/The Return.... Part Two

[idiebabe]

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

Thanks for sharing your cruise observations. I agree that one has to have the mind set that recent pandemic era cruises are not going be totally like past experiences. Our bottom line is we had a great time, ate way to well and loved being back on a Dam ship.

 

 

 

 

That’s exactly how we feel!  😀

[aliaschief]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes some things will be different, that is understandable.  When you are paying a premium to eat in a specialty restaurant the food should be better than the mdr or lido. They are now adding 18 percent to the bill for a tip.  The service should be very good for that.  If you are fine with mediocre service and food that is your choice.  I am not.  They’ve been at sea for well over a month.  Service should be getting better, not declining.  

I’m not trying to hype Hal but in our experience the service and the food were great in specialty restaurants. Should I lie about our experience I think not. Just telling like it was and we can be pretty described as foodies. We did not have mediocre service or dining experiences. 

 

Not arguing if  others had a lesser dining experience just saying we did not experience bad service or food. 
 

 

[rkacruiser]

5 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

I’m not trying to hype Hal but in our experience the service and the food were great in specialty restaurants. Should I lie about our experience I think not. Just telling like it was and we can be pretty described as foodies. We did not have mediocre service or dining experiences. 

 

Not arguing if  others had a lesser dining experience just saying we did not experience bad service or food. 
 

 

 

I respect your opinion about your experiences in the PG just as I know that you respect mine.  

 

My experiences have been consistently inconsistent.  Whether you agree or not, I will maintain that the reason is due to the senior management of the ship, starting with the Master, through the HD, to the Executive Chef, to the Manager of the PG.  

 

THAT has been MY consistent experience when sailing on a HAL vessel.  

[aliaschief]

28 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I respect your opinion about your experiences in the PG just as I know that you respect mine.  

 

My experiences have been consistently inconsistent.  Whether you agree or not, I will maintain that the reason is due to the senior management of the ship, starting with the Master, through the HD, to the Executive Chef, to the Manager of the PG.  

 

THAT has been MY consistent experience when sailing on a HAL vessel.  

I respect your opinion and after very many dinners in Pinnacle Grill this cruise experience  was  good. Yes, we have had some not so good Pinnacle Grill experiences but not on this last cruise.

 

Sad to hear others did not but if the experience is not going well one has to speak up and let management know. Many times that discussion works for us and management is sincere to act and correct.

Edited September 15, 2021 by aliaschief

[rkacruiser]

2 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Sad to hear others did not but if the experience is not going well one has to speak up and let management know. Many times that discussion works for us and management is sincere to act and correct.

 

Yes, one ought to be assertive with the hope/expectation that management will be responsive.

 

But, Chief, why is this even necessary?  When I began to cruise on HAL--maybe you did as well?--the consistency of the cruise experience was the same "Signature of Excellence",  or whatever the previous slogan was, regardless of whatever HAL ship I sailed.  I cannot forget that.  I cannot forgive for the failures that I experience when the money I spend results in a disappointing cruise experience that does not meet my expectations when, once upon a time, that happened zero times.

 

A CONSISTENT cruise product was offered for many years by HAL.  That's what I miss.  

[canadarocks]

I understand loyalty, truly I do. But I think we all have to be very careful in this ongoing Covid and hopefully Post-Covid world to not let companies (HAL and many others) to use our sympathies to capitalize on the "I'm sorry, but it's the struggles in the times we're living in" excuse. 

Edited September 15, 2021 by canadarocks

[aliaschief]

38 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Yes, one ought to be assertive with the hope/expectation that management will be responsive.

 

But, Chief, why is this even necessary?  When I began to cruise on HAL--maybe you did as well?--the consistency of the cruise experience was the same "Signature of Excellence",  or whatever the previous slogan was, regardless of whatever HAL ship I sailed.  I cannot forget that.  I cannot forgive for the failures that I experience when the money I spend results in a disappointing cruise experience that does not meet my expectations when, once upon a time, that happened zero times.

 

A CONSISTENT cruise product was offered for many years by HAL.  That's what I miss.  

My friend,  you’ll have to be one who comes to a personal agreement as to if you want to continue cruising with Hal. Persistently you have been critical of the product and have not been happy with Hal’s product. So maybe time to choose other options.

 

Maybe time to try something new or just step back from cruising. The cruising experience that we knew is not coming back. Only you can decide what you want or down the road what physical limitations allow.

 

Your’e not or never happy so I do pray you find something that does make you happy in your future cruise bookings.

Edited September 15, 2021 by aliaschief

[echoshipmate]

After a particularly crummy experience in the PG, Tina was the manager, I sought out and told Henk Mensenk(sp), the Hotel manager about my experience and he was taken aback. He called the manager to his office and told her that was not the way HAL operated. The next morning at breakfast in the PG, Henk came in to personally tell me he had spoken with the manager and the situation has been cleared up. I have many future cruises boked with HAL, and am hoping that current management will take a more active role in knowing how various departments under their oversight are operating. It does matter.

Doug

[Boytjie]

A few thoughts on the Pinnacle from our August 14th cruise.  
 

We had dinner the first sea day at 8pm and it was rather empty. We had a table by the window in the “back room” with very few others dining there. 
 

Service was prompt. The menu wasn’t thrilling but we found things of interest. My husband had the Braised Short Ribs with Mushroom Cavatappi and the pasta was tough. He politely returned it and he eventually got a replacement and it was better. 

 

The funny thing is that we apparently were on the radar of the crew for being onboard and having a connection to someone high up in the culinary department (not going to explain that). We got things that others did not and had the chef come out to greet us. And we still got a sub par dish. 

[atexsix]

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

[cruisemom42]

On 9/13/2021 at 4:55 PM, kazu said:

 

I have been following Rich on FB and they have been tested weekly on board.  Seems like a real contradiction between Alaska & Europe sailing 🤷‍♂️ 

Wonder if liability issues are different in the U.S. than in Europe?

 

Not sure whether liability is the issue. EU has stricter public health requirements and expectations that the governments support and the cruise lines had to agree to. Unfortunately in the US we seem to have effectively neutered the CDC, so the public have no one in their corner to require cruise lines to do more than the bare minimum to keep themselves out of trouble and operational for the short term. 

 

[dobiemom]

35 minutes ago, atexsix said:

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

I agree, there should have been about 3x the amount of cottage cheese. But it worked fine for us ‘cuz GF doesn’t like cottage cheese so I ate both. 😉

Watermelon was very good. 😋

Edited September 15, 2021 by dobiemom

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Not sure whether liability is the issue. EU has stricter public health requirements and expectations that the governments support and the cruise lines had to agree to. Unfortunately in the US we seem to have effectively neutered the CDC, so the public have no one in their corner to require cruise lines to do more than the bare minimum to keep themselves out of trouble and operational for the short term. 

 

So well put.

[JAM37]

5 hours ago, atexsix said:

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

WOW! I was hoping you were going to say that you, or even a child, made that plate at the buffet.

[NCTribeFan]

I'd also like to thank all the others who have also posted their thoughts about the cruise.  I soak it all in even if I don't make all my decisions based of these reports.  Like I said, statistically insignificant sample size.  Note I'm not saying the posters are insignificant!

 

It does seem that many of the people on this HAL board who post reviews are long-time HAL cruisers, upper-level tier loyalty members, and also book Neptune cabins.  I would think that would mean that you've had rather "nice" experiences in the past.  I'm a lowly 2-star Mariner with only 3 HAL cruises under my belt but I'm Diamond on Carnival and have 30 cruises with them, so I've seen the changes over the years, even if I'm not used to a certain level of luxury.  If staying in an inside cabin means I can fit 3 or 4 cruises a year into my vacation budget, I'm perfectly fine doing that.  The cabin doesn't mean anything to me.

 

I take most of my dinners in the MDR.  I've eaten in Carnival's steakhouses a few times and the meals have varied.  Some have been really good; others just OK for the upcharge.  I did have a very nice meal in the surf & turf specialty restaurant on MSC's Armonia.  I did the Chef's Table on one Carnival sailing and thought it was good but won't spend the money to do it again.

 

As to the matter of consistency, it seems that's also an issue everywhere.

 

One thing that surprises me when I read these posts is that so many people here seem to know the names of the crew and staff.  I can't tell you who the cruise director was on my last cruise.  I have no idea who the hotel manager or head chef has been on any of my 40 cruises, even when I've sat and talked to some of them.

 

 

 

[vswan]

36 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

I'd also like to thank all the others who have also posted their thoughts about the cruise.  I soak it all in even if I don't make all my decisions based of these reports.  Like I said, statistically insignificant sample size.  Note I'm not saying the posters are insignificant!

 

It does seem that many of the people on this HAL board who post reviews are long-time HAL cruisers, upper-level tier loyalty members, and also book Neptune cabins.  I would think that would mean that you've had rather "nice" experiences in the past.  I'm a lowly 2-star Mariner with only 3 HAL cruises under my belt but I'm Diamond on Carnival and have 30 cruises with them, so I've seen the changes over the years, even if I'm not used to a certain level of luxury.  If staying in an inside cabin means I can fit 3 or 4 cruises a year into my vacation budget, I'm perfectly fine doing that.  The cabin doesn't mean anything to me.

 

I take most of my dinners in the MDR.  I've eaten in Carnival's steakhouses a few times and the meals have varied.  Some have been really good; others just OK for the upcharge.  I did have a very nice meal in the surf & turf specialty restaurant on MSC's Armonia.  I did the Chef's Table on one Carnival sailing and thought it was good but won't spend the money to do it again.

 

As to the matter of consistency, it seems that's also an issue everywhere.

 

One thing that surprises me when I read these posts is that so many people here seem to know the names of the crew and staff.  I can't tell you who the cruise director was on my last cruise.  I have no idea who the hotel manager or head chef has been on any of my 40 cruises, even when I've sat and talked to some of them.

I agree. When we first started cruising we were very fiscally conservative. I was always on the lookout to get the cruise, air, taxes and fees - the whole thing - for as close to $1000pp as I could. This has become much harder to do as time has passed and prices have increased. That doesn't mean I still don't try to do this.... But, I also am becoming more open with the purse and now will opt for OV and am willing to put a premium on balcony cabins now that there are only two of us cruising, not four. I have booked many guarantee cabins and have had some great ones and some not so great. For example, if I have a $20,000 per year travel budget I would rather spread that out than take one large vacation.

 

I am not loyal to any one brand and have not reached a high level on any of them. I choose based on dates, price and itinerary. I have sailed on HAL and NCL more than the others because of these things. Celebrity is my favorite, but price generally prohibits - but I still check.

 

What I have found is that the experience on all of the brands have changed. Not necessarily worse, just not like it was. Food is subjective by ship. I don't stop cruising a line because of bad food on one cruise. Have gone again on the same line and have had good food. When the ships started having multiple restaurants there was a time when there was no fee to dine there. I enjoyed that but am not willing to spend dollars on specialty restaurants in general and go to the MDR. The minimal fees are more than I generally spend going out for dinner in our area.

 

I have never known the names of any staff member on any cruise I have been on. In general I have no idea which ships I have sailed on in any given line - do remember my first and one other. It's just not important to me. For others it is important and is a big part of their cruise experience.

[Florida_gal_50]

11 hours ago, aliaschief said:

I’m not trying to hype Hal but in our experience the service and the food were great in specialty restaurants. Should I lie about our experience I think not. Just telling like it was and we can be pretty described as foodies. We did not have mediocre service or dining experiences. 

 

Not arguing if  others had a lesser dining experience just saying we did not experience bad service or food. 
 

 

No one is asking anyone to lie.  I find some would be good with cold hotdogs on a plate for the pinnacle price excusing it by saying they must have supply issues.  Some expect decent service, that costs nothing and for 18 percent should be a given.  It would also be nice not to hear that lovely nugget if you don’t like it go elsewhere.  You do realize people will if hal continues with a mediocre product and hal will fail to exist.

[trixiee]

I know there are still major supply chain issues, and I know that people working in foodservices in Long Term Care facilities are having the same issues - they cannot get the same supplies they once could pre-Covid.  

I do think expectations on a cruise need to be tempered a bit right now.  Cruisers are a special kind of spoiled - and I am including myself in that comment.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, trixiee said:

I know there are still major supply chain issues, and I know that people working in foodservices in Long Term Care facilities are having the same issues - they cannot get the same supplies they once could pre-Covid.  

I do think expectations on a cruise need to be tempered a bit right now.  Cruisers are a special kind of spoiled - and I am including myself in that comment.

 

Why aren’t other cruise lines having the same issues?  If you look at menus of Princess for example  they do not have an up charge of $35 for something that used to be included.  Some may cruise for next to nothing for casino deals, some may have money to burn so it doesn’t matter.  I spend a lot on a cruise plus added expense in specialty restaurants.  My exceptions really aren’t super high. 

[ger_77]

9 hours ago, atexsix said:

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

This isn't unusual when ordering the "cottage cheese and fruit" plate.  I found this out a number of cruises ago when I ordered the same - very little cottage cheese, but lots of fruit.  I have since learned to ask for double the cottage cheese and get 2 little containers instead of 1.  I use it as a starter, and also order a poached egg on rye toast as my full breakfast.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[aliaschief]

9 hours ago, atexsix said:

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

Bruno that does look like a very poorly presented plate. Was that the breakfast fruit plate?

[Skipper's Mom]

9 hours ago, atexsix said:

You think the yogurt was bad, this is what I received when I ordered the "cottage cheese" and fruit. More like watermelon and a thimble of cottage cheese. I should have sent it back.

At least they're not cutting the berries in half like they did on our last cruise on the Zuiderdam in 2019, LOL!  I felt sorry for the person who had that task.

[St. Louis Sal]

12 hours ago, aliaschief said:

I’m not trying to hype Hal but in our experience the service and the food were great in specialty restaurants. Should I lie about our experience I think not. Just telling like it was and we can be pretty described as foodies. We did not have mediocre service or dining experiences. 

 

Not arguing if  others had a lesser dining experience just saying we did not experience bad service or food. 
 

 

I envy you your good Pinnacle experiences. I’ve only tried it three times, but none of my experiences were stellar. And after the last time, I probably wouldn’t go back. This experience soured me, but to be clear this was a charter cruise and the night I dined there were several well known performers eating. I felt some of my bad service was due to staff being attentive to them, but really the rest of us should not have been overlooked. Since my DH doesn’t drink wine, I ordered a glass rather than a bottle. I practically had to stand on my head to get a second glass from the wine steward. But the worst was after dinner. At a wine tasting the day before I had had a port that was fantastic. I decided I wanted a glass to finish off our meal. Again I couldn’t get the attention of our wine steward. I finally asked our waiter if I could get a glass of port. Whoops. He drew himself up and very haughtily informed me that was not his job, I would need to order that from the wine steward. Well good luck with that. So we left the dining room (without enjoying my port) and agreed that we would not do the Pinnacle again. And we haven’t. I would echo others, the Pinnacle, to maintain it’s reputation, needs to be consistently good, not hit or miss.

 

St Louis Sal

[aliaschief]

Have all my Pinnacle Grill dining experiences been consistently good? No? I just stated that our experiences a few weeks ago in all the Nieuw Amsterdam specialty restaurants were great.

 

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I refuse to hold grudges over one time bad experiences! Consistently bad is another issue and I then vote by my wallet!

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Have all my Pinnacle Grill dining experiences been consistently good? No? I just stated that our experiences a few weeks ago in all the Nieuw Amsterdam specialty restaurants were great.

 

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I refuse to hold grudges over one time bad experiences! Consistently bad is another issue and I then vote by my wallet!

I think most people are fine with one time issues.  I’ve had great experiences in the pinnacle, but far more mediocre ones.  I can’t recall ever having that experience in tamarind.  The ladies that work in there are just wonderful and the food is equally good.  I was shocked at how good the food was in Canaletto on the n statendam in November 2019.  I would pick either of those restaurants over spending the equivalent of $60 Canadian in the pinnacle.