The buckwheat pancakes are not buckwheat!

[LindaJ+]

At least not filled with buckwheat flavor like the ones at our local Pig 'n' Pancake.  And smothered in a sticky sweet strawberry sauce to keep you guessing.   Darn!  I'd been looking forward all week to have enough time to do breakfast in the MDR and order these. 

 

Also the burgers in the Dive-In some posters have been raving about are very ordinary ... with tasteless frozen fries.  I guess I'm just used to fresh food from our local joint. 

 

The lobster last night was mushy with minimal flavor.  Not worth the $20 upcharge.

[Laminator]

8 minutes ago, LindaJ+ said:

At least not filled with buckwheat flavor like the ones at our local Pig 'n' Pancake.  And smothered in a sticky sweet strawberry sauce to keep you guessing.   Darn!  I'd been looking forward all week to have enough time to do breakfast in the MDR and order these. 

 

Also the burgers in the Dive-In some posters have been raving about are very ordinary ... with tasteless frozen fries.  I guess I'm just used to fresh food from our local joint. 

 

The lobster last night was mushy with minimal flavor.  Not worth the $20 upcharge.

I'm canceling my cruise!

[Sir PMP]

9 minutes ago, LindaJ+ said:

At least not filled with buckwheat flavor like the ones at our local Pig 'n' Pancake.  And smothered in a sticky sweet strawberry sauce to keep you guessing.   Darn!  I'd been looking forward all week to have enough time to do breakfast in the MDR and order these. 

 

Also the burgers in the Dive-In some posters have been raving about are very ordinary ... with tasteless frozen fries.  I guess I'm just used to fresh food from our local joint. 

 

The lobster last night was mushy with minimal flavor.  Not worth the $20 upcharge.

To be expected from now on.

[steve4031]

I've only been on Carnival (several times) and NCL (once).  I found the food on Carnival to be consistently good.  NCL was. a step up.  I suspect HAL will be better. But still, it is cruise ship at sea and the food must be stocked and stored and prepared to serve a couple of thousand people 3 or more meals per day for 7 nights.  So I personally would expect some hiccups.  

 

That being said, my favorite cruise meal experience was on NCL in St. Petersburg.  My dad, who was in his 80s and I had had a long, wet frustrating day of sightseeing in St. Petersburg when one of the sights was randomly closed for a couple of hours. We were not upset, just tired. We had a long van ride in stop and go traffic, and returned to the ship about 6:30.  I was dreading a peak dining rush and we were just hoping to get into the main dining room on the NCL sun without an unreasonable wait.  I picked the main dining room because it required the least amount of walking since we were both tired.  

 

We dragged ourselves out of the van, got soaked again in the rain, and boarded the ship.  We arrived at the dining room host stand where the host remembered us and walked us over to our favorite table by the windows.  It was warm.  Dry.  I forgot what I ate but the service was attentive and the food delicious.  Much better than one usually gets at a hotel on land.  

 

I don't expect to like everything on the menu. But I can find something.

[albingirl]

And the scrambled eggs in Lido don't taste like real eggs.  The beat goes on.....

[GeorgesGal]

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

And the scrambled eggs in Lido don't taste like real eggs.  The beat goes on.....

Avoid the steam table scrambled eggs!  Go straight to the egg station where they cook 'real' eggs and ask for scrambled!  Problem solved; learned this years ago.

Donna

[Florida_gal_50]

I don't understand the dive in thing either.  To me they are dry and tasteless.  I ordered a lobster tail in the Pinnacle for an upcharge, same thing,  mushy.  I did have the lobster tail in the stand alone sel de mer on the koningsdam and it was awesome.

[jeh10641]

On the Rotterdam in December, we liked the Dive In burgers/fries (mine without a bun) and disliked (hated) the pizza and Reuben sandwich at the NY Deli and Pizza (tried only once!). My wife had the lobster in Rudi's and it was awesome. My wife does not eat pancakes (hates them) and because of diet restrictions, I do not eat them (love them). Do not like scrambled eggs from a mass distribution. I always order a custom omelet (fantastic) if available or no eggs.

[WFBgal]

NS had great food 2 mo ago. Love the Dive In & the fries are THE best! Stay home & cook. Looking forward to our 35 day VOV & no cooking🤣.

[albingirl]

49 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don't understand the dive in thing either.  To me they are dry and tasteless.  I ordered a lobster tail in the Pinnacle for an upcharge, same thing,  mushy.  I did have the lobster tail in the stand alone sel de mer on the koningsdam and it was awesome.

Agree.  Lobster is a funny thing.  I had it at home last night and it was to die for.  On a ship, it varies.  Since I am crazy about lobster, this is an important subject lol!

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, albingirl said:

And the scrambled eggs in Lido don't taste like real eggs.  The beat goes on.....

 

1 hour ago, GeorgesGal said:

Avoid the steam table scrambled eggs!  Go straight to the egg station where they cook 'real' eggs and ask for scrambled!  Problem solved; learned this years ago.

Donna

 

Many discussions over the years have taken place about eggs in the Lido Restaurant.  The majority seem to agree that going to the omelet station and watching the cook crack the eggs into a skillet will produce a superior scrambled egg dish.

 

Ordering an omelet, the cook uses the liquid egg mixture.  I don't recall reading many concerns about a guest's disliking an omelet made that way.  I wonder what the difference is?  

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, WFBgal said:

Love the Dive In & the fries

 

The Dive-in Cooks on all of the ships that I have sailed have satisfied me with whatever I ordered.  

 

1 hour ago, jeh10641 said:

we liked the Dive In burgers/fries (mine without a bun) and disliked (hated) the pizza and Reuben sandwich at the NY Deli and Pizza (tried only once!).

 

Patronized the NY Deli and Pizza on the Nieuw Statendam by ordering pizza and a sandwich at another time.  (Do not recall exactly what I ordered for either of these items.)  The pizza and the sandwich were both delicious.  Both times, they had Panna Cotta available for dessert and I enjoyed that as well.

 

Friends sailed on the Nieuw Statendam this Winter and are pizza lovers.  They did not care for the pizza.  Different cooks, is that a possible explanation?  

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

Agree.  Lobster is a funny thing.  I had it at home last night and it was to die for.  On a ship, it varies.  Since I am crazy about lobster, this is an important subject lol!

 

My experience with Lobster is the same as yours.  I have not ordered it at Rudi's (the Dover Sole keeps "calling my name").  In the MDR, it can be very good and sweet; it can be rubbery and close to tasteless; it may be somewhat mushy and not having much flavor.  The reason?  I have wondered why.  Due to a poor quality product?  Due to improper cooking?  Due to having been cooked too long before being served?  I have also noticed the lack of the individual ramekins of melted butter (if that's what that "yellow" stuff is).  Pouring a "yellow" liquid over the Lobster just is not the dining experience I expect when I am eating Lobster.  

 

An enjoyable "Lobster" experience for me took place in the Yacht Club Restaurant on MSC Meraviglia.  My Steward served me the Lobster tail that I ordered; one of the Maitre d's came to remove the flesh from its shell.  As Arthur did so, he said:  this is not right!  Took it away and returned with one of the best Lobster tails I have eaten on a ship.  

 

 

[janmcn]

All the ships’ food varies from one ship to another. Just had great pizza on the Nieuw Amsterdam but had poor on Koningsdam…Dive In was very good on both. Never! Order Lobster on board! Do a cruise that gets you to Maine or Nova Scotia for real lobster that is fresh…big diff!   MDR also vary a lot ( as do sticky buns)…so just find what your ship does well but don’t judge all ships as being equal…they aren’t.

[Wakepatrol]

What are they expecting from the Dive In P.J. Clarke’s ?

Edited May 9, 2022 by Wakepatrol

[albingirl]

26 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

My experience with Lobster is the same as yours.  I have not ordered it at Rudi's (the Dover Sole keeps "calling my name").  In the MDR, it can be very good and sweet; it can be rubbery and close to tasteless; it may be somewhat mushy and not having much flavor.  The reason?  I have wondered why.  Due to a poor quality product?  Due to improper cooking?  Due to having been cooked too long before being served?  I have also noticed the lack of the individual ramekins of melted butter (if that's what that "yellow" stuff is).  Pouring a "yellow" liquid over the Lobster just is not the dining experience I expect when I am eating Lobster.  

 

An enjoyable "Lobster" experience for me took place in the Yacht Club Restaurant on MSC Meraviglia.  My Steward served me the Lobster tail that I ordered; one of the Maitre d's came to remove the flesh from its shell.  As Arthur did so, he said:  this is not right!  Took it away and returned with one of the best Lobster tails I have eaten on a ship.  

 

 

Excellent observations.  It is sometimes overcooked and if not served with a quality butter, and not some knock-off stupid lookalike, well then, it's not good. I really dislike it all greased up and prefer to abstain from that serving of lobster on ships.  Real butter makes a big difference in the taste.

[rkacruiser]

24 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Real butter makes a big difference in the taste.

 

Yes!  But, why does the flavor of the flesh vary?  Even if the flesh has been properly prepared, according to my taste buds, there is a difference in the taste.  Is it due to the species of Lobster or the region from where the Lobster was sourced?  

[albingirl]

23 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Yes!  But, why does the flavor of the flesh vary?  Even if the flesh has been properly prepared, according to my taste buds, there is a difference in the taste.  Is it due to the species of Lobster or the region from where the Lobster was sourced?  

Lobster is seasonal.  The very best lobsters, in my opinion, would be from the cold waters of Maine or Canada.  Sometimes lobster is stored incorrectly, or for much too long, and that would affect the taste.  A very lively lobster from the tank is a good, good thing, but there's no way of assessing that on a cruise ship.  Lobsters who are less than lively are not going to taste as good. That is why there is no guarantee of a great lobster dinner on a cruise ship.

[Roz]

Tasteless frozen french fries....not the ones I've had.  They're addictive.

[mskitty1]

Come on people-we all have our likes/dislikes, favorite foods, personal preference, etc in foods!  HAL dining venues always offer a great selection of options.  If you find something that you don’t particularly like possibly due to the difference in the way it’s cooked, don’t order it-find something else!!!
 

My husband and I are 5 star Mariners on HAL and always are happy with the meals on 1 of the Dam Ships-somethings are real favorites and others we just don’t order.  For example, my husband likes the Lido’s scrambled eggs made with pasteurized eggs.  Not me!

[momatibm]

When I go on a cruise I go for being taken care of. That said, the cabin stewards are the greatest, all the servers, bar servers, are great. I can always find something on the menu I like. Breakfast in the lido I eat like a European a little cheese, meat and maybe toast. I don't like lobster so I can't comment on that. As far as I can say about my breakfast choices, I am not a European, but a born an bread new englander.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The Dive-in Cooks on all of the ships that I have sailed have satisfied me with whatever I ordered.  

 

 

Patronized the NY Deli and Pizza on the Nieuw Statendam by ordering pizza and a sandwich at another time.  (Do not recall exactly what I ordered for either of these items.)  The pizza and the sandwich were both delicious.  Both times, they had Panna Cotta available for dessert and I enjoyed that as well.

 

Friends sailed on the Nieuw Statendam this Winter and are pizza lovers.  They did not care for the pizza.  Different cooks, is that a possible explanation?  

I enjoy the pizza as well but I don’t have it that often.  I do like thin crust so if people aren’t fans they won’t like it.  At least it has flavour.  I haven’t tried a rueben because in the past hal thinks this is a sandwich made on toast.  It should be grilled like a grilled cheese so everything is warm and the cheese melted.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 minutes ago, momatibm said:

When I go on a cruise I go for being taken care of. That said, the cabin stewards are the greatest, all the servers, bar servers, are great. I can always find something on the menu I like. Breakfast in the lido I eat like a European a little cheese, meat and maybe toast. I don't like lobster so I can't comment on that. As far as I can say about my breakfast choices, I am not a European, but a born an bread new englander.

I don’t think the op said the cabin stewards suck or that they can’t find anything to eat.  They just didn’t like the pancakes.  Maybe others will find that information helpful.

[Florida_gal_50]

18 minutes ago, mskitty1 said:

Come on people-we all have our likes/dislikes, favorite foods, personal preference, etc in foods!  HAL dining venues always offer a great selection of options.  If you find something that you don’t particularly like possibly due to the difference in the way it’s cooked, don’t order it-find something else!!!
 

My husband and I are 5 star Mariners on HAL and always are happy with the meals on 1 of the Dam Ships-somethings are real favorites and others we just don’t order.  For example, my husband likes the Lido’s scrambled eggs made with pasteurized eggs.  Not me!

Yes, I’m a 5 star as well.  Doesn’t mean that I love every morsel of food.  Why can’t people express their views without worrying about being shot down? It’s just the same thing over and over.  As soon as one person says they don’t like that the next person feels the need to says it’s perfection.

[KroozNut]

7 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I enjoy the pizza as well but I don’t have it that often.  I do like thin crust so if people aren’t fans they won’t like it.  At least it has flavour.  I haven’t tried a rueben because in the past hal thinks this is a sandwich made on toast.  It should be grilled like a grilled cheese so everything is warm and the cheese melted.

 

My experience with Reubens onboard the ships is that they typically finish them on a panini press which warms the sandwich and melts the cheese... fine by me. Now I'm craving one! 😋

 

Love the pizza at NY Pizza, especially The Bronx...  yumm!