Will HAL Changes Discourage Regular HAL Cruisers

[VermeulT]

My expectations went down 10 years ago. 

We had a horrible experience in the MDR on the Eurodam... so bad we met with the Hotel Director the next day. Traditional Dining is long gone. He claimed much of it was due to being in port past early dining times. Cruisers felt they needed to cut short their day in port or skip an excursion that would come back late or miss dinner.

The biggest problem with anytime dining is that instead of the galley being prepared to serve say 1000 appetizers at 545p and entrees at 615p etc and again at 7p and 730p or whatever - they now have to be able to serve a couple hundred at any given time.  This has greatly reduced the quality and consistency of the food.  I have barely set food in MDR since.

 

I do not for the life of me understand why they dedicate so much space and technology in the World Stage for a handful of talks.  I don't need full blown Broadway shows but do SOMETHING with that space daily.  Get a comedian or variety show.

 

My husband doesn't want to cruise anymore.  HAL doesn't provide the experience anymore that he enjoyed so much.  I still enjoy cruising, and now often go with my sister.  We do specialty restaurants a few nights and the lido the others.  One our last cruise we had Club Orange and really enjoyed the food, atmosphere and attentive staff.  I go understanding what HAL is now and enjoy my journey. 

[mcrcruiser]

Wow interesting comments .so it seems that koningsdam is still under staffed . when we sailed there were like975 crew to over 2600 pax  . Thus ,service was bad in the MDR & at times  the  Lido   .The World Stage show room was just used for the 150 year  history story of HAL   & Mariachi & a  few shows dancers  . Not the HAL we once sailed early on . 

Although HAL sails from our home port of San Diego which is very covenient ,like Hank ,we are now more attracted to Princess  for  future bookings .Princess sails from San Pedro ,the World Cruise Center which is but another hours drive 

[Florida_gal_50]

I’ve done open for many, many years on both hal and Princess.  The only time it’s ever been a problem prior to the pandemic was on the formal nights as they called them then.  I generally would eat around 6 and I rarely had a wait.  I did eat with others. Seems to me the issues are lack of service staff not having open dining. Not everyone likes to eat at 5 or 7:30 or eight (whenever traditional is now) or chased to the lido.  I have zero desire to eat with the same people night after night.

[swmichigan cruiser]

Thanks I really appreciate all the comments. We haven't been on HAL for about 20 years  but we do have the Rotterdam scheduled for August for 7 nights to Norway. The ports are the most important thing for us on this cruise so we will just be flexible on dining etc.

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

WOW.  Lower expectations.  Why not book a cruise line that better meets expectations?  HAL is not the "only game in town."  Just this past week we were looking for a short, 14 day cruise, in the Caribbean for early December.  As 5 * Mariners you would think we would have considered HAL, but that was not even a consideration...

 

I'm surprised that you're still on the HAL forum?

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

 

I'm surprised that you're still on the HAL forum?

Why?  In fact we still have an upcoming 42 day HAL booking and have not given up hope that HAL will get their act together.  We do not give up too quickly :).  Over our 50+ years of cruising there have been many lines that have had ups and downs.  Some have failed and gone bankrupt (i.e. Regency and Renaissance) and others have made good adjustments.

 

[HappyInVan]

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Why?  In fact we still have an upcoming 42 day HAL booking and have not given up hope that HAL will get their act together.  We do not give up too quickly :).  Over our 50+ years of cruising there have been many lines that have had ups and downs.  Some have failed and gone bankrupt (i.e. Regency and Renaissance) and others have made good adjustments.

 

 

 

Ohhh!!!

 

Well, I cruise for the destinations. Not for the entertainment and MDR. I'll certainly not sail for 42 days on a ship that I don't like.

 

I'm willing to sail HAL as long as minimal standards are met. It's a just a question of the price versus the alternatives.

[jimbob22]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It’s true.  I had halibut one night and it was delicious but I doubt it was more than an ounce.  I know some people snack constantly and eat the huge desserts at the Dutch cafe but I eat pretty sensibly during the day so I would like more than that.  Before someone says you can order more I don’t know it will be tiny until served.  When I’ve asked for more sometimes I get asked if I’m sure or a fuss is made so I don’t bother.

it would be nice if each day they could put a picture on the tv of each dinner entree, to give an idea of entree size.  I too would find this kind of helpful.

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

 

 

Ohhh!!!

 

...........

 

I'm willing to sail HAL as long as minimal standards are met. It's a just a question of the price versus the alternatives.

Standards tend to meet the demands of the customers.  When you lower your standards you simply encourage the cruise line to meet your lowered expectations.  When you demand excellence, it encourages the improvement of standards.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, jimbob22 said:

it would be nice if each day they could put a picture on the tv of each dinner entree, to give an idea of entree size.  I too would find this kind of helpful.

I love that idea.  Not that is is the same but I've cruised forever with hal.  I'm fairly certain they used to bring dessert around for people to look at and decide on what they would like.  If I remember correctly, at one point they also had dessert displayed at the front of the mdr to look at.  I know a lot of the meat entrees can be large such as the prime rib.  When I've ordered fish it has rarely been larger than 1 or 2 ounces with a baby potato cut in half.  Generally I don't find that filling but I don't like to needlessly waste food so I'm not going to order duplicates out of the gate.  I've seen posts on some  live from threads on what people eat at different meals.  It's not terribly surprising to think one or two ounces of fish would be filling after having a very substantial lunch.

[albingirl]

There have been many changes, and as others have said, not all positive at all.  I am surprised at how packed these cruises are right now.  There has been an incredible surge in covid in Florida, and although it is abating somewhat, it's still very much here. I really can't stand waiting a long time to dine, for instance, and the crowded ships simply add to the chaos.

[MISTER 67]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It’s true.  I had halibut one night and it was delicious but I doubt it was more than an ounce.  I know some people snack constantly and eat the huge desserts at the Dutch cafe but I eat pretty sensibly during the day so I would like more than that.  Before someone says you can order more I don’t know it will be tiny until served.  When I’ve asked for more sometimes I get asked if I’m sure or a fuss is made so I don’t bother.

We all know that there has been a lot of waste down through the years with passengers especially in the buffet with bigger eyes than stomachs, somehow HAL needs to find a happy medium.

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

We all know that there has been a lot of waste down through the years with passengers especially in the buffet with bigger eyes than stomachs, somehow HAL needs to find a happy medium.

I never take mountains of food. Generally I have a bun and salad for lunch.  The odd time I'll go to the pinnacle and don't order mountains if food there either.  The only people I've ever seen in the buffet with loaded plates are staff.  If you go to the dive in that is different.  I know hal says that. It's hasn't been my personal experience. I'm not speaking for the experience of everyone on this board.

[baggal]

I'd rather wait a few extra minutes for dinner to be served to me than stand in line in the grocery store waiting to do self-checkout and using bags I had to bring from home.  Then, go home and cook my dinner and of course, clean up afterward.  Everyone's perspective is different.

[USN59-79]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Why?  In fact we still have an upcoming 42 day HAL booking and have not given up hope that HAL will get their act together.  We do not give up too quickly :).  Over our 50+ years of cruising there have been many lines that have had ups and downs.  Some have failed and gone bankrupt (i.e. Regency and Renaissance) and others have made good adjustments.

 

I am on the same 42 day upcoming Westerdam cruise with Hank and I feel similarly.  What I have noticed over the past couple of months is some HAL ships like Nieuw Statendam consistently get poor reviews and the Westerdam consistently gets excellent reviews.  This will be our first cruise in 3 years and we are looking forward to it.

Ray

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

I am on the same 42 day upcoming Westerdam cruise with Hank and I feel similarly.  What I have noticed over the past couple of months is some HAL ships like Nieuw Statendam consistently get poor reviews and the Westerdam consistently gets excellent reviews.  This will be our first cruise in 3 years and we are looking forward to it.

Ray

We should get together over some drinks :).  I will forget the "USN" thing (Air Force vet here).

 

Hank

[pirate cruiser]

I know food is subjective but I have always been amused by the same people lined up at the feeding trough at the same time every day-we have found that by altering the times we eat by just 30 minutes we avoid most lines and have no problem finding a window table plus I love the fresh stir-fry as it's always hot.

[Florida_gal_50]

15 minutes ago, pirate cruiser said:

I know food is subjective but I have always been amused by the same people lined up at the feeding trough at the same time every day-we have found that by altering the times we eat by just 30 minutes we avoid most lines and have no problem finding a window table plus I love the fresh stir-fry as it's always hot.

Please share.  What time do you usually go at?  If I go to the cafeteria I usually go as soon as they are open to avoid the crowds.  It's still busy but usually you can find a table.  One day on the koningsdam we had a later port and it was a mass of humanity like I'd never seen before  it was scary.  Would love to hear what a better time might be so I can adjust when I go.  Thanks.

[OlsSalt]

Size of ships does it for me. Bigger is not better. Bigger means less interesting itineraries, fewer small ports..  

 

We cruise for travel; not onboard entertainment. Loss of libraries, potential loss of classical music venue, and the G.D. piped-in music everywhere are very much downsides for us..

 

Least important: addition of more specialty restaurants or expanded casino space.

Edited January 22, 2023 by OlsSalt

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, jimbob22 said:

it would be nice if each day they could put a picture on the tv of each dinner entree, to give an idea of entree size.  I too would find this kind of helpful.

 

Great suggestion and very possible.  For those who have experienced HAL kitchen tours, there is a plating photo of every dish served each meal.  If an electronic copy exists, putting it on the TV screen would be very possible.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Seems to me the issues are lack of service staff not having open dining.

 

Bingo.

[pirate cruiser]

On NS in Dec we would do breakfast around 830 and never had to wait more than 10 minutes at the omelet station-I've seen longer lines at Embassy Suites and at lunch we would go around 1130 and one of us would get a window table while the other got their food and I would get a drink and get my food when my GF got hers with no problems. On port days we did room service because of an excursion and didn't want to fight the crowds-we were pleased with the room service breakfast and got right off the ship when we were done.  We ended up eating at Lido most dinners and that was around 530-never had a problem finding a table and the stir-fry chefs got to know me so not much of a wait-ate in the MDR once but don't really care about dressing up for dinner-would rather eat in the Lido and see the ship and sea view bar. First time in Pinnacle and was impressed with service and pace of food-would definitely go back.  Dive-in is what it is-loved the fries and didn't mind the wait since there is a bar right there. Overall I think the food was very good but again we are not picky-also remember that one day I saw sushi and wanted to try it but I waited too long and it was gone when I went to get it.

[oaktreerb]

5 hours ago, CNSJ said:

Three cruises in past six months.  Last one in December.  Was able to pre-book on all.  Then again I pre-booked a while in advance. 

Define “prebook a while in advance”.  How far in advance?  If you select early or late dining when you book your cruise you are in fixed dining with the same table and stewards every evening.   Did you make your reservation when you were onboard, when you booked the cruise, or after booking but before boarding the ship?

[MISTER 67]

14 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

My beef with that is that we shouldn't have to book Club Orange in order to get good service.  The MDR should have good service to begin with included as part of the cruise fare!!

 

~Nancy

Exactly plus we are paying the daily gratuities, service should be the same all over the ship.

[oaktreerb]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Standards tend to meet the demands of the customers.  When you lower your standards you simply encourage the cruise line to meet your lowered expectations.  When you demand excellence, it encourages the improvement of standards.

If you have ways in which you think HAL should improve you really should address them to HAL corporate management.  Otherwise, it’s just “piling on”.  There’s not a lot that cruise critic can do to address your concerns.