Any Food Improvement Yet

[Naismith]

I am biased because since leaving our full-time employment we have switched to big meal in the middle of the day.  That changes the dynamic. Happy to have a salad after the sun goes down. 

 

In our experience of Nov/Dec 2022, the lunchtime Asian station on the Nieuw Amsterdam buffet was phenomenal.  They had plates of sushi, which would have cost on other lines.  The Indonesian (pork sate!) and Singapuran food was particularly good. We did have one dinner at Tamarind, and while of course presentation was outstanding and their steak is incredible, honestly the other dishes were no better than the lunchtime Asian offerings.  

 

One day we did DiveIn for lunch, which I ordered on my app at the tail end of a lecture, and our order was ready within minutes of arriving up there.  I had the wurst, which reminded me of living in Germany as a young soldier.  

 

We did do the Gala Nights in the MDR and thought the Prime Rib, etc. was fine.  (But I have to admit we may have gotten preferential treatment from waitstaff because we were wearing formal batik/ulos and speaking Indonesian; the asst. maitre d' even came over to chat with us.)

 

And to be even more fair, we don't eat out much at home.  Pretty much never, except for every other month some Mexican dishes that are such effort to cook.  

[mcrcruiser]

14 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

There's been a shift in emphasis. With HIA, HAL is now targeting the drinkers; and gamblers. 🙄

We never take the HIA plan & most people we talk with aboard ship don't either .We never take HAL tours as we do private tours .Thus the tour portion in HIA for us is a waste . Comparing HIA  program to the quality   of the food is liking comparing  apples to oranges  in this discussion

[HALcruiser2001]

26 minutes ago, Naismith said:

I am biased because since leaving our full-time employment we have switched to big meal in the middle of the day.  That changes the dynamic. Happy to have a salad after the sun goes down. 

 

In our experience of Nov/Dec 2022, the lunchtime Asian station on the Nieuw Amsterdam buffet was phenomenal.  They had plates of sushi, which would have cost on other lines.  The Indonesian (pork sate!) and Singapuran food was particularly good. We did have one dinner at Tamarind, and while of course presentation was outstanding and their steak is incredible, honestly the other dishes were no better than the lunchtime Asian offerings.  

 

One day we did DiveIn for lunch, which I ordered on my app at the tail end of a lecture, and our order was ready within minutes of arriving up there.  I had the wurst, which reminded me of living in Germany as a young soldier.  

 

We did do the Gala Nights in the MDR and thought the Prime Rib, etc. was fine.  (But I have to admit we may have gotten preferential treatment from waitstaff because we were wearing formal batik/ulos and speaking Indonesian; the asst. maitre d' even came over to chat with us.)

 

And to be even more fair, we don't eat out much at home.  Pretty much never, except for every other month some Mexican dishes that are such effort to cook.  

Lunch in Pinnacle is nice.  Typically we do large meal at lunch as well, but for our cruise last month I was really light on lunch so that I could even finish dinner.

[OlsSalt]

2 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

Just getting to MDR at seating times was ugly.    Full halls and elevators.   We avoided it completely.

 

Never had that happen with late, fixed dining. So there is no one sweeping answer here about onboard dining experiences. Last cruise, we were easily out in under an hour. Should we complain this was "too fast"?

 

Helps to identify more specifics about one's own dinging choices, because some choices are more heavily impacted, and those problems can be circumvented by making other choices.  Worst back-ups we consistently see, and have seen, are at the lower dining room, opening time--open dining - 5:30pm or so.  

 

Plan accordingly. 

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Never had that happen with late, fixed dining. So there is no one sweeping answer here about onboard dining experiences. Last cruise, we were easily out in under an hour. Should we complain this was "too fast"?

 

Helps to identify more specifics about one's own dinging choices, because some choices are more heavily impacted, and those problems can be circumvented by making other choices.  Worst back-ups we consistently see, and have seen, are at the lower dining room, opening time--open dining - 5:30pm or so.  

 

We accordingly. 

We viewed a   huge line up for the early seating in the MDR on Dec 10th to 22nd when we were on boardKoningsdam .Every night the same thing happened .Then when we  gad dinner it would last 1 .5 to 2 hours in length .Reason was understaffing  on the ship .The ship was full & the staff was well under 1000  more like 950 to over 2500 pax  .The problem was short staffing imo

[OlsSalt]

12 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We viewed a   huge line up for the early seating in the MDR on Dec 10th to 22nd when we were on boardKoningsdam .Every night the same thing happened .Then when we  gad dinner it would last 1 .5 to 2 hours in length .Reason was understaffing  on the ship .The ship was full & the staff was well under 1000  more like 950 to over 2500 pax  .The problem was short staffing imo

We were on the same cruise, no problems at all for late fixed dining. So the problem is timing, since staffing levels cannot be instantly changed.  Learning to be more flexible in timing choices might also now be a given to get the best situation for oneself.

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

We were on the same cruise, no problems at all for late fixed dining. So the problem is timing, since staffing levels cannot be instantly changed.  Learning to be more flexible in timing choices might also now be a given to get the best situation for oneself.

You are absolutely correct .We had any time dining  .However ,we still ran into  long dining times some of the dinners

[HappyInVan]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We never take the HIA plan & most people we talk with aboard ship don't either .We never take HAL tours as we do private tours .Thus the tour portion in HIA for us is a waste . Comparing HIA  program to the quality   of the food is liking comparing  apples to oranges  in this discussion

 

HAL has their eye on folks like you.

 

They're raising their base fares by offering $1-deposits + HIA. So, they're squeezing the prices upwards, as they fill the bookings. They won't stop there.

 

They'll keep cutting costs (and quality). Forcing pax to pay for 'premium' dining. Don't expect improvements in the MDR. Won't return to the standards of the 'classic' years.

 

Perhaps, they'll sell tickets to premium performances. Eventually, they'll raise the price of EXC, and sell a discounted bundle. I expect that they'll gradually transit to the Vegas pay-per-use model; with HIA bundles covering more than drinks and wifi.

 

Hopefully, the pax in suites will get discounts on the bundles, and free wifi and 'premium' dining. 🙄

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by HappyInVan

[OlsSalt]

Isn't it strange that sea travel for the longest time did consist of several on-board classes of passengers. First class to steerage.  Then it became primarily one-class travel for most cruise ships, but additional costs related to primarily to the type of cabin chosen,

 

Now it looks like it is drifting back to multiple class travel, which is the true classic model for sea travel.

 

The current one-class sea travel may not be viable revenue for cruising model after all.  Word was more global deals were conducted in the Queen Mary First Class Lounge before dinner, than in the world's  capitols.

 

That was also the  thrust of the recent HAL survey we got yesterday - listing any number of current included services and amenities, and asking if we would be willing to pay for priority access to them - from a reserved deck chair (classic sea travel amenity), etc, to priority dining times and dining room seating. 

 

And yes it truly did ask if we wanted the addition of staffers to apply sunscreen poolside. 

[JeffElizabeth]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:47 PM, bdd123 said:

What made it bad on HAL?

Going cheap on the surf and turf, too much pasta, and nothing that really wowed us. It is possible we are getting more jaded, but we didn't have the same issues on Oceania six months before. 

[JeffElizabeth]

I do think Holland America does have a much better buffet than Princess.  Very disappointed by the Emerald Princess buffet in September.  Not a lot of choices and the food was cheaper quality.  

[sciencewonk]

My wife and I are both foodies.  We love to cook and dine out at nice restaurants.  We were on Noordam for 34 days in Oct/Nov 2022.  We ate mainly at the MDR.  We loved the food, although there were a couple of cases of coveting my neighbor's meal when I made the wrong selection.  We never had to wait to be seated and it was never noisy (except when they sang the Indonesian birthday song, which I loved).  The service was Outstanding.

 

When we ate at the specialty restaurants, the food was great.  We ate breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill each day and loved the food and service.

 

Food is highly subjective.  If I eat brussels sprouts, I think they're great.  If my wife eats them, she thinks they're terrible.  Everyone needs to keep this in mind when reading these forums.

[HALcruiser2001]

16 hours ago, JeffElizabeth said:

Going cheap on the surf and turf, too much pasta, and nothing that really wowed us. It is possible we are getting more jaded, but we didn't have the same issues on Oceania six months before. 

 

What is going cheap mean?

 

I never saw too many pasta dishes on ms NS and I would notice this since I don't eat pasta.

[cruisemom42]

7 minutes ago, bdd123 said:

 

What is going cheap mean?

 

I never saw too many pasta dishes on ms NS and I would notice this since I don't eat pasta.

 

There have been menus posted in the last three months with 3 entrees in a single evening that were primarily pasta.

[Nickelpenny]

I think deeming food bad or good or great is very subjective.  I have friends who say the food at certain restaurants where I live as fantastic (such as Chinese or Indian or Italian restaurants).  As I have been to those countries and tasted the "originals", I can say the offerings are totally "Americanized".  We like what we like based on our experiences.  Personally, I can always find something I like on a HAL cruise; the food is generally very, very good.  But I still don't like the Clothesline Bacon!!!!  😬  Totally overrated in my opinion but others rave about it. 

[cruisemom42]

39 minutes ago, Nickelpenny said:

I think deeming food bad or good or great is very subjective.

 

Some things are subjective.

 

Others are very objective -- such as offering smaller portions and fewer "premium" proteins.

 

As well, there are all of the documented new "upcharges" both in the MDR and in Pinnacle Grill -- which now ridiculously charges an extra $7 if you order more than one so-called appetizer (a category that lumps together what was once THREE separate and included courses -- soups, salads, and appetizers).

 

[CruiserBruce]

12 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Some things are subjective.

 

Others are very objective -- such as offering smaller portions and fewer "premium" proteins.

 

As well, there are all of the documented new "upcharges" both in the MDR and in Pinnacle Grill -- which now ridiculously charges an extra $7 if you order more than one so-called appetizer (a category that lumps together what was once THREE separate and included courses -- soups, salads, and appetizers).

 

"Some things" are subjective? Almost all of this is subjective. On the other hand,  some posters (definitely not you cruisemom42) have an insatiable need to bash HAL,  asking very subjective questions, thread after thread.

 

This thread just goes to the unproven theory that there is some unwritten rule that cruise lines are required to provide lobster tails at least one in every 7 nights on board.

[HALcruiser2001]

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Some things are subjective.

 

Others are very objective -- such as offering smaller portions and fewer "premium" proteins.

 

As well, there are all of the documented new "upcharges" both in the MDR and in Pinnacle Grill -- which now ridiculously charges an extra $7 if you order more than one so-called appetizer (a category that lumps together what was once THREE separate and included courses -- soups, salads, and appetizers).

 

 

When the price of food has risen in your local grocery store over the past few years do you not expect the same on a cruise?

[HALcruiser2001]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

There have been menus posted in the last three months with 3 entrees in a single evening that were primarily pasta.

 

I thought that I replied to this. 

 

Which menus which ships and which restaurants?

 

I did not notice this on ms  NS, but you MIGHT be correct.   If you are correct, all I can say is that the other entre were perfectly acceptable to me.  I generally ignore pasta.

[HALcruiser2001]

14 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Some things are subjective.

 

Others are very objective -- such as offering smaller portions and fewer "premium" proteins.

 

As well, there are all of the documented new "upcharges" both in the MDR and in Pinnacle Grill -- which now ridiculously charges an extra $7 if you order more than one so-called appetizer (a category that lumps together what was once THREE separate and included courses -- soups, salads, and appetizers).

 

If someone is eating breakfast,  lunch, I cannot conceive  dinner eating soup, salad, 2 appetizers, main surf and turf and desert.  I am not kidding either, it is inconceivable to me and I do not have gastric bypass.

 

I usually tip $20 for good service in CO , Pinnacle or Rudis.   Even with HIA included and the staff knows this.   Same for end of day in sea view, R&R and Ocean View.  I easily dropped $100/day in tips. 

 

Shocker.... every drink and meal was excellent and service was outstanding.    Every person near me, staff and pax had a ball and never mentioned a darned word about lack of portions,  variety or otherwise.

 

Pretty sure had I been able to consume 2 apps and 2 entrees it would have been delivered no charge. 

 

But there is no way that I can maintain under 200lbs at 5' 8" and do so, let alone fit it in my belly.

 

Even my weight is considered obese my waste is 36ish..

 

Think about that next time you are on a HAL cruise at the pool.

Edited March 13, 2023 by bdd123

[HappyInVan]

7 hours ago, bdd123 said:

Shocker.... every drink and meal was excellent and service was outstanding.    Every person near me, staff and pax had a ball and never mentioned a darned word about lack of portions,  variety or otherwise.

.

 

Every cruise experience is subjective, and different. I don't doubt the veteran HAL pax who have noticed a decline in the quality of the cruise experience over the years. Has been ongoing even before the pandemic. Why is this so?

 

Cruise fares have actually declined substantially after adjustment for inflation. Because the cruise industry has expanded its fleet. Filling its ships by lowering real prices, in order to attract the masses.

 

For a time, they have been able to slow the decline in quality with economies of scale and using cheap Asian labour. In these days of high inflation and labor scarcity, the cruise industry faces rising costs and high interest payments.

 

So, the cruise experience on HAL's ships is going to deteriorate. Particularly since HAL operates smaller ships than its competitors.

 

Currently, what's hot in the cruise industry? There's interest in the high end. There's MSC launching the Explora brand. New Crystal's restarting with just 2 ships. Ponant has a dozen small ships. Viking has 8 new ships on order.

 

The high end has high prices and high margins. And, there's an exodus of quality-conscious pax from the mainstream companies. So, expect more last-minute upsells to the suites. Enjoy.

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

When the price of food has risen in your local grocery store over the past few years do you not expect the same on a cruise?

 

HAL is also raising cruise prices. Shouldn't that increase cover at least some of this? Or is it just to continue lining the pockets of the executives?

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

I thought that I replied to this. 

 

Which menus which ships and which restaurants?

 

I did not notice this on ms  NS, but you MIGHT be correct.   If you are correct, all I can say is that the other entre were perfectly acceptable to me.  I generally ignore pasta.

 

I've no need to go searching through dozens of cruise reports to prove a point. I don't shoot off my mouth about things as most long-time posters will know...  But thanks for your grudging 'might'. 😉

 

Didn't you say that you did not eat in the MDR at all on your recent cruise? If you only ate in specialty restaurants, how can you think your own experience is representative of what most cruisers have experienced?

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

HAL is also raising cruise prices. Shouldn't that increase cover at least some of this? Or is it just to continue lining the pockets of the executives?

Didn't HAL and CCL incur a huge amount of debt for some forgotten reason over the last couple of years?

[cruisemom42]

8 hours ago, bdd123 said:

If someone is eating breakfast,  lunch, I cannot conceive  dinner eating soup, salad, 2 appetizers, main surf and turf and desert.  I am not kidding either, it is inconceivable to me and I do not have gastric bypass.

 

I usually tip $20 for good service in CO , Pinnacle or Rudis.   Even with HIA included and the staff knows this.   Same for end of day in sea view, R&R and Ocean View.  I easily dropped $100/day in tips. 

 

Shocker.... every drink and meal was excellent and service was outstanding.    Every person near me, staff and pax had a ball and never mentioned a darned word about lack of portions,  variety or otherwise.

 

Pretty sure had I been able to consume 2 apps and 2 entrees it would have been delivered no charge. 

 

But there is no way that I can maintain under 200lbs at 5' 8" and do so, let alone fit it in my belly.

 

Even my weight is considered obese my waste is 36ish..

 

Think about that next time you are on a HAL cruise at the pool.

 

I'm not sure if I should be flattered or alarmed that my short few sentences provoked three separate replies from you. 🤨

 

Not everyone travels as you do.  I don't cruise just to cruise -- I cruise for itineraries and most days I am ashore 7-8 hours actively sightseeing. I often skip lunch. I also don't dine regularly in specialty restaurants and when I do, I consider it a special event. Pinnacle Grill (for better or worse) is HAL's specialty restaurant on many of their ships. It's not my favorite by a long shot, but I will go maybe once per cruise. 

 

I also do not order "soup, salad, 2 appetizers, main surf and turf and desert" when I go. More like one soup or a salad, an appetizer and a petite filet mignon. I often skip dessert as most on cruise ships do not appeal to me. If there was a decent cheese plate to be had, it would be my choice. 

 

I can assure you that on Celebrity's "top" restaurant, Murano, you are not charged if you want to order two items prior to your entree. In fact, they encourage you to do so, as you can see from their menu below:

 

 

 

P.S.  What on earth do your tip amounts have to do with the quality of the food?

Edited March 13, 2023 by cruisemom42