New Menu for Caneletto

[janmcn]

Just had a delicious Canaletto meal on the Zuiderdam last night…amazing scallops (special) and the tiger prawns for appetizer. I always have the Affogato for desert but husband had the Tiramisu which was the same as before…very good. The table behind us had the short ribs which smelled divine…those will be our next try. Happy to have some different dishes…Pinnacle needs some revision too…price is now $25 plus 18% per person. All food costs have gone way up…why should cruise ships be any different?

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, janmcn said:

Just had a delicious Canaletto meal on the Zuiderdam last night…amazing scallops (special) and the tiger prawns for appetizer. I always have the Affogato for desert but husband had the Tiramisu which was the same as before…very good. The table behind us had the short ribs which smelled divine…those will be our next try. Happy to have some different dishes…Pinnacle needs some revision too…price is now $25 plus 18% per person. All food costs have gone way up…why should cruise ships be any different?

Because you are already paying for a meal.  I don’t usually sleep in the grocery store so the comparison baffles me.  I don’t get free cruises so I pay dearly for mine.  If they can’t makes a very good profit on what I pay they should stop sailing. On my last cruise there was plenty of availability in all the specialty restaurants so that’s telling me that people aren’t willing to pay those prices.  This is coming from someone that eats primarily in specialty restaurants.

[AncientWanderer]

6 hours ago, janmcn said:

Just had a delicious Canaletto meal on the Zuiderdam last night…amazing scallops (special) and the tiger prawns for appetizer. I always have the Affogato for desert but husband had the Tiramisu which was the same as before…very good. The table behind us had the short ribs which smelled divine…those will be our next try. Happy to have some different dishes…Pinnacle needs some revision too…price is now $25 plus 18% per person. All food costs have gone way up…why should cruise ships be any different?

 

 

Thanks for reporting about your meal.  Good news!

While I do expect price increases from time to time, it was jarring this time because the increase coincided with removal of some of the expensive menu items -- lamb chops, steak.  So a double hit.  Perhaps the daily specials will tend to be luxurious, as your scallops were.  Glad you enjoyed your meal!

[mcrcruiser]

6 hours ago, janmcn said:

Just had a delicious Canaletto meal on the Zuiderdam last night…amazing scallops (special) and the tiger prawns for appetizer. I always have the Affogato for desert but husband had the Tiramisu which was the same as before…very good. The table behind us had the short ribs which smelled divine…those will be our next try. Happy to have some different dishes…Pinnacle needs some revision too…price is now $25 plus 18% per person. All food costs have gone way up…why should cruise ships be any different?

From one who really knows great Italian foods ,I can tell you the the cut backs & increased prices will keep us & many others from dining in Canaletto . As a example ,we  will have one meal there is our Haver Ot all  package on our 2025 35 day Hawaii /Tahiti  cruise .After that one meal  it is not likely we would dine there unless they have a veal dish i like   . Sausage & pasta is not a fine Italian meal imo .I am coming from a family who owned & ran a 5 star Italian dinner house . .Chops & Steak were always part of the  menu .We did scampi on the resturany floor as well as fresh Cesar salads made at table side . The only disk that I would order from their menu would be a veal disk I liked & clams over pasta with  olive oil & garlic . at   least a dozen clams or more 

 

Unfortunately this seems to be the future  thru the entire HAL dleet . Although we went to Tamarind & Pinnacle  fir dunner in December on Koningsdam .They both were not as food as when we sailed Eurodam pre covid . We did find Canaletto very food in December before this new menu ,Back then it was the best od the 3  special restaurants . Now ,we will usr the 3 Have It All but ,past that unless improved we will dine in the MDR 

[Florida_gal_50]

I don't understand why people think canaletto should be a 5 star italian dining experience and we should all be charged through the nose for it.

[AncientWanderer]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don't understand why people think canaletto should be a 5 star italian dining experience and we should all be charged through the nose for it.

 

Some years back, we had dinner in Sabatini on a Princess ship, and it was as good as any Italian food I've had outside of Italy.  (I doubt it's the same now either, though.)  They could make Canaletto really good if they wanted. Lots of people think the Lido location is lame, but we actually like it for the sea views.  

 

I get your point, though.  It's nice to have Canaletto be just an affordable day away from the MDR.  Doesn't have to be awesome, just a step up.  Not sure where it fits on the spectrum now.  Guess we'll find out next time we sail.

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

...... On my last cruise there was plenty of availability in all the specialty restaurants so that’s telling me that people aren’t willing to pay those prices.  This is coming from someone that eats primarily in specialty restaurants.

On my last five cruises, I have found my meal nights in Specialty Restaurants, except Rudi's Sel de Mer, to be only 2/3 full at most.  This includes the Rotterdam with 115% capacity last December.  With 1/3 of tables not filled, it appears to me that something, other than raising prices, needs to change to make the Specialty Restaurants more popular.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Some years back, we had dinner in Sabatini on a Princess ship, and it was as good as any Italian food I've had outside of Italy.  (I doubt it's the same now either, though.)  They could make Canaletto really good if they wanted. Lots of people think the Lido location is lame, but we actually like it for the sea views.  

 

I get your point, though.  It's nice to have Canaletto be just an affordable day away from the MDR.  Doesn't have to be awesome, just a step up.  Not sure where it fits on the spectrum now.  Guess we'll find out next time we sail.

I've said it a ton of times, the seafood soup, veggie risotto and osso bucco are delicious.  2 of those items are gone. I just wish they would stop getting rid of good dishes for mediocre.  Same goes for the tamarind.  I've never been to Italy and my heritage is not Italian and I don't expect Canaletto to deliver on either one of those 

[SilvertoGold]

Hmm, just thinking how much has been said about the dumbing down of the food on offer on the new Canaletto menu.  With our 50% discount: for 2 this would set us back $34 US ($46 CND) plus wine. Next, thinking about which is the best buy: Pinnacle or Canaletto?

[OlsSalt]

28 minutes ago, Crew News said:

On my last five cruises, I have found my meal nights in Specialty Restaurants, except Rudi's Sel de Mer, to be only 2/3 full at most.  This includes the Rotterdam with 115% capacity last December.  With 1/3 of tables not filled, it appears to me that something, other than raising prices, needs to change to make the Specialty Restaurants more popular.

 

I understood  the numbers of tables filled  in speciality was due to staffing availability, not necessarily lack of interest. Unknown. I was also under the impression Canaletto was offered as a lower cost alternative dining spot -so its location and menu were never intended to be competitive with the higher cost specialty dining offerings.

 

This is why it caught us by surprise when Canaletto was the best choice of all the speciality restaurants on the past Holiday Konigsdam voyage. And why we cancelled all later repeat reservations in those other specials restaurants, which were not up to par at all for the price. 

 

Canaletto has had a rocky roller coaster ride ever since being introduced. I remember on  the Prinsendam - again in an allocated Lido (Sun Garden) section of the ship, putting the waiters in striped gondola style tee-shirts was about as "Italian" as it got.  The menu was very ho-hum (2013)

[cruisemom42]

38 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

It's nice to have Canaletto be just an affordable day away from the MDR.  Doesn't have to be awesome, just a step up.  Not sure where it fits on the spectrum now.  Guess we'll find out next time we sail.

 

This is kind of what I tried to say earlier in the thread. If HAL wants to raise the prices, then make it worthwhile (good, if not great). If the intention is an affordable option to MDR, then quit raising the prices.

[AncientWanderer]

34 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

I understood  the numbers of tables filled  in speciality was due to staffing availability, not necessarily lack of interest. Unknown. I was also under the impression Canaletto was offered as a lower cost alternative dining spot -so its location and menu were never intended to be competitive with the higher cost specialty dining offerings.

 

This is why it caught us by surprise when Canaletto was the best choice of all the speciality restaurants on the past Holiday Konigsdam voyage. And why we cancelled all later repeat reservations in those other specials restaurants, which were not up to par at all for the price. 

 

Canaletto has had a rocky roller coaster ride ever since being introduced. I remember on  the Prinsendam - again in an allocated Lido (Sun Garden) section of the ship, putting the waiters in striped gondola style tee-shirts was about as "Italian" as it got.  The menu was very ho-hum (2013)

 

We've also assumed that staffing was the issue, since with HIA, one would expect full restaurants.  Whether this is purposeful, to spread the HIAs over the course of the cruise, or whether good help is hard to find...who knows?

Edited June 10, 2023 by AncientWanderer

[OlsSalt]

3 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

We've also assumed that staffing was the issue, since with HIA, one would expect full restaurants.  Whether this is purposeful, to spread the HIAs over the course of the cruise, or whether good help is hard to find...who knows?

 

Good help is hard to find, and the cruise industry competition has greatly increased with the recent introduction new lines and larger ships. Traditional labor sources have also gotten domestically competitive in South East Asia going through their own economic booms.

 

 The "covid" hiatus probably did unmeasurable damage to the former status quo, at every single level of the entire maritime industry chain. There simply is no way to turn the key back on, and have it resume what it used to be when it closed down in March 2020.  

 

We all must adjust, in big ways and small.  Just carry the massive debt the industry was forced to incur, through no fault of their own, means we can never expect to get what we used to get for the same prices. This is a given.  This is either our problem; or their problem. 

[Florida_gal_50]

I’m having a hard time believing the labour shortage.  On my last cruise I had zero problems getting any time I wanted at any specialty restaurants.  If there was no staff I would have thought a reservation wouldn’t be possible.

[TiogaCruiser]

On 6/6/2023 at 12:20 AM, Crew News said:

Just checked my October Nieuw Amsterdam trans-canal cruise Specialty Dining and noted the old menu Canaletto menu is still listed but with the new $29.50 cost. 

What was the previous price?

[Seasick Sailor]

6 hours ago, Crew News said:

On my last five cruises, I have found my meal nights in Specialty Restaurants, except Rudi's Sel de Mer, to be only 2/3 full at most.  This includes the Rotterdam with 115% capacity last December.  With 1/3 of tables not filled, it appears to me that something, other than raising prices, needs to change to make the Specialty Restaurants more popular.

 

Or... the MDR has improved enough that folks don't feel like paying for specialty restaurants?

[Crew News]

24 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

What was the previous price?

$22.50

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Good help is hard to find, and the cruise industry competition has greatly increased with the recent introduction new lines and larger ships. Traditional labor sources have also gotten domestically competitive in South East Asia going through their own economic booms.

 

 The "covid" hiatus probably did unmeasurable damage to the former status quo, at every single level of the entire maritime industry chain. There simply is no way to turn the key back on, and have it resume what it used to be when it closed down in March 2020.  

 

We all must adjust, in big ways and small.  Just carry the massive debt the industry was forced to incur, through no fault of their own, means we can never expect to get what we used to get for the same prices. This is a given.  This is either our problem; or their problem. 

you said it the best  on this thread 

[mcrcruiser]

16 minutes ago, Crew News said:

$22.50

Was it at one time just $15 way back when or may be getting it confused with the discount we get 

[mcrcruiser]

For cruises way in the future ,We think that to be best served  & if any one wants the HIA buy it now because prices will continue to rise unfortunately .This way you already locked it in  .This is what we did with the 3 cruises in the future  ,HAL seems to be changing  things pretty fast . Carnival corp  still has very high interest to pay on debt. This can onlt lead to higher & higher prices

[OlsSalt]

42 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Overall HAL is just avg nothing special we can see these days ;however  it is the only line we do not need air fares to sail  . We just need to adjust to it .We have 3 long cruises nooke with HA: .My DW can not fly because of a medical issue

 

 Actually ,we have experienced a lot better but like   Ols Salt has said it is no fault of the lines , the damages caused by the pandemic ,inflation ie  is the real culprit  

 Sp it takes us longer to adjust==just wait until you are 84

 

I have my big 80 this year. I am adjusting. So is DH who is 84. Sorry, but playing the age card does not cut it this time. If anything at our ages we know how well we did growing up with a lot less than what is being "taken away" now.  And we did live to tell about it.

 

But I do admit, I am no more willing to play the "age card" when it suits my own interests, and I think I can get away with it. with these young whippersnappers who get in my way.

 

No one says we can't complain (to ourselves) and reminisce plenty about the "good old days" but ironically they were quite spartan in most basic ways. We shall endure. And finally see more of the world,  than just looking at inherited copies of National Geographic magazines - where I whet my own travel appetite. 

[Crew News]

58 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Was it at one time just $15 way back when or may be getting it confused with the discount we get 

Just checked my Koningsdam statement from 2018 and saw the Canaletto charge of $15.00.  This was before they began adding the surcharge.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Crew News

[Lido deck main]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

Just checked my Koningsdam statement from 2018 and saw the Canaletto charge of $15.00.  This was before they began adding the surcharge.

I remember when it was free.  Was that way for a year. Then went to $10.00 after that.

[Haljo1935]

Just now, Lido deck main said:

I remember when it was free.  Was that way for a year. Then went to $10.00 after that.

Uh huh. And bottled sodas used to be a dime - and that included the bottle deposit, lol.

[Lido deck main]

31 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Uh huh. And bottled sodas used to be a dime - and that included the bottle deposit, lol.

I thought we were talking about past prices of Canaletto.  Of course I know prices have gone up.  LOL. Relax.