A strongly worded Sel de Mer review - short version, don't bother

[oaktreerb]

On Koningsdam now.  I guess I won’t spend my OBC on eating in Rudi’s.  Last night we had our complimentary HIA dinner in the Pinnacle Grill.  We ordered the King Salmon and it was excellent, as were the crab cakes, and the clothes line bacon.  I always separate the bacon and eat only the lean along with the dill pickle.  We had a lovely two top with an ocean view and the service was great!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[cbr663]

5 hours ago, Pickalily, Wilts said:

We visited Rudi's on Nieuw Statendam in May.  I don't think we'll bother again.  I can't say the meal was poor, but it wasn't particularly memorable.  It seems to be more about 'theatre' than it is about food.  On the other hand, our two experiences of Canaletto on that cruise were most enjoyable - and I can remember what we ate.  Also enjoyed Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind, but they were included in HIA.

 

Theatre is a great descriptor for it.  Some people really enjoy theatrics when dining, but I am not one of those people.  Seeing food delivered to tables hanging from some sort of form doesn't impress me.  It feels like an attempt to distract from the simplicity of the food.  Much like the bacon in the PG - if they presented it to you on a plate you would see that it is simply 3 slices of candied bacon and yet we are suppose to believe that hanging it and calling it "Clothesline" somehow elevates it?

[Mary229]

As to theatrics I have always noted a high level of pretentiousness and faux sophistication in all of the specialty dining venues. It has put me off of them for years , DH likes the beef so we go. If they would tone it down I might go more often .  

[cmrvancouver]

7 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Interesting. We were on the K’dam for the first time in August. Our Pinnacle experience was awful. The clothesline bacon was half cooked and slimy, my medium rare steak was well done, and the asparagus was well past its prime. The small casual food venues however,  were excellent.
Maybe fine dining isn’t K’dam’s strong suit?

Actually, while it’s a pretty ship, the whole onboard experience was less HAL, more Carnival. Our recent time on the Eurodam was back to HAL standards and excellent food, even though it was a discounted repositioning cruise where corners tend to be cut.

It seems to be dependent on day of ordering. I also was on Kdam in August and we thoroughly enjoyed both our meals in Pinnacle.  I did enjoy the bacon, but I did find that it was extremely rich,l. The steak was one of the best I've ever had it was super tender and perfectly cooked and my second meal was the halibut and it was absolutely delicious. For dessert we had the chocolate souffle and it was delicious. 

[Djptcp]

DH and I ate in Rudi's on the Nieuw Statendam in January and February of this year. We enjoyed it in January, but February was a bust. Same menu, etc. What made it not so enjoyable in Feb. was our waiter. He totally ignored us and was more interested in speaking French with the people at the next table and spent an inordinate amount of time waiting on them, laughing with them. We constantly had to ask him to clear our dishes and bring the next dish. What made it doubly bad was we had invited friends to join us at Rudi's in Feb. because we had enjoyed it so much. I did report him to the Maitre'D on the way out.

[Blackduck59]

28 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

As to theatrics I have always noted a high level of pretentiousness and faux sophistication in all of the specialty dining venues. It has put me off of them for years , DH likes the beef so we go. If they would tone it down I might go more often .  

I agree, everyone seems to think that because they watched Downton Abbey that's the way posh dining should be. I'm afraid very few people know the rules for an actual formal dinner. Even on Cunard I doubt you will find many in white tie and tails. I think they should focus more on fresh ingredients exceptionally prepared and plated. Service should be attentive, not theatrical. For me I want my meal served in a timely fashion, hot and well presented.

[sciencewonk]

9 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

I'm wondering if the "Pop Up" Rudi's are better than the stand-alone Rudi's on the Pinnacle-class ships. The staff may be more apt to try and impress. What a shame if Rudi's has gone the way of the "Pinnacle Grill."

 

Never thought about it since until this thread but we had an issue on the Koningsdam back in 2021 where the waiter double-charged us on (I believe) the bottles of wine. My one and only trip to Guest Services on HAL to get it straightened out.

Our pop up Rudi on Noordam was outstanding.  It was easily one of the best meals of our 34-day cruise.  Sadly, I don't think they are offering pop ups on Noordam any more.  It hasn't been listed on our upcoming November cruise on the ship.

[sciencewonk]

16 hours ago, crystalspin said:

PS, the best lamb on the ship was in Canaletto. Where the officers prefer to eat.

My wife absolutely loves the Canaletto.  I can take it or leave it.  Everyone has their own dining preferences, which is what makes these reviews so difficult to navigate.

[Crew News]

Each dining experience is a moment in time.  Facilities and food preparation tools are fixed.  Crew members (prep cooks, chefs, and servers) rotate/change over the months and this includes supervisors who are responsible for enforcing standards.  A less than satisfactory meal at Rudi's this year does not mean it will be unsatisfactory on another ship. 

 

If the menu is appealing, dine at Rudi's, make any issue (good or bad) known immediately in the restaurant, allow the issue to be corrected, and then make a post to the "Let us know" tab in the Navigator app.  The good crew members will thank you and identified poor performers will be spotlighted.

[iceman93]

You are so right, @Crew News.  When HAL first introduced the Pinnacle Grill, we had some really incredible meals there.  Keeping in mind the MDR used to be better too, the PG had to truly be something special to be worth the upcharge.  Then a few cruises later (it was the Amsterdam) the PG was almost laughably bad.  We tried it twice, because *any* restaurant can have an off night, but the experience was the same.

 

That's when we learned how different experiences could be from ship to ship, and how it all starts with management/leadership.

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

As to theatrics I have always noted a high level of pretentiousness and faux sophistication in all of the specialty dining venues. It has put me off of them for years , DH likes the beef so we go. If they would tone it down I might go more often .  

 

As HAL has jumped on the hanging theatrics and most of the hanged items are proteins, it immediately brings to my mind animal slaughter.  It isn't an appetizing thought when dining.

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

 

As HAL has jumped on the hanging theatrics and most of the hanged items are proteins, it immediately brings to my mind animal slaughter.  It isn't an appetizing thought when dining.

To give credit where credit is due😉, that concept was invented by a celebrity chef 

[Sir PMP]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

 

As HAL has jumped on the hanging theatrics and most of the hanged items are proteins, it immediately brings to my mind animal slaughter.  It isn't an appetizing thought when dining.

Even though we're talking about fish, it still reminds me of someone bringing in the laundry from the garage:

[Real NHDOC]

What we're seeing in action here is the subjectivity of different people's food tastes intermixed with HAL's struggles with inconsistency.  Like most frequent cruisers we have had both great and poor experiences in all of the restaurants aboard HAL ships, including the MDR and Lido.  It's amazing that I can say I have had some of the best meals and some of the worst of my life in the same venue - sometimes days apart! 

 

Something as simple as a properly poached egg can seem to be as challenging as putting an astronaut into space.  On our last N-S cruise in September, trying to get one with anything resembling a liquid yolk was impossible.  There they mastered consistency, consistently overcooked eggs in every venue on the ship.  Even in club orange, where I specifically ordered them "soft cooked with liquid centers" (which you should not have to do) they came out hard boiled.   

 

I think it just comes down to poor quality control and training of the staff combined with a lot of turnover since Covid.  Lots of new faces - some clearly aren't cut out for the job and others just need more time to catch on. 

 

It's always frustrating for everyone when they miss the mark because the amount of effort it takes to serve a bad meal isn't that much less than it is to serve an outstanding one and for the most part the crew does try to do a good job. 

[rj59]

I actually met Rudi on an elevator in SF on a Princess ship, where he's advising now. I told him thanks for all the great Holland American meals. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

11 hours ago, rj59 said:

I actually met Rudi on an elevator in SF on a Princess ship, where he's advising now. I told him thanks for all the great Holland American meals. 

Rudi was on the N Statendam this past summer. Very personable and enjoyable. He did a cooking class in the World Stage. 

[OlsSalt]

Rudi needs to pay a little more hands-on attention to the restaurants, that carry his name. 

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Rudi needs to pay a little more hands-on attention to the restaurants, that carry his name. 

Sadly many business people don’t have that ethic.   

[JeffElizabeth]

On 11/5/2023 at 7:01 PM, cbr663 said:

 

As HAL has jumped on the hanging theatrics and most of the hanged items are proteins, it immediately brings to my mind animal slaughter.  It isn't an appetizing thought when dining.

LOL, you should probably skip authentic Gyro places too. Like others have said, your dining experience can change from night to night. But we have noticed service on the ships is better than service at restaurants in Colorado.  One reason we continue to book new cruises.

[OBX-Cruisers]

On 11/5/2023 at 6:59 AM, kazu said:

 

Just for clarifications sake, those are NOT lobster.  They are Langostino and part of a seafood dish with scallops, shrimp, salmon IIRC.

 

Koningsdam Sel de Mer was a bust for me as well in mid December.  And I did complain.

 

The entree was so overcooked I could only eat one bite.  Service deplorable.  I blamed it on me being solo at the time.  That’s a real shame that you too had a poor meal there.

 

I just got off the Rotterdam and 5 of us dined at Sel de Mer.  Everything was delish.  The Fruits de Mer (with lobster claws) was absolutely cooked to perfection.  I don’t understand how the experience can be so different on the two ships.  It shouldn’t be.

 

We have always found that even in our favorite restaurants back home, it depends who is cooking............Different chefs on different ships make a great difference in food quality

[Bostonjetset]

That’s so unfortunate. Sorry your meal wasn’t good. I loved the sole when I had it there in August on K’dam. I DO agree about the silliness of that hanging lobster appetizer though. It looks like a cat toy!! Lol.

 

I liked the escargot but didn’t feel it was that different from the MDR.  I really wanted the foie gras and they didn’t have it which was a disappointment. 
 

 

[Haljo1935]

Respectfully, HAL is not struggling w/inconsistencies - they've nailed that. Their struggles are w/consistency. 

 

Short staff, new staff, too little training, lingering collateral damage from Covid ... I get it and try to be gracious, but there are times when that's not so easy. Especially when tied to very real $$.

I have experienced similar challenges on other lines under the Carnival umbrella and suspect they can be found on a majority of others, too.

[lpmpsail]

We were just on the NS last week. Rudi’s was almost always empty…staff had to go out to the Ocean bar to recruit customers. Way over-priced and then you still have to pay extra for lobster. Need to get rid of Rudi’s or lower price.

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, lpmpsail said:

We were just on the NS last week. Rudi’s was almost always empty…staff had to go out to the Ocean bar to recruit customers. Way over-priced and then you still have to pay extra for lobster. Need to get rid of Rudi’s or lower price.

The specialty dining explosion went too far.  I now see HAL renovating their dining room menu and offering more upcharged items in the MDR. IMHO that is a better model, the staff is not stretched so thin.