vicd1969 Posted November 15, 2023 #51 Share Posted November 15, 2023 4 hours ago, Mary229 said: 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. It's the same trend in land-based restaurants nowadays. With increased menu prices and higher pressure for large tips, a lot of restaurants in Washington DC are struggling to get diners in the door. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlsSalt Posted November 15, 2023 #52 Share Posted November 15, 2023 At one time they tried to turn the Pinnacle into a high frou-frou experience - flaming kabobs etc. The menu improvements were greatly appreciated, the fuss and showmanship was too over the top. So it passed into the memory banks too. Looks like Pinnacle is still a specialty restaurant searching for an identity. Last Noordam Pinnacle dining was excellent at every levels. Hope this continues. Konigsdam Pinnacle a few months prior, was terrible at every level - food, presentation, decor, seating, noise, staffing and overall ambiance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted November 15, 2023 #53 Share Posted November 15, 2023 3 hours ago, OlsSalt said: At one time they tried to turn the Pinnacle into a high frou-frou experience - flaming kabobs etc. The menu improvements were greatly appreciated, the fuss and showmanship was too over the top. So it passed into the memory banks too. Looks like Pinnacle is still a specialty restaurant searching for an identity. Last Noordam Pinnacle dining was excellent at every levels. Hope this continues. Konigsdam Pinnacle a few months prior, was terrible at every level - food, presentation, decor, seating, noise, staffing and overall ambiance. The one reason and only reason we go to the Pinnacle is for the Prime beef, it is a few grades above the grade A in the MDR. Well that and if it is free to us😉. We do like their lunch much better now that we have achieved 1/2 price. I have always disdained pretentious service and the Pinnacle has plenty of that. So many times I have talked to sophisticated cruisers who have far more travel experience than myself who have said they will never go back to the Pinnacle as they felt snubbed and these were people I totally believed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma7 Posted November 28, 2023 #54 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Have you always had to pay extra for the Dover sole muenier? I had reservations for today on NS but with the increased price along with paying $15 for the Dover sole I think I will cancel. Not much interest me otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted November 28, 2023 #55 Share Posted November 28, 2023 4 hours ago, Grandma7 said: Have you always had to pay extra for the Dover sole muenier? I had reservations for today on NS but with the increased price along with paying $15 for the Dover sole I think I will cancel. Not much interest me otherwise. No, previously the Dover Sole was part of the regular menu with no surcharge. It changed late last or early this year to have the surcharge IIRC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bostonjetset Posted November 29, 2023 #56 Share Posted November 29, 2023 19 hours ago, Grandma7 said: Have you always had to pay extra for the Dover sole muenier? I had reservations for today on NS but with the increased price along with paying $15 for the Dover sole I think I will cancel. Not much interest me otherwise. There was no surcharge for it on K’dam this past August. It was wonderful but not sure it would sit well with me if they added a surcharge to it as the meal is already pricey. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted November 29, 2023 #57 Share Posted November 29, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Bostonjetset said: There was no surcharge for it on K’dam this past August. It was wonderful but not sure it would sit well with me if they added a surcharge to it as the meal is already pricey. I hope people let HAL know their dissatisfaction about the extra charge on top of the raised cost of the meal. Some of previous HAL "experiments" later got cancelled when passengers raised a stink about them! ~Nancy Edited November 29, 2023 by oakridger 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted November 29, 2023 #58 Share Posted November 29, 2023 No surcharge for Rudi's Dover Sole on my Koningsdam cruise in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasick Sailor Posted November 29, 2023 #59 Share Posted November 29, 2023 4 hours ago, Crew News said: No surcharge for Rudi's Dover Sole on my Koningsdam cruise in April. Our Rudi's menu shows the surcharge (Rotterdam 11-29-23) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpear1 Posted November 29, 2023 #60 Share Posted November 29, 2023 To bad prices for this venue seem continue to rise. We’ve always enjoyed our meals at Sal de mare, but it’s getting close to the red line even with my Mariner discount. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmrvancouver Posted November 29, 2023 #61 Share Posted November 29, 2023 It all probably depends on cruise, staff numbers and experience. I was konigsdam last week and I have to say that I found the food absolutely wonderful and plentiful. Waiter was knowledgeable and service was great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc Posted November 29, 2023 #62 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Our dinner at Rudi’s last night on the Rotterdam was spot on. Absolutely no complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ready2go11 Posted November 29, 2023 #63 Share Posted November 29, 2023 On 11/28/2023 at 3:33 AM, Grandma7 said: Have you always had to pay extra for the Dover sole muenier? I had reservations for today on NS but with the increased price along with paying $15 for the Dover sole I think I will cancel. Not much interest me otherwise. I am pretty sure the lobster and sole up-charge started at the beginning of September 2023 when they also raised the price of some venues and changed caviar and fruit de mer prices. At the same time they removed the extra appetizer charges as an offset in the speciality venues. An increase in the base price plus up-charges for some dishes does seem a bit much, especially with inconsistent experiences in food and service. And has been mentioned on other threads, if you eat at a speciality restaurant they are saving the food costs of you not eating a full meal in the MDR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlsSalt Posted November 29, 2023 #64 Share Posted November 29, 2023 2 hours ago, kirkc said: Our dinner at Rudi’s last night on the Rotterdam was spot on. Absolutely no complaints. What did you order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc Posted November 30, 2023 #65 Share Posted November 30, 2023 3 hours ago, OlsSalt said: What did you order? We had rack of lamb and the 12oz lobster tail. Both prepared perfectly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesport Posted November 30, 2023 #66 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Every time I have been to Sel De Mer it was a great experience. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbluff Posted November 30, 2023 #67 Share Posted November 30, 2023 22 minutes ago, wesport said: Every time I have been to Sel De Mer it was a great experience. Our experience as well. We’ll check it out again next month on Koningsdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma7 Posted November 30, 2023 #68 Share Posted November 30, 2023 I might still keep one of the reservations just to get the Dover sole. I had the Morimoto epic lobster 2 nights ago in the MDR. Oh Lord it was so good! It was the four tails with some flavorful butter sauce. It was too much, but I forced myself to finish it...don't like to waste food😅 I plan to order it again next week towards the end of the cruise. I will try to remember to post a picture of it! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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