What are your favorite eating places onboard (not MDR or Specialty)

[ellieanne]

I love the Lido for the variety and the ability to get cooked-to-order things...sunny side up eggs over grits are my go-to-breakfast. And on the ships that have it, I really like the taco bar for lunch. Dive-In has great hot dogs & fries. And the ice cream station in the Lido is a favorite for mid-afternoon or post-shoretime snacks.

Really, I have never had a truly bad eating experience on any of my HAL cruises. If any of them even come close to being bad, the staff does everything possible to make it better. One time, my brother wasn't really liking any of the options in the MDR, and the waiter asked him what he would like, and he replied that he wanted the potato side dishes from all the main courses. And that's what he got, a plate with 4 potato side dishes.
Once all I wanted was a large bowl of French Onion soup...I had had a large meal ashore and wasn't hungry. Every water that past the table asked if I had everything I needed or if there was something special they could get me. Even the Head Waiter/Dining Room Manager stopped by twice to make sure I wasn't unhappy with the meal.

Truly, the food services team go above & beyond to help you have the best dining experience no matter where you are.

Ohh, one funny caution: If you bring your own jar of Vegemite to the Lido for breakfast, keep careful watch over it. The waiters tried over and over to clear away my Husband's personal brought-from-home jar every morning.

[Sir PMP]

Grand Dutch cafe:

 

 

[terrydtx]

On 8/16/2024 at 7:01 AM, FrankieSue said:

The only reason stopping us from dining in the Lido is that wine is served in plastic glasses 😖

You can ask for real wine glasses, we have on our past HAL cruises over the last 2 years. The plastic is in case you go out to the Lido pool area to eat.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, ellieanne said:

Ohh, one funny caution: If you bring your own jar of Vegemite to the Lido for breakfast, keep careful watch over it. The waiters tried over and over to clear away my Husband's personal brought-from-home jar every morning.

Not many of us Yanks know about Vegemite unless they have, like us, been to the land Down Under, LOL  

[Haljo1935]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:28 AM, Sir PMP said:

Grand Dutch cafe:

 

 

Grand Dutch Cafe 😎

[Haljo1935]

On 8/15/2024 at 6:50 PM, StLouisCruisers said:

I just discovered this summer that the Dive In hot dogs are fantastic!  I would only get burgers there before.  I wanted a hot dog every time we ate lunch there by the end of our cruise!

You mean these?

 

[Sea42]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:40 PM, terrydtx said:

Not many of us Yanks know about Vegemite unless they have, like us, been to the land Down Under, LOL  

Or they have heard the song 😉

[kad56]

Sushi from the lido. OMG, I just discovered that I could get sushi every day on the last lunch of my cruise, and I plan to get sushi every single day on my next one.

[Sir PMP]

4 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

You mean these?

 

What's so great about it, they are low cal.

[AKJonesy]

3 hours ago, kad56 said:

Sushi from the lido. OMG, I just discovered that I could get sushi every day on the last lunch of my cruise, and I plan to get sushi every single day on my next one.

Sushi from Lido and sushi from Tamarind...two different things.  After having it in Tamarind, I can't touch the stuff in Lido...tastes funny to me.  IMHO.

[StLouisCruisers]

6 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

You mean these?

 

 

Yes, except I got mine with mustard only and on a bun.  I sneak a few of DH's fries instead of ordering my own.

 

The dogs are crisp and I liked the celery salt seasoning they claim to use.  Delicious!

[House_Atreides]

On 8/15/2024 at 6:45 PM, Dave JS said:

What is you go to eatery when you dont want to have a sit down meal at MDR or Specialty restuarants?

NY pizza for sure!

Also the salads there are awesome 😃

[farjar]

Portobello mushroom burger with crispy onions at the Dive In. Love them!!!  Called the Freestyle.

[RClark6369@aol.com]

I agree with the previous post.  HAL has the best Lido spread of most cruiselines for lunch.     I just cruised on Seabourn several months ago, and I would rate the HAL lido choices and quality higher than Seabourn.  The pizza is OK.  Seems to vary greatly between ships, but I have ever had horrible pizza on HAL.    And like Seabourn, HAL will allow you to order off the MDR menu and have it delivered to your stateroom which is wonderful after a full day of touring onshore. If you dont feel like going through all the motions needed for eating in the MDR, just call up room service, they will deliver the MDR menu and deliver the meal to your cabin. If the weather is nice, its great to eat out on your veranda as well.

 

Cheers !

Rex

[rafinmd]

I like to find my food in the lido and then go out to a table at the seaview pool to dine al fresco.

 

Roy

[Petronillus]

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I like to find my food in the lido and then go out to a table at the seaview pool to dine al fresco.

I do too, except I go in the opposite direction to the lido pool. It's seems to be a particularly fitting setting for lingering over sushi. And after all, they do provide at each poolside table metal flatware wrapped in cloth napkins. It never occurred to me before how much I enjoy that.

[jlawrence01]

I really try not to eat a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs but Dive In is really outstanding.

 

The NY Deli is one of the biggest disappointments.  The food is really underwhelming and in the evenings, they run out of everything.  On both of my HAL cruises, it was impossible to get a salad after 8 pm.