Museli is ruined 😢 No more jam and cream for tea 😭 Lido closed 8pm to 10pm 😫

[atexsix]

We usually stop by the sandwich station earlier in the day and stash them in our little fridge (we remove the booze since we're not drinkers) and we never went through there without grabbing cookies and whatnot, problem solved.  Tip: never leave home without zip lock bags.

 

Not acceptable?  If the cruise lines are constantly looking for little shortcuts and work arounds, we'll play the game and do the same, until such time that the debts are paid and fares go back to normal (yeah right).  

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 hours ago, Roz said:

I'm on the Caribbean Princess right now. There are some real problems with this cruise, but I do like the International Cafe being open 24 hours a day, with coffee drinks and sandwiches,  pastries,  snacks, etc. available. 

 

It's a lot of years since I was on Princess, but I remember liking how they alternated sides in the buffet. One side would close maybe 45 minutes before the end of breakfast, leaving the other side to serve the stragglers. Then the closed side would reopen to start lunch early, while the breakfast side would close to get lunch going. So there always was some food available, sometimes different meals overlapping a bit. 

[laurap414]

7 hours ago, Roz said:

I'm on the Caribbean Princess right now. There are some real problems with this cruise, but I do like the International Cafe being open 24 hours a day, with coffee drinks and sandwiches,  pastries,  snacks, etc. available. 

Yes! We did our first Princess cruise last year and we loved it! HAL seemed kind of boring after doing Princess. What are the problems you mentioned?  You can send me a PM if you don't want to clutter this HAL thread 🙂

[Roz]

@laurap414, I don't think CC allows private messaging. 

 

I'll be doing a review when I get home,  but basically their dining system stinks. Can't make reservations in the app or on the TV.  I'm sailing solo and have to fight for a seat every night. Can only dine 7:30 pm or later.  I don't feel welcome in the dining room. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

@laurap414, I don't think CC allows private messaging. 

 

I'll be doing a review when I get home,  but basically their dining system stinks. Can't make reservations in the app or on the TV.  I'm sailing solo and have to fight for a seat every night. Can only dine 7:30 pm or later.  I don't feel welcome in the dining room. 

 

I am so sorry you have to deal with this. I sail solo, and treatment like that would pretty much ruin my cruise. EVERY passenger should be made to feel welcome!

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

@laurap414, I don't think CC allows private messaging. 

 

I'll be doing a review when I get home,  but basically their dining system stinks. Can't make reservations in the app or on the TV.  I'm sailing solo and have to fight for a seat every night. Can only dine 7:30 pm or later.  I don't feel welcome in the dining room. 

This is not news to many of us...

[StLouisCruisers]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

@laurap414, I don't think CC allows private messaging. 

 

I'll be doing a review when I get home,  but basically their dining system stinks. Can't make reservations in the app or on the TV.  I'm sailing solo and have to fight for a seat every night. Can only dine 7:30 pm or later.  I don't feel welcome in the dining room. 

 

Roz are you speaking about your current Princess cruise?  I think some here are confused thinking you are on a HAL cruise.  Seems like all cruise lines have problems and none are perfect.

[Cruising-along]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

Can't make reservations in the app or on the TV. 

We have our first Princess cruise booked for November and I've had no problem making dining  reservations on the app.  Are you saying that you can't make reservations on the app once you're onboard?  I am sorry that you don't feel welcome in the MDR, that's just not right. 

[Roz]

@StLouisCruisers, yes, I'm on the Caribbean Princess in England. 

 

@Cruising-along, that's correct, app doesn't work onboard for dining room reservations. I found out last night I was supposed to book at home. How was I supposed to know that, and how do you know what's going on each day in order to know when you want to eat? Defeats the purpose of anytime dining, IMO.

[*Miss G*]

The Princess dining system is a disaster. We reserved in advance and never once did we dine at that time. Like Roz, we were never made to feel welcome and always had to wait. They even went so far as to blame us for their mess!

 

As for the International Cafe, I tried their food three separate times (savoury dishes; not sweets) and it was terrible. Their coffee was okay but not great. The music in the atrium was nice. Princess is definitely not a line for us.

 

Edited September 11 by *Miss G*

[TAW1963]

I understand the people have preferences towards their favorite cruise line.  We are relatively new to cruising and our first cruise was on HAL in 2022.  Our second cruise was on Princess.  We always had it in our minds that HAL would be a better fit for us, but even after three cruises with HAL (and four with Princess), we prefer Princess at this time.  I have never had an issue getting reservations, prior to the cruise, with Princess, but I don't use their cell phone app for this either.  I use the web version of the app on their website.  We certainly have never felt unwelcome at the dining room on Princess.  Just like on HAL, we have always had exceptional waiters and service.  I am not trying to be an apologist for Princess, for they are certainly not perfect.  We will likely be booking on HAL again in the future as well, but for now most of our future cruises are booked on Princess.

 

Even though we are sailing on Princess for the near future, I still feel at home on the HAL board and enjoy hearing of the experiences people are having on HAL.   

[Cruising-along]

7 hours ago, Roz said:

@StLouisCruisers, yes, I'm on the Caribbean Princess in England. 

 

@Cruising-along, that's correct, app doesn't work onboard for dining room reservations. I found out last night I was supposed to book at home. How was I supposed to know that, and how do you know what's going on each day in order to know when you want to eat? Defeats the purpose of anytime dining, IMO.

 

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

The Princess dining system is a disaster. We reserved in advance and never once did we dine at that time. Like Roz, we were never made to feel welcome and always had to wait. They even went so far as to blame us for their mess!

 

As for the International Cafe, I tried their food three separate times (savoury dishes; not sweets) and it was terrible. Their coffee was okay but not great. The music in the atrium was nice. Princess is definitely not a line for us.

 

Well this doesn't sound good.  At first I was glad we booked dining in advance, but then read about Miss G's experience.  At least our cruise is just a 7-day, we'll survive. 

[krittykat]

Cruising for my 2nd time with HAL in 10 days on the Rotterdam out of Rotterdam. Last time we cruised with HAL,was our very 1st cruise 20 years ago. 

Fell in love with museli ( self serve out of a large bowl) with many topping options.  Looking forward to having it again in any version. 

I know it can never compared to that 1st time but I am looking forward to it, roll with any changes we may experiences...expect a nice time and be pleasantly surprised with the cruise

 

[SilvertoGold]

DH loves HAL's muesli, from the MDR. Never go near the Lido for breakfast or order room Service,  so have no idea about the offerings there. In the MDR on the Nieuw Amsterdam the muesli was definitely second rate, yet on the Noordam, both in March-April and July it was excellent, although missing the hazelnuts.