You guys are scaring me

[murphyis1]

I'm an experienced cruiser, but will be a HAL first timer in Feb. I'm feeling a little nervous about all the comments about bad food, poor service (especially in the dining room) and the general decline of HAL. I know I shouldn't get too bent out of shape over this, because I have read similar bad reviews about my favorite cruise line, but I personally have never experienced a bad cruise.

 

I think my main concern is the dining room. My DH can have a two hour dinner in a reservation-only restaurant on a ship, but can't tolerate it in the main dining room. I think it's because the restaurants have a flow, and it doesn't seem like we're waiting for anything. I've been reading many posts about passengers sitting for 20 minutes before anyone even approaches the table with water in the dining room. My DH will be miserable if this is the case, and I in turn will be miserable.

I know we can eat in the Pinnacle Grill every night if we choose, but we're typical middle class Americans and really can't afford $420 excluding gratuities and wine.

 

I guess I'm looking for some HAL cheerleaders to ease my mind. I'd love to hear from you if you've had a good experience recently. BTW, we're on Westerdam. Thanks!

[jhannah]

... but I personally have never experienced a bad cruise.

Then the chances are that you'll have a great time on HAL. Yes, sometimes there are abberations in service levels on HAL ships, but that's not uncommon throughout all lines. We've never had bad dining room experiences in all our Holland America cruises. Sometimes service was notably slower than at other times, but we've never had a 20-minute wait (or anything close to that) to get service.

 

However ... our dinners are often two hours. Not that service is slow, but that it's a leisure experience and we sit and talk. Guess we've been lucky here in that we've always had wonderful dining companions who we enjoy.

 

I'm sure you all will be just fine, and that you'll return knowing what makes Holland America the fine cruise line that it is.

[meterman2]

My experience has been positive in the dining room in 2004, 2006 & 2007. I think the very first night it's a bit hectic (be prepared for that), but after that I believe you will be very happy with your dining experience. I suspect that the regular good service a CC-er experiences doesn't rise to the level of being "thread material", so you are only going see (for the most part) the exception to the rule. The great majority of member reviews are quite favorable regarding the dining room. Also, bad experiences can sometimes be attributed to an isolated "poor waiter", holiday over-crowding or even the particular demands of the person making the complaint. What you see repeated on the site many times is the necessity to "go with the flow". Don't let a bad meal or a bad day ruin your vacation. If your dealt a couple of lemons, make lemonade w/ them.

Have a great cruise!

[mii]

I had to laugh at this post because we are Princess cruisers and the same thing is said over there. We are considering trying HAL in 2009 so I have been reading this cruiseline section very carefully. To put your mind at ease I have never had problems with service as in dining, room service etc on Princess but there are people who sail with them and come back say they had the worst service. So do not worry. You enjoy yourself as I will on Princess and just try HAL like I am going to do.

 

Marilyn

[carlo7]

I too have been reading the negative posts on the board and wonder why anyone accepts anything less than the service they expect? My wife and I will be on the Westerdam in Sept. and I expect it will be a fine experience. If not I am prepared to enlist the aid of whatever level of manager it requires to set thing right. Being a paying customer gives you the right to expect reasonable service. Waiting 20 minutes in any restaurant is not reasonable unless one is told in advance this will be the case. Then an intelligent decision can be made about how acceptable this will be. I often find it helps to state my expectations upfront. If they cannot be met I find out why.

[hammybee]

I too have been reading the negative posts on the board and wonder why anyone accepts anything less than the service they expect?

 

All the boards have negative posts. It seems that passenger expectations are sometimes out of line with service levels and no amount of huffing or puffing is going to bring them into synch. When we decide to cruise with 2000-4000 others, compromize is the name of the game.

 

The larger the ship, the more it really needs to execute orientation talks for passengers to better align expectations with service levels and make clear the rules.

[MercedMike]

I think my main concern is the dining room. My DH can have a two hour dinner in a reservation-only restaurant on a ship, but can't tolerate it in the main dining room. ...

I guess I'm looking for some HAL cheerleaders to ease my mind. I'd love to hear from you if you've had a good experience recently. BTW, we're on Westerdam. Thanks!

 

Hey, plenty of HAL cheerleaders here!:D :D

 

We have never had a problem with HAL service. However, I will say that we tolerate two hour meals very easily.

 

I think the key point here is that you need to LET YOUR SERVER KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE the very first night. Some of the HAL servers will try very hard to do anything they are asked, but might not pick up nuances easily. Simply be clear -- we enjoy PROMPT service and don't like to linger. Then thank them clearly when they serve you quickly. They will understand right away and work very hard to take care of you.

 

However, as you leave the dining room, notice me and my tablemates relaxing over our dessert and cheese plates and settled in comfortably for quite a while longer -- because we let OUR server know that we like a leisurely dinner!

[debgirl]

I have also been reading everthing I can about HAL. We have not been on a HAL cruise since 2002. We have been on Princess and RCCL since then. We don't pick a cruise for the food, but for the price and itinery.

 

It just amazes me how bad food and service can upset so many people. Like I said, my DH and I go on cruises to relax and get away from the cold weather.

 

We go out to dine every weekend, and sometimes our favorite restaurants food is not up to par, but does that stop us from going back again, no it doesn't. We will go back again, just like we would go back to the cruise line and give it another try.

 

Nothing can ruin our vacation,(accept maybe the airlines). We cruise to get away from work and relax. If the food is good, great, but we are not going to let that ruin our good time.

[thomasale]

We live in Florida and I am semi retired (relaxed)...we love the food and it is a big part of our enjoyment...different strokes!

[garydm]

Have not been on a Vista class yet, but last month on Ryndam the service and the food in the dining room were wonderful. Having said that, last year on Statendam it was crummy. Prior year, same ship, great.

 

Always options like the Lido, room service, Pinnacle, etc.

 

Gary

[murphyis1]

Hey, plenty of HAL cheerleaders here!:D :D

 

 

 

I think the key point here is that you need to LET YOUR SERVER KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE the very first night. Some of the HAL servers will try very hard to do anything they are asked, but might not pick up nuances easily. Simply be clear -- we enjoy PROMPT service and don't like to linger. Then thank them clearly when they serve you quickly. They will understand right away and work very hard to take care of you.

 

Mike,

 

It never occured to me that I could request more prompt service. I always assumed that meals were slow because the galley couldn't produce meals any faster. Just goes to show you that an experienced cruiser can always learn something new here on CC! Thanks for the tip. I'll try it if we find the meals too leisurly.

[O2B@C]

We had a wonderful experience on Westerdam's 11/25/07 cruise, in all respects. I'll just mention the dining here specifically because you expressed concern about that.

 

Because of the comments that had been made about slow service in the dining room, I made it a point to check my watch when we left each night. We usually ordered two starters, an entree, cappucino, and dessert, and we were out of there in an hour and a half, at most, every time. The pacing of the courses felt just fine to me. My DH and I were at a table for two (at the 8pm seating), and that may have speeded things up a bit. Also, I think it was clear to our waiter without our having to say so that we are not in the habit of lingering unduly over dinner. Still, I didn't see or hear about any instances of anyone else's dining time stretching out longer than they wanted it to.

 

As for the food, I come from "foodie heaven" (the SF Bay Area), and I know what great food is. But I didn't expect Chez Panisse level dining in a large cruise ship context. I was able to find at least one thing in each category on the menu that I wanted every night, though sometimes none of the desserts really hit the button. Almost everything I ordered was at least tasty and well prepared, though a couple of items were a bit disappointing. And some things were really standouts. (See my review on the member reviews page for details.)

 

So relax and enjoy! If you go in with a good attitude, you'll come away with memories of a wonderful cruise!

[jtl513]

I know we can eat in the Pinnacle Grill every night if we choose, but we're typical middle class Americans and really can't afford $420 excluding gratuities and wine.

 

BTW, we're on Westerdam. Thanks!

The worst service we've ever had on any HAL ship was in the Pinnacle on the Westerdam. It didn't start out too badly, but after a while another couple came in that were apparently "favorites", and we were completely forgotten.

[Northshorecruisers]

You will love the level of service and quality of food on HAL.

I don't know why we ever tried another cruiseline when we knew how much we loved HAL.

[Marmarjudy]

We had a wonderful experience on Westerdam's 11/25/07 cruise, in all respects. I'll just mention the dining here specifically because you expressed concern about that.

 

Because of the comments that had been made about slow service in the dining room, I made it a point to check my watch when we left each night. We usually ordered two starters, an entree, cappucino, and dessert, and we were out of there in an hour and a half, at most, every time. The pacing of the courses felt just fine to me. My DH and I were at a table for two (at the 8pm seating), and that may have speeded things up a bit. Also, I think it was clear to our waiter without our having to say so that we are not in the habit of lingering unduly over dinner. Still, I didn't see or hear about any instances of anyone else's dining time stretching out longer than they wanted it to.

 

As for the food, I come from "foodie heaven" (the SF Bay Area), and I know what great food is. But I didn't expect Chez Panisse level dining in a large cruise ship context. I was able to find at least one thing in each category on the menu that I wanted every night, though sometimes none of the desserts really hit the button. Almost everything I ordered was at least tasty and well prepared, though a couple of items were a bit disappointing. And some things were really standouts. (See my review on the member reviews page for details.)

 

So relax and enjoy! If you go in with a good attitude, you'll come away with memories of a wonderful cruise!

 

Great response, and it makes me feel much better about our choice of Westerdam in January for our first Holland cruise. It's what we are expecting.

 

But...our only hurdle and greatest concern is getting a table for two...was that a problem for you? We want (must have) a table for two, either late seating, and without that, no question, we won't be eating in the dining room. We really don't want to miss the dining room experience but our idea of a relaxing vacation is NOT chit chatting and doing the "getting to know you" with strangers at dinner. We each do that daily in our respective jobs and our cruises are our time, for ourselves. Selfish? Not really. And why do I always feel that I have to defend our choice of a table for two? It's a big change for us, Princess to Holland, and we really want it to go well so we have other options.

 

Thanks for any input,

Judy

[KCat]

But...our only hurdle and greatest concern is getting a table for two...was that a problem for you? We want (must have) a table for two, either late seating, and without that, no question, we won't be eating in the dining room. We really don't want to miss the dining room experience but our idea of a relaxing vacation is NOT chit chatting and doing the "getting to know you" with strangers at dinner. We each do that daily in our respective jobs and our cruises are our time, for ourselves. Selfish? Not really. And why do I always feel that I have to defend our choice of a table for two? It's a big change for us, Princess to Holland, and we really want it to go well so we have other options.

 

Judy, we feel the same way about our vacations. It gives us a chance to finally spend some time together & talk. We love a table for 2!:) One question, what kind of cabin do you have booked? I do know that Suites are more likely to have their table of choice, if possible. Do a search on CC for a map of the table numbers for the ship and then call Ship Services to request a specific table. That's what we've done in the past, & I've gotten my table of choice both times.

[Letspackandgoagain]

I've enjoyed reading the comments about HAL. We just finished our first Princess cruise, and while it was enjoyable, it just wasn't the HAL experience. We have NEVER had a bad experience in the dining room...wait staff is usually Indonesian and Phillipino, and are the nicest people who only want to please. Table for two should be no problem, although we always request a table for 8. We love meeting people, even though we do a lot of that in our daily life. We've met some really great cruisers (love the Aussies) and we've also had some "unique" table mates. Everything is just grist for my daily e-mails home. Our favorite ship is the Prinsendam (3 times) and have also sailed on the old Noordam and the Ryndam. We sailing on the Statendam in Feb. of 2008, and then back on our little jewel, the Prinsendam, the October of 2008. We've never sailed on a ship bigger than 1250...are we missing something?

[O2B@C]

Great response, and it makes me feel much better about our choice of Westerdam in January for our first Holland cruise. ...

 

Thanks! Glad I could help.

 

... But...our only hurdle and greatest concern is getting a table for two...was that a problem for you? We want (must have) a table for two, either late seating, and without that, no question, we won't be eating in the dining room. ...

 

I totally sympathize. That was a non-negotiable for DH and me also. We booked 11 months in advance and were in an SC suite, plus Westerdam was still on all-traditional dining when we sailed, so I was pretty sure we would get our preference (which we did). Nevertheless, following a suggestion I had read here on CC, I faxed a letter to Ship Services about two weeks beforehand politely reiterating my request and giving our reasons. Don't know whether it made a difference, but it clearly didn't hurt. The address and fax number I used were:

 

Ship Services Coordinator – Westerdam

Holland America Line Inc.

300 Elliott Ave. West

Seattle, WA 98119

Fax: 1-800-207-3547

 

There are plenty of tables for two, so your chances are fairly good. If you don't get one, try going to the Dining Room Manager ASAP when you board and pleading with him politely. Good luck!

[Spinner2]

Judy, our reasons for wanting a two-top are the same as yours; no need to feel like you need to explain yourselves at all! On our cruise a couple of months ago on the Maasdam we got the late seating but not the table for 2 that we'd requested. We used the method below and got our desired table.

 

I haven't been on the new dining system so there may be changes from what's worked for us in the past but I'd assume this is still the way to go for traditional assigned-table dining. When you get your boarding packet the card with the table number will be in it so very soon after you're aboard you want to go by the front desk (or the dining room) and see what kind of a table you have been assigned. If it isn't a two-only, then there will be a room where they're listening to change requests. Most people will be there to beg for early dining but they'll listen to your request for the table for 2. If they tell you that it isn't possible, don't despair. Go to the first dinner and then immediately after dinner, speak to the maitre d' again. On our last cruise he was set up at the computer after dinner, ready to listen to requests all over again. Once again he said he'd try to help us and by the time we got back to the room that night, after the show and some dancing, there was a new dining assignment card in our cabin. My guess is that the easiest way for them to weed out those who still want a different table after the first dinner from those who actually liked their tablemates and decided to leave well enough alone is this two-step process. Be nice, be nice, be nice. It doesn't hurt to be the "nice couple" amongst those people who don't like their table.

[our turn]

I completely agree with MercedMike that you can set the tone for your dinner. We are just back from 12/02 sailing of the Westerdam. We never even noticed how long dinner lasted. Our waiter, Muli was wonderful and even though we did not dine there every night, he seemed to anticipate whether we wanted to linger or not.

[Cruising-along]

 

But...our only hurdle and greatest concern is getting a table for two...was that a problem for you? We want (must have) a table for two, either late seating, and without that, no question, we won't be eating in the dining room. We really don't want to miss the dining room experience but our idea of a relaxing vacation is NOT chit chatting and doing the "getting to know you" with strangers at dinner. We each do that daily in our respective jobs and our cruises are our time, for ourselves. Selfish? Not really. And why do I always feel that I have to defend our choice of a table for two?

Judy

 

Judy, no need to feel you have to defend your choice of a table for two! There are plenty of us who feel the way you do. I also have a job where I must deal with strangers and chit chat all day and I agree so much, vacation is time to relax! By the way, we've never had a problem (yet) in getting our table for two, and we have yet to sail in a suite. :)

[Silver sailor]

Just finished a cruise in November

Like your DH , I too have no patience when it comes to dining

We were served promptly every evening No problem as far as I am concerned

The negative comments are from a very few percentage of those who cruise.

As with every thing else in life , people will stress the negative rather than the positive

[3 Fan]

Murphyis1 what date are you sailing on the Westerdam? Check the "Roll Call" section of the boards for the Westerdam. It's a nice way to meet your fellow passengers before boarding.

[murphyis1]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm feeling much better!

[RuthC]

We've never sailed on a ship bigger than 1250...are we missing something?

Yup. Crowds. ;) And lines. :D

I, too, like the smaller ships the best. :)