Mariner's Brunch

[martinimadam]

From reading through various threads, I'm hearing mixed reviews about the Mariners' Brunch. I've been away from HAL for a few years, and so many things have changed. Where is the Brunch held? At what time of day? During sea days or port days too? Are there free drinks? Is it a set menu or am I able to choose different things? Anything else I should know?

[sail7seas]

Sea Day.

Lunch time in the Dining Room.

Wine with lunch.

Drinks if you are a medal holder (awardee) and are invited first to Explorer's Lounge as usually is the case for medal holders.

 

 

[pms4104]

It seems HAL is not wholly consistent with the Mariners Brunch ... we have been invited only to a cocktail reception rather than to a brunch on our sails since HAL started the brunch program. Seems each sailing or ship may host a different type of event.

 

I recognize I have not technically answered the OP's question ... just wanted to caution that the brunch may/may not be a reality on her sailing.

[dmlee1990]

We had the Mariners Brunch on the Oosterdam. The Brunch was held in the Vista Dining Room at 11:00 a.m. It was a 4 course champagne brunch or you could have orange juice. For appetizers we had the halibut quesadillas. There was also a salad and the choice of entrees was quiche or a sirloin steak. For dessert, there was a banana strudel. It was a very nice lunch......much better than just a champagne reception.

 

I hope HAL continues with the Mariner Brunch. It's a nice way to say thank you to loyal HAL passengers.

[sail7seas]

For appetizers we had the halibut quesadillas. There was also a salad and the choice of entrees was quiche or a sirloin steak. For dessert, there was a banana strudel. It was a very nice lunch......much better than just a champagne reception.

 

I hope HAL continues with the Mariner Brunch. It's a nice way to say thank you to loyal HAL passengers.

 

 

Not a thing there I would eat.

 

Love Halibut but skip the quesadillas. I wouldn't eat cheese....high fat. :( Almost never eat red meat. Banana strudel----high sugar and definitely butter.

 

Chef needs to think about these menus a little more carefully IMO

[cruz chic]

Not a thing there I would eat.

 

Love Halibut but skip the quesadillas. I wouldn't eat cheese....high fat. :( Almost never eat red meat. Banana strudel----high sugar and definitely butter.

 

Chef needs to think about these menus a little more carefully IMO

There was also salmon at the Mariners brunch I was at.

[sail7seas]

Thank you. Now you're talking. :) I love salmon!!

Surprised they offered two different fish but that's great.

[cruz chic]

Thank you. Now you're talking. :) I love salmon!!

Surprised they offered two different fish but that's great.

 

I find HAL does a pretty good job of their fish. Rarely have I had any that was overdone.

[sail7seas]

I agree. I order the fish selection from the menu almost every evening in the dining room and almost always very much enjoy it.

[satchiesmom]

We had a Mariner's lunch on the Ryndam 4/25 sailing. It was at 1 p.m.on the lower level of the dining room. I had the salmon and it was superb! Also they are very generous with the wine. The Chardonnay wasn't half bad, not too oaky.

 

Susan

[meterman2]

My issue with the Mariner lunch was that the menu selections were not available (at least I couldn't find them) prior to seeing the menu after we were seated. We skipped breakfast so that we would enjoy the brunch but neither of us found anything on the menu that we cared for. No big deal, we collected our tiles, had coffee and desert (strudel) and went to the Lido for lunch.

 

Do they post the menu beforehand?

[dmlee1990]

Yes, the Mariner Brunch menu was posted outside the dining room after breakfast. We knew what was going to be served. Being our first Mariner Brunch, we decided to try it, even though the food was high in calories and sugar......we enjoy trying new foods. We go on a diet when we get home.:)

[sail7seas]

If we only cruised 10-20 days a year, we, too, would be more liberal with what we consume but we cruise many weeks a year. There is only so much freedom one can allow themselves. :D

 

[ekerr19]

Our wine was poured once - we even had a "hosted" table and I couldn't believe I couldn't a refill.

 

The menu was the same as above, not too bad - we had something different for dessert, if I recall.

 

If you are a medal holder - make sure you get the invite that tells you to meet first in the Explorer's Lounge (or somewhere comparable) otherwise you miss out on any ceremonies and drinks with Captain and HM. This happened on our last cruise (4/14/08) on Maasdam and there were quite a few folks upset that they weren't recognized.

 

We were originally seated with the most awful couple and decided to leave rather than suffer through lunch with them - thankfully we ran into friends who told us we were supposed to meet in Explorer's Lounge first and we ended up getting to sit with them at their table.

[cruz chic]

Yes, the Mariner Brunch menu was posted outside the dining room after breakfast. We knew what was going to be served. Being our first Mariner Brunch, we decided to try it, even though the food was high in calories and sugar......we enjoy trying new foods. We go on a diet when we get home.:)

 

I didn't know they did that. Thanks for the info.

[cruz chic]

Our wine was poured once - we even had a "hosted" table and I couldn't believe I couldn't a refill.

 

The menu was the same as above, not too bad - we had something different for dessert, if I recall.

 

If you are a medal holder - make sure you get the invite that tells you to meet first in the Explorer's Lounge (or somewhere comparable) otherwise you miss out on any ceremonies and drinks with Captain and HM. This happened on our last cruise (4/14/08) on Maasdam and there were quite a few folks upset that they weren't recognized.

 

We were originally seated with the most awful couple and decided to leave rather than suffer through lunch with them - thankfully we ran into friends who told us we were supposed to meet in Explorer's Lounge first and we ended up getting to sit with them at their table.

 

They seemed to be messed up on the Maasdam on the Apr.4/08 cruise as well. They had the mariners brunch on 2 on separate days. I got invited to the first one and then got a call to dis-invite me. I was told I got to go to the second "special" one because I have over 100 days. Yeah it was special alright:rolleyes: . No drinks before and no special seating for some of us folks over 100 days. I did get a second glass of wine. I think we got the guy at a weak moment. I guess I should be happy however I got an invite to the captains VIP party this time. Me and about 200 other VIP's:D .

[jrzebird]

We had the Mariners Brunch on the Oosterdam. The Brunch was held in the Vista Dining Room at 11:00 a.m. It was a 4 course champagne brunch or you could have orange juice. For appetizers we had the halibut quesadillas. There was also a salad and the choice of entrees was quiche or a sirloin steak. For dessert, there was a banana strudel. It was a very nice lunch......much better than just a champagne reception.

 

I hope HAL continues with the Mariner Brunch. It's a nice way to say thank you to loyal HAL passengers.

 

I really don't recall what we had at our brunch, but the above sounds pretty close. As others have said, there were two luncheons ... the first at 11 was for those with under 25 days (not 100 according to the info I got) and the second was for those with over 25 days. The Captain made a brief appearance at the first.

 

I thought it was nice, but I don't particularly see it as a way to say thank you to loyal HAL passengers, since my lunch would have been free and delicious anyway, whether I ate at the Lido or the lower dining room! I did sit with some very nice people and I'm glad I went.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

Are there any options for Vegetarians?

[Mary Ellen]

I find HAL does a pretty good job of their fish. Rarely have I had any that was overdone.

The salmon I had at the brunch on the Rotterdam was overcooked. I love salmon (I could eat it most nights - maybe that is why I love the Alaskan cruises ;) ), but this was so bad I could only eat a few bites. :mad: At dinner I was running about 50-50 as to the salmon being overcooked. I gave up ordering it.

[cruz chic]

The salmon I had at the brunch on the Rotterdam was overcooked. I love salmon (I could eat it most nights - maybe that is why I love the Alaskan cruises ;) ), but this was so bad I could only eat a few bites. :mad: At dinner I was running about 50-50 as to the salmon being overcooked. I gave up ordering it.

 

Wow I'm surprised it was that bad. There was a lady at my table that ordered it pretty much every night on my last cruise and said it was great. Maybe I've been lucky.....

[Mary Ellen]

Wow I'm surprised it was that bad. There was a lady at my table that ordered it pretty much every night on my last cruise and said it was great. Maybe I've been lucky.....

Maybe I was just unlucky on the Rotterdam. Our most recent Alaskan cruise had 2 salmon choices a night, so I do know that the HAL kitchen can cook salmon properly.

 

This was our first cruise with a Mariner Brunch rather than the reception. It didn't seem the best planned/executed kitchen-wise. One of our friends was seated at the Captain's table. By the time he (the Captain) ordered, they were out of whatever he wanted (the quiche). We've experienced the ship having problems with supplies not being delivered to the ship, but we've never been told that the kitchen was 'out' of something on the menu, that would have prepared on board - like quiche.

[martinimadam]

Thanks for all your responses and details. Guess I'll have to hope that it's a cocktail party on the Maasdam in October cuz, between food allergies and low carb diet, there wouldn't be anything on that menu I could eat, except the salmon!

[bakcd]

I'll hope for the cocktail party as well, not much in the way of gf. We will be on the Oct 24th sailing. I would be on the repo but the temperatures at the beginning of the trip will be to cold for us.

[martinimadam]

I just hope the temps in FLL are not too hot for me! I'm not planning on getting off the ship at most of the ports, so the cold shouldn't be too bad. Done this or similar itineraries several times, so the ship is the "port" for me. That's why I wanted to get a better handle on the things that have changed on HAL since I last sailed with her...

[bakcd]

We've booked our first HAL since May 04 when we sailed north on the Maasdam repositioning. We loved the ship and the itinerary. I checked average temperatures for the northern ports and decided we don't have enough warm clothing for October. We didn't find it to be a problem in May. Since then we've sailed several times with Celebrity. We were finally able to convince our friends to give HAL a try.