Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we were on the Statendam just a couple of weeks ago, there was a Ben & Jerry's ice cream stand out by the Lido - you had to pay for that ice cream.

Please report in from the various ships - did your ships have such a stand?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

When we were on the Statendam just a couple of weeks ago, there was a Ben & Jerry's ice cream stand out by the Lido - you had to pay for that ice cream.

 

Please report in from the various ships - did your ships have such a stand?

There was also one on the Ryndam 2 weeks ago but never saw anyone there to sell the ice cream. Not sure when they did or if they did:confused: We went by several times during the lunch time.

[bepsf]

Same on Amsterdam and Oosterdam...

[Krazy Kruizers]

We asked about it on the Statendam. You had to ask one of the bar tenders or cocktail servers if you wanted a scoop - $1.75. We were told that once in about every 3 or 4 days someone buys a scoop.

 

[tankerjo2]

You got to be kidding me...what's next, a Burger King?

[1cruiselvr]

What a waste of space, manpower and ice cream. I wonder if it's a marketing experiment? We are boarding the Statendam on Monday for Hawaii. I'm going to see if it's still there.....Happy Sailing~

[HeatherInFlorida]

Yup, on the Oosterdam it was sitting out there near the Terrace Grill all by itself and lonesome and nooooooobody went anywhere near it:D .

 

After all, you had only to take a few more steps to fill up your delicious waffle cone with the ice cream of your choice for free!

[gizmo]

I hope people avoid this like the plague. If not, the ice cream might disappear from the Lido.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Heather

The Ben & Jerry's ice cream cart must new on the Oosterdam. It wasn't there when we were on the Oosterdam last Feb/Mar.

Could this be part of the new SOE program?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just wondering --- if people aren't buying the ice cream, how old is that stuff?

Do they eventually throw it out?

[HalFan]

When we were on the Zaandam Panama Canal cruise in October 2003, there was a Ben & Jerry's ice cream stand at Half Moon Cay run by our waitress from the Sea View Lounge. And when we dined at the Pinnacle Grill, I had their special individual Baked Alaska, and the waiter told me the ice cream used was Ben & Jerry's, so they've been serving it for at least that long.

[gullgeorge]

I am looking at stand right now. Over the past week I have seen about one person get any. COnsidering it is about 100 feet from the ice cream bar, why would you pay $1.75.

[peaches from georgia]

I am looking at stand right now. Over the past week I have seen about one person get any. COnsidering it is about 100 feet from the ice cream bar, why would you pay $1.75.

Depends on the flavors. If the free ice cream was vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry and the B&J's was Cherry Garcia for $1.75, I would happily pay for B&J's. :)

 

It sound like they are not offering B&J's unique flavors, though, which is why there would be little interest. I would not pay $1.75 for vanilla over Breyer's vanilla which is very good. They may just be selling leftover B&J from Pinnacle desserts.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We asked - on the Statendam there were only 2 flavors available - chocolate and vanilla.

[daytrippers]

Just came off the Zuiderdam Nov 27 and there were no Ben and Jerry stands. We only had 4-6 flavors on either side of the Lido, which I visited several times a day! Such ice cream availability on HAL is a great plus for us, and I hope you only observed an experiment which will be discontinued.

 

We had their special individual Baked Alaska in the Odyssey/Pinnacle Grill, and the waiter told us the same thing they told halfan, that the ice cream used was Ben & Jerry's. However the ice cream in the baked Alaska in the regular dining rooms is "Neapolitan".

 

Krazy Kruisers! Do you remember us from the Amsterdam repositioning in 2002?

We've got a travel webpage now at http://ettel.*****.com

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Ed & Mary

Yes we do remember you - we got together - only the four of cc'ers on the first day and exchanged a lot of information.

Then we kept running into each other on the ship and in the ports.

Remember the day in Curaco we kept running into each other - you were tring to shop for table clothes and many of the stores weren't going to be open until 2?

And you took the trolley train ride either before of after.

I have seen the name "daytrippers" quite a few times on the various boards and wondered if it was you. I remember you had a different name when we met and said that you were going to change it.

Hope all is well with both of you.

Now I will have to spend some looking over your web page and catching up on the 2 of you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

daytrippers

When are you going to be on another HAL cruise?

[maryland]

When we were on the Ryndam back in Nov/2000, I remember seeing the cart out by the Lido bar so I wonder if it is really anything new. I never saw anyone getting ice cream from it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were on a repositioning cruise in April/May (2001), Alaskan cruise (2001), Sea of Cortez (2001) and back-to-back Alaskan cruises (2003) and there wasn't any Ben & Jerry's ice cream cart on the Ryndam.

[Orcrone]

Didn't see it on the Maasdam. Enjoyed the FREE ice cream and toppings. Doubt I would pay for B&Js. Even if they got rid of the free ice cream, there are enough other deserts available.

 

One other thought. Perhaps the $250 million SOE does not actually indicate how much they plan on spending, but how much they plan on increasing revenue through cut backs in staff and paying for what was once included.

[daytrippers]

From Krazy Kruisers "When are you going to be on another HAL cruise?"

 

We just returned from the Zuiderdam over Thanksgiving, and have taken 6 cruises with HAL since Nov 2003, (none with Ben & Jerry carts) so we may try another line next year.

 

We are just now starting to plan the next trip. I want to take a cruise to Cape Town, but Prinsendam's world cruise segments thru Cape Town only go to 4 or 5 new places we haven't been, and they go in April/May 2005, which is around the time we need to be in Ann Arbor to attend daughter's MBA graduation from U of Michigan. So I'm considering Princess Lines. They have a Singapore to Capetown cruise which goes to 7 new places for us. Anyway, I have homework to do on this.

 

How about you guys? Where are you bound for next?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Ed & Mary,

We just got off a 21 day Pan-American cruise on the Statendam.

Are booked on the Westerdam for back-to-back cruises in January.

Feb/Mar - back-to-back cruises on the Volendam.

May - back-to-back cruises on the Zuiderdam.

Nov/Dec - Veendam - with a great big bunch of cc'ers.

[DonMaryCar]

Maybe different ships change flavors between cruises or something. We were on b2b Ryndam cruises in November of this year and they had Ben and Jerry's cart. A friend with us one day spent the $1.75 for the Cherry Garcia, she thought she had died and gone to heaven, it is her favorite the other 3 of us had a hot fudge (free) sundae from inside lido.

 

Mary:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Mary we are with you - hot fudge sundae from inside - with a liquor on the side.

 

[daytrippers]

Yonnie and Joe, with all your cruising, you really are Krazy Kruisers! It would be cheaper for you to buy the Amsterdam. There was a fellow on our last cruise, (didn't jot down his name) that had 1032 days. So we wonder how many you guys have by now.

 

But back to the ice cream. I get the feeling that somebody in the HAL organization looked at line item areas to cut back, spied the cost of ice cream and recommended a test to see if they could turn it into a profit center.

 

If they started charging $1.75 a pop, I would cut back on my ice cream consumption, which would actually be better for me in the long run. However, I really enjoy dropping by (often) and getting a scoop or two, always able to find a tasty treat no matter how limited the selection might be at the time. So I hope this isn't a trend.