Question about food

[Jeal]

We have sailed many different cruise lines and, by far, the food on our only Holland America cruise (11 nights) was the very best we had ever had.
So, I was wondering, is the food always this superior in the dining room- every night it was like eating in any other cruise lines speciality restaurants - or was it because we were on a holiday cruise - so we spent more on the fare but also had a better quality of food?
Even the ice cream at mid afternoon was better than any others we had had - Manny, the ice cream man, made sure I had my sorbet every day.
We are planning on booking another Holland America cruise but this time in October and only for 7 nights. Can we count on the same quality?

[Krazy Kruizers]

A couple of years ago the food on HAL was average. But many of us habe noticed that since HAL got a new head chef for all the ships, the food has improved greatly. So you should get the great food on your 7 day cruise just like you had on your holiday cruise. In fact you will even see many items on the 7 day cruise that you had on the 11 day cruise.

[sail7seas]

We have been on ten, twelve and fourteen day cruises more than 7 dayers the last year. I think it may be a combination of the cruises were longer, we paid a higher per diem and that food in general has improved in quality and variety in the last year.

We will be on Maasdam in August for 7 day back-to-backs. I am really interested to compare if we find the same higher quality we have been enjoying on the slighly longer itineraries on this 7 day itinerary.

We have seen real improvement and truly enjoyed our dinners in the dining room on our recent cruises.

[Richard Stein]

I just got off the Oosterdam and have a red pin with HAL and elite status with Celebrity. HAL and Celebrity are very close on the food in the main dining room now. Enjoyed the flavors of free ice cream too. Between these too lines price will determine who I sail with next. Remember you get bigger cabins and a bath tub in all outside cabins with HAL. They do offer good value for the money. My only problem with them is their lack of benefits for repeaters that I enjoy on other lines.

[sarasmile]

We just got off a 7 day cruise and the food, accross the board (dining room, stateroom, lido & terrace grill), was dissapointing. We didn't bother with the pinnacle as the dining room was so bad, why pay for more of the same?

Oh, and they started running out of ice cream flavors and cones on day 2. yikes!!

Strawberry was my fav- vanilla had an artificial flavor and the pineapple and raspberry flavors were unbearably sweet. My dh and dd really enjoyed the cherry and chocolate flavors.

[sail7seas]

Sorry you weren't pleased with the dining on your cruise. So disappointing. Aside from your disappointment with the ice cream, could you be more specific as to what was wrong with all the other food offered on the ship?

Certainly interested to know which ship was so disappointing. Mind sharing with us what ship you were on?

Thanks, Sarasmile.

[bepsf]

I was sadly disappointed w/ the food on my first HAL cruise (I can be quite a food snob coming from SF), but as the years have passed, the food on HAL has only gotten better.

I've also felt like the grillroom has been a great value from the start - although after this many years, I think it's time for some changes to the menus. The whole 'bringing-the-steak-cart-around-and-explaining-the-cuts-of-meat' is getting a bit 'airplane-emergency-procedure-y' for me too - if the person I'm dining with has been to Pinnacle before too, I tend to wave them off. ;)

[tjcox9]

Within the last year plus a few days, I've been on six HAL cruises, some of over fourteen days. I must say that the quality of the food varies from ship to ship. On most of the ships, I cannot avoid the cold soups with dinner. On the last cruises (new Noordam). I did not find any of the cold soups up to the quality of the Rotterdam, Veendam or Prinsendam.

These were my first cruises on that (Noordam) class ship and overall, found the overall service and quality of food in the dining room (Pinnacle OK) lacking.

Others at our table, also being long time HAL cruisers, had similar comments. I hope this was just a fluke and that things will be "up to snuff" in the future.

[elmorejj]

Have to agree with Brian on the point of the PG needing an update to its menu. Not a big meat eater myself, I get tired of the so-so shrimp, and fish. When the planked halibut was on the menu, I never once rec`d it cooked correctly........either overcooked and dry, or, as on one occasion, recently thawed out and still cold in the middle.

Please don`t say I should send it back and get something else. it takes far too long to do that and my dining companions would be long finished with their main course........jean:cool:

[peaches from georgia]

We just got off a 7 day cruise and the food, accross the board (dining room, stateroom, lido & terrace grill), was dissapointing. We didn't bother with the pinnacle as the dining room was so bad, why pay for more of the same?

It's a shame you didn't try the PG, especially since you thought the DR was so bad. Steak in the DR is not very good except maybe a filet on a formal night, but beef is the specialty of the PG. Different kitchen, different chef, and for sure a much much higher quality of beef than the DR. You wouldn't have been paying for 'the same' at all. The reason for the PG and the charge is not to have you pay extra for the same food as the DR. If that was true, why would anybody go there?

[FoxyTerrier]

On the last cruises (new Noordam). I did not find any of the cold soups up to the quality of the Rotterdam, Veendam or Prinsendam.

tjcox9, Would you please post a review of your Noordam cruise or email at foxy_terrier at yahoo dot com?

I will be doing the same cruise in 3 weeks
This is info I'm most interested in:
Some of my questions are:
Which ports are tendered port?

Where does the ship dock on some of the Greek Islands: Corfu, Olympia, and Santorini?

Were there really 3 formal nights or did they cancel 1?

Must sees while in port and which things you might want to skip?

Any recommendations for private tours?

Thanks

[Juanita462]

Food seems to vary from ship to ship. We sailed on the Statendam last year and the food was terrible, not cooked to order, almost raw fish, spoiled chicken, black in the middle of the baked potatoes, rotten fruit in the appetizer and running out of many things through the whole cruise. Our letter to head office met with no sympathy or compensation whatsoever - they said that everyone else thought the food was great. Yet, everyone in our section of the dining room was complaining and even saying that they would not cruise with HAL again.
Sailed on the Veendam recently and the food was mostly good though a lot of repeating in the menus. I have menus from our first cruise under the old order and there is no doubt that there is not the variety that was once offered.
Part of the problem is a smaller staff that has to serve more people so they are rushed off their feet and having to take an entree back for another one is a major problem. On our first cruise we had a waiter and assistant full time for 14 people. Now we have one full time waiter and part time assistant for 22 so the food doesn't always arrive hot - our cousin never got one pasta entree that wasn't cold - and when we complained several times about cold food they brought us back the plates that had been put on the stove to warm and were black on the bottom which made the tablecloth black too, plus they weren't more than lukewarm.
Our waiter was so disenchanted with his job that he said the best port is the airport on the way home - and he had just started his next contract.

[CCCM]

I enjoy the food selections much more on HAL than on RCI. They are more in line with what I enjoy. I waited tables and then worked in the restaurant industry for years so I believe that I am a pretty good food critic. I enjoyed the food we had on our 7 day last year on the Zui. The only exception being the Creme Brulee (both Dining Room and Pinnacle), it didn't seem right to me. I have had some pretty darn good creme brulee over the years in other restaurants. The other desserts were yummy! Love the ice cream!

[sarasmile]

Sorry you weren't pleased with the dining on your cruise. So disappointing. Aside from your disappointment with the ice cream, could you be more specific as to what was wrong with all the other food offered on the ship?

Certainly interested to know which ship was so disappointing. Mind sharing with us what ship you were on?

Thanks, Sarasmile.

Sure, no problem! Hard to know where to even begin with the mediocrity of the food... We were on the Westerdam.

Evening 1 I had the eggplant parmiggiano- it was served cold (meant to be hot), the eggplant was tough (I know, hard to imagine), the cheese inside was gritty and tasteless- the mushroom rissotto on which it was served was ok.. I ended up shoving aside the eggplant (which I love- so a big dissapointment) and nibbling on the rissoto.

I started with an excellent sounding tomato puree with basil and a kick of chili pepper. Not only was it served tepid... it really did taste like campbells tomato soup.

As with nearly every meal- the fruit was the highlight of this meal.

My husbands black pepper crusted new york sirloin was tough, overdone and he was unable to find more than a few edible morsels on the entire cut.

On the third night I had the broccoli flan- which itself was pretty tasty (although again, tepid), the orzo was dry and totally devoid of flavor and the tomato it was served with was tepid, and grilled but flavorless. Again- what could have been outstanding was not even good. Had I orderd this dish in a restaurant I'm not sure I would ever return (especially after two mediocre nights in a row). DH's prime rib was over cooked and again nearly inedible.

On the fourth night I had a southwestern manicotti- this time the cheese was a little better but the sauce was bland, the roasted corn was decent- again the dish was cold... My husband had an indonesian sampler plate which, while not the best indonesian fare he'd had was better than other dinners he had that week.

Day five I had a curried vegi cutlet- it was mashed vegies of some sort breaded and fried... very starchy and totally flavorless. The baby bok choy was cooked nearly beyond recognition- but still tasty... the garbanzos & sauce were a standout taste wise. Again a dish that could have been sublime with even a little effort/tweaking totally missed the mark.

Day 6 we missed dinner and Day 7 we ate in Victoria (I highly recommend the golden chopsticks- yum!)

Lunch on day two we ate in the Terrace grill... my veggie burger was fine and my dd liked her cheeseburger (in fact we ate here for lunch on another occassion as well)... my husband tried the taco bar though and was amazed at how bad the food was. After that experience he opted for room service there after. He enjoyed the grilled chicken sandwhich, the tuna melt was so-so and also liked the triple-decker club (overal-anything involving coldcuts and/or cheese was generally ok). Our lunch in the dining room was decent- dh liked the meatloaf- dd enjoyed her burger and my pasta was fine.

However, his steak sandwhich from roomservice was terrible- the folks in the next cabin later told him they should have listened to his advice.

The pasta and pizza on the lido deck were edible. The marinara sauce tasted like ragu (very sweet).

I frequently braved the lines at lunch for the lido and ate the pasta & pizza... since I was alone (dd and dh ate roomservice most days) I just asked people if I could join their table or invited people who looked lost to join mine. It was a nice way to make some new friends.

Nothing I had in the lido stood out as particularly BAD, but lets just say it wasn't food I would have paid money at a restuarant to eat. The food in the dining room at dinner was just bad. Most of our plates went back half eaten.

I should restate my mention of the pinnacle grill earlier- my thought process was that even if it was a "cut above" I wasn't really willing to PAY $60 for the three of us to eat there when food in the dining room had been unnacceptable on the three or four occassions we attempted it. Even if it was better... better than bad is still only mediocre.

Perhaps my expectations are too high. But, I felt I had already lowerd them to begin with... and food is one of the things you always here so much about. Had I been served any of these meals in a restaurant I would either have sent it back (a rare thing for me) or never patronized the place again...

I love food, I love fine dining, it's an important part of my life and families life. There are few pleasures greater than a truly fantastic meal with truly fantastic company.

[arzz]

Sarasmile -- I am sorry that the food on the Westerdam did not meet your expectations. We will be on that ship in a couple of weeks. We have sailed HAL many times in the last few years and with each cruise we have taken, we have found that the food has gotten better. In our experience we have also never experienced "running out" of food items. I do hope that your trip was an exception rather than the rule.

It is also true that food is subjective. Sarasmile as I read your remarks one of your major complaints, again and again is that your food arrived tepid to cold. That is definitely a service problem. I wonder if a comment to the waiter captain may have been able to change that for you, or if that is a function of the number of people that each wait team must feed? As to the "tasteless" nature of the food, HAL is not particularly known for spicy food but I have always found it rather tasty -- that is a matter of preference. Sorry it was not to your liking. In general I do not order off of the vegetarian menu so I may not have experienced some of the issues that you dealt with.

I will definitely report back when I return from the Westerdam.

[eldercruser]

Last summer on back to back to back European cruises aboard the Rotterdam, we found the dining room food quality to be definitely improved over previous cruises (since 9/11). We mentioned this to the HM, who stated that that they had been working hard to improve food quality. Our one experience with the Pinnacle Grill was terrible -average food and very poor service so we never went back.

However this past February, aboard the Zaandam (10 day cruise), we found the food very average. In fact, some nights it was downright disappointing, especially after what we had experienced last summer on the Rotterdam.

I think HAL is working this issue, but the quality and service appears to be directly connected with the quality of the staff onboard at any given time.

[tooalto]

After 3 HAL cruises and one upcoming on the Noordam, my husband and I have never found the food to be lacking in quality or service. We are "foodies" and realize that main dining room service can't be compared to a fine restaurant simply because of the volume of food being cooked and served at one time.
I do, however, have two little comments to make. The OP spoke repeatedly about the temp. of the food. Very few places in the world serve food as scaldingly hot as we in the US do. Since food here is served so hot, we invariably let it sit to cool off a little anyway. That being said, I wouldn't want something meant to be served warm to arrive cold but I also appreciate being able to dig right in:-)
My second comment, a little OT from this post, is that some posters have complained about the service in the Pinnacle, mostly the slow pace. I am getting increasingly aggravated by the "chain restaurant" mentality that seems to be hitting everywhere now i.e. your server rushing to pluck away a plate or bowl the instant it is emptied. This will, and should never, be done in a fine restaurant. No server who has been well-trained will ever remove anything until everyone at the table ahs completed that particular course. I simply can't stand the server jumping in to grab a plate from my husband just becasue he eats faster than I do. In the Pinnacle, the servers have been properly trained and just let you alone until you signal that you are ready for service to be removed. I swear, someday, I'll stab some sweet young thing with my fork when she interrupts my dinner!
Enough of a rant, it's too beautiful today!

[sail7seas]

Thanks for answering my question, Sarasmile.

I'm very sorry for your disappointment but must say I am most impressed with your recall.

Unless you took notes (or brought the menus home with you), it is remarkable how clearly you remember what you ordered each night and what you didn't care for. Seeing as the food disappointed you, I wouldn't imagine you wanted to bring the menus home. ;)

Hopefully, you will be better pleased on your next cruise.

Thank you again for your response.

[FoxyTerrier]

Sara,
I too am sorry you were disppointed in the food on the Westerdam. I do have one comment to make that we have noticed. We have been on 5 HAL cruises and soon to be on our 6th.

We have found that if we don't finish an item either because we were too full to finish or didn't care for the dish we were always asked if there was a problem and if they could do something to rememdy the situation. Were you not asked this on the Westerdam?

I am not timid either and will promptly send back steak that is over cooked, but I don't recall ever having to do that. I'm not a huge fan of the Lido (because of the masses of people) but have always enjoyed the food in the dinning room for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sara

Sorry to hear that the food wasn't good on your WEsterdam cruise. When we sailed on her for 14 days in 2005, the food was very good. Hopefully that was just a once in while incident.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Foxy

Like you, there are times when we can't finish a meal as some of them are very large portions. And we have had the wait staff asks us if anything was wrong. We have always assured them that everything was good.

You can be certain that if something were wrong, we wouldn't wait until the end of the meal to get it dixed.

[serendipity1499]

After 3 HAL cruises and one upcoming on the Noordam, my husband and I have never found the food to be lacking in quality or service. We are "foodies" and realize that main dining room service can't be compared to a fine restaurant simply because of the volume of food being cooked and served at one time.
I do, however, have two little comments to make. The OP spoke repeatedly about the temp. of the food. Very few places in the world serve food as scaldingly hot as we in the US do. Since food here is served so hot, we invariably let it sit to cool off a little anyway. That being said, I wouldn't want something meant to be served warm to arrive cold but I also appreciate being able to dig right in:-)
My second comment, a little OT from this post, is that some posters have complained about the service in the Pinnacle, mostly the slow pace. I am getting increasingly aggravated by the "chain restaurant" mentality that seems to be hitting everywhere now i.e. your server rushing to pluck away a plate or bowl the instant it is emptied. This will, and should never, be done in a fine restaurant. No server who has been well-trained will ever remove anything until everyone at the table ahs completed that particular course. I simply can't stand the server jumping in to grab a plate from my husband just becasue he eats faster than I do. In the Pinnacle, the servers have been properly trained and just let you alone until you signal that you are ready for service to be removed. I swear, someday, I'll stab some sweet young thing with my fork when she interrupts my dinner!
Enough of a rant, it's too beautiful today!

We just got off the Prinsendam (our 6th HAL cruise-12th overall) & had the best service & food ever on a HAL ship..On late seatingt we had a waiter "Andri" & Assistant Waiter "Artha" just for 6 of us..They catered to us & remembered our preferences (I had extra anchovies in my Cesar & DH got sugar with his salad-LOL) because they were not overworked..The two tables for 8 on either side of us were empty after a couple of days.. We traveled with another couple & had only one other couple at our table..Would imagine this was why our service was superior..Only 6 rather than 24..

My friends DH & I do not enjoy warm soup..What would be hot for our spouses would be lukewarm to us..We received our soup HOT every time..We've often sent soup back at the best restaurants if it's not hot enough..Only twice in 24 days did my DH & I have food that was not acceptable..He ordered simple fare of Calves Liver & onions..It was too thick & tough..He only ate a small portion..On the last night I had a Main Lobster Tail that was too well done..It fell apart when taken off the shell..I should have sent it back, but could not do that to our fantastic waiters.. A couple of others at our table occasionally did not enjoy their meal, but that is to be expected on a 26 day cruise...I love red spaghetti sauce & DH dislikes cooked tomatoes & uses sugar on Salad :( UGH...That's what makes us all so different...We had excellent Prime Ribs, steaks,filet's, rack of lamb. fish & Main Lobster on most nights..

Agree that no waiter should remove the plates of anyone until that course was finished by all at the table..All of waiters (DR & Pinnacle) waited until the course was done before removing plates with the exception of serving those salad who had ordered it while others might still be on their soup course.. That is acceptable, since not everyone orders soup & salad..The 6 of us tended to linger over our meals & enjoy each others company..

Overall it was the best food & service of any cruise..Would go again & request the same waiters (LOL) if we could afford it..;)

Happy cruising all & enjoy the beautiful day:) Betty

[richstacy]

We just came off of 34 days on Statendam in the far east. For the most part the food was very good, and all our tablemates, seasoned cruisers all agreed. the only time we've ever had really excellent food on a ship was on the Crystal Harmony, and you pay a premium for that. for most lines that compete, HAL, Princess, X etc. there is frequent turnover in personal and that effects the quality. the quality of the food at supply points around the world varies and that has a lot to do with it as well. For example the lamb was much better on the first 2 week segment of our cruise than on the last part.
Most lines have cut way back on some things too, for example the chocolate extravaganzas are a mere shadow of their former selves. but still overall the food on HAL is pretty good.

[sail7seas]

Most lines have cut way back on some things too, for example the chocolate extravaganzas are a mere shadow of their former selves. but still overall the food on HAL is pretty good.

I don't think it is only cutting back for such things as the chocolate extravaganzas. I think some of it is a reflection of the change in the customers wants and desires. Many, many more people are more aware of their diet and nutrition and I think the cruise lines are reflecting that fewer people even take a plate to eat all those sweets.

Sure..... lots of people still sample, taste or dive in but many only 'go sight-seeing' and admire the chef's creations but don't eat any of it. I think the cut backs are partly in response to lower demand.

[sarasmile]

Thanks for answering my question, Sarasmile.

I'm very sorry for your disappointment but must say I am most impressed with your recall.

Unless you took notes (or brought the menus home with you), it is remarkable how clearly you remember what you ordered each night and what you didn't care for.



Neither actually- I found scans of the menus online before I left- it turned out that we had virtually the exact same menus on our cruise so I cheated a bit... seeing the items on the menus reminded me of my reactions to the food.

Foxy- we were not asked whether we liked our food or whether anything was wrong with it at any meal.

Certainly, food quality is VERY subjective. To us, the food was bland, the temps were off, things were under seasoned and overcooked.

My expectation was not that everything would be perfect or that the food would be exceptional... only that the food would be "good". I tried to temper my expectations with the knoweldge of what feeding 500 guests high quality food at one time, every night of the week.

However, no need to apologize on behalf of HAL. The food was only one aspect of a week long vacation... and not what I will choose to dwell on. :)

[mike35]

the only time we've ever had really excellent food on a ship was on the Crystal Harmony, and you pay a premium for that. for most lines that compete, HAL, Princess, X etc. there is frequent turnover in personal and that effects the quality. the quality of the food at supply points around the world varies and that has a lot to do with it as well.

You left out Oceania, which, by all accords, has the consistently best cuisine afloat with almost no turnover of staff. Their executive chef, Jacques Pepin, would accept nothing less.

Mike