Desserts?

[dlbaqua]

I've read several comments about the desserts being bland on HAL. Since I'm sailing in 11 days and I have a MAJOR sweet tooth, I thought I'd ask, what's good? I know to get the bread pudding from the Lido, what else should I get? What's good after dinner in the dining room? I love chocolate but really I love all desserts so bring on the suggestions, please.

[Barek]

I've read several comments about the desserts being bland on HAL. Since I'm sailing in 11 days and I have a MAJOR sweet tooth, I thought I'd ask, what's good? I know to get the bread pudding from the Lido, what else should I get? What's good after dinner in the dining room? I love chocolate but really I love all desserts so bring on the suggestions, please.
Food flavor is very much an issue of personal taste, so you're likely to get a variety of opinions on this one.

To us, many of the deserts just seemed to be variations on the same theme - especially in the lido. The desserts in the main dining room were usually better (although the "Gold Rush Baked Alaska" in the main dining room wasn't very good - for Baked Alaska, we preferred the variation from the Pinnacle Grill). The desserts from the lido that we liked were any of the fruit pies/cobblers, the ice creams, and the bread pudding (the bread pudding isn't like I prefer, but still good).

Also, on a side note: while technically billed as a soup, the chilled fruit soups in the main dining room were usually more dessert-like in richness to us, and we considered asking if we could get one for dessert (the exception being the chilled sour cherry soup, which was by far my favorite for the soup course - not too sweet, it was great).

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have found that on our recent cruises, the desserts have been bland and don't change too much -- expecially on our Alaskan cruise.

If you get a chance to go to the innacle for dinner -- Chocolate Volcano Cake!!!!

[cf_chuck]

I'm not a big dessert fan and in my everyday life, I usually don't go in for dessert. But on a HAL cruise, I do make an exception. When there is an offering of chocolate, I usually go there and haven't been disappointed. My lovely lady and I often pick different ones and share, and there have been some (the cakey kind) that haven't been as good as others. But I've found that even the blandest can be acceptably dressed up with cinnamon ice cream.:)

[dlbaqua]

thanks for all the advice
a variety of opinions is good, since I plan on eating a variety of desserts!

chocolate volcano cake & bread pudding are on my must do list now

[sail7seas]

If they still offer the dense chocolate cake, that used to be wonderful. I think it was even available from Room Service. I rarely eat dessert so I'm not sure if they still serve it.

Many people say the sampler of creme brulee in Pinnacle is great. Again, not something I eat.

[cf_chuck]

Many people say the sampler of creme brulee in Pinnacle is great. Again, not something I eat.

I enjoyed the Creme Broulee very much.

[CowPrincess]

Yes, the desserts are not as good as they could be. I enjoyed a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, I think, and an odd version of creme brulee. Really odd, but tasty.

To me, dessert is the one place where I can see cost-cutting on HAL -- there's much more use of gelatin, in place of eggs, butter and cream to enhance the texture and flavor.

[aliaschief]

After a cruise with an ever so tight waistband my guesses are the deserts must have been very good!

[vbmom87]

I thought the desserts were wonderful. So, wonderful that by the end of the week I knew I had to lighten up a bit and I ordered a bowl of berries with a bit of whipped cream on top. I, too, thought about ordering a cold soup for dessert. They were yummy, but very high in calories I am sure. This was my first cruise, so I had nothing to compare it to. However, I thought all the food was wonderful and the desserts very yummy.

[Kolleen]

Soufflé in the dining room. Cobbler with ice cream on it in the Lido. I am not a bread pudding fan, HAL or otherwise.

[sail7seas]

Ice cream bar at Lido is great. Always two or three flavors and sugar free, sometimes fat free ice cream. They also have delicious soft serve. Sauces and jimmies and whatever to put on top.

[sfnew2sail]

DH and I thought the desserts at the Dessert Extravaganza were not very good. But the desserts that we ordered in the main dining room and the lido were very good. I didn't meet a single one of those that I didn't like. I think my favorite was the Mud Pie. I was looking forward to the bread pudding in the lido, but was disappointed. But then again, I'm from La. and we go to New Orleans to Mulates for bread pudding. It really puts the lido's in the shade!

[kakalina]

Don't miss the Cappochino Bombe. It is a wonderful ice cream dessert. Over the years we have found the Lido dessert table to generally be quite bland and tasteless. The desserts in the main DR and the PG are for the most part fabulous. Go figure??

[RlrCstr]

Creme Brulee in the PG
Berry/Fruit cobbler--hot and right next to the ice cream
station in the Lido.

"these are a few of my favorite things."

[CDRMark]

Also not a dessert person, but I regularly asked for the chilled fruit soups as a dessert (when available) and was cheerfully accomodated.
If you run across something you like, ask if it as available on other nights even if it is not listed on the evenings menu. The wonderful staff may be able to make it magically appear for you. I watched this happen with a table-mate who regularly asked the dining steward for "her special cake". Worked for her...
Cheers
Mark

[SEPyle]

Very interesting. Yes, we all have different tastes but I'm wondering if part of the reason is based on experiences on various ships. The one I hope is right on is vbmom87, since she was just on the Volendam. We'll be on the Volendam 4 weeks from tomorrow...not that I'm counting the days or anything! And can you tell I love deserts?

[sail7seas]

Has anyone seem Key Lime Pie on the ships lately? It just occured to me I've seen it for a while.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If they still offer the dense chocolate cake, that used to be wonderful. I think it was even available from Room Service. I rarely eat dessert so I'm not sure if they still serve it.

Many people say the sampler of creme brulee in Pinnacle is great. Again, not something I eat.




I love chocolate -- but the cakes for the last couple of years have all been very dry -- no matter what ship we have been on. I order it -- take a taste -- then set it aside.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Has anyone seem Key Lime Pie on the ships lately? It just occured to me I've seen it for a while.



DH loves Key Lime Pie -- haven't seen it for a couple of years on any ship.


He thought for certain that it would appear on a longer cruise - nope!!

[medfordgirl]

Food flavor is very much an issue of personal taste, so you're likely to get a variety of opinions on this one.

To us, many of the deserts just seemed to be variations on the same theme - especially in the lido. The desserts in the main dining room were usually better (although the "Gold Rush Baked Alaska" in the main dining room wasn't very good - for Baked Alaska, we preferred the variation from the Pinnacle Grill). The desserts from the lido that we liked were any of the fruit pies/cobblers, the ice creams, and the bread pudding (the bread pudding isn't like I prefer, but still good).

Also, on a side note: while technically billed as a soup, the chilled fruit soups in the main dining room were usually more dessert-like in richness to us, and we considered asking if we could get one for dessert (the exception being the chilled sour cherry soup, which was by far my favorite for the soup course - not too sweet, it was great).

I love the chilled fruit soups, never pass them up.

[dlbaqua]

I'll never forget the first chilled soup I was ever served, on the Norway, it was a mango soup. It was the best thing I'd ever tasted, it tasted like melted ice cream. YUM

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our first chilled soup we ever had was on Cunard back in the 80's -- Blueberry -- yummy!!

Now the best one we love is the Chocolate Chilled Soup served at the Hershey Hotel!!

[Typhoon1]

Don't miss the Cappochino Bombe. It is a wonderful ice cream dessert. Over the years we have found the Lido dessert table to generally be quite bland and tasteless. The desserts in the main DR and the PG are for the most part fabulous. Go figure??

I would have to agree, that Bombe was one of the most outstanding desserts I had ever had on HAL.

[LindaJ+]

I was looking forward to Baked Alaska and was surprised to find it was not baked! The meringue was just kind of piled on top of the ice cream.

[lorekauf]

Hal desserts are lacklustre at best. There are a few that are good namely the snickers pie and the cappuccino bombe. They used to be much better years ago. Like one of the posters said I think they have cut the dessert budget:D .

[andeesue]

Loved the rich chocolate pudding I had on the Ryndam last week...can't remember exactly what it was called, but it was absolutely delicious. In a shallow creme brulee dish, covered with chocolate shavings, a dollop of whipped cream:p :p :p

[cf_chuck]

If you run across something you like, ask if it as available on other nights even if it is not listed on the evenings menu. The wonderful staff may be able to make it magically appear for you. I watched this happen with a table-mate who regularly asked the dining steward for "her special cake". Worked for her...
Cheers
Mark

As I previously posted, I'm a fan of the cinnamon ice cream. On my last cruise (Volendam, Feb 08), after I ordered the ice cream on the first night it was offered, I remarked to my server that I wished they had cinnamon ice cream every night. He set up a standing order for the ice cream every night after that, and we enjoyed the ice cream along with whatever we ordered from the daily dessert offerings.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

My in-laws raved to us about the bread pudding so on our first cruise we tried it and it was horrible-extremely wet and bland. All desserts in the Lido tasted bland and stale. On our next 2 cruises there was some improvement, but on all 3 cruises, dessert was best in the dining room.
On our recent cruise to Alaska all desserts, including the bread pudding, in the Lido were fantastic-all seemed to be freshly made & flavorful. The blueberry pie was the best I've ever had! Dessert in the DR was wonderful as usual.

[lorekauf]

My in-laws raved to us about the bread pudding so on our first cruise we tried it and it was horrible-extremely wet and bland. All desserts in the Lido tasted bland and stale. On our next 2 cruises there was some improvement, but on all 3 cruises, dessert was best in the dining room.
On our recent cruise to Alaska all desserts, including the bread pudding, in the Lido were fantastic-all seemed to be freshly made & flavorful. The blueberry pie was the best I've ever had! Dessert in the DR was wonderful as usual.
I don't know why people love bread pudding so much. Bread and sugar are 2 of my favorites...but please....don't put them together:D !

[Assateague Island Princes]

Peach melba sundae in the dining room. YUM! Sister and brother-in-law loved the bread pudding. And my husband, who is not much of a dessert eater, really enjoyed the cold soups for dessert! Of course anything chocolate gets rave reviews from me as well.

[dlbaqua]

oh peach melba
I had that 20 some odd years ago when I went to Europe in high school
it was so delicious, It'll be great to have that again

[sail7seas]

I rarely have desserts but have a serving of bread pudding once in a while. One cruise I will and then the next I might not but I enjoy it when I have it. I think HAL's is delicious.

[S&M in Pgh]

The watermelon pie. I hope they still offer it. Very good.

And put me down as another who likes the chilled fruit soup. Friends we have cruised with laugh because they say I am getting 2 desserts. On our last cruise, I had a chilled pina colda soup. It even came in the glass. The only thing missing was the rum.

Mike

[Krazy Kruizers]

I haven't seen the watermelon pie on a menu in a long time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The last time I had bread pudding was when we were on the Ryndam -- and it was the chocolate bread pudding!!

The only other ship that we have been on that has the chocolate bread pudding is the Amsterdam.

[Rabbitlady]

We were wondering what had happened to the regular bread pudding that my hubby loves. On our recent Volendam cruise, we only saw it one day and all the other days it was a bread and butter pudding with a different coating on the top. It did still have the same vanilla sauce. My hubby likes the old one. We mentioned it to our dining stewards.
We enjoyed all our desserts in the dining room.

Rabbitlady

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were wondering what had happened to the regular bread pudding that my hubby loves. On our recent Volendam cruise, we only saw it one day and all the other days it was a bread and butter pudding with a different coating on the top. It did still have the same vanilla sauce. My hubby likes the old one. We mentioned it to our dining stewards.
We enjoyed all our desserts in the dining room.

Rabbitlady

On all our cruises the Bread Pudding was always in the Lido at lunch time -- never at dinner.

Once at dinner a long time there was a Bread and Butter Pudding - done a little differently - didn't care for it.

[mamaofami]

Hal's chilled soups are the best. They must be loaded with calories. I wonder if they are made with cream. My favorite dessert is the chocolate volcano cake but it's so rich I can only eat a few spoonfuls, but oh, those spoonfuls are wonderful.

[papadave]

Apologies, up front, if my information is stale, but on past cruises the best desert has been after dinner out of the dining room. On the Noordam and the Westerdam I have eaten desert in the Explorer's Lounge after dinner -- usually a crepe and fruit flambe with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream. If they have this on your ship it is worth a try and it is often superior to the desert in the dining room.

[dlbaqua]

that's a great tip, thank you

[CruiseLiz]

I am also a sweet addict, so this thread is like music to my ears. :)

I loved the chocolate volcano cake and also the baked Alaska in the PG that they make with Ben & Jerry's (I think?)

The funny thing about the Dessert Extravaganza is that often the things that looked the prettiest didn't taste the best, while the lesser attractive items tasted better - but I can't remember specifics on that.

The icecream was always good & the sundaes in the dining room are usually a good fall back. Or if you're like me, order icecream along with whatever dessert you choose.

I think the HAL bread pudding is ok. My mom makes a great bread pudding with rasberry sauce, so I'm a little biased.

[dlbaqua]

I make pretty good bread pudding myself so I'm very curious about Hal's

[drtee]

I think the desserts in the Lido are boring and repeated too often. But the thing that I really hate is that squiggly stuff they put on the plates (like a liquid jello in yellow and green?). It ruins the chocolate cake and most of the desserts. It's just there for decoration, but it really makes things worse.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Apologies, up front, if my information is stale, but on past cruises the best desert has been after dinner out of the dining room. On the Noordam and the Westerdam I have eaten desert in the Explorer's Lounge after dinner -- usually a crepe and fruit flambe with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream. If they have this on your ship it is worth a try and it is often superior to the desert in the dining room.

I remember when they did that back on the Oosterdam in 2004 and the Westerdam in 2005.

But it didn't happen on our Zuiderdam cruise in 2005 -- they stopped the flaming desserts in the Explorer's Lounge -- we were told -- fire hazzard.

On our Westerdam cruises this past spring -- they had several flaming desserts for dinner in the dining room that were prepared in the kitchen.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I think the desserts in the Lido are boring and repeated too often. But the thing that I really hate is that squiggly stuff they put on the plates (like a liquid jello in yellow and green?). It ruins the chocolate cake and most of the desserts. It's just there for decoration, but it really makes things worse.

I do have to agree with you about the desserts in the Lido at lunch time being repeated often and boring -- thus we rarely have dessert.

That yellow, red and green stuff that is used for decoration is a couli of some sort of fruit.

[Rabbitlady]

Krazy Kruizer,
That's exactly what we got stuck with ...... the bread and butter pudding. We looked during lunch and late afternoon in the Lido for the regular bread pudding but all we saw was the bread and butter pudding(except on embarkation day.....reg. bread pudding) with the vanilla sauce. My hubby wondered if someone had made too much of it and nobody was eating it up.
When we were on the Ryndam to Alaska, there was regular bread pudding in the Lido every day........ early afternoon to late afternoon.

Rabbitlady

[Pokeynose]

On our last cruise in June we had the Baked Alaska and Creme Brulee and both were delicious. All six at our table enjoyed both.:) I probably spelled both wrong.:o

[vbmom87]

Krazy Kruizer,
That's exactly what we got stuck with ...... the bread and butter pudding. We looked during lunch and late afternoon in the Lido for the regular bread pudding but all we saw was the bread and butter pudding(except on embarkation day.....reg. bread pudding) with the vanilla sauce. My hubby wondered if someone had made too much of it and nobody was eating it up.
When we were on the Ryndam to Alaska, there was regular bread pudding in the Lido every day........ early afternoon to late afternoon.

Rabbitlady

Hmmm....I had heard so much about the bread pudding on these boards so we were sure to try it. We did enjoy it, but apparantly it was not the reg. bread pudding. The only one I noticed was the one with the vanilla sauce. If they ever served the regular one, I missed it. We enjoyed what they did serve, but it wasn't what I am used to for bread pudding.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I havw walked by the bread pudding on our last several cruises -- looked at the vanilla sauce ----- it is soooooooooo thin!!! Very watery. It appears that they are thinning it out to save money.

.Originally it was thick -- as it should be

[Rabbitlady]

I didn't notice if the vanilla sauce was runny. It's probably true.
Yes, VBmom 87we did miss the better pudding...... ... both of them though come with vanilla sauce. Hopefully, they will get comments and will change it.
It was good that they didn't have the regular because my hubby would of gained a lot more weight.
Rabbitlady

[cf_chuck]

It was good that they didn't have the regular because my hubby would of gained a lot more weight.
Rabbitlady

I figure I have to give something up in order to battle against the onslaught of middle aged spread. So far, I have been successful in my avoidance in indulging in the bread pudding. I am quite self satisfied at my resistance to the temptation in spite of the glowing recommendations given here (and on board). In a way, it allows me to be smugly satisfied at the will power demonstrated. Is there a caloric burn rate for will power? In my experience, it must be high because when I tempt myself walking through the dessert line, I feel hungry again in spite of having just eaten my fill of rabbit food (no play off your screen name intended). :confused:

[cf_chuck]

I think the desserts in the Lido are boring and repeated too often.

I've only eaten in the Lido at dinner once, so my remarks are related primarily to lunch. Breakfast does tend to be repetitive. I find the variety at lunch to be quite good, there's always a selection or two or three or more that tempt me, not counting the standby ice cream. I agree that some selections are repeated from one day to the next, and on a longer cruise, it is possible to see a selection repeated from one week to the next. But if I want dessert, I don't find it difficult to find something I can enjoy. Since I like chocolate, there are some desserts that I wouldn't mind having the Lido option every day at lunch, but these seem to go by the wayside in the repetitive sequence (and occasionally disappear from the offering before I serve my dessert).

[Sailor Gal]

Most of the desserts look good but are pretty tasteless. Skip em'!

[CruiseLiz]

Most of the desserts look good but are pretty tasteless. Skip em'!

Oh if only it were that easy. You're lucky that you don't care for the desserts on HAL. On our next cruise I'll see if I can skip dessert at least a few times during the whole cruise!

[FoxyTerrier]

On the old Noordam they used to have a different Flambee Ice Cream desserts each day such as Cherries Jubilee, Peach Melba or Banana's Foster and I love them as I am partial to ice cream.

I wish they would bring those back.

I'm not fond of their birthday cakes so we don't tell them if we are celebrating anything any longer.

DH often orders the cheese plate :confused: which doesn't do a thing for me.

[seafun]

If only I could exercise the self-control :rolleyes: ...

Just a single piece of candied ginger from the Yum Yum Man, on the way out of the dining room, instead of dessert.

Oh yeah, RIGHT!! :eek: Like THAT'S ever gonna happen!! :D

[sail7seas]

They used to have very creamy cheesecake years ago. Do they still have it? I don't even read the dessert menu most nights. Our steward knows by night 2 or 3, don't even bother giving it to me. :D

DH used to love the flambe desserts almost every night. I can't remember the last time he had one.....guess they aren't offered anymore?