RDeagazio Posted May 3, 2004 #1 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Hi Everyone, For those of you who've ever complained about RCI's food I just got off HAL's Oosterdam last night and I've got to tell you the food was horrible! I was onboard the ship as part of a TA Dinner (normally TA dinners are better then the standard fare since they try to "Wow" us). I ordered the Veal Chop, which was so small and dry (the meat portion was about the size of a quarter). It came out STONE COLD and was accompanied by 2 baby carrots and INSTANT mashed potatoes!! The starter and soup and dessert also left a lot to be desired. The service onboard was not attentive or friendly either. HAL markets itself as a Premium line but nothing I experienced last night would lead me to believe this to be true. RCI might not have the best food around, but trust me for the price of their cruises it's 100% better then what I experienced on HAL. Bob NCL Sunward II / Emerald Seas HAL Veendam (old and new) HAL Zaandam HAL Volendam (old and new) HAL Maasdam / HAL Statendam RCI Song of Norway RCI Nordic Prince RCI Sun Viking RCI Song of America NCL Southward / NCL Norway Home Lines Homeric RCI Sovereign of the Seas RCI Majesty of the Seas RCI Monarch of the Seas (2x) RCI Grandeur (2x) RCI Enchantment (4x) RCI Vision / RCI Splendour Celebrity Galaxy Carnival Tropicale Carnival Paradise Carnival Destiny RCI Nordic Empress (2x) HAL Nieuw Amsterdam HAL Noordam / NCL Sky (2x) NCL Sun / NCL Dawn NCL Sea / NCL Majesty Carnival Victory Carnival Glory RCI Voyager (2x) RCI Explorer / RCI Adventure RCI Navigator / RCI Brilliance RCI Serenade (2x) RCI Mariner 11/12/03 RCI Nordic Empress 12/20/03 RCI Radiance 12/28/03 Cunard QM2 1/30/04 RCI Mariner 3/21/04 HAL Oosterdam 5/2/04 RCI Serenade 7/18/04 And more to come..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixCruiser Posted May 3, 2004 #2 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Interesting....thanks for the info Bob Navigator of the Seas 6/26/04 <center> <a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm"> </center> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindalu62 Posted May 3, 2004 #3 Share Posted May 3, 2004 OH no, it's contagious!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockyhou Posted May 3, 2004 #4 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I never understand why people get so passionate about the food reviews. I admit I was also very unimpressed with HAL food and service and will not go back. I just got off the Mariner yesterday and the food was fine. It may not have been 5 star, but it was by no means terrible. I look at it from the perspective 'you get what you pay for'. Cruise prices are low and offer alot for your money. So I don't mind paying for the extra's (Chops or JR) only when I use them. Rather than pay higher cruise fares and not be able to go as often. But I am glad to hear I was not the only one dissapointed in HAL, I just expected so much more from them. Michael Soverign of the Seas Nov 99 Majesty of the Seas Apr 00, Nov OO Enchangement of the Seas Sep 00, Oct 02 Rhaposdy of the Seas Jun 01 Elation Oct 01 Zuiderdam Apr 03 Radiance of the Seas Jun 03 Voyager Nov 03 Mariner Apr 04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parfect Posted May 3, 2004 #5 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Interesting, we were recently aboard Celebrity's Millennium for the Panama Canal transit and was looking forward to the food as a result of all the hyped up reviews about how great Celebrity's food was. Bottom line, the food was OK, nothing WOW about it, and frankly, we enjoyed the food aboard all our RCI cruises better. <MA>....until the Bahamas aboard the Sovereign of the Seas March 21, 2005......<MA> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserforlife Posted May 3, 2004 #6 Share Posted May 3, 2004 just goes to show food is very subjective and it really can be hit or miss,sometimes even from week to week. "a bad day at sea is better than a great day at work and a lousy day at sea is still pretty damn good!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suziehmkr Posted May 3, 2004 #7 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Oh no! I know several sailing on the Oosterdam on May 8th! Whoops! Legend of the Seas 06/13/04 <font color=purple>Viking Serenade 6/1992 </font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justcruzin85374 Posted May 3, 2004 #8 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Oh dear! Thanks for the warnings! Soveriegn 92 E. Caribbean Majesty 95 W. Caribbean Granduer 97 E. Caribbean Rhapsody 00 Mexico Vision 02 Alaska Radiance 03 Panama Canal Brilliance 3/29/04 Radiance of the Seas/Panama Canal 10/18/2003 Are we there yet? My bags are always packed! Brilliance 3/29/2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUBIDUB2 Posted May 3, 2004 #9 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I think Princess (only sailed once) and RCI food are about the same. Not great but when combined with the following, the food is AWESOME :- 1. 1 week off work 2. Great Weather 3. Great Fun 4. Relax, drink, relax 5. drink, relax, drink 6. Entertainment 7. Lovely views 8. Clear blue waters 9. "Wake up somewhere else" effect 10. Did I mention relaxing 11. Did I mention drinking 12. Did I mention a week off work Give me 5 star food in a 5 star restaurant in the city second only to 3 star food on the Ocean. See, it all depends on how you look at it <applet codebase="http://*************/java-sys" height="25" width="203" code="countdown.class"> <PARAM NAME="font" VALUE="lcdb0"><PARAM NAME="month" VALUE="4"><PARAM NAME="hour" VALUE="17"><PARAM NAME="year" VALUE="2005"><PARAM NAME="day" VALUE="03"> </applet> RCCL - Mariner (April 3rd 2005) - Click here for April 3rd 2005 Mariner Roll Call Princess - Golden (April 3rd 2004) RCCL - Navigator (June 2003) RCCL - Explorer (April 2002) RCCL - Voyager (June 2001) Carnival - Paradise (Dec/Jan 1999/2000 Millenium Cruise) Big Red Boat (1997) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amaddog10 Posted May 3, 2004 #10 Share Posted May 3, 2004 i've cruised celebrity, princess, and rci...and i have to say that the food on celebrity was probably the best, followed (and not by much) by rci...and princess a distant third... having said that..i will say that when i go on a ship that is serving two to three thousand meals a day...granted, broken down into two seatings...my expectations are not the same as if i'm going to a restaurant that serves only a fraction of that...and as previous posters have said...hey...its a cruise...what can be bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darngoodcruisers Posted May 3, 2004 #11 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Food isn't the most important thing on a cruise. But it would be nice if it was edible. Not the case on Costa Mediterranea. Bad food and rude service seemed to be the norm. We ate hamburgers at the pool everyday and thank goodness we brought some snacks with us. Rubber chops and steak.never saw the Italian food promised us either.I could go on and on, but I won't. We will never make that mistake again. Yea, for RC and Princess. We will stick with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted May 3, 2004 #12 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I was very pleased with RCI's food when we were on the Enchantment in November(our first RCI cruise). The only comparison I had at the time was Carnival. I will be sailing on HAL for the first time next month. I'll let you know what I think. I have read the Lido food was very good. Did you have any experience with the Lido food? Marie HAL - MAASDAM - June 2004/Canada/New England RCI - Mariner of the Seas, Sept 2004(CC Group Cruise) Carnival Miracle -February 2005 RCI Majesty of the Seas - Spring Break, March 2005 Celebrity Mercury, April 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkrosesdeb Posted May 3, 2004 #13 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I am glad I am not the only one who felt that way about HAL! When we got back and I wrote those same sentiments everyone blasted me and said I must be too picky. I think it is just that everyone talks about how classy and "superior" HAL is to RCCL and we were expecting so much more, just didn't get it. As for the Lido, we were on Maasdam and couldn't find a clean table. Not one ship's staff person offered to clean a table for us. We cleared our own, ate lunch, sat and talked with friends for a good 30 mins and the dirty dishes were still piled on the table when we left! Just didn't find the extra service everyone told us to expect. We have had much better food and service with RCCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmason Posted May 3, 2004 #14 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I find cruise food to be on par with, and sometimes better than food at hotels/resorts. This is really what it should be compared with, not fine restaraunts, which specialize in food. Assuming cruise lines like RCI etc compare with hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, etc, then I find the food to be very comparable to that served in the restaraunts of these chains locations. If your expectations are set higher, you will be disappointed, as well as fooling yourself. ...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUBIDUB2 Posted May 3, 2004 #15 Share Posted May 3, 2004 When I said "not great" I should have said, food on both ships was "great" just not "awesome". I seemed kinda negative. My wife and I and the kids had so much choice of food, we could never fault what we actually ate - yum. I wanna go on a cruise soon... boo hoo. I gotta a whole year to wait <sob>. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser-66 Posted May 3, 2004 #16 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I just want to say that my DH and I sailed on the Oosterdam the first week of March.We cruise once a year and have been on most lines. We felt the food was some of the best we've had. The Lido we felt was quite a bit better than most. This was our first time on HAL. We mostly sail Princess and RCL. We did feel service was not as good as we were expecting, as we heard so much about it before we went. It was just ok. Luv 2 Cruz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDeagazio Posted May 3, 2004 Author #17 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I realize food is very subjective. Personally I've never had a problem with RCI's food-- some has been better than others, but overall I've been quite pleased with the food on my 30+ sailings with RCI. I was totally shocked that HAL would serve instant mashed potatoes-- that still had the "box" taste-- especially during a TA dinner! I was also less than impressed with the overall service onboard. Dirty plates sat in front of us on the table until we got up and left-- no refills on drinks were offered etc. I will say that the show the HAL Singers and Dancers put on was very entertaining. Bob NCL Sunward II / Emerald Seas HAL Veendam (old and new) HAL Zaandam HAL Volendam (old and new) HAL Maasdam / HAL Statendam RCI Song of Norway RCI Nordic Prince RCI Sun Viking RCI Song of America NCL Southward / NCL Norway Home Lines Homeric RCI Sovereign of the Seas RCI Majesty of the Seas RCI Monarch of the Seas (2x) RCI Grandeur (2x) RCI Enchantment (4x) RCI Vision / RCI Splendour Celebrity Galaxy Carnival Tropicale Carnival Paradise Carnival Destiny RCI Nordic Empress (2x) HAL Nieuw Amsterdam HAL Noordam / NCL Sky (2x) NCL Sun / NCL Dawn NCL Sea / NCL Majesty Carnival Victory Carnival Glory RCI Voyager (2x) RCI Explorer / RCI Adventure RCI Navigator / RCI Brilliance RCI Serenade (2x) RCI Mariner 11/12/03 RCI Nordic Empress 12/20/03 RCI Radiance 12/28/03 Cunard QM2 1/30/04 RCI Mariner 3/21/04 HAL Oosterdam 5/2/04 RCI Serenade 7/18/04 And more to come..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crewsn Posted May 4, 2004 #18 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Hi All, We just got off the Mariner on Sunday and ate in the dining room every night. Food was excellent every night along with outstanding service provided by Nikolay, our waiter, and Fatima, assistant waiter, who always had a smile on her face. I believe RC had implemented a new menu a week before we sailed and that the ranch steak has been put to rest. The ship was beautiful and we had a great time. Steve Until Cruising on The Mariner <marquee>RCL MOS 4/25/04, CCL Glory 8/16/03, NCL Majesty 10/27/02, CCL Celebration 2/94 </marquee> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnwilson Posted May 4, 2004 #19 Share Posted May 4, 2004 We can only hope the Ranch Steak is off the menu! Anytime a piece of beef is so tough and tasteless that they put a scoop of butter on top of it to melt - Look Out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folgy Posted May 4, 2004 #20 Share Posted May 4, 2004 I don't cruise with HAL since our last cruise Sep/03 to Alaska on the Ryndam.Terrible service and food. Entertainment also poor. I used to get wonderful service /food etc. with HAL. They have gone down hill big time in my books. I still feel like I am getting good value with RCCL. Alaska (my BIG 50) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJGRANNY Posted May 4, 2004 #21 Share Posted May 4, 2004 I've been on two long (Panama Canal) (South America) HAL cruises and the food and service was excellent! Perhaps you just hit a bad time. Jan from New Jersey Celebrity - Carribean - Twice RCCL - Alaska, Carribean Holland America - Panama Canal and South America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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