Statendam - Suite dinner

It has been so long since we have been a ship that still has the suite dinner. And we have been on quite a few cruises that wer longer than 7 days.

The suite dinner was held in the Half Moon and Hudson Rooms. Not all the suite passengers attended.

Everyone met at the Java Cafe - the area was closed to all other passengers. Cocktails and appetizers were served here.

Everything was great except the dessert.

Menu as follows: Pate De Foie Gras De Canard; Clear Oxtail Soup; Poached Medallion of Salmon; Medallions of Veal; Statendam Grand Dessert; Coffee or Tea with Friandises.

The dessert was a warm (should have been served cold) white chocolate mousse - not much flavor.

Sitting at our table was the Chief Officer, Andrew Pedder and the cruise consultant Kristina (?) - sorry I can't remember her last name.

The man sitting next to me ate only a couple of bites of the entire meal. Several times I tried talking to him - I might as well have been talking to a brick wall - he didn't talk to anyone - not even the woman to hus left. His wife sat to my DH's left - wore an ordinary dress (formal night) and said very little as well. So I spent my time talking to Andy the woman to his right and DH talked to Kristina and the man to her right.

After the dinner we talked to the captain who prefers to be called PJ and told him what a lovely dinner it was. We talked about the other ships doing away with the suite dinners. He commented that as long as he is captain and the cruises are longer than 7 days, he loves having the suite dinners.

We were told that when our signed menus would be returned to us, we would get a nice surprise - never did get anything.

I also enjoyed the suite dinners. Maybe they will bring them back to the other ships. I think one of the problems is the vista class ships are just too big. There are many more suites than the other ships and maybe it was just too much.

Nice that you had a Suite dinner. It's been a while since we have had one.

What a shame they didn't return the signed menus to you. I always liked receiving them and have a collection that is fun to look through from time to time.

(Did the oxtail soup have the pastry top they always warn will emit steam when pierced?)

I also enjoyed the suite dinners. Maybe they will bring them back to the other ships. I think one of the problems is the vista class ships are just too big. There are many more suites than the other ships and maybe it was just too much.

That is easy to solve. Break it into 2 nights.

Guess I am getting tired - didn't make myself clear. We did get the menus back with a couple of 'signatures' - they could have been anyone's initials -hopefully they were the captain's and the hotel manager's scribs. We were all led to believe that besides getting the menus back, we would get some kind of a treat.

And there wasn't any delicate pastry crust on top to break open and let out that delicious aroma. I had forgotten about that.

The last suite dinner we enjoyed was in Oct of 2002 on the Amsterdam - so long ago.

gizmo

The only problem I see with having 2 suite dinners on the vista class ships is the time eliment. Most of the time the Vista class ships do 7 day cruises and there are only 2 formal nights on those cruises because of the ports. And the captain and hotel manager aren't going to sponsor a suite dinner on the first formal as that is the captain's welcome party. Also where would the dinners be held? We have been told by Seattle that the Pinnacle can not and will not be shut down any night for suite dinners - they would lose money.

After the dinner we talked to the captain who prefers to be called PJ and told him what a lovely dinner it was. We talked about the other ships doing away with the suite dinners. He commented that as long as he is captain and the cruises are longer than 7 days, he loves having the suite dinners.

Captain Peter is such a gracious host and I'm sure is a big part of the reason that the Statendam has maintained many of the wonderful old traditions. We really enjoyed chatting with him on our Statendam honeymoon, where we were so lucky as to be seated at the Captain's table. I hope his new wife (like us, they met on a HAL ship, too) gives up trying to lure him to life ashore, as he seems to enjoy life at sea so much.

My point was that it seems to me that the vista class ships, by being larger and different, may have caused a rethinking of many of the HAL traditions. I guess change is inevitable, but I enjoyed the old HAL and it is very hard for me to get used to the new one.

gizmo

 

The only problem I see with having 2 suite dinners on the vista class ships is the time eliment. Most of the time the Vista class ships do 7 day cruises and there are only 2 formal nights on those cruises because of the ports. And the captain and hotel manager aren't going to sponsor a suite dinner on the first formal as that is the captain's welcome party. Also where would the dinners be held? We have been told by Seattle that the Pinnacle can not and will not be shut down any night for suite dinners - they would lose money.

The suite dinners were only on cruises 10 days and more in the past. I didn't mean they should add them to a 7 day cruise.

I don't see how the size of the Vistas have anything to do with it since the majority of the cruises are only 7 days.

You may have a point there about where to hold them. I am not familiar with the Vistas so I have no idea if there is a room that could be used or not. Another idea is they could substitue the dinner on Vistas with a special lunch held in the dining room on longer cruises.