Is the Pinnacle Grill outsourced?

[cranethie]

I 'was' contemplating eating there one evening on our cruise - leaving Sydney on the Zaandam in a couple of days time :)- but might just have a look in the door (and don't take this the wrong way) see what nationality the staff are.

Having seen European staff in action in England, lets just say they didn't impress me. I don't want to be harrassed every two minutes with 'is everything ok' but I'd like them to be visible and give a little attention now and again (and not look right through you if you do catch their eye)

[peaches from georgia]

We found the Eastern European staff in the Pinnacle to be professional and attentive, though not intrusive. They were friendly and personable if we initiated conversation, but are trained to serve in a professional manner and not become part of the social interaction at the table unless invited to by the guests. It's a different atmosphere than in the MDR where you often have the same stewards every evening and the Indonesian staff provides a more informal manner of service.

 

Nothing wrong with either, just different and maybe both appropriate for the style of dining in the differing venues, Pinnacle more formal, MDR more informal.

[Himself]

I have only eaten in the Pinacle a couple of times and each time I was well satisfied with the quality of the food and the service.

[FrankNJ]

" HAL felt that the Eastern European staff wasn't a "big hit" for the customers. "

Well Hal , if you're reading this , you got that one right !

[Accessor]

Just sailed the Nieuw Amsterdam across the Atlantic and dined in the Pinnacle Grill one night. The waiters were not Indonesian. That made me wonder if the PG is being outsourced to some restaurant chain. BTW, we were very disappointed in our experience. We arrived for our reservations a few minutes early and ended up waiting 10 minutes to be seated - the restaurant was not full... there were plenty of open tables. Then, we were quickly handed menus and the waiter disappeared. I had to flag someone down to get a Wine List. We sat there for 20 minutes waiting for our waiter to show up. Finally, one of the people at our table went out to the Host and asked what was causing the hold-up. It still took another five minutes before the waiter showed up. The wait staff were not friendly - I'd describe their manner as "haughty", like we should be happy to be served by them. The food was good but not to the level of a Ruth's Chris. I've eaten in the Pinnacle Grill on the Veendam and found that to be a better experience. Does anyone know if it is outsourced?

 

 

I agree with the OP, just got off the NA today and had an EXCELLENT 1st HAL cruise, with the exception of the Pinnacle Grill. It took 30 minutes and flagging down the waiter to place our order. Would deliver each course then disappear until the next course. Had multiple problems over the course of the evening, 3 hours wasted (pouring our own wine, running out of bread, water, dirty plates not getting cleared, not asking how the steaks were cooked after delivering them over/undercooked). The main dining room offer much better service.

 

I spoke to the lady in charge of the PG on the way out...another waste of time falling on deaf ears. The icing on the cake was we got another couple's wine bill (last night of cruise) and was unable to fix the problem before getting off the ship.

 

My suggestion is to AVOID the PG on the NA...until management reads numerous complaints of the problem on this ship ONLY and fixes the issues.

[larrynfl]

Just got off the NA this morning (20 Nov -27 Nov). Had breakfast every morning in the PC. Service was prompt, attentive and food was excellent breakfast fare. Our experience with Le Cirque was the best we have ever had on board. Incidentally the menu has changed...as there are now several choices of appetizers, entrees, etc. The filet Mignon was perfection in a steak...cooked to correct temperature (medium rare) and cut like butter. My rack of lamb was likewise cooked to perfection and an excellent cut of meat. However...our meal there on the last night out, was a different story. Service was fine and attentive...but food was luke warm and the meat not the quality of the previous meal. Baked potato was so cool, that the butter did not melt...in all a disappointment. Did not send it back...in my experience, things just get worse. Food in the MDR was some of the best that we have had on HAL. The caveat being, I ALWAYS ask the wait staff what food was popular at the first seating (we eat at the fixed 8:00 PM seating). Wife and I enjoyed the NA although we usually like the smaller ships better. The Adagio String Quartet is a must. The group are true classical musicians and are newly arrived from the Ukraine.

[GeriatricNurse]

I agree with the OP, just got off the NA today and had an EXCELLENT 1st HAL cruise, with the exception of the Pinnacle Grill. It took 30 minutes and flagging down the waiter to place our order. Would deliver each course then disappear until the next course. Had multiple problems over the course of the evening, 3 hours wasted (pouring our own wine, running out of bread, water, dirty plates not getting cleared, not asking how the steaks were cooked after delivering them over/undercooked). The main dining room offer much better service.

 

I spoke to the lady in charge of the PG on the way out...another waste of time falling on deaf ears. The icing on the cake was we got another couple's wine bill (last night of cruise) and was unable to fix the problem before getting off the ship.

 

My suggestion is to AVOID the PG on the NA...until management reads numerous complaints of the problem on this ship ONLY and fixes the issues.

 

Did you leave a (generous) tip? :confused:

[smslms]

I'm not given to complaining too much, when you're away on a trip things don't always go according to plan, so generally we go with the flow, make do and enjoy ourselves. However I will say that the worst experiences we have suffered through on cruises involve dining in the PG on several HAL ships. In virtually all cases we have found the food to be poorly prepared, bordering on inedible on occasion, and the service to be lackadaisical, often rude and sometimes absolutely offensive.

 

At this time last year we were onboard the Nieuw Amsterdam for a few weeks and decided that with a new ship and all that we would try the PG one more time. Sad to say that the experience was so disgusting that we walked out part way through dinner. Won't go into all the gory details as it seems that nobody in HAL's organization really cares. We did however eat in Tamarind on several occasions and very much enjoyed the food and service. Also, overall, enjoyed the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

We have several cruises upcoming, including one with HAL, but all I can say is that wild horses could not drag me back into the PG again.

[mmr923]

We dined on the PG on the Noordam in the Med in '09 and had European waitstaff with indonesian wine stewards - we thought they were all great. I think because it is a more "formal" restaurant, they are taught to be more "reserved" with the customers at this restaurant (and they may feel like they will be reprimanded if they are not) - just a thought, having put myself through college as a waitress at an "upscale" restaurant. We dined there twice during our 10 day cruise, and had attentive, but unobtrusive service, and delicious well-prepared food both times. We recently dined at the PG on the Ryndam, and had Indonesian waitstaff. They were also slightly less "gregarious" than the MDR staff, but were certainly not rude or cold. Service and food were, again, very good.

 

I, personally, like learning languages (currently speak 5 - trying to learn a few more!), so I ask the waiters where they are from, and ask them to teach me how to say a few things in their own language, like "thank you," or "please" or "wine" or "water." I find this breaks the ice and that they enjoy sharing a little bit about their culture and language. Might give it a try!

[Harry1954]

I too have been very disappointed in the European wait staffers in PG. Fortunately, they have not recently been as numerous as they were in our first few cruises .. in fact, on the World Cruise this year, the staff was entirely Indonesian - much to our enjoyment. The manager was Dutch and she was very attentive.

 

On a couple of HAL cruises, two of the male European PG managers were less than enthusiastic and lacked management skills. On other HAL cruises, we find that the women PG managers have always been very good.

 

We truly prefer the Indonesian wait staff in PG .. especially for breakfast - even though they often try to give my DW hot milk/sugar for her grits.

 

On a parallel note ... we have cruised Crystal more times than HAL and found the European staff in their Lido was lazy, indifferent and sometimes surly. The Filipinos on the other hand were top notch service-oriented. I wonder if this is just indicative of where folks are from?

 

harry

[SparklingBlonde]

I visited the PG on 3 occasions for lunch and dinner on the Eurodam during our 14 day cruise. The food was only marginally better than the MDR. The service was TERRIBLE compared to our waiters in the MDR. We really missed them and felt that they were much more attentive and kind than those in the PG.

 

It upsets me that it seems that the PG waiters are better than the MDR waiters when, in my experience, it has been the opposite!