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Canaletto Restaurant

lenquixote66

By lenquixote66,
in Holland America Line

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Is there a charge for the Canaletto restaurant on the Veendam ?

The answer is No but they were testing the waters so to speak with the Westerdam and Charging for it there. Not sure they are still but they were a few weeks ago and were the only ship that was doing that.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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No. Unless something has changed in the last few months that I missed, there is no specialty-restauarant charge for Canaletto on any of the HAL ships. You will pay for your wine or other cost drinks, but not for the meal.

 

Dave

Dave, actually it has changed in the last few months for the Westerdam and I also believe maybe the Oosterdam. All you have to do is read several of the recent Alaska reviews for the Westerdam such as this review. But currently the Veendam is not charging for Canaletto.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1639967

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RetiredMustang

RetiredMustang

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Thanks, Lisa, for pointing that out to me -- (I'm glad I put the caveat that "unless something has changed" in my earlier post, because I obviously missed that thread :D).

 

I don't know about that issue. I remember when HAL raised the price of the Pinnacle, and then backed it down when people stopped going. I think that the Canaletto experience is fun, but if HAL starts charging for it, we will probably give it a pass -- the food is not sufficiently real Italian (and we know the difference) for us to pay a surcharge to eat there.

 

Dave

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Thanks, Lisa, for pointing that out to me -- (I'm glad I put the caveat that "unless something has changed" in my earlier post, because I obviously missed that thread :D).

 

I don't know about that issue. I remember when HAL raised the price of the Pinnacle, and then backed it down when people stopped going. I think that the Canaletto experience is fun, but if HAL starts charging for it, we will probably give it a pass -- the food is not sufficiently real Italian (and we know the difference) for us to pay a surcharge to eat there.

 

Dave

Dave, I have to agree with you. Sadly I was not impressed with it for free and really have no intentions to return free or not. :o Basically when a Specialty restaurant puts a cover charge on something the major reason is actually for crowd control. Prior to my first experience dining in Canaletto, I tried on a previous sailing but could never get in because it was fully booked. Then we did try it on our 2 week Hawaii cruise and even then several nights were full but we did manage to get a reservation. The charging is an experiment on HAL's part to see if reservations drastically drop off. I am sure if they do we will not see the charge implemented or they may back it down to say $5.00 per person.

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PathfinderEss

PathfinderEss

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Now that is not too bad if you drink wine :)

That is if you can drink the wine - I'm with you Lisa, Canaletto is not even good for free, they would have to do a lot of improving the food to make me want to even pay 10.00. I love Italian food, but what Canaletto serves is not good Italian in my opinion.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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That is if you can drink the wine - I'm with you Lisa, Canaletto is not even good for free, they would have to do a lot of improving the food to make me want to even pay 10.00. I love Italian food, but what Canaletto serves is not good Italian in my opinion.

You have a good point there about the wine they serve for the free glass :D It could be like that wonderful Free Champagne they hand out for tha Captain's Toast:rolleyes: :eek:

 

I know it cannot be done but they really should replace Canaletto with Tamarind and I would gladly pay $30 PP

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George C

George C

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ok Canaletto may not be a 4 star Itilian resturant but food is good and I would pay 10 dollars, I would not eat in the Olive garden but we had 2 nice meals at Canaletto just a few weeks ago on the Veendam. ( we go to a lot of Itilian resturants )

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jaguarstyper

jaguarstyper

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ok Canaletto may not be a 4 star Itilian resturant but food is good and I would pay 10 dollars, I would not eat in the Olive garden but we had 2 nice meals at Canaletto just a few weeks ago on the Veendam. ( we go to a lot of Itilian resturants )
I felt like the food in Canaletto is very much like the food at Olive Garden and in some cases, not as good. I never had much interest when it was free and would only go there if others wanted to. But for $10, I'd definitely pass.
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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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Is it possible that there could be some good Canalettos depnding on who the cook is :confused: I know that my one and only expereince on the Oosterdam was not even what I would call as good as Olive Garden. SO that is not saying much. Plus the service was not at all good. I know that some Pinnacles can be Hit or Miss, I wonder if Canaletto is the same?

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trophy_23

trophy_23

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Is it possible that there could be some good Canalettos depnding on who the cook is :confused: I know that my one and only expereince on the Oosterdam was not even what I would call as good as Olive Garden. SO that is not saying much. Plus the service was not at all good. I know that some Pinnacles can be Hit or Miss, I wonder if Canaletto is the same?

 

Yes, I believe this is the case. Our first experience with the Canaletto was on the Eurodam in 2009 when it was the only ship with this venue and it was fantastic and we ate there a few of times on that 14day trip. We then tried it on the Rotterdam the following year and it was mediocre at best. When we were on the Eurodam this past September we dined in the Canaletto again (same head chef as in 2009) and it again was very good! I plan on trying it on our upcoming Amsterdam cruise also.

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YOW

YOW

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Just like any other venue, Canaletto is subject to... subjectivity. We dined at Canaletto on Eurodam in December 2011, and didn't think much of it. Food was lukewarm, salty, and had clearly been sitting out for a while -- plus the ambience of the Lido, with people walking by and the smell of the steam-tables, wasn't exactly special. No way would we pay for this, and it's questionable as to whether we'll give Canaletto a try on Veendam this month.

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iriemon

iriemon

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We have eaten in the Canaletto only when we were on longer cruises because we get tired of eating in the MDR and want a change. Never really thought the food was that good, but really didn't expect it to be so not much of a disappointment. Now would we pay to eat there, not at all. If we are paying over and above what we are paying for food on the cruise, then we expect the food to be that way, over and above the MDR. We do enjoy the Pinnacle and feel they are over and above. Think we will see a lot of empty seats in the Canaletto. The wine is probably what they use for vinegar two days later! :eek:

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innlady1

innlady1

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That is if you can drink the wine - I'm with you Lisa, Canaletto is not even good for free, they would have to do a lot of improving the food to make me want to even pay 10.00. I love Italian food, but what Canaletto serves is not good Italian in my opinion.

 

I'm with you and with Lisa. We "tried" Caneletto twice on the Maasdam and then on the Veendam in May. It's not what I consider "real" Italian food either. I agree on the Olive Garden comparison. I enjoy the antipasto but that's about it.

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Traveler 13

Traveler 13

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I disembarked the Westerdam on 6/9/12. They do now charge $10.00 for the Canaletto. I continue to believe the restaurant "needs improvement". I would not mind paying if the served a quality Italian inspired meal but they do not. In addition they only beer's they allow with the meal are American.

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