"Evening at Le Cirque" Questions

[dillpickle48]

Oh, if only they had De Librjie on every cruise. Best food I've ever had on a cruise.

[POA1]

That's not what is showing for my 14 day cruise on the Rotterdam in October. We have Die Librije on the third night, but no Le Cirque at all. Pinnacle is showing bookable for every other night of the cruise.

Sorry if I got it wrong. The Eurodam was doing alternating Le Cirque / De Liberje the last time I looked at our sailing.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I hope not. My experience with the De Librjie on the Eurodam was disappointing and not worth trying again. I do not appreciate deconstructed cuisine.

 

 

We had friends on the Rotterdam and they also didn't care for De Librjie.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Visagrunt and POA1

I was told by Seattle that the Rotterdam completely stopped the Le Cirque about 3 years ago and only offered De Librjie.

[Boiler Cruiser]

Le Cirque should be offered at least through the end of the Caribbean season in Spring 2017. (Source: PR Newswire.) Lisa might have some inside information on why either LC International LLC (Le Cirque) or Carnival Corporation (Holland America) might have voided the agreement.

 

The Eurodam and Rotterdam alternate Le Cirque and De Liberje each week.

 

I appreciate all the comments from those of you who have been on other HAL ships, but what has been the experience of those who have been on the Prinsendam recently, or have booked (or expected to book) LeCirque on the Prinsendam?

 

Will they change, or have they changed, to De Liberje as well?

[SilvertoGold]

Visagrunt and POA1

I was told by Seattle that the Rotterdam completely stopped the Le Cirque about 3 years ago and only offered De Librjie.

 

This makes sense because the Rotterdam homeports in Rotterdam now and De Librjie is well-known in Europe.

 

I know from experience that there are a LOT of European pax on this ship most of the time.

[blizzardboy]

I will be on the Prinsendam for a 14 day cruise next July. My DW and I enjoy eating in the specialty restaurants when we are on a cruise.

 

I have some questions:

 

1. On a 14 day cruise, how many "Evening at LeCirque" dinners will there be?

 

2. Will we know which days will be "Evening at LeCirque" dinners when we make are reservations for the specialty restaurants on line? Are they always on the same day each week?

 

3. How does the "Evening at Le Cirque" menu differ from the regular Pinnacle menu?

 

 

A sample menu from LeCirque, Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind are on the HAL website. Click "Onboard" on upper Home page, then "Dining". Some come up that you can click and open on that page, others you have to click on the restaurant name on the left margin then you can get to the menu.

Go Hoosiers!

[fire eater]

So disappointed that 'Le Trio' is not on the menu any more. I have had that so many times and look forward to it every time I board. Sigh ...

[Alberta Quilter]

Deleted. Sorry!

Edited August 28, 2015 by Alberta Quilter

[Bill S]

On our May cruise on the Rotterdam, our TA gave us a dinner at Le Cirque.

 

We definitely not gourmet-people, and even so, we were not impressed. In my case, I had the pasta dish, gnocci, IIRC, and it was tough, chewy and without much flavor-have had much better at other less-than-5-star restaurants. My dear wife liked the presentation but thought it was nothing special, other than the dessert.

 

We were glad to have had the experience, but we would definitely not pay for it on our own. Finally, of course, opinions on food are very subjective-to each their own.

[DCParky]

I appreciate all the comments from those of you who have been on other HAL ships, but what has been the experience of those who have been on the Prinsendam recently, or have booked (or expected to book) LeCirque on the Prinsendam?

 

Will they change, or have they changed, to De Liberje as well?

 

We are booked on the Prinsendam TA in November and were able to book Le Cirque. I believe they were only offering it once during the 15 day TA.

[avian777]

There certainly seem to be a wide variation in CCers' opinions about Le Cirque on HAL ships. I'd be interested in hearing from CCers who have experienced An Evening at Le Cirque on one or more HAL ships and have also eaten at one or more of Sirio Maccioni's land-based Le Cirque restaurants. An apples-to-apples (or souffle-to-souffle, if you prefer :)) comparison would be interesting.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have experienced Le Cirque on quite a few different ships since it started on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. We have also experienced their different menus.

We loved all of our dinners there.

However we don't live near any of Sirio's Le Cirque restaurants so I can't make any comparisons that way.

[POA1]

We have experienced Le Cirque on quite a few different ships since it started on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. We have also experienced their different menus.

We loved all of our dinners there.

However we don't live near any of Sirio's Le Cirque restaurants so I can't make any comparisons that way.

We love the Le Cirque dinners and have eaten at the original Le Cirque at the Mayfair, and Le Cirque 2000 in the New York Palace. We've not been to the latest incarnation at One Beacon. The HAL version is reminiscent of Le Cirque, but it's vastly less expensive than the real thing. It's also a more limited menu, with a different level of service. (The NYC version has better service, but you pay for it. Dearly, some might say.)

 

All things considered, we think that the Holland America Le Cirque experience is a really nice meal, and a great deal to boot. Bear in mind that we are fans of fancy dishes and fussy service. If your tastes don't run toward that, the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner is probably more your speed. (DFIL prefers the normal PG to Le Cirque. We still love him just as much. ;) )

 

And, of course, parking is never a problem at HAL's version, and you never need to worry about the valet scratching your car.

[JohnKen3]

We've not been to the latest incarnation at One Beacon.

 

It is good but weak compared on the one at the Las Vegas Bellagio, in terms of service and food.

[POA1]

It is good but weak compared on the one at the Las Vegas Bellagio, in terms of service and food.

Good to know. For all the criticisms of Las Vegas, they do know how to take something big and really make it pop.

[avian777]

We love the Le Cirque dinners and have eaten at the original Le Cirque at the Mayfair, and Le Cirque 2000 in the New York Palace. We've not been to the latest incarnation at One Beacon. The HAL version is reminiscent of Le Cirque, but it's vastly less expensive than the real thing. It's also a more limited menu, with a different level of service. (The NYC version has better service, but you pay for it. Dearly, some might say.)

 

All things considered, we think that the Holland America Le Cirque experience is a really nice meal, and a great deal to boot. Bear in mind that we are fans of fancy dishes and fussy service. If your tastes don't run toward that, the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner is probably more your speed. (DFIL prefers the normal PG to Le Cirque. We still love him just as much. ;) )

 

And, of course, parking is never a problem at HAL's version, and you never need to worry about the valet scratching your car.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Le Cirque. Your experience certainly parallels ours to a "T", although we have also eaten at Le Cirque (Bellagio) in Las Vegas which we thought was (only slightly) less impressive than the current and previous venues in NY. In a way, I think An Evening at Le Cirque is a no-winner for the Maccioni family because no matter how good it is (and IMO it is great, especially considering all of the built-in constraints of on board food preparation and service), it cannot measure up to reputation and/or remembered experiences of the land-based Le Cirque. Bottom line for me is that An Evening at Le Cirque is a very inexpensive way to enjoy a reasonable approximation of the original, and we'll continue enjoying it as long as HAL continues to offer it.