Underwhelmed by HAL

[taxmantoo]

4 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

 

Algonquin?  how far did you get with WSET? 

Yep... Algonquin College in Ottawa.  WSET was first offered in Ottawa the year I graduated and their written exams and final blind tasting exams up to Level 3 were much easier than ours so I never bothered to register as I was not planning on making a career out of it and did not need the extra initials after my name.  

[Cruise Junky]

1 minute ago, taxmantoo said:

Yep... Algonquin College in Ottawa.  WSET was first offered in Ottawa the year I graduated and their written exams and final blind tasting exams up to Level 3 were much easier than ours so I never bothered to register as I was not planning on making a career out of it and did not need the extra initials after my name.  

Nice. I have WSET 3 and am debating the Diploma

[OlsSalt]

9 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

........ Sure, fill a ship with millions of dollars worth of art, and then tell folks, oh, this is a floating Best Western. Where do you come up with this nonsense?

 

I don't think HAL "fill their ships up with millions of dollars of art", but rather utilize perhaps a long-standing collection of items from their long Dutch sailing heritage as well as  the long Dutch history in the East Indies - they have been at sea for a long long time  and probably have a sufficient revolving collection themselves or willing items on loan.

 

Best part of the Rotterdam port is seeing the old godowns dockside with their wonderful names still emblazoned on top - Sumatra -Borneo - Celebes ....

[Hawaiidan]

35 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

How is this putting my words into perspective? I didn't say anything about price, or getting a supreme deal, nor did I set my sights at lobster. We passed on the lobster several times and ate a few burgers, dogs and pizza poolside. I'm not asking them to change anything, they just simply couldn't deliver. Sure, fill a ship with millions of dollars worth of art, and then tell folks, oh, this is a floating Best Western. Where do you come up with this nonsense?

It reality....HAL  is nice but its a Best western with nice art,  They cant deliver on what you expect...its not in the cards,  It's not what they are about.     Your wants far exceed that which can be met at their level  HAL is a mass market middle of the road basic level experience..     I discovered this a long time ago and when I wanted what you wanted I sought out lines that could.    Please do not frustrate yourself   you will be far happier

[Chinook Wind]

When a person is used to a particular cruise line experience and tries another it's normal to use what's familiar as a benchmark.  My "familiar" is Celebrity (Elite in their loyalty program) so when I took my first cruise with HAL (Eurodam in December) it was only natural to make comparisons.  Some things I found to be wanting and other things were better but I tried my best to not dwell on the negatives.  Now, having said that there are a few comments I would like to make re the OP's thread:

 

-  The Officer implying that you should just relax because you're on vacation is completely unacceptable and disrespectful.  It suggests that your concerns were not valid nor did they need his attention and that in any event, he simply could no be bothered. I would have been furious.

-  beef:  please bear with me on this matter as it is one my pet peeves...I am from southern Alberta where I think some of the best beef in the world is produced (...just down the road, in fact  🐮)  Our cows are not fed corn - they are "finished" with barley giving the meat real flavour and a more pleasing texture. So this nonsense about dry/wet corn would not have sat well with me, lol.

-  I totally agree with you re Canaletto...in fact, there is an active thread on this topic and most posters complain about the declining quality.  We had 2 meals there on our cruise: one from their regular menu and the other from the Sel de Mer speciality menu which was really no different from the regular menu except that it cost more.  (Won't fall for that one again. )

 

So, I suppose in the end when we find ourselves in these situations we should try not to focus on the negatives... I'm a "glass half full" kind of person and generally try to focus on the positives.  For example, I loved the entertainment on HAL (esp the Lincoln Centre Stage);  the MDR served me the best wild pink salmon entree I've had since I lived on the West Coast;  our week-long Lido cabana was money well spent;  and, I went home with more $$$ from the casino than I arrived with! 🎉  So, will I cruise HAL again?  Sure...have a 17-night Panama Canal repositioning cruise booked for May on the Amsterdam. Love the itinerary and when Celebrity starts sailing more from the "Left Coast" then I'll book with them again too.  In the meantime, I will enjoy the positive things HAL offers and keep my expectations lower on some other things! 

Edited January 29, 2019 by Chinook Wind

[Boytjie]

4 hours ago, OVgirl said:

As for coffee, The Dutch Cafe is not the place to get real coffee. It has been set up to offer an 'experience'.

If you want espresso drinks you should head up to Explorations Cafe in the Crows Nest.

 

Oh,my.. I loved the coffee in the Grand Dutch Cafe. I did not notice a major difference between it and the Explorations Cafe.

[AncientWanderer]

I think the OP's complaints are legit, and HAL isn't for him/her.

To me, HAL has a certain je ne sais quoi that either clicks with a person or doesn't.  We've cruised with many cruise lines, and the quirky wine service would just be an acceptable part of a HAL cruise to us.  Slick service is not what attracts us to HAL.  Their sincere service keeps us coming back.

[cruisemom42]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Nieuw Statendam is a VERY new ship, and service on new ships often -- no, usually -- takes a while to run smoothly. Many of the things the OP mentioned, the small details, are things that tend to get ironed out over the initial "break in" period of the first 6 months or so. Things that especially seem to be prone to problems at first include speed of MDR service, menu typos, and so on. 

 

I've had similar problems on other new ships in the past (including on Princess) and is one reason why I decided years ago never to sail on a new ship during her first 6-8 months. I wouldn't write off a line due to this kind of experience, but then again if the OP has found a sweet spot on Princess, so be it.

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks for your review .We also sail both lines  & for different reasons  .

[CineGraphic]

13 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Nieuw Statendam is a VERY new ship, and service on new ships often -- no, usually -- takes a while to run smoothly. Many of the things the OP mentioned, the small details, are things that tend to get ironed out over the initial "break in" period of the first 6 months or so. Things that especially seem to be prone to problems at first include speed of MDR service, menu typos, and so on. 

 

I've had similar problems on other new ships in the past (including on Princess) and is one reason why I decided years ago never to sail on a new ship during her first 6-8 months. I wouldn't write off a line due to this kind of experience, but then again if the OP has found a sweet spot on Princess, so be it.

Just as an FYI....we were told multiple times that most of the staff came from the Konigsdam, it's sister ship in an effort to avoid any problems.

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, Chinook Wind said:

.....................................

-  beef:  please bear with me on this matter as it is one my pet peeves...I am from southern Alberta where I think some of the best beef in the world is produced (...just down the road, in fact  🐮)  Our cows are not fed corn - they are "finished" with barley giving the meat real flavour and a more pleasing texture. ....................

 

Dude, you obviously never met a Southern California cow! 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

2 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Just as an FYI....we were told multiple times that most of the staff came from the Konigsdam, it's sister ship in an effort to avoid any problems.

 

Yes, that is common practice. But even going from one sister ship to another doesn't mean things are precisely the same or that there still aren't a substantial number of staff that were not from K'dam. All chains (and MDR service is definitely a chain) are only as good as their weakest link.

[NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope]

With respect to the wine not being decanted, corkage is usually paid while embarking, possibly wine steward/sommelier was uncomfortable decanting since corkage had not been paid. Certainly communication should have been better when bottle was delivered prior to dinner. Maybe OP did not realize that each adult is allowed one bottle corkage free but it's only for in cabin consumption.

[OVgirl]

1 hour ago, Boytjie said:

 

Oh,my.. I loved the coffee in the Grand Dutch Cafe. I did not notice a major difference between it and the Explorations Cafe.

Personally, we love it too. But maybe not to everyone's liking.

[idiebabe]

56 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Just as an FYI....we were told multiple times that most of the staff came from the Konigsdam, it's sister ship in an effort to avoid any problems.

 

Yes, they did as well as Zuiderdam!  We were very impressed how well everyone worked together and had no issues at all with Service especially for a new Ship!  

 

We  ate Pinnacle twice, Sel de Mer three times, Tamarind once and Canaletto once.  I can’t comment on the MDR because we opted for the Specialty Restaurants.  Our Service was excellent including our Wine Stewards.  Food was very good to excellent!  We did find the Entree in Canaletto to be just ok but to be fair we own an Italian Restaurant and do authentic Italian with a very talented, highly trained Chef!  

 

Bar Service was very good in all the Lounges especially Billboard and Ocean Bar.  

 

I still can’t wrap my head around how you can criticize Room Service and say the food had to be cold and hope they were only delivering danish, etc. as you did in your Princess review on the NS when you never tried it.   Never tried it!  We had Room Service breakfast daily and had eggs and omelettes, tea and coffee delivered hot!  Also, on time and received a follow up call asking how everything was!  

 

We had a wonderful Cruise on a beautiful Ship, great food and Service, beautiful weather and listened to some very good Music!  Life is Good!  😀

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by idiebabe

[CineGraphic]

6 hours ago, idiebabe said:

I still can’t wrap my head around how you can criticize Room Service and say the food had to be cold and hope they were only delivering danish, etc. as you did in your Princess review on the NS when you never tried it.   Never tried it!  We had Room Service breakfast daily and had eggs and omelettes, tea and coffee delivered hot!  Also, on time and received a follow up call asking how everything was!  

 

 

 

 

I never criticized room service. I only stated that I saw carts packed with multiple orders waiting for the elevators every morning, and questioned if the breakfast could still be hot by the time they were all delivered. These were open air carts, no plate warmers, no warming cabinets, just plates with the traditional metal cover. I'm thrilled that you had a nice hot breakfast in your cabin, and that you enjoyed your cruise. I'm only reporting my experiences.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

I never criticized room service. I only stated that I saw carts packed with multiple orders waiting for the elevators every morning, and questioned if the breakfast could still be hot by the time they were all delivered. These were open air carts, no plate warmers, no warming cabinets, just plates with the traditional metal cover. I'm thrilled that you had a nice hot breakfast in your cabin, and that you enjoyed your cruise. I'm only reporting my experiences.

 

Actually, FYI, there are plate warmers, metal things underneath the plates that help keep the food warm. 😉  The plate fits over them perfectly so you don’t see them until your food is delivered.

 

 

[Floridiana]

Do they decant the wine for you on a Princess ship? Just curious.

[CineGraphic]

48 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Actually, FYI, there are plate warmers, metal things underneath the plates that help keep the food warm. 😉  The plate fits over them perfectly so you don’t see them until your food is delivered.

 

 

Glad to know that, thanks.

[CineGraphic]

8 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

Do they decant the wine for you on a Princess ship? Just curious.

This was our bottle of wine waiting for us on my wife’s birthday in the Crown Grill

[idiebabe]

2 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

This was our bottle of wine waiting for us on my wife’s birthday in the Crown Grill

 

Did you drop off this bottle two hours before your Reservation time and have them Decant it for you then or did they open the bottle at the Table in front of you and then Decant it?

[Cruise Junky]

7 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

 

Did you drop off this bottle two hours before your Reservation time and have them Decant it for you then or did they open the bottle at the Table in front of you and then Decant it?

He said it was waiting for them.

[taxmantoo]

3 hours ago, Floridiana said:

Do they decant the wine for you on a Princess ship? Just curious.

If you ask nicely ...

Edited January 29, 2019 by taxmantoo

[idiebabe]

3 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

He said it was waiting for them.

 

Yes, he said this was the bottle of Wine waiting for him but was it actually Decanted?

 

I think the Cruise Line would be crazy to open a bottle not in the person's presence two hours before a Ressie.  What if he cancelled the Ressie or he turned around to the Wine Steward and said this isn't my Wine in this Decanter, etc.   They are opening themselves up for a problem especially in this day and age so best to avoid that problem and open and Decant when the person is present.  

[CineGraphic]

24 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

 

Did you drop off this bottle two hours before your Reservation time and have them Decant it for you then or did they open the bottle at the Table in front of you and then Decant it?

I dropped it off 2 hours before and asked that it be opened and decanted at least a half hour before our reservation. They were more than happy to accommodate us and even gave us a lovely table by the window.