One Main Course

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hopefully this test will blow up in HAL's face.

 

We gave up eating in the dining room a long time ago as the food has/had gone down hill -- definitely not worth a charge for a second entree.

 

I have been reading WCB's world cruise blog.  And they have reported seeing strange items on the dinner menu and as result end up ordering from the alternative menu.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, boards said:

We are just waiting for someone to tell us that they have had been charged $10 more or been told that if (I) the waiter brings you another entry they will charge you for it.   "Wow" I can almost see a big "discussion" exploding in the MDR.  

 

In post #1, the OP reports they were told this by their waiter (with add'l info in post #4 and #15).

 

In post #112, the poster reported that the extra charge was noted on all menus on the NA. This was confirmed by another poster in the following post.

 

In Post #224 Ship Services confirmed to the poster that this charge was currently being tested on several HAL ships.

 

In Post #292 there is confirmation of the $10 charge on the Eurodam as well.

 

And finally, on post #306, HAL confirms it on their Facebook page.

 

 

Is this not confirmation enough? 

 

(It is also a good example of bad communications by HAL, who should've had the notification up before or at least on the day that the "trial" started....)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CATandSQUID]

You people are funny!  I have never needed to order a 2nd entree.  You must be some BIG eaters! 🤣  Please stay home from cruising and bitching so others can enjoy it.

[Jareds_mommytoo]

1 minute ago, boards said:

Before deciding, I would suggest following up on the NA cruise by finding out if the comments on this thread are true.  Something about this whole discussion bothering me is, I have not yet ever ordered a second entry (other than the second lobster on our last cruise) because most often by the time I have got to end of my dinner I am full and the second entry would be waste.   I am fairly sure that if there is something you dislike about your (first) dinner (not cooked, cold, etc) it will be exchanged without any extra charge. 

I will but i wont book our easter cruise as soon as we board like i has planned. As i have stated before. For me the servings are fine. For my teens they are small, and limits their experience to try foods they normally wouldnt. So another company might be a better fit

[1025cruise]

Granted my only experience on HAL was on the Veendam to Bermuda many years ago, but I was looking at the thread on what food not to miss on HAL and was very close to posting that there was absolutely nothing standing out to me. I even remember writing on the comment card to send the pastry chef back to school since even the pastries weren't that good. I remember looking at the MDR menu, not finding it very appealing, then looking at the buffet, showing the same stuff (so much for variety).

 

No way would I pay $10 for an extra entree. 

[OlsSalt]

If a $10 extra entree food charge in the main dining room is turning people away booking HAL ships, all I can say is good bye.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Granted my only experience on HAL was on the Veendam to Bermuda many years ago, but I was looking at the thread on what food not to miss on HAL and was very close to posting that there was absolutely nothing standing out to me. I even remember writing on the comment card to send the pastry chef back to school since even the pastries weren't that good. I remember looking at the MDR menu, not finding it very appealing, then looking at the buffet, showing the same stuff (so much for variety).

 

No way would I pay $10 for an extra entree. 

 

(bold is mine) I went to Bermuda on Veendam. I remember the "cupcake tea." All the cupcakes tasted the same--just sweet, no flavor. The only difference seemed to be in the food coloring they used. I think on my comment card I suggested they buy the chef a few oranges and a grater and a bottle of vanilla extract. 

 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

17 minutes ago, CATandSQUID said:

You people are funny!  I have never needed to order a 2nd entree.  You must be some BIG eaters! 🤣  Please stay home from cruising and bitching so others can enjoy it.

Just a little enlightenment these 2 eat totally different what might be more then enough for one definitely wont be for the other

[rdemn]

I am a very picky eater meat and potatoes. I usually always order two main dishes and it does not go to waste because I always eat the meat and potatoes part and my wife will eat the vegetables I’m on the eurodam  next month I sure hope they drop this before then.  It would definitely be a dealbreaker for me back to princess.

[VitaminSea53]

Well you know what is next...... limit to one portion for entrees at the buffet. HAL has done away with self serve (for hygienic reasons) but this will enable them to limit serving sizes to “one” portion.  It is a slippery slope. First the entrees, then the appetizers, etc.  They are taking the fun out of cruising. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Those pics got me thinking. HAL has a reputation for an older crowd. For the most part, people eat less when they get to be seniors. HAL has been chasing a younger crowd. Perhaps the increased need for calories/nutrition (or simply larger appetites) in their new "target audience" is biting HAL in the food budget?

 

[whogo]

I have a hearty appetite and the girth to prove it, yet I have never ordered a second main dish and have never seen anyone do so. If I shared a table with someone who ordered a second dish, I would be sure not to sit with him again. There is a point where a hearty appetite becomes gluttony and I don't want to see it.

 

If it is the case of a diner not being a glutton, but just wanting to try a taste of six different entrees, let him do that at the buffet, definitely not at my main dining room table.

[JoAnnaBullhead]

We rarely eat in the dining room.  If we are with friends that want to eat there, we go.

Personally I feel HAl already charges enough for the cruise without having to now start charging more for a 2nd entre'!

We have not been happy in the last few years with all the changes HAL is making... and not for the better!

Their room service breakfast menu changed horribly. No more self laundry.. which I need.. as I can send my husbands out but I am allergic to so many soaps I prefer to wash my own.

We did a Christmas cruise with Princess and we were so impressed!

All the things we loved about HAL is going, going, gone! FYI we have done 7 cruises with HAL.. 7 days short of 4 star.

 

[fatcat04]

39 minutes ago, CATandSQUID said:

You people are funny!  I have never needed to order a 2nd entree.  You must be some BIG eaters! 🤣  Please stay home from cruising and bitching so others can enjoy it.

And yet you felt it necessary to complain on both threads. 

Edited March 2, 2019 by fatcat04

[aa7yy]

I think we need to think about the purpose for a $10 charge for a second entree. It is of course possible that HAL is trying to make more money. I have always been able to have a double portion in the past if I wanted. Will that be considered a "second entree " ? I think not, but I have seen a couple of 400 pounders sitting opposite, "cherry picking" four entrees each. I believe that is the problem HAL is trying to deal with. What is the "polite" way to deal with that ?

 

I understand that there are three reasons people cruise. 1) See new sites. 2) To relax, take a break, get away. 3) To eat. The $10 for a second entree will just send the abusers of type #3 to the Lido. Most of us will never notice.

[floridalover5623]

What'd to keep someone from leaving the DR after their first meal & returning for another course? 😄

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

What'd to keep someone from leaving the DR after their first meal & returning for another course? 😄

 

You can't. If you have fixed dining, you can only eat at that time. If you go back for open seating, they will ask your cabin number and it will pop up that you have fixed dining, not open. Until they start checking cabin numbers at the buffet, that's still an option for a second dinner.

 

[Cruzaholic41]

This charge will not affect me because I don’t order seconds. 

 

However, this is just the latest step of a devalued cruise line. The death of the Crows Nest was pretty much my final straw. HAL is becoming a dark blue hull version of NCL. 

 

The forever loyal will continue to make excuses for every cut this line makes but I’m able to comprehend that better exists. 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

8 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

What'd to keep someone from leaving the DR after their first meal & returning for another course? 😄

Thats the first think i asked too 😂🤣 i can see my teen giving a fake room number 

 

[floridalover5623]

1 minute ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

Thats the first think i asked too 😂🤣 i can see my teen giving a fake room number 

 

We have never sailed HAL but charging $10 for an additional course would deter me from even considering them. 

Somehow I don't believe they check each persons cabin number to keep check if they've eaten a prior meal.

[Roz]

27 minutes ago, VitaminSea53 said:

Well you know what is next...... limit to one portion for entrees at the buffet. HAL has done away with self serve (for hygienic reasons) but this will enable them to limit serving sizes to “one” portion.  It is a slippery slope. First the entrees, then the appetizers, etc.  They are taking the fun out of cruising. 

How would they track entrees in the buffet line?  I guess they could ask for your card, and then when you went back for a 2nd entrée and they scanned your card, an alarm would sound letting everyone in the Lido know you're a pigasaurus.  🐷

 

Roz

[Cruising-along]

23 minutes ago, JoAnnaBullhead said:

Their room service breakfast menu changed horribly.

I agree, they really changed that menu for the worse.  But FYI you can write in what you want.  We always do that and have never been disappointed.  I realize this is just one of the problems you listed, but wanted you to know about this.  🙂  

[OlsSalt]

6 minutes ago, Jareds_mommytoo said:

Thats the first think i asked too 😂🤣 i can see my teen giving a fake room number 

 

 

What does you teen do when he goes out to a regular restaurant?

[Jareds_mommytoo]

1 minute ago, OlsSalt said:

 

What does you teen do when he goes out to a regular restaurant?

I would be alarmed if a regular restaurant asked a child where he sleeps 😂🤣 to charge the $10 they would need an actual room key 

 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

4 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

What does you teen do when he goes out to a regular restaurant?

Land based restaurants have much larger portions then we see on holland America so its not an issue, he normally gets more then 4 bites of meat at a land based restaurant and im not payinh $10,672 at a land based restaurant for a week

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by Jareds_mommytoo