Why doesn't HAL have a Lobster Night?

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, janmcn said:

Had lobster in MDR for last gala night but it was on East Coast cruise. With the scarcity of lobster lately, I’m not surprised. I sure don’t care for “warm weather lobster”’which can be substituted.

The type of lobster that has normally beed served in the MDR is spiny lobster (also called Rock lobster).  Spiny lobster is the type lobster found in the the Caribbean and as such is also referred to as warm water lobster.

[kevingastreich]

On 12/27/2022 at 8:40 PM, new kiwi girl said:

Sorry Oakridge/Nancy, buy not true. We just got off the Westerdam and we were on for 27  days and NOT one lobster night the whole time unless you were prepared to pay for it. And as for a shrimp cocktail there were some appetizers that were shrimp but very small with just a couple on the plate and maybe there were 4 nights with an actual shrimp cocktail consisting of 4 shrimp! Seafood was definitely not a big part of the menu. 

Wow!  27 days and NO lobster? That is not right.

[CruiserBruce]

Please tell me where lobster is REQUIRED on a cruise ship.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Please tell me where lobster is REQUIRED on a cruise ship.

I am sure it is listed here on CC in the entitles cruisers bill of rights.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Please tell me where lobster is REQUIRED on a cruise ship.

Probably the same place that "requires" a tub/shower in every cabin.  I still remember staying at a hotel in London, England where the shower was "down the hall."  Sorry Bruce, but you opened the door.  Personally, as a lobster lover, I have never understood the big deal about the lousy tails served on most cruise ships.  But many cruisers see that as a tried-and-true tradition on cruise ships.  

 

I have long suggested to cruisers embarking out of Port Everglades, that they go to a local restaurant like Kelly's Landing (the night before a cruise) where they can get real Maine lobster or excellent cold water tails!  On the ship they can stick to chicken or gruel.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Please tell me where lobster is REQUIRED on a cruise ship.

 

It is not REQUIRED, but it has come to be EXPECTED.  Not everyone is a steak/beef lover...

 

Somewhat natural, IMO, to assess how various lines stack up in terms of cost cutting. Apparently HAL has decided to make additional reductions in food offerings vis-a-vis competitors.

[Destiny0315]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Apparently HAL has decided to make additional reductions in food offerings vis-a-vis competitors.

But hey at least HAL kept the bacon flowing daily when the mother company restricted its usage on its ships on certain days in 2021.

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, Destiny0315 said:

But hey at least HAL kept the bacon flowing daily when the mother company restricted its usage on its ships on certain days in 2021.

 

Uh sure, I guess?  😏

[newtocruiseinblue]

On 12/28/2022 at 11:57 AM, VennDiagram said:

It might be a lot easier for the dining stewards to have no lobster night.  I can see some passengers ordering 5 or 6 or more lobster tails, and then the poor dining stewards having to explain and try to enforce a "2 per passenger" limit imposed by management, or similar. 

 

I will miss lobster, and will probably try the upcharge one(s) at some point when we finally get to cruise again.

It is interesting that you bring this up. We were on Celebrity Reflection last July in the Mediterranean and, on lobster night, our waiter INSISTED on bringing both my dh and I two lobster tails. I felt a little funny getting two, but he insisted, since the size was petite, that we each receive two. He was probably one of the best waiters I have ever encountered. 

[Laminator]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It is not REQUIRED, but it has come to be EXPECTED.  Not everyone is a steak/beef lover...

 

Somewhat natural, IMO, to assess how various lines stack up in terms of cost cutting. Apparently HAL has decided to make additional reductions in food offerings vis-a-vis competitors.

This is why HAL offers fish and pasta entrees on their menu!

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It is not REQUIRED, but it has come to be EXPECTED.  Not everyone is a steak/beef lover...

 

Somewhat natural, IMO, to assess how various lines stack up in terms of cost cutting. Apparently HAL has decided to make additional reductions in food offerings vis-a-vis competitors.

And for many EXPECTED becomes LOOKS FORWARD TO.

[geocruiser]

13 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Please tell me where lobster is REQUIRED on a cruise ship.

Hi CruiserBruce,

I started cruising back in 1976.  Every ship that I have been on has had a lobster night.  I do recall , I believe it was on Home Lines, that they gave you the whole lobster.  I also remember our first Princess cruise that our waiter came with a full tray of the tails and kept giving them out until PAX said no more at our table.  I remember lobster claws at the buffet on HAL.

Times have changed with cruising, some things for the better and others not such a good change.

When I began to cruise, it was some thing really special.  Food back then was one of the highlights of the cruise. And lobster night was part of it.  

Now, to me it seems to be going in the direction of the Staten Island ferry and a hot dog!

But this is just me.  By the way I can't eat lobster.

Geo

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, geocruiser said:

 

Now, to me it seems to be going in the direction of the Staten Island ferry and a hot dog!

 

Things do change. 

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, Laminator said:

This is why HAL offers fish and pasta entrees on their menu!

 

Oh excellent -- I look forward to replacing my lobster tail with butter with the vaunted "rustic lasagna".  Nothing says gala like a rustic lasagna...

[*Miss G*]

When the bar was lowered for gala night dress requirements — possibly in response to post-cruise surveys and complaints from those who couldn’t enter the MDR without proper attire — the catalyst for cause and effect was initiated.  If you can’t be bothered to dress special, we can’t be bothered to serve special.  Personally, I prefer that the F&B budget be spent on quality beef and lamb — because I am not a lobster person — but if the passenger is going to insist on lowering standards then the cruise line will oblige.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

27 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Oh excellent -- I look forward to replacing my lobster tail with butter with the vaunted "rustic lasagna".  Nothing says gala like a rustic lasagna...

 

I love lasagna, but not HAL's. when they had surf and turf on HAL, I used to ask if I could have two of the small steaks and no lobster tail. One time, another person at the table said, "Okay, give her my steak and I'll take her lobster tail." 

[cruisemom42]

22 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

When the bar was lowered for gala night dress requirements — possibly in response to post-cruise surveys and complaints from those who couldn’t enter the MDR without proper attire — the catalyst for cause and effect was initiated.  If you can’t be bothered to dress special, we can’t be bothered to serve special.  Personally, I prefer that the F&B budget be spent on quality beef and lamb — because I am not a lobster person — but if the passenger is going to insist on lowering standards then the cruise line will oblige.  

 

I take your point but I'll raise you:  I actually think the trend started much earlier with the introduction of Specialty Dining onboard ships. Even way back then there were those who suspected this would ultimately provide the path to reducing the offerings in the main dining rooms of ships and driving customers in search of better quality food to venues where they'd have to pay more for it.  

 

I just find it ironic that even in the flagship "for pay" venue on HAL, one must now pay an upcharge for lobster. 

[Sea42]

36 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I take your point but I'll raise you:  I actually think the trend started much earlier with the introduction of Specialty Dining onboard ships. Even way back then there were those who suspected this would ultimately provide the path to reducing the offerings in the main dining rooms of ships and driving customers in search of better quality food to venues where they'd have to pay more for it.  

 

 

Well, of course. If I want a higher quality of food , I expect to pay more for it. I get it, it didn't used to be that way. My choices are accept it, complain about it or move on.

[cruisemom42]

40 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Well, of course. If I want a higher quality of food , I expect to pay more for it. I get it, it didn't used to be that way. My choices are accept it, complain about it or move on.

 

Yes, but the quality of food in the MDR used to be "high enough" for most. Now, not so much....

 

For what it's worth, I have a 28-day cruise on Westerdam (Japan) coming up, my first on HAL since COVID. Depending on the experience, I may not book HAL again unless things look up, and not just in terms of food. It's a shame as I've often thought I'd be on more of HAL's longer itineraries once I retire and I'm approaching that...

[Destiny0315]

48 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I may not book HAL again unless things look up, and not just in terms of food.

Well you are not the only one on here that is voicing those thoughts. With the massive growth of the cruise industry and then the potential for collapse of parts of it because of Covid and other factors lines like HAL and some others are in the middle of a three way tug of war between former, current, and future passengers and don't know which way to turn. Just reading the posts on here you will find the complete spectrum from those who will never sail with them again to those who are interested in sailing with them for the first time. In between are the disgruntled ones, the one more try ones, the I can live or not live with the changes ones, the I'll never sail with anyone else ones, and the new ones who sailed with them once and may again. This is just the place where we all get together choose a side and pull or get pulled.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Destiny0315

[*Miss G*]

Posting this to the right thread now!  😂 …..

 

Everyone on the board knows what it’s like to have a budget.  Everyone knows what it means to take out a loan and face a budget reduction in order to pay for that loan.  We also know that the pandemic has further reduced discretionary spending as prices skyrocket.  Something has to give and I prefer it be the included lobster than the Music Walk or the cruise line.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, but the quality of food in the MDR used to be "high enough" for most. Now, not so much....

 

For what it's worth, I have a 28-day cruise on Westerdam (Japan) coming up, my first on HAL since COVID. Depending on the experience, I may not book HAL again unless things look up, and not just in terms of food. It's a shame as I've often thought I'd be on more of HAL's longer itineraries once I retire and I'm approaching that...

So you have been repeatedly posting about HAL recent food quality in several streams even though you have not actually been on a HAL cruise since Covid 

 

Seem about par for Cruise Critic.

[LMaxwell]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:55 PM, Reds4life said:

For all of the "upscale " talk, seems pretty cheap there isn't a Lobster Night. 

$$$

[KroozNut]

On 12/31/2022 at 7:59 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Oh excellent -- I look forward to replacing my lobster tail with butter with the vaunted "rustic lasagna".  Nothing says gala like a rustic lasagna...

 

We can't wait to try the Rustic Lasagna on our next sailing. We're actually looking forward to that more than whether or not lobster is served on the cruise. 🙂

[cruisemom42]

13 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

We can't wait to try the Rustic Lasagna on our next sailing. We're actually looking forward to that more than whether or not lobster is served on the cruise. 🙂