Canaletto shutting down (temporarily?) on Rotterdam March 8

[Turtles06]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I just did a search and it did not turn up.

 

We're booked on the Rotterdam for a Norway cruise in July.  A member of our Roll Call recently noticed that Canaletto is no longer showing in their HAL account as a specialty dining option.  I checked my account and found the same thing, although the reservation I'd already made for Canaletto (under the HIA promo) still shows up in my itinerary.  In the Navigator app, no reservations can be made for Canaletto (but again, my existing reservation in July shows up in my itinerary on the app). 

 

Today, I called Ships Services and asked about this.  After verifying that no reservations could be made for Canaletto for our entire 21-day cruise, the rep put me on hold while he contacted the ship.  He then told me he was told that effective March 8, Canaletto would be shutting down on the Rotterdam, and that right now, no reservations can be made for any dates after that.  The rep also told me that Canaletto is supposed to reopen, but he had no information as to when.  He said that those of us who have reservations there for after March 8 will receive an update letter. 

 

I'm just the messenger here; I assume I was given accurate info.  So a head's up to those who have dinner reservations on the Rotterdam after March 8.

 

And if anyone has any additional or different information, please share it.  Thanks! 

 

 

[Overhead Fred]

Well, very interesting.

 

We are on the Rotterdam from April 3 through May 6 on a B2B. I just checked and Canaletto is no longer showing up for either segment of the cruise. Our April 8 Canaletto reservation still shows up on our itinerary for the first segment.

 

This was one of our "free" HIA specialty diners (and our anniversary!) - very curious to see how they handle this...

[St Sam]

We are on the same April 3rd cruise, with our reservation on April 14th, and it is still showing on our itinerary as well. If Canaletto is still closed come April, hopefully they will honour the dinner at another venue. 

[doone]

HMMMMM I am on the March 8th sailing and have a reservation for March 9th still showing on my itinerary….I am going to give ships services a call today and see what they say about my reservation.

[oakridger]

I'm trying to imagine why they would even close Canaletto.  The kitchen is right there, and the dining space is right there.  Curious to hear what is going on.

 

~Nancy

[Real NHDOC]

We ate there last night. They are not closing Canaletto on Rotterdam but are introducing a new menu that eliminates the nightly specials. Why they have told you otherwise is beyond me but they probably don’t want people making reservations for certain nights based upon their preferences of the nightly specials. The new menu goes into effect on March 8

[oakridger]

Thank you at @Real NHDOC for the firsthand from the ship information!!  

There are some serious communications disconnects here!!  The OP was told something very different by HAL Ship's Services department. (See below)  

 

7 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Today, I called Ships Services and asked about this.  After verifying that no reservations could be made for Canaletto for our entire 21-day cruise, the rep put me on hold while he contacted the ship.  He then told me he was told that effective March 8, Canaletto would be shutting down on the Rotterdam, and that right now, no reservations can be made for any dates after that.  The rep also told me that Canaletto is supposed to reopen, but he had no information as to when. 

 

~Nancy

[doone]

36 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

We ate there last night. They are not closing Canaletto on Rotterdam but are introducing a new menu that eliminates the nightly specials. Why they have told you otherwise is beyond me but they probably don’t want people making reservations for certain nights based upon their preferences of the nightly specials. The new menu goes into effect on March 8

Thank you!!

[boze9999]

37 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

We ate there last night. They are not closing Canaletto on Rotterdam but are introducing a new menu that eliminates the nightly specials. Why they have told you otherwise is beyond me but they probably don’t want people making reservations for certain nights based upon their preferences of the nightly specials. The new menu goes into effect on March 8

we would all love to see the new menu. If you're still onboard on March 8th, would you kindly photograph and post the new menu & HAL rules for what can be ordered. Thanks @NHDOC

 

[JanDom]

We will be in Rotterdam by the 20th of may for 14 days. We tried to book Canaletto yesterday and I couldn’t find it anywhere. 
so hopefully we can book in advance or on board…

[Minoushka]

Very disappointed …I loved Canaletto was planning to go onnMarch 8 boohoo 

why whats happening to it 

[Turtles06]

45 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

We ate there last night. They are not closing Canaletto on Rotterdam but are introducing a new menu that eliminates the nightly specials. Why they have told you otherwise is beyond me but they probably don’t want people making reservations for certain nights based upon their preferences of the nightly specials. The new menu goes into effect on March 8

Thank you for this information!  It’s so different from what I was told last night by Ships Services, who had put me on hold to contact the Rotterdam in the first place since the Ship Services rep had no idea why Canaletto could not be booked. 
 

It’s bad enough when cruise line phone reps give you misinformation off the top of their heads, but this is even worse, and I’m disturbed about that call. 

 

 

[Real NHDOC]

I would recommend that you keep checking online but if nothing changes then when you embark the ship you head up to deck 9 and look for the podium set up on the lido pool deck by the hallway to the spa and make your dining reservations there. The station they have on deck 2 gets swamped on embarkation day but they have the extra one on deck 9 set up to take reservations too and that one is much less crowded. Good luck!  We’re planning on sampling the new menu on 3/10 and can update afterwards 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[Real NHDOC]

32 minutes ago, boze9999 said:

we would all love to see the new menu. If you're still onboard on March 8th, would you kindly photograph and post the new menu & HAL rules for what can be ordered. Thanks @NHDOC

 

We have reservations on 3/10. The only details I know so far is the Ossobuco will be available every night. The host and our server were sampling the new dishes and said they were great so looking forward to trying some new stuff on the next leg. 

[Turtles06]

So many businesses really fail when it comes to good communications with their customers.  Instead of creating a big mystery as to why Canaletto had suddenly disappeared as a specialty dining option on the Rotterdam, HAL could simply have put up a notice along the lines of: 

 

"On March 8, we'll be announcing a new menu for Canaletto.  Until then, we've temporarily suspended the Canaletto reservation system for dates after March 8.  Guests already booked for such future dates need do nothing."    

 

[And depending on what they really are doing to the menu, they could have hyped that first sentence.  E.g., "On March 8, we'll be announcing a new and exciting menu for Canaletto" Etc.]

 

I'm so annoyed by that call with Ships Services last night.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

We have reservations on 3/10. The only details I know so far is the Ossobuco will be available every night. The host and our server were sampling the new dishes and said they were great so looking forward to trying some new stuff on the next leg. 

I hope this is something that goes fleetwide this year. The Ossobuco is delicious and we will be on the Koningsdam in November. 

[AKJonesy]

9 hours ago, Overhead Fred said:

Well, very interesting.

 

We are on the Rotterdam from April 3 through May 6 on a B2B. I just checked and Canaletto is no longer showing up for either segment of the cruise. Our April 8 Canaletto reservation still shows up on our itinerary for the first segment.

 

This was one of our "free" HIA specialty diners (and our anniversary!) - very curious to see how they handle this...

Same for us except cruise date beginning March 18 so I guess we'll see what happens.  We paid for ours in advance through credit card so that we could get the reservation.  Last cruise we did not book any specialty dining until we boarded and the availability was not good. 

[Msinformation]

11 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I just did a search and it did not turn up.

 

We're booked on the Rotterdam for a Norway cruise in July.  A member of our Roll Call recently noticed that Canaletto is no longer showing in their HAL account as a specialty dining option.  I checked my account and found the same thing, although the reservation I'd already made for Canaletto (under the HIA promo) still shows up in my itinerary.  In the Navigator app, no reservations can be made for Canaletto (but again, my existing reservation in July shows up in my itinerary on the app). 

 

Today, I called Ships Services and asked about this.  After verifying that no reservations could be made for Canaletto for our entire 21-day cruise, the rep put me on hold while he contacted the ship.  He then told me he was told that effective March 8, Canaletto would be shutting down on the Rotterdam, and that right now, no reservations can be made for any dates after that.  The rep also told me that Canaletto is supposed to reopen, but he had no information as to when.  He said that those of us who have reservations there for after March 8 will receive an update letter. 

 

I'm just the messenger here; I assume I was given accurate info.  So a head's up to those who have dinner reservations on the Rotterdam after March 8.

 

And if anyone has any additional or different information, please share it.  Thanks! 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Msinformation
clarification

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

So many businesses really fail when it comes to good communications with their customers.  Instead of creating a big mystery as to why Canaletto had suddenly disappeared as a specialty dining option on the Rotterdam, HAL could simply have put up a notice along the lines of: 

 

"On March 8, we'll be announcing a new menu for Canaletto.  Until then, we've temporarily suspended the Canaletto reservation system for dates after March 8.  Guests already booked for such future dates need do nothing."    

 

[And depending on what they really are doing to the menu, they could have hyped that first sentence.  E.g., "On March 8, we'll be announcing a new and exciting menu for Canaletto" Etc.]

 

I'm so annoyed by that call with Ships Services last night.

 

This makes SO MUCH sense. Which is probably why HAL didn't think of it...

 

My next HAL cruise isn't until next winter, but I'll be watching for more info on Canaletto here. I'd like to see some new options.

[zelker]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I hope this is something that goes fleetwide this year. The Ossobuco is delicious and we will be on the Koningsdam in November. 

Another Ossobuco-lover here and yes, I always make sure I book at least one Monday night in Canaletto just for that reason.  If offered every night and on all ships, I'd be in heaven!  

[Destiny0315]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 It’s so different from what I was told last night by Ships Services, who had put me on hold to contact the Rotterdam in the first place since the Ship Services rep had no idea why Canaletto could not be booked. 

Putting in restaurant jargon the miscommunications that seems to be happening within HAL and then as a result in this forum, the back of the house in Seattle and the front of the house on the oceans are using different menus at times.🤔 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

Another Ossobuco-lover here and yes, I always make sure I book at least one Monday night in Canaletto just for that reason.  If offered every night and on all ships, I'd be in heaven!  

The best Ossobuco I have had at any restaurant is in Rome at Virginiae Ristorante. It is loaded with fresh porcini mushrooms.

[Oceanwench]

I hope the chicken parm will be on the new menu. We really enjoyed it!
We'll be on Rotterdam April 3.

 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, zelker said:

Another Ossobuco-lover here and yes, I always make sure I book at least one Monday night in Canaletto just for that reason.  If offered every night and on all ships, I'd be in heaven!  

 

We were told on the Oosterdam (and it did apply on the K as well) that as long as we gave notice, we could have Osso Bucco any night.  We dined there on our last night on board - my DS and BIL had the Osso Bacco and my DS and I had the shrimp special - both specials from another night and both requested with the promise we would order them 😉. No problem at all..

[Catlover54]

Hopefully the liver special will survive the menu redo (second best liver at sea!) 🙂