Canaletto shutting down (temporarily?) on Rotterdam March 8

[Cruise Suzy]

It will be interesting to see what the other daily specials are.

[Nickelpenny]

Interesting Menu.  I see there is a $10 charge for an extra entree or pasta dish.  So I could have 2 small plates and an entree/pasta dish?  Hmmmm

[Bostonjetset]

2 hours ago, zelker said:

Wow!!  They have really cut the menu back.  Although a happy camper that I can order Osso Bucco every night, where are the soups (minestrone or tomato-based seafood)???  And the braised short ribs with gnocchi??? 

Yes!!! Where’s the gnocchi?!?!  Maybe it’s still with the braised short ribs but they don’t list the pasta part on the menu now?  I guess I’ll get the Osso Bucco on our August K’dam trip. That’s worth the price alone (esp since I reserved it under the old price). Glad they aren’t nickel and dining with apps and desserts yet like Pinnacle. We enjoyed getting an antipasto plate for the table to share on past cruises in addition to our individual starters. 

[Iamthesea]

Is Osso Bucco available anywhere else on the ships?  I have never tried it.

[zelker]

49 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Is Osso Bucco available anywhere else on the ships?  I have never tried it.

We've only seen it served in Canaletto. If you like melt-in-your-mouth veal shank, try it! 😋

[Catlover54]

No more liver (unless it will continue to come in as a special on one day, like it was before on a Wednesday)

[macaroni]

We ate here last night. It was very good but as you can see, some changes. You can order any amount of appetizers, to share or for yourself. The only special is the catch of the day. We shared most appetizers and each got one also…..7 apps total for 4 people.

our friend wanted pasta with his chicken parm (they serve it with potatoes) so ordered a 2nd entree for $10. While eating we were approached several times about if we were enjoying it. I made the suggestion of a side of pasta with the parm and he said just ask to substitute the potato? Maybe they would have……Osso buco was excellent. Pasta dishes were good. All in all a very good dinner.

 

[Real NHDOC]

Potatoes with chicken parmigiana seems like an odd pairing.
 

We’re eating there tonight and will report back tomorrow with impressions. Up until last night we had great meals in all of the specialty restaurants aboard Rotterdam. Had a bad night in Pinnacle last night so hopefully things will go better tonight in Canaletto. 

[Turtles06]

2 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

Had a bad night in Pinnacle last night

 

The food?  The service?  Both?  

[Real NHDOC]

57 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

The food?  The service?  Both?  

Both. It’s been remarkably good up until now but we had a new (to us) waiter and he didn’t seem to be very capable as the hostess had to take over. I ordered the halibut which we had last week and was incredibly good. Flaky, tender, fresh and delicious served piping hot. Last night we got what seemed like a small piece of swordfish that was tough and fishy (and lukewarm). And it took 90 minutes to get out of there with ordering just two courses. The first 30 minutes we sat without even having our order taken. Just water. No bread. Waiting for wine that eventually came. After that I asked the hostess if we could get another waiter and she took over. But unfortunately the food was then disappointing. I probably could have complained more and gotten the meal comp’d but used our 5* perk. The first meal in a specialty restaurant I didn’t leave an extra $10 tip. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[Crew News]

18 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

Both. It’s been remarkably good up until now but we had a new (to us) waiter and he didn’t seem to be very capable as the hostess had to take over. I ordered the halibut which we had last week and was incredibly good. Flaky, tender, fresh and delicious served piping hot. Last night we got what seemed like a small piece of swordfish that was tough and fishy (and lukewarm). And it took 90 minutes to get out of there with ordering just two courses. The first 30 minutes we sat without even having our order taken. Just water. No bread. Waiting for wine that eventually came. After that I asked the hostess if we could get another waiter and she took over. But unfortunately the food was then disappointing. I probably could have complained more and gotten the meal comp’d but used our 5* perk. The first meal in a specialty restaurant I didn’t leave an extra $10 tip. 

Hopefully, you posted a comment on the Navigator app "Let us know" tab describing your poor service.

[Real NHDOC]

Had a nice dinner off the new Canaletto menu. The tiger shrimp appetizer is similar to the old calamari appetizer in flavor and style. They said guests had complained about the calamari being chewy so tried making it with shrimp. It’s a good seasoning and preparation. The burrata was huge and delicious. The new seafood dish with mussels, calamari and scallops was delicious and also huge. A little spicy but if you’re not sensitive to that it is terrific. Also ossobuco is still tender and delicious. The new cheesecake has very subtle lemon flavor. More of an Italian style ricotta cheesecake than their usual NY style on the ship. All in all a very nice dinner and a nice change. We mentioned missing the veal and were told it might be added back if enough people ask. 

[hmorrow]

On 3/9/2023 at 2:56 PM, Real NHDOC said:

Both. It’s been remarkably good up until now but we had a new (to us) waiter and he didn’t seem to be very capable as the hostess had to take over. I ordered the halibut which we had last week and was incredibly good. Flaky, tender, fresh and delicious served piping hot. Last night we got what seemed like a small piece of swordfish that was tough and fishy (and lukewarm). And it took 90 minutes to get out of there with ordering just two courses. The first 30 minutes we sat without even having our order taken. Just water. No bread. Waiting for wine that eventually came. After that I asked the hostess if we could get another waiter and she took over. But unfortunately the food was then disappointing. I probably could have complained more and gotten the meal comp’d but used our 5* perk. The first meal in a specialty restaurant I didn’t leave an extra $10 tip. 

We ate there the night after this post (with apprehension!) but everything was good and timely…..sorry it was so bad for you.

[Bostonjetset]

Canaletto still hasn’t come back online as a bookable option for my April Scotland cruise on Rotterdam. 😢

[macaroni]

We had a great dinner there the first night with the new menu. 

[Real NHDOC]

3 hours ago, hmorrow said:

We ate there the night after this post (with apprehension!) but everything was good and timely…..sorry it was so bad for you.

Glad to hear you had a good experience. We had lunch yesterday that was a bit disappointing (not as bad as our night 1 dinner but not up to their standard) so decided to cancel our dinner reservation for tomorrow night and just go to club orange instead. The food and service in CO has been excellent so far.
 

Willy, the Pinnacle manager has reached out and explained that there have been challenges in the kitchen, especially on the first night when we had our particularly bad experience. He offered us a free lunch on the last sea day to make up for the issues but we’ve decided just to stay out of Pinnacle until we get on Nieuw Statendam on Saturday. We like to spend most sea days casually relaxing so one pinnacle lunch per cruise is enough. 

[Real NHDOC]

1 hour ago, Bostonjetset said:

Canaletto still hasn’t come back online as a bookable option for my April Scotland cruise on Rotterdam. 😢

Have you tried calling the ship services department directly? I would call them and ask them to make the reservations for you. They can contact the ship and set it up. Their number is 1 (800) 541-1576. 

[hmorrow]

11 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

Glad to hear you had a good experience. We had lunch yesterday that was a bit disappointing (not as bad as our night 1 dinner but not up to their standard) so decided to cancel our dinner reservation for tomorrow night and just go to club orange instead. The food and service in CO has been excellent so far.
 

Willy, the Pinnacle manager has reached out and explained that there have been challenges in the kitchen, especially on the first night when we had our particularly bad experience. He offered us a free lunch on the last sea day to make up for the issues but we’ve decided just to stay out of Pinnacle until we get on Nieuw Statendam on Saturday. We like to spend most sea days casually relaxing so one pinnacle lunch per cruise is enough. 

We’re also in club orange, and for the most part, it’s been excellent, except for one dinner……first world problems….lol

[Real NHDOC]

8 minutes ago, hmorrow said:

We’re also in club orange, and for the most part, it’s been excellent, except for one dinner……first world problems….lol

They had a veal chop special served over a mushroom risotto which I almost didn’t order because they called it a cutlet. But it was a delicious thick medium rare chop that melted in my mouth and was probably one of the best meals I have ever had. I know it was probably lightning in a bottle but I hope one day they will offer that one again!

 

Overall our best experiences in specialty restaurants have been in Canaletto. Food in Tamarind has been excellent but service can be unpredictable though never what I would call bad. Just a little haphazard. 
 

I know I am a pretty critical person so when I say overall everything has been great aboard Rotterdam it means a lot. It’s just that they set the bar so high in Pinnacle by having been excellent that when they miss the mark it’s disappointing. I know how good it can be when the stars align!

Edited March 15, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[Crew News]

Any other HAL ships using the new Canaletto menu?

[Real NHDOC]

1 minute ago, Crew News said:

Any other HAL ships using the new Canaletto menu?

My understanding is that Rotterdam is testing it and the others still have the old menu. No date for a full rollout yet. 

[jeh10641]

Our last HAL cruise was on Rotterdam, 12/01/21 so my experience may be different. We absolutely loved Tamarind, Pinnacle and Rudi's Sel de Mare. Canaletto was good but ranked 4th. It was nearly empty at 6:45, our usual dining time. We had tried Canaletto on Westerdam and Oosterdam  and found it good but not outstanding.

Jim

[seagarsmoker]

We are having dinner for 3 nights at Canaletto on our NS cruise starting this Saturday. I will report back if the NS has changed its menu yet. 

[Crew News]

2 minutes ago, seagarsmoker said:

We are having dinner for 3 nights at Canaletto on our NS cruise starting this Saturday. I will report back if the NS has changed its menu yet. 

Looking forward to hearing it.

Edited March 15, 2023 by Crew News

[Sea42]

18 hours ago, seagarsmoker said:

We are having dinner for 3 nights at Canaletto on our NS cruise starting this Saturday. I will report back if the NS has changed its menu yet. 

Thank you, I'm looking forward to it. We have not tried Canaletto yet but the menus, old and new, look like something we would enjoy.