Any Food Improvement Yet

[mcrcruiser]

We are sailing on a Celebrity ship & we just saw a video that shows Celebrity improved their Ocean View Cafe food selections & quality  . From people on recent or are now on HAL cruises ,do you see any improvement in the selection & quality of the food ?

Our next HAL cruise  will be   on Koningsdam 

 

TIA

[oaktreerb]

Food on the Koningsdam was very good in February 2023.  

[OlsSalt]

Food included on B2B  Konigsdam Christmas-New Years was good to very good. It was the upcharge specialty restaurants that were disappointing, except for Canaletto which was excellent.

 

We canceled our existing specialty restaurant reservations on our second segment, and stayed with the Lido and main dining room only.

[mcrcruiser]

14 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Food included on B2B  Konigsdam Christmas-New Years was good to very good. It was the upcharge specialty restaurants that were disappointing, except for Canaletto which was excellent.

 

We canceled our existing specialty restaurant reservations on our second segment, and stayed with the Lido and main dining room only.

We were on  Koningsdam up until Dec22m2022 for 12 days  .We had seen better pre covid by a long way in the quality & selection of entrees for dinners. The Lasanga  I ordered in the MDR one evening was so bad I sent it back with a note  to get it off the menu . We had no problem with breakfasts or lunches .However ,we found the dinners very lacking in selection & size 

 

 We are hoping that when we sail again on Koningsdam that the MDR food be a lot better .Actually ,we decided to dine in Club Orange on our next cruises

Edited March 8, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[Seasick Sailor]

We are on the 35 day Hawaii Tahiti on K. People were complaining about the wait in Club Orange, as well as MDR. We are not very fussy, but one night I ordered liver in MDR and it was horrible, raw, and presented terribly. I did send it back and opted for a Caesar salad. Other than that I don't have any real complaints.

[mcrcruiser]

13 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

We are on the 35 day Hawaii Tahiti on K. People were complaining about the wait in Club Orange, as well as MDR. We are not very fussy, but one night I ordered liver in MDR and it was horrible, raw, and presented terribly. I did send it back and opted for a Caesar salad. Other than that I don't have any real complaints.

Club Orange  has a max in the number of people that can buy into  CO  . Strange that there would be a wait ?

We would   never order liver unless it was calves liver which is more tender & a better taste

Edited March 8, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[oaktreerb]

23 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We were on  Koningsdam up until Dec22m2022 for 12 days  .We had seen better pre covid by a long way in the quality & selection of entrees for dinners. The Lasanga  I ordered in the MDR one evening was so bad I sent it back with a note  to get it off the menu . We had no problem with breakfasts or lunches .However ,we found the dinners very lacking in selection & size 

 

 We are hoping that when we sail again on Koningsdam that the MDR food be a lot better .Actually ,we decided to dine in Club Orange on our next cruises

In CO You will have one more dinner choice that the servers will tell you about.  It will not be on the menu, so ask the server if you don’t remember what the manager told you it is.   If you can arrive at or before opening you should not have to wait.  Expect the doors to open early.  The first group of diners will be finished in about an hour, tables are refreshed with clean tablecloths and dinnerware, and the tables will be available again.  If you have to wait, sit at the corridor window tables or tell the hostess that you will be in the Ocean Bar nearby.  She will come to get you.  

[oaktreerb]

15 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Club Orange  has a max in the number of people that can buy into  CO  . Strange that there would be a wait ?

Neptune and Pinnacle Suites are included plus people who purchase CO.  If you eat late, there should be no problem.

[Florida_gal_50]

23 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Club Orange  has a max in the number of people that can buy into  CO  . Strange that there would be a wait ?

We would   never order liver unless it was calves liver which is more tender & a better taste

There was a wait most morning on my koningsdam cruises in November.  One morning it was at least 40 minutes. 

[mcrcruiser]

6 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

There was a wait most morning on my koningsdam cruises in November.  One morning it was at least 40 minutes. 

That is insane when HAL tells you there is a maximum number of sales to Club Orange .Are they over selling ,even allowing for suite guest perks ?  If they over sell CO that will be pretty bad 

Edited March 8, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[Florida_gal_50]

11 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

That is insane when HAL tells you there is a maximum number of sales to Club Orange .Are they over selling ,even allowing for suite guest perks ?  If they over sell CO that will be pretty bad 

I wasn't too happy about it.  The hostess tells me well you haven't had to wait a long time most mornings.  I really wonder if they limited it at all on that ship.

[albingirl]

We had excellent food recently in CO and didn't feel the need to have dinner elsewhere. No wait on NS. Ship was sold out.

 

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

26 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I wasn't too happy about it.  The hostess tells me well you haven't had to wait a long time most mornings.  I really wonder if they limited it at all on that ship.

  That kind of answer  from that hostess leaves a lot to be desired  .If we see lines all the time ,we would go to customer service about getting on board credit for the incovenience  ;because ,it is sold with a maximum number of people to be served & no waiting

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, albingirl said:

We had excellent food recently in CO and didn't feel the need to have dinner elsewhere. No wait on NS. Ship was sold out.

 

 

 

Isn't that interesting the differences between 2 Pinnacle class ships

[albingirl]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Isn't that interesting the differences between 2 Pinnacle class ships

Always.

[Seasick Sailor]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Club Orange  has a max in the number of people that can buy into  CO  . Strange that there would be a wait ?

We would   never order liver unless it was calves liver which is more tender & a better taste

 

Yes. It was calves liver. I've ordered the veal liver in Canelletto and it's been very good.

[oaktreerb]

50 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

  That kind of answer  from that hostess leaves a lot to be desired  .If we see lines all the time ,we would go to customer service about getting on board credit for the incovenience  ;because ,it is sold with a maximum number of people to be served & no waiting

I have had Club Orange on Koningsdam on 3 separate cruises and the hostess has always been gracious and works very hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and valued.  Your service will be outstanding.  The only way to get the same level of service in the dining room would be to have fixed dining.  If you have fixed dining in the dining room you will never have to wait to be seated, as you probably know.

[kelliebiz]

We just returned from a 7 night Caribbean cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam, and I must say I found the food very lackluster in the MDR and the Lido Market. Don’t get me wrong, the food was good, but not excellent, and the variety was sparse. I am not a picky eater. My partner will tell you I’ll eat anything and I love trying new foods. We’ve been on 8 cruises I think, mostly HAL with two other lines thrown in, and I always saw something exciting in the MDR that I was eager to try, but not this time. The choices were very blasé and seemed like every day food, not fun cruise line food. We ate at Tamarind twice and the food there was excellent! I’d like to also be able to get excellent food in the MDR and see new things to try on the menu. Frankly the MDR food was boring. 

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

I have had Club Orange on Koningsdam on 3 separate cruises and the hostess has always been gracious and works very hard to make sure everyone feels welcome and valued.  Your service will be outstanding.  The only way to get the same level of service in the dining room would be to have fixed dining.  If you have fixed dining in the dining room you will never have to wait to be seated, as you probably know.

And for the most part I would agree.  The hostess was wonderful on my November 2021 and March 2022 cruises.  The one that was on in November didn’t have the same standard.  Good customer service isn’t telling someone the wait wasn’t as long every other day.  Luckily this hostess went home shortly after I did.  You really don’t need to minimize my experience.

[eroller]

Cuisine on NIEUW AMSTERDAM last October (2022) was lackluster at best.  Probably the worst food I've ever had on HAL.  Cost cutting was VERY evident.  You could see it in the menu selection, in the presentation, portion size, and quality of the dish.

 

I'm hoping it will be better on ROTTERDAM later this month.  If not it will be my last HAL cruise for a couple years until they get their act together.

 

I realize cost cutting is happening on all cruise lines right now, but I haven't seen it to the same extent on other lines like I have on HAL.  Other recent cruises (post-COVID) include Celebrity, NCL, Cunard, Regent, and Virgin. 

[NMTraveller]

11 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are sailing on a Celebrity ship & we just saw a video that shows Celebrity improved their Ocean View Cafe food selections & quality.

LOL

 

On the Celebrity board many have been complaining about the OVC on Celebrity especially in the evenings.  Most have complained that it is not as good as prior to January of this year.

 

What did Celebrity say they improved?

[HALcruiser2001]

11 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We were on  Koningsdam up until Dec22m2022 for 12 days  .We had seen better pre covid by a long way in the quality & selection of entrees for dinners. The Lasanga  I ordered in the MDR one evening was so bad I sent it back with a note  to get it off the menu . We had no problem with breakfasts or lunches .However ,we found the dinners very lacking in selection & size 

 

 We are hoping that when we sail again on Koningsdam that the MDR food be a lot better .Actually ,we decided to dine in Club Orange on our next cruises

 

MDR  and CO are virtually the same other than service and a couple dishes.

 

Portions in CO are fine.   Portions are regulated.  They are not small.  Tell them what they did wrong and how to improve it.   Did not get enough?   Ask for more.... but on ms NS I could not finish dinner unless I skipped lunch.   If it is not to your satisfaction ask for a replacement meal. 

 

Telling the cruise line to take something off menu is silly without a specific reason.   I had a bad salad and told them why, did not want a replacement, but servers would have done everything to make it right.

 

I would  never order lasagna when there is amazing seafood and beef that is perfectly cooked, but that is me vs you.  Lasagna is a lido dish.

Edited March 9, 2023 by bdd123

[MISTER 67]

12 hours ago, eroller said:

Cuisine on NIEUW AMSTERDAM last October (2022) was lackluster at best.  Probably the worst food I've ever had on HAL.  Cost cutting was VERY evident.  You could see it in the menu selection, in the presentation, portion size, and quality of the dish.

 

I'm hoping it will be better on ROTTERDAM later this month.  If not it will be my last HAL cruise for a couple years until they get their act together.

 

I realize cost cutting is happening on all cruise lines right now, but I haven't seen it to the same extent on other lines like I have on HAL.  Other recent cruises (post-COVID) include Celebrity, NCL, Cunard, Regent, and Virgin. 

Same with our cruise on the NA in December, food and entertainment were fair at best, we also are staying away from HAL until we hear that things improve. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by MISTER 67

[HALcruiser2001]

Apparently these two I ships are 100% different than NS.

[CruiserBruce]

Food, and improvements (or not) are totally subjective. Always have been.