Observations, first time on HAL. Zaandam 23Aug to 03 Sep 2023

[RuthC]

3 hours ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

I had not been to MDR for several days, so did not get a chance to preorder (since it seems to be only an option IF you dine in MDR the prior night).

You could not make the 'chance' by going to see the maître 'd the day before, or even early the day that you would be dining in the dining room, and asking to see the menu and making a selection as if you HAD been in the dining room the evening before? 

I have found that if you do not ask, you do not get. Should be simple enough to go a little out of your way to ensure a pleasurable meal. I know the dining room staff go out of their way toward that purpose. 

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, RuthC said:

You could not make the 'chance' by going to see the maître 'd the day before, or even early the day that you would be dining in the dining room, and asking to see the menu and making a selection as if you HAD been in the dining room the evening before? 

I have found that if you do not ask, you do not get. Should be simple enough to go a little out of your way to ensure a pleasurable meal. I know the dining room staff go out of their way toward that purpose. 

I have stopped by at lunch or breakfast when I missed the night before. 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

Just now, Mary229 said:

I have stopped by at lunch or breakfast when I missed the night before. 

Didn’t seem to me that it was an option to “ stop by”. … first time on a HAL ship and the waiters were very insistent that I did it at dinner ( honestly, every other ship I sailed on left the menu in mail slot daily so I didn’t have to play hide and seek ….)

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

Again, my initial observation/question is WHY the same same menu on same on two different ships are designated differently?

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

1 minute ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Again, my initial observation/question is WHY the same same menu on same on two different ships are designated differently?

Same menu on same day on two ships in same region…

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Didn’t seem to me that it was an option to “ stop by”. … first time on a HAL ship and the waiters were very insistent that I did it at dinner ( honestly, every other ship I sailed on left the menu in mail slot daily so I didn’t have to play hide and seek ….)

They should have been more helpful. 

[Blackduck59]

2 minutes ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Again, my initial observation/question is WHY the same same menu on same on two different ships are designated differently?

I think the more appropriate question is why couldn't they just grab a piece of salmon not bread it, cook it up separately and serve that. I know that Lynn missed the menu the night before and it seemed to be a problem to get it the next day.

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think the more appropriate question is why couldn't they just grab a piece of salmon not bread it, cook it up separately and serve that. I know that Lynn missed the menu the night before and it seemed to be a problem to get it the next day.

They can.  When I first started my salt free diet was a night when the salt content was beyond what I could tolerate.  They immediately took my plate away and brought out the same meal without salt. Salt free is easier to accommodate but they could bring something.  I never had a salmon with breading and I eat quite a bit salmon onboard.  Was it any good?

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

Just now, Mary229 said:

They should have been more helpful. 

Yeah!  Exactly my thought…. Didn’t happen, unfortunately.

I thought by identifying myself via the online allergy /restriction site it would mean something… apparently it meant nothing.  Not a best “first impression “ , given what I have been accustomed to on other cruises…. And still, the difference in same menu on two different ships concerns me… which is actually “correct”?

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

They can.  When I first started my salt free diet was a night when the salt content was beyond what I could tolerate.  They immediately took my plate away and brought out the same meal without salt. Salt free is easier to accommodate but they could bring something.  I never had a salmon with breading and I eat quite a bit salmon onboard.  Was it any good?

Waiter said they “couldn’t “….   If you are asking me if I had it. Answer was No,  waiter told me ONLY adoption was beef, without sauce.   It as good, but the fact that a plain piece of fish wasn’t an option was not good (if I was looking for a piece of breaded fish when non-breaded was the advertised fare, it would be understandable, but not the reverse, simpler option). 

even more “intriguing “ / concerning/ whatever… is that the chocolate lava cake on zuiderdam was listed as GF whilst the same cake on Zaandam on the same night was not.

 

I have been looking for photo of the Zaandam menu so I can post them side by side…. Same fare, just VERY different designations ( not important to anyone who does not have an issue with ingredients, but for anyone who does…. Which one is “correct” ?)

 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

18 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think the more appropriate question is why couldn't they just grab a piece of salmon not bread it, cook it up separately and serve that. I know that Lynn missed the menu the night before and it seemed to be a problem to get it the next day.

Yeah.  Waiters were pretty insistent that it got done at dinner the night before… and didnt seem to want anything to do anything that wasn’t “as advertised” if the pre-order wasn’t done…   When I asked for a plain piece of fish, told “too late, all prepared already… at 5pm dinner.   We had skipped many nights at MDR due to specialty dining or lack of advertised GF options ( most nights had zero options listed)….
But still the question remains, shouldn’t the same-named offerings be consistent between the ships ?  (Food for thought)

 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

This is menu from zuiderdam Gold Gala on same evening (found posting on another thread)…. There were No GF options designated on our menu at all (including beef, which was the only one “offered”, but without sauce). I didn’t take a photo of the menu, but really would like to see the comparison…. 
going on your original intent of “first impressions “, the lack of “designated” GF options in MDR sent us dining at Lido many nights…so a bit of a disappointment from the viewpoint of another first-timer.  

 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

But still the question remains, shouldn’t the same-named offerings be consistent between the ships ?  (Food for thought)

 

Not necessarily. Different ships have different kitchen set-ups and possibly use ingredients from different sources for the same menu item. It could be a cross-contamination issue in one kitchen, whereas in a different kitchen with a different set-up, it isn't.

 

I've certainly had the same menu item prepared differently on different ships in the past. Like many things on HAL, there is sometimes no consistency.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 9/4/2023 at 6:03 AM, Blackduck59 said:

The disembarkation process was absolutely painless. They asked people to pick up their tags a few days before. You could chose 3 different times (colour) and I think 3 different groups per colour. There were other colours and groups for transfers. Groups were called in order and on time. The only confusion was the Uber pick up zone and many people were frustrated, we dragged our gear over railway tracks when we didn't have to. Frankly Uber needs to sort that out. 

That one of the few things I really liked about HAL - the ability to select a disembarkation time rather than a 30 minute time slot. But these days we leave our cabin, have a leisurely breakfast, and by the time we're ready to go our disembarkation group/time has passed so we can just wander off.

Edited September 5, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 hours ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

They said it was breaded, so not an option….BUT same menu on Zuiderdam that night said it was GF… I don’t understand 

 

Breaded! 😯 Why would they ruin a good piece of salmon by breading it??!! Surely they could find a piece, unbreaded, that they could just sear on the hotplate.

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Breaded! 😯 Why would they ruin a good piece of salmon by breading it??!! Surely they could find a piece, unbreaded, that they could just sear on the hotplate.

My thoughts exactly, any such preparation should be done just before hitting the flat top, otherwise it gets mushy. And like you say why do that to salmon. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

16 hours ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

I had not been to MDR for several days, so did not get a chance to preorder (since it seems to be only an option IF you dine in MDR the prior night).

my question is regarding the actual menu offering…the designations of same items on same menu on same same day on two different ships were NOT the same.

 

 

If I needed a special meal, I'd talk to the maitre d' the first night and explain that I didn't always eat in the MDR and ask if I could stop by the podium and quickly do a meal choice for the next night there. 

 

As for the differences in preparation, could be they're trying a different prep on one of the ships, although I agree with other comments about the breading. A light coating of flour might add a bit of crispness to the outside, but it doesn't seem worth the bother.

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

The flour coating may be what he meant… who knows.   Unfortunately the whole dining experience was the low point of my first HAL trip …

I am not sure that I ever saw the maitre d ‘ , and was not familiar with the HAL customs/ rules.   I know for next time… if there is one.

Thanks to all who replied.

 

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Didn’t seem to me that it was an option to “ stop by”. … first time on a HAL ship and the waiters were very insistent that I did it at dinner ( honestly, every other ship I sailed on left the menu in mail slot daily so I didn’t have to play hide and seek ….)

 

Also haven't sailed with HAL yet, but that has been our experience on other cruise lines. With other mass market, the following day menus were in the mail slot when we retired for the evening. Make selections, return to mail slot and they are picked up during the night. On premium ship, they often attempted to find us at another dining venue, failing that, the menus were delivered to the cabin and left on the desk. Cabin Steward delivered them to the galley in the morning.

 

Since I doubt all the salmon comes aboard breaded, I am surprised the galley can't make a GF portion at short notice.

 

All in all really poor service.

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

I have been looking for photo of the Zaandam menu so I can post them side by side…. Same fare, just VERY different designations ( not important to anyone who does not have an issue with ingredients, but for anyone who does…. Which one is “correct” ?)

 

 

Both deserts could be identical, but on the older, smaller class of ship, the galley and/or prep areas may not be set up to guarantee no cross-contamination.

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

4 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

Both deserts could be identical, but on the older, smaller class of ship, the galley and/or prep areas may not be set up to guarantee no cross-contamination.

It was both desert and main courses that seemed to have different designations between the two ship menus.   It was a bit disconcerting to view the daily menus to find NO Mains designated to be GF…. This happened a good many days. Since there is also no “always available “ options such as a plain piece of chicken, beef or fish… it sent us to the buffet many more nights than we planned (at least I could get a salad there )

live and learn!

 

[OlsSalt]

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think the more appropriate question is why couldn't they just grab a piece of salmon not bread it, cook it up separately and serve that. I know that Lynn missed the menu the night before and it seemed to be a problem to get it the next day.

 

G-F requires no cross-contamination and separate cooking facilities and equipment. One of the reasons we no longer have freshly made bread dough on HAL ships - no way they could control the cross-contamination of wheat flour in the galley spaces.

[oakridger]

I very much suspect the difference between the two menu designations was in the printing of the menu rather than the actual food preparation.  Guests wouldn't know that of course but the waitstaff should know what the ingredients really are or ask the kitchen if they don't.

 

~Nancy

[Mareblu]

Thanks, Lisle (and Lynn) for your well-rounded observations and comments on your HAL experience.  It's been really informative to read your thoughts, praise and constructive criticism.  You certainly are the maestro at opening a topic and having enough interest to run to multiple pages.  Hope you're safely home by now.

[Blackduck59]

4 hours ago, Mareblu said:

Thanks, Lisle (and Lynn) for your well-rounded observations and comments on your HAL experience.  It's been really informative to read your thoughts, praise and constructive criticism.  You certainly are the maestro at opening a topic and having enough interest to run to multiple pages.  Hope you're safely home by now.

Thanks, we're almost home we are in Vancouver waiting for our flight it is delayed so an already late night will be even later.