Happy to see Holland America embrace their Dutch Heritage

[ShipsAreTheBest]

40 minutes ago, dockman said:

Does anyone remember long long ago when holland served heineken beer and if i recall about 1971 they were 25 cents a beer?

They still sell it, but for a little more than 25 cents.  But, for the same price as Budweiser or Bud Lite.  Not even a second thought for my choice!

[Blackduck59]

I am happy to see that some of the items that were once "exclusive" to the "Grand Dutch Cafe" will now be available fleet wide. I have never had one (my only HAL cruise so far was on Zaandam) my ship didn't have the Grand Dutch Cafe, but that Bossche Bol looks amazing and we will definitely be sampling them next year on Westerdam. We didn't really have "Dutch" food when we had a short visit to the Netherlands several years ago. I suspect we will try several things from the "Dutch" menu next time we cruise with HAL.

[dockman]

34 minutes ago, ShipsAreTheBest said:

They still sell it, but for a little more than 25 cents.  But, for the same price as Budweiser or Bud Lite.  Not even a second thought for my choice!

once upon a time they featured heineken specials as being a proud dutch heritage....now just another beer

[Blackduck59]

7 minutes ago, dockman said:

once upon a time they featured heineken specials as being a proud dutch heritage....now just another beer

 

For many Heineken is "just another beer", it is brewed in many places by license and is not necessarily brewed in the Netherlands, just like the Tuborg sold here in Canada is brewed in Turkey, not Denmark. If you like Heineken enjoy it, for me it wouldn't be my first choice. If you are going to stock a "Dutch" beer to celebrate the Dutch heritage, it should be a bit more exclusive than Heineken and definitely brewed in the Netherlands.

[foodsvcmgr]

Ten years ago or so their featured Dutch beer was Grolsch in the bottle with the attached stopper.

[dockman]

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

For many Heineken is "just another beer", it is brewed in many places by license and is not necessarily brewed in the Netherlands, just like the Tuborg sold here in Canada is brewed in Turkey, not Denmark. If you like Heineken enjoy it, for me it wouldn't be my first choice. If you are going to stock a "Dutch" beer to celebrate the Dutch heritage, it should be a bit more exclusive than Heineken and definitely brewed in the Netherlands.

I have never particulary cared for Heinken but if they were still a quarter i would hold my nose and drink it.  Back years ago I think that they had some kind of deal with HAL to feature it but now it is just another beer.

[FlaMariner]

The Dutch dinner in the MDR is back!

 

At least on our recent Oosterdam (April, Mediterranean).

 

Also, we were on during the real Kings Day and so they moved the Orange party to the World Stage, had Dutch dinner in the MDR (pea soup, orange napkins, an Indonesian entree and one of those great Dutch eclair type desserts among other items)...and the entree I had was beef tenderloin....not necessarily Dutch but delicious. 

 

The Captain and the Cruise Director were both from the Netherlands.......Love the Dutch heritage on Holland America Line!

[lcand1923]

On 5/2/2024 at 8:41 AM, foodsvcmgr said:

Ten years ago or so their featured Dutch beer was Grolsch in the bottle with the attached stopper.

That Grolsch was sooooo good.  I was unable to cruise for quite a few years and was so disappointed when I found out that HAL no longer had Grolsch onboard.  I can’t even find it in any Beer and Wine stores in my area.

[VermeulT]

I've been missing the Lindemann's Lambic.  The Grand Dutch Cafe folks on my last two cruises said their distributor can't get it any more.  😞 

(I know it's Belgium not Dutch - but y'all were talking about drinks...).

 

 

[The4OfUs]

On 5/5/2024 at 2:07 PM, lcand1923 said:

That Grolsch was sooooo good.  I was unable to cruise for quite a few years and was so disappointed when I found out that HAL no longer had Grolsch onboard.  I can’t even find it in any Beer and Wine stores in my area.

 

Where on the East Coast? We're up near Boston and we can find 4 packs of those Grolschs pretty easily, although they do disappear from time to time. For some reason, my husband and I both swear the 12 oz bottles with the caps just don't taste the same!  😛  My mom was also Dutch, and this was her go-to beer for sure!  😄