Menu Changes.......... What Do You Want?

[localady]

Sher, we actually had pineapple served several times on Zaandam 2 weeks ago.

 

We had fresh fruit in our cabin too. Those green apples were good while we were rockin' and rollin'.

 

Pat

 

Pat- We too have had pineapple available many times a cruise on HAL....just in the relm of "what do you desire" fresh pineapple is one of those things I could eat daily!!:D :D

RuthC- I knew you wouldn't let me down!!;) :D

[sail7seas]

Considering we here at CC are only a small percentage of people who cruise HAL, it is remarkable how many have commented they want:

 

Whole wheat pasta

Whole wheat/whole grain breads and rolls

Baked sweet potatoes.

 

If so many of us here want them, surely many others do as well.

 

HAL.....Could someone ask Rudi to read this thread???!! :)

 

 

 

[Taxguy77]

I think pasta must be hard for the galley...so easy to get it overdone, and it cools so quickly on the way to the table. But, one of my favorite dishes is pasta alla olio - crushed garlic browned in a bit of oil, tossed with the pasta (whole wheat, or veggie pasta would be nice) topped with parmesan. Appetizer, entree, or side dish to main course.....yummm. :)

 

To others, I'm sure my "yummm" is either indigestion waiting to happen....or a nightmare bad breath romance killer! :eek:

 

No, my wife and I both like it and what little of the cooked garlic smell remains on the breath is canceled out as we both had it. :cool:

[Toad]

I would like to see things with a little more spice, and certainly more of a variety of fish choices.

[Tricia724]

One more vote for the chocolate tulip!

 

I love lots of veggies and fruits, all grain breads, wheat pasta, and lots of stuff that is good for you, too.....but I miss the chocolate tulips the most. I try not to do too many desserts, but the tulips were the one dessert I truly looked forward to on the HAL ships.

[altosax]

. . . a small assortment of Dim Sum.

[cruisecrasy]

Let's try to be realisitic and agree HAL has a food budget same as most of us do, but if there were a few things you'd like to see added to HAL's menus, what are they?

 

I seriously doubt any of us are going to see 2 pounds Maine hardshell lobsters on the Canada/New England menus , so let's try to suggest things that might be possible.

 

I would like to see whole wheat pasta available at the pasta station in Lido all the time. Not just a rare now and then, at best.

 

Have been after that pasta for a couple of yrs now and for me anyway, add whole wheat/multigrain breads/buns...never eat white myself :)

[cruisecrasy]

I wld like to add no sugar whole wheat muffins..to the list!!

 

Thanks for starting this thread - nice to read what others think re: new food choices & to perhaps having a chance of getting, at least, some of them onto the menus...

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[Typhoon1]

More Beef and Chocolate. So we can all clog our arteries together.:eek:

[WeLoveCruising]

Interesting thread, Sail -

 

My vote is for REAL maple syrup for breakfast :) , not the artificial pancake syrup they serve.

[RuthC]

My vote is for REAL maple syrup for breakfast :) , not the artificial pancake syrup they serve.

I used to ask for that on every Comment Card! Now that I can't have it anymore I've seen it offered on my last two cruises. :mad:

[gooselace]

Nearly all the suggestions sound good - if not to me, certainly to many people I know and have cruised with. I just wish HAl would provide, on request, the nutritional information that one can now request from many restuarants and even some of the fast-food places. Even an ingredient list, in order of quantity, would help. Too often I've ordered something that should be low-carb, fish with a "spicy" sauce, for example, which turned out to be loaded with sugar as well as spice. Or "whole wheat" muffins that could pass for dessert.

 

It's not that I expect to have my diet catered to - not allergic as some are - but would like enough information to make sensible choices. And I don't expect the nutritional data to be printed on the menu - Ruby Tuesday tried that and it turned off more customers than were pleased. Just that it be available on request.

 

This information would help diabetics avoid hidden sugars. those who want to avoid fats, as well those of us who count carbs, not calories.

[the_dylaness]

I agree with the nutrition information. Perhaps it could be on the BACK of the menu- those who want to know can look, those who prefer to remain unaware can do so!

 

I really would like to see more healthy options offered overall- I've not sailed on HAL yet (january!) but I suspect that it's the same as many other cruiselines about not having a lot of lower fat, whole grain, healthy options. I don't eat meat so I've always enjoyed that Princess usually has two fish or seafood meals, but I tend to cook very light at home and find that the way all cruise meals are prepared (oil, butter, cream...) gives me quite an upset belly by the end of the cruise. Not to mention tight clothes!

 

Someone also mentioned dinner-size salads- what a wonderful idea. Sometimes the perfect cruise meal would be a great spinach salad with mandarin oranges, almonds, onions, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and a little roasted salmon- MMM! Then I could not feel so guilty about eating creme brulee ;)

[iancal]

I would like to see them serve a better grade of beef in the dining room.

[sealovers]

I think the cruise lines do a remarkable job of providing a nice variety where anyone can find their 'style' of dining. Because our diet at homes includes only organic whole grains and as many other organics as available, I don't need to consider a 'splurge' of normal foods (not organic or chemical-free) as unhealthy. I look forward to the wonderful meals we will have on our cruises (as long as we stay from R_ _ L!). I would like to see the flourless chocolate cake again, for sure! I have the recipe in a RCCL cookbook...appears very simple to make, but contains a mega-dose of heavy cream. Guess they removed it so we could be more healthy! Whole wheat pasta is fine, but the flavors vary greatly among the different brands. Many are just unpalatable! Of course organic salads are a staple in my home, but someone suggested serving organic salads with a 'fat-free' commercial preparation. Sorry, but a chemically-laden dressing would tend to undue the healthful benefits of organic foods. I enjoy 'most of the wonderful foods on a cruise and try not to worry about the extra calories. I believe that what one does most of the time has much more affect on health that an occasional 'slip'. I eat normal amounts when cruising which may be why I have never gained weight while cruising. Plus, we're tend to go on pretty active excursions. I know there are those who tend to go 'overboard' with the portions and eat only because it's there. But, I don't think the wonderful menus should be changed to reduce the calorie content so those folks can eat more of it!

[docksider21]

Yes to whole wheat rolls, breads, pasta, etc.

 

Also to pineapple, and assorted berries.

 

I want coffee cake made the German-American way,

not the bakery way, so its white, not yellow.

No cardamums, or other spice like that.

And cut in long slices, like 1 inch by 4 inch.

And with cinnamon sugar top, or peanut butter icing.

 

Pumpkin pie.

 

Milk rice. It's like rice pudding, but made on the stove top.

Just rice, milk, and sugar, and cooked down for hours.

 

Cornbread. Peach cobbler.-- juicy, not dry.

 

And more salad dressing choices

Green Goddess. Celery Seed. Sweet Italian.

Russian.

and the queen of all --

Dorothy Lynch "homestyle" dressing!:D

[altosax]

Interesting thread, Sail -

 

My vote is for REAL maple syrup for breakfast :) , not the artificial pancake syrup they serve.

 

Yes please. Especially on the Canadian cruises there should be no excuse for not serving the real thing.

[TCF]

We cruised on the NCL Sun last September and the only thing that we 'over-the-top' enjoyed on this ship...other than the price and the itinerary....was a small dining room called the Pacific Heights. This little, no-charge, restaurant offerd an exciting menu of healthy alternative meals that were really quite excellent. It was not "health food"...it was "healthier food"...like Spaghetti and Meat Balls with tomato sauce... meat balls made with white turkey meat...whole wheat pasta...and plain simple tomato sauce. My wife had vegetarian lasagna that was, according to her, "magnificent". Unfortunately we found this restaurant late in the cruise so we only had the opportujnity to eat there once.

 

Such a small restaurant tucked away on a HAL ship sounds to me to be an ideal alternative for many people who have posted on this thread who, for either personal preference reasons or health reasons...require a healthier fare.

 

Just a thought!

[mamadot]

I must say that I have no complaints! It is not what I cook at home but.............I DO NOT COOK IT! I love my kitchen and cooking all types of food but what a delightful time spent just sitting down and choosing what some one else prepared for two weeks!:D

[kryos]

Let's try to be realisitic and agree HAL has a food budget same as most of us do, but if there were a few things you'd like to see added to HAL's menus, what are they?

Potato enuccis with mozarella topping and marinara sauce.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I would like to see them serve a better grade of beef in the dining room.

Yes, I agree.

 

But, I also have to say that I am pretty pleased with HAL's food choices. The things I am suggesting are just little "extras." Even if I didn't get them, I'd still take HAL's food over any of the other lines I've sailed anyday.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Copper10-8]

Speaking of regional food, how 'bout a Cuban night in the Carib with either Arroz Con Pollo (yellow rice and chicken) or Ropa Vieja (shredded flank steak/beef in a tomato sauce base) or Picadillo A la Cubana (seasoned ground beef) served with Arroz Blanco (white rice), frijoles negros (black beans), platanitos maduros (sweet plantains) and/or platanitos maduros fritos (fried sweet plantains) and grilled onions with flan (caramel-flavored custard) or Arroz Con Leche (rice pudding) for dessert

[sail7seas]

I think the cruise lines do a remarkable job of providing a nice variety where anyone can find their 'style' of dining. Because our diet at homes includes only organic whole grains and as many other organics as available, I don't need to consider a 'splurge' of normal foods (not organic or chemical-free) as unhealthy. I look forward to the wonderful meals we will have on our cruises (as long as we stay from R_ _ L!). I would like to see the flourless chocolate cake again, for sure! I have the recipe in a RCCL cookbook...appears very simple to make, but contains a mega-dose of heavy cream. Guess they removed it so we could be more healthy! Whole wheat pasta is fine, but the flavors vary greatly among the different brands. Many are just unpalatable! Of course organic salads are a staple in my home, but someone suggested serving organic salads with a 'fat-free' commercial preparation. Sorry, but a chemically-laden dressing would tend to undue the healthful benefits of organic foods. I enjoy 'most of the wonderful foods on a cruise and try not to worry about the extra calories. I believe that what one does most of the time has much more affect on health that an occasional 'slip'. I eat normal amounts when cruising which may be why I have never gained weight while cruising. Plus, we're tend to go on pretty active excursions. I know there are those who tend to go 'overboard' with the portions and eat only because it's there. But, I don't think the wonderful menus should be changed to reduce the calorie content so those folks can eat more of it!

 

 

For the most part, I agree with almost all you wrote. The only difference is that if one only cruises 7-10 days a year, you are right it isn't so bad to eat whatever it is you eat while on your cruise. For people who cruise 50+ days a year, it matters far more.

 

I can 'cheat' a bit a day here and there but not 6 or 7 weeks worth. Also, after having eaten a very healthy diet for so many years, I have lost a taste for any of the high saturated fat dishes, the sugary desserts etc for the most part. I simply no longer crave or like them.

IMO, after becoming accustomed to eating whole grain breads, white bread tastes like paste.

 

I also agree with your comment about the chemical laden salad dressings. I'd always opt for extra virgin olive oil and vinegar before I'd eat those fat free /sugar free dressings.

[prescottbob]

Speaking of regional food, how 'bout a Cuban night in the Carib with either Arroz Con Pollo (yellow rice and chicken) or Ropa Vieja (shredded flank steak/beef in a tomato sauce base) or Picadillo A la Cubana (seasoned ground beef) served with Arroz Blanco (white rice), frijoles negros (black beans), platanitos maduros (sweet plantains) and/or platanitos maduros fritos (fried sweet plantains) and grilled onions with flan (caramel-flavored custard) or Arroz Con Leche (rice pudding) for dessert

 

Ahoy!

 

My mouth is watering. My DW of 36 years was raised in Cuba until "Uncle Fidel" took the 'helm'. Needless to say we do black beans, rice & pan Cubano at least monthly.

 

I also would like to see more regional cuisine on various sails and often thought purchasing local produce would be an option. However, with USDA standards (pest/vector control, proper use of fumigants, plant processing certification, etc) such purchasing practices, I suppose, is a 'pipe dream'. I assume the overall logistics would be financially prohibitive for the 'thin line budgeting' the cruise lines need to follow, i.e., food costs and produce certification.

 

Perhaps a cruise line purchasing agent or some one in the know (Man Behind the Curtain?) would comment on this.

 

Overall, I believe HAL does a fabulous job with their food preparation and presentation (Chef Rudy, reading this?). And as cruisers 'age' I certainly believe HAL and others will gradually provide even more "heart healthy" foodsstuffs then they already do.

 

Great suggestions thus far.

 

May everyone have a 'HEALTHY' CRUISE!

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

[Copper10-8]

Ahoy!

 

My mouth is watering. My DW of 36 years was raised in Cuba until "Uncle Fidel" took the 'helm'. Needless to say we do black beans, rice & pan Cubano at least monthly.............

 

Hey Bob, my DW of 20 years was raised there but she was only three when Mami and Papi too her off the island so not many memories. Can't beat Cuban night at the in-laws though with a café Cubano after dessert

We're going to have to meet on a dam ship one of these days!;)