Dinner at the Culinary Arts Center - Koningsdam - Pictures/Menu

That meal looks wonderful! Thanks (again) for sharing your pictures. IMHO a couple of dinners there will definitely help offset the sub-optimal promenade deck, for DH and me. :)

I do appreciate seeing the menu and the pictures of this new culinary experience. Thanks for posting them and the information.

I am not a fan of De Librije and some of the photos remind me of what was presented to me during that dinner.

I attended one of the PG themed dinners that Btimmer listed on the Statendam this past Fall. WOW! For me, I think I would enjoy a repeat of that dining experience as compared to the menu and photos of Koningsdam's "dinner at the CAC."

It's good to have options!

Thanks for posting your pictures and the menu. Does not appeal to me, especially don't like bare tables with place mats and table wear that looks like is plastic. I guess this direction goes with the more modern feel on this ship.

Reservations needed?

How much per person?

For lunch and dinner? :confused::confused:

Thanks for all your postings! We're on her for the TA and will definitely try this! Food looks great! :)

Reservations needed?

 

How much per person?

 

For lunch and dinner? :confused::confused:

Small venue so yes.

$39 I think it was? $39 or $49

Just dinner. Lunch time they use that venue for the cooking demos and cooking classes

Small venue so yes.

$39 I think it was? $39 or $49

Just dinner. Lunch time they use that venue for the cooking demos and cooking classes

Thankyou so much for info and pictures.....beautiful!

I am absolutely amazed the direction the culinary team at HAL is making. They are definitely trying to be leaders in the industry. We did the Master Chef's Table on the Nieuw Amsterdam and was blown away. The Versace china, service and food was over the top. By far the best dining experience I've ever had. Also did the Cabana Club, also nice, but the food was not quite hot at all the courses. Still excellent with a view of Cozumel with live Mexican music. The wine and champagne poured often and freely. The service from the Tamarind servers was gracious without being overbearing.

 

 

 

So far on my Koningsdam cruise we have reservations for the following

 

Pinnacle Grill x 2 (dinner)

 

Sel de Mer (dinner)

 

Le Dibrijre (dinner)

 

Canaletto (dinner)

 

Tamarind (dinner)

 

MDR (Gala night)

 

Dinner at the Culinary Arts Center x 2 (dinner) want to try both menus

 

 

 

This is going to be amazing. We are going all out for this cruise. We could never afford to eat on land at restaurants with this cuisine, let alone the stellar HAL service! It would be $200.00+ ever time and then some. That's why we always take a "DAM" ship vacation!!!

Two questions for you:

- How did you reserve the CAC? The HAL website doesn't give me that option for our July 17th cruise. I see the other restaurants but not CAC.

- Are you Koningsdam have Le Dibrije? I do see it online as a dinner option for my cruise but the description says it's only aboard Rotterdam and Eurodam. It says I can book it but the description is throwing me off.

No reservations possible for CAC; you have to make reservations on the ship

Koningsdam has the Librije; we have a collectors voyage in june and made reservations for de Libije twice. Love it

With all the choices for dinner venues, you would think the MDR will be rather sparse! I think I would change for dine as you wish when we do the MDR.

This does certainly look interesting. Based on a CC report, passengers may not be completely aware that it is more then a cooking demo.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6993

Thanks for the info

Recap article from trade journal on the Koningsdam.

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/hal-strikes-a-lively-chord-with-music-inspired-koningsdam.html

We have just returned home from the 19 day Premier cruise and I would like to tell you mainly about our dining experience .

First of all we found out very early in the cruise that the main dining room was a disaster as we heard from most of our fellow passengers . Food came very late or cold and there were a lot of mix ups and line ups at the door. Our main beef against the dining room was that it is very very noisy . If seated on a table for six you were unable to convers with all the guests . We found this out during the mariners lunch and the wine tasting so we decided to only do specialty restaurants , which we did ,we were not one evening in the diningroom .

The Culinary Arts Centre we did a couple of times and had both menus . We loved seeing them prepare the wonderful dinners , fantastic flavours and it all looked very healthy . The wine was very nice and also the welcome drink was delicious . Cost is $39.00 broken up in meal and wine price . Only setback is if you don't drink the wine you still will be charged ?? To my recollection only the food portion is open to mariners discounts . No reservations are necessary until a day or two ahead . The most people we saw in there was about 18 and there is room for 50 or more . Two dinners per night 5.15 and 8.15 which they might change due to the low attendance on future cruises which is a shame . We would say go for this nice experience !

The Sel de Mer we did 4 times and was wonderful they have a daily main coarse but you also have other options . Menu was very nice with some great dishes . Service was great and you might want to book a couple of days ahead it is very successful .

The Pinnacle on the Koningsdam has lost a little bit of its charm because of the set up of the tables . There are less special little niches that are so nice on the other ships and looks more like a plain dining room . Service was very good there are a few small changes to the menu . Food is still worth the price , mariner or not . Staff has changed to a more European serving staff .

The Tamerind is still one of our favourites , it has a nicer location than on the Eurodam or the Nieuw Amsterdam . The service from the Indonesian staff is still fantastic you can ask for a slower service if so desired . A couple of very small changes to the menu , for us they should change a little more as we go there often .

The Canaletto has a nicer set up than on most of the other ships . It is a little more separated from the Lido . Menu is very nice and the servers are very helpful to let you share as many dishes as you wish.

As for the breakfast we tried the Lido a few times but found it painful to get together a small breakfast where you have to visit a few stations just to get the simplest things and most of it has to be served to you . Maybe after a few cruises they will get a better take on it . We were a few times a little frustrated as for instance the ship would be in port at 8.00 am and service was only running on one side of the ship from 6 until 7.30 . and every one wanted to get on shore at 8.00 .

So quite a few mornings we went to the new New York Deli which was empty in the morning and has some very nice breakfast bagels and very nice service . This is another new plus ! I would have liked to try their pizzas at night but were too busy in the different restaurants .

Hope this helps you . We did not make any reservations before we came on board but went the first day fast to the Pinnacle to book De Librije dinner

still one of our favourites !

Enjoy your cruise on the Koningsdam :):):)

Great overview. It seems like HAL has not done a very good job informing passengers on the Culinary Kitchen but like some other things in your comments, that will probably work out over time. I was surprised in the article at some of the comments made after only a few weeks.

So it sounds like you did not find the new Lido or marketplace design to be very effective. We will be on the Prinsendam in two weeks and I believe she is having her Lido redone in dry dock as we speak. Will be interesting to see what they do.

We have just returned home from the 19 day Premier cruise and I would like to tell you mainly about our dining experience .

First of all we found out very early in the cruise that the main dining room was a disaster as we heard from most of our fellow passengers . Food came very late or cold and there were a lot of mix ups and line ups at the door. Our main beef against the dining room was that it is very very noisy . If seated on a table for six you were unable to convers with all the guests . We found this out during the mariners lunch and the wine tasting so we decided to only do specialty restaurants , which we did ,we were not one evening in the diningroom .

 

The Culinary Arts Centre we did a couple of times and had both menus . We loved seeing them prepare the wonderful dinners , fantastic flavours and it all looked very healthy . The wine was very nice and also the welcome drink was delicious . Cost is $39.00 broken up in meal and wine price . Only setback is if you don't drink the wine you still will be charged ?? To my recollection only the food portion is open to mariners discounts . No reservations are necessary until a day or two ahead . The most people we saw in there was about 18 and there is room for 50 or more . Two dinners per night 5.15 and 8.15 which they might change due to the low attendance on future cruises which is a shame . We would say go for this nice experience !

 

The Sel de Mer we did 4 times and was wonderful they have a daily main coarse but you also have other options . Menu was very nice with some great dishes . Service was great and you might want to book a couple of days ahead it is very successful .

 

The Pinnacle on the Koningsdam has lost a little bit of its charm because of the set up of the tables . There are less special little niches that are so nice on the other ships and looks more like a plain dining room . Service was very good there are a few small changes to the menu . Food is still worth the price , mariner or not . Staff has changed to a more European serving staff .

 

The Tamerind is still one of our favourites , it has a nicer location than on the Eurodam or the Nieuw Amsterdam . The service from the Indonesian staff is still fantastic you can ask for a slower service if so desired . A couple of very small changes to the menu , for us they should change a little more as we go there often .

 

The Canaletto has a nicer set up than on most of the other ships . It is a little more separated from the Lido . Menu is very nice and the servers are very helpful to let you share as many dishes as you wish.

 

As for the breakfast we tried the Lido a few times but found it painful to get together a small breakfast where you have to visit a few stations just to get the simplest things and most of it has to be served to you . Maybe after a few cruises they will get a better take on it . We were a few times a little frustrated as for instance the ship would be in port at 8.00 am and service was only running on one side of the ship from 6 until 7.30 . and every one wanted to get on shore at 8.00 .

So quite a few mornings we went to the new New York Deli which was empty in the morning and has some very nice breakfast bagels and very nice service . This is another new plus ! I would have liked to try their pizzas at night but were too busy in the different restaurants .

 

Hope this helps you . We did not make any reservations before we came on board but went the first day fast to the Pinnacle to book De Librije dinner

still one of our favourites !

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Koningsdam :):):)

Thankyou so much for your great first hand info. I have to figure out how to print this out! And went on board with no reservations!? Fantastic!!!

Thank everyone so much for all information - it really helps make one's cruise that much better.

We just booked a 10 day on the K-dam and would like to go ahead and make our CAC dinner reservations. I see that they rotate menus. Does anyone have any idea as to how many days they run each one? We want to try both menus and so if anyone knows or can tell me where I can find that info, I would appreciate it. In the past the Mariners desk hasn't been able to help us with specialty dining questions and so I have not tried to call them.

Thanks again - you all are so helpful