Returned From 10 Aug-24 Aug AK RT On Statendam

Almost a total loss and waste of money. Other passengers said the food was horrible and I found it lousy! Other didn't want to get off, they though everything was great but the food was HA's downfall. We heard that HA was one of the top-tier cruise lines but to me it was similar to a Carnival 7 day cruise out of Galveston on the Elation. I am really disappointed in the food qualify and variety, often it was dried out in the LIDO and in the MDR the menu was sometimes terrible. (I will post the menus shortly). Braised Ox Tails one time in the MDR and one time they had BBQ ribs in the LIDO on one occasion and no BBQ sauce for 1/2 hour?

Sorry to present such a dismal post but the food ruined the cruise. The itinerary was great and help excellent and the age of the ship presented no problem at all contrary to others but darn if I'll flame them. We'll stick with Celebrity from now on.

We are also returned from that cruise and I would say the food is not up to what it used to be, but then on a previous Celebrity cruise the food also was not up to what it used to be. We enjoyed the cruise.

Sorry you had such a bad experience on the Statendam. I will agree that I have had better oxtails but I do not agree with the rest of what you said. I was on the cruise before yours and the Statendam is NOT my Favorite HAL ship.

Sorry that you both experienced bad food on your cruise.

Glad everything else was okay.

We were on this cruise 06/29/15-07/13/15 and the food was just ok. Soups were not good, food over cooked and under cooked. One night my DW ordered the sea scollops warped in bacon and the bacon appeared not to be cooked at all.

Possible the crew is getting "short timers". She leaves HAL very soon. Her final voyage is totally sold out.

I was looking forward to the chilled soups but they were "watered down" to the point that they were tasteless. I'm sorry to hear that Celebrity is following the lead of HA, they had good food and the chilled soups were delicious! And the sandwich bar-wonderful Rubens!

I was looking forward to the chilled soups but they were "watered down" to the point that they were tasteless. I'm sorry to hear that Celebrity is following the lead of HA, they had good food and the chilled soups were delicious! And the sandwich bar-wonderful Rubens!

I was on the July 27th sailing with Himself. I thought the dining room cuisine was fine....chilled soups are my favorite! I also ate a lot of fish....and drank a lot of wine! :eek:

We had room service for breakfast every morning, and the egg substitute veggi omlet was the best I have had on any ship.

Lido food is ok, but then it has never been outstanding on any ship. The deck buffets were tasty, but I am easy to please.:) Meat eating DH might have a different opinion.

Sorry you were unhappy with the food. At least your itinerary wasn't changed like ours.

Karen

I was on the Statendam July 27 to August 10. I loved this itinerary and I don't cruise for food. I never went hungry. I only ate in the MDR a few times and it was fine. It was not the best nor was it the worst food I've had on a cruise ship. I often eat many meals in the buffet because I don't like to sit for hours in the MDR. I have to say I was very disappointed in the buffet food. I do have to say the salad bar was decent and I ended up having that the majority of the time. I liked the food on the Veendam much more last year. While there was generally something that I'd eat in the buffet the problem was that the food wasn't hot. Often it was barely warm. And, no, it wasn't that it cooled down when I walked the 15 feet from the buffet to a table. I almost never got hot food which annoys me. I didn't think it was spoiled because food turns over fast enough, but it just wasn't enjoyable to eat luke warm food. On the Veendam, they had a pasta bar in the evening that was good and they'd make sure it was hot if you asked. On the Statendam, they had a pan with pasta sitting there and it was often dried up and cold. The food in the trays was fresher, but still not hot. They did have steaks and chicken (or something) on the grill and that would be hot if you got it off the grill. I don't eat steak much, though. One time they brought a fresh pan of potatoes from the kitchen and I asked for those...still not hot. I did like the ice cream. I don't eat sweets except on vacation, so I enjoyed a few cones. Also, the ice machines in the buffet don't work much. They bring out big tubs of ice with a scoop. Only problem is that people don't use the scoop. They take a glass with their hand and drag it through the ice. Water doesn't pour either, so you just hope there is a pitcher there. The staff that was there was very nice, but they really were very light on staff. I found one section with a very good worker and tended to sit there most of the time. I am not a morning eater, but I ordered breakfast from room service once and didn't get what I ordered. I did get a made to order egg white omelet once and it was good. >>>>>> Still, I would have gone again for another two weeks because I loved the itinerary. So, I came back happy enough.

flyguy,

I see you post rarely but have been a CC member for some time. I thank you for your disappointing report about the Statendam. But, I am curious as to what is your cruising history? Placing your comments into a context would be helpful.

Sorry this didn't work out for you.

Keith

We were also on this cruise and strongly disagree with the OP that the cruise was "almost a total loss and a waste of money". Yes, the ship is showing its age and there were glitches, but we had the best weather of the cruising season with sunshine every one of the 14 days.

Anyone who goes on a mass market cruise ship expecting gourmet food is going to be disappointed. At best you can expect good banquet food and the menu shows the effect of the cost cutting programs put in place y HAL and other lines in order to keep the "base price" as low as possible. We found both the wait staff and cabin staff stretched to the limit due to staff cutbacks. As well there are now charges for what used to be included e.g. an espresso or cappuccino after dinner.

Having cruised the last few times on Celebrity I had forgotten how annoying the repeated announcements by the smarmy cruise director pushing bingo, art auctions and other extra cost attraction were.

All that said, we found the food, if far from memorable, to be fully acceptable. Will our next cruise be on HAL? Probably not, but we still had a good time and the scenery and ports and whale watching will live on in our pictures and memories.

George +.

We were on this sailing also, and with the exception of light rain in the AM in Ketchikan, fog along Tracy Arm detoured to Endicott Arm, and rain all day in Anchorage, we had perfect weather for the most part. Those two ports where the only ones we did ship excursions on. 26 Glacier tour was also modified because of weather, we did not go into College fjord but we went closer and stayed longer at Harriman according to the captain. I plan on writing a short review of some of the Alaska myths I found while on this cruise and add pictures of staterooms 548 and 549 in which we stayed.

All in all a great cruise and other than waiting 2 hours for dinner each night (not as long of a wait if you went after 7:30) the dinner menu was interesting and we stuck with the steak most evenings. We thought the food (Steaks mostly) at the MDR was much better tasting than on Carnival.

I would like to know how much per person these passengers paid( less port charges) for this cruise. When the cost is broken down on a per day basis and then what is included in that per day cost - what do people expect.

We gave up on HAL several years after Canivore Corp took over. The first time we sailed HAL was back in the 1970's & it was first class all around. Unfortunately back then these companies were in dire of need of capital, unfortunately Carnivore bought them - Cunard etc.

So the modern cruise vacation was invented - sucking the "glamour & class" pov out of the history of the lines.

The last time we sailed HAL was a Bermuda cruise & it was so bad - crew reduced, aft pool replaced so extra cabins could be added. And the food was just ok. We eat in the ports as much as possible so the onboard experience is not as intense. But we never went back & won't - this was after many many cruises on HAL. We enjoyed Azamara and now are looking at Oceania, Regent, and Silversea & Viking Ocean. I've never sailed Carnival & won't even consider it. RCCL wasn't much better than HAL - we actually enjoyed the smaller ships of MSC but even that is out of control w/ thousands of passengers etc. now.

Back to the original post - if someone paid $200 per day for a couple on this cruise - with a cabin & at least 3 meals a day(for 2 people) I'd say you did ok - if the same couple paid $1000 per day I'd say HAL really wants you back!(and the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale according to some people)!

I would like to know how much per person these passengers paid( less port charges) for this cruise. When the cost is broken down on a per day basis and then what is included in that per day cost - what do people expect.

I'm not going to discuss exact $$ amounts but I will tell you that this cruise (14 day RT Seattle Alaska May 2015) was either the highest or the second highest per person per diem we as a couple have paid since we returned to cruising in 2008. I paid a higher per diem in 2014 to be solo in a Neptune for 7 days RT Vancouver Alaska, but that is not an apples to apples comparison.

edited to add: We found the food to be fine, decent banquet food. We even had a few dinners in the MDR that had very good, actually memorable, food.

Flyguy (the OP) has now posted his review of this cruise in the reviews section of this web site. He gave it one star out of a possible five.

All I can say after reading his review is to ask myself "was on on the same cruise on the same ship?" Yes, it was far from perfect, but at my stingiest I'd have given it at least a three.

As some long ago Frenchman once said "there is no accounting for tastes"

George +

Thanks for the heads-up. That's an "interesting" review. ;)

edited to add: I'm not a fan of the Statendam, but now I feel like I should write a review.... it would be much more complimentary than the one just posted....

We were on the July 13 sailing. The most disappointing were the Pinnacle and the Canaletto, but MDR was mostly OK. We tend to go for slow-cooked meat: braised spare ribs, lamb shanks, etc., because it can't be easy to serve a lot of folks fast-cooked food. Room service was great (we eat Gala Nights in our room). We were very unhappy with Lido breakfast because they seemed to shut down (be out of things) at least 1/2 hour before closing. So we switched to breakfast room service--excellent.

BUT who could possibly say that a cruise with such an outstanding itinerary was a waste of money! If all you want is food, book one of those all-inclusive (Sandals?) and forget the itinerary.

Almost a total loss and waste of money. Other passengers said the food was horrible and I found it lousy! Other didn't want to get off, they though everything was great but the food was HA's downfall. We heard that HA was one of the top-tier cruise lines but to me it was similar to a Carnival 7 day cruise out of Galveston on the Elation. I am really disappointed in the food qualify and variety, often it was dried out in the LIDO and in the MDR the menu was sometimes terrible. (I will post the menus shortly). Braised Ox Tails one time in the MDR and one time they had BBQ ribs in the LIDO on one occasion and no BBQ sauce for 1/2 hour?

Sorry to present such a dismal post but the food ruined the cruise. The itinerary was great and help excellent and the age of the ship presented no problem at all contrary to others but darn if I'll flame them. We'll stick with Celebrity from now on.

>SNIP<

 

BUT who could possibly say that a cruise with such an outstanding itinerary was a waste of money! If all you want is food, book one of those all-inclusive (Sandals?) and forget the itinerary.

I agree that the itinerary was not at all a waste of money. My DH and I spent a lot of time recognizing how fortunate we were to be able to do it. I feel badly for the OP (flyguy) that he was so incredibly disappointed. I suspect (but can't prove) that this may have been his/their first cruise in a number of years, so all the cutbacks to the onboard experience may have been a terrible shock.

I agree that the itinerary was not at all a waste of money. My DH and I spent a lot of time recognizing how fortunate we were to be able to do it. I feel badly for the OP (flyguy) that he was so incredibly disappointed. I suspect (but can't prove) that this may have been his/their first cruise in a number of years, so all the cutbacks to the onboard experience may have been a terrible shock.

Cut a dime and charge a penny less here and cut a dime there. At first it isn't noticeable, but after awhile the whole product becomes cheap. And cheap is what a lot of people want- but not everyone.

Tiffany still does a brisk business. People will pay extra for LuluLemon quality. And every woman "needs" a Coach bag. I have never seen the local Whole Foods empty.

All the cruise lines are headed to the cheap experience. No one is offering quality value. For instance, one could offer organic locally grown food. The cost might be $100 more per guest, and the ship would have to substitute more vegetables instead of meat; but they could easily advertise the healthy part and charge $200 or more extra. I know I would pay.

Instead of finding ways to chisel a penny here and there, why not look for quality values. Perhaps people would pay $5 more if there were better toiletries, but the cost is only $4. Five bucks to feel pampered? A no brainer.

Hire extra help so people feel that there are crew members chomping at the bit to make my experience special. There is value in that and I'm willing to pay. If it costs each passenger a buck so that there are extra people going around filling glasses and getting utensils, do it! I will think the extra cost is worth it and I will tell all my friends how wonderful the service is.

But I'm never going to cruise again as long as the mind set is one of cost cutting. I didn't like being a captive audience to a cheap product where the company thinks of me as a cheap person. ("What do you expect for X amount a day?")

I just read flyguy's review. Previously, I asked for some information from him about his cruising history since he has has been a long time CC member, but posts rarely. I did so in order to try to establish some credibility to his observations. Nothing has been posted.

Other than the fact the ship did not sink and the life jackets proved to be defective, his review is 99% bunk as far as I am concerned.

Whom among us have never had a cruise ship meal on any cruise ship of any line where something/everything did not disappoint?

I am sorry I wasted my time in trying to read this review! Worthless!

I just read flyguy's review. Previously, I asked for some information from him about his cruising history since he has has been a long time CC member, but posts rarely. I did so in order to try to establish some credibility to his observations. Nothing has been posted.

 

Other than the fact the ship did not sink and the life jackets proved to be defective, his review is 99% bunk as far as I am concerned.

 

Whom among us have never had a cruise ship meal on any cruise ship of any line where something/everything did not disappoint?

 

I am sorry I wasted my time in trying to read this review! Worthless!

Though I agree with some of your comments, unless you were in the cruise maybe the OP just had a bad cruise.

As previously posted we were on the Statendam, 06/29/15 sailing. The food was not up to HAL standards whatever that may be now.

During the cruise we talked to one of the Managers at one of the restaurants about the quality of food being served on the ship. He statement to us was,

"There have been a lot of complaints. The Head Chef has been told but refuses to do anything about it. The crew is very frustrated".

Carnival Spirit

Celebrity Galaxy

Celebrity Millinium

NCL Wind

NCL (can't remember the name of ship)

Carnival Elation

And I believe a couple of others-somewhere around seven cruises I believe.

And trust me, the food was excellent on the Celebrity ships and NCL Wind however, I don't

know what it's like now. The itinerary was what we wanted, Kodiak and Sitka and we did enjoy the scenery so as far as a total waste, it wasn't a waste in that regard on the Statendam.

His other reviews along w/ the current one show he has never been on a good cruise. As far as the food is concerned its hard to believe one cannot find something good to eat. Nothing is perfect but surely if things are that bad - speak to the DR manager. As far as portion sizes - that's a joke - who at home has 2,3, 4 appetizers, entrees & deserts to choose from(and there are at least 3 meals a day plus late nite eats, bar munchies & that slice of pizza one grabs while passing through the lido) & I have never heard of someone being told no after asking for seconds.

The HAL product is not what it use to be - that's for sure - but you do get what you pay for. Some one mentioned the Alaska cruises having the highest per diem of most cruises - the point being - what was the per diem?

Perhaps Flyguy & the like should sail Crystal?