Holland America buffet question

We will be on the Maasdam (Boston to Montreal) this coming summer. Although it will be our 11th cruise overall, it will only be our 2nd on Holland America. On our previous HAL cruise (Noordam--Greek Isles), the buffet had the mains from the dining room. Can we expect this again? And if so, does that include even lobster from formal night?

I ask because DW just does not like to sit and be served. She says that she would rather not take that much time for dinner and would also like to make her own salad. This has led to a lot of "negotiating" between us as to when we do the dining room (anytime) and the buffet.

There is no guarantee that you will get lobster at dinner in the Lido -- this varies by ship.

As to making salads -- HAL now has servers who make your salad for you -- both lunch and dinner. In fact many of the items are now served to you -- thus passengers handle very little food in the Lido.

Yes the Lido (buffet) will have the same entrees as the MDR. As for lobster, that depends. On our last cruise (Veendam) they did have lobster several times. I know they had cards on the tables letting people know about it....not sure how many ships do that though.

We are veteran cruisers that have sailed on two HAL cruises over the past year. Our experience in the Lido has been excellent and we actually enjoy eating there vs the MDR. We feel you get a bigger selection in the Lido than in the MDR, but you can get served the same meal. This past summer we were on the Rotterdam for the Viking Passage cruise and one night we had Beef Wellington in the Lido. It was the best meal we had the entire trip. Every passenger wants a different dining experience (or they have different expectations), but we have had no issues with the Lido. The Lido salad bar is one of my favorites because you have such a wide array of ingredients and the staff mixes and serves it for you. Enjoy!

You can order room service from the MDR dinner menu, including lobster, as many as you want. If one of you wants to "make your own salad", you can go to Lido and have them make it to your request at the salad bar, then bring it to your room to eat it with your room service selections.

I put "make your own salad" in quotes because at Lido's salad bar you tell them what you want in the salad, usually moving along the salad bar and requesting each addition and dressing as you move along. They will toss it if you want but I prefer to eat mine layered. This salad bar system in Lido works quite well, much better than it might sound... it's quick, efficient and clean, and you get what you ask for, even to tell them "a little more... a little less" of each selection. m--

We have also taken 2 cruises in the last year. There was lobster in the Lido on one cruise, and not on the other. So, as KK says, it varies by ship.

The one ship that had them, it was quarter tails, so less than you get in the MDR. As to the other items on the MDR, that also varies. For example, the filet mignon cuts in the Lido look smaller, look like they have been over cooked a bit. So, my general opinion is that the food in the Lido is not as good as the food in the MDR.

However, I will say the custom made salads are EXCELLENT!

Yes the Lido (buffet) will have the same entrees as the MDR. As for lobster, that depends. On our last cruise (Veendam) they did have lobster several times. I know they had cards on the tables letting people know about it....not sure how many ships do that though.

Will echo KK's comment. Availability of "all" the MDR entrees in the Lido will vary by ship. On our two HAL cruises last year (Amsterdam and Zuiderdam), I noticed that some entrees were not available in the Lido, but most were. Same holds true for the starters.

I can't guarantee that all MDR food will be available in the buffet, but Maasdam has one of the best buffets I have experienced. So your wife's plan should work fine.

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Thank you everyone who replied.

As for making her own salad, as long as she can tell them what to put in it, that should work.

We actually do not eat meat, just fish and the vegetarian choices.

Would it be right to assume that the vegetarian choice would be there on the buffet?

Thank you everyone who replied.

 

As for making her own salad, as long as she can tell them what to put in it, that should work.

 

We actually do not eat meat, just fish and the vegetarian choices.

 

Would it be right to assume that the vegetarian choice would be there on the buffet?

You will have wonderful vegetarian choices everywhere on the ship. Menu items as well as picking and choosing a whole variety of buffet options. HAL has come a long way since their plate of steamed vegetables days - even us non-vegetarians welcome them for a change of pace.

On my recent cruise, the dinner menu in the Lido was completely different from the dinner menu in the Main Dining Room. Often it was different to what was posted as the Lido Dinner Menu. I did not see lobster offered in the Lido.

I was on the Maasdam last April. The same food is available in the lido as in the dining room, including lobster.

Lots of fish choices and veggies, including the salad bar.

The only meat I eat is fish also. No worries, wonderful selection of options on Maasdam.

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The only meat I eat is fish also. No worries, wonderful selection of options on Maasdam.

 

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We were on the Maasdam in November/December last year and totally agree. We only eat fish too, and found the vegetarian options were great. Most nights we had a salad bowl with a couple of appetisers on top. The ladies in the Salad Bar were wonderful.

So far we've only sailed HAL once....last June on the MS Amsterdam to Alaska. We found the Lido had decent options and actually we loved the salad bar and the made to order omelets at breakfast were yummy too. It wasn't until late in the cruise did we discover the Asian foods ....noodles, fried rice, spring rolls etc. were very good. We had our first taste of ABC sauce and had a tough time finding it at the local grocery.

So far we've only sailed HAL once....last June on the MS Amsterdam to Alaska. We found the Lido had decent options and actually we loved the salad bar and the made to order omelets at breakfast were yummy too. It wasn't until late in the cruise did we discover the Asian foods ....noodles, fried rice, spring rolls etc. were very good. We had our first taste of ABC sauce and had a tough time finding it at the local grocery.

We fell in love with the ABC sauce too (katsup manis - sweetened soy sauce) and found some smaller bottles to take home in those crew shops that are found in most ports - just follow the crew members. I now see it out more frequently in the condiment tray but sometimes I would have to ask for it from the buffet staff.

It can be ordered online and we have a local asian market that stocks multiple brands so we are now never out of it. I found pouring just a little bit on my salad bar choices along with a small drizzle of olive oil and then mixing it around made a delicious salad dressing too.