Master Chef Dinner - Master Disaster

[PathfinderEss]

Someone should make a poll for ending this too! I bet more people would end this before formal night.

Hey sign me up maxsmamma. Not only do we not like the MCD but I feel terrible for the crew having to go through all those gyrations. They all ready work so hard, they don't need the added work of that dinner.

[Cruisin Suzin]

Well now it is a good thing I am reading this board..I had forgotten about that dinner. I have only been on one cruise and when they did something similar to this I thought the whole thing was so silly...and completely unnecessary to put the staff through..some of them did not seem to enjoy it either..

 

So thanks for the warning...I'll book one of the other restaurants on my final evening for my first HAL cruise..

[stipmom]

Okay, I am new to HAL. What is the Master Chef dinner?

[KAYEF]

From the very first one I saw...........or whatever.............I totally DISliked the dinner and asking these hardworking, service giving people to learn to dance, juggle, etc. in their "spare time."

I thought it was just ME...............glad to read so many DISlike this dinner. We just endured it on the O last week............and the servers smiled and danced and laughed. It seems so awful to do this to them. They are serious and excellent in what they do. On one cruise I happened by the MDR while they were practicing/learning......in between serving at lunch and serving at TEA..............when do they SLEEP? I think asking them to do the dance/sing/smile is an insult to their talent of serving so well. They were hired to be wait-staff, not part of the entertainment onboard.

AND, the Baked Alaska is always awful............this time at least I got a tiny bit of ice cream; last time all I got was a huge blob of unbaked meringue. We had no chance to order a different dessert (and, of course we really NEEDED more desserts!).

Just bring back the beautiful parade of Baked Alaskas in a darkened MDR and get rid of the dancing show.

[mrsltg]

Also, be forewarned... If you end up with the late seating, you will likely miss the farewell show. DH and I were very disappointed and annoyed when we realized this on our Westerdam cruise in November. I'm not as bothered by the actual dinner as some others here, but missing the show really ticked me off.

[RuthC]

Okay, I am new to HAL. What is the Master Chef dinner?

A good excuse to get outta Dodge. :rolleyes:

 

On a night (usually the last night) of most cruises, everyone has fixed seating. They are expected to arrive at the dining room 15 minutes early, so they can all be settled when the "performance" starts. There is a paper chef's hat to wear, and a special menu (heavy on mushrooms). Then the stewards and entertainment staff come parading in, to the sound of loud music.

During this parade the stewards place your napkins. Then, they start juggling vegetables when salad is to be served.

 

It's just one thrill after another. ;)

[mudscraper]

The plate spinning is to die for.

 

 

Rich

[Himself]

A good alternative to the Master-Chef Dinner is the Lido or the Pinacle, if you can get in there on the last night. However, they do the Baked Alaska on that night. I am not getting into the argument on the Master-Chef but pointing out there are alternatives to going to that dinner. I usually go and enjoy it. I don't grin and bear it !

[Krazy Kruizers]

Okay, I am new to HAL. What is the Master Chef dinner?

 

Master Chef Dinner:

 

The group "The Mix" from the Crow's Nest played the music about 80% of the time. The crew staff and dancers from the production shows led the waitstaff in the dance routines. The lead singer from the cast did the opening song. It was the only time she sang. Since she was on the steps, halfway down, many people didn't even know that she was singing.

 

When we entered the dining room there was already a Parker House with various seeds on top on the butter plate which was under your chef's toque and menu. The menu was a special cut out showing a spatula, cork screw, rolling pin, chopping knife and big spoon.

 

Then we had the Ballet Service. This was the only time we had a singer. The waitstaff entered both levels of the dining room to the tune of "Swan Lake". The assistant waiter held the try of napkins while the waiter placed them in our laps. The crew and cast had to help out here in some sections as there weren't enough waitstaff to quickly get the napkins to everyone.

 

Act 1 - Once again the waitstaff, crew and cast entered the dining room carrying the Chef's Amuse Surprise -- mushroom mousse with asparagus en bouche. This was a tiny empty puff pastry with a tiny dab of mouuse on top.

 

After those dishes were cleared away, the waitstaff. crew and cast again assembled in the hall and entered the dining room to begin Act 2 -- The Swing Service. The crew and staff "mixed" the salad in HUGE salad bowls to music -- waitstaff get throwing in fake tomatoes, peppers, etc -- some of the waitstaff tried to juggle the peppers -- very funny. Show Salad Spectacular: menu said that we were to have assorted baby greens, pepper rings, mushrooms, scallions & cherry tomatoes with a honey mustard dressing. What we actually got was a tomato stuffed with the assorted baby greens, enoki mushrooms with chopped up onion, scallions and peppers sprinkled on top and the honey mustard dressing drizzled over everything.

 

Then the waiters came around and took our orders for the Starters and Entrees.

 

Starters:

1.Dialogue of Alaskan Salmon Tartare with avocado: cold smoked, pickled and chipotle-hot-smoked salmon with lime-avocado-tomato sauce. DH had this -- loved it the first segment. 2nd segment -- it was mostly BIG chunks of onion and very little salmon.

 

2.Golden Baked Brie in Phyllo Dough served with a cinnamon-spiced apple cranberry compote -- have had this many times in the past -- love it -- it was excellent the first segment -- not completely heated through -- brie -- wasn't even melted a little bit.

 

3.Lobster Bisque sensuously smooth classical shellfish soup enhanced with aged French cognac and whipped cream. We both have had this in the past -- it's okay -- not one of our favorites.

 

4.Oxtail En Crote - flavorful classical soup slow-simmered and served in a crisp pastry crust -- excellent both segments.

 

Entrees:

 

1.Tagliatelli with Roasted Chicken & Portobello Muchrooms tossed in olive oil and lemon cream.

 

2.Sauteed shrimps "Provencales" scented with Mediterranean herbs, tomato concassee', florets of crisp, tender broccoli and sticky rice -- you got 4 medium size shrimps -- some people ordered 3 of this dish in order to get more shrimp -- which sent the waiter into a tizzy since they were on a time schedule.

 

3.Apricot Glazed Salmon with Soya Garlic and Ginger Spalsh -- I have had this on other ships and love it. 1st segment -- excellent RED sockeye salmon -- 2nd segment -- pink salmon -- tasteless.

 

4.Duck Breast a l'Orange - the old time favorite, oven roasted until crisp amd served with a Grand Marnier sauce, braised red cabbage, pea pods, carrots julienne and William potatoes. DH had this the first segment -- excellent.

 

5.Whole Roasted Tenderloin of Beef on an earthy bed of calvados-spiked mushroom ragout, with vegetable bundle, braised onion & horseradish mashed potato. DH had this the second time -- beef was tough and fatty.

 

6.Wild Mushroom Strudel - selected forest mushroom spinach & feta cheese rolled in Phyllo dough and baked until crisp and flaky. Served with a Thai red curry sauce and a timbale of basmati rice.

 

Act 3 - The Final Service --- the waitstaff, crew and cast began to assemble out in the hallway around 7:15 for this. Then they came parading into the dining room carrying trays of Baked Alaska and waving a battery operated green light.

[lazey1]

Well what a simpleton child I must be, because I thoroughly enjoyed the attempt on the Oosterdam 2 weeks ago.

 

WE AGREE! We did not have the Master Chef dinner last year on the Maasdam but we did on the Eurodam and we did thoroughly enjoy it. The food was good, the entertainment was fun and the crew acted as if they enjoyed the chance to "let their hair down" and also have fun. Some of the dinning crew were very good entertainers.

[Mary Ellen]

Even though we selected “As You Wish Dining,” on the last night the entire ship has only two fixed seatings: 5:30 or 8:00 pm.

Welcome to the CC! One of the things you would have learned here before your cruise (besides to skip the MCD in the MDR) is that NO 'selection' of “As You Wish Dining” is needed. The only way NOT to have “As You Wish Dining” is not to eat at all on the ships. Some wish fixed seating, some wish open, while others will opt to have have dinner in the Lido, the Pinnacle or room service in their cabin. ALL are part of “As You Wish Dining".

[Sea King]

the worst, most ridiculous amateur like performance of all time

 

IMHO, a total waste of time .. and of staff

 

it's Carnival, only 10 times worse

 

why HAL decided to begin this nonsense is a mystery to all .. that is, all but one person who, you guessed it, is in "Seattle"

 

starting a poll on this

 

IMHO, waste of time .. just like "smoking polls"

 

HAL will end this madness when it, not any of us, decides "time has come"

 

until then, best thing to do on Master Chef night: try an alternate restaurant or Lido

[Love Cruises]

When we were on our 33 day cruise in January on the msROTTERDAM, we asked right at the beginning of the cruise if there was going to be a MCD. We are SSSSOOOO tired of this and always make a reservation at the PINNACLE to avoid the dinner. We were told that it would be our final night on the ship. For some reason the plans were changed and they had the MCD a few days before the last night so we joined friends and had a great evening in the Pinaccle. Some passengers who had never experienced it before really enjoyed it.

 

Please HAL ---- get rid of this !

[m steve]

and quite enjoyed it. The food selection was quite good and although I don't like the hoke with the waiters parading and never have the baked Alaska I was not put off by it. My partner loved the show and really got into it. It seems like the waiters like it and it's a way for them to cut loose a bit.

[moniquet]

We thought it was awful, the food too. A disappointing end to a wonderful cruise. The baked alaska was a soggy mess. The whole evening made me cringe. Do all HAL ships do it? They really aren't doing themselves any favours are they leaving passengers with the last impression of the cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We thought it was awful, the food too. A disappointing end to a wonderful cruise. The baked alaska was a soggy mess. The whole evening made me cringe. Do all HAL ships do it? They really aren't doing themselves any favours are they leaving passengers with the last impression of the cruise.

 

When it was started -- I think about 2006 -- it was just on a few ships.

Then it seemed to die off -- but this fall HAL has brought it back full and strong on nearly every ship.

[martinimadam]

But I think it might be a good idea. It could get more attention from Seattle. Anyone out there more techie than I???

 

I guess as long as they keep it to the last night, we'll all know and be prepared. Then we can say our goodbyes and give a final tip to the waitstaff (if deserved) on the second to last night, and wander off to another dining venue on the last night. I've never actually had dinner at the Lido. Maybe I'll try it on my next cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am waiting for the day when the majority of the people decide that they want to dine elsewhere on MCD night.

The Pinnacle will only take so many reservations. If you are on the Eurodam -- again limited reservations for the Tamarind.

The Canaletto can hold only so many people.

Room service won't be able to handle all the orders -- meals delivered late and cold.

The Lido will be mobbed out of sight.

There could be a lot of screaming, mad people.

Just a thought folks.

[jtl513]

I am waiting for the day when the majority of the people decide that they want to dine elsewhere on MCD night.

It may take a while. On a typical cruise about 35% of the passengers are HAL first-timers, and not CC members, so they don't have any idea what it's like. And among the other 65%, there are some that enjoy it (particularly if they have kids along) or will tolerate it.

[elycelynne]

Even though the Master Chef's dinner was extremely silly, there were a couple of selections that I kind of liked -- such as the baked brie and the flourless chocolate cake. So if I wanted to get those without having to actually go to the dinner, would they have these things in the Lido or possibly from room service (within dinner hours, of course)?

[Mary Ellen]

So if I wanted to get those without having to actually go to the dinner, would they have these things in the Lido or possibly from room service (within dinner hours, of course)?

Most likely.

[fgrsk8r]

I guess I am in the minority here, but this was my first experience with the MCD and we had fixed upper seating and we thought it was fun. The food was great and we overate AGAIN...

 

Maybe it was our great Dining Steward Bobby ;-)

 

My parents and I actually liked it !

[cinann]

We just finished a 10-day on the Noordam. Until we had a notice on our table the night before, we didn’t realize that the master chefs dinner was the last night. Several years ago we experienced one, which was absolutely horrible. We swore we’d never go to one again. Actually, we always eat in the Main Dining Room and have never had it offered again. We thought they’d done away with it. Well, we decided to give it another chance. The food was really good. The “entertainment” was just as silly as our first experience, except the stewards looked like they had rehearsed it some. Probably on our next cruise we will inquire early which night, because we probably will not attend.

[GeriatricNurse]

It may take a while. On a typical cruise about 35% of the passengers are HAL first-timers, and not CC members, so they don't have any idea what it's like. And among the other 65%, there are some that enjoy it (particularly if they have kids along) or will tolerate it.

 

 

John, please quote your reference/source for your information.:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

It may take a while. On a typical cruise about 35% of the passengers are HAL first-timers, and not CC members, so they don't have any idea what it's like. And among the other 65%, there are some that enjoy it (particularly if they have kids along) or will tolerate it.

 

I would agree with your take on the number of CC members on each cruise which I would suggest is extremely minimal, sometimes nonexistent, except in rare cases. But I think 35% sounds high for first-timers. I would be interested to know where you got that number.

 

Maybe since they play with the dining times that night anyway, they could have the Master Chef Dinner on one level and traditional on the other. That would let them know for once and for all which is more popular:D. And it could just turn out that we're in the minority! Stranger things have happened.