Comfort Food in the Dining Room...

[sail7seas]

Comfort food in the dining room? On a seven or ten day cruise? What are they thinking?

 

Is it just my opinion or do others agree that we leave our homes for vacation to enjoy, among many others things, fine dining. Having food prepared and served for us that some of us never prepare for ourselves.

 

 

I can't imagine there is a huge demand for mac and cheese or meatloaf on a 7 or 10 day cruise. I think HAL looks ridiculous offering such things on short cruises. Actually.....they look very cheap IMO A way to offer a number of entrees and have a cheap meatloaf there as an option.

 

For the World Cruise....sure, that might make sense. After eating months of fine food, I can easily imagine guests might welcome some homey style meals.

 

Come on, Mr. Fancy New Chef in Seattle......Aren't you here to spruce things up; get the menus modern and tempting to today's cruiser.

 

Anyone agree?

[ekerr19]

Sail -

 

I agree with you. On the Noordam, we were pleasantly surprised with the depth of the menu and the quality of the food. I would love to know what ship Chef Pedro moved to - I would book it just because of him!

 

When we are on a cruise, we want to be able to select choices we normally do not have at home. I can make a pretty mean meatloaf myself, but Osso Bucco and Beef Wellington aren't exactly on our weekly meal planner. ;)

 

I really want to be "WOW'ed" in the dining room and mac & cheese won't do it for me...

[doone]

I doubt I would order comfort food on a cruise. I look at it as what it is, an option. If people don't order it, it won't be long before its off the menu.

[vjw1218]

While I'm not a fan of macaroni and cheese anywhere it's served, I can understand the logic behind "comfort food." There are those who are "picky" eaters and would prefer some "down home" cooking to the more exotic or upscale fare. Not to mention the teenagers or children whose parents want to enjoy the classic cuisine, but won't eat the fancier dishes themselves.

 

There are also those whose stomachs can't handle a lot of rich food and need a break.

 

Just some scenarios to keep in mind. Also, if HAL served nothing but hi-end food, there would be those who would complain there wasn't enough comfort food, so it goes both ways.

 

(I myself love the experience of the dining room food, but I was merely presenting another side of the argument.)

[ekerr19]

One of our favorite aspects of cruising is encouraging our children to try new and different things, especially when it comes to food. Our son loves to select itmes from the menu that he hasn't tried... especially the soups. He was skeptical about the cold soups, and now they are one of his favorites. :)

[gwilli]

Is there something wrong offering roast turkey or pot roast? You don't have to order it! I thought that it was nice to see the variety of foods. I'm not sure if it makes a difference if it's a 7, 10, 11, or more day cruise!

[ekerr19]

Turkey has been on the menu for years - nothing wrong with it, or anything else. I always have turkey on a Holiday cruise, HAL serves a great bird.

 

Sail asked for opinions, I merely offered mine. :)

[sail7seas]

Is there something wrong offering roast turkey or pot roast? You don't have to order it! I thought that it was nice to see the variety of foods. I'm not sure if it makes a difference if it's a 7, 10, 11, or more day cruise!

 

 

That's my point. I meant it in terms of a 7-10 day cruise.

 

Sure, a cruise of 60 days and more is a different story.

 

But, seven days? I don't know many people who miss their pot roast that much they can't go on a cruise for week and not be happy if they don't have it.....especially in the hot Caribbean?? I think of that as a cold winter's day sort of dish.

 

JMHO....

 

Each is entitled to their own. :)

[localady]

S7S-

It seems that the change to comfort food as a full-time menu item came about around the same time as the new Top Chef Dog came onboard. I assumed it was his idea.......maybe I have the timeline confused??

Overall, though I was quite impressed with the quality of our dinners on the Rotterdam in December. The food seemed wonderful, even better than before. I associated this improvement with the new Chef....:cool:

Keep the comfort food if they will, but could he please add another salad offering?? I miss that.

[dakrewser]

I find it easy enough to skip the comfort food selections - there's usually enough other choices. Still, "where do you draw the line" - there's the ever-present steak, chicken or salmon that's always available - those are easy enough to do at home, too.

 

I don't in the least mind HAL offering more choices, just be sure not to replace any of my favorites with the Salisbury Steak, Tuna Casserole or "American Chop Suey" :eek:

 

-dave

 

PS Bring back the Dover Sole!!!!

[Cruising Illini]

Husband's diet won't allow ANY spices to speak of so the

"comfort food" is many times the best choice. We usually get the menu one night early and can request something like the steaks, fish, etc. broiled (not fried) and "plain". Baked ham, turkey, etc. are many times perfect rather than anything too "gourmet". The Pinnacle in particular is impossible for him to find anything on its menu except the filet and even the salad was a problem. Many of our friends (usually 10 or 12 go with us) have to watch their diet in the same manner and truly appreciate having the great waiters making sure the orders are correct.

We often order lunch from room service just to have something special -- roast beef sandwich, shrimp cocktail (no sauce), onion soup, etc. are all just great. Of course his favorite place on the entire ship is the ice cream bar and we always tip the young man serving at the end of the cruise -- he really works hard.

Our main reason for crusing it because we have no trouble getting food that we can enjoy. This is much easier than driving around Europe and finding restaurants that will be satisfactory.

On one trip we sat with the Hotel Manager and His wife (Henk and Crystal)-- friends from way back -- and I asked him about not having ham on this particular 7 day Amsterdam-Alaska trip and he said most of that type of food is just on trips over 7 days.

In the age group that sails on HAL the diet is more important than when we started cruising in the 1970's.

Ryndam to Mexico in April -- hope the docs. arrive soon!!!

[DFD1]

One of the nice things about a good menu is variety. A comfort food item just adds to that variety. We have always found other things on the HAL dinner menu to enjoy.

 

I agree with Sail....I'll bet Grumpy and Slinkie are welcoming some more basic items on the Prinsendam menu about now.

[jhannah]

I like variety. I, too, want things to eat on ship that I don't normally have at home. However, there are lots of "meat and 'taters" folks who have tried fancier dishes but just don't care for them. Offering them onboard is just another way for HAL to accommodate the likes of as many people as possible.

[rkacruiser]

I was on the February 8th cruise of the Zuiderdam and was very pleased to see what I believe are improvements in the menu planning area. The menus were more appealing than those when I last sailed on the Zuiderdam(September, 2003), the food was well prepared and each dish served at the appropriate temperature, and I liked to see a few "always available" selections listed on the menu as well. That is something that Princess Cruises has done on their ships for a long time that I think is a good idea.

[Oceanwench]

I don't eat red meat or shellfish, so the turkey dinner [listed as the comfort food selection of the night] was perfect for me. Chicken breast every night can get dull!

 

I have no problem with the listing of comfort foods on the menu. It does not offend me.

[sail7seas]

I totally agree that it is great they have brought back the "always available". I think that is wonderful and ordered salmon once or twice during our recent Veendam cruise. (It was delicious as was everything in that fine dining room.)

[super_grover]

It's not like the comfort food is the only thing on the menu though. There are at least 5 entree options every night. My brother won't eat alot of food so if that and the "always available" weren't on there he wouldnt eat for a week.

Also some nights the menu just doesn't appeal or it is nice to get a taste of home or to taste what meatloaf is acutally supposed to taste like.

Plus it's really really good :p

[obriendan]

I’m not quite sure I understand the term "comfort food". It seems to be implied that we shouldn’t want macaroni and cheese or meatloaf on a cruise (and I suppose the list could include many other "common" menu items). Why? Isn’t it just a matter of taste? I think it wise for HAL to offer a wide variety of menu items including such "comfort foods". And I think this variety should be offered on cruises of all lengths.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I have to agree with others that the comfort food selection is really a good idea - I cannot imagine ordering it with all the other options but I know from first-hand experience that there are many people who have very unadventurous tastes in food and who would definitely appreciate these selections. Also, some of the comfort food selections are a step above meatloaf or macaroni and cheese... e.g. a simple preparation of grilled pork chops is one of the "comfort food" options... Not something that I find particularly out of place.

 

I have not been on an HAL ship since the new menus, but have seen a few on the web and have no real opinion one way or the other... Although I do not like that they merged soup and salad into one course (I have encountered this on other lines and it is always awkward for those of us who would like both!) and that there is only one salad option, otherwise the new menus look OK... Though from the one or two I've seen, they do tend to the unadventurous in general (not counting the "comfort food" selection which in and of itself I think is an excellent idea). That said the menus I've looked at have been from 7-day Caribbean cruises on the Vista ships and I have to wonder if perhaps other itineraries have rather more sophisticated menus? It will be interesting to see what sort of menus we wind up with on ROTTERDAM in August.

 

I do think that while they are at it, a regular garden and/or Ceasar salad would be a good addition to the "always available" menu. Personally, while I will try just about anything (or at least anything that I've seen a mainstream cruise line dare offer ;) ...) I tend to be a bit of a minimalist when it comes to salads (same goes for ice cream flavors).

 

Oh, yes, I do wish they would bring back the Dover sole... However it is interesting to note that a couple of weeks ago I had dinner at a pretty exclusive French restaurant, where Dover sole was on the menu. What surprised me was that it was the single most expensive menu item! I don't know if we can really blame HAL for dropping it...

[Sierrachik]

In addition to those of us with "simpler" palates, many of us who have great demands on our time often do not have time to make the "comfort" foods we so enjoy. I find being able to order from the "always available" or "comfort" selections to be a nice alternative if there are more sophisticated items on the menu that are not appealing or if there is a comfort food selection that I haven't had or been able to cook in ages. I enjoyed some of the finer foods on our past cruise as well as some of the comfort foods.

 

I'm glad there is such a great variety :)

[oceanlov1]

i have cruised several times on the 7 day cruises with HAL. i like the idea of comfort food alot. my tastes are very simple when it comes to dining. i have tried the other entrees on the menu, but most of them are just not to my liking. so i say, most definitely keep the comfort foods.

[iowegean]

I just returned from the Oosterdam on Sat. and I ordered the comfort food almost every night. I don't eat fish, seafood or red meat for health reasons and it was nice to a variety of comfort foods during the week instead of having chicken breast every night.

[sail7seas]

I'm glad I asked the question. I, admittedly, am very surprised at the responses. Goes to show......different strokes for different folks.

 

 

Thanks for your answers.

[sail7seas]

 

 

I do think that while they are at it, a regular garden and/or Ceasar salad would be a good addition to the "always available" menu. [/Quote]

 

On our recent Veendam 12 day cruise, I think Caeser Salad was available every night at dinner.

[jhannah]

Caesar salad is my fave. Remember the "good old days" when they were tossed tableside?