Zuiderdam.. horrific food. March 12, 2005

[dakrewser]

Why did I wait so long to leave Texas? :rolleyes:

After serving 2 years in Italy and growing up in California near where Dave is I think my lucky stars Im in texas now, better mexican food , better steaks

 

Better barbeque, certainly. Better Tex-Mex, of course. But not better real Mexican food - just different. Out here we get more Pacific coast Mexican (more fish, less pork) and it's great!

 

Heather: Valley of Heart's Delight is what the Santa Clara valley was called before they stuck it with the "Silicon Valley" moniker. A friend of mine wrote an essay about it. My house stands in what used to be Olson's Cherry Orchard here in Sunnyvale.

 

Ruth: My father used to eat on the hill all the time (he worked downtown near LaSalle Square) and would tell me about all his friends who seemed to have very funny names (Joey the Squish, Tommy Tiptoe, Tony Bananas and the other members of the Patriarca family). I would ovccasionally be allowed to accompany him to Camille's. Once I got to High School (LaSalle), I hung out on Smith Hill and in North Providence with the better class of criminal. :rolleyes:

[fridayeyes]

This thread is hilarious. It is gaining pages faster than I can read them!

 

Pereiras - you have a lovely, even wicked, sense of humor. :) Any chance you speak Portuguese?

 

Cheers,

 

Friday of the tangents

[fridayeyes]

Hi, Dave,

 

It's Richmond as in "even Oakland don't come in our 'hood." There's a great neighborhood on an tiny peninsula cut off by both freeways where the marina is. Point Richmond is nice too, and there's a place downtown there that serves the best breakfasts ever - just wish I could remember the name. OJ squeezed on site, good scones, Niman Ranch meats. Very anti-horrific.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[Pereiras]

A very little.. you smart little person you.. very little though... thanks for the note about humor..

 

I have enjoyed the 'take over' of the thread, albeit a bit transparent. Keeps the bi-line at the top of the HAL board, so it is OK with me. Yes, got a very nice .. long.. thread going. Seems to find new people every day, and I am happy for that.

 

Still interested in further surveys of HAL food compared with other lines. For those who have joined this late, keep this going..

 

Thanks to all the Italian food talk!

 

 

 

This thread is hilarious. It is gaining pages faster than I can read them!

 

Pereiras - you have a lovely, even wicked, sense of humor. :) Any chance you speak Portuguese?

 

Cheers,

 

Friday of the tangents

[Pereiras]

I will agree with that totally. The crew are very very nice people.

 

 

I have always found that the crew members of HAL will always go above and beyond to be sure your cruise meets your expectations whether they get tipped or not. In the Philippines and Indonesia, its an honor to give good service and it shows with their gracious and sincere service to you.

[Pereiras]

Dear Friday,

 

A few posts back you had compared a bunch of cruises for quality of food. I am interested in developing an informal ranking, for my own benefit.

 

Here is what I am interested in determining, with the my personal ranking for HAL Zuiderdam and for Golden Princess:

 

1. Quality in main dining room. VB VG

2. Quality in Speciality rest. VG VG

3. Buffets. G VG

4. Island food (for private island). B N/A (Can't remember)

 

Obviously, this is highly subjective.

 

I have started it by rating my experience with HAL, and with Golden Princess. The first rating is for HAL, the second is for Golden Princess.

I have suggested Exc, VG, Avg, Bad, Very Bad as ranks.

 

Very interested in people quickly doing this survey for other boats they have been on.

 

Any takers?

 

 

Hi, Dave,

 

It's Richmond as in "even Oakland don't come in our 'hood." There's a great neighborhood on an tiny peninsula cut off by both freeways where the marina is. Point Richmond is nice too, and there's a place downtown there that serves the best breakfasts ever - just wish I could remember the name. OJ squeezed on site, good scones, Niman Ranch meats. Very anti-horrific.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[fridayeyes]

Of all of the languages I speak, Portuguese is my favorite. French is probably second.

 

Celeb Infinity

 

Dining room VG

Buffet G

Private Island N/A

Specialty Restaurant N/A

 

 

HAL Ryndam

 

Dining Room G

Buffet VG

PI N/A

SR N/A

 

Carnival, in general (Holiday/Imagination)

 

DR - G

Buffet - Avg

PI/SP - N/A

 

Norwegian Star - no longer in service. The ship by this name now is not the one I was on.

DR - Avg

Buffet Avg*

 

*Be warned; I am easy to please. Some people would have thought the Velveeta story to be unacceptable for cruise food. Your Steak Chromaise would have earned a VB from me however.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[Pereiras]

Hey. .thanks.. a lot!

 

Now we are getting somewhere. If anyone posts same boats, I will 'average' the rating. Takers?

 

I very much liked your Steak Chromaise comment! I laughed! I cried! I didn't realize that was the proper name of the dish.

 

Is that a Zuiderdam fear factor food? Eat the steak chromiase and advance to tomorrows final round where you can win air back home without 3 connections and an overnight stay? Can I wash it down with some sewage? (oh oh..now I've done it... where the heck is that edit button.. <press>). Dam (pun intended), I can't edit this <press>

 

Thanks Fridayeyes!

 

Of all of the languages I speak, Portuguese is my favorite. French is probably second.

 

Celeb Infinity

 

Dining room VG

Buffet G

Private Island N/A

Specialty Restaurant N/A

 

 

HAL Ryndam

 

Dining Room G

Buffet VG

PI N/A

SR N/A

 

Carnival, in general (Holiday/Imagination)

 

DR - G

Buffet - Avg

PI/SP - N/A

 

Norwegian Star - no longer in service. The ship by this name now is not the one I was on.

DR - Avg

Buffet Avg*

 

*Be warned; I am easy to please. Some people would have thought the Velveeta story to be unacceptable for cruise food. Your Steak Chromaise would have earned a VB from me however.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[AmyinVail]

Pereiras -

 

I LOVE you - and don't even know you! I could give two rats :eek: about the food at this point....I admire how you've "handled" the HAL radicals with grace, ease and an amazing and refreshing sense of humor. I applaud you, my friend and admire your endurance with this thread and the manner in which you've held your own.

 

Great job and I appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks for sharing!

[Pereiras]

<Blush>

 

Thank you very much for the uplifting support. I have been to Vail a few years back in the summer. What a beautiful place you live in. Congrats to you on that alone. Please thank your friend as well. I would be happy to converse with you anytime. Send me an email.. post here.. it would be great to stay in touch. Yes.. it's been a very fun time here.

 

 

 

Pereiras -

 

I LOVE you - and don't even know you! I could give two rats :eek: about the food at this point....I admire how you've "handled" the HAL radicals with grace, ease and an amazing and refreshing sense of humor. I applaud you, my friend and admire your endurance with this thread and the manner in which you've held your own.

 

Great job and I appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks for sharing!

[HeatherInFlorida]

P, you can always count on Amy to uplift and support you. There are actually several here who will do that for you. The funny thing is that I have a feeling the humor of this thread has been missed by many and I would venture to say that just about everyone who posted held their own.

 

It's just that some of us have moved on to other things while some are only just discovering the thread. Some people just get up a little later, I guess.;) But it keeps popping up on my "subscriptions" and curiousity makes me click.

 

BTW, the weaving of the thread was quite by accident ... no vast conspiracy by anyone I promise! I thought it was hysterical and thoroughly enjoyed it, didn't you P? But it did give me a good idea for the next time around.

 

Also, weren't you the clever one avoiding the "unsanitary" thread until I distributed the drinks. Verrrrrry clever! I congratulate you:D

[Pereiras]

I think I was right in leaving that alone! I did see it when it was first posted, and thought you might expect me to post there. I believe I was one of the people you were alluding to in your comments about others hopping all over it. Hopefully, you can now know that my intentions were as advertised here. It was to speak about our bad food and CS experience on the Zuiderdam. Being a Canadian, we do sometimes observe the 'law-suit' happy society which does seem to exist south of us.. but, I was not qualified to comment on it. I did enjoy the Italian food talk. Yes!

 

One thing. Regarding strategy for next time. What you should keep in mind is that by posting lots of non-thread related notes, you inadvertantly keep the thread bi-line at the top of the heap ( no pun intented). Sure that's what you want to do? Food (pun intended) for thought?

 

P, you can always count on Amy to uplift and support you. There are actually several here who will do that for you. The funny thing is that I have a feeling the humor of this thread has been missed by many and I would venture to say that just about everyone who posted held their own.

 

It's just that some of us have moved on to other things while some are only just discovering the thread. Some people just get up a little later, I guess.;) But it keeps popping up on my "subscriptions" and curiousity makes me click.

 

BTW, the weaving of the thread was quite by accident ... no vast conspiracy by anyone I promise! I thought it was hysterical and thoroughly enjoyed it, didn't you P? But it did give me a good idea for the next time around.

 

Also, weren't you the clever one avoiding the "unsanitary" thread until I distributed the drinks. Verrrrrry clever! I congratulate you:D

[1stMate]

Pereiras -

 

I LOVE you - and don't even know you! I could give two rats :eek: about the food at this point....I admire how you've "handled" the HAL radicals with grace, ease and an amazing and refreshing sense of humor. I applaud you, my friend and admire your endurance with this thread and the manner in which you've held your own.

 

Great job and I appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks for sharing!

 

Agree, those that have continiously bashed you have certainly shown themselves for the petty souls they are.

I believe you have made your point.

[Pereiras]

Thanks 1stMate.

 

I enjoyed your humorous posts as well. I believe you to be a good, honest, and fair person. I appreciate the support. I did feel that some folks feel that they can shout down people with differing opinions, which wasn't going to be possible here. I do think there are some good folks here too.. even some of those who shouted at me originally. A lot just didn't want to hear how crappy the food was, and crappy the customer service was, and really didn't know what to do with the horrific meal experience presented.

 

Thanks again to you!

 

Agree, those that have continiously bashed you have certainly shown themselves for the petty souls they are.

I believe you have made your point.

[Time2sail]

Pereiras -

 

I LOVE you - and don't even know you! I could give two rats :eek: about the food at this point....I admire how you've "handled" the HAL radicals with grace, ease and an amazing and refreshing sense of humor. I applaud you, my friend and admire your endurance with this thread and the manner in which you've held your own.

 

Great job and I appreciate your opinion very much. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Read and learn. Your pictures were a turn off--flowery words,mental strength, and wit won her over. Now, use those on your lovely bride so "I LOVE you" will spring from her sweet lips during your ROV.:)

[Oceanwench]

One thing. Regarding strategy for next time. What you should keep in mind is that by posting lots of non-thread related notes, you inadvertantly keep the thread bi-line at the top of the heap ( no pun intented). Sure that's what you want to do? Food (pun intended) for thought?

 

I really doubt there was a concerted effort to derail your train of thought.

Threads of any great length tend to stray from the original post in a kind of stream-of-consciousness fashion.

Horrific food on a cruise ship can lead to discussions of horrific food elsewhere, the definition of horrific, what others consider less-than-average food, restaurants people like/dislike ...

 

As far as bylines ... not sure what you mean! The subject line of the thread? Or your name, as OP, under it?

[ekerr19]

Better barbeque, certainly. Better Tex-Mex, of course. But not better real Mexican food - just different. Out here we get more Pacific coast Mexican (more fish, less pork) and it's great!

 

 

There is no place in the states like California for true Mexican food... Texas?? That is not what we consider true Mexican food!

 

Colorado is sorely lacking in Pacific coast Mexican unfortunately... we can only get Tex-Mex. Anytime I go home to So. Cal, the first thing I head for is authentic Mexican food! Chinese leaves alot to be desired out here too...

[HeatherInFlorida]

.............. Regarding strategy for next time. What you should keep in mind is that by posting lots of non-thread related notes, you inadvertantly keep the thread bi-line at the top of the heap ...............

 

Except, P, I was not the one to bring it back. It was long gone, sound asleep, when Shipcafe roused it. I never would have resurrected it because I'm totally over the original subject.

 

However I did love how it evolved and took on another life. There are those who are still trying so hard to bring back the agony of your original tone, but it is not to be.

 

BTW, it's really called a thread "title" more than a "bi-line". You don't get points on the CC boards for a thread staying on top. If you did, I'd have taken home the silver cup a long time ago:D.

 

EKerr, we have some pretty good Mexican restaurants here in South Florida. I don't go much anymore because it's like fire in my very soul, but it's awfully good!:D

[dakrewser]

Chinese leaves alot to be desired out here too...

 

Chinese cuisine has gotten pretty stale here, also. We much prefer good Thai or Malaysian cooking. Still, can't get any really good BBQ (real BBQ, Texas style, or even Carolina Pull'd Pork) in California...

[fridayeyes]

I know of a pulled pork place in the Long Beach area, plus a KC style place with live blues here in Santa Barbara. The place in Long Beach was the real deal, too. Rivalled BBQ I had while living in Tennessee. That's pretty far away from you, but let me know if you want me to look them up for you.

 

Oh - there are some hole in the wall joints in Richmond, too. The neighborhood is a bit seedy, but the food smells right.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[ekerr19]

Chinese cuisine has gotten pretty stale here, also. We much prefer good Thai or Malaysian cooking. Still, can't get any really good BBQ (real BBQ, Texas style, or even Carolina Pull'd Pork) in California...

 

dave - We've converted over to Thai as well - we have quite a few great choices around here. Really good BBQ... well, it's hard to top what I make at home, but we do have a couple places on the edges of downtown that offer up some real southern style food and they are pretty good. Maybe not in the best part of town, but the food is worth the trip.

 

I envy you - you live in an area where there seem to be less in the form of chain restaurants, perhaps more in the way of unique offerings... I guess they are everywhere if you look for them, but California and Florida seem to be two places we always count on for good dining experiences.

[ekerr19]

EKerr, we have some pretty good Mexican restaurants here in South Florida. I don't go much anymore because it's like fire in my very soul, but it's awfully good!:D

 

Heather - Some of the best dining we've done has been in Florida! Love it and always look forward to finding new and different places to eat. The kids like the chains so we accomodate, but when we get a chance to head out on our own, DH & I are up for anything!

[Iggipolka]

Still, can't get any really good BBQ (real BBQ, Texas style, or even Carolina Pull'd Pork) in California...

 

Oh Dave..you gotta come on up to Oaktown sometime and I'll take you to some great BBQ in da Hood. *grin*

 

I used to live in Milpitas and there's a fantastic Thai place in the Ranch 99 Market strip-mall there. Mmm...now I'm hungry. It has to be lunch time now!

 

Anyone for sushi?

[Iggipolka]

EKerr, we have some pretty good Mexican restaurants here in South Florida.

 

Heather, I had the absolute BEST Cuban food in Ft. Lauderdale last April after my honeymoon cruise. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the place, but it was within walking distance of the "W" Hotel.

The wife and I had gotten off of the Zuiderdam that morning, crashed at the hotel for a few hours (I was so tired!) and then walked to the resturant. The cuban bread was out of this world and we had an amazing seafood (shrimp, lobster, squid, white fish in a spicy tomato sauce over rice) dish that still makes me drool just thinking about it.

The Bay Area has lots of ethnic resturants, but I have yet to find a Cuban one.

ok..now I'm REALLY hungry :D

[HeatherInFlorida]

Iggi, I'm wondering if it was a Don Ramon's. There are several around here and the food is absolutely scrumptious. We're going tonight for Cuban as a matter of fact. I just love the Cuban bread all smushed out, and the black beans with the rice. Yummy.

 

We have amazing Chinese food here, too. We have a wonderful restaurant called the "Singing Bamboo" ... it's a cut above your average Chinese restaurant. But even the takey outty Chinese places are tops!

 

I like certain Thai foods, but hate pai tai or whatever it's called. I had a delicious lemongrass chicken in Connecticut, but so far I've found nothing here I like Thai-wise.

 

But we have bumper to bumper restaurants down here and we can never decide where to go. We have the best rib place! Park Avenue BBQ ... the best! But I like my ribs dry. Hmmmmmm. Nope, not tonight. We did that last week.