Food on Holland?

[scottcs@aol.com]

My wife and I were on the Rotterdam, San Diego to Peru for two weeks and the food was very good. Better than an earlier cruise I took on Royal Caribbean and much better than an even earlier cruise on Carnival. I'd say we are fairly discriminate when it comes to dining and I had no complaints. Wine list was good too. My wife is asian are prefers chinese cuisine however she enjoyed the western fare during the trip.

[ansjefitnes]

Some of you already mentioned it food is very subjective.

How good it is also varies by ship and most of all who is the Ex.Chef.

 

We did 2 cruises on the Rotterdam and while the food was good on the first one it was so much better on the second one.

The filet mignon in the diningroom was as good as in the PG.

Everything was seasoned right and several dished had the WOW factor.

 

Hopefully it will be the same on our next cruise, at least we have the same EX.Chef ( if that doesn't change you never know)

[generichandle]

I think Princess has the best variety in their buffet, but not particularly impressed with their main dining. OTOH, they have one place that outstrips any othe line I know for quick eating, the International Cafe.

 

Here are a few photos of the International Cafe on the Golden Princess, to give people an idea what it looks like. But, as others have told the OP, the Coral Princess does not have an IC:

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

[Tarpeian Rock]

I found the food on HAL to be very nice to look at, but largely tasteless. Hot food was never served any warmer than lukewarm, even when I returned dishes that were served cold and asked for a hot replacement. The beds were awesome.

 

 

 

We are just off Zuiderdam last Monday, and I will echo your comment. For the first time in 4 HAL cruises, the food was a disappointment. The MDR beef was thin, tough, and tasteless; actually, the burgers at the Terrace Grill were far tastier, juicier, and thicker than the "filets" in the MDR. The lobster tail on one of the formal nights was inedible bordering on sickening. I came to realize that in fact much of the food does in fact lack taste, and for the most part the beautiful-to-look-at desserts all taste alike: generically sweet. The butter wouldn't melt on my potato either. The sharp-pencil boys back in Seattle are starting to seriously degrade the HAL experience.

[startwin]

I think Princess has the best variety in their buffet, but not particularly impressed with their main dining. OTOH, they have one place that outstrips any othe line I know for quick eating, the International Cafe.

 

Here are a few photos of the International Cafe on the Golden Princess, to give people an idea what it looks like. But, as others have told the OP, the Coral Princess does not have an IC:

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Golden Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

 

 

Those photos look very much like the Cafe Promenades on the RCI ships.... and reminded me of how much I miss them:D

[Hlitner]

We are just off Zuiderdam last Monday, and I will echo your comment. For the first time in 4 HAL cruises, the food was a disappointment. The MDR beef was thin, tough, and tasteless; actually, the burgers at the Terrace Grill were far tastier, juicier, and thicker than the "filets" in the MDR. The lobster tail on one of the formal nights was inedible bordering on sickening. I came to realize that in fact much of the food does in fact lack taste, and for the most part the beautiful-to-look-at desserts all taste alike: generically sweet. The butter wouldn't melt on my potato either. The sharp-pencil boys back in Seattle are starting to seriously degrade the HAL experience.

 

Interesting. The first time we cruised on HA it was on the Maasdam (Baltic) when we were in our 40s. We thought the food was totally bland and when we happened to meet the Executive Chef (and he asked what we thought about the food) we told him that we thought most of the food. To our surprise he agreed and said that they tended to minimize spices and salt (these days they must dump tons of salt into everything) because many of their older passengers had dietary issues. It was more then 15 years until we ventured back on HA and most of our cruises have been on the Prinsendam where the food was pretty good. However, when we cruised on the Rotterdam we thought the food was nearly inedible. We will soon be spending 2 weeks on the Westerdam (it was very cheap) and will be curious to see if we gain weight or perhaps lose weight :)

 

Hank

[B Russo]

We go most of the time on HAL, Have always enjoyed it. Been on others and have never had a bad cruise , some are just better than others :). I do like HAL the best. Bill

[High Flyer]

I believe there is a direct correlation between the time I spend at cocktail hour and the quality of food, and I have had some wonderful meals..........................it think:confused: It seems the more time I give the galley, the better the food.

[jaguarstyper]

We are also 4 star Mariners on HAL (way, way past 200 days) and Elite on Princess.

 

We left Princess years ago because the food went down hill.

 

Our last few cruises on HAL we were not impressed with HAL's food. Just an example -- beef is of a lower quality and is tough.

 

Now remember -- food is subjective. What you like -- we may not like and vice versa.

 

I don't agree with you here on the beef part. In March, we took a 7 day and I had beef on several occassions and never I've found it to be tough. Not sure when your last cruise was, but ours in March, the food was of very good quality for a cruise line.

I'm going to have to side with Krazy Kruizers on this one. I love steak, but I rarely eat it anymore for health reasons. So, when I do go off the rails and eat a steak, I want it to be a great steak. Aside from the Pinnacle Grill, I have never had anything close to a great steak on HAL. In the Pinnacle Grill, you can get a good steak, but it falls short of being a great steak. I would equate HAL's MDR steaks to what you get at something like Lone Star, Long Horn or Texas Roadhouse. The Pinnacle Grill steaks are better and more similar to what you might get at Ruth's Chris, Morton's, Landry's or similar higher end chains.

 

When I want a great steak, I wait until I am in NYC and go to Peter Luger, in Vegas and go to Carnevino or in New Orleans and go to Emeril's Delmonico. HAL has nothing to offer that is anywhere close to these.

[NoobCruise]

We sailed once with HAL so I can only comment on one.

 

I have a bad back, had surgery and need a 2nd, so beds are very important to me. Our bed on the Westerdam was very comfortable. Almost as comfortable as home.

 

The food was pretty good. Keep in mind they're serving several thousand people 3 meals + snacks + late night buffet. The food is mass produced. I would say it is good quality buffet food, but definitely not the equivalent of an exclusive land restaurant. We found dishes we really liked and a few we didn't. We never went hungry, and I only had pizza once and no hamburgers. Some of the desserts were a little disappointing, but there were a few that were to die for.

[surfsidemary]

I'm going to have to side with Krazy Kruizers on this one. I love steak, but I rarely eat it anymore for health reasons. So, when I do go off the rails and eat a steak, I want it to be a great steak. Aside from the Pinnacle Grill, I have never had anything close to a great steak on HAL. In the Pinnacle Grill, you can get a good steak, but it falls short of being a great steak. I would equate HAL's MDR steaks to what you get at something like Lone Star, Long Horn or Texas Roadhouse. The Pinnacle Grill steaks are better and more similar to what you might get at Ruth's Chris, Morton's, Landry's or similar higher end chains.

 

I also agree with Krazy Kruizers. Just between 2010 and 2012 I have experienced a significant decline in the beef in particular. During 60+ days on the Prinsendam in 2012, the beef in particular was consistently awful. I have had much better steaks at Texas Roadhouse. That was not the case during previous HAL cruises. Everyone in my party agreed that it was not a matter of how it was cooked, but of the quality that was purchased. Very obvious cost cutting. The salad bar was absolutely pathetic - a few varieties of sad lettuce, some cucumbers and onions most of the time.

 

On the other hand, their beds are good and the Lido breakfasts did not appear to have declined in quality.

[geoherb]

I thought the food on the Sapphire Princess this summer was better than the food we've had on our HAL cruises. We had a terrific head waiter who gave our table a lot of attention because one of our tablemates was allergic to several things.

[Randyk47]

We've typically liked the food on Holland America and would have rated it as good to excellent up to a cruise on the Oosterdam about five or so years ago. That probably the first cruise where we thought the food was marginal, probably would say it was acceptable to good. Next cruise was the Volendam and the food was back to good to excellent so kind of figured the Oosterdam was the exception. Then comes the Veendam and the food was just plain poor to almost awful. The food quality did come back a bit on the Maasdam to at least good. Point is for us the food has lost that consistent quality we got used to over the years. Not very reassuring and hard to say what it might be on the next cruise.

[trixiee]

Is it just me, or has food quality been creeping steadily lower everywhere? Even at my local butcher the flavor of the beef is "blah" these days. I'm talking AAA Rib steaks... Rarely in the past 5 years have I left a restaurant and said that meal was "superb"! Maybe it's just me and my food-snob attitude?

 

Definitely a first- world problem for sure!

[vicocala]

Is it just me, or has food quality been creeping steadily lower everywhere? Even at my local butcher the flavor of the beef is "blah" these days. I'm talking AAA Rib steaks... Rarely in the past 5 years have I left a restaurant and said that meal was "superb"! Maybe it's just me and my food-snob attitude?

 

Definitely a first- world problem for sure!

 

I think in stores, the problem is there is not much marbling in the meat anymore, it is much leaner, which takes away from the flavor. Also, meat is butchered with far less fatty trim which does the same.

 

Thanks steroids and the AMA for beef flavor these days. Also, I saw the beef get worse from 2005-2008, so it could be those things I mentioned as well as thinner cuts with more gristle.:(

[jaguarstyper]

[quote name='trixiee']Is it just me, or has food quality been creeping steadily lower everywhere? Even at my local butcher the flavor of the beef is "blah" these days. I'm talking AAA Rib steaks... Rarely in the past 5 years have I left a restaurant and said that meal was "superb"! Maybe it's just me and my food-snob attitude?

Definitely a first- world problem for sure![/quote]I sometimes feel the same. I think there are many factors at play, though. I'm certain that as you age, you become more discerning, and your sense of good vs average gets sharper, so something that was wonderful 10 years ago may be just mediocre now. On the other hand, as you age, your physical senses diminish. Just like your eyesight and hearing starts to drop, so does your sense of smell and sense of taste. Therefore, you have less capacity to realize better flavors and aromas. And, I agree, I do thing the general quality of the food served in restaurants has declined over the years. Not to say you can't still get high quality, but its harder to find and has become quite expensive.

[lovetocruise2020]

HAL best main courses staples ( Prime Rib, Lobster, Crab Legs, Etc etc)
Carnival, best desserts...
HAL best alternative restaurant (tamarind),
Carnival, best included alternative, Guys burgers, NCL best included alternative Cadillac Diner (for the vast menu)
NCL most fun Teppanyaki, and yummy to boot!
RCCL best lunch (MDR) Brasserie
Princess, best suite breakfast
NCL best room service (suites)
HAL best standard room service policy (breakfast write in anything they have, dinner from MDR menu)
HAL best on ship cabana menu ( the cabana guys will bring you whatever you want as long as it is available)
Steakhouse? Mmm prob Cagney's on NCL
Buffet? Definitely princess.

Heard disney is great, we will have to see in 2015 lol

Last 4 years HAL has made a HUGE place in our hearts regardless of the amazing things u see above...

[All aboard??]

HAL beds are fantastic - although as a solo it did eventually get a little irritating waking up in the crevice that forms as the mattresses parted during the course of the night.

As for the food, bearing in mind that this is a subjective issue all I can say is that I ate specialty for 16 of the 19 nights on board as I found the food in the MDR and Buffet unseasoned, dull and boring.

[sapper1]

[quote name='KirkNC']First I can almost guarantee you will like the beds better. Food is very subjective but we have found it to range from good to occasionally excellent.[/QUOTE]

That description fits the food we were served on the NA this month. We were generally quite happy except for that watery "freshly squeezed" orange juice that would make Tang appealing.

[Debbie42467]

[quote name='mommy5']We recently took our 6th cruise with Princess on the Emerald and were very disappointed with the food and the bed was horrible. So many of the dishes were strange, and not very tasty to us. It is alot of money to spend and then eat pizza and hamburgers all week. I have heard the menu on Holland is more pleasing to the American palate....any input from Holland lovers??
Deb[/QUOTE]

I agree that Princess has the worst beds. Once my cabin steward gave me an egg crate mattress foam and that didn't really helped.

Debbie
:)

[mr green]

[quote name='surfergirle']HAL best main courses staples ( Prime Rib, Lobster, Crab Legs, Etc etc)


Last 4 years HAL has made a HUGE place in our hearts regardless of the amazing things u see above...[/quote]

When did you last have Crab Legs on HAL in the MDR?

john

[sapper1]

[quote name='mr green']When did you last have Crab Legs on HAL in the MDR?

john[/QUOTE]

About two weeks ago.

[Willem Ruys]

"...unfortunately the sweets ("kuah") were generally awful given an primarily Indonesia-staffed galley. ...The kitchen staff in ALL Holland America ships is Pilippino. It had in te initial swt\itch-over in 1973 from Dutch crew been Indoneisan but many of them had problems touching certain foods...BACON, HAM, PORK CHOPS spring instantly to mind. They were replaced very quickly by Pilippinos. Sorry, don't blame Indonesians for a disappointment with the kue.

[peaches from georgia]

[quote name='mr green']When did you last have Crab Legs on HAL in the MDR?

john[/QUOTE]

[quote name='sapper1']About two weeks ago.[/QUOTE]
Are they still King Crab Legs or are they Snow Crab Legs? Big difference.

[tip]

[quote name='generichandle']Princess...OTOH, they have one place that outstrips any othe line I know for quick eating, the International Cafe.../quote]


I am in full agreement with you on this one!:D