Just of the Nieuw Amsterdam...and kinda disappointed

[joanna111]

Just spent 27 nights on the NA: 14 day R/T Barcelona followed by the Transatlantic. I'll post a review soon but I was disappointed in the food in the MDR. Dish after dish sounded good and looked good but was just flavorless. Had I not found the food in the Pinnacle and the Cannaletto to be very good/excellent I would have thought something had happened to my sense of taste!

 

In the past two years I've been on the Ryndam, the Noordam and two Royal Caribbean ships all of which had much better food. I don't know if I'll cruise HAL again.

 

Sorry to be so negative.

[sail7seas]

Sorry for your disappointment.

 

Did you hear others making similar comments?

 

[Jade13]

What about the rest of the cruise?

 

We were on Maasdam in May. We thought the food and service in the MDR was good but everything else about the trip was boring, lack of activities and entertainment.

[InTheWASide]

Flavorless how? Like lack of seasoning or spice (something that a little salt and pepper could fix)? Or something else?

[Tampa Girl]

One bad experience and you are thinking of giving up the entire line? It has been my experience that the quality of the food on the ships varies not only from ship to ship, but from cruise to cruise.

[iancal]

Our experience as well.

 

We have had very good food on HAL. And we have also had very mediocre-poor food on HAL. Same on other cruise lines.

 

We find that there is a great deal of inconsistency as cruise lines try various methods to reduce costs and staffing levels. HAL is no exception, indeed they may be the leader.

[GRACECRUISE]

We will be getting on the NA for 2 weeks on Dec 6. I hope we have a different experience. Normally we do this 2 weeks on the Eurodam but decided to change it up this year and try the NA. Two of my dads (He is 83) favorite things are Tamarind Lunch and Panini area. Heard they are both gone on NA. Have not told him, rather him be surprised and move on rather than know it up front. We will still enjoy the 3 specialty restaurants along with the main dining room (I hope).

[doublebzz]

Just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam TA as well and found the food in the MDR to be excellent, especially the fish dishes. Obviously, taste in food is a very subjective topic. My disappointment was the termination of lunches in the Tamerind. I'm sure this was a continuation of HAL's cost cutting policies which is turning HAL into a 2nd class line.

[ryndam]

We just returned from the Barcelona-FL TA crossing. I agree with the OP that overall, the food in the MDR and the Lido was "hotel-banquet-room" quality, geared to mass production of quantity over quality. Many dinner menus really looked like yesterday's left-overs. The addition of salt and pepper could not help the uninspired preparations. We returned many pastas that were unflavored, un-sauced and unseasoned. We returned many vegetables that were either over-cooked or drowning in oil or butter. We returned many desserts that were dry, flavorless and unappealing. We actually had a standing order of Sambal on our table every evening to add some flavor to soups, salads, pastas and entrees. We relied on the advice from our waiter what to order, and even he had difficulties some evenings not being able to offer a suggestion other than, "the always-available steak is a good choice tonight". Overall, the food was adequate, but it could best be described as unmemorable "chain-restaurant" quality and presentation.

 

That said, we did find that the steaks were uniformly well prepared in the MDR, the Pinnacle Grill and in Tamarand. The made-to-order burgers at the Dive-In were consistently tasty, as were the made-to-order pizzas. The special Indonesian-themed lunch in the dining room was outstanding, however, when we asked if any of the items served during that lunch could be requested at a subsequent dinner, the answer was a fast and definite "no". We had dinner in Tamarind twice, and in our opinion, that had the tastiest, most unique and satisfying food onboard. Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill was a nice change because of the room's atmosphere and service, but our experience in the Grill on other HAL ships was not matched on this voyage. Other than the steaks, the rest of the offerings were not even equal to a land-based, second tier, steakhouse chain in terms of flavor, presentation and quality of products offered. We had been disappointed with Caneletto on other voyages, so we did not even bother to experiment on this trip. Lunch is no longer offered in Tamarind and there is only a selection of pre-made, pre-packaged sandwiches available in the Lido.

 

Service throughout the ship was outstanding and flawless. All staff are so friendly and eager to please. No complaints at all.

 

Entertainment was varied, but mostly unmemorable. We would have enjoyed listening to the BB King Band in the Queens Lounge, but the sound system was so over amplified, it was painful to the ears even walking past the lounge. Likewise the Piano Bar. The musician appeared talented, but he was so over amplified, we could not even hear the waiters to order anything. Needless to say, we never returned to either venue.

 

During the day, recorded music was played at the pool area. The sound level was keep to a "background music only", included light jazz, old standards, light pop, light rock-n-roll and was a pleasant background "white noise".

 

There were two guest enlightenment lecturers onboard that provided a couple of hours of diversion in the mornings. In our opinion, at least half of the daily "activities" involved events primarily structured to generate income (art auctions, shop sales, supplemental drinking rounds, casino games, spa treatments, photo sessions).

 

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we would rate this trip a "6". It was a fair value for what we paid. We rested, caught up on reading and movies, enjoyed walking laps around the deck, laps in the pool, and the ports in Spain were interesting. Was it the best cruise ever? No, it wasn't. Nor was it the worst ever. It fell in the middle of the pack, which in our opinion, is where HAL has settled itself to be. Not the best, not the worst, just average.

 

Rob

[doublebzz]

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we would rate this trip a "6". It was a fair value for what we paid. We rested, caught up on reading and movies, enjoyed walking laps around the deck, laps in the pool, and the ports in Spain were interesting. Was it the best cruise ever? No, it wasn't. Nor was it the worst ever. It fell in the middle of the pack, which in our opinion, is where HAL has settled itself to be. Not the best, not the worst, just average.

 

Rob

 

Although, as I indicated in my previous post, I enjoyed the MDR food, I agree 100% with your summary. The two lecturers were not the most interesting but I would have attended had they not be scheduled first thing in the morning leaving the whole afternoon virtually void of activity. Ditto that the piano player was over-amplified drowning out the patrons who wanted to sing along, which I thought was one of the main concepts of a piano bar. All in all, I thought the entertainment was atrocious. This was my 4th Transatlantic on the NA and, by far, the least satisfying.

[taxmantoo]

Likewise the Piano Bar. The musician appeared talented, but he was so over amplified, we could not even hear the waiters to order anything. Needless to say, we never returned to either venue.

 

Ditto that the piano player was over-amplified drowning out the patrons who wanted to sing along, which I thought was one of the main concepts of a piano bar.

 

The name of the Piano Bar entertainer would be helpful.

[mame42]

Just spent 27 nights on the NA: 14 day R/T Barcelona followed by the Transatlantic. I'll post a review soon but I was disappointed in the food in the MDR. Dish after dish sounded good and looked good but was just flavorless. Had I not found the food in the Pinnacle and the Cannaletto to be very good/excellent I would have thought something had happened to my sense of taste!

 

In the past two years I've been on the Ryndam, the Noordam and two Royal Caribbean ships all of which had much better food. I don't know if I'll cruise HAL again.

 

Sorry to be so negative.

 

My TA just completed a N. A. cruise. Although she is one of HAL's "preferred travel partners", she cruised as an ordinary passenger on this sailing. Admittedly, we are from southern Louisiana, but she had the same comments about the MDR.

[joanna111]

I did hear similar comments but I didn't bring it up at dinner so what I heard was random. Some of the flavor issue was in the main ingredients. The meats didn't have much natural taste. This is especially true of the pork. The lamb was the best of the meats. The fruit soups were as good as usual although they were never cold enough. A few of the main dishes seemed oversalted. Midway through the cruise the menu itself changed from the big leather folder to (can I be remembering this right?) a piece of manila-type cardboard.

 

We don't usually participate in a lot of activites. In port we have long, active days off the ship and then generally just relax and have dinner. My favorite thing about the sea days is just enjoying the ambiance. So for both in port and at sea days dinner is (or should be) a highlight.

 

But I guess it is more than just the food.

 

The new design of the Explorers Cafe right by the Crows nest meant that the quiet of the Explorers Cafe was often disturbed by activities in the Crows Nest. One of my favorite memories from the Noordam Transatlantic was being dressed in formal clothes and listening to the Adagio Strings after dinner. On this cruise the Adagio Strings were not very good either.

 

I also missed the sail-away cookouts on the aft deck. I knew that the Dessert Extravaganza was gone (and I can't condone that kind of waste of food) but I was surprised that NOTHING replaced it. I expected a toned down version with a few desserts and some fruit carvings and ice sculptures. This is only my second transatlantic but on the last one they left a giant atlas open on a table in the Explorers Cafe and everyday at a specified time a Navigation Officer would plot the route by hand and explain it.

 

I feel uncomfortable complaining so much but that is the purpose of this post!

[pizzadog]

Our experience as well.

 

We have had very good food on HAL. And we have also had very mediocre-poor food on HAL. Same on other cruise lines.

 

We find that there is a great deal of inconsistency as cruise lines try various methods to reduce costs and staffing levels. HAL is no exception, indeed they may be the leader.

 

We were on a 19 day Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale in October and we too noticed a dramatic reduction in quality of the DR food. We were on the Oosterdam. The menus were not what we had seen on our previous cruises. The "always available" steaks were often tough and tasteless. We ordered the chicken pot pie one night and it was awful. The puffed pastry crust had collapsed in on the very runny filling and was soggy. Crusted filet of sole was flabby. We also noticed that the plating was haphazard - at times looking like it had been just tossed onto the plate. Salads were good, soups as well. Desserts were very very small. Service was a little inconsistent for open dining, not the fault of the servers, just a result of cut backs.

 

We did do the pinnacle grill and Le Cirque. Both were exceptionally good. Lido was ok, typical buffet but lots of choices. Also enjoyed the Cannaletto and the Dive In.

 

We're hoping this was just an anomaly and not fleet wide.

[ski ww]

Sorry to hear about the poor quality of the food in the MDR. Hope it's just a one of. We did the Prinsendam TA last fall and the food was great. I had the fish every night and never any thing to complain about. I love sea food and eat lots of it. Hope every thing will be alright for our up coming cruise.

Allan

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

Thank you for your opinions of the main dining room food.

[RuthC]

OP, I totally and absolutely agree with you about the food at dinner in the main dining room on your recent cruise.

 

I was on for those same 27 days, plus the 12 days before you boarded. Many nights I could find nothing appealing on the menu, and defaulted to the "always available" steak. It was, at best, all right (but since when does steak come with gravy?). More often than not there was one suitable choice on the menu.

 

I found the beef to be of very poor quality. I don't expect prime beef in the dining room anymore, but it should be at least choice. I think this beef was no better than "good", and perhaps not even that high a grade.

There was nothing that could be done to improve what is lacking in the provisions in the first place.

 

Although not a salmon lover, I did have it once, and it was all right. The swordfish was delicious.

 

Many nights there was nothing appealing on the dessert menu, either. :eek: The cakes were dry---even a scoop of ice cream didn't save them. The warm flourless chocolate cake remains HAL's best dessert for this chocolate lover.

Ice cream itself became the default dessert.

 

Most of us agree that HAL food has gone downhill over the last several years.

This time it wasn't even that good.

[OBX-Cruisers]

Wife and I were on the NA for the 20 day TA and we both agree that HAL has made some definite changes in food choices and quality that are not for the better. While discussions of food are VERY subjective, in a first ever on a HAL ship I had to send back the beef short ribs which in the past have always been one of our favorites. They were extremely tough. I usually order more than one lobster tail on HAL cruises but the quality of the lobster did not tempt me on this cruise and one was plenty. FINALLY, when I see RuthC complain about food on HAL I am really concerned about our plans to book a future cruise because HER opinion is one I trust from many many posts in the past.

 

The prime rib and lamb dishes were spectacularly good as always but the lamb shanks, another one of our favorites, have shrunk in size but thankfully not in flavor or preparation.

I noticed that unlike the past that shrimp cocktail and escargot are not offered every night and the latter was only available once in the DR when we dined there. HOWEVER, at the last part of the cruise we changed tables to eat with our trivia partners and found out that what you get in the DR is now more dependent than ever on who you have as a waiter!!! Now we got shrimp cocktail whenever we wanted it.

 

It is sad to say but we thought that the selection of different items for dinner in the Lido was often superior to what was on the menu in the main DR. Often the quality in the Lido was similar to the DR but without the delay for the waiter to get the food.

 

The bunching and overlapping of activities in the mornings was particularly noticeable in the long TA leg from Cadiz to FLL. We constantly wondered why they were neglecting the afternoons on this trip so that there were few choices after 2 PM.

 

Finally, we will totally agree with overamplification of Damian the singer/pianist in the piano bar particularly during the last days of the cruise when we did not even try to enter the room in contrast to volume when we had listened to him earlier in the cruise. Damian has a nice voice and good repertoire but the volume became excessive and unnecessary and plain irritating. Overamplification is a favorite with HAL and particularly noticeable in the main show room. HAL appear to prefer that cruisers attend the shows with earplugs to reduce sound to bearable levels.

 

Overall we had a good cruise until the last portion when our cabin temperature became uncontrollable and very hot particularly on packing day......but that is another thread and another story on another part of CC.

 

Special kudos and thanks to Cruise Director Mario who was/is among the best we have ever had on a cruise and showed spectacular energy and stamina.

Edited November 19, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers

[ryndam]

Having sailed 400+ days on HAL over many years, (and my screen name indicates my affection for HAL), the one feature that was most rewarding about HAL was consistency of product (service, food, entertainment, activities, housekeeping, maintenance) across the entire fleet. Unfortunately, the only consistency these days appears to be inconsistency. Each voyage, including some on the same ship, is an adventure of surprises. There appears to be an underlying general attitude of sloppiness and mediocrity. A mission statement that says being "average" is OK.

 

As noted in an earlier post, the plating of food is sloppy. The HAL plate logo may appear in any location when served. The arrangement of ingredients on the plate is inconsistent. Portion sizes are inconsistent.

 

Linens are inconsistent. Many days we had three different "editions" of bath towels all stacked on each other; none matched. We had pillow cases that did not match the linen of the sheets.

 

Not one of our specialty restaurant invitations were addressed to us correctly. Either they had an incorrect guest name, or an incorrect number of guests, or an incorrect stateroom. It's just sloppy and shows a lack of care.

 

For many years, HAL was our "go-to" first choice cruise line. We have not abandoned HAL, and will continue to sail HAL, but there are so many other alternatives, HAL has, quite sadly, become 4th or 5th on the list when we look for cruise-based vacations.

 

Rob

[rkacruiser]

Off the Statendam on October 22nd after 30 days of excellent/very good service, excellent food in all dining venues, DR menus offering items I have never before seen on a HAL menu, food taste, temperature, presentation, quality were all excellent, entertainment was excellent/very good with the cast shows the weakest, two sets of enrichment speakers--one set better than the other one in my opinion, but others on the cruise would disagree with me. Short summary: this cruise ranks among my top 3.

 

My personal opinion as to why there are so many differences in what we experience on HAL anymore has to do with whom the Senior Officers/ Officials are: Captain, Hotel Director, Executive Chef, Bar Manager, maybe even the Cruise Director, etc. Our CD on the Statendam was the same man who was on the Noordam last January and did what I thought was a woeful job. On the Statendam, his team and he did a great job! (Why? I think the different Hotel Director made the difference in what was expected.) Just my unscientific, but I think a somewhat "experienced" opinion.

[OBX-Cruisers]

One addition on my wife's behalf that exceeded my available edit time and I forgot previously:

 

My wife recalls her roast beef one night that came with Yorkshire pudding, a small roasted potato and broccoli. The beef could not be cut with the knife provided, the broccoli was cooked to a mushy green mass, the potato was shriveled and the Yorkshire pudding was "tough as leather" ...........on top of it all the gravy was so salty as to be totally inedible. She considers the meal worse than "leftovers heated in a microwave".

The experience was so unsatisfying because there was nothing else on the menu that was appealing. A later trip to the Lido later offered better quality and selection.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers

[rkacruiser]

Having sailed 400+ days on HAL over many years, (and my screen name indicates my affection for HAL), the one feature that was most rewarding about HAL was consistency of product (service, food, entertainment, activities, housekeeping, maintenance) across the entire fleet. Unfortunately, the only consistency these days appears to be inconsistency. Each voyage, including some on the same ship, is an adventure of surprises. There appears to be an underlying general attitude of sloppiness and mediocrity. A mission statement that says being "average" is OK.

 

As noted in an earlier post, the plating of food is sloppy. The HAL plate logo may appear in any location when served. The arrangement of ingredients on the plate is inconsistent. Portion sizes are inconsistent.

 

Linens are inconsistent. Many days we had three different "editions" of bath towels all stacked on each other; none matched. We had pillow cases that did not match the linen of the sheets.

 

Not one of our specialty restaurant invitations were addressed to us correctly. Either they had an incorrect guest name, or an incorrect number of guests, or an incorrect stateroom. It's just sloppy and shows a lack of care.

 

For many years, HAL was our "go-to" first choice cruise line. We have not abandoned HAL, and will continue to sail HAL, but there are so many other alternatives, HAL has, quite sadly, become 4th or 5th on the list when we look for cruise-based vacations.

 

Rob

 

Just a quick response to a couple of your observations:

 

When my DR Stewards set a plate before us, if the HAL logo was not at the top of the plate, the plate was turned until it was.

 

One invitation to a Mariner event had the wrong date printed on it. Later that evening, a note of apology was in my mailbox containing the proper date.

 

Add to my list of Senior Officials who make a difference in providing a quality cruise experience: the Dining Room Manager. The Statendam's was seen even in the Lido supervising and his Assistants were there as well.

 

Agree that consistency of experience has become a crapshoot and I am hopeful that a new team in Seattle as well as in Miami at Headquarters will make a difference.

[CowPrincess]

I'm very sorry to read of your disappointment with the food. We've had similar experiences. I agree with other posters who have commented on how inconsistent things are from ship to ship, and even from one sailing to the next.

[flgolf]

We were also on this cruise and have to agree with the OP. This was probably the worst food I have ever had on over 25 cruises with HAL. I ordered a rack of veal one night and is actually arrived raw and cold tahe is just plain sloppy.

As always the entire staff was wonderful. I just find it sad that that HAL is no longer the line it used to be.

[Krazy Kruizers]

For the last couple of years we have been only eating in the Pinnacle and those ships that have the Tamarind.

I just read many of these reports to my DH and he had me book more Pinnacle dinners for a cruise we have in 2016.