Just of the Nieuw Amsterdam...and kinda disappointed

[olson99]

I agree with the food comments, however we stayed on for the Caribbean and the menu has changed totally. Better choices, hot food hot - cold food cold. Better tasting. So maybe it is provisions from Europe

[cruz chic]

Makai 7; Re the "cold plague"

Wife had it too and now I have it after returning to the US. In our case we got on in Rome so I stopped in "Pharmacia" in Florence and communicated what I needed to the pharmacist by pointing to wife and coughing a few times while holding my throat..(wife thought I was nuts, BUT).......we got something for 7Euros not sold in the US and it helped.

I gotta study my Italian more perhaps

 

RE the "Asian options"...........shuffle to the end of the line where the oriental seasonings are located and fix up the bland dishes by adding a bit of fish sauce, low sodium soy sauce and/or a drop or two of the spicy condiments that are located at the end............does wonders.

I'm curious if you had any sambel chili sauce on your cruise. I was on the eurodam and ate at the Asian station a fair amount. I asked for sambel and he pointed to the tray but it was not there. He got it for me which usually took about 5 minutes. After that he would put it back behind the counter. Every time I wanted it we'd go thru this exercise all over again :rolleyes:. Sometimes I'd ask for it in the MDR and it was difficult again. When I asked what the problem was the waiter told me it doesn't get requested much so they have to hunt it down. It never used to be an issue.

[boom_boom]

It's not just the NA. We were on Zuiderdam for a week between Athens and Rome. The MDR was devoid of good, well cooked, well seasoned food. Did the same cruise just two years ago on the Ryndam and the food was much better. Only the PC saved the trip and we could only get 2 dinners there. Face it, HAL, like all the mass lines has dumbed down everything about the cruise experience. From the moment you get onboard untl you leave, it isn't the same quality of experience those of us who have been crusing for 15+ plus years remember. The people still work hard, do their best, but they can't overcome the cost-cutting.

Will I cruise HAL again? Probably. As I said in m post-cruise survey, it is still a good experience, not as good as it once was, but still way better than not taking a cruise.

[OBX-Cruisers]

We got off too early Paula........you and Glen are cruising wonders..!!!

 

I agree with the food comments, however we stayed on for the Caribbean and the menu has changed totally. Better choices, hot food hot - cold food cold. Better tasting. So maybe it is provisions from Europe

[ryndam]

I'm curious if you had any sambel chili sauce on your cruise. I was on the eurodam and ate at the Asian station a fair amount. I asked for sambel and he pointed to the tray but it was not there. He got it for me which usually took about 5 minutes. After that he would put it back behind the counter. Every time I wanted it we'd go thru this exercise all over again :rolleyes:. Sometimes I'd ask for it in the MDR and it was difficult again. When I asked what the problem was the waiter told me it doesn't get requested much so they have to hunt it down. It never used to be an issue.

 

We had a standing order in the MDR at dinner to have Sambal on the table. The first evening, the head waiter had to track down a jar. The next two nights, they brought the whole jar without asking. Subsequently, there was a small bowl of Sambal waiting on the table every evening when we arrived.

 

There were several jars of Sambal at the end of the Asian station at lunch in the Lido. Sambal Olek, Sambal Bajak, Sambal Badjak and a couple of others who's names I don't recall.

 

Rob

Edited November 20, 2015 by ryndam

[Sir PMP]

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.

 

Who was the chef?

[olson99]

When I don't find something I want on the dessert menu I will frequently order the fruit soup from the starter menu. Our waiter suggested adding a scoop of ice cream to it - yum! This allows me to have the onion soup as a starter and not miss out on the fruit soup.:)

 

What a great idea

[Sir PMP]

Bottom line:

 

The bigger the ship, the lesser you get. Good luck on the Koningsdam

[rkacruiser]

Steaks served in the Statendam's MDR also had a brown gravy with the steak, usually on top of part of the meat. Someone on board said "it was a European thing". I rather doubt that.

[RMLincoln]

We were on NA late September into October, 12 nights, Venice R/T to ports in Greece and Turkey. I was not overly impressed with NA but there were some things we liked: The made-to-order pizza was very nice; the Asian dishes were good but not very varied; the made to request salads were good too even though they were usually a bit too generous and more than I wanted to eat.

 

We ate all dinners in the MDR. The first night the prime rib was very good as we expected. It was also offered two other nights and those were poor and worse. Maybe it's the sourcing but I ate more fish and chicken on this cruise which I thought were consistently good. The shrimp cocktails were excellent, sweet and generous. The lobster and fillet was still good even though it can be hit or miss.

 

Our fall-back meal was the salmon and it was reliably enjoyable.

 

The vegetables served with the main dishes in the MDR were sparse so I requested a side dish of vegetables. I tried them twice and gave up. They were tasteless. DH told the dining captain who asked about our meals that someone needs to know what a carrot is supposed to taste like because what they are serving has no flavor. Some of the vegetables were overcooked, some were undercooked but all seemed tasteless... after a couple of dinners I gave up and relied on the Lido lunch selections to get my vegetables.

 

The lamb was thankfully excellent and I enjoyed the chicken dishes, I think they marinate the meat. The hot soups I found too salty and I avoided them. The chilled soups were very good as usual... probably because of the cream!

 

As for desserts, I have punted on most of the desserts and now usually ask for ice cream or sorbet. I've just learned that the desserts look better than they taste. There were a couple of pleasant surprises which I searched out in the Lido.

 

Even though it was a short cruise I still gained weight and we had a good cruise but the food is not what it used to be. Oh well. And in my opinion it's not Gala because of the menus. We dressed nicely but not exactly formal... I think those days are behind us, especially on a complex journey with very limited luggage (limited to what I can carry!)

 

I used ear plugs in the show lounge. One night we had a very entertaining violinist with a broad repertoire and a fair dose of fun showmanship but I felt assaulted by the decibel level. Not the only place on the ship where it was too loud. Do they think we are all deaf? I almost wished I had hearing aids so I could turn them off!

 

I did share these comments in the survey.... do you think they care?

 

We returned from our 11 week Europe travels on the NCL Jade, Barcelona to Houston. It was different but very enjoyable, much better than I expected. I'll write a review soon but still getting resettled. We have no cruises book or even planned and can't say who our next travel plan will be with but I'm confident that we will find an enjoyable option, HAL or other.

 

m--

[pris993]

We did a TA on the Nieuw Amsterdam a year or so ago, just got off a 14 day on the Queen Mary 2, booked on the Grand Princess for New Years ... so we cruise a variety of lines. Have found food on all lines not what it use to be. We typically special order off menu... since we are not impressed with the menu most evenings. We like fish, pan fried basically without sauces, a good steak, veal chop... if we find something we like we repeat it.

[sammiedawg]

Food is such an important element on any cruise or vacation. Our last three cruises on HAL featured food that was middlin in quality but a few things served to us were so gross and inedible.

I feel sorry for the crew cooking and serving this food.

 

I would be sick to my stomach if anyone served me turkey with beef gravy.

 

My guess is the steak was served with gravy trying to hide a bad taste, possibly ? bad meat. Fast food operations and cheap chains use this trick, they smother beef in sauces,gravy, onions, garlic. I would never eat anything doused with inappropriate gravy or sauce, what are they covering up.

 

We've read ship officers do not want to meet with passengers because of all the maintenance complaints. Wonder how many food complaints they get.

 

I understand product loyalty to a point but I do not understand blind loyalty when the product is this bad. Especially stuck at sea on a transatlantic with no other options.

Edited November 21, 2015 by sammiedawg

[cruz chic]

Food is such an important element on any cruise or vacation. Our last three cruises on HAL featured food that was middlin in quality but a few things served to us were so gross and inedible.

I feel sorry for the crew cooking and serving this food.

 

I would be sick to my stomach if anyone served me turkey with beef gravy.

 

My guess is the steak was served with gravy trying to hide a bad taste, possibly ? bad meat. Fast food operations and cheap chains use this trick, they smother beef in sauces,gravy, onions, garlic. I would never eat anything doused with inappropriate gravy or sauce, what are they covering up.

 

We've read ship officers do not want to meet with passengers because of all the maintenance complaints. Wonder how many food complaints they get.

 

I understand product loyalty to a point but I do not understand blind loyalty when the product is this bad. Especially stuck at sea on a transatlantic with no other options.

I'm the first one to be critical of Hal because I'm very honest. Do you seriously believe they would serve food that has gone bad? While beef gravy on turkey wouldn't be my first choice would it seriously make you sick to your stomach? Seems like a lot of fuss about very little I'm sorry to say.

[albingirl]

I don't think people would get sick on Holland because of bad meat. Maybe because passengers don't always wash their hands and so forth, but I'm pretty certain that food is given the precautions needed. It's never been that bad for us. Actually, on some ships, it's been stellar!

[OBX-Cruisers]

RMLincoln re your comment on necessity of earplugs to tolerate show performances.

 

You asked "do you think they care"...............I really think they do not care in the least and will turn up the volume as loud as possible to hide how bad the performers really are.

 

Complaining to HAL about volume in the BB King Blues performance in the Queens Room, the Piano player or the main show room is as effective as shouting obscenities off the Verandah into the wind............THEY DON'T CARE about our hearing only their profits

[cruz chic]

RMLincoln re your comment on necessity of earplugs to tolerate show performances.

 

You asked "do you think they care"...............I really think they do not care in the least and will turn up the volume as loud as possible to hide how bad the performers really are.

 

Complaining to HAL about volume in the BB King Blues performance in the Queens Room, the Piano player or the main show room is as effective as shouting obscenities off the Verandah into the wind............THEY DON'T CARE about our hearing only their profits

 

I've heard many complaints about the loudness of Bb king but I've yet to experience it. I can still have a conversation with someone so it hasn't been that loud. I've been to parties in Calgary where the floor was literally vibrating from the noise. Forget about talking to anyone.

[dakrewser]

RMLincoln re your comment on necessity of earplugs to tolerate show performances.

 

You asked "do you think they care"...............I really think they do not care in the least and will turn up the volume as loud as possible to hide how bad the performers really are.

 

Complaining to HAL about volume in the BB King Blues performance in the Queens Room, the Piano player or the main show room is as effective as shouting obscenities off the Verandah into the wind............THEY DON'T CARE about our hearing only their profits

 

If it's that bad, why do we hear that the BB King shows are packed at every performance?

[3rdGenCunarder]

If it's that bad, why do we hear that the BB King shows are packed at every performance?

 

Because there are a lot of people who don't know that Medicare won't pay for hearing aids?

 

A lot of people like loud. It's exciting! Woo hoo! Makes ya wanna get up and dance! Not me, it makes me want to run away. My hearing is good and I don't want to abuse that gift.

 

I hate overamplified music. On Maasdam a few years ago, they amplified the piano in the showroom so much that the sound was distorted. They made a grand piano sound tinny, like a kid's toy piano. I wouldn't believe that was possible, but I heard it. Not for long, though. I walked out and sought refuge in the Ocean Bar, where the Neptunes understood how to balance a sound system at a comfortable level.

[RMLincoln]

If it's that bad, why do we hear that the BB King shows are packed at every performance?

 

We tried the BB King show in the Queen's lounge. It was not packed. It was not very enjoyable to me and I am a fan of blues, R&B and jazz.

 

The lounge is small with a low ceiling so blowing horns (trumpet, trombone) into the microphones to be overamplified in a room that's only 50 feet deep seemed absurd. We could not carry on a conversation. We stayed for 3 numbers and left, feeling driven out by the music.

 

I understand that on Koningsdam there will be a Lincoln Center strings ensemble. I wonder if they will overamplify that too.

 

The Adagio strings used to be one of our favorite before dinner and/or after dinner stops. The quartets were cut to trios some years ago and and now to duos on our last couple of HAL cruises. This particular duo was so uninspired and dirge-like that I didn't stay more than 15 minutes. DH gave them a second and a third chance but he was very generous. They speak almost no English so you can't understand what they say they are playing, you can't interact with them, you can't ask for requests and they can't even seem to play together. Oh for the days of Dick Rosario and the Rosario Strings.... days gone by. m--

Edited November 21, 2015 by RMLincoln

[doublebzz]

I understand that food quality is a very subjective subject. As I previously stated, I thought the meals in the MDR were, by and large, excellent, particularly when recognizing its being catered to 2,000 guests. However, I can appreciate the views of some folks who thought otherwise. But to describe the meals as a complete abomination that would deter folks from sailing on HAL is a stretch in my view. I took 3 meals in the MDR during most of the TA segment of the cruise and queried my dining partners about their view of the food. I don't recall one person describing the food as uneatable as mentioned in this thread. If folks believe the quality of the food is superior on RCL, NCL, Celebrity, Princess, et al, they are in for a rude awakening. Yes, the food is better on Oceania and Seabourn but the fare is 2 to 3 times higher than comparable cabins on HAL. You get what you pay for.

 

I am not a HAL cheerleader but I wanted to put the food quality discussion in perspective. No question that the overall quality of HAL cruises has degraded significantly over the past 10-15 years to the point that I wouldn't hesitate to sail on other cruise lines but that decision wouldn't be based primarily on the food.

[Tarpeian Rock]

I understand that food quality is a very subjective subject. As I previously stated, I thought the meals in the MDR were, by and large, excellent, particularly when recognizing its being catered to 2,000 guests. However, I can appreciate the views of some folks who thought otherwise. But to describe the meals as a complete abomination that would deter folks from sailing on HAL is a stretch in my view. I took 3 meals in the MDR during most of the TA segment of the cruise and queried my dining partners about their view of the food. I don't recall one person describing the food as uneatable as mentioned in this thread. If folks believe the quality of the food is superior on RCL, NCL, Celebrity, Princess, et al, they are in for a rude awakening. Yes, the food is better on Oceania and Seabourn but the fare is 2 to 3 times higher than comparable cabins on HAL. You get what you pay for.

 

I am not a HAL cheerleader but I wanted to put the food quality discussion in perspective. No question that the overall quality of HAL cruises has degraded significantly over the past 10-15 years to the point that I wouldn't hesitate to sail on other cruise lines but that decision wouldn't be based primarily on the food.

 

 

 

You're right about several things. Our last HAL experience was Zuiderdam in 2012, where several "abominable" meals plus service and maintenance issues alienated us from HAL. We have largely - except for specialty destinations - gone over to Oceania and loved it, and of course paid the price. We did do Grand Princess in 2013 to Hawaii and thought their MDR food and service was miles above HAL. And we were on Grand Princess again this year as part of Alaska land-sea cruise -- and the experience was totally different. MDR food was terrible, service poor, such that we gave the MDR two shots and then took the rest of our meals at either Alfredo's their pizza restaurant, the International Café or Horizons, their buffet which we haven't particularly liked either time but we weren't going to go a week with just pizza and sandwiches. We actually found ourselves skipping meals because we didn't want to deal with either the food in the MDR or the crowds in the other venues. Not good, and any chance Carnival Corp could lure us back is pretty much gone. It would just seem that the heavy hand of Carnival Corp is spreading food cuts across more than just HAL. That said, from posts here, HAL does seem to be bearing the brunt. But look on the bright side: there's a new logo!

[maimeo]

Um...it is a hotel banquet room

[OBX-Cruisers]

You summed up our impression of the BB King Blues venue that we experienced on the recent TA on the Nieuw Amsterdam very accurately. We found that the performance was much better in the hall at least 30-40 feet away from the entrance to the Queens lounge.

 

NO AMPLIFICATION should be required for this band is such a small room with a low ceiling. WHAT are they thinking?.....or not

 

We tried the BB King show in the Queen's lounge. It was not packed. It was not very enjoyable to me and I am a fan of blues, R&B and jazz.

 

The lounge is small with a low ceiling so blowing horns (trumpet, trombone) into the microphones to be overamplified in a room that's only 50 feet deep seemed absurd. We could not carry on a conversation. We stayed for 3 numbers and left, feeling driven out by the music.

 

I understand that on Koningsdam there will be a Lincoln Center strings ensemble. I wonder if they will overamplify that too.

 

The Adagio strings used to be one of our favorite before dinner and/or after dinner stops. The quartets were cut to trios some years ago and and now to duos on our last couple of HAL cruises. This particular duo was so uninspired and dirge-like that I didn't stay more than 15 minutes. DH gave them a second and a third chance but he was very generous. They speak almost no English so you can't understand what they say they are playing, you can't interact with them, you can't ask for requests and they can't even seem to play together. Oh for the days of Dick Rosario and the Rosario Strings.... days gone by. m--

[iancal]

There is one constant with HAL these days.....inconsistency.

 

It is a product of budget cuts. Other cruise lines have the same issue to varying degrees.

 

I believe that it is possible, and even probable, to have an excellent HAL cruise one month and a substandard one the next month. Does not even matter if it is the same ship. Food, service, entertainment, maintenance on HAL is inconsistent. Cheerleaders may not like to admit it or be less critical since they seem so emotionally tied to this Carnival Corp subsidiary.

 

The hallmark of a mass market brand, such as HAL, is the ability of customers to know what to expect...just like one does at McDonalds, Hilton, Marriott, Accor, and other chains. Consistency in all areas. This is no longer true on HAL and I believe that their business will suffer as a result.

Edited November 21, 2015 by iancal

[OBX-Cruisers]

FIRST AND FOREMOST: The crew in the Lido were exceptional compared to our experiences on recent cruises on other lines. They were very attentive to filling drink glasses and clearing dishes of tables and were happy to get whatever you needed. In a close tie would be the cabin attendants. HAL has special people on their ships and I hope they realize that this is their primary asset.

 

Filet mignon and lamb in the Pinnacle were exceptional. Although this is an extra pay restaurant, the quality of food and the additional cost relative to similar restaurants on other cruise lines makes this an extremely good deal and special experience.

 

Mario the cruise director made the cruise enjoyable and a great experience. His sense of humor and inexhaustible energy was inspiring.

 

Specialty performers were good overall and made going to the theater worthwhile.

 

Food selection in the Lido was excellent; quality overall was good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Made to order salads were exceptional and the Oriental food good and flavor/spiciness could be enhanced with a nice selection of oriental condiments available near the food station. No one has mentioned the surprising seafood night in the lido!! WOW, ice boats filled and refilled with JUMBO shrimp, bowls of small clams and mussels, seafood salads, several types of marinated herring and smoked fish.......................WHAT A WONDERFUL unannounced surprise the night when we decided to eat there instead of the MDR.

 

I was surprised to find that the internet speed was good and better than most ships I have been on. No a la carte per minute service available however.

 

Cleanliness of the ship decks, public areas, restrooms and staterooms was excellent.

 

So despite personal issues with food quality/selection in the MDR, cabin temperatures, disembarkment chaos, our 20 days on the NA were wonderful overall and the irritations relatively minor compared to all the good times. For things I mentioned as irritations in previous posts........we just didn't participate in those again and did our own thing.

 

IT'S ALL RELATIVE AND THIS CRUISE WAS RELATIVELY GOOD!!!!!..........who knew the Atlantic in November would be so hot?????

Edited November 21, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers