food in Buffet for HAL

[RuthC]

Ah, but who has the courage to stand up to the "HAL Haters"?

 

In reality, there are no cheerleaders just people with differing experiences.

Two excellent points deserve two thumbs up (if only I knew how to do that ;)).

[iancal]

What we did like very much on our recent Princess and RCI cruises was the fact that we did not have to bother with getting any beverages at the buffet.

 

The servers came around and asked us what we wanted to drink-multiple times in the case of coffee and tea, lemonade, ice tea. They also took orders (chargeable) for specialty coffees, wine, beer, etc. Nice touch and it was appreciated.

[Lizzie68]

What we did like very much on our recent Princess and RCI cruises was the fact that we did not have to bother with getting any beverages at the buffet.

 

The servers came around and asked us what we wanted to drink-multiple times in the case of coffee and tea, lemonade, ice tea. They also took orders (chargeable) for specialty coffees, wine, beer, etc. Nice touch and it was appreciated.

 

I really liked that on my RCI cruises. You could go to the drinks station if you wanted to but the servers were quicker!

[MOcruiserman]

HAL's buffet is very good, especially for breakfast items (love the pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice) and lunch (great sandwiches, Mexican buffet, Dive In sandwich bar). The best food we ate in our last HAL cruise, by far, was the Canaletto specialty restaurant. For $10 per person it's a terrific bargain.

Edited November 22, 2015 by cruisernewbieman

[WeLoveCruising]

Tip: I always tuck a small bottle of real maple syrup in my luggage...to enjoy at breakfast.

 

I should do this. I like to have waffles but can't stand the fake stuff.

 

Nice to read that the Prinsendam had the real stuff. It's not always available, even at some restaurants at home. And I live in the a northeast, not far from the Canadian border.....

[crusingcatlady]

On our recent Eurodam cruises, with the dining room closed nearly every day for lunch, we had to eat in the Lido -- it was okay.

We are not fans of HAL's pizza -- rarely even have a pizza at home.

There is also the Dive-In for lunch -- hambugers and hot dogs -- not fans of this either.

Breakfast you have the choice of the Lido or room service.

Lunch you have the choice of Pinnacle (fee $10 per person -- open some days), Lido which has salads, pasta, Asian food, sandwiches (premade or tell the person what you want made), room service, Dive-In, Slice (pizza).

Do you know if they still serve the salmon sandwich at the Dive In?

Edited November 23, 2015 by crusingcatlady

[seagarsmoker]

We just returned from the Eurodam and here is my assessment:

Breakfast is very good, wide assortment and most items were edible. Omelet station is still worth standing in line for. We are there 4 mornings, pinnacle grill 3 mornings.

Lunch is very good. Hit and miss on fish. Either very good or bad. We ate there 4 days and dive in twice.

Dinner was very good. Pasta station was my go to place. Usually about half the items that were on DR menu were served. We ate there 4 times, DR once, room service once, Dive in once.

 

In general, I dislike buffets and never eat at them, however I have no problem eating there on HAL.

[Durban]

Currently sailing on Westerdam, the food has been really good, improved from two years ago. Dinner has been excellent in MDR, Lido good, they have pre made sandwiches in bags ready to go at the deli. Lines have been to a minimum. Desserts tasty and rich without being sickly sweet. Tonight we are going to the Pinnacle and Canaletto Tomorrow. Will check Dive in for salmon sandwich (cruisingcatlady)

[travelnap]

I just got off the Oosterdam last Friday, and I travel solo, so I dine almost always in the Lido. The buffet was fine with an excellent variety available for Lunch and Dinner, and the usual nice mix for breakfast. Very friendly staff as always on HAL and on this cruise everything was served by HAL for Lunch and Dinner as in the old Code Orange they used to do for the first few days. It was this way for the whole 11 days of the cruise. I also tried the bagged sandwiches that they had available and found them to be very good and quite tasty.

[draftxhorselover]

Currently sailing on Westerdam, the food has been really good, improved from two years ago. Dinner has been excellent in MDR, Lido good, they have pre made sandwiches in bags ready to go at the deli. Lines have been to a minimum. Desserts tasty and rich without being sickly sweet. Tonight we are going to the Pinnacle and Canaletto Tomorrow. Will check Dive in for salmon sandwich (cruisingcatlady)

 

Good info.. I know I get very hungry between 4-7 and will need to plan ahead for a snack to hold me for dinner. As a diabetic.. I like to nibble all day andd find myself preparing 'just in case' snack so if we have a fridge in the balcony rooms, i could pick up cheeses and crackers or a deli and throw it in the fridge for that window period. Otherwise... I could drag around a suitcase of snack bars :-(

[Chelsea1]

We have just returned from our first HAL cruise - 7 nights Montreal to Boston on the Rotterdam. We were in a Neptune suite and mainly used the Neptune lounge for a light breakfast - this was a very port intensive itinerary and we like to get going early and then come back on board for lunch, so cannot comment on other breakfast options. Overall I found the food choice very limited in the lido buffet for lunch and dinner - definitely far less choice than on Cunard, Disney, RCI, P&O, Celebrity and Princess (which was my second least favourite buffet).

 

On HAL the lunch was pretty similar and bland each day - roast chicken of various flavours which all tasted the same, one green vegetable, same potato each day, a small bowl of fries, a roast etc. Salad bar was OK, but no self serve other than the cheese (2 types) and desserts. One soup choice daily and no Asian area, no ribs or spicy chicken, just occasionally 1 curry. The bread was very good and fresh. The Mexican area was self serve and well stocked, but exactly the same every day. No speciality buffets or local selections other than a small seafood buffet on the second last evening, which was also gala night in the MDR.

 

We had one dinner in the Lido and it was poor - struggled to find anything tasty and the servers were really off hand. We went in at 7.30PM and the lido was mainly being used as a staff canteen.

 

The buffet hours are the most limited I have ever seen - dinner finishes @8PM and at 7.30PM it was already left overs being served.

 

It really was "School Dinners" in the lido!

Edited September 26, 2016 by Chelsea1