"Prime" Rib on Zuiderdam

[Sandtrap328]

I sailed on the Fiords & Highlands cruising on the Zuiderdam in May.

 

Most of the food was quite good. The fish choices were very good. I especially liked the fish called "swaith". I had never heard of it but excellent tasting.

 

Anyhow, the beef served was, in my opinion as a lover of good beef, of low quality. The Prime Rib, which I had two nights, was not tender as prime quality beef is supposed to be and was quite flavorless. On the Surf and Turf, the "filet mignon" I was served was actually about a quarter inch thick. I asked the maiter d' what it was and he just shrugged. He brought me a second lobster tail - which was very good. The maiter d' and the wait staff cannot be blamed, of course, for the poor quality of beef. That blame goes to the Food Manager and the Executive Chef for accepting the poor quality of beef.

 

Is Prime Rib referring just to the location of the meat on the cow or is it ALSO referring to the USDA quality of the meat? The Zuiderdam prime rib might have originated from the proper place on the cow BUT sure wasn't of Prime quality.

[RuthC]

Is Prime Rib referring just to the location of the meat on the cow or is it ALSO referring to the USDA quality of the meat?

"Prime" rib refers to the cut of the meat from the source. All grades of beef, including choice, good, and even utility, will have a "prime" rib.

 

Sorry you didn't get a good piece. I have found the prime rib dinner to be one of the best served on the ship, but I do realize there can be an "off" supply once in a while. I also realize that HAL's beef is not as good as it used to be.

[Langoustine]

Is Prime Rib referring just to the location of the meat on the cow or is it ALSO referring to the USDA quality of the meat? The Zuiderdam prime rib might have originated from the proper place on the cow BUT sure wasn't of Prime quality.

 

Here's a quote from Wikipedia (and as we all know, if it's on the internet, it must be true...: "A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the nine primal cuts of beef. While often referred to as a 'prime rib,' the USDA does not require the cut to be derived from USDA Prime grade beef."

[Krazy Kruizers]

The last few years HAL has been ordering cheaper quality beef.

It is up to the chefs to make it tasty. And we have discovered not to order the beef in the dining room -- too tough.

[donaldsc]

 

Anyhow, the beef served was, in my opinion as a lover of good beef, of low quality. The Prime Rib, which I had two nights, was not tender as prime quality beef is supposed to be and was quite flavorless. On the Surf and Turf, the "filet mignon" I was served was actually about a quarter inch thick. I asked the maiter d' what it was and he just shrugged. He brought me a second lobster tail - which was very good. The maiter d' and the wait staff cannot be blamed, of course, for the poor quality of beef. That blame goes to the Food Manager and the Executive Chef for accepting the poor quality of beef.

 

Is Prime Rib referring just to the location of the meat on the cow or is it ALSO referring to the USDA quality of the meat? The Zuiderdam prime rib might have originated from the proper place on the cow BUT sure wasn't of Prime quality.

 

Although some of the blame goes to the Food Manager and the Chef, most of the belongs to the cruise ship passengers. As with everything else, food costs go up. However, passengers want ever cheaper cruises. You can't have cheaper cruises with higher food costs.

 

You might just have to switch from HAL to a more expensive line if food quality is that important to you.

 

DON

[jhannah]

I have found this to be quite common. Places like Lawry's The Prime Rib serve a cut of meat that is worlds apart from your typical steakhouse. With typical beef, there must be a special combination of seasonings and cooking time to make it palatable.

 

Sourcing of the product makes a big difference, too.

 

I, like RuthC, have found HAL's prime rib to be quite good. I certainly have off-nights in the kitchen. A professional chef can, too. Try it again. It's likely to be different.

[OTOW guy]

It's another junk fish where they changed the name to make it sound more palatable. I wish they served a real prime rib in the Pinnacle since they serve the bone in rib steak.

[cruise fan 1]

Dear Sandtrap 328

I see you just came off the Zuiderdam and that you are from the villages so you might be the perfect person to ask this question.

We will be going on the Zuiderdam shortly and my husband loves to play pickleball, I know they play a ton in the Villages, so do you know if it was played on the Zuiderdam. We read somewhere that some ships are now playing it. If so did you have to have your own paddle and balls? My DH would rather not bring his good paddle. If they did what kinds of times and how was it organized?

Thanks for any info you may have on this

Cruise Fan 1

[cb at sea]

Ship's don't serve "prime"...it's usually "choice", unless, possibly, in their "specialty uncharge" restaurants!

[trident]

We were also on the Zuiderdam for this cruise and actually had to send our prime rib back as it was too tough to chew,

Quality of beef seems to vary greatly from ship to ship and even from cruise to cruise on the same ship.

[Heartgrove]

Just to add a comment about beef on HAL ships, we were just on the Niew Amsterdam last week. During our cruise we ate at all three specialty restaurants. All of the previous positive comments by other forum members, especially Tamarind, certainly apply.

 

The sleeper of the group was Canaletto. In our opinion the Potato Gnocchi's braised beef short ribs served in Caneltto surprisingly surpassed The Pinnacle's Filet Mignon in quality and taste.

[navybankerteacher]

Prime beef is tender, well marbled beef - usually from young well-fed cattle, and is one of the three UADA grades of beef for human consumption: prime, choice and select.

 

Burger chains typically serve select. When you buy a steak at a grocery store it is likely to be choice, and may be so marked - the less expensive cuts will be select - and most likely will not be so marked. If your butcher shop even carries prime beef you may be sure that it will be so marked.

 

Prime rib, is just an anatomical reference as to which ribs were involved - and, in fact, is more likely to be choice or select than prime --- just because the same word "prime" is used in connection with beef it has not the same meaning.

 

After all, you would not expect prime numbers to be necessarily tender and well marbled, would you?

[Stratheden]

The prime rib on the Noordam in March/April was very poor quality. In fact all the food was inferior compared with previous cruises.

 

I doubt we will be cruising HAL again - mostly because we didn't enjoy the food.

[Hlitner]

We have also noticed a degradation in beef quality on HAL (and Celebrity) which is just another way of cost cutting. But 2 months ago we got on the Prinsendam for its 55 day Grand Med cruise....and, for the most part, the quality of beef (and just about everything else in the MDR) was very good to excellent. In fact, both DW and moi thought the food quality and prep exceeded our expectations (we have about 450 days on HAL....and a lot more days on other lines). So now we wonder, is the quality of food on the Prinsendam just better then on other ships? We will be on the Zuiderdam next month and will be able to answer our own question.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

We have also noticed a degradation in beef quality on HAL (and Celebrity) which is just another way of cost cutting. But 2 months ago we got on the Prinsendam for its 55 day Grand Med cruise....and, for the most part, the quality of beef (and just about everything else in the MDR) was very good to excellent. In fact, both DW and moi thought the food quality and prep exceeded our expectations (we have about 450 days on HAL....and a lot more days on other lines). So now we wonder, is the quality of food on the Prinsendam just better then on other ships? We will be on the Zuiderdam next month and will be able to answer our own question.

 

Hank

 

You raise a good issue - Prinsendam is special in HAL's fleet, and not just for her more intimate size. Her itineraries are usually longer and involve more out of the way ports. I found the service and the food quality on board her distinctly superior to that on HAL's other ships.

 

I look forward to your comments on Zuiderdam - we will be sailing Westerdam to Hawaii in February (after our latest HAL experience on Prinsendam) - and are hoping that they have not let things slide too far.

[rkacruiser]

This is simply my opinion based upon my experiences and observations.

 

HAL switched beef providers from one whose beef came from cattle that were fed grain to another provider whose beef came from cattle that were grass fed. I think this was done in part due to the Company's interest in obtaining food from sustanable resources, i.e. like what they have done with seafood/fish. Many people have commented on the difference in the beef entrees since the switch was made.

 

As to the beef entree (or any other entree) delivered to the guest's table, it is my very strong belief that whomever is the Executive Chef on one's ship is the most important factor in determining if "the cuisine on a particular ship is good or not so good".

 

On more than one Behind the Scenes Tour, I have heard Executive Chefs say that, yes, standard receipes come from Seattle and the photos of how the plates are to look are posted on the galley walls, but they are allowed to "tweak" those receipes. In my opinion, some of these Chefs are better "tweakers" than others. And, that makes the difference from one cruise/ship to another.

Edited June 8, 2016 by rkacruiser

[RMLincoln]

We were also on the Zuiderdam for this cruise and actually had to send our prime rib back as it was too tough to chew,

Quality of beef seems to vary greatly from ship to ship and even from cruise to cruise on the same ship.

 

I sent a prime rib dinner back once on Celebrity... couldn't believe that such a cut was too tough to chew. In 30 cruises I've sent back exactly 2 dinners.

 

On our last HAL cruise we had prime rib offered 3 times... the first time it was very good, the second time it was not as good, seemed tasteless; the third time it was hardly edible.

 

My lesson: take it the first time it's offered and then after that find something else to enjoy. m--

Edited June 8, 2016 by RMLincoln

[Fouremco]

Fortunately, DW and I prefer lamb and have found that HAL does a pretty good job with it. There's been no noticeable lowering of quality.

[navybankerteacher]

Fortunately, DW and I prefer lamb and have found that HAL does a pretty good job with it. There's been no noticeable lowering of quality.

 

Agreed - but I fear for the time that they switch to mutton.

[Hlitner]

We just want to comment on what HAL calls "Swai" fish. The stuff is fine, but like nearly all fish on HAL it is farmed...not wild. And in the USA we call Swai fish....Catfish! On the other hand, if HAL put Patagonian Toothfish on the menu....I would gobble it up... Most ofyou know Toothfish as "Chilean Seabass." The fish industry has become very smart with their marketing and use names that are appealing for marketing purposes. But for those who know what its like to catch and eat fresh truly wild seafood...the farmed stuff just does not have the same flavor (which appeals to many who do not want fish to taste like fish). Another big issue with "farmed fish" is that the fish farmers are very fearful of loosing their investment to disease...so they tend to overfeed their "crops" of fish wish massive amounts of antibiotics. It is pretty effective and helps ensure that the fish survive to get to market. On the other hand, we are eating antibiotics with our fish...which most agree is not a good (or healthy) thing. But the cruise industry buries all these issues by simply saying they use "sustainable seafood" which seems to be more like a code word for tasteless farmed fish.

 

In fairness to the cruise industry, when most of us buy fish at our Supermarkets we are generally getting the same type of tasteless farmed fish. DW and I do try to buy most of our fish from a local fish purveyor who has a large stand at a Farmers Market. His claim to fame is that all of his fish is pretty fresh (he trucks it in early the same morning from a large fish market), was caught in the wild, and was not farmed with a big dose of antibiotics.

 

Hank

Edited June 8, 2016 by Hlitner

[DarkCrystal]

We had really good beef cuts on our Zaandam cruise recently. I was relieved because it was the first cruise for our son and DIL and I had raved about the food.

[Topsham]

."

 

 

 

Hi Langoustine,

 

You might like a nice shot of s.s. FLORIDA.

 

 

Stephen

Edited June 8, 2016 by Topsham

[Langoustine]

Thank you, Stephen, great photo; I may start using it in my signature. My two vivid memories of the ship are that each cabin entrance had a raised lip at the bottom that my parents kept tripping over, and one night we hit a patch of rough water during dinner that caused a man at our table to lurch forward and slash me under the chin with his steak knife (I still have the scar).

[kevingastreich]

The last few years HAL has been ordering cheaper quality beef.

It is up to the chefs to make it tasty. And we have discovered not to order the beef in the dining room -- too tough.

 

Same with the porterhouse in the Pinnacle recently.

[Hlitner]

Thank you, Stephen, great photo; I may start using it in my signature. My two vivid memories of the ship are that each cabin entrance had a raised lip at the bottom that my parents kept tripping over, and one night we hit a patch of rough water during dinner that caused a man at our table to lurch forward and slash me under the chin with his steak knife (I still have the scar).

 

Oh my! The steak knife incident is certainly a classic.

 

Hank