Pre-made Sandwiches in Lido

[Karen13]

We have just come off the Nieuw Amsterdam and there were custom made sandwiches in the Lido at lunch. One day we had hot roast beef, another ham cheese and salad. You did have to hunt for the station but it was there.

 

The custom made sandwiches we tried were unappetising and also wrongly labelled!

[RuthC]

We have just come off the Nieuw Amsterdam and there were custom made sandwiches in the Lido at lunch.

Then the custom sandwich station has been returned to that ship, which would be considered good news.

There were NO custom sandwiches on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the 39 days I was on her last fall. It's not that I didn't/couldn't find the station; it's that it wasn't there at all. Confirmed by the people in charge of running the Lido.

 

Whether or not someone else never wants a sandwich of their choice doesn't matter one bit to the person who does want one. HAL has given us that choice in the past, so to remove the option is a decrease in expected levels of service.

If you want lunch after 2:00 PM (and if dinner is at 8:00, between 2-3 is a reasonable time), then there aren't many choices. Keeping what has been there right along is reasonable.

[rkacruiser]

We have just come off the Nieuw Amsterdam and there were custom made sandwiches in the Lido at lunch. One day we had hot roast beef, another ham cheese and salad. You did have to hunt for the station but it was there.

 

The custom made sandwiches we tried were unappetising and also wrongly labelled!

 

Thank you for your post! This is very encouraging news!

 

I hope your esperience is not "ship specific" and does reflect a change in the Corporate Standards of Service expected for HAL guests.

 

On the Rotterdam, I will soon find out.

Edited July 3, 2016 by rkacruiser

[iancal]

We think that HAL has a very poor selection of mid priced Reds compared to the completion.

 

Does it ruin our cruise? Of course not. Would we bother writing to HAL management about it...no. We skip the wine/drink less, bring our own on board...whatever. Upside is we spend less on HAL for wine than we do on than at least one or two other cruise lines.

 

HAL's selection/quality of cheese isnot what we would call stellar(just our experience) compared to some of the competition. Again, would we whine to management? No, why bother since nothing will change. There are other plusses for us on a number of their ships that far outweigh these items. Plus, prices have been constant to declining. Something has to give and HAL is simply responding to market/profit pressures. As is their competition.

 

After the basics like stateroom/ship condition, we tend to look at a cruise line offering in terms of the total package vs individual components.

 

So it may not be like it was 15 or 20 years ago but my guess is that many of complainers would not be willing to pay the same inflation adjusted pricing. Those that are have probably moved on to premium/luxury cruise lines.

Edited July 3, 2016 by iancal

[mef_57]

 

The custom made sandwiches we tried were unappetising and also wrongly labelled!

This doesn't make sense to me. I assume a custom made item is customized to me and built to my requests - but you are saying that a custom sandwich was still unappetising? Also 'wrongly labelled' tells me this was not customized to you, but perhaps to the ship.

People may only read the first paragraph and therefore assume that the bagged lunches are gone.

Karen, please clarify. Thanks.

[peaches from georgia]

We have just come off the Nieuw Amsterdam and there were custom made sandwiches in the Lido at lunch. One day we had hot roast beef, another ham cheese and salad. You did have to hunt for the station but it was there.

 

The custom made sandwiches we tried were unappetising and also wrongly labelled!

I assume she meant to say "The PREMADE sandwiches we tried.............".

[Karen13]

Yes I meant premade, sorry! (blame the jetlag!)

[RuthC]

Yes I meant premade, sorry! (blame the jetlag!)

So, please, just to be clear. Were there custom made sandwiches on your recent Nieuw Amsterdam cruise?

I can't be sure if you are correcting one post, or all of your references.

Thanks.

[Karen13]

Ok, sorry, just to clarify. We did get custom made sandwiches twice. We could choose from a small selection of breads and rolls and fillings, salad etc. they were very tasty and the crew member very friendly and helpful. There was not a long wait for these either. This was not available on embarkation day(or maybe we did not find it, as the station is not next to the premade sandwiches but further down the line).

Also when we returned to the ship after 2.00pm it was not available, just the premade. We had these twice, and both times they were not as described on the tag in front of them. On the first day I selected a 'deli beef' which turned out to be a vegetarian. On the second attempt despite checking the labels carefully (because of my earlier mistake) the meat sandwich described was again vegetarian. We gave up after that. I was not prepared to start rummaging around inside the sandwiches to check what was in them.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Karen13

[earljr]

Our mar/april cruise on the Westerdam also lacked the "make your own" sandwich station.

We missed it a lot. Old guy (me) just a country boy and not fond of eating things I never heard of, and names of ingredients I cant even pronounce. Really like just common things like ham/cheese, pbj, eggsalad, cold cuts, etc. Although ham and cheese was available a few times during the 50 some days it did not have a nice cheddar to accompany the ham. Egg salad was a rare event and pbj non existent. Raiding the breakfast cold meats, etc. was a daily routine.

 

Bottom line --- would like to see more old timer sandwiches, pre made or custom made.

[Jade13]

Hmmm. You have a point. You do not have to hunt for a glass of fresh squeezed OJ in the Lido. Why? Because it no longer exists.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

HAL got rid of their fresh squeezed OJ???

[Hlitner]

HAL got rid of their fresh squeezed OJ???

 

On our Mar-May Prinsendam cruise it was no longer available in the LIdo...but was still available to those who chose to eat their breakfast in the MDR. In a discussion with senior LIdo staff we were informed it is the new HAL policy...which, or course, reduces the cost to HAL. To put it bluntly, it is just one more of a chain of cut-backs on HAL.

The elimination of custom-made sandwiches would be another cut-back.

 

Hank

Edited July 4, 2016 by Hlitner

[kazu]

On our Mar-May Prinsendam cruise it was no longer available in the LIdo...but was still available to those who chose to eat their breakfast in the MDR. In a discussion with senior LIdo staff we were informed it is the new HAL policy...which, or course, reduces the cost to HAL. To put it bluntly, it is just one more of a chain of cut-backs on HAL.

The elimination of custom-made sandwiches would be another cut-back.

 

Hank

 

Hank, you were in Europe right?

 

When we were on the P'dam in May a couple of years ago, our waiter explained that the oranges they had picked up were bitter so they had to mix them.

 

We did have fresh squeezed in the MDR and Pinnacle Grill,but because a lot of the oranges were not good caliber for fresh squeezed, they were squeezed and mixed and that was what was in the Lido.

 

I don't do Lido breakfast a lot but I do grab some O.J. In the lido. (I am up earlier than DH) and on the Westerdam, the OJ in the PG, MDR,Neptune Lounge and Lido was fresh squeezed when I had it. If it wasn't, I would have reported on my live thread ;)

[Hlitner]

Hank, you were in Europe right?

 

When we were on the P'dam in May a couple of years ago, our waiter explained that the oranges they had picked up were bitter so they had to mix them.

 

We did have fresh squeezed in the MDR and Pinnacle Grill,but because a lot of the oranges were not good caliber for fresh squeezed, they were squeezed and mixed and that was what was in the Lido.

 

I don't do Lido breakfast a lot but I do grab some O.J. In the lido. (I am up earlier than DH) and on the Westerdam, the OJ in the PG, MDR,Neptune Lounge and Lido was fresh squeezed when I had it. If it wasn't, I would have reported on my live thread ;)

 

Well, I guess they only had bitter oranges in the Lido (not a problem in the MDR) for 55 days! And given that the cruise did begin in Florida..or course there are nothing but bitter oranges in FL. As I said, senior staff (we are talking pretty senior management...whose names will be protected) told us that the fresh OJ was simply eliminated from the Lido for no other reason then cost savings. It was these same senior staff that also told us we were on the last Prinsendam cruise to have custom sandwiches....and the staff had no explanation for this change other then cost cutting (not sure how wasting pre-made sandwiches saves money). On the other hand, why would anyone expect HAL staff to have a clue. We will soon be on the Zuiderdam and will find out whether these changes are also on that ship....which I guess would mean they also have bitter oranges :).

 

In the interests of full disclosure, apparently Celebrity has also eliminated fresh squeezed OJ (even if one is willing to pay) from their cruises. Their initial explanation was that it was done for health reasons (they actually removed the juice machines from their ships) but it was later revealed to be one (of many) cost cutting measures which seem to be goal of their relatively new CEO. The only mass market line where we have noticed improvements (rather then cost cuts) in the past two years has been on Princess. Athough Princess had ceased to be one of our favorite cruise lines (due to cut-backs several years ago) our last two cruises on this line were quite nice....and they are now back on our favored list.

 

Hank

Edited July 4, 2016 by Hlitner

[kazu]

Well, I guess they only had bitter oranges in the Lido (not a problem in the MDR) for 55 days! And given that the cruise did begin in Florida..or course there are nothing but bitter oranges in FL. As I said, senior staff (we are talking pretty senior management...whose names will be protected) told us that the fresh OJ was simply eliminated from the Lido for no other reason then cost savings. It was these same senior staff that also told us we were on the last Prinsendam cruise to have custom sandwiches....and the staff had no explanation for this change other then cost cutting (not sure how wasting pre-made sandwiches saves money). On the other hand, why would anyone expect HAL staff to have a clue. We will soon be on the Zuiderdam and will find out whether these changes are also on that ship....which I guess would mean they also have bitter oranges :).

 

In the interests of full disclosure, apparently Celebrity has also eliminated fresh squeezed OJ (even if one is willing to pay) from their cruises. Their initial explanation was that it was done for health reasons (they actually removed the juice machines from their ships) but it was later revealed to be one (of many) cost cutting measures which seem to be goal of their relatively new CEO. The only mass market line where we have noticed improvements (rather then cost cuts) in the past two years has been on Princess. Athough Princess had ceased to be one of our favorite cruise lines (due to cut-backs several years ago) our last two cruises on this line were quite nice....and they are now back on our favored list.

 

Hank

 

Thanks for the answer.

 

I wasn't being sarcastic when I asked. Not all oranges in Florida are necessarily sweet or suitable for fresh squeezed, but obviously that wasn't the issue.

 

sorry to hear that.

[OlsSalt]

One consideration about eliminating fresh squeeze and replacing it with concentrated is the sheer volume of the orange rinds that need to be discarded. This is something of which I know since DH is a citrus farmer and we have fresh squeeze every day at home alternating between Navels and Valencias depending on the season.

 

The volume of orange rinds per week just for the two of us overwhelms our home grinder and compostor, plus the worms don't really like them either. Imagine how many orange rinds HAL had to deal with since this was a very popular item.

 

Okay agree, so this was an unwelcome cost-cutter but with all the new waste disposal requirements in place now this may have also been a wee consideration in eliminating fresh squeeze too.

 

As I reported already, we solved the fresh orange issue on the recent Zuiderdam by having the cabin steward fill out bowls with them and ate them whole - they were not the best oranges that is for sure and probably would have made fairly lousy juice in need of a lot of added sugar.

[ExpatBride]

We will soon be on the Zuiderdam and will find out whether these changes are also on that ship....which I guess would mean they also have bitter oranges :).

 

If you're going to the Baltics, you can bet on sour oranges. Not counting my travels south and east, I haven't had a sweet orange since I moved from the States to Scandinavia 6+ years ago. The closest I get to a sweet oranges are winter Clementines, which are still hit and miss.

[Hlitner]

If you're going to the Baltics, you can bet on sour oranges. Not counting my travels south and east, I haven't had a sweet orange since I moved from the States to Scandinavia 6+ years ago. The closest I get to a sweet oranges are winter Clementines, which are still hit and miss.

 

ROFL! :eek:

[iancal]

Does that mean we will be packing a lunch, a few potatoes, and a bag of oranges? Plus a few bottles of a very nice Malbec. There won't be any room left in our carry on for our clothes.

Edited July 5, 2016 by iancal

[tuolumne couple]

:)

You took the words right out of my mouth. You would think the only food on a ship was a sandwich :D.

 

thank you . yes. agreed. you get it. i make enough sandwiches at home. someone i met on my first cruise many moons ago once said never order anything you can make better at home. i have always lived by that advice! :)

[baggal]

On the veendam now. Just want to report that they have samples of the sandwiches available so you can see what's in each sandwich.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[dakrewser]

:)

 

thank you . yes. agreed. you get it. i make enough sandwiches at home. someone i met on my first cruise many moons ago once said never order anything you can make better at home. i have always lived by that advice! :)

 

If I followed that advice I'd starve aboard ship.

[Hlitner]

On the veendam now. Just want to report that they have samples of the sandwiches available so you can see what's in each sandwich.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Is it possible to get a simple BLT on toast? How about a basic corn beef on rye with some mustard?

 

Hank

[dakrewser]

Regarding sandwiches on board there are three types of passengers:

 

1) Those who never eat sandwiches;

2) Those who are quite happy with the pre-made sandwiches; and

3) Those who wish a return of the custom-made sandwich station.

 

Now no one in group #3 has said that anyone would be forced to eat a sandwich. No one in group #3 has suggested removing the pre-made "grab & go" sandwiches.

 

So why do those in groups 1 & 2 wish to impose their beliefs on group #3?

[kazu]

Is it possible to get a simple BLT on toast? How about a basic corn beef on rye with some mustard?

 

Hank

 

NOt in 33 days on the Westerdam.