Italian Cellar Master Dinner

[ksmaxey]

So we are booked on the Veendam for the Transatlantic in August and we have the Italian Cellar Master available.  The same day the Canaletto is not available for dining so I am 100% confident that it is there and not the Pinnacle. 

 

My gut is that the Canaletto is not getting the business so this is an attempt to boost it.  I love the food but the terrible ambiance with the dish room feet from the table with the door open has kept us from eating there.  On multiple ships we couldn't hear each other over the dishes from the lido being washed.

 

[canadarocks]

I think the Italian Cellar Master dinner is a relatively new thing, and completely different from the traditional Cellar Master dinners held in the Pinnacle Grill. The Cellar Master dinners of the past were never eligible for Mariner Discounts, nor were they available to book online pre-cruise.

 

I had never heard of these new Italian Cellar Master dinners until this thread. 

Edited June 25, 2019 by canadarocks

[sailingdutchy]

On 6/24/2019 at 4:32 PM, Vict0riann said:

Strange, as on the TA we will be well away from Italy!  We always go to the Cellar Master Dinners and on our last cruise the Canaletto had two specialty dinners, one was called La Dolce Vita and the other was Mamma Mia!, and they were very good, but I don't think there was an additional cost over the regular Canaletto surcharge.  I think we got our Mariner discount.  The Cellar Master Dinner was in the Pinnacle, with no Mariner discount, as the wine was included in the price, although one member of our party did not drink, and I think she got a reduced price for that reason.

 

 

When we were on the Prinsendam in April and May we signed up for the two special dinners that they offered in the Canaletto  the La Dolce Vita and also the Mamma Mia Dinner  I will try to upload the pictures of the menus. With the one we received a free Aperol Spritz and at the second dinner we included the Prosecco , Pinot Grigio and Frescobaldi Sangiovese . 

 

These dinner were not called Italian Cellar Master Dinners and were 3 coarse dinners with different options. Like some people mentioned I believe this is all a work in progress and they are testing out the responses of the people that have taken part in these special dinners . The responses looking at how many people came to dine those evenings was very good compared to a lot of the other evenings where the numbers were very low . 

We have always enjoyed the Canaletto compared to going to the dining room where you are being rushed or the Lido where not everything is as good or as warm as you would like the Canaletto specially for 4 and 5 star mariners is a great deal ! The service is great and we have enjoyed the food . The only two places where we do not like the Canaletto is on the Koningsdam and the Nieuw Statendam .

Besides the menus I also still have the Statement . For the La Dolce Vita including the Spritz we were charged $ 15.00 and for the Mama Mia including the 3 wines we were charged $22.94 plus $ 10.35 (  I might have had a glass of Limoncello ) .

I must say the Filleto di Manzo al Tartufo Nero di Norcia was delicious  ( Pinnacle or better grade ) 

 

Please don't ask how to explain the charges maybe because we had done about a dozen dinners at the Canaletto that cruise of 42 days and / or maybe they liked us ! ( there are only two specialty restaurants on the small ships to chose from  ) 

[canadarocks]

Thanks for these sailingdutchy. Hopefully the occasional  "special evening" menus at the Canaletto will be the norm from now on. There were none offered in February on the Zuiderdam. 

[Vict0riann]

Our Mamma Mia! Menu was a little different.   The Canaletto on Prinsendam overflowed - there were 78 in attendance and Rifki, the manager was overjoyed!

 

there were no special drinks.  So they are learning...

 

[vinonme2]

8 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Our Mamma Mia! Menu was a little different.   The Canaletto on Prinsendam overflowed - there were 78 in attendance and Rifki, the manager was overjoyed!

 

there were no special drinks.  So they are learning...

 

 

I don't remember seeing a Mama Mia offering on my recent sailings. Do you remember what the price for this dinner was? Were there any little talks about the food, etc?  

Interesting menu; thank you very much for sharing. 

[bennybear]

We are booked at the cellar master on the Koningsdam and it will be at Canaletto. 69 per person with wine.   So from what I am reading, mariner discount applies?   

 

Kazu is this the one you had had trouble getting the discount for,  IIRC?   Thanks! 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, bennybear said:

We are booked at the cellar master on the Koningsdam and it will be at Canaletto. 69 per person with wine.   So from what I am reading, mariner discount applies?   

 

Kazu is this the one you had had trouble getting the discount for,  IIRC?   Thanks! 

 

Cellar Master dinners (Specialty dinners) do not normally apply for the Mariner’s discount.  

 

To your question, no - the dinners we had problems getting our discounts for was Sel de Mer.  That was a couple of cruises ago.  On our most recent cruise it was applied correctly as the issue had been addressed by HAL’s Mariner Society and, we have been since been compensated for the loss on our Sel de Mer dinners on that cruise. 

[bennybear]

Thanks Kazu, glad you got it Sorted!

[sailingdutchy]

I happen to have here a menu of the Italian Cellar Master Dinner that was held in the Canaletto on the Koningsdam in August of this year . 

Our judgement of this dinner , which I realize is very personal :

1) The food was very nice 

2) The wines were excellent 

3) The presentation of Cellar Master Ivica Kolaric was excellent  ( not Italian , but fairly close Croatian  ) 

4)  As 5 * mariners we received the $69 dollar at 1/2 price . Which is an excellent deal ! 

5) The Canaletto does not lend itself as a place to have a Cellar Master dinner . There hardly is any great atmosphere in the Canaletto with loads of people walking by the Canaletto during dinner time in the Lido . The noices of the people going in and out of the kitchen with carts , dishes and  dishwashers and the table arrangements in the Canaletto are not very nice at all for a special dinner like this . 

 

Over the years we have had Cellar Master in the Pinnacle Restaurant and also once in the Tamarind and they were much much nicer but I believe they were priced at $ 99  not the $69 from this evening.

One of our best dinners ever was a Master Chef Dinner but I have not seen anyone of those coming up at all anymore , I am always looking for that one to come back .

 

A couple of pictures of the dishes , taken by a non professional .

Sorry missed the entrees , I guess we were too excited .

 

Tony 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by sailingdutchy

[Vict0riann]

That looks very interesting, Tony.  Are you planning to book it again this time?  Or did the Canaletto location put you off?  

[scubacruiserx2]

This was our Cellar Masters Dinner on the Zaandam which we really enjoyed .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[sailingdutchy]

32 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

That looks very interesting, Tony.  Are you planning to book it again this time?  Or did the Canaletto location put you off?  

 

If there is no Cellar Master in the Pinnacle or Tamarind Ann on our October cruise on the Koningsdam with good friends like you and Pat for sure we will do this again but we will be careful and ask for a decent table .

[Vict0riann]

1 minute ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

If there is no Cellar Master in the Pinnacle or Tamarind Ann on our October cruise on the Koningsdam with good friends like you and Pat for sure we will do this again but we will be careful and ask for a decent table .

 

Sounds like a plan!

[sailingdutchy]

scubacruiserx2 . Was your Cellar Master Dinner in the Pinnacle on the Zaandam ? 

[scubacruiserx2]

41 minutes ago, sailingdutchy said:

scubacruiserx2 . Was your Cellar Master Dinner in the Pinnacle on the Zaandam ? 

 

Yes it was on the Pinnacle .

[rkacruiser]

I admit that all of these special dinners that are offered are so attractive as to their offerings.  All that I have attended with the exception of De Librije have been culinary experiences for me that I enjoyed.  I learned; I enjoyed; I left the restaurant over-stuffed.  In my earlier cruising years, my digestive system would accept such indulgence.  Not so much now.  

[scubacruiserx2]

12 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I admit that all of these special dinners that are offered are so attractive as to their offerings.  All that I have attended with the exception of De Librije have been culinary experiences for me that I enjoyed.  I learned; I enjoyed; I left the restaurant over-stuffed.  In my earlier cruising years, my digestive system would accept such indulgence.  Not so much now.  

 

We're the same . We just do push backs instead of forklifts . We do like to taste , but not finish everything . 

Does HAL have a Chefs Table ? We did one on the Regal Princess which was amazing but enough food to feed a family !

[taxmantoo]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Does HAL have a Chefs Table ? We did one on the Regal Princess which was amazing but enough food to feed a family !

We have also done it a few times (wonderful experience) and there is nothing similar to it on HAL.

[DeeniEncinitas]

We have done Cellar Masters Dinners, and they have all been in the Pinnacle. I will 

enjoy trying Canaletto on our next cruise 

if the dishes are authentic Italian and not 

their traditional HAL Italian😞

I sure do miss the good old days when they came around the table with a huge antipasto tray and which you requested what you want and they displayed it on your plate! And the Oso Bucco was as good as in Italy! Then they changed everything and started small plates to share and changed their menu! A year ago

on our last cruise we went and enjoyed our dinner but it just wasn’t the same!

I WILL TRY AGAIN AND HOPE THAT IT IS DIFFERENT AND ENJOY THE WINES!!

Everyones tastes are different and I hope 

this will be a great experience.

Denise😊

[scubacruiserx2]

31 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

We have also done it a few times (wonderful experience) and there is nothing similar to it on HAL.

 

Thanks @taxmantoo  , we did do a Murder Mystery Dinner on the Zaandam once which great fun with a great meal .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

12 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

We have done Cellar Masters Dinners, and they have all been in the Pinnacle. I will 

enjoy trying Canaletto on our next cruise 

if the dishes are authentic Italian and not 

their traditional HAL Italian😞

I sure do miss the good old days when they came around the table with a huge antipasto tray and which you requested what you want and they displayed it on your plate! And the Oso Bucco was as good as in Italy! Then they changed everything and started small plates to share and changed their menu! A year ago

on our last cruise we went and enjoyed our dinner but it just wasn’t the same!

I WILL TRY AGAIN AND HOPE THAT IT IS DIFFERENT AND ENJOY THE WINES!!

Everyones tastes are different and I hope 

this will be a great experience.

Denise😊

 

Sorry that we missed the good old days but it sounds great !

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We just do push backs instead of forklifts . We do like to taste , but not finish everything . 

 

That's what I need to learn to do.  I was raised to "clean my plate" at dinner and I feel uncomfortable when I can't/shouldn't do so.  In a land based restaurant, it's not embarrassing to ask for a "take home" box or two.  Can't do that on a ship.

[kazu]

7 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

We're the same . We just do push backs instead of forklifts . We do like to taste , but not finish everything . 

Does HAL have a Chefs Table ? We did one on the Regal Princess which was amazing but enough food to feed a family !

 

HAL used to offer a Chef’s Table (aka Chef Rudi’s dinner).  The numbers were very limited  (12 - 18 IIRC) and it was a small intimate affair and very well done.

 

It was only offered on cruises of at least 10 or 12 days IIRC.

 

For some reason around 2 years ago, it was cut out temporarily.  I think the temporary became permanent as I haven’t seen it since.

 

It is NOT published.  You need to ask and to reserve if it is available.  It was definitely worth every penny 😄 

 

I will ask again for the fun of it on my next cruise but sadly, I expect the ‘blank stare’.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That's what I need to learn to do.  I was raised to "clean my plate" at dinner and I feel uncomfortable when I can't/shouldn't do so.  In a land based restaurant, it's not embarrassing to ask for a "take home" box or two.  Can't do that on a ship.

 

We were raised with the same philosophy . At elementary school it was the three bites club or clean plate club . Anything less was , gulp , failure ! At home it was you can finish your dinner or have it for breakfast . Ditto for the doggie bag ! 😊