Are You Seeing Any Improvements Recently

[mcrcruiser]

On Koningsdam Dec 2022 we had the worse service & food on a HAL ship ever . Short staffing & cut backs in both quality & quantity were definitely obvious to us for 12 days . Now ,we hope that people can give us better reports who are on or recent HAL cruises  .So what is your experience now with regards to adequate staffing/service & the quantities & quality of the food in general except the special restaurants?

 

TIA

[Boatdrill]

When you mentioned your concerns to the Hotel Manager, what was his response ?  

[trickylibrarian]

Same experience on Princess recently.  On the Westerdam in May and hopeful food is better.

[highscar]

On the K this past January.  No complaints.  Food and service as good as ever.  

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

When you mentioned your concerns to the Hotel Manager, what was his response ?  

We never talked to any hotel manager  .Besides we are interested in what  the passengers think which is more to the truth of this matter

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, highscar said:

On the K this past January.  No complaints.  Food and service as good as ever.  

So you did not see long lines for the MDR ? or Delays in dinner service   or smaller portions ie?  

[mcrcruiser]

9 minutes ago, trickylibrarian said:

Same experience on Princess recently.  On the Westerdam in May and hopeful food is better.

So you are saying Princess also has cut back service employees & the food portions & quality ? Is that correct ? .We too hope that your experience on Westerdam is better

Edited April 11, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[travelholics]

We were on Koningsdam for 5 weeks to French Polynesia in Feb and March and we were delighted with the food. Our waiter brought us a plate of vegetables for the 4 of us to  share each evening and the bread was delicious. Portion sizes were perfect, we always left supper feeling just nicely full. The Indian menu was also excellent and we interspersed with normal menu. Waiters did a good job on recommendations of what was tasty and fresh. Lido excellent choices and .again, special requests for types of fruit were honored, if at all possible. Nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff and we thought it our best cruise to date

 

[mcrcruiser]

9 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Does it ever end?

Well don't you think this is a important subject now ,since there were many of the pax here who had a bad experience back then & now we hope things are improving .However ,we would not know this unless we asked ,

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We  love  cruising with Holland America 

[highscar]

Yes I saw the long lines for the dinning room. That was for anytime dinning on deck 2 That is the choice of the passenger.   I, we, have always had set dinning. On deck 3. No problem there.   Service and attention could not have been better.  

[mcrcruiser]

7 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

We  love  cruising with Holland America 

So how was your recent experience with service ,food quantities & quality ? We too have a lot of HAL cruises behind us however ,things did change ,after 2019 with the covid & now the cruise lines are scrambling to keep in business .so how does that impact the pax  in todays market place

Edited April 11, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[YXU AC*SE]

TL;DR version of these threads ...  does your subjective measure show any subjective marked improvement over my subjective measure.   Perhaps we could have them merged.    Scott. 

[doone]

I just sailed the Rotterdam last month.  I took a group of family, friends and co-workers with me, some had sailed HAL, some had not and some this was their first cruise.  I know everyone's experiences can be different, but not sailing since 2019 I was a tad bit nervous how cruising was going to be after covid, my concerns were totally unfounded.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at the food, service and the entertainment was all fantastic.  I have asked the others in my group how they enjoyed everything, they all thought it was a fantastic cruise, loved it all.  I am sure not everything was perfect, but we all felt so fortunate to be able to sail again.  I have several in the group who booked another HAL cruise while they were onboard.

 

I had opening dining and while I only ate in the dining room for dinner once the entire cruise, we were seated within 5 minutes and we were a group of 9.  We were seated towards the front of the dining room and could see the entrance, no long lines, everyone was seated within a few minutes.

 

My experience was fantastic, I am looking forward to my Alaska cruise on the Koningsdam in 2024.

 

I hope this helps.

[fellswoop]

On Nieuw Statendam TA right now.  Dinner portions smaller and some food just mediocre. Tonight there is not even a salad on the menu. In Orange club last night after sitting at large hightop table for just the two of us we politely asked maitre d not to be seated at a high top next time  as I wear a partner mic for my husband's hearing aids and table seating too far apart to hear on wider high top. His response was "I can't say if that can be the case".  😲 We are in a Neptune and did not think that was too big an ask. When we walked in, there were two  2 top tables available. 

Another surprise is that ordering a Cosmo is now $12 so if you have the package it is $1 extra when it was just $11 on K- dam in Feb. I will say they have more bar waiters in Ocean bar now. That's a positive. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by fellswoop

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

33 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

So how was your recent experience with service ,food quantities & quality ? We too have a lot of HAL cruises behind us however ,things did change ,after 2019 with the covid & now the cruise lines are scrambling to keep in business .so how does that impact the pax  in todays market place

We did 108 last year on the Zuiderdam last year and was very happy. And after did 3 months on the Rotterdam love that ship. And now on the Zuiderdam for the 2023 World Cruise great service good food. And the staff are doing everything you could possibly want. 

[mcrcruiser]

5 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

We did 108 last year on the Zuiderdam last year and was very happy. And after did 3 months on the Rotterdam love that ship. And now on the Zuiderdam for the 2023 World Cruise great service good food. And the staff are doing everything you could possibly want. 

Good to hear your report

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

26 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Good to hear your report

 

26 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Good to hear your report

We are very realistic about things.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

On Koningsdam Dec 2022 we had the worse service & food on a HAL ship ever . Short staffing & cut backs in both quality & quantity were definitely obvious to us for 12 days . Now ,we hope that people can give us better reports who are on or recent HAL cruises  .So what is your experience now with regards to adequate staffing/service & the quantities & quality of the food in general except the special restaurants?

 

TIA

 

My last HAL cruise was in January to the Caribbean. OMG, the food was awful, but fortunately the portions were tiny, so I didn't have to force too much down. The bed was lumpy. The hot water in my shower ran out in 90 seconds. The comedian wasn't funny. The internet NEVER worked except for one night when I stayed up until 3 AM trying to get online to do that day's Wordle. The excursions were boring. When I sat by the pool, a waiter took longer than 45 seconds to come to my table. The captain got lost and almost missed the stop for HMC. When I finally got to the beach, there was too much sand. I had an aft cabin, and when we sailed north, it was too hot in the sun on my balcony. I don't know why the itinerary had to be set up that way, just so we could get back to FLL. 

 

But I have recently booked two more HAL cruises, so I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.  

[AFNavigator]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

 What is negative ? Is the truth these days ,negative ? 

If you are expecting HAL to return to all the services and amenities it offered in the past, then you probably will never be happy with HAL, nor most any other mainstream cruise line.

 

HAL is a business and it must do what it can to turn a profit lest it will die. It seems most of the other mainstream cruise lines are mirroring the overall travel industry in paring down basic prices (yes, I believe prices are low considering high inflation over the last couple of years) and services, then upselling services and amenities.  Whether one likes that business model or not, it's likely here to stay until the industry swings in another direction that it finds more profitable.

[YourWorldWithBill]

On our Noordam cruise in September the services was great, I'm happy to say, but the food itself left a bit to be desired. We are looking forward to the Rotterdam next month.

[aliaschief]

Currently on Eurodam. Last two nights we dined in fixed upper dining at 7:30. Food was good, served promptly, ample portions, wait staff professional, and took time to converse and we were done and gone in less than an hour.

Late fixed dining had no long lines and many empty tables.

Could be long lines on early and lower dining if everyone wants to eat at same time.

Second day and my only very minor issue is that bar soap has been discontinued so next time I’ll bring my own. French Press coffee has been discontinued in Pinnacle Grill.

We’re happy cruisers

[mcrcruiser]

3 hours ago, doone said:

I just sailed the Rotterdam last month.  I took a group of family, friends and co-workers with me, some had sailed HAL, some had not and some this was their first cruise.  I know everyone's experiences can be different, but not sailing since 2019 I was a tad bit nervous how cruising was going to be after covid, my concerns were totally unfounded.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at the food, service and the entertainment was all fantastic.  I have asked the others in my group how they enjoyed everything, they all thought it was a fantastic cruise, loved it all.  I am sure not everything was perfect, but we all felt so fortunate to be able to sail again.  I have several in the group who booked another HAL cruise while they were onboard.

 

I had opening dining and while I only ate in the dining room for dinner once the entire cruise, we were seated within 5 minutes and we were a group of 9.  We were seated towards the front of the dining room and could see the entrance, no long lines, everyone was seated within a few minutes.

 

My experience was fantastic, I am looking forward to my Alaska cruise on the Koningsdam in 2024.

 

I hope this helps.

Great to hear that you all enjoyed this HAL cruise

[FlaMariner]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

So what is your experience now with regards to adequate staffing/service & the quantities & quality of the food in general except the special restaurants?

 

Disembarked the Oosterdam yesterday after a 19 night cruise.  Dinner was in the MDR every night.  Food was great. Had surf and turf on one dressy night.  Variety, hot food was hot, soups were good, great fish dishes, good desserts....red velvet cake.   Service was attentive. We were first sitting, and dinner was at a elegant leisurely pace of an hour and 15-20 minutes.

 

Sunday sea day brunch in the MDR was a new thing for us.....Chicken and waffles, monte Cristo, much more, great choices and a nice addition. 

 

Lido was the usual good choices.......no long lines.....crepes and eggs Benedict and omelets stood out....bread pudding at lunch...super as always.....salad bar is a favorite. 

 

Dive in burgers are the best.  As are fries with dive in sauce. 

 

Any specific questions while it's all recent in the head?

 

 

[cattman]

We were on the Koningsdam last December(10 - 17) and had few issues with anything.. did notice the long lines to the MDR(anytime dining), but we were Club Orange and found the CO dining room delightful, with no waiting, good service and a very good menu.. In fact, one day had THE best veal chop I've had anywhere.

 

Looking forward to being back aboard her next month to Alaska