Observations, first time on HAL. Zaandam 23Aug to 03 Sep 2023

[OlsSalt]

13 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I will respond to that but only by saying perhaps the Carnival guest has a different view about quality foods 🤔. 

 

Taking note that Carnival ships are mentioned, not the entire family of  Carnival Cruise Line ships which also includes HAL. Within the CCL ship family,  Seaborn gets a nod. But The Carnival ships themselves got top markings on a number of disparate "best food"  threads. Who knew? 

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, remarcm said:

Hello, we are contemplating a HAL cruise for the first time.As noted in my signature we are not new to cruising. I am curious how often trivia is played. Thanks for your comments so far, it is filling in some questions I had.

There seems to be about 3 a day, we happened to be in the Crow's Nest when they were playing once. We followed along but didn't actually participate, we would have been slaughtered. That lead us to conclude it was too hard for vacation time.😟

[OlsSalt]

2 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

I think a new or veteran cruiser on Carnival nowadays might find the food surpasses their expectations, where as a new or veteran cruiser on Hal may find the food doesn't always meet their expectations.

 

Keeping in mind when asked to describe the various cruise lines under the CCL umbrella, CEO Arnold Donald at the time described HAL as "midwestern". That is probably a good expectation to have about HAL - solid value, basic, dependable,  but little dazzle or glitter.

[remarcm]

Thanks for the reply.

[oaktreerb]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

We had dinner in the Lido tonight again the food was good but not memorable. Lynn is beginning to get discouraged with the food, we have been on the ship for 5 days now and the only meals remotely memorable have been in Pinnacle Grill. The MDR has consistently had slow sometimes incompetent service which has lead to confusion about Lynn's pre ordered meals. So far this is steering us away from booking our down under cruise with HAL. Whether that will change I don't know. 🤔

We only eat in the Lido when we want to have a salad for lunch at the custom salad station.  Your comments about dining lead me to believe you would probably be best with fixed early seating.  Club Orange on the smaller ships would give you preferred dining if you don’t want a fixed dining time.  You could choose your table size each evening depending on your plans to see the show or want to enjoy a larger shared table.  Much better chance of consistency in serving the pre ordered meals.

 

We loved our 16 day New Zealand cruise a few years ago with 4 nights in Sydney!  Loved the scenery and the people.

 

[Blackduck59]

7 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

We only eat in the Lido when we want to have a salad for lunch at the custom salad station.  Your comments about dining lead me to believe you would probably be best with fixed early seating.  Club Orange on the smaller ships would give you preferred dining if you don’t want a fixed dining time.  You could choose your table size each evening depending on your plans to see the show or want to enjoy a larger shared table.  Much better chance of consistency in serving the pre ordered meals.

 

We loved our 16 day New Zealand cruise a few years ago with 4 nights in Sydney!  Loved the scenery and the people.

 

Thanks for your suggestion, we want the flexibility of the open seating. We are new to HAL not new to cruising. I said at the start I wasn't going to compare this cruise with others but would post my observations about this cruise. So for this cruise, so far, the MDR doesn't stand out as a positive. 

When we finally do get down under after 2 failed attempts we will be in Auckland at least 2 days pre-cruise and in Oz for about a month post cruise. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Blackduck59

[NCTribeFan]

I've sailed Carnival over 30 times (next up, 6 nights in January from Miami; disembark, drive up to Port Everglades and board Eurodam for 11 nights).

 

For the most part, I've found their food to be reasonably good.  I did a B2B2B on Pride last October and the food wasn't great.  Did a b2b on a sister ship, Spirit, in January, and the food was much better.  So, of course, it varies from ship to ship and even, sometimes, from one week to the next on the same ship!

 

I think HAL's food has been slightly better.  I did really enjoy the meals on Rotterdam this past April (26 nights in Club Orange).  And Carnival has nothing to compare to Tamarind, although I enjoy their sushi restaurant.

 

One thing, though.  Carnival still offers chilled fruit soups as starters.  I love those and was very sad to see them dropped from HAL's menus.

[JonSchick]

My other half and I would agree about the MDR.  For example tonight's goat cheese salad starter came with no goats cheese at all, until she requested it.  And that's when she noticed the lettuce was gritty and not properly washed.  We've generally eaten quite well in there, occasionally very well, but it's not consistent, nothing is in the slightest bit memorable, vegetables are served as a tiny garnish rather than as core component of the meal, and the service is often slow.  In terms of food, this cruise is definitely a major step down from our previous Cunard experience, ditto P&O (although there is much else about the ship that I prefer to P&O).  It's uninspired safe choices that aren't done with any great finesse.  Not terrible, but not great either.

[ShipsAreTheBest]

On 8/27/2023 at 8:16 PM, AroundWithMAPTravels said:
I am still trying to come to terms with use of plasticware (salad bowls, water glasses, wine glasses) in Lido buffet… (I know we are trying to avoid comparisons but this one is a big difference for me… still not sure how to process this).

I think because the plastic “glassware” gets brought out to the pool areas often - and they don’t want broken glass there.  Doesn’t explain the salad bowls and the real plates though, but for drinks it makes sense, even if not as nice.

[MicCanberra]

Food is very subjective, everyone has differing tastes and expectations, however when everyone agrees the food is bad, lines should take note. 

[lyndarra]

3 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Food is very subjective, everyone has differing tastes and expectations, however when everyone agrees the food is bad, lines should take note. 

Unfortunately dining experience can vary from ship to ship even of the same line.

Noordam, in Alaska atm, is getting some good dining reviews.

My last four cruises, four different ships, have been on HAL and dining was been great on all of them or maybe I'm too easy to please (I am a picky eater - no little green and white trees for me😟).

[MicCanberra]

I eat just about everything and have rarely been disappointed on a cruise ship but it does happen and I do appreciate and can recognise good food when I get it.

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I eat just about everything and have rarely been disappointed on a cruise ship but it does happen and I do appreciate and can recognise good food when I get it.

I'm much like you Mic. I think the old adage that "Good service can save a poor kitchen" is at play here a bit. I'm not saying the service is "bad" but it is slow and sometimes chaotic. 

[Blackduck59]

I thought I should mention afternoon tea. It seems to be popular but I don't know why. It was sort of a cattle call situation with a rather large line of folks just flowing in and sitting at whatever table. Each table had a number of small 3 tier plate stands. The selection on each was the same, 3 assorted small finger sandwiches, rather plain really. The next layer had 3 scones (if you can call them that) and the top layer was assorted pastries including 1 macaron. All in all not memorable. There was no choice of tea just what was described as "black tea". Where I come from afternoon tea is something else. I put together a better tea at home. This was afternoon tea at our house for Lynn's mom on mother's day. 

 

[Blackduck59]

Sorry for the placement of my personal photo on the "afternoon tea" comments it was supposed to be under the text. I know I wasn't going to compare HAL but thought I should show that when I say I can do better at home, I can.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Lyle, I've been comparing your comments with our experience on Westerdam last Christmas. We had similar issues with MDR dining although we chose late fixed dining. We did have great table companions which made up for the shortfalls in service. The evening meals were reasonable, some dishes being very similar to ones we'd had on Princess, but breakfast and lunch weren't great so we stopping going there for those meals. 

 

BTW the most memorable MDR main course I've ever had was actually on Carnival. It was a spicy pork dish that was very different to most cruise ship fare and it had amazing flavours. 

[Caribbean Chris]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Sorry for the placement of my personal photo on the "afternoon tea" comments it was supposed to be under the text. I know I wasn't going to compare HAL but thought I should show that when I say I can do better at home, I can.

You are from the land of famous & wonderful afternoon tea, so it’s natural you might expect more. Of course, the Empress Hotel afternoon tea is now $95 per person!

[SLC1954]

My meals in the MDR have been very enjoyable. I guess I’m making good choices, as I have no complaints. I have also had a great meal at the Pinnacle Grill this cruise.

The steak tartar and scallops were perfect.  My only complaint is they were out of Baked Alaska. 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

15 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

@OlsSalt I agree but I'm afraid the food part is not cutting it either in attentive service or food taste and quality. I hope others on this cruise are making better choices.

I cans say our room stewards have been top notch and the laundry service is the best money we ever spent. 

I am in total agreement. Being a Gluten free diner it’s been a real challenge to find acceptable options without too much repetition. The only “fine” dining we have had so far was as Pinnacle grill.  Rest, including MDR, has been fair.  It may be the ships I have sailed in past that raised my “expectations “, so I have had to temper those expectations.  I normally do not eat sweets but can normally be tempted into indulging…. The only time that has happened so far was in pinnacle grill ( also GF options are not plentiful so that may be a factor).  
cabin staff are wonderful 

still hoping at some point to say same about restaurant staff 

Another glorious sunny day, however!

[cwd79]

We've been content with the Lido. Some good choices, some bad. If we don't like something then we try something different. We prefer the Dive In on Pinnacle ships. We have loved the salad station so far. We do wish there were more choices for fruit in the morning, but oh well. 

[Blackduck59]

17 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

You are from the land of famous & wonderful afternoon tea, so it’s natural you might expect more. Of course, the Empress Hotel afternoon tea is now $95 per person!

Funny enough I've never had afternoon tea at the Empress, it's always been to pricey for me. I did however build the large roll top tea carts and the shroud walls where they park them in the middle of the room. There are other great options in our town. 

[cbr663]

We have viewed recent videos of the afternoon tea and weren't impressed so we never attend.  The afternoon tea used to be a very different affair and sadly, it also has been a victim of cutbacks.

[SilvertoGold]

About the generic black tea at Afternoon Tea: I tell the servers I don't drink black tea and I always, no problem, get a choice of green and herbal teas, while my DH asks for Earl Grey and gets it. Helps to know some of the servers, but there is always an Assitant DRM around and the box of assorted teas is close by.

Edited August 29, 2023 by SilvertoGold

[3rdGenCunarder]

12 hours ago, JonSchick said:

My other half and I would agree about the MDR.  For example tonight's goat cheese salad starter came with no goats cheese at all, until she requested it.  And that's when she noticed the lettuce was gritty and not properly washed.  We've generally eaten quite well in there, occasionally very well, but it's not consistent, nothing is in the slightest bit memorable, vegetables are served as a tiny garnish rather than as core component of the meal, and the service is often slow.  In terms of food, this cruise is definitely a major step down from our previous Cunard experience, ditto P&O (although there is much else about the ship that I prefer to P&O).  It's uninspired safe choices that aren't done with any great finesse.  Not terrible, but not great either.

 

You're kinder than I am. I would say that gritty lettuce IS terrible. And I've seen the trend in salads where what sounds like a main ingredient (goat cheese) is barely a garnish. The other trend is veg as a garnish not a portion. I love vegetables and sometimes ask for extra portion of veg. 

 

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Sorry for the placement of my personal photo on the "afternoon tea" comments it was supposed to be under the text. I know I wasn't going to compare HAL but thought I should show that when I say I can do better at home, I can.

 

Ah, I was wondering why that looked so much better than the afternoon tea I had on HAL. On my last cruise on HAL, the offerings were as you describe. The tea was oversteeped. Okay, it's black tea. But that doesn't mean it should be as dark as tar!!! I miss HAL's "house" tea, a lovely Darjeeling.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

You are from the land of famous & wonderful afternoon tea, so it’s natural you might expect more. Of course, the Empress Hotel afternoon tea is now $95 per person!

 

An interesting description of afternoon tea at the Empress. Based on some of the others in Victoria and many I experienced growing up in UK, I'll suggest it is aimed at tourists, as it was very average and expensive.