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

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Oh I'm sorry you missed the baked Alaska it was really good. 

I'm so glad when people have had good experiences and chose well for themselves.  It shows that some of our disappointments are from poor choices on my part. I did mention I  felt several time I chose poorly in the MDR. Of course the main thing was slow service. We chose to have a table for 2 tonight and service was quicker. 

For my part, I’ve found that if you find a waiter who seems proficient and simpatico, often it is helpful to ask them for guidance especially if you’ve narrowed it down to two options. I’ve been steered away from some bad dishes that look good “on paper” by doing this.

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Speaking of the Empress: do you remember when there used to be a Chocolate Buffet?  It was outstanding and we would come over for the weekend espeically for this treat!  Younger then and we could eat a LOT of sugar when it was made into those fabulous desserts! 

 

Or how about the Bengal Room, had some brilliant curries in that room. Sadly long gone.

[cwd79]

Prince Edward Island today. Weather is rain all day. We walked off the ship and see the Zuiderdam is also in port. Walked over to 'The Gallery' this is a coffee shop/bakery about 7-8min walk from port. I go every time we come here for their yummy Magic Bars. Completely worth getting soaked. 

[CruiserBruce]

19 minutes ago, JonSchick said:

 the food on Zaandam is "fine" and occasionally "good" but certainly not as good as some of the people on the HAL forum send to think it is.

Food is totally subjective. If people think the food is great, that doesn't make them wrong, nor is your opinion wrong.

[cwd79]

29 minutes ago, cwd79 said:

Prince Edward Island today. Weather is rain all day. We walked off the ship and see the Zuiderdam is also in port. Walked over to 'The Gallery' this is a coffee shop/bakery about 7-8min walk from port. I go every time we come here for their yummy Magic Bars. Completely worth getting soaked. 

Also want to mention on the way back from 'The Gallery' we stopped at the Receiver Coffee shop which was only a three minute walk from port, they have a wonderful Butter Tart that I am seriously contemplating going back out into the rain to get another one for later. 

[Mary229]

While  on a cruise ship I always remind myself that a fine meal costs over $100 per person in the city and I remind myself that an evening at the theater is a minimum of $40 per person at home and a fair hotel is at least $100 a night ($50 per person)  It puts it into perspective.  I usually pay $100 to $150 per person per day so in my mind I am only looking for a fair to moderate experience on the ship as I travel to my chosen destinations. 

 

(Aside - No matter which cabin you pick the same food is going to be served to everyone.  Some member of the forum did a nifty calculation a while back determining that fares were by square foot of cabin area.)

Edited August 30, 2023 by Mary229

[VegasRealtor]

20 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

While  on a cruise ship I always remind myself that a fine meal costs over $100 per person in the city and I remind myself that an evening at the theater is a minimum of $40 per person at home and a fair hotel is at least $100 a night ($50 per person)  It puts it into perspective.  I usually pay $100 to $150 per person per day so in my mind I am only looking for a fair to moderate experience on the ship as I travel to my chosen destinations. 

 

(Aside - No matter which cabin you pick the same food is going to be served to everyone.  Some member of the forum did a nifty calculation a while back determining that fares were by square foot of cabin area.)

We’re on the Zuiderdam, right behind you. In the crows nest, waiting for the rain to slack up. Looks like an all day wait..

[SilvertoGold]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Or how about the Bengal Room, had some brilliant curries in that room. Sadly long gone.

Agree!  Fantastic curries, wonderful ambiance!

[xjust4fun]

Thanks Lyle for taking us along on your cruise, been enjoying your posts.  It now gives us a better picture as to what to expect as we are boarding on Sept. 24. As a result we are now doing a lot of Bookings for the Specialty Restaurants.  Enjoying your thread and observations.

 

Diane

[OlsSalt]

4 hours ago, JonSchick said:

Actually my post said exactly that didn't it?  Choose fruit or cheese instead.  I'm sorry but the reality is the food on Zaandam is "fine" and occasionally "good" but certainly not as good as some of the people on the HAL forum send to think it is.

 

You can only go in with your own expectations and judgements; not make judgements about others. HAL food works for us - it is good enough. We had enough of "fine and fussy" dining on Crystal to realize this is not why we personally choose a cruise vacation.  

 

The longer cruises one takes, the more weight gain becomes a problem if things are "too delicious" so one starts scaling back anyway. But for shorter cruises, dining indulgences can be more important.

[Blackduck59]

So it was early morning on the bus. We were on the drive over the Confederation Bridge. Unfortunately the weather was awful. I can see how this tour could be quite nice in good weather, for us not so much. Oh well the weather gods had spoken. Unfortunately the P/A system had some glitches on the way out and this added to the unfortunate weather made for a disappointing tour. We had a stop at Cape Jourimain for an hour. Some people made the long wet trudge out to the lighthouse. We stay close to the bus, there is a little gift shop and small snack stand. I went out the back side of the building along a boardwalk to the nature center, this feels like a work in progress. I was able to get some decent shots of the bridge emerging from the gloom. We all got back on the bus and drove back to town, meanwhile they sorted the P/A while we were stopped. Unfortunately our tour guide seemed a little hesitant to use it. I'm afraid she seemed like a nice woman but terribly unprepared. 

I think this would have been a pretty good tour with better weather, I think it really threw everyone off.

[Blackduck59]

We got back to the ship and the weather is much better we stayed dry by going through the little market  and Founders Hall market. From there it's a short walk up the hill to Water-Prince Corner Shop for lobster rolls, they were about $28.00 CDN. We enjoyed them very much.

[Blackduck59]

I often have trouble getting pictures placed where I want on these boards.

So after lobster rolls it was a couple blocks to Cows Ice Cream. It's a proper shop close to the pier, you can see it from the ship, if  you know where to look. I tried 2 flavours today the cherry chocolate and the PEI blueberry and even though they were very good I preferred the peach Melba which was peach ice cream with a raspberry swirl, that we got in Halifax. They have a bunch of different swag in the shop, something for everyone. 

We're back on the ship now, Lynn is resting and I think I'll grab a nap as soon as I post this. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Blackduck59
Typo

[Destiny0315]

Just a reminder @Blackduck59 that you should be sailing under the Confederation Bridge about one hour after you sail away from Charlottetown today and depending upon the weather you should have some great views of just how wide a span it is. 

[Blackduck59]

2 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

Just a reminder @Blackduck59 that you should be sailing under the Confederation Bridge about one hour after you sail away from Charlottetown today and depending upon the weather you should have some great views of just how wide a span it is. 

Yes, we will probably be in the MDR then. 

[Destiny0315]

6 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Yes, we will probably be in the MDR then.

It may be tough to get one but the best views are from the tables near the large aft windows in the mdr as you watch it spread across the horizon as you sail away from it.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Destiny0315

[Banditswife]

On 8/28/2023 at 7:22 PM, OlsSalt said:

 

Fun to search on line for "best cruise line food" since the answers are all over the place, but the real surprise was how often Carnival ships were mentioned near the top.

 

Any local comments on that finding? They even apologize for this claim, since on the face it seems so unlkely due to the more "fun ship" reputation Carnival ships have.  

 

 

For years we were Carnival cruisers, then took a HAL cruise for the itinerary.  Back then I would have preferred Carnival food over HAL.  Over the past couple of years we have sailed mostly HAL with a couple Carnival cruises thrown in, I would still say Carnival has comparable food to HAL, sometimes better but not always.

[MicCanberra]

A shame the weather is interfering with your shoes.

[Blackduck59]

Okay now that we are moving away from lobster country,  and have sampled a few different lobster rolls, I think I would agree with @MicCanberra that prawns are more enjoyable. Remember food is a subjective thing before you blast me 😟

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

A shame the weather is interfering with your shoes.

Supposed to be shorex but shoes works too

[lyndarra]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Okay now that we are moving away from lobster country,  and have sampled a few different lobster rolls, I think I would agree with @MicCanberra that prawns are more enjoyable. Remember food is a subjective thing before you blast me 😟

I would much rather eat prawns than lobster.

On the last day of a HAL cruise from New Zealand to Oz, the Lido put on a fresh NZ seafood lunch. Pretty much had a feast of king prawns on fresh bread and butter. It was the last cruise on Maasdam before Covid shutdown so I don't know if they still do it.

[Blackduck59]

19 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Supposed to be shorex but shoes works too

Thanks for the clarification Mic, I was wondering what shoes had to do with it, although they were soaked through in Halifax. 

[Blackduck59]

Confederation Bridge shortly before the transit. I have whole bunch of photos on my proper camera.  I hope others got good ones from other parts of the ship.

[CruiserBruce]

Hey @Blackduck59, if you have a minute, could you observe what is available in the sparkling wine department that is covered by the drink packages? I have heard about Domaine St Michele, but it seems to suddenly have disappeared off the various menus I have been seeing recently.

 

Greatly appreciated!

[NCTribeFan]

Count me in as preferring shrimp to lobster.  I wouldn't mind having that lobster roll, though.  Was just thinking that when my company arrives tomorrow that we should go to Nantucket Grill for an early dinnner and I'll have a lobster roll!