kryos Posted July 14, 2008 #176 Share Posted July 14, 2008 That is another cruise line, another CC Bulletin Board.I have not read anything like that except for the rare hit and run type post. HAL and NCL are very different products and HAL is not doing anything like what you describe here. Not now. But if they don't keep their prices in line with other cruise lines ... they will eventually lose business. So, I don't see them raising prices anytime soon. That means they have to make do with a lower profit margin on every cruise, or figure out a way to get the passengers to pay more money. True NCL is another cruise line, and personally I believe they are the "Discount Harry's" of the cruise industry. There are a lot of people who book 100% on price. They have absolutely no loyalty to any particular cruise line. So, if HAL tried raising their prices in order to put back a lot of the nice amenities we used to have and no longer do ... HAL would probably lose a fair amount of customers who would just not be willing to pay the higher prices ... not when they could go to another line, do the same itinerary, and get the cruise cheaper. Blue skies ... --rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numbersix Posted July 14, 2008 #177 Share Posted July 14, 2008 OK you Steakhouse trivia fans *LOL* Does anyone remember Vallee's Steakhouses ? Oh, ya!! Out on the Route One ByPass in Kittery, Maine! 'Been gone for years, but, I'll tell you, as a kid, "dining" there, while on vacation, with my grandparents, it seemed plenty fancy! Thanks for a great memory! All this talk about cruise food....all I know is that we were on a Med cruise on the Rotterdam late May/early June, and we paid about the same (per day) as what a dinner would have cost us at one of the oft-mentioned restaurants on this thread...Morton's, Ruth's Chris, et cetera....hmmm...let's see here....we can get accommodation on a floating resort in the Mediterranean, be lulled to sleep by the motion of the ship (I love that....my best sleeps are on cruise ships!) each morning waking up in places some people just get to dream about, like Athens, Turkey, Santorini, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, et cetera, where they wait on us hand-and-foot and treat us like a king and queen, get three (pretty good) meals a day, plus unlimited snacks, plus a capucchino after dinner, 24/7 room service, plus (pretty good) entertainment, have the opportunity to meet some interesting, nice people, dance with my DW every night if we wish (did I miss anything?)......OR.....we can go to dinner 5 minutes from where we live.....same price. Let me think about that for ...about one second!! When's our next cruise?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted July 14, 2008 #178 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Two Euro's worth from off the coast of Denmark: Ain't nothing wrong with Sizzler Restaurants - OK, you pick up the occasional case of Noro Virus on land there:eek: but hey, who can't take a joke plus a piece of rib stuck in a colon is no biggie either! GO WESTERDAM GO SIZZLER!!;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted July 15, 2008 #179 Share Posted July 15, 2008 :mad: We cruised on the Westerdam from 6/22 through 6/29. We had 10 people in our party and the rooms were good. The scenery was wonderful, but the food was terrible. Everyone in our party complained about the quality of the food. It was like eating in a "Sizzler Restaurant" for 7 days. We have been on more than 25 cruises all over the world and this was by far the worst food we ever experienced. The crew was very friendly, the ports were great and the tender service was organized very well. We will NOT be cruising on Holland America again !! Can you tell me who the chef was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseLiz Posted July 15, 2008 #180 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I doubt we'd pay more for better cuisine. We're just not that picky and we cruise for the ship and the ports. If we want a really great meal, we go to a really great restaurant. But, if the food declines to a point where it's not good at all...then we might consider another type of vacation, or another cruise line. We tend not to eat beef dishes because we live in Kansas. We can get great beef here anytime we wish, so the quality of beef on a cruise really isn't an issue for us. However, with the cost of everything going up, the cruise lines have to make cuts somewhere. It may be little things here and there...but in order to stay afloat, they'll do what they have to do. I just hope it's temporary. I know where you're coming from. We aren't that picky food wise - I'm just happy if I don't have to cook it - but a few other posters said that they'd be happy to pay more for higher quality food. We don't cruise HAL because the food is so great, we do it for the whole package - the service, the ambiance, the special touches, etc. The food is just one part of the whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard in Panama Posted July 15, 2008 #181 Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you don't mind paying a little more you can eat in Pinnacle regularly - $30 a night is another $300 per person for a 10-day cruise. I'm sure if you booked a table at Pinnacle for the entire cruise, they would be able to do some special requests. IMHO Pinnacle is underutilized on HAL and the food and service are generally fantastic. You can't prepare for 1400-1800 and have it taste the same as preparing an individual dish for an individual order. My 2 cents. Regards, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkletoes4445 Posted July 15, 2008 #182 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I know where you're coming from. We aren't that picky food wise - I'm just happy if I don't have to cook it - but a few other posters said that they'd be happy to pay more for higher quality food. We don't cruise HAL because the food is so great, we do it for the whole package - the service, the ambiance, the special touches, etc. The food is just one part of the whole. We're exactly the same way. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtl513 Posted July 15, 2008 #183 Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you don't mind paying a little more you can eat in Pinnacle regularly - $30 a night ...The P.G. is back down to $20 pp again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m steve Posted July 15, 2008 #184 Share Posted July 15, 2008 will not be as fine as food prepared for a 100 +-. A restaurant on land or the specialty on board can do more to insure the quality than the kitchen doing banquest size catering especially with a choice of 5-6 entrees etc. It's more like going to a charity dinner at a hotel where everyone gets rubber chicken or medium steak. For what it is, HAL's kitchens prepare food better than many other lines. But I would never compare them to Sizzler. I think the beef served is Choice and not Select or lower quality. Only in the Pinnacle will you get Prime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate's Mom Posted July 15, 2008 #185 Share Posted July 15, 2008 In my father's defense.... First off, for anyone who stated he proably got a discount fare... If you think, $22K for 10 people is a discount than so be it, we got one but I booked the trip and can tell you right now, no disount was applied for any of us including the 1 year old that traveled along.... Secondly, some of you doubt that he has been on over 25 cruises since he has never posted on here.... He has been on the majority of higher end cruise lines. I am the one who turned him on to this site to lurk before we cruised together as a family so blame me that he has never posted...... I will say the food was terrible as well. Just disappointed in the quality, as for the last two cruises which were cheaper had much better food...... For example, the baked alaska had raw egg white when it was served., major no no for someone who was 22 weeks pregnant... Steak was very tough and I ordered it rare.... Could go on and on but why bother this was our opinion which we were entilted to and you can disagree but we were there and you weren't.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boytjie Posted July 15, 2008 #186 Share Posted July 15, 2008 In my father's defense.... First off' date=' for anyone who stated he proably got a discount fare... If you think, $22K for 10 people is a discount than so be it, we got one but I booked the trip and can tell you right now, no disount was applied for any of us including the 1 year old that traveled along....Secondly, some of you doubt that he has been on over 25 cruises since he has never posted on here.... He has been on the majority of higher end cruise lines. I am the one who turned him on to this site to lurk before we cruised together as a family so blame me that he has never posted...... I will say the food was terrible as well. Just disappointed in the quality, as for the last two cruises which were cheaper had much better food...... For example, the baked alaska had raw egg white when it was served., major no no for someone who was 22 weeks pregnant... Steak was very tough and I ordered it rare.... Could go on and on but why bother this was our opinion which we were entilted to and you can disagree but we were there and you weren't....[/quote'] Aren't you the person who had a 13 month old baby in a swim diaper in the pool on the Westerdam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkletoes4445 Posted July 15, 2008 #187 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Aren't you the person who had a 13 month old baby in a swim diaper in the pool on the Westerdam? You're correct. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usha Posted July 15, 2008 #188 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Aren't you the person who had a 13 month old baby in a swim diaper in the pool on the Westerdam? I was wondering the same thing... I think you're right. Just one big hap-- well, one big family.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxguy77 Posted July 15, 2008 #189 Share Posted July 15, 2008 The best steaks I've ever had were grilled right here on my own patio. In this area of the midwest, we are able to buy beef by the whole or half - direct from the farmer. It goes to the butcher of our choice and is cut to our liking. While we haven't done that in a very long while, it was a way of life while we were raising a family. Can you imagine hamburgers that taste and feel like filet? It was wonderful, though I have to admit the Pinnacle Grill is my next choice. We did the same in Calif. A friend asked me to split a beef with him and knew a 3rd generation butcher who had grown up and learned his trade in Iowa. We had a good beef to start with and he aged it perfectly:) ,then spent a good deal of time figuring out with me how to cut it. We never bought meat anywhere else until we moved to Texas several years later. Also many dairymen in the area (all the dairies in the Los Angeles area were moving there) raised pigs feeding them slop (grain soaked overnight in milk). They would have him butcher 1 or 2 for the house and sell the rest. We bought smoked ham and bacon from him. My father said it was the first like that he had tasted since moving off the farm while in Hi School.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxguy77 Posted July 15, 2008 #190 Share Posted July 15, 2008 HAL has no choice but go like NCL Not really IMHO. We sailed NCL very happily when it was independent, but then it started going downhill; we no longer sail or consider NCL. A company recently bought a half interest in NCL with the stipulation the money would be used to upgrade the passenger experience! I believe the first was to increase the food budget $20/day/person. If HAL goes lower and NCL goes higher, when do they pass each other?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u4ea Posted July 15, 2008 #191 Share Posted July 15, 2008 If the OP is reading, or relatives etc., you may want to revisit the site guidelines section. You shouldn’t expect to be taking to seriously by starting off in CC with a complaint, especially without follow up discussion to the topic. Here is a quote from the guidelines that are good reminders to all. “Cruise Critic's Cruise boards, as well as the information you read in our Member's Cruise Review Library, and our Cruiser's Choice Poll are designed to help cruisers obtain unbiased cruise-related information and discuss ways to make cruising more enjoyable, and perhaps even offer you a money-saving tip or two! On our Cruise Boards, this information is sometimes provided by our volunteer Hosts and sometimes by other contributors, many of whom use anonymous user names and are people we've never met. We recognize that while we have tons of great stuff in this forum, people sometimes post messages in our folders, upload articles to our libraries, or make statements in our chat rooms that are misleading, deceptive, or downright wrong. They may do this unintentionally or, sad to say, intentionally. Treat the cruisers here the same way you'd treat anyone you'd met for the first time. This is important because anyone is welcome to participate in our community. You shouldn't make a cruise decision just because some stranger (or even an online friend) talks it up. Basically, you shouldn't treat cyberspace any differently than you would real life. The fundamental concept is that you should NOT totally rely upon the information or opinions you read. Rather, you should use what you read here as starting points for doing independent research on cruise lines, ships, hotels, shore excursions and bargain-hunting techniques. Then judge for yourself the merits of the material that has been shared in our forum. “ Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go finish chewing my steak.:) Mark.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxguy77 Posted July 15, 2008 #192 Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you don't mind paying a little more you can eat in Pinnacle regularly - $30 a night is another $300 per person for a 10-day cruise. I'm sure if you booked a table at Pinnacle for the entire cruise, they would be able to do some special requests. IMHO Pinnacle is underutilized on HAL and the food and service are generally fantastic. You can't prepare for 1400-1800 and have it taste the same as preparing an individual dish for an individual order. My 2 cents. Regards, Richard Times 2 (married) for 15 days gets to be pretty big bucks, better spent (DW thinks) in the casino.:mad: The next post says now $20 so I guess it was underutilized. We'll try it one night. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomXXX Posted July 15, 2008 Author #193 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Peter, I can give will give you the list of cruises that I have been on; 2 times on Silverseas 2 times on Crystal 3 times on Oceania 3 times on Princess 1 time QE2 1 time Windstar 3 times Regent 2 times Seabourn 4 times NCL 2 times Royal Viking 2 times Carnival That is 25 but that does not count 8 cruises of sailing vessels in different spots around the world. These cruises are in foreign ports with a staff, cook , & crew. Anyway, what was your point? Are you trying to establish if I know what gourmet food should taste like? I think I do. And I would be upset if I was served food like we had on the Westerdam in any restaurant I frequented. We usually go out to a restaurant 7 nights a week for dinner and 3 times per week for lunch. The Westerdam had very poor quality food in both the restaurant and the buffet. I would expect much more from Holland America! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obriendan Posted July 15, 2008 #194 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Has anyone ever tried a Kolache? We have a new place near us called The Kolache Factory. Yum! Kolache's are these little warm bundles of tasty delight. The ones I like have eggs, bacon and cheese inside...but they are all quite tasty (the ones I've tried). They aren't very big, but they hit the spot. http://www.kolachefactory.com/ I'd first heard of these in a mystery novel I was reading, but I really had no clue what they were until I saw one...and ate one. They are just really good. This is making me hungry! :)[/quote Everybody in our area around Bryan, Texas knows what a kolache is. Two communities, Caldwell and Snook, both have annual Kolache Festivals. And a kolache can contain many, many things, rom meat and cheese as has been mentioned to jams and jellies which make them like a danish!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipedreams62 Posted July 16, 2008 #195 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Send this to a jury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u4ea Posted July 16, 2008 #196 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Peter, I can give will give you the list of cruises that I have been on;2 times on Silverseas 2 times on Crystal 3 times on Oceania 3 times on Princess 1 time QE2 1 time Windstar 3 times Regent 2 times Seabourn 4 times NCL 2 times Royal Viking 2 times Carnival That is 25 but that does not count 8 cruises of sailing vessels in different spots around the world. These cruises are in foreign ports with a staff, cook , & crew. Anyway, what was your point? Are you trying to establish if I know what gourmet food should taste like? I think I do. And I would be upset if I was served food like we had on the Westerdam in any restaurant I frequented. We usually go out to a restaurant 7 nights a week for dinner and 3 times per week for lunch. The Westerdam had very poor quality food in both the restaurant and the buffet. I would expect much more from Holland America! Well, after all that Tom, you do have a legitimate beef ;)(sorry):) You will hear that food is subjective, but based on your post, I believe you do “know” your gourmet food. The problem is, I don’t consider HAL “gourmet”. I’d put it a notch above Carnival. Your expectations may have been to high. How would you compare it to Carnival, NCL or Princess (the other lines are not mass market)? Mark… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseLiz Posted July 16, 2008 #197 Share Posted July 16, 2008 .... Could go on and on but why bother this was our opinion which we were entilted to and you can disagree but we were there and you weren't.... Actually I think there was another poster who was on the Westerdam the same cruise as you who also weighed in. Pokeynose I think it was. Sorry if it seems like everyone jumped on your family member for his opinions. This post kind of took on a life of it's own when he didn't make any replies. I think the shock value of the post title is partly to blame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkletoes4445 Posted July 16, 2008 #198 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Everybody in our area around Bryan, Texas knows what a kolache is. Two communities, Caldwell and Snook, both have annual Kolache Festivals. And a kolache can contain many, many things, rom meat and cheese as has been mentioned to jams and jellies which make them like a danish!:D Kolache festivals...count me in! They are just wonderful. They're new here...none of my friends have ever heard of them. The place is always packed...so they have a following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkletoes4445 Posted July 16, 2008 #199 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Aren't you the person who had a 13 month old baby in a swim diaper in the pool on the Westerdam? And if I am following what she posted, she's also the daughter of the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obriendan Posted July 16, 2008 #200 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Kolache festivals...count me in! They are just wonderful. They're new here...none of my friends have ever heard of them. The place is always packed...so they have a following. If yoy come on down, you can make the next festival on September 13, 2008!:D http://www.burlesoncountytx.com/Kolache%20Pages/Kolache%20Festival.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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