A La Carte Dining on HAL?

[Cruising-along]

Another vote for NO WAY!

[babyher]

Yet another vote for

No Way!!! :)

[cf_chuck]

I would seriously reconsider cruising with a line only offering ala carte.

 

I don't see this happening.

 

Looking into my crystal ball, I do see the real possibility of a tiered menu. The basic tier would be included in the cruise price, the enhanced tier, consisiting of a broader selection and perhaps higher quality, offered for a premium.

[sail7seas]

Really interesting comments. Thanks. Enjoyed reading everyone's posts.

Some creative folks here came up with intriguing variations.

 

[PirateShark]

My vote is a big fat NO!

 

However, if you think about it, maybe this could work:

 

I'm sure many of you have been to restaurants with a "prix fixe" menu i.e. 3 courses for say $30 with a optional wine paring for say $20 = $50 per person. Add an additional course and wine pairing as you like for another $10 bucks or so.

 

Now, what if they say OK everyone, you get an appy, entree and 1 dessert included (say in the LIDO) and for your upcharge in the Pinnacle. You want to add another course, then you add another couple of bucks. You want a wine pairing, then you add a couple of bucks. And so on.

 

But if they serve, and excuse this phrase, slop like in a high school cafeteria for nothing and charge just to get a decent hot meal, then forget cruising these lines. I'll go back to Regent if I must and cruise that much less. It's a whole wide world out there and we pick cruising for the reasons so many of us state: Service, Room and Board. If any part of that trio gets dumped or devalued, then what's the point of cruising?

 

I pray this never happens...

[dakacz]

No way. It would totally defeat the relaxation of cruising. A great benefit is having paid for all essentials ahead of time and not worrying about costs.

Dotty

[brucory]

not to have to pay extra for meals...

 

Even "easy cruise" mentioned earlier in the thread provides meals...

 

I would prefer savings were made in other areas first... Maybe simple things like hanging towels or making your own bed (for those that dont already)...

 

 

:D:D:D

[cruisinsmoothly]

Would we have to smuggle our prime rib wrapped inside a towel? I guess my smaller rumrunner could be used for au jus? tv dinners on the balcony? sounds like the cruising experience I have come to love. Maybe they could franchise a McDs or BK to deal with room service?

 

I think not!:eek:

[sapper1]

I much prefer the status quo. It is easy to judge your total costs because you generally have a pretty good idea what your onboard bill will amount to.

I think if pay as you go eating were to be introduced then cruising would lose its appeal--at least it would for us.

[pipedreams62]

[kryos]

We do not think HAL would ever get to that point

 

Ruth & Jim

I agree with you.

 

While they might perhaps at some point in the future get into ala carte dining for certain specialty venues, I think the main dining rooms, Lido, and outdoor grill would always be included.

 

From what I understand, though, some of the other lines charge sort of ala carte in some of their premium restaurants. I seem to recall a steakhouse, maybe on RCI or perhaps NCL, that charges a cover charge and then varying charges depending on what you order ... like the Porterhouse Steak might be an extra $20 bucks or something.

 

But if the mass market cruise lines, including HAL, ever went to totally ala carte dining, then what would be the special deal about cruising? It's just like going on a vacation on land then ... you eat in a restaurant, you get a check at the end of the meal. One of the reasons I cruise is for the convenience. When I plunk down my money at final payment time, I know that pretty much all necessities are covered. Even if I chose not to spend one buck onboard (other than gratuities, of course) I could still have a perfectly good cruise. Take that freedom away and a good portion of the allure of cruising has gone away.

 

I doubt very many cruise lines would be willing to shoot themselves in the foot that way. They'd sooner cut food budgets and let quality suffer a bit before they would start charging for every meal. That's my take on it, anyway.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I guess we could learn to live with a couple of Premium offerings on the menu, so long as it didn't interfer with timely service for those of who don't choose that

I think someone told me that one of the cruise lines offers cavier ... at something like $50 bucks for a portion for two.

 

I guess that's okay. Cavier is definitely something special to some people. Me? Fish eggs? Yuk!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[pipedreams62]

Even in the greatest hypotheticals

 

 

People would NEVER pay for food.

 

It's all about the food and it's all over these boards.

 

Questions such as

 

1. "How Soon After I Board Can I Eat?"

 

2. "Do They Have Cheese And Crackers So I Can Eat Before Dinner?"

 

3. "Do They Have A Midnight Buffet,So I can Eat Again?

 

4. Will The Ship Pack Me A Lunch When I go Ashore, So I Can Eat?"

 

5. "If NO Is The Answer To Question # 4 Then Where Do I Eat?"

 

6. 'Do They Have Any Contests On Board Where I can Eat?"

 

[STEVENJAN]

Hey Pipedreams.

What time is it?

[ducklovemama]

I'm with you 100%. I'd be through with cruising if this happened. I cruise for the traditional cruising experience. Going through the gyrations of flying to get on a floating Ruby Tuesday's just wouldn't happen for me!

 

I can just see it -- "How can I smuggle my own food onto the ship?" "Why aren't there microwaves in the staterooms?" "Why are the in-cabin refrigerators so tiny?"

 

 

 

Wow,

You so have that right !!!!!:):)

[MadManOfBethesda]

Well, this has been a very entertaining read. I find it very interesting, not to mention enlightening, that so many people put such an emphasis on prepaid food. Especially in light of the fact that whenever I come across a thread that compares the merits of AIs with cruising, not one of the cruise enthusiasts ever mentions food. It’s always that a cruise ship is like a floating hotel that takes you to many different and faraway places and you never have to pack and unpack. AIs are put down because you’re tied to eating on site or else paying extra to go to an outside restaurant. (Which actually is the way a lot of cruise guests act as they rush back from a city or island tour so that they can eat their "free" lunch on board rather than paying to sample the native cuisine.) The fact that AIs include drinks is actually thought to be a negative as well with cruise enthusiasts because the cruise enthusiasts argue that they would rather pay for what they drink rather than have it included in a higher overall fare charge, thereby subsidizing others’ drinking habits. (But apparently, they don’t mind lite eaters subsidizing their multi-course dining activities.)

 

But now that cruise ships actually charging for meals is a very slight possibility in the future, the wonderful itineraries and the chance to explore the four corners of the world without having to pack and re-pack no longer seems to be important.

 

To paraphrase James Carville, IT’S THE FOOD, STUPID!!

 

Now that this has been made abundantly clear by the musings on this thread, I have a wonderful way for the cruise lines to cut down on their costs:

 

Don’t go anywhere!

 

Just board the passengers, assign them to their cabins, maintain all the current dining and entertainment activities, but never raise the anchor! Think of all the fuel costs that will be eliminated! Not to mention port fees and taxes! Just make sure that the passengers are well-fed and that no charges are incurred in the dining room. It seems like a win-win for everyone.

 

Now me, I cruise because I like the fact that I can visit several locales on a single trip. To me, a cruise ship really is a floating hotel. If the cruise lines want to start running their restaurants the same way hotels do, that’s fine with me. I have no problem signing a check at the conclusion of a breakfast, lunch or dinner. God knows, I’ve had plenty of practice over the years.