[ED BUCHANAN]

Just got back from caribe cruise , about 6th cruise all toll. Cruising has changed. It's still food ,food and more food..Went thru all kitchens most equip from Europe Electrolux Brand. 3500 passenger, about 1500 crew. Food has changed from years ago. Desserts are actually bad, excluding fresh fruit or cobblers or ice cream,. Cakes are all mousses, no cake at all and made in forms. Loads of gelatin used. At buffet Beef Wellington made with chopped meat. Things are called the classic names but made their way. I had and english triffle, the pitts. A Napoleon made without cake or puff paste.? I wish they would ,make food optional, that way they could offer higher quality. Pay if you want to eat a meal dont pay if you dont. Ship I was on 129 cooks(tournants) Chef must be a genius at recycling as breakfast left overs become lunch in another form and then dinner.Keep in mind this cruise was not cut rate or bargain basement, but a major name line. The ship had 11 restaurants 6 of them an optional cover charge, they were a bit better. Steak house was good. They constantly try and pour liquor down your throat at from $4.00 to 8.50 per drink. Gratuity is added at $12.00 pp per day total room and dining room staff.. All and all relaxing. New ship coming 5000 guest 2100 crew and a bar made out of ice all the time.

[m.d.hughes]

You should try Holland America, smaller ships and pretty impressive food though I do enjoy playing "what was it yesterday" on the lunch buffets, to tell you the truth though we hardly ever eat the buffets, it's so much more civilized to sit in the dining room or order room service, thats always a treat... room service with no charge, no tip, no nothing just pick up the phone and they come running.

There was the time on our first cruise when I drunkenly filled out the room service breakfast card and basically ticked off 2 of everything, including prune juice, so 7:30am I'm stupidly hung over and 2 happy room service attendents show up with our trays of food..... yes 2 of them, there's enough food to feed a small nation in a 100 square foot cabin with no opening window.. come to think of it that maybe what pushed me into sobriety, so now in the evenings I just add one or two items to other peoples orders as they are hanging on the cabin doors.

How was the service on your ship?, I have always been impressed by the staff on H/M, they are going to be tipped anyway but they are always pleasant and say hello or even make eye contact, I have suggested we take our managers on a short cruise to show them what customer service really is, being a friendly professional not professionally friendly.

I only have 11 months to wait until my next cruise, I'm taking a 12 day repositioning and mexican riviera which I am very much looking forward too, I've never taken 2 eeeks off before.... I wander what it feels like?

[ED BUCHANAN]

Service and crew were very good. tell you the truth I would prefer tip included on my bill. I have been on Holland, NCL, Princess, Italian, Costa, and The old France. Next is Panama Canal repo on celebrity, as others on this NCL cruise said celeb was now the best. Worst one I have been on was Princess ,service blah, crew unfriendly, and food mediocre. Shows on board 100 % better then yesteryear. Be honest with you Its only way to travel, you don't live out of suitcase like a hotel, and you know you have a good place to come back to for eating and sleeping. Cheaper per day then any good resort hotel.

[KYHeirloomer]

Well, M.D., your experience with Holland America is the antithesis of mine. After cruising the Inland Passage I sent them a 5 1/2 page, singe-spaced critique that did not have a single positive statement. That's how bad it was.

As to the food, I found it abominable. In the dining room I didn't have a hot meal a single night. And, of course, nobody speaks English, so there's no way to complain. The final night I ordered a pasta dish, figuring there was no way they could screw that up. When it finally arrived it was a cold, gelatenous mass that took an act of will on my part to not hurl to the floor.

Ya know, when so many big things are going wrong you notice small things you'd otherwise overlook. Such as this: It's formal night. Women in gowns, men at least in suits and ties. The whole drill. And if you order a soft drink they slap the da*mn can down on the table instead of pouring it into a glass.

Meanwhile, lunch was a joke. If you weren't among the first few in line it would be a 15-20 minute wait while they made more food. This was a daily occurance, not a one-time thing.

As to service, other than our room steward I wouldn't give you two cents for the entire staff and crew. Nor will I ever board another Holland America ship.

[DuckFat]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

Well, M.D., your experience with Holland America is the antithesis of mine.

It sounds like we did the same cruise as you and I agree. Holland America has the same cattle car mentality as most of the others. Next time we hope to try Cunard.

[KYHeirloomer]

It permeates their entire corporate body, Duck Fat.

As a result of my letter they wanted to offer us another, complementary, cruise to "prove" that what I'd experienced was an aberation. I told them that I'd only accept on the provision that nobody aboard knew who we were. Oh, no, they insisted, everybody would have to know that we were special guests of the company.

Yeah, right! That would prove something, I guess; mostly Holland America's indifference to its passenger base.

[Hotchpotch]

My wife and I cruise once or twice a year and have been doing so for 20 plus years. In the late 1990’s I had a few drinks with the executive chef on a Princess ship and he told me that his budgeted food cost per person per DAY was $2.79. WOW.

Anyhow I highly suggest that you try Regent cruise line – our personal favorite.

http://www.rssc.com/

In second place is crystal cruise

http://www.crystalcruises.com/

Cheers

[ED BUCHANAN]

Cost me almost that to feed my staff!!!!