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Dining A gourmand will likely be disappointed with Holland America' dining room cuisine. But the average cruise ship passenger can expect decent banquet-quality food, with good presentation. My biggest complaint about the dining room menu was the single salad offered each evening (along with the always-available Caesar Salad). The salads were uninspired, and the salad dressings lacked imagination and taste. On the other hand, the lunch buffet on Lido Deck served up all kinds of variety. With separate serving areas for many items, lines were rare except perhaps at very peak times. One of my favorite lunch stops was the Deli area, serving up the best BLT served on a baguette, and then grilled. The poolside Grill serving hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers is a good place to ignore. The hot dogs were decent, but the hamburgers are prefab frozen patties with little taste, and no condiments other than mayo, mustard and ketchup are offered. There is also a taco bar immediately forward of the Grill. The Odyssey Restaurant (Pinnacle Grill) is the ship's alternate restaurant, with a $20 per person surcharge. Since we encountered a 40-minute delay from our reserved time, and another 40 minutes until our appetizers were served, the food admittedly lost some of its taste before we took our first bite. The U.S. Sterling steaks were tender and tasty, and the side dishes were plentiful and well prepared. The desserts were outstanding, and almost made us forget the long wait. The Westerdam may offer the most extensive room service menu I've encountered at sea. Some items have limited hours of availability, but overall it' an impressive room service menu. Late one evening I ordered a sandwich that was delivered hot within 15 minutes. One morning we ordered a full breakfast to the cabin, and even though it arrived prior to the requested time, it was stone cold, and missing some items we ordered. Restaurants The two-level main restaurant is stunning, with widely-spaced tables, romantic lighting and panoramic sea views. There are four dining seatings - 5:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Casual breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight buffets are served in the Lido restaurant adjacent to the pool, with raised platforms to create the appearance of dining areas. The Pinnacle Grill at the Marco Polo is a Pacific Northwest specialty restaurant on Promenade Deck. This reservations-only restaurant features its own galley with a "1600" degree grill to ensure tenderness and taste. Bulgari china, unique holloware and a dedicated service staff add to the special experience. The wine list has a number of selections not found in the main dining room and highlights California and Washington vintages. Reservations are required and there is a $20 service charge. For many cruise vacationers, dining IS cruising! Holland America agrees. In fact, they’ve agreed for over 130 years with white-gloved, shipboard service! To announce the evening meals, uniformed staff members tour the ship, signaling the dining time with chimes. It’s a nice touch and another timeless tradition familiar to millions of loyal Holland America guests. Sophisticated dining amid an atmosphere of fine art, museum-quality antiques, crisp white table linens and fine Rosenthal china. Five-course meals ranging from classic French cuisine to lighter alternatives. Delicious vegetarian selections are available at every meal. Choice of four dining times in the main dining room. An upscale, reservation-only restaurant and an always-casual buffet alternative are available.
The two-tiered Vista Dining Room serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; each night's menu features a selection of five entrees. Service is broken into four assigned seatings 5:15, 6:15, 8 and 8:30 p.m. which is intended to improve service, though we found that to be the weak link in the dining experience. Servers alternately seemed rushed and bored (frequently chatting amongst themselves when they could be chatting up passengers or at least offering menus and filling water glasses). Cuisine highlighted primarily traditional preparations.
In contrast, and quite unexpectedly, we found The Lido Deck buffet to be a superb option at all meals (particularly at dinner, when tables in the elegant room were covered with white linen tablecloths). The lido was designed in a station format so that different specialties are hosted in different places, which cut down on lines. Breakfast offered the usual options, plus a made-to-order omelette station. At lunch, each of these stations offers a distinct menu: Italian, deli, salads, Asian stir-fry, etc. Dinners were our favorite time; offering a low-key, casual option to the Vista, the cuisine generally replicated its menus and items were made-to-order. Occasional late-night buffets are held here as well. Our absolute favorite spot was the Pinnacle Grill, Westerdam's alternate dining venue. Well worth the $20 per-person cover, the ambience is hushed and elegant (without feeling pretentious), featuring Bvlgari china and Riedel stemware. The cuisine (and the excellent wine list) centers on a Pacific Northwest theme. Reservations are required and can be tough to get if you wait more than a day or two to book ahead. But here's a tip: The restaurant opens for lunch on some sea days (the fee is $10 per person) with a different menu and the experience was equally fabulous. One new Vista-class addition is the nautically themed Windstar Cafe, which sells "designer" coffees (for a fee), and offers up complimentary pastries. We also applaud Westerdam's 24-hour room service. Prompt and efficient, there's a quite comprehensive list of snacks, salads and sandwiches. As well, you can order from dining menus during mealtimes. At breakfast, hot items are available. |
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