Food and dining

Recent guests report a very high quality food and dining experience across a range of ships. It appears that Holland America Line's recent upgrades in ingredients and training are paying off.

Main Dining Room

The main dining room is an elegant two-level restaurant where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served on fine Rosenthal china and proper silver cutlery. Fresh flowers adorn every table.

Dinner menus change each night, and there are always vegetarian and health-conscious options. Vegetarian dishes are not afterthoughts, and get consistently high marks. Steaks are fine but not nearly as good as in the Pinnacle Grill.

As of January 2008, most ships have only set dining in the main dining room. This means that when guests book, they specify a preference for one of four dinner seatings (typically 5:45pm, 6:15pm, 8pm or 8:30pm) and the size of table (2, 4, 6, 8 or 10). Each night you will dine at the same table with the same people and the same waiters. The advantage of this is that you will get to know your waiters - and more importantly, they will know your preferences. Also, many people find this is a good way to get to know fellow guests.

As You Wish Dining is currently undergoing tests on one level of the dining room on some ships. Under this set up, half of the dining room follows the traditional set dining system, and half is reservation-based, akin to Princess' Anytime Dining.

Wine waiters seem thin on the ground, so you may wish to order your wine in advance. The wine list and a sommelier are usually available around lunchtime on the Lido deck to answer any questions.
XX

Casual Dining: The Lido

The Lido is the casual dining venue. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours are typically longer than in the main dining room. Guests do not have to dress up for any meal in the Lido, though bathing suits do need be covered up.

In the evening, the Lido is outfitted with tablecloths and some tableside service.

Specialty Dining: The Pinnacle Grill

This Pacific Northwest-themed steakhouse features high quality Sterling Silver beef (hand-selected, and aged a minimum of 21 days) and an 1800 degree clamshell broiler. With many tables for two (and up to two tables for ten) the setting is intimate as well as elegant, featuring Bulgari Rosenthal china, Reidel stemware, silver cutlery and Frette linens.

There is a cover charge of $30 per person for dinner, or $10 per person for lunch (available on sea days only)

Overall, Pinnacle Grill offers a nice but not spectacular experience. While the food is good and the setting is more intimate than the main dining room, HAL's specialty restaurant lacks some of the refinements of other lines' specialty dining such as a degustation menu option, wine pairings, and any truly exceptional desserts.

Resources

• See more HAL Pinnacle Grill photos [link to view with photos tagged HAL and Specialty Dining]
• See HAL Pinnacle Grill menus [link to PG menu]
• See HAL Pinnacle Grill wine list [link to PG menu]

Poolside Grill

If you are in a bathing suit and do not wish to change (cover-ups are required in the Lido restaurant), your best bet is the Poolside Grill. It's basic fare: hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, kielbasa sausage, grilled chicken and a rather dated-looking taco bar. In Alaska, salmon burgers are a nice addition.
XX

Room Service

For those who enjoy room service, this is a major differentiator over other cruise lines in this category. Holland America Line is one of the few cruise lines in this price tier (only joined by Azamara) to offer full breakfast (not just Continental) to all cabin categories, as well as any item off the main dining room menu.
Additionally, meals are attractively presented and delivered at appropriate temperatures (hot foods are hot, cold foods are cold).
XX

Explorations Café

Explorations offers cappuccinos, lattes, frappes and other Starbucks-style beverages. The beverages are priced comparably to a Starbucks, though quality can be variable as some baristas seem to have limited training in appropriate espresso-to-milk proportions.
XX