Which brings me to a final paradox. The Holland America brochures loudly proclaim that master chefs prepare only the finest cuisine for their passengers, and that every meal is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. But it's not true. At best the food we're served in the Vista Dining Room and the Lido restaurant is second best, because on board the Zuiderdam there is a "special" restaurant called "The Pinnacle Grill at the Odyssey". Now, I don't know where the Odyssey "is" that the Pinnacle Grill is supposedly located "at", but dropping the pretense, this restaurant is located on Lower Promenade deck 2 along the atrium. Truthfully speaking, the Pinnacle Grill is a beautiful room, and passengers can eat there for an additional $20 per person. Unlike in the Vista Dining Room and the Lido restaurant, guests are limited to just one entree, but the food is supposed to be superior. I am frankly offended that for all the money I paid, I must pay even more at The Pinnacle or be served second best in the Vista Dining Room and the Lido, although I suspect that it's just a gimmick to extort extra cash from passengers duped into believing that the food is better there. I wound up canceling the dinner reservations I had made at The Pinnacle for the last night of the cruise, because I had a vision of the staff snickering as yet another sucker handed them $40 dollars to eat essentially the same food. I simply didn't want to be that sucker, and the two portions of roast beef I enjoyed in the Vista Dining Room were delicious enough.
The bottom line. Having been spoiled by a verandah cabin on board the Zuiderdam, we will never cruise again on Celebrity's Century or any other ship without that affordable option. However, the newer ships on most cruise lines, including Celebrity, all have plenty of available verandah cabins like the Zuiderdam. Factoring in the verandah, and assuming that Celebrity and Holland America both offered cruises at the same time of year and to similar ports of call, we would choose Celebrity. If, however, Celebrity did not offer convenient times or attractive venues, we would sail Holland America again, but not before giving another popular and prestigious cruise line like Princess a try.
