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midnight buffet

sunshine002

By sunshine002,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sunshine002

sunshine002

Posted
Posted

I was on my last Carnival cruise last June and there was a midnight buffet. Then went on one with RCL last month and there was none. I was surprised and was told there are no longer midnight buffets on any cruise line. I was told there is alot of waste and most cruisers to not go to the buffet.

 

So was wondering if it really true?

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BlueJacketsFan1

BlueJacketsFan1

Posted
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We ate at the late seating for dinner and I eat so much during the rest of the day. That the midnight buffet isn't anything I have ever done. We have gone the the Grand Buffet, but only to look and get pictures. There just wasn't any room to put more food. Plus, if I do need a bit I will just hit the pizza place.

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Nemspy

Nemspy

Posted
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I was on my last Carnival cruise last June and there was a midnight buffet. Then went on one with RCL last month and there was none. I was surprised and was told there are no longer midnight buffets on any cruise line. I was told there is alot of waste and most cruisers to not go to the buffet.

 

So was wondering if it really true?

 

We get the Mexican Buffet one night every cruise, though unfortunately Mexican is one area of cuisine where Carnival fails brutally. I wish they would replace this with a gala buffet - at least a pared down one. It's particularly pointless on Mexican Riviera cruises over here on the west coast where your embarkation port offers much better Mexican as do all the ports you are visiting.

 

Every other night we get what I call the "hotdog buffet" - I'm not sure who the heck goes cruising to eat hotdogs, but it's a letdown.

 

On extremely rare special occasions like New Years Eve you will get a "mini gala buffet". This consisted mostly of sandwiches and a few simple dishes on the NYE cruise on Spirit just gone.

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2bfirsttime

2bfirsttime

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We were on the Elation in November, no gala buffet. There was a so called mexican buffet after the deck party that never happened due to rain and the times and locations were changed a few times.

 

It really should not have been called a mexican buffet anyway. It started at the front of the line with fruits and cheese, and some left over breads. They had some pastry puffs with some fillings like taco meat, some kind of flour shell rolls topped with cheese and really that was about it. I think they had some chips and not much to choose from to dip them into. it was more or less some pace salsa and one cheese selection that was like the stuff you get in the gas station. Really nothing to write home about.

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Rusty Aligator

Rusty Aligator

Posted
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It's too bad that they eliminated the midnite buffet, I really enjoyed it. I know that is a waste most of the time, but we ARE paying for it. If they would make it up in another way I probably wouldn't feel so bad. I'm usually in the casino making a donation, and I get famished around that time. I used to hop up/down to the buffet, get re-fueled, and back to the casino. Oh well, most of the time the casino puts out a little spread to top me off anyway.

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Nemspy

Nemspy

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I'm not sure why so many people are glad the gala buffet is gone because they viewed it as "a waste" - I have to wonder if any of these people partook of said buffet anyway.

 

Who cares if it's a waste? We pay for it and cruising is already one of the most hedonistic pursuits one could reasonably hope to undertake in the modern day - not the arena to be discussing the "Do you know how many starving kids in Africa that could feed!?" cliche.

 

What about all that fuel that's "wasted" putting around at sea to extend the cruising time so we arrive and depart from ports at the best times? Should we be concerned about cleaning our plates in the MDR and avoid ordering another item you know you won't be able to finish?

 

It's a cruise, a Gala buffet would only add to a time of day that's pretty dead and provide options for those who desire those options. To me this can only be a good thing. I mourn its passing.

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flatpik6

flatpik6

Posted
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I'm not sure why so many people are glad the gala buffet is gone because they viewed it as "a waste" - I have to wonder if any of these people partook of said buffet anyway.

 

Who cares if it's a waste? We pay for it and cruising is already one of the most hedonistic pursuits one could reasonably hope to undertake in the modern day - not the arena to be discussing the "Do you know how many starving kids in Africa that could feed!?" cliche.

 

What about all that fuel that's "wasted" putting around at sea to extend the cruising time so we arrive and depart from ports at the best times? Should we be concerned about cleaning our plates in the MDR and avoid ordering another item you know you won't be able to finish?

 

It's a cruise, a Gala buffet would only add to a time of day that's pretty dead and provide options for those who desire those options. To me this can only be a good thing. I mourn its passing.

 

 

I LOVE this response. Nemspy...we gotta have a cup a coffee and a piece a pie sometime. Would be a fun conversation I can tell.

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BeccaBecca1713

BeccaBecca1713

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Not any more.

 

They put out a small appetizer type buffet on the promenade deck at 11:30 PM.

 

I was on Legend back in October. Every night they had "late night snacks" from 1130pm - 1am in which they made burgers/dogs/fries in the buffet area (not Lido Grill).

 

And, as others have stated, one night during the cruise they have a Mexican Buffet at 1130pm. It was actually quite good. Tacos, tortilla chips, salsa, etc.....

 

I also agree that the now defunct Gala Midnight Buffet was due to be discontinued. Very pretty, but very wasteful.

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momof4boys

momof4boys

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On our first cruise our entire party of 15 skipped dinner to eat at the midnight buffet. We all went upstairs, got in line to view the food, then were planning to get back into line when it was time to eat.

 

Big problem was that during the viewing-----half the people were touching the cheese and fruit creations ---and it grossed us all out!!!

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madgally

madgally

Posted
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I was on my last Carnival cruise last June and there was a midnight buffet. Then went on one with RCL last month and there was none. I was surprised and was told there are no longer midnight buffets on any cruise line. I was told there is alot of waste and most cruisers to not go to the buffet.

 

So was wondering if it really true?

 

Midnight buffets on these ships are a think of the past. In 7 day or longer trips they have a Mexican buffet one night at midnight. They do have snacks around midnight each night. I have seen them either open a stand in the buffet room (quite often it was the lousy hot dogs, hamburgers, etc), then I have also seen them do it at the sushi station on the lower decks. Usually one or two hot dishs and lots of vegtables. Meet is usually hard to come by. The lousy Pizza is always open as is room service (better option).

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