Meals on Board the Ship

[mbguill]

Hope this isn't a dumb question, but do they serve 3 meals a day in the Dining Room ??? Or is it just Lunch & Dinner ??? I hear alot about how crowded the Buffet lines are, but I am wondering if you can just go to the Main Dining Room for all three meals ???:cool:

[PCHENG]

Three meals a day except during port days, at which time dining room is closed for lunch.

[mbguill]

So on Port days you either hit the Buffet or eat somewhere off the Ship ...:D

[scchasgal]

So on Port days you either hit the Buffet or eat somewhere off the Ship ...:D

 

Yes or you can do to the deli, mongolian grill, pasta bar etc. You don't have to eat at the buffet as such the others are made to order.

[Ceece911]

And most people are off the ship during lunch time on port days, so you won’t have to worry about a line.

[okgirl]

So on Port days you either hit the Buffet or eat somewhere off the Ship ...:D

 

The buffet isn't very crowded on port days, plus there are hamburgers, hotdogs, mongolian wok, pizza, deli, fish-n-chips and don't forget room service is available 24/7.

[norcal2]

There is food everywhere so aside from breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR and meals in the Lido, look out for food jumping on you from other surprise areas like the Sushi bar and other areas mentioned. Don't forget room service as well. In fact food becomes the beloved enemy as it sneaks up on you at every turn until you cave into the fact that the body you had when you boarded throws up a white flag of surrender.

 

And when you are done and are ready to just say "No", they bring out the Chocolate Melting cake. Your question should be "Where can we hide from food on Carnival?"

[mbguill]

Thanks All. I see in alot of reviews about how crowded the Buffet lines are (we will be on Destiny) my thought is why even Bother going to a Buffet when you have the Main Dining Room for all 3 Meals or even Room Service ???:eek:

[Bunkie103]

I have found room service most enjoyable on a port day. I had my lunch on the balcony in Nassau and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.:D

[norcal2]

Thanks All. I see in alot of reviews about how crowded the Buffet lines are (we will be on Destiny) my thought is why even Bother going to a Buffet when you have the Main Dining Room for all 3 Meals or even Room Service ???:eek:

 

You will see when you start investigating the ship. You may decide to do a bit of both or find you like the MDR better or the Lido via personal preference. I think you may find there are times when Room Service works better for you or any one of the options. We love room service for breakfast or late night snacks and dinner in the MDR but lunch we may be in any one of the options depending on what we are doing. It is a matter of convenience for us.

 

No matter where you eat, have a wonderful cruise.

[Sherrybaby412]

I was going to suggest room service but someone beat me to it.

[jimbo5544]

Part of the reason that the Lido is so busy (and that is a matter of perspective) is that it is quick, easy and lot's of options (by design). There are many ways to address the crowded perception.

[serene56]

Thanks All. I see in alot of reviews about how crowded the Buffet lines are (we will be on Destiny) my thought is why even Bother going to a Buffet when you have the Main Dining Room for all 3 Meals or even Room Service ???:eek:

 

 

most of the people will be getting in line in the first one they see.

Figuring the buffet is all set up the same- Nothing can be further from the truth-

What you do-- is take a walk from one side of the buffet and up the other to see what grabs you the most-- then go back and get in line for that.

 

I think for breakfast- what makes the lines appear long is the omelet station which is set up right at the begining of the line and people jsut stand behind that line thinking it would appear rude to walk around the line.

Lines get better as the week goes on when people figure the whole thing out.

 

Buffet lines vs the MDR. youmay have lines but the MDR is served a lot slower then how you eat in the buffet so its a real wash there.

 

Also note that the buffets are closed at 2:30 so you are limited on port days of dining if you come back between 2:30 and 4:30

[Sailor2Cruiser]

We eat in the MDR inasmuch as possible for 3 reasons;

1. we're onboard a ship, where else are we going to go?

2. we're on vacation and there is NO need to hurry.

3. we love being served. And we can send commemorative feedback of the servers to corporate.

[stewpapa]

We love eating in the MDR for dinner and never miss it.

We rarely eat in the MDR at breakfast or lunch because........

 

We like to fix our own plates for breakfast

 

Better selection in the Lido

 

We like to eat by ourselves and not at a big table with lots of people

 

If you eat all 3 meals in the MDR you will spend about 5 hours of your day in there and we have other things to do.

 

The lines are never that bad

[kml2000]

I love breakfast in the MDR. I go on a cruise to relax and loved being served. It is just a matter of preference, you will figure out what you like after that first day.

 

When we cruised with my parents, I ate ALL meals in the MDR. They didn't like the buffet at all. It was a different experience and I actually enjoyed it for a change.

 

This cruise I ate every lunch (when not doing something in port) at the buffet. My favorite was the deli (sandwich place). The asian station was also very good.

 

We did room service for breakfast on the port days and got pretty comical. Being on the Legend, we had 4 port days. On day it was 30 mins early (before the earliest time range I put on the form) and I was still asleep :eek: (it was probably good they woke me up). One day it was 15 minutes AFTER the latest time, one day it was right on time and one day it was 15 minutes early. This is NOT a complaint, we just rolled with it, but it was interesting. Also, we somehow ended up with more food than we ordered. I always put there were 2 in the cabin. My DD ordered a bagel and I ordered croissant. We got one bagel and FIVE croissants. I had been told to order everything you need (like check the milk box AND the cereal box). The first day we got two things of milk (one box of cereal). The second day we ordered two boxes of cereal and I checked the milk box and we got FOUR cartons of milk. The last day I decided to not check the milk box and thankfully the server brough milk and then asked me if I really needed it since I didn't check the box. All that being said, our room service "snack" was exactly right. :D

 

Just do what suits you.....that is what cruising is all about.

 

on edit.... We NEVER miss the MDR for dinner, except this cruise. Our service was not so great, and our table mates were unique (nothing bad, just unique). We decided to try the Lido one night, just to see what we thought. We will NOT do that again. The food was fine, the staff there was great, we just didn't enjoy the "experience". The buffet was not crowded for dinner but we missed being served.

[Ceece911]

Thanks All. I see in alot of reviews about how crowded the Buffet lines are (we will be on Destiny) my thought is why even Bother going to a Buffet when you have the Main Dining Room for all 3 Meals or even Room Service ???:eek:

 

 

I like breakfast and dinner in the MDR, but the lunch is too limited for my taste. Like others have stated, if you walk around you’ll notice TONS of options; the deli,the pizza/salads/calzones station, regular buffet, the theme of the day buffet, sushi, the grill, mongolian wok. The MDR just doesn’t have a large enough selection for lunch. But, that's just my opinion.

[craftykitty]

Remember you can always pick up food from the buffet and take it to your cabin to enjoy in peace and quiet on your balcony (if you have one).

[mcwebber]

So on Port days you either hit the Buffet or eat somewhere off the Ship ...:D

Room service

[hankandteri]

There are times when the buffet lines can be long, but these are only at peak times and even then it's not as bad as you might believe from some posts you read here.

 

I like eating breakfast and lunch in the MDR on sea days. Those meals go much quicker than dinner and it keeps me from grabbing some of everything that looks good at the buffet, which I've been known to do.

 

On port days I usually get breakfast from either room service or a quick pass through the breakfast line and grab some local grub for lunch on shore.

[mbguill]

Thanks Everyone - lots of great suggestions that will be put to use ...;)

[DocF]

The buffet lines on the Lido deck can be a bit daunting. However, they move along at a better clip than does the line in our local cafeteria chain.

 

Unless there is something on the menu that really is special to me, I avoid the buffet lines for breakfast and lunch.

 

I usually eat breakfast very early (I do not want to waste the day when cruising) and eat some fruit and several of the danish.

 

At lunch, I usually eat a sandwich from the deli or pizza or a burger. The lines at these stations are fairly short.

 

We always have dinner in the dining room (unless we elect to visit the steakhouse).

 

Doc

[crusinpsychRN]

For some reason sitting with strangers in MDR at breakfast has been weird on several occasions. I've had others who won't speak to anyone, proselitize or something else strange. I still go though.

 

Remember to get hollandaise on the side of eggs benedict or else it's hard from sitting under the lights. I noticed on one morning on the Inspiration out by the pool they had eggs benedict. The next day they didn't.

[megmno]

My cruise meal schedule:

 

First breakfast: room service - coffee and croissants on the balcony.

 

Second breakfast: eggs benedict in the MDR

 

Lunch: Mongolian wok or pizza or fish and chips (Your Ship May Vary)

 

Afternoon snack: room service - steak and brie sandwich

 

Pre-dinner snack: sushi and sake

 

Dinner in the MDR

 

After dinner snack: cake in the specialty coffee shop

 

Yeah, you'll never go hungry on Carnival.

(Just for the record, I'm not overweight .... yet. But I've only been on two cruises so far.) :)

[bcs819]

So on Port days you either hit the Buffet or eat somewhere off the Ship ...:D

 

or you can order rooms service. The Grilled Veggie sandwaish and the Beef and Brie are really good.