Paradise - buffet lines?

[zebra]

I read a review that said there was an hour wait at the buffet line on the Paradise. Seriously???? Please tell me they were kidding. If you have cruised on the Paradise, pleaselet me know what your buffet experience was like. Thanks.

[cathyz]

They were kidding. We've sailed on the Paradise many times (on the west coast) and the longest line on the Lido is for the Mongolian Wok and it can maybe be 20 minutes at peak times.

[Amoré Familia]

Zebra I would think your wait would be based upon the time of day. We always awoke early and never a line on Liberty. children went later and waited a short time. Lunch we went to dining room on sea days. And there was a long line there the 2nd sea day. Going on Paradise Aug5.

 

 

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[SkyMaster]

I just did a B-2-B on "Paradise", and never saw lines anything like that. Perhaps if you hit the WOK right at noon, you might have a bit of a wait, but other than that, it's GREAT at the buffet.

 

"SKY"

[cjknox]

Zebra I would think your wait would be based upon the time of day. We always awoke early and never a line on Liberty. children went later and waited a short time. Lunch we went to dining room on sea days. And there was a long line there the 2nd sea day. Going on Paradise Aug5.

 

 

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Even during peak times, the wait will not be an hour. I have been on the Paradise and other Fantasy class vessels and have never waited in a line longer than five minutes. Im sure the person who said it is was joking.

[ShellLoves2cruise]

I sailed on the Paradise last year and never saw a line at the buffet that was more than maybe 10 to 15 minutes at peak times. On Embarkation day the only long line I saw was for the Mongolian Wok, it was about 25 minutes but the buffet line still moved pretty quickly! Sounds like whoever wrote that review was exaggerating!

[clearwatergirl]

Sailed the Paradise in May. No lines out of the ordinary. some small waits depending on time of day. Area is busy though. :)

[zebra]

Thanks for consoling me everyone. Actually this wasn't a "kidding" statement - it was written on this board by someone who wrote a dissatisfied review, but I'm happy to hear it is not the normal ...........

[Cruizinman]

OP , not wanting to be the bad guy but, I have waited in lines 45 min to an hour . Depending on how many attack the buffet at one time :p

[mdohertyjr]

We were on the Paradise from July 8th to the 13th and I must say, the wait in the buffet was the most disappointing thing about the cruise. It wasn't an hour, but at times it was 20 minutes plus. We cruised Royal Caribbean on the Grander of the Sea and never waited more then 5 minutes. I just think the Paradise buffet is set up poorly. Let me not get you down, the cruise was fantastic, but the buffet line was a buzz kill at times...

[Gemynii]

I read a review that said there was an hour wait at the buffet line on the Paradise. Seriously???? Please tell me they were kidding. If you have cruised on the Paradise, pleaselet me know what your buffet experience was like. Thanks.

 

We never had a very long wait at the buffets. Most times there would only be a couple people in front of us except at breakfast. The longests wait was about 15-20 mins at the Mongolian Wok. Here is a post in the review I did that has a several pics of the buffet areas: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34617949&postcount=55 You can see from the pics that the outside Rotisserie/Grill/Mongolian Wok area (1st two pics) is usually more crowded than the buffet inside.

[zebra]

Kim - thanks for the pictures. I was wondering where the Mogolian Wok was that everyone spoke about.

[Gemynii]

Kim - thanks for the pictures. I was wondering where the Mogolian Wok was that everyone spoke about.

 

Your welcome. :)

 

If you plan on trying it for lunch the day you board, from were you enter on Empress deck 7, you can either take the glass elevators or the elevators in the wide hallway on your left up to Lido deck 10. From there, walk towards the aft of the ship through a set of glass sliding doors. Stay to the right (port side), past the pool and stage and you will see the Mongolian Wok located just before you get to the glass doors leading to the Paris Lido Restaurant.

 

Also, if you don't like spicy food, I would suggest you ask one of the cooks which of the 3 sauce choices is the least spicy. I got what I thought wouldn't be very spicy (tai barbeque) and I could barely eat it because my mouth was on fire. My sis got the Szechuan and it was about half as spicy as mine and tasted a lot better too IMO.

[NCTribeFan]

I've been on three of the other ships in this same class, and on Fantasy several times (with another coming up in a few weeks :D ).

 

I have never, ever waited in line for a long time, even at peak times. Now, I've never done the Mongolian Wok.

 

But I've stood in line at the Deli, where they also make the food to order so it takes longer, and it's never been anything like an hour. Same with the omelet stations. And with both of those, you'll be in line thinking "oh there's only four people in front of me" and it turns out they're all ordering multiples for all their friends and family who are off somewhere else. And it STILL hasn't taken all that long!

 

I honestly don't believe that people are watching the clock to see how long they're waiting. I think the line is long, they're hungry, and it just seems to take forever. ;)

[zebra]

Thanks Kim, oooooh yes I love spicy, so I'll try that thai barbeque. Thanks for the heads up. We don't mind waiting in line behind a few people, after all we're on vacation, what's the rush right? Just the one hour comment threw me .....

[JawjaFatBoy]

We were on the Paradise in 2011 and the lines were not that bad.

 

Like others have mentioned, the line for the Mongolian Wok was almost always the longest and it still only took 20 mins or so at peak. I highly recommend the Szechuan sauce. Nice and spicy with great flavor!