Midnight Buffet

[lakelorain]

The last big elaborate Midnight Buffet I remember was in the fall of 2009. Since then it's been various theme parties at the pool, in the Centrum or in the Promenade.

[bigeagle12]

Deleted

Edited February 27, 2014 by bigeagle12

[sellwingri]

And as I understand it, photo ops were allowed for 30 minutes or so before they allowed people to dig in?

 

And, as I remember, more people came to take pictures than actually came to eat. I can't imagine how much food was thrown away after these lavish buffets. I don't really miss them but they sure were something to see!

[ehfl]

They still have them on the Majesty.

[jmf123]

On our first cruise (NCL) the midnight buffet was a Chocoholic Buffet- an unbelievable spread! I recall inquiring about what they offered that was sugar free, and this poor guy hurried off to find out. He hurried back with apologies- as he gestured at one dessert. :p

[SharkCruiser24]

This was a nice surprise!! I might be young but I remember the true midnight buffets! The big red boats in the early 1990s and Nortic Empress!! I loved the ice sculptures and fruit carving! My mom has so many pictures of the buffets. I should go through them again.

 

 

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[m*u*g*]

Gone and not coming back? Why not?

 

Mountains of food goes to waste.

 

and

Edited February 28, 2014 by m*u*g*

[bigeagle12]

Mountains of food goes to waste.

 

Was not my fault ... I always ate more than my fair share :-)

 

 

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[Travel R]

And, as I remember, more people came to take pictures than actually came to eat. I can't imagine how much food was thrown away after these lavish buffets. I don't really miss them but they sure were something to see!

 

As a waiter on a ship had explained to me a while back - Years ago, they were able to re-use the food from the midnight buffet the following day - so it did not go to waste. With newer (and better) health codes over the past few years, they are not allowed to re-use the food (and will be hit with a hefty fine if they did) so since they could not re-use the food and waste $, they had to cut back or eliminate the buffets. He also made a point to include the fact that they were also able to reduce the size of the service staff as well.

 

Although I have never taken this as gospel, it does make sense to me.

[browneyedgirlnb]

These are pics from our last cruise on Explorer in Oct 2013. it wasn't every night, but we thoroughly enjoyed it as well as the whole party vibe on the pool deck. The band was great (but even better the year before), the food was delish & the display/presentation was also really nice. I've heard the food in the past was more upscale (shrimp/lobster), but I can't remember that from our trip in '83, so this was still fine by me. ;) I'm not usually eating at midnight, but a nice bite or 2 while listening to music & dancing was great. I didn't take any pics of the actual food apparently, just the displays... and for some reason they're all loading sideways here. Sorry, I tried. :/ :)

 

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[browneyedgirlnb]

Another thing they did this last trip on Explorer that I don't recall them doing previously, was a cookout one afternoon by the pool... actually twice. Once was sliders, I think. But the one we really enjoyed & it saved us a trip inside to Windjammer, was the time they cooked bbq ribs, corn, etc out there at lunch by the pool. That was a great spread & at a time I was actually looking to eat... I didn't even have to give up my lounge chair! That as awesome! I hope there's more of that on this October's trip. :)

Rosie

 

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[clean1owner]

They still have them on the Majesty.

 

The one I attended on Majesty wasn't anything compared to what used to be.

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures from our 2000 Enchantment cruise. They may not show the full scope of how much food was available, but trust me when I tell you that they were much better than anything presented today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LMaxwell]

That's what I'm talking about. The old days revisited. Deck party is fun but they aren't the old Gala Midnight Buffet spread

[Ocean View]

Wow blast from the past! I loved the chocolate strawberries that was my favorite part. I remember also the tour of the kitchen galley and your of the bridge. Wow!

 

 

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[Ocean View]

Tour

 

 

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[EMBFlyer]

The last Gala Buffet I remember was on the Navigator in 2006. There were 30 minutes of picture taking and then you could dig in.

I, too, remember the days where there was a midnight buffet EVERY night. As I recall, one of them was on deck, one in the Windjammer and then the rest were in the dining room. This was true on the Sovereign in 1991 and the Legend in 1995. The funny part was that on formal nights, you still had to be in formal attire to be let into the dining room for the Gala buffet!