Midnight Buffet and Outside Deck Parties?

[Jmetz9]

Hello all!

 

I'm cruising on the Conquest over Thanksgiving this will be my 4th cruise with Carnival, my first in almost 10yrs. Two of the things I enjoyed back in the day were the extravagant midnight buffet and the deck parties at night. I really enjoyed being out under the stars in the ocean breeze listening to live music.

 

I've been reading reviews and it seems they've moved the live music inside and I haven't seen mention of the midnight buffet. Have they gone by the wayside?

[k2excursion]

It depends on the ship that you're on. If the ship has Guys Burgers & Blue Iguana cantina, then there will be no late night food on any night except pizza. If the ship doesn't have those "upgrades", then the ship will have a Mexican buffet (around 11pm) during one of the deck parties. The ships that have Guys & Blue Iguana cantina might have chips & dip during one of the deck parties, but that does not qualify as a Mexican buffet by any stretch. Prepare for very long lines at the pizza station that night. The standard midnight buffets have been gone for many years now, as there was a lot of wasted food.

 

The cruises that are 7 days or longer will likely have 2 deck parties, and there might or might not be live music with them. Usually, it's a DJ pressing the play button. But some ships might still be having the band up on deck playing some live music after the group/line dances are done during one of the deck parties. But I don't know what ships are still doing this though. They have made it very difficult to know.

[Jamdug73]

They no longer have the extravagant Gala Buffet. I miss that. Loved seeing all the artistic creations that the chefs made with the food. I know they claim to have stopped it due to too much waste, but I did my best to keep it going. :D

[ready2cruzagain]

Was on the Conquest for 3 weeks last December. There is no Midnight Buffet. There is a deck party one night, what a big joke. It was advertised as free gifts, dancing, games. The free gifts were whistles and a glow in the dark necklace. There were no games. The only thing the party consisted of was line dancing with a dj. Not a party at all. I was really disappointed.

[golfadj]

Cruising has changed for sure. Miss the midnight buffets but can understand why they dropped them.

 

Wish the deck parties were more fun though.

[kelkel2]

I agree about the deck parties. We have passed through those and there just isn't anything that makes me want to stop and join in. My husband and I travel together and I just don't see us as line dancers. But maybe if I had my group of girl friends and we had been drinking it would be fun? I don't know?? They need to re-think them!

[golfadj]

I agree about the deck parties. We have passed through those and there just isn't anything that makes me want to stop and join in. My husband and I travel together and I just don't see us as line dancers. But maybe if I had my group of girl friends and we had been drinking it would be fun? I don't know?? They need to re-think them!

 

Wish they would use a little imagination and make some changes to freshen up entertainment. Getting bored with same old same old.

[SadieN]

Late night food on the Conquest is located at the aft pool - pizza (24 hours) and a hot line with hotdogs etc. Also room service.

[sjcruiser]

The Midnight buffets as we remember them are gone. Depending on the ship, and itinerary, some ships have sail-away or late night deck parties with food, and the DJ playing music, but it does not compare to the previous version.

[golfadj]

Back when they had the midnight buffet we had a good reason to stay up and see it and often partake.

 

Now more likely we and many others will head back to cabin for the night before midnight.

[snc_cam]

I know on the past few cruises, there has been a mexican midnight buffet/party during the middle of the cruise. This has been the only midnight buffet on the cruises over the past few years on the ones I've been on.

[Cruise-Crazy]

Yeah, I miss the Midnight Buffett always long lines but they were fun.

[Out to sea!]

Cruising has changed for sure. Miss the midnight buffets but can understand why they dropped them.

 

Wish the deck parties were more fun though.

 

Yes, things have changed. While I don't miss the food on the midnight buffet, i do miss the sculptures made from ice, cheese, and fruits on the buffets. I used to get in the line to take pictures of everything before the gorging began. :)

[RuthlessBoss]

Back when they had the midnight buffet we had a good reason to stay up and see it and often partake.

 

Now more likely we and many others will head back to cabin for the night before midnight.

 

I understand why they are gone, but they were unbelievable. I sometimes gloat over my pictures of them on different cruise lines. So much manpower, talent and food was used.

[ExFed drvr]

Just off the Dream and I know they have at least 2 deck parties and another in the Atrium every cruise. Dennis

[golfadj]

Yes, things have changed. While I don't miss the food on the midnight buffet, i do miss the sculptures made from ice, cheese, and fruits on the buffets. I used to get in the line to take pictures of everything before the gorging began. :)

 

We got on the line for pictures too. Grand Buffet sure let them use their imagination.

[Jmetz9]

Thank you all for the info. It's a shame those have changed. The work that went into those buffets was always amazing and the deck parties were packed and fun.

[stevenr597]

I keep hearing that they cruise lines did away with the Midnight Buffets because of the waste. I am sure that there is plenty of waste during Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

 

We have sailed for well over 25 years. We will always remember the Midnight Buffets. When we first started to sail there was a Buffet almost every night and we loved attending them.

 

Princess was one of the first to do away with the Buffets, keeping their Lido Deck open the entire evening.

 

Unfortunately most cruise lines have now did away with them, and as is the case with Carnival they first substituted "Deck parties" but they are apparently doing away with them in their cost cutting program.

 

Cruising used to be almost totally inclusive in regards to cost. Now, Carnival, and many of the other cruise lines have established numerous charges and surcharges in an effort to increase revenue.

[Jmetz9]

I keep hearing that they cruise lines did away with the Midnight Buffets because of the waste. I am sure that there is plenty of waste during Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

 

We have sailed for well over 25 years. We will always remember the Midnight Buffets. When we first started to sail there was a Buffet almost every night and we loved attending them.

 

Princess was one of the first to do away with the Buffets, keeping their Lido Deck open the entire evening.

 

Unfortunately most cruise lines have now did away with them, and as is the case with Carnival they first substituted "Deck parties" but they are apparently doing away with them in their cost cutting program.

 

Cruising used to be almost totally inclusive in regards to cost. Now, Carnival, and many of the other cruise lines have established numerous charges and surcharges in an effort to increase revenue.

 

Yes, it's odd to come back and see some of the changes. My first cruise was in '97 and everything except for alcohol was inclusive. You could still get free drinks in the casino though. My last cruise was in '05 and I was a bit thrown off when they charged me for a drink in the casino. At that time pop and juice and such were still included.

[golfadj]

I keep hearing that they cruise lines did away with the Midnight Buffets because of the waste. I am sure that there is plenty of waste during Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

 

We have sailed for well over 25 years. We will always remember the Midnight Buffets. When we first started to sail there was a Buffet almost every night and we loved attending them.

 

Princess was one of the first to do away with the Buffets, keeping their Lido Deck open the entire evening.

 

Unfortunately most cruise lines have now did away with them, and as is the case with Carnival they first substituted "Deck parties" but they are apparently doing away with them in their cost cutting program.

 

Cruising used to be almost totally inclusive in regards to cost. Now, Carnival, and many of the other cruise lines have established numerous charges and surcharges in an effort to increase revenue.

 

Lots of truth in what you say and we do miss the old days of cruising. However it has become more competitive and cruise lines have had to reduce pricing so they have had no choice but to cut what they could.

[mia10010]

Sadly the "fun ships" aren't as fun as they used to be.

[Out to sea!]

We got on the line for pictures too. Grand Buffet sure let them use their imagination.

 

Oh tell me about it. They made some awesome creations......unbelievable to me how talented some of those chefs were. My favorite still is a replica (as best as can be done with the materials at hand) of the Jubilee out of cheese cubes!!! It was awesome (and very time consuming I'm sure)!

[Out to sea!]

Lots of truth in what you say and we do miss the old days of cruising. However it has become more competitive and cruise lines have had to reduce pricing so they have had no choice but to cut what they could.

 

But, cruise cost the same or less than they did 10 years ago. So would anyone rather pay double for what they used to have or pay less and live with the cutbacks?

 

While I do yearn for the glory days of cruising, personally, I'll take the lower price with the cutbacks. I prefer more days at sea over more opulence.