Which ships have modern buffets?

[jasbo49]

Having just finished 7 days on the Golden Princess, I'm determined to book our next cruise on a ship that has a well-engineered buffet. Any thoughts out there?

 

I'm told the Golden's approach of pitting grazer against grazer isn't repeated on later ships. Does that mean you have to go with the newest and largest ships? I really don't want the Regal or Royal and would like to try one of the smaller ships (Pacific, Ocean, Island, Coral) but I guess those aren't likely to have updated buffets. Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

[paul929207]

Jim,

Could you give a little explanation of what you are looking for. We have sailed the Ocean a number of times and never felt pitted against other passengers. However, I can't say of she has the arrangement you want.

[jasbo49]

Jim,

Could you give a little explanation of what you are looking for. We have sailed the Ocean a number of times and never felt pitted against other passengers. However, I can't say of she has the arrangement you want.

 

Thanks, Paul. My problem with the Golden layout was that each side (port and starboard) had two different entries that met in the middle. When you got there you ran into people coming from the other entry. You simply couldn't follow one line through all the selections.

 

I don't have a particular arrangement in mind, but I'd never seen a buffet so poorly designed from a traffic flow standpoint. The best buffet I've seen, by far, was the Norwegian Jewel, where it was all islands and probably was twice as big as the Golden's spread with lots of "action stations" for custom-made items.

 

Jim

[pablo222]

You simply couldn't follow one line through all the selections.

 

This is a good thing! When it is one long prison chow line,

you can only go as fast as the slowest person in the line.

 

And, it you want a single thing, it's difficult to get.

 

Multiple stations are WAY better.

[bassmaster150]

Well being recently off of the Royal princess, I can tell you that it is kind of they way you would like it. Also, the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Sunshine are also arranged in an island sort of fashion.

[timetravler]

The Royal and the Regal have amazing buffet's. They are well laid out with rows for you to go down. No one could say you couldn't find anything to eat. Then also what is great is it's easy to find a vacant table because they put in more then any other ship. I usually do not eat in the buffet but while on the Royal I was in seventh heaven.

[jasbo49]

Multiple stations are WAY better.

 

I agree that multiple stations or islands is best. What they had here was multiple lines colliding in the middle.

 

Jim

[jasbo49]

The Royal and the Regal have amazing buffet's. They are well laid out with rows for you to go down. No one could say you couldn't find anything to eat. Then also what is great is it's easy to find a vacant table because they put in more then any other ship. I usually do not eat in the buffet but while on the Royal I was in seventh heaven.

 

Well, I may have to rethink my aversion to the mega-ships. I've just considered those two too big.

 

Jim

[Essiesmom]

Coral Princess has a more traditional buffet than Diamond, Emerald, Caribbean. We found it much easier to navigate. I think they may be improving Island's buffet to match at her next drydock. EM

[born2cruize]

The buffet IMHO is the only drawback to Princess ships. I will not book any ship with a forward Horizon Court. Can't stand the layout. That being said. Ships with aft Horizon Courts have better flow because they do have people standing at the exits to prevent people from entering from two different directions. Still not the best because people don't "go with the flow".

 

It's one thing to pass slow moving passengers but another when passengers form two lines to attack a station from two different sides. Especially difficult for W/C or scooter disable passengers.

 

I prefer the Buffet on the Pride of America myself. While it uses the island concept, the islands are across the full width of the ship not just one side or the other. This leaves a lot more room to maneuver than the Horizon Court.

[helenb]

Celebrity's Solstice class has wonderful buffets: a large, empty space with plenty of room to move around, and multiple stations (some islands, some along a wall) that you can approach easily to get food. The stations along the wall have customized food items. Ther drink areas are wide and easy to access, unlike the little dinky corner where Princess puts their beverages.

[paul929207]

The Ocean & Pacific have one place to get plate & silverware. So Most people start there.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Coral Princess has a more traditional buffet than Diamond, Emerald, Caribbean. We found it much easier to navigate. I think they may be improving Island's buffet to match at her next drydock. EM

 

The only draw back about the new Coral layout is where they have the beverages located. (Center all the way in the front). If I wanted a during the day I'd have to go through all the people just to get a glass of ice tea. Other than that it was spacious & well lit.

[KruzPrincess]

I think it's hard to make the perfect buffet for everyone. I hate the one long line. I like stations, but some are just too roomy. For me, the Celebrity Equinox and was big and roomy, but by the time I went to find the different things I wanted at each station my food was cold. Also, on Celebrity you have to carry your beverages. I like that Princess will serve you your beverage at the table. I enjoyed the Coral where they moved the desserts out of the buffet area. There are stations on most Princess ships in that the salad bar, fruit, sandwiches, etc. are separate from the hot food line. The older ships that have had the Horizon Court modified seem to work better, IMO. The Emerald, Crown, Ruby and Caribbean have Café Caribe. That helps when they have them all open or when they one side of Horizon Court and Café Caribe open. The problem is that sometimes, at night, they will only open Café Caribe and the definitely is a single line with only desserts in a separate station. It just depends on how each ship decides to use the facilities they have. Personally, my favorite is what they did with the Coral. I have to add that I was just on the HAL Veendam and they did a great job with lots of different stations that were mostly designed in a row. There was no crowding. However, the Veendam is a pretty small ship and that is probably part of why it wasn't crowded.

[cherylandtk]

...My problem with the Golden layout was that each side (port and starboard) had two different entries that met in the middle. When you got there you ran into people coming from the other entry.

Usually you will see one end designated as an entry and one designated as an exit. While this does not prevent lines from forming, at least you don't run into an upstream line. Don't know why they did not do this on your recent trip, but I have seen it on most of the Grand class ships.

 

In the buffets, some people expect and prefer a single line style service, some prefer a station approach; which means half the people don't understand or follow the flow at any given time. I really think your best strategy would be to look for ships with fewer passengers, which means less crowds in the buffet at any given time.

[Wehwalt]

The Ocean & Pacific have one place to get plate & silverware. So Most people start there.

 

The problem with the Ocean/Pacific buffet is that the area is shaped like a U, with the entrances at the top and the food stations at the bottom, with seating along the sides. So you often have to duck passengers coming the other way, high-speed waiters headed for the kitchen, the buffet manager discussing something very important with one of his underlings in the only possible walking space. It can be ... interesting. I've put in comments on the survey about this, but there's no obvious way to rearrange things that I can see. Also, there's the orange juice dispensers, if you care to get your own (or fill a portable) which are at so slow a flow that I think they must grow the oranges while you wait and are usually occupied by a waiter trying to fill a huge jug. I prefer to eat breakfast al fresco at one of the tables beyond where the waiters go, for peace and quiet, and getting a plate of breakfast, a portable coffee mug, and an orange juice glass out of there in one piece can be an adventure.

[BJS]

...... You simply couldn't follow one line through all the selections.

 

Jim

 

I don't think when the Golden and her sister ships were built they were designed with a line concept. We rarely go to the Horizon Court but avoid it entirely for the first couple of days just because "new to these ships" people expect lines and feel those of us that by-pass lines and go directly to the selections we want are being rude. After a couple of days the majority treat each area, yes it is very crowded and chaotic , like a station and you don't have those problems.

 

Celebrity sure had the right idea when the Silhouette was built but hot food does cool rapidly running around such a large area.

 

From the different posts it is possible there is no "well-engineered buffet" that meets everyone's criteria. I hope you will find a ship that meets yours.

 

I think when we choose a ship or a cruise line we have to decide what is most enjoyable for us: itinerary, buffet design, size, etc.

 

.

[4cats4me]

Celebrity's Solstice class has wonderful buffets: a large, empty space with plenty of room to move around, and multiple stations (some islands, some along a wall) that you can approach easily to get food. The stations along the wall have customized food items. Ther drink areas are wide and easy to access, unlike the little dinky corner where Princess puts their beverages.

 

 

 

I agree with you. After sailing on the Solstice class, it was really hard adapting to The Horizon Court after a three-year absence. I remember years ago when people would complain about the HC, and I didn't know why they were complaining about poor flow. Well, after going on other Cruiselines, the problem was quite apparent.

 

The buffet seemed horrifically crowded on the Grand back in August for the Alaska cruise.

 

 

The Solstice ships have me hooked;)

Edited October 25, 2014 by 4cats4me

[Pam in CA]

The Royal and the Regal have amazing buffet's. They are well laid out with rows for you to go down. No one could say you couldn't find anything to eat. Then also what is great is it's easy to find a vacant table because they put in more then any other ship. I usually do not eat in the buffet but while on the Royal I was in seventh heaven.

I agree 100%. Far, far better than any other Princess, HAL, RCCL or Celebrity ship I've been on. It's so big, it can be overwhelming until you get used to it. Never had a problem finding a table at any time.

 

I love how Princess sets the tables and has full tableside beverage service. This to me is a huge plus over any of the other cruise lines I've been on.

[eandj]

We too find the buffets on Princess to be the "screwiest" as DH calls them, of all the lines we have cruised. Crowded traffic patterns, in/outs confusing, different menus at different areas etc. I guess that's how/why we discovered and utilize the International Buffet for our light lunches.

 

We DO enjoy the S class Celebrity ships. Have found them the most efficient.

 

We are booked for the Regal so the description of that buffet sounds interersting. Will have to check it out.

Edited October 25, 2014 by eandj

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thanks, Paul. My problem with the Golden layout was that each side (port and starboard) had two different entries that met in the middle. When you got there you ran into people coming from the other entry. You simply couldn't follow one line through all the selections.

 

I don't have a particular arrangement in mind, but I'd never seen a buffet so poorly designed from a traffic flow standpoint. The best buffet I've seen, by far, was the Norwegian Jewel, where it was all islands and probably was twice as big as the Golden's spread with lots of "action stations" for custom-made items.

 

Jim

 

Usually you will see one end designated as an entry and one designated as an exit. While this does not prevent lines from forming, at least you don't run into an upstream line. Don't know why they did not do this on your recent trip, but I have seen it on most of the Grand class ships.

 

In the buffets, some people expect and prefer a single line style service, some prefer a station approach; which means half the people don't understand or follow the flow at any given time. I really think your best strategy would be to look for ships with fewer passengers, which means less crowds in the buffet at any given time.

 

My last two cruises were on the Golden and I actually like their arrangement (they were two week cruises and we had breakfast in the Horizon each day, and some lunches). There's an entrance into the actual serving areas, and it's marked so with the exits also marked. The four entrances are great...in fact, we had an aft cabin on the Aloha deck for the last cruise and we would often exit out that door, go up the stairs and voila, we're able to enter the buffet. There's also four separate dining areas so if the more visible ones are crowded, you can go through the door and often find available tables.

 

And it's nice that you don't have to stand in one single line in the serving area. What if you just want to grab a roll or serve yourself a salad? In fact, the one thing I would change is having a sign with the food items listed so that perhaps, maybe, possibly people would decide ahead of time what they wanted, rather than wait until they're at the serving bins and trying to decide if they want corn or potatoes or chicken or beef. Those people are the ones that cause the long wait.

 

Would also like more of a description when it comes to possible allergens (that was on a previous comment card...shellfish should definitely be listed if mixed in...I had to dump one plate of stirfry that I didn't realize until I sat down had shrimp mixed in).

[Javelina87]

Having just finished 7 days on the Golden Princess, I'm determined to book our next cruise on a ship that has a well-engineered buffet. Any thoughts out there?

 

I'm told the Golden's approach of pitting grazer against grazer isn't repeated on later ships. Does that mean you have to go with the newest and largest ships? I really don't want the Regal or Royal and would like to try one of the smaller ships (Pacific, Ocean, Island, Coral) but I guess those aren't likely to have updated buffets. Thanks in advance.

 

Jim

We were on the Golden Princess last year and absolutely HATED the way the buffet lines are laid out. We cruised on the Caribbean Princess earlier this year and they were identical. That has to be the worst layout, ever!

[PatriciaF]

Sail Celebrity Solstice - class ships--wonderfully organized buffet area AND great food too.

 

I have been on Island, Golden, and Emerald Princess and the buffet area is only so-so on all 3 along with most of the food.

[umbluemusic]

I thought the Island was pretty good - I liked it better than the convergence point one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[UpcountryTravelers]

We found the Coral and Island to be very nice buffets, particularly like the forward facing layout (find the others to be boring). Royal and Regal have probably the best layouts at sea, superior to the Reflection (which didn't have much variety) and WAY ahead of the Carnival Dream, which has one of the worst!