Best ship for seating at the buffet?

[pajammies]

I'm curious if any of you have an opinion on the best buffet. One of the things we hate is the herding around at the buffet. Trying to find a seat is, I'm sure, a problem for many.

 

So I'm wondering if anyone has found that a specific ship or class of ships do it best. I think the most important thing would be finding a seat. Is there one that seems to have plenty of seating? One to avoid, maybe?

 

Thanks in advance

[jenne252]

We were on the Valor out of San Juan in 2013 and this was not an issue at breakfast or lunch. Can't speak to dinner, as we always did the MDR. We did the MDR for breakfast a couple times also

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

I've never had trouble finding a seat at any Carnival buffet...though the ones closest to the "food" stations have a habit of filling up rapidly. The farther you travel from the main food areas the more seats tend to open up. And, like on The Magic, the farther you travel from the main service areas the more food stations you'll find...clear out onto the Lido deck.

 

We always find the time early on...like before dinner on the first night to tour the Buffet area while it is slow. We walk all the way around...its surprising how many times you talk to folks that never realized there were two serving sections that offered the same things. No wonder there are lines.

[pajammies]

I guess I should mention that, yes, I am talking about breakfast and lunch. We also do mdr for dinner.

We were on the Legend and noticed that we were pretty lucky finding a space outside to eat, but not inside. I forget that that was one ship, that didn't seem as frustrating.

Which is fine until the weather doesn't cooperate :)

Edited February 8, 2015 by pajammies

[pajammies]

I guess I should mention that, yes, I am talking about breakfast and lunch. We also do mdr for dinner.

We were on the Legend and noticed that we were pretty lucky finding a space outside to eat, but not inside. I forget that that was one ship, that didn't seem as frustrating.

Which is fine until the weather doesn't cooperate :)

[pajammies]

Sorry about the double post. Don't know how that happens.

 

I always mean to check the buffet area when it's empty and always forget!

Even just figuring what food is where can be frustrating when there's hundreds of people. I MUST remember that next time.

[Rena921]

Conquest class. Fish & chips station upstairs above the buffet always has plenty of seating.

[cmptrwiz]

Valor was easy.

[kicia]

Really like the Sunshine. You can almost always find seating in the Havana Bar at the very back of the ship. Better layout than some other ships. That area also has an omelet station for breakfast and the Mongolian Wok and Pasta bar for lunch.

[misguidedangel]

I would suggest Dream, Magic, or Breeze because of the options. Breakfast on the Dream and Magic wouldn't be any better, but the Breeze has the Blue Iguana Cantina's breakfast burrito option.

 

As for lunch, oh my....Pasta Bella on Dream/Cuchina del Capitano on Magic and Breeze, seaside BBQ on sea days, Blue Iguana and Guy Burgers on Breeze, and just plain burgers and burritos on Dream and Magic......

 

Conquest class ships that have 2.0 have the upgrades and would be better for dining options for lunch...

[spacepotatoes]

Conquest class. Fish & chips station upstairs above the buffet always has plenty of seating.

 

Exactly this. I can only compare the Fantasy and Conquest classes but between those two, Conquest class wins. The seating on the Liberty was never an issue.

[ray98]

Never really had a problem on any ship. It really isn't that difficult.

[Frank12]

Conquest class. Fish & chips station upstairs above the buffet always has plenty of seating.

 

Nailed it!

[mykeb14]

On the Inspiration we ate out side for breakfast and lunch. It was so nice to eat right at the water.

[Surfwench]

On Fantasy class ships there is a very nice deck all the way aft, (just keep walking towards the back of the ship in the Lido buffet). It is protected, not very windy, and has a nice selection of tables. A lot of people miss that deck.

 

If you ever want to enjoy your dinner in peace with a guaranteed ocean view table, try the Lido buffet on any ship for dinner instead of the MDR. Typically we have the place almost to ourselves. A couple of times it was only us and some ship's officers in the whole restaurant. A very nice change of pace.

[cruising maniac]

After twenty-five cruises on many different cruise lines, I have learned that there are always seats in the buffet at dinner as most cruisers eat in the MDR. Breakfast, not a problem because we are serious early birds. But, we have had trouble finding a seat for lunch many times on all ships and on all lines.

[pajammies]

Maybe I'm just irritated because I just came off a cruise (Disney) that was seriously hard to find a seat on. We circled the buffet many times for several minutes trying to find seats.

But I have had problems on other cruises also, maybe the difference is between NCL versus Carnival. Most of my cruises have been on NCL, but like I said, I do remember the Legend being better.

 

Thanks for the replies.

[RWolver672]

What a lot of people don't understand is that there are two buffet areas on the Conquest class. Most people will just stop at the first one they come to. Usually the further back one has less people in it.

[rdevine10]

Buffet seating was by far the best on our last cruise on the Carnival Freedom, which is a conquest class ship.

 

We have cruised the Disney Dream too and the buffet seating was terrible! Legend was not quite as bad but still tighter. On the Freedom we NEVER had an issue finding a table for our group of 4. Hoping it will be the same on the Sunshine!

[Cruisegirl6]

Normally we are 5-8 adults on each cruise and we never not find a table right away, we may have to walk and look but we always find one.

[jmcancruise]

I second the fish and chips area on the conquest class. Just don't tell anyone else about it. We usually go up there the first meal at lunch and have the place to ourselves. Kind of has become a tradition for us.

[winddawn]

I'm curious if any of you have an opinion on the best buffet. One of the things we hate is the herding around at the buffet. Trying to find a seat is, I'm sure, a problem for many.

 

So I'm wondering if anyone has found that a specific ship or class of ships do it best. I think the most important thing would be finding a seat. Is there one that seems to have plenty of seating? One to avoid, maybe?

 

Thanks in advance

Carnival's buffet offerings are pretty much the same ship to ship. What changes are the individual types of restaurants available from ship to ship. For example ships with 2.0 upgrades will have Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana Cantina. Also for example some ships have Fish and Chips and some don't. Ditto for Sea Dogs, Cucina, etc. And the larger the ship, the more seating will be available for breakfast and lunch in the buffet and alternative restaurant areas.

 

So personally I would not choose a ship based on perceived buffet seating area. I would instead choose a ship based on which restaurants it offers, assuming all other things are equal or similar such as price and cost of reaching the ship, city preference, etc. Newer, larger ships versus older Fantasy class ships will have more food offerings. Amounts of seating will be proportionate to ship size regardless of ship type.

[nybumpkin]

Conquest class. Fish & chips station upstairs above the buffet always has plenty of seating.

Exactly. I have never had a problem finding seating on a Conquest-class ship - or Carnival Victory, for that matter. There's always seating available on deck 10. Sailing on Breeze July 4 we never had too much of a problem finding seating - maybe just not where we'd like it.

 

Spirit-class ships, especially with early port days (say, Grand Turk or Freeport 7-2) are difficult. One time we found two stools at an outside deck bar that wasn't opened and still had to fend off people who wanted DH's seat when he went back to get something else. Another time we brought our lunches back to our cabin because we simply couldn't find space on Lido.