Alcohol in the Lido Buffet Restaurant

[BobbyN]

Is it possible to have Wine in the Cunard Lido Buffet Restaurant?  I will be taking out a drinks package before our cruise.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

Yes. I remember getting a glass once from a server in a nook and once delivered by another. I don’t remember which ship—QE or QM2–had which form of service. Maybe they all do both. I don’t know because we rarely use the buffet.

[exlondoner]

Yes, in theory. I very very rarely lunch in the buffet, but once, when I did fancy a glass of wine, I was unable to find a wine waiter.

[Pushpit]

The thing that sometimes throws those new to Cunard is that in the restaurants all chilled drinks apart from water are served by sommeliers, who have  a distinctive red / gold uniform, that looks different from the other wait staff (black and / or while, depending on meal and status level). There are a few that work during the meal times in Lido, not breakfast, so you keep an eye out for them, and if they are some way off, just discreetly hold up your stateroom card. This is because they are the only staff in the Lido who would want to see that card and the sticker that goes on it if there is a drinks package applied. If you don't have a drinks package then it gets charged in the usual way.  

 

I'm assuming this is QV, if so you may want to sit towards the stern end, since the bar is physically right at the end of the inside section of deck 9. Alternative near the Alternative Dining area by staircase B at the other end, since there seems to be a sommelier based there too, but they do wander around. There's just not so many of them. 

[BigMac1953]

We fancied a pizza one day after returning from ashore, too late for QG lunch.

 

A couple of sommeliers were wandering around. We managed to speak to one of them and ordered a bottle of wine. It took foreverand we were almost finished our pizza by the time it turned up.

 

If we ever do it again, we'll order the wine before the food.

[Kordy]

You can definitely order a glass of wine, or any other drink, from a sommelier walking around the King's Buffet / Lido, but they are not as widely available as during dinner in MDR and also, they seem to be not around during breakfast.

 

What I've seen people do is ... get food from King's Buffet and walk to Carinthia Lounge (next door) and sit there with their food and over there, there are more waiters and it's quicker/easier getting an alcoholic drink.

Edited July 6 by Kordy