dining room or buffet for breakfast and lunch?

[Loralie]

I know you can't wear jeans and shorts to the dining room for dinner but is there a dress code for the dining room for breakfast and lunch? We will be sailing on the Victory in July going to Canada.

 

For breakfast and lunch...do you normally use the dining room or the buffet? Why do you like one better than the other?

 

Thanks,

 

Loralie

[Sandi149]

I know you can't wear jeans and shorts to the dining room for dinner but is there a dress code for the dining room for breakfast and lunch? We will be sailing on the Victory in July going to Canada.

 

For breakfast and lunch...do you normally use the dining room or the buffet? Why do you like one better than the other?

 

Thanks,

 

Loralie

 

Jeans, shorts, sneakers are ok for the dining room for breakfast and lunch. No bathing suits and coverups in the dining room anytime.

 

I plan on going to the dining room as much as possible. I like being served and I don't care much for buffet food.

[TeeBuccs]

The buffet is more casual so it you are sunning by the pool deck you can throw some shorts or a cover up on and go get something to eat. The other bonus to using the buffet is that you are on your own schedule in regards to having a shortened window of time in which to eat before doing something else (meeting someone, a shipboard activity like game or spa, etc..) Additionally in the dining room the menu is limited and they serve the same items for lunch and breakfast each day whereas in the buffet at lunch there are different items each day. Personally I enjoy the "Fish & Chips" restuarant myself anyway! I am not a "formal" type person anyway so I prefer to be in more casual, relaxed environment when I can. (However I do eat dinner in the dining room or the super club.)

[irishgirl]

I haven't used the dining room for breakfast or lunch in a long time. It's just so much more convenient to use the buffet.

[Eliot Ness]

Sandi already answered your dress code question so I'll jump in with what we like for breakfast and lunch:

 

We usually try to hit the dining room at least a couple of times for breakfast and lunch, the other times we find something on the Lido deck (buffet area).

 

I really like the made-to-order omelets they have for breakfast in the buffet area. For lunch there are other options besides the buffet food such as the East River Deli (very good sandwiches), Yangtze Wok (Asian), the 24 hour Pizzeria, Mississippi BBQ (the grill), etc..

 

John

[Cotton]

........Additionally in the dining room the menu is limited and they serve the same items for lunch and breakfast each day......

 

Just a small correction to the above. The b'fast menu is the same every day, but has so many items, you can get something different every day.

 

However, the lunch menu changes daily.

[Luckysll]

I usually like to eat breakfast and lunch at least a couple of times in the dining room. I love eggs Benedict and you can't get them in the buffet.

 

The dining room at breakfast and lunch always seems a little more relaxed than the buffet, too.

[Cotton]

I know you can't wear jeans and shorts to the dining room for dinner but is there a dress code for the dining room for breakfast and lunch?

 

Shorts and tees are fine for b'fast and lunch, just no swimwear or coverups.

 

For breakfast and lunch...do you normally use the dining room or the buffet? Why do you like one better than the other?

 

Personally, I don't do buffets on land or sea. The food to me is much fresher, hotter, when served directly from the kitchen to your table in the dining room. The food on the buffet sits in warming pans with others dipping out of them. Just not for me (retired chef from N.O.). Another reason - I LOVE being pampered.:)

[Sandi149]

I know you can't wear jeans and shorts to the dining room for dinner but is there a dress code for the dining room for breakfast and lunch?

 

Shorts and tees are fine for b'fast and lunch, just no swimwear or coverups.

 

For breakfast and lunch...do you normally use the dining room or the buffet? Why do you like one better than the other?

 

Personally, I don't do buffets on land or sea. The food to me is much fresher, hotter, when served directly from the kitchen to your table in the dining room. The food on the buffet sits in warming pans with others dipping out of them. Just not for me (retired chef from N.O.). Another reason - I LOVE being pampered.:)

 

I'm with you on that one Cotton.....love being pampered. :D I do enough cooking for my family 51 weeks a year so on my vacation week I love to be served. :D

[p2lockhart]

I'm with Sandi & Cotton on this. The food is much better in the dining room and I love being served. It seems less crowded and less commotion, probably because folks don't have to be getting up serve themselves. It just seems more relaxing to me. For breakfast & lunch in the dining room, I request to be seated at a table with no children. :eek: Can't handle the whining before I've had a few cups of coffee... :rolleyes:

[Moondawgie]

Well, I like the DR better except for the open seating. I used to like it better when we had our assigned table for breakfast and lunch and got our regular waiters and tablemates (who showed up at least).

 

As for clothes, I wear shorts and t-shirt to both b and l.

[momofzeke]

We rarely go to the dining room for breakfast or lunch. I do like the eggs benedict for breakfast in the dining room, which you can't get at the buffet. In the dining room, they will seat you with other people, which can be fun if you get nice people. We did have one uncomfortable experience being seated with a couple, and the husband clearly did not want to be seated with strangers. It was a very strained breakfast.

 

I love buffets, so for us, the buffet seems to work better. Many people prefer the dining room, though. I would suggest that you try both on your cruise, and then decide which you prefer. :)

[Cotton]

....... I used to like it better when we had our assigned table for breakfast and lunch and got our regular waiters

 

Ahh yes, the good ol' days of cruising. I liked having my assigned table for every meal back then, too.

 

I think they do open seating now because most of the DR waiters are doing Lido buffet duty during b'fast and lunch these days, so all aren't available for DR.

 

At lunch, I don't mind sitting w/others. However, at b'fast, I always ask for a window seat at a table by myself....I don't like a lotta conversation early in the day. My request has always been granted - so just ask.:)

[Molly BPOE]

I personally like to take my time waking up. So coffee, juice, danish, bagels, cream cheese and lox from room service is my favorite cruise breakfast. It is so nice to sit around in your cabin, just kicking it and enjoying breakfast while reading the Capers and deciding what to do the rest of the day. For lunch we prefer the deli or grill. I tried the dining room once for the eggs benedict, but was very diappointed in the meal so I never went back. Maybe on next cruise we will try the dining room for lunch...who knows! Happy sailing.

[Mysticks1]

The dining room menu is posted outside the door so DH and I usually go by the dining room at lunch first to see if anything listed appeals to us. We are usually up to see the sunrise so we usually just get fruit, cereal or pastries from the buffet area. I also had a bad experience on our last cruise with being seated with a very strange family.:( I will ask for a private table from now on.

[Moondawgie]

Thanks, Cotton, that is a great tip. I never thought of it. I'll try it on the Liberty.

[ImBossy]

I know you can't wear jeans and shorts to the dining room for dinner but is there a dress code for the dining room for breakfast and lunch? We will be sailing on the Victory in July going to Canada.

 

For breakfast and lunch...do you normally use the dining room or the buffet? Why do you like one better than the other?

 

Thanks,

 

Loralie

 

I like to eat at the buffet most mornings because it is quick and I can start my day. I also love the french toast with rasberry jam And you can get omelettes or eggs your way. A few days I will eat breakfast in the dining Room when I want lox & bagels. For lunch, I like to switch betwen the buffet & the dining room. Since lunch days are international flavor days I will check out the buffet to see if there is anything I want to try. If not I will go to the fish bar or the dining room. I usually eat dinner in dining room.

I like to eat at the buffet because I can take my food poolside and lisen to music or people watch.

Hope that helps. Just try it all. :)

[CorbinCatFan]

We usually will eat in the dining room on sea days for both breakfast and lunch. For the days in port, we will eat at the buffet for breakfast and in port for lunch.

 

I really like the meals in the dining room but sometimes, my schedule during the day doesn't fit the dining room schedule.:(

[Tulip_Girl]

We've only eaten breakfast in the dining room one time. The food was cold when we got it, so we never went back. We love the made to order omelets at the buffet!

 

We ate lunch in the dining room once, but we didn't like it. We were seated at a table with four people who could do nothing but complain about every little thing on the cruise. Their attitude really put a damper on the meal. We should have checked the menu before we went, because it wasn't very good that day. Some of them look wonderful, though.

 

By the way, you can check the menus for the day on the TV in your room.

[nothomeonacruise]

Except for room service on some mornings, we generally eat every meal in the dining room. First of all, it's nice to have the service, and we feel like we're not eating as much. The buffet has a large quantity of food, and it's a temptation to over eat. The dining room offers generous portions, and the meals are always filling.

[Cotton]

We've only eaten breakfast in the dining room one time. The food was cold when we got it, so we never went back.

 

Just curious as to whether you told your waiter? He would have brought you another plate, making sure it was hot.:)

[Grits53]

We eat every meal we can in the dining room for several reasons. One of the best reasons for choosing the dining room is to avoid the buffet, which is where we believe viruses are most often spread. I'm sure there are cruisers who have eaten 1000 meals at buffets and never got sick. But we choose to avoid it whenever possible. We also like the food in the dining room better than at the buffet. And it's fun to be treated like we're "important" in the dining room. LOL! We also enjoy being seated with our evening waiters for breakfast and lunch when possible. (Yes, you can request a particular wait team.) So you can say that we're definitely dining room fans!

[pink roses]

We are not big breakfast eaters, we usually order a little breakfast(have to have my coffee) room service. One morning in 3 cruises did we eat breakfast in the dining room and it was good.

Our other meals most--- we take in the dining room. I also like to be served. There are a few days where you have no choice but to eat Lido deck and that is ususally port days and those days are fine, sometimes we have already grapped something while out at port anyways.