Farewell to the Grand Gala Buffets

[Megnolia]

Maybe they can put the beautifully sculpted watermelons and ice carvings out at other times to be enjoyed. the food, frankly, was pretty gross on our last sailing - more like the midnight gelatin buffet. Yuck. I'd rather see the effort and money go into making a decent chocolate buffet. That would go over well. None of this "chocolate flavoured confection" that they dipped over everything last time. A real, nice chocolate fountain and some of their cakes and things, mmmm. That could be elaborate and delicious!

[Minoushka]

It's a real shame they did away with the gala buffet.I really think it was because of the timing .These kind of buffets should be offered on SEADAYS at lunch so everyone could enjoy the beautiful displays and amazing food '

On CELEBRITY Galaxy they had their buffet on fancy night after dinner when we were all pretty stuffed .WHAT A SHAME !!!.Very few people touched anything .I tasted a chocolate decoration because our waitress insisted but i was REALLY not hungry

Mounds and mounds of platters of food cakes and pastries elaboraetly decorated

They told me they were going to throw it all out after the buffet.....and they did destroying displays ,rolling them up and discarding ..It was awful to see such WASTE

They were not allowed to keep it for the following day's lunch .I felt terrible knowing how many people starve on some of the islands we visited...To see all this amazing food discarded like that was simply SINFUL !!!

 

Be smart serve it when we can eat it ...during the day when we are all on board !!!

 

Michele

[scrappinannie]

Will they still have the chocolate buffet? Dude, I gotta have the chocolate buffet!!! :)

[MrPete]

I have memories 20 years old going to the midnight gala, the long lines, the anticipation, tired, probably over imbibed, taking the pictures, and probably coming back to eat.

 

Too much work for a vacation. When you see one green dragon, you've seen them all.

 

I never went to another.

[Chigirlcruzin]

I wish people would read the whole thread before posting:rolleyes:

 

The only buffet that appears to be impacted is the midnight gala buffet done on one night of the cruise to coincide with one of the elegant nights.

[nanuak]

We went to take pictures but did not eat

[kangaand2roos]

My upcoming B2B is my 4th/5th cruise, but my 2nd/3rd on Carnival. My last CCL cruise was in 2000. I remember thay had a themed food area on the Lido late each night (but I think before midnight). I specifically remember a crepe night which was extremely yummy. Is this still done?

[deepnite10]

if its the mid-nite buffet..

 

went to one..well, tried to go to one on RCCL..the line was so

long we gave up waiting..besides, now were usually asleep at

that time :(

 

if they re going to do away with one venue..then it make s sense

that they would expend that energy towards the quality of the

food..

[abitaturbodog]

I wish that they would do a gala desset buffet instead. Who doesn't love eating a great big slice of chocolate cake at midnight?!

 

I like LHP's idea of doing more decorative food carvings at the regular buffets. We are always amazed at the way that the crew uses food to create beautiful (and sometimes silly) displays.

[finoky]

I will not even miss it at all. I've never been. Not even once.

[picklebongo]

The whole gala buffet thing was just too time consuming. First you couldn't eat from it right away because people were allowed to file past and take photos. Of course this meant some folks had to poke and prod the food and THEN you were allowed to go back thru a second time to eat the food that had been sitting around for hours and had been poked and prodded.

 

I too felt the food was not very tasty, quite bland. The only thing worth eating was the fresh fruit. The desserts on the Lido deck overall are quite ghastly, about the same quality as what you would get at a Golden Corral or something of that nature.

[picklebongo]

The whole gala buffet thing was just too time consuming. First you couldn't eat from it right away because people were allowed to file past and take photos. Of course this meant some folks had to poke and prod the food and THEN you were allowed to go back thru a second time to eat the food that had been sitting around for hours and had been poked and prodded.

 

I too felt the food was not very tasty, quite bland. The only thing worth eating was the fresh fruit. The desserts on the Lido deck overall are quite ghastly, about the same quality as what you would get at a Golden Corral or something of that nature.

[Drew B]

Carnival should just hand out a CD-rom with hundreds of pictures of one of their past gala buffets. It seems that people only care about the pictures, anyway.

[Ms Belvedere]

We just got off the Valor and I didn't see it in the Capers or hear it announced by the CD. We don't go and from what I've read on here, there's a lot of food wasted. A shame for those who enjoyed it, though.

[pungo3]

Carnival should just hand out a CD-rom with hundreds of pictures of one of their past gala buffets. It seems that people only care about the pictures, anyway.

Sounds like a great idea. I've yet to actually taste any of the food. However, I do have pics from each of the cruises I've been on.:D

[CRUISEGUY1970]

Just a sign of the times. Cruise lines are looking for more ways to cut costs. Why spend the money to make something that no one wants to eat?

I can only speak for myself, but I haven't been to a Gala Buffet in years. The lines are always to long and the food was just ok, beautiful but bland.

I won't miss it. Give me Carnival's pizza at any hour instead!

[Rowan555]

I have never eaten the Mexican buffet.

 

We've made it to the Mexican buffet the last few cruises, and we enjoy it. The food it hit or miss, but it's PACKED and there is a huge crowd line-dancing on the stage outside on the Lido Deck. Loud music and lots of people having a great time. The disco is always DEAD that night because everyone is on the Lido Deck.

[CRUISEGUY1970]

We've made it to the Mexican buffet the last few cruises, and we enjoy it. The food it hit or miss, but it's PACKED and there is a huge crowd line-dancing on the stage outside on the Lido Deck. Loud music and lots of people having a great time. The disco is always DEAD that night because everyone is on the Lido Deck.

 

 

You win for the most sailings aboard the Fantasy!

[gkrnjlr]

We've made it to the Mexican buffet the last few cruises, and we enjoy it. The food it hit or miss, but it's PACKED and there is a huge crowd line-dancing on the stage outside on the Lido Deck. Loud music and lots of people having a great time. The disco is always DEAD that night because everyone is on the Lido Deck.

 

 

What foods do they have on the Mexican buffet?

If we can stay awake that late on our next cruise I want to go to that! BUT....I am such a picky eater :cool: I wonder if they are things I'll eat.

[Rowan555]

You win for the most sailings aboard the Fantasy!

 

I think Dave (Jetskier) has had as many - so far. I've got two in the next two months and another in April. Can't wait!

[Rowan555]

What foods do they have on the Mexican buffet?

If we can stay awake that late on our next cruise I want to go to that! BUT....I am such a picky eater :cool: I wonder if they are things I'll eat.

 

 

 

They had fish tacos, rice, little burritos, chips and salsa, queso, salad, and tons of desserts. I think it starts at 11:30, and you REALLY need to get there 30 minutes early - by the time it opens the lines are so long, it's ridiculous. I'd like to say the lines most fast, but you know how people can dawdle at a buffet, so sometimes it seems like you wait forever to get to the front. I don't know that I'd say the food is "great", but it's a nice late night snack if you enjoy tex mex.

[chiarigirl]

I was on RCI in January. They had a midnight buffet but it was nothing compared to the pictures i have seen on this thread. I dont think it was a gala buffet, i think it was just a scaled back midnight buffet. It was a 7 day cruise and the only night they did a midnight buffet.

 

It had some of the carved melons and a few ice sculptures. It was on the same deck as the pool, it was way crowded. They had a finger foods, some chips and queso, fruit, veggies & dip, and a lot of desserts. None of it was that fancy. It was neat to see the ice sculptures and stuff, we just got us a plate and took it to our room. It was pretty picked over by the time we got there. We had early seating for dinner, and by the time the show was over, the people at late time dinner or those who left the show early or skipped it had already picked it over.

[farler05]

I wish people would read the whole thread before posting:rolleyes:

I was thinking the exact same thing!! Oh...and are they still going to have the chocolate buffet? :p

[NorthernLite]

We tend to cuise Celebrity and their late night fruit and ice cream buffet has tons of the cool decorative work and ice scultures. It's also a lot more than fruit and ice cream. It's the night that the pineapple and coconut shell filled drinks come out along with light munchies.

 

On some cruises they add a Caribbean late night that is part tex/mex with large roasted meats on spits that someone carves for you. There are taco and tamale stations plus sides plus the line dancing.

 

Longer cruises especially in Europe have evening buffets that go with that day's country. The best was the Greek buffet with lamb on a spit, kebobs, souvlaki and my favorite sauce for everything--tzazicki a yogurt, garlic and cucumber sauce.

 

So those grand buffets are no loss to me now that they have been replaced with local food buffets, fun dancing/frou frou drinks and enough food and sweets to refuel the earlier diners or take the edge off a late diners' sweet tooth nights near the pools. I think most enjoy these late night buffet/dinners instead of one huge gala that noone really likes the food from anyway. Oh, and on a sea day X has added a brunch in the diningroom that is everything from bagels/salmon, regular buffet breakfasts and waffles to carving stations and lunch type sides. We'll do our first brunch on our Oct 30th sailing.

 

With the Pride coming to Baltimore I'd like to hear more about the chocolate buffets.

 

I was on RCI in January. They had a midnight buffet but it was nothing compared to the pictures i have seen on this thread. I dont think it was a gala buffet, i think it was just a scaled back midnight buffet. It was a 7 day cruise and the only night they did a midnight buffet.

 

It had some of the carved melons and a few ice sculptures. It was on the same deck as the pool, it was way crowded. They had a finger foods, some chips and queso, fruit, veggies & dip, and a lot of desserts. None of it was that fancy. It was neat to see the ice sculptures and stuff, we just got us a plate and took it to our room. It was pretty picked over by the time we got there. We had early seating for dinner, and by the time the show was over, the people at late time dinner or those who left the show early or skipped it had already picked it over.

[Azure Moon]

It's somewhat sad to see another tradition disappear into the sunset.

But, like many other posters, we enjoyed looking at and taking pictures of the displays, but ate little to none of the food.

Hopefully the cruiseline will keep some of the tradition alive by having ice sculptures and decorative food creations sprinkled through the regular dining venues from time to time.