Skip main dining for buffet for dinner?

[Sparky2]

Has anyone skipped the main dining for dinner on the Lido deck? We have never done this, but are considering it for the week to keep this trip casual. If you have eaten dinner in the buffet, how are the food choices? Anything similar to what would be served in the dining room? I really appreciate your feedback! Thank you!

 

We prefer the MDR for breakfast & dinner. The buffet is fine for lunch. I'm looking forward to Guys Burgers on Liberty.

[sarafinadh]

Do people really let the maître d know when they won't be in the mdr?

Yes.

[3ricT]

The MDR food is fine, but it's not OMG fine. Being from New England, I generally don't eat lobster on a cruise or out west - there is no comparison. On our last cruise we ended up eating at the buffet 3 of 5 nights and enjoyed it. Sure the food isn't quite as good as the MDR, but really, what are you missing? Anyways, it's usually quiet and you can get your wine at the bar, find a nice table outside, grab some salad, chat, watch the sun set. Get some more wine (no waiting!) and put together a main course. It's really quite nice.

[awhcruiser]

Exaggerate much?

The buffet on Carnival is gross. There is always that bin of sticky but yet dry room temperature rice...butter won't melt on it. The cool soggy baked potatoes. I tried one and the butter wouldn't even melt on it. The salad selections never change. NEVER. It is the same day after day except for a few things that change..I'm speaking of dinner where you may have broccoli one evening and cauliflower the next. The breads are all hard and stale and the same every single day. They basically change the carved meat and some of the side dishes on the buffet each day. Yuck. Puke.

[RuthlessBoss]

Last cruise we had our 2 year old DD. In Cozumel, we had left her in camp for a while in order to do an excursion, so we did not want to take her back to camp that evening at dinner time. She did not nap well so she was as grumpy as they get. We had ATD, but she was so crabby, there was no way she was going to sit though dinner. So, DH and I went to the buffet to get her something to eat. We had decided we would see what they had, and either eat there or hope that some of the attitude wore off after eating. We were so disappointed with the food selections that there was no way we were eating there. There were just a couple of entree choices and neither appealed to either of us. Luckily DD's attitude perked up after eating dinner and we were able to go to the MDR to eat. I can't remember if they had chateaubriand or prime rib, but I know it was something that they did not have at the buffet. If we did not go to the MDR, DH probably would have had pizza and I would have had something from room service.

 

But I am not that found of buffets anyway. Last cruise we had breakfast at the buffet once. We had lunch there a couple of times but DH and I always had either guy's burger, fish and chips or pizza, never anything from the main line (except tacos one day).

 

Personally, I would try to get ATD. Then you can check out the buffet and if nothing suits you, you still have the option of going to the MDR. Or you can look at the MDR menu and if nothing sounds go, head to the buffet.

 

Did you honestly expect prime rib or chateaubriand at any buffet anywhere?

[bibbysnow]

I usually do that, but I am going to try and go back to eating in the MDR on anytime dining.

[sanmarcosman]

Yes.

 

You mean when you have selected ATD?

 

At set dining times it's considered a courtesy to tell your table-mates you won't be there on a following evening so they won't wait for you to order their meal.