What is so great about the Royal/Regal buffet?

[Loreni]

I have read that Royal/Regal have the best buffet. However, looking at the photos, it doesn't seem that the food quality is any different than other Princess buffets.

 

Is it just more perceived variety? I don't need 8 colors (flavors?) of panna cotta. Or 6 types of cookie, none of which contain butter. Or laminated pastry in myriad shapes, none of which were made with butter. Are there any desserts offered that are better than on other Princess ships?

 

I would like to see greater variety in the types of fruit served, not just melons, oranges, kiwi, apples, pears and bananas. Are berries available? Figs? Peaches? Cherries? Lychee? Any fruit that one doesn't find at other Princess buffets.

 

More choices of vegetables and greens at the salad bar?

 

So I guess my question is whether any new items are appearing, or is just more incremental variations of existing Princess items.

 

Is there a gluten-free section, or at least clearly and accurately marked GF items?

 

Or is the overall atmosphere of the buffet just more pleasant...nicer furniture and decor and less crowds?

Edited September 12, 2016 by Loreni

[umuva]

There are figs, dates, watermelon, strawberries, Etc. There are many, many meat and veggie choices. There are more pastry choices. There is a sugar free section and some pastries marked gluten free. There is absolutely no comparison to other Princess buffets. Choices far, far wider.

 

 

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[Mom33]

The buffets on Royal and Regal are huge and laid out well. There is much more of a selection in all varieties of food, twice the serving area as the other ships and abundant seating. :D

[chrysalis]

However, looking at the photos, it doesn't seem that the food quality is any different than other Princess buffets

 

How can you tell food quality from photos?

[umuva]

Mongolian buffet is extraordinary. There are lamb chops, minute steaks, different fish dishes, etc.. The variety compared to other ships is much greater and I have no problems with quality and taste

 

 

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[rockdoctor]

The Royal's buffet not only has better food, but the organization makes it easier to get at it. I thought that Celebrity had buffets figured out but Princess does it better.

[Luke Dawg]

I have been watching all the videos, I can't wait for the buffet.

[SchoolNurseMom]

I have sailed on RCL, CCL, NCL and Princess and the Regal had the best buffet of any of them! We loved the themed dinners each night and the bread and cheese area where there was a different ice sculpture each night. There was Mongolian night, Italian, American, and a couple more I cannot recall right now. There was plenty of seating and if you go all the way aft, there is outdoor seating where we ate almost all of our meals and watched beautiful sunsets as we enjoyed our dinner! It was lovely.

[ahl]

We are just back from our first Princess cruise. So, I can only compare the Regal Princes buffet with those on other cruise lines.

 

The Regal buffet did have great variety. At breakfast, there was a good assortment of omelet ingredient choices and the buffet offered both American and English bacon every day. Sausage servings varied from turkey or pork link sausage to chorizo to English bangers. At lunch and dinner, there were always two or more soups. A big plus from soup loving me! Shrimp and cocktail sauce were out for the taking. Not too much on the Asian food front, however, I fear. Reuben, panini and other prepared sandwiches are warmed for you. The server asked me if I wanted one, two, three or four Reubens! One is just fine. :) The salad bar was very good, but there were different ingredients to be found at each salad bar station. (The ingredients kept changing, too. I like olives on my salad and sometimes there were olives put out and sometimes not.)

 

A drawback was that one has to go all over the place to look over, find and then assemble what one wants to eat. (No Russian or Thousand Island dressing for the Reuben and I did not see any mustard except far away at the poolside hot dog station. But there was Tabasco sauce and salsa for the eggs.)

[janetz]

We have never been patrons of the buffet onboard any ship.

We checked out the buffet on the Royal just because people here were saying how good it was and it is very good. :)

[GweninTX]

The organization/layout is the HUGE plus! They also brew REAL coffee! You also can get specialty coffees in the bakery section. We usually hate the buffet, but not on the Royal!

 

 

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[pablo222]

How can you tell food quality from photos?

 

By the taste of the paper?

[Loreni]

How can you tell food quality from photos?

 

Well you can't. That's why I'm asking. However, the desserts look exactly the same as typical Princess desserts. Maybe they are better. Can anyone who has tasted the pastry, cakes, or cookies comment in whether the Royal uses butter?

[CanadaDeb]

I have been watching all the videos, I can't wait for the buffet.

 

Me, too!

[islandatsea]

Ample seating plus more selection of different types of food than we have seen before plus the taste/flavor was very good to us. Really enjoyed the buffet on the Regal Princess!

[4cats4me]

How can you tell food quality from photos?

 

 

 

I was wondering the same thing. There is NO comparison between the Regal buffet and the other half-dozen princess ships were sailed on. Because it is such a large space, they can offer more types of food, period. The salad bar is huge and has more fixings than on a regular ship plus a Celebrity Solstice ship plus a RCCL navigator class ship combined. The cheese selection is extraordinary. Not just the usual cheese squares that they have on most ships, ie, veiny green and wine-beige colored cheeses, but they have Things like Pecorino with peppercorns, or a gigantic hollowed out rind of Parmesan filled with chunks of Parmesan, prosciutto In abundance,

An emphasis on fresh food, several pastas to choose from, nice Asianfood selections

 

As for desserts, they actually were quite lackluster unless we chose the special chocolate dessert of the day. We refused to pay the $3 per dessert charge for the featured Norman love desserts. We definitely didn't care for the fruit tarts there, either. Princess seems to have changed the pastry recipe.

 

 

 

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Edited September 12, 2016 by 4cats4me

[Murphey]

I am soooo envious of anyone who eats dinner at the buffet. I can not get DH to go near it. A sit down restaurant setting only. I would love however, occasionally not to get dressed up at night and just hit the buffet. I guess he had too many years in the Navy!

[wheezedr]

Greater variety, much better flow from station to station and the fact that brewed coffee and speciality coffees were available. Makes the coffee card even more worthwhile.

[SadieN]

I am soooo envious of anyone who eats dinner at the buffet. I can not get DH to go near it. A sit down restaurant setting only. I would love however, occasionally not to get dressed up at night and just hit the buffet. I guess he had too many years in the Navy!

 

 

Do you have to eat together? ;)

[Mom33]

Do you have to eat together? ;)

 

 

We never did. [emoji3]

 

 

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[cruzsnooze]

I found the food and variety great but the layout horrible. It is so spaced out good luck finding something you spied when you first walked in to look around. By the time I got something to eat and found a table all the hot foods on my plate were tepid.

[umuva]

Find a table first. Leave your Princess bag on the seat.

 

 

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[jonesmen]

Are the specials unique for each day of an 11 day cruise or do they repeat some of them?

[umuva]

Some repeated. Mongolian is.

 

 

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[Murphey]

Do you have to eat together? ;)

 

Hahahaha!!!! :D