Dining Room breakfast vs. Buffet breakfast, any opinions?

[K8sMom]

The dining room gets my vote for both breakfast and lunch. We never eat at the buffet. Why go and stand in line, serve yourself, eat off a plastic platter, drink from a plastic glass, etc. etc. when you go and sit at a nice table with table cloth, real china, etc. and have someone serve you?????

[crazy4themouse]

The dining room stops serving breakfast at 9:30am??? Good grief... my stateroom would have to be on fire to get me out and about that early. LOL

 

I think in 3 cruises on The Magic, my son and I have even eaten breakfast outside the stateroom maybe twice total. I got really spoiled on hot coffee and yummy pastries and such being brought right to my door, where I could then enjoy them quietly on my balcony.

 

But the idea of meeting new people and starting the day with hot breakfast sounds nice! Or at least novel, for me! LOL I think I'll have to try it, at least once.

 

Anyone else sailing 3/11, who can come set my bed on fire for me one morning so I'll get up? ;)

 

-gina-

[Gator83]

On my last cruise I only ate in the dining room once because it took sooo long to get through the meal. I will give it another shot on my upcoming cruise in a month when we are at sea.

[cruzinchris]

Since DH and I rarely eat lunch while travelling, we like to have a hearty breakfast. We miss the hot stateroom breakfasts that were available on our first two Princess cruises; too many carbs and not enough protein in the continental selections.

 

We usually dine at a table for two, so breakfast in the dining room gives us the opportunity to meet other passengers while we enjoy a leisurely meal. Some of the menu choices are among our Princess favorites; Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine are particularly good.

 

The few times that we visited the buffet for breakfast, it was crowded and hectic, and our food would be cold by the time we located an available table.

 

Bon Appetit!

Chris

[phaelon56]

I like the dining room cuz you get fancier breakfasts. Plus, I got hash browns there (my favorite) that I never saw at the buffets. My wife likes the buffet and the basic scrambled eggs, french toast stuff.

The hash browns they're now serving in the dining room on the CB are no longer like real hash browns (i.e. those made from small chunks of potatoes). They now serve a chunk of that McDonald's style frozen junk - looks like they have a log or cylinder of frozen pre-made julienned potatoes, deep fry it and then cut off chunks to serve. It was groaty - not good at all. If I recall correctly I was served real chunks of potato when I had dining room breakfast on the Grand two years ago.

[gambit57]

The hash browns they're now serving in the dining room on the CB are no longer like real hash browns (i.e. those made from small chunks of potatoes). They now serve a chunk of that McDonald's style frozen junk - looks like they have a log or cylinder of frozen pre-made julienned potatoes, deep fry it and then cut off chunks to serve. It was groaty - not good at all. If I recall correctly I was served real chunks of potato when I had dining room breakfast on the Grand two years ago.

 

I've never had "real" hash browns. But yeah, even in the dining room, the stuff resembled the McDonald's chunks. I like em so I'm happy tho. Guess I'm easily pleased.

[KreinKrunker]

Now what were the choices again? Walk around elbow to elbow trying to find food that has been sitting in warming, or cooling, trays for who knows how long, then fighting for a cup of coffee and a glass of juice, balancing the two vessels of liquid and holding your plate (Princess doesn't have trays), as you wander about trying to find a place to sit, going back to the mass hysteria because you forgot something (thanks to the Princess buffet design) OR have somebody escort you to your table, seat you, put your cloth napkin in your lap, take your order, bring the food to you, come back to ask you if you would like anything else, keep your coffee cup full, all the while some one else keeps circling your table asking you if you'd like a pastry, now what was the question again?

[DrD]

I've never had "real" hash browns. But yeah, even in the dining room, the stuff resembled the McDonald's chunks. I like em so I'm happy tho. Guess I'm easily pleased.

 

McDonald's hashbrowns rule!

 

I too loved breakfast in the dining room, a different special each day and always bagel and lox, omlette, fried eggs, fruit, waffles, etc.

 

And great service, constantly refilling coffee.

[merela]

If you are an early riser, give the dining room a try. The service is a little rushed if you go around 8:30am.

 

I would suggest on your first day of the cruise, wake up earlier and give the dining room a try. Then walk off the extra pounds by going up to the Horizon Court after your breakfast in the dining room and check out the breakfast buffet. You can have your tea/coffee there while reading your patter. You can't really do that in the Dining Room because you can feel the rush of the wait staff. They want to clear you out as soon as possible.

 

I prefer to eat in the buffet, but here is what I think of the differences between the two:

 

In Dining Room:

 

Not much waiting required if you are willing to share a table with others. Some people don't want to socialize that early in the morning. You get waited on by the staff. Some people like it and some people can't be bothered with the service.

 

In the Horizon Court:

 

Sometimes there is a long line and sometimes there are no lines. It all depends on when you go up there. You need to find your own seat, but good ocean/land view if you can get a table near the window. The wait staff clear your plates very quickly, so it's very neat and tidy in the Horizon Court.

 

 

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In Dining Room:

 

You can order any kinds of juices (pineapple, orange, apple, grapefruit, cranberry)

 

In the Horizon Court:

 

There are only orange and cranberry juices availabe, but if you ask for apple juice, they'll get it for you. (We have small children, so we gave them the sippy cups and they filled them up for us.)

 

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In Dining Room:

 

You can get any fruits you like. We ordered a bowl of raspberries for our son and my father ordered a plate of papaya every morning. You don't have to order the same medley of fruit plate all the time. You can pick and choose a specific fruit. EX: Strawberries, raspberries, melons, grapes, etc...

 

In the Horizon Court:

 

They never have that much raspberries on display. Papaya is a hit and miss. Sometimes they have it and sometimes they don't. The fruits that they have consistently at breakfast buffet are canteloupe, honeydew melon, oranges, bananas, and apples.

 

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In Dining Room

 

Eggs are cooked to order.

 

 

In Horizon Court

 

They always serve pan fried egss, but their pan fried eggs have yolks that are kind of runny. So if you like well-done fried eggs or boiled eggs or poached eggs every morning, you'll have to eat in the dining room. Since I don't eat scrambled eggs, I'm not sure if they serve that every day, but I saw scrambled egss many times. Sometimes, they'll have poached eggs or eggs benedict or eggs florentine.

 

 

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In Dining Room

 

Waiters come around with carbs--croissants, pastries, and muffins. So you'll have to wait until they come around and you'll need to be patient. You can get more variety of breads--wheat and/or white--and toasted to your liking.

 

 

The Horizon Court

 

The pastries, croissants, muffins, loaf cakes, donuts, bread/toasts, bagels, are laid out so you can pick and choose as you please. Quality is the same.

 

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In Dining Room

 

Specialty egg dish, carb dish(pancakes or french toast), fruit dish available each morning. They are beautifully presented. But if you like French Toasts, you can tell the wait staff that you want to eat that even if it's not on the menu.

 

The Horizon Court

 

Lots of selections in terms of carb and meat (bacon, ham, and sausages) dishes, but you have to pick and choose from what's available. Regular French Toasts are the best in my opinion, but they only had it 2 mornings at the buffet on our last Sapphire sailing.

 

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In Dining Room

 

It's difficult to take extra food back to your room.

 

The Horizon Court

 

Since I have small children, I go up to the Horizon Court to stock up on small cartons of milk, yogurt, and cereal boxes (Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes), so the kids can munch on those all day long. It'll be difficult to find milk, yogurt, and cereal after 11am on the ship. You'll have to go to the dining room for lunch and dinner to get those from the kids' menu.

[tigre8664]

I think the buffet has a wider choice of things to eat, is more convenient of you want to get done quickly and is of comparable quality to the offerings in the dining room - especially if you go to the prepared fresh station. My wife prefers going to the dining room. She finds it more relaxed (no searching for a seat, having to get everything yourself, etc.), likes the food better and enjoys meeting new people by sitting at a large table. Guess it all depends on what you are in the mood for.

[nho9504]

I enjoy both the dining room and the buffet for breakfast / lunch.

 

The only problems for me to have breakfast in dining room are :

 

1) I cannot get up early enough to be there by 8 to 8:30. If I get there past 9, the service is very rushed.

 

2) I really dont like to social with others in the morning when I am mentally not alert. But you always being seated at a big table - usually with a group that traveling together ... sometimes it is annoying.

 

Over 70% of time, I found lunch at Horizon Court have better foods than at dining room. However, you cannot get, say, a bowl of mixed berry, at Horizon Court. So sometimes I would just go to dining room only for my fruit and dessert.

[c-cruise]

Our personal preference is room service. Not a big breakfast person so the continental stuff on the room service menu works great for us. Besides, there is nothing like being woken up on vacation by someone knocking on your door with a plate of food!

[RJ2002]

I also enjoy eating in the dining room for breakfast a few times during a cruise. However, I am not so sure that all the egg dishes are 'cooked to order'.

 

I was on the Coral last year (November 2004), and specifically went to the dining room for Eggs Benedict - because the Hollandaise sauce for EB served in the Horizon Court was almost always dry and caked on. Well, the day I ordered it in the dining room, it came out the same way! I even asked the waiter about it, and was told they were all the same. Since I was sitting with a group of folks I'd never met before, I didn't want to press the issue - but I was disappointed.

 

Sorry... my rant about Eggs Benedict. I love them, and hope they'll be better on my upcoming Sapphire cruise.

[Ethel5]

Breakfast in the dining room is more civilized than the "feeding time at the zoo" atmosphere at the HC.

 

Lunch at the HC s OK f you get there early-11:30ish. Noon tme or later is a feeding frenzy!:eek:

[spongerob]

Merela - great comparison! I'd like to add one thing about Horizon Court. If you like continental breakfast items (cold meats, cheese, smoked fish) you can always find them at Horizon Court in the morning. One day I even found pickled herring! That's probably not on everyones' list of favorites, but I love them.

 

I think the dining room lunch menus have some of Princess' best creations. There is always something interesting.

[Northender]

Now what were the choices again? Walk around elbow to elbow trying to find food that has been sitting in warming, or cooling, trays for who knows how long, then fighting for a cup of coffee and a glass of juice, balancing the two vessels of liquid and holding your plate (Princess doesn't have trays), as you wander about trying to find a place to sit, going back to the mass hysteria because you forgot something (thanks to the Princess buffet design) OR have somebody escort you to your table, seat you, put your cloth napkin in your lap, take your order, bring the food to you, come back to ask you if you would like anything else, keep your coffee cup full, all the while some one else keeps circling your table asking you if you'd like a pastry, now what was the question again?

 

EXACTLY

 

Except for the coffee part :D :D

[Once Upon A Time]

Definately the dining room for me! I prefer quality over quanity.... my DH may not necessarily agree.

[merela]

if you order an item from the menu not to your liking, you are kind of stuck with it. I know you can ask the waiter to get something else in the menu, but I always feel like I'm imposing on the poor waiter. I know it's their job to make you feel well-service, but I would feel self-conscious about it. And if you are seated with others, you are likely to slow the service of others because of your special request.

 

But if you eat in the Horizon Court, the entrees are really hit and miss. There are so many things to choose from that it's not possible to choose them all. DH and I would choose different things and we'll go back for stuff we find tasty. Sometimes looks can be deceiving--what looks good may not taste good, but what looks not so good may turn out to be a winner. So my suggestion is try a little of everything.

 

Since we have small children with us, we spend considerable time eating in the Horizon Court. Our lunch may take over 90 minutes. During those 90 minutes, I see people coming in waves into the Horizon Court. Even if you come at a crowded time, give it 20 minutes, the line would subside. But I know how it feels to have to line up to eat at the Buffet, but my experience at the Horizon Court is never as bad as my experience at the Souplantation!!! Anticipation is half the fun.

 

BTW, I don't know if it's the right etiquette, but I do go around people immediately ahead of me in line who are stuck at the entrance picking out fruits and butter and taking their good old time deciding which jello to take. If I see a big gap forming between this person ahead of me and the person ahead of the person ahead of me, I would just go around the first person and fill in the gap. Maybe the person ahead of me doesn't appreciate me doing so, but the person behind often thanks me for doing so. I don't do this if the line moves smoothly without any gap, even if it was slow.

[crusdiva]

Breakfast in the main dining room is less "controlled" - for lack of a better word at 6:45 in the morning ;). I've been at tables where people have a bagel and a cup of coffee and are off, other times people linger over coffee and order 3 courses. As for the waitstaff, they take great pride in making sure that their passengers are pleased with their service and will happily bring you everything on the menu rather than have you go away less than satisfied with your choice.

IMHO the dining room experiences are far superior to HC - now if we could just get them to expand the breakfast hours until 10am - but I know that would be cutting it close for my return visit at lunch :D.

[Coral]

I am not a Horizon Court fan and try to eat the majority of my meals in the dining room. I also don't like the idea that 1000 people may touch the serving spoon at the buffet (ok, maybe not 1000 but you get the idea). Also, with norovirus out there - I just feel better in the dining room.

 

Interestingly, of the reviews I have read, the people who complain about food on Princess seem to eat more of their meals in the Horizon Court.

 

Merela - if you have kids, I would just get your own table in the dining room. This way, you won't feel like you are holding anyone up.

 

BTW - the dining room has awesome blueberry pancakes in the morning (as a special) and the lasagna during lunch is wonderful. I wish the lasagna was on the evening Italian menu - it is so good.

[Tandy22]

Try both. I prefer the dining room which we eat in when planning to stay on ship but not on sea days. My hubby prefers the buffet which we eat in when taking shore excusions. On sea days we use room sevice since everything else is crowded. He doesn't like to eat in I do. Two out of 3 isn't bad. Have a great cruise.

Susan