Midnight Buffet?

[Mike_DeA]

On 1/23/2019 at 3:29 AM, Linsifer said:

I miss the 24 hour buffet on Princess where I could grab a plate of shrimp, either cold or deep fried.  Or other savory items.  Not just a bunch of sweets and sandwiches.   Years ago, when we were on NCL (never again), they had a chocolate buffet at midnight.  Waaaay too much!  But a chocolate lover’s delight.  Even the regular midnight buffets were a bit over the top.  

Just an fyi, but NCL today is vastly different from my first time on the NCL Spirit in 2006.  I said never again back then, but tried newer ships a few years ago and will say that today's cruise experience is great in my view.

[JoseyP]

I think all the cruise lines found it to be a major waste of food, and labor.   Most people could not eat that much at midinight. I eat dinner late, and can't eat a full, heavy meal at about midnight. I remember some in the early 2000's when i started cruising. People took a lot of pictures, including me, but how much was actually consumed i don't know. Also a percentage of the ship goes to bed so early, they don't wantto be running around at midnight!  So i think for those reasons, the elaborate midnight buffets are gone.  It is sort of sad, but at least i could understand the doing away with them.  I love the 24 hour pizza on Carnival.

[Thrak]

I'd guess that 99.9% of Princess cruisers are fast asleep by midnight. Most are in bed by 10:00 PM.

[Kansas Gal]

I started cruising in the 1970's.  As I recall, the first few nights of the cruise, the midnight buffet would be packed.  As the cruise went on, fewer and fewer people showed up.  

[Linsifer]

I’m not one who particularly cared for the designated Grand Midnight Buffet they used to have in the main dining room.  I agree,  a waste of food and resources.  Seemed like gluttony.  As we didn’t have ENOUGH to eat all day. 😉  But, what I DO miss on Princess is Horizon Court being open all night and the option to have a full meal or snack on a heaping plate of shrimp if desired.  Or a quick dessert.   Yeah...I know..back to the same argument as above.  But it did help get rid of some of the leftovers from the main meals.  I noticed several dishes that were served at dinner.  And often the musicians and other late shift crew could grab dinner their after their gig was over. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Linsifer

[JoseyP]

Gee, i wish i was on Princess when that all night buffet was open. Even if it was limited in size.....being able to have a heaping plate of shrimp if i wanted sounds great to me!

[h-sar]

The one and only HA cruise we took (my kids deemed it too slow paced and not for young kids 😄) had an amazing midnight dessert buffet. As others have said,  it was more for show/pics than anything else. I felt intense first world guilt for all the food that would be thrown out, as very little actually got eaten. 

 

My family’s past 12 Princess cruises (Emeraldx2, Golden, Rubyx2, Crown, Regalx6) have all been over New Yrs. There has always been a midnight buffet on New Yrs eve with a big seafood spread and tasty bites. Very nicely put together. The video should give you a  pretty good overview. Yowza! I have to slow down while filming 😬. I think I just wanted to get out of everyone’s way and not be that annoying person who films food. Plus, my kids were probably giving me death glares. Neither of those two factors actually stops me, by the way 😆. After all, the best way to measure the success of a day is to be able to count on more than one hand the number of times you’ve embarrassed your children! 

[8dimsum]

The IC setup on the Coral had fewer items and choices than on the Grand.  The Emerald had the ice  cream counter right by the IC.

 

Another past favorite was when the headwaiters  did flambe crepes -- a type of buffet set up.  Different flavoured ones, mmmh.

[melodyina]

On 1/23/2019 at 1:00 AM, Grburkart said:

The last time I cruised was in 1978 on a NCL cruise ship that had 700 passengers. I remember one of the highlights was the midnight buffet. 

It was actually spectacular with ice sculptures and artistic impressions built into it. And the food was extraordinary with cold cuts, and desserts, at least from what I remember. 

The question is... does the midnight buffet still exist? I haven’t heard mention of it in the threads I’ve looked at. 

Holy hannah! I just realized that was 41 years ago. Lol. My new cruise is on the Emerald in October.

 

Glenn

Glenn -- I had a thought!  Since its been so long since you've cruised and you have an upcoming (fantastic) cruise in October, have you thought of a 'pre-cruise' check-it-out?  What I mean to say is the Emerald Princess has a 3 day sailing from Van Couver to LA  and a LA back to Vancouver offered in March and April.   What a great way to get excited about your trip and see the ship too! 

[Grburkart]

58 minutes ago, melodyina said:

Glenn -- I had a thought!  Since its been so long since you've cruised and you have an upcoming (fantastic) cruise in October, have you thought of a 'pre-cruise' check-it-out?  What I mean to say is the Emerald Princess has a 3 day sailing from Van Couver to LA  and a LA back to Vancouver offered in March and April.   What a great way to get excited about your trip and see the ship too! 

That’s not a bad idea! I’ll check into it plus one of my daughters lives in Vancouver. I could visit or even take her. Plus I have a 22 day cruise and a 28 day cruise booked. That’ll put me at 50 days, one day shy of platinum status. This short cruise would but me where I need to be. 

Thank you for the tip!

 

Glenn

[SouthLyonCruiser]

When we went on our first cruise and seeing people with piled high plates that they ate two bites out of and then left the rest to be thrown away; I questioned a crew member and they said that a massive amount of food is wasted.

Maybe the midnight buffet was used by a minimum number of passengers and when over they threw away more food that had been sitting out and not eating.

Just speculating.

[melodyina]

4 hours ago, Grburkart said:

That’s not a bad idea! I’ll check into it plus one of my daughters lives in Vancouver. I could visit or even take her. Plus I have a 22 day cruise and a 28 day cruise booked. That’ll put me at 50 days, one day shy of platinum status. This short cruise would but me where I need to be. 

Thank you for the tip!

 

Glenn

What a thrill for your daughter if she can go too, but - there is one more benefit too by booking this 3 day, when you return (and if you haven't paid for your other cruises in full) ask for a repricing.  You may get a lower cruise fair based on 'returning customer'.   I'm so excited for you if this all works out in your favor.