Late Night Food Upgrades

[evandbob]

We do late dining, finishing up by 10PM, so even having breakfast at 8 or 9AM can be pushing it.  We try to eat healthy whether we're at home or away, it's a way of life and I stopped eating like a gavone many many cruises ago.  Yes, I pigged out on my first few cruises thinking it was an all new experience and I needed to get my money's worth.

 

That type of thinking and eating had consequences and I regretted it once back on land.  On our last cruise, a 15 day TA with some extra days after in Barcelona, I actually lost weight!

[RRLLAL]

On our 14 day sunrise cruise besides all the items some listed above they also had an omelette station open. 

[pacruise804]

On 7/13/2019 at 12:56 AM, lottiegreen56 said:

 

 

Lol it's funny, I eat 0-2 times a day at home but at least triple my consumption at sea. I work out a ton, walk a lot more (stairs) and drinking gives me the munchies so I would say some of it is justified. I usually gain 2-5 pounds on a trip from salt/water retention. 

I find the sea air and being relaxed increases my appetite.  I also definitely drink more on a cruise than on land (2-5/day vs. 2-5/month)

 

 

On 7/13/2019 at 7:23 AM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

You were there at the tail end of the dinner service; it cuts off at 9:30.  Before Fun Ship 2.0, late-night snacks consisted of burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken strips, etc.  I've sailed on ships that haven't been 2.0'ed, so I've seen it.  That changed with introduction of Guy's Burgers, due to some non-compete clause, where only Guy's could serve burgers and fries.  Which left only pizza at night.  Better late-night food offerings, which includes cookies, were reintroduced with the recent upgrade.  And since none of them are burgers or fries, I guess they're legit.

I pretty sure the deli serves fries (at least on the Pride) - either with or without truffle oil.  Nowhere near as good as Guy's fries (for me) but not the only fry option.

[ishap]

I've always thought Carnival was lacking in late night dining options.  I would love to see more snack type options.  Give me a meat and cheese tray, chips and salsa, pretzels, something.  We always have the early dining option, so come 9-10pm I don't necessarily want a meal, just something to snack on.

 

I have always thought CCL has excellent food in the MDR for both dinner and breakfast/brunch.  We don't eat the lido buffet for dinner, always the MDR.  I don't care for the buffet for lunch as the food there, in my opinion, is lacking.  Desserts on the buffet are always terrible.  Guys is always top notch as is the Blue Iguana.  We will be on Horizon in about 3 months, so I will be able to try P&A for lunch, as well as the pasta bar.  I really don't think I've ever complained about food on the ship, except for lack of late night.

[beshears]

OK, so if I am understand this right, after (???) 9:30 or so, in the "buffet area," they add some snack foods for people to have just before they go to bed?

 

This is sort of off the subject, but the "sea day brunch", is it in the MDR, or buffet or where? If it is in the MDR, how would we know which MDR it would be held in?

[CruisingViper]

sea day brunch is in the rear MDR, at the back of the ship. Getting a window seat in the back is one of my favorite parts of it. Get to look at the endless ocean and beautiful day and occasionally spot a dolphin. It's usually too dark to see the same at dinner.

[evandbob]

There are usually waiters in the casino bringing food canapes or hors d'oeuvres to players around 11PM every evening except the last night of the cruise.

[Burtonrider726]

We just got off the Splendor last month for the Mexician Riviera 7 day and waiting for pizza was a pain! Instead of having them ready, especially when the Lido was filled with people, they would cook them one at a time, so a line would build up. Late at night, we struggled to get service and with 4 people in line, the wait at times was 15-20 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

[K&RCurt]

On 7/11/2019 at 10:16 AM, Joebucks said:

I tried the room service philly cheesesteak. It was outstanding.

 

 

 

I take it you are not from the Philadelphia area?

 

😈

[megbowlstrike]

I agree that the late night snacks on Carnival aren't much to be desired.  We have early dinner and my friends go to bed early, so I can't get room service late at night b/c I don't want to wake them.  Pizza is great, but you can only eat that so many times on a cruise.  IMO, the late night snack options of pasta in a tomato sauce is weird.  That's not something that I think "oh, pasta would make a great snack" late at night.  It seems like a heavy option, plus, eating tomato products close to bedtime can give people indigestion.  So, that just leaves the sandwiches, which are very basic. 

 

I got hooked on Celebrity's late night offering in their buffet:  meats, cheeses, and breads to make your own sandwich, salad bar, pizza.  On Royal, their pizza place is open til the middle of the night and you can get other lighter salads and stuff.  Their coffee/cafe place also has a variety of little sandwiches and cookies.  You can also order food at their pub.  On RCL Empress of the Seas, it's a small ship with only the buffet and dining room.  They have a late night buffet that is awesome--chicken fingers, build your own nachos, pasta, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, french fries, fruit, cookies, and other desserts.  On NCL, they had a 24/7 restaurant that was free that you could order food at (stuff like wings, nachos, burgers, sandwiches, and other "bar" type food.  They also set up a snack station in the casino, which was much appreciated.  🙂

 

While I'm grateful for anything that they provide, I'd like to see Carnival add some things like chicken fingers or wings, sliders, chips, salsa/nacho cheese, lunch meat, cheese, crackers...just some finger food type things that aren't super heavy yet fit more in the "snack" category.  Stuff like you'd find in an appetizer section of a bar menu...

[LandlockedCruiser01]

4 hours ago, megbowlstrike said:

While I'm grateful for anything that they provide, I'd like to see Carnival add some things like chicken fingers or wings, sliders, chips, salsa/nacho cheese, lunch meat, cheese, crackers...just some finger food type things that aren't super heavy yet fit more in the "snack" category.  Stuff like you'd find in an appetizer section of a bar menu...

Carnival used to have a subset of that: burgers, hot dogs, fries, and chicken strips.  Maybe a few other things too,  but it's been 6 years since then.  Then Cutback 2.0, er... Fun Ship 2.0 went into effect, and the only late-night buffet option was the pizza; burgers and such could only be served by Guy's or in the MDR.  The current late-night options are simply modified reintroductions of what was eliminated earlier. 

 

Or... the explanation is much simpler.  Carnival keeps late-night buffet offerings scant in order to push people into ordering room service (read: spending money).  If you look at the nighttime room service menu, it has all the foods you listed: chicken wings, sliders, cheese and crackers, salads, etc.

 

Contrary to megbowlstrike, I actually don't mind pasta as a late-night option.  I mean, pizza has tomato sauce too, and it's a late-night staple.  Maybe a time, I've eaten Chef Boyardee after coming home from a night of drinking.  Carnival's pasta gotta be better than that.

Edited July 17, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Amadawn1]

2 minutes ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Contrary to the earlier poster, I actually don't mind pasta as a late-night option.  Maybe a time, I've eaten Chef Boyardee after coming home from a night of drinking.  Carnival's pasta gotta be better than that.

Too funny!  My only late night craving was on like night 5.  Headed to the pizza aft.  Small line at like 11:30pm.  It only took about 5-7 mins.  I swear that was the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Quattro Formaggio with pepperoni on my balcony.  Yes please!

[RRLLAL]

On our sunrise cruise besides the sandwiches and pizza they also had cookies, an omelette station and the pizza place made Caesar salads. 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

32 minutes ago, RRLLAL said:

On our sunrise cruise besides the sandwiches and pizza they also had cookies, an omelette station and the pizza place made Caesar salads. 

They made omelets late at night?  Wow!  I don't know if I'd eat it as a late-night snack, unless I've been partying past 3:00 AM, but the notion that it's available is pretty nice.  I'm pleased to see that the rampant cutbacks are waning.  I guess the suits realized that they'll turn Carnival into EasyCruise if they don't stop in time.

Edited July 17, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[RRLLAL]

23 minutes ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

They made omelets late at night?  Wow!  I don't know if I'd eat it as a late-night snack, unless I've been partying past 3:00 AM, but the notion that it's available is pretty nice.  I'm pleased to see that the rampant cutbacks are waning.  I guess the suits realized that they'll turn Carnival into EasyCruise if they don't stop in time.

 

Late night isn’t all night. It was open from something like 11-1 or 1130-130. 

 

And when people say cutbacks, there’s plenty of additions that off set them. 

[DallasGuy75219]

On 7/15/2019 at 12:47 PM, evandbob said:

There are usually waiters in the casino bringing food canapes or hors d'oeuvres to players around 11PM every evening except the last night of the cruise.

In my experience, they only do this on premium casino (i.e., Premier, Ultra, or Elite) sailings now.  I haven't seen this on regular sailings for about 7 years now.

[xDisconnections]

43 minutes ago, RRLLAL said:

 

Late night isn’t all night. It was open from something like 11-1 or 1130-130. 

 

And when people say cutbacks, there’s plenty of additions that off set them. 

11:30 - 1:00 or 1:30 if I remember correctly.

 

If an item taken away is important to the guest but the replacement isn’t, it doesn’t really offset the cutback. Example: the new late night options discussed in this thread aren’t anything special to me so it’s a disappointment and a lower perceived value compared to the older options.

Edited July 17, 2019 by xDisconnections

[DallasGuy75219]

On 7/15/2019 at 12:10 PM, beshears said:

OK, so if I am understand this right, after (???) 9:30 or so, in the "buffet area," they add some snack foods for people to have just before they go to bed?

 

The buffet (i.e., hot serving lines and salad and dessert bars) completely close after dinner (9:00ish).  The deli usually stays open until 10:00 or 11:00.  The buffet hot line reopens with late night snacks around 11:30ish until 1:00 am-ish.

 

Pizza is of course 24 hours a day but usually has horrendous lines (and only one person working) between 1:00 and 3:00 am or so as people are looking for food when leaving the clubs and casinos, because the only other food available is from room service.

[beshears]

CruisingViper, I believe you said that the Sea Day brunch is held at the back of the ship in the MDR?  If that is the case, then you are saying (???) it would be the MDR (there are always two MDR's) closest to the back of the ship?

[DallasGuy75219]

22 minutes ago, beshears said:

CruisingViper, I believe you said that the Sea Day brunch is held at the back of the ship in the MDR?  If that is the case, then you are saying (???) it would be the MDR (there are always two MDR's) closest to the back of the ship?

Spirit class ships have a single two-level MDR in the aft of the ship.  Fantasy class ships have a single-level midship MDR and a single-level aft MDR.  Vista class ships have a single-level midship MDR and a two-level aft MDR.  All (most?) other current classes have a two-level MDR both midship and aft.

 

I have always seen Sea Day brunch held in the aft MDR,, and on the lower level on ships with two-level MDRs.  Nonetheless, the location of Sea Day brunch will be listed in the Fun Times and Carnival Hub app.

[RRLLAL]

8 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

11:30 - 1:00 or 1:30 if I remember correctly.

 

If an item taken away is important to the guest but the replacement isn’t, it doesn’t really offset the cutback. Example: the new late night options discussed in this thread aren’t anything special to me so it’s a disappointment and a lower perceived value compared to the older options.

 

Well I was fine with the offerings on the sunrise at night. And the type of additions I’m talking about are free options during the day such as the Italian place, the bbq place, etc. and not all cutbacks are a cutback, many are just changes to what an offering is. 

[MisterOJ2]

7 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Spirit class ships have a single two-level MDR in the aft of the ship.  Fantasy class ships have a single-level midship MDR and a single-level aft MDR.  Vista class ships have a single-level midship MDR and a two-level aft MDR.  All (most?) other current classes have a two-level MDR both midship and aft.

 

I have always seen Sea Day brunch held in the aft MDR,, and on the lower level on ships with two-level MDRs.  Nonetheless, the location of Sea Day brunch will be listed in the Fun Times and Carnival Hub app.

 

For what it's worth, on the Fantasy last month, Sea Day Brunch and regular port day breakfasts were served in the midship MDR. But, that was the first time I've seen it like that. On the other ships I've been on, it was always aft.

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, RRLLAL said:

 

Well I was fine with the offerings on the sunrise at night. And the type of additions I’m talking about are free options during the day such as the Italian place, the bbq place, etc. and not all cutbacks are a cutback, many are just changes to what an offering is. 

The Italian place only replaced a free pasta bar for lunch. Not much of a change.

[Bases5]

I do miss the late night grill selections.  I actually liked those burger's better than guys.

  I don't like waiting on room service late night do to the fact it usually wakes others in the room.

I'm usually the only late night person in my gang.

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, Bases5 said:

I do miss the late night grill selections.  I actually liked those burger's better than guys.

I agree. While the new late night menu appears to be a slight improvement over the previous huge cutback down to hot dogs, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and fried chicken gristle on stale bread (i.e., broke college student food) and eliminating french fries (which are dirt cheap for Carnival anyway, but now conveniently available for sale through room service), I would much prefer the previous late night grill menu.