Late Night Buffet and food options after 11 PM?

[bamelin]

My last cruise was with Celebrity -- while the food was great, I did find the late night food options to be lacking outside of set breakfast, lunch and dinner hours.  The buffet in particular had the same stale pasta or pizza every night after 11.  Room service was sort of an option with Celebrity but the choices limited and cost money after 11 for delivery.

 

I've been on Princess many times as well and have always found it relatively easy to get varied food options later at night.

 

Will be sailing with HAL in December on Nieuw Statendam.  Are there a lot of late night options (late night meaning say 11PM - 1 AM).  Is the buffet open?   I've seen the after 11 PM room service menu and the Club Sandwich looks decent enough with a caesar salad.  I think Dive In is open 24 hours as well (or at least is available for delivery 24 hours with $5 fee).  Wondering mainly about the buffet if that's an option late night and if so is the food selection reasonable.

[operakatz]

The HAL sailings I've done had late night buffet 10:30-11:30p (and fresh foods with some variety from night to night - and manned stations (not self-serve)) and room service available after that time.

[bamelin]

6 minutes ago, operakatz said:

The HAL sailings I've done had late night buffet 10:30-11:30p (and fresh foods with some variety from night to night - and manned stations (not self-serve)) and room service available after that time.

 

That's great news.  On Celebrity the buffet was basically done after 10 aside from a few unappealing late night choices served up to midnight.  It's one thing I really disliked about that line.

[fatcat04]

The late night buffet seems to generally be open 10:30-11:30 and I think is more comfort food plus a themed area. Think finger food, snacks, and a cuisine theme station.

 

NS will also have the NY Pizza and Deli available. I haven't been on NS yet but I know on NA the NY Pizza was open until 11:30. Nice to get your own personal fresh made pizza.

 

And yes room service is really good. The chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk are a late night fav for us. Dive In is 24 hrs and is great. It costs a bit but the burgers and fries (with dive in sauce) are so good. Late night movies on the interactive tvs and room service are a real treat. Just make sure to call them to pick up your tray when you are done. Don't place it in the hallway as it is a safety hazard. Have a great cruise!!

Edited October 11, 2019 by fatcat04

[bamelin]

26 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

The late night buffet seems to generally be open 10:30-11:30 and I think is more comfort food plus a themed area. Think finger food, snacks, and a cuisine theme station.

 

NS will also have the NY Pizza and Deli available. I haven't been on NS yet but I know on NA the NY Pizza was open until 11:30. Nice to get your own personal fresh made pizza.

 

And yes room service is really good. The chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk are a late night fav for us. Dive In is 24 hrs and is great. It costs a bit but the burgers and fries (with dive in sauce) are so good. Late night movies on the interactive tvs and room service are a real treat. Just make sure to call them to pick up your tray when you are done. Don't place it in the hallway as it is a safety hazard. Have a great cruise!!

 

Thanks fatcat.  Yeah on Princess the in room movies are free too -- we love that feature and will definitely use it on HAL.  

 

I think on Celebrity it was 20 bucks a movie or something crazy like that.  

[Himself]

I have been traveling HAL for 23 years and the food is good.  The late night buffet is not as popular as it was 20 years ago.

[tv24]

OMG!  Don't we get enough food earlier in the day?

[Crew News]

Here is a link to my menus from the Konigsdam (sister ship to NS) from the Caribbean Dec 2018 to give you an idea of the late night snacks (scroll down to the bottom of each days menus):

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/specifc-cruise-lido-and-mdr-menus/hal-konigsdam-11-day-caribbean-2018

 

I too will be on the NS this December for two weeks and collecting more menus.

[DC1979]

34 minutes ago, tv24 said:

OMG!  Don't we get enough food earlier in the day?

 

Then don’t eat at night time.  No one is forcing you to eat anything.  Seriously, how are comments like this remotely helpful?

 

Back to the question...the evening buffet in the Lido has some choices and It varies daily.  It is more snack type choices, but it is something.  There are some choices on the  room service menu as well, so you will have plenty of options.  Also, I would like to add another vote for the chocolate cake off the room service menu.  So good.  I usually order it with tea at night, because if I drink coffee that late I wont be sleeping!! 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

The 10:30 to 11:30 PM time as mentioned by others was it on the Zuiderdam last week  with the term "select stations available." I have no idea what they were serving as I never eat anything late at night.

[WackyWayne]

In my opinion, having done both Celebrity & HAL recently, there is no comparison.  HAL wins totally.  For late night snacking in the buffet, HAL serves hot & fresh & different every day.  Celebrity had the same, sad, lame, choices every night.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I used to think that HAL was the significantly better breakfast buffet.... almost always hot & fresh everything.  Pancakes & french toast basically cooked to order right at the serving line.  Omelettes & egg stuff are cooked to order on almost all cruise lines, so I didn't see much difference there.  But Celebrity has been improving their breakfast service nicely to be almost as good now.

Edited October 12, 2019 by WackyWayne

[Sue from Canada]

6 hours ago, tv24 said:

OMG!  Don't we get enough food earlier in the day?

Sometimes I go to afternoon tea and then skip my dinner.  I'll grab a light snack at the Lido around 11pm (bun, cheese, fruit).

Other times I've slept through dinner times and will again grab a light snack at the Lido.  

Edited October 12, 2019 by Sue from Canada

[tv24]

9 hours ago, DC1979 said:

 

Then don’t eat at night time.  No one is forcing you to eat anything.  Seriously, how are comments like this remotely helpful?

 

Back to the question...the evening buffet in the Lido has some choices and It varies daily.  It is more snack type choices, but it is something.  There are some choices on the  room service menu as well, so you will have plenty of options.  Also, I would like to add another vote for the chocolate cake off the room service menu.  So good.  I usually order it with tea at night, because if I drink coffee that late I wont be sleeping!! 

Sorry!  It was meant to be a short and silly joke.

[DC1979]

4 hours ago, tv24 said:

Sorry!  It was meant to be a short and silly joke.

 

If it was meant to be a joke then I am really sorry for my snarky reply.  I just get so annoyed when people ask for advice (especially people who are new/not as seasoned as some of the others on here) and then get chastised by people who have been cruising for decades and made to feel silly for asking legitimate questions as if they should have been born with the knowledge. 

 

Thanks for your explanation though...all is good 🙂 
 

[Walfam]

I am hypoglycemic, and always need a late evening snack before bedtime.  We always do first seating dinner in MDR.  The late night Lido has always had some nice small plates with protein, which I truly appreciate.

[tv24]

14 minutes ago, DC1979 said:

 

If it was meant to be a joke then I am really sorry for my snarky reply.  I just get so annoyed when people ask for advice (especially people who are new/not as seasoned as some of the others on here) and then get chastised by people who have been cruising for decades and made to feel silly for asking legitimate questions as if they should have been born with the knowledge. 

 

Thanks for your explanation though...all is good 🙂 
 

And thanks for your reply...Happy sailing!

[bamelin]

17 hours ago, Crew News said:

Here is a link to my menus from the Konigsdam (sister ship to NS) from the Caribbean Dec 2018 to give you an idea of the late night snacks (scroll down to the bottom of each days menus):

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/specifc-cruise-lido-and-mdr-menus/hal-konigsdam-11-day-caribbean-2018

 

I too will be on the NS this December for two weeks and collecting more menus.

 Thanks Crews!  That's exactly what I was looking for.  Just so you know I have used your site extensively over the past few months =)

 

It provides a wealth of information and is GREATLY appreciated!

 

The late night buffet looks WAYYY better than Celebrity.  My last cruise was work related with an included booze package and roomy and I ended up drinking late into the night -- I was really disappointed with Celebrity's late night offerings -- it literally looked like left over spaghetti and cold pizza -- and it was never changed (was same buffet offering every single night -- it sucked).

 

When are you sailing in December?  I'm on the 15th - 22nd cruise.  My folks are doing the two week version 8th - 22nd.

 

I LOVE the itinerary the 2nd week -- pure beach relaxation with Half Moon Cay, Turks & Caicos, Amber Cove and Key West.

Edited October 12, 2019 by bamelin

[bamelin]

18 hours ago, tv24 said:

OMG!  Don't we get enough food earlier in the day?

 

I know you were joking but the deal with me on this cruise -- my wife and I have normally always eaten late in the MDR like around 9 PM (sometimes we are the last ones in!).

 

This year, however, we are bringing our toddler who will be 18 months around the time of sailing.  So we are going to have to eat very early for us (like at 5:45 or whenever MDR opens) -- I am thinking that we will probably be peckish by 11 as we are not used to eating so early (even at home we usually don't eat until 8 - 9 although our kid gets his food at 6).  

 

Because we will need to retire early to put the toddler to bed by 7 - 8 it means eating early this cruise which will be a novel experience for us!  

 

Actually our whole schedule will be different -- we are normally late risers at around 10 - 11 when cruising.  This time we will be up when our child gets up -- at 7 or 8 in the morning!

 

 

[tv24]

3 minutes ago, bamelin said:

 

I know you were joking but the deal with me on this cruise -- my wife and I have normally always eaten late in the MDR like around 9 PM (sometimes we are the last ones in!).

 

This year, however, we are bringing our toddler who will be 18 months around the time of sailing.  So we are going to have to eat very early for us (like at 5:45 or whenever MDR opens) -- I am thinking that we will probably be peckish by 11 as we are not used to eating so early (even at home we usually don't eat until 8 - 9 although our kid gets his food at 6).  

 

Because we will need to retire early to put the toddler to bed by 7 - 8 it means eating early this cruise which will be a novel experience for us!  

 

Actually our whole schedule will be different -- we are normally late risers at around 10 - 11 when cruising.  This time we will be up when our child gets up -- at 7 or 8 in the morning!

 

 

Room service may be a good option for you given the little one's schedule and your snacking needs.  Nice to have that option.

[bamelin]

4 minutes ago, tv24 said:

Room service may be a good option for you given the little one's schedule and your snacking needs.  Nice to have that option.

 

Yeah, we are definitely going to use the MDR room service option a couple of nights.  Perhaps even the Pinnacle Grill steak delivery which I believe is 10 or 15 dollars.

 

One of the big reasons I booked a balcony was knowing we will have to be in the room early most nights.  Plan on making use of both the balcony, room service and the free movies -- I loved the free in room movies on offer on Princess and I'm glad that HAL does the same.  I had a heart attack on Celebrity when I saw the $19.99 price tag per movie.

 

My parents are sailing with us in another stateroom and have offered to babysit a couple nights and we have On Board Credit so I'm thinking we may try Tamarind a couple nights too as we both love Asian food.

[Crew News]

25 minutes ago, bamelin said:

 Thanks Crews!  That's exactly what I was looking for.  Just so you know I have used your site extensively over the past few months 😃

 

It provides a wealth of information and is GREATLY appreciated!

 

The late night buffet looks WAYYY better than Celebrity.  My last cruise was work related with an included booze package and roomy and I ended up drinking late into the night -- I was really disappointed with Celebrity's late night offerings -- it literally looked like left over spaghetti and cold pizza -- and it was never changed (was same buffet offering every single night -- it sucked).

 

When are you sailing in December?  I'm on the 15th - 22nd cruise.  My folks are doing the two week version 8th - 22nd.

 

I LOVE the itinerary the 2nd week -- pure beach relaxation with Half Moon Cay, Turks & Caicos, Amber Cove and Key West.

 

I will be on the NS Dec 8 - 22 and have started roll calls for both weeks.  Please join your roll call on the HAL Roll Call Forum and encourage your parents to join both roll calls if they have not done so.

[Crew News]

14 minutes ago, bamelin said:

 

Yeah, we are definitely going to use the MDR room service option a couple of nights.  Perhaps even the Pinnacle Grill steak delivery which I believe is 10 or 15 dollars.

 

One of the big reasons I booked a balcony was knowing we will have to be in the room early most nights.  Plan on making use of both the balcony, room service and the free movies -- I loved the free in room movies on offer on Princess and I'm glad that HAL does the same.  I had a heart attack on Celebrity when I saw the $19.99 price tag per movie.

 

My parents are sailing with us in another stateroom and have offered to babysit a couple nights and we have On Board Credit so I'm thinking we may try Tamarind a couple nights too as we both love Asian food.

 

FWIW the NY Pizza and Deli is also open late for custom individual pizzas and they have carry-out boxes.  Perhaps a late-evening pizza run could ease any hunger urges.

 

The Tamarind has a Bento Box for Room Service delivery that is reported to be a lot of food for the small price.

 

On Embarkation Day, you can ask your Room Steward to have the contents of your minibar removed to give you room to store your own snacks.  Bring some Ziploc bags to store cheese and meat slices from breakfast, cartons of milk, fruit yogurt cups, meusli, etc.  There are crackers available at lunch to eat with the cheese as well as nacho chips (put them in a big, green salad bowl) to add to your late munchie menu.  Nothing beats a plate of chocolate chip cookies from the Dessert Station for snacking throughout the day.

 

Enjoy your cruise planning.

[DaveOKC]

One question which is hard for many of us on HAL to answer since we are not up past 10 PM!

[57redbird]

10 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

One question which is hard for many of us on HAL to answer since we are not up past 10 PM!

Unless, like we were on our last cruise, your cabin is under the uncarpeted area of the Lido & were treated to chair/table scraping every night...from the deck plan it didn't appear that way so we weren't expecting that.  At least it didn't happen early in the morning...  :-).

[bamelin]

40 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 

FWIW the NY Pizza and Deli is also open late for custom individual pizzas and they have carry-out boxes.  Perhaps a late-evening pizza run could ease any hunger urges.

 

The Tamarind has a Bento Box for Room Service delivery that is reported to be a lot of food for the small price.

 

On Embarkation Day, you can ask your Room Steward to have the contents of your minibar removed to give you room to store your own snacks.  Bring some Ziploc bags to store cheese and meat slices from breakfast, cartons of milk, fruit yogurt cups, meusli, etc.  There are crackers available at lunch to eat with the cheese as well as nacho chips (put them in a big, green salad bowl) to add to your late munchie menu.  Nothing beats a plate of chocolate chip cookies from the Dessert Station for snacking throughout the day.

 

Enjoy your cruise planning.

 

Thanks Crew!  Great advice!

 

I'll check out the roll calls as well and let my folks know about it!   My parents booked the full two weeks (which is really what I wish I had done too).  I on the other hand am doing a cheap 4 night Carnival cruise on the Carnival Victory the 9th - 13th, staying a nice Marriot for a couple nights, then joining my folks for the 15th - 22nd leg with HAL.   I got a casino rate for the carnival cruise (ironic since I don't gamble anymore haha) where they gave us a ridiculous amount of on board credit.  So we ended up with balconies on both cruises where we would have only had oceanview if we had done the 2 weeks all on HAL.

 

I really love the second week itinerary, but the first week with HAL is great too!