Why eat at buffet?

[Kate P.C]

We have done one night dining, one night buffet. We love the variety of food they have available both in the buffet and the restaurants. The buffet is faster and has more selection. So when we just don't feel like spending time in the restaurant we go for a quick bit upstairs.

[squick64]

Normally, I prefer to eat in the MDR or specialty. Partly, it's because if I'm on vacation, I want to sit and relax and have people bring me things. 🙂 I can put food on my own plate at home. The food's also not picked over or dried out or whatever from sitting in bins. Another reason is because I often travel alone, and it's hard to keep a table in a buffet in that situation--you come back to find your table bused and other people moving in.

 

I normally don't eat breakfast, but on rare occasions, I'll grab something quick from the buffet, maybe before an excursion where I'm not sure when we'll ever get to eat lunch. Or I might grab a snack off the buffet or whatever. Like, I might be walking through and see that they have something nice, or just some little nibbles like cheese cubes or whatever, and I'll grab a few.

 

I remember on my one Princess cruise, they had a midnight buffet of all the food that didn't get eaten during the day, which is kind of gross but was interesting because you got to try the entrees you hadn't ordered earlier.

 

My last cruise was with family--children in particular--and so I ate at the buffet for dinner a whole lot more often than I ever have before, and far earlier. It's still not my scene, but it was interesting to see what's offered. Most lines do some particularly brilliant Asian food or curries or whatnot because of the crew, so I had some decent food from those stations.

[Zach1213]

9 hours ago, squick64 said:

Another reason is because I often travel alone, and it's hard to keep a table in a buffet in that situation--you come back to find your table bused and other people moving in.

 

Could do the method kind of like the hawker centres in Singapore - bring a cheap umbrella, grab a table and leave it there, then go get your food. Repeat the process when you need to get up again. 60% of the time it works, every time. 

[Joebucks]

Some people are flabbergasted because they believe a vacation revolves around 5-star dining at every turn and to boast about their refined palette. One of the best things about cruising is the variety of options for everyone. While I personally don't frequent the buffet too often unless I want something quick and/or something looks good, it's a great option for a lot of people. Quick, convenient, informal, portion control, etc. For some people, the food is not the entertainment, and getting past that process quickly helps them enjoy more of what is important.

[Vexorg]

My wife and I tend to prefer the MDR for most meals when we cruise.  Especially on sea days we're typically not in a hurry to do anything or get anywhere, and it's nice to slow down a bit and do some nice sit-down meals.  We do also go to the buffet, but that's more for snacking than full-fledged meals, and most of the time we prefer breakfast in the MDR because the buffet gets really crowded.  All those big fancy meals do wear on you a bit after a while though, and after we get off the ship on disembarkation day I have a tendency to go find the least fancy thing I can come up with (which usually means Taco Bell) and have that for my first meal off the ship.

 

On our last cruise there was one sea day where my wife and I were just lounging around on the pool deck doing nothing in particular and she made a random offhand comment: "You wanna' go to the buffet and get some carbs?"  Since then, that's turned into one of our running inside jokes.

[jazzydiver]

For breakfast I sometimes go to the MDR, but it seems I have better luck with the breakfast food being hot at the buffet.

 

I usually eat dinner in the MDR, and sometimes lunch as well.  But on the NCL ships, the food at the Indian station in the buffet has always been very good in my experience, and I am sure to visit that for some meals at least a few times during a cruise.

 

The other main reason has been touched on by others - sometimes when returning from port, especially when being very active and/or not having a good opportunity for a meal on shore, it's nice to grab a snack in the buffet to tide me over to dinnertime.

[Zach1213]

4 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Some people are flabbergasted because they believe a vacation revolves around 5-star dining at every turn and to boast about their refined palette. 

 

Oh, I have definitely taken a vacation that was purely food related - my food budget was massive, and I ate absolutely delicious top notch meals each day, often at Michelin starred restaurants. It was an absolutely fantastic vacation that truly revolved around five-star dining. 

 

That vacation was not a cruise. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Zach1213

[slidergirl]

11 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Oh, I have definitely taken a vacation that was purely food related - my food budget was massive, and I ate absolutely delicious top notch meals each day, often at Michelin starred restaurants. It was an absolutely fantastic vacation that truly revolved around five-star dining. 

 

That vacation was not a cruise. 

 

When I'm taking a land vacation that does not involve camping (although I could whip up a fantastic dinner on the campfire), I alway research for one (maybe two)  really good dining experience.  Yes, I've done Michelin starred places.  But, sometimes that dining experience was at a shack that was mentioned somewhere.  So, I may have more dedicated to meals than the average person.   When I cruise, I certainly would not call MDR food "fine dining" food, but food served in a faux "fine dining" venue.  To me, cruise dinner is more presentation than quality.  I like my "fine dining" the other way around.  

 

On a cruise,  I'm more of a buffet person.  I like the offerings more in the buffet than in the MDR or steakhouses (I don't do red meat, anyway).  I can get an amazing entree-sized salad made just the way I want it.  And, I do like the "off the menu" Indonesian fare that shows up once in awhile.  

 

I wonder if Joebucks was referring to people on cruises and not general vacations.   Totally different animals when it comes to food.  

[Zach1213]

16 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

 

To me, cruise dinner is more presentation than quality.  I like my "fine dining" the other way around.  

 

With you 100%

[Mich3554]

Depends on the buffet.  On land, I have been to some fabulous buffets and some really crappy ones.  You get the same variation in ships too.  
 

Others have given good reasons why to use buffets....tired, not in the mood, want a quick bite, don’t want to change clothes, type of food they want, etc.  

 

That being said, we eat at both depending on what we feel like.  I have only cruised on Viking and think their buffets are quite good.  

[DarrenM]

The food in the buffet on celebrity edge is fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. And unless some of you spend ridiculous amounts on ingredients at home, and spend an obscene time cooking them,  I suspect it's better than you normally eat. Food snobbery at its worst with some.

[clo]

1 hour ago, DarrenM said:

The food in the buffet on celebrity edge is fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. And unless some of you spend ridiculous amounts on ingredients at home, and spend an obscene time cooking them,  I suspect it's better than you normally eat. Food snobbery at its worst with some.

A bit of all of the above...and none. And there are meals I cook that could barely be matched in the finest restaurants and dishes that I've never even tried to make at home. That's why about ten days to two weeks into any kind of trip where I can't cook I'm 'chomping at the bit" to get home to our kitchen.

[Aquahound]

2 hours ago, DarrenM said:

The food in the buffet on celebrity edge is fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. And unless some of you spend ridiculous amounts on ingredients at home, and spend an obscene time cooking them,  I suspect it's better than you normally eat. Food snobbery at its worst with some.

 

I have pretty much felt that way about every cruise ship buffet in which I've eaten dinner.  In fact, I remember being particularly impressed with the buffet on Regal Princess.   

[ilikeanswers]

4 hours ago, DarrenM said:

The food in the buffet on celebrity edge is fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. And unless some of you spend ridiculous amounts on ingredients at home, and spend an obscene time cooking them,  I suspect it's better than you normally eat. Food snobbery at its worst with some.

 

I guess I am a snob😂, I think my cooking is awesome😎 and very hard to beat😋.

[SRF]

15 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I guess I am a snob😂, I think my cooking is awesome😎 and very hard to beat😋.

 

The things I make well, I make VERY well.

 

But, in most cases, I prefer to have someone else make it, clean up after, serve it, and deal with the dirty dishes.

 

 

[mom says]

21 hours ago, DarrenM said:

The food in the buffet on celebrity edge is fine. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. And unless some of you spend ridiculous amounts on ingredients at home, and spend an obscene time cooking them,  I suspect it's better than you normally eat. Food snobbery at its worst with some.

Given the amount of money I'm shelling out on our cruises, you bet your *** I expect the food to be at the very least as good as what we normally eat at home. However that may be a tall order on some ships, since both DH and I enjoy variety and well prepared food, and are both good cooks. By the way, you don't need to spend a lot of money OR time to prepare an excellent meal if you know what you are doing. Disparaging those who are used to eating good quality food as snobs is IMO merely reverse snobbery.

 

The one thing the buffet provides is variety. As well as convenience. The quality varies. Your single experience on only one cruise really doesn't qualify you to extend your experience to all cruise ships. We've very much enjoyed the buffets on some ships. There have been some, however, that barely rose to the level of Golden Corral. If that is snobbery, then I'll try to bear up under that burden. Most often we use the buffet for a quick breakfast or light lunch. Only rarely to we use the buffet for dinner.

[clo]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

The things I make well, I make VERY well.

 

But, in most cases, I prefer to have someone else make it, clean up after, serve it, and deal with the dirty dishes.

 

 

Minions. I need minions.

[K32682]

Why eat at the buffet?  That's where the food is!  

 

There are times when I don't want to go through the MDR tedium and just want something to eat.   

[clo]

1 minute ago, K32682 said:

tedium

I'm curious. When not on a ship do you consider it "tedium" also?

[mom says]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm curious. When not on a ship do you consider it "tedium" also?

I don't want to put words in that posters mouth, but I think he's making the distinction between dining and just eating. There are times when one doesn't want a slowly paced multicourse meal, but just wants something quick. And the buffet certainly can provide that. And having vacationed with my daughter, DSIL, and his parents, I  can say there are people who really have little interest in dining AT ALL. It is pure tedium to them, no matter where they are. All they want is something to fill their stomachs and then move on to do other things. And that's ok, if that's all they want. If my daughter's inlaws ever took a cruise ( highly unlikely), I'm confident they'd be in the buffet every night.

[Dixe Lee]

50 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm curious. When not on a ship do you consider it "tedium" also?

I agree with K32682. Nothing wrong with this opinion. DH and I often prefer the buffet because we are busy and have other things to do and don’t want to sit through the courses, don’t have time for a leisurely meal no matter where we are or where we go. Don’t care for tedium unless in the mood and have the time. 

[K32682]

1 hour ago, mom says said:

I don't want to put words in that posters mouth, but I think he's making the distinction between dining and just eating. There are times when one doesn't want a slowly paced multicourse meal, but just wants something quick. And the buffet certainly can provide that. And having vacationed with my daughter, DSIL, and his parents, I  can say there are people who really have little interest in dining AT ALL. It is pure tedium to them, no matter where they are. All they want is something to fill their stomachs and then move on to do other things. And that's ok, if that's all they want. If my daughter's inlaws ever took a cruise ( highly unlikely), I'm confident they'd be in the buffet every night.

 

You captured my sentiments very well.  There are times when all I want is sustenance and have no interest in the rigmarole of fine dining.  I have nothing against a fine meal but particularly on a longer cruise the MDR becomes quite tiresome.  

[Dixe Lee]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Like what please? And I'm talking about dinner.

Okay if you have to ask and dinner in the MDR is the highlight of your evening then I am sorry 😪 We both just turned 63 and we can’t do all that we want to do on a cruise and dinner in the MDR is the first thing that gets passed over. 

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, clo said:

I'm curious. When not on a ship do you consider it "tedium" also?

 

For me it is about frequency. Normally I only eat at service restaurants once or twice a month so being served is a treat and therefore special but when you eat like that every day like I did on the cruise that had no buffet option it becomes a normalised routine and you start to see more of the negatives and for me the main one was the whole waiting for your meal. Meals could take up to 90mins and I would be thinking I could be in my room cataloguing, editing and backing up my photos or I would have liked to have spend that time sitting on my balcony enjoying the fresh air relaxing to a podcast rather than sitting and waiting for a dish😒. 

[Bizmark'sMom]

6 hours ago, clo said:

Minions. I need minions.

Me, too!