Buffet Fun Tips and Tricks

[AHS123]

56 minutes ago, wo5m said:

 

If on a ship with a fish sack 🤔  

So no lady fish?

[cellfree]

If you enjoy "fish 'n chips" and do not want to order/pay for it at Seafood Shack, get Fries at Guys and Fish at Blue Iguana - love it.

[wo5m]

33 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Anyway, as for buffet tips/tricks - I honestly don't recall anything specific that we do, so I look forward to reading hints in this thread.  Though I'm also quite sure this isn't the first thread on this topic, if anyone want to go mining...

Agreed, but I don't mind seeing new threads. Things change over time and  taking the time to find posts that years old god know how many pages longs of stuff that isn't accurate any more. I remember a cruise hack thread several years ago that was at least a hundred pages, but because of it age and how long it people keep adding to it much of it wasn't valid any more. 

[Organized Chaos]

On 1/12/2021 at 9:38 PM, Prometheus1 said:

Cookies from the buffet with soft serve in between= ice cream sandwich   🙂

 

5 hours ago, cellfree said:

We make "floats" with our soda and soft serve ice cream. Like most of us, wishing we were on a ship and making one now.

 

For those who do ice cream variations, you'll more than likely have to make a slight adjustment, depending on what you're used to. We cruised in March of last year, right before the shutdown, and they had already put some changes in effect. The buffet was no longer self-serve, except for the salad bar (at that time). And the condiments stations at Guy's & Blue Iguana were still self-serve. As for ice cream, crew members served all the ice cream everyday/night. No one was allowed to dispense it themselves. I'm sure that policy will be in place when they restart, at least for a while. So if you do something with ice cream, you'll have to have it dispensed in a bowl first.

[Clarasgrandma]

My husband likes to mix vanilla ice cream with lemonade to make a refreshing beverage.  I like to take a piece of cake  from the buffet back to my room to save for later in the evening...they only have a couple flavors that I really like so this way I can have it at lunch one day and again later that day or the next day. The toppings at Guys make for good loaded French fries.  

[cruisingguy007]

On 1/13/2021 at 8:32 AM, kwokpot said:

Really? I find that hard to believe. If so, that would break all kinds of sanitary rules. 

 

Agree, same with the veggies from one place handed over to the pizza cooks for pizza. Seems like a bad idea from a cross contamination and food allergy standpoint; not to mention unsanitary food handling from guests to cooks. I'd be concerned if I saw this type of disregard. Too risky. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

Watch the buffet deli area (meat & cheese selections) for the days when prosciutto is there, put some on a plate and take it to the deli to be added to the Caprese Sandwich (and ask them to grill it) - YUM!

Also wrap prosciutto around some of the melon pieces for an appetizer.

[Prof Peg]

On 1/14/2021 at 9:55 AM, stellarose said:

I just want to sail. have a Miami vice and blue iguana breakfast burrito.

I agree 100% - Covid may change many things, but I can adapt (especially with a drink in one hand and burrito in the other!!!!).

[sealynx]

Ok, I'll admit it was not on a Carnival ship, but when on an MSC cruise I walked around the buffet with two plates getting bits and bites of anything that looked like it could be from a Meditiranian country. Things like olives, cheeses, prosciutto crudo, etc. etc. and this way created a tapas collection in no time, and shared with the family. Such a feast. And since MSC doesn't serve free iced tea , every morning I made myself a strong cup of lemon tea or earl grey and poured it over ice cubes to create my own sugar free iced tea.

[kwokpot]

On 1/15/2021 at 12:36 AM, Wanna_Cruize said:

Watch the buffet deli area (meat & cheese selections) for the days when prosciutto is there, put some on a plate and take it to the deli to be added to the Caprese Sandwich (and ask them to grill it) - YUM!

Also wrap prosciutto around some of the melon pieces for an appetizer.

You can't do that! That goes against all food handling rules!

[SNJCruisers]

When I'm at Blue Iguana, before getting in line I go to the condiments section and get two of the silver steel sauce cups of the habanero sauce and I hand them to the burrito assemblers to have the sauce placed inside of the burrito.  First time I did this the guy looked at me like I was crazy but it's a great lunch and goes well with a Michelada from the Blue Iguana Bar.

[kwokpot]

On 1/14/2021 at 11:53 PM, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Agree, same with the veggies from one place handed over to the pizza cooks for pizza. Seems like a bad idea from a cross contamination and food allergy standpoint; not to mention unsanitary food handling from guests to cooks. I'd be concerned if I saw this type of disregard. Too risky. 

I'm seeing multiple posts about guests handing food service people items to cook with. If this is the case Carnival has a major problem with cross contamination. 

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, SNJCruisers said:

When I'm at Blue Iguana, before getting in line I go to the condiments section and get two of the silver steel sauce cups of the habanero sauce and I hand them to the burrito assemblers to have the sauce placed inside of the burrito.  First time I did this the guy looked at me like I was crazy but it's a great lunch and goes well with a Michelada from the Blue Iguana Bar.

Shouldn't be doing that. Goes against all food handling safety procedures.

[Knights on the Beach]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Shouldn't be doing that. Goes against all food handling safety procedures.

You probably don't need to worry about it because it likely won't be allowed once cruises start back up.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Shouldn't be doing that. Goes against all food handling safety procedures.

There is no cooking involved.  The guy is pouring the sauce into a burrito.  Explain to me what is the difference between me pouring the sauce over the outside of the burrito and him pouring the sauce inside the burrito as it is being assembled?

[21yearHitch]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I'm seeing multiple posts about guests handing food service people items to cook with. If this is the case Carnival has a major problem with cross contamination. 

I've seen restaurants that work that way...such as Mongolian BBQs.  You make your selection and hand it to the cook to cook for you....some stuff is cooked and some isn't.  Not sure what food handling safety procedures it violates. 

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

When I'm at Blue Iguana, before getting in line I go to the condiments section and get two of the silver steel sauce cups of the habanero sauce and I hand them to the burrito assemblers to have the sauce placed inside of the burrito.  First time I did this the guy looked at me like I was crazy but it's a great lunch and goes well with a Michelada from the Blue Iguana Bar.

I like my sauce inside too but I don't like to grab my own and take to the cook. I asked the cook if he had sauce he could put inside. The line cook nodded and reached under the counter where there are reach in refrigerators. He pulled out a plastic jug with the sauce in it and used that to prepare my order. 

 

 

 

[SNJCruisers]

3 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

I like my sauce inside too but I don't like to grab my own and take to the cook. I asked the cook if he had sauce he could put inside. The line cook nodded and reached under the counter where there are reach in refrigerators. He pulled out a plastic jug with the sauce in it and used that to prepare my order.

Thanks for the tip.  I'll try it when we are on the Mardi Gras, but it'll probably only be once because of the new choices for lunch such as Shaq's Big Chicken and the 3 Street Eats Stations plus others that I'm not aware of.

[stellarose]

my plan is to hit blue iguana for breakfast and street eats for lunch on MG!!! please sail in late Dec/ early Jan!!!

[Dave0311]

This used to be a trick but I think Carnival started advertising it more IIRC -- for breakfast I love ordering fried eggs (over easy, sunny side up, etc.) at the omelette station. There is usually someone else in line who is surprised you can do this.

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, 21yearHitch said:

I've seen restaurants that work that way...such as Mongolian BBQs.  You make your selection and hand it to the cook to cook for you....some stuff is cooked and some isn't.  Not sure what food handling safety procedures it violates. 

The difference in the Mongolian Wok setup is that the ingredients are provided right there as opposed to bringing it from another part of the ship, not by a food service member, but a passenger, and not know what was or wasn't done to it. 

On other cruiselines, Royal,Celebrity and NCL, that would not be allowed. Several times I cruised with my parents on those cruiselines. My mom had leftovers/takeaway from previous nights dinner at a specialty restaurant. She asked if they can just heat up the leftover in a microwave or oven. In all cases they said no because that would compromise food safety protocols.The was just reheating something, so the idea of preparing something with an ingredient given by a guest where you have no idea what was or wasn't done and introducing it into the food preparation area would be a food safety violation. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by kwokpot

[Organized Chaos]

On our last cruise (last Horizon cruise before the shutdown, so COVID was a concern), my wife saw a woman get her Guy's food, eat some fries, lick multiple fingers, then go to the condiments station and handle the utensils. With or without COVID, that's gross. Point being, I guarantee that happens all the time. I think someone taking a cup of sauce from the condiment station to the cook is the least of our worries.

 

Regardless, if the crew members allow these kinds of things, then complaints should be directed at Carnival, not the passengers who do it.

[nimiq]

for a nice 5 a 7 on your balcony with friends use some items from the salad bar a few cold cuts and cheese and this makes a great hors d'oeuvres plate or plates to enjoy with a glass of wine while watching the sunset.

[joeyancho]

Sometimes I get mashed potatoes at the buffet then move down a little and put gravy on them.....delicious 

[sid_9169]

Something tells me that if / when cruising does resume, most of these things won't be allowed anyway... One of my old favorites was bringing a bowl from the buffet, and taking it to Blue Iguana for a burrito bowl...