Panorama Lido buffet horrible as expected

[tallnthensome]

Well, as expected it's horrible and I mean horrible...... I've sailed Carnival before .... and NCL, MSC, Holland, Princess, and Royal. I've thought my Vista experience a few years ago was bad but this buffet is laughable. Imagine having this huge seating area on the Panorama and like 8 nasty dishes to choose from .... like Chili Mac, some rice, some pasta, some slads etc ..... 2 of the four center stations have no food at all, zilch,, and the two that are being used are the exact 8 awful lunch  items. This is the same for breakfast. They do have a carving for station for lunch which is acceptable ...... Just can't figure out why Carnival offers far and wide the worst and most awful Lido food of any cruise line ..... it's like staring at my old high school cafeteria again with that look of "good god, really?". They have a sandwich station which made me a meatball sandwich which equally sucked . MDR, Jijis,  and Pig and Anchor has been good but as an opinionated post and an FYI thr Lido buffet for breakfast and especially lunch had been a monumental disappointment.

Edited August 31, 2021 by tallnthensome

[kdr69]

I cant comment on your experience as im not on that cruise but the buffet was pretty good on our sailing as all the food offerings were that i enjoyed.  Since you already expected it to be bad at least you werent let down.😬

[tallnthensome]

11 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

I cant comment on your experience as im not on that cruise but the buffet was pretty good on our sailing as all the food offerings were that i enjoyed.  Since you already expected it to be bad at least you werent let down.😬

YMMV and opinions vary but I wonder if having 2500 aboard has something to do with this level of selection . Maybe … who knows. Everything else has been good. La Cucina tonight for us …..

[groundloop]

It sounds like someone is upset because there wasn't bacon every day.  😁

 

I've never had a buffet meal that I disliked, although of course some were better than others.  If you disliked it that much then I'd be contacting Carnival to let them know and hopefully make improvements.

[mondello]

I've never had a problem with the buffet. For breakfast, they always have an omelet station where you can also get eggs made to order. I'll always be willing to "settle" for a Guy's Burger for lunch and there is also the deli. Seafood Shack hits the spot, too.

also, if you're talking about dinner too, I always prefer the MDR service over the buffet.

Edited August 31, 2021 by mondello
Add

[slavens_09]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Well, as expected it's horrible and I mean horrible...... I've sailed Carnival before .... and NCL, MSC, Holland, Princess, and Royal. I've thought my Vista experience a few years ago was bad but this buffet is laughable. Imagine having this huge seating area on the Panorama and like 8 nasty dishes to choose from .... like Chili Mac, some rice, some pasta, some slads etc ..... 2 of the four center stations have no food at all, zilch,, and the two that are being used are the exact 8 awful lunch  items. This is the same for breakfast. They do have a carving for station for lunch which is acceptable ...... Just can't figure out why Carnival offers far and wide the worst and most awful Lido food of any cruise line ..... it's like staring at my old high school cafeteria again with that look of "good god, really?". They have a sandwich station which made me a meatball sandwich which equally sucked . MDR, Jijis,  and Pig and Anchor has been good but as an opinionated post and an FYI thr Lido buffet for breakfast and especially lunch had been a monumental disappointment.

Why would you expect them to open every single buffet station on lido when they are sailing with well over a 1,000 less people than normal. Wouldn’t make sense to have them all open. 
 

I was on The Breeze from July 19-29. The buffet was as I would expect from carnival. Yes they did not open all the buffet stations but that’s to be expected with reduced capacity. Still never waited in a line at the buffet.

[tallnthensome]

11 minutes ago, slavens_09 said:

Why would you expect them to open every single buffet station on lido when they are sailing with well over a 1,000 less people than normal. Wouldn’t make sense to have them all open. 
 

I was on The Breeze from July 19-29. The buffet was as I would expect from carnival. Yes they did not open all the buffet stations but that’s to be expected with reduced capacity. Still never waited in a line at the buffet.

Regardless of your expectations one can still be honest as I am being. The breakfast and lunch buffet sucks with minimal selection . Am I required to sugar coat it and lie? No …. Take it with a gain of salt as this is cruise CRITIC. Just because the cruise has limited passengers doesn’t mean those who are on board should be happy about those limitation truth be known. Limiting since some are NOT on board does nothing for those who are …. Everything else on board has been very good. 

[Shayhooper]

I was on last week's Panorama cruise and was also disappointed by lack of options at the buffet so we didn't eat there much.  The deli they had at buffet made good sandwiches though.

 

Edit to add:  I didn't think what was offered was horrible.  Most of my cruises the past 8 years have been with NCL and they offer a wide variety of dishes so it was more surprising and disappointing.  But not horrible.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Shayhooper
Clarification.

[snowballs mom]

I am another one that does not care for the Lido buffet food - if I do eat there I will have a salad and spend the rest of the calories on ice cream. I really enjoy the other available options, so it doesn't much matter to me what they offer at the buffet. My favorite lunch, the Tandoor grill, no longer exists, but I am looking forward to trying the Indian entree in the MDR.

[mondello]

9 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Regardless of your expectations one can still be honest as I am being. The breakfast and lunch buffet sucks with minimal selection . Am I required to sugar coat it and lie? No …. Take it with a gain of salt as this is cruise CRITIC. Just because the cruise has limited passengers doesn’t mean those who are on board should be happy about those limitation truth be known. Limiting since some are NOT on board does nothing for those who are …. Everything else on board has been very good. 

Your opinion is valid and welcome. You have more recent experience than many of us that haven't cruised in quite a while. It is possible that they have gone with some lower cost lunch entrees since we've been onboard. I know that the seaday brunch offers a good variety of choices. I'm off the ship most port days, so I just hit Guy's or the deli to tide me over 'til dinner. 

[EngIceDave]

My god, it's BUFFET FOOD!!

 

What do you expect, Chez Pierre Michelin Star cuisine, from a buffet??

 

The better food is elsewhere, as always, even MDR

 

The buffet is exactly what it is, food sitting around so you can grab and go at your speed. Convenience comes at a price.....quality

 

 

 

 

[Cushing985]

I've never seen a buffet on land or sea where I would consider the food stellar (well, except for some of the "high-end" buffets in Vegas where the cost is north of $25.00).  To me, it's there to serve a purpose; fill your stomach in the least amount of time.  I go to the buffet for breakfast only, go to an alternative place like Guy's or the Seafood Shack for lunch and then hit the MDR for dinner.

[ColeThornton]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

My god, it's BUFFET FOOD!!

 

What do you expect, Chez Pierre Michelin Star cuisine, from a buffet??

 

The better food is elsewhere, as always, even MDR

 

The buffet is exactly what it is, food sitting around so you can grab and go at your speed. Convenience comes at a price.....quality

 

 

 

 

 

 

Completely disagree.   Just because it is a buffet doesn't mean that it can't be good to very good quality.  I've experienced some fantastic buffets during my time, especially on NCL.  One should expect quality hot and tasty food no matter then venue.  And no, no one is expecting Michelin star quality.  🙂

[fabby50]

We were on the second cruise Panorama did after launch.  I can say, in "normal times" the buffet was full of selections.  I too don't care for buffet food, if we went there, I hit the sandwich station and had the caprese sandwich.  Its a go to on all the cruise lines we've been on, always seems to be about the same no matter what line, and really hard to screw up.  Hopefully, they still had the pretzel rolls somewhere!  The absolute worse food I ever had was on Princess - their vegetarian burger on offer on the buffet was a cold patty made out of leftover mashed potatoes and peas.  First thing I ever ate on Princess and started me out with a bad taste in my mouth 🙂

[matt1119]

In the "normal" times, every Vegas buffet competed with each other to see who could outshine the other. Now that there's less than a dozen in operation, they're charging whatever they feel and serving whatever they choose, and people are waiting in lines for hours for it.

 

As someone who's lived in Vegas for 20+ years, if I come back from the 9/11 Panorama and say it sucks, then it truly sucks. This will be my 10th Carnival and I can't say the buffet food on my past cruises sucked.

[AHS123]

14 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

YMMV and opinions vary but I wonder if having 2500 aboard has something to do with this level of selection . Maybe … who knows. Everything else has been good. La Cucina tonight for us …..

We've never found the standard lunch buffet fare on the lido steam table to be anything more than meh. It's the outstanding variety of other outlets open for lunch on sea days that keep us coming back to Carnival. Blue Iguana, Pig and Anchor, Guy's, the Deli and now with Mardi Gras even more lunch options!

[Purvis1231]

Horrible is a strong word. I have sailed many times, yes somethings on the buffet were not great but I always found something good to eat.  Remember no one has to eat the buffet. There are pleanty of other options. But if you knew it was going to be horrible, then why even sail with Carnival. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Purvis1231
typo

[Kermarkim]

I'm not offended at tallnthensome. Those feelings and expectations are valid.  I have been cruising for almost 20 years with various lines Disney, Carnival, NCL, MSC, etc.  And Carnival is my favorite line to cruise with and not for the food.  I just believe it has the most entertainment options that I enjoy and there is something to do from the time I wake up til at least midnight.  I have actually gotten bored on most other lines and eventually ended up just returning to my cabin at times to watch TV.  That has never happened with Carnival.  They are known as the Fun Ship for a reason.  At any event, as much as Carnival is my favorite to cruise line, I don't care for their buffet except for breakfast.  Even when all the lines are open and there is a tremendous variety, I just don't find the food choices or taste that appealing.  For breakfast, I generally hit up the omelet station and supplement that with some of the buffet options, like bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, pastries etc.  But I never choose to eat there for lunch or dinner.  There are just way too many better options to choose from that I don't even browse the buffet any longer.  I opt for the specialty choices like the Deli, Mongolian wok, Pasta Station, Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, Seafood Shack, Pig & Anchor Barbeque, pizza, sushi, etc.  And for dinner it is always the MDR or a specialty restaurants such as a Steakhouse.

[tallnthensome]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

My god, it's BUFFET FOOD!!

 

What do you expect, Chez Pierre Michelin Star cuisine, from a buffet??

 

The better food is elsewhere, as always, even MDR

 

The buffet is exactly what it is, food sitting around so you can grab and go at your speed. Convenience comes at a price.....quality

 

 

 

 

I never said it had to be 5 star and I never said that it wasn't buffet food. I'm saying there is not enough of it. Two small stations out of four with both containing the same food is not acceptable when comparing to all my other cruises including even MSC. I'm used to long rows and large selections and variety and ethnicity.  Apparently some are very accepting  of the minimum and even welcome mediocrity. If you love chili Mac,  Cajun poppers, Ziti, white rice,  pot roast  and beans then it may he a home run for you. I doubt anyone standing in front of the buffet as I have the last couple of days would be jumping for joy. Easy to judge from your couch. Its not ruining my cruise in anyway as all other aspects have been wonderful. Just letting people know what to expect. 

[fabby50]

37 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I never said it had to be 5 star and I never said that it wasn't buffet food. I'm saying there is not enough of it. Two small stations out of four with both containing the same food is not acceptable when comparing to all my other cruises including even MSC. I'm used to long rows and large selections and variety and ethnicity.  Apparently some are very accepting  of the minimum and even welcome mediocrity. If you love chili Mac,  Cajun poppers, Ziti, white rice,  pot roast  and beans then it may he a home run for you. I doubt anyone standing in front of the buffet as I have the last couple of days would be jumping for joy. Easy to judge from your couch. Its not ruining my cruise in anyway as all other aspects have been wonderful. Just letting people know what to expect. 

I think what some of us are trying to tell you is this is not normal for Carnival or the Panorama.  From my reading of other cruise line reviews at this time, all buffets seem to be minimized and the usual quantity is not there on those lines either.  I agree about the quality, but I don't like buffet food anyway.  I would think when ships return to full capacity and supply lines are also more normalized, you'll see the normal plethora of so-so food as we all have in the past.

[DGNewton]

17 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Well, as expected it's horrible and I mean horrible...... I've sailed Carnival before .... and NCL, MSC, Holland, Princess, and Royal. I've thought my Vista experience a few years ago was bad but this buffet is laughable. Imagine having this huge seating area on the Panorama and like 8 nasty dishes to choose from .... like Chili Mac, some rice, some pasta, some slads etc ..... 2 of the four center stations have no food at all, zilch,, and the two that are being used are the exact 8 awful lunch  items. This is the same for breakfast. They do have a carving for station for lunch which is acceptable ...... Just can't figure out why Carnival offers far and wide the worst and most awful Lido food of any cruise line ..... it's like staring at my old high school cafeteria again with that look of "good god, really?". They have a sandwich station which made me a meatball sandwich which equally sucked . MDR, Jijis,  and Pig and Anchor has been good but as an opinionated post and an FYI thr Lido buffet for breakfast and especially lunch had been a monumental disappointment.

You set your own expectation and meet it, so what's wrong....The cruise we were on had very good buffet food......giad they met your expectation 

 

[tallnthensome]

42 minutes ago, fabby50 said:

I think what some of us are trying to tell you is this is not normal for Carnival or the Panorama.  From my reading of other cruise line reviews at this time, all buffets seem to be minimized and the usual quantity is not there on those lines either.  I agree about the quality, but I don't like buffet food anyway.  I would think when ships return to full capacity and supply lines are also more normalized, you'll see the normal plethora of so-so food as we all have in the past.

The reason I said “as expected” in my title was because the last bad buffet I had was on the Carnival Vista so that played a role in my expectations. I sailed NCL a couple times and MSC since the Vista cruise and all of those were good.  I guess  I simply expected the worst  but hoped for the best since last time but it was the latter ….. No worries though. 

[DAllenTCY]

I can live with a "Bacation" in the Lido Buffet....tomorrow maybe.  I didn't know that at the Omelet Station you could request fresh eggs.  

 

Guys Burgers has bacon out of sight, just ask.

 

David

 

 

[mondello]

37 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

I can live with a "Bacation" in the Lido Buffet....tomorrow maybe.  I didn't know that at the Omelet Station you could request fresh eggs.  

 

Guys Burgers has bacon out of sight, just ask.

 

David

 

 

Yeah, if memory serves me correctly, you can get fried eggs or over easy, but obviously not poached or soft boiled.

[klfhngr]

At least the mashed potato's were good, no?!