Are Carnival buffets self-serve?

[Elkins45]

Since cruising has resumed I’ve sailed with MSC, Celebrity and Princess. On all of them the buffet was served by staff. I think I might have seen somewhere that Carnival isn’t doing this but I’m not sure. Can someone who has sailed with Carnival since the restart confirm if the buffet is self-serve? Thanks.

[Schoifmom]

It is self serve.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Yes.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

🤢

[nwcruiselover]

All self-service except bacon, the sandwich counter and the omelette station.

Edited December 15, 2021 by nwcruiselover

[Schoifmom]

3 minutes ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Does that mean there is a section where they just hand out bacon upon request?  Do they even have bacon in the buffet these days?  I couldn't find any on the Panorama in late October.

 

Also, I wish they wouldn't do self serve but I guess that is the Carnival way.  

Bacon is on the breakfast buffet every other day.  They keep the dish back toward them and you have to ask to be served.

 

I understand about self-serve.  I'm not much a fan of buffets in general (not because of Covid).  There are a ton of options that are not self serve, which I tend to gravitate towards.  Deli, pizza, Guy's, Blue Iguana to name a few.  

[MisterOJ2]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

Bacon is on the breakfast buffet every other day.  They keep the dish back toward them and you have to ask to be served.

 

I understand about self-serve.  I'm not much a fan of buffets in general (not because of Covid).  There are a ton of options that are not self serve, which I tend to gravitate towards.  Deli, pizza, Guy's, Blue Iguana to name a few.  

 

Agreed. I rarely ever eat anything off the buffet at Carnival. Maybe a salad or some fruit, but that/s about the extent of it for me. I'd much rather eat breakfast in the MDR, lunch from the various quick-service spots and dinner in the MDR.

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

  I couldn't find any on the Panorama in late October.

I’m on the Panorama right now, and there’s bacon.

[robc1972]

The bacon on Carnival has been served for years for some reason.

They also need to cook it a few minutes longer so it is crispy instead of the soggy mess they try to serve.

 

Having the buffets serve the food to you is actually better, it will cut down on so much food waste that the cruise lines have had for years.

No longer will they be able to fill up a plate and only take a few bites.

[DrSea]

I would STRONGLY prefer if carnival would have people serving the food because people are just so unsanitary. 

[sparks1093]

16 hours ago, Schoifmom said:

Bacon is on the breakfast buffet every other day.  They keep the dish back toward them and you have to ask to be served.

 

I understand about self-serve.  I'm not much a fan of buffets in general (not because of Covid).  There are a ton of options that are not self serve, which I tend to gravitate towards.  Deli, pizza, Guy's, Blue Iguana to name a few.  

There are several dishes that are in the back that require the staff to serve it. I always had to ask for eggs benedict because they were in the back.

[jsglow]

14 hours ago, DrSea said:

I would STRONGLY prefer if carnival would have people serving the food because people are just so unsanitary. 

Then your likely going to prefer a different cruise line.

[Schoifmom]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

There are several dishes that are in the back that require the staff to serve it. I always had to ask for eggs benedict because they were in the back.

 

That's interesting.  My experience has been just the opposite.  I'm sure it really just all depends on the availability of the items and the judgment of the staff.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Schoifmom

[NutsAboutGolf]

15 hours ago, robc1972 said:

The bacon on Carnival has been served for years for some reason.

 

Just got off the Glory, was a woman who was served some bacon, she asked for more and was given more then asked for more a second time and was politely told to eat what's on her plate then come and they would give her more.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Some ships have it daily and some every other day.  If they don't have it in the buffet it will be available in the MDR.

[groundloop]

In my most humble opinion Carnival does a good job with the buffet.  As already mentioned, some items at the rear of a serving station require a crewmember to serve it for you, while other items you can serve yourself.  Everything is behind/under a ginormous sneeze shield so there's minimal chance of food contamination, and if you're afraid of getting cooties from the serving utensils there are plenty of hand sanitizer stations which you could use after going through the buffet line.  Or just carry hand sanitizer with you to use after you're seated.

 

We're currently on Pride, and for the first time ever we've skipped a few MDR meals in favor of the buffet or one of the other dining options on deck.  It's all good, we just decided to have a little change of pace this time.

 

 

[ray98]

There is nothing wrong with the system Carnival is using in the buffet.  I prefer to get exactly the portion I want.

Edited December 16, 2021 by ray98

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 minutes ago, ray98 said:

There is nothing wrong with the system Carnival is using in the buffet.  I prefer to get exactly the portion I want.

 

It's simply not as sanitary, people don't always wash their hands after the bathroom.  On my Glory cruise no one was enforcing folks use the sanitizer.  Lots of bad behaviors at the buffet often involving folks touching the buffet food often to "test" the firmness/softness of an item

[sparks1093]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's simply not as sanitary, people don't always wash their hands after the bathroom.  On my Glory cruise no one was enforcing folks use the sanitizer.  Lots of bad behaviors at the buffet often involving folks touching the buffet food often to "test" the firmness/softness of an item

It may be less sanitary, but I've been eating from buffets (land and sea) for at least 5 decades and have never gotten sick from one.

[Elkins45]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Just got off the Glory, was a woman who was served some bacon, she asked for more and was given more then asked for more a second time and was politely told to eat what's on her plate then come and they would give her more.

What’s so special about bacon? Are we having a bacon shortage?

[RedbirdFLCruiser]

On the Elation, the desserts at the "Sweets Station" were also served by the staff.

[Schoifmom]

8 minutes ago, Elkins45 said:

What’s so special about bacon? Are we having a bacon shortage?

Actually, yes.  Carnival has gone to offering pork bacon every other day and only offering turkey bacon on certain items (think BLT).  It's a supply chain issue.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-13/meat-inflation-soars-as-pork-shortage-and-u-s-grilling-collide

[K_e_short]

16 hours ago, DrSea said:

I would STRONGLY prefer if carnival would have people serving the food because people are just so unsanitary. 

 

You aren't forced to eat at the buffet. 

Thats the great thing about Carnival - so many food options

 

If a self serve buffet is not your thing then don't eat there.

 

It would be a very very long list of complaints if you were forced to do the things on the cruise ship that you don't want to do.

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

 

You aren't forced to eat at the buffet. 

Thats the great thing about Carnival - so many food options

 

If a self serve buffet is not your thing then don't eat there.

 

It would be a very very long list of complaints if you were forced to do the things on the cruise ship that you don't want to do.

 

 

 

The buffet would be far more appealing if CCL hired more staff to staff serve the buffet.  On my Glory cruise, we were cleared to get off the port of Aruba at 7am, the MDR opened at 630am.

[ray98]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's simply not as sanitary, people don't always wash their hands after the bathroom.  On my Glory cruise no one was enforcing folks use the sanitizer.  Lots of bad behaviors at the buffet often involving folks touching the buffet food often to "test" the firmness/softness of an item

I guess life is tough for germiphobes who obsess of the 'what if's'.  I have eaten at buffets on cruises and on land my entire life, countless times at this point with not one problem.  Never been sick, never seen anyone touching the food or any of the other stories people parrot like it is routine.