Sit Down Breakfast in MDR going away?

[pirate4me2]

I have to admit, I am not a fan of the breakfast buffet, so I really hope Carnival doesn't do away with sit down breakfast. The "eggs" on the buffet are less than appealing, and the eggs benedict the 2 times I tried them from up there were soggy and gross. I do love Blue Iguana, so if they do away with sit down I guess that will become my go-to. 

[pinklucky61]

They had breakfast in MDR on port days on Valor a couple of weeks ago.

[luv2kroooz]

We enjoyed sea day brunch and port day breakfast in the MDR on Venezia recently. The breakfast buffet is ok for MTO eggs, cereal, fruit and pastries, but we find the eggs benedict, pancakes, etc to be of room temperature and not hot. By the time we get coffee and reserve a table, it is magnified. If you don't get to the buffet before 930, expect long lines and overall chaos.

[ledges1]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

I agree, it is sad and horrifying when I think that I was right there with them not long ago (gorging myself endlessly, eating just to eat). I'm more aware now.

I have been there also. Bypass and heart valve replacement will change your perspective.

[Gma&Gpa]

I've been on about 18 carnival cruises - and while there is occasionally something I don't care for on the buffet OR in the MDR - I have no complaints.   When I cook at home, it doesn't always come out perfect - and I'm just cooking for 2.   Can't imagine cooking for hundreds or more.

[Out of Iowa]

I cannot imagine Carnival choosing to end the MDR breakfast option.  It accommodates a certain number of passengers, individuals who (otherwise) would likely find themselves as additional diners at the buffet.  Result: even more crowding at the buffet.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

18 hours ago, MadManOfBethesda said:

The food may not be disgusting, but the behavior of the clientele is. I am currently on Glory and what I witnessed in the buffet line yesterday was almost beyond belief. Yesterday was a port day in Bermuda and my wife and I returned just after 3pm, so we went upstairs to get a bite to eat and we happened to grab a table right next to the serving line. As the buffet hit its scheduled closing time of 3:30pm, staff placed signs all along the cafeteria-style line stating that the buffet was now closed. Additionally, they removed all the ladles and serving spoons from the food items.  Did that stop the late-arriving passengers from getting food? Absolutely not! In fact, it became almost a feeding frenzy as passengers were doing whatever they could to get some food. This included using their own little forks and spoons and dipping them into the food items, and then handing them to other passengers who arrived at the line without their own utensils. Some were using their hands to grab at the cakes and other dessert items. I even saw one man use his hands to tear off a couple of hunks of turkey from what remained of the bird. I was absolutely appalled. 

 

I finally went up to a Carnival employee who was standing there watching all this and asked why she didn't try to put a stop to this clearly unsanitary customer behavior. Her response was that they were just going to throw all the food away anyway so it didn't matter.

 

Needless to say, I won't be going back to the buffet for the remainder of this cruise. But then again, the food in the MDR hasn't been great on this cruise either, so that only leaves me with pizza, the deli, and room service, lol. BTW, I don't want this to come across as a general Carnival-bashing comment. This is my 4th Carnival cruise in the last 12 months encompassing 53 days of sailing, and the first 3 cruises were great. We also have a 25-night transpacific cruise coming up this October on Panorama, so I'm hoping that this has just been a one off, and that we'll have better food and better passengers on that cruise.

 

If not, it is going to be a very looong 25 days. 

 

17 hours ago, MadManOfBethesda said:

Yes! I'd expect such behavior from twentysomethings on a Spring Break Caribbean cruise, but not so-called mature adults on a longer Journeys cruise. On second thought, I wouldn't even expect such behavior from them either.

 

I even saw one fifty-something woman get up from her table and walk up to the serving line carrying her fork and just pluck out a meatball [or some other round meat object] and walk back to her table with it. I even made direct eye contact with her and said loud enough for her to hear: "Are you f'n kidding me?!" Didn't faze her at all.  That was actually the point at which I had had enough and got up from my table and approached the Carnival employee to ask why they permitted this ridiculously unsanitary food frenzy when the buffet was supposed to be closed.

 

I love taking pictures of people doing these types of behaviors, while making sure that they are well aware of what I am doing.  If they question me about why I am taking pictures, I just say something like "I need proof, because nobody would believe me if I told them about the slob I saw in the buffet". 

 

 

Edited May 1 by Old Fart Cruisers

[Old Fart Cruisers]

 Duplicate 

Edited May 1 by Old Fart Cruisers
Duplicate

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

 

I love taking pictures of people doing these types of behaviors, while making sure that they are well aware of what I am doing.  If they question me about why I am taking pictures, I just say something like "I need proof, because nobody would believe me if I told them about the slob I saw in the buffet". 

 

 

 

If they're doing that when the buffet is closed, imagine what they're doing when it's open...blech...some people will devolve to apes for a tray of Freezer Queen quality food as long as it's free and unlimited.

 

They say we are 9 missed meals from anarchy - on Carnival, it's more like 9 minutes.

Edited May 1 by mz-s

[starstruck05]

15 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

If I didn't know better I'd say Glory was still homeported in New Orleans, because those are exactly the kind of clientele Carnival attracts there, even moreso on the 4/5 nights sailings. 

Except most of the people that cruise from New Orleans don't live locally. We all aren't gross, drunk savages. THAT cruise had disgusting people. Doesn't mean every cruise does. I almost never eat at the Buffet because I'm basically a germaphobe. I've witnessed somethings that I rather burn from my memory on almost every ship I've been on.

Edited May 1 by starstruck05

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, starstruck05 said:

Except most of the people that cruise from New Orleans don't live locally. We all aren't gross, drunk savages. THAT cruise had disgusting people. Doesn't mean every cruise does. I almost never eat at the Buffet because I'm basically a germaphobe. I've witnessed somethings that I rather burn from my memory on almost every ship I've been on.

Except I posted about the clientele that Carnival attracts on New Orleans cruises (due to the catchment area of cruisers within driving distance), not New Orleanians themselves.  I'm originally from south Louisiana and know all New Orleanians/ Louisianians are not like that. 

 

In 47 Carnival cruises, I've sailed out of every US homeport except New York, San Francisco, and Norfolk. Approximately 12 of those have been out of New Orleans and I can unequivocally say that the passengers out of New Orleans (not from New Orleans) are some of the 'grossest' and most ill-mannered and uncultured I've seen on any cruises.

Edited May 1 by DallasGuy75219

[starstruck05]

7 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Except I posted about the clientele that Carnival attracts on New Orleans cruises (due to the catchment area of cruisers within driving distance), not New Orleanians themselves.  I'm originally from south Louisiana and know all New Orleanians/ Louisianians are not like that. 

 

In 47 Carnival cruises, I've sailed out of every US homeport except New York, San Francisco, and Norfolk. Approximately 12 of those have been out of New Orleans and I can unequivocally say that the passengers out of New Orleans (not from New Orleans) are some of the 'grossest' and most ill-mannered and uncultured I've seen on any cruises.

I've met more ill-mannered and uncultured people cruising from Galveston and Port Canaveral. Maybe just stop generalizing passengers when they change every single cruise. Didn't take me 17 cruises to understand that.

[Iamthesea]

We found the MDR sit down breakfast on the ship was the best food we had all week on the Sunshine.  Ate there every morning!

Edited May 2 by Iamthesea

[Saint Greg]

20 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

If I didn't know better I'd say Glory was still homeported in New Orleans, because those are exactly the kind of clientele Carnival attracts there, even moreso on the 4/5 nights sailings. 

You think they’re high in Galveston or something? 

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

You think they’re high in Galveston or something? 

Think might be an overstatement…

[Saint Greg]

8 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Think might be an overstatement…

High class is what that was supposed to be. 

[jimbo5544]

Just now, Saint Greg said:

High class is what that was supposed to be. 

I got it, my reference was not on you…

[thesmiths]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:34 AM, luv2kroooz said:

We enjoyed sea day brunch and port day breakfast in the MDR on Venezia recently

What time is the MDR breakfast on the Venezia on sea days?

I don't think we ever ate breakfast in the MDR.

Usually in line for Omelettes at 7 am.

 

 

[luv2kroooz]

13 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

What time is the MDR breakfast on the Venezia on sea days?

I don't think we ever ate breakfast in the MDR.

Usually in line for Omelettes at 7 am.

 

 

Sure, sea day brunch 830-noon.

Port day breakfast is 7-9.

Both in grande canal.

[staceyglow]

15 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Sure, sea day brunch 830-noon.

Port day breakfast is 7-9.

Both in grande canal.

In general, port day breakfast times on Carnival change based on what time the ship gets into port. In other words, if there is an early debarkation time at the port, breakfast opens earlier. I don't know if this affects Venezia's current itineraries.

[EllieinNJ]

We are on the Panorama now in Cabo.  We have eaten breakfast every day in the MDR and liked the service.  Today we had an excursion at 6 30am and the only thing opened before was light fare at the buffet.  You would have assumed that the would open dining earlier but no.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, staceyglow said:

In general, port day breakfast times on Carnival change based on what time the ship gets into port. In other words, if there is an early debarkation time at the port, breakfast opens earlier. I don't know if this affects Venezia's current itineraries.

Was general disembarkation starting at 6:30 as well?

[luv2kroooz]

3 hours ago, staceyglow said:

In general, port day breakfast times on Carnival change based on what time the ship gets into port. In other words, if there is an early debarkation time at the port, breakfast opens earlier. I don't know if this affects Venezia's current itineraries.

I don't know. The port day breakfast times were unchanged whether it was our 7 am arrival in San Juan or our 9 am arrival in Half Moon Cay last week.

[Bubbeh]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:21 AM, ledges1 said:

You forgot the limp, grease dripping bacon that so many love (not me).

I think this may be a cultural thing. 14 or so years ago on our first cruise out of Sydney on an Royal Caribbean ship (Radiance of the Seas) with a very high proportion of Australian guests, the general consensus amongst the people we spoke with at breakfast (buffet mainly) was that the bacon was cremated and inedible.  We've since discovered that this is the way Americans prefer it.  There were so many complaints that they started serving it both ways to suit all tastes.

 

I'm a vegetarian but my husband is not.  Furthermore, he thinks bacon was invented by God for his own personal glutinous enjoyment.

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, Bubbeh said:

I think this may be a cultural thing. 14 or so years ago on our first cruise out of Sydney on an Royal Caribbean ship (Radiance of the Seas) with a very high proportion of Australian guests, the general consensus amongst the people we spoke with at breakfast (buffet mainly) was that the bacon was cremated and inedible.  We've since discovered that this is the way Americans prefer it.  There were so many complaints that they started serving it both ways to suit all tastes.

 

I'm a vegetarian but my husband is not.  Furthermore, he thinks bacon was invented by God for his own personal glutinous enjoyment.

I have had bacon cooked more than several different ways in my travels.  I respect the different cultural aspects, and do not eact it as much as I used to.  The hype over control of access to it is more hype than anything else and I am sure driven by food loss control.