Midnight Buffet

[STEPHEN LARKIN]

Hi Guys , Just a thought ... on every other cruise line I have been with , they have a midnight buffet on at least one of the nights at sea . This gives the chefs a chance to show off their expertease . A midnight buffet is not mentioned on this site at all , do Cunard not believe in this practice ? Or do the late night snackers just head for Kings Court ?

 

Interested in hearing your replies ...

[southwestie]

Cunard dont it at all, does anyone really want them????

 

RCCL dont so them anymore either , they say too much wasted food,

 

rob

[capnpugwash]

Kings Court is 24 hour but I have never been there overnight except to pick up a coffee at 4.45am as we sailed into NYC under Verrazano Straits bridge, lovely coffee and a great sight.

[pnhmrk]

Cunard dont it at all

 

Cunard do on the QE2. (Sorry Rob :) )On at least one night during a cruise you get a "Gala Midnight Buffet" and on the other nights you get much more of a light snack - but enough for a three course meal if you want. It's nothing like as grand as the midnight buffets used to be but it more than suffices.

 

I believe that there is no buffet on the QM2 and I have no idea about the Vicky!

 

(It's quite rare for us to go to one anyway.)

[tg_lindo]

Uiuiuiuiui.... I have wandered from G32 to KC on a few occasions in the wee hours.

 

The late night spread gets the job done, but it ain't much to look at. Although the Indian food can be surprisingly good and spicy, the rest can be pretty basic and of limited selection. Burgers. Process orangey cheese. OK french fries. Pasta. Meat sauce. Putting the meat sauce on the fries was an interesting concept. Pizza under heat lamps.

 

Oh- be really careful to avoid the sections of KC where the are mopping... the floors are very very slippery. Wheeeee.

[sullaRaffaello]

I think the absence of the gala midnight buffet nowadays is due to two things that did not exist when midnight buffets were a mainstay of ships:

 

Restaurants dedicated to buffets all day long

24 Room Service.

 

In the 70s and early 80s, all meals were taken in one's assgned the dining room, at least on the ships that I was on. When the midnight buffet was served, it was on cruises only, not crossings, and was served in one of the larger public rooms. In the first class Bar Atlantique on the France (I sneaked in), they served excellent onion soup in the late hours. On the Italian line, they had 2AM pizza. That was it. I'm sure something could always be arranged to be served in one's room as a special request, but the advertised 24 hour room service as is now known was unheard of.

[southwestie]

Cunard do on the QE2. (Sorry Rob :) )On at least one night during a cruise you get a "Gala Midnight Buffet" and on the other nights you get much more of a light snack - but enough for a three course meal if you want. It's nothing like as grand as the midnight buffets used to be but it more than suffices.

 

I believe that there is no buffet on the QM2 and I have no idea about the Vicky!

 

(It's quite rare for us to go to one anyway.)

 

No buffet on QM2 or QV, please not "vicy" I cant get my head around that word?, RCCL have now stopped them as well, but then after a hugh meal who can eat much, now a drinks buffet I can understand LOL, althought I would given anything for a chocolate buffet, anywhere, anytime

[The Real PM]

No buffet on QM2 or QV, please not "vicy" I cant get my head around that word?, RCCL have now stopped them as well, but then after a hugh meal who can eat much, now a drinks buffet I can understand LOL, althought I would given anything for a chocolate buffet, anywhere, anytime

 

You know, on our first couple of cruises, we were quite enthralled by the Midnight Buffet. Passengers seemed to line up around the entire deck in anticipation of the the gala buffet to come. And it was quite a sight! But I really can not remember eating much more than a piece of cheese and some crackers, ever. Like Rob said--just how much can one person eat. I think a few more snacks in the pubs and clubs at night would be much more appreciated, at least by me!!

[southwestie]

You know, on our first couple of cruises, we were quite enthralled by the Midnight Buffet. Passengers seemed to line up around the entire deck in anticipation of the the gala buffet to come. And it was quite a sight! But I really can not remember eating much more than a piece of cheese and some crackers, ever. Like Rob said--just how much can one person eat. I think a few more snacks in the pubs and clubs at night would be much more appreciated, at least by me!!

 

Im with you on this 100% but I would missed dinner for a chocolate buffet, in fact id miss meals all day for that one

 

rob

[The Real PM]

I'm more a cheese person--a cheese buffet would be pretty good , too. Rob, do you know if they put pig's blood in chocolate in your fine country?

[Beyondships]

There used to be midnight buffets on QE2 every night. They were in the Columbia dining room (now Caronia) and were fairly well attended. There would be one spectacular gala buffet where it would be difficult to even get in the door.

 

When they built the Lido, the midnight buffet moved there. However, on the non-Gala nights, it lost the ambiance that it had when it was in the Columbia. The gala night, however, continued to attract a crowd but more to look than to eat.

 

On the Caribbean cruises on QM2, they have had on one night per voyage a spectacular buffet/party on 8 Deck by the outdoor pool. It is an after-dinner event but not quite at midnight. However, it has some of the bravado food displays like a gala midnight buffet.

[The Real PM]

There used to be midnight buffets on QE2 every night. They were in the Columbia dining room (now Caronia) and were fairly well attended. There would be one spectacular gala buffet where it would be difficult to even get in the door.

 

When they built the Lido, the midnight buffet moved there. However, on the non-Gala nights, it lost the ambiance that it had when it was in the Columbia. The gala night, however, continued to attract a crowd but more to look than to eat.

 

On the Caribbean cruises on QM2, they have had on one night per voyage a spectacular buffet/party on 8 Deck by the outdoor pool. It is an after-dinner event but not quite at midnight. However, it has some of the bravado food displays like a gala midnight buffet.

 

Unfortunately, our one buffet/party on our cruise to the Caribbean and Panama in March on the QM2 was rained out. They held it in the nightclub, but I don't think many showed up--the smoke was so heavy there--many people walked in, turned around and walked out again. In my opinion, it would have been better to have it in the Queen's Room--but of course, they didn't ask for my opinion.

[VirginCruiser II]

I'm more a cheese person--a cheese buffet would be pretty good , too. Rob, do you know if they put pig's blood in chocolate in your fine country?

 

Yuk:eek:! I hope not! Is that what Hersheys do with your chocolate over there? No wonder ours tastes so much nicer.

Having said that, we do eat black pudding at breakfast over here... that's dried pig's blood made to look like sausage - I won't touch it.

[The Real PM]

Yuk:eek:! I hope not! Is that what Hersheys do with your chocolate over there? No wonder ours tastes so much nicer.

Having said that, we do eat black pudding at breakfast over here... that's dried pig's blood made to look like sausage - I won't touch it.

 

No. My daughter in law who did her student teaching in a place(don't know the name) next to East London, U.K. said that the chocolate in England was so good because they put pig's blood in it. Don't know where she heard it, but that is what she told me. But I can't seem to substantiate it, anywhere.:)

[billet]

No. My daughter in law who did her student teaching in a place(don't know the name) next to East London, U.K. said that the chocolate in England was so good because they put pig's blood in it. Don't know where she heard it, but that is what she told me. But I can't seem to substantiate it, anywhere.:)

 

I always wondered why there was was a need for kosher chocolate :D

 

Princess Cruises do not do a midnight buffet either and I was led to believe it was because it was an incredible waste of food and the 24 hour buffet served a better purpose, avoiding the gorging at the trough. I also believe all the Carnival partners do not have midnight buffets.

 

Paul

[The Real PM]

I always wondered why there was was a need for kosher chocolate :D

 

Princess Cruises do not do a midnight buffet either and I was led to believe it was because it was an incredible waste of food and the 24 hour buffet served a better purpose, avoiding the gorging at the trough. I also believe all the Carnival partners do not have midnight buffets.

 

Paul[/quote

 

Hi Paul,

 

Yes, very true, those gala buffets are a terrible waste! But there is a better way!

 

I suspect sometime in the not too distant future, the whole cruise ship dining experience will evolve into a pay-as -you -go culinary event. Certainly, it could solve a host of problems-- and tops on the list is the terrible waste of food (which no one can even begin to absolve in this day and age.) At the same time, it would, at the very least, begin to help to alleviate the growing problem of worldwide obesity. Many diners, I am sure, would elect an alternative to the dining rooms, choosing instead a variety of healthy snacks, placed strategically in vending machines throughout the ship. This, in turn, would increase the cruise line's profits by giving it the flexibility of hiring fewer chefs, servers, food preparers, stock boys, and dishwashers. But there is even more--there would be far less waste--pure garbage-- which in the past, was thrown, bag after bag, into the great big beautiful sea--however, now must be placed in overstocked dumps throughout this very overcrowded world of ours. And last, but certainly not least, just think of all those toilets that will flow much more freely because there is less overage, easing most of the plumbing disasters during those peak times. It will be good!

[southwestie]

I'm more a cheese person--a cheese buffet would be pretty good , too. Rob, do you know if they put pig's blood in chocolate in your fine country?

 

 

This is the UK, Now do you think we would put pigs blood into chocolate????????, we just know how to make it good, same in europe.

 

http://www.cadbury.co.uk/EN/CTB2003/about_chocolate/history_chocolate/eating_chocolate.htm

[The Real PM]

This is the UK, Now do you think we would put pigs blood into chocolate????????, we just know how to make it good, same in europe.

 

http://www.cadbury.co.uk/EN/CTB2003/about_chocolate/history_chocolate/eating_chocolate.htm

Thank you, Rob. I read the information from Cadbury--very interesting. I saw no mention of pig's blood, but do you think that Cadbury would actually admit it, if they did put pig's blood in their chocolate?

 

That Montezuma was quite a guy, wasn't he??

[capnpugwash]

Reading the Real PMs spiel I thought I had wandered off the Cunard site into the World health Organization. Cruising is fun. I don't think I want to go to the PM's parties. And as for pig or any blood in chocolate, some South Americans and others have been known to use chocolate in savoury dishes but in these days of listing food contents on products it just isn't going to occur. It is ridiculous. Can we stop talking about it... me included

[southwestie]

Reading the Real PMs spiel I thought I had wandered off the Cunard site into the World health Organization. Cruising is fun. I don't think I want to go to the PM's parties. And as for pig or any blood in chocolate, some South Americans and others have been known to use chocolate in savoury dishes but in these days of listing food contents on products it just isn't going to occur. It is ridiculous. Can we stop talking about it... me included

 

 

Here here, im with you.

 

feel queasy now anyway LOL

 

rob

[The Real PM]

Reading the Real PMs spiel I thought I had wandered off the Cunard site into the World health Organization. Cruising is fun. I don't think I want to go to the PM's parties. And as for pig or any blood in chocolate, some South Americans and others have been known to use chocolate in savoury dishes but in these days of listing food contents on products it just isn't going to occur. It is ridiculous. Can we stop talking about it... me included

 

You mean you really wouldn't want to come to my party. I'm fun! And just think how really good you'd feel, doing your bit to help in solving some of our planet's most pressing problems! Okay, maybe we keep one dining room open!

 

And Rob, you know I like you very much. You wouldn't want to come to my party either???? Oh, dear!!

[southwestie]

You mean you really wouldn't want to come to my party. I'm fun! And just think how really good you'd feel, doing your bit to help in solving some of our planet's most pressing problems! Okay, maybe we keep one dining room open!

 

And Rob, you know I like you very much. You wouldn't want to come to my party either???? Oh, dear!!

 

Well PM should I know who you are LOL, do I know who you are?? are you having a party, if so where and when,

 

as for saving the planet problems, they none of them affect me at all, so Im not worried, im more worried about where to go in 2010

[The Real PM]

Well PM should I know who you are LOL, do I know who you are?? are you having a party, if so where and when,

 

as for saving the planet problems, they none of them affect me at all, so Im not worried, im more worried about where to go in 2010

 

When I have one, you will be first on my list. I hope you will really come!!:)

[southwestie]

When I have one, you will be first on my list. I hope you will really come!!:)

 

 

Where are you then, I may not be able to come LOL, but I will make every effort:)

[NomDePlume]

Gail and Rob: why don't you BOTH come to the Sequoia???