Cruise Buffet Dining: What SMART Cruisers Do (And DON’T Do)

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Cruise Buffet Dining: What SMART Cruisers Do (And DON’T Do)

On my last cruise aboard Cunard’s Queen Anne, I never ate in the buffet restaurant. But on a recent Holland America cruise I ate lunch in there every day. On my Royal Caribbean Symphony of Seas cruise I ate most meals there. Why? It’s because I have a set of cruise buffet rules that I’ve developed over time that determine when I eat in the buffet, how I use it if I do, and what I will and won’t eat in there. After talking to other regular cruisers, I found they also follow a similar approach that I want to share with you.

Cruise Buffet Dining – Don’t Go At The Wrong Time

They all choose carefully when they do and don’t use it.

Embarkation Day Lunch

For a start, smart cruisers generally don’t go to the buffet for embarkation day lunch. Not only is it busy, but there are better options.

There are always better alternatives that are less busy and offer an elevated dining experience, whether on resort-type ship lines like Royal Caribbean or Carnival, right up to ultra-luxury lines like Regent Seven Seas or Silversea.

The Main Dining Room, if open, is one, and as I will explain later. As well as having a calmer atmosphere and good menu, there are several things one should do while there to get ahead of the crowd on setting up a better dining experience for your entire cruise.

If you have loyalty status, check if there is a special Main Dining Room lunch and menu exclusively for you. Many lines do, and I have had them on P&O Cruises, Princess and Celebrity in the past.

If the weather is good, I may head to the Pool Grill and have a burger, like I did on my Holland America cruise, or a pizza from the on-deck pizzeria.

Speciality restaurants are sometimes open, like whenever I am on Princess Cruises, I go to Alfredo’s for incredible pizza, as it’s not as busy as the cruise buffet.

Main Dining Room

However, smart cruisers mostly go to the Main Dining Room for embarkation day lunch instead of the buffet for two other key reasons. The first is to make sure they have a great table if on fixed dining.

I check if I got my requested table size and the location. If I don’t like either, I am one of the first to talk to the Maître d about getting it changed.

For example, on that Cunard Queen Anne cruise I mentioned, I went to the main dining room I was due to eat in for my embarkation day lunchtime. They showed me to the table that had been allocated and I really didn’t like it. I was able to get a much better table by being there for lunch.

The other reason to go is to get food allergy requirements sorted. The Main Dining Room Maître d is the person usually handling this and the one that must be spoken to.

This is important as the buffet restaurant could be riskier for passengers with dietary issues. Not only because it’s sometimes hard to know which cruise buffet items meet those diet requirements, as ingredients are not displayed and the servers usually do not know either.

The Maître d can assist and advise on how to handle all of this.

As an aside linked to diet, many families tell me they use the buffet when there’s a mix of fussy eaters in their party. Due to the range of food there everyone can usually find something, which is more problematic with a Main Dining Room menu.

Peak Times

Smart cruisers also try to avoid peak times at the buffet, as it can get hectic and hard to find tables.

For breakfast, that is usually the hour before the ship gets into port, as people eat before reporting for excursions or heading out. If open, I use the Main Dining Room as it’s quieter and less frantic, or I order room service.

Lunch peaks between 12:30pm to 1:30pm when excursions all arrive back or people self-exploring return to the ship to have lunch. So, I tend to try and eat before or after that.

In the evenings, I often eat in the buffet to get more out of my evenings on board, especially if on a mega ship like Symphony of the Seas with so much entertainment and activities available.

Eating in the buffet can take as little as 15 minutes, but the Main Dining Room 75 to 90 minutes.

Eating in the buffet on Symphony of the Seas meant some evenings I could do an early show, like ice skating, a later show like the Aqua show and then listen to music, go to the casino, do one of the trivia events or go to one of the parties, all in one night.

I also use the buffet way more for dinner on itineraries with long port days, like in the Western Mediterranean where excursions to Rome, Pisa and Florence are often 8 to 10 hours long.

Cruise Buffet Dining – Never Limit Dining Options

The other thing that I don’t do when it comes to the buffet is seeing it as limiting my dining options.

I think smart cruisers agree with me that the cruise buffet is not the limited dining option. In fact, it’s usually a way to get more choice than eating in the main dining room. The main dining room menu is relatively limited, while most buffets have an enormous and diverse range of options.

It is also often a chance to try more exotic foods than in the main dining room. Most evenings I find buffets across all lines offer a different international themed dining option. I get to try Indian, Mexican, Asian, South American, French, Italian, and so on across my cruise.

And, many of them will have sushi nightly, which I find impossible to get in the main dining room every evening. So, a smart cruiser sees the buffet as a way of trying a more diverse range of foods.

As a tip, I see smart cruisers always do a full circuit of the buffet before they make any choice to see the entire range of options and ensure they do not miss out.

Also, I do not see the buffet as an unhealthy way of dining on a cruise. I use the buffet to help me eat healthier and control my diet. On most cruises I usually mix in the buffet with main dining room, as I find I can get great salads and light options and not be tempted to do the full starter, main course, and dessert meal every night.

Cruise Buffet Dining – Not Just A Place To Eat

The other thing missed and under appreciated by most passengers but not smart cruisers, is the buffet can be more than a place to eat, it may be the best place to eat on scenic itineraries.

Most cruise buffet restaurants are located high up, at the rear of the ship, have floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides and an outdoor dining area overlooking the ship’s wake so offering views to most diners.

Main dining rooms tend to be lower down often with fewer or smaller windows, and at best a handful of people get to see the views.

So, when I’m cruising in scenic places, I dine in the buffet significantly more. For example, on past Alaska, Norwegian Fjords, Greenland, Canadian Arctic, Antarctica, and French Polynesia sailings, I used it a lot for the sights while dining.

Cruise Buffet Dining – Never Play Loose With Hygiene

The next area that smart cruisers never play loose with when it comes to eating in the buffet restaurant is hygiene because of the risks.

The buffet does have more issues when it comes to hygiene and staying well than dining in the main dining room due to the way food is prepared and stored, and self-service.

In my view, the buffet is where passengers have a greater risk of getting ill, particularly norovirus – the stomach bug which can lead to upset stomachs and even vomiting, because it is spread by touch.

With lots of people handling the serving implements and items like condiments, there’s room for cross-contamination.

Smart cruisers approach the buffet with a degree of caution, and always hand wash entering the buffet rather than using the sanitiser gel because hand washing is proven to be significantly better than the gel.

One of the best lines for trying to keep cruise buffets healthy is Royal Caribbean, with large hand washing stations at the entrance and crew ensuring that people do it.

But even on cruise lines not monitoring it, like on that Queen Anne cruise I mentioned, while most people would just head into the buffet, I saw smart cruisers washing their hands.

 

Crew Serving

I also tend to use buffets more on ships where the crew serve the food rather than self-service. That’s why on lines like Oceania or that Holland America, I use the buffet more frequently.

But when it’s self-service, I always use the tongs and serving utensil and I don’t mix them up, to avoid cross contamination. Such as vegetable dishes being mixed with meat dishes and so on.

I never use my fingers to pick up things, even bread rolls and so on. I don’t use my fingers to dip in to taste sauces or dishes and I don’t pick up food and put it back. And I watch out for people who pick food up and put it back and avoid those foods.

If I’m getting a soft serve cone in the buffet, I noticed that most people use their dominant hand. So, if right-handed, they use their right hand to work the lever to serve their ice cream. Then they put the cone back into that same hand they’ve been using the lever. But with so many people touching that handle without it being wiped down, that’s not a good idea. So, I would use a paper napkin around the cone, to minimise the risk.

To both minimise the chance of not having the most hygienic experience from food that’s been sitting around, and to get the best taste experience, I mostly go for the made-to-order dishes.

 

Made-to-Order

Cruise buffet food is prepared in bulk and sits on those steam tables or under lights to keep warm. Once a tray of food is empty, it’s replaced with a fresh one. So, made-to-order or watching for just made is better in my view.

For example, if I want sushi from the sushi station, I take sushi that’s just been put out by the chef. The same with the pizza station. I don’t take precooked scrambled or fried eggs and order at the made-to-order egg station.

At lunch, I focus on the sandwich, hamburger, pasta or stir fry stations making to order.

I steer clear of the large bottles of ketchup, mustard and other condiments, as many are touching those. I either ask the buffet staff to serve the condiments for me or if they’ve got the individual self-serve condiment packets. If they’re not available, I’ll use a napkin to dispense what I need, and every time I go back to the buffet, I get new plates and new cutlery.

Now, all this might sound a little bit overkill to you, but I have been fortunate so far on the over 100 cruises I have done to avoid getting norovirus, even on ships where there’s an outbreak.

 

Cruise Buffet Dining – Never Ignore The Code

Another thing that the smart cruisers don’t do is ignore the dress code. Many chose the cruise buffet because the dress code around the ship does not apply. So, even on a line like Cunard with their stricter evening dress code, people can dress informally in the buffet while the Main Dining Room and venues are all tuxedos and glamorous frocks.

However, there still are rules. For example, smart cruisers wouldn’t go in swimwear, shirtless or without shoes to the buffet.