Bring back Midnight Buffets?

[Censored]

I suppose Im dating myself remembering back in the day cruise ships had midnight buffets, and ice sculptures.  It was awesome.  With all the cost saving measures in place , I cant ever see this happening again, unless we all start a petition to bring it back.  With unlimited buffet food and the ability to order as much as you want in the dining room, cruises are known for decadence already ., without the need for another buffet?

[HeWhoWaits]

While I thoroughly enjoyed the midnight buffet when it existed, there was a significant amount of food wasted.

Perhaps a good compromise for the nostalgia of the chocolate buffet with ice sculptures and over-the-top desserts previously associated with one special night would be to  have such an event during the afternoon of a sea day. 

[Maggie M]

I agree, with regards to all the wasted food - which still happens in the MDR and Windjammer...but I did love the ice sculptures and chocolate fountains...

[sk8erguy1978]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

While I thoroughly enjoyed the midnight buffet when it existed, there was a significant amount of food wasted.

Perhaps a good compromise for the nostalgia of the chocolate buffet with ice sculptures and over-the-top desserts previously associated with one special night would be to  have such an event during the afternoon of a sea day. 

Memory is fuzzy but recall in January 2013 on Adventure of the Seas from San Juan to the Southern Caribbean there was a night where a mini buffet was setup on the pool deck. It was a nice break from late night Sorrento's. (Fun fact, if you ever sail with me you'll learn of my midnight+ Sorrento's on my balcony obsession LOL). 

[Censored]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

While I thoroughly enjoyed the midnight buffet when it existed, there was a significant amount of food wasted.

Perhaps a good compromise for the nostalgia of the chocolate buffet with ice sculptures and over-the-top desserts previously associated with one special night would be to  have such an event during the afternoon of a sea day. 

 

55 minutes ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

Memory is fuzzy but recall in January 2013 on Adventure of the Seas from San Juan to the Southern Caribbean there was a night where a mini buffet was setup on the pool deck. It was a nice break from late night Sorrento's. (Fun fact, if you ever sail with me you'll learn of my midnight+ Sorrento's on my balcony obsession LOL). 

Lets admit that food waste is abundant in the Windjammer and the MDR.  I think one midnight buffet per sail would be welcoming add on feature to make Royal stand out more with regards to cuisine choices for the week.  

[tjcruisers]

Our first cruise (on Disney) I remember they had the midnight buffet. Went to it grab a donut for the kids one night. Was amazed at how much people were eating that late at night.

Our first Royal cruise on the explorer I remember had something setup on the pool deck on night. Wouldn't mind seeing something like that again

[sk8erguy1978]

1 hour ago, Censored said:

 

Lets admit that food waste is abundant in the Windjammer and the MDR.  I think one midnight buffet per sail would be welcoming add on feature to make Royal stand out more with regards to cuisine choices for the week.  

Absolutely! What I experienced was more of a themed thing and plenty showed up and ate! 

[bluer101]

Besides the midnight buffet I remember a small 2am breakfast buffet.

[Pattycruise]

I ate at the Windjammer about 8:45pm one night. (Turns out they close at 9) It was absolutely gross. The good looked like trash, dried out and just sat for a long time.

just got off Grandeur, their pizza actually left something to be desired  it was old, we waited for a fresh pie at 12:45am.  It was better.  Their roast beef sandwich was gross over cooked meat. 
 

I enjoy the pizza on Anthem and Oasis but they need some better choices.  Those bite size sandwiches give me agita.  
 

ordered room service on this Grandeur sailing,first time ever, and the quesadilla had peppers (not listed on the menu)-I could not eat it.  St 11:30pm I wasn’t going to argue and wait another hour for food.  My daughter ordered us wings and chocolate chip cookies the next night.  1 1/2 hour wait. Wrong wings, wrong cookies (not even on the menu).

so I guess some sort of offering I can actually see and pick out my own food at midnight would be nice. 

[dmattinson]

How about just keeping the buffet open longer?  Maybe I don't want just pizza, Mexican, or BBQ (where those last 2 are an option) if I'm a little late on lunch, especially when I have an 8P MDR seating.  Or maybe I'm feeling a little peckish around 9-10P after a 5P dining time...

I don't need a midnight buffet...what I'd prefer is an hour or two longer on the dinner time and/or maybe not shutting down between lunch and dinner (or keeping the break lower to 1-1.5 hours).  Spacing out the load on the buffet will make it more enjoyable to the guests and hopefully alleviates food waste over the longer period of time as they don't have to process so much food for the short window and can assess throughout and have more time to determine need based on passenger demand.  

[Maggie M]

43 minutes ago, bluer101 said:

Besides the midnight buffet I remember a small 2am breakfast buffet.

Now I would wake up early for a BREAKFAST BUFFET! What a great idea!

[dmattinson]

13 minutes ago, Maggie M said:

Now I would wake up early for a BREAKFAST BUFFET! What a great idea!

Wake up? That was for those that howl at the moon and need a little brekky food to absorb some alcohol. 

[BowTieBrigade]

I’ve never experienced this but I would absolutely love to

[Jill]

Well I certainly could see bringing back the “Midnight Buffet” as a specialty dining option. Pay for the buffet and that way they can better gauge how much food to prepare. It could be done for no additional charge but advanced reservations would be required. 
 

We participated in a few back in the day. I remember the ice carving demos on the pool deck of Song of America and Monarch

[bluer101]

I found this online from 1988 on Carnival Holiday. It’s shows the midnight buffet (late night dessert) and 2am breakfast (mini buffet).

[TravisMA81]

I think a small buffet that's open from 10pm to 3am would be a huge hit.  They could just serve something like burgers and fries, mexican and chinese food.  Really anything you would order on a late Friday or Saturday night after going to the bars.  

[Ray]

A buffet at midnight? Isn't there enough food options during the rest of the day without the need to pile on even more pounds before bed? 

I get that everything in the US is so much bigger than the rest of the world but that doesnt have to include the waistlines!

[SteveK]

Time for a reminder of 5,000 year traditional medicine views on this midnight buffet thing  

[HeWhoWaits]

Even more than the midnight buffet, I miss the "Early risers continental breakfast" outside the Windjammer on the pool deck. I could get my fruit, pastries, cheese, and coffee to enjoy with viewing the sunrise (except on those days that sunrise was well before 6:00 a.m.).

[BrianB]

Before the pandemic, the Anthem would have a huge dessert buffet set up on the pool deck during a nighttime pool dance party. Even Capt Srecko and the senior officers would be dancing. The cakes, treats, handmade sweets and ice cream with all the trimmings were delicious! It was great! But, I haven’t seen it since the restart…yet.

[Censored]

18 hours ago, bluer101 said:

Besides the midnight buffet I remember a small 2am breakfast buffet.

wow! What year was that?  I mean most people are in bed by then except for maybe a few gamblers.  

[Censored]

2 hours ago, SteveK said:

Time for a reminder of 5,000 year traditional medicine views on this midnight buffet thing  

so thats why I had gallstones!

 

[Censored]

11 hours ago, TravisMA81 said:

I think a small buffet that's open from 10pm to 3am would be a huge hit.  They could just serve something like burgers and fries, mexican and chinese food.  Really anything you would order on a late Friday or Saturday night after going to the bars.  

Thats a 5 hour window! Never going to happen. Replenishing, staffing issues arise.  It has to be much shorter, and people are still leaving the MDR at 10:pm!  Oh we are a gluttonous crowd!

[Censored]

46 minutes ago, BrianB said:

Before the pandemic, the Anthem would have a huge dessert buffet set up on the pool deck during a nighttime pool dance party. Even Capt Srecko and the senior officers would be dancing. The cakes, treats, handmade sweets and ice cream with all the trimmings were delicious! It was great! But, I haven’t seen it since the restart…yet.

Will have to mention that to the head chef and cruise director !

 

[Censored]

19 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I ate at the Windjammer about 8:45pm one night. (Turns out they close at 9) It was absolutely gross. The good looked like trash, dried out and just sat for a long time.

just got off Grandeur, their pizza actually left something to be desired  it was old, we waited for a fresh pie at 12:45am.  It was better.  Their roast beef sandwich was gross over cooked meat. 
 

I enjoy the pizza on Anthem and Oasis but they need some better choices.  Those bite size sandwiches give me agita.  
 

ordered room service on this Grandeur sailing,first time ever, and the quesadilla had peppers (not listed on the menu)-I could not eat it.  St 11:30pm I wasn’t going to argue and wait another hour for food.  My daughter ordered us wings and chocolate chip cookies the next night.  1 1/2 hour wait. Wrong wings, wrong cookies (not even on the menu).

so I guess some sort of offering I can actually see and pick out my own food at midnight would be nice. 

I think frequent cruisers have all experience this more than once.   Outside of specialty restaurants, I think the midnight thing is a good thing. With all the new technology, they can put replicators (as in star trek) in the rooms in the newer ships being built?  

[dmattinson]

On 1/13/2023 at 7:59 PM, bluer101 said:

I found this online from 1988 on Carnival Holiday. It’s shows the midnight buffet (late night dessert) and 2am breakfast (mini buffet).

Forget the midnight buffet...bring back the $1.95 Planter's Punch!

[Keanoknick]

I would love to see more late night options besides just Sorrento's.   Also wish they'd let you in the WJ late, even if no food,  we like to go in and use the tables to play games etc... the card room just gets too crowded sometimes.   That's one thing I like better about Carnival is the access to the buffet area, even when the buffet isn't serving food.

 

[Ditchdoc]

Think I've been up at midnight maybe twice while cruising and one of those was new years.

 

Now if they had a sunrise buffet ... I'd be all in. As it is, I have a hard time finding coffee when I get up because most places on board dont have it ready.

[Va4fam]

Having a Midnight Buffet once per cruise would  be awesome!  Once per cruise makes it more unique and fun.

Thank goodness I can get chocolate chip cookies and pizza late at night.  

[Linda R]

3 hours ago, Keanoknick said:

I would love to see more late night options besides just Sorrento's.   Also wish they'd let you in the WJ late, even if no food,  we like to go in and use the tables to play games etc... the card room just gets too crowded sometimes.   That's one thing I like better about Carnival is the access to the buffet area, even when the buffet isn't serving food.

 

We go in the Windjammer all the time to play cards when food is not being served.  You just use the side doors, if  the main entrances are closed..  We will go  in late afternoon, and sometimes be there til dinner opened.  At that time we usually left, or maybe have a little appetizer!   haha   But, I have no issue using the table in there whenever I wanted. 

[Keanoknick]

15 hours ago, Linda R said:

We go in the Windjammer all the time to play cards when food is not being served.  You just use the side doors, if  the main entrances are closed..  We will go  in late afternoon, and sometimes be there til dinner opened.  At that time we usually left, or maybe have a little appetizer!   haha   But, I have no issue using the table in there whenever I wanted. 

Thanks!  I'll try to remember that.  We didn't see any side doors when we were on the Adventures a couple weeks ago.

[Maggie M]

On 1/14/2023 at 3:54 AM, Ray said:

A buffet at midnight? Isn't there enough food options during the rest of the day without the need to pile on even more pounds before bed? 

I get that everything in the US is so much bigger than the rest of the world but that doesnt have to include the waistlines!

There's TOTALLY enough food and we go to bed early but on those night's my insomnia takes over, the thoughts of my waistline go out the door and I want a snack! LOL That's why I try to lose 5-10 lbs before cruising just in case - that gives me some wiggle room to indulge a little more than I would in my non-cruising times. If I MAINTAIN my weight on a cruise - I'm ecstatic. LOL 

[Suzanne Elise]

my husband and I both work second shift so yes, we are just attuned to eating late. We would love a midnight buffet but even a breakfast burrito, some fruit, and a few cookies would suffice.

[RorySC]

On 1/18/2023 at 2:39 PM, Ditchdoc said:

Think I've been up at midnight maybe twice while cruising and one of those was new years.

 

Now if they had a sunrise buffet ... I'd be all in. As it is, I have a hard time finding coffee when I get up because most places on board dont have it ready.

Every ship has a Sunrise Buffett....It's called the Windjammer!

[Xaa]

Windjammer doesn't open at my sunrise.  I'm usually having coffee at 4 and would love to eat first breakfast at 5.   I think 7 is too late but normally the earliest on a sea day.

[RorySC]

I remember the Midnight Buffett's, they were entertaining Exotic and beautiful. They even had a 1/2 hour to walk through to take pictures before they let the locust in. But, being that I always have Late seating in the MDR and because we always enjoyed or tablemates sometimes we sat in the MDR till 10:30 have a lot of laughs. By the time I made it up to the Midnight buffet, I was still full. So never ate anything to much. I am sure there was huge amounts of waste. Or items that had to be moved over for other uses, I can not imagine the amount of time and manpower of the very fancy set up.

[HeWhoWaits]

On 1/20/2023 at 7:23 AM, RorySC said:

Every ship has a Sunrise Buffett....It's called the Windjammer!

Windjammer opens at 7:00. Sunrise is often much closer to 6:00. That's why I miss the "Early Risers Breakfast" selection of yesteryear.

[Larry Muster]

I was on a charter cruise on Navigator within the past year and they did the midnight buffet every night.  I only went once but it seemed pretty well attended.

[Pattycruise]

Looked for a piece of fruit tonight (11:45 pm) No fruit to be found. Guest services 1-said try Cafe Promenade-I had

2- told me I could order room service!  Really?! $20 for a mixed fruit plate Id have to wait an hour for?!

3- when I said other ships had fruit late at night Guest services reply: we don’t do that here, it leads to waste, we throw out anything that’s been out 4 hours” 

mom dumbstruck.  To

Tomorrow  I’ll have to put some fruit in my cabin.

[teddy]

I'm another one that would like earlier options.  Yes, I know we're on vacation, but when your life is structured to wake up early, it's difficult to turn it off for a week.

Sometimes we can find coffee at the Cafe, other times we've been out of luck.  I don't want a full breakfast, but something to snack on would be nice.  We usually put a few pieces of fruit in our cabin frig for this reason.