Why Your Best Dinner Could be at the Buffet

Dinner on our first cruise was an affair to remember. All that silverware glinting in the chandelier’s light. A five-course spread, dished out by chatty waiters in tuxes. Our plates, the picture of food magazines. It was a blast.
 
Over the years, as budgets tightened and crew sizes shrunk, the dinner hour has become the dinner hour and a half—or more. Waiters are so harried; they no longer feel like chewing the fat. Courses have gone from five to four. Diners dress down more than ever.
 

Satisfy your sweet tooth in the Windjammer...

With these changes, along with some of the upsides of the buffet experience, we’re finding ourselves there quite a lot. Here are a few reasons why your best dinner could be at the buffet and not in the main dining room (MDR):         
         
Go when you want, come as you are. Working around your assigned MDR time can be a pain, particularly after a long day at port. Or, maybe you were up late the night before and then had your lunch at 3. How do you have dinner at 6? With the buffet, you eat when you feel like it.
 
And you don’t have to rush back to your stateroom and change for dinner. You can come as you are and keep that relaxed vibe right into the night.



...or have shrimp crackers there for the first time.

Pace yourself. Some of our MDR meals have taken close to two hours. That’s a long time to give up on a cruise evening, especially when there are shows to make, slot machines waiting for your money and a piano player anxious to sing to you. The buffet allows you to linger as long as you like—or wolf it down to go on to whatever’s next. 

 You can be choosy. In the old days, when MDR meals didn’t take so long, if you didn’t like your dish, you could ask for another. Today, the prospect of waiting for that other dish isn’t so appealing. What the buffets offer is choice. Your plate can become a virtual tourist with an Italian breadstick here, German sausage there and American fried chicken in the middle. And if you don’t like any of it, you can go back for something else.



Be a virtual tourist with landjager in Horizon Court...

Food for thought, tasting and testing. The buffet is where you’ll find some of the more interesting and pricey foods, like spicy Asian dishes and shrimp crackers in Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer, blue cheese in Celebrity’s Oceanview Café, and landjäger and Black Forest ham in Princess’ Horizon Court. It’s a great chance to try something you’ve never had before.

MDR chow without the MDR. Sometimes, the same entrees from the main dining room show up in the buffet. Granted, they’re not sitting as pretty in a warming tray as sprinkled with parsley on a porcelain plate. But at least you know what it looks like before you choose it .

Make it your way. It may be counter-intuitive, but some buffets will do it your way. In Celebrity’s Oceanview Café, you can point to a steak, salmon or chicken and someone will grill it for you. A stir-fry guy will put in what veggies, meat and level of heat you desire. And the pasta person will toss some up just the way you like it.

...and enjoy your dinner there in peace.

It’s quieter there. One of the biggest reasons I find myself in the buffet at night is that most people are somewhere else. Imagine that: a meal that’s relaxing. The buffet at dinner may just be the cruise industry’s biggest secret. So let’s keep it between the two of us…
 
Musing’s Top Tip: Celebrity and Royal Caribbean serve full dinners until 9 p.m. in their buffets; Princess, until 11.

The Best Way to Relax on a Cruise?

Find one with a private island on the itinerary.
 
You’ll find yourself transported to a tropical oasis that you have all to yourself (well, along with a few thousand of your fellow passengers). A whole hassle-free day to savor the sunshine, dig your feet in the sand or float face up, while your cares drift away to sea.
 
Or jet ski, water slide, zip line or craft shop. Photograph the flowers. Walk the paths. Chow down or booze up.

However you choose to spend it, a day at the cruise line’s private beach offers the ultimate in relaxation and a chance to spend the day your way.
 
Here are quick takes on some of the cruise lines’ private spots:
 
Mahogany Bay—When we’ve stopped in Roatan in the past, we’ve docked in Coxen Hole, a poor, but interesting port city. On our recent Caribbean Princess cruise, however, we were surprised to find ourselves instead sidling up to the pier at Mahogany Bay, created by Carnival, Princess’ parent company. Carnival and NCL also make stops here.
 
Hibiscus, palms, and other tropical flora and foliage frame the path from the pier. Hang a right for a short walk to paradise. The pool-like blue waters are calm and clear. You can laze in padded loungers on the beach or try one out that sits on the water. Rent a paddleboat, kayak or snorkel.
 

There are restaurants and bars selling seafood and jerk chicken, and from a stand on the sand, a fellow sells coconut water, shell and all.
 
Or if you’re not in the mood to do the walk, there’s always the chairlift. Yes, you read that right. A seat in the sky but with no snow below. Instead, there are sweeping views of the bay, beach and ship. For $14, adults can do it all day long (for kids, it’s $8).
 
If you hang a left off the ship, you’ll find shopping, more restaurants and bars. The centerpiece is the craft market, where you can buy reasonably priced wooden bowls and the like in mahogany, watch cigars being rolled and purchase for the road, taste locally made rum and chocolate, or browse fine jewelry or the usual assortment of kitschy knickknacks.

Mahogany Bay and Labadee dock, which is a plus for both. It makes it a snap to bop on and off the ship as many times as you want.
 
Labadee—When you’re in Labadee, you have no clue you’re on Haiti. Surrounded by lush green mountains, Royal Caribbean’s private hideaway is a sprawling slice of heaven, with nook and crannies so that you never quite feel the crowds.

In fact, it’s so large that signs point out the way to its several beaches, myriad water sports and walkways.
You can get your hair braided, have a massage, play volleyball or do the aqua park. Swing in a hammock, hike the trails.

There are restaurants and bars, and the many souvenir vendors make sure you know they’re there too. Bargaining is both welcome and expected, and there are inexpensive souvenirs made in Haiti as well as China. Bring money, though, because like Mahogany Bay, your sea card won’t get you anywhere with these merchants.
 
Labadee is used by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships.
 
Princess Cays—Princess’ special island in the Bahamas has a long, lovely beach, with sections to the right and left of the pier, both with waters that are good for swimming and snorkeling, plenty of sandy stretches and padded lounge chairs in the sun and under the palms.

For your own personal space, you can rent one of the colorful air-conditioned beach bungalows. Six hours for four people will set you back $249.95.
 

There’s kayaking and sailing, restaurants and bars, a sprinkling of craft vendors along the left beach, as well as a craft market tucked away not from the pier entrance. To get into the market, though, be sure to bring your driver’s license, because just a sea card and smile won’t be enough to get you past the guard.
 
Also, note that Princess Cays is a tendered port. While only about a 10-minute ride from ship to shore, given the number of people always waiting to board, going back and forth multiple times isn’t really feasible.
 
No matter which of these three islands you end up at, if you’re lucky with the weather, you’ll no doubt be tearing yourself away at the end of the day to make it in time for sail-away.
 
Musing’s Top Tip: For a ton of info on what to do, what to see and videos on both, what weather to expect, where there’s wi-fi and much more in Roatan and other port stops, check out cruiseportinsider.com.

Photos by RJ Greenburg