Cruise dining is one of the best parts of going on a cruise. However, many cruise passengers have a love/hate relationship with the cruise ship buffet! Here are some cruise buffet mistakes to avoid, as well as the cruise etiquette rules you should know.
These cruise tips for the buffet on a cruise will help you to enjoy your cruise dining experience & all the cruise food your cruise ship has to offer! Whether you’re going on a cruise for the first time, or it’s been a while & you’re wondering about changes on cruises, this video will help!
In this video we go over what not to do on a cruise at the buffet, as well as some things you should know about cruise dining on embarkation day, food allergies, cruise ship etiquette & more.
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ABOUT ME
Hi! I’m Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!
Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
Some of the video footage used in this video courtesy of RCCL
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22 Comments
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Went on a 10 day cruise in July 2023, Carnival had the worst buffet food and the coffee was horrible, not just my opinion but heard it from many passengers, I voiced my concerns and the staff could care less, they told me to add more hot water to my cup to help water down the coffee. the coffee was so strong and they could care less, we will never take a carnival cruise again…
Do most cruise lines now offer buffets? The last time I cruised was several years ago, and the only buffet was the late-night buffet, which only offered fruits, breads and cheeses.
I see a lot of cruises, where they offer specialty restaurants in addition to the main dining hall. Although those are nice options, we are more interested in the main dining room. However, it seems that the cruise culture has changed over the years. It seems meals in the main dining rooms are no longer covered by the basic cruise rate, and that all meals are a la carte/extra than included in the room rate. Do any cruise lines still cover the main dining room meals with the room rates?
Take all you want……Eat what you take ⁉️😱⁉️
Had some kids touching all food and not taking it and one kid sneezed on the food and the parents didn't say a thing. I did that's gross.
What about all of the dirty salt and pepper shakers ????
I saw one time this man grab a donut at breakfast in windjammer smell it lick it then put it back so disgusting 🤢
The two cases of food poisoning in my recent memory on cruises… did not come from buffet dining, but from full service restaurants. One came from a specialty restaurant, and the other from the main dining room. So, misfortunes do not only come from the buffet. But yes, I wish the excuses-for-parent would keep their little ill-disciplined tyrants under control.
The only issues I see with the buffets are that there are too many great choices. In such a situation, I tend to get so overwhelmed with so many options that I become unsure what to pick and what to leave. Because so many of them look appealing, I really want to try some of everything, except obviously I don't have enough room in me to be able to do so. It causes me a little confusion on which options to take. I dunno, does this make sense?
I had been on a few cruises when I was younger although not in recent years. If it'd be anything like before, on a cruise, I'll be tempted to do some drinking. But I know that I must limit how many drinks to have because I take opiate painkillers regularly for chronic pain condition that I have. I'm guessing that I can probably have 2 or maybe 3 drinks tops. When I went on my cruises when younger, I went to the club at night and had no limit on the drinking, but I wasn't taking painkillers then. I suppose that for now, 2 or 3 drinks tops would be fine either way because 1) I'm now too old for the night club, and 2) more than a few drinks hurts my appetite and it would get in the way of me wanting to try all that good food. Even when I went on the cruises during my young days, I didn't really feel like eating the first half of the day after drinking and clubbing the previous night.
Well, either way, they were some good times. It was the 90s and I went on 3 different cruises, Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas, a Carnival cruise liner, and went on the QE2 from NY to England
I am absolutely appalled by the manners of MANY people on cruises…putting their fingers in dishes then licking them to taste the dish, coughing all over the food, refusing to wash their hands before eating .. i could go on…and on…and on.
People act like wild animals withoiut minds at the buffets. It's like they will NEVER EVER eat again and they eat like pigs. I get grossed out at the amount of food some people THINK they can eat and then trashing it or leaving it on a table to go bad and gross. SICK! I really wish people on cruises would be REQUIRED to do a cruise eitquette video like this in addition to the MUSTER drill. Maybe they would think twice about being disgusting.
Sounds like she is advising children , not adults who should know all this.
Hi Ilana, I love your website and thkz. for all your tips. I live in Capetown South Africa and planning my first trip, can you plz. give me advice, can I use South Africa money on the MSC from Capetown to Namibia, and how many bottles of wine.
There's few things more disgusting than witnessing the morbidly obese waddle there way through the buffet piling their plates 12" high.
I haven’t cruised in a long time. The older I get the more I have a hard time tolerating rude behavior. ( I promise I’m not perfect). Usually starts happening Day 3. I’ve seen people cutting in line under the pretense of joining friends or family members who are already in line. I’ve seen people grab food at the buffet with their hands but then change their mind and put it back. It sucks because I would usually politely point out their behavior but when I’m there on a cruise I don’t want to “be that guy”.
if you are really hungry, get a desert and then take your time and get your food. that dessert will keep you from taking food you cant eat
Food was lower quality on this particular cruise & we were only allowed to have bacon every other day! 🤷🏻♀️I really want bacon every day on vacation 🥓🥓🥓🥓🥓🥓🥓
I tried the buffet twice & it was not good. But the desserts, including the Sugar free desserts, were delicious!
So the rest of the cruise I only ate breakfast & then a dessert midday and then dinner in the dining room. I only gained 2 lbs, fair enough. 🎂🍰🧁🍪
This wasn't on a cruise ship, but it was at a potluck! It was so disgusting that I remember it from a few decades ago. At the potluck, there was a whole baked turkey. One of the servers was literally using her hands to break pieces of the turkey. Each person was getting turkey that had been handled by this mom. Safe to say, I didn't have turkey that day.
Best one was a guy in his robe at the buffet but the manager asked him to leave. Is really up to the buffet managers to enforce those rules
I eat off a bread plate on a cruise because I don't want to put on weight LOL and stick to the healthy foods
I wish people would only touch what THEY are using. Never grab a plate and put it back on the clean plate stack.
Also, people ready need to be self aware. I can't tell you how many times I've observed people ahead touching their hair/face/nose and touching utensils. 🤢 I will immediately get out of line. It's a main reason I struggle with buffets at times.