Why no dinner buffets on river cruises?

Its obvious from the crowds at the dinner buffet on ocean cruise ships that we aren't the only people cruising who prefer buffet for all meals, so why don't river cruises offer some all buffet meals cruises?

 

 

 

Its obvious from the crowds at the dinner buffet on ocean cruise ships that we aren't the only people cruising who prefer buffet for all meals, so why don't river cruises offer some all buffet meals cruises?

How do you know that the "crowds" at the buffet are primarily all the same people at every meal? And on what significant number of all the cruise ships at sea have you witnessed this?

Ia it possible that some of the people at the buffet on ocean cruises did not want to wait for a table to open in the MDR?

We prefer fixed seating so that we have the same table, same waiter each night.

 

Its obvious from the crowds at the dinner buffet on ocean cruise ships that we aren't the only people cruising who prefer buffet for all meals, so why don't river cruises offer some all buffet meals cruises?

It is likely a space issue. Smaller ships simply do not have the space to run multiple meal services.

Having a dinner buffet on River cruises is not logistically possible..unless they would totally eliminate a sit down meal. The reality is that a large majority of cruises (river or ocean) prefer sit down dinners! River boats only have one dining venue (due to space considerations) so cannot offer an alternative buffet similar to Lido's on ocean cruises. On a personal note, DW just reminded me that in more then 3 years of cruising on various ships, we have never had a buffet dinner! It is also interesting that on HAL ships, where they do have a daily dinner buffet in the Lido....they shut it down a 8:00! Meanwhile, the MDR is open for dinner until 9:30. These hours reflect the popularity of both venues.

Hank

It is likely a space issue. Smaller ships simply do not have the space to run multiple meal services.

I think this is much of the reason.

The perceived high demand for buffet dinner may have a lot to do with a certain- fairly small percentage, I think, of people who wish to avoid dress code requirements. In 18 cruises- over 200 days on cruise ships- we have eaten dinner in the buffet less than half a dozen times, typically when we have returned late from a port stop.

There is also the common thought that the buffet has the same dishes as the main dining room, but on the cruises we have been on, that isn't true.

In nearly 20 ocean cruises I have yet to eat dinner in a buffet. Much prefer hot, plated food delivered by a waiter to my already reserved table.

 

Its obvious from the crowds at the dinner buffet on ocean cruise ships that we aren't the only people cruising who prefer buffet for all meals, so why don't river cruises offer some all buffet meals cruises?

because they would never sell out such a cruise. river cruises are by definition more intimate with the on board chefs frequently getting off the ship with the passengers to go shopping at the local farmers market for that nights dinner. they provide upscale dining experiences that cannot be appreciated by self serve feeding trays.

and how do you come to the conclusion that a crowded buffet at DINNER means passengers want All Buffet All The Time?!. I for one actually NVER eat in the buffet 3 meals a day. usually lunch only. and there are far more people who would NEVER set foot in a buffet the entire time.

the clientele attracted by River cruising are NOT Buffet eaters as a general rule.

Viking longships offer a self serve alternate in the Aquavit Terrace for lunch daily and most evenings for dinner . . .

We have had buffet dinner one night each on three of our GCT river cruises. "German Night." They served an extremely wide variety of foods that likely could not have been offered on a plated meal. It was fairly obvious that individual preferences resulted in people not choosing many of the offerings. Different tastes.

Uniworld offers a buffet breakfast and lunch, but in the evening, it is table service and everyone eats at the same time. Since both are in the same restaurant, doing both would be wasteful and difficult logistically as the waiters need to be able to move among the tables without running into passengers milling about with plates of food.

In nearly 20 ocean cruises I have yet to eat dinner in a buffet. Much prefer hot, plated food delivered by a waiter to my already reserved table.

We've eaten many buffet dinners on HAL, Princess and Carnival. HAL had the least amount of pax. Many nights we do see the same pax at the buffet.

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I think this is much of the reason.

 

The perceived high demand for buffet dinner may have a lot to do with a certain- fairly small percentage, I think, of people who wish to avoid dress code requirements. In 18 cruises- over 200 days on cruise ships- we have eaten dinner in the buffet less than half a dozen times, typically when we have returned late from a port stop.

 

There is also the common thought that the buffet has the same dishes as the main dining room, but on the cruises we have been on, that isn't true.

Hey now. I frequent the buffet at night quite a bit. It's not because I dress like what the dress code police deem not appropriate for the MDR. I eat at the buffet because I prefer to not eat red meat, but healthy vegetarian with a little fish and fowl. I do not go for cream soups or cream sauces. So, I can order the pasta, the sides, the one (usually not very appetizing) "vegetarian special" or ask for a special plain grilled (usually overdone) piece of chicken or salmon. The same, tired, uninspired offerings of such in the MDR turn me off. Now, at the buffet, I can whip up a large entree-size salad of ingredients of my choice or make a nice plate of a variety of items that taste better than what I get in the MDR. Most large dining venues are still behind the curve in making appetizing vegetarian fare, probably because it is still not ordered in enough quantity to justify working on something good.

Oceania has the Terrace Grill with cooked-to-order dishes as well as a truly varied and constantly changing selection that strives to highlight cuisine of the region being visited.

What really sets O apart (when it comes to "buffets") is that everything is served by galley staff. No passengers touching the stuff and, if one does touch, fellow passengers will quickly offer a reminder. In addition, wait staff will serve beverages at the table and offer to carry food selections for you. The same is true for Waves, the poolside grill. Where else at sea can you have a daily lunch of lobster and filet mignon with truffle fries???

Often we will prefer the Terrace over the GDR when preferred specialty restaurants (no extra charge) don't have reservation times that suit our needs.

The riverboats that cruise US rivers have buffets for breakfast and lunch. I toured one when it was docked here in Pittsburgh and they certainly had a buffet going on.

Well if you want to eat at a buffet every night, don't go on a river cruise.

I rarely set foot in the MDR I like the choices in the buffet and don't want to sit and wait for the slow service in the dining room, has nothing to do with dress code. When we dine in the MDR we always dress to dress code or above including going all out on elegant night with formal wear. We even do formal wear for the buffet lol No reason not to dress up and have fun just because you aren't sitting at a table for 1-2 hours waiting to be served.

I don't mind MDR for brunch or lunch now and then but dinner service drags out far too long for my liking. If others enjoy it, awesome, for me I'd rather grab something quick and go do another activity.

Considering the average river cruise only has room for 200 passengers (often less) it just isn't economically feasible to offer a choice of menu service or a buffet dinner. Also dining is in the same dining room for the buffet breakfast and lunch and then seated dinner. However, many times the river cruise ship is docked and the passengers who want to can go into town to eat so perhaps those who want a buffet could avail themselves of buffet food on land, if they can find one. The other thing is that river cruise ships don't typically have a corporate menu like the large cruise ships at sea. The menus are usually designed so that the chef can source local ingredients along the river and the food is generally the type of food served in that region of the country you are visiting plus there are a few standard options such as a filet mignon, breast of chicken or simple pasta dish. The nightly dinner offerings tend to be much more elaborate and much fresher than what you get on a sea-going cruise ship, including the vegetarian offerings. So, to me, I can't think of any good reason not to eat the local offerings on the river cruise ship - they are great in my experience AND I really enjoy getting to try food from the area in which I am traveling instead of the weird food experiences on a large sea-going cruise ship where you have spent the day in Rome and at dinner it's Asian night which seems grossly out of sync with the trip.

The entire subject of MDR vs Buffet is truly one of those "different strokes for different folks" kind of things. DW and I love the socialization in the MDR (we prefer to share tables with several other couples) and really enjoy the socialization. As to the speed of service, we view it as "dining" as opposed to the fast food concept of buffets. When we have a good table (which is often) we are usually in the MDR for at least 1 1/2 hours (we eat late so the waiters are not trying to push us out the door). But we do understand that others see dining as a fast food/quick thing and want to get in and out (good name for a fast food burger joint) ASAP.

We would just add that during our forty+ years of cruising, it is in the MDR (usually at dinner) where we have made many wonderful friends. If we are on a ship for 50 days, and eat with the same folks most nights, we will get to spend at least 75 hours chatting with those folks...so you really get to know people. We prefer open seatings so that we often will end up forming our own table within the first few days of a cruise.

Hank

It is likely a space issue. Smaller ships simply do not have the space to run multiple meal services.

River cruises almost always have buffet lunch & breakfast. They have no problem doing buffets.

River cruises almost always have buffet lunch & breakfast. They have no problem doing buffets.

Yes, but it's in the same space as the dinner sit down service. Don't have space to do both at the same time.

Yes, but it's in the same space as the dinner sit down service. Don't have space to do both at the same time.

Originally Posted by kb0000 View Post

River cruises almost always have buffet lunch & breakfast. They have no problem doing buffets.

Yes, but it's in the same space as the dinner sit down service. Don't have space to do both at the same time.

Don't offer both on the same cruise. Offer cruises that have either sit down or buffet dinners. I just grabbed the nearest cruise catalog for 2017 35 identical itineraries. Make some of them buffet dinners

 

Its obvious from the crowds at the dinner buffet on ocean cruise ships that we aren't the only people cruising who prefer buffet for all meals, so why don't river cruises offer some all buffet meals cruises?

There is only 1 dining room on river boats. Where are you going to put the people who would preferred to be served dinner - like me?

DON

Those of us who enjoy river cruises prefer to dine, not just grab some food and shovel it into our mouths.