Buffet vs. MDR

Last time I was on a Carnival cruise was back in 2011 on the Glory. I liked the dining room, but there was a lack of choices. One night I got fed up and popped up to the buffet while the rest of the party was waiting for dessert. The buffet had the SAME items as the MDR plus a whole lot more. I made a plate of desserts for the table (that were not on the MDR menu) and brought it back down to everyone's delight.

I checked out the menus posted for the Horizon, and they seem to have quite a bit of variety, so I'm confident there will be lots to try in the MDR. I prefer the MDR for breakfast since I like eggs benedict, and the odds of getting a runny yolk at the buffet are slim and none. (Heat lamps keep cooking eggs while they sit there.) However, maybe the buffet for dinner will be more my style on Carnival?

We mix it up - enjoy both. But we’re sure to tell our MDR wait staff when we won’t be there the next night, they appreciate the consideration.

the odds of getting a runny yolk at the buffet are slim and none. (Heat lamps keep cooking eggs while they sit there.)

Hate to surprise you, but all you need to do is go to the omelette station and you can get sunny side up, or over easy eggs cooked for you and they'll be nice and hot for you to enjoy.

They do keep way to much stuff out on the buffet for breakfast. Wish they would turn their food over faster.

Toast can be made hours before it is put out, hate to think how old the eggs tha are sitting out are.

Buffet will have most of what the MDR has but not all (such as no lobster on the buffet on lobster night).

Buffet will have most of what the MDR has but not all (such as no lobster on the buffet on lobster night).

I wish they would announce lobster night in the daily paper on the ship. I alusuakly eat all meals in the buffet, and only find out about it afterwards. Waaaaa.

Damn cell phone. The word is "usually'.

Usually, it is on the first formal night. It's the only reason I bring slacks on a cruise. ;)

I wish they would announce lobster night in the daily paper on the ship. I alusuakly eat all meals in the buffet, and only find out about it afterwards. Waaaaa.

The menu is posted each day (not sure exactly what time) outside of the entrance to the dining room. We check it every day to decide if we want to eat in the MDR or go to the buffet.

The menu is posted each day (not sure exactly what time) outside of the entrance to the dining room. We check it every day to decide if we want to eat in the MDR or go to the buffet.

They also post it on the Carnival Hub App every day

I wish they would announce lobster night in the daily paper on the ship. I alusuakly eat all meals in the buffet, and only find out about it afterwards. Waaaaa.

Menu's are on the Hub App. They are also posted outside the MDR. And lobster is traditionally the first formal night. Finally, lobster is just a really big shrimp/crab thing. It's good, but not that much better than most other offerings.

Menu's are on the Hub App. They are also posted outside the MDR. And lobster is traditionally the first formal night. Finally, lobster is just a really big shrimp/crab thing. It's good, but not that much better than most other offerings.

There are many people who eat only in the buffet on a cruise - they want the variety of food, they want to eat quicker, they don't want to dress etc.

The MDR is more about the experience because you sit and are served at a leisurely pace and can talk about your day or your plans over a meal. On sea days, our sons have been doing their own thing, and family dinner is a way to meet and catch up. We are on the run so much at home, one of the reasons I love cruising is that I can get waited on at a relaxing pace - for 7 days in a row. This would NEVER happen at home. I am just not a buffet person - brings back too many memories of school as I think I ate at a buffet 5 days a week from the age of 7 until 22.

But to each his own and if you like what the buffet offers, you will certainly find plenty of options there. It's your vacation and enjoy it as you like!

Hate to surprise you, but all you need to do is go to the omelette station and you can get sunny side up, or over easy eggs cooked for you and they'll be nice and hot for you to enjoy.

Considering the lines for an omelette are usually very long, I think I'll sit down and have them bring it to me instead.

I wish they would announce lobster night in the daily paper on the ship. I alusuakly eat all meals in the buffet, and only find out about it afterwards. Waaaaa.

I like to take a stroll to the entrance area to the dining room some time during each day because they usually have that night's menu posted. I decide then where I plan to eat that evening.

I also wouldn't mind if the MDR menu was a little bigger. What we have to remember is it is mass-food production. When cooking for 2,000-4,000 people, additional items add additional complexity. That is why you'll find a lot of the same things in the buffet

I just discovered on my last cruise that you can find the menu before dinner time. I generally have always found something though. Formal night has an over-abundance of good items. I also try to give priority to the "port of call specialty" item. Had a few good ones there. If there's no other appealing option, I usually fall back on the flat iron steak.

It's not perfect, but we enjoy it. The food and service has always been solid.

I greatly prefer the MDR. Beyond the ease of sitting down, relaxing and having a waiter bring you your food, there's also the social aspect if you like your tablemates. It's a great time to catch up on what everyone did that day. Then there's the quality. The buffet has most of the same stuff, but it's been sitting out for who knows how long and will be dry or overcooked from the heat lamps. The MDR also has some specialty menu items that aren't on the buffet that I also enjoy trying.

But I also get people wanting to do the buffet. It can be a chore to get the family together and dressed and looking nice for the sit down dinner. Sometimes you just want to lay out by the pool all day and then mosey on over the buffet when you're hungry and not worry about all that.

We usually choose whether to eat in the MDR or buffet based on the menu posted outside the MDR. If the menu is appealing to us we eat in the MDR. If not, we eat at the buffet. The food at both places is prepared by the same cooks in the same kitchen and what's on the MDR menu is often available at the buffet. I'll admit that we eat at buffet more often these days, since service has gotten so slow in the MDR. The menu has to be REALLY appealing to me to motivate me to use up an hour and half to two hours of valuable time just for a dinner meal. We rarely eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR. It's nice to put on some nice clothes and enjoy a leisurely dinner on occasion though. Anyway, this is how WE do it. Not saying that everyone should do it our way.

We usually choose whether to eat in the MDR or buffet based on the menu posted outside the MDR. If the menu is appealing to us we eat in the MDR. If not, we eat at the buffet. The food at both places is prepared by the same cooks in the same kitchen and what's on the MDR menu is often available at the buffet. I'll admit that we eat at buffet more often these days, since service has gotten so slow in the MDR. The menu has to be REALLY appealing to me to motivate me to use up an hour and half to two hours of valuable time just for a dinner meal. We rarely eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR. It's nice to put on some nice clothes and enjoy a leisurely dinner on occasion though. Anyway, this is how WE do it. Not saying that everyone should do it our way.

We're getting to be the same way, we thoroughly enjoyed the dinners on the Lido last time, and I'm thinking with going on the Sunshine next year and all the dining options, we may not even set foot in the MDR unless, like you said, the menu really appeals to us. Also, we've decided after our last cruise to avoid the elegant nights in the MDR from now on, we don't eat the "lobster" and the prime rib isn't as good as it used to be, and the service seems even slower and drawn out on these nights, so it's not even worth going for us. We do enjoy the Seaday brunch in the MDR, and one day I might give the new port day breakfast menu a try, but other than that, we really don't plan on spending that much time in the MDR.

Some things on the menu benefit from being plated in the MDR (like the quesadilla) where other things benefit from being served on the buffet (I'm looking at you fried shrimp - I'd rather have as an entrée than an appetizer).

We prefer the MDR (sit down, be served, multiple courses) but will use the buffet for dinner if there's a movie we want to catch.

With having late dining, it's also nice to be able to go up to the buffet when it opens and have a pre-dinner salad that you put together yourself (I like the salad bar better than the pre-made salads served in the dining room). Of course you have to be careful that it doesn't turn into a pre-dinner, dinner because you can see all of the dinner choices.

We do a combo of MDR or buffet for breakfast/brunch/lunch, and buffet for dinner. Gives us the sit down meals and being waited on, but avoids the dress code and longer meal periods of the evening meal.

Last time I was on a Carnival cruise was back in 2011 on the Glory. I liked the dining room, but there was a lack of choices. One night I got fed up and popped up to the buffet while the rest of the party was waiting for dessert. The buffet had the SAME items as the MDR plus a whole lot more. I made a plate of desserts for the table (that were not on the MDR menu) and brought it back down to everyone's delight

I think it's disrespectful to bring outside food into the MDR, and probably against the rules. Maybe next time you could all bring trays of buffet food and not order anything off the MDR menu.

We've eaten in the MDR before but honestly prefer just grabbing something in the buffet or deli or pizza place or Guy's, etc. We don't cruise for the food but for the relaxation and not having to be on a schedule except the one we set for ourselves.

I like eating in MDR but the buffet is so much easier...less time... we usually eat there a couple times per cruise.