Horizon Court or Cafe Caribe???

[morgiemoo]

I will be on the Emerald in 3 weeks and I was wondering, what is the differnce between the Horizon Court buffet and Cafe Caribe buffet? Does one offer more than the other? Is one less crowded that the other? Which do you think has better food? I know the subject of food is VERY opinionated, but I would just like to know the difference. Thank you :D

[Langley Cruisers]

I've been on Emerald and yes, they are basically the same but one offers more selections and one is less crowded than the other. So you were correctly informed. :)

 

I honestly forget which one is further back (I know someone will remind us!) but the further one is always quieter and less crowded. On embarkation day, I just about died with the lines, noise, and crowds... but persevere... it will not be that way at any other time as people get used to the buffet and where to go.

 

Have fun. :)

[AlaskaGolden]

I've been on Emerald and yes, they are basically the same but one offers more selections and one is less crowded than the other. So you were correctly informed. :)

 

I honestly forget which one is further back (I know someone will remind us!) but the further one is always quieter and less crowded. On embarkation day, I just about died with the lines, noise, and crowds... but persevere... it will not be that way at any other time as people get used to the buffet and where to go.

 

Have fun. :)

 

The one offering more selection is the Horizon Food Court Buffet more toward the middle of the ship.

 

The one less crowded is Café Caribe more toward the back (aft) area of the ship usually offering better food than the Horizon, just not quite as many selections as the Horizon.

 

The Horizon is usually closed for dinner; Café Caribe is usually closed between 11 PM and 5 AM. The Horizon opens up again after dinner usually around 10 PM and stays open until the next day until 5:30 PM.

[sultan_sfo]

Ruby Experience only:

 

Breakfast -- both open. Made to order omelets only in HC. Once they had Pate(e) in Cafe Carib at breakfast!

 

Lunch: HC -- regular buffet. Cafe Carib -- Different Theme Lunches each day (Mexican / Indian / Bavarian ...)

 

Dinner: Only Cafe Carib open -- excellent food almost better than MDR except it is self-serve.

[FritzG]

On the Ruby TA in April both HC and Caribe were open at dinner. I don't know if both sides were open in both venues on all evenings, but we had dessert in both of them many nights. We have first seating, and we're don't usually want dessert after dinner so we go to one of the buffets later in the evening for dessert and coffee.

[regnig]

We love the Cafe Caribe for dinner so much so we haven't eaten in the main dining room for 3 years. I do though recommend that prior to grabbing a plate and filling it up walk the entire length of the buffet first to see what is available. Some items that you might expect to be at the beginning like shrimp cocktail or fruit cups you will find at the end instead. Although the layout might be considered a bit strange the variety and quality of food is very good to excellent.

[Woodmnky]

Ruby Experience only:

 

Breakfast -- both open. Made to order omelets only in HC. Once they had Pate(e) in Cafe Carib at breakfast!

 

Lunch: HC -- regular buffet. Cafe Carib -- Different Theme Lunches each day (Mexican / Indian / Bavarian ...)

 

Dinner: Only Cafe Carib open -- excellent food almost better than MDR except it is self-serve.

Things were pretty much the same when we were on the Emerald in January. For breakfast we noticed that Cafe Caribe was mostly continental type items. For lunch, I would walk through both to see what you would like and for dinner only Cafe Caribe was open.

 

As for less crowding, we always head back to Cafe Caribe to find a table. The two buffets are only separated by a doorway and the dining areas for each.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Dinner is only offered at the Cafe Caribe now. They close down the Horizon Court in the evening. Just about everything that is being served on the main dining room menu is in the Cafe Caribe at night.