Special Buffet????

[deedee290]

I know the days of the midnight buffets are gone (darn) I can remember lining up outside the dining room to see all the beauitful foods, taking pictures and eating! Does X have a special buffet during the day? I know on my last RCC cruise they had food and displays in the afternoon. Just curious.

[cruisestitch]

Once per cruise there is a buffet that replaces the MDR breakfast and lunch that day. They don't generally make a big deal of it in the Daily, but you'll know which day it is because there is no breakfast offered in the MDR that morning.

[dln929]

Ask your waiter when the gala brunch will be held. It's easy to miss it in the Celebrity Today. And take your camera!

[ghstudio]

When you get your daily schedule, look on the back page under restaurant times.....that's the only place it's announced in writing. Your waiter in the MDR may mention something to you the night before...or may not. We have never had anyone mention it to us in Blu. It is not mentioned in the morning PA announcement either. On our last cruise, the CD did mention it at the evening show the night before....but that was a shocking exception.

[TomMMD]

On our recent Summit trip out of San Juan there we two special events.

 

1. One night there was "Caribbean Night" on the pool deck about 10 pm or so. They had grilles going for barbecue as well as buffet tables.

 

It included ice sculptures and lots of flower arrangements.

 

2. On the sea day they had a huge lunch buffet in the MDR with several types of smoked fish, fresh anchovies, sushi, and the usual buffet items.

 

The food tables were decorated with carved fruit & vegetables.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Lois R]

They usually have a brunch and they normally have it printed in your

daily (which day it will be held).

[TeaBag]

The special brunch is usually on a sea day and starts at 10AM. There are lots of breakfast items, waffles etc and then the lunch items, a huge roast being carved, seafood, cold cuts, salads, too much stuff to mention. I love the two chocolate fountains and all the fresh fruit to dip.

[ghstudio]

They usually have a brunch and they normally have it printed in your

daily (which day it will be held).

 

No...it is not published on the daily schedule...it is only shown under the meal times in the main dining room. This was true on the equinox, eclipse and millenium in the past 12 months....so I'd say it's fleetwide. If you don't look at the daily bulletin carefully, you could easily miss it.

[tserface]

OMG stop... I can't take it any more. Our cruise is not for another 48 days and your description has me getting so hungry.

 

:)

 

Tom

 

The special brunch is usually on a sea day and starts at 10AM. There are lots of breakfast items, waffles etc and then the lunch items, a huge roast being carved, seafood, cold cuts, salads, too much stuff to mention. I love the two chocolate fountains and all the fresh fruit to dip.

[Lois R]

No...it is not published on the daily schedule...it is only shown under the meal times in the main dining room. This was true on the equinox, eclipse and millenium in the past 12 months....so I'd say it's fleetwide. If you don't look at the daily bulletin carefully, you could easily miss it.

 

Oh......well you told me:eek:...I know I had read it in my daily over the

years....maybe they have stopped printing it. Or I am just wrong....

nothing new there........sorry if I posted incorrect information.

[Bailey & Sophie]

We've missed 3 out of 4 of the brunches. The first two times we didn't know there was one! Last year the CD mentioned it at the show. This year we missed it again! No one mentioned it - not our waiter, the CD or at the show. I looked and looked for it on the Celebrity Today & found it the next day. It's in tiny print on the back page, under MDR hours.

WATCH THE CELEBTRITY TODAY! It may be your only notice.

[AlaskaGolden]

We've missed 3 out of 4 of the brunches. The first two times we didn't know there was one! Last year the CD mentioned it at the show. This year we missed it again! No one mentioned it - not our waiter, the CD or at the show. I looked and looked for it on the Celebrity Today & found it the next day. It's in tiny print on the back page, under MDR hours.

WATCH THE CELEBTRITY TODAY! It may be your only notice.

 

If there are 2 days at sea on a cruise, would the brunch buffet usually be on the second sea day?:confused: That's what I'm telling our large group!:eek:

[TeaBag]

I think it would be the second sea day but I could be wrong and someone will correct me if I am.

[TeaBag]

Check out this thread by TLCOhio

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

 

The pictures he has taken of the brunch tell it all. His pictures are always amazing. You have to scroll down a ways to see the beginning of the brunch pictures.

[lexmiller]

When we cruised on the Equinox and the Solstice, non Aqua Class, our servers in the main dining room (MDR) made a big point of making sure we knew about the Grand Buffet the next day. However, we have sailed Aqua Class 3 times now, twice on Solstice, once on the Summit, and never was the Grand Buffet announced to us. You must keep an eagle eye on your daily newsletter which arrives in your cabin every night at turndown - along with your chocolates and towel art (towel art is inconsistent in Aqua Class, which I think is interesting, as if towel art is beneath the sophistication of the typical Aqua Class passenger, hmmmm, not this one, I love it!). You have to be able to read the restaurant info on the back - the notice for the buffet is very subtle, easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. There is nothing in bold letters on the front page, so be aware. All of this said, I have to say that personally, we find the Grand Buffet to be very hectic - not relaxing in any way. Despite it's low profile in the daily news letter, everyone finds out about it, and it is MOBBED. You walk around from food station to food station, clutching your plate tightly for fear of getting it knocked out of your hands from an inadvertent shoulder bump, and by the time you get back to your table, often, your food is cold........what works best for us is to go and LOOK at the spectacle - take photos of the ice sculptures, etc, but to actually eat elsewhere.

[cruisestitch]

I have asked why they don't make a bigger announcement and was told that in fact, they don't have room for everyone on the ship to attend so they don't push it.

 

However, there was a small listing on p.2 of the daily on Reflection in January 2013. Not on the front page, with other "featured activities". I noted it specifically because it was the first time I had ever seen a listing for it.

 

So Lois, you're probably not imagining things, but it was a rare sighting!

[Gig103]

I would have missed it if we hadn't been at Hubbard Glacier the same morning! On our way down from the upper decks, we were following the crowd and overheard someone mentioning it, so we followed... I loved it, especially on the Millennium with the Hubbard Glacier out the huge rear window of the restaurant as we steamed away.

 

Celebrity should put it in the list of daily activities, or as a special notice,7 instead of under restaurant times.

[CathyCruises]

Here is my (typically negative) view of the "Grand Buffet". It's by and large the exact same food that you get in the Oceanview Cafe, just served in a different venue with ice sculptures. I ended up having the same thing I have every day with a few raspberries thrown in. Seriously. Check it out next time you cruise. There's the waffle station, the omelette station, the stir fry section, etc. It's fine, if you like buffets and are tired of the view upstairs!! :rolleyes:

 

If I missed something different or spectacular, please let me know.

[flapr]

Just came off Infinity last Sunday, and yes, they don't make a big hoopla about the brunch buffet. Our waiter mentioned it the night before.

[ghstudio]

Here is my (typically negative) view of the "Grand Buffet". It's by and large the exact same food that you get in the Oceanview Cafe, just served in a different venue with ice sculptures. I ended up having the same thing I have every day with a few raspberries thrown in. Seriously. Check it out next time you cruise. There's the waffle station, the omelette station, the stir fry section, etc. It's fine, if you like buffets and are tired of the view upstairs!! :rolleyes:

 

If I missed something different or spectacular, please let me know.

 

There are a few differences...I've found gravlox in addition to the smoked salmon...as well as whitefish (or similar); they have shrimp cocktail; and they have more desserts including non-fat swans (not like the old ones some of us remember which were definitely not non-fat) and chocolate fountains and crepes for dessert. It's also the only time you can get sushi for lunch :)

 

However, I agree, it's a bit of a madhouse if you come at 10 when it opens...but if you arrive later...11:30 or so, it seems to be pretty manageable.

[Lois R]

I have asked why they don't make a bigger announcement and was told that in fact, they don't have room for everyone on the ship to attend so they don't push it.

 

However, there was a small listing on p.2 of the daily on Reflection in January 2013. Not on the front page, with other "featured activities". I noted it specifically because it was the first time I had ever seen a listing for it.

 

So Lois, you're probably not imagining things, but it was a rare sighting!

 

Thank you...I knew I had read it in the daily before.

[rnrcruzin]

Hummmmmm. It seems the less people know about this, the more there is for me.:D

[Happy2cruise]

Hummmmmm. It seems the less people know about this, the more there is for me.:D

My husband's thinking too!!