Anyone been to a midnight buffet recently??

[matymil]

They had a "throwback night" afew months ago on the Vista. I'm not sure if it was the fact that they lined us up in the elevator lobby, the fact we cruised out of NYC or that it was the first cruise of the Vista out of the USA (a lot of platinum & diamond) but that experience nearly ruined the trip. The doors opened alil late but once they let ppl in the best way to describe it is "the electronics department of Wal Mart on black Friday". Seriously, people were pushing, elbows were being thrown. The food didn't last long ....we saw a woman literally pick up an entire cake off of the table...people were walking off with other displays. I ended up turning around and leaving while my wife and our friends who braved it out got a couple slices of cheese and an orange (literally). You would have thought these people hadn't eaten in a week. Just wondering if other boats where doing this and if they had the same result. Or was this an experiment. BTW John Heald was on this cruise with us and had a lot to say about the midnight buffet the next day in his blog lol.

[easyboy]

The doors opened alil late but once they let ppl in the best way to describe it is "the electronics department of Wal Mart on black Friday".

That was an appropriate description!

 

 

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[matymil]

That was an appropriate description!

 

 

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I take it you were on the same cruise?? :')

[meatloafsfan]

You were one what is classed as a "Journey cruise" - they tend to be longer with more interesting itineraries. They have the throwback sea day which is 80's themed and includes both the traditional Captain's Celebration (with food and free drinks) and the midnight buffet.

 

We had the midnight buffet on both of our Pride Journey cruises and did not have the same experience as you. They opened the buffet first for pictures only (no food was allowed to be touched - you could just walk through to take pictures) and then they closed the doors. The doors were reopened a short time later to enjoy the buffet.

[matymil]

You were one what is classed as a "Journey cruise" - they tend to be longer with more interesting itineraries. They have the throwback sea day which is 80's themed and includes both the traditional Captain's Celebration (with food and free drinks) and the midnight buffet.

 

We had the midnight buffet on both of our Pride Journey cruises and did not have the same experience as you. They opened the buffet first for pictures only (no food was allowed to be touched - you could just walk through to take pictures) and then they closed the doors. The doors were reopened a short time later to enjoy the buffet.

 

Yeah they did pictures beforehand on ours as well. It must have been a combo of the ppl on the ship and the fact that we were at max capacity.

[13cheermom]

We also had a midnight buffet on a Bermuda cruise, with same set-up. My husband and I were'nt expecting it or somehow missed the announcement so basically we just took pictures of everything. Didn't notice any behavior as described, sounds like it was a different crowd. We will be doing a 14-day Journey cruise next year, hope that we can plan and get to enjoy some of the food next time. :D

[jakesnana]

We had a Midnight Buffet on our 11 night Legend Journeys cruise in April. I went in to take pictures and noticed the HUGE line of people waiting to get in to eat as I was leaving. I didn't stay to eat so I can't comment on their behavior, but I would expect better than you described. This was a longer cruise so it had an older demographic. I think most of the people who went were going for the novelty of it. I started cruising in the late 80's when they used to do this every night (imagine the waste and cost), so it wasn't a big deal to us. Also, as I get older I simply don't want to eat that heavy at midnight :)

[cruzeluver]

We had one on our Sunshine Journeys cruise last year, but in no way did we see the barbaric, low-class behavior described by the OP. That is quite unfortunate.

[maryred]

I was on that 11 day Vista Journeys cruise out of NYC in Nov 2016. This was my second Journeys cruise and I have to admit the behavior of the passengers was appalling during most of the cruise including the Midnight Gala Buffet. It was so bad that after the picture session our family just gave up and went to the Lido deck for the late night bites there.. In part I do find fault with the crew mostly because they are instructed to never say NO to a passenger unless it is a action that will physically hurt the passenger or others (ie. diving in the pool or sitting on rails). But most of the problem we noticed, this ship had a very large passenger capacity with may new features and public venues, but many of the common public areas were too small to accommodate the crowds that would show up for various events. Some even smaller than on Spirit Class (Carnival oldest) of ships. This would lead to overcrowding, and in some cases a lack of seats or supplies which cause the frustration levels to crank up.

This was in complete contrast to the 14 day Journeys cruise on the Pride earlier the same year. The size of the ship may of had a lot to do with it, being smaller and having half the passenger capacity of the Vista. But also in that case many of the crew had worked multiple contracts together on the same ship and had a good feel and rapport with the returning "local" platinums and diamonds that gravitate towards this type of cruise.

Hopefully Carnival will learn from the Vista's problems and incorporates some sort of compromise when doing the Horizon and the other ship of this class slated for them.

[crusinpsychRN]

I've been to several in the old days. Tell me, has anyone eaten anything at these? They spend too much time on pictures and I can't stay up any longer to get anything to eat.

[sanmarcosman]

Some even smaller than on Spirit Class (Carnival oldest) of ships.

No, Fantasy Class ships are the oldest in the fleet and truth be told the Spirit Class ships have the highest space ratio per passenger of all classes of Carnival ships.

[mississauga]

We have been on 3 journey cruises with the midnight buffet. All were well controlled and there was no shoving or pushing as decribed by the OP. Have never seen appalling behavior like that.

 

Someone blamed it on the crew. I do not think that the crew should be responsible of the bad behavior of the passengers/guests.

 

The buffet is there for everyone to enjoy and partake as self serve. How could the crew prevent shoving, elbowing and pushing? Each individual needs to take responsibility for their own behavior. Obviously on this cruise, they did not. Did you expect the crew to jump in and stop this behavior? How?

[maryred]

No, Fantasy Class ships are the oldest in the fleet and truth be told the Spirit Class ships have the highest space ratio per passenger of all classes of Carnival ships.

I stand corrected. But you have to admit on the Pride and her sister ships other than Comedy Club you never feel crowded when in the public areas.

 

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[sanmarcosman]

I stand corrected. But you have to admit on the Pride and her sister ships other than Comedy Club you never feel crowded when in the public areas.

 

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Yes, the lack of crowding is because the Spirit class offers the greatest space per person ratio at a ratio of 1:40.43 while the Vista Class only has a per passenger space ratio of 1:33.75 which gives each Spirit Class passenger 6.68 more cubic feet of space to enjoy than on the Vista Class. Your mind wasn't imagining things, Spirit Class is roomier by 16.5%

[cthrn27]

Excuse me. What does it mean when a cruise is a journeys cruise?

[13cheermom]

Excuse me. What does it mean when a cruise is a journeys cruise?

 

It's just a longer than normal cruise anything over the typical 7 or 8 day length. They can be 10, 12, 13,14 etc. We actually are going on a 14-day next fall on the Breeze to Southern Caribbean to 9 different ports ( 5 of these we havent been to before because they aren't on usual itineraries). These cruises tend to run a little bit pricey and do book up quickly. We decided it would be a great opportunity to see some new ports as well as staying in the same cabin the entire time and enjoying one long continuous voyage. The fact that the Breeze will be leaving from Port Canaveral (our favorite port) and because it's sailing in November (our favorite month to cruise) is just an extra bonus! :D

[riclop]

That is a thing of the past.

[Organized Chaos]

Someone blamed it on the crew. I do not think that the crew should be responsible of the bad behavior of the passengers/guests.

 

The buffet is there for everyone to enjoy and partake as self serve. How could the crew prevent shoving, elbowing and pushing? Each individual needs to take responsibility for their own behavior. Obviously on this cruise, they did not. Did you expect the crew to jump in and stop this behavior? How?

I think what they meant was, the crew did nothing to try to control the situation. They just let things get out of control. They're not responsible for the bad behavior of passengers, but they also shouldn't let passengers behave in ways that could harm others, breaks the rules, or disrupt others. The problem is, they often don't enforce the rules in fear that they'll offend a customer or risk their job. How could they have prevented what happened? By not letting it get out of hand in the first place. Nip it in the bud, so to speak, before it got crazy. Bring in security if they have to. Yes, passengers need to take responsibility for their own behavior, but in the real world, not everyone does. It's no different on land. That's when measures need to be taken to ensure they behave themselves.

[sanmarcosman]

I think what they meant was, the crew did nothing to try to control the situation. They just let things get out of control. They're not responsible for the bad behavior of passengers, but they also shouldn't let passengers behave in ways that could harm others, breaks the rules, or disrupt others. The problem is, they often don't enforce the rules in fear that they'll offend a customer or risk their job. How could they have prevented what happened? By not letting it get out of hand in the first place. Nip it in the bud, so to speak, before it got crazy. Bring in security if they have to. Yes, passengers need to take responsibility for their own behavior, but in the real world, not everyone does. It's no different on land. That's when measures need to be taken to ensure they behave themselves.

That's right. What the OP describes sounds like a vicious Black Friday sale where security often gets involved. Carnival management should have been present in numbers and asserted themselves in this situation.

[sanmarcosman]

That is a thing of the past.

Uh no, it's been clearly established this Midnight Buffet took place on a Carnival Journeys Cruise that features a Midnight Buffet of old. Thread titles can be misleading and reading the actual thread often clarifies the subject.

[mississauga]

I think what they meant was, the crew did nothing to try to control the situation. They just let things get out of control. They're not responsible for the bad behavior of passengers, but they also shouldn't let passengers behave in ways that could harm others, breaks the rules, or disrupt others. The problem is, they often don't enforce the rules in fear that they'll offend a customer or risk their job. How could they have prevented what happened? By not letting it get out of hand in the first place. Nip it in the bud, so to speak, before it got crazy. Bring in security if they have to. Yes, passengers need to take responsibility for their own behavior, but in the real world, not everyone does. It's no different on land. That's when measures need to be taken to ensure they behave themselves.

 

 

 

I was not on this cruise so don't know how bad it got. If it's a situation where security needs to get involved, I hope I am never on a cruise with these type of people.

[Cabron]

Okay, I laughed.

 

Vivid description OP. Not surprising if true. Some of these cruisers are animals anyway. Add a midnight alcohol-fueled sugar binge, and I can see this happening, absolutely!

 

I would just enjoy it for what it is: a spectacle of sub-human, life-imitates-art fiasco. Laugh it off and hope for better next time!

[matymil]

We have been on 3 journey cruises with the midnight buffet. All were well controlled and there was no shoving or pushing as decribed by the OP. Have never seen appalling behavior like that.

 

Someone blamed it on the crew. I do not think that the crew should be responsible of the bad behavior of the passengers/guests.

 

The buffet is there for everyone to enjoy and partake as self serve. How could the crew prevent shoving, elbowing and pushing? Each individual needs to take responsibility for their own behavior. Obviously on this cruise, they did not. Did you expect the crew to jump in and stop this behavior? How?

 

The crew in my experience was fantastic. The problem was the lack of crew in the entrance area...it was probably an area that should have old several dozen and had several hundred in there. There may well have been some of the crew that helped out but after I got through the door I only took about 10 steps and had, had enough. Out of all the ppl that I talked to who were there, I heard not one positive word about the experience.

[Crusin5252]

We did B2B Journeys cruises (21 days) on the Pride. There was no pushing, shoving, and bad behavior at the buffet. We had plenty of food to choose from, but I was not overly impressed with the choices. When they used to have the midnight buffet on every cruise, there were a lot more choices in the food.

[Towel Critter]

I'm guessing a mixture of public space to passenger ratio and a large number of New Yorkers on board. Just a wild guess. ;-) I hope with the new sardine can ships this doesn't become the norm. Nah, I don't think it will, except on cruises from certain ports maybe.