Went on a [MOD CUT] Cruise, the buffet was just TERRIBLE! (dinner, cheap)

[pretty but odd]

Cruising the islands south of Florida on a [Mod cut.] Cruise was lots of fun until it was time for lunch or dinner. We headed to the buffet. There was lots of food but the quality was just TERRIBLE. I have been to many different buffets and their food was deluxe in comparison to the buffet on[Mod cut.]. By the end of the week, I could not face the food and just did not eat.

The food at the free sit down restaurant was not so good either. (I had no money in my buffet for the paid restaurants.)

Your thoughts about the food quality at the [Mod cut.] Cruise ship buffets? (And the other ships)

[Jkgourmet]

I'm wondering why you chose to eat at the buffet for dinner every night - remain dining room isn't extra cost. But whatever.

Food is probably the most subjective topic related to cruising. I guarantee you that What you think is terrible someone else thought was delicious.

For example, We enjoyed the food on MSC. Others complained about it rather strongly. We disliked the food in the main dining room on NCL and wouldn't sail them again without budgeting for dinner in the extra cost restaurants for several nights. Others think the MDR food is terrific.

We've always enjoyed the buffet on Celebrity. More for the variety of choices than the 'deliciousness'. Especially like the multiple ethnic stations. We also have lunch in port restaurant quite often when we cruise.

[athena53]

Originally Posted by pretty but odd

Cruising the islands south of Florida on a [Mod cut.] Cruise was lots of fun until it was time for lunch or dinner. We headed to the buffet. There was lots of food but the quality was just TERRIBLE. <snip>

The food at the free sit down restaurant was not so good either. (I had no money in my budget for the paid restaurants.)

Your thoughts about the food quality at the [Mod cut.] Cruise ship buffets? (And the other ships)

Never been on a [Mod cut.] cruise ship (have been on UnCruise 4 times but that's <100 passengers, totally different). My impression from reading a lot of posts on CruiseCritic is that the lower-cost liens such as [Mod cut.] price the cruises as cheaply as possible to get you on board- and then you're an "income stream". They really make their money from all the extra charges- drinks packages, excursions, selling photos, the gift shop, the spa, etc. Given this, it makes perfect business sense to have not-so-great offerings in the main dining room and at the buffet: not only does it cut their food costs, but it drives more people to the restaurants with "upcharges", motivates others to get their meals in port, and, as in your case, just eat less.

And, to be fair, I cannot imagine how any cruise line can store and prepare enough food for a several-day cruise for a few thousand people and do a decent job of it.

[rjm1cc]

In general I think the quality dropped a little on several cruise lines and is currently on the way back up. Having said that I don't think most guest will have a problem finding something they can eat. The problem is finding too much of what you can eat.

[Ruth4Truth]

Some of the cruise lines, [Mod cut.], for one, went in big for the cattle car approach to cruising; bigger boats to enable cheaper fares, then recruiting heavily in the developing world: Latin America, Hong Kong, India. I went on one of their cruises just as they were transitioning over to a lower-end market. The only people who thought the food was good were the 3rd-worlders. They raved about it! The rest of us were "meh". Buffet or dining rooms, made no difference.

I'm guessing this was the problem you encountered.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Some of the cruise lines, [Mod cut.], for one, went in big for the cattle car approach to cruising; bigger boats to enable cheaper fares, then recruiting heavily in the developing world: Latin America, Hong Kong, India. I went on one of their cruises just as they were transitioning over to a lower-end market. The only people who thought the food was good were the 3rd-worlders. They raved about it! The rest of us were "meh". Buffet or dining rooms, made no difference.

I'm guessing this was the problem you encountered.

There are so many misstatements in this post that it makes me wonder if you have actually been On a cruise.

Hong Kong is a "developing country"?!!? Umm, it's not even a country. More importantly, I think it's like the 10th or 12th largest world economy.

There are SO many different methods of analyzing and defining "developing countries" - there is no universal measure and debates are commonplace. But you're not gonna find many that would include Latin America in their list.

India - that's a pretty accurate inclusion.

I've taken 25+ cruises and have NEVER heard ANY worker rave OR complain about the food. (One exception - 'Pillow talk' chat with the first officer I dated for 1.5 years.) I'd venture a guess that the staff is explicitly trained to not make comments like that.

[charlygal]

[Mod cut.] ships have multiple free eating places. The buffet, deli, MDR, pizza shop, BBQ, burger place, Mexican place, room service. You couldn't find anything to eat?

Also, the paid restaurant is about $35. Who cruises without $35?

I suspect some shenanigans here. Unrealistic expectations at the very least.

[PJSaturn]

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