Is the Cruise Ship Buffet Dying? Why Food Halls Are Taking Over
In the early days of cruising, the buffet was one of only two food options on board, besides the main dining room. In concept, it’s easy to see the appeal of a buffet. You can select from a variety of different dishes, mix different cuisines, not worry about being hungry, and it’s relatively quick, with no need to wait in long lines, and it doesn’t cost extra. But in reality, the cruise buffet is not necessarily so appealing.
Thousands of people go through the area during one meal service, with food that can sit out for long periods, overcooking and drying out, utensils touched countless times, and long lines. In addition, with recent cutbacks from the cruise lines, the higher-quality items you might have seen at previous buffets, like carving stations with good cuts of roasted meats, seafood towers, and chocolate fountains, have been cut in favor of cheaper foods like breads, pastas, and carbs.
For many cruisers, the buffet has been a tradition. Midnight snacks, piling a plate high on embarkation day, grabbing something quick between pool time and trivia. But that tradition may be changing.
On more recent ships, though, some cruise lines have started moving away from the buffet as a staple dining option, and one line has eschewed it completely. What started as an experiment on a few new ships now appears to be a broader shift in how cruise lines think about casual dining at sea.
Alternate Fast Casual Dining Introduced
In the past decade or so, new ships have added new dining concepts to complement the buffet during peak meal times, lunch mostly, but sometimes breakfast. Most of these venues are considered fast casual: you place your order at a counter, it’s made to order, and then you pick it up and take it to your table.
You’ll see these venues on lots of ships. Carnival has fast casual venues, Guy’s Burger Joint and BlueIguana Cantina, on nearly all of its fleet, offering complimentary food without requiring a trip to the buffet. Royal Caribbean’s El Loco Fresh, which debuted in 2018 on Symphony of the Seas, is similar in concept, with made-to-order burritos, nachos, and tacos. Their Park Café on Oasis Class and Icon Class ships offers custom-made sandwiches, salads, and entrées.
These venues have a few benefits.
First, they’re usually not located in the buffet, meaning you can avoid the massive breakfast and lunch crowds by going to these venues. By spreading out the venues across the ships, the cruise lines are also spreading out the crowds.
They also offer fresher food, almost all of which is made to order or in small batches. Typically, restaurants use turbo ovens that can prepare food in just a few minutes, keeping lines moving while still delivering hot, fresh food.
Food Halls Are the New Trend
But now, food halls seem to be the new trend. A food hall is kind of a combination of the two different options above. You still have one place to try a variety of foods, like a buffet, but the food is made to order, so it’s usually fresher and higher quality. Menus are typically pretty varied and offer a diverse selection of cuisines to choose from.
Virgin Voyages Says No Buffet at All
Virgin Voyages was the first cruise line to completely get rid of the buffet concept in favor of a food hall. When it launched Scarlet Lady in 2020, their big marketing differentiator was that they didn’t have a buffet. Instead, they had The Galley, which offered 8 different concepts to try, all complimentary.
It’s located where the buffet would normally be on a cruise ship, on a higher deck with beautiful ocean views. It has a modern look with lots of metal, clean lines, and a very European feel. Here, guests can either go up to each counter to order or raise a flag at their table, and a server will take their order.
Norwegian Launched a Food Hall on Prima Class
Shortly after Virgin Voyages debuted the food hall concept, Norwegian introduced Indulge Food Hall on their newest class of ships, the Prima Class. Unlike Virgin, the food hall does not replace the buffet entirely, but it is an additional option for guests. Because of that, Norwegian chose to shrink the buffet considerably to one of the smallest in the Norwegian fleet, one of the biggest complaints of the Prima Class.
Indulge Food Hall is located a full 9 decks away from the buffet, effectively splitting crowds between the two. The space is rather large, but broken up with individual food stalls, some designed to look like food trucks. It’s a bit of a labyrinth to navigate, but for lunch and dinner, that’s not a problem because you don’t need to go to the individual stations. Instead, you find a table and use an electronic tablet to order. A server will then bring your food over. If you’re in a general seating area and not at a specific counter, you can order from all the venues at once, giving guests so many options for a single meal. It makes it much easier to try a wide variety of foods.
Depending on the ship, Indulge Food Hall can feature 8 to 10 restaurants, ranging from BBQ and Indian to a concept specializing in plant-based meals.
Indulge Food Hall was originally supposed to have some items for an additional charge, but that was changed before Norwegian Prima first launched. Instead, everything is complimentary except Starbucks and Coco’s on Norwegian Prima.
Royal Caribbean’s First Food Hall: AquaDome Market
Not one to miss out on a trend, Royal Caribbean decided to introduce a food hall concept when it debuted its newest class of ships, the Icon Class. Called the AquaDome Market, this food hall is much smaller than the previous two, only having 5 concepts. It’s located away from the buffet, on the same level but at the front of the ship, off the AquaDome, effectively splitting the crowds.
The stations at AquaDome Market depend on which ship you’re sailing, as each has some unique options. The most popular, or at least the stall with the longest lines, is Crème de la Crêpe, with made-to-order savory or sweet crêpes. You can also find Feta Mediterranean with fresh gyros or bowls, along with Asian, Latin, or Thai-inspired cuisines.
It’s not open for breakfast, but it is open pretty late, giving guests a nice alternative to late-night dining besides Sorrento’s and Pearl Café.
Margaritaville at Sea Embraces the Food Hall
More recently, Margaritaville at Sea has jumped onto the food hall bandwagon. What makes this move a bit surprising is that Margaritaville at Sea does not build new ships but instead buys older ships and completely refurbishes them. You’d think it would be cheaper to take a ship with a buffet and just stick with that, but on their upcoming ship, they’ve gotten rid of the traditional buffet for the High Tide Market.
Then, in January, they retrofitted their first ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, to get rid of the buffet and add High Tide Market. It features a variety of options like Frank & Lola’s Pizzeria, Mexican Cutie Cantina, Slice of Paradise Desserts, and License to Chill Sandwich Shack.
Why Do Cruise Lines Like Food Halls?
Cruise lines don’t jump on a trend just for the heck of it. There have to be reasons behind it.
One of the largest is cost savings. While a food hall can require more staff and more equipment, it can reduce food waste. You don’t have food sitting out for hours and having to be thrown away after a certain amount of time.
Also, portions are smaller. At a buffet, you can load up a plate with scoop after scoop of food, take it back to your table, and not eat it. At food halls, you’ll get a sandwich or a portion that is intended for an individual. You can always order more, but it takes away the impulse to just pile the food on.
Guests also prefer food halls because the food is fresher and the concept feels more innovative. Grabbing a spoon that hundreds of other people have touched and scooping out overcooked pasta onto a plate does not have the same appeal as a freshly plated dish handed directly to you. It also allows for some more interesting concepts. Some foods, like crêpes and salads, do not do well when left out premade.
Also, food halls are easier to implement because you only need one overall design to offer a wide variety of food. You don’t need specially designed logos, seating, or décor for each food concept, as you would for a standalone fast casual restaurant.
What Will We See on the Next Class of Ships?
Right now, we’re on the cusp of a huge cruise ship revolution. Within the next 5 years, nearly every cruise line will debut their new class of next-generation cruise ships like Carnival’s Ace Class or Royal Caribbean Discovery Class. These ships are being designed with current guest expectations and emerging trends in mind.
How will these new designs take food halls into account? Will they take away self-service buffets entirely or shrink them to accommodate a larger, more diverse food hall-style eatery? What kinds of food options might we see?
Celebrity Cruise Line is notably one of the biggest holdouts, with the buffet still a big part of breakfast and lunch on their ships. Will their new ships, which will debut as part of Project Nirvana, lean into this trend more?
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