The buffet is alive and well on cruise ships. And better than ever

2 hours ago 2

December 21, 2025 — 5:00am

During the height of the pandemic, many observers predicted the demise of the cruise-ship buffet, some with rather uncalled-for glee.

But it didn’t vanish. It underwent changes, with more food behind screens and crew more likely to be wielding the tongs – the latter also a move to prevent guests wilfully wasting food.

Yet most big-ship cruise lines have returned to the fully self-service buffet that has always been a feature of cruising.

Fruit tarts, Windows Cafe, Azamara.

I’ll admit there are disagreeable sides to buffet dining on some ships. The food can favour quantity over quality. Quality also suffers on ships keen to make added profit by encouraging guests to dine in speciality restaurants. Queues can be annoying as are guests who tackle the buffet in the wrong direction.

But there are many things to like about buffets, and I’m happy they’re here to stay. Self-service isn’t a bad thing. You can curate your own meal, sample a wide range of dishes, and try things you probably wouldn’t order from a menu for fear you might not like them.

Azamara’s signature White Night al fresco buffet.

The variety is impressive. You can enjoy hot and cold, soup or salad, fast or fine food. You can’t dine in a buffet and not find something that appeals. Themed nights might roll out Mexican or French, Mediterranean or Asian dishes.

Buffets also have benefits beyond the food, not least because they’re included in your cruise fare on every ship. You can eat at the time you prefer, and at your leisure. You can for that matter wander away after the main course and return an hour or two later for dessert. Alternatively, you don’t have to linger at all. You don’t have to talk to fellow guests, or wait for waiter service. The buffet can be a great time-saver if you’re keen to disembark or join an onboard activity.

And then there are occasions when you’re simply happy to wear (almost) what you want: nobody needs to dress up in the buffet venue.

Oceania’s Terrace Cafe offers one of the best buffets at sea.

No surprise that premium and luxury lines have the best buffets, which prove to smorgasbord sceptics that you can get impressive food in a self-service venue. You’ll find more made-to-order stations in which you might get breakfast eggs, pasta, steaks and other meats, and sometimes even salads, made on the spot.

Most luxury lines abandon the buffet in the evenings, with Seabourn and Explora Journeys shining exceptions with outstanding buffets.

Premium lines offer a remarkable three buffets a day. Oceania’s Terrace Cafe is quite possibly the best buffet at sea. Azamara’s Windows Cafe does a fine job at rolling out themed evenings. And Viking’s The World Cafe is tops for small-batch dishes continually cooked so that they’re hot and fresh.

There is something to beware of, and that’s your waistline. But you’re on holiday. Bye bye buffet? I don’t think so.

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Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.