Breakfast Choices on Cruises: Main Dining Room vs. Buffet and Other Options Available

For some, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There are lots of options on a cruise ship when it comes to breakfast – as long as you are up early enough!

I have to admit that I am not a great breakfast eater. A bread roll and a banana are the perfect breakfast for me.

I don’t drink coffee at all, but a cup of tea in the morning is very welcome.

In this article, we look at breakfast options on board – of course, if you are like me when it comes to breakfast, you can skip it altogether and move straight on to lunch…

Buffet Breakfast

This seems to always be the most popular option when you are on a cruise ship.

The buffet can get very busy, particularly at peak times or if you are in port and everyone wants to eat early before leaving the cruise ship.

The buffet is the last place I would like to be on disembarkation morning. I tend to grab a roll the night before and keep it in my mini bar fridge.

Then I just get up and disembark the ship. I can’t be dealing with the crowds that early in the morning.

What Food Is Available In The Breakfast Buffet?

All sorts of foods are available to suit every passenger.

Popular choices include cereals, porridge, and muesli. There are a wide variety of fruits, melon is a particular favourite of mine.

You can try the full-cooked breakfast – eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes etc

Toast is usually available, but I often find it to be cold and hard, nothing like the toast you get out of your toaster at home!

Luckily, there is normally a wide range of lovely fresh bread available, so I have that instead.

You may find waffles or pancakes with a range of interesting toppings, chocolate, maple syrup etc.

There are often stations where the staff will cook fresh omelettes for you with your choice of ingredients. Sometimes, there are queues for these omelette stations, but if you get to the buffet at a less busy time, it is a great option.

The breakfast food offered depends on the cruise line to a certain degree. I recently sailed on the American cruise ship Anthem of the Seas and was disappointed to find no decent bread at breakfast. There were breakfast doughnuts- which were very popular and went very fast.

In the UK, it is unlikely that you would consider eating doughnuts for breakfast, they are considered more of a dessert/pudding or snack food. I am willing to make an exception on a cruise though…

MSC have wonderful bread in their buffet, along with a wide range of fruits and yogurts. European and American palates differ when it comes to breakfast offerings.

Drinks Available At The Breakfast Buffet

You will find tea and coffee stations at breakfast. Often, there are containers of ready-made coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) and hot water. There is also a selection of tea bags, so you can make your tea of choice – peppermint tea for me please!

There is also chilled water on tap, and usually one of two free fruit juices.

On most cruise ships you don’t find free juices in the buffet apart from at breakfast time. There are some exceptions though – Celebrity offer free fruit juices and drinks throughout the day.

Sometimes waiters are on hand to bring you tea and coffee or other drinks in the buffet. Standard tea and coffee are usually free, but if you order something from the bar (unless you have a drinks package), it is chargeable.

Breakfast In The Main Dining Room

If you are up early enough, it is sometimes nice to go for a sit-down breakfast in the main dining room.

The dining room is open for breakfast between set times and often closes too early for me. My parents often choose this option. Dad is a big breakfast eater, but Mum isn’t so keen…

You can choose from the breakfast menu offered. There is normally cereal, porridge, and bircher muesli, followed by a cooked breakfast or continental options if you would like something lighter.

There are options like Eggs Benedict, cooked freshly to order. You could choose pancakes or waffles.

You can pick and choose from the main menu – so you can just order bacon and toast if you want to make a breakfast sandwich instead.

It has to be said again that the toast isn’t normally great, but it is cooked and has to be delivered to your table by the waiters. It can be quite cold and hard by the time it arrives.

Drinks In The Dining Room At Breakfast

When you arrive at your table, the waiter’s first question is normally “Would you like tea or coffee?”

You will also be offered a selection of fruit juices or water. The waiters come by regularly to offer you refills.

Hybrid Breakfast

On some ships, they seem to do a hybrid between the buffet and sit-down breakfasts.

This is held in the main dining room. You are served tea and coffee at your table, and then you go to a buffet laid out in the centre of the room to choose what you would like.

This eases overcrowding in the main buffet and passengers are invited to select their own choice of breakfast. Less staff are needed, so it is a good option for the cruise line.

I have seen this hybrid option on Royal Caribbean, MSC and Azamara ships – but I am sure more offer it.

Look For Other Breakfast Options Onboard

Check the daily schedule or the cruise ship App for other smaller venues offering breakfast.

On Anthem of the Seas, I regularly went to Cafe two70, where they offered a selection of breakfast wraps.

On Celebrity Edge, there is a small, free bistro in Eden, which has a smaller but good selection of breakfast foods. Eden is a Speciality Restaurant onboard, but the breakfast and lunch in the bistro there are free.

Eden’s three stories of windows bring in the shimmering morning light to create a bright and airy atmosphere. At breakfast, try the signature, freshly baked to order Cinnamon Roll served with Royal Icing with your favourite specialty coffee. Want something a little heartier to start your day? Try the Steak and Egg Bagel. Want a healthier start? Go for the Steel Cut Oatmeal with Almonds, Quinoa and Honey or sink your teeth into the Turkey with Egg White and Spinach Panini.

Celebrity Cruise Line

Room Service Breakfast

There is always the option of ordering breakfast on room service.

Sometimes it is nice to have your breakfast brought to you, particularly if you have a balcony you can enjoy it on!

Some cruise lines charge for room service, on others, it is free. It also may depend on the type of cabin or fare you have booked, but it is always worth checking and using this service if you don’t have to pay for it!

You typically have to choose your breakfast of choice by ticking the boxes on a card and then hanging that card on your doorknob the night before. You can choose the time you want your breakfast delivered.

Again, you will doubtless find the toast is cold and hard, but you can order rolls and pastries instead.

I am sure I will never become a keen breakfast eater, but if you – or someone in your party is, there are certainly many options available to you on a cruise ship.

Before You Go

Find out about the mistakes people wish they had known about before taking their first cruise here:

15 Common Mistakes – Things Cruisers Wish They Knew About Before Their First Cruise

Find out about things that aren’t included in your cruise fare here:

7 Surprising Things That Aren’t Included in Your Cruise Fare