I will discuss the dining venues we went to here. This will not include the yummy, scrumptious crepes, gelato, and chocolate. That will come later!
Buffet Dining
The Seaside is unique in that it has TWO buffets. The smaller, family friendly one, is Biscayne Bay Buffet on deck 16. The larger, more robust, location was the Marketplace on deck 8. We ate all of our breakfasts, 6/7 lunches, and 1 dinner at the buffets. There are times that half of the Marketplace buffet is closed at night and used as a Main Dining Room with table service. We usually chose the closer buffet- except breakfasts were always at Marketplace for us due to wider variety.
Pros
Cons
Pros
- Wide variety of foods despite what I had read in previous reviews. There was something for everyone. Pizza was served at every meal- breakfast lunch, and dinner. Breads were freshly baked daily.
- Full sized high chairs available with a tray. They are the Chicco Polly highchair line. They were always clean and available.
- Bar Service button at each table along with a bar in the marketplace buffet.
- We never struggled to find a table. Marketplace, on deck 8, has plenty of outdoor seating. We had great weather and took advantage a few times!
- Biscayne Bay Buffet had a low counter for kids to get their own food from. It was chest height for my 5 year old.
Cons
- Deciding which buffet to eat at.
- Crowds. We found the Biscayne Bay buffet to be much more crowded. It was smaller to begin with and near the Miami Beach Pool, so naturally people head there because it's close to the outdoor activities. The layout led to a lot of squished moments where there wasn't quite enough room for everyone to squeeze through while walking.
Main Dining Room
This is one of the hits and misses of the cruise- food is subjective. The food itself was good. I consider myself a picky eater and found at least 1-2 entrees each night that satisfied my liking. There was only ONE dish that did not taste right, and that was the French Onion Soup. It was missing something, and I could not pin point it. There were a lot of misses on the desserts too. Their features Brownie stack was dry and lacked a good chocolate flavor. It also changed nightly. By the end of the week it was missing the brownie portion and only had mousse on top. haha Thankfully we waltzed on over the Venchi after dinner, daily, and loaded up on gelato, chocolates, and more!
We requested early dining and were assigned 7:45 pm in the Ipanema dining room. We went to the Maitre D on the first day to request to be moved. 7:45 pm is too late for us to eat with young kids. There were many other people waiting to request the same thing. The couple we traveled with was able to get us accommodated at the 5:30/6pm time. Yay, great relief! Night one we had an amazing waiter who anticipated our every need and brought the boys food and desserts that kept them behaving. Nights 2-5 we had a waiter who needed more training. Night 6, the guy was on top of things, and the Maitre D even brought the boys dinners out quickly for us. Night 7, we were squeezed in last minute, and the guy was in a rush. So not our best dining "experience" on a cruise by far.
We requested early dining and were assigned 7:45 pm in the Ipanema dining room. We went to the Maitre D on the first day to request to be moved. 7:45 pm is too late for us to eat with young kids. There were many other people waiting to request the same thing. The couple we traveled with was able to get us accommodated at the 5:30/6pm time. Yay, great relief! Night one we had an amazing waiter who anticipated our every need and brought the boys food and desserts that kept them behaving. Nights 2-5 we had a waiter who needed more training. Night 6, the guy was on top of things, and the Maitre D even brought the boys dinners out quickly for us. Night 7, we were squeezed in last minute, and the guy was in a rush. So not our best dining "experience" on a cruise by far.
Butcher's Cut Steakhouse
My husband and I had lunch at the steakhouse on a sea day. The food was delicious and flavorful. They offer two types of butter, one smoked and another sweet with spices. With the yummy butters, you're also given a soft cloth basket of bread. Four large breadstick style and one sweet biscuit. Those were pretty good, but I would have liked a soft bread to better spread my yummy butter!
We both had the Smoked Tomato Soup. It came with a small grilled cheese for dipping. We both also had the Filet and a side of Smoked Mashed Potatoes. The steaks are served with four sauces: chimichurri, bearnaise, peppercorn, and something with mushrooms. I blocked the last one out because I don't do mushrooms ;)
Overall it was a fabulous meal. Relaxing. Service was great. I highly recommend it!
We both had the Smoked Tomato Soup. It came with a small grilled cheese for dipping. We both also had the Filet and a side of Smoked Mashed Potatoes. The steaks are served with four sauces: chimichurri, bearnaise, peppercorn, and something with mushrooms. I blocked the last one out because I don't do mushrooms ;)
Overall it was a fabulous meal. Relaxing. Service was great. I highly recommend it!
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