We ate breakfast in the main dining room and in the Lido buffet. We preferred the dining room because the Lido was always crowded, and the lines were long if you wanted anything other than a continental breakfast or cereal. However, the dining room service was a slow pace so if you had to be somewhere at a certain time like an excursion, the dining room probably was not your best option.
On Sea Days, the dining room sponsored a Sea Day brunch that usually started about 9:00 and ended at noon. We typically went for the breakfast items. Chuck always ordered the steak and eggs meal with a side order of corned beef hash. One time he tried a side order of grits, but he thought they were too runny. Grits must be thick enough to eat with a fork.
I usually had two eggs, bacon, and hash browns although one time I got breakfast potatoes instead of hash browns. I should have stuck with the hash browns. I would also order wheat toast, but I always thought the bread was just warmed rather than toasted. I wasn’t a fan of the coffee in the dining room, but I thought the juices were good. You could order fresh squeezed juices for $5 a glass but we never did. I liked the regular juices just fine.
The other option for breakfast was the Blue Iguana cafe which offered a breakfast burrito. Chuck got it once when he didn’t want to stand in line for the hot breakfast items in the buffet. He said it was good.
Room service is another option. They offer a free continental breakfast. I heard the other items are an upcharge. We never ordered room service so I can’t comment on the food, prices, or service.
For lunch (and in some cases dinner too), the options were Blue Iguana Cafe, Guy’s Burgers, the Lido buffet, the Deli, the Sushi Bar (an upcharge), Room Service items, and the Pizza place. We tried them all except the Sushi Bar and Room Service.
My favorite was the shrimp burrito at the Blue Iguana Cafe and my least favorite was the pizza. I thought it should have been named a pepperoni cracker the crust was so thin and hard.
Lido lunch items:
Blue Iguana Lunch Items:
Guy’s Burger Items:
Deli item:
Pizza Place item:
For dessert, I tried the key lime pie (not as tart as I prefer), the chocolate chip cookies (could have eaten every cookie in the whole serving bowl but I didn’t want to be a pig, so I only took five), and the soft serve ice cream – I preferred the vanilla over the chocolate.
Carnival recently changed its rules about 24/7 soft serve availability. I think the hours on the Paradise were 11:00 a.m to 11:00 p.m. I heard some grumbling about the change but not much. Probably would be a mutiny if they changed the hours of the pizza place however. It stayed open until 4:00 a.m. every morning. I never saw the late-night line for pizza, but I heard it was always crazy long.
I did appreciate how hard the staff worked to remove dirty plates, clean off tables, and sweep the floors so people could find clean places to sit both inside and outside. They were also quick to help anyone who seemed to be having difficulty taking their plates to their tables. The dining managers were constantly circulating and checking with customers to be sure all was well.
The buffet was primarily self-serve except a staff member at the carvery area would slice the meat for you and a staff member at the dessert area would slice pieces of cake for you. I always kept wet sanitizing wipes in my purse to use after handling all those serving utensils.
At the other venues, staff made your sandwiches, etc. and handed you the plate.
One challenge to remember on embarkation days. If you choose to eat outside, watch your plate because the local gulls will swoop and grab if you are not vigilant. From what I could see, they consumed many french fries from the lunches from Guy’s Burgers.
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