What should you know?

The breakfast and lunch buffets would be competitive with many Las Vegas resorts, and includes about as wide a variety of items as you’ll find anywhere. Breakfast includes everything from fruit, yogurt and oatmeal, to doughnuts, lox and custom-made omelets. Even cold cereal has options – besides the usual corn flakes and granola, there’s a “build your own” muesli bar where you can add ingredients ranging from brown sugar to exotic dried fruits. Don’t worry if you skipped dessert last night – you can get several at breakfast here. We haven’t asked, but we’d bet hard cash that the staff would make you filet mignon if you asked nicely.

Lunch is a similarly lavish spread, including everything from chicken tenders, sandwiches and hamburgers to salmon steaks and pasta. A big draw at lunch is the peel-and-eat shrimp bar, usually complimented with clams, oysters or crab legs.

Dinner entrees usually include chicken, fish, steak, and vegetarian options. We recommend Cabanas for dinner at sunset on longer cruises, as an alternative to dining a second time at one of the main restaurants.

What’s it like inside?

Enter Cabanas from either side of Deck 9 Aft, the options are the same both ways. On either side is a line of buffet tables which run the length of the restaurant. Indoor and outdoor seating arranged around the buffet. The indoor seating is air-conditioned and includes floor-to-ceiling windows affording excellent ocean views. Outdoor seating is great on mornings when the ship is docking, since you’re sometimes able to watch the port come in to view. Large, murals line the walls and display pirate and fish icons. Coffee, soft drinks, juices and water are served from dispensers placed at regular intervals throughout the restaurant.

What are the specialties?

Breakfast features the usual buffet staples: fruit, cereals, eggs, waffles, bacon, sausages and pastries. Lunch includes soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers, plus a couple of alternative offerings such as pasta or fish. Cabana's lunches are loosely themed each day with “Italian,” “Asian,” and “Seafood” as examples of your offerings. The fact that it’s possible to make it through a meal and not realize the cuisine until well into it (“hey, this seems to be ‘Italian!’”) gives you an example of how loose the theming is. The dinner menu features selections from the main dining rooms, as well as some basic chicken and steak entrees, so there’ll be something to everyone’s liking available.