The main alternative to the sit-down dining room is the Lido Marketplace.



The Lido Marketplace is essentially a buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night. And there are a variety of stations - both self-serve and made-to-order - to choose from.



Breakfast included options like eggs benedict and an omelette station.



Lunch features a salad bar plus tons of stations that include Italian or BBQ or Mexican and more.



Often, there is a theme, and you can find similarities between what is in the main dining room and what is on the buffet.



Comfort food items were on a bar labeled Comfort Kitchen.



Here's a sampling of my goodies.



and more!



There's also the Carnival Deli, which has hot pastrami on rye, grilled Reuben, roasted turkey breast on a country roll and more.



I tried a philly cheesesteak here.



The Mongolian Wok station features Asian fare.



Select your noodles and veggies.



Then tell the chefs which meat you want in the wok.



Finally, add a sauce and voila.



The Carvery is a station where they literally carve meat right for you.



It was roast beef on the day I visited.



The Sweet Spot is where your desserts are. On one sea day afternoon, they do the Chocolate Extravaganza where all of the desserts are chocolate.



Swirls is the ice cream bar. Choose from chocolate, vanills or strawberry.



I had ice cream just about every night.



Good Eats was another station with tons of tasty options, usually served late night.

For my first cruise ever, I booked with Carnival. It's the more price-conscious, family-friendly cruise line.



The specific ship for my cruise route was Carnival Magic. Each of the ships have their own names and individual amenities.



"At 1,004 feet, this one continued the Dream class tradition of large-scale, bow-to-stern cruise ship fun including the food-and-entertainment space Ocean Plaza, the splashy stylings of Carnival WaterWorks™... and The Lanai, a convenient, scenic half-mile outdoor wraparound promenade deck. In other words, a cruise on Carnival Magic has no shortage of its namesake charm! This is also the ship that introduced the world to Cucina del Capitano®, which serves up Italian favorites fit for a captain. Who can forget their first taste of RedFrog Pub®, with its laid back, not-a-worry-to-be-found atmosphere... plus its exclusive, tasty, not-a-drop-to-be-found (on land, that is) beer, ThirstyFrog® Red. And if you wanted to visit the original Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse™... guess which ship you'd check out! Keeping with the times, Carnival Magic features the delicious good times of Guy's Burger Joint™, BlueIguana Cantina™, Alchemy Bar® and RedFrog Rum Bar®."



I decided that I wanted to try as many food options as possible. It required a bit of planning because some restaurants are only open on certain days, certain times, some are included in the cost, some are an additional cost, some need reservations in advance, some have food waiting for you.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Dinner-
This is the main dinner option that is included in the price of the cruise. You select "your time" dining or a "set" dining time, and you essentially have reservations in the dining room each evening of the cruise. It is a seated three-course meal, and the menu changes each night of the cruise. Sometimes there are themes, and there are always standard options, like chicken breast and broiled steak. Each menu also includes some "Emeril Selects," which are interesting options inspired from Chef Emeril Lagasse. And each menu also includes the option to "upgrade" to steakhouse selects and enjoy higher end entrees for an additional cost. I chose to have dinner in the main dining room - Northern Lights - several times during my cruise. But, here are the menus for the whole 7-day cruise:

Day 1



Day 2



Day 3



Day 4



Day 5



Day 6



Day 7



Day 8



Here are some of my dishes from the above menus.



First, they all begin with bread & butter.



Papardelle with braised lamb, tomato cream sauce, garlic and parsley.



Cornish game hen with root vegetables and pan sauce.



Lemon sorbet.



Spaghetti carbonara with bacon, parmesan, garlic and cream.



Broiled striploin steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, vegetable succotash, and buttered parsley potatoes.



Banana cream pie.



Chilled strawberry and chia seed with sweet yogurt and poached strawberry.



Chicken cordon bleu with ham, swiss cheese, creamy lemon caper sauce.



Carnival melting chocolate cake.



Emeril Selects appetizer - fried tomatoes - Louisiana special, breaded and fried, creole shrimp remoulade.



Poached pig ale and cheddar soup with roasted vegetables, mushrooms and smoked onions.



Penne Mariscos with shrimp, calamari, mussels and tomato cream.



Baked Alaska.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Breakfast-

While dinner is the biggest meal of the trip, the Main Dining Room also serves breakfast on port days. And, it happensd fo be in the other dining room than the one I was assigned for dinner, so I was excited to get to experience both.



Here is some of what I tried:



Avocado toast with poached egg. Cheese on the side.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-SeaDay Brunch-

On sea days, there is brunch. It is served a little later and has some different options from the traditional breakfast menu.

Here's some of what I tried:



First, some small pastries for the table.



Skillet cake with whipped ricotta, guava preserve, marshmallow & maple butter.



Huevos Rancheros with tortilla, roasted chicken, manchego cheese and fried eggs.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Afternoon Tea-

During the afternoon on sea days, tea and pastries are served in the main dining room.



I did just a light tea because that's not really my thing.



And, waiters came around with little nibbles - like pastries, cucumber sandwiches and tarts.



And that's it for the Main Dining Room! Stay tuned for more dining options.

"In 2010, Panther Coffee began roasting and developing its wholesale program in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. Shortly after, the coffee shop was opened to the public ... Founders Leticia and Joel Pollock have decades of combined experience in the coffee industry. They met at a coffee convention and decided to combine their expertise and open a wholesale and retail coffee company. Visiting Miami in 2008, they quickly realized that although Cuban-style coffee shops were abundant, the specialty coffee scene was nonexistent. They thought this would be a lovely place to call home and to build what is now known as Panther Coffee," according to the coffee shop's website.



"Each single origin coffee we serve have been selected for taste as well as individuality and origin ... After the selection of green coffee, the roasting team defines the specific roast profile to be used. Their goal is to achieve full development and caramelization of the sugars present within the coffee bean, without the conversion of these precious caramelized sugars into carbon, which can result in an ashy or smoky taste."



I went with an iced coffee, which doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other coffee places. You really get a feel for the coffee bean flavor, which is definitely more on the bitter side.



This is a wonderful. For those who want to know the origins of their coffee and really appreciate the individual flavors of what each bean can offer. I can't pretend to be that knowledgeable; I only judge based off of what tastes good. But, I can appreciate the art.

Grade: B

I'm on an international snacks kick.



A vape shop in downtown Charleston, King's One Stop Shop, has a decent selection of chips, Skittles and some other odds and ends.



I visited to pick up a couple of snacks to get through the snow days.



The garlic steak chips were pretty good - not sure I would recognize that flavor - but they were a little sweet and a bit smoky. The tomato flavor was a tiny bit spicy and sweet. I was a fan of both.



Have you been?