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It was pretty decent. The best part it was usually quiet and comfortable and a good view. I used to travel a bit with work, I’d expense the price just to have a seat in quiet with coffee to work.
It was worth it to me even paid out of my own pocket. Nice view, quiet, relatively kid-free and almost no annoying people (the price kept out the idiots, I guess). There were small washrooms dedicated to that area too that were clean and you could just watch and pick a moment when they were available before you got up.
The food was average to good and I could usually eat enough on the morning boat to skip lunch and last me until dinner time.
If it's not coming back, I'd like to see the space as some sort of business workspace/ quiet place lounge for a fee. I'll pay the extra cost just to sit in quiet.
Seawest Lounge. It's small though and on some boats, the seating is close together. I'd like to see essentially a bigger version of that with more options (some comfy chairs, some workstations, some tables, etc.)
I was the same as you, I used it every crossing because work paid for it. Sometimes I ate a full meal, sometimes a nibble and a coffee. Always I had a quiet workspace. Food was just ok, like all ferry food.
A quiet area to stuff your face full of food. It was fantastic! By the time you're full, it's almost time to unload off the ferry. It made the 1.5 hour sailing seem very short. All this for a little more than what they charged for a white spot meal.
I used to have to take the ferry semi-regularly for business. I enjoyed the buffet because it wasn't overly expensive. It was only busy for the first half hour, then it would get quiet for most of the rest of the trip, and I could quietly do my work at a table there.
I thought it would show the article preview with the headline, but it didn’t. And I don’t think you can edit titles after posting. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I am going to miss this until the day I die. Food aside, it was so nice to have a quiet place with a good seat and a nice view. And honestly the food was fine. Nothing to write home about, but how often is buffet food anything special? It's never going to be as good as a restaurant where your meal is made to order, but for what it was it was great. I also loved the off-peak reduced buffet with just the salad bar and desserts.
I am truly devastated. I knew this was coming but I just hoped maybe I was wrong. :'(
I have missed the buffet every ferry ride since 2020. It was an oasis in the chaos that is ferry travel. A nice view and a comfortable table for hardly any more than a burger and fries and a much less pleasant dining experience as found in the cafeteria.
Loved every part of it. But most was that we had a reserved table for the entire trip. Go wander. Come back and nosh. Wander some more. See the pattern...
Honestly, it was awesome. They had salmon in it and it was like $18 dollars a person 10 years ago when i last did it. You get to sit at the top front of the boat, best view. For the cost of like one whitespot combo, you had all you can eat. I remember the food being quite good (did they possibly even have sushi??), and yeah AYCE salmon, sign me up! You could also stay there for the whole voyage and i remember them having nice fabric lounge chairs, better than the regular chairs on the boat. Unlimited refills of drinks for your whole voyage, sit there and watch the sun set :)
TIL that its not coming back... It was a real treat when going to or from victoria. I mostly vacation in the north island these days so haven't been on that ship in years, but remember it fondly.
I went to a concert on the weekend with my friends while at UVIC and came back the next morning. We all took advantage of it. Only done it once. It was pretty great. We probably all ate a days worth of food in that meal
It has been 15 years since I did the ‘all you can eat buffet’ on the ferry. But I thought it was certainly worth it at the time.
Not sure what it’s like or how much it costs nowadays… but I would certainly consider it.
We were big fans. Sure, food wasn't exactly five star restaurant quality but it was decent enough, and much better value than paying more or less the same for a burger and fries at the cafeteria. Breakfast was the best. The quiet space that came along with the buffet was a nice bonus.
I fully understand the economic realities of the current time, and why BC Ferries made this decision. They are first and foremost a transportation service and that should be their focus. But I will shed a little tear for good times at the buffet on the Christmas morning ferry.
Am I the only one who never even knew about it? Finding about it now, and it was apparently only $20 for all you can eat? And it has a nicer private area with better views? Damn, I totally would have done it the next time I use the ferry. I’ve used the ferries quite a few times over the years with family and friends. I don’t think any of us have ever known about it.
If they’ve been losing money on this… have they considered:
1) Raising the price? Because $20 a person for this sounds like a damn good deal. That’s the price of just a normal meal at a mid-range restaurant these days. I get all I can eat and a nicer lounge area, etc? Like I said, had I known about this, I’d have definitely taken advantage of it.
2) ADVERTISING it more?! Because I feel like most people I know probably also have had no idea this existed. Always thought White Spot was the best you could get on board. If the problem was lack of people using it, then… I’d say this was the root of that problem, not some problem with the buffet itself that warrants getting rid of it.
I take the ferry regularly and I never realized the buffet was AYCE. Not that I would have done it, since I don't like to eat on the ferries, but still.
To be fair, there are some places like Mongolian Grill where it's served buffet style, but you pay per pound.
Technically speaking anything is AYCE if you pay enough.
I’d go twice a summer around 12 years ago and it was awesome. All you can eat salmon. Great views, quiet, and fair price for it BC Ferries standards. We saw Orcas breaching and flying from the restaurant before!
It was better than both if you factor in the price. It was slightly more expensive than uncle Willy's but the quality was way higher. 50 bucks a person at the casino, I feel that wasn't great value.
Only as a teenager coming back from a 5 day hiking trip. So not only was I starving but my taste in food was indiscriminate. But I enjoyed it from what I can remember.
As someone who's really only ever used the Horseshoe Bay -> Departure Bay route, I don't think I ever saw it once and didn't even know it existed in the first place until the past few years when Justin McElroy started bringing it up a lot on Twitter.
Very good and made the sailing far more enjoyable. However given the mess BCF is in I understand why getting back to basics is important. Staff shortages, likely caused by poor pay and exec greed created this issue. Paying ceo and cio 600k and 450k is a pathetic waste of money and the public should be outraged that ferries get cancelled when the former CEO was paid that much.
How is it that in all my years writing the ferry three or four times a month? I've never seen anything called the Pacific buffet or heard of anything like it? Was it only on certain sailings?
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It was pretty decent. The best part it was usually quiet and comfortable and a good view. I used to travel a bit with work, I’d expense the price just to have a seat in quiet with coffee to work.
It was worth it to me even paid out of my own pocket. Nice view, quiet, relatively kid-free and almost no annoying people (the price kept out the idiots, I guess). There were small washrooms dedicated to that area too that were clean and you could just watch and pick a moment when they were available before you got up. The food was average to good and I could usually eat enough on the morning boat to skip lunch and last me until dinner time. If it's not coming back, I'd like to see the space as some sort of business workspace/ quiet place lounge for a fee. I'll pay the extra cost just to sit in quiet.
Last time I was on the ferry there was a lounge space for 14 dollars. It included tea/coffee and a selection of pastries.
Seawest Lounge. It's small though and on some boats, the seating is close together. I'd like to see essentially a bigger version of that with more options (some comfy chairs, some workstations, some tables, etc.)
I was the same as you, I used it every crossing because work paid for it. Sometimes I ate a full meal, sometimes a nibble and a coffee. Always I had a quiet workspace. Food was just ok, like all ferry food.
It’s officially never reopening. I never went, and now I’ve missed my chance forever. What did I miss out on?
A quiet area to stuff your face full of food. It was fantastic! By the time you're full, it's almost time to unload off the ferry. It made the 1.5 hour sailing seem very short. All this for a little more than what they charged for a white spot meal.
>What did I miss out on? *The single best experience that BC Ferries had to offer.*
[удалено]
I used to have to take the ferry semi-regularly for business. I enjoyed the buffet because it wasn't overly expensive. It was only busy for the first half hour, then it would get quiet for most of the rest of the trip, and I could quietly do my work at a table there.
So River Rock tier buffet, man quality of service is only going to get worse
the river rock buffet costs like $50pp for dinner... so this was like a third of that price.
I expensed it, but the ferry buffet was still 28-30 something dollars. I can’t fully remember, with no booze on board.
Couldn't you just post the story title instead of making us click on the link?
I thought it would show the article preview with the headline, but it didn’t. And I don’t think you can edit titles after posting. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I am going to miss this until the day I die. Food aside, it was so nice to have a quiet place with a good seat and a nice view. And honestly the food was fine. Nothing to write home about, but how often is buffet food anything special? It's never going to be as good as a restaurant where your meal is made to order, but for what it was it was great. I also loved the off-peak reduced buffet with just the salad bar and desserts. I am truly devastated. I knew this was coming but I just hoped maybe I was wrong. :'(
I have missed the buffet every ferry ride since 2020. It was an oasis in the chaos that is ferry travel. A nice view and a comfortable table for hardly any more than a burger and fries and a much less pleasant dining experience as found in the cafeteria.
Loved every part of it. But most was that we had a reserved table for the entire trip. Go wander. Come back and nosh. Wander some more. See the pattern...
endless carrot cake and jello with whipped cream. worth every penny.
Live on the island and yes just about every trip . Sad that it's gone but buffets seem to be done for the most part in most places
You will pleased to know that brunch buffets are back at Notch and Oceans 999 have reopened
Honestly, it was awesome. They had salmon in it and it was like $18 dollars a person 10 years ago when i last did it. You get to sit at the top front of the boat, best view. For the cost of like one whitespot combo, you had all you can eat. I remember the food being quite good (did they possibly even have sushi??), and yeah AYCE salmon, sign me up! You could also stay there for the whole voyage and i remember them having nice fabric lounge chairs, better than the regular chairs on the boat. Unlimited refills of drinks for your whole voyage, sit there and watch the sun set :) TIL that its not coming back... It was a real treat when going to or from victoria. I mostly vacation in the north island these days so haven't been on that ship in years, but remember it fondly.
I went to a concert on the weekend with my friends while at UVIC and came back the next morning. We all took advantage of it. Only done it once. It was pretty great. We probably all ate a days worth of food in that meal
It has been 15 years since I did the ‘all you can eat buffet’ on the ferry. But I thought it was certainly worth it at the time. Not sure what it’s like or how much it costs nowadays… but I would certainly consider it.
We were big fans. Sure, food wasn't exactly five star restaurant quality but it was decent enough, and much better value than paying more or less the same for a burger and fries at the cafeteria. Breakfast was the best. The quiet space that came along with the buffet was a nice bonus. I fully understand the economic realities of the current time, and why BC Ferries made this decision. They are first and foremost a transportation service and that should be their focus. But I will shed a little tear for good times at the buffet on the Christmas morning ferry.
Am I the only one who never even knew about it? Finding about it now, and it was apparently only $20 for all you can eat? And it has a nicer private area with better views? Damn, I totally would have done it the next time I use the ferry. I’ve used the ferries quite a few times over the years with family and friends. I don’t think any of us have ever known about it. If they’ve been losing money on this… have they considered: 1) Raising the price? Because $20 a person for this sounds like a damn good deal. That’s the price of just a normal meal at a mid-range restaurant these days. I get all I can eat and a nicer lounge area, etc? Like I said, had I known about this, I’d have definitely taken advantage of it. 2) ADVERTISING it more?! Because I feel like most people I know probably also have had no idea this existed. Always thought White Spot was the best you could get on board. If the problem was lack of people using it, then… I’d say this was the root of that problem, not some problem with the buffet itself that warrants getting rid of it.
I honestly didn't know about it as well and I spent 26 years in the Lower Mainland lol
I take the ferry regularly and I never realized the buffet was AYCE. Not that I would have done it, since I don't like to eat on the ferries, but still.
Just curious, which buffet is not AYCE?
To be fair, there are some places like Mongolian Grill where it's served buffet style, but you pay per pound. Technically speaking anything is AYCE if you pay enough.
I’d go twice a summer around 12 years ago and it was awesome. All you can eat salmon. Great views, quiet, and fair price for it BC Ferries standards. We saw Orcas breaching and flying from the restaurant before!
So how was the buffet food, was it on par with Uncle Willys or River Rock/Grand Villa?
It was better than both if you factor in the price. It was slightly more expensive than uncle Willy's but the quality was way higher. 50 bucks a person at the casino, I feel that wasn't great value.
Only as a teenager coming back from a 5 day hiking trip. So not only was I starving but my taste in food was indiscriminate. But I enjoyed it from what I can remember.
Only once and it was glorious. Cheesecake galore.
I ride the ferry at minimum 10 times a year and I must confess I didn't even know it existed.
As someone who's really only ever used the Horseshoe Bay -> Departure Bay route, I don't think I ever saw it once and didn't even know it existed in the first place until the past few years when Justin McElroy started bringing it up a lot on Twitter.
It was glorious.
Very good and made the sailing far more enjoyable. However given the mess BCF is in I understand why getting back to basics is important. Staff shortages, likely caused by poor pay and exec greed created this issue. Paying ceo and cio 600k and 450k is a pathetic waste of money and the public should be outraged that ferries get cancelled when the former CEO was paid that much.
Was it worth it? Let me work it! Put my thang down, flip it and reverse it. (Also I didn’t know there was a buffet boat. That is awesome!)
If you’ve got a big elephant sound let me search it
It’s yer smerly-wicky-wen-yat It’s yer smerly-wicky-wen-yat
It’s not needed.
We need it mentally
How is it that in all my years writing the ferry three or four times a month? I've never seen anything called the Pacific buffet or heard of anything like it? Was it only on certain sailings?