Cruises often have at least three dining options: the multi star restaurant on the top deck, the common area restaurant that most patrons frequent, and the International buffet usually full of high schoolers and older folks who want an easy meal.

I’m here to tell you the international buffet should not be ignored, avoided, or even treated as a last-stop. Here is part of your cruising experience. A chance make your mom try sushi for the first time, or have baklava on the same plate as your pizza. It can be part of your storytelling experience to tell your friends you tried kangaroo.

Also, there’s the perk of not having it added to your cruise tab when you eat at the buffet, despite a rotating array of expertly prepared dishes. So, save yourself a buck for that Thursday excursion to Chichen Itza when you dock in Mexico by having the crab legs via buffet instead of in the stuffy dining room.

Cruising is all about trying new things, after all.