The other thing to point out with the Pirate buffet is that it is right after the pirate show/fireworks, but DURING the Pirate dancing that they do after the Pirate show. So if we had stayed to watch/participate in the dancing on deck after the main show, we would have missed the whole buffet.
Also, many people on the ship (at all the buffets, not just the pirate one) are used to "normal" buffets" where you all stand in one line at the front of the buffet and wait your turn, then go all the way down the line. In my experience, this is not what DCL intends for you to do at their buffets. If you want the first item nearest the door, then by all means wait for it, but if you want something that is halfway down, you are welcome to go down to that area and wait behind only the people getting that. This keeps the whole line moving better, instead of waiting behind people for something you don't want and accidentally holding up the whole line.
So on pirate night, when the doors opened, actually a few minutes after the doors opened, we went in, found a table and then went to the parts of the buffet we were interested in, with little waiting, but without cutting anyone off. (I think we went for the tacos, the baked potato toppings and the desserts.)