Trays in King's Court?

I think I must be an oddity - after the first couple of days I had no problem with Kings Court. _At least not with finding my way around. And I always found a table albeit not necessarily 6 feet away from the buffet....

Well, the question was about trays, not so much about the KC in general, but I agree that it's practical. I can see what I get, there is (normally) plenty of choice and, first and foremost, I can see the sea! :)

JE SUIS CHARLIE

Instead of removing the trays they should remove the entire venue. It's disgrace.

Well, the question was about trays, not so much about the KC in general, but I agree that it's practical. I can see what I get, there is (normally) plenty of choice and, first and foremost, I can see the sea! :)

 

 

JE SUIS CHARLIE

Sorry - was actually responding before to wripros 's post! But I don't think I could manage without a tray!

If you order coffee and a muffin for room service breakfast it comes on a tray. Then you can go to breakfast...

Sorry - was actually responding before to wripros 's post! But I don't think I could manage without a tray!

No problem. It's possible, but too time-consuming. There are better things to do on a ship than queueing and waiting, still I wish I was there! I'm waiting over here .... (where is the crying smiley?).

JE SUIS CHARLIE

If you order coffee and a muffin for room service breakfast it comes on a tray. Then you can go to breakfast...

Good idea :D, but I want a croissant!

JE SUIS CHARLIE

I guess we all have our own definitions of what is a challenge and what is a disgrace. Kings Court would be absolutely fine in a hospital or high school but not on what cuanrd calls the finest ocean liners at sea. jmo.

I guess we all have our own definitions of what is a challenge and what is a disgrace. Kings Court would be absolutely fine in a hospital or high school but not on what cuanrd calls the finest ocean liners at sea. jmo.

In what way do you consider it to be a disgrace? Please explain. You are of course entitled to your opinion but so far you have not given any information to back up your rather derogatory statement.

I rarely bother with a tray anyway but then I am lucky enough to be travelling with my OH.

We usually get our drinks and cutlery then we take it in turns to get our food while the other one remains seated at our table.

On Celebrity, where they have never had trays during the time that we have cruised with them, if a single person leaves a drink and cutlery on a table to signify that it is occupied, the waiting staff have been known to clear it away before they are able to get back to it with their food.

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I think one difference is that Cunard uses standard sized plates, 8-9 inches, (20-25cm?), while HAL's are Huge ovals, probably the same width as Cunard but about 70% longer.

I never miss a tray on HAL but can imagine it being a problem on Cunard.

Roy

I really don't see what the big fuss is about…

I have just crossed on QM2 and had no issue on the rare occasion I used KC, and did not see other people struggling either. There was one chap who was assisted by a member of service staff as he was using a walking frame, but he would have had to be assisted anyway.

 

On Celebrity, where they have never had trays during the time that we have cruised with them, if a single person leaves a drink and cutlery on a table to signify that it is occupied, the waiting staff have been known to clear it away before they are able to get back to it with their food.

 

 

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Yes, I remember :D

Long lines, unappetizing presentation, difficulty in finding a table, so so food.

After a few bad experiences we avoided KC whenever possible. The bad experiences which put us off included plates cold in the hot meals line; the food cold when meant to be hot; areas closing early; tables left un-cleared; plates too hot to carry without a tray; no trays (now solved by taking our own, see earlier post). Mostly it was the mediocre at best food quality. We've sailed more times than we can remember on QM2 and feel that the KC food and service has got worse as time has gone on. Cunard should offer better than this.

plates cold in the hot meals line

This doesn't just apply to Kings Court. Last month in the QE's Lido the plates were cold for the hot food and the plates which should have been cold for salads were warm.

Apologies for bringing up an old thread.

Are the trays gone on all three Queens?

The trays are also now gone in the Lido on the QE. The result of this is many trips back and forth to get different courses and drinks. Although at least there are some waiters coming round with hot and cold drinks. Another result is that you have to carry the very hot plates with paper napkins. And while on the subject of napkins in the Lido, be aware of the cotton ones as they shed lint over your dark clothes, (not so the ones in the Golden Lion which have nice satiny ones).

We had an excellent comedian two evenings last week called Allan Stewart.

His joke about the trays went something along the lines of:

Who took away the trays? (laughter and clapping). There must be a sadist on board. Those plates are about 400 degrees! What smells like bacon cooking is actually your fingers burning!

Apologies for bringing up an old thread.

 

 

 

Who took away the trays? (laughter and clapping). There must be a sadist on board. Those plates are about 400 degrees! What smells like bacon cooking is actually your fingers burning!

It was worth reviving for that joke :):)

Call me picky but I don't like my salad, entrée and dessert piled on to one big plate.

and that's why I make 2 or 3 trips to the buffet :p

While we (very) occasionally eat in the various buffets, if late back for lunch or feeling not up to a full meal at dinner time, I can't imagine eating a three course meal there. A simple plate is fine for us.

The removal of trays from the Lido on QE must be a very recent change as we had them on our 16-30 September voyage. I do wonder whether Cunard wants to encourage more people into the Britannia dining room at lunchtime: we haven't eaten there often during our QE trips but it has always been quiet when we have.

I assume that tables are now being set with cutlery and napkins - or is that another trip too?

I can't see how removing the trays represents an improvement in service: on our recent trip there would have been a very large number of guests for whom the absence of trays would have created considerable difficulties. Far from reducing the queues or speeding them up, I can see the opposite happening. I'm sure Cunard knows what it is doing though...

It's impossible to carry everything without a tray. My tray would be full at breakfast with:

- 2 glasses of iced water

- 1 cup of coffee

- a bowl of fruit

- a small plate with a slice of banana bread

- cutlery

 

You can picture how many trips backwards and forwards I had to make on QM2 recently without a tray. If I could not get a seat near the food and drink, I ended up dehydrated.

 

Bring back the trays!

When I was aboard a few weeks ago there were servers for drinks and cutlery wrapped in a napkin on the tables.

The removal of trays from the Lido on QE must be a very recent change as we had them on our 16-30 September voyage. I do wonder whether Cunard wants to encourage more people into the Britannia dining room at lunchtime: we haven't eaten there often during our QE trips but it has always been quiet when we have.

 

I assume that tables are now being set with cutlery and napkins - or is that another trip too?

 

I can't see how removing the trays represents an improvement in service: on our recent trip there would have been a very large number of guests for whom the absence of trays would have created considerable difficulties. Far from reducing the queues or speeding them up, I can see the opposite happening. I'm sure Cunard knows what it is doing though...

Yes very recent. In fact the day you disembarked - 30th September.

There was cutlery wrapped in napkins on tables and counters. And no loose cutlery the first day. So even if you only wanted one piece of cutlery, you had to unravel a napkin to get it.

Possibly the idea behind the removal of trays could be there is nowhere to put them once you've off-loaded your food from them.

Trays: can we bring our own?

Trays: I won't miss them.

BoisDore, I look forward to the service you described. Much nicer to have waiters provide beverages.

Happy Sailing to all!

Trays: can we bring our own?

Sure, but there will be a $15 cover charge at the entrance to the buffet.

I guess we all have our own definitions of what is a challenge and what is a disgrace. Kings Court would be absolutely fine in a hospital or high school but not on what cuanrd calls the finest ocean liners at sea. jmo.

We eat 50/50 MDR's and Buffets on every cruise line and Cunard would be no different. They are convenient if you have an early shorex, plus they stay open longer at lunchtime than the MDR does, for those returning late from shorex. If there were no buffets, the cruise lines inc Cunard would have to serve lunch from 10am to 4pm in the MDR to feed every body. And as for cabin breakfasts, who wants to eat cereal every morning? One cannot get the 'Full English' in your cabin, but you can in the Buffet !!