Ret MP

As you can already tell, some people have all the answers but don't respect personal choices, especially those that make no difference and pose no danger to others.

Not personally!

100% I believe that that is called "Class Envy". As much as I like to debate folks about a ton of subjects/issues, I tend to ignore those kinds of statements/comments. Like you, I cruise Suites, not because I feel I'm better than anyone else. But, because I like the benefits/perks/luxury of it. I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like most other people.

Yep, I've lived a very fulfilling life with lots of experience. I've also done much more than I have discussed here on this board. Oh, and that's Port Everglades and FLL, not Port Canaveral. Plumber, roofer, golf club repairer, and starter at a Golf Club, metering tech for an electric utility company & Customer Service member Rep. (retired from), over the road truck driver (retired from), and I won't even get into some of the things I did in the Army (retired from). I've retired 3 times. I'm sure I could think of a few other things if I tried. But, most were just summer jobs and I was not professional at. Professional at Law Enforcement, Soldiering, Truck Driving, and managing Parking Operations at an Airport and Cruise Port & Human Resources for the same parking company (USA Parking). Yes, I see the humor in most things. Just not necessarily from some people. But, I do love to cruise.

Did I say I believed what I read on the Internet? I believe I said that even if just a rumor, it was enough for me/us to take precautions and I also said that I didn't verify the information. Or something like that. I didn't "stereotype anything, I use examples and if you read it as I intended, it was an attempt at a little humor. And what behavior is that? Eating FFs with my hands while moving around the WJ or other buffets? Do you consider that disgusting human behavior? Idiocy? Being a retired active duty U.S. Army soldier, criminal investigator, and traffic accident investigator, I can tell you a thing or two about disgusting/idiocy. Like I said over and over again, some of you are just worried about optics. Period. There is no science or logic to your FEELINGS.

Hell, I spent, just today, over $20.00 on 4 cookies. Yep, $16.00 per day per person isn't an issue for me, not that I'm loaded, far from it. Yes, I'd prefer to give it to those that I actually see and receive service(s) from. But, it is what it is.

Because I don't know what they have done with the food or plate. Did they cough, drool, sneeze, or whatever on the plate and/or food? My fingers never touched my mouth or nose, my food never made it back to the serving line. There is no question about that. It seems, like others, that you are more worried about the optics, not logic. And yes, on a cruise, it is all about me, that's what I pay for. However, I still use common courtesy(ies) and respect other's rights and social norms. I wonder if you and others get grossed out when the head chef pulls out his tasting spoon, tries what the underlings cooked, wipes the spoon off with a napkin, and then puts it back in his pocket for the next tasting. Or how about the underlings cooking the meal and sweating all over the food and talking/yelling at his/her buddies and spit spewing out of their mouths? And you think that because I take a FF or two with my fingers from MY plate and put the FFs in my mouth without touching my mouth is gross? LOL

Oh, okay!

Between Jr. High and Sr. High, I worked in a few restaurants but mostly spent most of my time working at gas stations (you know, the full service, check your tires and engine oil, kinda gas station) and once in an auto parts store (NAPA). That's during the winter/school season, in the summer I worked for my dad in a Golf Pro Shop, he was the head pro at the golf course near Montreal Canada.

Hasn't most middle school age and High School age kids. Or do you always insinuate that people are lying?

Over dressed! Nuff said!

Just for clarification: I worked in a few restaurants as a Jr high school kid, washing dishes. My pay was a %age of the wait staff's tips and a very small hourly wage. I worked hard to make sure every plate, spoon, and glass was totally clean and spot-free. If I made the wait staff look good, I got more money. No, I can't guarantee that all the wait staff was honest and put all the tips in the bucket. I believe that system is still in existence today - shared gratuities for those behind the scenes. Now, do they do that on ships, I don't know and more importantly, I don't care.

Man, I got on your bad side today/night. Why? Well, because I can and I choose to do it. It has nothing to do with hunger or waiting 5 minutes. It's because I want to and if I really like the FFs, I'll get more on my plate before I go sit down. The difference? Well, let's start with I'm not putting food on my plate and putting it back, totally sanitary. Nothing I place on my plate/tray ever gets back onto the serving line/steam table/under the hot lamp, NOTHING <for emphasis, not yelling. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that. Also, the difference is the hypocrisy we are experiencing today. We are trying to protect ourselves to death, literally.

Actually, I do. Nothing surprises me when it involves disgusting human behavior or idiocy. Geeee, I wonder why there are actual articles about it happening. But, like I said, I can't verify the stories and I didn't witness it myself. So, who knows? Not me, for sure. Maybe they are multitasking, washing pantyhose in a carafe, entertaining their pilot friends, and washing their jeans in the bathroom sink! Hell, I don't know, I didn't make the crap up, I read about it. You can Google it, you know.

Well, there are several articles about how hotel maids (or whatever they are called today) will, if you are there for multi-nights and don't leave a tip daily, do gross things to your personal effect, including toothbrushes. Because of that, for decades, we always packed our personal effects in our luggage and ran plastic ties through the zippers on a daily basis, cruising or on road trips. We also don't use the coffee makers in hotel rooms, lots of stories of flight attendants washing their pantyhose in them, just for one example. Hotels now, mostly, use Keurig-type coffee makers and eliminate the carafes, which is a good thing. We never use glass glasses or ceramic cups in a hotel room. We'll use individually wrapped disposable cups. No, I haven't verified or proven true any of these stories but the mere rumor of it is enough for us. And being a retired LEO, I don't put anything past anybody. I don't take these cautionary tales as anything more than just that, a cautionary tale.

It is the unknown that gets people all riled up and asking, debating, and/or arguing about things. For me, I don't care about the fine details, I do my best to take care of the people that I have direct contact with if they take care of me. Those that I don't have contact with must feel that they are doing Okay as they are working there. And it is a discussion board. So, let's discuss.

And on RCCL, you'd be disappointed.

Other than post-COVID, finding crew members hasn't been a problem. I believe the employment problem is seeing signs of relief and everything "should" be back to normal, again, soon <employee wise. So, if people are applying for the known position(s) and wage, isn't that fair, TO THEM? Nobody is holding a gun to their head and forcing them to work for a cruise line. Isn't it ultimately up to the employee/crew member if they are getting a fair wage? I know it isn't up to me. I provide a gratuity to "individuals" who provide me with at least average service, the more above average they get, the better the gratuity (I've been known to leave a single penny at restaurants for poor service), regardless of how much their employer is paying them. How much their employer is paying them is none of my business. BTW, if there are employees/crew members that I don't and can't interact with, that's the position they accepted. If they get a piece of the gratuity pot, more power to them. But, like you, I don't feel obligated to seek them out and give them a tip, but they signed up for it.

Well, thank you for your honest opinion and that's all it is. That's all I was looking for even though I believe you are lumping various activities into one large bucket. What I do vs what I've mentioned above by others are not the same activity. My view of what you are saying is just the optics of it, what I do. Not based on facts and science.

Yes, exactly, the hand sanitizer and/or washy washy is pure unadulterated BS/whitewash. Your hands are sanitized up until you touch your mouth/nose or the first hard surface you touch, including utensils. That's not to say don't do it, I always do. But, I go into it with knowledge and logic.

No, I don't want to. A 100% avoidable action that isn't harming anybody, not one bit. When all the other situations/actions/activities are completely regulated and done away with, I'll consider it.

Have you not observed the many many many people scratching their noses, blowing their noses, caught in their hands, wiping drool from their kid's faces, covering their mouths while yawning, and on and on? And then handle the serving utensils? No, breathing on my hand is not an issue and I usually hold my breath while stuffing my mouth with food, anyway. How many vertically challenged people have you seen with direct line of sight without any glass separation to the steam table have you seen talking, yawning, and all of the above? No, I think we have selective facts and situations to meet our own sensitivities, not true logic.

I totally agree, for the most part. I do the same as much as possible. HOWEVER, I do go to the WJ for breakfast often, no matter what ship I'm on. I like piling the bacon on my plate and not having to ask for more several times at the full-service venues, for me, it's kinda like asking for permission. On occasion, I may eat in the WJ for lunch, especially on port days. That's generally when I eat the fries while I'm walking around, at the service line or not.

So, talking, yawning, and coughing/sneezing into your inner elbow is a sin! But, that's not what I asked about. I failed to see any unsanitary activity that I described.

Okay, I need clarification: If I grab a tong full of french fries and put them on my plate, and then while I'm cruising all the other stations/selections eat a french fry or two several times, is that a sin with some of you? I mean, my hands never touch any part of my mouth/body while selecting other items, it's french fries that are basically handles on both sides. I do this all the time and will continue to do so and if I don't like them, I leave them on the plate to be picked up at the table. Note: Not one germ transferred from my hand(s) to the serving line(s)/steam table(s). I would never put something on my plate and then put it back on the serving line and I will never eat something directly from the serving utensil(s) OR reach into the steam table/heating lamp, whatever just to try something.