Gloves in buffet line

Well since the search bar is not working, I'll just put this out there. I was going to pack disposable bakery type gloves for use when going to the buffet to use the tongs that EVERYBODY handles. I JUST heard Dr. Oz say that ALL cruise lines now have them starting this year. They sure were not on X Infinity in August. We're sailing on Royal in Dec. Any recent Royal cruisers see any gloves? Thanks! btw...Dr. Oz had an outbreak of Noro at his home last year, so I understand anyone can get it anywhere, so please no flaming. Just trying to be cautious. Oh for the olden days when ladies wore gloves and you could hold onto the hand rail on the stairs!

we are just off the Crown Princess - the petri dish ship of Noro according to some posters.

We handled the tongs, I handled every rail going both up and down the stairs, and even in the hallways - balance issues..

Wash your hands

I’m not saying that gloves aren’t a good thing to do, but let’s look at what it would take for the cruise line to furnish gloves at the buffet.

Let’s say there are 3000 passengers on a ship. Let’s say that 2000 of them go to the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Each of these 2000 people use two pair of gloves per day. OK, let’s use only one glove at a time. We have 2000 people times 2 for a daily total of 4000 gloves per day. Now we are on a 10 day cruise so we have 4000 gloves times 10 days for a total of 40,000 gloves being used per cruise. That is a lot of gloves to be purchasing, storing and then the disposal problem.

I doubt that the cruise lines will be adding gloves to the buffet. This will also probably increase the lack of hand washing by passengers.

No gloves provided for guests. Just hand sanitizer on dispenser.

we are just off the Crown Princess - the petri dish ship of Noro according to some posters.

 

We handled the tongs, I handled every rail going both up and down the stairs, and even in the hallways - balance issues..

 

Wash your hands

Just back from the Emerald. Same here - used tongs, held hand rails on stairs (also balance issues), touched elevator buttons with finger.

Wash hands.....

Just wash your hands when you get into your cabin.

I cannot imagine every guest putting on gloves to handle tongs at the buffet.

we are just off the Crown Princess - the petri dish ship of Noro according to some posters.

 

We handled the tongs, I handled every rail going both up and down the stairs, and even in the hallways - balance issues..

 

Wash your hands

Seems too hard for many.

Well since the search bar is not working, I'll just put this out there. I was going to pack disposable bakery type gloves for use when going to the buffet to use the tongs that EVERYBODY handles. I JUST heard Dr. Oz say that ALL cruise lines now have them starting this year. They sure were not on X Infinity in August. We're sailing on Royal in Dec. Any recent Royal cruisers see any gloves? Thanks! btw...Dr. Oz had an outbreak of Noro at his home last year, so I understand anyone can get it anywhere, so please no flaming. Just trying to be cautious. Oh for the olden days when ladies wore gloves and you could hold onto the hand rail on the stairs!

ALL cruise lines don't have self-serve "buffets." Food in the Terrace Grill on Oceania ships (as close as they come to having a "buffet") is served by galley staff at the various stations.

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if it - noro - has an outbreak, the staff will be the only ones allowed to handle the tongs.

you're still on your own with the handrails, elevator buttons:cool:

if it - noro - has an outbreak, the staff will be the only ones allowed to handle the tongs.

 

you're still on your own with the handrails, elevator buttons:cool:

On Code Red there are lots of things the staff takes care of at the buffet.

we are just off the Crown Princess - the petri dish ship of Noro according to some posters.

 

We handled the tongs, I handled every rail going both up and down the stairs, and even in the hallways - balance issues..

 

Wash your hands

Good advice, but where did you wash your hands between handling the tongs in HC and eating?

with the foam my wife took

It’s not just noro, but it’s flu, brochitis, etc. I have an immune deficiency so I bring individually wrapped sanitizing wipes with me. After using the serving spoons and tongs, I use the it. If I go back for seconds or dessert, I use another sanitizing wipe. I also wash my hands often. Even with these precautions, there’s no guarantee I won’t get sick. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.

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Two Princess cruises in the past two months and no gloves unfortunately. I would've gladly used them. I've even thought of bringing them too. I've brought antibacterial wipes to use after touching the handles but gave up after awhile. I wish ALL cruise lines would provide them.

with the foam my wife took

And we use the little bottles of Purell - both in HC and MDR after handling the menus. But there are those who do not consider that "hand washing" - as in soap and water for 20 seconds or more - - which is why I asked. ;)

Bring the bottles of Purell and/ or antibacterial wipes to use after serving yourself. And don’t rub your eyes or put fingers or hands in mouth.

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People complain about washing their hands before entering the buffet on the Royal and Regal. I can just see the uproar if they are told they must wear latex gloves in the line. Cruise lines would have to carry tens of thousands of them in many sizes along with alternates for those with latex allergies. Do not see this happening anytime soon.

I suspect Dr Oz was referring to gloves for serving staff.

Use a hand sanitizer before handling first pair of tongs and after last pair. Hold plate in one hand. Use the other exclusively to handle tongs.

It's a shame that Princess doesn't supply paper napkins in the buffet like Cunard still does. I think Princess use to have them. I like using a clean paper napkin when going through the buffet to pickup the tongs. Unfortunately I have seen too many passengers in front of me in the buffet doing strange things. We have talked about this before. .

I just returned from a 14 day TA, boarded ship well, 2 am the next morning I awoke with cold symptoms, I sat next to a women on a plane for 8 hours who coughed the entire trip. 10 days later my dh got a similar cold.... we stayed to ourselves most of the trip, but I did hear others coughing especially in the theatre.... sometimes no matter what you do... it does not work.

It's a shame that Princess doesn't supply paper napkins in the buffet like Cunard still does. I think Princess use to have them. I like using a clean paper napkin when going through the buffet to pickup the tongs. . .

You can bring a paper towel from the rest room for this purpose.

It's a shame that Princess doesn't supply paper napkins in the buffet like Cunard still does. I think Princess use to have them. I like using a clean paper napkin when going through the buffet to pickup the tongs. Unfortunately I have seen too many passengers in front of me in the buffet doing strange things. We have talked about this before. .

However, if I see a passenger drop the serving spoon INTO the container of food, I will typically avoid taking food from that container (if not removed by the crew).

I just returned from a 14 day TA, boarded ship well, 2 am the next morning I awoke with cold symptoms, I sat next to a women on a plane for 8 hours who coughed the entire trip. 10 days later my dh got a similar cold.... we stayed to ourselves most of the trip, but I did hear others coughing especially in the theatre.... sometimes no matter what you do... it does not work.

For years we would get respiratory issues after a cruise, until we started cruising from a port we could drive to. Most of that crap is spread in the airplane, which has nowhere near the sanitary precautions of a cruise ship.

Go for it.

Airplanes are definitely an incubation chamber for all airborne illnesses. I really hate to fly but at times I have to do it. I just got off the Emerald on a B2B and there were no gloves offered. At least two cabins near ours had some kind of problem because I saw them disinfecting the two rooms and saw them cleaning the carpet in front of the elevator on our deck one day. My guess it was the dreaded noro. Best preventative is wash your hands thoroughly many times a day.