How best to manage the buffet with my disabled Mom

I am traveling with a friend and our limited mobility Moms on Grandeur of the Seas. I've been on this ship before with my Mom and we had a very difficult time at the buffet. It is way to crowded to have a walker or wheelchair there and getting to the food is difficult as there are multiple layers. Ramps, step ups, and very close seating. It always seems to be way too crowded.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this a more pleasant experience? With room service fees now in effect that option is off the table. I do the main dining room whenever possible (sea days) and of course for dinner. I walked around last time and picked out what I thought my Mom might like to eat but this does not seem really fair to her.

Any ideas?

Park Cafe is an alternative for breakfast and lunch. The Soliarum will be much less crowded than Windjammer.

I am traveling with a friend and our limited mobility Moms on Grandeur of the Seas. I've been on this ship before with my Mom and we had a very difficult time at the buffet. It is way to crowded to have a walker or wheelchair there and getting to the food is difficult as there are multiple layers. Ramps, step ups, and very close seating. It always seems to be way too crowded.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this a more pleasant experience? With room service fees now in effect that option is off the table. I do the main dining room whenever possible (sea days) and of course for dinner. I walked around last time and picked out what I thought my Mom might like to eat but this does not seem really fair to her.

 

Any ideas?

The only advice I can provide is not particularly helpful I am afraid

If you can get there early it is helpful, not least because some tables are reserved from disabled passengers at the sides

Oh, and patience is always helpful. It is unbelievable how many people turn around and around in circles on the spot without a clue where to go next :o

With DH, while he had quite limited dining options due to food allergies, I used to go around, see what the choices were, and report back. Then repeat to get him his food. Sounds kind of labor-intensive, but, also gave me a chance to scope it out and decide what I wanted at the same time.

The staff are usually more than willing to help your mom. If your mom can use a walker, the staff will help her with her plate as she walks along picking out what she wants. They will also find her seating.

I am disabled as well, I have difficulty walking any more than a few yards. I send an email to special needs explaining my situation and how at some times I really had no other option but to order from room service. They put a note on my account and said that they waive the room service fee for disabled passengers. Is she in a accessible room? That may help your case..... It is worth a try.... special_needs@rccl.com

I would try and go at an "off" time. My mother has a cane and I have found the staff to be very helpful.

With DH, while he had quite limited dining options due to food allergies, I used to go around, see what the choices were, and report back. Then repeat to get him his food. Sounds kind of labor-intensive, but, also gave me a chance to scope it out and decide what I wanted at the same time.

I have done the same thing. Not as difficult as it sounds, and would give your mother(s) some control over the choices.

I am not sure why you think that you getting your mother's food in the Windjammer isn't "fair to her", but if I were your mother, I would rather have you get me food in the Windjammer than eat in my cabin and be limited by the room service menu, even if the fee is waived.

Do the DINING room...she can roll up to the table and be served! It's ever so much nicer than the buffet. But, on port days, the dining room isn't open for lunch, so the WJ may be it. Try to go before or well after noon...that's the busiest time.

Take your mom through the buffet line and let her tell YOU what she wants...then you can get her to a table, and go fix her plate. Sometimes, you just have to take some extra time to make things work.

I walk with forearm crutches so my hands are busy walking. It's difficult to hold a plate and use my "sticks" at the same time. The Windjammer staff is always helpful and I just walk with one hand while juggling the plate and my remaining crutch. My best advice is to maintain a good sense of humour and ALWAYS remember

that most mobility devices can be used to keep fools from cutting in front of you in line😂.

Thank you for your indulgence

(No longer) Fat Paul

When you go into the Windjammer, ask a crew/manager to find a table for you and then have your Moms seated.

A waiter can bring them their drinks while you fill a plate for them.

Tip the waiter $1 per drink and you will have a friend for life and they will take care of your mom for you.

If you have a phone you could take pictures of the offerings to show her, instead of trying to remember them. If there's a sign up of the main entree choices you could take a picture of that, or even just a few shots (or video!) of the buffet stations.

The Solarium is an option, although the choices are limited. Although we have no mobility issues, we are in WJ early for breakfast and it is not crowded. In my opinion, if you can go early on the first day, and explain to the staff at WJ, they will help you the rest of the cruise. Breakfast is usually the same items each day, with minor substitutions. Get a table for your mom, and then ask what she would like.

I am not a fan of using room service all the time, as it might isolate her, but that is just my opinion. Try to talk to the officer in charge of WJ on the first day. Grandeur has a great crew, I am sure that they will help.

Regards,

Mike

Thanks to everyone for all of the great ideas! I just really worry about her balance and falling with so many (hungry) people about.

I thought I heard the room service fee was being waived for some guests with mobility issues. Worth checking.

Other than that, do like others have said and avoid peak times. My Wife had foot surgery a few years back and we had to adapt for a few cruises. She rented a scooter and would quickly pass by the selections on the way to find a table and I grabbed the food and drinks she wanted as well as mine. Worked well but glad she is back on her feet now.

When you go into the buffet with your Mom, there is usually a crew member with the santizer. Tell that crew member you need assistance for your Mom through the buffet. She will either find someone to assist or find a headwaiter who will find someone to assist. Decide ahead of time if you want the crew member to push your Mom and you handle the plates or vice versa. Then go through the buffet slowly and pick out what your Mom wants. The crew member will help to the table and then, if they don't offer, tell them what you both want to drink before they leave. They will get the drinks. After your Mom is seated, you can go back through the buffet yourself. This is what I do with our disabled family member.

Years ago when we first began sailing, there would be crew members at the buffet waiting to help disabled passengers, but this is not the case. Once in a while we will go to the buffet and someone will offer to help without being asked, but most of the time we have to ask.

My wife needed assistance getting her food on our last cruise and I would try to run interference for her, you would be surprised how many nice/kind folks there are on a cruise ship, and helpful staff. However, there are a number of jerks that are rude beyond belief.

Back to the thread. Find a manager usually white shirted. They will supervise other staff in getting your food, table drinks etc using the most wonderful hand signals from one end of the buffet to the other. As my wife is in a wheelchair and we both have short arms, by the end of the cruise the staff are almost fighting over who is going to serve us. Sometimes the main Dining waiters work the buffet so we get even more special attention. You only have to ask.

The best way would be to take your mom with you and take a look around the options, then both of you decide what you would like to eat and go and collect the food. If you need extra hands to take your food back to the table then ask a crew member to help. Both of you find a table, sit down and enjoy your meal. Of course your mom needs to see the buffet to decide what she would like. Go at your speed, this is your vacation.

I am traveling with a friend and our limited mobility Moms on Grandeur of the Seas. I've been on this ship before with my Mom and we had a very difficult time at the buffet. It is way to crowded to have a walker or wheelchair there and getting to the food is difficult as there are multiple layers. Ramps, step ups, and very close seating. It always seems to be way too crowded.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this a more pleasant experience? With room service fees now in effect that option is off the table. I do the main dining room whenever possible (sea days) and of course for dinner. I walked around last time and picked out what I thought my Mom might like to eat but this does not seem really fair to her.

 

Any ideas?

Personally... this is what I would do. I would push her around to see all the food, then go find a table that she can sit at and hold while you go get her what she wants, and then get something for yourself as well.

I don't know if that was helpful or not, but I think that is what I would try to do.

Have a good cruise.

i am traveling with a friend and our limited mobility moms on grandeur of the seas. I've been on this ship before with my mom and we had a very difficult time at the buffet. It is way to crowded to have a walker or wheelchair there and getting to the food is difficult as there are multiple layers. Ramps, step ups, and very close seating. It always seems to be way too crowded.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how i can make this a more pleasant experience? With room service fees now in effect that option is off the table. I do the main dining room whenever possible (sea days) and of course for dinner. I walked around last time and picked out what i thought my mom might like to eat but this does not seem really fair to her.

 

Any ideas?

Great question!

Why don’t you skip the Buffet and eat in the dining room where she can order what she likes and be waited on without fighting the crowds. The servers will treat her like a queen and you can all have a peaceful and restful meal.

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When I sailed with my husband, who used a scooter, he would be seated and I would look to see what was available at the buffet and then tell him so he could pick what he'd like and I'd get it for him.

It was quite easy to glance at the items on the buffet without bothering anyone or taking up space in the line. It worked out well for us. A couple of times though, while he was seated, a crew member asked him what he wanted for breakfast and he got it for him while I was out checking things out. So, when I came back to tell him the choices, and admittedly there aren't as many different ones on a daily basis, he already had his breakfast.