Not so & common sense at the ship buffet

[sail7seas]

HAL also uses cloth napkins, however, there are some paper napkins at the ice cream station. People like to have some napkins when they walk away licking their ice cream cones. :)

 

[BillOh]

I have worked in the food industry for close to 30 years....I won't eat in the buffet

 

Not because the food workers are unsafe, but because kids don't know better and just aren't monitored well

 

I watched a kid pick up an apple in my produce section at the grocery store, lick it and then put it back.

 

I have earned food handling permits in 3 different states and many different counties, all of them say avoid buffets like the plague

 

My last cruise I watched this, just as a matter of curiousity. I am not the buffet police. The dumbest thing I saw was a woman pick up 4 hot dog buns before finding the 5th one acceptable.

[BillOh]

The safer way to distribute food is for the ship personell to hand each item via a spoon or tongs. But that requires a lot of personell during a time where cruise lines are cutting back on their food service personell.

 

Even that isn't perfect. I've witnessed the crew set the tongs down on top of food. Last year on Allure I watched a crew member unwrap 100 individually wrapped plastic glasses to be used at a returning cruisers party. He unwrapped all of them and two fingers on the inside of every single one of them..

[navybankerteacher]

Just curious...do you touch door handles (any)? How about hand rails? Elevator buttons? Money? Merchandise you are considering as a purchase? Do you inhale without the use of a mask?

 

There are many, many ways to come into contact with germs and become sick. I am not saying you should not take sensible percautions but I can assure you...sooner or later, something will kill you.

 

Best to avoid door handles -especially those leaving rest rooms - paper towels are great insulators. Napkins help you avoid touching serving pieces. Knuckles were made for using on elevators buttons. Fortunately I do not (yet) need to use hand rails. Of course no approach is perfect, but with a little common sense and clean habits you can greatly reduce risk.

[Husky61]

Just curious...do you touch door handles (any)? How about hand rails? Elevator buttons? Money? Merchandise you are considering as a purchase? Do you inhale without the use of a mask?

 

There are many, many ways to come into contact with germs and become sick. I am not saying you should not take sensible percautions but I can assure you...sooner or later, something will kill you.

 

Well said. You would think that all of the posters never touch anything unless they have sterilized first.:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Another problem when it comes to serving utensils is when someone uses them to take one item and then uses the same ones for another bin. It can be problematic if one food is an allergen (such as shellfish).

[MCAT48]

Just curious...do you touch door handles (any)? How about hand rails? Elevator buttons? Money? Merchandise you are considering as a purchase? Do you inhale without the use of a mask?

 

There are many, many ways to come into contact with germs and become sick. I am not saying you should not take sensible percautions but I can assure you...sooner or later, something will kill you.

 

What grosses me out the most plus the things you have mentioned is menus at restaurants, especially the ones left on the tables and salt and pepper shakers.

[Langley Cruisers]

HAL also uses cloth napkins, however, there are some paper napkins at the ice cream station.

 

Thanks, understood and makes sense. I only read a few of the replies (yours was one of them) before this thread grossed me out. LOL! :)

[swedish weave]

Are we really becoming a society of germophobics ???

 

It could be bad for you !!!

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/02/berezow.germs/

[NotMyRealName25]

I'm just going to live my life and enjoy my vacation! The likelihood of me dying from germs are way slimmer than the likelihood of me dying from over-eating on my cruise! That's why I love cruises the most - unlimited food supply 24/7! [emoji23]

Edited September 3, 2014 by NotMyRealName25

[sail7seas]

Are we really becoming a society of germophobics ???

 

It could be bad for you !!!

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/02/berezow.germs/

 

 

 

Actually, I agree with you and almost never have the anti-bacterial gels or soap in my home. We use plain soap and water and I think it is over kill with all those hand gels. I think we need to be exposed to some in moderation to build our immune systems. That is not to say I don't travel with a can of Lysol and wipes etc :) I like to wipe down certain areas of our hotel rooms/cabins.

 

[luddite]

My last cruise I watched this, just as a matter of curiousity. I am not the buffet police. The dumbest thing I saw was a woman pick up 4 hot dog buns before finding the 5th one acceptable.

 

I've seen people riffle through 30-40 tortillas looking for the 'good' one.

Kids with handfuls of sunflower seeds funnelling through their hands back into the container.

Pick their nose and grab the tongs.

Leave restroom after making sounds like fogged-in ship on the Mississippi River without a glance at the sink, then head to the buffet.

 

People are pigs.

[wassup4565]

I have never been sick from eating anything on a cruise. I`m not walking around in a paranoid fog inspecting every utensil on my vacation either, no sirree!

 

I already got antibodies to most of this stuff in my sixty-plus years. Whatever doesn`t kill you makes you stronger.

[Amerryscot]

My last cruise I watched this, just as a matter of curiousity. I am not the buffet police. The dumbest thing I saw was a woman pick up 4 hot dog buns before finding the 5th one acceptable.

 

People eat hot dogs on a cruise??? Yuck.

[txflood33]

People eat hot dogs on a cruise??? Yuck.

 

Hey, Hey...don't knock the vacation hot dog. One of the best hot dogs I ever had was from a street vendor while on vacation in Key West....right at that time, it was better than any fresh seafood you could have placed in front of me

 

100% beef(yes, I understand that's a broad term when talking hot dogs) grilled right in front of me with grilled onions and mustard......mmmmmmm.....now I want to go back to DuVall street in Key West

 

I guess it's also possible the cruise line hot dog was for a picky kid

[whogo]

Watch a buffet for a while and you will see someone lick his fingers after handling a sticky spoon. Saw someone else test the salad dressings by sticking her finger in a few for a lick.

[Amerryscot]

Hey, Hey...don't knock the vacation hot dog. One of the best hot dogs I ever had was from a street vendor while on vacation in Key West....right at that time, it was better than any fresh seafood you could have placed in front of me

 

100% beef(yes, I understand that's a broad term when talking hot dogs) grilled right in front of me with grilled onions and mustard......mmmmmmm.....now I want to go back to DuVall street in Key West

 

I guess it's also possible the cruise line hot dog was for a picky kid

 

The only place I would ever consider having a hot dog would be in Frankfurt.

 

I didn't bring up my children to be picky :cool:

[txflood33]

The only place I would ever consider having a hot dog would be in Frankfurt.

 

I didn't bring up my children to be picky :cool:

 

I didn't bring my son up that way either....but we don't raise the world's kid population...thank god :D

 

I'm not saying a dog is my first choice....my Key West dog was at midnight during a night of drinking and it was the perfect thing at that time....and that weird street meal is the spark to a huge, awesome vacation memory :cool:

[whoami67]

People eat hot dogs on a cruise??? Yuck.

 

Why not? :confused:

[trev71]

I know when it comes to buffets people always dont have the best hygein. I once saw someone lick a surving spoon and put it back in. Then again ive seen my inlaws do it as well at family gathers.

 

I try not to let it get to me though. My last cruise we didnt go to WJ half as much as we used to with all the different options out there.

 

I found going to regular places (non buffet) I was not temped as much to go for seconds

[browneyedgirlnb]

A few cruises ago I saw the woman in front of me in the wj ladle several pieces of salad onto her plate, then remove all of the cucumber pieces from her plate back into the salad bowl with her fingers. Yuck! This wasn't a kid, but a woman in her late 60s/early 70s. Def old enough to know better. I let a server know but it took me a while to find one, by then she was out of sight.

 

Though I didn't get sick on that cruise, I did on my last cruise... on our cruise forum page, a fellow cc member kept telling everyone for the 3 weeks prior that she & her husband were sick as dogs with a flu. Even up to the night before sailing, still making the same comments. I made a mental note to steer clear of them onboard for the sail away, but assured myself that either 1.) They wouldn't get past the health questionnaire pre boarding (what a joke) or 2.) That they would not come to the sail away if they were sick. Wrong on both counts! they came & were shaking hands with everyone. So inconsiderate. It wasn't until I looked in the husband's glazed, weepy, droopy eyes that I realized who they were but it was too late as I had already shaken his hand! About 2 days later, I was sick & it not only lasted the remainder of the cruise, but for 2 weeks after. Ugh.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Edited September 3, 2014 by browneyedgirlnb

[shirleygallegos60]

Did anyone watch the Dr Oz show where they were having utensils tested in buffets? the test came back with fecal matter among other things on all of the serving handles!! Just sayin! !

[iancal]

We do not like the Lido for all of these reasons.

 

It is no wonder there is Noro on the ships. We see as many or more adults contaminating the food as we do children. And it often we find most of the offenders are seniors.

 

Put us right off just about everything but most especially the bread products, the cookies, and the fruit. Not to mention the people who pile there plates so high that they must believe that this their last meal.

 

We find the environment very offputting.

Edited September 3, 2014 by iancal

[swedish weave]

We do not like the Lido for all of these reasons.

 

It is no wonder there is Noro on the ships. We see as many or more adults contaminating the food as we do children. And it often we find most of the offenders are seniors.

 

Put us right off just about everything but most especially the bread products, the cookies, and the fruit. Not to mention the people who pile there plates so high that they must believe that this their last meal.

 

We find the environment very offputting.

 

Your comments are a little misleading.

 

If you don't go to the buffet, how do you see the people doing all these offensive things ?

 

If you do go to the buffet, why ?

Edited September 3, 2014 by swedish weave

[sail7seas]

Why not? :confused:

 

Indeed, why not have a hot dog on a cruise if you want? :confused:

 

Some people dine out very often at home and don't only have 'treats' on a cruise. If they are dining well in their homes and restaurants all year, they don't need to obsess about getting 'special' things when cruising. I almost never have a muffin at home. That is one of my big treats on a cruise. Someone else would say why aren't you having eggs benedict? :D

 

Maybe we follow a healthful diet at home and want those unhealthy treats on the ship? :eek: