How do the S-Class buffet's operate - lines/serving/etiquette

[Gaston123]

I"m new to Celebrity and am excited to be travelling in September on the Silhouette (to Norway). I have cruised most often with Oceania, and recently did the NYC-Bermuda cruise on the Norwegian Escape.

 

I'd love to hear your experience with the Buffet on Celebrity. I love trying out the buffets but am often frustrated over concerns related to hygiene and behavior. On Oceania, only the staff are permitted to touch the serving utensils. I think this is the safest approach and i'm wondering if there is any chance it is the same on Celebrity? On Oceania, people are generally respectful, but there's always someone who goes for what they perceive is an opening that they can squeeze in to to get their food where in reality there are 4 people patiently waiting in a queue for the same food.

 

My NCL experience last week was that it was common that people were walking around using their hands to graze off of their plate just before moving in to grab the serving utensil (with the hand that was just in their mouth), sometimes placing the hand side of the utensil back on the food itself. Rude behavior was all around with people not having any respect for those who are properly lining up in the direction of travel for the particular counter. Although i enjoyed all of the food options, it wasn't a very positive experience and i blame the fact that my partner and i were both sick with a cold the week after the cruise on the hygiene practices at the buffet.

 

I'd love to hear what it is really like to get your food and how it is served and how the passengers behave at the buffet on Celebrity (in particular the S-Class or Silhouette (assuming they are the same). Is it really crowded? How is the food!?

 

Thanks in advance!!

Edited June 4, 2018 by Gaston123

[maggie.1008]

I am sorry to say you will find some of the same behavior on Celebrity that you found on NCL. If you go to the Buffet later things won`t be so busy. At noon it can be a mad house.

 

I love Oceania`s buffet. I also like that they don`t let you touch the food and serve you. I wish Celebrity did the same as it would cut back on the Noro outbreaks. Yes, they have had Noro outbreaks on Oceania as well.

[SFCAcruiser]

...

On Oceania, only the staff are permitted to touch the serving utensils. I think this is the safest approach and i'm wondering if there is any chance it is the same on Celebrity? Celebrity is usually self-serve, unless there has been an outbreak of Norovirus on board. If this is the case, the staff will serve the food for at least several days, until the Norovirus has passed. On Oceania, people are generally respectful, but there's always someone who goes for what they perceive is an opening that they can squeeze in to to get their food where in reality there are 4 people patiently waiting in a queue for the same food. You may find the same thing on Celebrity. However, the buffet on the S class ships is arranged differently from that on the M class ships. S ship buffets consist of "stations" or food islands; on M ships there are serving lines arranged in a linear fashion. Therefore queues are much less significant on S ships than M ships, and less opportunity for cutting the queue. Instead, on S ships, there is a greater amount of passengers moving about from one station to the next ("bouncing around, or zig-zagging")

 

My NCL experience last week was that it was common that people were walking around using their hands to graze off of their plate just before moving in to grab the serving utensil (with the hand that was just in their mouth), sometimes placing the hand side of the utensil back on the food itself. I have seen this on Celebrity as well. M class and S class....

 

I'd love to hear what it is really like to get your food and how it is served and how the passengers behave at the buffet on Celebrity (in particular the S-Class or Silhouette (assuming they are the same). Is it really crowded? It can be, at times. We have always been able to find a seat somewhere, without much difficulty. do you love the food!? To each his own. you will have to answer this for yourself.....

Best wishes for a pleasant voyage.

[Alakegirl]

I hope that you don’t see the staff serving everything at the buffet on Celebrity. THat’s a sign of noro on board

[NordicPrince]

I've been on 3 of the S-class ships. Maybe it is the target audience of Celebrity that go on the ships, because I have not observed any of the afore-mentioned negative behaviors being prevalent in the Oceanview Cafe. The food is laid out in food islands which for the most part are duplicated on port and starboard sides. There are islands in the middle for "specialty" functions such as the crew making sandwiches for lunch and the carving station. At one end is the pizza and pasta stations. On the opposite end is the chef specialty of the day for lunch. A separate salad station is there. Thus I think by logically separating the food items that there is generally good order and flow prevailing.

 

There is a lot of space between the stations as well. Crew and supervisors are always around making sure everything goes smoothly. If you observe any of the utensils being messed around with you can point this out to them and they will take quick corrective action.

 

At breakfast there is a poached egg and eggs benedict station, a waffles and pancake station, and a made to order eggs and omelette station. There is one station just for English Breakfast.

 

In all I would say you should not experience any of your fears being prevalent in the Oceanview Cafe.

 

I do want to put this out there that I am from the NE part of the U.S. where a certain amount of crowd activity is part of our usual functioning. But like I said nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Enjoy your cruising days.

[Marelaine]

I'm sorry to say the buffet is self serve unless the ship is experiencing a noro outbreak.

 

The buffet is set up in stations, rather than one long line, so there usually aren't long lines at any station. There are a few items that made to order - omelettes, eggs, toast at breakfast; roasted meats that are sliced an put on your plate by the carver; made to order steaks and fillets in the evening; and ice cream. Maybe there are other items, but most are self-serve. The busiest times at the buffet are 8-10 a.m. and 12-2 p.m. We prefer to eat during off peak times. In the afternoon, around 4 p.m, they put out an impressive assortment of tea sandwiches and pastries, self serve.

 

Are there rude people who use their fingers to serve themselves and cut into line? Yes, but most people try to be polite.

 

 

Overall, the buffet is very good, with a large assortment of items.

[phoenix_dream]

You've gotten a lot of detail already on the logistics of the buffets on Celebrity. As to rude or ignorant behavior? Anytime you have thousands of people you will have some who do not behave appropriately. Celebrity is no different than anywhere else in that regard, although I will say that more people than not are polite and careful with their actions.

 

As to getting a cold and blaming it on the buffet practices? Possible. But we cruise often, rarely eat at the buffet, and often catch colds anyway. You can easily catch a cold on the plane on the way to the cruise (most likely), from touching anything on the ship and then touching your face without thinking, from walking through an area where someone just sneezed, and the list goes on. You are mingling with thousands of people from all over the world, where they may be bringing cold viruses to which you have no immunity. Not to veer off topic, but that is one reason I cringe when I read about people bringing infants on cruises. They have almost no immunity and their parents are exposing them to germs from dozens of foreign countries, on a vessel in the middle of the ocean with physicians who are definitely not pediatric specialists. Sorry, I digress........

[Gaston123]

Thank you so much, everyone, for all of this great context. It stands to reason that behaviours will be as observed on other lines but I appreaciate knowing that for the most part your experiences sound quite positive. Great point to avoid peak hours and I also am happy to hear about the different breakfast stations; I do love my poached eggs in the morning!

 

The food “islands” sound useful in managing flow and I will indeed cross my fingers that staff are not serving the food, given the implications.

 

phoenix_dream, you are of course right that our colds could be from any number of places from the airplanes to the cruise terminals to the taxis and anywhere in between! Observing the grazers in the buffet stick in my head and colours my view of the risk which may not be as visible but is present anywhere and everywhere!

 

Thanks all!

[dgcruises]

; I do love my poached eggs in the morning!

 

 

Hopefully our experience on the Silhouette is not the norm for poached eggs. I was disappointed. They were precooked then dropped in hot water for a short bath to warm them up. Results were not consistent depending on the pre cook.

[vtcruising]

Or you could have them dress up your poached eggs and have Mexican Eggs Benedict. :D

 

[Wine-O]

Hopefully our experience on the Silhouette is not the norm for poached eggs. I was disappointed. They were precooked then dropped in hot water for a short bath to warm them up. Results were not consistent depending on the pre cook.

 

My experience from this process they use is the poached eggs are either hard cooked or cold yolked. Next time I'm going to stand over the station and request two freshly poached in front of me.

[dgcruises]

Or you could have them dress up your poached eggs and have Mexican Eggs Benedict. :D

 

 

They look good but I imagine like most anything delivered to your stateroom they would be cold. Uck

I certainly would try them in the buffet.

[vtcruising]

They look good but I imagine like most anything delivered to your stateroom they would be cold. Uck

 

I certainly would try them in the buffet.

 

 

 

This is from the buffet! We were outside on the deck. :)

[dgcruises]

This is from the buffet! We were outside on the deck. :)

 

(y)

[Muffinz]

well I was impressed with the buffet on Solstice - sure it was busy in the morning when we were having breakfast, but as someone said earlier there are lots of different stations in the buffet and it is very easy to get around.... finding a free seat was the hardest thing!

but we felt the quality of food and service was great

[chemmo]

I think the buffet is a real strength of the S class ships Consider lunchtime service....

 

Firstly there is lots of variety, roast of the day, pasta, pizza, curry, fish, hams and cheeses, salads, chicken, sandwich station....Food is presented in stations which cuts down on queuing. Then there are the specials....on our Eclipse cruise last year fresh sardines were loaded in Lisbon, not for a speciality restaurant but for the buffet. Then there was a pie day, a curry day.....

 

Then there is the quality of the food. OK it isn’t all gourmet, it doesn’t pretend to be, but it is invariably hot and tasty!

 

If you avoid the real peak times you will find a seat and hardly need to queue for food....You are also allowed to take food out. We will often on sea days have a sandwich made to order, add a little salad of choice and enjoy on our balcony. Fellow Celebrity guests are usually polite, well mannered and conscious of health risks and behave appropriately.

 

We cruise in suites and on sea days have access to Luminae but often do not want a traditional sit down service at lunch....we just want to pick a few items to nibble! If you enjoy Indian food I would recommend trying a curry one day!

 

I have not cruised Oceania so make no comparisons, all I would say is that I enjoy my Celebrity buffet visits!

[gold1953]

I have been on a variety of Celebrity cruise and I have seen all the nasty habits you mention. ..yes every one of them on every cruise. People lick fingers when eating and return to scoop more food .. yes they do.

And yes people poke in between to get food when you are waiting.

 

I take my own sanitizer to use at the table and never touch chair backs or the table .

 

I have decided not to dwell on it and try to protect myself as best as I can as the situation is not going to improve

[dkjretired]

I think the buffet is a real strength of the S class ships Consider lunchtime service....

 

Firstly there is lots of variety, roast of the day, pasta, pizza, curry, fish, hams and cheeses, salads, chicken, sandwich station....Food is presented in stations which cuts down on queuing. Then there are the specials....on our Eclipse cruise last year fresh sardines were loaded in Lisbon, not for a speciality restaurant but for the buffet. Then there was a pie day, a curry day.....

 

Then there is the quality of the food. OK it isn’t all gourmet, it doesn’t pretend to be, but it is invariably hot and tasty!

 

If you avoid the real peak times you will find a seat and hardly need to queue for food....You are also allowed to take food out. We will often on sea days have a sandwich made to order, add a little salad of choice and enjoy on our balcony. Fellow Celebrity guests are usually polite, well mannered and conscious of health risks and behave appropriately.

 

We cruise in suites and on sea days have access to Luminae but often do not want a traditional sit down service at lunch....we just want to pick a few items to nibble! If you enjoy Indian food I would recommend trying a curry one day!

 

I have not cruised Oceania so make no comparisons, all I would say is that I enjoy my Celebrity buffet visits!

 

We usually once per cruise have dinner in the buffet. Very surprising with the choices especially the grill. Since most are eating elsewhere it can also be very relaxing unlike breakfast or lunch.

[fizzy1]

I have been on a variety of Celebrity cruise and I have seen all the nasty habits you mention. ..yes every one of them on every cruise. People lick fingers when eating and return to scoop more food .. yes they do.

 

And yes people poke in between to get food when you are waiting.

 

 

 

I take my own sanitizer to use at the table and never touch chair backs or the table .

 

 

 

I have decided not to dwell on it and try to protect myself as best as I can as the situation is not going to improve

 

 

 

If you don’t pick up a virus from utensils in the buffet you will from touching the lift button or the stair railings !!, go with the flow

 

 

 

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[varoo]

I"m new to Celebrity and am excited to be travelling in September on the Silhouette (to Norway). I have cruised most often with Oceania, and recently did the NYC-Bermuda cruise on the Norwegian Escape.

 

I'd love to hear your experience with the Buffet on Celebrity. I love trying out the buffets but am often frustrated over concerns related to hygiene and behavior.

 

You are wise to be concerned. They often neglect to put out holders for the serving utensils at the buffets.

People toss the utensils right back into the food, where it can be hit or miss how they land, just as at a budget buffet on land.

 

It would not be unusual to pick up a serving utensil that has a sticky handle.

When it comes to concerns relating to hygiene and behavior that you ask about, we find the buffets on the S-class ships to be no better (and no worse) than the M-class ships.

 

So do we avoid Celebrity ship buffets?

No, not at all.

Our work-around is to be selective and choose items that are served to us by someone behind the counter.

 

Or else we select buffet items that are individually pre-plated, where you pick up and take the whole dish or bowl or small basket.

That eliminates the need to dig your portion of the food out from a large pan or bowl by gripping a utensil that has been picked up and tossed back in by hands of a dozen or more different people within the past 10 minutes alone.

As to the question about crowding, it is best to avoid peak times at the buffet because you may find yourself wasting a lot of time wandering around and around looking for an available seat.

It has become much worse since they removed the trays at the buffet as part of the cost cutting measures a few years ago, apparently in an attempt to emulate Carnival. ;)

 

Back in the days when trays were available, if there were no empty tables at the buffet, it was easy to pick up a tray and take your meal to a quiet lounge or deck, or back to your own balcony.

As for etiquette, most Celebrity passengers are still polite and considerate of others, but it does vary from cruise to cruise.

Lately we have been encountering more inebriated passengers on Celebrity cruises than before they started giving away "free" unlimited alcoholic beverages as a perk.

 

A teenager commented at a recent muster drill that it was the first time he had seen 3 people who were drunk before the ship even left the dock

We chatted with some first time Celebrity passengers who freely admitted that they only switched to Celebrity for the unlimited booze.

Well, Celebrity management has been claiming that their aim is to attract a new demographic, and it appears they are succeeding.

Only I don't think the people they are attracting are quite the ones they had in mind.

Edited June 6, 2018 by varoo

[4774Papa]

Hopefully our experience on the Silhouette is not the norm for poached eggs. I was disappointed. They were precooked then dropped in hot water for a short bath to warm them up. Results were not consistent depending on the pre cook.

I love my Eggs Benedict and have not experienced this on any Celebrity ship.

 

We just did a cruise on Royal C. Explorer of the Seas and that is the way they do Eggs Benedict. The Eggs there are frequently overcooked or not warm.

[ghstudio]

Don't forget that a sit down breakfast and lunch are served in the MDR, so if you find the buffet an issue, there are alternatives. We rarely eat at the buffet for the reasons stated....It's just difficult to watch the person in front of me taking french fries from the pan with their fingers while waiting for their sandwich or taking a cherry tomato with their fingers to add to their salad. I would agree, however, that while I seem to see this sort of stuff on every cruise, it's only a few who I guess view themselves as "special".