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Get rid of the buffets already!...

klfhngr

By klfhngr,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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Should buffets go away?  

371 members have voted

  1. 1. Should buffets go away?

    • Yes
      57
    • No
      313

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Donald

Donald

Posted
Posted
On 2/14/2020 at 10:13 PM, klfhngr said:

Obviously the buffet quality sucks on most cruise lines, so much food and money is wasted, flu's, noro, etc. shared with everyone!

 

Isn't it time for the buffets to go away and have smaller eateries (food courts)? So much space is wasted in the buffet area! More free food options, smaller portions=saved money by the cruise lines.

 

IDK, it's been on my mind and wondering if I'm the only one that feels this way!

You may be patronizing the wrong type of cruise line.

If you choose the "Walmart of the Seas" type of cruise line, you are going to encounter all the problems you have mentioned - and you are going to meet many people who are dressed quite a lot like your avatar. Bare-chested. Seriously??? Socal??

 

Better cruise lines don't really do much in the way of Walmart buffets. On those occasions when they do offer a buffet - it is spectacular.

 

Your "food court" idea is another Walmart concept.

Really good cruise lines do not offer food courts.

I suggest that you try to get out more.

You have a good idea, but you are setting the bar way, way, way, too low.

Also, try to wear a nice shirt next time you take a photo.

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Pudgesmom

Pudgesmom

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 3/1/2020 at 12:32 PM, sail7seas said:

MY position does not deny a cruiser something they may like and want to have continued   Your request aims to take from everyone something MANY wish to  be continued.

 

I am replying to the prompt. I'm not denying anyone anything. I'm sharing my opinion, which is that the space would be better used as something else. That's what I would prefer. 

 

 Not sure why you take such umbrage on a thread devoted to discussing how people want to eat their food. Have you considered that there could be people who don't cruise the lines with big buffets because they don't like buffets? Have you considered that some lines could change? Change is inevitable, look at the dress codes and smoking policies. Maybe the change won't be in the buffets, but I plan to not only share my thoughts here on them and why I dislike them as well as hope that I will not continue to be attacked for my opinion.

 

 

 

Edited by Pudgesmom
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sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

 

I am replying to the prompt. I'm not denying anyone anything. I'm sharing my opinion, which is that the space would be better used as something else. That's what I would prefer. 

 

 Not sure why you take such umbrage on a thread devoted to discussing how people want to eat their food. Have you considered that there could be people who don't cruise the lines with big buffets because they don't like buffets? Have you considered that some lines could change? Change is inevitable, look at the dress codes and smoking policies. Maybe the change won't be in the buffets, but I plan to not only share my thoughts here on them and why I dislike them as well as hope that I will not continue to be attacked for my opinion.

 

"attacked,  If you feel attacked ....... ,  no one can say what you feel  what  you   should or should not  feel.

 

By the same token, All who   wish to, should   feel  free to   comment in   any thread without .....harsh criticism unless their post violates a CC   rule.   IMO

 

Over the Many Years I have cruised, I most assuredly have  witnessd many  changes, some I have liked and some I think to be a mistake 

Eliminating  Lido buffet on HAL ships would be a giant mistake; however, I see just about no chance that will happen  in the very near future  I suspect, I will be long gone from cruising IF it ever happens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by sail7seas
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Cruise4Twos

Cruise4Twos

Posted
Posted
On 2/14/2020 at 5:13 PM, klfhngr said:

Obviously the buffet quality sucks on most cruise lines, so much food and money is wasted, flu's, noro, etc. shared with everyone!

 

Isn't it time for the buffets to go away and have smaller eateries (food courts)? So much space is wasted in the buffet area! More free food options, smaller portions=saved money by the cruise lines.

 

IDK, it's been on my mind and wondering if I'm the only one that feels this way!

You’re equating food quality with the buffet which is a misnomer. I cruised on P&O Australia which uses older Holland America ships where the staff serves you at different stations (like a food court). In order to keep pricing competitive, they served poorer cuts of meat (in particular beef, fish and pork) since they had to pay extra staff. Labor costs more than wasted food.  The experience of the food court other than the meat is better overall. It is more sanitary than the buffet. Less congestion than the buffet. There were 7 different stations inclusive of salads which offered a decent amount of variety. The only inefficient station was the Mexican station which always had a long line. The drawback is that sometimes the server may give you more than what you want of a particular item negating smaller portions. More space is needed for the servers. Although there’s a good variety of food, the buffet has more.

 

Although I like the food court service, I wouldn’t want the increased costs that come with it. If people preferred it (food court), the industry would migrate towards it. Think about freestyle dining. Even though Norwegian had problems in the beginning with long wait times for a table, people preferred it and the industry migrated towards it.

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DarrenM

DarrenM

Posted
Posted

Some of the comments about the buffet are staggering. The celebrity buffet is just fine. As is the buffet breakfast. It isn't Michelin star quality but only an idiot would expect it to be.

 

The buffet works well for a good proportion of the cruisers so will remain and why shouldn't it?

 

Its seems like avoiding the buffets if you dont like them is too simplistic and easy for some to comprehend too.

 

I suggest we leave the buffets alone but remove keyboards from a few.

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marco

marco

Posted
Posted

We prefer the buffet for breakfast and lunch.  We're not big breakfast eaters, so some fruit (and we can select exactly what and how much) and a yogurt that we can eat in a few minutes works for us.  Lunch, the selection far exceeds what's in the MDR.  Dinner, we always dine in the MDR or alternative, but our observation has been that the evening buffet is what is served in the MDR, along we other offerings.  So...what ever works for you.  Don't like buffets?.....don't eat there.

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Pudgesmom

Pudgesmom

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, marco said:

We prefer the buffet for breakfast and lunch.  We're not big breakfast eaters, so some fruit (and we can select exactly what and how much) and a yogurt that we can eat in a few minutes works for us.  Lunch, the selection far exceeds what's in the MDR.  Dinner, we always dine in the MDR or alternative, but our observation has been that the evening buffet is what is served in the MDR, along we other offerings.  So...what ever works for you.  Don't like buffets?.....don't eat there.

If there were numerous other restaurants to in which to eat lunch, there would be more choices of what to eat. I actually would prefer if all of the "ginormous" venues, including the MDR, were scaled down to more restaurant sized venues. 

 

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ldubs

ldubs

Posted
Posted
On 3/8/2020 at 5:25 PM, sullaRaffaello said:

Yes! Buffets as a routine thing have no place on an elegant ship. Maybe a once a week specialty thing.

 

So in the rarified air of a sophisticated cruise line, once/week would be considered elegant but daily would be unrefined!   Works for me!  😀😀😀

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  • 2 months later...
clo

clo

Posted
Posted
Just now, klfhngr said:

Who's laughing now, lol!

 

Royal Caribbean to Cut Traditional Buffet Once Cruises Resume

I think in the last two months we've made the distinction between buffets and cafeteria.

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dkjretired

dkjretired

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 3/2/2020 at 3:04 PM, Donald said:

You may be patronizing the wrong type of cruise line.

If you choose the "Walmart of the Seas" type of cruise line, you are going to encounter all the problems you have mentioned - and you are going to meet many people who are dressed quite a lot like your avatar. Bare-chested. Seriously??? Socal??

 

Better cruise lines don't really do much in the way of Walmart buffets. On those occasions when they do offer a buffet - it is spectacular.

 

Your "food court" idea is another Walmart concept.

Really good cruise lines do not offer food courts.

I suggest that you try to get out more.

You have a good idea, but you are setting the bar way, way, way, too low.

Also, try to wear a nice shirt next time you take a photo.


Never saw a food court in Walmart??? Food courts are most common in malls.

Edited by dkjretired
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donaldsc

donaldsc

Posted
Posted

No ship or no person forces anyone to eat at the buffet.  You make your own choice - buffet or served.  Just stop trying to limit my choices of where I can eat because you do not want to eat where I occasionally prefer to eat..  

 

DON

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chipmaster

chipmaster

Posted
Posted (edited)

Buffet by the very nature of everyone self serving is simply a good medium for fast transfer of any single person's infection to everyone else.  Doesn't matter if this is a 9.99 deal on land or the most extravagant and classy buffet.   

 

The fact a person can opt out on a ship isn't enough, they will share gym, the theater or possibly the elevator or walk up 4 flights of stairs holding the handrail behind someone who has.   Buffets are high risk and need to go for now, possible will be gone as self serve forever!

 

The simply most basic act of everyone touching everything is something in the day and age of a pandemic problematic.   

 

 

 

Edited by chipmaster
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ontheweb

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, chipmaster said:

Buffet by the very nature of everyone self serving is simply a good medium for fast transfer of any single person's infection to everyone else.  Doesn't matter if this is a 9.99 deal on land or the most extravagant and classy buffet.   

 

The fact a person can opt out on a ship isn't enough, they will share gym, the theater or possibly the elevator or walk up 4 flights of stairs holding the handrail behind someone who has.   Buffets are high risk and need to go for now, possible will be gone as self serve forever!

 

The simply most basic act of everyone touching everything is something in the day and age of a pandemic problematic.   

 

 

 

And well before this pandemic, HAL went to a buffet with servers instead of everyone self serves. 

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