Get rid of the buffets already!...

[sverigecruiser]

29 minutes ago, clo said:

I think this thread made me anyway realize that there's a difference between a self-serve buffet and a cafeteria style where staff serve your plate And I believe the former is gone forever.

 

I think that on the big ships it  will be self-serve or no buffet. I don't care much of the buffet so if they get rid of it it's no problem for me. Lots of people probably want the self serve buffet. 

[clo]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I think that on the big ships it  will be self-serve or no buffet. I don't care much of the buffet so if they get rid of it it's no problem for me. Lots of people probably want the self serve buffet. 

(Oops thought I had already posted.)

 

Whereas I believe pretty firmly that this will be one thing that CDC and other nations' authorities will require. It's easy.

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, clo said:

(Oops thought I had already posted.)

 

Whereas I believe pretty firmly that this will be one thing that CDC and other nations' authorities will require. It's easy.

 

Authorities may require that the ships shall get rid of  the self serve buffet and then I think that there will be no buffet on the largest ships. Too much staff needed and many cruises don't want buffets with staff serving so I think that there will be no buffets on the largest ships.  

[jsn55]

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I think that on the big ships it  will be self-serve or no buffet. I don't care much of the buffet so if they get rid of it it's no problem for me. Lots of people probably want the self serve buffet. 

How could it possibly return to self-serve?  That would be really crazy.  I'm beyond healthy and fearless, but I'd never go near a place where all the other pax were handling the serving utensils and spending time close to the food stations.

[richstowe]

I have no problem with cafeteria style buffets . I'm wondering if pre-portioned small plates would still be OK . This seems to be the direction cruises are going and it's a good idea . But you do serve yourself and I have watched people scoop the contents of multiple tiny plates and deposit the food onto a single plate and then leaving the empty plates right on the counter . Not a big issue for me in the past but today .......🤢

[jsn55]

52 minutes ago, richstowe said:

I have no problem with cafeteria style buffets . I'm wondering if pre-portioned small plates would still be OK . This seems to be the direction cruises are going and it's a good idea . But you do serve yourself and I have watched people scoop the contents of multiple tiny plates and deposit the food onto a single plate and then leaving the empty plates right on the counter . Not a big issue for me in the past but today .......🤢

There's proof of my point ... piggies like that need to be segregated from the rest of us humans.

[Hlitner]

6 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I think that on the big ships it  will be self-serve or no buffet. I don't care much of the buffet so if they get rid of it it's no problem for me. Lots of people probably want the self serve buffet. 

Fully Self Serve will disappear forever.  In fact, we would predict that the US government authority who dictates various health policies for any ship that calls at a USA port, will soon impose various restrictions on buffets.  They will likely ban any serving station where folks share serving utensils.  This means that items will either be served by crew members or will be pre-plated or pre-packaged.  Over the years we have seen lots of gross behavior at self service buffets such as folks tasting something and then putting it back, or people picking up items, touching them and then putting them back.  Whether or not changes will do any good vis-a-vis Covid-19 is certainly a question, but changes will certainly help with the spread of Norovirus and other viruses and bacteria.  As we posted earlier, some cruise lines (such as HAL) had already adopted some of these changes prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Hank

[Beachdude]

So many theories. The American passengers are who made buffets popular on cruise ships. “It’s my vacation” and “no formal wear policy”. It’s the Americans (Canadians?) who have shift their way of thinking. It will be internet to watch. Smaller ships?

[davekathy]

8 minutes ago, Beachdude said:

So many theories. The American passengers are who made buffets popular on cruise ships. “It’s my vacation” and “no formal wear policy”. It’s the Americans (Canadians?) who have shift their way of thinking. It will be internet to watch. Smaller ships?

Speaking for yourself.

[Beachdude]

22 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Speaking for yourself.

I guess. We have been cruising for over 20 years and watched the trends change. We ourselves are not fans of buffets, but they have become a higher priority over dining  rooms for breakfasts and lunches. just about the time the food quality is getting good, we get  hit with Corona. 

 

 

[richstowe]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 Whether or not changes will do any good vis-a-vis Covid-19 is certainly a question, but changes will certainly help with the spread of Norovirus and other viruses and bacteria.  

 

Hank

Agree ! I have my doubts about changes helping fight Covid but these changes should have other positive effects . 

[clo]

44 minutes ago, richstowe said:

Agree ! I have my doubts about changes helping fight Covid but these changes should have other positive effects . 

I hadn't thought of that. Thanks, kids.

Edited June 13, 2020 by clo

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Beachdude said:

I guess. We have been cruising for over 20 years and watched the trends change. We ourselves are not fans of buffets, but they have become a higher priority over dining  rooms for breakfasts and lunches. just about the time the food quality is getting good, we get  hit with Corona. 

 

 

“...just about the time the food quality was getting good...”????? What lines are you talking about?

 

Back on topic- the crude slobs who helped spread Norva by their messy buffet habits have essentially mandated the end of self-serve. They pretty well kept me out for the past few years.   Pre-plated seems the only way the cafeteria notion can survive.

[Beachdude]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

“...just about the time the food quality was getting good...”????? What lines are you talking about?

 

Princess was surprisingly good on our New Years Cruise.

 

B 

[navybankerteacher]

23 minutes ago, Beachdude said:

Princess was surprisingly good on our New Years Cruise.

 

B 

We had a good Cunard cruise over Christmas and New Years - but remarked that they — along with every othe line we have sailed - continue to show declining food quality —— it seems to be part of business plans across the industry.

[Beachdude]

7 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

We had a good Cunard cruise over Christmas and New Years - but remarked that they — along with every othe line we have sailed - continue to show declining food quality —— it seems to be part of business plans across the industry.

I’m speaking of the buffet, breakfast and lunch was very good. Their dinner buffet wasn’t as good, but the dining room was above average. 
 

B

[AF-1]

The buffet places here in Cincinnati; have gone to people being served.  They have hired a few more people to serve the food. Self service has been eliminated.

[sverigecruiser]

On 6/12/2020 at 10:30 PM, jsn55 said:

How could it possibly return to self-serve?  That would be really crazy.  I'm beyond healthy and fearless, but I'd never go near a place where all the other pax were handling the serving utensils and spending time close to the food stations.

 

If you are correct I think that there will be no buffets on the biggest ships.

[sverigecruiser]

On 6/13/2020 at 12:16 AM, Hlitner said:

Fully Self Serve will disappear forever.  In fact, we would predict that the US government authority who dictates various health policies for any ship that calls at a USA port, will soon impose various restrictions on buffets.  They will likely ban any serving station where folks share serving utensils.  This means that items will either be served by crew members or will be pre-plated or pre-packaged.  Over the years we have seen lots of gross behavior at self service buffets such as folks tasting something and then putting it back, or people picking up items, touching them and then putting them back.  Whether or not changes will do any good vis-a-vis Covid-19 is certainly a question, but changes will certainly help with the spread of Norovirus and other viruses and bacteria.  As we posted earlier, some cruise lines (such as HAL) had already adopted some of these changes prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Hank

 

You may be correct and then I think that the buffets will disappear from the largest ships. You mentioned pre-plated and pre-packaged and that may work on the biggest ships. Self serve but only pre-plated and pre-packaged food.  

[Hlitner]

25 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

You may be correct and then I think that the buffets will disappear from the largest ships. You mentioned pre-plated and pre-packaged and that may work on the biggest ships. Self serve but only pre-plated and pre-packaged food.  

I had previously posted that HAL has already implemented (over the past 3-4 years) a system that should work.  They have some buffet serving areas where the crew serves various items (often the hot items such as carved meat and potatoes) and other areas where things like sandwiches are either pre-packaged or on individual plates.  The salad bar has been replaced by a staff served salad bar where a staffer fills a large salad bowl to your specifications.  When we first encountered this served salad bar we thought it would not work but it proved to be a pretty good system where passengers touch nothing.  The nice thing about the HAL system is that other ships can convert to a similar system with minimal design changes. Of course it does mean that the ships will need to increase the number of staff working in the buffet area.

 

The upscale/luxury lines will have a much easier time since most have long used a combination system with some buffet items mixed with table service.  Lines like Seabourn can easily eliminate any self-service items where folks used to share serving utensils.

 

Hank

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The salad bar has been replaced by a staff served salad bar where a staffer fills a large salad bowl to your specifications.  When we first encountered this served salad bar we thought it would not work but it proved to be a pretty good system where passengers touch nothing. 

RC has been doing this for years in the MDR on sea days. They call it the Tutti Salad bar and I agree it works. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I had previously posted that HAL has already implemented (over the past 3-4 years) a system that should work.  They have some buffet serving areas where the crew serves various items (often the hot items such as carved meat and potatoes) and other areas where things like sandwiches are either pre-packaged or on individual plates.  The salad bar has been replaced by a staff served salad bar where a staffer fills a large salad bowl to your specifications.  When we first encountered this served salad bar we thought it would not work but it proved to be a pretty good system where passengers touch nothing.  The nice thing about the HAL system is that other ships can convert to a similar system with minimal design changes. Of course it does mean that the ships will need to increase the number of staff working in the buffet area.

 

The upscale/luxury lines will have a much easier time since most have long used a combination system with some buffet items mixed with table service.  Lines like Seabourn can easily eliminate any self-service items where folks used to share serving utensils.

 

Hank

I also agree that the HAL system works very will. I do not understand why some people think it will be so difficult or expensive for other lines to do the same thing.

[sverigecruiser]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

  They have some buffet serving areas where the crew serves various items (often the hot items such as carved meat and potatoes)

 

This is how it's often done on our traditional "julbord", the Christmas version of the Swedish smörgåsbord. Hot items are often served and people serve themself from the cold items. That works fine but I don't think that everything served by staff is an option for the "julbord".

[sverigecruiser]

43 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I also agree that the HAL system works very will. I do not understand why some people think it will be so difficult or expensive for other lines to do the same thing.

 

I think that it's probably not difficult but expensive. The problem, I think, is that lots of people prefer to serve themself. 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I think that it's probably not difficult but expensive. The problem, I think, is that lots of people prefer to serve themself. 

And I prefer they don't! My opinion has nothing to do with CV-19 or norovirus.