Get rid of the buffets already!...

[pacruise804]

12 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I do not wish to appear negative but everyone I know who prefers buffets to sit down dining spends a great amount of time there because they tend to overeat .At a buffet you can eat as much as you desire.I realize that people in MDR’s can order more than one portion but they cannot move around.At a buffet one can change the location of where you sit and therefore,can eat greater amounts of food.

 

While those I know who prefer buffets generally prefer it for the ease of a quick meal vs. leisurely dining, or the food choices.

[gerryuk]

One of the good things about the buffet, apart from the food, is that everybody can turn up in a t shirt, shorts and trainers. Long may they last.

 

[chipmaster]

On 6/19/2020 at 7:42 PM, ldubs said:

 

 

'?? Then why are we even having this discussion about self service buffet hazards.  I mean, doesn't that person "shedding" contaminate whatever it is you are trying to avoid by eliminating self service?  Cannot that person shed CV-19 all over serving utensils, silverware, plates, etc.  I'm just not following.   

 

The details of transmission seem to still be evolving, most certain an airborne virus that needs to get into your lungs to infect you.    

 

How big a viral load from food/utensils that then transfer to your hands/dish/utensil then get into your respiratory systems versus more direct thru air droplets from sneeze, another's exhaled virus load is still up for debate.     Is wash wash wash wash wash and sanitize more important than face mask and filtering of everyones viral load out of their lungs?   

 

I'd say given the fact HK/ Singapore / China / Taiwan / So Korea have pretty dense packed but high mask compliance but minimum glove usage in subways and such suggest airborne more than anything else.

 

I think restaurants the social distance is more important and than whether you server yourself versus get served.   What matters more is the guy next to you and how close and are they naked or covered, LOL

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by chipmaster

[Ride-The-Waves]

The buffets are the best and safest places to eat on a cruise ship, especially dinners.  One of the reasons why the officers dine there in the evenings.  Excellent choice, to conclude selections of ethnic food, fewer people, quick in and out, select your own portions, and best of all its quiet.  MDRs are some of the nosiest places on a ship, specialize in lukewarm to cold dishes, and the service is usually extremely slow.  Rarely, if ever, eat the evening meal anywhere else - a specialty restaurant once in a while and even last cruise in a suite frequented the Suite restaurant on Refection only twice - once for lunch and once for breakfast.  

 

The real problem with cruise ship buffets are those who take the evening meal in the MDR and then crowd into the buffets, sometimes with guerrilla tactics, for breakfast and lunch.  If you are an MDR aficionado, please eat there and not the buffets.  We like the quiet, the great selections, and the quick meals we can enjoy before or after a show.

[lenquixote66]

15 hours ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

 

182.8 Kilograms is 403.005 pounds

I did not say Kilograms

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I disagree. It's at the MDR that people end up spending hours even if they do not intend to stay that long.

I can only speak for myself .The only time I might spend hours in the MDR would be if I was engrossed in conversation with nice people.

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

While those I know who prefer buffets generally prefer it for the ease of a quick meal vs. leisurely dining, or the food choices.

In my humble opinion the only time good to eat in a buffet on a ship is for a snack of pizza and real ice cream but never together.

[RonOhio]

5 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

Not necessarily.  Someone with an athletic build might weigh more but take up less space than an equal weight person with more body fat.  I thought there already were height and weight limits in place for water slides.  Heavier people may or may not take more food - some like to try everything (similar to posts about drink plans) but don't intend to finish much of it (hence the many complaints about food waste).

 

Who decides how big is too big?  150#, 200, 300?  Are the weight limits the same regardless of gender and height?

Realistically,  the morbidly obese don’t travel much. They don’t fit in aircraft seats, they tend to be in poor health, many need scooters or other assistive devices which got to be a pain to travel with and they tend to have little discretionary income (how many heavy executives, managers or professionals have you ever met).

[jeremyosborne81]

29 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I did not say Kilograms

You didn't have to, Big Boy

[lenquixote66]

9 minutes ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

You didn't have to, Big Boy

Big ? ,not at all. 184.6 pounds this morning.

 

Tall,yes.

Edited June 23, 2020 by lenquixote66

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

The buffets are the best and safest places to eat on a cruise ship, especially dinners.  One of the reasons why the officers dine there in the evenings.  Excellent choice, to conclude selections of ethnic food, fewer people, quick in and out, select your own portions, and best of all its quiet.  MDRs are some of the nosiest places on a ship, specialize in lukewarm to cold dishes, and the service is usually extremely slow.  Rarely, if ever, eat the evening meal anywhere else - a specialty restaurant once in a while and even last cruise in a suite frequented the Suite restaurant on Refection only twice - once for lunch and once for breakfast.  

 

The real problem with cruise ship buffets are those who take the evening meal in the MDR and then crowd into the buffets, sometimes with guerrilla tactics, for breakfast and lunch.  If you are an MDR aficionado, please eat there and not the buffets.  We like the quiet, the great selections, and the quick meals we can enjoy before or after a show.

Hi,🙂 have a question about your last paragraph, are you just posting this in jest? Because there are times I enjoy the

dining room and some evenings I don't....are you saying because a person doesn't see anything on the main dining

menu that appeals to them, they should not eat in the buffet?

[Mike981]

Just clicked on the last page to see what this topic morphed into with so many still posting, and I see the discussion is still going strong. 🙂

 

Reminds me of this old kids song. 😉 Warning, it's an earworm.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

You didn't have to, Big Boy

When someone in the US says he weighs 182.8 it is a very safe bet that he is talking pounds and not kilos - and for someone else is the US to suggest that he might have been talking kilos (attempting to refer to an absurdly high weight) is just silly, Little Boy.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Big ? ,not at all. 184.6 pounds this morning.

 

Tall,yes.

Right on Lenny. Looks like someone else appears to be jealous. 😉

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Right on Lenny. Looks like someone else appears to be jealous. 😉

Yes,I would think that too,Dave

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I can only speak for myself .The only time I might spend hours in the MDR would be if I was engrossed in conversation with nice people.

It takes time to serve several courses, unlike the buffet.

 

For instance one time on NCL, someone we shared a table with ordered every appetizer on the menu, and they were served one at a time. Believe me that took time! (And my poor DW, who had not ordered an appetizer, had to wait for her salad while this person went through eating every one of them.)

[clo]

On 6/21/2020 at 12:18 PM, jsn55 said:

A gloved hand full of virus is the same as a naked hand full of virus. 

Let me see if I can draw a picture in words. (And we're talking about a self-serve situation.)

 

o  Someone brings a pan of food from the kitchen and they're wearing (disposable) gloves and a mask. They place in the thingy where it will be served from.

o  The person serving has on gloves that haven't been contaminated because the food container that was brought from the kitchen was clean and the serving utensils have been used for nothing other than that person serving from that pan.

o  Passenger asks for x amount of the food. Server, using a paper cocktail type napkin, picks up the plate on the edge, puts the requested food on the plate.

o  Server puts the plate under/through the glass partition and the passenger takes it.

 

This is how it was on Oceania about six months ago. Efficient and sanitary. Yes?

[lenquixote66]

40 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

It takes time to serve several courses, unlike the buffet.

 

For instance one time on NCL, someone we shared a table with ordered every appetizer on the menu, and they were served one at a time. Believe me that took time! (And my poor DW, who had not ordered an appetizer, had to wait for her salad while this person went through eating every one of them.)

You could have said something like ,excuse me kind sir but my wife is not having an appetizer would it be okay with you if she could have her entree while you are eating your appetizer ? 

[clo]

8 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

You could have said something like ,excuse me kind sir but my wife is not having an appetizer would it be okay with you if she could have her entree while you are eating your appetizer ? 

We shared a table at one of the specialty restaurants. Bob and I had a couple of apps each and a dessert and the other couple each had an app, a main, etc. They were served when ready. It's not like you're dining with friends. And we've done that at home too.

[lenquixote66]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

We shared a table at one of the specialty restaurants. Bob and I had a couple of apps each and a dessert and the other couple each had an app, a main, etc. They were served when ready. It's not like you're dining with friends. And we've done that at home too.

Great minds tend to think alike. Did I ever tell you that my cousin who lives in Tahoe grew up in GA ? I cannot recall why she made the move .I have to find out.

[Ride-The-Waves]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi,🙂 have a question about your last paragraph, are you just posting this in jest? Because there are times I enjoy the

dining room and some evenings I don't....are you saying because a person doesn't see anything on the main dining

menu that appeals to them, they should not eat in the buffet?

Not in jest.  We really like eating evening meals in the buffets.  Many times you can see officer crew and entertainers eating there after they finish their long days.  The choice of food is wide and good, and on many ships includes an ethnic buffet.  My spouse prefers salads and selected seafood.  My choices are more basic to include pastas, ethnic choices, and soups.  Love to go back for seconds on good soup.

 

The evening buffets bare uncrowded.  No bunching around the food options unlike breakfast and lunch which can be horrendous and over crowded.  Good window tables are plentiful.  Its a great time to enjoy a good meal in semi-quiet and in relative normal time frame.  Our last experience - never again - in an MDR was on Oasis.  Couldn't hear your self think.  Waiters were too busy and some of the food arrived at lower temperatures than ideal.  Even when we travel in a suite the buffet is, to us a better option than the suite restaurant or a specialty restaurant.

[getting older slowly]

I think the Buffet is for Eating and MDR is for Dining there is a difference.....

We go to MDR for Dinner and Lunch and enjoy being served and it is a time to sit relax and talk..

We only use the buffet on a ship to gather items for lunch on the balcony on port days..

 

Also is depends on what you do at home.....  some are happy to eat in front of TV and other are not

 

At home we sit at our dining table with a candle, serviettes, place mats and a glass of wine....

and most times just the one course......

 

I have an Uncle who Eats... if he goes out it is only the Pub because it has to be quick....

I fine it interesting that so many people are in such a rush while on holiday on a cruise ship,

Maybe it is the Fear Of Missing Out...... time to stop and smell the roses 

 

Each to his own

 

Cheers Don

[Lois R]

10 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Not in jest.  We really like eating evening meals in the buffets.  Many times you can see officer crew and entertainers eating there after they finish their long days.  The choice of food is wide and good, and on many ships includes an ethnic buffet.  My spouse prefers salads and selected seafood.  My choices are more basic to include pastas, ethnic choices, and soups.  Love to go back for seconds on good soup.

 

The evening buffets bare uncrowded.  No bunching around the food options unlike breakfast and lunch which can be horrendous and over crowded.  Good window tables are plentiful.  Its a great time to enjoy a good meal in semi-quiet and in relative normal time frame.  Our last experience - never again - in an MDR was on Oasis.  Couldn't hear your self think.  Waiters were too busy and some of the food arrived at lower temperatures than ideal.  Even when we travel in a suite the buffet is, to us a better option than the suite restaurant or a specialty restaurant.

Hi, but you made the comment that if you are "dining room affeciando", then you should not eat in the buffet.........you

really mean that? So the buffet should only allow certain people?  I enjoy both depending on what is being served. 

So to tell someone where to eat? I thought that would be in jest...........

[clo]

1 hour ago, clo said:

(And we're talking about a self-serve situation.)

Major mis-writing. I was talking about NOT self-serve but rather cafeteria-style. Sorry.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

You could have said something like ,excuse me kind sir but my wife is not having an appetizer would it be okay with you if she could have her entree while you are eating your appetizer ? 

Just for the sake of accuracy, it was a salad she was waiting for. There were 4 courses then--appetizer, salad or soup, main entre, and dessert.