Get rid of the buffets already!...

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

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.

 

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

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.

Either way,I would just politely ask if it was Kay with the other person and if perchance they were to say no you could make them an offer that they could not refuse.😇

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

If you think about it🤔, it's not that illogical. The bigger (weight wise) the population is it does mean infrastructure has to change. Things like chairs and beds have to support their weight, lifts have to be big enough to fit the people as do doorways and hallways. Some activities like water slides and climbing walls have to be adjusted to suit a heavier population. If you have tender ports then people's weight is going to effect how those work. And if they do eat more then you obviously need more food supplies to keep up. All these things would effect the fare cost 😳. 

 

Yeah, we probably are opening a can of worms with this one.  haha.  

[clo]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

climbing walls have to be adjusted to suit a heavier population.

I don't know what a climbing wall is like on a cruise ship but in the real world no fat person would be able to even start it. There are incredibly fit people who don't have the body type to climb.

[ldubs]

4 minutes ago, clo said:

I don't know what a climbing wall is like on a cruise ship but in the real world no fat person would be able to even start it. There are incredibly fit people who don't have the body type to climb.

 

You are quoting me but I never said that.  Looks like a glitch of some type as it happened once before yesterday.  

[clo]

2 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

You are quoting me but I never said that.  Looks like a glitch of some type as it happened once before yesterday.  

My apology. I was actually quoting @ilikeanswers I'll keep an eye on this. Thanks.

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, clo said:

My apology. I was actually quoting @ilikeanswers I'll keep an eye on this. Thanks.

 

No worries.

[ilikeanswers]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

My apology. I was actually quoting @ilikeanswers I'll keep an eye on this. Thanks.

 

Oh wow I just noticed this. So weird that my words are under someone else's user name 😳. How does that even happen? 

[ldubs]

5 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Oh wow I just noticed this. So weird that my words are under someone else's user name 😳. How does that even happen? 

 

Well, your comment was under my name, but because you made me look good, I was OK with it!  haha.   

[clo]

6 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Oh wow I just noticed this. So weird that my words are under someone else's user name 😳. How does that even happen? 

No, no. @ldubs replied to you and then I quoted what they had quoted of your post. I MUST be more careful.

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours 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.)

 

I assume that was before Freestyle dining, right? If yes, that was many years ago. Was it the same every night or just once?

 

If it was after Freestyle dining was introduced, why did you share the table? Why not tell them you wanted a table of your own when he/she ordered every appetizer? 

[donaldsc]

9 hours 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.)

 

Partly your fault.  When it became obvious what the appetizer couple were up to, did you ask the waiter to serve your meals and not force you to wait for the appetizer couple to finish their multiple appetizers.

 

DON

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

 

Either way,I would just politely ask if it was Kay with the other person and if perchance they were to say no you could make them an offer that they could not refuse.😇

The point is that this never would have been a problem at the buffet.

 

And I do not think the policy of not serving the soup/salad course until all appetizers were served was determined by the diner who was ordering every appetizer on the menu.

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I assume that was before Freestyle dining, right? If yes, that was many years ago. Was it the same every night or just once?

 

If it was after Freestyle dining was introduced, why did you share the table? Why not tell them you wanted a table of your own when he/she ordered every appetizer? 

No, it was freestyle. And we liked meeting people so we would request the larger tables. After the he ordered every appetizer, it was too late to switch tables. And for all we knew, they would serve them all together, or at least in groups instead of one at a time.

 

And on our second, and let me add LAST, NCL cruise we learned that cruisers on that line did not like to share tables. On our first night when asked we said share a table, and then waited and waited and waited for others to join. When none did, we finally said make it a 2 and never again asked to share.

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Partly your fault.  When it became obvious what the appetizer couple were up to, did you ask the waiter to serve your meals and not force you to wait for the appetizer couple to finish their multiple appetizers.

 

DON

I guess I'll have to agree with that that it was partially our fault for not being aggressive and saying time to stop this and serve my wife. If it was not freestyle and we had the same wait staff every night, I think I would have seriously considered not tipping the wait staff. Or maybe just requesting a different table with a different wait staff.

 

But, as I wrote in a previous post, they may very well have just been following the cruise line's protocol by not serving anyone the next course before finishing all of the serving of the first course.

 

I was really excited about NCL Freestyle (as this was before any time dining on other lines), but really found I did not like how poorly it was executed.

[sverigecruiser]

21 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

No, it was freestyle. And we liked meeting people so we would request the larger tables. After the he ordered every appetizer, it was too late to switch tables. And for all we knew, they would serve them all together, or at least in groups instead of one at a time.

 

And on our second, and let me add LAST, NCL cruise we learned that cruisers on that line did not like to share tables. On our first night when asked we said share a table, and then waited and waited and waited for others to join. When none did, we finally said make it a 2 and never again asked to share.

 

I think that the reason for many to choose NCL from the beginning was the Freestyle dining without set times and shared tables. It was defenitely one of the reasons why we booked NCL for our first cruise.

 

During our last NCL cruises we were never asked if we wanted to share a table the very few times we ate in the MDR. I guess that very few wants to share a table because if they want that they choose another line.

[sverigecruiser]

22 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I was really excited about NCL Freestyle (as this was before any time dining on other lines), but really found I did not like how poorly it was executed.

 

They might have executed the Freestyle dining good but sharing tables was not part of the Freestyle dining so maybe they didn't really know how to do it.

 

I do think that they should have asked you if you wanted them to serve your meal or if you wanted to wait.

[pacruise804]

17 hours ago, RonOhio said:

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).

I think it depends on what you consider morbidly obese.  I remember working with a gentleman who was a professional/executive and was also likely pushing 300#.  He did a lot of international travel in his position and had to be concerned on the long flights to China because of risk of blood clots in his legs if he couldn't move around.  Discretionary income has nothing to do with job position either.  Someone making 50K a year but living on 45 will have more DI than an executive making 150K but living on 200.

 

I've seen several obese and in scooters on cruise ships.  There are several vloggers that discuss traveling while "fluffy" and the challenges it brings.

 

18 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

 

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.

 

I'm glad you have found a place you enjoy for all your meals.  We enjoy variety so we will occasionally enjoy a MDR breakfast/brunch but more often prefer al fresco dining for breakfast and will get plates from the buffet and sit on the open decks.  MDR is often not open for lunch, so do you want most cruisers to fast for that meal rather than enjoy the buffet offerings that they paid for with their cruise fare?

On land I sometimes enjoy cooking at home, other times picnics, and occasionally a nicer dinner out.  Why should I limit myself on a ship when they offer the different choices?

 

9 hours ago, clo said:

I don't know what a climbing wall is like on a cruise ship but in the real world no fat person would be able to even start it. There are incredibly fit people who don't have the body type to climb.

 

Those I've seen on ships are the same as those I've seen on land.  If by fat you mean morbidly obese and confined to a scooter then I agree they probably aren't trying to climb.  If you mean an able bodied but heavy set there is no reason they can't climb.  I also agree with you that it requires a great deal of upper body strength and is not as easy as it looks 😉 

 

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

 

And on our second, and let me add LAST, NCL cruise we learned that cruisers on that line did not like to share tables. On our first night when asked we said share a table, and then waited and waited and waited for others to join. When none did, we finally said make it a 2 and never again asked to share.

Thank you!  I've been called a liar when stating that we had a similar experience on NCL that we were unable to share a table.  I like the concept of dining on my own schedule and having a variety of table mates compared to traditional dining where the time isn't always convenient to other activities and you are potentially stuck with a poor match the whole cruise, but many view your time as "my party only."

[Lois R]

PAcruise, thank you for that reply.🙂........I was trying to ask the poster the same thing........(about the dining room and who should  eat there vs the buffet.)

......Seems to me we should all be able to eat at whatever venue we choose.

[ontheweb]

11 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

 

 

Thank you!  I've been called a liar when stating that we had a similar experience on NCL that we were unable to share a table.  I like the concept of dining on my own schedule and having a variety of table mates compared to traditional dining where the time isn't always convenient to other activities and you are potentially stuck with a poor match the whole cruise, but many view your time as "my party only."

On our first cruise with Princess using their anytime dining, I heard one person describe it as you meet everyone on the ship. A bit of hyperbole, but we did enjoy meeting others.

 

I actually should not have been surprised on our second and LAST EVER, NCL cruise as I was on the cc NCL boards before that cruise and did notice many who wrote "why would I ever want to dine with others?" The anti-social attitude I found on that ship was not to my liking.

Edited June 24, 2020 by ontheweb
corrected typo on instead of of

[sverigecruiser]

16 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

Thank you!  I've been called a liar when stating that we had a similar experience on NCL that we were unable to share a table.  I like the concept of dining on my own schedule and having a variety of table mates compared to traditional dining where the time isn't always convenient to other activities and you are potentially stuck with a poor match the whole cruise, but many view your time as "my party only."

 

I doubt that any experienced NCL cruiser seriously think that you are lying when stating that it was difficult to find someone who wanted to share a table. That is a well known fact so that can't be a surprise for experienced NCL cruisers. You can always ask about it at the restaurant but it's hard for them to find someone who wants to share.

 

If you want a variety of table mates you can probably get that on NCL but to ask when arriving at the restaurant is a bad idea. Talk to someone in a bar, on the pooldeck, on an excursion etc. and if you like their company ask if they will share a table with you for dinner. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by sverigecruiser

[navybankerteacher]

42 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

No, it was freestyle. And we liked meeting people so we would request the larger tables. After the he ordered every appetizer, it was too late to switch tables. And for all we knew, they would serve them all together, or at least in groups instead of one at a time.

 

And on our second, and let me add LAST, NCL cruise we learned that cruisers on that line did not like to share tables. On our first night when asked we said share a table, and then waited and waited and waited for others to join. When none did, we finally said make it a 2 and never again asked to share.

This was our experience on NCL as well — several times we requested shared tables and had to give it up, because so few NCL cruisers seem to want to share.  (We have also given up NCL.)

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I doubt that any experienced NCL cruiser seriously think that you are lying when stating that it was difficult to find someone who wanted to share a table. That is a well known fact so that can't be a surprise for experienced NCL cruisers. You can always ask about it at the restaurant but it's hard for them to find someone who wants to share.

 

If you want a variety of table mates you can probably find get that on NCL but to ask when arriving at the restaurant is a bad idea. Talk to someone in a bar, on the pooldeck, on an excursion etc. and if you like their company ask if they will share a table with you for dinner. 

We were not experienced NCL cruisers, so we learned the hard way, though as I said in a previous post, maybe I should have seen it coming after reading posts in the NCL boards here on cruisecritic.

 

And really how can you compare a restaurant to a cruise ship when it comes to meeting people?

[pacruise804]

4 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I doubt that any experienced NCL cruiser seriously think that you are lying when stating that it was difficult to find someone who wanted to share a table. That is a well known fact so that can't be a surprise for experienced NCL cruisers. You can always ask about it at the restaurant but it's hard for them to find someone who wants to share.

 

If you want a variety of table mates you can probably find get that on NCL but to ask when arriving at the restaurant is a bad idea. Talk to someone in a bar, on the pooldeck, on an excursion etc. and if you like their company ask if they will share a table with you for dinner. 

 

Thank you for the suggestion, but I doubt we will return to NCL.  Hopefully it helps others.

[sverigecruiser]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

We were not experienced NCL cruisers, so we learned the hard way, though as I said in a previous post, maybe I should have seen it coming after reading posts in the NCL boards here on cruisecritic.

 

And really how can you compare a restaurant to a cruise ship when it comes to meeting people?

 

I wasn't quoting you when I wrote that. An experienced NCL cruiser have no reason to call someone a liar if they say that it was difficult to find someone who wanted to share a table when asking at the restaurant since that is a well known fact.

 

The restaurant is on the cruiseship so I don't understand what you mean. You may not find someone to share a table with when you arrive at the restaurant, on the cruiseship, but maybe if you ask someone earlier.

[ontheweb]

Just now, sverigecruiser said:

 

I wasn't quoting you when I wrote that. An experienced NCL cruiser have no reason to call someone a liar if they say that it was difficult to find someone who wanted to share a table when asking at the restaurant since that is a well known fact.

 

The restaurant is on the cruiseship so I don't understand what you mean. You may not find someone to share a table with when you arrive at the restaurant, on the cruiseship, but maybe if you ask someone earlier.

OK, I misinterpreted you. I thought you were referring to going to a restaurant on land.