?(No) Trays in Lido

[GeriatricNurse]

I have read on the Celebrity Board that there are NO trays in the Oceanview Cafe on their new ship "Solstice" (and presumeably, all their other ships as well), on which to place your food, drink(s) and utensils, etc., while travelling through the serving line! Apparantly the best guess is that it is a ?cost and/or esthetic issue!

One poster on the Celebrity Board even stated that the trays have been eliminated from HAL (Lido)!

Can any recent cruiser with HAL please either verify/refute the posted information that all trays in the Lido on Hal ships have been eliminated and for what reason(s)?

I sure hope not! It will make for either/or a lot of spillage (and subsequent mess), as one attempts to balance all the food & drink items with their hands (?and arms) as they search for a vacant chair/table at which to sit! Or having to make numerous trips back and forth between their table and the (start) of the serving line to obtain their food & drink, (in shifts)!

[Comptech]

I do not know the answer to your question, but here at the college I work for, they have eliminated trays from the dinning hall claiming it will save water, soap waist to the environment, the cost of the trays as they wear and break, and waisted food (piling stuff on the tray) as you are less likely to travel back and forth unless you really want more food.

 

I agree it is a pain to get your food and drinks to the table you will have to make several trips.

[matondo]

I have heard some ships have trays and others do not. I am wondering if I should sneak one in my suitcase. I could see the savings on the environment if they stopped using trays just in the amount of water not used in washing them. I have always been impressed with the level of customer service with HAL and I am sure that anyone that needed help carrrying food or drink would have no problem finding someone to assist them. And if no one was around I would HOPE fellow cruisers would be willing to lend a hand, especially fellow CC'ers

[ore-ee-gun]

As of this past Saturday morning, trays were still provided on Eurodam.... :)

[jtl513]

It started with just the Westerdam doing an experiment in eliminating trays, but someone just off the Oosterdam (11/22) reported having no trays there either. :(

[Druke I]

Several lines have given up the trays, often using sanitation as an excuse.

 

I've managed to get along without them, but I do think they are handy when provided.

[O2B@C]

There were trays on Veendam in August. I agree that eliminating them would be a disservice to passengers. I'm sure the savings in water and labor to clean the trays would be offset by the increase in water and labor to clean spilled food off the floor and tables - not to mention the increased potential liability from passengers slipping and falling due to spilled food on the floor.

 

NOT a good idea. Penny wise, but pound and customer service foolish.

[altosax]

It started with just the Westerdam doing an experiment in eliminating trays, but someone just off the Oosterdam (11/22) reported having no trays there either. :(

 

NEXT: Paper plates and bowls???

[Comptech]

Like my friend told me, "being Green is not necessarily an economically cheaper decision but rather a conscious one"

[boards]

If there are no trays available in the Lido on our next cruise, which it sounds like that will be the case, we will be eating breakfast in the dining room. In most cases at lunch we have not needed trays, but breakfast yes. We ate breakfast in the dining room on our last cruise once and actually were concerned that we had too much to eat. Guess I should add breakfast will take a little longer, but unless you are in hurry it was enjoyable to be waited on. You can always stop by the Lido after breakfast for anything you may not have had enough of.

[sail7seas]

Wait for all the spills and the slip and fall incidents. :eek:

 

Horrible idea to eliminate trays, IMO

 

[Down-Unders]

I have read on the Celebrity Board that there are NO trays in the Oceanview Cafe on their new ship "Solstice" (and presumeably, all their other ships as well), on which to place your food, drink(s) and utensils, etc., while travelling through the serving line! Apparantly the best guess is that it is a ?cost and/or esthetic issue!

 

One poster on the Celebrity Board even stated that the trays have been eliminated from HAL (Lido)!

 

Can any recent cruiser with HAL please either verify/refute the posted information that all trays in the Lido on Hal ships have been eliminated and for what reason(s)?

 

I sure hope not! It will make for either/or a lot of spillage (and subsequent mess), as one attempts to balance all the food & drink items with their hands (?and arms) as they search for a vacant chair/table at which to sit! Or having to make numerous trips back and forth between their table and the (start) of the serving line to obtain their food & drink, (in shifts)!

 

 

 

We have experienced this on NCL I believe it has to do with people overloading their plates. After the first day we never noticed that the try's were missing, you have staff there to help and it worked very well.

[goldnprin]

Just off the Westerdam yesterday and there still were no trays in the lido. One of the crew members I spoke to said he did not like it as it actually made more work for them when clearing tables and such. :(

[Deb C.]

Three weeks ago---Maasdam still had trays.

What a pain no trays would be!:eek: Deb C.

[sail7seas]

What is the reason given for eliminating them? You think it is to try to have those who take tons of food, take less? :D

 

[Roz]

I travel by myself, and can picture this scenario - I get my food, and set it down at an empty table. I go to get a glass of water and a cup of coffee. I come back to the table, only to find that my food's been removed by a well-meaning crew member :D .

 

I've only cruised on a Vista class ship once, and found myself running around the Lido to various stations trying to assemble my breakfast or lunch. That was with a tray. Can't imagine doing it without one.

 

Roz

[kryos]

I have always been impressed with the level of customer service with HAL and I am sure that anyone that needed help carrrying food or drink would have no problem finding someone to assist them. And if no one was around I would HOPE fellow cruisers would be willing to lend a hand, especially fellow CC'ers

Yeah, but the problem here is that just about anyone traveling with children is gonna need assistance. How to you manage the children in the serving line, and then get all the food necessary in one trip to feed everyone? Once you sit down with the kids, especially if you're a single parent, you're not going to want to leave them unsupervised while you go back through the serving line again. Who knows what mischief they can get into in that amount of time?

 

I think what will happen if they eliminated trays is that more people with kids will just to to the dining room to eat. The Lido will be an absolute nightmare. Can you imagine having to go through another long line just to get the rest of your meal ... while the first part is sitting on the table getting cold?

 

This is a bad idea in my opinion. If water usage is that big of a deal, then use some sort of cardboard tray that's disposable.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

What is the reason given for eliminating them? You think it is to try to have those who take tons of food, take less? :D

 

I don't think eliminating trays is necessarily the way to do that, though. People need various items ... not necessarily more of the same. Without a tray, you have to pile everything on one plate, and hope it doesn't topple ... which of course, in many cases, it will.

 

I, for one, don't take a lot of food ... simply because I can't eat it. But I do take a variety of items in one trip through the serving line ... cereal, a muffin perhaps, maybe some fruit for the cereal, some milk, my java, etc. Without a tray that would be difficult and I'd probably have to make multiple trips. If it were just a matter of going back up and grabbing something, that may not be too bad. But if it's gonna involve going through a line again, it's probably not worth it.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[ivoryboi]

Perhaps they will expect us to carry the food on our heads - like in the new opening night game show?

[Mary Ellen]

Add us to those who think (OK - know) this is a lousy idea. I'm one of "those who take tons of food" as I'm getting DH's food too. Without a tray, I'd take his meal to him and he either sits there watching his food while it gets cold, or eats alone while I'm back in line getting mine. Then, he gets to sit there and watch me eat my meal. The meal will also take longer, tying up a table for others wanting to eat.

[kyriecat]

Royal Caribbean got rid of trays a couple years ago. I hate it! I can balance a couple plates on my arm from my days as a waitress so that helps. However, it is not convenient because if you get bumped, you risk losing everything. You see people walking around with silverware stuffed in their pockets. My mom is in a wheelchair so when I travel with her, I have to serve her plate then go back and dish one for me.

[sail7seas]

I, for one, don't take a lot of food ... simply because I can't eat it. But I do take a variety of items in one trip through the serving line ... cereal, a muffin perhaps, maybe some fruit for the cereal, some milk, my java, etc. Without a tray that would be difficult and I'd probably have to make multiple trips. If it were just a matter of going back up and grabbing something, that may not be too bad. But if it's gonna involve going through a line again, it's probably not worth it.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

;) Not just you; all of us. :)

[CinWin]

Hope the Eurodam will still have trays in the Lido in January. Just came off Celebrity's Solstice where there were no trays in their Ocean Cafe but had large plates instead. I was very surprised to see this, as I've sailed many cruises with Celebrity and there were always trays. This time it was difficult and inconvenient to carry food and drink without a tray. :(

Cindy

[Jemima]

Do they still do separate plates for each station on the trayless ships? I'll get fruit, margarine, a couple of cheese slices and then they'll insist on putting scrambled eggs on a separate plate. We have the same problems at lunch. It amounts to more dishes than needed with the tray and probably unneeded trips without the trays. We are vegetarian so we may choose a side dish in the main portion of the line, but entree elsewhere.

 

We also have problems with the stewards clearing my items when I've just gone back for something. DD is too shy to stop them and I'll return to nothing. We do have some success in pushing everything to her side of the table when I'm off getting more.

[pipedreams62]

I guess the bosses at the Lido have been observing sloooow lines (you know the guy that has to take one of everything,and then ask what it is?)

 

The mounds of food people take and then don't eat. I don't believe for one minute it's a santitary issue or saving water issue (it's a WASTE of food issue)

 

I went on two Princess cruises and neither ship had trays. I thought it was weird but guess what? We managed. On HAL I'm sure a friendly member in the Lido staff will be more than happy to assist someone who needs help.

 

If one realizes they're not professional waiters and can't carry 6 plates of food at a time,the spills will be minimal.