Trays in the Lido

[Hwy101A]

. I was hoping some of the posters giving advise would be new and have good info to offer and instead all we get is the same old thing. the :rolleyes:trays are not there on Holland...

[3rdGenCunarder]

. I was hoping some of the posters giving advise would be new and have good info to offer and instead all we get is the same old thing. the :rolleyes:trays are not there on Holland...

 

Did you have a specific question about trays? Please ask, I'm sure someone will try to answer it.

[Hwy101A]

are they gone like your last reply? the trays are gone ... look it up and then advise over and over and over again..:rolleyes:

[Tamaracboy]

Oh, haven't you heard? There are lots of trays! People are now bringing their own!:)

 

OK, OK You Two,

 

I'm willing to bet there are more Treys in the casino than in the Lido :p :p

 

r.

[cruisecrasy]

I always take the small ice bucket tray in the cabin to the Lido - most useful..esp if u want to bring stuff back to your cabin..:)

[Hwy101A]

I try to wear cargo pants or shorts and stick everything in my pockets, including my money belt.. if they look there they are going to need a trey in the casino. :eek:

[sparky-elpaso]

The few times that we do eat in the Lido -- we do pick up our drinks first and then hunt for a table. DH goes through the line(s) first and when he returns to the table, then I go.

 

We know that it is impossible for us to eat at the same time if we have hot food. If we are only having sandwiches -- then I will go and get one for both os us and we eat together.

 

That's what we do - we had it down to a science by the end of our cruise. And most of the time it didn't take too long for each of us to get our food so we weren't sitting alone for long. Breakfast was usually omelets and I would get both of them at the same time - the wait for the 2nd one wasn't long enough for the first to cool off that much.

[Lady Chew]

Princess has large oval platters instead of trays. Carnival does not have trays and I don't think RCCL has trays. Other than that I don't know.

 

We've never had trays on RCCL (7 cruises) but they do have very larger plates. We've never had a problem manuevering around. We usually grab our napkin/silverware packet on the way in, find our table and take turns going to get our food. Whoever is at the table first orders our drinks. If no one comes by it is no big deal to get our own beverages.

 

I do see, however, that for folks with mobility issues it would certainly be easier to have trays! We've always figured they did away with trays mostly to save space and overall weight, not to mention save effort (to clean & disinfect) and save food.

[pdxcostumelady]

I read on the Holland America site that the rooms come with an ice bucket and a tray for serving drinks.

If no trays in the Lido is such a big deal, can't that tray from the room be used and taken back to the room?

I try to pack light. I'm just gob smacked with all the stuff I read on this board that people pack. Maybe this one last thing to have to deal with?

 

Just a thought. Just a thought.

 

Peace out:)

[serendipity1499]

<snip>

 

I'm in the faction that finds the lack of trays annoying and inconvenient. Since it seems unlikely they are coming back, I'll add my thanks and appreciation for the comments and suggestions about using a bag, bringing a tray, etc.

 

But ultimately I've just accepted that breakfast and lunch in the Lido are going to be the most frustrating and least relaxing moments of the cruise. Not the end of the world, just not as good as it could be. :)

 

Went to the Dollar Tree yesterday & found a very light-weight clear acrylic tray approx 6 1/2 by 10 1/2 for $1.00...It's about 1 " deep, has two handles & weighs approx 1-2 oz...Lined it with non-slip shelf paper..This we'll take on our Noordam cruise in Nov. as it easily holds 4 cups coffee/tea or water..We usually travel with Friends & one of us tries to find a table for 4 & the other makes several trips to get our drinks, while our DH's get their food..When we sit out on Promenade we also take ice water & coffee...The tray was so in-expensive, so if necessary we can leave it on the ship & buy another one for our next cruise..:) I take clorox wipes & will use them to wipe down the tray..believe there are "Dollar Trees" all over Fla, so you might be able to find one in Fort Lauderdale..

Now for our our Bermuda cruise, will pack the slightly smaller tray which is 1/2 in deep just for coffee/water for DH & me also lined with non-slip shelf paper...We also normally take "tervis tumblers" with lids to keep our coffee hot while we're out on deck, when we drive to the port....We stuff our tumblers with socks...;)

The tray I brought on the cruise is about 12" square with nice nautical blue and white wavy stripes (from IKEA).

I don't think anyone even noticed that I was carrying it around.

So, yes, definitely take it with you and you will have it handy if you need it.

 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks again for your encouragement..Checked out the IKEA WEB site & the nautical tray is no longer avail, however I managed to find a tray at the Dollar tree which will work well..

 

The easy solution for those who have concerns about the trays is to do as Ruth has suggested (and we do) and that is to bring a tray from home in your suitcase. Ours is plastic and lightweight. We travel with another couple and it is just so much easier to be able to get all the beverages, or dessert later on, in just one trip.

 

Have not gotten any strange looks or comments. In fact the general reaction is "why didn't I think of doing that?"

 

We agree & as you can see in my reply to Baltigator, we plan to do just that, thanks to you, Ruth & others who've promised that no one will think I'm nuts & have encouraged me to do it....

If one plans to use the Ice bucket tray, suggest you pack a small sheet of non-slip paper in your luggage to put on the tray..

Also If you have a DH like mine, who is always losing something, such as Hats & Coffee Cups, suggest you put your name on them...;)

Betty

[mindydaile]

On my last cruise (first one without trays) there was always at least two waiters on each side of the Lido with "drink carts" that would get you anything you needed to drink (even if they had to go get it because they didn't have in on their cart). I found no need to leave my food to get cold while I went up myself to get a drink.

[mnbruce]

Princess has large oval platters instead of trays.

 

This works very well. The platters held more than enough food for us. It worked so well that I never even thought about missing trays until after the cruise when I saw discussion here on the elimination of them on HAL.

[sail7seas]

The Princess platter style plates do work fine. There is more than enough room to set a cup of coffee or cold drink. HAL has used close to that style plate at the Taco/Burger Bar on some ships but I rarely see it in Lido.

[BaltiGator]

Went to the Dollar Tree yesterday & found a very light-weight clear acrylic tray approx 6 1/2 by 10 1/2 for $1.00...<snip>

 

Now for our our Bermuda cruise, will pack the slightly smaller tray which is 1/2 in deep just for coffee/water...<more snippage>

 

If one plans to use the Ice bucket tray, suggest you pack a small sheet of non-slip paper in your luggage to put on the tray..

 

Also If you have a DH like mine, who is always losing something, such as Hats & Coffee Cups, suggest you put your name on them...;)

 

Wonderful info and advice, Betty. Thank you so much!

[TWOFERTWO]

If anyone has been to buffets here, you are seated at a table that has the silverware and you your drink order is taken and brought to you.:cool:

 

I have no problem getting my food with just the plate, that is what is done here, but to have to juggle around with the rest is just no fun.

 

As far as going back for more, I never used a tray, but to start out, NO!

 

Guess we will be using MDR and room service more. Just my two cents worth.:D

[KAYEF]

The difference is that Princess has large oval plates. It much easier to fit everything you need on one plate. I also find that Princess is VERY good at bringing drinks (coffee, water etc.) to your table. In my experience HAL doesn't. I really don't mind the buffet on Princess. On HAL it's something I avoid.

JUST back from the new 14 day itinerary in Alaksa.............and there ARE the large platters like "Princess has" and, at breakfast they came with carts loaded with coffee, tea, etc. Plus, they would go get you ANYthing else you wanted to drink..............like juice, milk, etc. We had servers who brought iced tea to us at lunch as well.

We did what we always do..............took our windbreakers, found a table, draped them over the chairs and went to get our "made to order" omelets or waffles or French Toast.............etc. AND our raisin buns..........we never go one at a time.

It works.............but this "tray issue" will always be on CC, I guess.;)

[amberkins17]

We just returned from our NB Alaska cruise on the Statendam and, thanks to many who post here, thought to bring our own trays with us from home. We had folks (other passengers as well as staff) asking us at every Lido meal where we got the trays ... and then got groans from the passengers when they heard these were our own and not HAL's. Guess they thought we had found the ship's tray hiding place and could be let in on the secret!

 

These came in very handy as we both like several drinks with meals (e.g., at breakfast I have milk, water, tea, and juice) which would have been difficult to manage on one trip.

 

We never took more food than we ate and always wiped down the trays after each meal with antibacterial wipes. There were really never any lines when we were at the Lido ... but we did have to wait for a table to be cleared on several occasions which left us holding our trays for a few minutes -- something I wouldn't have wanted to do with a hot plate of food.

 

Staff were so used to seeing us with our trays, several asked us on the last day where they were -- we had to pack them the night before when our luggage had to be outside of the cabin.

 

BTW, we ate at the Lido every day for breakfast and 5 of 7 days for lunch. Only one time did a server come by with a drink cart for the complimentary beverages ... but EVERY meal had the drink selling staff go by (sodas, bottled water, beer, wine, etc.)