Lido Buffet etiquette question

[rkacruiser]

If I am unable to find a table in the Lido Restaurant and there are larger tables (not necessarily a 4 top) that have only one or two people sitting there, I will ask if I may sit at there table in one of the occupied spots. If it is a 6 top, I will sit at the end of the table away from them. I see nothing wrong with doing this and I enjoy having others ask me if they may join me if I am at a larger table.

[Lady Chew]

If I am unable to find a table in the Lido Restaurant and there are larger tables (not necessarily a 4 top) that have only one or two people sitting there, I will ask if I may sit at there table in one of the occupied spots. If it is a 6 top, I will sit at the end of the table away from them. I see nothing wrong with doing this and I enjoy having others ask me if they may join me if I am at a larger table.

 

that's what we do ... but we have been amazed about how many couples sitting at a large table will say "no" to our request to share ... if we continue to look and can't find anything else, we go back and sit there anyway!

[sail7seas]

You're right. There are so few two tops that I often could only find four tops available during lunch on my last cruuse. As a solo, I often ate at the Lido bar to leave those four tops for others. Especially on sea days, with everyone on board, I just didn't feel right taking a four top just for myself. And I got to enjoy the company of the bar staff.

 

That's a good idea at lunch and quite pleasant but for when HAL CATS would scream and screech through lunch. I could never bear their noise and had to eat in Lido. DH and I took a 4 top and if someone wanted to share, that was fine. Now I am solo and I will still take a four top if that is all I can find.

 

As to those who state "Go to the Dining Room". :D We are all aware the MDR serves breakfast and lunch, most days, and if that is what we wanted, that is what we would do.

 

I like going to Pinnacle for breakfast but not to MDR.

 

[rkacruiser]

that's what we do ... but we have been amazed about how many couples sitting at a large table will say "no" to our request to share ... if we continue to look and can't find anything else, we go back and sit there anyway!

 

Good for you! I have never been refused, but I have noticed that fewer people ask to do this than in the past.

[Susie51]

For breakfast and lunch the Lido is very busy and you will have to carry your food as there is no tray. For that reason we take turns getting our food. One person sits at the table with maybe coffee and the other gets their food, then the second person gets their food. It's better than holding your food while you wait for someone to vacate a table.

 

I have never eaten dinner in the Lido so I cannot answer to the evening procedure.

 

Agree.

[galensgrl]

Interesting Lido event on our recent NA Caribbean cruise.

 

Very crowded breakfast time with lots of people looking for an empty chair or table. We (DH and I) sat at a six top and were asked to move to the other side of the barrier to a small two top by the serving line. We refused. The attendant then asked an elderly couple at another six-top table to move and they did. The attendant then put six water glasses around the six top.

 

In waltzed a group of six young ladies who sat themselves down at the large table, chatting and thanking the attendant for saving "their" table.

 

So bad! I lodged a complaint,

 

I can't imagine asking an elderly couple to move so that six able bodied young people can take the table. That is beyond rude, good for you lodging a complaint on their behalf as well as your own.

 

Lorie

[rkacruiser]

I can't imagine asking an elderly couple to move so that six able bodied young people can take the table. That is beyond rude, good for you lodging a complaint on their behalf as well as your own.

 

Lorie

 

 

Did you receive any response to your filed complaint?

[bshow]

Interesting Lido event on our recent NA Caribbean cruise.

 

Very crowded breakfast time with lots of people looking for an empty chair or table. We (DH and I) sat at a six top and were asked to move to the other side of the barrier to a small two top by the serving line. We refused. The attendant then asked an elderly couple at another six-top table to move and they did. The attendant then put six water glasses around the six top.

 

In waltzed a group of six young ladies who sat themselves down at the large table, chatting and thanking the attendant for saving "their" table.

 

So bad! I lodged a complaint,

 

Huh. I don't understand the complaint. A group of six asked the staff to find a table for them and he did. Seems reasonable. Obviously he didn't force anyone to move, since you refused. The only ones "hogging" a table in this story were you.

 

But what do I know? Maybe I'm missing something.

[galensgrl]

Huh. I don't understand the complaint. A group of six asked the staff to find a table for them and he did. Seems reasonable. Obviously he didn't force anyone to move, since you refused. The only ones "hogging" a table in this story were you.

 

But what do I know? Maybe I'm missing something.

 

First come first served, that's what you seem to be missing. That, or many of us didn't realize we could just have an employee find and hold an agreeable table for any of us, seeing they did that so eagerly for the group of young ladies ;) I did not realize pax could book Lido tables ahead of time, so this is all new to me. It will certainly save a lot of us the frustration of looking for our own table. If they can do it for them, we can ask that they do it for us even though there are only two of us, right? Or does that suddenly seem self centered and selfish to you because we are not attractive young females?

 

Lorie

Edited April 8, 2015 by galensgrl

[Lizzie68]

I can't imagine asking an elderly couple to move so that six able bodied young people can take the table. That is beyond rude, good for you lodging a complaint on their behalf as well as your own.

 

Lorie

 

I totally agree. Just plain rude and disrespectful.

[peaches from georgia]

The VERY limited staff in Lido could better use their time by being helpful to those who are in wheelchairs, use walkers, or those who have difficulty juggling several plates of food and a drink to a table now that there are no trays. Or cleaning tables and providing silverware. I'm sure these young things were perfectly capable of walking around until they found a table that suited them like everyone else does. Asking others already at that table to change tables is the icing on the cake in this little story. They do not give anyone a reservation in the Lido for what they consider to be "their" table. This staff member needs to be retrained on what is job is.

Edited April 8, 2015 by peaches from georgia

[RuthC]

I have to wonder if the "six young ladies" were singers and dancers from the cast.

It's unusual to find "six young" ladies who are passengers on a HAL cruise.

[sail7seas]

I have to wonder if the "six young ladies" were singers and dancers from the cast.

It's unusual to find "six young" ladies who are passengers on a HAL cruise.

 

I really did LOL reading this. You're right. :)

 

[peaches from georgia]

I have to wonder if the "six young ladies" were singers and dancers from the cast.

It's unusual to find "six young" ladies who are passengers on a HAL cruise.

Good guess, Ruth. IMO that makes the whole thing even worse! Inconveniencing pax to accommodate crew. :(

[elycelynne]

The 7-day Caribbean itineraries (which is what the Nieuw Amsterdam sails during the winter) attract a more varied age range. It wouldn't be uncommon to see a bunch of young female passengers.

 

The showroom cast tends to congregate in one specific area of the Lido on the Vista and Signature-class ships -- Usually in that separate section right across from the beverages.

[sail7seas]

If they were crew, they would have all been wearing name tags.

[bshow]

Seems to be a lot of underlying resentment toward attractive young females. Hmm.

 

I guess I haven't been on enough HAL cruises. I've not experienced the feeling that the cruise is a struggle for scarce resources.

[rkacruiser]

Seems to be a lot of underlying resentment toward attractive young females. Hmm.

 

I guess I haven't been on enough HAL cruises. I've not experienced the feeling that the cruise is a struggle for scarce resources.

 

No, No, No. No resentment from this gentleman to attractive young females.

 

What is objectionable is the action of the crew member.

 

If I am seated in a restaurant and asked to move to a different table because of whatever, that is the issue. Why should I have to surrender my place just because someone(s) wants it? The money I paid for that "spot" is equal to whatever they paid. (And, if the group were indeed crew/cast members, they would put an entirely different, and negative, spin on the situation. At least, in my opinion.)

 

I am still awaiting to learn if the person who made "the complaint" received a response and what the response was.

[JCrewz]

First come first served, that's what you seem to be missing. That, or many of us didn't realize we could just have an employee find and hold an agreeable table for any of us, seeing they did that so eagerly for the group of young ladies ;) I did not realize pax could book Lido tables ahead of time, so this is all new to me. It will certainly save a lot of us the frustration of looking for our own table. If they can do it for them, we can ask that they do it for us even though there are only two of us, right? Or does that suddenly seem self centered and selfish to you because we are not attractive young females?

 

Lorie

 

The best post of the night. Nice job, Lorie!

[ellieanne]

What is objectionable is the action of the crew member.

 

Why were the actions of the crew member objectionable? The party of 6 (whether they were young, old, male, female, pretty, ugly is immaterial) had need of a table large enough to seat them all together. The couple could have just as easily been accommodated at a smaller table. The large group needed the large table; they could not all have sat and eaten at a smaller one. And in order to get the larger table they needed, they enlisted the help of staff.

 

I do not see anything wrong with that. As for the water glasses, I have often been asked by the Lido staff if I wanted water or tea and whatever I requested appeared on the table when I returned with my meal.

 

I really don't see anything wrong with what the crew member did. The couple seated at the larger table could have said they would not move. But what is the ruder action here: being asked politely to move and not or taking more resources than you need and denying others?

[Boytjie]

If I am seated in a restaurant and asked to move to a different table because of whatever, that is the issue. Why should I have to surrender my place just because someone(s) wants it? The money I paid for that "spot" is equal to whatever they paid. (And, if the group were indeed crew/cast members, they would put an entirely different, and negative, spin on the situation. At least, in my opinion.)

 

For myself, if we were seated at a table the could accommodate more people than places we were using, I would move. In teh Lido i would even move mid-meal but in a dining room or restaurant set-up I don;t think it would be appropriate once the meal started.

 

We have actually had that happen in NYC restaurants; a request from the maitre' d to change tables and that was usually followed by drinks on the house. Not something I expect to happen but a nice gesture.

 

Just trying to be nice and accommodating, and hoping that sometime in the future someone would do the same for me :)

[serendipity1499]

Why were the actions of the crew member objectionable? The party of 6 (whether they were young, old, male, female, pretty, ugly is immaterial) had need of a table large enough to seat them all together. The couple could have just as easily been accommodated at a smaller table. The large group needed the large table; they could not all have sat and eaten at a smaller one. And in order to get the larger table they needed, they enlisted the help of staff.

 

I do not see anything wrong with that. As for the water glasses, I have often been asked by the Lido staff if I wanted water or tea and whatever I requested appeared on the table when I returned with my meal.

 

I really don't see anything wrong with what the crew member did. The couple seated at the larger table could have said they would not move. But what is the ruder action here: being asked politely to move and not or taking more resources than you need and denying others?

 

For myself, if we were seated at a table the could accommodate more people than places we were using, I would move. In teh Lido i would even move mid-meal but in a dining room or restaurant set-up I don;t think it would be appropriate once the meal started.

 

We have actually had that happen in NYC restaurants; a request from the maitre' d to change tables and that was usually followed by drinks on the house. Not something I expect to happen but a nice gesture.

 

Just trying to be nice and accommodating, and hoping that sometime in the future someone would do the same for me :)

 

We normally travel with Friends & get a table for four or six & would ask others to join us if there was room...

 

However if we were one couple alone & there were no more seats left we might either take at able for 4 or a 6 top only because of the placement of the two tops..

 

IMO it would be rude, not to move if there were tables for two in the main part of the Lido, however as Sail pointed out, on many of the HAL ships the tables for two are on the food side of the barrier actually 6 to 8 ft from the food... Psgrs are constantly coming & going, backing up or bumping into those tables, or stopping to talk to their friends who happen to be in lines in those areas.. IMO it is a very noisy area & no way could one enjoy a nice meal together at those tables..

 

My DH has been ill & can become agitated if there is excessive noise, around him...He would be very uncomfortable in that area, so I normally could take him to the MDR if we were alone, & not rushing to leave the ship for a tour, but sometimes the MDR is not open.

Edited April 9, 2015 by serendipity1499

[threeedogmedia]

We do the same on all of the Oceania and Regent cruises we've taken. We've met some incredible people who have turned out to be long time friends now. I love meeting new people and sharing gives us that chance. Now if it's a snarky person, I can eat very quickly and head back to the stateroom to get ready for our tour. I think this has only happened a couple of times. I guess they felt entitled to vip treatment. Any chance you can take a wonderful cruise, you're a vip.........and why would someone hog a table that has room. Who knows.......

[david,Mississauga]

What is a Lido Buffet?;) Sorry. I'm afraid I may find out shortly on our first HAL cruise in decades. It will be our first voyage on a ship which closes the dining room at lunch-time on some days according to what I have read on CC. It wouldn't hurt us to skip lunch from time to time, but we have chosen late sitting for dinner so we might want a light meal at mid-day. Yes, I know there is the option of room service.

 

It is not solely because a lido experience can be a "bun fight" that we avoid them. I have a suspicion that buffets are conducive to the spread of norovirus. I can't prove this, of course, but from the horror stories I have read of passengers' behaviour I think it best to avoid them.

[iancal]

bshow...I like your sense of humour.