Buffet Lines

[Oakman58]

What to do when you’re so hungry you don’t want to wait in the buffet line for food? Go to the kids buffet and load up with fries, burgers, and hot dogs. This was on the Norwegian Dawn in Feb. If he writes a review he will probably complain about the buffet food.

 

 

[LrgPizza]

Were there lines for every single food item, or was it because people wanted to form one giant line to walk past every single dish instead of simply going to what they wanted? Lines at buffets are generally due to stupidity of people getting the food. I have no tolerance for stupid, so I probably would have grabbed a burger like that dude, to save some idiot from having to deal with me.

[KateQ22003]

Maybe he wanted comfort food, not what was on the buffet.

Edited April 7, 2015 by KateQ22003

[g35girl]

Or maybe, just maybe he was getting food for his child/grandchild...hmmmm:rolleyes:

[Da-Painter]

Were there lines for every single food item, or was it because people wanted to form one giant line to walk past every single dish instead of simply going to what they wanted? Lines at buffets are generally due to stupidity of people getting the food. I have no tolerance for stupid, so I probably would have grabbed a burger like that dude, to save some idiot from having to deal with me.

 

True. I appreciate folks that know how to deal with simple things, like this, in life.

 

Some folks in the line think they are looking at diamonds at Tiffany's, they want to stand and stare. When in the buffet I just go around the dozen people standing behind the shoppers.

The proper protocol is "Grab & Go". Fast, easy and quick. I am not there to shop, but to eat. "Grab & Go".

I admire the man in the picture, he's experienced in buffet lines! :eek: :cool:

[shapatack0]

What to do when you’re so hungry you don’t want to wait in the buffet line for food? Go to the kids buffet and load up with fries, burgers, and hot dogs. This was on the Norwegian Dawn in Feb. If he writes a review he will probably complain about the buffet food.

 

 

 

What's the problem with this? It's not like he's shouldering aside a bunch of kids to grab the food, the kids buffet appears empty. Is the kids buffet supposed to be restricted to kids? (I've never really noticed one before so I honestly don't know). And do you know for a fact that he wasn't grabbing it for his grandchild? Posting this photograph of just some random individual getting food at the buffet to make fun of him is not very polite. This is a far cry from shaming the two king and queen chair hogs.

[StolidCruiser]

How refreshing to learn etiquette is optional on Norwegian!

[janpo]

There is nothing wrong with this. Like someone said, what if he was doing a plate for his kids. Or what if it's for him? So what.

[ColinIllinois]

I love me some mac and cheese and chicken strips too. :D

[NLH Arizona]

You know what they say....as we get older, we revert back to our childhood.

[maywell]

He could had been at salad bar getting lettuce with tomatos to just eat and you still would ridicule the guy. Thank you for being 'classy' over there while not doing a MYOB, Oakman58. *rolleyes*

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

Edited April 7, 2015 by maywell

[abbyar]

Oh, man. Now I want Mac and cheese.

[biker@sea]

The kid's section has the best Mac & Cheese on the ship . Cookie's Too !

 

And that my look's like my friend Tim Kiminski , don't it. :D

[antas901]

Were there lines for every single food item, or was it because people wanted to form one giant line to walk past every single dish instead of simply going to what they wanted? Lines at buffets are generally due to stupidity of people getting the food. I have no tolerance for stupid, so I probably would have grabbed a burger like that dude, to save some idiot from having to deal with me.

 

Please help me understand (because I may be one of the "stupid" people in the giant line - yikes!) :o

How do you go to what you want unless you pass every dish? Don't the other passengers get annoyed because you "cut" in front of them?

Thankfully, my GF doesn't like buffets and we probably won't have this experience. However, in case I do, I appreciate the "tips". Thanks in advance. :D:D:D

[NLH Arizona]

The kid's section has the best Mac & Cheese on the ship . Cookie's Too !

 

And that my look's like my friend Tim Kiminski , don't it. :D

Do they have cookies at lunch? I can only find them at one outdoor small buffet at the back of the ship around 3:00 and would love to have them earlier. If they do feel free to post my picture, because I will be there.....I love their oatmeal raisin cookies!!!!

[ExpatBride]

Well it is Freestyle cruising! Personally, I wouldn't touch a kid buffet with a 10 foot pole, but that's just me.

[LrgPizza]

Please help me understand (because I may be one of the "stupid" people in the giant line - yikes!) :o

How do you go to what you want unless you pass every dish? Don't the other passengers get annoyed because you "cut" in front of them?

Thankfully, my GF doesn't like buffets and we probably won't have this experience. However, in case I do, I appreciate the "tips". Thanks in advance. :D:D:D

I don't "cut" in front of anyone, and I walk around looking at the items before I step up to the buffet.

 

If there is a long line for omelets, and the potatoes I want are right beside the omelets, I am not going to stand in the omelet line for 15 minutes waiting to get some potatoes. I say to the person closest to them, "Excuse me, are you waiting for those potatoes?" 100% of the time, the person kindly steps to the side and allows me. This makes the line shorter, since I am not standing there waiting for a food item that doesn't have a wait. That is how buffets are supposed to work. It goes smoothly unless people start forming one giant line. Small lines for certain items are inevitable, but no sense waiting in a line when your item doesn't have a line, right? It helps out every single diner and makes the buffet less crowded when people aren't needlessly standing around in lines when nobody else is even wanting their same dish.

 

It's a buffet, not a school cafeteria.

Edited April 7, 2015 by LrgPizza

[punkincc]

Were there lines for every single food item, or was it because people wanted to form one giant line to walk past every single dish instead of simply going to what they wanted? Lines at buffets are generally due to stupidity of people getting the food. I have no tolerance for stupid, so I probably would have grabbed a burger like that dude, to save some idiot from having to deal with me.

 

How refreshing to hear someone voice my own view of many buffet lines. I have often caught myself mindlessly standing in a long line like a sheep until I realized that most of the people were waiting for an omlet way down the line and thereby blocking an entire section of other items. In that case, the proper thing to do is to locate the item you desire and then simply say, "excuse me, may I sneak in here to grab a .....". At that point, a half dozen other people will also realize they do not have to stand there to reach an item half way across the buffet. I don't know why some people will wait in line endlessly when the same food item is probably available at at least two other stations with no waiting.

 

How refreshing to learn etiquette is optional on Norwegian!

 

Not optional at all. No one need to be rude. But if I am behind someone as we walk down the buffet, and they pause endlessly over a certain item, I WILL go around them to quickly grab the item that is just beyond them or half way down that counte and move on. When I am the one seized by an inability to choose, I certainly don't mind if others do the same. I am not going to jump in front of others who are obviously waiting for the same item I am. It is just common sense and efficiency over making it a 2 hour ordeal to fill a plate because we dare not "cut line" and be called rude or lacking in etiquette.

[TrumpyNor]

I don't "cut" in front of anyone, and I walk around looking at the items before I step up to the buffet.

 

If there is a long line for omelets, and the potatoes I want are right beside the omelets, I am not going to stand in the omelet line for 15 minutes waiting to get some potatoes. I say to the person closest to them, "Excuse me, are you waiting for those potatoes?" 100% of the time, the person kindly steps to the side and allows me. This makes the line shorter, since I am not standing there waiting for a food item that doesn't have a wait. That is how buffets are supposed to work. It goes smoothly unless people start forming one giant line. Small lines for certain items are inevitable, but no sense waiting in a line when your item doesn't have a line, right? It helps out every single diner and makes the buffet less crowded when people aren't needlessly standing around in lines when nobody else is even wanting their same dish.

 

It's a buffet, not a school cafeteria.

 

This is actually how I do it myself - all though I seldom go to the buffet during a cruise, unless we are back at the ship after a shore excursion and it is too late for lunch in the MDR (or if for some reason we want to have a very late breakfast). I just take a quick look around, to see where the waiting lines are - and then I just try to avoid them, by choosing something different... My choice might be just next to the omelet station or the pasta station or wherever the line is, but if you ask politely and actually want something different than the item "everyone" is waiting for, then it is seldom any problem...

Edited April 7, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[buckirj1]

He's just getting food. It isn't as if he's flinging kids out of his way. Sheesh, the things that get folks' drawers in a wad!

[Kingofwylietx]

I think the guy in the picture is a seasoned cruiser, he's in comfy shoes. Besides that, I would say grabbing a quick burger & fries from the kiddy buffet is a good hack.....especially if it's for him. If it's for a grandkid, then the picture becomes pointless. I would definitely utilize the kiddy buffet to grab a quick bite.

 

As for the buffet lines, some are created by poor design. The old style long buffets with the trays at the beginning and drinks at the end always make for lines. They usually have an obstacle running their length which prevents folks from going 'buffet style'......so it ends up cafeteria style.

 

The better buffets have various separate islands which promote pax to walk up and grab individual items from each one. This prevents lines. However, the downside is that you have a lot of indecisive people wandering aimlessly between the islands and you have to navigate through them. :p

 

I consider buffets to be a game....

Old style buffet = Leapfrog

New style buffet = Frogger

[shapatack0]

By the way, that guy at the kid's buffet is one less person everyone has to wait behind at the main buffet. Everyone wins!

[mking8288]

That long line snaking behind the "smart" gentleman at the kid's buffet station moving at snail's pace all day long are some of the reasons we avoid going there at all costs, especially on "themed" nights and with specials. Worst on the mega-ship, we ate once last month on the Breakaway for breakfast & once for lunch, and that's when the crowds are mostly ashore.

 

There is nothing to say he (or, she) is forbidden to eat out of that section - and it is actually refreshing to be on those ships with a dedicated section & special seating for children & families with children.

 

Cruiselines -incluing NCL- can help organize multiple "entry" points at various buffet sub-stations so that you don't have to feel like (and looked upon) cutting in front & blocking others when the sheepies are actually slowing down to check & smell every single item along the long counter. Layouts and designs of the buffets played a big role in the flow of dining patrons. Most of us have gotten those "how dare you cut in front of 3 people ahead of me" wicked looks at the buffets - ditto, same on land buffets.

 

To make matters worst, by the time you get halfway downstream on the line - single filed - the warm food is cool to eat, and the thin sauce become thick gravy. Then, you realized you still got to stand in the shorter line to get your beverage.

Edited April 7, 2015 by mking8288

[watchdiva]

Sorry...wrong thread.

Edited April 7, 2015 by watchdiva

[meggie711]

Well it is Freestyle cruising! Personally, I wouldn't touch a kid buffet with a 10 foot pole, but that's just me.

 

I watched very well-dressed people that were old enough to be my grandparents that were cramming their food in their mouth as they were making plates at the buffet on our cruise last weekend. Hand putting food in their mouth, pulling the food back out, putting it back in their mouth, then reaching for the spoon that I was about to grab. I think I would rather have followed kids! :eek: