Salad in the buffet.

[sail7seas]

..... and those are the things that hold up the line and people may be waiting longer than should be necessary.

 

[RuthC]

..... and those are the things that hold up the line and people may be waiting longer than should be necessary.

 

No longer than when they're hemming & hawing over every little decision doing it themselves.

Really, I saw no difference there.

As a matter of fact, the way it was set up on the Nieuw Amsterdam, there were two people working the salad station, one at each end, on each side. Four people were being served at once.

[Tripper10]

..... and those are the things that hold up the line and people may be waiting longer than should be necessary.

 

 

I would rather have to wait a few extra seconds then have the salad bar picked over by hundreds of people.

[dchip]

I would rather have to wait a few extra seconds then have the salad bar picked over by hundreds of people.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Seems much more sanitary to me.

 

Cheers, Denise

[cruz chic]

I was thinking the same thing. Seems much more sanitary to me.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

For sure that's the upside for me.

[sppunk]

I for one applaud this. So much more sanitary and leads to less waste. Win, win. I'm on a cruise, a 6 second delay won't ruin my day.

[sail7seas]

No longer than when they're hemming & hawing over every little decision doing it themselves.

Really, I saw no difference there.

As a matter of fact, the way it was set up on the Nieuw Amsterdam, there were two people working the salad station, one at each end, on each side. Four people were being served at once.

 

Thank you for mentioning there are four servers doing salad bar.

 

That makes for a better situation.

 

[sppunk]

No longer than when they're hemming & hawing over every little decision doing it themselves.

Really, I saw no difference there.

As a matter of fact, the way it was set up on the Nieuw Amsterdam, there were two people working the salad station, one at each end, on each side. Four people were being served at once.

 

Yup, self-serve is often slower than this style. HAL has stepped up the Lido by quote a bit. More staff, better variety (well except for sandwiches ha), and them serving drinks is a huge bonus.

[cruz chic]

Yup, self-serve is often slower than this style. HAL has stepped up the Lido by quote a bit. More staff, better variety (well except for sandwiches ha), and them serving drinks is a huge bonus.

 

It will be nice to get served a drink. On princess you barely sit down and they are there. I think I can count on one hand how many times I've been offered a drink in my 350 plus days on Hal. I'm not speaking of the bar staff that drive a person nuts with asking you if you want a drink.

[Karennella]

Am I correct in thinking that the salads are being served as a food safety measure? We actually do not have many buffets in Sydney because of strict laws on food handling and, other than for breakfast in hotels, they are not especially popular.

I am very happy to have the salads and other food served.

[Hflors]

I'd be over the moon to go to the MDR every day for lunch. On my last cruise of 14 days I think it was open 3 days at lunch. If I never had to go to the lido it would be the best cruise ever! I've got a laundry list of things I hate about the lido.

 

I agree. On our Panama Canal cruise the dr wasn't even open for embarkment, Christmas day or New Year's day.

 

And while I am on it. Breakfast times change some days it is between 7:30 and 9 am and the other days it's between 8 and 9:30. One morning I got to the dining room maybe two minutes after nine. Nope. They were closed.

[syesmar]

Last month I was aboard the Rotterdam which features the Lido Marketplace with the new type of salad area. I was surprised that there were little to no lines (and also very glad service was not like Code Orange days; that, too, was my concern). Service was quick and efficient. The quality was very good. This was the best Lido we've had on any ship, in fact.

 

I believe for those who didn't want the server to pour the dressing, it could be poured into little cups and extra dressing was also available located to the side of the salad bar.

 

Also, the MDR was open for lunch most days (closed on 6 major port days, but open for the other days of our 17 day sailing).

 

Happy Travels!

[cruz chic]

I agree. On our Panama Canal cruise the dr wasn't even open for embarkment, Christmas day or New Year's day.

 

And while I am on it. Breakfast times change some days it is between 7:30 and 9 am and the other days it's between 8 and 9:30. One morning I got to the dining room maybe two minutes after nine. Nope. They were closed.

 

It's best to check the on location for MDR hours. I've been on some ships that do switch the hours based on port and sea days and some don't. They are prompt to close.

[TrolleyGirl]

PS - they had fresh seared tuna there every day.  

 

You can't imagine how happy the above quote makes me! I used to love the grilled salmon that was served during lunch. It was in the grill area before the Dive-In came along. Now to learn they have seared tuna, oh happy day!!!:D

[EbayCruiser]

Just off the Westerdam and we have a lot of complaints about the food but the salad bar was a BIG + in my opinion.

 

Never a line (sometimes one person in front of me) and I got a salad at lunch and dinner. They have it split in two so there is actually two salad stations (one at each end). They give you very generous salad portions, in fact I had to ask for a small salad several times. The toppings are very generous also. They do tend to add too much salad dressing to the salad but after the first spoon I would say that is fine. You can just ask for more or less and it worked great for us. I think it is much more sanitary for them to serve the salad.

 

I like the tilted bowls but my DH did not. He complained to me several times that he did not like the new bowls.

[wander]

I suspect that the salad bar is much like the omelette station and the stir fry bar. The first time "shoppers" take extra time checking out what they have and asking for the same. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd time most know exactly what they want and I cannot believe how fast they stewards are collecting the diverse ingredients.

 

While I too, in the past, preferred preparing my own salad, I noticed on my fall cruise where you still made your own salad, as folks reached for ingredients near the back they had to reach over other ingredients - potentially contamination them. Also, a few folks with baggy cuffs on their sleeves actually dragged their clothing across some of the other ingredients - not appealing in my opinion.

[sail7seas]

I suspect that the salad bar is much like the omelette station and the stir fry bar. The first time "shoppers" take extra time checking out what they have and asking for the same. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd time most know exactly what they want and I cannot believe how fast they stewards are collecting the diverse ingredients.

 

 

<snip>

 

 

 

That may be true if you always have the same ingredients in your omelette but I like to vary what I have. One time I might have tomatoes and peppers and another time mushrooms and cheese etc

 

[Ricktan]

Just off the Westerdam and we have a lot of complaints about the food but the salad bar was a BIG + in my opinion.

 

Never a line (sometimes one person in front of me) and I got a salad at lunch and dinner. They have it split in two so there is actually two salad stations (one at each end). They give you very generous salad portions, in fact I had to ask for a small salad several times. The toppings are very generous also. They do tend to add too much salad dressing to the salad but after the first spoon I would say that is fine. You can just ask for more or less and it worked great for us. I think it is much more sanitary for them to serve the salad.

 

I like the tilted bowls but my DH did not. He complained to me several times that he did not like the new bowls.

 

 

Totally agree!! I enjoyed the salad bar experience!

[chefestelle]

So on the Veendam for Christmas we started with self serve salad bar. After noro mounted, it went to full service. I had only eaten twice in the lido and both times it was when we had self serve. Full service seemed to be working fine with no lengthy lineups. Can't be positive on that since I don't love buffets and only ate there because MDR was closed.

[Hflors]

I like having bowls for my salad so when I get done I can go over to the food station and get my food. Then I can put that plate on top of the salad bowl, like a double decker. I usually grab a smaller plate for my right hand and put my drinks on that. With these I can put sugar and a straws in my pocket and I have lunch. Since HAL stopped having trays I have found this the best way to do it if I have to eat in the Lido.

 

I wonder how the new salad bowls will hold a plate on top?

[cruz chic]

So on the Veendam for Christmas we started with self serve salad bar. After noro mounted, it went to full service. I had only eaten twice in the lido and both times it was when we had self serve. Full service seemed to be working fine with no lengthy lineups. Can't be positive on that since I don't love buffets and only ate there because MDR was closed.

 

I don't think the Veendam has changed to the "marketplace" yet so that's likely why it's self serve.

[chefestelle]

Ah. I couldn't tell whether it had been because I haven't sailed HAL. With Veendam being smaller it was hard for me to put the pictures in perspective.

[jig]

We have 14 days on veendam this year. 78 next. Shall see.

[RuthC]

I wonder how the new salad bowls will hold a plate on top?

They won't. The top of the bowls is on a slant. Now, if the bowls had a top that was on one level, that would solve a couple of problems.

[Ricktan]

I like having bowls for my salad so when I get done I can go over to the food station and get my food. Then I can put that plate on top of the salad bowl, like a double decker. I usually grab a smaller plate for my right hand and put my drinks on that. With these I can put sugar and a straws in my pocket and I have lunch. Since HAL stopped having trays I have found this the best way to do it if I have to eat in the Lido.

 

I wonder how the new salad bowls will hold a plate on top?

 

Anything sat on top of those bowls is hitting the floor ::D