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MDR lunch?


AndyMichelle
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I try to avoid buffets restaurants if at all possible for 2 main reasons one is why it is nicknamed "smash and grab" but the main reason is the filthy habits that some have while helping themselves to food and I believe most, if not all, noro virus cases start from in there.

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18 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

I try to avoid buffets restaurants if at all possible for 2 main reasons one is why it is nicknamed "smash and grab" but the main reason is the filthy habits that some have while helping themselves to food and I believe most, if not all, noro virus cases start from in there.

Probably the soundest of all reasons for avoiding the buffet. Some pretty disgusting food contamination behaviour by some passengers.  

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I've been using the buffet for 10 years, never been ill yet, so not sure that's a fact.  You are more likely to catch a cough, cold or flu, going by the number of people that coughed all over us in the theatre and the lifts!!  My husband has a bad cold.  We got back on Friday.

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10 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I've been using the buffet for 10 years, never been ill yet, so not sure that's a fact.  You are more likely to catch a cough, cold or flu, going by the number of people that coughed all over us in the theatre and the lifts!!  My husband has a bad cold.  We got back on Friday.

You dont catch flu or a cold from cruisers manhandling food in buffet. Seen in the past people handling fruit and putting it back and the same with bread rolls. Also picking up items of food with fingers instead of tongues provided and the worst is watching people picking up sandwiches at afternoon tea and opening the sandwich to see what is inside and then putting sdandwich back. Surprising seeing that above every tray of sandwiches was a sign telling you what sandwich was. Sorry having had noro virus on a cruise would rather not take the risk of catching it again.

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Norovirus spreads in lots of other ways than,  admittedly,  gross behaviour in the buffet. Unless you go through your entire cruise without touching a single surface that someone else has touched, you will be at risk.

It seems that many people believe that Norovirus is just confined to cruise ships - not true, it is everywhere,  in hotels, canteens, shopping centres etc. It is just that a cruise ship is a floating  petri dish,  that allows the virus to spread, whereas the same circumstances are not applicable in a land based environment. 

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6 hours ago, wowzz said:

Norovirus spreads in lots of other ways than,  admittedly,  gross behaviour in the buffet. Unless you go through your entire cruise without touching a single surface that someone else has touched, you will be at risk.

It seems that many people believe that Norovirus is just confined to cruise ships - not true, it is everywhere,  in hotels, canteens, shopping centres etc. It is just that a cruise ship is a floating  petri dish,  that allows the virus to spread, whereas the same circumstances are not applicable in a land based environment. 

All perfectly true.  And, yes, some people (have to admit to this) do try to avoid touching as many surfaces as possible on cruise ships.  It's feasible, though it can look a little odd!  The key to success is to avoid subsequently touching nose, eyes, mouth - not easy, as it's almost instinctive.  Handwashing is very important - alcohol gels are ineffective:

 

 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/

 

Lift buttons are a major source of potential contamination, handrails, and any surfaces commonly used - obviously with an emphasis on public toilets (best avoided altogether!).  Avoid touching the handrails, though, and you might well end up falling down the stairs and breaking your neck!  Just a question of what's feasible, what's safe, and commonsense.

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1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

All perfectly true.  And, yes, some people (have to admit to this) do try to avoid touching as many surfaces as possible on cruise ships.  It's feasible, though it can look a little odd!  The key to success is to avoid subsequently touching nose, eyes, mouth - not easy, as it's almost instinctive.  Handwashing is very important - alcohol gels are ineffective:

 

 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/

 

Lift buttons are a major source of potential contamination, handrails, and any surfaces commonly used - obviously with an emphasis on public toilets (best avoided altogether!).  Avoid touching the handrails, though, and you might well end up falling down the stairs and breaking your neck!  Just a question of what's feasible, what's safe, and commonsense.

That's it Harry,  you have scared me enough, it's full CSI suit and rubber gloves for me, I will look like a giant jelly baby,,, 😊

I can still put my bow tie over the top for formal night, so all good. 

Andy 

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I use the MDR for lunch quite a lot. The new menu (since last year on most ships) gives you more light and salad options and portions are smaller than dinner so it's possible to have a light and healthy lunch, waiter served. MUCH prefer that to the Snatch and Grab!

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I often use the MDR for lunch, especially if the seas are bumpy as the restaurants are usually lower down. I also can't carry trays as I use a stick. They could I suppose go the way of Saga and Fred Olsen where lunch in the MDR is a mixture of a small buffet and menu/ordered items.

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On 10/23/2019 at 9:57 PM, Harry Peterson said:

Probably the soundest of all reasons for avoiding the buffet. Some pretty disgusting food contamination behaviour by some passengers.  

 

The worst thing I ever saw was not on a cruise but in a good quality hotel in Giza, Egypt.  At the breakfast buffet there was some kind of blancmange-type dish with a large serving spoon in it.  A man went up, took some out with the spoon and then put the whole thing straight into his mouth.  He then replaced the spoon in the dish and walked away 😣.  I was just beside him so picked up the spoon and threw it away behind the counter shooting him my best disgusted look.  He only had one arm but that really was no excuse... (No jokes about it being 'armless please 😃).

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1 hour ago, Britboys said:

 

The worst thing I ever saw was not on a cruise but in a good quality hotel in Giza, Egypt.  At the breakfast buffet there was some kind of blancmange-type dish with a large serving spoon in it.  A man went up, took some out with the spoon and then put the whole thing straight into his mouth.  He then replaced the spoon in the dish and walked away 😣.  I was just beside him so picked up the spoon and threw it away behind the counter shooting him my best disgusted look.  He only had one arm but that really was no excuse... (No jokes about it being 'armless please 😃).

He saw no arm in what he was doing.You asked for it,lol.

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18 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

I often use the MDR for lunch, especially if the seas are bumpy as the restaurants are usually lower down. I also can't carry trays as I use a stick. They could I suppose go the way of Saga and Fred Olsen where lunch in the MDR is a mixture of a small buffet and menu/ordered items.

Marella do the same with a salad,pasta,cold fish and meats bar.They do have staff serving those,which is more civilized.

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18 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

For goodness sake.  I have never had a problem using the buffet in over 10 years of cruising.  I like the variety, can choose what I like and how much I want.  Don't want to be stuck inside on the ship.  Like to eat outdoors.

The 'bun sniffer' on our last Aurora cruise did put us off a bit, but I will still use it when it suits. 

Andy 

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7 hours ago, davemorton said:

So can you ask for a table for two, or is it like afternoon tea/breakfast where they just take you to the next space available? 

We have never had any trouble getting a table for 2 for lunch, usually by the window. 

As I said before, we have found the mdr drastically underused at lunchtime recently, so plenty of choice. 

Andy 

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