Buffets

[bigrednole]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

We never had any food SLOPPED on our plate. Why would you think that?

Very easily. RCL even stated awhile back that buffets may be gone and require staff servers to plate the food. If you don't like the work "slop", then how about: "A loving, caring member of our crew will gently scoop the delightfully arranged food of your liking gently like a soft wind blowing through the clouds onto your ever so eagerly waiting plate with a smile and a comment to delectably enjoy your meal" Yeah, slopping it onto a plate is much faster to type.

[clo]

Just now, bigrednole said:

Very easily. RCL even stated awhile back that buffets may be gone and require staff servers to plate the food. If you don't like the work "slop", then how about: "A loving, caring member of our crew will gently scoop the delightfully arranged food of your liking gently like a soft wind blowing through the clouds onto your ever so eagerly waiting plate with a smile and a comment to delectably enjoy your meal" Yeah, slopping it onto a plate is much faster to type.

Oh please, you know what I mean. Everything was done as nicely as I could have done it myself. And no people reaching under the glass to grab something.

[ontheweb]

27 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Very easily. RCL even stated awhile back that buffets may be gone and require staff servers to plate the food. If you don't like the work "slop", then how about: "A loving, caring member of our crew will gently scoop the delightfully arranged food of your liking gently like a soft wind blowing through the clouds onto your ever so eagerly waiting plate with a smile and a comment to delectably enjoy your meal" Yeah, slopping it onto a plate is much faster to type.

That does sound much more poetic and appealing than slopping the food on the plate.🤣

 

Having been on the HAL Maasdam that did serve food at the buffet, it is also more accurate than slopping the food on the plate.

[pris993]

10 hours ago, clo said:

So do you understand that you can have an alternative to MDR? You ask for what you want, go to the next station and do the same, etc.

Sounds like you are talking about a buffet where items are served.  Fine with me.  I was responding to a comment where someone said all meals where served on board years ago without any buffet set at all.  

[taglovestocruise]

22 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

They managed to feed people for more than a century before anyone had a buffet.  And noone went hungry.  EM

You would need to go back 4 centuries to avoid the lines and be buffet free, love those Swedes.

 

The Smörgåsbord is a 300-year-old tradition in Sweden. It’s a meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of different foods on the table. It’s normally a celebratory meal where guests help themselves from a range of dishes.

 

[sfaaa]

7 hours ago, clo said:

We never had any food SLOPPED on our plate. Why would you think that?

Buffet is just a more fancy term for chow line.

[clo]

13 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Buffet is just a more fancy term for chow line.

I guess you also haven't experienced what I'm talking about. If there was a line it was perhaps two people. Can that be a line? There were plenty of 'stations' so it wasn't at all crowded.

[mom says]

3 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Buffet is just a more fancy term for chow line

Have to disagree. They may fall within the same category, but I would suggest if there is no difference, then there is no difference between a skid row diner and a Michelin restaurant. I would say there are, in fact, degrees of difference. I would place the Celebrity Ocean View Cafes several rungs above Golden Corral, both in terms of quality and service.

Edited September 23, 2020 by mom says

[Aquahound]

31 minutes ago, mom says said:

Have to disagree. They may fall within the same category, but I would suggest if there is no difference, then there is no difference between a skid row diner and a Michelin restaurant. I would say there are, in fact, degrees of difference. I would place the Celebrity Ocean View Cafes several rungs above Golden Corral, both in terms of quality and service.

 

I'm 100% with you on that.  I've had some really pleasant buffet dining experiences, especially at dinner time.  I can see how some negative similes could be used to describe the buffet during the breakfast and lunch rush but otherwise, I've had mostly good experiences.  And yes, Celebrity's Ocean View Cafe is one of the better ones, both in food and atmosphere.  

 

The only buffet I'd compare to a slop chow hall was on my one and only Carnival cruise (Carnival Liberty).  Of course, I might have felt that way because of the hideous décor and rap music.  

Edited September 23, 2020 by Aquahound

[clo]

1 hour ago, mom says said:

Have to disagree.

I wish I had taken pix of the Terrace Cafe on Oceania. 

[sverigecruiser]

7 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

You would need to go back 4 centuries to avoid the lines and be buffet free, love those Swedes.

 

The Smörgåsbord is a 300-year-old tradition in Sweden. It’s a meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of different foods on the table. It’s normally a celebratory meal where guests help themselves from a range of dishes.

 

 

Even better is the christmas version, julbord! 

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

You would need to go back 4 centuries to avoid the lines and be buffet free, love those Swedes.

 

The Smörgåsbord is a 300-year-old tradition in Sweden. It’s a meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of different foods on the table. It’s normally a celebratory meal where guests help themselves from a range of dishes.

 

 

Reminded by of SmorgaBob's - Haha.   They were an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Not sure how widespread their restaurants were.  

 

No offense to the Swedish tradition.   

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, clo said:

I wish I had taken pix of the Terrace Cafe on Oceania. 

So, you only took pictures of the food?😉

[Essiesmom]

11 hours ago, clo said:

I wish I had taken pix of the Terrace Cafe on Oceania. 

Oceania Insignia.  Let's start with dessert...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures taken as they were setting up for lunch.  Obviously, not everything was served to you.  But this was mid-Nov. 2019 and the world has changed...  EM

[clo]

33 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Pictures taken as they were setting up for lunch.  Obviously, not everything was served to you.  But this was mid-Nov. 2019 and the world has changed...  EM

FANTASTIC!!!! And drool-worthy. I don't believe anyone could complain about that 🙂

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Oceania Insignia.  Let's start with dessert...

 

Pictures taken as they were setting up for lunch.  Obviously, not everything was served to you.  But this was mid-Nov. 2019 and the world has changed...  EM

 

I like the way the food looks but assume that the food in other restaurants, where they served you at your table, had the same quality. If yes I see no reason to go to the buffet.

[Joebucks]

Honestly, the CDC data indicates that COVID isn't spread by touching, but still, I get it.

 

There's really no reason why it can't be served cafeteria style.

[clo]

3 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I like the way the food looks but assume that the food in other restaurants, where they served you at your table, had the same quality. If yes I see no reason to go to the buffet.

We had a couple of not wonderful experiences in the GDR and never went there again. First, is the closed circuit channel (or whatever that's called) showed a menu for dinner. It sounded very appealing to us and we went there. Well, that wasn't THAT night's dinner as it doesn't show up much later in the afternoon. So we left cause what was being served wasn't particularly tempting to us. Then we returned, perhaps the following evening. I can't remember the particulars now but do remember that it took 45 minutes for us to get glasses of water and menus. Left again and never returned. Other people had the same issues. I have to believe that it must be quite slow. Whereas in the Terrace Cafe it more DIY. You walk up and ask for a certain thing and you get it. We tended to get our meal, including cooked to order steaks, lobster, etc. and return for a little dessert. It was as leisurely as we wanted but not too long. So except for four dinners in specialties we ate all our meals there and liked/loved every one.

[njhorseman]

38 minutes ago, clo said:

We had a couple of not wonderful experiences in the GDR and never went there again. First, is the closed circuit channel (or whatever that's called) showed a menu for dinner. It sounded very appealing to us and we went there. Well, that wasn't THAT night's dinner as it doesn't show up much later in the afternoon. So we left cause what was being served wasn't particularly tempting to us. Then we returned, perhaps the following evening. I can't remember the particulars now but do remember that it took 45 minutes for us to get glasses of water and menus. Left again and never returned. Other people had the same issues. I have to believe that it must be quite slow. Whereas in the Terrace Cafe it more DIY. You walk up and ask for a certain thing and you get it. We tended to get our meal, including cooked to order steaks, lobster, etc. and return for a little dessert. It was as leisurely as we wanted but not too long. So except for four dinners in specialties we ate all our meals there and liked/loved every one.

Our experience with the dining room on Oceania has been similar to yours and we ended up doing the same...eating in the Terrace Cafe except for nights when we had specialty restaurant reservations.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, Aquahound said:

The only buffet I'd compare to a slop chow hall was on my one and only Carnival cruise (Carnival Liberty).  Of course, I might have felt that way because of the hideous décor and rap music.  

 

Different strokes for different folks, I suspect.  There was a Barbeque venue on the upper level when I embarked; food was good; not great.  But, I was out of the "free for all" on the lower level.  Visiting Carnival's Lido Restaurants when it was not "prime time" for meals provides a different view of the dining experience.  I do prefer HAL's Lido Restaurant set-up better.

 

The worst was on Royal Princess.  The set-up was confusing and chaotic during prime meal time--much worse than on any Carnival ship on which I have sailed.  When I would make my usual "pass through" to see what was available, I would see a station that I wanted to return to and then could not find it again.  (Plus--where in the h@!k did I put my book on the table to hold my seat!)

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Honestly, the CDC data indicates that COVID isn't spread by touching, but still, I get it.

 

There's really no reason why it can't be served cafeteria style.

As long as you still call it a buffet.😃