Post-Covid Buffets on Norwegian Ships

[FranknBeans]

On 6/6/2021 at 11:18 PM, classy_cruiser said:

Honestly I kind of hope they switch buffets to a service/cafeteria style in general going forward and not only on cruises. Buffets have always grossed me out a little, way too many people grabbing stuff with their bare hands 

Ditto, If we had to eat at buffets we wouldn't be cruising and thats why we like NCL restaurant selection

[Laszlo]

27 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

I thought I was the only one pumping gas that way.  Actually I use disposable food service gloves.

Started after breaking down at a gas station and waiting two hours for a tow about about 35 years ago. I watched a lot of people pump gas in that two hours LOL

[reeinaz]

20 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

I was a waitress in college. We sometimes had to refill the soap and paper towels in the bathrooms. The soap and paper towels in the men’s room almost never needed refilling. I asked my husband about this, and he confirmed that at work, many men exit the restroom without washing their hands. I am also a mom of two boys. So yeah, I am grossed out by shared serving utensils. 

I work at an entertainment venue and one of my posts is near the exit of a men’s room. I can’t tell you how many men come out still zipping up their pants 🤢

[CaptainWoody]

22 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

For somebody who has been on CC for less than a month with almost 400 posts, you sure like to attack other people.....Im going to go with....Who is a keyboard warrior for 1000.. Alex

 

Attack??  You are a really funny person!  Why not have a drink and relax?

[Phil265]

11 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Its the overuse of antibiotics in the 80's and 90's that have caused many issues

The overuse of antibiotics which still happens today and causes antibacterial / antimicrobial resistance which leads to many issues. The increase in food intolerances and other allergies is not one of them. 

[BirdTravels]

Post COVID buffet (Adventure of the Seas - Royals first North American cruise leaving Nassau today). 

 

[ShelleyQT]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:01 PM, CaptainWoody said:

Really?  I'm sure it has happened, but I've never seen it (and I have spent a lot of time in the buffets).  What are these things that they pick up and sniff?  Hot dogs?  Slices of pizza?  Rice and vegatables?  Scrambled eggs?  I guess I would have to see that.  That said, I'm all for having staff serve the food but for entirely different reasons.  Have you ever been in a buffet line before somebody who literally takes two minutes to get a single spoonful of something onto their plate?  It gets painful at times.  Having staff slop in onto the plate in a matter of seconds will make the whole thing go much quicker.

I've seen people put food on their plate to try it, use their fingers to taste it, lick their fingers, and then grab the serving tongs or whatever to take some more.  I think that warrants at least some level of concern for food safety.

[coastcat]

@BirdTravels, could you please clarify? Are all of the buffet areas staff-served or are some stations self-serve? Those pre-portioned salads, salad dressings, and sandwiches look like they’re still set up for self-serve. 
 

IIRC, the CDC guidelines say staff-served food stations are recommended, but not required, for vaccinated cruises. I’m curious to see if the cruise lines stick with the staffed buffets, go back to the old free-for-all, or set up a hybrid version.

[CaptainWoody]

19 minutes ago, coastcat said:

@BirdTravels, could you please clarify? Are all of the buffet areas staff-served or are some stations self-serve? Those pre-portioned salads, salad dressings, and sandwiches look like they’re still set up for self-serve. 

They sure look like self-serve to me.  Normal!!

[BirdTravels]

27 minutes ago, coastcat said:

@BirdTravels, could you please clarify? Are all of the buffet areas staff-served or are some stations self-serve? Those pre-portioned salads, salad dressings, and sandwiches look like they’re still set up for self-serve. 
 

IIRC, the CDC guidelines say staff-served food stations are recommended, but not required, for vaccinated cruises. I’m curious to see if the cruise lines stick with the staffed buffets, go back to the old free-for-all, or set up a hybrid version.

They are all served. You walk up with your plate, and the staff serves you. (Like when there is a plain ole noro infection onboard). All drinks are served. Even the soft serve ice cream is served. 

[coastcat]

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

They are all served. You walk up with your plate, and the staff serves you. (Like when there is a plain ole noro infection onboard). All drinks are served. Even the soft serve ice cream is served. 

Thanks for the info!

 

I’ll be in the first group of post shut-down solo cruisers staying in an NCL Studio area and am hoping they’ll keep the Studio Lounge as self-service. I can deal with staff service for meals and soft serve, but it seems unlikely that they’ll keep the Studio Lounge staffed. I need that 5:30am espresso…

[Topdog52]

On 6/7/2021 at 1:42 AM, CaptainWoody said:

Bah.  Other than shared serving utensils, I really don't get what you're worried about.  Of course, that same hand that just touched my shared serving utensil also touched the rail in the stairway, and the button in the elevator, and .....  Are you really afraid of living in this world while touching something that somebody else has touched?

Give everyone a pair of plastic gloves as they walk in to get their food

[ClevelandCruisin]

They may just have you use hand sanitizer before picking up the utensils to serve yourself. I've seen this currently here at home. I just can't see them having enough staff to serve every dish in the buffet.

[mking8288]

We just came back from a short 3 days weekend and the buffet at the land-based gaming resort remained closed.  The club/lounge for "privileged" guests is open, on shortened hours - with employees serving all guests, on everything & everything behind clear partitions - no touching by guests (point & ask ... and the employees do the rest).

 

Pretty much what Bird shown in the photos and explained during his time onboard.  When we're onboard the Escape during the norovirus outbreak in 2019, that's pretty much the standard routine and protocol on infection control and limiting physical contacts - guests required to do a hand wash before entering the cafe/buffet (IMHO, the quick hand sanitizer spray itself doesn't do much ... but, that's another discussion by itself on another day/time here)

 

Another buffet in a different state (has) is opened as nearly all restrictions have been lifted for this northeast state, but, the business is requiring all guests to put a single-use food grade glove at the food serving station, using a clean plate, and must wear a face mask - otherwise, allowed to use the (shared) food service utensils.  

 

We've never been a fan of buffets, especially sailing onboard as we mostly avoid them & opt for table service elsewhere instead - but, the changes are welcoming in the right direction, IMHO.  

 

 

[sail_ORN]

We were on the Getaway in January 2020, when nobody knew what Covid was, but we kinda knew there was something going on. All of a sudden, half way through the trip, everything was different. They were directing traffic at the buffet, and handed out plates. Hand sanitizer was practically mandatory. Staff were dishing out all the food, there was nothing self service. And yes, they had plenty of staff to cover all the lines.  If food was already in an individual bowl, someone  handed out the bowls. Not even the drinks were self serve.  The coffee stations were probably the biggest bottlenecks, especially at breakfast…folks need their caffeine! Not that I myself contributed to any bottlenecks. But good lord, three ounces of coffee in the mornings won’t even get me out of bed. Two “cups” is kinda an okay start, but I will return very soon for more lol.

[BirdTravels]

On 6/23/2021 at 11:14 AM, ClevelandCruisin said:

They may just have you use hand sanitizer before picking up the utensils to serve yourself. I've seen this currently here at home. I just can't see them having enough staff to serve every dish in the buffet.

Per my post above, that is EXACTLY what Royal Caribbean is doing. So,,,, it's not one crew member per chafing dish. One crew member manages a section of dishes. (Photos are from RCCL's first cruise last week).  And if your watch the NCL Embark videos, that is exactly what NCL is planning both on ship and on GSC. 

 

On the RCCL Private Island, passengers stand outside the ropes and have the servers place food on their plates. Quick. Easy. Efficient. 

 

 

On 6/13/2021 at 8:36 AM, Topdog52 said:

Give everyone a pair of plastic gloves as they walk in to get their food

That's what our local Chinese buffet does. You have to have a mask and pair of plastic gloves on when you are serving yourself. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by BirdTravels

[DCGuy64]

On 6/23/2021 at 11:14 AM, ClevelandCruisin said:

I just can't see them having enough staff to serve every dish in the buffet.

I can. They've got plenty of staff, and if it means reducing the risk of disease, trust me, they'll find a way.

[drcarp4]

On 6/8/2021 at 4:01 PM, CaptainWoody said:

Really?  I'm sure it has happened, but I've never seen it (and I have spent a lot of time in the buffets).  What are these things that they pick up and sniff?  Hot dogs?  Slices of pizza?  Rice and vegatables?  Scrambled eggs?  I guess I would have to see that.  That said, I'm all for having staff serve the food but for entirely different reasons.  Have you ever been in a buffet line before somebody who literally takes two minutes to get a single spoonful of something onto their plate?  It gets painful at times.  Having staff slop in onto the plate in a matter of seconds will make the whole thing go much quicker.

I was behind a Kid in the line once that got approx. 5,000 French fries. He must have realized he could only eat 4,000 so he promptly returned 1,000 with his hands. It was kind of funny to me at the time. I skipped the fries.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, drcarp4 said:

I was behind a Kid in the line once that got approx. 5,000 French fries. He must have realized he could only eat 4,000 so he promptly returned 1,000 with his hands. It was kind of funny to me at the time. I skipped the fries.

That's funny.  I would have skipped them as well.