Carnival sailing with Lido Buffets, etc. as they were....

[CelticMCO]

All you "I wanna be served people" - question, just where do you think the staff is going to come from to serve you on a fully booked cruise ?  The staff is already overworked.  Leave the buffet alone; if you are being served it is not a buffet it is a cafeteria and no one is forcing you to eat there as there are other options...

[TNcruising02]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

In my experience the crew at the buffet always kept a close eye and made sure to ensure children were accompanied and didn't stick their hands in the food, dirty serving utensils were swapped out, etc. I have never felt the Carnival buffets were poorly attended or unsanitary. If I saw something that needed attention they took care of it immediately.

 

I am ready for my October cruise and yes, I plan to eat at the buffet every day.

I've eaten at the buffet at least once a day on every cruise I have ever sailed. Thankfully, I only noticed one thing that was disgusting.  It was the butter crock.  I saw someone use a butter utensil, dip it into the crock, bring it back up and have butter all over his hands.  He wiped his butter covered hands off on his pants.  So yeah, the butter crock was an epic fail.  I go without butter if the crock is the only option.

I would prefer it if the salad dressings were in individual small cups because that area gets messy.

I've never seen anyone lick the utensils.  When I eat at the buffet, I try to get there as soon as it opens so that I am one of the first ones.  People who don't like the buffet don't have to eat there.  I would have preferred that the crew members served the food, but it's not a deal breaker for me since I can easily wash my hands.  People are touching things all over the ship, so it's not like the buffet is the only place.  Washing hands solves 99.9% of the germ issues.

[kdr69]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:01 AM, BoozinCroozin said:

Lido buffet and self-serve soda, ice cream, etc should be a perk of being vaccinated. The unvaxxed would need to go where they can get food plated and those little ice cream man cups with the wooden spoons. 

 

As a shareholder, and now as the delta variant is spreading in the US, I am against unvaxxed on the ships. CCL and their Execs have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholder, lien, and debt holders to generate revenue and growth to the company. CCL loses absolutely nothing by not allowing unvaxxed onboard. However, they can face massive revenue declines if the unvaxxed have a breakout. 

Glad they are keeping you a happy shareholder then other than the cancelled cruises.😁

[scpirate]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:43 PM, phoneman69 said:

Now how would one know this info as not a sole has boarded a Carnival ship yet. Last i heard Vista on July 3rd and Horizon on the 4th. What is the source ?

You dare question the all knowing one? 

[phoneman69]

17 minutes ago, scpirate said:

You dare question the all knowing one? 

When you turn the 8 ball over if the answer is always "yes" is it correct ?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

18 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

  This also reinforces MY total avoidance of that nasty  ice cream machine. Again, witnessing a child’s mouth on that spigot stopped me cold turkey! 🤢🤢

🛳🛳

Bobbi 

Did you tell anyone about that/ Or did you just walk on by and not say anything so others could get the germs?

[yappy2112]

20 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

One has to eat in the buffet. I have said many times I would prefer a crew-served buffet but most people prefer to serve themselves. Is there any published accounts of someone contreact Covid from a buffet. I know there are published accounts of waiters spreading the virus. 

ive managed to never eat in a buffet in my life. cruise or otherwise. They violate nearly all of my OCD food rules. Plenty of other dining options. I'm not naive. My ex's family owned a restaurant. I've waited tables. I've owned a bakery. I know what goes on behind the scenes. That said, I do NOT do buffets. Ever. I've never been that hungry. thank the heavens. no problem with those that do, it's just not my cup of tea. My son thinks they are wonderful. I don't know how we can possibly be related.

 

LMAO

[Markmom18]

1 hour ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Did you tell anyone about that/ Or did you just walk on by and not say anything so others could get the germs?

  I told the nearest Carnival worker who was near me.  I have no big conclusion to report. I didn’t see him call the cleaning employees. I told him, he said sorry it happened and I left the the area.  
  I am sharing my experience.  And that visual was enough for me to stop using that machine, on whatever ship I’m cruising on.  I have other options to get ice cream on the ship.  
🛳🛳

Bobbi 
  

Edited July 1, 2021 by Markmom18

[Bevv]

14 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

CCL is going to stop delivering the paper Fun Times, Chocolate Delight, the ship pin, the logo gift, and complementary water to your cabin so you wont get Covid from paper or other objects that are brought in by the steward while cleaning the cabin (will they stop bringing all the adds in too?). 

I see a lot of this as a money saving plan not a Covid prevention plan.  I often read people talking about tossing the chocolate covered strawberries, and leaving logo gift behind when they leave. Of course the less paper they print the more they save too.

[ray98]

Good news.  I would rather serve myself and then just wash or sanitize before I eat.  

[SheSailsFL]

Note to self…just bring more Clorox wipes. 🤷‍♀️😃

[SheSailsFL]

OMG @Markmom18This also reinforces MY total avoidance of that nasty  ice cream machine. Again, witnessing a child’s mouth on that spigot stopped me cold turkey! 🤢🤢

 

I swear if I saw that I would politely take the kid by the arm and demand that they take me to their parents.  That is disgusting. 🤢🤮

[simplelife]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:46 PM, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

On my few Carnival cruises I’ve actually never ate at the buffet but (yeah) indulge in soft serve daily and pizza daily and Guys Burgers daily….

 

It’s never been clean at the I/c station and the only rule I ever wanted was an adult line and a kids line as kids never form lines…..

With the Pizza and Guys Burgers, your food is individually prepared and no one handles your plate except the preparer and you - no common utensils or other passengers breathing on your food. This is  probably even  less risky than the MDR or specialty restaurants.

[Saint Greg]

On 7/1/2021 at 12:46 PM, mz-s said:

In my experience the crew at the buffet always kept a close eye and made sure to ensure children were accompanied and didn't stick their hands in the food, dirty serving utensils were swapped out, etc. I have never felt the Carnival buffets were poorly attended or unsanitary. If I saw something that needed attention they took care of it immediately.

 

I am ready for my October cruise and yes, I plan to eat at the buffet every day.

Definitely 100% saw a kid sneeze into his hand then immediately pick up the tongs with it on my last cruise.

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 7/1/2021 at 7:57 PM, BlerkOne said:

The reality is that I will be safely cruising in a few days and hope it doesn't get ruined by deniers. OTOH, if the cruise gets terminated early, it will likely be free, and a good discount off a future cruise. How can I lose?

First thing that comes to mind would be if you heard those dreaded four words every seafaring crew and passenger fear...  "PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!!"  🏴‍☠️

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 9:07 AM, BlerkOne said:

Self-service including ice cream machines (for now). A perk of (mostly) vaccinated cruises.

NCL, with 100% vaccinated passengers, will also have self serve buffets.

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:50 PM, lazydayz said:

One of my personal goals on each cruise is NOT to eat at buffet.  This just reinforces it! 

But.....the Covid virus is not a food borne pathogen. It is not spread that way.

Edited July 3, 2021 by coffeebean

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:51 PM, cruisingguy007 said:

 

The spoon doesn't scratch, itch, adjust itself, cough, sneeze or talk either. There are antimicrobial serving spoons. May the the fork be with you!   

ROTFLMAO!!!

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:55 PM, BlerkOne said:

I guess you've never seen the people serving themselves with the utensils, eating with their hands off their plate, and then licking their fingers before reaching for the next serving utensil. 

Just make sure your hands are clean before you take your first bite of food. Hand sanitizer does the trick. Oh....also don't touch your face with unclean hands.

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:56 PM, Wanna_Cruize said:

 

I'm wondering about bringing disposable gloves and using one to serve myself from the buffet and then throwing it away when I get to my table. 

Our local buffet restaurants have those oversized clear gloves at every serving station. The gloves are mandatory to be worn by all patrons serving themselves at the buffets. I would hope all cruise ships who will be offering self serve buffets will supply these gloves and make sure passengers use them.

[coffeebean]

On 6/30/2021 at 9:01 PM, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

Or even worse, licking the spoon and then putting it back. Once you've seen that, you can't unsee it. 🤢

Who does that? I've never seen anyone do that.

[FSHLOT]

Seems like alot of paranoia still regarding buffets. Isnt the buffett a big part of the cruising experience? Not saying i eat the buffet all the time, but i kind of like having options. 

 

The closer we get to normalcy the better off we all will be. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

15 hours ago, simplelife said:

With the Pizza and Guys Burgers, your food is individually prepared and no one handles your plate except the preparer and you - no common utensils or other passengers breathing on your food. This is  probably even  less risky than the MDR or specialty restaurants.

Not less risky to my thinking. You can watch the pizza being made and the burgers. You cannot see what is happening in the MDR kitchen and most of the specialty restaurants.

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, coffeebean said:

NCL, with 100% vaccinated passengers, will also have self serve buffets.

i believe legally, some exception have to made.

[BlerkOne]

6 hours ago, FSHLOT said:

Seems like alot of paranoia still regarding buffets. Isnt the buffett a big part of the cruising experience? Not saying i eat the buffet all the time, but i kind of like having options. 

 

 

Remember when nobody was concerned about (or heard of) Noro. Normalcy is not static.