Why you should be writing “keep the staff serving the buffet food” in the survey (hint: OCD)

[gold1953]

I love the Celebrity buffet but am so disgusted with so many cruisers. I can't tell you how many I have seen lick their fingers while in line to self serve because they got sticky.  Then so many lick fingers at their tables while eating!! I never touch the ladles with my bare hands and I pull out the chair with my feet.  I am all for being served

[Denny01]

Interesting on the differing opinions. But the S- and E-Class Oceanview organization allows so much more  efficient buffet-style service with many separate stations so there are few lines, except for specialty items such as made-to-order items. And makes choosing fun to see something you haven’t tried before. 

 

But I’ll disagree with the comments that self-service doesn’t spread diseases. And the comment that servers have told them no one has ever gotten ill is a bit too obvious. Many germs/viruses are spread by contact. This has been known since germ theory was first understood. So saying self-serve doesn’t increase the chance of getting ill is just way wrong. And yes, I do go to buffets and self-serve, I just understand the increased risk. And prior to the Pandemic, Norovirus was spread very much through contact, with the buffets as one of many origination sites. 

 

My experience on Apex two weeks ago with 1600 passengers was Oceanview was very efficient. There were a couple of servers in each station and yes, sometimes one had their back to me and I had to actually wait a minute or so. And even though the servers may not speak fluent English, they understand the basics and take care of us very well. 

 

Enough. Few opinons, if any, are changed, especially if you’ve convened yourself all is safe because some server said no one ever got sick…….I guess they don’t realize people usually take a day or so to feel the affects and yeah the server would actually say, ‘A woman in line suddenly threw up right were you are standing!”.

 

Kind of like when people tell me how dangerous cruise ships are and places such as DisneyWorld isn’t…..they get sick aftr they get home and good ole DisneyWorld isn’t blamed.

 

Den

den

[miched]

21 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

We’re on the Silhouette now, only 45% occupancy. The buffet is not self-serve, but there aren’t enough staff to pull it off well, even for this relatively small group of pax. It’s beyond frustrating to stand in long lines (no social distancing) as a crew member has to count out individual anchovies for someone’s Caesar salad. The only way Celebrity could pull this off permanently is with far more (and better trained) staff. 

There one was a person in front of me getting a salad.

 

That  is too much lettuce, about 1/2 of that.  Good.  Just add  one more leaf 

2 olives.  No not that one,  it is too big..   That one over there 

 

3 cherry tomatoes 

 

1/2 spoon of peas.   That is too many, take 3 off 

 

and etc with everything they wanted to customize their  salad. 

 

it would have probably been worse if it was self serve as they would have been choice picking everything looking for the best. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited December 12, 2021 by miched

[Lastdance]

I always try to eat in the buffet when it first opens for meals.  My favorite is breakfast early in the morning.  There is a limit to genius, but no limit to stupidity; something that I always remember from Einstein.  My first cruise after Covid is on Flora, at the end of May, as  all of my other cruises were canceled.   Stupidity will always be with us, but I stay away as best I can and look for the positives in life!  Yes, my glass is half full and I rarely spill anything.

[Turtles06]

50 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

But the S- and E-Class Oceanview organization allows so much more  efficient buffet-style service with many separate stations so there are few lines, except for specialty items such as made-to-order items.

That’s just not been our experience for the past nine days on the Silhouette. Let’s say you want to get a plate of cheese with some bread and crackers. You have to stand in a line, sometimes long, as guests tell the server which type of cheeses they want, generally by sticking their hands under the glass and pointing, how many pieces of each, no, not that one, more of this one, etc., and repeat all over again at the bread station. It can take ridiculously long for this. The concept of a served-buffet is a good one, but there aren’t enough crew to pull it off. 

[canderson]

13 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

No, it hasn’t and it’s certainly wasn’t what I said. Just not enough staff to pull it off well. Also, the design of the food stations, many of which are triangular, means that the single server in the middle facing one side can’t see the people on the other sides. There’s no single line, so people often don’t get served in order.

Don't know about E class, but what you're describing is a function of the S class buffet "kiosk" design.  I've always preferred the traditional "slide it down the line" style of M class where there's a good place for a proper tray while you work.

 

Anyway, S class buffet design really doesn't lend itself to being served, as you say.  The departure from the traditional design was intentional, but doesn't work very well in the current environment compared to M class buffet which works better at the moment.

[Denny01]

Please explain how M-Class with All the food choices available (except a few special areas) are accessed through one line (well, 2, one on each side) is more efficient than the S- and E-Class Oceanview numerous kiosks and sections where everyone isn’t required to line up? You join everyone in one line on the M-Class and the guy ahead of you goes through the ‘I want one of those and two of these’ given as in the example of waiting a few minutes at a kiosks, but here, everyone wanting anything must wait. And yes, all the staff is facing you, but that is the case for S- and E-Class for a majority of the areas.

 

That doesn’t track at all. Especially for those who wish a few items, the kiosk is much more efficient… …..unless you are the one(s) who cut in line on the M-Class because you’ve come up with an excuse to butt in. 

 

Although I haven’t cruised M-Class cruise since late 2017, trays had been taken away for a while, which caused a Huge number of complaining postings. Did they add them back?

 

Den

 

[go.without.you]

On 12/11/2021 at 12:45 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

Background: Was on the Edge on July,  the Equinox in Oct-Nov and am on the Carnival Glory currently where it’s self serve buffet.  I do enjoy things about carnival in that it’s more lively/active and at the moment, due to the child care club being closed there isn’t many kids.

 

On this sailing, I witness the usual bad buffet behaviors but noticed a new one.  At the Carnival buffet, a woman in front of me seemingly had OCD.  She was getting grits but would slowly scoop a quarter full ladle of grits I'd guess six-eight times; once her grits bowl was full she decided to spend a few seconds positioning her grits bowl on the plate.  She then received bacon (that’s the only thing carnival staff serves at the buffet) and again she uses her fingers to position the bacon strips on her plate.  Now with her greasy fingers she grabs the potato tongs and grabs a potato wedge one by one attempting to position them on the plate to her likening.

This must be the same lady I got behind that inspected every single piece of lettuce before she put it on her plate. I had to walk away before my head exploded.

[finny2]

I have an additional reason to like being served in a buffet. Self serve is difficult when you are in a wheelchair for a number of reasons. I only go to the buffet when there is no service in the dining room. So, yes, I hope it continues.

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 minutes ago, finny2 said:

I have an additional reason to like being served in a buffet. Self serve is difficult when you are in a wheelchair for a number of reasons. I only go to the buffet when there is no service in the dining room. So, yes, I hope it continues.

 

In all fairness, both during pre and post pandemic, I personally witnessed Carnival and X waitstaff help those with mobility issues at the buffet

[morpheusofthesea]

We took this matter one step further. We noticed that the CDC recommends that during this CSO ships sailing from US ports should not allow passengers to self-serve dishes and silverware. On a recent cruise on board the Edge this recommendation was followed. On a recent cruise aboard the Equinox, it was not followed. A written request to Celebrity was submitted and the following reply. "

CelebrityEngagementCenter@celebrity.com	Oct 8, 2021, 9:24 PM

Dear Mr. and Mrs.

Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises.

Health protocols are very important to us as well. I want to thank you greatly for giving us this valuable information. I agree that this is a simple protocol that should be adhered to on all of our ships. I have forwarded this to our leadership team so that they can bring it to the attention of our Healthy protocols team and have it addressed aboard the Celebrity Equinox.
Mr. and Mrs., please let me know if there is anything else I may assist you with.

Sincerely,
Celebrity Cruises

 

Unfortunately on a subsequent cruise  (US Thanksgiving) aboard the Equinox this policy was still missing. So perhaps writing is really fruitless when it comes health protocols ?

[Pinboy]

On 12/12/2021 at 10:31 AM, miched said:

There one was a person in front of me getting a salad.

 

That  is too much lettuce, about 1/2 of that.  Good.  Just add  one more leaf 

2 olives.  No not that one,  it is too big..   That one over there 

 

3 cherry tomatoes 

 

1/2 spoon of peas.   That is too many, take 3 off 

 

and etc with everything they wanted to customize their  salad. 

 

it would have probably been worse if it was self serve as they would have been choice picking everything looking for the best. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

YOU TOO ??? 

I've been behind the same people on every cruise --- either picky ( in selection of food or with their hands ), or just plain Slobs ( pushing in line, dropping food , bumping into you ).

That's why we avoid the " Slugfest on 14 " and have breakfast in the MDR , followed by " breakfast top up " in the Tuscan Grill --- lunch at the Spa Café ,where the plates are already set up--- and dinner in the MDR or a Specialty restaurant. 

Come to think of it----They serve scones , open face sandwiches , fruit plates , etc  at 4pm up there which is a very nice place to relax and look out at the sea. ( Very few people there at that time ).

 

 

[WonderMan3]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We took this matter one step further. We noticed that the CDC recommends that during this CSO ships sailing from US ports should not allow passengers to self-serve dishes and silverware. On a recent cruise on board the Edge this recommendation was followed. On a recent cruise aboard the Equinox, it was not followed. A written request to Celebrity was submitted and the following reply. "

CelebrityEngagementCenter@celebrity.com	Oct 8, 2021, 9:24 PM

Dear Mr. and Mrs.

Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises.

Health protocols are very important to us as well. I want to thank you greatly for giving us this valuable information. I agree that this is a simple protocol that should be adhered to on all of our ships. I have forwarded this to our leadership team so that they can bring it to the attention of our Healthy protocols team and have it addressed aboard the Celebrity Equinox.
Mr. and Mrs., please let me know if there is anything else I may assist you with.

Sincerely,
Celebrity Cruises

 

Unfortunately on a subsequent cruise  (US Thanksgiving) aboard the Equinox this policy was still missing. So perhaps writing is really fruitless when it comes health protocols ?

Next time take a video of the issue as it’s happening and send it to the media and/or the CDC. That will get Celebrity’s attention.

[NutsAboutGolf]

11 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

Next time take a video of the issue as it’s happening and send it to the media and/or the CDC. That will get Celebrity’s attention.

 

Coincidentally I was on both ships mentioned since the restart; X is only staff serving the food itself (and the plates/flatware on some select ships) yet you still pour your own drinks and have to touch condiment bottles including the pizza parm. cheese/red peppers, salad dressing, syrup, etc

[finny2]

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

In all fairness, both during pre and post pandemic, I personally witnessed Carnival and X waitstaff help those with mobility issues at the buffet

In all fairness, I have had Celebrity staff help me in the buffet as well, but not every time. sometimes I had to go it alone. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

RCL is going back to self-serve, X could be next…If you’re a fan of staff-served be sure to mention it on the survey

[DaKahuna]

When we sailed on Reflection in December everything in OVC, including tea and lemonade was catafalque served.  On Silhouette these last 11 days, coffee, water, tea, and lemonade were self serve.