Thoughts on taking entire pizzas from the buffet

[OrangeCatRamblers]

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

Interesting report about the buffet.

 

Do you have a report about sharing  a pizza or meal with the UDP as you asked about in a post before your cruise?  Specialty dining in general?  If sharing is possible, we would enjoy a meal much more - for us one meal is plenty for two people. 

 

Thanks.

 

I do! We used 2 credits as a family of three at Food Republic, a total non-issue. With 2 credits, we ordered eight dishes. Even with my 15 year old, who can EAT, it was soooooo much food, almost too much food. 

[newbe dave]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:14 PM, MoCruiseFan said:

What is cutting in line at a buffet?  At a buffet I simply look for what I want and put it on my plate.  

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area.  If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. 

 

No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting  flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by newbe dave

[graphicguy]

39 minutes ago, newbe dave said:

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area.  If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. 

 

No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting  flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave. 

Maybe want to rethink that.  Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn!

 

Just a little perspective….

[MoCruiseFan]

2 hours ago, newbe dave said:

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area.  If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. 

 

No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting  flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave. 

Those "entire pizzas" are tiny.  I could almost eat one by myself.  If I were at the buffet and getting food for myself and my child for example, we could easily eat one of those pizzas.  There is absolutely noting at all 'wrong' with taking however much food you want on a buffet as long as you are going to eat it.  That is the entire concept of a buffet.

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/1/2023 at 2:19 AM, casofilia said:

Easy thing, if that bothers you don't eat in the buffet where you could CHOOSE TO be offended by the actions of others, eat in a serviced restaurant.   We always do!!

I fixed that for you.  I cannot offend anyone, nor can you.  People CHOOSE to be offended by whatever they elect to be offended by.

[ziggyuk]

3 hours ago, newbe dave said:

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area.  If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. 

 

No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting  flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave. 

 

Exactly right and how I handle things.

 

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Maybe want to rethink that.  Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn!

 

Just a little perspective….

 

And exactly how can he get in line if there is nobody there?
He already said he gets in line if people are there but dives in if they are not, where is the problem?

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by ziggyuk

[kirtihk]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:37 PM, graphicguy said:

Maybe want to rethink that.  Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn!

 

Just a little perspective….

If you stand just to look at each station to decide what to take then you would stand again in those stations that you decided to take food from then you would spend close to the entire lunch time for such a procedure each cruise day!  And you would end up eating cold food, too.  Not worth it, not at all.  Better go to sauna and release some toxins instead.

Edited May 4, 2023 by kirtihk

[Sigyn]

This reminds me of tussles over food in high school. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:37 PM, graphicguy said:

Maybe want to rethink that.  Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn!

 

Just a little perspective….

Sorry GG! I'm going with @newbe dave's way of buffeting. Of course I don't actually eat more than one plate, per cruise from the buffet...but when I go to them on land, if someone is two or three chafing dishes behind what I want, I'm jumping in and taking what I want. That's how buffets should work. There shouldn't be mile long lines for anything except the "action" stations. 

[vacation44]

On 5/3/2023 at 11:55 AM, newbe dave said:

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area.  If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. 

 

No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting  flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave. 

This is what we do too.   

[bkrickles1]

9 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

This is what we do too.   

It must be a NY thing, because we do the same. Lmao!!

And, on any cruise ship I've been on, there are so many different stations plus there's duplicates of every station. I don't really remember ever having to wait more than a split second to get virtually anything that I wanted.

[Laszlo]

On 4/28/2023 at 7:33 AM, OrangeCatRamblers said:

Last week on the Prima, a group cut the buffet line to say that they had "pre ordered" several pizzas during lunch. It seemed like their order wasn't ready when they wanted it to be, so they just took whole pizzas that were ready. 

 

My question is - is it common knowledge that you can pre order buffet pizzas, and is it socially acceptable to take a whole pizza when others behind you are in line for pizza? I had never before heard of ordering buffet food. 

 

They told me, by way of apology (?) that they needed enough lunch pizza for their group of 21. 

Completely wrong...... I don't care who you are you don't cut in line. Taking whole pizza's? *****

 

I have had people cut in front of me in the buffet, I say to them excuse me their is a line here and it starts behind me. Most of the time it's an honest mistake, people apologize and get in line. Some people look and pretend they don't know what you said

[ColeThornton]

I take whole pizzas and put them on a deck chair to save the chair for later.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

I take whole pizzas and put them on a deck chair to save the chair for later.

Mic drop!!  End the thread now. 🤣😎

[schmoopie17]

4 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

I take whole pizzas and put them on a deck chair to save the chair for later.

Do you put the leftovers in a Ziploc?

[UKstages]

5 hours ago, Laszlo said:

I don't care who you are you don't cut in line...

 

I have had people cut in front of me in the buffet, I say to them excuse me their is a line here and it starts behind me.

 

it really depends on what you mean by a "line."

 

is there a notice at the buffet that says people should start in one place and dutifully push their tray or their plate along some imaginary path to the buffet's end point? where is the buffet's end point? where does the line begin? where does it end? what if you only want ice cream? do you have to shuffle along through the burgers and the salads and the indian food until you get to the ice cream?

 

without a doubt, there are lines for certain foods... a carving station, perhaps. so, maybe that's what you mean and we're actually on the same page.  there may even be a line for pizza... three or four people might be waiting for a new pie to come out. similarly, there may be a backup of three or four people waiting for burgers. it would be rude to jump ahead of them. but if the french fires are out next to where the hamburgers are supposed to be... and all you want is the french fries, there is no reason to wait... you go up, take your fries and go on your way. no harm, no foul.

 

but if you think there is a line that runs through the buffet from start to finish, respectfully, how do you know there is a line? because you see other people near you at the buffet, some of whom are behind you or to the right of you? is that what you believe constitutes a line?

 

5 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Some people look and pretend they don't know what you said

 

or perhaps they are confused by what you said.

 

because they know that a buffet is not a cafeteria.  it's not the DMV. you're not buying concert tickets at a box office. buffets are not linear concepts. there is no correct or required path to navigating a buffet. yes, you pay attention to others around you; you don't go ahead of other people waiting for the same food item as you, but feel free to dart in and out and take what you need... that's the way the buffet has been set up. if it weren't meant to be used that way, it would be designed with a clear entrance and exit and a path that required people to pretend that they were liam payne or harry styles and only go in one direction.

[ChiefMateJRK]

9 minutes ago, UKstages said:

without a doubt, there are lines for certain foods... a carving station, perhaps. so, maybe that's what you mean and we're actually on the same page. 

Yeah, this.  The closest I see to legit "lines" are at the omelet stations in the morning and carving stations at other times.  Maybe at the noodle soup station too.  Otherwise, it's pretty much every man/lady for themselves.  My pet peeve is when a legit line is blocking other food items and I politely ask if I might reach in and grab something that the "line" is only blocking.  Sometimes people just won't step out of the way.  Why?  I haven't a clue.

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

The closest I see to legit "lines" are at the omelet stations in the morning and carving stations at other times.

Same here, omelettes and carving station. Most other areas it's "every man for himself," LOL. (Not really, it tends to be pretty slow at certain spots)

[kitkat343]

25 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yeah, this.  The closest I see to legit "lines" are at the omelet stations in the morning and carving stations at other times.  Maybe at the noodle soup station too.  Otherwise, it's pretty much every man/lady for themselves.  My pet peeve is when a legit line is blocking other food items and I politely ask if I might reach in and grab something that the "line" is only blocking.  Sometimes people just won't step out of the way.  Why?  I haven't a clue.

There are usually lines at omelet, carving and noodle soup stations.  There are sometimes lines at pizza.  On my last cruise in January on the Getaway, the buffet had two pizza ovens and space for two pizza stations.  Most of the time both were operational, and when they were both working there was rarely a pizza line.  Sometimes only one was open and then there might be a short line at the other while people waited for a new pizza to come out.  It's nothing like the omelette line, but I can believe there might have been  a clear line for pizza (I have 3 kids and they all liked the NCL pizza so we got pizza each day at lunch).

I totally agree that if no one is standing directly in front of a station waiting for something to come out, you can absolutely get whatever you want from that station.  But I have - sometimes - seen a clear line at pizza and its possible that happened here.

Edited May 5, 2023 by kitkat343

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Mic drop!!  End the thread now. 🤣😎

Aw oh, Somebody just gave you an idea.  I suspect you might do that just to see what happens.

[Laszlo]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

 

it really depends on what you mean by a "line."

 

is there a notice at the buffet that says people should start in one place and dutifully push their tray or their plate along some imaginary path to the buffet's end point? where is the buffet's end point? where does the line begin? where does it end? what if you only want ice cream? do you have to shuffle along through the burgers and the salads and the indian food until you get to the ice cream?

 

without a doubt, there are lines for certain foods... a carving station, perhaps. so, maybe that's what you mean and we're actually on the same page.  there may even be a line for pizza... three or four people might be waiting for a new pie to come out. similarly, there may be a backup of three or four people waiting for burgers. it would be rude to jump ahead of them. but if the french fires are out next to where the hamburgers are supposed to be... and all you want is the french fries, there is no reason to wait... you go up, take your fries and go on your way. no harm, no foul.

 

but if you think there is a line that runs through the buffet from start to finish, respectfully, how do you know there is a line? because you see other people near you at the buffet, some of whom are behind you or to the right of you? is that what you believe constitutes a line?

 

 

or perhaps they are confused by what you said.

 

because they know that a buffet is not a cafeteria.  it's not the DMV. you're not buying concert tickets at a box office. buffets are not linear concepts. there is no correct or required path to navigating a buffet. yes, you pay attention to others around you; you don't go ahead of other people waiting for the same food item as you, but feel free to dart in and out and take what you need... that's the way the buffet has been set up. if it weren't meant to be used that way, it would be designed with a clear entrance and exit and a path that required people to pretend that they were liam payne or harry styles and only go in one direction.

Its pretty clear when you have 5,6,7 people standing in a line waiting for the next person to get done putting food on their plate their is clearly a line there

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Its pretty clear when you have 5,6,7 people standing in a line waiting for the next person to get done putting food on their plate their is clearly a line there

 

yes, indeed. there is a line there, where you're waiting with those five, six or seven people to pick up the thing that you'e waiting for... there... with those five or six or seven people!

 

omelets, pizza, what have you.

 

but there is no "buffet line" per se in which the sheep shuffle along through the entire buffet patiently waiting their turn, each having to pass by countless food items they don't want.

 

there just isn't.

 

(except in some people's minds. and then they get their knickers in a twist when somebody dares to jump their imaginary line.)

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Aw oh, Somebody just gave you an idea.  I suspect you might do that just to see what happens.

Okay, the correct spelling is "Ruh Roh."

[redmomof4]

On 5/3/2023 at 11:37 AM, graphicguy said:

Maybe want to rethink that.  Regardless of you’re taking one thing, or ten things…if you know exactly what you want, or want to get a closer look at something…..get in line behind the last person and wait your turn!

 

Just a little perspective….

I feel like NCL has mentioned on ships in the past that there are "stations" in the Buffet and you don't have to wait way back in a line if you want to hit up a different station. Obviously, if there are people at the pizza station and you want pizza, get behind, but if the sandwich station is after the pizza and there's no line for Sammies, I'm passing the pizza people to grab a sammie!

[ziggyuk]

What is I identify as a pizza? Can I skip the line to be with my brethren?