Why Do Some Cruisers Act Like a Pack of Wolves When Faced with a Buffet?

[NoPiratesPlease]

This thread is UNFAIR TO WOLVES!!!!

 

A wolf pack has a DEFINITE order of who eats when. It's clear and established: The Alphas eat first, then the Betas, then that Gammas, etc. Wolf society is very organized and formal...and they are better behaved "at the table" than many humans at the buffet!

 

I STILL remember a pair of elderly European ladies nearly trampling my then-4 year old child in their eagerness to get to the buffet. Wolves would NEVER trample a puppy--all the members of the pack treasure them and take care of them.

[cruisingjon]

I just got back from my 4th Carnival cruise and I enjoyed it(I always do), but I've noticed something that really aggravates me. I'm a fairly young guy, but I've got manners, and apparently this is a rare trait in people these days.

What really aggravated me the most was the people in line for the buffet. I rarely eat buffets, as the food is NEVER as good as when it is served to you immediately, but other than that, I have discovered why people gain 15 or 20 pounds on a cruise. The majority of these people seemed to think the food was going to run out--They stampeded when the buffet line opened, they piled their plates as high as possible(sometimes higher than wasn't possible, hence the spilling of food on the line, the floor, themselves, etc), they were pushy, rude, and crass. My girlfriend and I finally just stepped out of the way, disgusted, and waited till the line died down some. In the future when I miss my seating in the dining room, I will eat from the slim pickings offered on the room service menu rather than to witness the gluttony from the slobs at the buffet(not all of the diners, but a good many...I was very surprised). I actually lose weight on a cruise, because I do not find the food, no matter what dining venue I eat in, all that great. Some of it is good, but I can eat way better at almost any non-chain restaurant in New Orleans. I go on cruises for the relaxation, the visiting of ports, the romantic aspects of it---NOT for the food.

 

Sounds like any town in America after church lets out on Sunday.

[LHP]

Sounds like any town in America after church lets out on Sunday.

 

And the congregations that demand the "semon" time be moved from 11AM (like it have been for centuries) to 10AM, so they can beat the next church there!!!

[KroozNut]

.....if she had left the milk in the bowl instead of 'drinking it like a dog', would you have complained that she was wasting food?

 

:confused:

 

The point was that she should have used a spoon like most civilized people do. It's not a choice of either slurping it out of the bowl or leaving it in the bowl, there are utensils designed for this purpose..

[Mysticks1]

I agree that it is everywhere and not just on cruises. I used to enjoy buffets occasionally but now only go rarely. I always take my portions from the very back of the trays to try to avoid anything that could have been touched. I use my hand sanitizer both before and after getting my food to kill any germs that I picked up from the serving utensils. :( I prefer to get sandwiches, etc for lunch. Usually the salad bar areas aren't crowded. I guess most want their "real" food and don't want to waste stomach space on ruffage. LOL

[loungelizard]

Maybe Carnival should remove the buffet equipment and replace it with cattle feeding troughs....either that or bigger plates;)

[last_mango]

Ha. This thread amuses me. My father owned several steak and buffet restaurants when I was a teenager, so I wound up working at them during school breaks. The things I've seen...you don't even want to know. When I was 16, I had a man (huge 6'5 truck driver) try to press assault charges on me (much smaller teenage girl) when I broke up a fight between him a woman who were shoving each other to get ahead in line at the buffet. *sigh* I have also watched people stand at the buffet in front of the meat carving station on Sundays, just eating right there with their fingers on the buffet line so they can have more immediately.

 

I'm not anti-buffet, I like them for the most part. I would rather have a taste of a bunch of different kinds of things than just 1 thing, and I long ago gave up worrying about germs and whatnot. But I truly am appalled at the behavior of some people. I'm not sure what it is about buffets that makes people so impatient, rude, and greedy, but I certainly do wonder about it. Last month I took a riverboat cruise with my DH and MIL, and at the lunch buffet they had you sit down and then dismissed each table 1 at a time to the buffet. People acted like controlled human beings, I swear it. Children included. It made me think it's not a buffet itself that turns people into greedy pigs, but something else associated with it. Wish I could pinpoint what that something else is!

[mzloolue]

About drinking from a cereal bowl.

 

Was this a bowl with cereal in it too, or just milk or something?

It doesn't really matter, I was just curious.

 

There are bowls used for drinking.

 

When my daughter returned from a trip to the south of France a couple of years ago she brought home with her some kind of pastry, I don't quite remember what it was, that is apparently dipped into a small bowl of milk or cocoa and then eaten. You then drink the beverage from the bowl.

 

I also saw a travel show on PBS that visited a place in Mexico City that reminded me very much of Cafe DuMonde. They served a fried donut thingy and hot cocoa seasoned with cinnamon. The cocoa was served in a bowl for drinking.

[sa7776]

The behaviour definately isn't limited to cruise ships.

 

DH and I were at Shoney's one Saturday morning for breakfast. There was a large group of people from a convention there. We stood in line at the buffet for over 15 minutes trying to get something to eat. Every time they would bring a dish from the kitchen they would all jump up from their tables, run to the buffet and push and shove each other until the plate was empty. We finally gave up and sat at our table, drinking coffee, and decided to "wait them out" and eat when they left.

 

The manager saw what happened and came to our table. He was as appalled as we were. He told us to order whatever we wanted from the menu and then wouldn't let us pay.

[SheriNtexas]

I have to say that i drink the milk from my cereal out of the bowl, but the only one who ever sees me do that is my dog, and she doesn't look disgusted at ALL!!;) Seriously, I can't imagine someone actually doing that in front of other people!!:eek:

[Bigdasher]

About drinking from a cereal bowl.

 

When my daughter returned from a trip to the south of France a couple of years ago she brought home with her some kind of pastry, I don't quite remember what it was, that is apparently dipped into a small bowl of milk or cocoa and then eaten. You then drink the beverage from the bowl.

 

This is delish. NIce cup/mug of coffee or hot chocolate and you dip your croissant, pain au raisin or brioche in it in the morning, then yes, you drink the coffee or chocolate. Works well also with decent a decent bagette. I got a few looks last year (when I was a cruising ) and I did this. However, I did only have one croissant on my plate and not 20.....

 

 

BigD

[cruisinbuddy]

I just got back from my 4th Carnival cruise and I enjoyed it(I always do), but I've noticed something that really aggravates me. I'm a fairly young guy, but I've got manners, and apparently this is a rare trait in people these days.

What really aggravated me the most was the people in line for the buffet. I rarely eat buffets, as the food is NEVER as good as when it is served to you immediately, but other than that, I have discovered why people gain 15 or 20 pounds on a cruise. The majority of these people seemed to think the food was going to run out--They stampeded when the buffet line opened, they piled their plates as high as possible(sometimes higher than wasn't possible, hence the spilling of food on the line, the floor, themselves, etc), they were pushy, rude, and crass. My girlfriend and I finally just stepped out of the way, disgusted, and waited till the line died down some. In the future when I miss my seating in the dining room, I will eat from the slim pickings offered on the room service menu rather than to witness the gluttony from the slobs at the buffet(not all of the diners, but a good many...I was very surprised). I actually lose weight on a cruise, because I do not find the food, no matter what dining venue I eat in, all that great. Some of it is good, but I can eat way better at almost any non-chain restaurant in New Orleans. I go on cruises for the relaxation, the visiting of ports, the romantic aspects of it---NOT for the food.

Ahh there's nothing like a good shrimp po-boy sandwich, and yes I'm from Canada. I still have to try the french fry and gravy one though.

That being said, they're just #$%^ing pigs. "I have to get my $ worth". They don't realize the food is much better in the dining room. We had a couple at our table who thought that the buffet was a better deal.:eek:

[KruznKel]

Ahh there's nothing like a good shrimp po-boy sandwich, and yes I'm from Canada. I still have to try the french fry and gravy one though.

That being said, they're just #$%^ing pigs. "I have to get my $ worth". They don't realize the food is much better in the dining room. We had a couple at our table who thought that the buffet was a better deal.:eek:

 

My father will eat the best or worst of foods and will eat almost anything.. and saying the dining room is better food I disagree I do eat at the buffets and I have found some dayum good food better than the dining room.;).

 

Now my father going on his 1st cruise will probably be the pig you see filling his plate overflowing.. but eating all of it.. he will not waste food.. (just for the record he is an avid athlete 60 yr old runs 10kms/per day.. also golfs everyday.. 180lbs)) thinking the buffet is a better deal is to each their own.. not everybody has the high standards of having to have their food served to them:rolleyes:

 

If he or I was gonna die from a sneeze here and there we would have.. its called a healthy immune system that stops that.

[jetertorre]

I made a post about this very subject about a month ago and included some descriptive language for humor purposes but didn't single anyone out. Well, it seems that I hit a nerve with a couple of the members here. I received indignant responses from people who are "just big boned" and "have a glandular problem".

 

Fact is, people are eating wayyyyyyy too much. Knock it off and you'll feel better. Eating like a cow just to get your moneys worth and waddling off the ship with an extra 10-15 lbs seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[PrettyLA]

I just got back from my 4th Carnival cruise and I enjoyed it(I always do), but I've noticed something that really aggravates me. I'm a fairly young guy, but I've got manners, and apparently this is a rare trait in people these days.

What really aggravated me the most was the people in line for the buffet. I rarely eat buffets, as the food is NEVER as good as when it is served to you immediately, but other than that, I have discovered why people gain 15 or 20 pounds on a cruise. The majority of these people seemed to think the food was going to run out--They stampeded when the buffet line opened, they piled their plates as high as possible(sometimes higher than wasn't possible, hence the spilling of food on the line, the floor, themselves, etc), they were pushy, rude, and crass. My girlfriend and I finally just stepped out of the way, disgusted, and waited till the line died down some. In the future when I miss my seating in the dining room, I will eat from the slim pickings offered on the room service menu rather than to witness the gluttony from the slobs at the buffet(not all of the diners, but a good many...I was very surprised). I actually lose weight on a cruise, because I do not find the food, no matter what dining venue I eat in, all that great. Some of it is good, but I can eat way better at almost any non-chain restaurant in New Orleans. I go on cruises for the relaxation, the visiting of ports, the romantic aspects of it---NOT for the food.

 

 

I know what you mean. On our last cruise at the midnight buffet everyone too the chocolate covered strawberries like they would never see them again!

[Princess Victory]

I saw a lot of skinny people at an open bar drinking like a fish. Does the same rules apply here?

You know who you are! :)

 

What irks me most is the person who take 20 pieces of bacon and eats only a few and throws the rest out. :( Waste to me is more problematic. Eat what you take! If you order 3 lobsters, eat them.

 

There is NO excuse for rudeness! Manners please!

 

You are always going to find young & old people sneaking food in their bag, as long as it does not goes to waste, it's fine with me! Getting their monies worth or the depression years may be their issue.

[ParrotRob]

How funny your all mostly from Europe originally,

 

Who are mostly from Europe originally?

[ParrotRob]

I agree about waste.

It does bother me.

Especially when meat is wasted as something had to die to provide it

 

Um, last time I checked, plants have to die before you eat them too.

[Mikel1733]

People band into food clickes on board and actually become a type of food club. Food clubs compete. Most often the club members are the most aggressive of the bunch. Generally older passengers will stay in small cliques made of many family members. The older groups are not as fast or organized. A food clubs goal is to move quickly thru a line as they grab and go. They are literally sitting at the table before they know what they picked up. One such gentlement was elated when he uncovered BBQ ribs on his plate. He had no idea ribs were on the buffett. Tensions run high when someone moves to slow thru the line. I was behind an elderly lady who was trying to pick a piece of fried chicken from the buffet. There were 4 pieces remaining and she had the tongs in hand prodding and looking at each piece FTLOG take a piece my blood pressure was 180/123. Just as she took the tongs to grab a piece of chicken a cook brought a new entire basket of chicken and dumped it into the serving pan. We waiting several more minutes as she made a new choice.Don't ever get behind the elderly in a buffet line.

[picklebongo]

In many Asian countries it is very common to drink from bowls once the main food is consumed, such as soup, noodles, etc. and if some liquid is left, instead of trying to drink it by spoon, it is faster and more efficient to just drink it directly from the container. This is not considered rude at all, but in our culture since we don't typically see it done, it is considered Bohemian.

 

The chocolate buffets on Carnival and midnight buffets are gorgeous to look at, but the food/desserts are generally tasteless and definitely not worth the calories. I went the first few times just to see what they looked like but wouldn't waste the time walking thru the lines to look and then returning to eat.

 

For the most part on my cruises I see folks conducting themselves appropriately. No matter what you do in life, from boarding a plane to waiting in a doctors office, somebody is going to do something that's outlandish, rude or boorish. Just part of the world we live in. But of course, that does NOT include folks at CC, we are a different breed by virtue of being here.

[crusinpsychRN]

I can't stand it when the people in front of you just stare at the food and don't take any because they can't make up their mind or they are debating the nutritional value of the food and don't move on as the line grows and grows.....

[Matlily]

Who are mostly from Europe originally?

 

 

Ha you must be from Eire!:D

[Dee79]

I am going on my first cruise in September on the Ecstasy, so have not experienced the cruiseline buffets, but have definitely experienced others and I believe that this is just an offshoot of the entitlement mentality that seems to prevail these days.

 

I just turned 47, so am not an old fogey, but remember when people used to be brought up with better manners. It seems like people seem to become more and more self-involved and want to make sure they get what they are entitled to whether that is because of they price they paid, the thought that they may miss out on something, or just for convenience - no matter how it effects others.

 

One day, a few years ago, I was invited to go out with 2 coworkers of mine to a Chinese buffet. Both women had 2 children each, all under 6 years old. I was appalled and totally embarrassed when these women continued to allow their children to go to the buffet unsupervised and take whatever they wanted, knowing they wouldn't like or finish it all. We ended up with a multitude of plates on the table with wasted food on them. I thought it was a very poor example to set for the children at such a young age, and I admit I should have done more than just bite my tongue. I can't imagine what the staff thought of us.

 

I LOVE LOVE Chinese Buffets! My husband does not.. We go on the occasion. I don't eat like a pig either but I just love the choice of variety. The last time we went, we just got there.. There were kids, maybe 6 or 7 years old running around the buffet. Knocked a plate off the end unit there and smashed to the ground. The kids were laughing hysterically. We got SOOOO PO'd. Granted we have no children, but we were raised the RIGHT way.

Anyways.. The same children later on were seen (By us) sticking their hands in the chicken instead of using the tongs. We were next up and that is EXACTLY what I wanted. I refused and told the staff and she replaced the entire container.

 

MANNERS PEOPLE!!!!

 

We have yet to cruise. We will go to the Buffet. But now I won't be able to stop thinking of the comment from above.. "She took her finger and wiped the rest of the sour cream and put it back" UGH!!! That's just disgusting! Who really thinks that this is ok. If they do. They should be shot :D

[Dee79]

Also..

 

I drink my milk from a bowl.. Not in public. Then again.. I eat cereal only when I have to. I see nothing wrong with it. It's better then someone SLURPING soup or milk from a spoon!!!!!

That makes me want to punch someone in the face to be honest. :D

 

Fries & Gravy ROCK!! Try Fries with Mayo too THAT is my favorite!:p

[Dena]

My DH is a sausage fanatic. He doesn't get to eat it at home.

 

Why not? Don't they sell sausage in the grocery stores of your town?