I couldn't believe what I saw!

[gabster001]

A few years back we ate at a restaurant in Cozumel that had an open kitchen. We watched the wait staff remove used bowls of tortillas and freshen them with additional tortillas to serve to other customers. We also watched them pour unfinished glasses of the local honey wine back into the wine bottle. Eek!

[bepsf]

Some People's Children...

:rolleyes:

[JLC@SD]

Evening! Go ahead and call me anal but Odesa is a city in the Ukraine, an independent country. It was part of the Soviet Union in the good old days.

...that is when we saw it in the good old days........as the USSR.

[gooselace]

On the Nov 10 2007 Noordam cruise, we saw a women reach into the "fried bread" bin at the English Breakfast area and grope around until she found what she wanted.

The poor cook working the station had a fit, and immediately picked up the container and dumped all the remaining bread in the trash.

While the dining room usually appears safer, I wondered about the bread baskets. I don't usually eat bread or rolls, but I didn't see any tongs, and bread and rolls were so close together it seemed difficult to get one without touching others. One man at our table took a roll, decided it wasn't what he wanted, put it back and took another. No one said anything - everyone else either had made a selection or maybe lost interest at this point.

Now I'm wondering - should one of us have quietly let the waiter know?

 

 

[lkmamom]

Sail, I am so glad that I am not the only one that "nicely suggests" the use of tongs, and other utensils when I notice fellow cruisers forget:rolleyes: .

 

Now I have been accused through the years in our family as being "the ultra clean one". I can't help it, my Mom was the same and, it is the nurse in me:o On our last cruise onboard the Maasdam, I noticed a gentleman pour some cream from a pitcher near the coffee/tea area into a glass. It must have not been what he thought it was and he poured it back into the pitcher:eek: after drinking from the glass. One of the crew was watching as well and quickly and discreetly removed the pitcher of cream. I thought about that and it reminded me of my sister-in-law who used to pour the leftover milk in her children's glasses after a meal back into the milk carton after they were finished. It was when I was first married and still getting to know my husband's family. When I asked her why she did that and(about went wild!) Her reply was, "they are only children, they don't have germs". I think that some people may have just been raised to not waste things, and see nothing wrong with "conserving".

 

One of the reasons that I love the Lido concept of HAL is that most of the areas the crew actually serves the dishes.

 

And Rev Neal.......thanks for the heads up on the mixed nuts.;)

Linda

[hammybee]

 

One man at our table took a roll, decided it wasn't what he wanted, put it back and took another. No one said anything - everyone else either had made a selection or maybe lost interest at this point.

 

Now I'm wondering - should one of us have quietly let the waiter know?

This is curious and many of us have been in similar situations. One one hand, we have someone who either does not realize or perhpas care that he is touching other people's food and those who notice either look away or ponder how the situation can be changed while maintaining the ignorant one's dignity.

[muffin]

I really do..... but it seems to me we can get a little overboard in our fear of getting a bug which will have a horrible bearing on our cruise.

 

How many of us use tongs in the bread basket on our dining room table when entertaining? Not us. We trust our friends to take a roll and pass the basket. If their finger touches the bun beside it ( I am not watching anyway) I would have no hesitation taking that bun. The same for cookies or slices on a dessert plate... tongs or napkins? Not at our house.

 

When I was living at home as a child my mum used to talk about " family germs" which were much nicer than other germs!! So if your brother picked up a slice of bred in his hands and broke it in half, and put the rest back on the bread plate, it was perfectly okay... those were family germs!!

 

I do draw the line at some point... hands in salad bowl, fingers licked and then into nuts... tongs off the floor put back on the tray...I mean EUCK! I would have no trouble saying something to those persons in a low key manner, and alerting the staff. And children can be pretty uncouth too...I have seen kids take olives, put them in their mouths, not like the taste and put it back in the bowl!!

 

But I really think, for me anyway, the fear is getting sick at sea and missing good times and having my trip wrecked in many ways. There is something to be said for allowing some germs through to keep our immune systems up to par I think. As with all of life, moderation is the key. Just MHO.

[cruz chic]

Sail, I am so glad that I am not the only one that "nicely suggests" the use of tongs, and other utensils when I notice fellow cruisers forget:rolleyes: .

 

Now I have been accused through the years in our family as being "the ultra clean one". I can't help it, my Mom was the same and, it is the nurse in me:o On our last cruise onboard the Maasdam, I noticed a gentleman pour some cream from a pitcher near the coffee/tea area into a glass. It must have not been what he thought it was and he poured it back into the pitcher:eek: after drinking from the glass. One of the crew was watching as well and quickly and discreetly removed the pitcher of cream. I thought about that and it reminded me of my sister-in-law who used to pour the leftover milk in her children's glasses after a meal back into the milk carton after they were finished. It was when I was first married and still getting to know my husband's family. When I asked her why she did that and(about went wild!) Her reply was, "they are only children, they don't have germs". I think that some people may have just been raised to not waste things, and see nothing wrong with "conserving".

 

One of the reasons that I love the Lido concept of HAL is that most of the areas the crew actually serves the dishes.

 

And Rev Neal.......thanks for the heads up on the mixed nuts.;)

Linda

 

I'm with you. I too am ultra clean. I don't think there is one thing wrong with it. In fact I rarely get sick. Some of the things people do at work makes me sick to watch. Then they can't figure out why everyone is sick. You point something out like everyone using the same dirty rag to clean their cup and it doesn't occur to them. I think most people have been raised by wolves. I really don't want to eat anything prepared by anyone I work with after seeing their habits.

[Dena]

These stories are one reason why I NEVER eat at the buffet and one reason why I haven't tried HAL. I hear HAL doen't serve lunch in the dining room when in port. DH and I often stay on the ship in port. Does this mean if we sail HAL we are forced to eat at the buffet, order from a limited room service menu or skip lunch?

 

Now here are two gross stories from our last Princess cruise.

 

1) DH and I were walking by the photo display area (a narrow and crowded place) and a woman walking towards us in the opposite direction began to cough. She did not cover her mouth. Instead she coughed repeatedly in our faces spaying us (and many others) with saliva. She was middle-aged, with brassy double-process bleached blond hair - roots showing. I mention this because bleached blond hair is VERY expensive to maintain. Few things look cheaper than a woman who doesn't maintain this look properly. This disgusting creature probably got DH sick, he is still coughing 3 weeks later.

 

2) While we were approaching our cabin one night, a door to another cabin opened and a 30ish woman appeared ON THE FLOOR. She had managed to open the door and get her head and arms out into the hall. I was concerned that she was injured until I saw her place a dirty diaper in the hall and quickly close the door. Apparently, she had changed the baby on the floor, reached over, opened to door, and put the diaper in the hall. I hope her next action was to call her room steward to collect it. Sometimes we heard this baby crying in the wee hours even though we were down the hall inside our cabin. Overall, there were very,very few kids on this cruise. We never cruise with lots of kids so I don't know if this is a common way to get rid of a diaper. I hope not.

[mamaofami]

Reading all these stories really gets me wondering. How is it possible that so many people do these things? We know they know better? What is wrong with people?

[makai 7]

quote: "How many of us use tongs in the bread basket on our dining room table when entertaining? Not us. We trust our friends to take a roll and pass the basket. If their finger touches the bun beside it ( I am not watching anyway) I would have no hesitation taking that bun. The same for cookies or slices on a dessert plate... tongs or napkins? Not at our house."

 

I agree- in my home or at a friend or family member's home I would not hesitate to eat food touched by someone else- but that is very different than on a cruise ship and here is why:

 

1. I know my friends and family wash their hands after they use the bathroom.

2. I know that most of the places that their hands have touched between washing their hands and touching the food are reasonably clean.

 

On a cruise ship you have thousands of strangers touching stair rails, tables, chairs, door handles, etc., that have been touched by other hands that may have been "unwashed" after using a bath room, coughing, etc.

There is just an enormous statistical increase in the risk in something unwanted being transferred from someone's hand to the food going into your mouth, if proper handling is not observed.

 

I am not obsessive about cleanliness, but I do wash my hands often when preparing food and handling food (and after using the bathroom!)

 

I think there are several 'camps' that people fall into:

- those that observe and respect other people's personal space and general rules about cleanliness and food handling

 

- those who are completely ignorant about the risks

 

- those who are arrogant and feel that none of the rules apply to them!

 

It's just a shame that some people behave the way they do.

[hammybee]

Now here are two gross stories from our last Princess cruise.

 

1) DH and I were walking by the photo display area (a narrow and crowded place) and a woman walking towards us in the opposite direction began to cough. She did not cover her mouth. Instead she coughed repeatedly in our faces spaying us (and many others) with saliva. She was middle-aged, with brassy double-process bleached blond hair - roots showing. I mention this because bleached blond hair is VERY expensive to maintain. Few things look cheaper than a woman who doesn't maintain this look properly. This disgusting creature probably got DH sick, he is still coughing 3 weeks later.

 

2) While we were approaching our cabin one night, a door to another cabin opened and a 30ish woman appeared ON THE FLOOR. She had managed to open the door and get her head and arms out into the hall. I was concerned that she was injured until I saw her place a dirty diaper in the hall and quickly close the door. Apparently, she had changed the baby on the floor, reached over, opened to door, and put the diaper in the hall. I hope her next action was to call her room steward to collect it. Sometimes we heard this baby crying in the wee hours even though we were down the hall inside our cabin. Overall, there were very,very few kids on this cruise. We never cruise with lots of kids so I don't know if this is a common way to get rid of a diaper. I hope not.

 

What color hair did woman #2 have?:D

[JLC@SD]

I am perplexed about this tong thing.

 

........If I take a roll from the basket at the buffet with my hands carefully removing the one I want and not touching the others..... as opposed to:

 

.......I use the tongs to remove the roll.........the tongs have been touched by say 100 people........and at least one just went to the bathroom and didn't wash or did a crummy job of washing........and then I pick up my roll with the hand that just touched the tongs.........:confused:

 

.....which is better for me.......I know I am not likely to wash my hands between tong use and roll eating.....:confused:

[DesertDiva]

Ick...

[George W. Bush]

You guys only think your friends are more sanitary than strangers. Assuming one is in good health, a few bits of nastiness here and there won't kill you.

[Boytjie]

You guys only think your friends are more sanitary than strangers. Assuming one is in good health, a few bits of nastiness here and there won't kill you.

 

I hate to agree with George... that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. :eek:

[sail7seas]

I am perplexed about this tong thing.

 

........If I take a roll from the basket at the buffet with my hands carefully removing the one I want and not touching the others..... as opposed to:

 

.......I use the tongs to remove the roll.........the tongs have been touched by say 100 people........and at least one just went to the bathroom and didn't wash or did a crummy job of washing........and then I pick up my roll with the hand that just touched the tongs.........:confused:

 

.....which is better for me.......I know I am not likely to wash my hands between tong use and roll eating.....:confused:

 

 

If I have used tongs at the buffet, after I have removed my dishes from the tray, I seek out the Purell dispenser and use it again. I use the sanitizer at the start of the buffet line and at the end of it.

 

Sometimes I use my own 'serving piece'. I unwrap a set of the silverware they place on all of the tables and use that clean fork to remove items from the trays in the buffet. Do the same with large spoons. That way, I am not using the 'community tongs'.

[LegalSailor]

Yeah, I fall into the category of folks who pack the large 12 ounce bottle of hand sanitizer and the small "pocket size" 3 ounce one for going through the buffet lines.

Personally, I think too many people handle food with their hands, but the alternative of using tongs that 100 people used before me is not very comforting either. I just think about how bad things were in the Army to give myself a little perspective, take some food, then use liberal amounts of hand sanitizer.

Cheers,

[chasetf]

If I have used tongs at the buffet, after I have removed my dishes from the tray, I seek out the Purell dispenser and use it again. I use the sanitizer at the start of the buffet line and at the end of it.........

I believe you...... you are the first person I have ever heard of doing that or promoting it be done. ;)

[mamaofami]

Sail, thank you for two great ideas I would never have thought of. Of course, the end of the tongs are filled with germs! Just like the stair rails, elevator buttons, bathroom door handles, etc.

[Cruising-along]

I'm nervous about using community tongs every time I go through a buffet line -- anywhere. I like Sail's idea of using other, unused serving pieces even better. :) Sometimes I forget to use the sanitizer before and after going through the buffet line. I try, but am sure I haven't always done it after. We carry our own small bottle of sanitizer too.

[RevNeal]

If I have used tongs at the buffet, after I have removed my dishes from the tray, I seek out the Purell dispenser and use it again. I use the sanitizer at the start of the buffet line and at the end of it.

 

The last time I tried this, by the time I got back to my table my food was gone (in 30 seconds the stewards had cleaned my empty spot, not realizing that I was alone). It cured me of leaving my place when solo. :D

[Boytjie]

The last time I tried this, by the time I got back to my table my food was gone (in 30 seconds the stewards had cleaned my empty spot, not realizing that I was alone). It cured me of leaving my place when solo. :D

 

There should be a universal sign for "Please don't take away my food! I am dining alone and needed to get something". :)

[Mary Ellen]

I'm another who uses the sanitizer before and after the buffet. I also carry a small bottle of Purell.

 

However, for this next cruise I'm giving serious consideration to bringing and wearing gloves for the Lido and Dining room until I'm actually ready to eat. I have severe allergies to some antibiotics, nothing I've been too worried about as one didn't 'accidentally' take antibiotics.

 

With the use of antibacterial cleansers becoming very common, I noticed reactions on my last cruise. Even scratching a slight itch left me with huge red welts, leading me to believe it was something I'd come in contact with by touching (Purell???). Also when I would wash my hands in the cabin, my palms would turn bright red (HAL's soap?). I'm also bringing my own bar of soap this time.

 

I haven't encountered the same reaction since the cruise, so that is also leading me to believe it was something on the ship. This next cruise is 20 days so I need to be prepared to protect myself.

[tech]

Sail,

 

It is common practice for my husband and myself to use the Purell at the beginning of the buffet and then we have individual bottles we use at the table before eating.

 

We figure we have cleaned our hands at the beginning of the buffet to avoid leaving our germs behind....but when we get to the table we have probably picked up "stuff" on our hands in the buffet.

 

Just seems like common sense and hey, it doesn't hurt.

 

On board we have been very careful about hand washing. So far never been sick which we chalk up to our practices and luck.

 

Good ideas Sail.