Trays and Plates???

[cruisecrasy]

I do not think I will like it but I will try it for one cruise. If I do not like it then I will use the dinning room a lot more. Maybe room service for breakfast.

 

See HAL, as I predicted & u planned, its working already...

Getting some folks to eat in the d.r. or 'do' room service instead of eating in the Lido...'cause I suspect u likely won't enjoy it... esp not on HAL ships that have 'lines' instead of 'stations' for buffet food.. :(

[sail7seas]

:confused: Why does HAL prefer guests go to the dining room? You must have some good reason in mind but I don't 'get it'.

 

Thanks.

[S&M in Pgh]

Trays or no trays? Has it really come to this making or breaking your cruise. That is almost as silly as no free ice cream ruining your cruise.

 

Being slightly less than able (I walk with braces and a cane), I have always found staff on hand to help no matter how crowded the buffet. Now having recently cruised on Celebrity and Princess, I have found that Celebrity not using trays go people into the mind set of going to get just what they want, not crusing thru the entire buffet and takign things they eventually don't eat. With Princess I noticed I ended up with more half or uneaten food on my tray.

 

Just my $0.02

 

Mike

[32dwemce]

If you have ever worked in the hospitality industry you would understand that using trays can be a damned nuisance when being used by the uninitiated in a busy restaurant. More probably a safety measure by HAL.

[shandryl]

Quite the contrary, I think HAL wants to encourage more people to eat in the Lido, especially for dinner. That's why the Lido now offers pretty much the same entrees each night as the main dining room, and the dinner hours were extended.

 

I personally think it's a sanitation thing for the reason the trays have been removed. I would imagine those trays would really aid in the spread of germs, especially if they weren't fully washed down between uses ... such as where the Lido is running out of trays and you see stewards wiping them down and then returning them to the serving line.

 

Even without the trays, there are plenty of stewards available to assist folks who may need a hand with getting their food to the table. Just ask ... and I'm sure a friendly steward will be right there offering his help.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

You are right kryos, I too think its a health related. The staff were always there for me if I needed any help with my plate or glass. Most times I never had to ask, the staff were always right there. :)

[cruisecrasy]

:confused: Why does HAL prefer guests go to the dining room? You must have some good reason in mind but I don't 'get it'.

 

Thanks.

 

With fewer staff to serve & more stuff being served 'cause of virus outbreaks' it makes the passage thru the Lido slower. With fewer & fewer folks wanting to dress up, they go to the Lido instead of the d.r. thereby increasing the # of pax eating there (it was only meant to hold so many for casual dining for those so inclined when the bulk of the pax 'dined' in the d.r...) and some ships with refurbishments being done are increasing pax on those ships, so more using the already getting crowded Lido....Then there is the tipping thing - HAL had to start closing the Lido on the last eve to force folks to 'dine' (& hopefully 'tip' - sad but true)...

 

Seems logical to me, HAL wld like more folks to use the d.r. & room service..Wld ease the ever increasing 'strain' on the Lido perhaps..!

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[sail7seas]

With fewer staff to serve & more stuff being served 'cause of virus outbreaks' it makes the passage thru the Lido slower. With fewer & fewer folks wanting to dress up, they go to the Lido instead of the d.r. thereby increasing the # of pax eating there (it was only meant to hold so many for casual dining for those so inclined when the bulk of the pax 'dined' in the d.r...) and some ships with refurbishments being done are increasing pax on those ships, so more using the already getting crowded Lido....Then there is the tipping thing - HAL had to start closing the Lido on the last eve to force folks to 'dine' (& hopefully 'tip' - sad but true)...

 

Seems logical to me, HAL wld like more folks to use the d.r. & room service..Wld ease the ever increasing 'strain' on the Lido perhaps..!

 

Have happy cruisin'!

 

I see you point in terms of dinner in the dining room but there is still breakfast and lunch to consider. Dining Room isn't even always open on port days and breakfast not for a wide window of time.

 

We don't go to Lido for dinner so I truly don't know if a great many people are having their dinner there. Apparently far more than I would have guessed. I thought it was a relatively small number of guests each night.

[Sea King]

Trays or no trays? Has it really come to this making or breaking your cruise. That is almost as silly as no free ice cream ruining your cruise.

 

Just my $0.02

 

Mike

 

what might be "silly" to you may actually be "important" to someone else:eek:

 

what's somewhat interesting is that "unlike smoking", there was no questionnaire about removing trays

 

then again, now that the "tray problem" has apparently been resolved (with or without approval of guests), maybe HAL can turn its attention to smoking on verandas .. of course, only if that's not "silly":rolleyes:

[RuthC]

You are right kryos, I too think its a health related.

Even though HAL employees have posted that health is not the reason?

If HAL can't get a tray clean, I'm not sure I want to eat off their plates. :eek: It's not "health related"---it's money.

[usha]

Trays or no trays? Has it really come to this making or breaking your cruise.

Really, I haven't seen any major passenger revolts happening onboard because of the absence of trays.:rolleyes:

All the fussing about it seems to be confined to this online forum.

[cruz chic]

It's not "health related"---it's money.

Bingo!

[madelinerose]

Bingo!

 

 

Double bingo!

[usha]

Okay, if in fact it's about money, then it seems to be an excellent move on HAL's part.

Pax are bound to waste a lot less food by virtue of getting rid of the the trays.

Less waste is a good thing.:cool:

[kryos]

Well, Rita from my cruising experience with HAL, there never was more than one Lido dining steward waiting at the end of the buffet line to assist with carrying your tray to a table! Certainly a far cry from "TONS"!

Okay, your experience was different from mine then. On the Statendam last October, I took quite a few of my dinners in the Lido and there was ALWAYS someone at the end of the serving line grabbing my tray. But maybe it's not this way on all ships?

 

I freely admit that I only cruise on an average of once a calendar year (because I like longer cruises), so my experience may not be the norm.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Even though HAL employees have posted that health is not the reason?

If HAL can't get a tray clean, I'm not sure I want to eat off their plates. :eek: It's not "health related"---it's money.

Plates would never just be wiped down ... they would be washed in super hot dishwashers that would remove all the germs.

 

But sometimes when things get rushed in the Lido and they are desperate for more trays, they do have stewards wiping trays down and presumably returning them to the serving line. There is no way a tray can be properly sanitized when it is just wiped down. You would never see a plate or a dish or a piece of silverware being handled in that manner. Those would go into the dishwasher. I don't even know if the plastic trays could go into the dishwasher or if they have to be washed by hand.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[jtl513]

... I took quite a few of my dinners in the Lido and there was ALWAYS someone at the end of the serving line grabbing my tray.

Maybe the key word there is "dinners". How about at lunch?

[cruz chic]

Okay, if in fact it's about money, then it seems to be an excellent move on HAL's part.

Pax are bound to waste a lot less food by virtue of getting rid of the the trays.

Less waste is a good thing.:cool:

Never mind saving money on pax. The people I've seen with the most overlaoded trays have been the HAL staff that are allowed to eat in the Lido. I couldn't eat in a week what some of them had on their tray for one meal. I wouldn't say I'm a light eater either.

[cruisecrasy]

I see you point in terms of dinner in the dining room but there is still breakfast and lunch to consider. Dining Room isn't even always open on port days and breakfast not for a wide window of time.

 

We don't go to Lido for dinner so I truly don't know if a great many people are having their dinner there. Apparently far more than I would have guessed. I thought it was a relatively small number of guests each night.

 

For breakfast and lunch a lot of folks on port days eat in the port so less pax in the Lido, stagger the times they eat thruout the whole time it is open & many are ashore during lunch anyway..Plus, according to wait staff I have chatted with, lots of folks on port days call for room service to help speed them on their way..been there-done that :)

 

All of which lessens the crowding in the Lido..of course this only applies to port days - on sea days it's crowded in there!

 

As for the dinner in the Lido, in my observations over the yrs, its getting more crowded in there & esp for dinner..I am noticing more vacant seats nightly in the d.r...so they have to be eating somewhere..and as the Pinn. Grill isn't always full :) guess its the Lido for the most part..

Next cruise, 'peek' in the Lido between 6:30 - 7:30 pm..

 

Oh yes, Ruth C :) - u nailed it & put into words what I was also thinking also.

Must be 'money' related somehow also.. Food wasting lessened to a degree - have seen folks on RC (that does not supply trays) leave large quantities on the extra plates they carry anyway but u have to figure in the initial cost of the trays & cleaning them as well..eliminating them cld amt to a lot of $s....

 

GEE, do u think that might translate into lower fares - yah right...! :)

 

Have happy cruisin' all!

[RuthC]

Plates would never just be wiped down ... they would be washed in super hot dishwashers that would remove all the germs.

 

But sometimes when things get rushed in the Lido and they are desperate for more trays, they do have stewards wiping trays down and presumably returning them to the serving line.

That's your presumption. There have been too many times that the steward handing me a tray has been wiping off the rinse water to believe that the trays weren't washed.

They are washed, rinsed, but not dried.

[shandryl]

Plates would never just be wiped down ... they would be washed in super hot dishwashers that would remove all the germs.

 

But sometimes when things get rushed in the Lido and they are desperate for more trays, they do have stewards wiping trays down and presumably returning them to the serving line. There is no way a tray can be properly sanitized when it is just wiped down. You would never see a plate or a dish or a piece of silverware being handled in that manner. Those would go into the dishwasher. I don't even know if the plastic trays could go into the dishwasher or if they have to be washed by hand.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

I totally agree w/you. Trays are durty bottom line. Working in the food industry, trays are sprayed and wiped down using the same dirty rag over and over again yuck! :eek:

[cruisecrasy]

I totally agree w/you. Trays are durty bottom line. Working in the food industry, trays are sprayed and wiped down using the same dirty rag over and over again yuck! :eek:

 

If they are that 'yucky', I agree with HAL & def. don't recommend u eat off the trays either :)...

 

I actually prefer to eat off plates & bowls rather than trays.. :)

 

Don't worry about a few germs - they really are a good workout for our immune systems to keep them strong - being too sterile actually isn't good for us.

 

Besides, more importantly IMO, are we all remembering to & actually washing or sanitizing our hands when we go to eat on cruiseships, other public places & even in our own kitchens ?

Seen far too many folks sneeze & cough then touch railings, elevator buttons & even each other & ignore the hand sanitizers when they enter the d.r. & Lido :(

 

Now, that worries me much more than so-called 'yucky' (not with the rigid guidelines on cruiseships they aren't) trays!!

 

Agree with u again Ruth C... enjoy your 'voice of reason' re: its water on the trays staff are wiping off....We have to stop 'meeting' like this or folks will 'talk'..Of course, at my age, I shld be so lucky :)

 

Have happy cruises all & lots of 'em!!!

[shandryl]

If they are that 'yucky', I agree with HAL & def. don't recommend u eat off the trays either :)...

 

I actually prefer to eat off plates & bowls rather than trays.. :)

 

Don't worry about a few germs - they really are a good workout for our immune systems to keep them strong - being too sterile actually isn't good for us.

 

Besides, more importantly IMO, are we all remembering to & actually washing or sanitizing our hands when we go to eat on cruiseships, other public places & even in our own kitchens ?

Seen far too many folks sneeze & cough then touch railings, elevator buttons & even each other & ignore the hand sanitizers when they enter the d.r. & Lido :(

 

Now, that worries me much more than so-called 'yucky' (not with the rigid guidelines on cruiseships they aren't) trays!!

 

Agree with u again Ruth C... enjoy your 'voice of reason' re: its water on the trays staff are wiping off....We have to stop 'meeting' like this or folks will 'talk'..Of course, at my age, I shld be so lucky :)

 

Have happy cruises all & lots of 'em!!!

u r right.......lol some really good points. :-)

[cruisecrasy]

u r right.......lol some really good points. :-)

 

Nice of u to acknowledge my points - may not always be good ones but it is nice to have them acknowledged & its most appreciated.

 

Don't u just luv this forum - CC & CCers are awesome, some more than others so please...consider yourself among those complimented!! :-)

[shandryl]

Nice of u to acknowledge my points - may not always be good ones but it is nice to have them acknowledged & its most appreciated.

 

Don't u just luv this forum - CC & CCers are awesome, some more than others so please...consider yourself among those complimented!! :-)

 

I do Luv this fourm! its been fun expressing myself and seeing others do the same. I find the posts very informational as well very funny and a good way to meet fellow cruisers! I was really going hard there for a minute till I saw your post!! lol thanks for making me see trays and germs a different way and thank you for the compliment :)

[sail7seas]

Dirty trays?? I think not. As Ruth said above, I've seen stewards wiping the water from the dishwasher off the trays before using them. That was not a spray and wipe job. Those trays were washed!

 

Just a gentle reminder there is very little that can be dirty in food service on the ships. Remember USPH boards when they wish and inspects every tiny little details about food storage, preparation, service and display and washing/cleaning. No one really thinks dirty trays would get past USPH Inspections time after time, do they? Not likely.

 

And here's another chance to Congratulate Maasdam on having achieved an outstanding 97 at her recent Canadian and USPH Inspections! Not easy to do on a 15 year old ship. GOOD GOING, MAASDAM and CONGRATULATIONS!