Buffet line etiquette?

It is? In what state(s)? I had never heard of this.

Since we're talking about cruises, we'll have to be concerned with other countries' laws and maritime law, too.

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When threads collide, well loosely. Imagine the folk who are the subject of this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2513501&page=23

are in front of you in the line, after dealing with their little darlings have licked their private parts or worse then licking their owners hands. The next thing the owners hands touch is the food you will be eating or the tongs you will be using.

Dropping the tongs back onto the food has to be the most violated rule in the buffets. Hardly makes any sense to use tongs, I look around and I bet 35% of the tong handles are laying on top the food. Probably more hygienic to use your fingers as long as you don't touch items other than those you are taking. One cruise, one of our table mates was behind a guy who was using his fingers and picking through all the bacon in order to get choice pieces for himself. My tablemate friend almost took him outside and mopped the deck with him.

Another bad situation is the soup lines where they don't ladle it out for you. Unless I'm the very first to get soup, I don't bother. What happens is that people take the bowl they are going to fill, hold it out over the pot of soup or stew, then ladle liquid into their bowl or at least they attempt to do so. A goodly percent of the liquid then pours over the side of the bowl, their fingers and hands back into the pot. Should be labeled "hand wash station".

Those thongs may have been dunked in the pool and returned to their resting place.

LOL!

Dropping the tongs back onto the food has to be the most violated rule in the buffets. Hardly makes any sense to use tongs, I look around and I bet 35% of the tong handles are laying on top the food. Probably more hygienic to use your fingers as long as you don't touch items other than those you are taking. One cruise, one of our table mates was behind a guy who was using his fingers and picking through all the bacon in order to get choice pieces for himself. My tablemate friend almost took him outside and mopped the deck with him.

Another bad situation is the soup lines where they don't ladle it out for you. Unless I'm the very first to get soup, I don't bother. What happens is that people take the bowl they are going to fill, hold it out over the pot of soup or stew, then ladle liquid into their bowl or at least they attempt to do so. A goodly percent of the liquid then pours over the side of the bowl, their fingers and hands back into the pot. Should be labeled "hand wash station".

 

So did your tablemates say anything to this filthy pig? Would you, or have you ever called out a filthy offender?

And, how about those kind of PAXs in front of you in line and they eat the food already on their tray with their fingers, and / or lick their fingers as they move down the buffet line?

You know the ones.... gut hanging ove their trays , with food piled high, overflowing, with sauce of gravey dripping down the plate. :eek:

This is the exact reason why I refuse to eat at the buffet unless I am being served by the attendant (like on Holland America or Oceania). People picking food with their fingers is totally classless and disgusting.

 

 

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We sailed on Oceania last spring. The staff serves food at buffets. However, the cruise prior to ours had norovirus despite those measures.

we sailed on oceania last spring. The staff serves food at buffets. However, the cruise prior to ours had norovirus despite those measures.

Too bad. There are filthy PAXs even on Oceania. :eek:

Too bad. There are filthy PAXs even on Oceania. :eek:

I forgot....even crew?:eek:

So did your tablemates say anything to this filthy pig? Would you, or have you ever called out a filthy offender?

 

And, how about those kind of PAXs in front of you in line and they eat the food already on their tray with their fingers, and / or lick their fingers as they move down the buffet line?

You know the ones.... gut hanging ove their trays , with food piled high, overflowing, with sauce of gravey dripping down the plate. :eek:

Apparently you didn't read my post correctly. My table mate almost killed the guy for that. You want more detail? With regard to the remainder of your post, I agree with you. You asked me a question and a good one, what have I said to the "pus gut stereotype just coming out of the john after taking a dump and moving into the buffet line and not washing his hands there or even using the sanitizing wipes". Answer, well, plenty. So in response, I ask you a question, you have such a strong opinion as to what I might have or have not done and what my table mate did, so, what have you done? My table mate tried to take this guy out onto the fan deck and kick the you know what out of him. Come on, what have you done, tough guy, speak up?

You can be the richest or the poorest person in the world but good manners cost you nothing.

Reportedly Buddha died from eating bad food because good manners told him not to refuse his host's food. Kinda costly.

Apparently you didn't read my post correctly. My table mate almost killed the guy for that. You want more detail? With regard to the remainder of your post, I agree with you. You asked me a question and a good one, what have I said to the "pus gut stereotype just coming out of the john after taking a dump and moving into the buffet line and not washing his hands there or even using the sanitizing wipes". Answer, well, plenty. So in response, I ask you a question, you have such a strong opinion as to what I might have or have not done and what my table mate did, so, what have you done? My table mate tried to take this guy out onto the fan deck and kick the you know what out of him. Come on, what have you done, tough guy, speak up?

 

I don’t/won’t eat at the buffet for the reasons I mentioned.. :)

Cmon, macho man. You are the one that sounds like a tough guy. So, how do you know your antagonist just came out of the John after taking a dump and not washing his hands or using sanitizing wipes? You were watching his bathroom habits?And, so did you follow that guy from the John straight to the buffet line? :D I’m surprised when you say plenty, that the offending PAX didn’t threaten to knock you out.

I don’t look for confrontation with other PAXs or to pick fights even if those kind of PAXs exhibit filthy habits in food lines. I just try to relax, not stress, and enjoy my cruise. It’s a vacay for me.

Hope you enjoy your next cruise. :)

So did your tablemates say anything to this filthy pig? Would you, or have you ever called out a filthy offender?

 

And, how about those kind of PAXs in front of you in line and they eat the food already on their tray with their fingers, and / or lick their fingers as they move down the buffet line?

You know the ones.... gut hanging ove their trays , with food piled high, overflowing, with sauce of gravey dripping down the plate. :eek:

Why so judgmental and confrontational? ...and Royal doesn't have food trays...

Why so judgmental and confrontational? ...and Royal doesn't have food trays...

You can swipe one from room service and take it up to Peoplejammer....

Dropping the tongs back onto the food has to be the most violated rule in the buffets. Hardly makes any sense to use tongs, I look around and I bet 35% of the tong handles are laying on top the food. Probably more hygienic to use your fingers as long as you don't touch items other than those you are taking. One cruise, one of our table mates was behind a guy who was using his fingers and picking through all the bacon in order to get choice pieces for himself. My tablemate friend almost took him outside and mopped the deck with him.

 

Another bad situation is the soup lines where they don't ladle it out for you. Unless I'm the very first to get soup, I don't bother. What happens is that people take the bowl they are going to fill, hold it out over the pot of soup or stew, then ladle liquid into their bowl or at least they attempt to do so. A goodly percent of the liquid then pours over the side of the bowl, their fingers and hands back into the pot. Should be labeled "hand wash station".

 

Why so judgmental and confrontational? ...and Royal doesn't have food trays...

Responded to posts #168 and #184. Poster kennicott complaints re: buffet line, and how he verbally confronts and deals with the offender.

Sorry, I forgot no trays. My bad. Too much time in prison. :)

Enjoy your next cruise.

On RCCL, is buffet self-serve, like on Princess, or do buffet servers place the food on your plate?

On RCCL, is buffet self-serve, like on Princess, or do buffet servers place the food on your plate?

Self serve.

On RCCL, is buffet self-serve, like on Princess, or do buffet servers place the food on your plate?

The one time I have encountered crew serving the food at the buffet was when a significant number of guests were ill and they had staff serve the buffet food to (try to) minimize the spread of illness.

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Too bad. There are filthy PAXs even on Oceania. :eek:

Point was there are many other sources of contagion aboard ships - railings, door handles, chairs, salt and pepper shakers, etc. that can cause the spread of Noro, not just buffet implements.

I very seldom use the thongs. They are full of germs. I just use my hands to pick up the food, and plop it on my plate. Of course, I lick my hand clean after each serving because I don't like to mix foods on my plate. :evilsmile:

Responded to posts #168 and #184. Poster kennicott complaints re: buffet line, and how he verbally confronts and deals with the offender.

 

Sorry, I forgot no trays. My bad. Too much time in prison. :)

Enjoy your next cruise.

Did they let you have knives to use to cut your food or just tear things apart with your fingers?

Saw a passenger take a bun with her hands and put it on her plate. She must have decided not to get a burger because she then took the bun, with her hand and put it back in the tray for someone else to take. One of the servers saw it, grabbed the tray with the rest of the buns, dumped them and replaced them. They really do try hard to keep any germs from getting on the food. There's no way they see everything, but I'm sure a better idea would be to alert one of the staff, rather than thinking about taking a fellow passenger outside for a physical confrontation. We were in the MDR one morning for breakfast when the pastry tray was being offered by the waiter. A table with a Mother and her two sons were offered the pastry. She reached right past the waiter, grabbed a couple of different pastries and offered them to her sons. When they nodded no, she slapped them back on the tray before the waiter could do anything. The look on the waiter's face told it all. He raised himself up, went to the station, dumped the remaining pastries and went to get a fresh tray. She later went on a tirade heard all over the dining room because she said she ordered LARGE OJ for her sons and he brought two small glasses. He explained that he would be bringing refills which did nothing to satisfy her. He finally left and came back with a large glass, filled it with several of the small glasses and returned to her table where she continued to call him stupid and unhelpful. The wait staff on these ships are amazing to put up with what they do without a sharp word from any of them.

i very seldom use the thongs. They are full of germs. I just use my hands to pick up the food, and plop it on my plate. Of course, i lick my hand clean after each serving because i don't like to mix foods on my plate. :evilsmile:

:'):'):'):')lol

And, am I overly concerned about getting someone's germs in the buffet line?:confused:

 

Yes, but you're far from alone. Western society has gotten unhealthily germaphobic. We sanitize ourselves to the point that not only are our immune systems sometimes not getting the "exercise" they need to stay effective, but we are also breeding sanitization-resistant bacteria which is going to come back to bite us in a big way.

Put another way, just about everything you touch that is exposed to any sort of animal (including us) has fecal cells on it. Including and especially your toothbrush. And it's OK - your skin does a great job of keeping most of that stuff out of your body, and your immune system almost always does its job well and keeps what does get through from making you sick. Touching serving utensils in a buffet is very unlikely to make you sick. By far the bigger concern is airborne disease transmission, and if that's going to happen (despite the impression from news reports, it's exceedingly rare), it's going to happen whether someone nibbles food in line or not.

On RCCL, is buffet self-serve, like on Princess, or do buffet servers place the food on your plate?

Yes, but you're far from alone. Western society has gotten unhealthily germaphobic. We sanitize ourselves to the point that not only are our immune systems sometimes not getting the "exercise" they need to stay effective, but we are also breeding sanitization-resistant bacteria which is going to come back to bite us in a big way.

 

 

Put another way, just about everything you touch that is exposed to any sort of animal (including us) has fecal cells on it. Including and especially your toothbrush. And it's OK - your skin does a great job of keeping most of that stuff out of your body, and your immune system almost always does its job well and keeps what does get through from making you sick. Touching serving utensils in a buffet is very unlikely to make you sick. By far the bigger concern is airborne disease transmission, and if that's going to happen (despite the impression from news reports, it's exceedingly rare), it's going to happen whether someone nibbles food in line or not.

Thank you. That’s comforting to know. And not to worry so much about those kind of PAXs that nibble on their food while going down the buffet line. I forgot it was that way when I was serving time in prison.

Did they let you have knives to use to cut your food or just tear things apart with your fingers?

Yes.