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Any recent news about the Galley Market Lunch


jenidallas
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Back in September, a poster shared food news from the Quest which included the proclamation that the Galley Market Lunch was being cancelled on his and all future cruises.

 

(See post #1 in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2263847&highlight=galley+market )

 

Do we have any more recent experiences that confirm or debunk this? I haven't seen other chatter on this topic and the theory at the time was that it was due to the US ports rather than a Seabourn-wide change but I wanted to confirm.

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We were told by the chef on the Odyssey Venice to FLL cruise that the Galley Market lunches were a thing of the past because of US Public Health Service regulations. He seemed to indicate that this would be fleetwide and include all sailings, even those not stopping in US ports.

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We were told by the chef on the Odyssey Venice to FLL cruise that the Galley Market lunches were a thing of the past because of US Public Health Service regulations. He seemed to indicate that this would be fleetwide and include all sailings, even those not stopping in US ports.

 

We were told the same thing on the Quest a few weeks ago. Makes sense to me not to have the entire ship grazing through the galley and even more so after we observed so many people using fingers rather than the readily-available tongs in the Colonnade, the bowls of holiday cookies and candies set around the ship, and at the pool events. Gross!!

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Makes sense to me not to have the entire ship grazing through the galley and even more so after we observed so many people using fingers rather than the readily-available tongs in the Colonnade, the bowls of holiday cookies and candies set around the ship, and at the pool events. Gross!!

 

Not only that, but some people, instead of using the dedicated tong for each bowl or plate, use the same tong for several adjacent items, oblivious to the risk of cross-contamination, not good for vegetarians and/or those with food allergy alike...

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Oregon50,

 

I am not sure what you mean by "more like" but then I could add that the application of regulations is what makes Seabourn compliant with regulations. It is charged, after all, with interpreting and applying them, right?

 

The same applies for the discontinuation of the mini buffet in the Observation Bar which now is replaced by small plates of the same or similar choices. Ok?

 

We are on Odyssey now and are extremely pleased with Seabourn hospitality.

Gunther is on board as is fleet captain Mark Dexter sharing their warmth, stories and expertise. No grumbling here; far from it, mate.

 

Happy sailing!

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I don't mind the demise of the market galley lunch, except for the collateral damage of the crew salute, which used to be perfect in the MDR towards the end of the market galley lunch.

 

On the Quest a few months ago, the crew salute was held outdoor on the pool deck and deck 9 above, in conjunction with one of the culinary events at night, and it was too dark and difficult to see or find many of the crew members. Also, the dark environment was not good for photo-taking, and the outdoor acoustics was not conducive to the thunderous applause from the guests to show appreciation to the crew. The whole salute event seemed more diluted and distracted than before, when it used to be held in the MDR.

 

I also miss the colorful dessert buffet.

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As spectacular a sight it was, and a real masterpiece some of the dishes, I can understand it being "pulled". I was on about the last cruise it was offered on the Quest in September and commented at the time, as good as it was, it seemed so "over the top".

 

I doubt it had anything to do with HAL. I just think times have changed. Those types of buffet events where the whole ship goes through the galley (probably twice) had to stop. Regulations are becoming tighter and reputations if something goes wrong can be tarnished.

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After partaking in one galley lunch we did not want to do them anymore but we were a member of a trivia team who went en mass. (We were on an extended cruise). Too much food--made you want to go to sleep!!!

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The fondue and icy shots at the beginning was my favorite part. I hope they find a way to incorporate the fondue elsewhere during the cruise.

 

I also enjoyed the fresh seafood which made me think of the buffet on the beach party/Caviar in the Sea day. Are they also having to retool those events to meet health codes? The beach buffet also seemed very "open" and even more subject to cross-contamination due to heat and minimal prep/clean up facilities there on site.

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I don't do buffets whatever you call them.

I have seen some very poor behaviour from guests on many ships.

You just cannot trust people around food.

 

Who are you trying to kid, I've seen you going up for seconds at the Harvester salad cart. Now there is a veritable germ fest :)

 

I can see why the Galley lunch has been pulled. Having people touching surfaces and wandering into the kitchens en mass wouldn't go down well with the powers that be. Seabourn seem keen to follow best practice and advice. Unlike that cruise line which got crew to store food in their cabins when being inspected !!

 

I think there is a distinction between buffets left out in the Observation lounge and constantly monitored buffets in the Colonnade or even on the beach. That said I do remember the food containers being turned round to face staff one morning, apparently at the request of the US health people.

 

The problem is always that one bad apple who sees sanitising their hands or taking other sensible precautions as being beneath them. Children touching food is bad but adults should know better....

 

The hands down winner however must surely be the ice cream factory at Pizza Hut. Children crawling round on the floor then grabbing bowls, ice cream machine handles, scoops of toppings to eat there and then. Some sort of Darwinian evolution process. Only the strongest survive.

 

Henry :)

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The fondue and icy shots at the beginning was my favorite part. I hope they find a way to incorporate the fondue elsewhere during the cruise.

 

I also enjoyed the fresh seafood which made me think of the buffet on the beach party/Caviar in the Sea day. Are they also having to retool those events to meet health codes? The beach buffet also seemed very "open" and even more subject to cross-contamination due to heat and minimal prep/clean up facilities there on site.

 

I will miss the Galley Market Buffet more for the spectacle than the actual eating. It was quite a sight (as long as you got there before the plague of locusts descended upon it).

 

Many of the mega cruise lines have less-sanitary-than-Seabourn appearing buffets on their "private islands" in the Caribbean picked over by 10x as many people. Perhaps not subject to US regulations?

Edited by johnnycruise
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I will miss the Galley Market Buffet more for the spectacle than the actual eating. It was quite a sight (as long as you got there before the plague of locusts descended upon it).

 

Ditto! I enjoyed the visit to the galley and seeing the staff, admiring the elaborate displays, and enjoying fondue and fresh seafood. Hopefully they work those elements in elsewhere!

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Fascinating to hear people now, after over fifteen years of experiencing this, talk about concerns of nori virus etc. For the life of me after all this time I do not recall a single instance of such an outbreak following the Galley Market Lunch. I have many fond memories -- one has been AWOL the latest few cruises , the fried chicken, but they always had Sailor Boy's favorite, soft shell crabs. Will they add the TK fried chicken to fill this void in my wish list? I hope so. My second favorite was the fondue -- even though it was about the worst fondue ever (stringy and with not much flavor) but so much fun. BTW, if you want great fondue go to either Gruyere Switzerland or Geneva Switzerland. So will I miss it yes, but no, I am not devastated.

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We had soft shell crab on our last cruise in Asia. I think it was on the Asian night in the Colonnade.

 

Henry :)

 

 

Had them in the Med, fall 2014. Small, fried, like big spiders, delicious! They said they were sourced from Alaska. Well, they were nothing like the Chesapeake kind.

 

More turned up at market lunch.

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We were told by the chef on the Odyssey Venice to FLL cruise that the Galley Market lunches were a thing of the past because of US Public Health Service regulations. He seemed to indicate that this would be fleetwide and include all sailings, even those not stopping in US ports.

 

 

This is what I would have assumed.

 

I don't think they do this on Silversea either, at least not on our cruise last month and I assumed the same for them.

 

Keith

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