Buffet line etiquette?

At any buffet I always bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it when I get back to my seat. It's just me.. :-)

I think where British lead the world, or is it stand behind them, is queuing. Most nationalities will find out what the queue is for before joining it, thus losing their place. A local, well known clothing store near where I live regularly has huge queues of people queuing up to try clothes on in the changing rooms. They always form one giant line with 90% women and 10% men. A member of staff has to be employed to direct the men to come forward to the front as there are separate men and women's changing facilities.

 

Some people in buffets get a bit miffed at people who overtake them. Island counters are much better than a linear single counter. Why do you need to queue behind people waiting for roast dinners when you do not want one and just want to access the counter area beyond them where the spotted dicks are?

 

Regards John

So said Arthur Dent in 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy': 'I'm British, I know how to queue.'

My last cruise on the Celebrity Solstice, they have a crew person there with a sanitizer bottle that everyone has squirted on their hands on the way to the dining rooms.

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?

 

Which is why I also don't participate in department potlucks. Some people have no hygienic manners at all and I refuse to eat their food. Easier just to opt out.

On our last Royal Caribbean cruise (Grandeur OTS 4/2018), I witnessed people with such piggish behavior at the buffet that I literally lost my appetite. That ship may as well have been renamed “Obesity of the seas” for that sailing. I have never seen so many gluttonous people in one place. Plates piled high with enough food for 3 people, but to be consumed by a single person. One woman had a plate in one hand, and a slice of pizza flopping around in the other. Instead of placing herself down and eating, she jammed the entire slice of pizza in her mouth to free her other hand up to grab dessert. I walked out and didn’t eat for the rest of the day.

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On our last Royal Caribbean cruise (Grandeur OTS 4/2018), I witnessed people with such piggish behavior at the buffet that I literally lost my appetite. That ship may as well have been renamed “Obesity of the seas” for that sailing. I have never seen so many gluttonous people in one place. Plates piled high with enough food for 3 people, but to be consumed by a single person. One woman had a plate in one hand, and a slice of pizza flopping around in the other. Instead of placing herself down and eating, she jammed the entire slice of pizza in her mouth to free her other hand up to grab dessert. I walked out and didn’t eat for the rest of the day.

 

 

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:eek:Hope you were not queued behind her. Pure gluttony. Why do those kind of PAX exhibit that kind of behavior, as it were their last meal before dying?:D

King

Got it! I understand.

Thank you.

 

BTW, have you ever tried queuing in Asia? Forget it. The Chinese are the worst. They don’t queue for anything. Even in the cruise buffet line. It’s like a free-for-all. Just my observation. ;)

you should see how they prepare food in their fancy restaurants. You would never eat in any of them again. We don't

I'm sure I contributed to this thread in the past year, but this reminded me of my 2014 trip on Jewel and I'm about to go on Jewel again. This lady in front of me picked up 15 hot dog buns, one at a time, examined them, and put them back on the bin. I wanted to follow her and ask her how the winning bun was picked, but I let it slide.

 

The crew can be just as bad as passengers, so I often think having the crew serving at outbreak times does any good.

I would have touched her bun and see if she still wanted it

:eek: Why do those kind of PAX exhibit that kind of behavior, as it were their last meal before dying?:D

In that regard, human nature hasn't changed much in the last 100K years.

:eek:Hope you were not queued behind her. Pure gluttony. Why do those kind of PAX exhibit that kind of behavior, as it were their last meal before dying?:D

 

King

That was just one example. Just a pure lack of class on that cruise. We witnessed multiple people doing stuff like that. Others were eating with the fingers when they clearly had utensils. One gentleman drank out of his glass, and walked over to the soft-serve ice cream machine on the pool deck and filled it full (same glass he was just drinking out of). We were sitting outside, and it was full of something before he did that.

My wife was also in the spa on embarkation day, and witnessed a fairly loud, obnoxious twosome discussing how they visited Fort Sumter at the end of the Chesapeake Bay. For starters, Fort Sumter is not even NEAR the Chesapeake Bay. ;). The clientele on this cruise was just awful. A far cry from MSC and Oceania, which we have been frequenting lately.

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The clientele on this cruise was just awful. A far cry from MSC and Oceania, which we have been frequenting lately.

The Walmart crowd can show up on any ship. I'd venture to guess the clientele is vastly different between MSC and Oceania.

I am thinking of taking a first time cruise on a RCCL ship. :)

 

I saw in an online video of Brilliance of The Seas buffet stations are mostly self service. In otherwords, PAX help themselves to the prepared foods at the various food stations.

 

I have on some cruises, noticed in buffet lines some PAX pick up food, put it on their plates, then use their fingers to eat what's on their plate whilst going to the next food station, and handling the serving utensils.:eek:

 

Fortunately, I have never gotten a food born illness on cruises with Princess and Celebrity because I ask the buffet line staff to place the food on my plate, and I seldom need to pick up the serving utensils.

 

So my questions are:

 

So, I'm just curious, do you say something to PAXs in front of you who nibbles food with their fingers off their plate, and then handles the next serving utensils in the buffet line? Or just keep quiet?

 

 

Is it improper and poor etiquette for one to use a napkin, or disposable glove to pick up the serving utensils?

 

 

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

 

Thanks you.

Buffets are disgusting, on land or on a cruise.

The Walmart crowd can show up on any ship. I'd venture to guess the clientele is vastly different between MSC and Oceania.

Not in the MSC Yacht Club. It is like The Haven on NCL ships. We like that as well. We ended up on Grandeur due to the itinerary, but I didn’t care for the clientele.

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Not in the MSC Yacht Club. It is like The Haven on NCL ships.

Don't kid yourself, you go to the buffet on any of those ships, you'll likely see behavior similar to what you witnessed on Grandeur. Human nature is not really a brand snob.

Don't kid yourself, you go to the buffet on any of those ships, you'll likely see behavior similar to what you witnessed on Grandeur.

If you are familiar with some “ship within a ship” offerings, you don’t need go to the Buffet. The Breakaway class, MSC Seaside, Meraviglia, and Seaview all have self contained restaurants. This eliminates the need to go to the buffet. And I am black status on MSC. I have never seen that behavior on any of their ships in the buffet when I’m not in YC ;). So I’m not kidding myself. 26 cruises here. My wife and I go 4x, sometimes 5x a year. I have also sailed on Liberty OTS, and I found the clientele better. Galveston is a more difficult port to access, so it seems like people go there when they actually WANT to go. Baltimore seems to be a bottom feeder port. Lots of people were on the Grandeur sailing that seemingly just wanted a cheap cruise. Lots of confusion about what was/wasn’t included. Confusion about the gratuities at the front desk...stuff like that.

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I heard (don't know if it's true) that norovirus can not be killed with alcohol (hand sanitizer) you have to wash it off. So you'd have to go wash your hands (and don't touch the door handle to get out of the bathroom or the chair to pull it out or the table to get closer after sitting down) after handling the tongs in order to really not worry about the germs you got from the serving utensils.

Yeah, the ubiquitous Purell is more sanitation theatre than actual sanitation.

Baltimore seems to be a bottom feeder port.

Nice generalization there.....

If you are familiar with some “ship within a ship” offerings, you don’t need go to the Buffet. The Breakaway class, MSC Seaside, Meraviglia, and Seaview all have self contained restaurants. This eliminates the need to go to the buffet. And I am black status on MSC. I have never seen that behavior on any of their ships in the buffet when I’m not in YC ;). So I’m not kidding myself. 26 cruises here. My wife and I go 4x, sometimes 5x a year. I have also sailed on Liberty OTS, and I found the clientele better. Galveston is a more difficult port to access, so it seems like people go there when they actually WANT to go. Baltimore seems to be a bottom feeder port. Lots of people were on the Grandeur sailing that seemingly just wanted a cheap cruise. Lots of confusion about what was/wasn’t included. Confusion about the gratuities at the front desk...stuff like that.

 

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Really doesn't mean much anymore.

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Everybody is Black status now.

 

Really doesn't mean much anymore.

 

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Most of the staff on Divina, Preziosa, and Magnifica that we have encountered this year seem to be surprised we are black. I feel that is an incorrect statement. I also don’t see many black cards.

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Most of the staff on Divina, Preziosa, and Magnifica that we have encountered this year seem to be surprised we are black. I feel that is an incorrect statement. I also don’t see many black cards.

 

 

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Were you not aware of that?

We're Black. [emoji41]

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They status matches every Diamond and up on Royal. I'm certain they did it with the other cruise lines. 3 year window to claim the card.

 

Were you not aware of that?

 

We're Black. [emoji41]

 

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I definitely am aware of that. MSC is not as large as the “big 3” Also, they only do this for U.S. based guests. Top-tier elite guests make up a very small percentage of the cruising public, so they can get away with this. Most of the fleet is in Europe, whereas most of the U.S. big 3 keep most of the fleet in the U.S. Even on Divina, where I have done 2 sailings recently in the Caribbean, there were very few blacks. On Preziosa (in Northern Europe), the black party was empty. Airlines have done it for me as well [emoji6] No different. MSC is an unknown for most of the U.S. cruising public, and they are trying to build up a brand.

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That was just one example. Just a pure lack of class on that cruise. We witnessed multiple people doing stuff like that. Others were eating with the fingers when they clearly had utensils. One gentleman drank out of his glass, and walked over to the soft-serve ice cream machine on the pool deck and filled it full (same glass he was just drinking out of). We were sitting outside, and it was full of something before he did that.

 

My wife was also in the spa on embarkation day, and witnessed a fairly loud, obnoxious twosome discussing how they visited Fort Sumter at the end of the Chesapeake Bay. For starters, Fort Sumter is not even NEAR the Chesapeake Bay. ;). The clientele on this cruise was just awful. A far cry from MSC and Oceania, which we have been frequenting lately.

 

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I don't eat in the buffets, I don't care what (or how much) other people eat, I don't care if people use utensils, and I don't sweat people refilling glasses; BUT not knowing Fort Geography, that is where I draw the line. I mean at least get it in the right state. Probably a Gold Level cruiser.

I heard (don't know if it's true) that norovirus can not be killed with alcohol (hand sanitizer) you have to wash it off. So you'd have to go wash your hands (and don't touch the door handle to get out of the bathroom or the chair to pull it out or the table to get closer after sitting down) after handling the tongs in order to really not worry about the germs you got from the serving utensils.

That’s true with norovirus. This is why if I do eat in the buffets I wash my hands in the bathroom before I eat.

I don't eat in the buffets, I don't care what (or how much) other people eat, I don't care if people use utensils, and I don't sweat people refilling glasses; BUT not knowing Fort Geography, that is where I draw the line. I mean at least get it in the right state. Probably a Gold Level cruiser.

The geography comment was the part that was really not meant to be emphasized, and that was a fault of my poor wording. It was the fact that the couple was being boorish in the spa, and acting like they had downed a few too many. The geography was what they were debating, and my wife couldn’t enjoy her services due to the obnoxious behaviors.

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The geography comment was the part that was really not meant to be emphasized, and that was a fault of my poor wording. It was the fact that the couple was being boorish in the spa, and acting like they had downed a few too many. The geography was what they were debating, and my wife couldn’t enjoy her services due to the obnoxious behaviors.

 

 

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Was just having a little fun. No offense intended. They did move it quite a distance, and I am stuck for what they saw that they confused for Sumter. Maybe McHenry? I hope you didn't put them on your team at trivia.

Have you lived in Albany long? I grew up in Syracuse.

I was serious about that other stuff not bothering me though. I really pay little attention to what others are doing, as long as they are not physically in my space. My button is people pushing, not looking where they are going, or cutting lines.