Get rid of the buffets already!...

[clo]

28 minutes ago, joytocruise27 said:

Buffets are my preferred way to eat. I just want to choose my food and eat it without having to wait. Eating has never been a big source of pleasure for me. Just don't like to be hungry. Often just like to eat and get it over with. Buffets are perfect. Hope there is someway to keep them. 

So are you cool with not serving yourself but asking for specifically what you want and how much?

[MSUjohn]

life is a contact sport; even with proper sanitation you will probably get sick from food a couple of times in your life, (I fell ill with with listeriosis in 1998 and it sucked..bad) i really dont think it is worth dwelling on.

 

that said, cruise ships serve a LOT of people in one place where a local restaurant typically does not; so you have a concentration effect.

 

finally  i think part of the reason buffets are "sneered at" is because they seem to (currently) be an dinning option favored by the working class (at least on land anways), and the working class are one of the few remaining acceptable targets to disparage.  so here comes the status signaling.

[AF-1]

Good point MSUjohn

[cruizergal70]

48 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

 

 

finally  i think part of the reason buffets are "sneered at" is because they seem to (currently) be an dinning option favored by the working class (at least on land anways), and the working class are one of the few remaining acceptable targets to disparage.  so here comes the status signaling.

Status signaling? Where have you been? We have that all over this forum anytime folks discuss the different cruise line including the alleged luxury lines.

[MSUjohn]

2 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

Status signaling? Where have you been? We have that all over this forum anytime folks discuss the different cruise line including the alleged luxury lines.

 

in this case, I am strictly talking about land based buffets (think golden corral) being extended to sea.

 

 

yes "status signaling" is a thing weather it is material or social.

[navybankerteacher]

I am inclined to think that a major reason for buffets (particularly on cruise ships)  to be disparaged is the tendency of a fair number of their patrons to think of them with the preamble: “all you can eat”.

 

Certainly not all - or even a majority- of cruisers do this, but there are enough who frequent the buffet who demonstrate greed or sloppy manners to turn other people off.  The buffet is the one place aboard ship where you cannot avoid seeing people at their worst - most other places you won’t notice - but when you are standing in a line which might have just one or two ahead of you, it is hard to ignore.

[Me by the Sea]

1 hour ago, MSUjohn said:

 

in this case, I am strictly talking about land based buffets (think golden corral) being extended to sea.

 

 

yes "status signaling" is a thing weather it is material or social.

Personally, I LOVE buffets! (My waistline might not!)  Take what you want, and try things you might not normally have at home.  If you don’t like the taste, just put it to the side and go back up and get something else to try.  Whoopie! 
 

Who cares what narrow minded people think?   If they feel they are “so important” then that’s fine with me - I’ll still do what I want, when I want, and how I want to do it.  Their approval is neither solicited nor considered in my decision making process. Life is way too short, to worry about people who have braces on their brains. 

Edited July 11, 2020 by Me by the Sea

[clo]

1 hour ago, Me by the Sea said:

If you don’t like the taste, just put it to the side and go back up and get something else to try

So will you be okay with that same outcome when the food is served to you rather than your serving yourself? I have the sense that's going to be a done deal pretty much everywhere.

[Me by the Sea]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

So will you be okay with that same outcome when the food is served to you rather than your serving yourself? I have the sense that's going to be a done deal pretty much everywhere.

It’s 6 of one, half dozen of another. It does not matter if I put the food on my plate, or a server hands me the portion on the plate.  Why does it make a difference and why are folks knickers in a twist about this?  

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I am inclined to think that a major reason for buffets (particularly on cruise ships)  to be disparaged is the tendency of a fair number of their patrons to think of them with the preamble: “all you can eat”.

 

Certainly not all - or even a majority- of cruisers do this, but there are enough who frequent the buffet who demonstrate greed or sloppy manners to turn other people off.  The buffet is the one place aboard ship where you cannot avoid seeing people at their worst - most other places you won’t notice - but when you are standing in a line which might have just one or two ahead of you, it is hard to ignore.

 

Yeah, like I've never noticed people in the main dining room order multiple appetizers, multiple entrees and multiple desserts.  Haha

 

Try to be a little patient waiting in line.  The food won't go anywhere.         

 

 

[clo]

37 minutes ago, Me by the Sea said:

It’s 6 of one, half dozen of another. It does not matter if I put the food on my plate, or a server hands me the portion on the plate.  Why does it make a difference and why are folks knickers in a twist about this?  

I honestly think that the 'knicker' people aren't reading and understanding that the only difference is they'll be served the food in the buffet. Or maybe those who object don't want as many witnesses to how much they take 🙂  

[sverigecruiser]

13 minutes ago, clo said:

I honestly think that the 'knicker' people aren't reading and understanding that the only difference is they'll be served the food in the buffet. Or maybe those who object don't want as many witnesses to how much they take 🙂  

 

Or how little.

[clo]

28 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Or how little.

Or how little 🙂

 

I got given a bit of ribbing here for a small lunch I had one day.

 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Yeah, like I've never noticed people in the main dining room order multiple appetizers, multiple entrees and multiple desserts.  Haha

 

Try to be a little patient waiting in line.  The food won't go anywhere.         

 

 

We once had a fellow tablemate order every appetizer on the menu on an NCL ship. He was served one at a time. My DW had not ordered an appetizer, only a salad and a main. She was not served anything until that person had every appetizer. That would not happen at a buffet no matter how much someone took.

[ontheweb]

56 minutes ago, clo said:

Or how little 🙂

 

I got given a bit of ribbing here for a small lunch I had one day.

 

My DW would consider that a huge lunch. (And of course not have the meat.) She once got an incredulous look from our waiter when she ordered from the everyday menu, just a baked potato as her main course.

[clo]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

We once had a fellow tablemate order every appetizer on the menu on an NCL ship. He was served one at a time. My DW had not ordered an appetizer, only a salad and a main. She was not served anything until that person had every appetizer. That would not happen at a buffet no matter how much someone took.

'Course she could have asked them to serve her right away. We shared a table with a couple and we ate different courses together.

[ldubs]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

My DW would consider that a huge lunch. (And of course not have the meat.) She once got an incredulous look from our waiter when she ordered from the everyday menu, just a baked potato as her main course.

 

Once on Celebrity I ordered the roasted chicken off the daily menu.  I was just in the mood for something basic I guess.  The waiter was so concerned and actually talked me into a steak instead!  Haha

[MSUjohn]

6 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

 

in this case, I am strictly talking about land based buffets (think golden corral) being extended to sea.

 

 

yes "status signaling" is a thing *weather* it is material or social.

 

damn it no edit feature 

*whether*

[MSUjohn]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Or how little 🙂

 

I got given a bit of ribbing here for a small lunch I had one day.

 

actually that looks really good. prime rib with a couple of stuffed grape leaves?

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

 

damn it no edit feature 

*whether*

 

Haha, we knew.  No worries.  I think I'm the typo king, though I will usually just blame it (unfairly) on auto-correct.    

[clo]

20 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

actually that looks really good. prime rib with a couple of stuffed grape leaves?

VERY thin slice of beef, nuts, grapes, a little cheese, crackers, and stuffed grape leaves. It was terrific. One of our favorite meals at home also.

[evandbob]

A buffet can be the place where you hear overweight and diabetic cruisers chat about the lack of personal responsibility in society today as they overload their plates with all kinds of food their doctors recommend they should avoid.

[Me by the Sea]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

A buffet can be the place where you hear overweight and diabetic cruisers chat about the lack of personal responsibility in society today as they overload their plates with all kinds of food their doctors recommend they should avoid.

WOW!  That’s quite a post.  Why would you even care what another person says, does, eats?  It’s their vacation and they can eat what they want — without (a self-appointed) member of the pantry police overseeing their choices. 

[MSUjohn]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Haha, we knew.  No worries.  I think I'm the typo king, though I will usually just blame it (unfairly) on auto-correct.    

 

when my brain gets roiling it outpaces my fingers which outpaces my internal  bio spellcheck/syntax device.

[MSUjohn]

1 hour ago, clo said:

VERY thin slice of beef, nuts, grapes, a little cheese, crackers, and stuffed grape leaves. It was terrific. One of our favorite meals at home also.

that is one thing i do like about buffets; if it larger on can make some great and unique....er spreads.