The "Buffet" and the Future of Cruising

[4774Papa]

On 4/4/2020 at 9:55 AM, yorky said:

Sadly with Covid  19 age is not immunity, we have had very young individuals in the UK with no underlying conditions die.

In the USA there has been one death for people under 24 years of age.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/COVID19/index.htm

 

The death rate for coronavirus for people under 50 is 0.1%, or 1 out of 1000 infections

This from article in March

https://noqreport.com/2020/03/13/the-death-rate-for-coronavirus-for-people-under-50-is-0-1-or-1-out-of-1000-infections/

 

[yorky]

4 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

In the USA there has been one death for people under 24 years of age.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/COVID19/index.htm

 

The death rate for coronavirus for people under 50 is 0.1%, or 1 out of 1000 infections

This from article in March

https://noqreport.com/2020/03/13/the-death-rate-for-coronavirus-for-people-under-50-is-0-1-or-1-out-of-1000-infections/

 

Very poor article in my view and given it’s political best ignored.

[4774Papa]

1 minute ago, yorky said:

Very poor article in my view and given it’s political best ignored.

The March article is a bit outdated, but still valuable.

 

The first post is from the CDC,  so please tell me what is wrong with these facts?

[yorky]

2 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

The March article is a bit outdated, but still valuable.

 

The first post is from the CDC,  so please tell me what is wrong with these facts?

My comment is about the political second article which is poor and not a surprise given Trumps comments until lately.

[TeeRick]

For those thinking that the cost of a few more buffet staff to serve meals is too much for the cruise industry, think about the cost of just 1 norovirus infection on a ship, to clean and disinfect.  And the ship will possibly be out of service.  Many ships have at least one outbreak a year.  The added cost or redeployment of a few staff to serve food in the buffet safely and cleanly is a drop in the bucket.

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

For those thinking that the cost of a few more buffet staff to serve meals is too much for the cruise industry, think about the cost of just 1 norovirus infection on a ship, to clean and disinfect.  And the ship will possibly be out of service.  Many ships have at least one outbreak a year.  The added cost or redeployment of a few staff to serve food in the buffet safely and cleanly is a drop in the bucket.

 

Despite having infection risks, they never seemed to be very motivated to proactively have staff serve.  This could be an opportunity if there's money to be saved to do a food court if it's cheaper due to wasting less food and they could tout off they're being more "green".

[zap99]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Despite having infection risks, they never seemed to be very motivated to proactively have staff serve.  This could be an opportunity if there's money to be saved to do a food court if it's cheaper due to wasting less food and they could tout off they're being more "green".

A few cruises ago we were told that if guests had Norovirus the crew put a coloured sticker on the cabin door. Obviously walking along the corridor looking at the doors became the norm. It got a bit scary when the cabin next to our had a sticker. It spoilt the evening drinks on the balcony experience.

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 4/2/2020 at 9:50 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

The buffet has no appeal for us at all but when our children were younger, they loved it!  Mostly for the variety, as you described and the self-serve ice cream machines.  My opinion is that they will have to have crew serving the passengers at the very least.  But that can also pose a problem.  Things like cross contamination can occur even when crew are wearing gloves.  For example, a crew member could touch his/her face, scratch their nose, whatever, and then use their gloved hand to resume serving.  Retraining of sanitary food service protocols will need to be implemented before the ships start running again.  

 

The other thing to consider, and this is what has often bothered me about dining in the buffet, is that walking around with a plate of food from station to station exposes the food to airborne contaminants.  I would like to see the buffet stocked with plate covers as well.  Enter the line, pick up a clean plate and plate cover.  Have food served to you, cover with a plate cover, walk to the next station...etc. 

 

For us, I think we will just stick with the dining rooms but do hope they come up with some good practices so that those who enjoy the buffet can continue to do so when this passes.

All these same issues are present in food prepared in MDR kitchens and served by wait staff in MDRs.  Nothing mentioned is unique to a buffet.  IMO MDRs are the real problem: always too crowded, people/staff bumping into each other, too noisy, rude "guests," etc.  Then you have them multiple seatings...leaving little time for any thorough cleaning between diners.  

[LMaxwell]

33 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

All these same issues are present in food prepared in MDR kitchens and served by wait staff in MDRs.  Nothing mentioned is unique to a buffet.  IMO MDRs are the real problem: always too crowded, people/staff bumping into each other, too noisy, rude "guests," etc.  Then you have them multiple seatings...leaving little time for any thorough cleaning between diners.  

The guest is the variable; not the format 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

All these same issues are present in food prepared in MDR kitchens and served by wait staff in MDRs.  Nothing mentioned is unique to a buffet.  IMO MDRs are the real problem: always too crowded, people/staff bumping into each other, too noisy, rude "guests," etc.  Then you have them multiple seatings...leaving little time for any thorough cleaning between diners.  

You win the most surprising post!  Where do you eat your meals on a cruise?

 

A self serve buffet IS unique as, per meal, you have, I'd guess, at least 1,000 passengers (on average) touch the same tongs.  In the MDR, I would imagine, never more than ten passengers per meal and it's probably closer to five.

Edited April 12, 2020 by NutsAboutGolf

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 4/6/2020 at 8:47 AM, zap99 said:

A few cruises ago we were told that if guests had Norovirus the crew put a coloured sticker on the cabin door. Obviously walking along the corridor looking at the doors became the norm. It got a bit scary when the cabin next to our had a sticker. It spoilt the evening drinks on the balcony experience.

 

I've been on a cruise a few years ago where on the balcony, every single person (I'd guess four) had a long and deep flem cough fit.  It got so bad I spoke to guest services just to see if there were any other cabin's available as the noise was driving us crazy.

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I've been on a cruise a few years ago where on the balcony, every single person (I'd guess four) had a long and deep flem cough fit.  It got so bad I spoke to guest services just to see if there were any other cabin's available as the noise was driving us crazy.

Might have been smokers hack. 🤢 Speaking of buffets, I've heard in the evening the atmosphere is nice. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by davekathy

[yorky]

8 hours ago, davekathy said:

Might have been smokers hack. 🤢 Speaking of buffets, I've heard in the evening the atmosphere is nice. 

We use the buffet at night on one or two occasions on a typical cruise, far nicer than the morning madness.

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, yorky said:

We use the buffet at night on one or two occasions on a typical cruise, far nicer than the morning madness.

Don't like buffets as I have seen people remove food from plates and put it back also too many handling serving utensils. Only do cheese and crackers and bring to my balcony for late afternoon snack. 

[ipeeinthepool]

Given all of the issues with the manners of other guests, I long ago evolved to only eating items from the buffet that are served to me.  I usually only eat items that are served to me from the grill, a carving station or the pasta station.  If I really want some other items, I will be there at the opening and serve myself before other ill mannered guests have a chance to contaminate the food or the serving utensils,