Windjammer back to self serve?

[Sun Lover]

We have a cruise booked on Voyager next year and I know during Covid the Windjammer was changed so that a staff member was serving guests rather than people serving themselves at the buffet.  Does anyone know if they are still doing that now and whether RCI plans to make that a permanent change for the future?

[Sea Viewer]

It was not self service last week on the Allure.

[davekathy]

Hopefully the WJ never goes back to self serve. 

[Retired LEO]

The staff needs to serve permanently.  

[molly361]

I read somewhere that serving by the staff is going to be permanent

[CruisinCrow]

I would be ok with it being permanent.  It really didn't slow things down at all on our recent Serenade cruise and it was so much cleaner.  I did wish there was more than one drink station.  It was a long walk for a coffee refill. 

[orville99]

18 minutes ago, CruisinCrow said:

I would be ok with it being permanent.  It really didn't slow things down at all on our recent Serenade cruise and it was so much cleaner.  I did wish there was more than one drink station.  It was a long walk for a coffee refill. 

Wait staff that roams the tables will get you refills if you ask them.

[smokeybandit]

They need to get rid of full service for things already portioned out. That's just dumb.

 

But I expect full service on the community pots to stay.  And not due to covid, but as a money saving effort.

[coffeebean]

Unpopular opinion here but I wish to help myself on the buffet. Only I can serve myself the tiny portions of foods that I prefer. Also, I do not like my food placed on top of other food that is already on my plate which is what the serving crew does.......every single time. The crew are in a rush so they do not take the time to be careful when placing food on the plate. I understand but I still do not have to like it. Let me serve myself. Supply those oversized disposable gloves at every buffet station and ENFORCE the use of the gloves like buffets on land have resorted to.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I hope it is a permanent change, but it does have its  drawbacks.  I try to never waste food in the WJ, so I take tiny servings to see if I like something, then get a larger serving (on a clean plate) if I do.  Last week on the Mariner I asked for three plaintains to make sure I liked them, and was served eight.  I took one bite and found that they had been overcooked or sitting under the warmer so long that they were completely dried out.  I felt bad walking away from 7.5 plaintains, but I had no control over the situation.

[Magicat]

After our September cruise and still witnessed people exiting the washroom without washing their hands, I really hope they never go back to self serve. 

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

They need to get rid of full service for things already portioned out. That's just dumb.

 

But I expect full service on the community pots to stay.  And not due to covid, but as a money saving effort.

 

Personally, I hate being served. I want to choose what I get.😪

[John&LaLa]

35 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Unpopular opinion here but I wish to help myself on the buffet. Only I can serve myself the tiny portions of foods that I prefer. Also, I do not like my food placed on top of other food that is already on my plate which is what the serving crew does.......every single time. The crew are in a rush so they do not take the time to be careful when placing food on the plate. I understand but I still do not have to like it. Let me serve myself. Supply those oversized disposable gloves at every buffet station and ENFORCE the use of the gloves like buffets on land have resorted to.

 

The worst is the toppings bar for hamburgers, brats, etc.

 

I want what I want, where I want it. 

[Anton]

17 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The worst is the toppings bar for hamburgers, brats, etc.

 

I want what I want, where I want it. 

Yep, also my choice for the worst aspect of crew served food.  I'm tired of having a cup of mustard put on my hotdog, my burger drowned in ketchup, the frustrating experience with salsas and other toppings for nachos and so forth at El Loco Fresh. Windjammer burger bar:   "I want some onion for my burger"  <plop plop plop> "Do you want more?"  "No thanks.  A whole sliced onion is plenty."

[davekathy]

Two plates. One for the 'burger and dog and the other for the toppings. Doing this on Celebrity (pool/mast grill) and RC ('burger bar) before the current no self serve. 

 

 

[trippintex]

They save so much food serving food and it is so clean now. Diamond club no one picking things  up with there hands, then lick there fingers so nasty. I hope they keep it like it is now clean.

[bonsai3s]

Onboard the Navigator now.  Hand sanitizers at the door along with wash sinks on both sides. Plates and wrapped (with cloth napkin) utensils handed out. Food served. Social distancing still in effect with tables marked, available or unavailable. One very nice thing that we've observed...tables are being cleaned immediately. This was the same when we were on the Ovation and Liberty.

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, molly361 said:

I read somewhere that serving by the staff is going to be permanent

I wouldn't be surprised if serving by the staff has cut down on food expense. Too many have eyes bigger than their stomach.

[pcur]

This all sounds like what they've been doing on HAL for years, and I am glad for it.  HAL's buffet was just more civilized, and they paid attention to preferences.  If RCCL doesn't, it's easy to find a "shirt" (as we always referred to the Windjammer management; aka "suit), and tell them the serving portions are too big, etc.  

 

On HAL I would use the universal "pinching" motions with my thumb and forefinger to indicate a very small portion, and it seemed to work.

[Ocean Boy]

I do tend to prefer serving myself but I will give it up to avoid the disgusting finger lickers who are so hungry that they can't wait until returning to their table to start sampling their food. Then there was the time this kid picked up a dessert, stuck it to his nose to smell it, then promptly put it back where he found it....🙄

[sargenet]

The only issues I had my last two cruises is OVER serving.  I asked for some pears for breakfast…was given a HUGE bowl… 

 

But the hardest part as others have said is the toppings.  I think we just have to do better telling them exactly what we need…like just a LITTLE sour cream.  I wanted a little taco to snack on but they put the toppings on so heavy I couldn’t even close it!  
 

Cruising again in a few weeks and going to work on being more descriptive when I ask for stuff.  

Edited November 25, 2021 by sargenet

[neverbeenhere]

We prefer the served food. As for portion size and condiment amounts, learning a few simple words in a variety of languages helps get our point across, if the crew member has limited English.  

Edited November 25, 2021 by neverbeenhere

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, Magicat said:

After our September cruise and still witnessed people exiting the washroom without washing their hands, I really hope they never go back to self serve. 

Love the wash hand stations just outside the WJ..."Washy Washy" 

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Onboard the Navigator now.  Hand sanitizers at the door along with wash sinks on both sides. Plates and wrapped (with cloth napkin) utensils handed out. Food served. Social distancing still in effect with tables marked, available or unavailable. One very nice thing that we've observed...tables are being cleaned immediately. This was the same when we were on the Ovation and Liberty.

Hmmm...tables cleaned (wiped) with the same dirty rag...I wish they would offer paper placemats.

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I hope it is a permanent change, but it does have its  drawbacks.  I try to never waste food in the WJ, so I take tiny servings to see if I like something, then get a larger serving (on a clean plate) if I do.  Last week on the Mariner I asked for three plaintains to make sure I liked them, and was served eight.  I took one bite and found that they had been overcooked or sitting under the warmer so long that they were completely dried out.  I felt bad walking away from 7.5 plaintains, but I had no control over the situation.

Always get a clean plate when going for more...This has always been a pet peeve of mine when people take their dirty plate back up for more