Self-service Buffet - Is it back?

[KruzPrincess]

I just read this on another social media site:  Someone on the Ruby Princess said the buffet was back to self-service. Can people who are currently on cruises confirm or clarify if not true?  Thanks. 

 

I know people are saying that lines are getting much longer now that ships are sailing with more people. 

[cvpends]

Yes, it is true on Ruby.

[KruzPrincess]

1 hour ago, cvpends said:

Yes, it is true on Ruby.

Thanks for responding. Is this happening on other ships?

Edited March 13, 2022 by KruzPrincess

[highloyo]

I just got off of the Majestic today. That isn’t the case. You were for most items. The only items you could self serve were things like ceviche in a cup, smoothies at breakfast and maybe a couple of items already in a dish. I only ate at World Market buffet in the morning. It’s quite hectic and not organized very well. 

[KruzPrincess]

13 minutes ago, highloyo said:

I just got off of the Majestic today. That isn’t the case. You were for most items. The only items you could self serve were things like ceviche in a cup, smoothies at breakfast and maybe a couple of items already in a dish. I only ate at World Market buffet in the morning. It’s quite hectic and not organized very well. 

Thanks for responding. 

[johnritt]

It is not self service on the Sky as of 3/12.

 

It worked very well though.

[Torfamm]

Just got off the Emerald this morning. The buffet was not self-serve

[MissP22]

Not on the Enchanted yet.

[Cruzinnana47]

Sorry to hear buffet back to self-serve on the Ruby, as we're sailing on her in May and we actually liked the idea of items served by crew.   Personally never cared for the chaos of all self-serve.  Would rather be in a line and have thing more organized....and less confusing.  Not to mention less chance of food contamination.

 

To each his own.  Guess I'll spend less time in the buffet and more in the IC.

[KruzPrincess]

2 hours ago, johnritt said:

It is not self service on the Sky as of 3/12.

 

It worked very well though.

 

1 hour ago, Torfamm said:

Just got off the Emerald this morning. The buffet was not self-serve

 

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Not on the Enchanted yet.

Thanks everyone for responding. I appreciate it. Maybe the Ruby is just testing it. Maybe they were really short on staff and needed to do something. I guess we will wait and see what happens. 

[K.T.B.]

44 minutes ago, Cruzinnana47 said:

Sorry to hear buffet back to self-serve on the Ruby, as we're sailing on her in May and we actually liked the idea of items served by crew.   Personally never cared for the chaos of all self-serve.  Would rather be in a line and have thing more organized....and less confusing.  Not to mention less chance of food contamination.

 

To each his own.  Guess I'll spend less time in the buffet and more in the IC.

 

In all honesty, it was a bit of a PITA with the crew serving.  Granted, we only ate at the buffet for breakfast and the breakfast service was quite lacking overall.  That is/was my only complaint about my cruise.  There were numerous times I had to get the attention of the crew behind the stations to get served.  It seemed they were too busy talking amongst themselves. And the beverage service for breakfast was nearly non-existent.

 

If not for that, my time on the ship would have probably been nearly 100% perfect.

[pilot]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Not on the Enchanted yet.

Are you currently on Enchantment?  Have they opened all 3 dining rooms?  How many pax on board?

[Tonsoffun44]

Have heard some people call the already prepared servings on individual dishes/bowls which they pick up themselves "Self Serve".  Not the traditional self serve as one plate go around from station to station spoon/ladle out your own serving amounts.  Without context - could be that's what the person meant and the old way isn't actually back. 

[1965]

14 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

 

In all honesty, it was a bit of a PITA with the crew serving.  Granted, we only ate at the buffet for breakfast and the breakfast service was quite lacking overall.  That is/was my only complaint about my cruise.  There were numerous times I had to get the attention of the crew behind the stations to get served.  It seemed they were too busy talking amongst themselves. And the beverage service for breakfast was nearly non-existent.

 

If not for that, my time on the ship would have probably been nearly 100% perfect.

We had the same experience on the Regal in Nov the few times we had buffet breakfast. 

[GloriaF]

We usually order room service breakfast. Hope that hasn't been stopped!

[julie3fan]

I'm currently on the Grand to Hawaii, and we've only been to the buffet for breakfast.  Cold items were already portioned into bowls, cups, plates, etc. that you could pick up yourself.  All hot items were served by the staff.  

[epistax]

Currently on the emerald. Only self service was a collection of premade items. Passengers aren't even able to grab their own utensil bundles. The buffet is a little bit of a madhouse honestly. Each server follows a passenger up and down the buffet until done. Still, it works. 

[Buckeye10640]

Self service was not back on Regal last week.  It didn't bother me much but sure would like to be able to get my own drinks if I want to.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Buckeye10640

[MissP22]

17 hours ago, pilot said:

Are you currently on Enchantment?  Have they opened all 3 dining rooms?  How many pax on board?

We are now.

About 2,500 on board. 

I'm not sure if all 3 DR are yet open.

Will check today.

Food hasn't been what it used to be.

There have been cutbacks in selections and quality. 

[KruzPrincess]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We are now.

About 2,500 on board. 

I'm not sure if all 3 DR are yet open.

Will check today.

Food hasn't been what it used to be.

There have been cutbacks in selections and quality. 

Have you experienced long lines in the buffet? If you’re a buffet person, that is. 

 

I haven’t been back on a cruise yet. Personally, I’m concerned about long lines. The cruise I have booked for later this year is almost full. I’ve read that some are on cruises with 3000 people now. It seems to me that a self-serve buffet worked fine on half full ships, but how will it be on almost full ships? 

 

I eat the majority of my meals in the buffet. Pre-covid, I mostly ate a big fresh salad every day, sometimes twice a day. That really doesn’t seem possible now. I think I’ll miss it. I cruised on HAL a few times and hated their buffet. By the time I waited in different lines to get hot food, bread, salad, etc. it would all be cold by the time I sat down to eat. 

 

[scooter6139]

My wife doesn't really like any buffet while I do, so it's a battle of wills on where we get breakfast or lunch.  She usually wins on dinner though.  I just can't wait to see and try the larger buffet on the Discovery, as I am so used to those tiny ones on the Grand class ships.

[Buckeye10640]

8 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

Have you experienced long lines in the buffet? If you’re a buffet person, that is. 

 

I haven’t been back on a cruise yet. Personally, I’m concerned about long lines. The cruise I have booked for later this year is almost full. I’ve read that some are on cruises with 3000 people now. It seems to me that a self-serve buffet worked fine on half full ships, but how will it be on almost full ships? 

 

I eat the majority of my meals in the buffet. Pre-covid, I mostly ate a big fresh salad every day, sometimes twice a day. That really doesn’t seem possible now. I think I’ll miss it. I cruised on HAL a few times and hated their buffet. By the time I waited in different lines to get hot food, bread, salad, etc. it would all be cold by the time I sat down to eat. 

 

Just off the Regal with 2600 passengers. Ate at the buffet several times across all three meals.   You can certainly still get a salad, they make them  in smaller bowls but I expect you could ask for a plate for larger salad. The server will add any ingredients you want and as much as you want.  Lines were not long, I didnt feel it was any more or  less chaotic than before with people going in all directions . I did find it difficult to get drink refills,  though. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Buckeye10640

[rj59]

Self-serve makes more sense on the Ruby because it's the old-style cattle-pen setup, where you're funneled into an enclosed area. Waiting to be served there makes the area more congested, and with crew congregated in a small space, actually increases covid risk. I've started bringing along my own plastic tray, so I can fill it with grab-and-go items and plates of food, as well as a quick breakfast at the International Cafe, so I'm not going back frequently to pick up more items, which is annoying and again increases Covid risk. I also sit in areas of the buffet where few people are, including outside, so I can fetch my own drinks, since we all know, but Princess can't yet understand, that serving spoons and glasses don't spread Covid. Other than desserts, I've also found nothing that matches Alfredo's in the buffet. Maybe when ships build up occupancy, they might go back to themed nights and be able to keep food warm and fresh, to give people a reason to visit there, but on all my Princess cruises it's been the weakest part of the dining experience for me. 

[KruzPrincess]

3 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Just off the Regal with 2600 passengers. Ate at the buffet several times across all three meals.   You can certainly still get a salad, they make them  in smaller bowls but I expect you could ask for a plate for larger salad. The server will add any ingredients you want and as much as you want.  Lines were not long, I didnt feel it was any more or  less chaotic than before with people going in all directions . I did find it difficult to get drink refills,  though. 

 

Thanks for that explanation. 

 

 

 

41 minutes ago, rj59 said:

Self-serve makes more sense on the Ruby because it's the old-style cattle-pen setup, where you're funneled into an enclosed area. Waiting to be served there makes the area more congested, and with crew congregated in a small space, actually increases covid risk. I've started bringing along my own plastic tray, so I can fill it with grab-and-go items and plates of food, as well as a quick breakfast at the International Cafe, so I'm not going back frequently to pick up more items, which is annoying and again increases Covid risk. I also sit in areas of the buffet where few people are, including outside, so I can fetch my own drinks, since we all know, but Princess can't yet understand, that serving spoons and glasses don't spread Covid. Other than desserts, I've also found nothing that matches Alfredo's in the buffet. Maybe when ships build up occupancy, they might go back to themed nights and be able to keep food warm and fresh, to give people a reason to visit there, but on all my Princess cruises it's been the weakest part of the dining experience for me. 

 

You’re right about the buffet design on the Ruby versus newer ships. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on that size ship. Certainly something to think about. My booked cruise is on a newer ship, but I was thinking of booking the Ruby or Sapphire this summer. Thanks. 

[MissP22]

16 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

Have you experienced long lines in the buffet? If you’re a buffet person, that is. 

 

I haven’t been back on a cruise yet. Personally, I’m concerned about long lines. The cruise I have booked for later this year is almost full. I’ve read that some are on cruises with 3000 people now. It seems to me that a self-serve buffet worked fine on half full ships, but how will it be on almost full ships? 

 

I eat the majority of my meals in the buffet. Pre-covid, I mostly ate a big fresh salad every day, sometimes twice a day. That really doesn’t seem possible now. I think I’ll miss it. I cruised on HAL a few times and hated their buffet. By the time I waited in different lines to get hot food, bread, salad, etc. it would all be cold by the time I sat down to eat. 

 

The lines aren't any longer but waiting for someone to come over and serve you can take a little extra time.  I'm used to just serving myself quickly and sitting down. 

I'm sure the crew will be happy when it comes to an end. 

The buffet seems to be as popular as ever. 

As a side note, they keep most things  covered up until they serve it. You have to read the little signs and decide if you want something. it just makes it harder to determine what you want. 

I think this is just the way the Enchanted is doing it.