Self-service Buffet - Is it back?

[KruzPrincess]

9 hours ago, Jimmys Chippy said:

Due on the Enchanted in a couple weeks and I’m unsure as to the current situation regarding buffet service, I am surprised though that cruise lines are going back to self service anyway. I should imagine that cruise lines have saved a fortune on wasted foods when those with eyes wider than their bellies have been prohibited from piling up their plates, only to leave a large portion of it uneaten.  That, coupled with the reduced potential for Covid/Norovirus being passed on through unwashed hands, it seems a bit odd to go back to old way.

I think it’s more about the shortage of crew than the worries about wasting food. 

[1965]

11 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We had the experience of being served more than we wanted on the Enchanted and of course it went in the garbage. Sometimes when asking for a "little more" of something they tend to over do it.

I could live with that but when I got coffee at the IC they had to add the cream and sugar. 🙁 Now that's something I hate for others to do. 

Agree 100% about the coffee. I am particular & exacting about the sweetner & creamer amounts. ☕️☕️☕️

[ontheweb]

On 3/16/2022 at 11:36 PM, Shelly97060 said:

I like to eat big salads for my meals as well and never had a problem getting them in the buffet.  I would just hand the server a plate and let them know the salad was my dinner and they made a beautiful big salad for me. 

DW especially likes the buffet because she can make her own salad. We did once sail on a HAL ship that served the buffet; they made her salad consistently larger than she would have made it. 

[cruzrbachoua]

SO sad since the princess website that was just updated yesterday still states as it always has since the restart that buffets are served by the crew...if they want to move back to normal then don't post a complete lie on your protocols page...own it and change it. 

[VibeGuy]

Same.  It’s rare, I also sanitize after I go through the line, and it hasn’t happened many times. 
 

I just do not understand people who cannot “hover”.  Point at the cake.  Ask Harold if he  thinks it has raspberries.  Remind him, as you have for 53 years, that you don’t care for raspberries.  When he says he doesn’t know if it has raspberries, tell him that there were raspberries in the cake at the hotel.   Talk about all the raspberries you want.  
 

but so help me, do not *touch* a piece of cake, regardless of whether it has raspberries or not, unless your next step is removing it from the buffet line for your personal consumption or to apologetically hand it to a crewmember while saying “I’m sorry, I accidentally touched this and didn’t mean to take it”.  Do.  Not. Touch. The. Cake.  Simply. To.  Draw.  Harold’s.  Attention. To. It.  Harold can draw an imaginary line down the axis of your finger until it imaginarily touches the cake *without making contact*.  
 

all of this sounds like Schtick, but it is a verbatim transcript of an overheard conversation inside the serving area of the Horizon Court.  
 

I admit, I will poke at a steak in the HC, using the provided tongs, to see if it’s been cremated or if it’s still suitable for human consumption.  *poke*  *poke*.  But I can’t imagine how someone makes it to adulthood to think it’s okay to just touch the food of others with a bare hand, *let alone lick their fingers afterward*. 
 

There is a lot to argue about here on CruiseCritic.  There are topics we will *never* reach consensus on.   But all of us who were not raised by rabid wolverines should commit to taking a stand for food safety and basic human decency by naming and shaming food touchers.  We almost all have a camera phone with us.  It’s time to set down our plate and silverware roll and make some actual pariahs. 

[Lucky TGO]

I hate eating at the Buffet!! 😝 one time I seen a lady eating right off the Display. She was eating and putting the shells in her dish. I told her what the heck are you doing. She ran away. 
I told one of the workers he came and threw them all away. See photo.

Tony