Which Celebrity ships have stopped serving you at the buffet and will others follow?

[LMaxwell]

Equinox has stopped serving guests - I was onboard 2 weeks ago.  I watched a lady pick up food with tongs, pick it up from her plate, eat it, lick her fingers, then move on to the next set of tongs.  I did ask the staff to replace the ones I saw her touch. 

 

It was literally the ONLY negative comment on my post cruise survey.  Bring back service in the buffet, please 

[lexmiller]

17 hours ago, Ozzmund said:

I am quite happy and able to take responsibility for my own health, it is those folks who don’t that concerns me.

I have on too many occasions  seen folks using their fingers to grab food items, folks tasting, then returning food items to the serving area. 

At a self serve buffet the area is as clean as the least sanitary guest. 
 

Not for me.
 

 

But see, that is exactly my point.  If you use a napkin as a barrier between your hand and the serving utensil and then use a squirt of your sanitizer before you use your personal utensils - you are all set, protected from the germy offenders.  Celebrity has done a phenomenal job of installing sinks in all of the ships in the buffet.  AND, they still have hand sanitizer stations at the entrances.  Some people will be nasty but you can easily protect yourself from them.  The behavior you mention about people touching the food and returning it to the serving tray is of course super disgusting!  But also, after 27 cruises with Celebrity, and being a big fan of the buffet for breakfast and lunch, I have never witnessed that behavior.  

[lexmiller]

12 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Equinox has stopped serving guests - I was onboard 2 weeks ago.  I watched a lady pick up food with tongs, pick it up from her plate, eat it, lick her fingers, then move on to the next set of tongs.  I did ask the staff to replace the ones I saw her touch. 

 

It was literally the ONLY negative comment on my post cruise survey.  Bring back service in the buffet, please 

That is undeniably gross for sure........but if they don't bring back self service in the buffet, then the staffing must be beefed up CONSIDERABLY.  If self service goes back to the way it always was, which is what I personally am in favor of, then the person that staffs each station must be more vigilant to catch the outliers, meaning the few and far between disgusting people.  Because they are the outliers, ruining it for the rest of us it would seem.  

[LMaxwell]

Just now, lexmiller said:

That is undeniably gross for sure........but if they don't bring back self service in the buffet, then the staffing must be beefed up CONSIDERABLY.  If self service goes back to the way it always was, which is what I personally am in favor of, then the person that staffs each station must be more vigilant to catch the outliers, meaning the few and far between disgusting people.  Because they are the outliers, ruining it for the rest of us it would seem.  

I understand more staff would be needed. That could result in increased cruise costs. But this is a premium experience and I'm willing to pay a few dollars a day more for that level of service. People simply can't be trusted to wash their hands or engage in the most basic of healthy protocols. Watching people graze as they walk the buffet is repulsive. 

[bebe08]

We were on Eclipse Alaskan cruise in early June and buffet was self serve.  In the past we would eat breakfast at the buffet but this cruise we ate in MDR and Tuscan for breakfast, as well as one room service.  Because our port times were later we had time for a leisurely breakfast so worked out well and enjoyed being served vs buffet.  I've always found the buffet to be very busy at breakfast so was happy to avoid it.

 

We ate one dinner at buffet due to a late excursion.  Food was good and it wasn't crowded when we went.  

 

I personally prefer being served vs serve yourself at the buffet but its not a show stopper since there are lots of dining options.  

[C-Dragons]

20 minutes ago, lexmiller said:

But see, that is exactly my point.  If you use a napkin as a barrier between your hand and the serving utensil and then use a squirt of your sanitizer before you use your personal utensils - you are all set, protected from the germy offenders.  Celebrity has done a phenomenal job of installing sinks in all of the ships in the buffet.  AND, they still have hand sanitizer stations at the entrances.  Some people will be nasty but you can easily protect yourself from them.  The behavior you mention about people touching the food and returning it to the serving tray is of course super disgusting!  But also, after 27 cruises with Celebrity, and being a big fan of the buffet for breakfast and lunch, I have never witnessed that behavior.  

You should consider yourself to be very lucky. 

[jg51]

.

As we intend to cruise soon, we are very happy to read that self-service is back.  We began requesting it back in the middle of 2021, just after cruising returned. 

 

Why did we do such a thing?  Because we had already served ourselves (many times) at Golden Corral buffets -- beginning in the second half or 2020!  We have never gotten ill and have never heard of any other diner (or employee) becoming ill. 

 

We have always disbelieved that CoViD-19 is spread -- to any significant degree (if at all) -- via shared serving implements.  We do not pay attention to what is said/written by folks who are "worry-warts" regarding self-service.  We do not bash them, however, because we think that they cannot help themselves, due to their excessive concerns having been part of their upbringing.

 

Thanks, "lexmiller," for being a voice of reason in this thread.  Your logic is impeccable.

.

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, lexmiller said:

if they don't bring back self service in the buffet, then the staffing must be beefed up CONSIDERABLY. 

That would defeat the purpose.

[lexmiller]

3 minutes ago, RichYak said:

That would defeat the purpose.

Well, my point with that is that most stations currently in this "staff must serve you, keep your mitts off the serving utensils" plan, is that there is only 1 person serving the guests, so the lines are insanely long.  I definitely feel that self service SHOULD return, then 1 staff person per station monitoring things is enough.

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, lexmiller said:

Well, my point with that is that most stations currently in this "staff must serve you, keep your mitts off the serving utensils" plan, is that there is only 1 person serving the guests, so the lines are insanely long.  I definitely feel that self service SHOULD return, then 1 staff person per station monitoring things is enough.

If there's not enough staff to serve you, there's also not enough staff to monitor you. So your point defeats the purpose.

[Dancing Shoes]

22 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Sounds gross in theory, but where is there more exposure? When someone grabs a single piece of bacon with their fingers or when hundreds of people use the same tongs to grab a piece of bacon? 
 

 

Oh no, I have grabbed one cookie without touching another cookie and not used tongs!  Sorry.  I don't taste the salad dressing with my finger.  

[LMaxwell]

2 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Oh no, I have grabbed one cookie without touching another cookie and not used tongs!  Sorry.  I don't taste the salad dressing with my finger.  

Do you wash your hands with soap before entering? 

[Dancing Shoes]

1 minute ago, LMaxwell said:

Do you wash your hands with soap before entering? 

I have not cruised since this pandemic.  I would if they offered a wash bowl with soap. 😉

[LMaxwell]

Just now, Dancing Shoes said:

I have not cruised since this pandemic.  I would if they offered a wash bowl with soap. 😉

They do; there are restrooms just outside the buffet entrance. So, your clean hands touching a single item and then not slobbering all of yourself and touching another item isn't a particular issue for anyone. 

[lexmiller]

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

If there's not enough staff to serve you, there's also not enough staff to monitor you. So your point defeats the purpose.

OK, Rick, but my real point is the one I made way above, so I'm going to let this go.🙃

[Dancing Shoes]

21 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

They do; there are restrooms just outside the buffet entrance. So, your clean hands touching a single item and then not slobbering all of yourself and touching another item isn't a particular issue for anyone. 

I suggest this after you saw the lady on the Equinox.  After you sit down to eat, use one of those pocket size wrapped antibacterial wipes by Wet Ones.  I always travel with them.  There is always going to be that one person that acts like they were raised by wolves.  I don't get all worked up over this stuff.  If I did, I would not do any self-serve.  You were right to tell the staff.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Dancing Shoes

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

They do; there are restrooms just outside the buffet entrance. So, your clean hands touching a single item and then not slobbering all of yourself and touching another item isn't a particular issue for anyone. 

Yes they do have washroom outside the Oceanview and many have sinks at the entrance.   I can't tell you how many times I've seen men use the facility and not stop to wash their hands.  I'm sure I am not the only one to observe this.

 

[Oville]

20 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:.   I can't tell you how many times I've seen men use the facility and not stop to wash their hands.  I'm sure I am not the only one to observe this.

 

Sadly, the same can be said about the Ladies Room.

[Straughn]

Just disembarked today from Infinity, so this is not a “I heard,  I read, someone said” report. The buffet was self serve. The only place where I saw anything remotely resembling served was at the pizza station. My frustration was that salad bar had three levels and to reach the uppermost level required arms considerably longer than mine. This resulted in folks leaning their head against the plastic shield or, as several smaller people did, putting their head under the plastic shield. So much for anything resembling sanitary practices.  On a couple of occasions, there was a crew member refilling the various salad items. I asked him to please put a few items on my plate, which he did, reluctantly.

 

Now, to be fair, Infinity is extremely short staffed as evidenced by a number of reports. They were to get a significant number of new crew added today. Let’s hope that results in a return to served buffet. (Don’t hold your breath!)

[edgee]

On 7/8/2022 at 7:19 PM, rotoal said:

We were on Eclipse last week, and it was self-serve - I was more than a bit disappointed.  The ship wasn't full, and there was less crowding at the buffet.

Did they still require masking in casino and theatre?

[Spif Barwunkel]

On 7/8/2022 at 1:53 PM, Harborgirl246 said:

I am very disappointed to hear of one ship going back to self serve at the buffet. Now we’ll have one more thing to worry about: Noro!

Noro virus has long been here to worry about. Self-serve buffets or not, it will continue to make itself known on occasion. It will take more than two hands on which to count the number of infectious diseases lying in wait to pounce on any and all immune systems. Covid should add to your awareness of those diseases, not be considered an "instead of." 

 

 

 

[rotoal]

14 hours ago, edgee said:

Did they still require masking in casino and theatre?

I was told by my room steward that it was required, we didn't spend time in the casino, there were few masks in the theatre.

[jwlane]

20 hours ago, jg51 said:

We have always disbelieved that CoViD-19 is spread ... via shared serving implements.

Most people probably agree with you---but what about norovirus?  Is the confidence level still there?

[Cap_D]

The issue is it takes one slob to lick their fingers and ruin an entire vat of food.  Better to have the food served regardless of individual responsibility or choice.  

[cruisemom42]

On 7/8/2022 at 4:45 PM, lexmiller said:

It's your health, take responsibility for it and let's get the buffet lines moving as they used to do.  

 

I've been on two Celebrity cruises since the restart, both with servers in the buffet area, and the second cruise was almost at full capacity. At no time was the service slow enough to make me wish it would be discontinued.  

 

I'd prefer for served buffet protocol to continue indefinitely. It's not a race, it's a cruise.