No sinks by the Buffet?

[dreaminofcruisin]

I am just off the Ruby last week and I was really surprised to see that the Ruby doesn't have sinks for hand washing like the other ships I have been on over the last few years. The Emerald had them in August and I am pretty sure even the old Sun Princess had them in 2019. Since I started seeing sinks on the Sky, I am assuming the Royal class has them?

 

Is the Ruby alone in not having sinks, or are there other ships also? Since the Emerald has them which is a pretty similar design, it just seemed odd to me.

 

It was also interesting that nobody, ever, requested anyone to use the hand sanitizers on the Ruby. On the Emerald (Southampton), the entire cruise they requested people to wash every time you walked into the buffet. Longer cruise? Different country? Or just different staff?

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I've never cruised the Ruby...but every other ship I've been on have had sinks.  We were just on the Island for the past 2 weeks...it has sinks.  Every Royal class ship I've been on (most of them) have had sinks.

 

Interested to hear what others say...

[jasbo49]

Please be more specific  Sinks where? We have sailed both ships and they are virtually identical. 

 

Are you referring to the buffet entry? Both ships should have wash-up areas. At the MDR entries, I don't think any Princess ship has them.

 

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't take note that your thread title specified buffet.

 

Jim

Edited October 9, 2022 by jasbo49

[wowzz]

We gave been on Sky and Regal recently. Both had basins at the buffet entrances, with staff encouraging you to wash your hands. 

We did, obvs  -  I just don't understand the mentality of those who refuse to do so.  

[NSWP]

3 hours ago, jasbo49 said:

Please be more specific  Sinks where? We have sailed both ships and they are virtually identical. 

 

Are you referring to the buffet entry? Both ships should have wash-up areas. At the MDR entries, I don't think any Princess ship has them.

 

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't take note that your thread title specified buffet.

 

Jim

I have been on most Princess ships in the past 20 yrs, cannot recollect ever seeing wash basins at MDR or Specialty Restaurant doors. Horizon Courts and World Market Places, yes.

 

Just off Coral, still quite a few pax not washing hands at the buffet although directed to do by staff member at door.  Some of the ignorant pax do not want to line up for their turn at the Washy Washy.

 

Little wonder that Covid outbreaks are still occurring on some ships.

Edited October 10, 2022 by NSWP

[Kay S]

51 minutes ago, NSWP said:

 

 

Little wonder that Covid outbreaks are still occurring on some ships.

Of course, covid isn't the only issue.  Washing stations were intended to prevent norovirus, etc., along with the hand sanitizers.  Funny we haven't heard anything about noro lately.

[nini]

We have been on the Emerald and Grand within the last 5 months. Both had hand washing sinks in the buffet area. We loved that the water was nice and hot!

[SargassoPirate]

13 hours ago, wowzz said:

We gave been on Sky and Regal recently. Both had basins at the buffet entrances, with staff encouraging you to wash your hands. 

We did, obvs  -  I just don't understand the mentality of those who refuse to do so.  

We washy washy on the way into the buffet and then use hand sanitizer after we are settled at the table and after touching any common-touch surfaces - including the underside of the chair that we grab to pull it in, salt/pepper shakers, etc.

 

All you have to do is break the cross-contamination chain.

 

(Think about cross-contamination the next time you see food workers wearing plastic gloves.  See how many surfaces they are touching without changing the gloves)

 

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

We washy washy on the way into the buffet and then use hand sanitizer after we are settled at the table and after touching any common-touch surfaces - including the underside of the chair that we grab to pull it in, salt/pepper shakers, etc.

 

All you have to do is break the cross-contamination chain.

 

(Think about cross-contamination the next time you see food workers wearing plastic gloves.  See how many surfaces they are touching without changing the gloves)

 

Have to say that we don't bother with any of the hand sanitiser malarkey, and have had no problems for the last 50 years of travelling !

Used sanitiser for a short while in the early days of Covid, but again, stopped when it became apparent that the virus was highly unlikely to be transmitted via surface transference.

[JF - retired RRT]

11 hours ago, NSWP said:

Little wonder that Covid outbreaks are still occurring on some ships.

Covid is airborne (same as flu and common cold). Noro is from touching the wrong whatever.

[chengkp75]

34 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

(Think about cross-contamination the next time you see food workers wearing plastic gloves.  See how many surfaces they are touching without changing the gloves)

The only real problem is whether they are touching both "food contact" surfaces and "non-food contact" surfaces.  All food contact surfaces are sanitized frequently.

[marden1970]

Like the OP, I was surprised not to see sinks on the Ruby.  We were on her in August for Alaska. I used the sink in the nearby restroom as I am not a fan of hand sanitizer.

[chengkp75]

The USPH VSP requirement to have handwashing sinks at the entry to self-service buffets is only for ships built after May 2018, or that have had the buffet "significantly" modified after this date.  So, not sure where the Ruby fits into that scheme.  There is no requirement for handwashing sinks at any other dining venues, only self-service ones, and not drink stations.

 

The requirement is to have one station at each entrance, and at least one per hundred seats.

[alanasgpa]

What good do the sinks do if people just walk by them…at the beginning of the return after covid they had a person there reminding to wash there hands on  are last cruise on the grand nobody was there but then again your a grown ass adult wash your hands 

[latebloomer56]

Glad to say the Sapphire has them as you enter the buffet. I prefer soap and water to the sanitizer.

[emairs]

We were recently on Enchanted Princess, and there were hand wash stations at the entry to the buffet. There was always someone urging people to wash their hands. Not everyone complied.

[Mike45LC]

On 10/10/2022 at 8:46 AM, marden1970 said:I used the sink in the nearby restroom as I am not a fan of hand sanitizer.

There are plenty of restrooms near the buffet.

 

My mother taught me to wash my hands before eating many decades ago.  I do not need some ship nanny to nag at me and/or supervise my hand washing.  I wash in the restroom, not on a public wash basin.

[sonomaphil]

On the Royal last month, if you entered the buffet from the pool area midship you had a hand wash station that had an attendant monitoring.  If you entered aft, no hand wash station.  We thought that very odd. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by sonomaphil

[bronzey214]

The Crown did not have handwashing stations.

[XBGuy]

I have been on Princess ships both with and without wash basins in the buffet area.  My observation is that for the first two days there is an attendant encouraging people to use it.  There is a reasonable amount of compliance, but nothing near 100%.  After Day 2, there is no attendant and compliance dwindles to miniscule.

 

Here is another thing.  Watch people who get up from their table and go back to the buffet for seconds or for dessert.  I have never seen anybody wash their hands when making their second (or third) trip to the buffet.

 

I also feel that I am not washing my hands as much to protect myself as I am trying to protect others.  If I have norovirus, or coronavirus, or e coli on my hands, I am already exposed, and my fate is determined.  However, washing my hands is an excellent action that I can take to mitigate my spreading these to others.

[Mike45LC]

3 hours ago, XBGuy said:

I also feel that I am not washing my hands as much to protect myself as I am trying to protect others.  If I have norovirus, or coronavirus, or e coli on my hands, I am already exposed, and my fate is determined.  However, washing my hands is an excellent action that I can take to mitigate my spreading these to others.

I believe in lots of hand washing -- hot water, lots of soap and vigorous scrubbing.  But I think your concern is inflated.

 

If you have some Wuhan flu germs on your hands, you still need to put those germs into your system.  They will not be absorbed through your skin or even your blood (such as if you have cuts).  Unless you touch your nose or your eyes, you are not likely to transmit the disease from your hands to yourself. Don't forget it is a respiratory disease.  So washing your hands protects you -- we all touch/rub our eyes (and many of us rub our nose, even if we are not picking!!!)

 

And unless you touch some other person's eyes or nostrils, you will not be transmitting it to those others -- you can transmit the germs to the other person's hands, but then they have to touch their nose or eyes for it to get into their system!  (I am not discounting sneezes and coughs; this thread is talking about touch/contact transmission.)  

 

I do not wash my hands before heading for a second trip to the buffet.  Beginning and end of the meal/snack is enough for me.

 

[XBGuy]

15 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I believe in lots of hand washing -- hot water, lots of soap and vigorous scrubbing.  But I think your concern is inflated.

 

If you have some Wuhan flu germs on your hands, you still need to put those germs into your system.  They will not be absorbed through your skin or even your blood (such as if you have cuts).  Unless you touch your nose or your eyes, you are not likely to transmit the disease from your hands to yourself. Don't forget it is a respiratory disease.  So washing your hands protects you -- we all touch/rub our eyes (and many of us rub our nose, even if we are not picking!!!)

 

This is reasonable

 

15 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

 

And unless you touch some other person's eyes or nostrils, you will not be transmitting it to those others -- you can transmit the germs to the other person's hands, but then they have to touch their nose or eyes for it to get into their system!  (I am not discounting sneezes and coughs; this thread is talking about touch/contact transmission.)  

]

 

 

I'm not sure I agree with this part.  

 

 

[alanasgpa]

15 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

This is reasonable

 

 

I'm not sure I agree with this part.  

 

 

 

15 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

This is reasonable

 

 

I'm not sure I agree with this part.  

 

 

Covid is not the only reason to wash your hands!! There’s a lot of Diseases

[XBGuy]

8 hours ago, alanasgpa said:

 

Covid is not the only reason to wash your hands!! There’s a lot of Diseases

 

I mentioned three fairly common pathogens in my first post (# 20).