Buffet trays

[carlanthony24]

4 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

One of the reasons P&O appealed to us over Princess was that they used trays, just like Celebrity did.

I honestly doubt it will reduce food wastage, those passengers who pile it high are not going to change their habits. But on recent cruises we have rarely seen piles of food left in the buffet, and for wheelchair users like us, trays enable me to collect breakfast for both of us at the same time, without trays I am going to have to make 2 trips increasing the queuing time.

Like I said it’s obviously working somewhere. Wheelchair users or people who want to use them just need to ask.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

As they now serve tiny individual portions of butter, jam, cream etc in tiny yellow dishes, you can easily end up with 6 of the little blighters, so trays are invaluable. And then there’s the bread roll to accompany a salad, so you can often have a full tray. Makes no sense to get rid of them. 

I suppose it depends on the cruise line. Can't remember how the buffet worked on Arcadia last year, but on Princess butter is served in individual pats, which you put on your plate, and you spoon the required amount of jam, marmalade etc from a receptacle onto your plate as well. So no tiny dishes to carry around.

Must be a slow news day, with all this talk about trays, of all things! 

[carlanthony24]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

You have obviously never been on Princess !

Can confirm on Azura they were serving Tea and Coffee or you could go up and do it yourself.

[wowzz]

Just now, carlanthony24 said:

Can confirm on Azura they were serving Tea and Coffee or you could go up and do it yourself.

Good to know. Much more civilized than the drinks station rigmarole. 

[Mad4WDW]

On Arvia at the moment and can confirm the trays have been removed from Horizon, they’re not available even if you ask. Manager said if you need assistance then ask one of the staff who will be happy to help we.

 

Not sure how that will pan out when we’re onboard at Christmas in a party of 8 who all want a cup of tea with breakfast and one person normally gets them all in one go with a tray lol

[Ardennais]

27 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I suppose it depends on the cruise line. Can't remember how the buffet worked on Arcadia last year, but on Princess butter is served in individual pats, which you put on your plate, and you spoon the required amount of jam, marmalade etc from a receptacle onto your plate as well. So no tiny dishes to carry around.

Must be a slow news day, with all this talk about trays, of all things! 

The staff in the Horizon were clearing dozens of these small dishes at once! 
 

For instance, if you had 2 scones, then you would need 6 dishes - each of butter, jam and cream. 

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

The staff in the Horizon were clearing dozens of these small dishes at once! 
 

For instance, if you had 2 scones, then you would need 6 dishes - each of butter, jam and cream. 

You can understand why Princess don't have them, given the number that are required !

[zap99]

46 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I suppose it depends on the cruise line. Can't remember how the buffet worked on Arcadia last year, but on Princess butter is served in individual pats, which you put on your plate, and you spoon the required amount of jam, marmalade etc from a receptacle onto your plate as well. So no tiny dishes to carry around.

Must be a slow news day, with all this talk about trays, of all things! 

All pretty trivial.The great news item is that KALOS is back.

[Yorkypete]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

But you have no current knowledge - hence why you do not know about Princess table service of drinks in the buffet. 

So, despite 4 cruises in the past year I have no knowledge. OK. I admit the last Princess cruise I was on was a couple of years ago, maybe three.. and they did NOT serve juice or water at tables in the buffet. Of course they may do in the MDRs but we rarely use them.

 

[Yorkypete]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Ahhhh, hello, you're back! 

 

It's not a new idea, I'm afraid.  Trays have not been on Cunard, Princess, Celebrity and RC for a number of years.  When cruising restarted on P&O there wasn't a tray in sight. I can confirm December Christmas cruise 2021 on Britannia no trays.  It was a big surprise to see them back in December 2022.  Meantime all my Celebrity, Princess and Cunard cruises they haven't returned.  

 

Regarding drinks, on all lines I've sailed since January 2020 drinks have been served by waiters at the table, a much better idea in my opinion as the bunfight, particularly at afternoon tea on P&O became a health and safety problem with people pushing and grabbing.

 

Having just gotten off QM2 I was delighted to see Cunard continue to serve your food to your plate in the same way as Princess and Celebrity.  P&O are the outlier on trays and I'll be pleased if they disappear and we go back to how it was on recommencement of sailing.  It is definitely a healthier, if nothing else, way to serve food.

 

I can't speak for P&O but I had no problem getting assistance on Princess when I was collecting food for two, the staff went above and beyond serving drinks as soon as we sat down and happily collecting Extras where I couldn't carry them all.

 

 

Having taken two cruises on P&O in the last year, Iona and Britannia I can safely state that there were trays in the buffet AND they did not serve drinks at the buffet tables (except for wine,and only two were serving that). Of course the MDRs may be different but I never used them.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Yorkypete

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Yorkypete said:

and they did NOT serve juice or water at tables in the buffet.

Princess have served juice, water, tea and coffee in the buffet on every cruise I have been on since 1998. 

Are you sure you were actually on Princess, as your recollections are totally different to the other Princess cruisers on here ?

[Yorkypete]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Careful MB - dont let the facts get in the way of 40 cruises over 75 years !

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Anyway as you stated you have not been on P&O for a while and I have so facts are facts.

 

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

Celebrity and RC servers bring around drinks, as do P&O sometimes.

I am sorry but eating in the buffet 28 times on our last two P&O cruises I never saw anyone served juice, water or tea at the tables. There was the drinks station which always had small queues even though there were 4 of them...always busy.

 

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I suppose it depends on the cruise line. Can't remember how the buffet worked on Arcadia last year, but on Princess butter is served in individual pats, which you put on your plate, and you spoon the required amount of jam, marmalade etc from a receptacle onto your plate as well. So no tiny dishes to carry around.

Must be a slow news day, with all this talk about trays, of all things! 

On P&O Britannia and Iona the jam/marmalade/honey was in small packets as was the butter. You just put those on your plate but with six or seven of each plus 6 slices of toast plus 2 knives you needed a tray.

 

[Goosebear Mum]

No trays now on Aurora. Resulting in far more table hogging as one person reserves a table, and the other keeps returning to the buffet for items. Far more movement. A pain to be fair. We do not hog tables, but do now need to go to for cooked breakfast. Go up for orange juice. Go up for croissants or toast, etc, etc. always previously in one trip.  
 

Now far far too many people at a table waiting for partner to return, which we have never seen previously on Aurora (otherwise staff will clear the table of previously obtained items!)

[Yorkypete]

14 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Princess have served juice, water, tea and coffee in the buffet on every cruise I have been on since 1998. 

Are you sure you were actually on Princess, as your recollections are totally different to the other Princess cruisers on here ?

It is what happened to me. We had trays on RCI and we were never served food OR drinks at the table in the buffet. As to Princess line, maybe I was unlucky..OR maybe the odd cruiser who agrees with you are wrong or had a different experience to me. I will bow down to the superior knowledge that the four or five regulars on here have been on all the cruise lines recently and  P&O serve drinks in the buffet. It is just me and my wife who have never been served in such a way.

[Son of Anarchy]

5 hours ago, zap99 said:

Putting the toast on a plate helps. The slices stack quite well. If you use a large plate and stack the toast vertically,  there will be room for jam and butter. The plate could be placed on top of a cup to assist....or you could always make 2 trips. I'm sure there are other solutions to your problem.

Toast Jenga!  The person with the highest tower gets a gold sticker.  Two stickers in stormy weather. 😀

[Megabear2]

45 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

Having taken two cruises on P&O in the last year, Iona and Britannia I can safely state that there were trays in the buffet AND they did not serve drinks at the buffet tables (except for wine,and only two were serving that). Of course the MDRs may be different but I never used them.

I don't doubt you are correct re the trays as they were evident on Britannia in December.  There were however people with pots of tea and coffee and bringing water.  I only visited the buffet once at breakfast time but certainly the tea/coffee serving was very much the norm. P&O of course do not offer fountain drinks free of charge at lunch or dinner so I cannot state they did or did not serve them.

 

However I can speak with confidence (not as some know it all always cruising person you are intimating those who are saying different to you are) that I have sailed P&O (twice), Princess (twice), Celebrity (twice) and Cunard once in the past 10 months and only on P&O were there trays, and for good measure every ship (P&O included) were serving the drinks to your seat.  The cold drink machines on all lines were not available for self service. On Britannia you could use the hot water machine to make your own tea.

 

I am not in any way suggesting your experience is incorrect but I am saying that on every cruise on lines except P&O trays and self service in the buffet are no more.

 

I'm due on Arvia on Sunday so will report back.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

On P&O Britannia and Iona the jam/marmalade/honey was in small packets as was the butter. You just put those on your plate but with six or seven of each plus 6 slices of toast plus 2 knives you needed a tray.

 

Unfortunately you will discover there are no trays.

[davecttr]

There were trays on Arvia a couple of weeks ago but I will adapt to a tray less universe. I wonder what they do with the trays. Maybe sell them to passengers, a P&O tray for a quid.

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, davecttr said:

There were trays on Arvia a couple of weeks ago but I will adapt to a tray less universe. I wonder what they do with the trays. Maybe sell them to passengers, a P&O tray for a quid.

There were hundreds of them on Azura last month. They won't sell them off as the folk who bring the drinks around will need them.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

It is what happened to me. We had trays on RCI and we were never served food OR drinks at the table in the buffet. As to Princess line, maybe I was unlucky..OR maybe the odd cruiser who agrees with you are wrong or had a different experience to me. I will bow down to the superior knowledge that the four or five regulars on here have been on all the cruise lines recently and  P&O serve drinks in the buffet. It is just me and my wife who have never been served in such a way.

Well on Aurora at Christmas there was a member of staff at breakfast going round with a trolly serving hot drinks. Don’t know about afternoon tea as we never went to the buffet then. Never saw them on Iona but we tended not to go to the buffet as there were other places to go.

[kalos]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

Unfortunately you will discover there are no trays.

 

4 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

Having taken two cruises on P&O in the last year, Iona and Britannia I can safely state that there were trays in the buffet AND they did not serve drinks at the buffet tables (except for wine,and only two were serving that). Of course the MDRs may be different but I never used them.

 

🤣🤣🤣

[majortom10]

Only been on Iona in March first time with P&O since 2019 and they never served drinks in buffet. It was hard enough to get a waiter to serve you with purchased alcohol/soft drinks. With reference to Princess they have always served tea/coffee and lemonade in the buffet at lunch time and I have been cruising with them for many years.

[AndyMichelle]

My new business venture almost set up at Ocean terminal... 😂😂😂

[Yorkypete]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I don't doubt you are correct re the trays as they were evident on Britannia in December.  There were however people with pots of tea and coffee and bringing water.  I only visited the buffet once at breakfast time but certainly the tea/coffee serving was very much the norm. P&O of course do not offer fountain drinks free of charge at lunch or dinner so I cannot state they did or did not serve them.

 

However I can speak with confidence (not as some know it all always cruising person you are intimating those who are saying different to you are) that I have sailed P&O (twice), Princess (twice), Celebrity (twice) and Cunard once in the past 10 months and only on P&O were there trays, and for good measure every ship (P&O included) were serving the drinks to your seat.  The cold drink machines on all lines were not available for self service. On Britannia you could use the hot water machine to make your own tea.

 

I am not in any way suggesting your experience is incorrect but I am saying that on every cruise on lines except P&O trays and self service in the buffet are no more.

 

I'm due on Arvia on Sunday so will report back.

Whilst I do not wish to argue with a seasoned cruiser like yourself both me and my wife have been on Iona and Britannia in the last year. I can honestly say that no drinks, save wine, were served at any table in the buffet within our sight. The drinks machines at four sites in the corridor down the side of the buffet were working at both breakfast and dinner. They had hot water, tea bags and coffee (to make your own which everyone seemed to be doing by the queue lengths) and milk and water machines. In the morning the machines had grapefruit, orange and pineapple drinks to serve yourself. They were the ONLY source of these drinks available..no servers giving drinks out. I have to say that, with all respect to you, those who say this is not true either have their eyes closed or are just being contradictory for the sake of it. 99% of passengers would back me up on this. Of course if the situation has changed since our last cruise in March then I apologise. Majortom agrees with me!

Edited May 9, 2023 by Yorkypete