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On my last cruise, Cunard Queen Anne, I never ate in the buffet restaurant, on a recent Holland America cruise I ate lunch in there every day and on my Royal Caribbean Symphony of Seas cruise I ate most meals there. Why? It’s because I have a set of cruise buffet rules that I've developed over time that determine when I eat in the buffet, how I use it if I do, and what I will and won’t eat in there. After talking to other regular cruisers, I found they also follow a similar approach that I want to share with you.
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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.
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on my last Cruise kunard Queen Anne I
0:02
never ate in the buffet restaurant once
0:05
but on a recent Holland America cruise I
0:06
ate only lunch in there every day but on
0:09
my Royal Caribbean Symphony the Seas I
0:11
ate pretty much all of my meals there
0:13
why so different it's because I have a
0:16
set of cruise Buffet rules that I've
0:18
developed over time that determine when
0:20
I eat in the buffet how I use it if I do
0:23
and what I will and won't eat in there
0:25
now after talking to other regular
0:27
Cruisers I found they also follow a
0:29
similar approach that I want to share
0:31
with you because it is really
0:32
interesting and very different welcome
0:34
aboard I'm Gary bdge and the first thing
0:36
I saw that smart Cruisers never do is go
0:39
to the buffet at the wrong time they all
0:43
choose really carefully when they do and
0:46
don't use the buffet for the start smart
0:48
Cruisers generally don't go to the
0:50
buffet for embarcation Day lunch not
0:53
only is it busy but there are better
0:55
options and things that can help you get
0:58
ahead of the crowds by not eating there
1:00
there are always better Alternatives
1:02
that are less busy and offer in fact an
1:05
elevated dining experience whether
1:07
you're on Resort ships like Ro Caribbean
1:09
or Carnival right up to and including
1:11
Ultra Luxury lines like region 7 Seas or
1:14
silver sea the main dining room if it's
1:16
open is one and as I'll explain later as
1:19
well as having a calm atmosphere and a
1:21
good menu there are several key things
1:24
that you should do while they on
1:26
embarcation day to get ahead of the
1:27
crowd on setting up a better dining
1:30
experience for your entire cruise if you
1:33
have loyalty status check if there is a
1:35
special main dining room lunch and menu
1:37
exclusively for you many lines do and
1:40
I've had them at various times on piano
1:41
Cruises Princess and even celebrity in
1:44
the past if it's great weather I may
1:47
head up to the pool Grill and have a
1:49
burger like I did on that Honda America
1:51
cruise I mentioned or pizza which they
1:53
also have on the on Deck Pizzeria
1:56
specially air to restaurants are
1:57
sometimes open like whenever I go to
1:59
Princess Cruises I like to go to
2:01
Alfredo's for their Incredible Pizza as
2:03
it's not as busy as the buffet however
2:06
smart Cruisers mostly go to the main
2:08
dining room for embarcation Day lunch
2:10
instead of the buffet for two other key
2:13
reasons first of all to make sure they
2:15
have a great table if they're on fixed
2:18
dining so I always check if I've got my
2:20
requested table size and the location if
2:23
I don't like either because I'm one of
2:25
the first to talk to the mro D about it
2:26
I can normally get it changed for
2:28
example on that kunard Queen Anne Cruz I
2:31
mentioned I went to the main dining room
2:33
that I was due to EA in for my uh every
2:35
single meal but I went there for my
2:37
ocation day lunch time they showed me to
2:39
the table that I've been allocated I
2:40
really didn't like it but because I was
2:42
there at lunchtime I was able to get a
2:44
much better table by being there for
2:47
that lunch the other reason is to get
2:49
food allergy requirements sorted the
2:51
main dining room maty is normally the
2:53
person handing this and the one that you
2:56
have to speak to at some time now it's
2:58
really important to do this this because
3:00
the buffet restaurant could be actually
3:02
riskier for passengers with dietary
3:04
issues not only because it's sometimes
3:06
hard to know which Buffet items meet
3:08
your dietry requirements because
3:10
ingredients are generally not displayed
3:12
and often I found that the servers
3:14
usually don't know either now the matro
3:17
is there to assist and advise on how to
3:19
handle all this so seeing them early on
3:21
is really important now as an aside link
3:24
to diet many families tell me they use
3:26
the buffet when there's a mix of fussy
3:28
eaters in their party now this is due to
3:30
the range of food that you'll find in a
3:32
buffet and usually everyone can find
3:34
something to eat that's much more
3:36
problematic with the main dining room
3:38
menu smart Cruisers also try to avoid
3:40
other peak times at the buffet because
3:42
they can get hectic and hard to find
3:45
tables for breakfast that's usually kind
3:47
of about an hour before the ship gets
3:49
into port cuz people want to eat before
3:51
reporting for excursions or heading out
3:53
exploring if open I always use the main
3:56
dining room it's quieter it's less
3:58
frantic or if not I order room service
4:01
lunch Peaks between 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
4:04
when excursions all tend to arrive back
4:07
or people self- exloring return to the
4:08
ship to have lunch so I tend to try and
4:10
eat either before or after that in the
4:13
evenings I of eating the buffet to get
4:15
more out of my evenings on board
4:17
especially on a mega ship like Symphony
4:20
Of The Seas which have so many
4:22
entertainments and lots of activities
4:24
available eating the buffet can take as
4:26
little as say 15 minutes but the main
4:28
dining room is going to take take 75 to
4:30
90 minutes eating in the buffet when I
4:33
was on Symphony Of The Seas meant that
4:35
some evenings I could do say an early
4:37
show like the ice skating a later show
4:39
like the aqua show or the theater show I
4:41
could still go and listen to music I
4:43
could go to the casino I could do one of
4:45
the trivia events or I could go to one
4:46
of the parties and I could do all of
4:48
that in one night by going to the buffet
4:50
I also use the buffet way more for
4:52
dinner on itineries with long Port days
4:55
like in the Western Mediterranean where
4:57
excursions to Rome and Pisa and Florence
4:59
are often 8 to 10 hours long the other
5:02
thing though that I don't do when it
5:04
comes to the buffet is see it as
5:07
limiting my dining options I think that
5:09
smart Cruisers agree with me that the
5:11
buffet is not the limited dining option
5:14
in fact it's usually a way to get way
5:17
more Choice than eating in the main
5:18
dining room the main dining room menu is
5:21
relatively limited While most Buffet
5:23
have an enormous and very diverse range
5:26
of options it's also often a chance to
5:29
try more exotic foods than in the main
5:31
dining room most evenings I find buffets
5:33
across all lines offer a different
5:35
International themed dining options so I
5:38
get to try Indian Mexican Asian South
5:40
American French Italian and so on across
5:43
one cruise and many of them will also
5:46
have sushi nightly which I find
5:48
impossible to get in the main dining
5:50
room every evening so a smart Cruiser
5:52
sees the buffet as a way of trying a way
5:55
more diverse range of foods as a tip to
5:59
I see smart Cruisers always do a full
6:01
Circuit of the buffet before they make
6:03
any choice to see the entire range of
6:05
options and ensure that they don't miss
6:08
out also I do not see the buffet as an
6:11
unhealthy way of dining on a cruise I
6:14
actually use the buffet to help me eat
6:16
healthier and to control my diet on most
6:18
cruises I usually mix in the buffet with
6:20
the main dining room because I find I
6:22
can get great salads I can get light
6:23
options and I'm not tempted to do the
6:25
full starter main course and dessert
6:28
meal every night which I do have go to
6:29
the main dining room the other thing
6:32
missed and underappreciated by most
6:33
passengers but not smart Cruisers is
6:36
that the buffet can be more than just a
6:38
place to eat it may be in fact the best
6:41
place to eat on Scenic itineries most
6:44
buffet restaurants are located high up
6:46
and at the rear of the ship they have
6:47
floor to ceiling windows on all sides
6:50
and an outdoor dining area overlooking
6:52
the ship's wake so offering views to
6:55
most of the diners in there main dining
6:57
rooms tend to be lower down often with
7:00
fewer or smaller windows and at best a
7:02
handful of people get to see the views
7:05
so when I'm cruising in Scenic places I
7:07
dine in the buffet significantly more
7:09
for example on P Alaska Norwegian fuds
7:12
Greenland Canadian Arctic Antarctica and
7:14
French Polynesia I used the buffet a lot
7:17
to get sights while dining the next area
7:20
that smart Cruisers never play loose
7:22
with when it comes to eating the buffet
7:24
restaurant is hygiene because of the
7:27
risks the buffet in my view does have
7:30
more issues when it comes to hygiene and
7:32
staying well than dining in the main
7:34
dining room due to just the way the food
7:35
is prepared the way it's stored and that
7:38
the fact that it's self-service in my
7:40
view the buffet is where passengers have
7:42
a greater risk of getting ill
7:44
particularly with norovirus which is the
7:46
stomach bug which can lead to upset
7:47
stomachs and even vomiting because norov
7:50
virus is spread by touch so with lots of
7:53
people handling the serving implements
7:55
and items like condiments there's room
7:57
for basically cross contamin ation so
8:00
smart Cruisers approach the buffet with
8:03
a degree of caution and always do
8:06
handwashing when entering the buffet
8:08
rather than using the sanitizer gel
8:10
because handwashing is proven
8:12
significantly better than gel one of the
8:16
best lines for trying to keep Buffet
8:17
healthy in my view is Royal Caribbean
8:20
they have these large handwashing
8:21
stations at the entrance they have crew
8:24
ensuring the people do it but even on
8:26
Cruisers not monitoring it like that
8:29
Queen and Cru I mentioned while most
8:31
people would just kind of head into the
8:32
buffet I saw smart Cruisers stopping and
8:36
washing their hands I also tend to use
8:38
buffets more on ships where the crew
8:41
serve the food rather than it being
8:43
self-serviced that's why on lines like
8:45
Oceania and that H in America I
8:47
mentioned that I basically use the
8:49
buffet more frequently because the crew
8:51
serves the food but when doing Self
8:53
Service I always use the tongs and
8:54
serving utensils I don't mix them up to
8:57
avoid cross-contaminating such as
8:58
vegetable deles with meat dishes and so
9:00
on I never use my fingers to pick things
9:03
up even bread rolls and so on I don't
9:05
use my fingers to kind of dip in and
9:07
taste sauces and dishes I don't pick up
9:09
food and put it back and I watch out for
9:12
people who do those things and basically
9:15
avoid anything where I've seen that
9:16
happen if I'm getting a kind of a soft
9:19
serve ice cream cone in the buffet I've
9:21
noticed that most people use their
9:23
dominant hand so if right-handed they
9:25
use their right hand to work the lever
9:27
and serve the ice cream then then they
9:29
put the cone back into that same hand
9:32
that they've been using the lever with
9:35
but with so many people touching that
9:37
handle without it being wiped down
9:39
that's not a good idea so I would for
9:41
example use a paper napkin around the
9:43
cone to minimize the risk to both
9:45
minimize the chance of not having the
9:47
most hygienic experience from food
9:49
that's been sitting around and to get
9:51
the best taste experience I also mostly
9:54
go for the ma to order dishes in a
9:57
buffet Cru buffet food is prepared in
9:59
bulk it sits on those kind of steamed
10:01
tables or under lights to keep it warm
10:04
and once a tray of food is empty it's
10:05
kind of replaced with a fresh one so
10:08
made to order or watching for stuff
10:10
that's just been made is better in my
10:12
view so for example if I want sushi from
10:14
the Sushi Station I take Sushi that's
10:17
just been put out by the chef the same
10:19
with the pizza station I don't take
10:21
pre-cooked scrambled or fried eggs and
10:23
order them at the Maid to Order egg
10:25
station which most Buffet have at lunch
10:28
I focus on the sandwich hamburger pasta
10:31
or stir fry stations again cuz they make
10:33
it to order I steer well clear of the
10:36
large bottles of ketchup mustard and
10:38
other condiments as many people are
10:40
touching those I either ask the buffet
10:43
staff to serve the condiments for me or
10:45
if they've got the individual
10:46
self-served condiment packets I use
10:48
those if they're not available I use a
10:50
napkin when I'm dispensing what I need
10:53
and every time I go back to the buffet
10:54
by the way I get new plates and new
10:56
Cutlery now all this might sound a bit
10:59
of Overkill to you but I've been
11:01
fortunate because so far I've been on
11:02
over a 100 Cruisers and I've avoided
11:05
getting norovirus even on ships where
11:07
there have been an outbreak another
11:09
thing that the smart Cruisers don't do
11:11
is ignore the dress code now many people
11:14
do of course choose the buffet because
11:16
the dress code around the ship doesn't
11:18
apply this even on a line like say cod
11:21
with their stricter evening dress code
11:23
people can dress informally in the
11:24
buffet while the main dining room in the
11:26
venues might be full of people with
11:28
Tuxedos and glamorous frocks you can get
11:30
away with get t-shirts and shorts
11:32
however there still are rules for
11:34
example smart Cruisers would never go in
11:37
swimwear or shirtless or without shoes
11:39
into the buffet if that's what smart
11:41
Cruisers do about the buffet what about
11:43
the main dining room well Jo me over in
11:45
this video where I explore about the dos
11:47
and don'ts there starting with the one
11:49
big mistake most people make see you
11:52
over there
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