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Cruise Buffet Dining: What SMART Cruisers Do (And DON'T Do!)
7K views
Jan 28, 2025
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. For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * T-Shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore * Mugs, notebooks, hoodies etc: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/tipsfortravellers?ref_id=22354 My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers * Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bembridge
View Video Transcript
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on my last Cruise kunard Queen Anne I
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never ate in the buffet restaurant once
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but on a recent Holland America cruise I
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ate only lunch in there every day but on
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my Royal Caribbean Symphony the Seas I
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ate pretty much all of my meals there
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why so different it's because I have a
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set of cruise Buffet rules that I've
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developed over time that determine when
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I eat in the buffet how I use it if I do
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and what I will and won't eat in there
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now after talking to other regular
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Cruisers I found they also follow a
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similar approach that I want to share
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with you because it is really
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interesting and very different welcome
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aboard I'm Gary bdge and the first thing
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I saw that smart Cruisers never do is go
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to the buffet at the wrong time they all
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choose really carefully when they do and
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don't use the buffet for the start smart
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Cruisers generally don't go to the
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buffet for embarcation Day lunch not
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only is it busy but there are better
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options and things that can help you get
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ahead of the crowds by not eating there
1:00
there are always better Alternatives
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that are less busy and offer in fact an
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elevated dining experience whether
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you're on Resort ships like Ro Caribbean
1:09
or Carnival right up to and including
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Ultra Luxury lines like region 7 Seas or
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silver sea the main dining room if it's
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open is one and as I'll explain later as
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well as having a calm atmosphere and a
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good menu there are several key things
1:24
that you should do while they on
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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
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have loyalty status check if there is a
1:35
special main dining room lunch and menu
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exclusively for you many lines do and
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I've had them at various times on piano
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Cruises Princess and even celebrity in
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the past if it's great weather I may
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head up to the pool Grill and have a
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burger like I did on that Honda America
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cruise I mentioned or pizza which they
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also have on the on Deck Pizzeria
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specially air to restaurants are
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sometimes open like whenever I go to
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Princess Cruises I like to go to
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Alfredo's for their Incredible Pizza as
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it's not as busy as the buffet however
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smart Cruisers mostly go to the main
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dining room for embarcation Day lunch
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instead of the buffet for two other key
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reasons first of all to make sure they
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have a great table if they're on fixed
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dining so I always check if I've got my
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requested table size and the location if
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I don't like either because I'm one of
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the first to talk to the mro D about it
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I can normally get it changed for
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example on that kunard Queen Anne Cruz I
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mentioned I went to the main dining room
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that I was due to EA in for my uh every
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single meal but I went there for my
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ocation day lunch time they showed me to
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the table that I've been allocated I
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really didn't like it but because I was
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there at lunchtime I was able to get a
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much better table by being there for
2:47
that lunch the other reason is to get
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food allergy requirements sorted the
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main dining room maty is normally the
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person handing this and the one that you
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have to speak to at some time now it's
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really important to do this this because
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the buffet restaurant could be actually
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riskier for passengers with dietary
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issues not only because it's sometimes
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hard to know which Buffet items meet
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your dietry requirements because
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ingredients are generally not displayed
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and often I found that the servers
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usually don't know either now the matro
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is there to assist and advise on how to
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handle all this so seeing them early on
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is really important now as an aside link
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to diet many families tell me they use
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the buffet when there's a mix of fussy
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eaters in their party now this is due to
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the range of food that you'll find in a
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buffet and usually everyone can find
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something to eat that's much more
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problematic with the main dining room
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menu smart Cruisers also try to avoid
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other peak times at the buffet because
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they can get hectic and hard to find
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tables for breakfast that's usually kind
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of about an hour before the ship gets
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into port cuz people want to eat before
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reporting for excursions or heading out
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exploring if open I always use the main
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dining room it's quieter it's less
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frantic or if not I order room service
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lunch Peaks between 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
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when excursions all tend to arrive back
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or people self- exloring return to the
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ship to have lunch so I tend to try and
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eat either before or after that in the
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evenings I of eating the buffet to get
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more out of my evenings on board
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especially on a mega ship like Symphony
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Of The Seas which have so many
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entertainments and lots of activities
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available eating the buffet can take as
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little as say 15 minutes but the main
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dining room is going to take take 75 to
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90 minutes eating in the buffet when I
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was on Symphony Of The Seas meant that
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some evenings I could do say an early
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show like the ice skating a later show
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like the aqua show or the theater show I
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could still go and listen to music I
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could go to the casino I could do one of
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the trivia events or I could go to one
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of the parties and I could do all of
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that in one night by going to the buffet
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I also use the buffet way more for
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dinner on itineries with long Port days
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like in the Western Mediterranean where
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excursions to Rome and Pisa and Florence
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are often 8 to 10 hours long the other
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thing though that I don't do when it
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comes to the buffet is see it as
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limiting my dining options I think that
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smart Cruisers agree with me that the
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buffet is not the limited dining option
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in fact it's usually a way to get way
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more Choice than eating in the main
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dining room the main dining room menu is
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relatively limited While most Buffet
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have an enormous and very diverse range
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of options it's also often a chance to
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try more exotic foods than in the main
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dining room most evenings I find buffets
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across all lines offer a different
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International themed dining options so I
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get to try Indian Mexican Asian South
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American French Italian and so on across
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one cruise and many of them will also
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have sushi nightly which I find
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impossible to get in the main dining
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room every evening so a smart Cruiser
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sees the buffet as a way of trying a way
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more diverse range of foods as a tip to
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I see smart Cruisers always do a full
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Circuit of the buffet before they make
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any choice to see the entire range of
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options and ensure that they don't miss
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out also I do not see the buffet as an
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unhealthy way of dining on a cruise I
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actually use the buffet to help me eat
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healthier and to control my diet on most
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cruises I usually mix in the buffet with
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the main dining room because I find I
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can get great salads I can get light
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options and I'm not tempted to do the
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full starter main course and dessert
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meal every night which I do have go to
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the main dining room the other thing
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missed and underappreciated by most
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passengers but not smart Cruisers is
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that the buffet can be more than just a
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place to eat it may be in fact the best
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place to eat on Scenic itineries most
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buffet restaurants are located high up
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and at the rear of the ship they have
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floor to ceiling windows on all sides
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and an outdoor dining area overlooking
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the ship's wake so offering views to
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most of the diners in there main dining
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rooms tend to be lower down often with
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fewer or smaller windows and at best a
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handful of people get to see the views
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so when I'm cruising in Scenic places I
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dine in the buffet significantly more
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for example on P Alaska Norwegian fuds
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Greenland Canadian Arctic Antarctica and
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French Polynesia I used the buffet a lot
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to get sights while dining the next area
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that smart Cruisers never play loose
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with when it comes to eating the buffet
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restaurant is hygiene because of the
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risks the buffet in my view does have
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more issues when it comes to hygiene and
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staying well than dining in the main
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dining room due to just the way the food
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is prepared the way it's stored and that
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the fact that it's self-service in my
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view the buffet is where passengers have
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a greater risk of getting ill
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particularly with norovirus which is the
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stomach bug which can lead to upset
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stomachs and even vomiting because norov
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virus is spread by touch so with lots of
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people handling the serving implements
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and items like condiments there's room
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for basically cross contamin ation so
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smart Cruisers approach the buffet with
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a degree of caution and always do
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handwashing when entering the buffet
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rather than using the sanitizer gel
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because handwashing is proven
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significantly better than gel one of the
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best lines for trying to keep Buffet
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healthy in my view is Royal Caribbean
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they have these large handwashing
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stations at the entrance they have crew
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ensuring the people do it but even on
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Cruisers not monitoring it like that
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Queen and Cru I mentioned while most
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people would just kind of head into the
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buffet I saw smart Cruisers stopping and
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washing their hands I also tend to use
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buffets more on ships where the crew
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serve the food rather than it being
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self-serviced that's why on lines like
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Oceania and that H in America I
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mentioned that I basically use the
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buffet more frequently because the crew
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serves the food but when doing Self
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Service I always use the tongs and
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serving utensils I don't mix them up to
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avoid cross-contaminating such as
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vegetable deles with meat dishes and so
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on I never use my fingers to pick things
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up even bread rolls and so on I don't
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use my fingers to kind of dip in and
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taste sauces and dishes I don't pick up
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food and put it back and I watch out for
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people who do those things and basically
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avoid anything where I've seen that
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happen if I'm getting a kind of a soft
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serve ice cream cone in the buffet I've
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noticed that most people use their
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dominant hand so if right-handed they
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use their right hand to work the lever
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and serve the ice cream then then they
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put the cone back into that same hand
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that they've been using the lever with
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but with so many people touching that
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handle without it being wiped down
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that's not a good idea so I would for
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example use a paper napkin around the
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cone to minimize the risk to both
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minimize the chance of not having the
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most hygienic experience from food
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that's been sitting around and to get
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the best taste experience I also mostly
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go for the ma to order dishes in a
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buffet Cru buffet food is prepared in
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bulk it sits on those kind of steamed
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tables or under lights to keep it warm
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and once a tray of food is empty it's
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kind of replaced with a fresh one so
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made to order or watching for stuff
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that's just been made is better in my
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view so for example if I want sushi from
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the Sushi Station I take Sushi that's
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just been put out by the chef the same
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with the pizza station I don't take
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pre-cooked scrambled or fried eggs and
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order them at the Maid to Order egg
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station which most Buffet have at lunch
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I focus on the sandwich hamburger pasta
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or stir fry stations again cuz they make
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it to order I steer well clear of the
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large bottles of ketchup mustard and
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other condiments as many people are
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touching those I either ask the buffet
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staff to serve the condiments for me or
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if they've got the individual
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self-served condiment packets I use
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those if they're not available I use a
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napkin when I'm dispensing what I need
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and every time I go back to the buffet
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by the way I get new plates and new
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Cutlery now all this might sound a bit
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of Overkill to you but I've been
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fortunate because so far I've been on
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over a 100 Cruisers and I've avoided
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getting norovirus even on ships where
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there have been an outbreak another
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thing that the smart Cruisers don't do
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is ignore the dress code now many people
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do of course choose the buffet because
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the dress code around the ship doesn't
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apply this even on a line like say cod
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with their stricter evening dress code
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people can dress informally in the
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buffet while the main dining room in the
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venues might be full of people with
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Tuxedos and glamorous frocks you can get
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away with get t-shirts and shorts
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however there still are rules for
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example smart Cruisers would never go in
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swimwear or shirtless or without shoes
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into the buffet if that's what smart
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Cruisers do about the buffet what about
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the main dining room well Jo me over in
11:45
this video where I explore about the dos
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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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