Cruise Buffet Dining: What SMART Cruisers Do (And DON'T Do!)

Followed you for a number of years now. What differs your channel from others is your ability to come up with new, unusual and most needed topics.

18 Laps Around The Buffet = One Mile 🤣 Great Video Gary. We Like HAL And Oceania Buffet Due To It Being Served By The Crew.

On our Oceania Riviera cruise, the buffet was fantastic with a continual caning menu of interesting foods. Great sushi. It was our go to venue at lunch time because of the fantastic outside terrace. A huge plus is that the staff serve the food - there is no self serve and a really selling point for Oceania. We rarely went in the evening because the other restaurant venues were spectacular.

Great comments about hand washing with soap, Gary. Here's a quote from the CDC that confirms your good advice: "Hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus. You can use hand sanitizers in addition to hand washing, but hand sanitizer is not a substitute for handwashing, which is best."

I not only wash my hands with soap and water going into the buffet, I also put my plate at my place and go wash them again (since I have touched many surfaces and serving utensils getting my food.) I never put my cutlery on the placemat or the table. And I wash any whole fruit (unless it is in individual bowls). Am most of all, I avoid touching my face in the dining room. I too have been on ships with Norwalk and stayed healthy, and enjoyed food in all the venues including buffet.

Totally agree with how you/ smart cruisersuse the buffet. I also was my hands again once I have gathered my food and then get my cutlery. Maybe over the top but so far I have not been ill on the ships.

I do not think your buffet hygiene tips are overkill! I do all the same things!!! 😊

Good points made here...on a submarine mess deck (food service area), the deck, all horizontal surfaces, all metal and all glass surfaces get wiped down before and after every meal, and the food is placed on your plate by the MS (Mess Specialist or "cook") or by one of the "mess cranks" (all junior enlisted personnel must spend time doing food service). Even the waffle maker has to get cleaned after breakfast, that thing is a real pain to clean. My first week, I was ordered to re-clean it at least once every day, as it wasn't clean to the satisfaction of the Culinary Specialist Senior Chief..... "clean it again, aye, senior" (groans internally)....lol. Was so glad to be able to go to sonar, my normal duty station, when my obligated time in the mess deck was complete. 🙂 What makes the food on submarine better (or so I hear, never served on a surface ship so can't compare) is that the officers and the enlisted members get the same meal (though they still eat in a different area, can't fraternize with enlisted), the cooks are only cooking for about 30-40 at a time instead of hundreds or thousands, and they send us the best cooks, usually at least one CS (Culinary Specialist)...on my first boat, one of the CSs used to cook at the White House, under Bush 43. 🙂

On our recent Seabourn Sojourn cruise, the breakfast and lunch buffets were grand. Dinner in the MDR, The Restaurant, was the highlight of each day. Thank you, Gary, for helping to raise the bar for cruisers and cruise companies.

I learn so much from Gary’s videos that makes me be a smarter cruiser ❤

Love a good buffet. Some lines seem to assume that passengers want to use the mdr, but I like to choose when I eat and what portions - it's my holiday. If a ship has a bad buffet, I won't sail on it again.

That’s me, I do a big lap or overview of what’s in the buffet and then make my choices. Also, if there’s a storm to prevent seasickness, I visit the sushi part not to eat sushi, but to serve myself some fresh ginger since it works on me to prevent seasickness which I’m prone to but I only have seasickness when there has been a storm which has happened once across Atlantic.

Don't forget to get the super fries at the Dive-In bar, on Holland America. It is located by the main swimming pool.. Enjoy.

I like your practical idea about picking up the condiments and other things with the napkin that many people have handled. I never thought of that. I’ve gone on many cruises and always keep my hands washed, but I was sick just one time in the Mediterranean and normally I’m not a person that gets sick ever.

Great tips, Gary! I thought I was pretty smart, but didn't consider the condiment area. I will avoid them in the future!

There are some great tips there Gary. Thanks for that.

Great video Gary. Oceania has limited dining options for lunch on embarkation so my wife and I eat lunch at our local hotel before going to the port. Due to my wife’s food allergies we avoid the buffet.

Great video Gary.

I loved our recent Oceania Vista buffet - we got to know the staff who also got to know us and often, one of the chefs or the absolutely delightful section manager would come over with a smile and "strongly recommend" something special that they knew we would enjoy. It was also a great place to connect with others who wound up on many of the same excursions and became wonderful friends we're still in contact with.

Gary has many, many good points I agree with in this video: (As a (so far) 100% Disney cruiser)... * I have virtually always had breakfast in the buffet, for the selection and speed. ** I virtually never breakfast at one of the three rotational dining rooms, because of the relatively limited menu and sedate (albeit quality) service. ** The same goes for lunch - virtually never at one of the three main dining rooms, for the same reasons. * In the past, I almost always obtained lunch from one of the pool deck outdoor kitchens - pizza, sandwiches, etc. However a couple of cruises ago I learned to: * I always survey (and usually use) the buffet for lunch, because there are always a rotation of international menu themes for lunch. (Gary's "more exotic foods"). Many items (Mexican, Subcontinental, ...) are only available in the buffet, and the quality is rather good. (Items from cultures heavily represented amongst the crew are likely to be good, because they are served frequently in the crew mess, and the crew will demand that they be prepared well. Also, international items may well be prepared by cooks from the cultures in question. (Although Disney would strive to get foreign recipes correct in any case). The existence of international food themes is easily the most important single thing I've learned about dining in the past few years of cruising. * Notwithstanding Gary's points about embarkation day, I would still focus on the buffet going forward, for the same reasons. (Previously we would usually use the pool deck venues, especially because that is the most convenient place to relax until we are allowed access to the cabin decks). However,... * Given Disney's unique rotational dining scheme, we have always had supper in our assigned main dining room. The only exception is the one night we dine in the Palo specialty restaurant. The main dining room cuisine is frankly the best part of the entire cruise. There are no circumstances where I would blow if off to relax with the pool deck food. (Disney serves no dinner buffet).