Self-service in Cabanas

[squirk]

Meh. Call me mean but I don't forgive people who crab at strangers on vacation over stuff like that. Whether they're right or wrong, it's rude and uncalled for, and just puts a damper on the trip. What's the point in being nasty?

I still remember the time a couple of years ago I was at Beach Club, and set my beach bag (which I had kept in the locker while swimming to avoid being an empty chair hog) on a lounger for a moment as I stood next to it and dried off with a towel prior to going inside. A guy a lounger or two away snapped, "Those chairs are taken!" in a very nasty way. Goodness gracious. It's not like he owned those empty chairs for one thing. For another thing, why be so mean on your vacation? He could have said the same thing in a nice way. Being talked to that way darkened my mood for awhile, and that's a miserable thing to happen during your hard-earned vacation.

I agree completely. You can give people the benefit of the doubt vs. automatically assuming they are willfully flouting the rules.

I don’t cut @mevelandry’s guy any slack for being a jerk. The rudeness is unacceptable, and nobody asked him to be the Cabanas Police anyway.

All I was saying is that the “pod” concept could be made clearer.

 

[AquaDame]

We were on the WBPC when they went to "serving" from the buffet. I was kind of confused and not sure quite what to make of it on the first day of the "new" process. After 3-4 days, It just became normal.

My "funny" antidote was I wanted to make "Southern Style Eggs Benedict." (also called Country Style Eggs Bene). Now for you people who did not grow up with biscuits and lard, (myself included), this is eggs benedict with country gravy in lieu of hollandaise. It's delightfully not healthy in the least. So I go up to this server, ask for the plain English muffin with egg and ham, no hollandaise. I take this plate further back the line to the Jamaican guy serving the biscuits and gravy. I ask politely if I could have some gravy drizzled over the top of the bare eggs bene. He looks at me, slightly confused, but reaches for the ladle and drapes the open faced sandwich with the gravy. He asks what is this creation? I say we call it southern style eggs benedict in my town. He chuckles, probably thinks I'm crazy, and I walk away to enjoy my delectable feast of butter, butter, and fat. The next morning, I see the same server. He comes up to me smiling saying "I tried that for breakfast today!" and went on and on about how good it was. I'm not saying I'm solely responsible for his gaining of 5 lbs, but I like to think I just spread a little edible diplomacy to the island of Jamaica.

TL DR: Thought it weird at first, then got used to it with no problems.

In the pacnw we just call it biscuits and gravy; usually with a choice of sausage or mushroom gravy. Sometimes they come with over easy eggs (YES PLEASE). So good..! I hope we'll still be able to customize things a little like this if the structure changes.

 

[squirk]

In the pacnw we just call it biscuits and gravy; usually with a choice of sausage or mushroom gravy. Sometimes they come with over easy eggs (YES PLEASE). So good..! I hope we'll still be able to customize things a little like this if the structure changes.

Yeah, see, that‘s an example of why I prefer self-service. As others said earlier, I really don’t want to have to hassle a CM to get things just the way I want them.

For example, on my last cruise, I discovered my new favorite heart-clogging breakfast concoction - Mickey waffles with that super-thick whipped cream and then covered with the caramel sauce.

But I had to tinker to get just the right waffle-to-whipped cream-to-caramel sauce ratio, though, so no single component overwhelmed the other. No way I am going to ask a CM to mess with all that nonsense.

I know that the ability to give myself diabetes doesn’t take priority over COVID-19 health protocols, but still.

 

[Cheburashka]

But I had to tinker to get just the right waffle-to-whipped cream-to-caramel sauce ratio, though, so no single component overwhelmed the other. No way I am going to ask a CM to mess with all that nonsense.

Exactly. Sometimes you really want those potatoes that have the most seasoning on them, or you really want just a tiny little bit of the cole slaw, not an ice cream scoopful. But explaining it to a CM would take forever & probably not be that effective anyway, and who wants to wait in line behind people doing all that explaining? "Now, little Jimmy wants his waffle to have 1/3 caramel sauce and 2/3 whipped cream, and little Janie wants her waffle to have 1/4 whipped cream and 3/4 caramel sauce." So instead we'd all end up getting served something that's a bit off from what we really wanted. Not the end of the world, but again, it chips away at the pleasure and self-indulgence that we're supposed to be able to enjoy on a hard-earned cruise.

 

[CamColt]

...Not the end of the world, but again, it chips away at the pleasure and self-indulgence that we're supposed to be able to enjoy on a hard-earned cruise.

THIS says it perfectly!

 

[Weedy]

I kinda feel the other way around about buffet vs cafeteria style.
My family still laughs (or complains) about the family in front of us with the Mom holding up a pice of bacon to her child saying is this one good, how about this 20x’s. It has become a saying in our house “One piece of bacon” when someone won’t make a decision and move on and not hold everyone else up.
Hopefully with cafeteria style people will move a little more quickly

 

[squirk]

I kinda feel the other way around about buffet vs cafeteria style.
My family still laughs (or complains) about the family in front of us with the Mom holding up a pice of bacon to her child saying is this one good, how about this 20x’s. It has become a saying in our house “One piece of bacon” when someone won’t make a decision and move on and not hold everyone else up.
Hopefully with cafeteria style people will move a little more quickly

I think one of the pleasures of Cabanas is that it's not a mess hall where you wait your turn, walk up to the front of the pod, get something handed to you, and you move on.

As @Cheburashka said, it's the poking around, trying different combinations of stuff, picking the crispier slice of bacon out of the batch because you like it crispier, or thinking "I don't know if I want a full serving of X, but maybe I'll just take a tiny bit to try it," y'know?

Self-indulgence? Yes. But to be fair, "cruise ship."

 

[mevelandry]

Yeah, see, that‘s an example of why I prefer self-service. As others said earlier, I really don’t want to have to hassle a CM to get things just the way I want them.

For example, on my last cruise, I discovered my new favorite heart-clogging breakfast concoction - Mickey waffles with that super-thick whipped cream and then covered with the caramel sauce.

But I had to tinker to get just the right waffle-to-whipped cream-to-caramel sauce ratio, though, so no single component overwhelmed the other. No way I am going to ask a CM to mess with all that nonsense.

I know that the ability to give myself diabetes doesn’t take priority over COVID-19 health protocols, but still.

Sounds amazing.

My new personal obsession at the buffet is waffles, with strawberries and almonds.

 

[mevelandry]

Exactly. Sometimes you really want those potatoes that have the most seasoning on them, or you really want just a tiny little bit of the cole slaw, not an ice cream scoopful. But explaining it to a CM would take forever & probably not be that effective anyway, and who wants to wait in line behind people doing all that explaining? "Now, little Jimmy wants his waffle to have 1/3 caramel sauce and 2/3 whipped cream, and little Janie wants her waffle to have 1/4 whipped cream and 3/4 caramel sauce." So instead we'd all end up getting served something that's a bit off from what we really wanted. Not the end of the world, but again, it chips away at the pleasure and self-indulgence that we're supposed to be able to enjoy on a hard-earned cruise.

This is why I would prefer to have everything served in individual portions/cups. At least, I can do my own perfect mix at my table.

 

[squirk]

Sounds amazing.

Actually, it’s disgusting. But I still love it.

My new personal obsession at the buffet is waffles, with strawberries and almonds.

Right. Experimenting is part of the fun.

 

[squirk]

This is why I would prefer to have everything served in individual portions/cups. At least, I can do my own perfect mix at my table.

The amount of food that is thrown away at a buffet is truly astonishing. I wonder if the cafeteria-style increases or decreases the food waste on the ship.

Do the pre-plated portions curb people over-serving themselves, so less food is left behind?

Or do pre-plated portions overserve people, in that they'll take the entire pre-plated portion, even if they don't want all of it, just so they have can have a little bit and then toss the rest?

 

[Cheburashka]

The amount of food that is thrown away at a buffet is truly astonishing. I wonder if the cafeteria-style increases or decreases the food waste on the ship.

Do the pre-plated portions curb people over-serving themselves, so less food is left behind?

Or do pre-plated portions overserve people, in that they'll take the entire pre-plated portion, even if they don't want all of it, just so they have can have a little bit and then toss the rest?

All restaurants have a lot of food waste. It's just the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

 

[squirk]

All restaurants have a lot of food waste. It's just the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

Sure, but price/cost serves as a stop-limit at restaurants, right? You're not going to buy five different entrees just to try a little bit of each.

My point wasn't to say that there isn't a lot of waste in other dining formats. I just wonder where more waste is found in an "all-you-can-eat" setting - self-serve vs. cafeteria-style.

 

[Cheburashka]

Sure, but price/cost serves as a stop-limit at restaurants, right? You're not going to buy five different entrees just to try a little bit of each.

No, but the restaurant (particularly an MDR on a cruise) is going to prepare a lot of dishes and ingredients whether they get ordered by customers or not, to have them ready. And those dishes and ingredients won't last forever if they aren't ordered. Restaurant food waste is partially a readiness-to-serve issue, at least as much as it is a customer ordering issue.

 

[squirk]

No, but the restaurant (particularly an MDR on a cruise) is going to prepare a lot of dishes and ingredients whether they get ordered by customers or not, to have them ready. And those dishes and ingredients won't last forever if they aren't ordered. Restaurant food waste is partially a readiness-to-serve issue, at least as much as it is a customer ordering issue.

I wonder any of the food left over after a meal slot is passed along to the crew.

To be clear, I’m not talking about serving the crew “old” food that was rotated out at the very beginning of a given meal service. I mean, like, the very last batches that were made before breakfast/lunch ended, so the food is still fresh. Does that all literally go into the trash? Or do they bring it down to the crew mess?

 

[Weedy]

The amount of food that is thrown away at a buffet is truly astonishing. I wonder if the cafeteria-style increases or decreases the food waste on the ship.

Do the pre-plated portions curb people over-serving themselves, so less food is left behind?

Or do pre-plated portions overserve people, in that they'll take the entire pre-plated portion, even if they don't want all of it, just so they have can have a little bit and then toss the rest?

I think someone else serving the food causes people to eat less
If you read some old post where Polo Brunch had people serving the food a lot of people commented about wanting more than what was given them but were embarrassed to ask.
Also I’ve see people with piles of food (a kid with10 doughnuts) with the attitude of I payed for it it I can take as much as I want.
Yes the good waist on a cruise is terrible.

 

[squirk]

I think someone else serving the food causes people to eat less
If you read some old post where Polo Brunch had people serving the food a lot of people commented about wanting more than what was given them but were embarrassed to ask.

Is that really what people want out of a cruise? To feel too embarrassed to ask for more than a pre-assigned serving size?

 

[AquaDame]

I'm pretty timid. Annoyingly so if I'm frank (working on it) and I'd still go get more if I wanted more. Everyone loves being told how tasty something was. Much more often though I find that I was wrong and the amount I got left me stuffed already.

 

[Jillpie]

I find it so awkward to be served at a buffet!! Its odd, because I am the person that can talk to anyone at a party, strike up a conversation out of nowhere. But approaching someone at a buffet to serve me? ugh. I have no idea what to say. 61 yrs old, and honestly feel so awkward doing this. I don't plan on cruising until another year from now, but really hope we're serving ourselves by then. Does anyone else feel the same, and what exactly do you say to the person behind the food?

 

[Calantha]

Does anyone else feel the same, and what exactly do you say to the person behind the food?

This is so interesting for me to read - and how different people are! For example, I HATE calling to order food. I am so happy I can order online most of the time now.

But when I'm standing at the cafe/buffet line, I have no trouble asking for whatever I want. The building where I've worked for the last 15 years has a cafeteria, and although I'm not in there every day, I do go at least once a week or so (until COVID). Thus, it is no big deal for me to ask the servers for what I want, how I want it. Or the other day, I went to Coldstone...and my mom 'pre-ordered' with me - and it wasn't something they normally do...but since they weren't busy, I didn't mind asking and the lady said "no problem." But tell me I have to ask that on the phone...no way!