On a cruise, the buffet is the one room where around 3,000 people can share the same serving spoons every single day. Most guests grab the first pair of tongs they see and never give it a thought. According to a former cruise crew member, that small habit is how some travelers end up in their cabin with the curtains closed, missing two days of the trip they paid for.
The advice comes from Thomas Ashford and Sharon Dawson, whose narrator, Thomas Ashford, says he spent 30 years walking through the cruise buffet every morning. By the second day of a sailing, he says, he could tell which guests knew the rules nobody prints. He sums them up as 20 unwritten buffet rules to know before you cruise after 60, and the first ones are the most useful.
The first rule, he says, is about the tongs. Every station has its own tongs, ladle and serving spoon, and at noon on a sea day the same pair of tongs at the salad station can pass through a few hundred hands in an hour.
Why Tongs Matter So Much
Some of those hands, he points out, came straight from the pool, the railing or the elevator button. That is how a stomach bug moves through a ship, he says. A guest who comes down with it is usually asked to stay in the cabin until it passes, which can cost a day or two of the vacation.
His fix has three parts, and none of them costs a cent. It starts with timing and ends with a few small habits, and together they are the heart of the advice.
The Buffet Timing Trick
Walk in 10 or 15 minutes before the buffet officially opens, he says. At that point the food is out, the trays are full and the tongs are fresh from the galley. If you cannot make that, come 45 minutes after opening, when the rush has passed.
The Hand Washing Rule
Many newer ships have hand washing stations right at the buffet entrance, and he says to use them every time. Soap and water, he says, does more against the stomach bug that travels on ships than sanitizer gel does. Then add two small habits of your own: hold the tongs through a paper napkin so your fingers never touch the handle, and keep a small bottle of sanitizer in your pocket for the table after you have served yourself and before you eat.
None of this makes you a fussy guest, he says, because the crew does the same thing behind the counter all day long, with gloves on and hands washed every time they come out of the galley. He tells of two couples on deck eight with the same cabin and the same seven nights. One washed their hands at the door every time, and the other spent the last two days of the cruise in the cabin ordering toast.
Tell Someone About Your Allergy
For guests who cannot eat gluten or who have a nut or shellfish allergy, he calls the buffet the most dangerous place on the ship. Spoons move from tray to tray, and a crumb of bread can end up in the rice. The crew takes allergies seriously, he says, but only the ones they know about.
His fix is one conversation on the first day. Find the buffet supervisor or the maitre d’ and say, “I have a gluten allergy. What here is safe for me, and what can the galley make for me separately?” He also suggests writing your allergy on a small card and keeping it in your wallet with your cruise card, since handing over a card is clearer than shouting over a loud room. Many lines point guests with serious allergies to the main dining room, and gluten-free bread and even pizza are often available if you ask.
Check The Buffet Hours
Years ago, he says, many cruise buffets stayed open late. Today, on many ships, the buffet closes around 9 or 10 in the evening, and in the middle of the afternoon there is often a gap while the crew clears lunch and sets up for dinner. Come back from a port at 4 o’clock hungry and you may find only cookies and ice cream.
Then you order room service, and on more and more ships that carries a charge on your folio. His advice is to check the buffet hours in the ship’s app every morning, especially on port days, and to grab a piece of fruit and a sandwich on your way off the ship if you know you will be back late.
More Tips From The Same Crew Veteran
Tongs are his first rule, allergies the second and buffet hours the third. Here are the other rules on his list of 20, in brief.
- Rule 4, the stations where the crew does the cooking. Visit the omelet station at breakfast or a pasta station or grill at lunch and dinner. A cook makes your food in front of you, it is hot, and nobody else has touched it.
- Rule 5, the clean plate. Take a clean plate every time you go back to the buffet, and use the spoon that belongs to each dish.
- Rule 6, the first walk around the room. Take one slow walk around the whole buffet before you pick up a plate, so you do not fill up on the first thing you see.
- Rule 7, the dish that will not be back tomorrow. Take the special dish when you see it, because the specials rotate and may not be back tomorrow.
- Rule 8, the theme nights. Certain days bring certain food and the ship does not always announce it, such as a seafood spread on the last sea day or funfetti cake on embarkation day. Ask a crew member on the first day what the special nights are this week, or check the daily program in the app.
- Rule 9, one dinner at the buffet. On many lines, including MSC, Princess, Holland America, Celebrity and Oceania, the evening buffet is a different room from lunch, with better dishes and carving stations. It is also the easiest dinner after a long day in port, with no fixed seating time and no waiting between courses.
- Rule 10, the snack hour. Somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon on many ships, the buffet puts out nachos, salsa, guacamole and little sandwiches. Check the app for the time on the first day.
- Rule 11, the good ice cream. Many ships have a proper ice cream or gelato station in the buffet with real scoops and toppings, and it is included. Pour hot buffet coffee over a scoop of vanilla for an affogato, or soda for a float.
- Rule 12, the plate you take back to your cabin. On most ships you are allowed to take food from the buffet to your cabin, such as fruit, cheese or cookies. That saves a room service charge, especially before an early excursion or on the last morning.
- Rule 13, the drinks you think you have to pay for. Coffee, tea and water are included on most ships, as are iced tea and lemonade, and often hot chocolate at breakfast and milk. Look at what the buffet pours for free before you buy a drink.
- Rule 14, the water bottle at the soda machine. Do not put your bottle under the spout, because everyone who fills a glass after you touches the same spout. Fill a clean cup and pour it into your bottle, or use a proper bottle filling station.
- Rule 15, the table you cannot find. Use the old crew rule of divide and conquer, with one of you setting up a table with a cup of coffee and a glass of juice while the other gets food. If every table is taken, ask politely to join someone.
- Rule 16, the card game at lunch. During the rush, a table held for cards is the one a couple with two full plates is looking for. Play in the card room, the library or the lounge, or come back after 2:00 when the room empties.
- Rule 17, the flow of the line. Walk the way the line moves, do not cut in, and do not empty a tray. Take what you will eat, since you can always come back, and be kind to the crew.
- Rule 18, the grandchildren. Have them wash their hands at the entrance, serve themselves with the tongs and walk with you, not ahead of you, because crew are carrying hot trays through that room.
- Rule 19, the thing that is not on the counter. If you do not see a banana, or you need plain toast, rice or broth on a rough day, ask politely at a quiet moment. The crew can often bring it from the back.
- Rule 20, the wet floor by the pool door. The buffet tile is one of the most slippery floors on the ship at noon. Dry off, put on a cover-up and real shoes, carry one plate at a time, and tell a crew member if the floor looks wet.
The Bottom Line For Your Next Sailing
The big idea is that a few seconds of care at the buffet can protect days of vacation. Wash your hands at the door, go a little early or a little late, and tell the right person about your allergies on day one.
As Ashford puts it, every one of those habits takes less than a minute to follow. Pack the sanitizer, keep the napkin handy, and enjoy the trip you already paid for.
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