The casual all-you-can-eat dining option is a popular choice among cruisers, but how should the service be handled?
Some cruise lines feature individual stations with crew members serving out portions, while others are self-service with guests dishing up their own meals.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Lido Marketplace buffet – a mainstay offering on every ship in the Carnival fleet – is a self-service venue, and guests are able to pick out exactly what they want to eat and the size of every serving.
Not all guests are happy with this arrangement, however, and one traveler has raised their concerns to John Heald, Carnival’s official Brand Ambassador.
“Been on several cruises in the last year. Speaking to hundreds of other people on my socials they all agree that we would like to see a [ban] on all self-service at the buffet,” the guest claimed. “Returning to stations for more food with their soiled plates means for our health Carnival must stop this and have the crew serve us.”
First of all, the guest does not identify which cruise ships they’ve sailed on, or even if all of their “several cruises” have been with Carnival Cruise Line.
Second, the idea that they have spoken to “hundreds of other people” via various social media channels is likely an exaggeration. Nevertheless, it’s clear that many people are concerned about possible health issues related to a self-service buffet.
It must also be noted that Carnival’s buffet policy is that guests should always get a clean plate for every trip to any serving station. While most guests do abide by that policy, undoubtedly some guests may not get clean plates every time.
Heald did not respond to the guest’s comment directly, but he did include the concerns on his daily poll. Commenters could choose to agree that they do not like self-service, or vote that they are happy to continue with the self-service practice at the buffet.
In the first hour the poll was available, more than 27,000 votes were cast. Of those, an overwhelming 33% (approximately 9,000 votes) prefer to continue with self-service.
Just 4% (roughly 1,100 votes) believe it is essential that Carnival Cruise Line assign servers to all the buffet stations.
Personally, I’ve had both types of buffet service on different cruise lines. I prefer self-service, which generally tends to move more quickly and permits greater personalization, especially if you just want to try a small bite of a dish before committing to a larger serving, or if you’d like a bigger helping of a favorite item.
True, some guests might not handle serving utensils in the cleanest way, but many buffet stations offer disposable gloves for guests to use. Another easy trick is to use an extra napkin as a makeshift glove when visiting the buffet.
Other commenters shared a variety of sanitary concerns about the self-service buffet, such as guests eating while waiting in line then using their hands – perhaps after licking their fingers – on different serving utensils.
Food waste can also be a concern when guests serve themselves, particularly if young children are struggling to manage serving utensils and may spill quite a bit.
Could Carnival Change Buffet Service?
While there could definitely be better sanitation procedures if only crew members handle serving at the buffet, it may not be a practical solution.
To offer a fully served buffet, there would need to be more staffing onboard every Carnival ship so various stations could not only be staffed with servers, but also replenished with crew members cooking, slicing, or otherwise preparing food and bringing it from the kitchens to the Lido Marketplace.
This might cut down on staffing available for clearing tables or performing other duties, particularly for dinner when the Main Dining Room restaurants and other specialty dining venues are also open.
It would not be a simple matter of just hiring more crew members, either. Every cruise ship is limited in how many crew members can be onboard based on how many crew staterooms are available as well as lifeboat capacities for crew and guests.
Requiring all buffet stations to be crew-served could also create even longer lines during popular dining times, a problem Carnival Cruise Line has already struggled with.
Read Also: Carnival Asks About Buffet Seating – Food or Table First?
Carnival Cruise Line – as well as all other major cruise lines – did use fully staffed, crew-served buffets in 2021 following the pandemic-related shutdown. This was part of much stricter onboard health and sanitation requirements, but it was also a time when cruise ships were not sailing at anywhere near full capacity.
There are no longer any pandemic-related restrictions in place, and it is unlikely that Carnival would return to a fully-served buffet without strong cause to do so.
