Do you do it?

[dirk pitt]

In the gym there is a notice to wipe down equipment after use. So many people don't or they use the towel they have just rubbed over their face to then rub over the equipment.... lovely


Why do people go to the self service restaurant, find a table, put books on table or coats on chairs and then go and get food leaving those already with food struggling to find a seat.


who will admit to doing the above?

Dirk pitt

[oldbluefox]

I must confess to leaving my wife seated whilst I go first to get some food otherwise as you say you end up wandering around with your tray and nowhere to sit. My irritation is with those who sit at table in the buffet to read their book whilst others are looking for somewhere to eat.

Not guilty in the gym though. What's a gym?

[towny44]

Not guilty in the gym though. What's a gym?

That's where Jamie Vardy gets his blistering from.

[wolfie]

Books, bags, coats, sunglasses, I pads and posteriors on seats are exactly why some of us are left wandering around with trays and with no vacant seats. What is the meaning of a buffet? Get your food and then find a table... that is what they were designed for, a quick turnover.

My OH cannot serve himself so I go around with them, choose what they want and then take the tray and them to a table, if one can be found. I then hurry back to get my own food so that we can eat together. I do not deposit them at a table with no food in front of them whilst others are looking for seating. That is just too selfish. If we cruise again I will avail myself of the waiters in the buffet who assist those with problems and carry their tray. They have often offered this when they see what I am doing but OH has found it to be embarrassing so we have so far declined.

However, for our last few cruises we have often opted for the MDR as finding a seat in the buffet for a quick snack/light meal,( which is all we want or need),has been a problem, and said on entering the MDR,that we only want a main course and do not want to share a table with those who are there for the full 3 courses, plus tea/coffee. etc. thus making it a 2 hour marathon!!

On ships with alternative daytime eating venues we go there instead of the buffet or MDR.

[Stephen]

Guilty as charged.

Finders keepers losers weepers.

We find a table, Mrs S normally insists I get my food first, then once I return she then gets hers. The chance of us both getting our meals and a table at the same time especially at lunch time in the buffet are pretty much nil. I agree about the people who sit there for ages either reading or chatting, they should be politely asked to vacate if it is very busy.

And who is this Jim geezer.

[oldbluefox]

The alternative is to go later to the buffet when there are plenty of places available. Oddly enough all the buffets I have been to you are given a seat first and then go to the buffet. Who says you have to get your food first?

My biggest no-no are walking sticks laid on tables. The mind boggles at the germs on the ends of these sticks or the thought of where they have been and then they are laid on the table passing on all their germs to an eating surface.

[towny44]

Not guilty in the gym though. What's a gym?

That's where Jamie Vardy gets his blistering pace from.

That's what the original should have said.
And yes since my wife became a wheelchair user we always find a table and then I go and fetch the food, and it works very well, far better than me trying to puch a wheelchair and carry 2 trays at the same time.

[Boris+]

Firstly it's a matter of consideration, so in the gym scenario yes we do use wipes for equipment, we don't use those wipes for us. If and when we are in a buffet situation, one of us occupies a table and t'other one gets the food etc. That way we ensure that the table is clean and tidy, and we only queue once . Hopefully it's a good compromise, it's better for us and it's better for others.

However if staff have failed to sort out a messy table, one of us will quickly sort it out, but then we don't clear away after ourselves. Having said that, we do leave our table with no more than a tidy pile on a tray, never messy.

[Stephen]

The alternative is to go later to the buffet when there are plenty of places available. Oddly enough all the buffets I have been to you are given a seat first and then go to the buffet. Who says you have to get your food first?

My biggest no-no are walking sticks laid on tables. The mind boggles at the germs on the ends of these sticks or the thought of where they have been and then they are laid on the table passing on all their germs to an eating surface.

Hi Foxy

I don't like eating late, and why should I. I have yet to be seated by a member of staff in the buffet resturaunt, at leat on P&O ships. Perhaps all your medals get you priority treatment

[oldbluefox]

Sorry Stephen, I meant buffets in restaurants, eateries etc other than ships. Even if I wear all my medals (including the one for a 25yd crawl in primary school) I still don't get preferential treatment.
Very often we delay our lunch, or go to an alternative if we find the buffet busy. No need ever to starve onboard. Very often we will go and sit on tables in the pool area if the buffet is crowded. Not a problem.

[david63]

we will go and sit on tables in the pool area

Are there no chairs?

[Meg 50]

the only time we had problems in the buffet last cruise was getting our timing wrong on a sea day - and even then we found a table relatively easily.


OH tends to be quicker at selecting his food than I am.

Therefore my main problem is remembering what he's wearing so I know what colour shirt to look out for when looking for some nutter waving to say he's found a table!

[Stephen]

we will go and sit on tables in the pool area

Are there no chairs?

You beat me to it

[gfwgfw]

I lift the seat when I pee

[oldbluefox]

we will go and sit on tables in the pool area

Are there no chairs?

You beat me to it

Mods!!!! I'm being harrassed...........................
Never a mod around when you need them!!!!!

[GillD46]

We don't eat in the buffet these days, but if we did, one of us would find a table and stay there, while the other would go and collect their meal. Then the other would go.

I can well remember walking up and down searching for a seat, while our meals got cold.

[anniec]

Guilty as charged.

Finders keepers losers weepers.

We find a table, Mrs S normally insists I get my food first, then once I return she then gets hers. The chance of us both getting our meals and a table at the same time especially at lunch time in the buffet are pretty much nil. I agree about the people who sit there for ages either reading or chatting, they should be politely asked to vacate if it is very busy.

And who is this Jim geezer.

I'm guilty too - one of us sits at the table, the other belts off to get food: old Yorkshire saying "it's bums wot keep seats, not 'ats". In other words, if someone is sitting at the table/lying on the sunbed/waiting for a lecture to start that's fine. If not, and they've reserved it with cardigans, jackets, walking sticks, carpy paperbacks, or any other rubbish, it's infuriating.

[barney]

Like Gill above, we rarely eat in the buffet. Might pop in for some cheese and biscuits occasionally but hardly ever have a meal there.

Back to the original post, folk who don't wipe the gym equipment really do bug me.

On our last short cruise, there was a chap pounding the treadmill and literally dripping sweat.
It looked like some one had turned a tap on, on his head.
When finished, he just walked away to use another piece of equipment.
Disgusting.

We use our local gym at least three times a week and would be chastised if we acted like that, so for us, it is habit.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Reserving tables in the buffet is one of those things that goes along with reserving sunbeds and going up to go down in lifts!

If no one did it, no one would have to.

If tables in the buffet weren't occupied by people who hadn't yet got food, or those with no intention of eating, there'd be plenty of space for those who have got their food.

But because some do it others feel they have to and the problem escalates until we all join in.

[JoanneB]

Can't actually see that leaving something on the table and going to get your food adds more that a handful of minutes to your table occupancy time. And if you both do that and go at the same time surely that is quicker than going in relay? Or does the one to go first have to leave the table as soon as they have finished?

What is annoying to me is the ones who sit and read when they have finished and it's busy or couples who sit diagonally opposite each other on a table for 4 so no one can join them.

[wolfie]

Reserving tables in the buffet is one of those things that goes along with reserving sunbeds and going up to go down in lifts! True.

If no one did it, no one would have to. Exactly!

If tables in the buffet weren't occupied by people who hadn't yet got food, or those with no intention of eating, there'd be plenty of space for those who have got their food.

But because some do it others feel they have to and the problem escalates until we all join in.

[towny44]

Reserving tables in the buffet is one of those things that goes along with reserving sunbeds and going up to go down in lifts!

If no one did it, no one would have to.

If tables in the buffet weren't occupied by people who hadn't yet got food, or those with no intention of eating, there'd be plenty of space for those who have got their food.

But because some do it others feel they have to and the problem escalates until we all join in.

Sometimes you do talk a load of rubbish Merv.

[Mervyn and Trish]

And sometimes Towny I'm spot on

[wolfie]

And sometimes Towny I'm spot on

Indeed you are