As a nurse I observe the level of commitment to infection control on every ship I sail on. I especially note how they handle the buffet.
Even before COVID-19, I worried about contracting a norovirus. Amazingly, I never got sick during any of my 44 cruises.
Holland America Koningsdam Buffet
In 2018 I spent two weeks on the Holland America Koningsdam in Norway. They had the best hand hygiene I had seen. No one, and I mean no one, entered the buffet area without having hand sanitizer squirted on their hands by employees stationed at all entrances. There was no self-service food. I told the worker (or pointed to) what I wanted and he put it on a plate and handed it to me from behind the glass shield. There were no self-serve salad bars. Salads were made by staff according to what I told them I wanted in it. I was most impressed.
Sky Princess Buffet
In contrast, I was on the Sky Princess in January of this year for a week. Hand sanitizer was available on a stand at the entrances to the buffet but no one monitored it. They had installed sinks for handwashing but I never saw anyone except myself use them. There were serving utensils for each food item. I tried to remember to use hand sanitizer after filling my plate but I noticed I was constantly touching things that others had also touched. After walking across the room from the table to the hand sanitizer station twice, I gave up and just ate my lunch.
No More Buffets?
Most people assume that the pandemic is the death of the buffet, but Royal Caribbean announced on July 1st that there will be a buffet when cruises resume. Some ideas they are considering are individual portions, individual tongs for self-service and finger koozies that you can pick up hot dishes with that can be washed and sanitized.
The buffet is almost always crowded. So are the elevators, bars, hallways, photo area, nightclubs. Since I stay home now except for groceries, Wal-Mart and Lowes, I cannot imagine getting on a cruise ship before next year. Maybe I am wrong and the virus will be contained and removed but it does not seem that way now. Even with a vaccine, will I get on a ship? I don’t know. Ask me next year.
Thank you for your post. You paid attention to cruise routines I hadn’t before Covid. My husband and I plan on cruising in April 2021 on Norwegian. I listened to an informative video of Tony Robbins interviewing Professor Michael Levitt. He refers to the Diamond Princess as a helpful place to start to understand the way the virus behaves.
https://newzitnews.com/tony-robbins-interviews-dr-michael-levitt/
Thank you for your comment. I hope you get to enjoy your cruise in April. I have one scheduled in May.
Very informative
Thank you! I am glad it was helpful.