Buffet Etiquette? Line or no line??

[Lorilais_mommie]

We are recently off the magic and I have a question about buffet etiquette..

Is there a line? Yes or no??

1st morning-
A CM told me There is no line, just go to the food item I want. I did this and some lady says very loudly "well some people" I looked at the CM he said I was alright and repeated again louder this time that there is NO LINE.

Moving on to day 2..
Today no CM stating that there was NO line.. I went off what I was told the pervious day.. And skipped the HUGE line that had formed by the plate and egg area.
I took my 2 kids and made a b-line stright for the mickey waffles, the closest person was 2-3 dishes back.

The way people reacted you would have thought I robbed a bank!
Calling me a line cutter, waffle stealer... And if looks could kill.. It was worst the some children!!
A CM finally went over and talk to the people in line.
I wasn't sure if I did something wrong, so for the rest of the cruise we just waited in line.. Even those all we wanted was the mickey waffles.

So is there a buffet etiquette?
Is there only no line if there is a CM there to repeated "no line" over and over??

 

[sharksfinatic17]

I know the Fantasy has stations, and there are no lines. It seems to me when we were on the Wonder there was a line. We will be on the Wonder in a couple of weeks and will see if things have changed in the last five years.

 

[LuvMyFlipFlops]

watching this thread as I'm curious. Great question!

 

[Eeyorebabies]

It's SUPPOSED to be lines according to the station you want food at. So if you wanted doughnuts, and there was someone getting doughnuts in front of you, then wait. Otherwise you just go to the station you want. Disney should put signs up clearly stating this in many areas so that when someone gets all ticked off, you can just point to the sign.

 

[MelSpees]

I know the Fantasy has stations, and there are no lines. It seems to me when we were on the Wonder there was a line. We will be on the Wonder in a couple of weeks and will see if things have changed in the last five years.

The Magic changed to the Cabanas' lay out.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

It's SUPPOSED to be lines according to the station you want food at. So if you wanted doughnuts, and there was someone getting doughnuts in front of you, then wait. Otherwise you just go to the station you want. Disney should put signs up clearly stating this in many areas so that when someone gets all ticked off, you can just point to the sign.

So it's kinda base off dish/tongs available?
If there is no one waiting, in front of or useing the tongs/food dish.. It fair game to walk up and use it?

 

[dotfurio]

When we were on the Wonder I treated the buffet as no line, even though some areas were kind of narrow and appeared to be more of a "line".

I tend to treat all buffets like this, though. If I don't want anything in that particular area and up ahead it's empty I move on. It's not like they're going to run out of Mickey waffles...

 

[sharksfinatic17]

The Magic changed to the Cabanas' lay out.

That is what I thought I read, but since I hadn't personally experienced it, I didn't want to comment on the Magic.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

So it's kinda base off dish/tongs available?
If there is no one waiting, in front of or useing the tongs/food dish.. It fair game to walk up and use it?

I would say, yes, that makes sense.

 

[Eeyorebabies]

Yes, when we went, some people were in line for the omelettes. I didn't want one, and moved on, I got some questioning looks, but then others joined the rebellion

 

[genki3]

We are recently off the magic

The way people reacted you would have thought I robbed a bank!
Calling me a line cutter, waffle stealer... And if looks could kill.. It was worst the some children!!
A CM finally went over and talk to the people in line.

I went on the Fantasy in late April and I had the EXACT experience. I learned from reading these boards that there were no formal lines at the Buffet. This was my first DCL cruise so I read up on everything I could about DCL. Despite this knowledge, I couldn't protect myself from this 1 nasty woman (who obviously isn't a DISer).

I was waiting patiently behind a girl who was getting eggs. The woman was in the next set of stations. The girl left and I proceeded to get eggs for myself. This woman starts going off on me to the girl who happens to be her daughter:
Her: "Some people just don't know how to wait in line!"
Me: "There is no line and I WAS waiting behind."
Her: "I WAS WAITING BEHIND...B*TCH"

Great language and behavior for a mom in front of her kid, don't you think?!

I mentioned to my DH after coming home (since he didn't go on the cruise with me this time) that the ONLY thing that sucked on my trip was that encounter with the nasty woman.

Sorry I didn't answer your question, but thought I'd share my experience. Even if you get a definite answer on these boards, there will still be other people that won't know. My advice (which I'm going to follow on my next DCL cruise) is go to the MDR for breakfast and lunch and avoid the Buffet as often as possible.

 

[Joyous26]

Wow! Good to know. We will be going on our first cruise next Feb and it will be on the Magic.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wasn't sure if I did something wrong

The CM defended you twice, so you weren't doing anything wrong. Those around you thought you were, but you weren't.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

On Dream, Fantasy and Magic, in Cabanas there is no long line between the serving islands. Unlike the old Topsiders on the Nagic or the still old style if Beach blanket on the Wonder.

So you can jump to any station at all and there is no line.

However at each serving station it is polite to wait in turn IE salad tongs one at a time, or the dessert station one at a time it moves very fast.

So unlike the old Topsiders you do not need to get everything first time on your tray, or line back up and go through everything to get an extra slice of toast, Cabanas has no long line, but might have a little queue at each station.

 

[Troy Stratton]

It seems to me when we were on the Wonder there was a line.

 

[Brandiwlf]

I experienced the exact same thing on the dream, multiple times I heard cm say there is no line, even heard them tell people that while they were currently waiting in line!!! Pretty much everyone insisted on waiting in line anyway and gave dirty looks when you went ahead. I guess people just really love waiting in line!

 

[clten]

The Wonder is the only ship now that has a line. (Each side of the buffet only has one spot to get eggs, one spot for bacon, one spot for waffles, etc.) So in Beach Blanket Buffet, it is polite to wait in the line. I never found it too bad once you got moving as most people don't stop at every spot. It is narrow so hard to skip around someone anyway. But if you are through the line and only going back for a slice of toast or something, I don't find it rude to say excuse me and duck in for something -- unless the person waiting in line has been waiting to get the exact thing you are going for. But use common courtesy and you should be fine.

But it's the lack of common sense and courtesy that keep me from enjoying Cabanas on the Magic, Dream and Fantasy. These have stations, why would you wait in line for eggs at the first island when there are two other islands on this side of the buffet that also have eggs and a separate one for omelets. But if I am waiting at a station for eggs because someone is serving themselves, I find it rude for the person working their way "down the line" to jump in front or I have had people grab the spoon/tongs as soon as the other person is finished and turn to me and say "no lines". Really? 2,000 people on board and six places to get some eggs and there isn't going to be a little waiting?

Disney's set up on the buffet is fine either way it is. If people were more aware of the people around them and had more courtesy, either set-up could work fine.

 

[MaleficentRN]

People usual figure it out by the morning of disembarkation.

 

[mmouse37]

I remember this same topic a month or so ago and I feel bad some people are admonished by others in Cabanas. The ones doing the heckling are the ones in the wrong.

There is no true buffet line for Cabanas (on the Magic/Dream/Fantasy) The Wonder still has a traditional buffet line. You DO NOT have to wait at the entrance behind people lined up at the first station at Cabanas. If you don't want eggs/oatmeal from that station move ahead to the next station. We were on the EBTA and the first day or two people lined up and then realized there are SEPARATE FOOD STATIONS which are REPEATED so if there are a few people at one food station move deeper into Cabanas and find the exact same thing at another food station. I try to tell people at the beginning that there it is not a true buffet type system and you can go ahead to the food station you want. Of course you would wait behind someone who is at the same food station as you. Common courtesy prevails!!! You would not push someone out of the way if they were ahead of you at the Mickey Waffles but if someone is serving themselves waffles you certainly could move head to the corned beef hash/baked beans station. People like to line up and just don't understand that it is not a traditional buffet line but you don't have to wait and you are not being rude by doing so. You are actually keeping the system moving by jumping to the different stations.

Go and jump stations confidently in Cabanas!!!!

MJ

 

[wcw57]

people, like children, learn from experience. Some of 'em...........
If they are dense and you are not, feel guiltless and a little ashamed of how your education-dedicated dollars are working out.
People are WAAAAAAY to involved with food on cruises...it's great to enjoy it, over-eat it, post pictures of it, but to get mad at the size of the steak or that someone might be getting Cheerios before you do, is absurd.

Anyhow, those of us who have experienced buffets at, lets just say, a casino know how it works. I wonder, once again, how it is that people shove ahead onto an elevator but wait for scrambled eggs???!!!