Did anyone else find this weird?

[tinkerone]

I was on the Disney Dream in September and they did have the extra staff holding the plates. Mine wore gloves. Yes it was awkward at first but it didn't prevent me from eating whatever I wanted. I talked to the manager and yes it has to do with health issues/health precautions. It has absolutely nothing to do with portion control. I eat my body weight in caviar each time and no one gives me a hard time.

Food is wasted whether someone puts it on their plate or not. Whatever is left on the buffet at the end of service is not saved for a later buffet. It is thrown away.

i'm not buying what the manager said. i think he/they may be being told to say this but it makes no sense. why would they do it for health reasons at palo but not in the main buffet? if you think about it, all the kids that are running around the main buffet, that would be where you would want the extra staff if it were just for that however that only happens when there is an outbreak. while there is still a the possibility of problems at palo, being all adults there is a lesser possibility. not to say all adults are clean or all children are dirty, just saying the odds are what they are.
jmo

 

[cschaaf]

We went to Palo Brunch for the first time last week and they did the hovering thing and it was uncomfortable. It can't have anything to do with health and disease spread as they did not do it in Cabanas. Unless they think the disease carriers only eat Palo Brunch.

I really just assumed they thought that's what people want - Look at our SERVICE! People LOVE SERVICE! They love being WAITED ON HAND AND FOOT! It makes them feel SPECIAL!

The only other time we saw a CM 'helping' was at lunch at Serenity. There was a guy at the drink station. You'd have to tell him three times what drink you wanted, and often, he'd still fill it wrong the first time.

Also, there were people that said, "No ice" prior to saying their drink. He would take the cup, fill it with ice, dump the ice out, then fill the drink. It wasn't like he filled it with ice first and they said, "Oh, no ice for me, please," they told him before he put ice in it. It was odd, uncomfortable, and just made the whole process longer.

ETA: In Palo, they only 'helped' with the savory foods, there was no 'helper' for desserts - which also goes against the idea that they were doing it for health reasons.

 

[missj1975]

i'm not buying what the manager said. i think he/they may be being told to say this but it makes no sense. why would they do it for health reasons at palo but not in the main buffet? if you think about it, all the kids that are running around the main buffet, that would be where you would want the extra staff if it were just for that however that only happens when there is an outbreak. while there is still a the possibility of problems at palo, being all adults there is a lesser possibility. not to say all adults are clean or all children are dirty, just saying the odds are what they are.
jmo

And I'm not buying that the extra servers are for portion control. I have been to Palo brunch 7 times. I have seen guests get frustrated with the different tongs for each food item and grab with their hands. So it seem reasonable to me that an extra server is going to handle the food. Yes it is awkward but I still love the buffet and will continue to book one each cruise.

 

[wcw57]

I was on the Disney Dream in September and they did have the extra staff holding the plates. Mine wore gloves. Yes it was awkward at first but it didn't prevent me from eating whatever I wanted. I talked to the manager and yes it has to do with health issues/health precautions. It has absolutely nothing to do with portion control. I eat my body weight in caviar each time and no one gives me a hard time.

Food is wasted whether someone puts it on their plate or not. Whatever is left on the buffet at the end of service is not saved for a later buffet. It is thrown away.

i would be real surprised if they said they were trying to control waste...clearly, at a buffet, one can eat as much as they want...no one will tell you otherwise (i hope). BUT the psychological impact of having a server/assistant is HUGE!! do not underestimate it. Think of the portions you might get from a server at a backyard wedding as opposed to what you might heap on the plate if left to your own devices.
Clearly not everyone is a gafone. But, the food costs money and the less they waste, the better. Maximize profits...the labor is already on payroll

 

[cschaaf]

And I'm not buying that the extra servers are for portion control. I have been to Palo brunch 7 times. I have seen guests get frustrated with the different tongs for each food item and grab with their hands. So it seem reasonable to me that an extra server is going to handle the food. Yes it is awkward but I still love the buffet and will continue to book one each cruise.

I don't think it was directly done for portion control, either. But indirectly, I know it affected some in our party that did not want to go back into the server infested waters.

Interestingly, I am male and no one ever offered to help me in Palo - nor did they offer to help my dad. All of the females in our party (5 of them) were offered help - the older the female, the more they were offered help. I think they were all able to say, "No, thank you" and serve themselves, but it made them not want to go back in the room 'alone'.

 

[wcw57]

I don't think it was directly done for portion control, either. But indirectly, I know it affected some in our party that did not want to go back into the server infested waters.

Interestingly, I am male and no one ever offered to help me in Palo - nor did they offer to help my dad. All of the females in our party (5 of them) were offered help - the older the female, the more they were offered help. I think they were all able to say, "No, thank you" and serve themselves, but it made them not want to go back in the room 'alone'.

bold font added.

BINGO!! that's the effect right there....like having a chaperone at a school dance

 

[MakiraMarlena]

How can it be portion control? Are they going to say "no, you can't have more cheese or caviar, you've had enough." And if you do not want to go back up for more because you are intimidated by the presence of the servers, that is your choice, not DCL's.

I agree that it's probably for health and sanitation reasons.

 

[cschaaf]

How can it be portion control? Are they going to say "no, you can't have more cheese or caviar, you've had enough." And if you do not want to go back up for more because you are intimidated by the presence of the servers, that is your choice, not DCL's.

I agree that it's probably for health and sanitation reasons.

It's psychological portion control. You're right that the diner totally owns that, not Disney. Did Disney know that diners would feel that way and therefore instituted the server hovering to artificially control portions? Maybe. We'll never know the answer to that one.

Can you answer how it would be for health and sanitation when they don't do the same thing in Cabanas, where more people are touching things? How about the fact that people could say, "No thank you" and serve themselves anyway? What about the fact that they never asked to help me?

Unless they are doing some serious disease carrier profiling, it's not at all for health and sanitation reasons - at least not when we went last week.

If they are really doing it for health and sanitation reasons, they are doing a very poor job and should focus their efforts elsewhere.

I really just think they think that's what people want - and I'm sure some do.

 

[Mrs Green]

I will not be fooled by your mind games Disney! . No shame in my game, as I will eat until I need to pull out my maternity pants either way

 

[Justacruiser]

I won't be booking brunch if they continue this process. I personally don't mind telling the server to triple what he put on my plate. However, my DW does not like the process.

Hey, if it is due to sickness, they need to implement in Cabanas during lunch! Can you see the lines............

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think this is something just on the Dream/Fantasy. Our last 2 Fantasy cruises had this system when we did Palo Brunch and I did not like it. Felt awkward. On the Magic recently they did not do this at Palo brunch. I don't think it is a noro virus preventative but just seems to be like they are trying to provide a higher level of service. don't know but felt uncomfortable with it.

MJ

It was somewhat hit or miss on the Wonder WBPC. We did 2 brunches. There were lots of servers milling about assisting and/or carrying plates. There were also a lot of guests. If someone was available they did the serving/carrying. If not you were lucky! LOL! We saw it more prominently being done during the 2nd brunch we did later in the cruise. It doesn't bother me so much. It's a little weird. Yeah. I wouldn't be embarrassed or hold back what I got on my plate because someone else is dishing it up. I could care less what they think. LOL!

 

[ukintheus]

Ditto for us on the Fantasy in January, although we all thought that we were served MORE food than if we had served ourselves. I tend to take small portions knowing what's coming later in the meal, and the server helping me gave me larger servings than I would have taken myself. He also was encouraging me to try all sorts of things that I usually by-pass, so for us, although it seemed weird at first, it was overall a good experience.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I was on the Disney Dream in September and they did have the extra staff holding the plates. Mine wore gloves. Yes it was awkward at first but it didn't prevent me from eating whatever I wanted. I talked to the manager and yes it has to do with health issues/health precautions. It has absolutely nothing to do with portion control. I eat my body weight in caviar each time and no one gives me a hard time.

Food is wasted whether someone puts it on their plate or not. Whatever is left on the buffet at the end of service is not saved for a later buffet. It is thrown away.

And if the manager told you the moon was made of cheese would you believe that too?

Sorry, but Disney hides their "money saving" behind "guest requests" constantly. IT's amazing how if it saves them money then it's good for us LOL!

 

[phinz]

we retuned a couple of weeks ago from the Dream. We went to Palo brunch which we have done many times in the past. However- this time they had these extra people hovering around carrying your plate for you and putting the food on your plate at the buffet. We did not like it at all. It was so odd. I did not like someone standing there waiting for me to tell them what I wanted so they could put it on my plate. We would wait until they were busy with others and then jump up and get our own food. I hope they don't continue doing this.

They've been doing this since at least November, 2013, because that was our first Palo Brunch and they've done it that way every time we've gone since then.

 

[erin1715]

We booked Palo brunch for the first time in July and I don't like this at all! I generally don't like being waited on hand and foot, I just want to be left alone. Hopefully if I politely say no thank you, they will let me dish it up myself.

 

[lorimay]

We were on The Fantasy Feb. 2015, they did not do this.
When we went again in November (same time as Ebola crisis )they were doing it. I agree with most its not my favorite thing but it won't stop me from going to Palo brunch, its too good.

 

[mrsclark]

I haven't eaten brunch at Palo since March 2013 so I can't add new information there.

But I thought some of you might find this podcast from NPR's Planet Money interesting. It is about tablets on tables at restaurants. Dessert sales go up when tablets are present versus when a server asks if anyone wants dessert. One theory is people don't want their server to think they are pigs by eating a big meal and then ordering dessert. http://www.npr.org/2015/05/29/410470091/computer-tablets-take-over-part-of-restaurant-servers-job

I am certainly not saying everyone thinks this way. I'm sure plenty of people don't care what servers think of them. But I think there is a significant enough group of people that do care, whether consciously or subconsciously, that they are influenced to take less if servers are present. In my mind this makes sense as the buffet would have to replenished less often and if management sees a trend in food consumption going down they can starting making less and putting most less in the first place, thus reducing costs.

This is just my own theory, of course, but the disease prevention theory doesnt make complete sense if the other buffet on board is still a normal serve yourself buffet.

 

[Dug720]

I had no problem with it on the Fantasy in February. Well, slight issue when my helper automatically put melon on my plate with prosciutto - I cannot stand melon or for anything to touch it. He immediately apologized, took it away, and got a totally new plate, putting all the foods that I already had on there. When I went back for seconds he was helping someone else, but he told my new helper "No melon!"

 

[CamColt]

We had this on the Fantasy last summer but not on the Wonder in Feb. I too thought it was weird and didn't like it, but I thought that was just me. I'm particular about mixing different kinds of food so I like to set up my plate so that nothing is mixing or dripping into anything else. They just threw it all on there together. It definitely negatively impacted my experience.

 

[Justacruiser]

I believe a simple "would you like me to assist you with your plate?" would be fine.

But, I do agree that they should pay better attention to the service utensils they provide to obtain items. There are some items on the buffet that do not work with the serving utensils they provide. And, I think if they were trying to reduce cost because of an expensive item, they would just eliminate the item and let me get my own food.

It may be just as simple as trying to create a more elegant atmosphere. I do think they will take a hit on Palo brunch bookings if this change remains in effect. I know a couple of the Palo Managers, I will probably ask them for the real deal next time I am on.

I recommend you place it on the comment card. I did and hit the Palo area hard on my review. Maybe if more complain it will stop.

Another question I have is if the CM's that assist with the buffet get paid from tips?