Self-service in Cabanas

[squirk]

They cut your steak for you? I've only ever heard of them doing that (after asking) for mom (or dad) when dealing with young children at meals, so that they can also eat the meal when it's hot.

It has happened to me several times, without the lead server asking. And while our kids were young, we weren’t, like, struggling with them or anything where we needed a helping hand. Who knows - maybe we looked like we were struggling.

I always thought they cut it (in addition to “schtick”) in order to get you to eat faster and leave sooner so they had more time to flip the table before second seating.

 

[mevelandry]

No. I used to hate the idea of having so many people touching the same utensils and used to bring hand sanitizer with me all the time. This will help preventing flu and noro outbreaks as well.

 

[Pens Fan]

I won't miss is at all. While I love the convenience of buffets and wish DCL had an evening buffet option, from a hygiene standpoint they have always skeeved me out - especially on DCL with all the kids. I've seen too many things that are just gross, and I'm really not a germaphobe. I will have no problem if Cabanas goes to a cafeteria style system with CM's serving us and frankly hopes it stays that way permanently. As others have mentioned, not only would this help with Covid - it should reduce the spread of other viruses as well. That's a win in my book!

 

[squirk]

No. I used to hate the idea of having so many people touching the same utensils and used to bring hand sanitizer with me all the time. This will help preventing flu and noro outbreaks as well.

One has to wonder why DCL would not have instituted this change years and years ago, if they knew it would curb flu/noro outbreaks.

I can only guess that self-serve is cheaper for DCL because you (probably?) need less staff when people are serving themselves. Perhaps the lines move quicker when people serve themselves as well.

 

[mama&me]

Is it just me, or is anyone else a little bummed out at the prospect that, for the foreseeable future, your food in Cabanas will have to be plated for/served to you?

It’s not a dealbreaker or anything. I just have always enjoyed picking things out myself at buffets. It’ll be weird asking people for stuff.

Am I alone in this?

It’s not a dealbreaker for me either. I would prefer to serve myself. However it would be healthier for me to ask to be served to prevent spread of germs, AND this way might prevent me from over eating as I might be shamed into asking for so much. Lol

 

[TestingH2O]

(unless they just set out a bunch of little cups).

This is exactly what they did on the Panama Canal cruise. Cups for ketchup, mustard, syrup, etc.

As a parent, I REALLY liked it. It was so much easier for my daughter to get food when they served her. It also ensures that no kid is touching food and putting it back. (In the interest of full disclosure, my own kid has done this without thinking. I called them over and they got rid of the whole tray, but stuff like that happens and no one notices.)

 

[KGmomoftwins]

And you are not touching the serving utensils that others have touched!

THIS!!! I hate that so much! I never forget being so grossed out at BOG once for lunch watching some little kid touch every single fork before grabbing one!

 

[mab2012]

@squirk, I'm with you. It wouldn't stop me cruising, but I much prefer serving myself. Especially when it comes to things like salad bars and sauces. I just want to be able to get what I want, in the quantities I want, and it's much easier to just do that myself than to communicate it to someone else.

When they did this on the WBPC, the buffet was well staffed, but there were still times when I found myself trying to get the attention of a crew member to serve me, when I could have just as easily taken what I wanted and left. It's not like it ruined our cruise, but at least for us, it certainly didn't enhance it either.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I prefer to serve myself but as long as it doesn't slow up the line and create more logjams, I'm OK with it.

 

[JWelch62]

EDIT: I have my timelines wrong... Nevermind

 

[mevelandry]

One has to wonder why DCL would not have instituted this change years and years ago, if they knew it would curb flu/noro outbreaks.

I can only guess that self-serve is cheaper for DCL because you (probably?) need less staff when people are serving themselves. Perhaps the lines move quicker when people serve themselves as well.

Staff are usually much faster when it comes to using the utensils than the guests are.

 

[Girl of the South]

When I was a kid, we would go to a cafeteria chain in FL. I think it was called Mortons? And there were small bowls of every item that you would just pick up as you made your way down the line. And someone was there refilling bowls with mashed potatoes, green beans, whatever it was. The PLUS side of this is there is just so much room on a tray for lots of little bowls. The amount of food people pile on their plates at the buffet and then leave on the table is just plain sad. Mountains of rice or pancakes . . . way more than people can eat. So I think this may help curb the huge amount of food waste.

 

[squirk]

Staff are usually much faster when it comes to using the utensils than the guests are.

Perhaps, but you also have to factor in the above-mentioned communication to get the portion size right. That might cancel out any speed advantage the CMs have with utensils.

And each station/pod is usually - what? - four "dishes" wide? Conceptually, four people could walk up and serve themselves simultaneously, right?

If they are going to staff four to a pod, then maybe it would be as fast, or faster, than self-serve. But that gets back to cost to pay for those additional CMs in Cabanas, I would think.

I'm not saying I have the inside track on the logistics. I am just hazarding a guess that if cafeteria-style was cheaper and faster than self-serve, they would launched the ships with the former model in place.

The fact that they heretofore have "flipped on" CMs serving you only reactively, in temporary response to a noro outbreak, with quick reversion back to self-service when the noro issue goes away? That suggests (to me, at least) that self-service is cheaper, faster or in demand by guests, or some combination of the three.

 

[TestingH2O]

The fact that they heretofore have "flipped on" CMs serving you only reactively, in temporary response to a noro outbreak, with quick reversion back to self-service when the noro issue goes away? That suggests (to me, at least) that self-service is cheaper, faster or in demand by guest, or some combination of the three.

Maybe those things. But for sure it is fewer hours for the crew members to work. I would guess that, when they have to have crew serve the buffet food, some dining staff loses their once a rotation lunch off.

ETA - assuming that crew members have to serve the food all the time would necessitate a change in staffing numbers or time off structure.

 

[squirk]

Maybe those things. But for sure it is fewer hours for the crew members to work. I would guess that, when they have to have crew serve the buffet food, some dining staff loses their once a rotation lunch off.

ETA - assuming that crew members have to serve the food all the time would necessitate a change in staffing numbers or time off structure.

Right. More mandatory "on" hours is crummy enough for the CMs. But Disney still has to pay them. And if they need to bring in more people, there are onboarding costs, they need more crew accommodations, they feed those extra people, etc.

That extra staffing will come at an expense, and that is why I think self-service is cheaper for the company.

 

[otten]

They switched to cast members serving in Cabanas midway through our Panama Pandemic cruise. Honestly I didn’t find it very different and like others have said, I didn’t mind knowing that other people weren’t touching my food.

 

[Lulubelle17]

I'm actually hopeful they do this... every cruise I see a kid toss some bacon back into the tray or pick up the serving spoon they dropped and put it back. Adults are not blameless, but it does tend to be the kiddos who don't know better yet. The only time I'm not wondering in the back of my mind if something happened prior to my arrival is when I see the staff put out a fresh tray.

Me too! More than once I watched kids (especially teens) take stuff and put it back. I welcome the change, it will keep things cleaner and better organized.

 

[JWelch62]

In 2016 the Wonder had a serious noravirus outbreak. We sailed on her on the 2nd cruise after the outbreak. It was a 3N Baja cruise, so LOTS of kids. Per the Cabanas manager that particular itinerary has one of the highest percentages of young kids. Anyway, the point is that Cabanas was not self serve. Even with a lot of kids it was not appreciably slower. In fact, that may have sped it up.

 

[mevelandry]

Me too! More than once I watched kids (especially teens) take stuff and put it back. (...)

This...

Or drop the utensils on the floor and put in back in the food...

 

[Girl of the South]

Maybe it's more about safety than being cheaper. And I was thinking more of a hybrid between cafeteria and self service. You can grab a bowl of mashed potatoes. The staff member is constantly refilling everything so you don't have to ask for it. Probably less choices overall. I can't remember desserts . . were they plated and you asked for them or did you just take what you wanted???? (not a dessert eater)