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How to survive the cruise ship buffet

<p>Every few months another horror story appears in the news of an entire cruise ship struck down by norovirus. It happens even on the most expensive lines with perfect health and safety records. And the finger is generally pointed at the self serve, all you can eat buffet. Stay healthy on your next cruise with these tips.</p> <p><strong>Wash your hands</strong></p> <p>This seems like a no brainer, but the main culprit for many outbreaks on ships is people who haven’t washed their hands correctly. Use soap and water whenever you can and make use of the auto-dispensers of hand sanitisers that are scattered throughout the shop – especially on the way into the restaurants. </p> <p>If you don’t like the really astringent feel of these products bring your own antiseptic with you – Aesop make a great one that’s only around $10 a bottle.</p> <p><strong>Cooked to order</strong></p> <p>Breakfast generally begins at 7am so unless you’re one of the first up there, there’s a good chance that a lot of that food has been sitting around for a while. Eggs are the thing to be most careful about here. Scrambled eggs have often only been partially cooked in the kitchen and then finish cooking in the warming tray, which has potential disaster written all over it. </p> <p>Go for an omelette or fried eggs cooked to order so you know it’s been freshly prepared. Same goes for lunch. Many buffets will do pasta or stir fries cooked fresh (or at least put together in front of you) so you can avoid the warmed over dishes that have been sitting in the bain-marie for hours.</p> <p><strong>Stay fresh</strong></p> <p>Fresh, uncooked vegetables (like salads) are generally considered one of the more dangerous options on any buffet. There’s the questionable quality of the water they’ve been washed in coupled with the fact that there is no heat from the cooking process to kill any nasty bugs. Once again, freshness is key here. Go to lunch early so the salads have just come from the fridge or watch for when they refill the station. </p> <p>Many ships also have a separate café where a chef will make you up a salad from separate fresh ingredients. You can be sure these haven’t been sitting in soggy dressings for too long and that other passengers haven’t been poking at them.</p> <p><strong>Don’t go crazy</strong></p> <p>A lot of people who become unwell on a cruise might not actually have any kind of gastro; they’ve just overindulged. In the face of all that food it’s tempting to go a little crazy with rich dishes, lots of meat and double desserts. </p> <p>This can be a big shock to your system that’s usually used to eating just some cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. It’s your holiday so you should definitely indulge, but try to be sensible. Pace yourself, save the blowouts for one meal a day and try to eat some healthy stuff too.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Cruising

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Cruise passengers slammed over “tacky” buffet etiquette

<p dir="ltr">Though buffets are designed to feed hungry passengers while onboard, one cruise guest has sparked a row online over whether it should be an option to take buffet fare beyond the ship.</p> <p dir="ltr">Taking to Reddit, the passenger asked whether they were allowed to fill plastic containers they brought with them with buffet food to take on day excursions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Are we allowed to fill our personal plastic containers with buffet food?” they asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We will be leaving the ship and exploring but want to take food from the ship and pack it for later during the day while we are out exploring.”</p> <p dir="ltr">While it might be allowed, other passengers quickly shared their horror at the suggestion.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Wow, I can’t think of anything more tacky honestly,” one said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Take a box of granola bars with you if you must, for when hunger strikes and food is nowhere to be seen but practices like this are exactly why Venice stopped allowing cruise ships to dock in their ports.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Passengers would come off the ship, bring a picnic, tour the sights, leave their garbage in the city, spend as little money as they could get away with, and sail off leaving the city more worn than it was before without really doing much to contribute.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Please consider partaking of local food, drink and delicacies while you are ashore in various places.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The people who graciously welcome tourists into their ports also depend on them for their livelihood.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another added: “I would slightly judge someone filling up a container in line but you paid for the food.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With many tourist hotspots eagerly welcoming cruise ships back into their ports after the pandemic saw businesses across the travel and tourism industry suffer, others also suggested choosing to enjoy the local cuisine.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Eat a hearty meal before departing the ship,” a guest wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Partake in some local cuisine instead of dealing with the hassles of taking food into foreign countries.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Some warned that taking food from the buffet to eat later could increase the risk of getting sick, while one user pointed out that some ports won’t allow food from the ship.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many cruise destinations do not allow food from the ship to go to shore, particularly fruits, seeds, nuts etc,” they wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So be careful and make sure it is allowed. The shore talks typically address this.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Keeping food in your backpack at room temperature until you want to eat it sounds like a good way to get food poisoning.” another warned.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-278bb6f0-7fff-8b35-2fae-f7f13271d65d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Cruising

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How coronavirus has changed how we enjoy hotel breakfasts

<p><strong>The new normal in hotel buffets</strong></p> <p><span>Who doesn’t love a good hotel buffet? They are cost-effective, delicious and it doesn’t matter if your eyes are bigger than your stomach. </span></p> <p><span>There is something truly magical about groggily taking the lift down to the hotel lobby to find an expansive breakfast spread in front of you, but while still exciting, these moments will look a little different now due to the coronavirus pandemic. </span></p> <p><span>We spoke to experts to see just what will be different about hotel buffets in a post-pandemic world.<br /></span></p> <p><strong>No more serving yourself</strong></p> <p><span>One major change we might see at hotel buffets post-pandemic is that we won’t be the ones putting the food on our plates. </span></p> <p><span>G</span><span>uests will most likely just point to the food that they want behind plexiglass and servers will place the food on their dish. </span></p> <p><span>“That way, only one person will be holding the serving utensils and guests may not have to wear gloves to prevent the transfer of bacteria,” says Laurie Wilkins, founder of Call Outdoors.</span></p> <p><strong>Hand sanitiser will become a staple</strong></p> <p><span>If you haven’t already noticed, hand sanitiser has become a staple everywhere and hotels are not the exception. Hand sanitising stations will likely be at various access points throughout the buffet. </span></p> <p><span>“These hand sanitisers might also have a foot pump dispenser, so everything is hands-free,” claims Wilkins. </span></p> <p><span>“Since there are many people coming to the restaurant, the surface of hand sanitiser bottles may potentially be unsanitary as well.”</span></p> <p><strong>Breakfast room will be sealed</strong></p> <p><span>Dining rooms will be closed in order to avoid unnecessary congregation and interaction between guests at some large hotel chains, such as Best Western. </span></p> <p><span>Guests will eat in their own private spaces so everyone can maintain distance and limit contact.</span></p> <p><strong>Grab And Go options</strong></p> <p><span>Best Western is also enhancing its “Grab &amp; Go” offerings, meaning that all food and beverage options will be pre-packaged to avoid contamination. </span></p> <p><span>With pre-packaged options, guests will avoid unnecessary touching or breathing on the food and will also have limited contact with servers.</span></p> <p><strong>Waiter service</strong></p> <p><span>“The food will still be mass-produced but, instead of customers going up to grab food, they will order from the staff who will bring the food to you,” explains Raymond Cua, founder of Travelling Foodie. </span></p> <p><span>“This will eliminate the need to have all the food displayed outside which is prone to contamination.” </span></p> <p><span>Having a waitstaff can also prevent unnecessary contact with other guests as the only outside contact people will have is with their server.</span></p> <p><strong>Contactless ordering</strong></p> <p><span>Cua also claims that some hotels may implement contactless ordering with the use of a device rather than having a server physically come to take your order. </span></p> <p><span>That way, the only contact will be the delivery of the food to the table.</span></p> <p><strong>Room service</strong></p> <p><span>“One possible action plan that hotels can do is to use room service as a platform to connect their customers to their hotel buffet offerings,” says Yaniv Masjedi, CMO at Nextiva. </span></p> <p><span>“Customers can choose the food and drinks they like to eat and relay information to the front desk. Then, room service delivers orders. With this set-up, it helps prevent the spread of the virus by eliminating the chances of hotel guests interacting with one another.” </span></p> <p><span>Hotel employees can also leave the food outside the door like many takeout places have been doing to limit face-to-face contact.</span></p> <p><strong>Directional buffets</strong></p> <p><span>For hotels that are still allowing for in-person buffets, guests will only be able to move in one direction while socially distanced – just like many stores that are placing directional arrows on the floor. </span></p> <p><span>“Buffets will become more ‘directional’ with you needing to start on one end, and finish in another, for more traffic flow,” explains Alex Miller, CEO of Upgraded Points.com.</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/travel-hints-tips/what-hotel-buffets-will-look-like-now/" target="_blank">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Travel Tips

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Why you should never do this at a cruise ship buffet

<p>One of the great perks of cruising is that all onboard meals are organised and paid for.</p> <p>However, one of the downsides of the excessive amount of delicious food available for passengers is that it creates the perfect opportunity to overeat, leading to significant weight gain.</p> <p>To look after your health while you are enjoying holiday bliss, follow these tips.</p> <p><strong>1. Don’t abandon nutrition</strong></p> <p>More often than not, holidays are the perfect excuse to ignore nutrition and diets. We give ourselves permission to do as little activity as possible and eat as much as we want in the name of “relaxation”.</p> <p>If you want to use your holiday to get even healthier, pay attention to the food that is available to you. Make better food choices rather than bingeing and opt for the food that is better quality. You can also utilise your spare time to schedule in some workouts.</p> <p><strong>2. Don’t be careless at the buffet</strong></p> <p>The key to taking care of yourself at a buffet is to fill up on the soups, salads and vegetables at the beginning so you have less room for high calorie fried food and desserts.</p> <p>Make the most of the lower-calorie foods that are presented before you, such as seafood, salad and fruit where possible.</p> <p><strong>3. Don’t constantly snack</strong></p> <p>On cruises, you have large portion meals which means you don’t need to snack throughout the day. If you fill up on breakfast, lunch and dinner, there will be no need to have extra chips, biscuits or other snacks during the day. Once you stop snacking, you will also be able to enjoy your main meals more as you will be hungrier for them.</p> <p><strong>4. Don’t overeat when you have alcohol</strong></p> <p>Alcohol is registered as a toxin in our body and so the liver works hard to metabolise alcohol as soon as it is consumed. This means the other calories consumed when we are drinking are more likely to be stored, leading to weight gain.</p> <p>When you enjoy your alcohol on your cruise, don’t over-do it with the high-calorie snacks which are often served with your drinks.</p> <p>What are your tips for eating well on a cruise and not gaining weight? Let us know in the comments below. </p>

Cruising

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How to stay healthy when dining buffet style

<p>When it comes to dining out, a buffet can be a tempting and exciting option for many reasons, not least the “all you can eat” factor. Aside from the plentiful food, the bevvy of options mean that there’s usually something on offer for just about everyone. And don’t get us started on the dessert options. But it’s important to not let things get out of hand when you’re staring down a buffet. So let’s look at some tips to help you sensibly attack the situation.</p> <p><strong>Go plate-free for your first lap</strong></p> <p>Take a couple of minutes to peruse the options without a plate so that you can assess what’s on offer. Scout out the healthier options and then decide which of the naughtier foods you just can’t pass up.</p> <p><strong>Plan, plate, portion control</strong></p> <p>For your first trip (yes, you should plan for more than one spin around the dance floor with this particular partner), try to fill about two thirds of your plate with healthy things. Use the rest of the space for those decadent things you scouted on your recon mission.</p> <p><strong>Rehydrate</strong></p> <p>When that first plate is empty, take the time to sit back and enjoy the wonderful company you’ve no doubt brought along with you. Drink a glass of water and wait a full five minutes before returning to the buffet for round two. If, after those five minutes, you find that you’re full, then chalk this one up as a victory to Mr Buffet, and don’t insist on “getting your money’s worth” with another plateful.</p> <p><strong>Don’t cave to peer pressure</strong></p> <p>Just because the person sitting across from you is going up for a third helping doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Know your limits and stick to them.</p> <p><strong>Dance with dessert</strong></p> <p>It’s time for dessert. So you should repeat the first two tips – go plate-free first, then plan your attack. Try to include some fresh fruit, and avoid too much refined sugar. We all love cakes, puddings, and ice cream, but you’ll probably regret overdoing it later.</p>

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