How to survive the cruise ship buffet
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.
Wash your hands
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.
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.
Cooked to order
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.
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.
Stay fresh
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.
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.
Don’t go crazy
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.
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.
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