Cruise ship buffets have a bit of a reputation online, and it’s often not a good reputation…

Lots of people imagine germs everywhere, shared serving spoons, thousands of passengers touching things, and people constantly getting sick.

After cruising on many different ships and visiting behind-the-scenes food areas, I know that cruise ship buffets are usually surprisingly clean behind the scenes.

The biggest problem is often not the kitchen standards, but the passengers using the buffet!

Cruise Ships Take Food Safety Very Seriously

Cruise lines have to be very strict about safety standards.

This is because:

• Illness outbreaks become major news stories very quickly.
• Thousands of people eat from the same kitchens every day.
• Ships can’t easily access outside medical help, although they do have their own medical teams on onboard.
• Cruise lines are heavily inspected.

Buffet kitchens and storage areas are usually extremely organised, regularly sanitised, temperature-controlled and closely monitored.

I have been on various behind-the-scenes tours of cruise ships, and most have included the galleys (kitchens).

The food preparation areas, food storage rooms, and dishwashing areas are spotless!

The industrial kitchens on cruise ships are often cleaner than those in many land-based restaurants.

The Hidden Side Of Cruise Ship Buffets

What passengers don’t see when they eat in the ship buffet is what goes on behind the scenes:

• Massive dishwashing systems
• Separate handwashing sinks for crew
• Strict food labelling
• Colour-coded chopping boards
• Constant cleaning
• Food temperature checks

There are often rules for the crew working with food, too. They often have:

• Health monitoring
• Strict hygiene rules
• Gloves/hair coverings
• Cleaning schedules to adhere to.

Because cruise ships feed thousands of people every day, onboard systems have to be incredibly efficient and well-controlled.

Where Things Become Less Predictable

The cleanliness issue is usually less about the food preparation and more about passenger behaviour.

The things I worry about are:

• Did passengers wash their hands -or at least sanitise them as they entered the buffet?
• Are people using serving utensils properly?
• Are children touching the food directly?
• Is somebody coughing nearby?
• Are people using the buffet sensibly?

When I asked my audience about the weirdest things they had seen on a cruise ship, many mentioned things happening in the buffet! My favourite examples included:

I saw a lady put grilled salmon in her pocket

Fred

A kid put his mouth on the self serve ice cream nozzle. I’ve never been able to eat it since!

Wendy

A little boy in the buffet grabbed some French fries off the tray. His mom yelled; “NO! PUT THOSE BACK!” So he put them back. Then his mom yelled again; “NO! DON’T PUT THEM BACK!!!”
Even I was confused!

Kelly

I saw a grown woman stick her hand into the bowl of parmesan cheese and eat it. Like the bowl that sits with the salt and pepper and has a SPOON in it that you’re supposed to use. So gross

Joanne

Cruise lines can control kitchens much more easily than they can control thousands of passengers -some of whom might behave like this!

Some Cruise Lines Handle This Better Than Others

Buffet systems vary a lot from one cruise line to another. Often, the size of the ship you are on has a bearing.

Self-Service Buffets

Many cruise lines have returned to self-service buffets since the Covid pandemic.

They work well for cruise lines, as they are faster, more flexible and offer passengers more freedom.

Cruise lines don’t particularly want all passengers served by the crew, because this ties up crew members who could be better employed elsewhere.

If there is an outbreak of Norovirus on the cruise, or on the previous cruise, one of the first things you will notice is that the crew serve all food and drinks in the buffet.

The disadvantage of allowing passengers to serve themselves is that passengers have more contact with serving utensils.

You have to trust the passengers to wash their hands, or at least sanitise them as they go into the buffet

An example of this was my cruise on P&O’s Aurora. There had been a norovirus outbreak on the previous cruise.

Staff served all food in the buffet, and there were hand sanitisers EVERYWHERE! I was very impressed.

Have a look at that cruise here:

Crew-Served Buffets

Some cruise lines or ships serve food directly to the passengers.

They have staff behind every counter to assist passengers, which greatly reduces passenger contact with food.

During the pandemic, all cruise ships moved to staff-served buffets.

Staff-served buffets often feel cleaner, more controlled and less chaotic, although the queues might be longer.

Some passengers dislike having food served to them because this can mean longer queues in the buffet.

The portions served can be smaller, and they feel that they have less freedom to pick and choose what they want.

The Handwashing Situation

Many cruise lines strongly encourage handwashing before entering buffets.

They might have crew at the entrance to the buffet to encourage guests to use hand sanitisers or sinks.

My earliest memories of cruising include the “washy washy, happy happy” crew on Norwegian Cruise Line who stood at the entrance to every buffet, encouraging handwashing.

Enforcement varies hugely from one cruiseline to another – and even from one ship to another.

Many cruise ships have sinks with paper towels at the entrance.

My favourite ever find was on Costa Smeralda, where they had purpose-built hand-washing machines. You stick your hands in the two holes – the machine does the rest. Genius!

Some ships actively stop passengers as they go into the buffet if they haven’t washed their hands or used sanitiser. Others barely monitor it and simply encourage it.

How vigilant the crew are often depends on:

• The cruise line
• The ship
• Current illness concerns onboard

Are Cruise Ship Buffets Dirtier Than Hotels?

Many people worry more about cruise buffets than hotel buffets, even though:

• Hotels often have fewer controls
• Cruise ships usually have stricter inspections
• Cruise kitchens are heavily monitored

Cruise ships are under intense scrutiny because illness outbreaks become public very quickly.

My parents recently took a package holiday to Spain on a full-board basis.

There were two sanitisers at the entrance to the self-service buffet, one of which barely worked – and no hand-washing facilities by the buffet at all.

Although they sanitised every time they entered or left the buffet (as they are well trained from cruise ships!) they never saw anyone else doing so. There were no staff on hand to encourage sanitising.

They said this made them feel very uneasy, and that they will be happy to return to cruising!

How To Stay Healthy At A Cruise Buffet

There are some very simple things you can do to minimise any chance of illness when you cruise.

• Wash your hands properly before you enter the buffet.
• Use sanitiser if there aren’t sinks available.
• Avoid touching utensils unnecessarily.

For more tips about staying healthy on your cruise holiday, read this article next:

Staying Healthy When You Cruise, Avoiding Seasickness – Medications and First Aid Items to Pack

Don’t panic! Millions of people use cruise ship buffets every year without issue

Cruise ship buffets are generally much cleaner behind the scenes than many people think.

The unpredictability comes from human behaviour, not from the kitchens themselves.

The kitchens are incredibly clean. The question is whether the passengers are…

The only ship I have ever been on that I wasn’t happy with the cleanliness and the lack of handwashing was Carnival Miracle.

Have a look at all the things that made me uneasy in the video below:

Before You Go

Making sure there is enough food onboard for all the passengers onboard is quite a task. Find out whether ships ever run out of food here:

With THOUSANDS Onboard, Do Cruise Ships Ever Run Out Of Food?

Find out what the rules are about taking food out of the buffet on cruise ships here:

Can You Bring Food Back to Your Cabin From The Buffet on a Cruise Ship?