rcdave Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 Just a few thoughts for policy changes and future ship updates/enhancements: Install Voice technology – Alexa turn on the TV, Alexa call room service, Alexa turn bed light on, and etc. to help eliminate/minimize touch points (TV remote; phone; light switches) within the cabin. Add motion sense faucets at sink. Use anti bacteria/antimicrobial material/coatings on all flat surfaces. Use long lasting cleaning products – one is advertised on TV that “supposedly” kills bacteria for up to 24 hours. Install auto open/close doors where feasible. Mandatory (supervised) “washy- washy” stations before entering buffet and dining areas, (On a late January cruise, not on RC, no one was stationed at the entrances to the buffet and few hand sanitizer dispensers, the ones that were available were empty, the same for the dining room.) Use the small packets of salt/pepper – no shakers. Require mandatory travel insurance for all passengers - high medical/medical evacuation coverage. Enhance onboard medical facilities/services/staff. Install limited laboratory capability for onsite testing. * No more self serve in the buffet * Hepa filters in all HVAC units * complimentary wipes in the cabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 4 minutes ago, rcdave said: Just a few thoughts for policy changes and future ship updates/enhancements: Install Voice technology – Alexa turn on the TV, Alexa call room service, Alexa turn bed light on, and etc. to help eliminate/minimize touch points (TV remote; phone; light switches) within the cabin. Add motion sense faucets at sink. Use anti bacteria/antimicrobial material/coatings on all flat surfaces. Use long lasting cleaning products – one is advertised on TV that “supposedly” kills bacteria for up to 24 hours. Install auto open/close doors where feasible. Mandatory (supervised) “washy- washy” stations before entering buffet and dining areas, (On a late January cruise, not on RC, no one was stationed at the entrances to the buffet and few hand sanitizer dispensers, the ones that were available were empty, the same for the dining room.) Use the small packets of salt/pepper – no shakers. Require mandatory travel insurance for all passengers - high medical/medical evacuation coverage. Enhance onboard medical facilities/services/staff. Install limited laboratory capability for onsite testing. -Dedicated employee to serve ice cream from the machines if they don’t already have that. Lovetocruise2002 and shaydav19 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof4crazytocruise Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 Include a Purell wipe packet in the silverware napkin roll at the Windjammer so you can wipe your hands after handling all the serving utensils. WannaCruise and shaydav19 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Keeble Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 Robotic Bartenders fleetwide so they cant spread any germs All bars to become bionic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 54 minutes ago, rcdave said: Install Voice technology – Alexa turn on the TV, Alexa call room service, Alexa turn bed light on, and etc. to help eliminate/minimize touch points (TV remote; phone; light switches) within the cabin. Add motion sense faucets at sink. ... Install auto open/close doors where feasible. ... Require mandatory travel insurance for all passengers - high medical/medical evacuation coverage. Voice tech is fiddly and frustrating with general-use cases, never mind specific ones like you mention. Lost track of how many times I've asked Alexa what the overnight low is supposed to be, and I get some weird dictionary definition instead of the temperature forecast. I think this kind of feature, while cool, would end up disregarded by most passengers. I'm assuming with auto-open / close doors, you mean the kind with a motion sensor (like the exit to the pool deck), rather than a button next to the door like they have on the bathrooms. I would guess that there are regulatory, privacy, or other reasons (HVAC conservation?) that they still use the push-button you can hit with the side or back of your wrist. Speaking of regulatory problems, I don't think they can legally force someone to buy travel insurance. Exhibit A is the Affordable Care Act, which included an insurance mandate; the Supreme Court recently called the mandate unconstitutional (a little more complex than this, but that's the end result). If the ACA, an act of federal legislation, couldn't legally include a mandate that people buy insurance, you can bet a cruise company will be sued out of doing it as well. And that's just here in the US. No idea what international law would say about that. 3 minutes ago, J_Keeble said: Robotic Bartenders fleetwide so they cant spread any germs All bars to become bionic! Clearly you haven't tasted the end result of a beverage made at the Bionic Bar. Momof4crazytocruise, Baked Alaska, J_Keeble and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danv3 Posted March 23, 2020 Report Share Posted March 23, 2020 4 hours ago, rcdave said: Enhance onboard medical facilities/services/staff. Install limited laboratory capability for onsite testing. * No more self serve in the buffet * complimentary wipes in the cabin These are the only ones I can see happening. Prohibiting self-service in the buffet is a near certainty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 4 hours ago, danv3 said: These are the only ones I can see happening. Prohibiting self-service in the buffet is a near certainty. It's not a buffet if it isn't self-serve. It's a cafeteria. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balsam Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 10 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said: It's not a buffet if it isn't self-serve. It's a cafeteria. P and O Australia have been doing away with buffets over the past couple of years. They now have "The Pantry", which is somewhat akin to a shopping centre food court. About 10 small outlets, all serving different types of food which are cooked/prepared on order. It solves two issues... passengers are not handling anything, and the food is not sitting on a buffet for unknown periods of time. I have not sailed on a ship with this, but all the reviews have been very positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 20 hours ago, rcdave said: * No more self serve in the buffet Good ideas. We did have a cruise in Australia/NZ (2018) during which buffet service was assisted by staff. Guests couldn't self-serve, and the Diamond lounge buffet was shut down. This was all due to a norovirus, which had infected over 30 on the ship. Frankly, the biggest help for vacationers will be the availability of a low-cost vaccine. Until the vaccine is available, I am afraid there will be significant challenges to any sort of vacation travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morganno Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 5 hours ago, Balsam said: P and O Australia have been doing away with buffets over the past couple of years. They now have "The Pantry", which is somewhat akin to a shopping centre food court. About 10 small outlets, all serving different types of food which are cooked/prepared on order. It solves two issues... passengers are not handling anything, and the food is not sitting on a buffet for unknown periods of time. I have not sailed on a ship with this, but all the reviews have been very positive. Good idea but on harmony at breakfast even with a huge buffet the line outside last august was 20 minutes, they closed the buffet at the usual time even if you were still waiting in line . I simply don't know how they will feed 6000 people if it's not self service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balsam Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 On 3/25/2020 at 12:49 AM, Morganno said: Good idea but on harmony at breakfast even with a huge buffet the line outside last august was 20 minutes, they closed the buffet at the usual time even if you were still waiting in line . I simply don't know how they will feed 6000 people if it's not self service. Yep... might not work on an Oasis or Quantum class size ship, but on smaller ones, it definitely does. Add to that, if there was a 20 minute line at breakfast, I would be finding somewhere else to eat anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 Supervised mandatory wash stations in the buffet is a must! I would not like if we loose the self serve in the buffet and I'm not sure that is feasible, you would need a million employees in there and it would slow everything to a halt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdave Posted March 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 On the buffet - not sure how this would work, how about with each silver/napkin you get your own set of tongs - so no tongs available at the serving stations you carry your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balsam Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 17 hours ago, rcdave said: On the buffet - not sure how this would work, how about with each silver/napkin you get your own set of tongs - so no tongs available at the serving stations you carry your own. So the passenger carries the tongs around with them? So we have no idea where they have been? Nope. Edit... it would also mean passengers using the same set of tongs for all types of food, which would lead to cross contamination. I use my tongs to pick up something containing nuts, then move over to another area and pick up some salad, dropping some nuts in the process. The next passenger is allergic to nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJones Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 On 3/23/2020 at 12:42 PM, J_Keeble said: Robotic Bartenders fleetwide so they cant spread any germs All bars to become bionic! Please no - seems to be a big waste of space. After watching it a few times, the fun is gone... The drinks usually suck as well. Prefer to find a human & interact with them WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted March 27, 2020 Report Share Posted March 27, 2020 How about everyone in the buffet has to use latex gloves when touching everything especially the tongs to pick up food? I mean from what I understand that's where most norovirus starts, well not washing your hands I guess is truly where it starts. Would later gloves help in this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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