How To Get Fresher Food Without Waiting For A Table On Cruise Ships

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Cruise ships can be a great place to indulge in delicious meals, but at peak dining hours, hungry passengers may find themselves faced with a dilemma: either stand in line for a table at one of the ship's restaurants or settle for the easily available but not always fresh food at the buffet. However, there is a third option for getting fresher food without the wait, and it's often hiding in plain sight. Over at the made-to-order stations at the buffet, fresh food is pumped out on demand. 

Unlike a typical buffet station that is periodically replenished when items run out or have been sitting for a certain amount of time, made-to-order stations are exactly what they sound like. Chefs stand by, ready to create a dish in front of your eyes, customized to your specifications. Although opting for the made-to-order station will take a bit longer than grabbing batch-prepared food from the buffet, these skilled chefs cook with an emphasis on speed and efficiency to help them serve as many diners as possible, so they're just as motivated to get your meal ready as you are to eat it.

Many cruise lines have implemented made-to-order stations in some capacity, with some even going as far as offering made-to-order sushi and other specialty bites. More commonly, made-to-order stations include eggs, omelets, waffles, or pancakes at breakfast, and a diverse mix of choices through the rest of the day, from stir-fries and pastas to paninis.

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Even a short line for made-to-order food is still often quicker than waiting for a sit-down dining room meal. Waits for tables at high-volume times have increased in recent years, as cruise lines move away from traditional timed seatings to more flexible dining programs that allow passengers to show up whenever they're hungry. This is among the reasons why limiting dinner to the main dining room is a big mistake people make when eating on a cruise ship.

Made-to-order stations also avoid another unpleasant truth about cruise ship buffets: the combination of food sitting out at room temperature and the many hands serving themselves means they're not always the most sanitary. Seeing your meal come together before your eyes limits some of this risk, both in terms of freshness and by keeping your ingredients in the hands of a trained chef. This can even help solve some (but not all) of the concerns surrounding many of the typical cruise ship foods you shouldn't eat, like pizza baking under a heat lamp, and potentially expand your high-seas palate even further.

The next time you're on a cruise, don't fall victim to the false choice between quality and speed. At the buffet's made-to-order stations, fresh, easily customizable meals are just a plate away.