Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
|
Post by Nick on Jan 19, 2009 19:51:41 GMT -8
I think the buffet will remain open every day, as there are a lot of people who use it, and enjoy it. I don't think it costs BCF all that much to keep it open for lower numbers, simply because they don't have to serve as much food. Also, I don't think the food that they serve is all that expensive for them to buy.
I could see it not being offered on certain sailings on certain days of the week, like the Monday-Thursday 2100. Really though, I think there will be enough people wanting the service that it will stick around.
|
|
|
Post by bcferryfan87 on Jan 19, 2009 22:26:49 GMT -8
I prefer the buffet as well - even if I'm not gonna eat a ton. It wouldn't be that money wise as a traveller to go in there and have only a coffee and a dessert or a soup only or something. But if I feel I'm moderately hungry (soup, and salad, and some dessert/entree) then I will have it.
The last 2 trips, I've used it if it was an option - e.g. Queen of Van didn't have a buffet, and I had planned on that anyway, so it was fine.
Used it on a spirit a few weeks back, and the coastals both times on them incl this weekend. Both were fairly well used on all 3 occassions.
I missed earlier putting in my main point: that the Spirit cafeterias I've never enjoyed; they rush you out - with the announcements often, and you feel like your in a fish bowl - everyone walks by on perimeters and stares in. I didn't look at the coastal cafeterias to be honest. The Buffet gives you nice privacy - e.g. they let me go out and grab a paper - and come back in and sit there again (I had paid earlier on voyage). It's a bit more civilized - except for the lady the other day who watched her kid drop strawberry syrup all over the carpet and then just walked away without cleaning it up; I told the staff and they did clean it up - or I would have done something to clean it up if they hadn't (but I digress)
|
|
|
Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 20, 2009 12:18:13 GMT -8
The only time I am a buffet goer it seems is for Sunday Brunch. And then it is never for quantity rather for quality. I don't mind paying more if I can eat things I wouldn't normally get to eat or indulge myself off menus. So a fresh seafood buffet would get me everytime.
So I actually have only once at one of the buffets on the ferries very infrequently. The quality is ok, and quantity there but nothing special enough to tempt me. I don't get on the ferries often enough that I the most I would do is get a quick Triple O and Latte and then out on the deck. I have said all this before. Since I have never even been on a Coastal, I can't comment on them.
And as I have said a number of times before, of course the exception was when I took the Northern routes. The package deal was such that it was hard to beat. The frozen veggies reheated and fried foods asside, the various roasted meats at the meals and good breakfast made a very good choice.
|
|
|
Post by Balfour on Jan 20, 2009 12:35:09 GMT -8
I'll go to the buffet every once in a while when I'm substantially hungry and I don't want to eat food in the Coastal Cafe. The food in the Buffet is probably healthier than the cafeteria anyways.
|
|
|
Post by Nickfro on Jan 20, 2009 16:06:06 GMT -8
I don't ever remember the buffet being closed on a Spirit sailing. If it was, it must have been a short period of time when that was the case.
When I went to University in Victoria, I visited the buffet from time to time. However, I was mostly a Route 2 user instead of Route 1 as I enjoyed the Island Highway much more than the City Crawl from Tsawwassen to the North Shore. If that wasn't the case I'm sure my buffet visits would have been a little more frequent.
My most common visit to the buffet was definitely on the 9pm sailings, usually heading back to the Island. The combination of not having dinner yet and a cheaper buffet price on the 9pm sailing were definitely contributing factors to my decision. The only drawbacks: they don't bring out another round of something if it runs out, and the buffet closes half way through the sailing for the crew to clean up and finish work before it's OT. As a student, I couldn't justify the $20+ price on the 5pm and 7pm sailings. The 9pm was, if my foggy student brain can remember, never more than $15 during my Victoria time.
|
|
|
Post by Mac Write on Jan 20, 2009 21:18:14 GMT -8
I haven't done the Buffet in 2yrs, it sure went up fast in price from 98 - 2007. Breakfast and Brunched used to be $10.25/$11.25 respectively. When I last sailed, I thinkit was like $17 for brunch, What's the price now with taxes?
|
|
|
Post by bcferryfan87 on Jan 20, 2009 22:45:11 GMT -8
I think the cheapest I've seen is about $14 and ranges up about 4 dollars i believe.
Funny how someone said about seafood. See I personally am not a seafood fan, and some of the stuff they put out, I'm curious how they decide what to put out - but that's my tangent I guess. The price is a bit high, but as I said before, it depends I guess on what you want. I saw a BC Burger on Q of Van was 6.69 I believe and a coffee - medium was like 1.75; so right there you're at about $8.50. And that's not really much of anything, so if you add in a soup 4.00 approx, and or get an actual entree - add 3.00 or so to your burger price, your now at about 16.00; thus you don't have to stuff yourself to get value in the buffet, and again if you just want quiet, I think it's worth it!
|
|
|
Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 21, 2009 7:26:38 GMT -8
I think the cheapest I've seen is about $14 and ranges up about 4 dollars i believe. Funny how someone said about seafood. See I personally am not a seafood fan, and some of the stuff they put out, I'm curious how they decide what to put out - but that's my tangent I guess. The price is a bit high, but as I said before, it depends I guess on what you want. I saw a BC Burger on Q of Van was 6.69 I believe and a coffee - medium was like 1.75; so right there you're at about $8.50. And that's not really much of anything, so if you add in a soup 4.00 approx, and or get an actual entree - add 3.00 or so to your burger price, your now at about 16.00; thus you don't have to stuff yourself to get value in the buffet, and again if you just want quiet, I think it's worth it! Yeah I wasn't thinking BC Ferries when I mentioned seafood necessarily. We had a Sunday brunch here at one of the hotel dining rooms that had crab, cold lobster, peal and eat shrimp, and a very good seafood salad, and poached Pacific salmon that I had in mind. The sheer variety of the seafood you couldn't get any other place for the price. Other than that buffets just don't appeal to me. The benefit of a buffet for food service operators is that much of the food served is prepared well in advance. A whole day's worth of salads for example are prepared and covered waiting in a cooler. The hot foods to some extent can be as well. Then you augement through the day by foods that need to be prepared as you go. Since it is self serve, there aren't as many serving staff needed and a smaller number of kitchen staff are needed than prepare on demand kitchens like the cafeteria. The latter needs to have staff to accomodate your peak periods, and on the ferry that means main meal times as you leave the dock. These cost savings however have to be offset your costs of how much people consume. The psychological aspect is that people feel that they can pay more because it is "all you can eat" and they can choose what they want. However, while some people will gorge, the volume people eat usually isn't appreciably that much more. So the money you lose on some is more than offset by the higher cost for the majority. My source on all of this was the former Owner/Manager of the Movenpick Restaurants in Canada. They used to run buffets two nights a week, plus breakfast buffets in the mornings and a very good Sunday brunch. When they brought the food market concept to Canada where you could go to various stations and have whatever you wanted prepared in front of you (hybrid of the buffet and cafeteria cloaked in a semi-Disney European style setting) they found they could charge value amounts for the individual meals, serve quality, but that people would always purchase more quantity and more costly items than off a menu because they were tempted by the smells and seeing the food prepared before their eyes. Plus the spoilage factor of buffets was reduced. People are funny and in particular the psychological/marketing aspects is quite fascinating to me.
|
|
|
Post by bcferryfan87 on Jan 21, 2009 9:27:38 GMT -8
Another comment to add re buffets being closed on all but weekends. It rang a bell with me, and I asked my father who used to travel on the ferries alot back then, and he says that they were closed around 2000 except for weekends.
I had forgotten that; I suppose because up until the spirits came on line, there was no buffet avail - non summer time - on any of the V Class (only in summer on Van Vic route)
|
|
|
Post by Dane on Jan 21, 2009 11:23:34 GMT -8
Restaurant service was the same, frequently closed. During one summer in the 70's BC Ferries ran the QoNW with only vending services. It saved money (at the time catering was taking a loss, a stark contrast to the current situation) in costs, but left a lot of crew with no real purpose. After the season was over she was returned with her Cafeteria service.
|
|
|
Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 22, 2009 8:16:47 GMT -8
Another comment to add re buffets being closed on all but weekends. It rang a bell with me, and I asked my father who used to travel on the ferries alot back then, and he says that they were closed around 2000 except for weekends. I had forgotten that; I suppose because up until the spirits came on line, there was no buffet avail - non summer time - on any of the V Class (only in summer on Van Vic route) I recall the buffets being closed as well during slower seasons and off hours.
|
|
|
Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 27, 2009 17:50:14 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by nolonger on Mar 30, 2010 6:24:18 GMT -8
I see on the union website that BCFS is advertising on Craigslist for Massage Therapists, nail technicians, RMTs, and Estheticians, Customer Service attendants/cook and sales associates. Apparently they are planning to have spas operating on board by May on major routes and the Norex. vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/spa/
|
|
|
Post by BreannaF on Mar 30, 2010 7:56:45 GMT -8
Here, since Craigslist ads are notorious for disappearing within a few days:
|
|
|
Post by nolonger on Mar 30, 2010 16:03:18 GMT -8
According to my source, there is info about this on the BCFC Intranet and meetings have already been held with union reps about the spas on Rte 1 Spirit class vessels, and Norex for 2011 summer schedule. The plan is to convert existing staterooms into space for the spa operators.
|
|
|
Post by lmtengs on Mar 30, 2010 19:22:31 GMT -8
Well...what happens if you're getting a massage, then suddenly the ferry hits a rogue wave, or maybe you're in fairly rough seas already, and the masseuse misses his target pressure point by a few inches, hitting another, more painful spot?? Ouch. That's all I can say. Also, laying down on a massage bed would be hell on the spirits, with their vibrations. NorEx would be okay for a massage parlour though, since it's voyages are so long.
|
|
Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
|
Post by Kam on Mar 30, 2010 20:43:31 GMT -8
nail "technicians" LMAO!!
|
|
|
Post by BreannaF on Mar 30, 2010 22:11:32 GMT -8
Back when I was in Grade 10, my parents took our family on the train from Seattle to Disneyland. I am notoriously unable to sleep in a moving vehicle, short of total exhaustion, so I had a lot of time to think once the sun went down. I was pretty sure that Amtrak was missing a big opportunity by not having a Disco Car on the Coast Starlight. What better way to keep the masses entertained on a long train trip! (And, since this was the late 1970's, when I say disco, I really meant disco.) Funny thing is, even though I've now grown up and understand the impracticality of the idea, I still think it would have been pretty cool....
|
|
|
Post by herrbrinkmann on Mar 31, 2010 0:49:29 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by lmtengs on Mar 31, 2010 18:23:09 GMT -8
I've had that on my google account since early 2009 Good post though, and you don't need to have a Gmail account as far as I know, any server works.
|
|
|
Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 22, 2010 11:28:19 GMT -8
|
|
Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,196
|
Post by Neil on Apr 22, 2010 13:12:39 GMT -8
I can't count the number of times that I've sat there on the ' Alberni after a week of hacking out stumps or doing other messy work at my place on Hornby and thought to myself, "Dang, if this boat only offered a good French pedicure..." Washingtonians can only look at us with envy. Not only can they not get White Spot goo-burgers on their spartan boats, but now we can get our toes done too.
|
|
|
Post by Kahloke on Apr 22, 2010 13:25:00 GMT -8
Washingtonians can only look at us with envy. Not only can they not get White Spot goo-burgers on their spartan boats, but now we can get our toes done too. Considering my ferry commute is only 30 minutes, I think I can live without the pedicure As for the food, I can pretty much live without that, too. Some of the pastries provided by Alki Bakery are o.k., although overpriced. I remember a time when food used to be decent on Washington State Ferries, back when the galleys still had grills. As a kid, I always looked forward to breakfast on the ferry whenever we would travel on that 1st sailing of the day from Orcas to Anacortes. Alas, that is nothing more than a distant memory
|
|
|
Post by Nickfro on Apr 22, 2010 17:32:37 GMT -8
I would think these services would be successful to have aboard the Northern Expedition on the summer Inside Passage route. Some tourists would surely like to take advantage of such treatment while on a 15 hour nonstop sailing.
|
|
|
Post by WettCoast on Apr 22, 2010 19:11:43 GMT -8
I actually thought this story was an April Fool's related item. Apparently not?
I am coming south next week, taking the Tuesday southbound trip of the NorEx from Rupert to Port Hardy. As soon as I get aboard I will head for the Purser's Office and try to book my French pedicure.
Seriously I will be aboard, but probably no pedicure. I will be doing the Inside Passage now when its an overnight trip and still almost affordable. As of May 1st the cost jump 40% as the summer rates kick in and the annual price escalation also kicks in.
|
|