Cruise expert shares the food to ‘avoid’ onboard or risk taking a ‘gamble’ | Cruise | Travel

Cruises are known for offering up a host of delicious cuisine, often from around the world, but an expert has warned one type of food could be a “gamble” if you don’t see it being made infront of you. Experts from Cruise Critic have warned that while sushi is a popular choice, you might be taking a risk if you opt for it at a buffet.

Although cruise lines take food safety very seriously, and the majority won’t leave food sitting there for a long time, anecdotally fish sushi can pose some risks.

The experts from Cruise Critic said: “Although cruise lines take safe food handling extremely seriously, nothing is foolproof. If you’re feeling lucky, take it to the casino; don’t gamble with the freshness of that spicy tuna roll.”

If your cruise line has a dedicated sushi restaurant then the chances are you will be fine. However, if you’re getting sushi from a buffet that doesn’t have its own freshly made sushi station, theY suggested thinking again about your choices.

“If there’s sushi on the buffet and you don’t know how long it’s been there, consider giving it a pass for something you can see being made right infront of you,” Cruise Critic added.

However, most cruise companies must abide by strict food service rules and that means if they are serving sushi – no matter whether it’s freshly made or on the buffet – it must meet safety requirements.

The majority of cruises will not take the risk of leaving food such as sushi standing out for too long. The real risk of the buffet comes not from the food standing out, but more from other passengers not washing their hands before handling the buffet.

This is why it is so important to make sure you wash your hands and to ensure any plates or cutlery are also properly cleaned.

On a Reddit forum dedicated to the topic, previous cruise guests pointed out that the food is not the real concern.

Posting to the forum, one former cruise guest said: “Traditionally Norovirus is contracted through contact with a contaminated surface, and it comes from people not washing their hands and spreading it on doors, railings, foot serving utensils, etcetera. While it can come from food, it’s much more rare.

“There are plenty of food-borne diseases that can come from sushi, but they’re typically mitigated by proper food handling and sanitisation guidelines. Those are things the cruise line can carefully control through training and monitoring and typically they’re inspected often on a cruise ship.” [SIC]

They added: “Anecdotally, I’ve eaten probably 50 sushi rolls on a cruise ship over the years and never had a problem.”

Since the coronavirus pandemic, most cruise firms have toughened up their approach to hygiene even more than before, with lots of hand sanitising stations and staff dedicated to regularly cleaning surfaced and multi-touch areas.