Why, after coronavirus, I am never eating at a hotel buffet again or taking a cruise, even if both survive the months of bad headlines

I recently received a press release about a staycation promotion at a Hong Kong hotel that I hadn’t heard of before, the Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong, in North Point on Hong Kong Island.

The staycation package includes the room, plus a breakfast buffet in the hotel’s The Farmhouse restaurant (nothing to do with local favourite, Farm House, which serves Cantonese food), and a lunch buffet there or afternoon tea at Cruise, the Hyatt Centric’s other option for diners, inspired, it says, “by the cruise ships channelling through Hong Kong to the Asian ports of call”.

Buffets and cruises. Could there be a worse food and beverage concept right now?

It’s not the hotel’s fault, of course; it opened two years ago, and nobody could have anticipated the coronavirus or how it would affect certain industries. But does anyone want to evoke the feelings of cruises in this day and age?

When I hear “cruise” I think of being stuck for days in proximity to strangers, with no way to escape and definitely no way to practise social distancing, and all those poor passengers who were stuck in their rooms on the Diamond Princess, Ruby Princess and others. And buffets – they’re the places where the guests hover over the food, trying to decide what to eat, then use the same communal utensils to help themselves. (Buffets on cruises don’t even bear contemplating.)

Still, I don’t predict the demise of buffets or cruises, because I’m sure experts in both industries will introduce changes that make them safer. They’re just too popular, and people have short memories.

When the restrictions imposed in Hong Kong to curb the spread of coronavirus were relaxed, allowing bars to reopen and gatherings of up to eight, instead of four as previously, people were out in full force in popular entertainment districts such as Central, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. Even without tourists, these areas were crowded.

Fortunately, almost everyone was wearing masks – Hong Kong people are smarter (and more experienced) than the citizens of many countries when it comes to virus outbreaks.

It’s partly a matter of luck whether you’re going to get a major illness like Covid-19. Some cruise ships with as many passengers and crew as the Diamond Princess had far fewer cases, while smaller ships might have had a proportionately higher number of cases.

But I’m still not going to tempt fate by going on a cruise – ever, it’s safe to say. I’ve not been on one yet, so why would I start now?

As for buffets, I’ll avoid those, too. I didn’t go to them very often before, anyway. When I did, I always felt compelled to go for “high value” items so I could get my money’s worth, but my preference is to eat dishes cooked to order.

And besides, I don’t want to be up close and personal with other diners. Don’t get me wrong – I love my fellow humans (most of them, anyway), and want us all to stay safe. But as the second wave of infections in Hong Kong proved several weeks ago, it takes only a few ill people to infect a lot of others.