# Cruise passengers sharply divided over cutting buffet lines to sneak quick bites

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/cruise-passengers-sharply-divided-over-cutting-buffet-lines-to-sneak-quick-bites/
- Published: 2026-11-15T16:15:21+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-15T17:37:49+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/travel/cruise-passengers-sharply-divided-cutting-buffet-lines-sneak-bites
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Buffet queue-cutting can frustrate passengers and disrupt service.
- Etiquette advice allows limited exceptions for utensils or napkins.
- Passengers disagree about stepping ahead when there is a gap.

## Summary

Cruise passengers are debating whether it is acceptable to step ahead in a buffet queue to take a single item. Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman says people should wait their turn, because cutting in can seem rude and disrupt the flow of diners.

Gottsman says briefly reaching for a napkin is more understandable, and asking to get a fork or knife may be reasonable when the queue is short. Children joining an adult may be given leeway, but holding a place for a spouse or friend can frustrate people who have waited 20 or 30 minutes. She advises reporting repeated queue-jumping to dining staff rather than confronting someone over a minor incident; online commenters disagree on whether gaps between dishes make stepping ahead acceptable.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.