Has anyone heard from anyone currently on Adventure with the new mask rules

[WillandTam]

We are on the 8/22 sailing and booked this particular cruise BECAUSE it was mask free and fully vaccinated. Even tried to cancel yesterday because Royal changed the protocols at the last minute. No luck, the won't refund the price of the cabins, just a FCC, but will refund the airfare. We are wondering if they are actually strictly enforcing masks indoors unless actively eating or drinking? That was the whole appeal of leaving from Nassau now Royal goes and does this. Disappointed to say the least. 

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, WillandTam said:

No luck, the won't refund the price of the cabins, just a FCC, but will refund the airfare.

Call back, maybe several times, you may get a different answer.

[Another_Critic]

No one has heard from anyone, because you can't hear them with their mask on.  😁

[Retired LEO]

5 minutes ago, WillandTam said:

We are on the 8/22 sailing and booked this particular cruise BECAUSE it was mask free and fully vaccinated. Even tried to cancel yesterday because Royal changed the protocols at the last minute. No luck, the won't refund the price of the cabins, just a FCC, but will refund the airfare. We are wondering if they are actually strictly enforcing masks indoors unless actively eating or drinking? That was the whole appeal of leaving from Nassau now Royal goes and does this. Disappointed to say the least. 

If you do not agree to the new protocols they will give you a complete refund. You might have to make a few calls to make it happen. 

[kearney]

Keep trying, my email said that they would give full refund… they told me they will… alas they don’t confirm in writing. Check out thread on almost live Aug 7 AOS.. there is some discussion there..

[WillandTam]

23 minutes ago, Retired LEO said:

If you do not agree to the new protocols they will give you a complete refund. You might have to make a few calls to make it happen. 

The only protocol that we really dislike and don't understand the reasoning for is the mask mandate. My TA called for me yesterday,  and since we go through  our TA she will have to be the one to call again I think.

[WillandTam]

2 minutes ago, kearney said:

Keep trying, my email said that they would give full refund… they told me they will… alas they don’t confirm in writing. Check out thread on almost live Aug 7 AOS.. there is some discussion there..

Thanks Kearney, will do.

[spooky981]

I'm with you. I'll mask up indoors, that's fine. But if they start requiring masks in-between sips and bites that's my limit.

[WillandTam]

It was said on the August 7 AOS thread that they were asking people to wear their mask in the Schooner if they weren't actively drinking and according to the Royal website on our booking that is one of the vaccinated only areas. I may just cancel and hop on the NCL Gem out of Miami on the 22nd. It is completely vaccinated and unmasked. No one is allowed onboard unvaccinated including children 12 and under. The only problem there is if the 11 circuit overturns the District court judge's injunction on the Florida law. Then that whole cruise may get canceled. 

[Retired LEO]

6 minutes ago, WillandTam said:

It was said on the August 7 AOS thread that they were asking people to wear their mask in the Schooner if they weren't actively drinking and according to the Royal website on our booking that is one of the vaccinated only areas. I may just cancel and hop on the NCL Gem out of Miami on the 22nd. It is completely vaccinated and unmasked. No one is allowed onboard unvaccinated including children 12 and under. The only problem there is if the 11 circuit overturns the District court judge's injunction on the Florida law. Then that whole cruise may get canceled. 

Not a chance. You'll be back home from the cruise long before anything happens. Take your refund and jump on NCL. 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, WillandTam said:

We are on the 8/22 sailing and booked this particular cruise BECAUSE it was mask free and fully vaccinated. Even tried to cancel yesterday because Royal changed the protocols at the last minute. No luck, the won't refund the price of the cabins, just a FCC, but will refund the airfare. We are wondering if they are actually strictly enforcing masks indoors unless actively eating or drinking? That was the whole appeal of leaving from Nassau now Royal goes and does this. Disappointed to say the least. 

Did you receive an email with the protocols for your sailing?    Does that email say they will offer a refund if you do not wish to sail under these protocols?     

They have been doing this with sailings out of the US ports.    I would think it would apply to the Adventure sailings out of Nassau too.

[jcc1025]

We are on the Sunday 8/15 Independence cruse and got our updated protocols yesterday. This is a vaccinated only cruise for those over 12. Bars, for the most part, and casino are vaccinated only area and mask are not required. When moving from one vaccinated area to another or while being in a none vaccinated area you are to wear a mask. Outside areas do not require masks unless there is a crowd, something like the belly flow contest I assume. Adult pool is a vaccinated only area and no mask are required. 

This is all Ok with us and what we though it would be. Sometimes the information on Cruise Critic is somewhat like Facebook, some opinions and conjecturer, and a lot of old news. The situations are changing and we accepted that this was a fluid program and were ready to accept that. If that is something that you can't accept you should by all means cancel, get your money back and wait for this all to settle down in a year or so. 

[smokeybandit]

The fact that masks are required when in transit (and therefore much less likely to come in contact with someone long enough to be exposed), yet not required in an area where you'll be for extended periods of time sure seems backwards to me.

[jcc1025]

36 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The fact that masks are required when in transit (and therefore much less likely to come in contact with someone long enough to be exposed), yet not required in an area where you'll be for extended periods of time sure seems backwards to me.

I get it,  but in the currently business climate, the cruise industry, like others, have to live in a suit happy world and so have to exercise an abundance of caution to try and keep certain customers and the legal profession at bay.  

[WillandTam]

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Did you receive an email with the protocols for your sailing?    Does that email say they will offer a refund if you do not wish to sail under these protocols?     

They have been doing this with sailings out of the US ports.    I would think it would apply to the Adventure sailings out of Nassau too.

We did not receive any communication from Royal. Maybe our TA did in lieu of us. I'll ask.

[WillandTam]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

The fact that masks are required when in transit (and therefore much less likely to come in contact with someone long enough to be exposed), yet not required in an area where you'll be for extended periods of time sure seems backwards to me.

It's like so much of the culture today, virtue signaling that my rules are more virtuous than yours, utter nonsense. Follow the science as it was said so many times. Or on the other hand, it is CDC pandering...

[Acruisingperson]

I’m on AOS right now and have not been bothered by the mask mandate. I thought it was going to be terrible, but since everyone in my party is vaccinated, we really only wear it to go from one vaccinated-only venue to the next. No masks required outside. The times that we’ve done an activity in an “everyone” venue, we happened to have a drink in front of us and weren’t wearing a mask. It really has not be a big deal at all. 

[Acruisingperson]

7 hours ago, WillandTam said:

It was said on the August 7 AOS thread that they were asking people to wear their mask in the Schooner. 

We have spent a lot of time in the Schooner bar and have not ever been asked to wear a mask even when we’ve had empty drinks in front of us. 

[kearney]

It may have been a training issue…

[Acruisingperson]

My daughter reminded me I managed to make it from the spa to our aft room without a mask because I forget it. I didn’t realize I was maskless until I got back to the room. Nobody said a word to me. 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Acruisingperson

[mabt]

5 hours ago, Acruisingperson said:

I’m on AOS right now and have not been bothered by the mask mandate. I thought it was going to be terrible, but since everyone in my party is vaccinated, we really only wear it to go from one vaccinated-only venue to the next. No masks required outside. The times that we’ve done an activity in an “everyone” venue, we happened to have a drink in front of us and weren’t wearing a mask. It really has not be a big deal at all. 

 

Thanks for this perspective.  We are booked on the August 28 sailing, and we also booked specifically because there was no mask mandate.  I would not have looked twice at it if I thought masks would be required at the time we booked.  Even so, I think we've decided to go anyway.  Where we live there is still an indoor mask mandate, so it's not like we're not used to it, but we were hoping to get away from it on vacation.

 

I do wish they would change the status of the teen club.  Currently it is listed as an "everyone" venue, even though anyone in it should be 12+ and vaccinated anyway.  If they are making the vaccinated teenagers wear masks so that younger, unvaccinated kids can be allowed to "move up" into the teen club - I wish they wouldn't.  🙁

[WillandTam]

ACruising Person, Thanks for the insight. and maybe it will relieve some of my DW's anxiety over the mask mandate. She has breathing issues anyway and the mask exacerbates it, hence the anxiety. Just wondering who the unvaccinated will be on a fully vaccinated cruise other than a small amount of children under 12. When we sail on the 21st most schools will be back in session s there shouldn't be many and there should be zero adults onboard unvaccinated. So who are we masking up because of or for?

[kearney]

15 hours ago, Acruisingperson said:

I’m on AOS right now and have not been bothered by the mask mandate. I thought it was going to be terrible, but since everyone in my party is vaccinated, we really only wear it to go from one vaccinated-only venue to the next. No masks required outside. The times that we’ve done an activity in an “everyone” venue, we happened to have a drink in front of us and weren’t wearing a mask. It really has not be a big deal at all. 

So do you wear it while walking and shopping in the Promenade? How about the pizza place? I burn easily so I spend more time indoors vs by the pool. I could not see wearing one in areas that I would hang out at... 

[Shorewalk Holmes]

16 hours ago, WillandTam said:

It's like so much of the culture today, virtue signaling that my rules are more virtuous than yours, utter nonsense. Follow the science as it was said so many times. Or on the other hand, it is CDC pandering...

 

Yeah, that's what's wrong with our culture.  Virtue signaling.

 

Cruisers are wearing masks sometimes! They're social distancing. They're getting vaccinated.

 

They're washing their hands after they go to the bathroom.

 

The horror!

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Shorewalk Holmes

[seabeew]

2 hours ago, WillandTam said:

ACruising Person, Thanks for the insight. and maybe it will relieve some of my DW's anxiety over the mask mandate. She has breathing issues anyway and the mask exacerbates it, hence the anxiety. Just wondering who the unvaccinated will be on a fully vaccinated cruise other than a small amount of children under 12. When we sail on the 21st most schools will be back in session s there shouldn't be many and there should be zero adults onboard unvaccinated. So who are we masking up because of or for?

I am just guessing, but the mask mandate is probably due to two vaccinated passengers who were diagnosed with covid a couple weeks ago. One of the passengers has been posting here about their transit home. 
 

I agree that it’s an over reaction, but Royal probably thought they had to do something because of the variant.