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

[kearney]

All this is fine... and I understand Royal's concerns...but I do not have to pay for this type of experience... all the protocol changes added up... death by a thousand cuts...add to that the fact that American Airlines can't seem to get their act together...all came together to signal a problem cruise...oh and did I mention..now we have a tropical storm..  Oh it won't impact when the ship sails...but given AA's fabulous on time record...it just could cause delays in flights arriving in Nassau. I have never been so glad I canceled a cruise. In fact it felt so good.. I cancelled a second... actually shifted it off to next year.

 

I suppose that if the protocols had spelled out at the beginning..including all of the latest rules... perhaps I would have done it...if sailing out of Florida. But I selected Nassau for the very reason that masking would not be required. Sorry Georgia hasn't been compelled to mask since sometime last year so while many are perfectly comfortable masking up.. those who haven't had that experience find it confining... especially in the summer... 

[Docbizarro]

On AOS right now, it’s fine. No masks outside or in vaccinated venues or when eating or drinking. So very minimal times when you have to wear a mask. Didn’t bother me one bit the whole week.

[3kidsncats]

I’m not concerned about the masking protocols we will have next week.  Reports are that it’s not onerous, and given the health data of the last week or two, seems prudent to me to tighten up the protocols onboard.  I’m looking forward to a great trip, regardless.  I’m more concerned about the weather, tbh.

[momtogo]

On 8/13/2021 at 12:17 AM, Docbizarro said:

On AOS right now, it’s fine. No masks outside or in vaccinated venues or when eating or drinking. So very minimal times when you have to wear a mask. Didn’t bother me one bit the whole week.

 

Same for us, we just returned from the 8/7 sailing and didn't think the mask requirement was a big deal. We didn't need to wear a mask at Schooner or any other vaccinated only locations.  I will say there was one very vigilant crew member in the Imperial Lounge (which is for everyone) who would walk around telling people to keep their masks on even if they had a drink in front of them. Personally I would rather sail and have a mask requirement than to not sail at all. It was amazing to be back onboard and can't wait to go again.

[Acruisingperson]

On 8/12/2021 at 10:53 AM, kearney said:

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... 

sorry for the delay in responding. We did wear masks while walking and shopping on the promenade. When we got pizza, we wore masks to order and then took them off when we sat down to eat it. And nobody rushed us to leave our table and mask up the second our plates were empty. You can take masks off as soon as you walk into a venue designated as vaccinated only. Truly, the only time I was bothered by my mask was the day we arrived (we flew in the day of embarkation) because we put our masks on in Chicago at 8:00am central time and didn’t remove them until we were in our cabin at 5:00pm eastern time. And we had to do a little walking outside in the Nassau heat/humidity during that time and the Bahamian government requires masks even outside. Other than that, I really didn’t notice the masks and didn’t find they impacted my enjoyment of the cruise at all. 

[mauraoel]

On 8/11/2021 at 3:45 PM, 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. 

 

On 8/11/2021 at 8:22 PM, Acruisingperson said:

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. 

Ours was the first cruise where you had to wear masks, yes some of the staff need to be reminded that schooners was suppose to be vaxed only and we shouldn't need it but they were being hard headed about it for a while.

On 8/11/2021 at 9:14 PM, Acruisingperson said:

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. 

I did that a few times, from our stateroom to the Promenade, just walked up to Guest Services and they gave me a mask or the bar tenders in Champagne bar gave me one.  No one ever complained our asked why I wasn't wearing one before I could resolve the issue.

 

 

 

[kearney]

1 hour ago, Acruisingperson said:

sorry for the delay in responding. We did wear masks while walking and shopping on the promenade. When we got pizza, we wore masks to order and then took them off when we sat down to eat it. And nobody rushed us to leave our table and mask up the second our plates were empty. You can take masks off as soon as you walk into a venue designated as vaccinated only. Truly, the only time I was bothered by my mask was the day we arrived (we flew in the day of embarkation) because we put our masks on in Chicago at 8:00am central time and didn’t remove them until we were in our cabin at 5:00pm eastern time. And we had to do a little walking outside in the Nassau heat/humidity during that time and the Bahamian government requires masks even outside. Other than that, I really didn’t notice the masks and didn’t find they impacted my enjoyment of the cruise at all. 

Thanks for that. Actually makes me even more comfortable with my decision to cancel. Unlike most cruisers... I don't spend much time outside.. I burn easily and frankly have learned to avoid the Caribbean sun in the summer. So I spend most of my time inside..in those various areas where masking is required... I am not much of a drinker and not a gambler... so I would find these restrictions difficult ... especially since I am paying for it. I am glad everyone had a good time and did not find the restrictions confining.... but I know I would have felt smothered doing so for a week.

[pcur]

Is it just me, or is there a big elephant in this thread that no one is talking about:  COVID 19?

 

Vaccinated people can carry it, might get mildly sick, and pass it along to unvaccinated people, who can get VERY, VERY, VERY sick, if not die.

 

So, what's being describe in this thread seems to me the usual precautions that we are supposed to take until there are more vaccinated people, and we are all "booster" shot, and we know the COVID mutations can be handled.

 

I go anywhere around people I don't know, don't know where they've been, and don't know if they've been vaccinated, I wear a mask. 

 

I was on the Monarch mid-January to mid-Feb 2020, sailing from what turned out to be a hotspot, on a packed ship.  I got pneumonia.  I will never know if it was COVID, as they weren't really testing for it yet, but I was sick and recuperatng for months.  So, wearing a mask is now keeping me safe along with my vaccine.  Don't want to go through that 2020 cruise experience again.

 

But, I do have 6 cruises booked, and me and my masks can't wait!!

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by pcur

[mabt]

30 minutes ago, pcur said:

Is it just me, or is there a big elephant in this thread that no one is talking about:  COVID 19?

 

Vaccinated people can carry it, might get mildly sick, and pass it along to unvaccinated people, who can get VERY, VERY, VERY sick, if not die.

 

So, what's being describe in this thread seems to me the usual precautions that we are supposed to take until there are more vaccinated people, and we are all "booster" shot, and we know the COVID mutations can be handled.

 

I go anywhere around people I don't know, don't know where they've been, and don't know if they've been vaccinated, I wear a mask. 

 

I was on the Monarch mid-January to mid-Feb 2020, sailing from what turned out to be a hotspot, on a packed ship.  I got pneumonia.  I will never know if it was COVID, as they weren't really testing for it yet, but I was sick and recuperatng for months.  So, wearing a mask is now keeping me safe along with my vaccine.  Don't want to go through that 2020 cruise experience again.

 

But, I do have 6 cruises booked, and me and my masks can't wait!!

 

And you are, of course, more than welcome to wear your masks wherever you want, for as long as you want.  (I mean that genuinely, not trying to be snarky.)

 

But almost everyone who booked one of these Nassau cruises did so with the expectation that masks would not be required, and I expect that for many of them - certainly my family - that was a primary factor in selecting this particular cruise, or maybe choosing to cruise at all.  So we're talking about a population of people who were, at least at the time they booked, very comfortable with the idea of cruising maskless, with whatever COVID-19 risk that entails.  Which, for most children and vaccinated adults, is minimal.

 

We would not have booked this cruise if the masking requirement was in place at the time.  Likely would not even have looked twice.  We've decided to continue with our cruise despite the masks, in part because of reports in this thread and others that have been mostly in agreement that the masks were not a big deal, and frequently not required.  So thanks to everyone who contributed!

[homedepot124]

We were on AOS last week and had a great cruise.  Just wear the mask inside except when you are eating or drinking and you will be fine.  You can take it off in the 'vac' only areas but I still think you are safer leaving it on.  No mask required when you are outside on deck or at Perfect Day. 

[OfcSupport]

I am currently on the Odyssey. I was worried that mask wearing might take away from our cruise experience. It has not. We really only need them in passing through areas, elevator, shops, restrooms, walking up to buffet, etc. The ship capacity is limited so there are no crowds or lines. The crew checks bracelets for casino entrance and enforces hand washing in buffet area. They direct everyone to use sanitizer before entering shows. Tables are blocked off for social distancing. There are air purifiers in the elevators. You don’t pick up a utensil or plate yourself. The gym is fogged twice a day. Guest hallways are fogged sometimes during the hours of 2 to 4 am. Only 4 people allowed in the elevator at a time and 3 in public restrooms. They have thought of everything. I feel safer here than I do at home. 

[MommaBear55]

On 8/12/2021 at 11:33 AM, 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 have severe COPD and asthma, so mask wearing isn't always pleasant. I bought plastic "frames" from Amazon that keeps the fabric off my mouth, while still keeping it under my chin and over my nose. It's been much easier since I got those.