Just off Odyssey Xmas cruise... honest review from Diamond plus member with 324 nights.

[flamingos]

7 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

I think they were too worried about upsetting the anti-mask people and bad press, so they were lax. 

That was my impression on Mariner.  Officers were outside Schooner's on the way to the casino and we watched them tell several people, one of them twice, and the man never even put his hand to his face to pretend to move the mask. They let it slide, which was frustrating to watch. If that's the response to officers, I can imagine that regular employees get a fair amount of abuse from passengers, and just give up.  😞

[RosieRoo]

41 minutes ago, happyboomer said:The dining room had no distancing as far as we could tell.

The dining room had no distancing as far as we could tell.

 

Food was okay, nothing spectacular. I liked they served us in Windjammer but it slowed things down. No distancing in seating up there. 

 

Sorry to hear some of your party got sick. Hope they are all on the mend. Jewel is one of our favorite ships. You mention there is no distancing in the dining room or Windjammer.  Did you feel there was better distancing in Chops?  Just wondering if it would be worthwhile for us to buy a specialty dining package and avoid the dining room altogether. 

[Cruising89143]

Sounds absolutely horrible. We were supposed to cruise on the NV on 11/29. We canceled about thirty days prior. Wasn’t feeling it. The reviews on this ship has been so-so. Just not the time to cruise. I’m sure RCI didn’t count on Omicron but raising the guest capacity during the holidays is obviously backfiring.  This one is on the cruise line for not placing safety above the almighty dollar. 
 

Our next cruise is not until late May on Celebrity’s Edge out of Civitavecchia. If things are still up in the air we will also cancel. 

[MichaelCMTX]

Thanks for the post.  Having been around the (crystal) block with Royal, did the capacity issue seem more of an attempt at "business as usual" or more an attempt to "fill it up for the lucrative Christmas fares"?

 

[golf4me2010]

22 minutes ago, RosieRoo said:

Sorry to hear some of your party got sick. Hope they are all on the mend. Jewel is one of our favorite ships. You mention there is no distancing in the dining room or Windjammer.  Did you feel there was better distancing in Chops?  Just wondering if it would be worthwhile for us to buy a specialty dining package and avoid the dining room altogether. 

I’d be interested in the specialty dining also. 

[mafig]

I wonder how many first-time cruisers will not become second-time cruisers.🤔

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, denas said:

  Well they have a policy about towels on chairs they have never enforced. Why would anyone expect them to enforce a mask policy which requires actually confronting a passenger (vs just removing their stuff and sending it to the towel place for pick up). 

Actually we've seen the towel policy enforced several times...great entertainment 

[Nick67]

My wife and I have been on three cruises this year. One on the Ovation to Alaska and a B2b on  Odyssey  the month of October. The Ovation enforced protocols and if passengers didn’t follow them they were called out. I witnessed one passenger who refused to wear a mask and a staff member asked him to put it on or he would be escorted off at the next port. Odyssey was completely different, packed elevators, passengers not wearing mask and it was a general free for all. How could the ships be so different? Covid has become such a political issue but there has to be enforcement of the rules. You may have the option not to wear a mask where you live but the rules of the ship require it. There is no argument. Wear them or don’t cruise. You can argue all day whether or not you agree with them. Management is totally responsible for not enforcing these protocols. The passenger agreed to them when they booked their cruise. 

[bajathree]

3 hours ago, whyrlygig said:

I am sorry to hear of your experience.  When we went on Odyssey  in September the capacity was just 827 ppl and they were so careful that we really did feel safe.  It was by far my favorite ship.  If however, I experienced what you did I would be sorely disappointed too.  Frankly now I wonder if I should cancel our March trip on Mariner...

We also sailed Odyssey in Sept with 1100 passengers and with over 50 Royal sailings under my belt it fell in the top 5 ever. The ship was wonderful and the crew even better...moral was incredible...they couldn't do enough for you. Now look at the reviews from Odyssey. 

 

What the OP experienced and the problems stated sound somewhat similar to what we experienced on Allure in Dec with 3400 passengers. Like I posted in another topic....theses issue they are running into now I believe are a direct result of increased capacity that started with the Thanksgiving sailings....throw on top of that Omicron and that Royal has not changed protocol to fully vaccinated kids only.

 

[alwaysflyin]

I've read all the replies to this thread and I am wondering what RC really could have done in this situation.

 

Omicron is so incredibly infectious.  The science is that typical cloth masks are not going to prevent transmission.  Spacing does not work either because covid is an aerosol that suspends in the air and can certainly go farther than six feet.  For those of you saying everyone should be vaccinated, well, I know many people vaccinated and boosted who currently have covid.  RC is in a no win situation here.  None of these things would prevent covid transmission.  Omicron is just that infectious and easily spread.

 

Instead, it's time to everyone to realize the covid is very infectious and that you assume that risk when you get on the ship.  If you are vaccinated you have very low risk of hospitalization or death, and we all just have to understand that this is the new normal we live in.  It's just impossible to keep it off the ship and keep it from spreading, and I don't blame RC for trying to carry as many passengers as possible now to make up for the months when cruises were not allowed.

[bajathree]

6 minutes ago, alwaysflyin said:

I've read all the replies to this thread and I am wondering what RC really could have done in this situation.

 

Omicron is so incredibly infectious.  The science is that typical cloth masks are not going to prevent transmission.  Spacing does not work either because covid is an aerosol that suspends in the air and can certainly go farther than six feet.  For those of you saying everyone should be vaccinated, well, I know many people vaccinated and boosted who currently have covid.  RC is in a no win situation here.  None of these things would prevent covid transmission.  Omicron is just that infectious and easily spread.

 

Instead, it's time to everyone to realize the covid is very infectious and that you assume that risk when you get on the ship.  If you are vaccinated you have very low risk of hospitalization or death, and we all just have to understand that this is the new normal we live in.  It's just impossible to keep it off the ship and keep it from spreading, and I don't blame RC for trying to carry as many passengers as possible now to make up for the months when cruises were not allowed.

I just cant agree that....it's clear the increased capacity is directly related to what we are now seeing going on. Yes...Omicron snuck up and made things much worse...but it comes back to capacity. We saw similar  issues immediately occur prior to Omicron on the inaugurals of Carnival Madi Gras when they decided to sail at 80% occupancy (and much fewer protocols) when all the other cruise lines were only at 30-40%. 

[topnole]

4 hours ago, BazingAu said:

Thank you for sharing your experience. Since you have so many nights under your belt, do you think you can reach out to the CEO directly? Maybe your opinions will help shed light on what is actually happening on cruises.

 

I think these CEO’s just look at the $$ that the bean counters are showing them (reminds me of the cost-benefit analysis/Ford Pinto) that shows them the potential dollar value of having incrementally more passengers outweigh the risks. And they come up with these “policies” that sounds good on paper but have no way to carry out or enforce. It sounds like the quality of the cruise is declining while also risking exposure to Covid - it’s a lose-lose proposition for cruisers. When capacity was low, and exposure risk was low, it sounded like things were working. But now with higher capacity and fast-spreading variant, they need to fix what isn’t working. I’d like Royal to acknowledge they need to do better to keep passengers and crew safe, even if it risks alienating certain other cruisers in the interim. These are not normal times and it’s absurd that the business folk seem to think that cruisers should absorb all the risks of cruising while Royal reaps all the rewards.

 

Either 2 things happen if they lower capacity for a while.  The companies lose even more money and go bankrupt, or they charge triple what customers are used to paying.   Either way, also a lose lose situation for customers.  
 

They are doing a lot to accommodate cruisers.  More than other companies.  I wouldn’t say only customers absorb the risks and even at these capacities I doubt they are making much, if any, profit  and most likely losing  money on each cruise.   I don’t think they are reaping rewards in any way.  

Edited December 27, 2021 by topnole

[Nick67]

21 minutes ago, bajathree said:

We also sailed Odyssey in Sept with 1100 passengers and with over 50 Royal sailings under my belt it fell in the top 5 ever. The ship was wonderful and the crew even better...moral was incredible...they couldn't do enough for you. Now look at the reviews from Odyssey. 

 

What the OP experienced and the problems stated sound somewhat similar to what we experienced on Allure in Dec with 3400 passengers. Like I posted in another topic....theses issue they are running into now I believe are a direct result of increased capacity that started with the Thanksgiving sailings....throw on top of that Omicron and that Royal has not changed protocol to fully vaccinated kids only.

 

I agree with you 100 % about the crew. They were wonderful and the ship was beautiful. I agree the three cruises were the best that I’ve been on. The problem is passengers who don’t want to follow the rules they agree to when they purchased their ticket. Ovation strictly enforced them and Odyssey took a laid back approach. I also agree increasing capacity is a major mistake. You can’t follow the protocols with maxed out ships

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, MrMarc said:

Each ship now has a public health officer who is responsible for, among other things, seeing that the covid protocols are enforced.  I have been on 1 Carnival and 1 RCCL cruise in the last 3 months.  They were not doing their job on either, and that was at about 50% capacity.  I think they were too worried about upsetting the anti-mask people and bad press, so they were lax.  Omicron is magnifying the issue.  I think they have to totally reverse this and enforce the protocols strictly or they risk being shut down, having few passengers and/or having nowhere to sail to.

The public health officer is not a CDC employee.

 

The CDC does not have any authority over health protocols currently on any ships leaving Florida

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, MrMarc said:

I think punishment by the CDC is the least of their worries.  The public and the islands will determine how or if they proceed.  

Punishment for what exactly?  The CDC does nat make the health protocol rules for the ships (at lease not the ones embarking from Florida)

[MrMarc]

13 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Punishment for what exactly?  The CDC does nat make the health protocol rules for the ships (at lease not the ones embarking from Florida)

No they don't.  However, they have ships leaving from other ports.  But even if they did have the ability to punish the cruises out of Florida (don't forget, that case is not over), the lack of passengers and ports will be worse.

[Nick67]

21 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Punishment for what exactly?  The CDC does nat make the health protocol rules for the ships (at lease not the ones embarking from Florida)

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/covid19-cruiseships.html

21 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Punishment for what exactly?  The CDC does nat make the health protocol rules for the ships (at lease not the ones embarking from Florida)

 

[tinabinab]

Just off the Symphony on Thursday and could have written this post (except only 43 nights on RC. 🤣) The words and verbal enforcement were there, but the actions and execution were not, as noted in the OP.  I have some FCC to use, but will plan to push those out as far as possible now.  

[mets123]

I was on the Anthem the week after Thanksgiving. Even then, mask wearing in public areas was NOT enforced. It was a suggestion at best, employees said nothing to unmasked people.

[Nick67]

 

Q

How do you enforce new health protocols? What are the consequences of not following new health & safety conduct rules?

 

 

Our safety ambassadors onboard will enforce Guest Health, Safety, and Conduct Policy as well as our Refusal to Transport Policy. Shoreside, our safety ambassador teams will work with local authorities to enforce both our Guest Health, Safety, and Conduct Policy and any applicable laws. Failure to follow any of our policies or any applicable laws may result in enforcement action, up to and including denial of boarding or removal from our vessels.

[luckyfincruiser]

I just got off Symphony on the 23rd. I commented several times about how impressed I was by most people following the masking. We’re there  few that I saw get reminded?  Yes.  But I am a college professor and had to remind some students. It is just humans.  
I see Royal succeeding with their protocols honestly. Their numbers are lower than my area by a lot!  Are they perfect?  No!  But their imperfect actions were impressive to me as a microbiologist.  I have another cruise booked for March and also May… and made another res for august while onboard. 
Determine your comfort level and realize that viruses continue to mutate and new variants will arise.  So decide how you want to live and then be ready for changes onboard to continue for awhile. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by luckyfincruiser

[Jasukkie]

There just has to be testing at the pier. Even that's not 100% because of incubation periods but it's far better than two days out. Other cruise lines are doing it just fine. 

 

 

[bajathree]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

Either 2 things happen if they lower capacity for a while.  The companies lose even more money and go bankrupt, or they charge triple what customers are used to paying.   Either way, also a lose lose situation for customers.  
 

They are doing a lot to accommodate cruisers.  More than other companies.  I wouldn’t say only customers absorb the risks and even at these capacities I doubt they are making much, if any, profit  and most likely losing  money on each cruise.   I don’t think they are reaping rewards in any way.  

I am not sure that lowering capacity and charging more is a loose loose for customers. They may actually find that people/families may be willing to pay a premium right now. People have been willing to pay big premiums over the past year for AirBnb's and home vacation rentals....so why not on cruise ships where you keep limited occupancy, be able to lessen restrictions and some protocols aboard and people still feel safe and are happier.

Edited December 27, 2021 by bajathree

[cruisegus]

So glad I'm on Allure for my Xmas cruise as we are not experiancing any of these problems.  Missed ports? yes, but an scheduled stop at Coco Cay to make up for it. Plus and refunded day of cost of cruise to boot.

 

Hear a lot of complaints on this thread, but have to wonder, did they not realize they were booking at the most expensive and crowded time of the year.  I personally expected just what we got a crowded ship.

 

We are still happy with our sailing

[Ocean Boy]

6 hours ago, Jarmo said:

If passengers didn't disregard the polices there wouldn't be a need for enforcement.  It is disappointing some passengers have such little regard for the crew and other passengers.

It is also disappointing the RCI would put more passengers on a ship than what can be safely handled. You can't blame passengers or crew for that. The bottom line seems to be more important to corporate than health and safety.