Heading back to cruising...after stupid COVID

[MagentaandRiffRaff]

I haven't heard any horror stories about cruises with COVID cases that have ruined a cruise. Has there been any issues on RCI? How do you all feel while on board? Safe? Does it feel like cruising is back to normal (like before COVID) or is it a new normal? 

 

We finally booked a cruise but will not be sailing until 4/23, so we are hopeful there will not be any issues. 

 

Thanks for any input.

[baelor]

CDC has a tracker that may be of assistance:

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html

 

Also perhaps of interest:

https://www.cruzely.com/cruise-ship-covid-status-tracker-daily-update-chart-news-and-possible-cases/

[barbeyg]

Just got off of Ovation last Friday, and except for some lines at the main dining room, the sailing felt much like it used to be before Covid. The ship was full, and there were people who had a great cruise (us), and people who complained about every.single.thing, including missing much of Juneau because of a life-threatening emergency medivac.  We sailed last in December, and this was very much more like normal. 
 

I think the staff is stretched a bit, but everyone is understaffed these days. There was only one item I wasn’t able to get, so our sailing was pretty much stocked up. The staff went out of their way to make us happy.

 

Covid? Quite a number tested positive on our sailing with the latest highly-contagious variant. Most after the cruise. There is no telling where we will be by next year, though.  Hopefully in a much better place. 🙂

[MagentaandRiffRaff]

Thank you!!

 

[FionaMG]

We sailed on Harmony in the Med last September, just 6 weeks after the re-start there, and it was not normal at all. The staff were great and couldn't do enough for us but with occupancy so low the usual cruise atmosphere was entirely lacking (we still enjoyed ourselves).

 

Fast-forward to our very recent cruise on Odyssey to the Greek Isles and it was a whole different ball game. We still got great service even though the staff were running around like scalded cats because they were so busy, but the atmosphere was back. If it hadn't been for the staff still having to wear masks, it would have seemed like an entirely normal cruise experience.

[Ky Bill]

We had our first post Covid cruise in March on EOS out of SanJuan.  We had a wonderful time, perhaps one of our best cruises.  The ship was at 45% capacity so that made a big difference.  We will be going out on the AOS in August which will be sailing at or almost at capacity.  I'm still planning of a great time!

Bill

[DCPIV]

You're going to find stories all over the place.  We've had some fantastic cruises since the restart.  Others have had some rough times.

 

As mentioned, staffing and supply chain currently are issues everywhere, and cruising is no exception to either.

 

But, yes, here's hoping that all issues are behind us by the end of the year.

[jeh10641]

33 minutes ago, MagentaandRiffRaff said:

Thank you!!

 

Hi, MagentandRiffRaff,

Covid protocols are continually shifting, sometimes even while cruising. The Rotterdam on its "christening" cruise last week mandated on board masking. Don Terris, Don's Family Cruises on You Tube, even though he was masked and double boosted, still tested positive twice at the end of his week. Just saying...I will be on board RCI's Anthem Oct. 2023 with a mask and as many boosters as available at the time.

Jim

[LaCal]

I’ve been following quite a few FB roll calls for the Quantum Alaska cruises….ones before ours and ones after ours…..Mine was on the 16th 
 
We both got Covid on ours and each and every sailing so far has quite a few cases 😓😓
 
Just reading lots of posts from guests who just got off the 23rd sailing and a lot are now testing positive once home and there were quite a few who tested positive while onboard and had to be quarantined….Those posts alone are eye opening on how they are treated or lack of I should say while in isolation…..Hours to get food or water and medical not answering their phone calls 🙈
 
Most guests have minor symptoms of coughing, congestion, weakness BUT there are a few who’ve had breathing problems and needed further treatment 
 
Royal sees how many cases each sailing are happening of guests and crew and IMO should at “Least” bring Back mask mandates 😷 for now and bring back staff serving in the buffet…..People were cramming in 10-12 deep in the elevators w no masks etc 🙈
 
The amount of coughing and hacking and nose picking and then guests picking up tongs etc on my cruise was enough to stop us from going to the buffet at all and we are skipping it 100% on our next cruise 

 

So be safe everyone and use a little common sense at least when in crowded areas 😷😷

[UNCFanatik]

8 minutes ago, LaCal said:

I’ve been following quite a few FB roll calls for the Quantum Alaska cruises….ones before ours and ones after ours…..Mine was on the 16th 
 
We both got Covid on ours and each and every sailing so far has quite a few cases 😓😓
 
Just reading lots of posts from guests who just got off the 23rd sailing and a lot are now testing positive once home and there were quite a few who tested positive while onboard and had to be quarantined….Those posts alone are eye opening on how they are treated or lack of I should say while in isolation…..Hours to get food or water and medical not answering their phone calls 🙈
 
Most guests have minor symptoms of coughing, congestion, weakness BUT there are a few who’ve had breathing problems and needed further treatment 
 
Royal sees how many cases each sailing are happening of guests and crew and IMO should at “Least” bring Back mask mandates 😷 for now and bring back staff serving in the buffet…..People were cramming in 10-12 deep in the elevators w no masks etc 🙈
 
The amount of coughing and hacking and nose picking and then guests picking up tongs etc on my cruise was enough to stop us from going to the buffet at all and we are skipping it 100% on our next cruise 

 

So be safe everyone and use a little common sense at least when in crowded areas 😷😷

 

Yeah, cause nothing says Covid safety like having mask mandates on ships but 1000s of people gather together to dine indoors of course not wearing masks. 

 

I have been on 2 cruises since Covid in Nov and Dec of 21 and they were great. Mask mandates were still in place but of course people wore any kind of masks often times below their noses and ineffective cloth masks. 

 

But if you truly worry about getting Covid then I would say you should skip cruising all together because there is nothing Royal can do to stop Covid spread on any of their ships

[LaCal]

3 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

Yeah, cause nothing says Covid safety like having mask mandates on ships but 1000s of people gather together to dine indoors of course not wearing masks. 

 

I have been on 2 cruises since Covid in Nov and Dec of 21 and they were great. Mask mandates were still in place but of course people wore any kind of masks often times below their noses and ineffective cloth masks. 

 

But if you truly worry about getting Covid then I would say you should skip cruising all together because there is nothing Royal can do to stop Covid spread on any of their ships

They sure can help slow down the spread….but I’ll agree it can’t be fully stopped 

[rjrpar]

1 hour ago, MagentaandRiffRaff said:

I haven't heard any horror stories about cruises with COVID cases that have ruined a cruise. Has there been any issues on RCI? How do you all feel while on board? Safe? Does it feel like cruising is back to normal (like before COVID) or is it a new normal? 

 

We finally booked a cruise but will not be sailing until 4/23, so we are hopeful there will not be any issues. 

 

Thanks for any input.

We were on the Wonder in early April with 5300 guests.  Seemed normal; no cases reported, limited mask wearing, and ports were wide open.  

[UNCFanatik]

6 minutes ago, LaCal said:

And If you look at the sailings of when mask mandates were in place VS no mask mandates at all you’ll easily see much higher positive Covid cases on the unmasked cruises 

 

Coincidence? I think not 😷🤔🤔

 

Other factors:

 

1. Seasonality of the virus over the last 2 years as data has shown us

2. Higher capacity on cruise ships. More people=more covid cases

3. The expanded availability of home covid tests. There has been more than one story of people self testing on cruise ship and testing positive and reporting which didnt happen before. Especially, and lets be kind here, the more "cautious" among us that take a covid test at the first sign of a sniffle. More test availability=more positive cases being reported. 

 

Masks mandates were in place on cruise ships at the height of Omicron and you had ships being turned away from ports because of High Covid case counts. 

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by UNCFanatik

[LaCal]

4 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

Other factors:

 

1. Seasonality of the virus over the last 2 years as data has shown us

2. Higher capacity on cruise ships. More people=more covid cases

3. The expanded availability of home covid tests. There has been more than one story of people self testing on cruise ship and testing positive and reporting which didnt happen before. Especially, and lets be kind here, the more "cautious" among us that take a covid test at the first sign of a sniffle. More test availability=more positive cases being reported. 

 

Masks mandates were in place on cruise ships at the height of Omicron and you had ships being turned away from ports because of High Covid case counts. 

 

Your other factors are well taken 👍🏻
 

But if you take a simple example of: 100 people in a room with no masks at all and 100 people in a room all wearing masks…..the room with Everyone wearing masks is definitely going to have less positive cases 

[UNCFanatik]

2 minutes ago, LaCal said:

Your other factors are well taken 👍🏻
 

But if you take a simple example of: 100 people in a room with no masks at all and 100 people in a room all wearing masks…..the room with Everyone wearing masks is definitely going to have less positive cases 

 

But 100+ people unmasked in a room is exactly what has been happening since restart of cruising. It happens every day in Windjammer AND MDR. 100s of people unmasked indoors. 

[LaCal]

16 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

But 100+ people unmasked in a room is exactly what has been happening since restart of cruising. It happens every day in Windjammer AND MDR. 100s of people unmasked indoors. 

It will never be a 100% perfect scenario but having masks in most places definitely helps compared to no masks at all…..just common sense 

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

Yeah, cause nothing says Covid safety like having mask mandates on ships but 1000s of people gather together to dine indoors of course not wearing masks. 

 

I have been on 2 cruises since Covid in Nov and Dec of 21 and they were great. Mask mandates were still in place but of course people wore any kind of masks often times below their noses and ineffective cloth masks. 

 

But if you truly worry about getting Covid then I would say you should skip cruising all together because there is nothing Royal can do to stop Covid spread on any of their ships

 

People aren't reporting symptoms and isolating though, which is leading to a lot of the issues.  Very, very few of the people that have tested positive on my recent sailing actually followed cruise line and CDC policy.  Many flew home and then tested once they got home so they didn't get stuck in the port city in isolation.  These people are infecting the crew who are then infecting the next sailings passengers.  People need to use common sense and act responsibly.

Edited June 1, 2022 by reallyitsmema

[broadwaybaby123]

I just got off Anthem. It's ALMOST back to normal. Passengers can wear masks BY CHOICE, staff HAS TO wear KN94S. Staff cannot get off the ship anywhere but the private islands. Rather than using sanitizer on the Windjammer, they make you wash your hands with soap and water. 

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

 Rather than using sanitizer on the Windjammer, they make you wash your hands with soap and water. 

 

At least some sanity - handwashing with soap and water is so much better than "sanitizer"!  Better for getting rid of germs and better for your skin.

[Markmom18]

33 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

At least some sanity - handwashing with soap and water is so much better than "sanitizer"!  Better for getting rid of germs and better for your skin.

🎶🎶   I was just on the Navigator . Each night for dinner we were serenaded with “Washy Washy” songs by 1 or 2 of the wait staff . I noticed smiling guests washing their hands and singing “Washy Washy” as they entered and left the area, it added a positive fun spin!  🎶🎶

 

Nothing wrong with washing our hands before we eat … 

 

🛳🛳

Bobbi

Edited June 2, 2022 by Markmom18

[PhillyFan33579]

I have been on 10 post COVID cruises and had a great time on every cruise. The cruises last Summer and Fall were awesome with low passenger counts that was a different but enjoyable experience. Lately capacity is increasing significantly, with recent cruises on Freedom and Harmony being at full capacity based on double occupancy per the CD. I am just glad to be cruising again and looking forward to my next cruise in a few weeks. 

[LadyBeBop]

14 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

People aren't reporting symptoms and isolating though, which is leading to a lot of the issues.  Very, very few of the people that have tested positive on my recent sailing actually followed cruise line and CDC policy.  Many flew home and then tested once they got home so they didn't get stuck in the port city in isolation.  These people are infecting the crew who are then infecting the next sailings passengers.  People need to use common sense and act responsibly.

Common sense is also mitigated by $$$$. I heard about a couple who has thousands of dollars of post-cruise expenses. They tested positive and was stuck in a quarantine hotel for a week. They had insurance, but insurance is fighting it. If they would have waited until they got home to test, they wouldn’t be out that ridiculous amount. But, of course, you’re infecting everyone around you. 

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, LadyBeBop said:

Common sense is also mitigated by $$$$. I heard about a couple who has thousands of dollars of post-cruise expenses. They tested positive and was stuck in a quarantine hotel for a week. They had insurance, but insurance is fighting it. If they would have waited until they got home to test, they wouldn’t be out that ridiculous amount. But, of course, you’re infecting everyone around you. 

The cruise line gives you $250/day for hotel and $100/day for food. Why are they out thousands?

[Jimbo]

9 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

The cruise line gives you $250/day for hotel and $100/day for food. Why are they out thousands?

Maybe they needed 2 rooms. My understanding only the person with Covid get those allowances.

For a whole week, those charges will add up quick.

[Ukigirl]

Sailed on Allure in May, most people didn’t wear masks. I only did at terminal upon embarkation and if I absolutely had to use elevator, washed my hands frequently, avoided Windjammer and MDR. Came down with symptoms 6 days after coming home, tested negative twice until fifth day of onset of symptoms and only decided to test again because I lost my sense of taste. Luckily my symptoms were mostly sore throat and head/chest congestion. Did I get it from cruise? Who knows? Could have been on flight home even though I masked up. Will I cruise again? Heck yeah, first Celebrity cruise in November!