I have a question and a warning to give in this post. My question is, assuming that the CDC allows cruises to sail this summer, will face masks be required? Since it appears that a negative PCR test and full vaccinations will be required for everyone on the boat, will they still mandate face masks?
The reason why I ask this question rolls right into my warning. Last October (2020) I spent a week in Vegas. I did my regular routine. Booked a suite at the cosmo, booked a daybed at the pool, made restaurant reservations, gambled at the Aria and booked a table at a nightclub (only nightclub open really). Same routine, different results this time. It ended up being not only the least amount of fun I have had in Vegas but it also landed in my top three worst trips ever. I know what you are thinking, oh boy we have another anti masker crying up a storm. Not true my friends. Thanks to my job I am one of the rare people who has been able to travel freely around the world during this crisis. I wear my mask even in countries that do not require them. I wear mask on 10+ hours long flights. What I am talking about is spending thousands of dollars to be constantly monitored and unreasonably nagged during your vacation.
Remember that daybed at the outside pool I mentioned? Imagine being outside at the pool, ten feet away from anyone else and security is walking around telling people that if they are not eating and drinking then the mask must be on. "No problem", you think. You are drinking pina coladas and talking to your friends, it should be no big deal. The security is back again breathing down your neck however because you must be ACTIVELY drinking. So after you are done sipping, the mask must go back on. Sip, mask, sip, mask. The entire trip was like that in all locations (except for Freemont which was the wild wild west). You were constantly breaking some over the top covid rule and you were always being scolded about it. I have many examples but I think you get the gist. It just sucked the enjoyment right out of the trip. I have a friend who the same thing happened to her at a Disney resort. She refuses to go anywhere for vacation now that has a strict mask policy.
So my warning is this, if cruising starts again and RCL maintains its current mask policy then you should consider canceling. I love cruises, in fact i'm managing a RCL cruise group hoping to sail this September. We each have suites reserved, packages booked and everyone is excited. We will all be canceling however if that mask requirement stays. We simply won't pay a company to tell us sip mask, sip mask on a boat with fully vaccinated people.
Face Masks and Cruising
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
Hello fellow RCL cruisers!
I have a question and a warning to give in this post. My question is, assuming that the CDC allows cruises to sail this summer, will face masks be required? Since it appears that a negative PCR test and full vaccinations will be required for everyone on the boat, will they still mandate face masks?
The reason why I ask this question rolls right into my warning. Last October (2020) I spent a week in Vegas. I did my regular routine. Booked a suite at the cosmo, booked a daybed at the pool, made restaurant reservations, gambled at the Aria and booked a table at a nightclub (only nightclub open really). Same routine, different results this time. It ended up being not only the least amount of fun I have had in Vegas but it also landed in my top three worst trips ever. I know what you are thinking, oh boy we have another anti masker crying up a storm. Not true my friends. Thanks to my job I am one of the rare people who has been able to travel freely around the world during this crisis. I wear my mask even in countries that do not require them. I wear mask on 10+ hours long flights. What I am talking about is spending thousands of dollars to be constantly monitored and unreasonably nagged during your vacation.
Remember that daybed at the outside pool I mentioned? Imagine being outside at the pool, ten feet away from anyone else and security is walking around telling people that if they are not eating and drinking then the mask must be on. "No problem", you think. You are drinking pina coladas and talking to your friends, it should be no big deal. The security is back again breathing down your neck however because you must be ACTIVELY drinking. So after you are done sipping, the mask must go back on. Sip, mask, sip, mask. The entire trip was like that in all locations (except for Freemont which was the wild wild west). You were constantly breaking some over the top covid rule and you were always being scolded about it. I have many examples but I think you get the gist. It just sucked the enjoyment right out of the trip. I have a friend who the same thing happened to her at a Disney resort. She refuses to go anywhere for vacation now that has a strict mask policy.
So my warning is this, if cruising starts again and RCL maintains its current mask policy then you should consider canceling. I love cruises, in fact i'm managing a RCL cruise group hoping to sail this September. We each have suites reserved, packages booked and everyone is excited. We will all be canceling however if that mask requirement stays. We simply won't pay a company to tell us sip mask, sip mask on a boat with fully vaccinated people.
-Cheers!