AtSea2021

On 12/21/2021 at 2:14 PM, clover18 said:

This is our second Sea day, and day four of the eight day cruise. It has been a lot of organized chaos, especially in the Windjammer, which I mentioned yesterday. The food on board continues to be underwhelming. All of the specialty restaurants And the shows are pretty much sold out for the rest of the week. We will either be eating in the main dining room, the wind jammer (reluctantly) or grabbing a slice of pizza or a burger somewhere quick.

 

There are lots of kids on board. More than you can count. They are running around a lot even late into the evening. Most of them are well behaved, and spending time with their families it looks like they’re all having a lot of fun.

 

The pool decks are packed. There is a lot of difficulty finding a deck chair available and people are definitely heading up top to reserve their chairs with towels and clips early in the morning. The solarium in particular was already filling up at about 815 this morning and if not the actual people sitting there, the chairs were definitely reserved in full with towels and books, etc.

 

We are now pretty much an open water having gone around Cuba and down past Jamaica. The weather is a bit windy and seas are a little choppy, but the captain is keeping it steady and it’s not too bumpy.

 

Tonight we managed to get a seat for the “Journey” tribute band. That should be fun. I’m determined to get a plate of pretzel sticks at the crown and compass. Bingo and trivia games are very crowded. The flow rider and the Northstar are very popular and people are lining up to do those things.

 

This morning my husband observed that it would be much better if the odyssey had a couple of waterslides rather than the Northstar. It really is gimmicky and not very inspiring.

 

The Esplanade has way too many watch stores and not enough practical things to purchase. The one “shop” has T-shirts and sweatshirts that are ridiculously overpriced. I don’t mind paying for a souvenir but there’s hardly any choice. We continue to be baffled by why people are interested in buying jewelry on a cruise ship.

 

at this point I am not too excited about spending another week on the ship. First world problems notwithstanding, a back to back sounded like a great time and a relaxing way to enjoy Christmas break. However there really isn’t “a lot“ to do on board once you’ve ticked off the two or three novel things that the odyssey has: Northstar, 270 show, and rip-cord I fly. All of which are pretty much booked up for the week. 
 

One minor complaint is that the water in the solarium pool is too cold. If you want to take a quick drunk because you warm from sitting in a deck chair you expect it to be refreshing, but not freezing. But I guess you could get used to it if you have the perseverance to stay in the water for minute or two longer. I don’t.

 

The hot tubs are insanely overcrowded and the only time to really enjoy one is early in the morning before everybody gets up. 
 

Everyone is basically wearing their mask when they’re supposed to, but I take mine off frequently and no one ever says anything. If the hallways or elevators are empty when traversing the inside decks I don’t wear it. And you certainly don’t have to wear one outside on the deck or in the solarium. There are some people who do, but they are greatly outnumbered by the people who are not wearing them in those places.
 

More to report after the port day at Curacao tomorrow. 
 

 

Clover 18, why? Why would you purposely take your masks off “frequently,” especially in the elevators? Why should you be allowed on this cruise and future ones if you’re not going to follow company policy, no different than the passenger we sailed back to FTL for? Your exact words: “Everyone is basically wearing their mask when they’re supposed to, but I take mine off frequently and no one ever says anything. If the hallways or elevators are empty when traversing the inside decks I don’t wear it.” 

Captain announced last night we are up to 60 crew cases plus (allegedly) 3 passengers. And yet here we are taking our time at sea, allowing more cases to spread, instead of getting everyone home and off this ship. I have lost all trust and faith in this cruise line to do the right thing. 

For anyone who is trusting the mask policy and other protocols before deciding whether to cruise, do not. I’m currently on the Odyssey. Every time I leave the cabin I see over a dozen people walking around maskless. Some don’t even bother carrying a drink they just walk around with masks below their chin. There has been zero enforcement except in the seaplex area. They are definitely not requiring people to be seated when eating or drinking. So if you want to go despite all that, that is fine. Just go with eyes wide open. 

2 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

RCI are experts on boats. Like everyone here, they aren’t experts on epidemiology. RCI developed their protocols in conjunction with the CDC and the best, most knowledgeable experts on the world. And they decided that allowing some unvaxxed kids on board was fine. 
 

And so far, those protocols have worked. There have been few Covid cases on ships, and almost zero serious cases. In short, they haven’t gone to 100% vaxxed because the folks who know best say they don’t need to. 

Where are you getting that information from. I’m on the odyssey and we are up to 55 cases confirmed by the captain. Currently stuck at sea because curaçao denied us entry. Unvaccinated kids (you can tell because they don’t have a ribbon) are running around the ship without masks on. I reported this to 3 security guards and each shrugged their shoulders. 

On the Odyssey. It’s time to go home. We already had 2 days at sea, plus today, and 2 more home. No reason to pretend any longer, and no reason to keep us on a giant incubator. Cases are only going to increase, not decrease. Crew have been wonderful and doing the best they can. It’s the passengers refusing to comply with the mask mandates and thinking they are too special to follow the rules. 

There are at least 50 cases on board. 47 crew. https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/8990149002