mking8288

We're fortunate to be on, I believe, 1 of the 2 Getaway sailings early this Spring to actually made it to the Dine With Officers (split us into 2 groups, table of 8 to 10 each in the MDR w plenty of complimentary "bottomless" wine to go around.) There's a live TR/blog onboard the Jewel now, also reported they are signing up Sapphire members for Dine With Officers ?? - not yet confirmed that it is really taking place (was supposed to happen on the GEM on this T/A crossing). Story told, that they should / will restart the complimentary BTS tour sometime in 2023 ... probably going to depend on trifecta trending, but not with folks coughing all over. It would be informative to get a hold of that TA partner communications as mentioned above to read about it. Latitudes tiers, as said, really don't mean much above Platinum, on our way toward Diamonds but no desire to chase points for it, not much in terms of any meaningful perks & useful recognitions ... Let's just hope that they won't follow the routes taken by airline's FF programs. As for these "older" ships, hard to believe & true, the Dawn is almost 20 years old, after several dry docks. Gem and Jewel aren't far from it - wish NCL has the cash to update the stateroom interiors, but we understood how those go - look close enough in out-of-way places, signs of aging do show up - not much difference with more recent mega ones like the Getaway, salt water spray will rust & leave metals nasty looking quickly, constant maintenance & care are a must.

Out of curiosity, did a lookup for an upcoming 12 nighters out of Pier 88 next month - Pier 83/Circle Line parking will be $400, same as rooftop & secured outdoor parking above Pier 88 at MCT (it's capped or max'd out at $400 for cruises of 10 days and longer). Parking stalls/lanes above the cruise piers (88, 90 and the seldom used 92) are wide & "spacious" for nearly all oversized, overwidth vehicles including full-size vans, pickup trucks and extended length - little chance of getting dinged & accidentally dented by those parked next to you, or having to squeeze yourself to get out or get into the parking spot. For cruises of 5, 6, 7 or 8 days - Circle Line reserved parking might be okay, but that can still be a long & freezing walk in the middle of winter to go back & forth, on a day like today ...

There was a thread here not too long ago (tried to search for it, but CC's "search" engine is practically useless) with someone leaving behind valuable items (pouch filled with jewelry items) - which was apparently turned over to ship's Guest Services (they logged it in and file a report, then it's given to shore staff/port agent & forwarded to Miami NCL) Passenger that left the items are responsible for paying for the delivery (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.) and the process took 3 to 4 weeks on the most recent incident. BA isn't returning to homeport until this weekend and timing-wise, with the holiday & offices closed, etc. - there is just not enough time with a tight 2 weeks per OP's post. I would highly recommend filing for emergency replacement passport, not sure what to say on the visa(s) - both this and next week are on a shortened business/office/work schedule, if that upcoming travel is important and not discretionary. Look into cancellation if fully insured and changing & delaying original plans, if those are available options. Good luck ! Edit - founded 2 links, including the recent one ... expect 4 to 6 weeks for the passport to reach you. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2844366-help-item-left-on-ship/#comment-62993538 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2893655-i-left-stuff-in-my-room-when-when-disembarked-help/#comment-64300531

@Birdnutty NCL changed the HD title to GM about 4 years ago, before Covid, in recognition of his/her broad responsibilities. Agreed about not wishing to lost faith in NCL's products and specifics about some of our favorite ships, including the GEM/class .. some can be attributed to difficulties of crewing the ships with newbies, understood that a # of seasoned pool from India did not return. Unclear whether crew shortage issues are related to the massive backlogs with issuing visas at US embassies abroad, nationals from many countries must schedule ahead (2 to 3 years) & get approved after a face-to-face, etc. I recognized the F&B Manager onboard the GEM, he was on the Escape/Breakaway in recent years ... however, below the passenger decks in the Gallery, the Exective Chef & his/her team are in charge. F&B are also personal, subjective and without question, YMMV with biased preferences, i.e. whether it's sodium & spices are excessive, etc. What I see is a fair degree of inconsistencies among ships, services and food quality, entertainment, embarkation and disembarkation issues this year - we've seen it on our own 3 sailings this year and I understood the sound reasons to isolate and protect the "bridge team" and keep them away from direct passenger contacts. CD getting sickened isn't new lately, like the production casts - that's what the Asst CD is there for, and having a understudy for the shows. Whatever ... it is what it is, wasn't there on that day to say otherwise. A time-lapsed (Go-Pro) video of the GEM sailing up the Hudson to her berth at Pier 88 last week, docking on the south side (next to the Interprid at 3:30 am) The Queen Mary 2 arrived almost at the same time into NY from Southampton TA crossing, managed their turnaround and sailed out late to St. Thomas later that same evening, apparently somehow evaded the worst of the storm, whereas the Gem and the Getaway ... ( Posting for/from our Sapphire friends: verbatim with permission, snipped certain sections & details, etc. ) - Last update on our cruise on the Gem ... had a surprisingly delicious dinner at La Cucina with decent service ( still room for improvement) ... expecting Gem to slow down overnight but we kept on top speed of almost 21 kgs. At exactly 0230 we passed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge ... pulled into Pier 88 at 0330. The ship was cleared at about 750 and our section ( yellow priority tags ) was called about 810. Customs was a breeze but there was face to face interview with US Customs ( not just going thru facial recognition ). We called our Car Service and was home by 930. ( Post-cruise, this is appearing to be fairly common & almost expected ) - - - - - had a sour throat then spread to a cold ( probably because we got soaked in Gibraltar and Lisbon. In fact many passengers were coughing on the Gem and may be less than 10% worn mask ( we did ). We will wait a few days and then test ourselves. Slightly off-topics: for our upcoming cruise next month, will be packing more than a little extra healthcare & wellness products into one of the packing cubes, just in case - ships are no longer stocking any OTC meds at the gift shops.

Nowadays, it seems NCL will send out those upgrade bids email much earlier than before (80 or 90 days) and you can place your (multiple ones, as you wish) bid offers once you see your reservation(s) on that system. Within the past month or so, I can attest and confirm, winning bids have been "awarded" at 3 weeks and 7 weeks pre-embarkation, much earlier than usual ... and those are poor to just barely, fair bids for balcony upgrades. YMMV. Happy, safe, warm and healthy holidays to all.

If you have and/or expect to receive any non-refundable Onboard Credit while on the cruise, wait until you are on the NCL ship. And, as said, if you do this at 00:01 hours on Day 2, you will be charged for 1 less day of unlimited access - that's typically $30 per day. Platinum discount, if any, does not apply or cannot be stacked together for these upgrade. Another case in point, passengers that are on current GEM cruise that stay docked at NY's Pier 88 for 2 days, on the delayed departure due to the massive winter storm - had very little need for ship's satellite WiFi, many were able to use their own cellular data. Unclear if those that prepaid or purchased the unlimited plans will get any adjustments or prorated non-refundable OBC.

ATL has been high up on this misery map - gives you a good snapshot of major hubs across the country, #2 behind DEN today (stats maintained & based of ATC data by Flightaware) Not pretty - JFK and LGA (and EWR) actually not doing too bad this time as this massive system just missed us and further north. https://flightaware.com/miserymap/

GEM came in early & fast early yesterday morning, about the same time as QM2 from Southampton for NY Red Hook's BCT. QM2 managed to complete her turnaround and sailed, left for St Thomas, USVI last night (as the Getaway was racing in from Bermuda) ... a true ocean liner with faster speed & perhaps, better designed for rougher crossings no matter what. Here on the north side, things in the LI Sound aren't bad, wind gusts lower than predicted or expected, 50 mph is fine. Fios & powerlines in our neck of the wood are underground ... utilities outage map showing only a handful of scattered issues. Niece up in Monroe County near Rochester, that's an entirely different story with warnings in full force and shutdown except for essential travel for WNY region ... they are used to blizzards, whiteout conditions & lake effects - drive only with 4 ice & snow rated tires ... Safety first when it comes to taking these cruise ships thru stormy seas, better to stay put - can't see how ship captains can find a path to go south tonight, even in the morning, sea states & waves & swells still not looking pretty.

FYI, a live CC blog from one of your fellow cruisers on the GEM, mentioned a short while ago that Coast Guard (likely, the "harbourmaster" that manage the NY Bay's marine traffic) has closed the harbor (probably for cruise ships) Reading the maritime charts on wind, waves, swell and storm info ... my bet would be on a closer toward midnight or 11 p.m. departure from the cruise terminal, and to hug close to the coastal water for a "smoother" ride - depends on the bridge's charted routing to your 1st stop. Happy holidays and a safe sailing ... I would probably still take precautions if motion sickness prone for tonight.

It's a Hamilton Beach 1-cup coffee (hot water) maker - brews a small 6 oz. cup. Steward usually provides the (flat) coffee pod/filter, regular and decaf - sugar & creamer, etc. daily & replace as necessary. You can use your own flat filter pod and choice of coffee grounds - DIY filters and pre-filled filters sold online at Amazon and ShopRite, etc. locally. Nowadays, it's available by request only via the steward. You can make hot water, tea & hot cocoa with it. We prefer our own "private label" brand and always bring some along, just in case.

Latest marine forecast not looking pretty until late tomorrow night, system is fast moving and on an upbeat note, seasick minimized (if any) - depending on how they chart her course to head south. Bow of the ship gets a stronger & better 5G and 4G/LTE signal, and terminal itself has free (unsecured) WiFi - at least folks onboard don't need to worry about satellite WiFi while docked. Being a holiday sailing, ship must be at full capacity with lots of families & children/teens onboard - restless. Sister ship, the mega-sized Getaway is early, inbound now, passed Ambrose and just off the Rockaways, already met by the pilot boat to help escort her to navigate in, should be docking next to you folks much sooner than scheduled (tomorrow). Stay warm & dry and happy holidays, healthy & safe sailing to all. P.S. @ellewoods - thanks for that "update" about the crews being permitted to go ashore again when docked in NYC, especially with this unscheduled, unexpected & unplanned extension by mother nature. Our friends that just disembarked this morning wasn't sure if seamen's privileges were restored by CBP already, which NCL has very little say about it.

OP, it seems, is doing the PC crossing, Miami to Los Angeles on the Bliss next month. Getting into a booked private limo for the airport transfer trip or ?? If they are using NCL ground transfer, should be receiving onboard, color coded luggage tags to affix for transferring their bags - place them outside their doorway on the final evening prior to disembarkation.

Go back, probably at least a few years ... NCL used to sell a few basic OTC meds (brand names & very pricey ... don't have a choice if you "need" them) in the gift shop but true, no longer & haven't seen them sold onboard in a while, except once inside duty-free's cashier area, behind the wall/counter area, maybe "lost prevention" purposes ... security cams everywhere, however. There was (is ??) a self-service, coins-operated OTC med dispenser just outside the ship's Medical Center, seen them myself onboard the Escape, Gem and Dawn in 2018 and 2019. Perhaps, they removed them also ... Of course, they can quickly run out if more a few passengers preferred to get them there instead of ... and rather not wait until they reach the next port with available land store with the desired products, without seeing a licensed professional and/or needing a Rx script. We always pack a IFAK for EDC on the go, plus extra OTC meds & vitamins in another clip-on pouch, because you never know and it might be 3 to 5 days at sea before you see land to dock. With this trifecta picking up momentum, making room in the luggage for another packing cube with some extra items, including masks, sanitizers, wipes and (yes) unopened Covid test kits (free & paid for by insurance) for our own convenience. Things can happened when you are at sea for 12+ days ...

Maritime forecast for the Gem's southbound sailing not looking pretty with forecasted sea state, wind, waves & swell. We're sailed her right after Sandy & other times thru rather challenging navigational routes. Capt's bridge team must've made the call in consult with Miami HQ to postpone this time, not fun to ride 35 to 40 ft. waves with adverse gale force wind for an extended duration. BTW, slightly off-topics: seeing any crew members off-duty going ashore for a few hours ... my understanding is that, due to recent events, NCL crews not permitted by CBP to go ashore even if they're granted time-off (has to stay onboard.) Safe travels

Marinetraffic has the GEM on their radar tracking about 3 hours ago, on a northwest approach doing 20 knots toward NY, should be picking up the pilot boat soon - maybe 30 - 40 nm off Long Branch, NJ for an early arrival (now, slow to 10 knots at midnight) Other CC'ers onboard will probably do a full or detailed write-up later, as our friends don't plan to. Cleared with them with to just share below, some of their observations & comments as seasoned Latitudes members, FWIW, informational only: Subjective comments - verbatim, edited for clarity only ... 1. Haven't seen or heard from the GM or Cruise Director at all ( M&G ... with the cruise more than half over.) Something that we discovered is that you can bring your own wine, liquor on board. In a number of Spanish ports ( Lisbon as well ), one goes thru scanner and X-ray at the pier and duty free is situated after that. No X-ray screening to come back on board and no one asked to store your alcohol purchase away until the last day. We purchased sherry from Cádiz and port from Lisbon plus a few bottles of Portuguese wine. BTW our return on board in Lisbon was done through face recognition technologies ( no need to show keycard). 2. Funchal is in sight but Gem is 2 hours late arriving due to very strong headwind overnight. We were only able make 14 kts instead of 20+. All shore excursion delayed but no mention of late departure ( scheduled for 5pm ). Indeed many new environments on the Gem except the stateroom. If you look carefully at the photo on deck 6 you will notice all the chairs and sofa are quite low ( design over function). We see lots of passengers struggling to get up ( we just avoided them completely). One good news is that NCL arranged for EU Customs to be at the pier from 2-4 to process and stamp VAT refund ( normally only available at departure airport ). We believe that the last of the contractors got off in Lisbon. It was a three weeks refit in marseille and the work continues. We had dinner at Le Bistro and the “ special “ wine menu for us had been further downsized. The food portions were smaller as well. 3. The Gem had taken a very southerly course across the North Atlantic. We had pleasant temperatures ( 70’s), relatively clear skies, calm seas with a slight ocean swell. The last 2 to 3 days wifi was slower than molasses and I cannot even use IPhone messaging. Today seemed to be back to “normal” all iPhone messages, Facebook messenger and mail download all came through. Our balcony cabin is exactly the same configuration as it was when we started cruising on NCL in 2006. Kind of sad in a way as it is showing its age. We also have a canceled port call but no offer was made, OBC or otherwise. Our friends on the Epic told us about their compensation ( sad ! ) and they were trying to find things to buy as they prepaid everything so no onboard expenses at all. I tipped him off on the buy one get one on Cruise next ( wasn’t on the offer but unless one asked ). Taking about Covid, no known cases on board yet but a lot of people coughing and very few worn mask ( we do ). This morning in Garden Cafe a man cough right on the plexiglass over the food ! On the topic of food, we are rarely disappointed with food and food service on NCL, this cruise is the exception! Just not up to NCL standards. The bacon at Garden Cafe are broken into pieces or stuck together into a flat. I thought it was a one time thing for the beginning of the cruise as the Gem was in Marseille for a three weeks refit. But the bacon situation did not improve. The food in the MDR lacks the same presentation this is even in some of the special venue. The cooks behind the carving station had no idea how to carve and this extended to some of people In Mordeno. Last night one of them carved a crispy cut with all fats on the inside ! Overall impression is not a good one. Only seen the GM at the latitude party ( over 500 Latitude members out of 1060 passengers, only 49 Sapphire). The Meet and Greet venue was changed ( there was an art auction there ) and no signage to advise the new location ! Even the Cruise Director wasn’t very visible. Never seen the Captain and all the announcements from the bridge was from the 1st Officer. The Dining with the Officers was reinforced and we were told that an invitation with be forth coming. We inquired two days ago at the desk, was given an excuse and promised that we will be called about the day and time. Tomorrow is our last sea day so I guess it will not be forth coming at all. Even the Freestyle Daily was substandard, usually crammed with information now some days are double spaced as they had nothing to say. None of the port of call had a description or a map so if one didn’t book an excursion you are out of luck. It was hard for us to write about Vacation Hero as they are few and far in between. Our waiter at Moderno was so flustered ... ... The Captain and GM set the tone of the ship. We ... had been the Gem many times prior. The ship was not perfect but still well run, not so this time ... went to reception to ask for priority tags for our luggage and was told they they will be delivered to Platinum and above by their room steward ( he could have easily hand them to me as I stood in line to inquire ). As compare to the Gem’s 2 or 3 rating , our recent trip on the Pearl ranks a 8+, the food was exceptional all around. The GM was visible all the time. 4. Just had a surprisingly delicious dinner at La Cucina with decent service ( still room for improvement). And, no not a peep from Cruise Next re dinner with the officers ! Finally saw the GM, he was walking around with his very young son who is apparently on board.

As of 10 am this morning, updated live onboard the GEM - 296nm today to pick up the harbor pilot. Temperature had dropped about 20 degrees. Still blessed with calm seas. Who's who - the senior & managerial rank onboard for the last 2 weeks:

Ships should be sailing full this week and next week with the holidays ... January is typically a slower month without full occupancies, demographics are different. Aside from self-employed and retirees, not everyone can easily approved for taking vacations at the beginning of a calendar year. Already surprised that our CC friends currently on the GEM's 14 nights TA crossing got upgraded from their (also) very low bid from oceanview to balcony at 1 month out, then this one came at 44 or 45 days out with a low offered amount. GEM has 1060 passengers onboard only ... I would be very surprised if ours sail at 80% to 90% occupancy, maybe 75% with lots of vacant or empty Insides. Will find out soon enough. Meanwhile, look at those Haven bids, wow ... LOL

Bingo, it's an important point that a few folks overlooked, perhaps not ignoring on purpose. We started crusing NCL back on the Norwegian Sea, Crown & Dawn (a brand new ship when it homeport in NY in 2003) the nominal upcharge was $10 to $15 for Cagney's and LeBistro. We fondly remember those days. This is also directly, raising the applicable & mandatory add-on gratitudes of 20% ... could it go up to 22% or even 25% in 2023 ?? Maybe, hopefully not soon but later - not going bet against them not being "bump" higher. If that club/balcony ("suite") or suite has only 2 adults, and their upcharged meals are either covered and/or they have Platinum/+ status, fine for the typical 4 to 7 or 8 nights cruise - fair enough deal for adding or buying 2 extra meals for passengers #3 (could be a grown teenager or adult children) isn't too bad, not too long ago while you can order from the kid's menu for junior ("no sharing, nah nah nah") seated together. Heck, one could possibly do better and book a 2nd inside cabin & selectively take those Free-At-Seas bundle and come out ahead gaming the system ... I haven't done the math b/c we are unlikely to add a 3rd adult to share the cabin, cruising NCL. The add-on extras & sur-charges and up-charges, somewhat annoying but I am going stop short of calling them annoying - not exactly good for filling the cabins with happy campers, IMHO. My point in highlighting this, in part as heads up and obviously, heads maybe turning, and saying wow. For us, perfectly fine to eat a decent and edible meal in the MDR on a given evening, not deal with grocery shopping, cooking, serving, cleaning & washing dishes and trash removal, etc.

Stand corrected, Q is a-la-carte ... With dining packages, one can order x number of items, pick-n-choose.

Just noticed this on our upcoming Getaway cruise next year - wasn't Teppanyaki still $49 p/p + 20% on the Joy this September (didn't have Moderno ... maybe I hit that empty memory bank (blank) Q Texas Smokehouse was $49 p/p + 20% if paid/charged onboard without the dining package and/or add-ons. Price being shown now for adding 2 meals specialty dining is $118.80 p/p That's in line with going with popular land steakhouse restaurant chains, maybe ... but sorry, I don't the values in paying nearly full price for Teppanyaki (okay, that's partially, for the junior chef's "entertaining performance of knife, fork & spatula ". Haven't looked closely at Cagney's, Le Bistro & other a la carte restaurnat onboard. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if entrees and starter prices are going up in other a la carte Specialty Restaurants onboard too. Feel free to chat, correct the numbers and disagree, etc. and beat the drum or as they often remind, give NCL a thumbs "down" like in Y.tube 👴 As NCLH stockholders, recognize the other sides and aspect of doing the necessities to keep the ships floating and provisioned.

With 30 days to go on the upcoming Getaway cruise in mid/late January out of NY, I can confirm that our friends (using a CAS land-issued voucher, etc.) was awarded an "Upgrade Advantage" bid, two (2) weeks ago - moved from their ("IA") Inside on Deck 12 Mid to a ("BA") Balcony, also on Deck 12 (Fwd). Bid for Club Balcony, not accepted (as that was low, very low, barely moved the "meter") and also for an Oceanview (just in case, with at least a view) - won the Balcony for under ($180 p/p x 2, approximately - best to not disclose the "exact" amount since other bids might still be pending) It was fair/passed poor but to them, very reasonable for 12 nights, 2/3 of it in warmer Caribbean waters. Prices for a new balcony booking remained fairly high & mostly unchanged - had they wanted to pay for a straight upgrade, the difference would be more than double of the amount charged to their credit card offered to NCL. Haven is practically sold out, ditto for Spa cabins, not much remaining for new Club Balcony "suite" - inexpensive Insides (including Sail Aways) & some Oceanview (Deck 5) remaining, from what I see this morning.

FYI only - Dine With Officers (Latitudes Sapphires & up only) - unconfirmed as to whether it actually restarted as the GEM sailed about 80 nm south of Bermuda this afternoon, according to email update from our CC friends onboard. Over 500 Latitudes members onboard and 49 being Sapphires. Ship sailed a very southerly westbound toward the warmer Caribbean waters, temps in the 70's to steer clear and has been a fairly smooth ride. WiFi has been nearly unusable for the past few sea days since leaving the port, until earlier today. NYC arrival expected to be on schedule this Thursday. No complimentary Behind The Scene tours offered or conducted yet, according to the source. (above is an indirect summary report of key / positive highlights ...)

@wil e coyote We'll be shadowing Laszlo's port stops to see how their planned stops do, waiting for the GA's homeward trip to NY to make their exodus so that we can embark. Our stop at PP or Amber Cove is scheduled for Jan. 29th and port calendar showing 2 ships at PP, thus possible for GA to dock at the Cove & not "divert" elsewhere ... all that, subject to change if come Jan. 1st. - an updated port schedule as posted show otherwise, i.e. 2 Carnival ships going to AC. Regardless, port charges/fees/charges been paid (as part of total) since full payment was due a while ago .. it's pretty clear NCL isn't likely going to refund or adjust anything - just going to deal with it, but not booking any shorex either, 2 to 3 hours plus a little slack to rush ashore aren't going to be worthwhile, aside from stretching sea legs and take a few selfies (and photos) near the shops by the piers to "check-in" on our Google Map as "Local Guide" ... that we visited, LOL. We'll have roaming 4G LTE coverage at the other ports ahead of our 1/29 calling on PP, pretty sure we can track down things onboard from the Shore Ex desk and post an update for interested folks here on CC ... others are free to ignore or not read about it.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2896346-gem-dry-dock/page/3/ Not posting any additional details from today's email message, verbatim as a 3rd party, until I clear with our CC friends whom we've cruised together in the past and keep in touch as they live close by. Issues with observations about management, crew and staff, and quality of food served, as well as service standards (which they deemed below NCL's benchmark standards) as they're just recently on the Pearl out of Boston - opinions are subjective and reviews are often non-scientific ... thus, precautions always advised reading them and also care when doing a write-up. I can help them report out, not surprisingly and the practice has been fairly consistent recently with other NCL ships, no OBC were (asked & requested, nicely) given - issued - credited - posted - etc. with their skipped and missing ports, 3 extra sea days plus the 6 nights crossing for the 14 nights (of course, some folks are happy to be at sea and hardly go ashore at all ... others do, to each her/his own about what's important to do & not do). When it comes to finances and OBC, the authority & approval are certain to be vested not onboard but rather, dictated by Miami HQ's senior leadership. I've said more than I wanted to. Happy cruising !

Just got an email update from our 2 Sapphire CC friends onboard the GEM, they sailed much further south than usual in nicer & warm weather for last few days, currently south of Bermuda & heading toward NY for this Thursday's morning arrival. In all fairness, the "positives" going onboard ... Dine with Officers supposingly being resumed when asked, signed up but still waiting for particulars - over 500 Latitudes members out of 1060 onboard and 49 Sapphires ... satellite WiFi has been unusable for past few days since they left Funchal, barely able to upload a few pictures for us (as seen in the other thread). Probably frustrating and difficult to do any kind of extensive live or semi-live reporting while doing the crossing. What you read on the other platform, I cannot vouch for/against but overall, seemed spot on & reasonably accurate ... look for a post-TA crossing review/critique by others in greater details & depth. I am considering posting indirectly, sharing what they wrote in the other thread ... as heads-up for those embarking soon on her. GEM has been one of our favorite mid-size ship over the past 10 years and cruised her just a month before the Covid-19 ... P.S. Coughing reporting onboard in public area, best to consider - IMHO - stocking & bring some masks & wipes/sanitizers for, optional, personal use while at sea ... for your (in)convenience. Not mandated, not recommended, not ... strictly on your own.