All post-covid cruisers: who did NOT enjoy yours?

[exm]

I sailed on the 8/21 Adventure out of Nassau, and I thought it was one of the best cruises I've done. Empty ship/excursions (CocoCay) and exceptional service from the crew. The testing protocols really were not fun, but that's the current world we're living in.

 

Would do it again in a heartbeat. What are YOUR thoughts?

[MommaBear55]

I'm not enjoying the hoops, especially as DH does nothing but show up after I e taken care of everything, but I'm really looking forward to stepping on a ship this weekend

[utopiahereicome]

Was on the 7/25 Adventure sailing.  Yes, it was stressful completing all the requirements prior to board, but once on the ship it was awesome!  Came home and booked a solo cruise on Odyssey for 10/9 and Freedom for 1/3,  hoping capacity is still reduced as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of an uncrowded ship!

[ReneeFLL]

We have September, October and November cruises. We haven’t had to go thru it yet, but I don’t think it will be that big of a deal for us. We live in Fort Lauderdale and the cruises are out of here or Miami so no flying. We also bought the same test kits you did so we have a back up plan. My only concern would be if we tested positive, but at least we would still be home.

[Sillyjilly]

Currently on the Oasis and am having a wonderful time. Great service! Can't wait until my next cruise.

[vegas7df]

We were on Independence of the Seas last month and loved being on a ship again.  It was nice with reduced capacity, easy to move around the ship and crew was great. The Covid restrictions were not bad at all, getting the test prior was stressful.  We are sailing again in 2 weeks.

[luckyfincruiser]

August Allure was one of our favorite cruises to date!

[lovesthebeach2]

We were on the 3rd Allure cruise and loved every minute of it. It was stressful with current protocols, but once aboard, we had one of the best cruises ever! Can’t wait until November when we cruise Odyssey.

[Murphy]

We were on the Freedom out of Miami Aug 20-27 and had a fabulous time!  Loved the smaller crowds and the shipboard mask protocols were not as bad as I thought it would be.  Lots of vaccinated only locations, so once you arrived to the venue, no mask needed.  Almost every time we needed an elevator one arrived empty.  Even on disembarkation day elevators weren't full.  We only had 800 passengers onboard, so as the ships increase capacity, I'm not sure how the crowds will impact the experience though.

[mac_tlc]

The only thing I missed was going to Maya Chan during our Costa Maya stop in August. Hope to remedy that on 11/2.

 

mac_tlc

[livingonthebeach]

On Freedom this coming weekend. Will let you know. 

[Havin'fun]

Just off of Symphony and I loved this cruise.  From what I heard, there were 1600 passengers onboard.

Pre-cruise covid testing was a breeze at a local CVS. 

From the time I walked in the terminal to being on the ship was all of 10 -15 minutes.  It was so strange ( and yet refreshing) to see so many chairs available at the main pool.  I stayed onboard at our stop in Cozumel and went to the solarium.  I was the only person in there for the 2 hours I spent there.  With so few people on board, there was never a wait for anything.  Quite a difference experience.

Wearing a mask in certain areas was basically not an issue.  

Looking forward to the next cruise in December.

 

 

 

[Bobal]

I suspect most of the answers will be in the positive as people on this site tend to be passionate about cruising and desperate to cruise whatever the restrictions and anyone giving a negative view will be shot down in flames.

 

So flame away but I still can't work up any enthusiasm for cruising right now and - apart from less crowding onboard- haven't seen anything on all the onboard reports which would tempt me back

[islandwannabee]

Sailed allure, 8/29. Stressful to the 10th power trying to get test results. Yes it was a good cruise, but not my best. Don't you dare cough or sneeze, because everyone around will assume you have the thing that shall not be named. 

 

I didn't like having to basically wear my mask around my ear, or neck, you need to put on everywhere inside, except casino and when sitting in vaccinated theatre or sitting down drinking or eating. So walk to coffee shop on, sit off, get up on, walk to show lounge on, sit off, get up to go to bathroom on and so on. 

We also like to get off ship and walk around, but stayed on for all ports except coca cay. Just too hot to walk in the sun, with mask on. Even if no one is around, you must  wear it outside in Mexico (where our 2 stops were).

 

I am going to wait to cruise for a few more months, all the stress was not really worth the fun.

[CaroleC]

12 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

DH does nothing but show up after I e taken care of everything

Same as mine! 

[not-enough-cruising]

13 minutes ago, Bobal said:

I suspect most of the answers will be in the positive as people on this site tend to be passionate about cruising and desperate to cruise whatever the restrictions and anyone giving a negative view will be shot down in flames.

 

So flame away but I still can't work up any enthusiasm for cruising right now and - apart from less crowding onboard- haven't seen anything on all the onboard reports which would tempt me back

You aren’t “post cruise”, this opinion isn’t what is being looked for. 

[LuCruise]

8 minutes ago, islandwannabee said:

Sailed allure, 8/29. Stressful to the 10th power trying to get test results. Yes it was a good cruise, but not my best. Don't you dare cough or sneeze, because everyone around will assume you have the thing that shall not be named. 

 

I didn't like having to basically wear my mask around my ear, or neck, you need to put on everywhere inside, except casino and when sitting in vaccinated theatre or sitting down drinking or eating. So walk to coffee shop on, sit off, get up on, walk to show lounge on, sit off, get up to go to bathroom on and so on. 

We also like to get off ship and walk around, but stayed on for all ports except coca cay. Just too hot to walk in the sun, with mask on. Even if no one is around, you must  wear it outside in Mexico (where our 2 stops were).

 

I am going to wait to cruise for a few more months, all the stress was not really worth the fun.

This is a great post and gives both sides.

 

We know that things won't be ideal...having to wear masks (haven't figured out yet how to prevent mine from fogging up) and not being able to grab a drink and just walk with it.  Plus not everything on the ship is running so limited experience, and reservations for things that are running.

 

But on the flip side, we just want to get back on a ship...and even if not 100% experience, it's great to get out of the house and have family vacation.

 

Question for those who have gone and are worried about covid...do you find that you relaxed once on the ship?  Or are you constantly on nerves?  We just did a a mini summer trip and I did relax once there, but we were only 1.5 hrs from home.

[helen haywood]

I sailed two weeks ago on Celeste Edge and while we absolutely love the ship and had a wonderful time…for me, planning a cruise, and the anticipation that builds for months beforehand…was missing for that cruise.  Not knowing for certain I could get the covid test in time before driving for two days…I was afraid to pack for fear we’d test positive (asymptomatic.)  However, I realize that’s the world we currently live in and that I must adjust my expectations.
 

 Do I wish things were as they used to be?  Absolutely!!!  Is my love for being on a ship at sea great enough to accept the new normal?  ABSOLUTELY!!

[colesc15]

I have acid reflux and I get coughing attacks sometimes after I eat/drink things. Should be interesting next month on the ship. Lol! I dislike most people so it works well when in a casino and they move on 😂

[forgotmyCCname]

We were initially worried about the mask protocols, etc.

We just returned from Spain this morning. Masks MANDATORY in every shop, taxi, restaurant ( until seated). It took *zero* joy away from our trip. If we can enjoy Spain with masks we can certainly enjoy a much less restrictive masking protocol on Symphony.

 

On a side note to anyone traveling internationally by air-  VeriFLY was amazing! We uploaded passports, vaccine, Covid test results from Spain ( BiNax!!) , UK locator form 

(Required as we transited via LHR), etc. all we had to show at check in was passport and the VerFly pass. No waiting. Highly recommend!!

[xxHadleyxx]

Well, we're currently on Anthem...not post cruise yet.

 

Yes, it was a ton of stress dealing with the protocols before boarding and for flying into the UK (especially because this is the first UK sailing with international guests and RCI had issues with their protocols...telling us we'd been sent links we hadn't been, etc)...I think that'll be easier for international guests now that the kinks have been worked out.

 

We're loving being back on board.  Feels very safe.  The less crowded ship is lovely.  Masks don't bother me.  We live in Germany where they're required in all indoor public spaces so this is my norm. I don't find it difficult to put it on and off often. 

[kernow]

1 hour ago, Bobal said:

I suspect most of the answers will be in the positive as people on this site tend to be passionate about cruising and desperate to cruise whatever the restrictions and anyone giving a negative view will be shot down in flames.

 

So flame away but I still can't work up any enthusiasm for cruising right now and - apart from less crowding onboard- haven't seen anything on all the onboard reports which would tempt me back

No flaming at all, I completely understand everyone is different but just wondered what you are doing instead?

Going abroad seems to me even more stressful than a UK cruise, UK holiday resorts have been manic and unpleasant all summer(I know, I live in one) so for us the week we spent on Virtuosa in June was the most normal, safe feeling week we've had since all this started.

Last autumn/spring we did a couple of 2 night breaks at nice hotels in the UK and they were enjoyable but for the amount they cost we could have done a cruise where we get better service, better entertainment and a real feeling of getting away from it all. 

I know it's not perfect at the moment (what is?) but for us it's just the nicest option.

[RCCL Fan]

So we were on one of Adventure's first cruises out of Nassau.  Everyone onboard vaccinated, so there were no mask issues to weigh in on.

 

Like others I was stressed about whether we would get our tests back in time, but once on ship everything melted away and it was a great cruise.

 

What I missed:  the theater, there were so few people inside that you couldn't hear applause,  there was no audience laughter or reaction and it just changed the feeling/dynamic of the experience. 

 

We weren't allowed to congregate at the bar, which was tough and annoying.    

 

 

But everything else, was just normal for us, with a crew so happy to be there,  and served us royally.

 

 

I would do it again in a heartbeat,  in fact I am,  in a couple months. 🙂

[Bobal]

6 minutes ago, kernow said:

No flaming at all, I completely understand everyone is different but just wondered what you are doing instead?

Going abroad seems to me even more stressful than a UK cruise, UK holiday resorts have been manic and unpleasant all summer(I know, I live in one)

 

I know it's not perfect at the moment (what is?) but for us it's just the nicest option.

I'm currently sitting by the pool at a villa in the Algarve after a week in Porto and 2 days in Evora on the way down. This is my second trip abroad since early June and have another booked in October. I haven't felt particularly stressed about the testing requirements. Yes there's an extra expense involved and a small anxious wait for a negative result (which I had no reason to doubt having had Covid at Christmas and being doubly jabbed), but the payoff was well worth the minor inconvenience - all our flights have been pretty empty and we had rows to ourselves. We really had no desire to holiday in the UK for the reasons you said

 

I am glad that you have enjoyed your cruises and know that it still provides a comfort zone for many - just not enough freedom and too many restrictions for us. Enjoy your next cruise 😊

[kernow]

3 minutes ago, Bobal said:

I'm currently sitting by the pool at a villa in the Algarve after a week in Porto and 2 days in Evora on the way down. This is my second trip abroad since early June and have another booked in October. I haven't felt particularly stressed about the testing requirements. Yes there's an extra expense involved and a small anxious wait for a negative result (which I had no reason to doubt having had Covid at Christmas and being doubly jabbed), but the payoff was well worth the minor inconvenience - all our flights have been pretty empty and we had rows to ourselves. We really had no desire to holiday in the UK for the reasons you said

 

I am glad that you have enjoyed your cruises and know that it still provides a comfort zone for many - just not enough freedom and too many restrictions for us. Enjoy your next cruise 😊

There you go, we are all different, I'd be way to nervous about restrictions changing and having to isolate when I got home to fully enjoy my holiday🙂.

 

Whether everyone decides to cruise or not, hope we can all find a holiday we enjoy.