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What is cruising like these days?

birdie16

By birdie16,
in Royal Caribbean International

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birdie16

birdie16

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Our last cruise was in November 2019. We are thinking about booking a cruise again, we miss it so much. How does cruising compare to pre-Covid? Are the changes that big? What is different, besides the pre-board testing? Are the Diamond lounges open? Can you still walk off the ship on your own? Thanks in advance.

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sjb317

sjb317

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Posted (edited)
44 minutes ago, birdie16 said:

Our last cruise was in November 2019. We are thinking about booking a cruise again, we miss it so much. How does cruising compare to pre-Covid? Are the changes that big? What is different, besides the pre-board testing? Are the Diamond lounges open? Can you still walk off the ship on your own? Thanks in advance.

We’ve cruised twice since August, once on Celebrity and most recently on Allure.  Masks were required on Allure inside public areas unless you are eating/drinking while sitting.  Signs at elevators limiting number of people, I saw crew monitoring the elevators during busy times such as right after a show.  Some shows and areas (like the Solarium and casino) were labeled for vaccinated only, unvaccinated had separate shows or sometimes areas to sit in.

 

Diamond Lounge was open but very crowded during happy hour. We went up one evening but did not stay long as we liked going to various bars better.  Vouchers are loaded onto your seapass each day for any drink up to $13, these can be used anytime throughout the day at any bar or restaurant and are used in the DL.   We liked the vouchers a lot and hope they keep this change!  The coffee machine is still available in the DL  but staff makes the coffee for you.  Same with the evening snacks and continental breakfast, there is a staff member to serve you.   
 

WJ is open for lunch and breakfast but we did not go up there.  We liked breakfast in the Solarium buffet as it was never crowded and great view.  Speaking of crowds, Allure only had about 2400 passengers which is something we could get used to!😂. Embarkation and debarkation were very easy!

 

One thing that had not changed: Casino is still very smoky.  There were notices in the Compass each day saying you must be actively playing to smoke but that did not appear to be enforced.   Smoke was so bad I found I could not stay more than 30 min  or so as it really irritated my eyes.

 

We had a great time, so much so that we have since booked  4 more Royal cruises and 1 Celebrity.   Yes, it’s different but still worth it!

 

Sherri🙂
 

 

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
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1 hour ago, birdie16 said:

Our last cruise was in November 2019. We are thinking about booking a cruise again, we miss it so much. How does cruising compare to pre-Covid? Are the changes that big? What is different, besides the pre-board testing? Are the Diamond lounges open? Can you still walk off the ship on your own? Thanks in advance.

We have been on 3 post restart cruises. And they have all been wonderful. Yeah,,, there are a few quirks like testing and having someone serve you at the buffet. But it is wonderful being back on the ocean again. 

 

The links below are to my live posts from the Adventure and Freedom. You can check out the Cruise Compass to see what kind of entertainment there is (a lot fewer passengers, smaller crew, less entertainment).  

 

 

 

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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1 hour ago, sjb317 said:

 

One thing that had not changed: Casino is still very smoky.  There were notices in the Compass each day saying you must be actively playing to smoke but that did not appear to be enforced.   Smoke was so bad I found I could not stay more than 30 min  or so as it really irritated my eyes.

 

 

 

Sherri🙂
 

 

 

I am a little surprised (and disappointed) to read this, since Allure is one of the ships with "half" the casino smoking and "half" non-smoking.  I know that there is drift (as I have said many times, having a non-smoking section in the casino is like having a non-peeing section in the swimming pool), but if it was this bad, that's not good.

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firefly333

firefly333

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Dont book for itinerary as it can change at the drop of a hat. My march 27 just got changed.

 

I hated wearing a mask in all my ports in the heat and humidity and didnt stay long. I'm just not into masks though others will post and say no big deal. 

 

Buffet isnt open for dinner unless its changed, maybe ship to ship. 

 

Diamond doesnt have happy hour drinks, you get 4 5 or 6 loaded to your account for any time any where, though you can use them in the diamond lounge. Drinks can be coffee or whatever you like. 

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pstone1

pstone1

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1 hour ago, sjb317 said:

We’ve cruised twice since August, once on Celebrity and most recently on Allure.  Masks were required on Allure inside public areas unless you are eating/drinking while sitting.  Signs at elevators limiting number of people, I saw crew monitoring the elevators during busy times such as right after a show.  Some shows and areas (like the Solarium and casino) were labeled for vaccinated only, unvaccinated had separate shows or sometimes areas to sit in.

 

Diamond Lounge was open but very crowded during happy hour. We went up one evening but did not stay long as we liked going to various bars better.  Vouchers are loaded onto your seapass each day for any drink up to $13, these can be used anytime throughout the day at any bar or restaurant and are used in the DL.   We liked the vouchers a lot and hope they keep this change!  The coffee machine is still available in the DL  but staff makes the coffee for you.  Same with the evening snacks and continental breakfast, there is a staff member to serve you.   
 

WJ is open for lunch and breakfast but we did not go up there.  We liked breakfast in the Solarium buffet as it was never crowded and great view.  Speaking of crowds, Allure only had about 2400 passengers which is something we could get used to!😂. Embarkation and debarkation were very easy!

 

One thing that had not changed: Casino is still very smoky.  There were notices in the Compass each day saying you must be actively playing to smoke but that did not appear to be enforced.   Smoke was so bad I found I could not stay more than 30 min  or so as it really irritated my eyes.

 

We had a great time, so much so that we have since booked  4 more Royal cruises and 1 Celebrity.   Yes, it’s different but still worth it!

 

Sherri🙂
 

 


Ditto!  We sailed on Allure last week and loved it with the reduced capacity!  We never waited for an elevator and had no trouble booking entertainment (although no Mama Mia and our Aqua Show was cancelled) or restaurants.  
 

We went to the MDR for breakfast every morning.  Everything we ordered was perfectly cooked and tasty!  We had the Unlimited Dining Package, and no matter where we ate, the food and service were excellent, and quite possibly the best we’ve ever had on a ship!  
 

Having our drinks on our cards to use anywhere, anytime was wonderful!  We too hope this change is permanent!.  Although we popped into the Lounge for one drink the first two nights, we never went back after that.

 

Mask-wearing did not bother us at all and did not seem to bother anyone we saw.  Everyone was respectful, on the ship and off in the Ports.  I don’t think we heard anyone complain.  Everyone was just happy to be back onboard cruising again.

 

The casino was definitely smoky and we did not spend much time in there either.  Like sjb317, we did not observe the smoking “rule” being enforced, and saw many smokers congregating around ashtrays, not playing anything.

 

We have three more cruises before the end of the year and can’t wait to get back onboard!

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dmpuszcz

dmpuszcz

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Just got off Symphony last week and we loved it! About 2500 passengers but never felt like it.  I really like them serving the food better in the Windjammer and hope that continues after COVID.  Only needed masks inside which wasn't much.  Outside and dining areas you didn't need to wear it.   Boarding was quick and walk off was even quicker.  Diamond Lounge was open. Someone would make the coffee, latte's, etc (lattes never tasted right so I started getting them from the promenade with one of my coupons.  Much better.

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Aquahound

Aquahound

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40 minutes ago, brillohead said:


They've already announced that the vouchers are going to remain, even after COVID restrictions end.

 

Music to my ears.  I loved the 5 drink voucher system.  It was an added bonus on debarkation day when I went to buy a latte and learned there were 5 new vouchers on my card.  DW and I could have gotten hammered for free while waiting to debark.  😄

 

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

 

Diamond doesnt have happy hour drinks, you get 4 5 or 6 loaded to your account for any time any where, though you can use them in the diamond lounge. Drinks can be coffee or whatever you like. 

 

Your post reminded me of one drawback during the current situation.  The free cappuccino machine in the DL is not self-serve.  That means it's only open during the times the DL is staffed.  

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firefly333

firefly333

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25 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

Music to my ears.  I loved the 5 drink voucher system.  It was an added bonus on debarkation day when I went to buy a latte and learned there were 5 new vouchers on my card.  DW and I could have gotten hammered for free while waiting to debark.  😄

 

 

Your post reminded me of one drawback during the current situation.  The free cappuccino machine in the DL is not self-serve.  That means it's only open during the times the DL is staffed.  

I'm one who would never drink my vouchers in alcoholic drinks so glad they can be used for anything I want. I just had drinks pkg on my last cruise and doubt I had one drink a day. 

 

I enjoyed my cruise mostly, but just never going to be a mask fan. Dont wear one here at home except doctors. Lol I enjoyed the food the most lol. That part is just as good. I love the new voucher drink program.

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sjb317

sjb317

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46 minutes ago, mafig said:

How are the pools and hot tubs?  Are people going in them?  Do they have a number of persons allowed at one time and is this enforced?  

The pools were packed, there did not seem to be any effort made to restrict the number of people in them.  People seemed to be doing a better job of social distancing in the hot tubs, the tubs were not crowded.    There were fewer longe chairs than usual which was great for distancing but made it difficult to find an available one.

 

Sherri🙂

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Nymich

Nymich

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Just got off OTS today.  Diamond Lounge open and pretty full at happy hour.  Pools were busy also no limit enforced.

We were at about 1500 and that's been pretty high as previous week was about 700.  It was nice but I am glad it was not full as it was great getting into any venue we wished.  

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Tatka

Tatka

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We sailed on Celebrity Edge & Oasis of the Seas.

 

On Celebrity there was almost  no difference at all except for

1) even less people (Celebrity has better ratio than Royal)

2) No masks on the ship, but much more strict about ports. On Cozumel you could go ashore only with excursions (Royal stopped the same week and didn’t have this rule)

 

on Rci

1) you need to wear masks unless sitting and eating 

2) you can only use some tables in Windjammer. Also you need to swipe your card when you enter and leave. WJ isn’t open for dinners 

3) some venues are only for vaccinated 

 

Ships are very uncrowded, but no cuts in entertainment at all. 
 

Loved it!!!

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late2cruisin

late2cruisin

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7 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

Music to my ears.  I loved the 5 drink voucher system.  It was an added bonus on debarkation day when I went to buy a latte and learned there were 5 new vouchers on my card.  DW and I could have gotten hammered for free while waiting to debark.  😄

 

 

Your post reminded me of one drawback during the current situation.  The free cappuccino machine in the DL is not self-serve.  That means it's only open during the times the DL is staffed.  

We were on Ovation a week ago. We specifically asked if we'd have vouchers loaded on our card on debarkation day and were told we wouldn't.  I don't know if it is ship-dependent or not, but we would like to have ordered cappuccinos and fresh OJ for breakfast if we had known they would be covered by the vouchers. The diamond lounge was not open on debarkation day.

There was someone there all day to operate the coffee machine until 9pm. Since we only needed our cappuccino fix in the morning and maybe a double espresso in the early evening, that worked for us.

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Aquahound

Aquahound

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1 hour ago, late2cruisin said:

We were on Ovation a week ago. We specifically asked if we'd have vouchers loaded on our card on debarkation day and were told we wouldn't.  I don't know if it is ship-dependent or not, but we would like to have ordered cappuccinos and fresh OJ for breakfast if we had known they would be covered by the vouchers.

 

I was also on Ovation.  It was the Oct 1-8 cruise.  You should've tried because I definitely had them loaded.  

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