Mask policy not strictly enforced?

[dleahy4444]

I’m currently aboard the Millennium and from what I see, the mask requirement is not being strictly enforced. At the beginning of the cruise it seemed that everyone was complying but when some people took them off and the staff didn’t say anything then more people stopped wearing them consistently. Or at least that is how it appears to me. Maybe they are being reminded to put them on and I just haven’t seen it. Not trying to start a debate on the merits of the policy, just reporting on what I have been seeing. I still feel safe  because the ship is at 25% capacity at most, so it is easy to socially distance. Also  everyone is vaxxed and tested. There have been no positive cases that I know of. We are having a great cruise, and I don’t want to discourage anyone from cruising, just reporting on what I see in case strict adherence of the mask requirement is important to you.

[emmas gran]

That is worrying , someone posted on the cruise before this that they were quarantined on Millie

[cruisestitch]

On Sillhouette compliance is in evidence nearly everywhere.  The only place I regularly see people’s faces is in the Solarium but they are all spread out in there as people seem to choose loungers that are not near other passengers which is easy to do because we are only at 34% occupancy.

 

As I look about café al Bacio now there are many faces, but all are nursing their coffees or teas and only cover their mouths and noses as they get up to leave.

[BigAl94]

5 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

On Sillhouette compliance is in evidence nearly everywhere.  The only place I regularly see people’s faces is in the Solarium but they are all spread out in there as people seem to choose loungers that are not near other passengers which is easy to do because we are only at 34% occupancy.

 

As I look about café al Bacio now there are many faces, but all are nursing their coffees or teas and only cover their mouths and noses as they get up to leave.

I would have thought mask wearing would be essential in the solarium even with low occupancy due to the warm humid environment which would assist airborne spread unless doors are open to allow a flow of air?

[Peery5]

Lot of people in casino with mad off or pulled down around chin.  Does not appear that celebrity is in any way trying to enforce masking.  

[keesar]

There are people  complying by having masks on-but the masks are around the neck.  I guess this represents compliance in wearing a mask.

[cruisestitch]

53 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

I would have thought mask wearing would be essential in the solarium even with low occupancy due to the warm humid environment which would assist airborne spread unless doors are open to allow a flow of air?

I don’t believe that swimming and  sitting a hot tub are compatible with masks.  It appears that after swimming, people go to their loungers and relax and may or may not cover their face at that point.  They do on leaving the solarium, however.

[cruisestitch]

2 minutes ago, keesar said:

There are people  complying by having masks on-but the masks are around the neck.  I guess this represents compliance in wearing a mask.

I have not seen any instances of that on silhouette.

[Antropos]

On the Equinox Dec 22 sailing a mask mandate was only in effect for the last three days. To me, it seemed that almost everybody complied and you could not enter Ocean View Café without a mask. However, as pointed out by others and also in other threads, a lot of people only wear the mask over the mouth and leave their nose uncovered.

 

On top of that, almost everybody considers him/herself to be "actively drinking or eating" as soon as they sit down in a lounge or at a bar. In my opinion it is exactly this behavior that makes a mask mandate next to useless - because the biggest chance of transmission is when you're sitting next to people for a longer period of time. Transmission chanches are much lower while you're walking and just passing other people briefly. But in practice, people only wear the mask when they are in transit from one venue to another.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Antropos
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[BigAl94]

12 minutes ago, keesar said:

There are people  complying by having masks on-but the masks are around the neck.  I guess this represents compliance in wearing a mask.

Serves well to identify arrogant selfish people

[sandancer]

I work in the NHS and have to wear a mask for my whole shift and have done since the beginning of the pandemic. To me wearing a mask just while walking around in indoor settings would be a treat. If you are going to take a cruise and know in advance what the rules are for mask wearing then either don’t go or just follow the rules. Easy. 

[cruisestitch]

People will know in advance from here forward but those currently cruising on didn’t find out until they boarded which may explain some of what is being observed

[dleahy4444]

37 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

People will know in advance from here forward but those currently cruising on didn’t find out until they boarded which may explain some of what is being observed

Actually celebrity sent several emails prior to the cruise explaining the new mask requirement 

[royalcruz]

We're on Millenium now. Most people are wearing masks in elevators and when walking around, but too few in the theatre and elsewhere. I have not seen any enforcement. The staff try very hard to be friendly so maybe no one wants to play bad cop. For our own safety we are spending the days outdoors, and spending more time than usual in our stateroom. There are a few free movies on demand, so yesterday we planned our concierge class champagne and movies in bed as our activity. We have dinner in the MDR but not near other people. We are still really enjoying the cruise and are so happy to be at sea. At home we choose to only dine outdoors, and mask up everywhere,  so this is still more free than we are used to. We are planning on testing at home a few days after our return,  before we see people. 

[cangelmd]

4 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I’m currently aboard the Millennium and from what I see, the mask requirement is not being strictly enforced. At the beginning of the cruise it seemed that everyone was complying but when some people took them off and the staff didn’t say anything then more people stopped wearing them consistently. Or at least that is how it appears to me. Maybe they are being reminded to put them on and I just haven’t seen it. Not trying to start a debate on the merits of the policy, just reporting on what I have been seeing. I still feel safe  because the ship is at 25% capacity at most, so it is easy to socially distance. Also  everyone is vaxxed and tested. There have been no positive cases that I know of. We are having a great cruise, and I don’t want to discourage anyone from cruising, just reporting on what I see in case strict adherence of the mask requirement is important to you.

If mask wearing where it is needed, indoors and in any congregate setting, is not enforced by someon, then there will be an outbreak. It could be hard to judge at 25% occupancy- did that person pull their mask down just now to take a drink or has it been down for 30 minutes?

Even at 25%, if people are sitting at a bar shoulder to shoulder, masks down because they are drinking, while talking and laughing - that’s bad, and can be seen by even a casual passerby.

We sail Jan 24, and don’t require much social interaction to have a good time, but it looks less and less like the ship will be allowed to sail.

[TeeRick]

1 minute ago, cangelmd said:

If mask wearing where it is needed, indoors and in any congregate setting, is not enforced by someon, then there will be an outbreak. It could be hard to judge at 25% occupancy- did that person pull their mask down just now to take a drink or has it been down for 30 minutes?

Even at 25%, if people are sitting at a bar shoulder to shoulder, masks down because they are drinking, while talking and laughing - that’s bad, and can be seen by even a casual passerby.

We sail Jan 24, and don’t require much social interaction to have a good time, but it looks less and less like the ship will be allowed to sail.

The Celebrity mask policy: 1) does not specify the type of mask needed/most effective, and 2) allows for those indoors eating and drinking to be without masks.  So at the close-contact indoor settings (MDR, buffet, Martini Bar, etc,_ where you are most at risk-  you are not required to mask).

[CruiseRQA]

9 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

If mask wearing where it is needed, indoors and in any congregate setting, is not enforced by someon, then there will be an outbreak.

This statement is false.    It is simply not true that mask wearing is 100% effective in preventing outbreaks.   Does not mean you shouldn't wear one but there is no 100% means at present to prevent COVID.    Risk reduction is possible by vaccination, mask wearing and proper hygiene but risk elimination whether on a cruise ship, at a grocery store or even at home is not currently possible.  

[Wanderlost]

We are also on the Millennium and notice way too many people without masks. Officers and staff just ignore it. 

[cruisestitch]

32 minutes ago, dleahy4444 said:

Actually celebrity sent several emails prior to the cruise explaining the new mask requirement 

Not this cruise…maybe others but not Sillhouette 4 January departure

[royalcruz]

On Millenium,  we just went upstairs and decided to sit at the pool because NO ONE in the Solarium is wearing a mask! The good news is that I have Surf wifi and CC is working!

[nooligans]

Just got off the Equinox - as the cruise went on, fewer people were wearing masks. And as was mentioned above, no one from the Equinox staff made any announcements or any attempts to encourage masks.

 

I was recently on a HAL cruise. They recently made their mask requirements stricter, and followed up with many signs around the ship, and many announcements before events about the importance of masks. Their catchphrase was “cover your face to protect the space”.  In addition, officers would approach people not masked and politely ask them to mask up.

 

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

The Celebrity mask policy: 1) does not specify the type of mask needed/most effective, and 2) allows for those indoors eating and drinking to be without masks.  So at the close-contact indoor settings (MDR, buffet, Martini Bar, etc,_ where you are most at risk-  you are not required to mask).

Yeah, LOL, I noticed that too. I think about it every time I walk into our fav Mexican restaurant. Mask wearing has been hit or miss here, just as vaccination. But when masks are being worn, we still go to for our mex fix - at about 4:30 in the afternoon, we wear our masks in, often sit outside (one reason this is our fav), but promptly take our mask off when we sit down - I ask myself, what are we doing? Wear when we don’t need it take it off when we do! Humans are strange creatures.

[sakigemcam]

When I'm at the gym and masks aren't enforced I get so frustrated. I imagine I'd be triply frustrated on our cruise. Hope enforcement picks up.

[bookitdanno]

1 hour ago, Wanderlost said:

We are also on the Millennium and notice way too many people without masks. Officers and staff just ignore it. 

Apparently the Millennium has a captain who just don't give a d***.

Enforcement starts from the top, and in spite of the millennium's poor performance on previous cruises, enforcement is reported as very lax. Please let us have his name so we can avoid him if possible.

[CruiseRQA]

An opportunity for some scientific research.

 

Celebrity should have a mask mandate for the Edge but not for the Apex (of course guests could still wear one if desired).    After a few cruises compare the two groups!