What is the on-board experience like right now?

[Tatka]

16 hours ago, Nick67 said:

The problem is from what I read on cruise critic is the vast majority of people don’t want any restrictions. They are happy returning to cruising as if there is no problem. Royal Caribbean is playing to that hand. If cruisers want that, I respect that. I’m not forced to go but I think in the long run it will hurt their bottom line. They want to make as much as they can till the next variant. 

 

 Why are you treating what's left of Covid pandemics as catastrophe? How is this different from flu or noro? Even infected people (which happened to us during one of cruises this year) testify that yes... they have Covid, but symptoms are mild or absent.  

[pushbutton]

We just got back from a cruise on Wonder of the Seas. Masks were almost non-existent among guests in all public areas, shows, elevators, etc., but staff all wore them. There were hand sanitizer stations but we didn't see them receiving much use. N95 masks were required for exiting in Italy but passengers promptly removed their masks after walking through the checkpoint. RC almost never mentioned masking, though hand-washing was encouraged at Windjammer. Self-service with shared utensils was in effect there.

 

Two or three days in you could start to hear more and more coughing and see people visibly unwell walking about and participating in activities. The hacking was actually pretty distracting/annoying during some of the shows. Several groups on my floor got COVID but weren't quarantined - they were surprisingly open about it and/or talking about it in their balconies where everyone else could easily hear. It was basically "don't ask, don't tell."

 

If the cruise were twice as long, I bet most people would be sick by the end.

 

The day before we returned the US Gov't announced no need for testing to return to the states. There were basically zero masks on our flights back and people were coughing all over the place.

 

Three of our party of eight tested positive after returning.

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, pushbutton said:

We just got back from a cruise on Wonder of the Seas. Masks were almost non-existent among guests in all public areas, shows, elevators, etc., but staff all wore them. There were hand sanitizer stations but we didn't see them receiving much use.

Two or three days in you could start to hear more and more coughing and see people visibly unwell walking about and participating in activities. The hacking was actually pretty distracting/annoying during some of the shows. 

If the cruise were twice as long, I bet most people would be sick by the end.

 

The day before we returned the US Gov't announced no need for testing to return to the states. There were basically zero masks on our flights back and people were coughing all over the place.

 

and that is exactly why I cancelled all my Euro cruises back in January as I predicted this would happen,

I have done Wonder, Symphony and Allure in FLA since early April and felt mostly safe and did not hear a lot of coughing.  I would say about 20% of passengers wore masks.  Some folks nearby (last week on Allure) were tested on the next to last day and had to quarantine.  I heard them say they had no fever and just mild symptoms.  Now I guess they are in hotel for a few days.  But honestly it took me asking quite a few crew members and/or staff as to what would happen.  Even security did not know the answer.  And guest services was a bit secretive too.  In fact I am more and more amazed how little those working on the ship know or will share.

So for me, here in the USA and going out of ports, I feel a lot of folks are into Do not ask Do not tell unless you have a fever and are really feeling bad.  I am glad I wore my mask 90% of the time and also on plane.  

 

Perhaps masks should be word in at least elevators and also showrooms.  And if folks are really coughing, crew should escort them to medical at least IMHO

[PhillyFan33579]

22 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Except when everyone you know tests positive for COVID on the ship, and it's the same hacking cough everyone else on the ship has...

 

As for crew masks, that's my point.  The cruise line knows the ship is full of covid carriers. So the crew use tight fitting, KN95 masks still - as they are required to test and they don't want all their crew comign down with it.  If the ships were covid free as they pretend to be, the crew wouldn't have any need for the masks...

I have been on 6 cruises this year and I have yet to be on a ship where everyone has the same hacking cough. I rarely hear anyone coughing on a ship, although obviously I am not around all of the 1000s of passengers on each cruise. I don’t know any ship that pretends to be COVID free. From talking to several officers I have gotten to know on RCI, they expect positive COVID passengers every cruise, which is what happens every cruise. 

[andreasfcb]

Well this topic did a good job making me feel bad about my cruise in 14 days with Wonder of the Seas.

 

But after reading the topic below, it is obvious that most impressions are very subjective. I have to admit that I also notice coughing much more than other years, but that is just caused by the crazy attention we gave to Covid. That said, I am still very careful and will wear FFP2 masks indoors all the time unless I will be eating.

 

 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

 

 Why are you treating what's left of Covid pandemics as catastrophe? How is this different from flu or noro? Even infected people (which happened to us during one of cruises this year) testify that yes... they have Covid, but symptoms are mild or absent.  

While I still think it is a good idea to have COVID protocols in place, the majority of people catching COVID now, which includes me, are having mild symptoms at worst. Like you mentioned, I think eventually the COVID virus will be treated like the flu virus. It can still be a deadly virus, but at a level comparable to the flu virus. 

[bucfan2]

23 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Except when everyone you know tests positive for COVID on the ship

a) quit spreading it, or b) find new friends

[gracia98888]

On 6/22/2022 at 3:27 PM, smokeybandit said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there are other things in the world besides covid that cause people to cough.

And the crew masks because they have to, not because they want to.

My husband came back from a trip with Bronchitis and even though we slept in different parts of the house, I also got it. Both of us are still coughing and have sore throats. Multiple covid tests show we are negative for Covid. So yes, still other viruses around that can make you cough. 

[smokeybandit]

18 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

While I still think it is a good idea to have COVID protocols in place, the majority of people catching COVID now, which includes me, are having mild symptoms at worst. Like you mentioned, I think eventually the COVID virus will be treated like the flu virus. It can still be a deadly virus, but at a level comparable to the flu virus. 

Unfortunately covid is still treated like the plague. Thanks CDC

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Unfortunately covid is still treated like the plague. Thanks CDC

Ya, but the CDC has such valuable knowledge....they just informed us not to snuggle/kiss chickens...what a colossal  waste of tax dollars.