How was your cruise experience post pandemic?

[Surfguyxxx]

Yikes; that close 😬

[Tatka]

What was disappointing about Summit?

 

We had terrific cruise on Celebrity Edge and 6 with RCI ships. Maybe small issues, but nothing much,

[sjb317]

Well. . . looking at the 11 cruises we’ve done since August, it seems like in terms of food at least, they have gotten progressively worse as passenger numbers have gotten progressively higher.   And it’s not just Royal, I have noticed the same thing on our Celebrity cruises.  
 

Three of our cruises were on Allure, the food in September was fabulous, April  had some misses but mostly hits and May had more misses than hits.  I am hopeful that things will improve as supply chain issues decrease and staffing shortages get better but, we shall see.  
 

Sherri🙂
 

 

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, sowhat said:

Tables on Wonder of the Seas

 

We prefer two tops and see nothing wrong with them. Close yes. No biggie. But we don't have to talk with others if we don't want to. We can talk with others if we want to. We don't have to wait for others to be seated before ordering. We eat at our pace. Not others or the staff. Not all two tops are that close. We've had two tops that weren't on different class ships. 

[Surfguyxxx]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We prefer two tops and see nothing wrong with them. Close yes. No biggie. But we don't have to talk with others if we don't want to. We can talk with others if we want to. We don't have to wait for others to be seated before ordering. We eat at our pace. Not others or the staff. Not all two tops are that close. We've had two tops that weren't on different class ships. 

These seem a bit more reasonable.  What ship was this on?  

[sowhat]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We prefer two tops and see nothing wrong with them. Close yes. No biggie. But we don't have to talk with others if we don't want to. We can talk with others if we want to. We don't have to wait for others to be seated before ordering. We eat at our pace. Not others or the staff. Not all two tops are that close. We've had two tops that weren't on different class ships. 

 

 

Whatt cruise line and what ship?

[island lady]

33 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Different  area of main dinning room on Wonder of the Seas most tables for 2 are not tables for 2
 

 

I don't know how pax even get in and out of those chairs!  😮 

[davekathy]

8 minutes ago, sowhat said:

Whatt cruise line and what ship?

 

9 minutes ago, Surfguyxxx said:

These seem a bit more reasonable.  What ship was this on?  

Freedom of the Seas, MDR/MTD. B2B, March 2019. We had the same table for both legs. We've had similar tables on the Jewel and Adventure. Just pointing out, not all two tops are configured the same in the MDR. 

[island lady]

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

 

Freedom of the Seas, MDR/MTD. B2B, March 2019. We had the same table for both legs. We've had similar tables on the Jewel and Adventure. Just pointing out, not all two tops are configured the same in the MDR. 

 

I am going to try for two top doing dinner in the MDR on upcoming Harmony (which we usually never do the MDR on that ship).   Will be interesting what we find...though will indeed scout out our assigned table for our traditional early dining (which we have only recently been doing), ahead of time.  

 

Mixing it up with specialty restaurants a night or two as well.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by island lady

[Surfguyxxx]

We're on the Explorer leaving this coming Saturday.  For almost 10 years we've done UDP but we're going to try the MDR simply because the prices are so crazy high and we've grown tired of Chops, Giovanni's and an Izumi.here and there  I usually like to eat at around 5:30 so it works out.  I'll let you know.  

[Big_G]

We've done 2 on Summit and 1 on Allure. Both were excellent cruises. My only complaint as a shortage of some liquors but other than that we had a fantastic time. The service was awesome. 

[Tatka]

39 minutes ago, Big_G said:

We've done 2 on Summit and 1 on Allure. Both were excellent cruises. My only complaint as a shortage of some liquors but other than that we had a fantastic time. The service was awesome. 

 

 Yes, I think some ships had some drinks not available or short, but nothing major.

[Tatka]

56 minutes ago, Surfguyxxx said:

We're on the Explorer leaving this coming Saturday.  For almost 10 years we've done UDP but we're going to try the MDR simply because the prices are so crazy high and we've grown tired of Chops, Giovanni's and an Izumi.here and there  I usually like to eat at around 5:30 so it works out.  I'll let you know.  

We do not use UDP, but find quality of MDR to be very good. In fact ... it is better than when we started cruising with Royal in 2004. And I LOVE escargot available every day. 🙂

[shipgeeks]

We have sailed on Enchantment twice this year; have three more booked in the months to come.  The crew were excellent; we never felt like it was understaffed.  Food was fine in MDR and WJ.  The only areas in which crew shortages were noticed was in the entertainment.  We heard that one production show cast member had covid, so all were isolated and not allowed to perform.  Evening shows usually had single performers, or the occasional movie night.  Music venues were fine.

Both times so far we were assigned to an 8-top in the MDR.  First cruise there was one woman seated with us (with a space in between); second cruise there were two men.  So we were never crowded.

I would not hesitate to book Enchantment.

[BirdTravels]

On 7/31/2022 at 2:37 PM, ARI421 said:

Just off the Celebrity Summit today and was quite disappointed.  It was our 4th time on the Summit, first time since the pandemic.  Curious how people are finding Royal Caribbean.  We are debating a cruise from Baltimore in Noveon the Enchantment of tge seas.  Curious how entertainment and staffing had been. Thanks!

We are going on our 7th post-restart cruise this month. The staff has been outstanding. Entertainment has been a bit light weight. We joked on our first few cruises that the entire nighttime entertainment schedule could be printed (in large font) on a business card. And we have had cruises where shows were cancelled due to COVID in the cast. 

[bonsai3s]

It has been quite a roller coaster ride...

 

- wearing wristbands to identify vaccinated from unvaccinated. (These wristbands may someday be a collector's item)

- testing between cruises...if you're doing b2b, b3b, b4b, etc...not anymore.

- loved the low capacity/passenger sailings........now, that sailings are near capacity, there's a shortage of crew members.

- certain decks being designated for quarantine...for crew and passengers.

- no "behind the scenes" tour, no galley tours, and no bridge tours.

- certain restaurants closed or limited operations...e.g. Solarium Bistro.

- shows bein8g cancelled because crew members getting covid....e.g. the aqua show "Hero" on the Symphony cancelled 5 times...finally saw it on our 3rd week.

- certain C&A benefits suspended...most are now back.

- mask...optional for passengers, still worn by crew. Mask still requured inside cruise terminals.

- food in the windjammer were served...now it's back to self-served.

- muster drill is now sooooo much easier...gone are the days of standing in line on the deck (inside for bigger ships) and listening to the muster drill, the alarm, and the Captain.

- the stress of having to provide a negative covid test...now, it will be for sailings of 6 nights or more only8...rolling eyes.

- RCL stocks: pre-pandemic over $100/share...today about $35/share...I say "buy"...

 

Cruising has changed and will continue to change...cruising will continue to mutate like the virus. Those that have been cruising for years will know and see the difference. The new cruisers wouldn't know the difference. Happy sailing.

[chill6x6]

Got off the Oasis in April. Literally I can't imagine it being much better.  Ate at Chops, Playmakers, Coastal Kitchen, Windjammer, Chef's Table, 150 CP, Giovanni's, Izumi, Johnny Rocket's, Portside BBQ, and El Loco Fresh...really never had better service or food on a cruise ship(if you remove WJ).  Entertainment was great! Cabin was a 2BR ATS so watched Aqua 80 several times! It was such a good cruise I'm doing an 8-Day on Harmony in November instead of Equinox.  

[welshrich]

14 hours ago, sowhat said:

Different  area of main dinning room on Wonder of the Seas most tables for 2 are not tables for 2
 

This is how we were on Radiance, luckily we got on well with the next table so could have been on a table of 4.

[xpcdoojk]

17 hours ago, crusnbee said:

We have been on 2 Royal and 1 Celebrity post pandemic. Everything was pretty awesome on all of them, although we missed Columbia because they said they required all visitors to have a test within two days. One of the sailings was the Jewel right before she was shut down for COVID. Even short staffed, they did a wonderful job.

 

Only issue we really had was food in MDR on Celebrity Silhouette. Just not good.

When was the cruise that included Columbia?  We went in May and were allwowed

[cementhands]

Supposed to go in January 2022 but postponed.

Finally in May enjoyed the Adventure to Bermuda and st Martin etc. tons of fun. Great fellow passengers. Wonderful staff onboard. Just a few issues like that Bermuda 🇧🇲 process and some not even getting onboard because of it. We’re fully vaccinated and double boosted and tested negative 3 times prior to boarding. Towards the end of the cruise someone said 150 were quarantine and suddenly lots of folks wearing masks. On driving home from Jersey my wife started showing covid19 symptoms and was sick and took paxlovid and recovery now fine. I followed with covid19 days later and took paxlovid felt better and then rebound covid19 and still suffering in August.

Those who don’t suffer long covid19 are blessed 😇 us others are cursed!
 

But it felt so good cruising again, and I used to look up cruises all the time now I’m looking up long covid19 care and seeing doctors and in long covid19 program. Just wondering how many other people too!

[smokeybandit]

10 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Mask still requured inside cruise terminals

Only if local rules (like los angeles) require it

[davekathy]

16 hours ago, Tatka said:

We do not use UDP, but find quality of MDR to be very good. In fact ... it is better than when we started cruising with Royal in 2004. And I LOVE escargot available every day. 🙂

So does my wife and that was one of the food items the Explorer ran out of on our March B2B cruise. 

[wednesday]

Hoping I can get an answer here and not have to start a new thread.  I just saw the cruise compass from an early July sailing of Harmony Western route.  It says for Falmouth that masks are required indoors and in the terminal.  I chose this itinerary because Jamaica had dropped all the covid rules.  Sherpa says nothing about any covid rules and restrictions, the private guide I have booked confirms this.  Just wondering what people's recent experience is here?  Thanks!

[barbeyg]

We've been twice, pretty much as usual onboard, except for masking between venues on the first one.  Solarium Cafe wasn't open on either, but I hear it's open again on most, if not all, ships.

 

Boarding is slightly more of a pain, with the additional documentation required, and pre-testing.  Otherwise, it was great to be at sea again!

[davekathy]

16 minutes ago, wednesday said:

Hoping I can get an answer here and not have to start a new thread.  I just saw the cruise compass from an early July sailing of Harmony Western route.  It says for Falmouth that masks are required indoors and in the terminal.  I chose this itinerary because Jamaica had dropped all the covid rules.  Sherpa says nothing about any covid rules and restrictions, the private guide I have booked confirms this.  Just wondering what people's recent experience is here?  Thanks!

Try https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/67-jamaica/