What is cruising like these days?

[Hogbay]

6 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

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

So if you are B2B you get 5d+  in the morning and 5 d+ in the afternoon? 🤫🍻

[Merion_Mom]

33 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

So if you are B2B you get 5d+  in the morning and 5 d+ in the afternoon? 🤫🍻

No, the vouchers load at 6 AM.

[brillohead]

30 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

No, the vouchers load at 6 AM.

But there is a new card for the second leg, and it should be loaded with the first day's vouchers....

[Hogbay]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

No, the vouchers load at 6 AM.

OK, the drinks vouchers are loaded at 6am , will be still on Ovation then with two sea pass cards one for first cruise one for second cruise.?

[Jasukkie]

I've done two cruises since the restart. I would say both experiences were more for introverts than for people looking for a party scene. Things are just quieter. There are activities for those that want them, but they may not feel the same with less people. Personally, it was cruise heaven for me. My only complaint is no Windjammer in the evening. 

 

My cruises had very few children. There were just a handful on my Alaska cruise, very well behaved and stayed with their family. Again, just makes it quieter. 

 

I cruise to relax, not sure how I'm going to feel when things return to full occupancy. 

[Murphy]

16 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

.... 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.  

They have some of the restaurant staff manning the coffee machines after the DL staff leave.  Our waitress in Giovanni's had a 4 hour shift in the DL several days.  There are also staff manning the soda machines and soft serve ice cream.

[What If]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

You let Guest Services know that you'll be on a S2S, and they test you with the B2B cruisers the next to last day.  

 

[What If]

Thank you
 

[crzndeb]

8 hours ago, Hogbay said:

OK, the drinks vouchers are loaded at 6am , will be still on Ovation then with two sea pass cards one for first cruise one for second cruise.?

I should have tried. I’m on Ovation right now, B2B. We had to meet up at 10am to punch out old card. We couldn’t punch in new cards until ship was zeroed out. They called 2 passengers for about an hour, until we could finally punch in new cards. We had to wait in lounge for that. 

[late2cruisin]

15 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

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

Are you saying that you were NOT on a B2B and that vouchers were loaded to your card for you to use from 6am until you got off the ship?  If so, how did you know this would happen? We asked in the Diamond Lounge and were told that there would be no new vouchers on debarkation day. I suppose we could have ordered stuff and taken a chance on being charged, but I didn't think it was worth it.

[Aquahound]

31 minutes ago, late2cruisin said:

Are you saying that you were NOT on a B2B and that vouchers were loaded to your card for you to use from 6am until you got off the ship?  If so, how did you know this would happen? We asked in the Diamond Lounge and were told that there would be no new vouchers on debarkation day. I suppose we could have ordered stuff and taken a chance on being charged, but I didn't think it was worth it.

 

Correct.  Not a B2B.  I did not know they would be loaded.  I assumed they wouldn't be.  I found out by attempting to purchase a latte in la patiserrie.  The young lady asked me if I wanted to use a diamond voucher.  That's when I learned I had 5 fresh vouchers.  

[bucfan2]

20 hours 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. 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.

We just came off of Ovation as well. Our diamond drinks were loaded, and we used them every day….cappuccinos in the morning, whatever else throughout the day.

[Hogbay]

36 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

We just came off of Ovation as well. Our diamond drinks were loaded, and we used them every day….cappuccinos in the morning, whatever else throughout the day.

The question is about disembarkation day only ,did you use diamond vouchers between 6am and 10am on the last day of your cruise? Bloody Mary ,Minamosa ? Beer, JB coke can cap or OJ .😇

[bucfan2]

9 hours ago, Hogbay said:

The question is about disembarkation day only ,did you use diamond vouchers between 6am and 10am on the last day of your cruise? Bloody Mary ,Minamosa ? Beer, JB coke can cap or OJ .😇

Every day, as stated....so yes, disembarkation as well (although I definitely did not have a 'coke can cap').

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by bucfan2

[Cruise a holic]

On 10/9/2021 at 2:31 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

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.

The one negative about Royal is the smoking in the Casino.  You would think during Covid it wouldn't be allowed.

[sjb317]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

The one negative about Royal is the smoking in the Casino.  You would think during Covid it wouldn't be allowed.

The smoke free casino is one of the things I really like about Celebrity.  I wish Royal would do it.

 

Sherri🙂

 

 

[watertraveler]

On 10/9/2021 at 3:09 PM, dmpuszcz said:

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.

I didn't realize that one of my coupons could be used for a cappucino from the Promenade Cafe. 

[Biker19]

22 hours ago, watertraveler said:

I didn't realize that one of my coupons could be used for a cappuccino from the Promenade Cafe. 

D and up vouchers are like a drink package, you can use them anywhere for anything (except Bionic Bar).

[Mr. Blonde]

Do they require you to wear masks in bars/clubs?

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Mr. Blonde said:

Do they require you to wear masks in bars/clubs?

No. 

[artvlay]

On 10/9/2021 at 2:33 PM, firefly333 said:

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. 

Can you use the D+ 5 drink coupons for fresh squeezed orange juice or coffee drinks?

[Biker19]

15 minutes ago, artvlay said:

Can you use the D+ 5 drink coupons for fresh squeezed orange juice or coffee drinks?

You can use it for anything, like a drink package. 

[JMKreno]

On 10/9/2021 at 9:25 AM, 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.

Put it this way, if you CAN cruise now, CRUISE NOW. We just got back from the Oasis of the Seas (Oct 3 sailing) and it was probably one of the BEST cruises we have ever taken, if not THE best. 

 

1) Yes, there are some activity differences - less overall activities but still a ton to do. Honestly, by the middle of the week I was trivia'd out, seen plenty of shows (Aqua 80s TWICE, both Headliners, the Ice show, the Escape Room) to not really want to see anymore, and shopped out. We THOUGHT before hand that there would be a lot of downtime due to the perceived lack of activities so we brought a bunch of games with us (mexican train, travel runnikub, etc) but we only ended up playing games 2 times the entire cruise and only because we WANTED to play games, not that we HAD to! 

 

2) We only sailed Carnival prior to this cruise, but despite the lack of crowds on the Oasis (more on that in a minute) we thought the ship was far superior to anything we sailed on Carnival (we've sailed all classes of Carnival ships with the exception of Mardi Gras) and could tell even with double the occupancy we were at the crowds would be more than manageable. 

 

3) CROWDS. OMG. THE LACK OF CROWDS TO BE SPECIFIC. This is the SINGLE BIGGEST REASON TO GO NOW. We NEVER waited for anything on the ship. EVER. We had NO CROWDS AT COCO CAY. We rode every slide many times and never waited. In fact, the biggest limiting factor to the Thrill Park was being exhausted walking up stairs and having to keep catching our breath in order to ride the slides. Always had to tell the attendants we needed a moment, haha. Normally you have to wait in a line and you have a moment to catch your breath. I bet there were no more than 100-200 people in the Thrill Park the day we were in Coco Cay. No line at meal times on the island, easy to get chairs everywhere. GO GO GO. We are booking another cruise as soon as we can BEFORE all the people come back.

 

4) Masking. Non-issue. Sure, if you hate masks it will be annoying, but my wife is a nurse and doesn't think twice about masks and our entire family has been wearing masks since March of 2020. We now feel more uncomfortable NOT wearing the masks. We have a 6 year old who forgets to even take hers off, my 14 year old prefers them because it hides blemishes on her face. I don't mind as it hides my 2nd chin (haha). But honestly, there were so many places where you COULD be mask free it was a non-started as far as I am concerned. And to be honest, this is the 1st trip we've EVER taken with this much flying/travel that NO ONE IN OUR ENTIRE PARTY got sick (cold, flu, sore throat, 'travel crud') and I attribute that to MASKING on planes and the emphasis on hand washing. It was a dream. I almost wish masks would stay on planes because it was really that much better (but I know they will go away and the  6 yr old now has been trained to not touch or put things in her mouth will be life lasting). 

 

5) Food and service. This likely goes back to 3 (crowding) but food on this cruise always came out PIPING hot and service was most often incredibly fast (though, there were some bumps but I attribute that to crews still learning the ropes). I NEVER had food as hot and fresh as I did on this cruise. Rarely a bad meal (and never because of preparation, those I didn't liek I just didn't prefer the flavor or texture). The crew genuinely seemed to EAGER to be serving guests. They often mentioned how they all were waiting for so long to get back to work and often heard how much having guests again made their days. 

I could go on and on...but as I mentioned before. IF YOU CAN CRUISE NOW AND WANT TO, GO GO GO!!!! 

[artvlay]

3 hours ago, JMKreno said:

Put it this way, if you CAN cruise now, CRUISE NOW. We just got back from the Oasis of the Seas (Oct 3 sailing) and it was probably one of the BEST cruises we have ever taken, if not THE best. 

 

1) Yes, there are some activity differences - less overall activities but still a ton to do. Honestly, by the middle of the week I was trivia'd out, seen plenty of shows (Aqua 80s TWICE, both Headliners, the Ice show, the Escape Room) to not really want to see anymore, and shopped out. We THOUGHT before hand that there would be a lot of downtime due to the perceived lack of activities so we brought a bunch of games with us (mexican train, travel runnikub, etc) but we only ended up playing games 2 times the entire cruise and only because we WANTED to play games, not that we HAD to! 

 

2) We only sailed Carnival prior to this cruise, but despite the lack of crowds on the Oasis (more on that in a minute) we thought the ship was far superior to anything we sailed on Carnival (we've sailed all classes of Carnival ships with the exception of Mardi Gras) and could tell even with double the occupancy we were at the crowds would be more than manageable. 

 

3) CROWDS. OMG. THE LACK OF CROWDS TO BE SPECIFIC. This is the SINGLE BIGGEST REASON TO GO NOW. We NEVER waited for anything on the ship. EVER. We had NO CROWDS AT COCO CAY. We rode every slide many times and never waited. In fact, the biggest limiting factor to the Thrill Park was being exhausted walking up stairs and having to keep catching our breath in order to ride the slides. Always had to tell the attendants we needed a moment, haha. Normally you have to wait in a line and you have a moment to catch your breath. I bet there were no more than 100-200 people in the Thrill Park the day we were in Coco Cay. No line at meal times on the island, easy to get chairs everywhere. GO GO GO. We are booking another cruise as soon as we can BEFORE all the people come back.

 

4) Masking. Non-issue. Sure, if you hate masks it will be annoying, but my wife is a nurse and doesn't think twice about masks and our entire family has been wearing masks since March of 2020. We now feel more uncomfortable NOT wearing the masks. We have a 6 year old who forgets to even take hers off, my 14 year old prefers them because it hides blemishes on her face. I don't mind as it hides my 2nd chin (haha). But honestly, there were so many places where you COULD be mask free it was a non-started as far as I am concerned. And to be honest, this is the 1st trip we've EVER taken with this much flying/travel that NO ONE IN OUR ENTIRE PARTY got sick (cold, flu, sore throat, 'travel crud') and I attribute that to MASKING on planes and the emphasis on hand washing. It was a dream. I almost wish masks would stay on planes because it was really that much better (but I know they will go away and the  6 yr old now has been trained to not touch or put things in her mouth will be life lasting). 

 

5) Food and service. This likely goes back to 3 (crowding) but food on this cruise always came out PIPING hot and service was most often incredibly fast (though, there were some bumps but I attribute that to crews still learning the ropes). I NEVER had food as hot and fresh as I did on this cruise. Rarely a bad meal (and never because of preparation, those I didn't liek I just didn't prefer the flavor or texture). The crew genuinely seemed to EAGER to be serving guests. They often mentioned how they all were waiting for so long to get back to work and often heard how much having guests again made their days. 

I could go on and on...but as I mentioned before. IF YOU CAN CRUISE NOW AND WANT TO, GO GO GO!!!! 

Great information. One question, where we masks mandatory and where didnt you need it?

[daninwi]

20 minutes ago, artvlay said:

Great information. One question, where we masks mandatory and where didnt you need it?

We also were on the Oct 3rd Oasis sailing and loved it as well.  We have been on two cruises so far this year.  

 

Masks are mandatory in non-outdoor public spaces, with the exception vaccinated only spaces - such as Schooner Bar and Casino.  Of course if you are 'actively' eating and / or drinking you also do not need your mask on.  But you need your mask when going to and from.  Outdoor spaces such as Central Park and the Boardwalk do not require masks.