What are RCCL's Covid policies like?

[orville99]

8 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

If you ate at the WJ did you get up to get more food? Was on the Freedom, Odyssey and right now the Oasis. They are constantly telling people to put on their masks even when getting up to grab something else.

The food in the WJ was so bad that on those few occasions where we were in there to eat, we never felt the need to get up to grab anything other than what we had already resigned ourselves to eat when we first sat down. Once we found what little in the WJ that actually looked edible (we were often wrong about that BTW) and sat down to try to eat it, the next time we got up was to leave. We usually had breakfast and lunch in the Solarium Bistro.

[taglovestocruise]

Received a " your cruise update" today for our Navigator sailing.  Masks required in the terminal. No mask needed anywhere outside. The only real difference I saw was MTD is only for Vaxxed as well as all specialty dining.  Read a report today that masking protocols on INDY are very, very, relaxed.  Most are ignoring elevator requirements, people are removing the reserved signs on the seats in the shows. Playmakers was allowing any one including children to be maskless in playmakers.  Poster said Schooner Bar was so so overcrowded on some nights that many were sitting at the bar and others were moving and grouping chairs. Lot of people in the Promenade were not wearing masks, crew members would advise that masks were required, people would put their mask back on walk a few feet and take them off. 

[RoperDK]

This is just the topic I was looking for!  We just got off the Mardi Gras Halloween cruise.  Most everyone wore a mask while "up and moving".  I was fine with that.  The casino and all shows/games were "sip and cover".  That did become an issue for me.  What a pain!  I also didn't care for the once a day cabin service (we were in a suite) and no paper anything, including menus. The wait and bar staff would point to a QR code and offer little assistance in offering options, etc.  The Hub app is pretty good, but it didn't replace human interaction.  I believe the staff are instructed to be as hands off as possible.  Definitely not our usual "fun ship" experience. We are also RCCL fans and have some good offers, but my gut feeling is that we need to enjoy a land based trip until things settle down a bit more.  Hats off to the cruise lines for moving ahead, but the experience just doesn't fit right now.  I am disappointed, as I wanted to give my support, but feel there are too many compromises.  I thought that mask wearing, especially in the casino, wasn't required on RCCL.  I will wait unless someone can shed some more light on restrictions for me.  Thanks!  

[maggieq]

9 hours ago, orville99 said:

We have sailed three times on Allure since the restart, and have six more cruises scheduled on Harmony through April, and intend to take them all. We have not found the masking/distancing protocols inconvenient at all. Since we spend most of our time on the outdoor decks where masks are not required for anything, and only go inside to drink in vaccinated-only indoor venues where we rarely saw anyone in a mask, or wearing one to go from point A to point B, masking up for a few minutes at a time was no big deal. Also, once we were seated in any of the dining venues we pocketed our masks until we got up to leave at the end of our meal. In fact virtually no one wore masks from the time they sat down until the time they were finished with their meal and got up to leave.

Thank you for posting your experience.   

[Wlhoeft]

We were on Symphony the first week of October. I have had to wear a mask at work since the beginning, so a year ago I said mask protocols would be a deal breaker. We decided the rules were not that terrible, so we gave it a try. We wore a mask basically to get from point A to B. We spend most of our time on the pool deck, casino and shows. Masks were not required in any of these places. There were vaccinated only shows and mixed shows, but unvaccinated people or people with kids were on a different level and had to wear masks for the shows. We headed into one show and found out before entering that it was for unvaxed, so we went down one floor to the vaxed level. Not going to wear a mask when I didn’t have to. The thing I really did not like was wearing a mask in the Royal Prominade, so we spent very little time there. Now this cruise was 30% capacity. What surprised me was the main dining room. We were at a table for 2, but the parties of 2 that were next to us were almost sharing the same table. There was maybe 12 inches between tables. That really surprised me. We were given laminated menus each day along with the normal cruise compass everyday. Wait for elevators was non existent. I can’t wait for the mask requirement to disappear, but it wasn’t awful. My friend was on Carnival last week and he said he had to wear a mask everywhere except on the pool deck. We are on Mariner in a few weeks so I know what to expect, just hope capacity is low.

[Cakediva1]

I'm sorry I don't understand why would you be against safety? We are in a WORLD pandemic that we have never seen in our lifetime. I miss cruising and can't wait until January when I can finally sail again. If I have to wear a mask to keep myself as well as you safe, so be it. I lost several family members and friends to this deadly disease. We all have choices. If you don't want to wear one cool. Find another type of vacation for now and enjoy! I am fully vaxed and about to get my booster. I don't mind wearing a mask. Does it suck? Yes. It is what it is. 

[bucfan2]

18 minutes ago, Cakediva1 said:

I'm sorry I don't understand why would you be against safety?
If you don't want to wear one cool. Find another type of vacation for now and enjoy! 

Don’t be sorry…..Stay safe, no need to wear one, and finding another type of vacation is not required…win/win/win!  Our friends at the cdc have deemed celebrity and NCL safe without them, so until RCL goes maskless, cruising options are indeed safely available for our enjoyment.

Edited November 14, 2021 by bucfan2