Post-Pandemic Cruising

[halifaxcruising]

We are posting this question in the general area since it is not cruise line specific.

We are in the process of booking some cruises and after looking at various cruise line and cruise ship reviews, we were wondering if all cruise lines were having difficulties staffing their cruise ships post pandemic.  A lot of the reviews on various lines indicate slow service in many areas -n dining room, buffet, guest services, cabin stewards, bars, etc.  and especially on the ships that are sailing with full capacity passengers.  We were recently on a cruise where the service was excellent and all the common areas, dining room and buffet had lots of available tables, however our ship was only 2/3 full.  

Are all cruise lines experiencing these staffing issues?  If there are some that are currently managing better than others, which cruise lines and cruise ships are doing well?  It would certainly persuade us to book on those lines and ships.

 

Thank you.

[ldubs]

Since Covid, we have been on Carnival, RCI and Princess (twice).  I did not notice any issues with service  on RCI or Princess.  In fact, I thought things were better.   Service on Carnival seemed lacking in some areas and it sure seemed to be staffing related.  To be fair, the Carnival cruise was shortly after the reopening.  Hopefully they have bounced back by now.   

 

 

[clackey]

We did a Carnival cruise in February and noticed that service was slow in the MDR.  It was really slow on two nights.

[Aquahound]

In the very beginning, service was off due to staffing issues, along with numerous crewmembers having to sit in quarantine in their cabins before being allowed to work.  However, my last cruise felt like everything was back to normal.  The ship was full of energy and service was excellent.  FWIW, this was on Royal Caribbean.  

[sparks1093]

We just returned from a cruise on Carnival Glory and the service was spot on in all areas, but it is certainly possible that other ships might be experiencing staffing issues (as are other lines). 

[mammajamma2013]

We sailed Norwegian Gem after general opening of cruises; 50% passenger capacity, masks still being worn and COVID testing required. We sailed Enchanted Princess April 2022 and again October 2022.and Norwegian Star this past February.

 

The service was excellent all four times. On our first Princess sailing, passenger capacity was still not at 100% and the staff on the entire ship were falling over themselves trying to be helpful. The two cruises after, staff was their usual helpful bunch of people.