Cruise Planners joined the first cruise ship to depart from the United States since the shut down over the summer - Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas. It was a sailing that travel advisors and other industry workers in attendance will most likely never forget.
Since then, several other sailings have departed, signaling a successful return of cruising after months without it. Cruise Planners shares insight on what to expect when taking a post-pandemic cruise.
The first thing to do is be prepared prior to departure. Get not only your cruise documents in order, but know what you need in addition to those, such as a vaccination card or negative COVID-19 test. Royal Caribbean has a user-friendly app with all these details.
There may be different protocols depending on if guests are vaccinated or not. For Royal Caribbean, vaccinated guests on the first sailing wore purple bracelets to indicate their status. This allowed cruisers to choose to distance themselves from those who weren't vaccinated.
Though most tables in the dining areas are socially distanced, certain venues are only open to non-vaccinated guests at certain times throughout the cruise. Mask wearing is enforced while walking around during the voyage, aside from when guests are eating or drinking, and bars and lounges each specified what the guidelines were as far as what was required - mask-wearing, vaccine status, social distancing, etc.
Overall, the Cruise Planners team onboard felt safe throughout the voyage and had a great time cruising.
To learn more about the post-pandemic cruise experience, visit the Cruise Planners blog.
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