What's the Big Deal?

[Tootie]

My wife and I just had one of the nicest cruises on Vista from December 11 - 18th. We did beach days at all 3 ports - Belize, Mahogany Bay, and Cozumel. I had arranged one excursion in Cozumel - not thru Carnival - to Nachico.com. It's a beautiful beach supplying all of the food and drinks you want. They limit the numbeer of guests so there's no crowd. The food and drinks were excellent. All for $59 per person.

The entire cruise was great. We met 2 other couples we usually cruise with. They were doing a back-to-back and we joined them for the 2nd week. The ports were the same for both trips. This was our 11th cruise - all of them with the same people - sometimes as many as 12 of us. WE ate together at least twice a day, went to Alchemy every evening at 5 and dinner at 6. Punchliner was a regular stop most evenings and we did Steakhouse once - not my favorite for this cruise only. Better on previous trips. All of the staff was particularly attentive and efficient across the entire ship. 

The only downside was our 4 companions all came down with covid while we didn't. It has been no big deal. All 4 had minimal issues and one couple actually sailed last Saturday and are returning to Galveston tomorrow morning. Getting a pre-cruise test was not an issue, even for the couple returning tomorrow. While I admit to a bit of reluctance to sail again, I was so fed up with not going for 2 years I decided "to heck with it" and happily drove from suburban San Antonio. The price was low and included cheers and thus ended up being one of the least expensive trips where friends got a chance to get together for a long, long time.

[Emrys]

Hi @Tootie, it's so nice to see such a positive experience on cruises. It all seems to be doom and gloom these days and many forget that most guests are having a great time! Cozumel is an amazing port, and so much to do there, there haven't been any issues with ships going there so all guests can expect to spend time ashore with no issues. You've pretty much summed it all up! Thanks for your post!

[Laura]

On 1/19/2022 at 10:13 PM, Emrys said:

Hi @Tootie, it's so nice to see such a positive experience on cruises. It all seems to be doom and gloom these days and many forget that most guests are having a great time! Cozumel is an amazing port, and so much to do there, there haven't been any issues with ships going there so all guests can expect to spend time ashore with no issues. You've pretty much summed it all up! Thanks for your post!

I started reading this site for the up-to-date news you provide.  I intended to register but it seems the overwhelming majority of posters here are negative whiners.
I don't wanna wear a piece of cloth on my face
How dare a cruise ship observe the current rules of the port we were to stop at
How dare they require vaccination to eliminate critical illness and death aboard
I won't ever cruise again
Actually, that last declaration is very encouraging.  Cruising will be safer without them

For the record - we had a great 3 week cruise in December even if cut short by 2 days (closed ports).  Plan on 2 more lengthy ones this year.  If cancelled, we will postpone.
Safer onboard among those who care about the safety of others, than on land where so many don't.
 

[Amy]

On 1/22/2022 at 9:05 AM, Laura said:

I started reading this site for the up-to-date news you provide.  I intended to register but it seems the overwhelming majority of posters here are negative whiners.
I don't wanna wear a piece of cloth on my face
How dare a cruise ship observe the current rules of the port we were to stop at
How dare they require vaccination to eliminate critical illness and death aboard
I won't ever cruise again
Actually, that last declaration is very encouraging.  Cruising will be safer without them

For the record - we had a great 3 week cruise in December even if cut short by 2 days (closed ports).  Plan on 2 more lengthy ones this year.  If cancelled, we will postpone.
Safer onboard among those who care about the safety of others, than on land where so many don't.
 

I wholeheartedly agree with Tootie and Laura. We cruised Dec. 31 - Jan. 8 on Carnival Sunshine and had a really nice experience.  No crowds and no lines or waiting for anything - that alone was incredibly enjoyable. Not once during the entire cruise did I personally hear anyone complaining about having to be vaccinated or about having to wear a mask while participating in the indoor activities. We met so many other nice guest with great attitudes towards what the cruise industry was dealing with as well as ourselves, and as usual, the Carnival staff was excellent.

Until you've been on a cruise ship with (grump? entitled?) guests at maximum capacity and can compare it to one where there are significantly fewer guests and everyone is in the same mind frame as far as COVID protocols, it is hard to imagine my positive comment. Especially when I explain the beginning of our cruise:

We were originally scheduled to cruise on the Horizon with ports in Aruba, Curacao, and 2 stops in the Dominican Republic. The Horizon broke down, so Carnival sent two other ships to take its place, and replaced the two DR stops with one stop at Bimini. Once onboard the Sunshine (we didn't get to pick our ship), we experienced mechanical problems that forced us to drop the Bimini stop...so we only went to Aruba and Curacao. And after all that, I am still here to give a positive review of our Carnival cruise. We will definitely cruise again soon and it is because of the sense of safety and peace of mind knowing that everyone around you cared enough to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and simply cared about others to do so.