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.

[EchoSide]

While the Omicron variant hasn't been as deadly as previous strains, it is still deadly, about 500 deaths in Florida (the most popular cruise embarkation state).  The fear is deadlier variant appears and if that happens, expect more protocols and cancelled ports.  I've been on three cruises in 2021 and have four booked in 2022 but I do understand it is a calculated risk.