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Are you an avid cruiser and have been wanting to go on a cruise, but not sure if it’s safe yet? It’s true, there is a lot unknown right now, and it’s important to make the right decisions when it comes to cruising. The cruise lines really are doing their best to keep their crew and passengers safe, but it is everyone’s responsibility to keep each other safe. Today, I am going to provide a guide on the best practices to keep you and your family safe and healthy during a cruise.
It has been 2 years since our last cruise, and we felt that it was a good time to get back to it. Even with the pandemic still at our heels and omicron spreading faster than a wildfire. I am not going to lie, we contemplated cancelling this cruise; However, we felt that we have taken the proper precautions to keep ourselves safe and I had faith that the cruise lines were doing what they needed to keep the passengers safe, so off to the cruise we went. Granted the different cruise lines may have different protocols in place.
First thing first, this was a vaccinated cruise. Almost 100% of the crew and passengers have been vaccinated. There is more frequent disinfection of the tables, chairs, counters on the boat and overall cleaning of public spaces on the ship. It appeared that we were not sailing at full capacity either. We have been on this ship in the past and there was a lot of space available for eating, at any time you went and the lines were never really long this time around.
OK, so the tips…. here we go
Use the hand sanitizer and wash your hands often
Hand sanitizing stations are all around the ship. It is essential you use it after you touch any surface (i.e., elevator buttons, door handles, etc.). Especially sanitize before and after the buffet lines. Not all cruise lines are providing the food to the passengers, so there are still many people touching the utensils to put the food on the plate. Make sure you sanitize both before and after touching the buffet line. And please make sure to not touch your face.
Wear the mask
It is the responsibility that everyone follows the protocols in place to stay safe. Wearing the mask is one of those things. The cruise line is doing a great job ensuring that everyone is compliant with this, however, the crew can’t be everywhere, and I witnessed several people thinking the rule does not apply to them, and they walk around the ship with no mask and their nose up to the air. This just tells me that they have no courtesy to others, and they only think of themselves. To me, this is sad. This is the reason there are continued outbreaks on the cruises. People that act like this.
Eat at the other eateries that are not part of the buffet
The buffet is not the end all be all on cruise ships. The beauty of cruises is that there are so many different places to eat, I opt for the places that will serve the food to you. For example; Did you know that the main dining room has breakfast every morning? And it’s really good breakfast! You have the 24/7 pizza, sushi, seafood shack, deli, the Blue Iguana Mexican and Guy’s Burger places. There they serve you the food and you can have a sense of security knowing that not 100 people touched the plate or utensils you are about to eat.
Eat Early
Early bird gets the worm and the freshest of everything. Many people like to sleep late, so if you do opt for the buffet, wake up early, get the fresh breakfast food, less people and less potential contamination. Same goes for all meals, get there when they first open. Another great option is the room service for a nominal fee.
Keep the distance
You do not have to be around people all the time. We spent a lot of time in our room kind of as an added measure to stay safe. The great thing about cruises is that you can do as much or as little as you want. For this cruise we wanted to recover, simply because the last two years with COVID have been super challenging for us in our work life.
If we were in an elevator and a bunch of people would get in, we would get out and opt for the stairs instead. Honestly, we should always be using the stairs!
Opt for the Balcony
If you can, reserve a balcony cabin. Not only does this room offer greater square footage than that of an interior room, you can spend time outside, enjoy the sunshine and stay away from other passengers. Keeping you safe from others! When you are in an interior room and you want that sunshine, you must go outside near where there are other people. I say OPT for the balcony.
Carry your documents
I can’t stress this enough; you must follow the protocols on the ship and at the ports of call. They may be different at each location, and it is essential to be prepared. Listen to the announcements on the ship when they make them.
When you get off the boat, you must always carry your proof of citizenship, your cruise line ship card and proof of vaccination.
Also, don’t get angry when the boat is denied entry into a port. Most likely if this happens, it is because there is an outbreak on the boat. Entry is denied to keep the citizens of that country safe. Keep that in mind. If everyone does what they are supposed to do then the likelihood of this happening is slim. But unfortunately, I can tell you that not everyone follows the rules, and they do what they want. That is when the outbreaks occur, when there is deviation from the protocol.
Get Tested Again
Once you are back at the home port, it is important to get tested 3-5 days after you arrive back home. You can check out the CDC guidelines here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html
I hope you are able to enjoy your next cruise and just keep these things in mind when you are on the boat. We can still live life if everyone follows the protocols in place to keep everyone safe
Additional Resources
If you want additional information on the Carnival Protocols, you can check them out here https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols?icid=advisory_cruisehealth_072821
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You can check out some other cruise posts pre-covid here https://healthyworldtravels.com/weekend-on-the-carnival-victory/
