Jill

She’s been on 2 so far. Here’s her take: Originally posted here Hello. I am a cruise addict (with 150 cruise nights onboard Royal Caribbean ships). Unfortunately they canceled our 4 cruises this year, 2 of them would have been in the Mediterranean Sea. When TUI Cruises released their „Greek Isles“ cruises we booked two cruises (with a break of one week between - no B2Bs possible yet) with them and came back home on Sunday. I thought I might share my personal conclusions about cruising during a global pandemic and how it is possible to go on shore excursions in ports (and I hope it won’t be considered as „off-topic“): Both stays onboard were associated with a lot of emotional impressions for me, like the step from the gangway to the ship, which I experienced very consciously, because at these times, I did not believe I would board a cruise ship in 2020. However, a moving moment had brought tears to my eyes, when the ship set sail and the wake became visible!?? A ship with a capacity of 2534 passengers with a 60% pandemic-owed maximum occupancy still offers space for 1500 cruise enthusiasts. We were 922 on our first and 702 passengers on our second cruise onboard Mein Schiff 6! Whether this difference might be thought by one or the other: “Great, more space for me” for me, it reveals a problem that I didn't expect - Apparently not (enough) is booked. The cruise fans ashore are responsible for the difference between what is maximally possible and what is currently done. Of course everyone has the right to have reservations against a cruise during this time. A wait for "afterwards the pandemic" is here in my opinion just as little senseless as waiting for a vaccine. Nobody knows how long we will have to deal with the new reality. Since we were onboard, I hope I can dispel many concerns. We felt at least as safe onboard as on land - NO, I personally felt safer in this „bubble“. We watched, how with unbelievable commitment, from morning to evening, crew was sanitizing, cleaning and paying attention to safety and health measures with „eagle eyes“. We as passengers have the duty, in my opinion not very restrictive in our freedom, to add our parts to these measures by wearing masks, practice social distancing, wash and sanitize our hands frequently. And it worked fine onboard! Why? 1. Out of respect for the crew members and their jobs! 2. Out of respect for my fellow passengers onboard and on land - those on land, I would like to give the opportunity to cruise again soon! 3. Out of respect for the cruise company, which restarted as first cruise line in the world with cruising end of July (from Hamburg, Germany) and took a high risk to the cruise economic and also a political risk. 4. Ultimately out of respect for the entire industry and the companies involved! What are the “restrictions” onboard? For example: Wearing a mask indoors, wearing a mask outdoors if you can’t practice social distance, wearing a mask whenever talking to crew members. Once a day temperature checks. Events at the theater must be reserved via the app in advance! Getting served in the Buffet Restaurant! No drinks at the Bars - drinks are served at the tables. How can you go on shore excursions? On both of our cruises we had the same port of calls: Piraeus/Athens and Corfu, Greece. We could reserve in advance though the App shore excursions. There were plenty of different shore excursions on offer, we decided to go to the beach in Piraeus/Athens and stay onboard in Corfu. The shore excursion to the beach was to the Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso in Vouliagmeni. We were a small group of less than 50 people. The bus ride was about 45mins to the beach. At the beach a whole area was reserved for TUI Cruises guests (including toilets) and the tour guide was watching that nobody left the beach area due to COVID-19 measures. It was a clean and nice beach with comfortable sun loungers and nice umbrellas. In my opinion, this gives a feeling of security, which of course is never one hundred percent, but which feels higher than in some places and in some situations on land. For me, both the COVID-19 swab test before and the measures onboard are therefore an added value! All arguments: “I don't want to ...”, “I'm not doing ...”, “For me it's not .... ", „Without it is not ..." aren’t understandable for me. But if you are unsure about going back onboard to enjoy this indescribable feeling at the sea, let me say: Yes! For sure! Yes! Do it and it will be fun! I am neither a representative of a cruise company nor a travel agency. I am a cruise addict, who wants to cruise again in 2021. ???? Attached you will find my favorite pictures, for more pictures of both cruises: https://instagram.com/mrs.tietzlein?igshid=a7hlzo5xu5xg

Sailed her the first time in 2011 after a 13 year absence from cruising (because of kids). WOW! Sailed her again in 2017 (kicked cancer’s ass and 50th birthday cruise) and again in 2018. She’s pretty awesome and why I’m partial to Oasis class. Just LOVE this class of ships.

Someone started a post on Facebook and I went and found ours! This deck is either from Song of America 1991 or Monarch of the Seas 1992. Who else has a deck?

Redfield needs to get on a cruise with the deluxe beverage package, unlimited dining and the most expensive suite. He obviously has never been on a cruise!

Question: Is there a difference between the "Pool Deck" and the "Sun Deck?" On Symphony the "Pool Deck" is on deck 15 and does have the glass windows around the outside. The "Sun Deck" is deck 16 and is wide open. Maybe no masks on the Sun Deck! That's where we are anyways. I hope so. I don't want to cancel a cruise that's already been cancelled on me twice. I'm hoping this is just a Singapore thing. Quantum is more enclosed and it'll be freakin winter.

I pray by May things will be different.

I just can’t see being in the hot Caribbean wearing a mask in the sun. If the chairs are spaced it’s no different than sitting in the dining room or a bar. Especially on sea days when it’s quite windy. Just seems excessive.

Disappointed that masks are required on the pool deck. Hopefully that’ll change for US cruises to the Caribbean. I don’t mind wearing one walking around, elevators etc. but sitting in the sun on the pool deck is pretty much a deal breaker. Face MasksFace masks are required in all areas of the pool deck unless you’re in the water, where you should continue to observe physical distancing

I’m so glad that I went with MEI back last October. I had always booked direct but we’re doing a bucket list cruise next year to the Med and I needed an experienced TA for all that it entails. I use Sharla and she’s been great. We had a symphony cancelled in May and took the FCC and OBC. Rebooked for October which is now cancelled. She got our OBC reissued and FCC applied to next May symphony. Highly recommend!

There ya go! Taking one for the team! ?

I think TA’s should have the option of sailing on these “test” cruises so they can let all their customers know how the protocols work and what to expect. I mean they are the ones helping to sell these cabins! @Sharlaaren’t you ready for a free cruise?

Vaccines are not 100%. There are people who will never mount a response to a vaccine. They will show no titer. Vaccines can be useful in many cases but they are never a guarantee against disease. I fear too many don’t realize that efficacy can not be guaranteed. False sense of security.

Here’s another installment from a passenger on TUI regarding the buffet: Hi again!?? One question about our recent cruise onboard TUI Cruises - Mein Schiff 6 came up quite often: Is the buffet restaurant open and how is it handled? Therefore I made a video to show you the Health and Safety Measures: Before entering the buffet restaurant, which is called Anckelmannsplatz onboard TUI Cruises, you have to wash your hands. Afterwards you need to sanitize your hands. You have to wear a proper mouth and nose mask. Staff is overwatching it. After you‘re finished with washing and sanitizing your hands, a crew member will show you to a table (you can request a special table - for example by the window). You will be seated at a table with silverware, which is sealed in an envelope. The crew member will ask for your stateroom number and type it in his tablet-PC. So the cruiseline knows, where you were seated and who could be a contact person in case of an outbreak of COVID-19 onboard. Tables without placed silverware on top are „closed“ - they have a sign on it. At the buffet counters you will find markings on the floor, which show you, how near you are allowed to stand in front of the counters. If there are other people waiting, you’ll have to wait with a social distance next to them. At the buffet counters crew members will serve your food. You just tell them what kind of dish and how much you would like to have. At each counter you‘ll receive a new plate- crew won’t put the food on the plate you‘ve already had in your hands. So you‘ll end up with many plates, if you want different kinds of food. Drinks are served by the crew at the fountain station. You just let them know what kind of drink you‘d like and they will place the glass on a table. If you want a refill, you‘ll receive a new glass! As soon as you will sit down at your table you can take off your mask. I personally hope that this measures will stay post COVID-19. I always avoided the Windjammer, due to many people not washing their hands and touching things. Also it will help to decrease food wasting! I am aware that there are a few more questions, which I will happily answer tomorrow. video here:

I saw on Facebook that everything cancelled through November 30.

Just saw the news. ? I’m not sailing until May but I feel for all of you with Holiday cruises.

Just saw cancelled through November 30.

A few questions answered by a TUI passenger: Hi again! Today I read through your questions about our recent cruise onboard TUI Cruises - Mein Schiff 6! I will start to provide answers to 9 questions: What did we have to do before the cruise? - informed about travel cancellation and health insurance with corona protection - reserved excursion - reserved seats on the plane - reserved on-board entertainment - completed the Greece entry form for the QR code - filled out the Helios Hospital data protection form and made an appointment for the test - filled out the TUI Cruises health questionnaires before driving to Munich Airport Did you have to do a COVID-19 test? ?? TUI Cruises is requiring that all passengers test negative for COVID-19 before boarding. The test could be taken at one of 86 Helios Hospital locations in Germany. The test's cost was included in the cruise fare. We had to drive 1,5 hours to the next Helios Hospital. They did a nose and throat swab test. Our results were sent directly to TUI Cruises. How was the flight?? To get to the cruise ship was only possible with a chartered flight by TUIfly from 6 German airports (Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt). No individual arrivals. No public flights! Only access to the plane with negative COVID-19 Test. How was the boarding procedure?? At the check-in counter of TUIfly we had to show the TUI Cruises health questionnaires and the valid QR Code for entry to Greece (received at 11pm the day before). After arriving at Crete we had to show the QR Code to the Greek authorities at the airport. Randomly other flight passengers were chosen for another nose and throat swab test - but not us. We got our bags and were then shown to the TUI Cruises Bus and driven to the cruise ship. To decrease the amount of people inside the cruise terminal we had to wait for ~30minutes inside the bus, until we were allowed to proceed to the cruise terminal. First we had to present our health questionnaires form, then we got our temperature measured with a digital thermal imaging camera. After the security check we went directly to one of the check-in counters, which were fitted with plexiglass screens. We had to show our set sail pass and passports through the plexiglass screen. The employee made a picture of our passports, then we were allowed to take shortly off our mask for our „ship picture“. Afterwards we could walk straight to the ships gangway, where we had to show our set sail pass for entry and for a short moment our face without mask. How was the Muster Drill? Onboard we went straight to our stateroom, where our sea pass cards were in a sealed envelope at the door. We put our hand luggage inside the stateroom and walked straight to Deck 5, where the muster drill took place. We were shown to our designated area. By that time we were the only ones there. So the two employees made a „private muster drill“ just for us. We could ask questions and were finished within 5 minutes. How many people were onboard? TUI Cruises operates their ships at just 60% of their regular capacity. Mein Schiff 6 regular capacity is 2534 passengers - on our cruise we were in total 922 passengers. TUI cruises canceled all their cruises until end of October - the Greek Isles cruise was released on August 13 with the new regulations. TUI is only selling balcony staterooms and suites at the moment! No inside or window cabins are sold! Did you have to wear masks?? Yes! All guests and crew members are required to practice social distance of at least 1.5 meters in the public areas of the ship. Wherever this distance cannot be maintained without hesitation, wearing a proper mouth and nose mask (masks NOT allowed you will find on the picture) was compulsory. This applied to elevators, stairwells and cabin corridors, for example. Whenever we were talking to crew (guest services, bars, towel station) - we wore masks. Also on the Pool Deck, when we couldn’t keep the social distance - we wore masks. As soon as we sat on our sun lounger/chair - we didn’t have to wear a mask. At the restaurants we wore a mask until we sat down at the table. When we stood up to get more food - we wore a mask! By arrival at our stateroom we found 5 masks per person on the bed - in a sealed package. You could get more from housekeeping. How many people were inside the elevators? Inside the elevators were allowed 4 people! On the floor of the elevator were marked spaces, where one was allowed to stand. If the elevator was full, we had to wait for another one. Thankfully everyone respected these rules! Before the elevators were placed hand sanitizer - so after touching buttons, we could easily sanitize our hands before and after our elevator ride. Did you get a temperature check??? Everyone had to have their temperature measured with a digital thermal imaging camera. This was repeated every morning between 9-12 inside the disco (which was closed anyways). We had to sanitize our hands and then walk in front of the camera. It took less than 2 minutes. I am aware that there are many many more questions, which I will happily answer tomorrow!???? https://youtu.be/3lIxj6iFH68

American Queen is part of CLIA, so they participated in the extension until October 31. The fact he’s back on board is promising that cruising in the US may begin in the near future. He was a HD with Royal for over 20 years with an Oasis class ship as his last assignment. He left in 2018 to fill in for a friend at American Queen and never went back. I’ll pick his brain in a few days. He still has many contacts at RC.

My friend, the hotel director, is now onboard American Countess (newest river ship). He said “wishing all my industry friends the best, we will all be back soon!” ????

I’ll just leave this here. CDC overruled by White House https://www.axios.com/scoop-white-house-overruled-cdc-cruise-ships-florida-91442136-1b8e-442e-a2a1-0b24e9a39fb6.html?fbclid=IwAR15ckHNDNUw02i4px52o_OAV_Ld-XK20Zll1XZWWJGxpWDI_H0Ieg1X1AM

I’m wondering if this is indicative of more cancellations coming OR they’re trying to reduce capacity again without having to boot people. I’ll go with option 2!

Just saw this posted on Facebook. http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/CWC_Enhanced_FAQs.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2YeZ2SP3aVFfIdNPCi9LOXegYFsUeLVPymA1YvC2dGIbuNJztnRFn3acw

This is what they did with the first TUI cruises in Europe. Sailings were canceled and then re-opened for booking. Hopefully with L&S they’ve been able to reduce capacity without having to do what was done in Europe.

Uggghhhh.........I’m not picking on you I promise but this isn’t 100% true. Businesses can still require masks. We just can no longer be fined for not wearing one. I was out most of the day today and visited 5 businesses here in North Florida. Every one still requiring masks. Chick fil A dining room still not open. When chick fil a opens their dining room you know the crisis is over! ?

So I guess it’s official now! Lol This leaked out a few days ago and then disappeared. Glad neither my symphony or odyssey are affected.