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Are Cruises Safer Than All Inclusive or Land Holidays?


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We're trying to decide what to do...keep our December cruise (Anthem out of NJ) or drop it and go to an all inclusive instead in Mexico.  Both will be nice holiday options and like many, we just need to get away. 

Cruises get a bad rap from others, but I'm almost thinking that cruises are actually safer....screening just to get on the ship, protocols once on, the fact that everyone arrives and leaves the same time.  Our stops aren't exotic and one stop is at CoCo Cay so transmission at ports isn't overly high.  Our family is fully vaccinated. 

Guess with Anthem though, we will be inside for a lot of it as it's an indoors ship in winter vs outside at a resort.  

This resort is a nice alternative (although it would be a bit of a shorter holiday)...but am also questioning if we postpone the cruise, will anything even be any different if we wait until March?  Maybe easier protocols but covid (e.g. no masks) will still be here.

Anyone else think that cruising is probably safer in the end?

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I don't have any concerns with getting on a cruise (just got off one).

I always thought the petri dish stories to be overblown, if you keep your eye out and avoid obviously sick people, don't lick the railings, wash your hands, etc. I don't view a cruise ship as an inherently "more dangerous" environment than any other hotel complex.

 

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I cruise Anthem out of Bayonne frequently. Especially over the winter. Anthem is one of the best ships for this. She has the indoor pool and the adult only Solarium…both are heated and very comfortable when outside is cold. But keep in mind it’s only for the first day, day and a half. Once the ship clears Cape Hatteras, we’re in the Gulf Stream and the weather begins to moderate. It gets warmer and outside is the place to be. For me, a quick drive to Bayonne and boarding the ship to begin my vacation certainly beats the hassle of flying anywhere. There’s so much to do aboard the ship, and with all the health and safety protocols in place (which are apparently working as expected) I think cruising is the safest place to be on vacation. But, then again, I’m a cruisaholic! Either way, enjoy your vacation!

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23 minutes ago, BrianB said:

I cruise Anthem out of Bayonne frequently. Especially over the winter. Anthem is one of the best ships for this. She has the indoor pool and the adult only Solarium…both are heated and very comfortable when outside is cold. But keep in mind it’s only for the first day, day and a half. 
 


That right there would be what would keep me from taking a winter cruise out of NJ right now …….. the 3 days in total round trip of the cruise where it’s too cold to be outside and in order to use the “indoor” pool, you’d almost certainly have to sit at the pool with a mask on!  Will you also be required to wear a mask while IN the pool since it is an “indoor” pool?  …….. those things would be the deal breaker for me…… especially being vaccinated.  
 

 

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11 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:


That right there would be what would keep me from taking a winter cruise out of NJ right now …….. the 3 days in total round trip of the cruise where it’s too cold to be outside and in order to use the “indoor” pool, you’d almost certainly have to sit at the pool with a mask on!  Will you also be required to wear a mask while IN the pool since it is an “indoor” pool?  …….. those things would be the deal breaker for me…… especially being vaccinated.  
 

 

The cold weather and having an "indoor" cruise for some of the days doesn't bother us at all.  Our kids can't wait to try the Sea Plex on Anthem and swimming indoors avoid the pain in the neck of having to apply sunscreen.    I haven't heard comments either way, but highly doubt you need a mask in the pool.   And that 270 seems to have wonderful views.  I only made the indoor comment with respect to covid as outside is safer than inside.  But it really seems there are things the ship is doing to try and keep it under control and limit occurrences.

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9 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

The cold weather and having an "indoor" cruise for some of the days doesn't bother us at all.  Our kids can't wait to try the Sea Plex on Anthem and swimming indoors avoid the pain in the neck of having to apply sunscreen.    I haven't heard comments either way, but highly doubt you need a mask in the pool.   And that 270 seems to have wonderful views.  I only made the indoor comment with respect to covid as outside is safer than inside.  But it really seems there are things the ship is doing to try and keep it under control and limit occurrences.


Royal’s current policy is that on cruises that don’t meet the 95% vaccinated threshold, everyone must wear a mask inside unless it’s in an area restricted to only the vaccinated …… so unless they ban the unvaccinated from the indoor pool and solarium, I don’t see how everyone won’t have to wear a mask to use them.  I could be totally 100% wrong ….  Who knows.

 

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53 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:


Royal’s current policy is that on cruises that don’t meet the 95% vaccinated threshold, everyone must wear a mask inside unless it’s in an area restricted to only the vaccinated …… so unless they ban the unvaccinated from the indoor pool and solarium, I don’t see how everyone won’t have to wear a mask to use them.  I could be totally 100% wrong ….  Who knows.

 

They already HAVE restricted unvaxxed from the Solarium

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2 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

We're trying to decide what to do...keep our December cruise (Anthem out of NJ) or drop it and go to an all inclusive instead in Mexico.  Both will be nice holiday options and like many, we just need to get away. 

Cruises get a bad rap from others, but I'm almost thinking that cruises are actually safer....screening just to get on the ship, protocols once on, the fact that everyone arrives and leaves the same time.  Our stops aren't exotic and one stop is at CoCo Cay so transmission at ports isn't overly high.  Our family is fully vaccinated. 

Guess with Anthem though, we will be inside for a lot of it as it's an indoors ship in winter vs outside at a resort.  

This resort is a nice alternative (although it would be a bit of a shorter holiday)...but am also questioning if we postpone the cruise, will anything even be any different if we wait until March?  Maybe easier protocols but covid (e.g. no masks) will still be here.

Anyone else think that cruising is probably safer in the end?

I haven’t done either cruising or staying in a resort since the pandemic started but I’ve done extensive research deciding on which direction to go for our next vacation.

I think the scales are slightly tipped to the cruise ship side as far as the safer route. For resorts, I saw mostly procedural improvements (e.g. intense cleaning and encouraging social distancing). For cruise ships (specifically RCCL), I noticed procedural AND facilities improvement with revamping medical facilities and hvac air circulation.

I would feel a lot safer on a cruise ship than in a grocery store, retail store, or even my own workplace.

Ultimately, cruise ships and resorts have the same 2 primary goals:

*to make money

*to keep everyone safe (which is basically synonymous with avoiding bad publicity)

and they’re going to do whatever it takes to accomplish this.

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I have always felt that cruises are cleaner environments compared to hotels.  As a former frequent business traveler it was not unusual to pick up something on a business trip.  Having had that occur on a number of trips I started wiping down everything in my hotel room from the TV remote to the telephone which I avoided at all costs, and I was wiping down my seat area on the airplane.   That was before any notion of a pandemic.  Even with that sometimes I'd get something from a common cold to some kind of crud in my chest.  

However I never did get any of that on a cruise. 

There has always been plenty of hand sanitizer on a ship but rarely in a hotel until now.  

Fifty plus cruises later and I'm still of the opinion that cruises are safer, healthier environments compared to hotels.  

Now even more so.  Cruise lines took a pretty clean environment and made it safer with the protocols we know about.  Hotels aren't doing most of that.  Hotel employees are cutting back service so they don't come in your room as much but employees may or may not be vaccinated.  Hotels are now putting sanitizer out in some places but still not as prevalent as on a ship.  

There will be cases occurring on cruise ships but there are also cases occurring in resorts and hotels.  The difference is that they are detected on cruise ships because of the protocols.  Make no mistake - cases are occuring at resorts and hotels but there is no reporting requirement, few protocols and zero awareness that cases are occurring.  Out of sight, out of mind and out of the news but that doesn't mean it isn't occurring at land resorts.  

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12 minutes ago, twangster said:

Now even more so.  Cruise lines took a pretty clean environment and made it safer with the protocols we know about.  Hotels aren't doing most of that.  Hotel employees are cutting back service so they don't come in your room as much but employees may or may not be vaccinated.  Hotels are now putting sanitizer out in some places but still not as prevalent as on a ship.  

Our daughter works for a resort and she has said that housekeeping staff is down considerably and rooms are only being cleaned while someone is staying in them if they request it. Otherwise it's only after the guests check out. 

Cruising is a completely different story. I love seeing crew constantly wiping down things, offering sanitizer, basically keeping the ship very clean. With the new protocols in place I feel much safer on a cruise than anywhere else. 

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Agree with all the foregoing posts. Quintana Roo, the state within which most of the beach resorts are located, is awash with new COVID cases having risen from a viral prevalence as measured by percent positives of all tests and before April of under 5% to around 15%. Vax rates are around 30% which partly explains the rise in new cases. The other factor is the mass of tourists that flooded the resorts in April and May as Mexico already opened to international tourism opened further.

I start a Western Caribbean cruise on Sunday with port calls in Coz and Costa Maya. As of right now, guests can't get off the ship and explore on thier own. That should tell you which venue, a cruise ship or a Mexican Riviera beach resort, is a safer place to visit re COVID risk.  

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I was invited to the Indy simulation cruise next week but I'd have to fly and stay in a hotel the night before.  

The ship will be fully vaccinated for guests and crew.  The ship will operate with full and proven effective protocols. 

The airport, airplane and hotel will be... who knows?  Could be mostly vaccinated, could be mostly unvaccinated.  Could be an airport worker doesn't want to lose their job and has bills to pay so they go to work with mild symptoms.   No one is going to check or know any better.  Protocols will consist of a $0.35 mask.

The risks involved with this trip were heavily slanted to the parts of the trip that weren't on the ship.  The ship would be the safe part.  

I declined the Indy invitation but if I get an invite to another Florida based simulation cruise I'm going.  

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IMHO a cruise is 100% safer than an land all-inclusive. To stay in a hotel you don't have to say anything regarding your current health. My first time at a resort this guy was staying there with a rash, he thought it was bug bites, and it turned out to be a mild form of flesh-eating bacteria. To say that put me off resorts is an understatement. Like some people on this site, I carry medical grade sanitation wipes and always wipe my hotel room down. The only time my wipes ever came up clean-ish was on my RCG cruise. Most of the time I am thoroughly cleaning the room. There is literally no way to tell what March will be like. In my opinion, people need to do exactly what they can handle now and not place too heavy a burden on the future. I would hope that by March we will be settling into something more steady and reliable. But many people thought things would be over in 3 month, 6 or a year.

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2 hours ago, RockerDom31 said:

I haven’t done either cruising or staying in a resort since the pandemic started but I’ve done extensive research deciding on which direction to go for our next vacation.

I think the scales are slightly tipped to the cruise ship side as far as the safer route. For resorts, I saw mostly procedural improvements (e.g. intense cleaning and encouraging social distancing). For cruise ships (specifically RCCL), I noticed procedural AND facilities improvement with revamping medical facilities and hvac air circulation.

I would feel a lot safer on a cruise ship than in a grocery store, retail store, or even my own workplace.

Ultimately, cruise ships and resorts have the same 2 primary goals:

*to make money

*to keep everyone safe (which is basically synonymous with avoiding bad publicity)

and they’re going to do whatever it takes to accomplish this.

Same...and that is why we really really want to try and have a holiday Dec.  I think another difference is that cruise ships require testing to board and/or vaccines (won't go there but that one changes daily).  I don't remember seeing this to check in to a resort. And yes, definitely bad publicity is a big thing that cruise companies want to avoid.  Less impact or word getting out from a resort.

We actually have 3 trips booked...lets see which one we will keep and which 2 we will cancel (hopefully that scenario).  Two are cruise ships (Mariner as a back up)...and this resort in Mexico that gets very good reviews.  Pre-covid, we never would have had more than one trip booked at a time.

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2 hours ago, JeffB said:

Agree with all the foregoing posts. Quintana Roo, the state within which most of the beach resorts are located, is awash with new COVID cases having risen from a viral prevalence as measured by percent positives of all tests and before April of under 5% to around 15%. Vax rates are around 30% which partly explains the rise in new cases. The other factor is the mass of tourists that flooded the resorts in April and May as Mexico already opened to international tourism opened further.

I start a Western Caribbean cruise on Sunday with port calls in Coz and Costa Maya. As of right now, guests can't get off the ship and explore on thier own. That should tell you which venue, a cruise ship or a Mexican Riviera beach resort, is a safer place to visit re COVID risk.  

I just looked that up and the Mexico resort we booked is in Playa Del Carmen...which is in Quintana Roo.  Ugh....

Have a great cruise!

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

I was invited to the Indy simulation cruise next week but I'd have to fly and stay in a hotel the night before.  

The ship will be fully vaccinated for guests and crew.  The ship will operate with full and proven effective protocols. 

The airport, airplane and hotel will be... who knows?  Could be mostly vaccinated, could be mostly unvaccinated.  Could be an airport worker doesn't want to lose their job and has bills to pay so they go to work with mild symptoms.   No one is going to check or know any better.  Protocols will consist of a $0.35 mask.

The risks involved with this trip were heavily slanted to the parts of the trip that weren't on the ship.  The ship would be the safe part.  

I declined the Indy invitation but if I get an invite to another Florida based simulation cruise I'm going.  

That's a huge help (limits risk) not having to fly to the port.  For Anthem, it's a 9hr drive or a 1.5 hr flight.

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40 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I'd drive 9.5 hours in a heartbeat over flying right now.    I wish this was an option for us (it's a 23-hour drive to our next cruise's port - which ends up being at least 2 days tacked on to both the beginning and end of the cruise). 9.5 hours is a walk in the park.

I’m thankful my next 2 cruises are out of Miami (5 hours drive) and PC (2 hours). 
 

We don’t have to fly to a port until May 2022 and October 2022. Sure hope “it’s” a distant memory by then. 

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10 hours ago, Jill said:

I’m thankful my next 2 cruises are out of Miami (5 hours drive) and PC (2 hours). 
 

We don’t have to fly to a port until May 2022 and October 2022. Sure hope “it’s” a distant memory by then. 

That's pretty good.  For us, the drive to NJ is technically do-able, but very long for two kids. Moreover, I have back issues where I can't sit for a long time.  Having said that, if that's what it takes for us to cruise, then will still agree to it.  A long drive also means washroom stops which is a risk it itself. Can't win.

What I'm questioning is ...will things even be better by next year?  Aside from the under 12 group, most who want to be vaccinated are vaccinated by now (at least in the US and Canada).  So with this Delta variance, and then the next one, I question if anything will be any better.  If we skip Dec cruise, then our next one is March.  And to use our FCC, that is our last option.

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10 hours ago, Jill said:

I’m thankful my next 2 cruises are out of Miami (5 hours drive) and PC (2 hours). 
 

We don’t have to fly to a port until May 2022 and October 2022. Sure hope “it’s” a distant memory by then. 

Where are you planning to park?  We're from the same area but I always fly to the ports because I hate long drives.   But for my fall cruises out of Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I'm thinking of driving.

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1 hour ago, PG Cruiser said:

Where are you planning to park?  We're from the same area but I always fly to the ports because I hate long drives.   But for my fall cruises out of Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I'm thinking of driving.

Question not directed to me, but i drive over from Tampa to both ports. I used to play around looking for off site deals,etc. and then eventually decided that after all the $ invested in the vacation why deal with shuttles and stuff to save a few $ at the end of it and i just park at the port terminals now.

Quick and easy, in and out.

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6 hours ago, jticarruthers said:

Question not directed to me, but i drive over from Tampa to both ports. I used to play around looking for off site deals,etc. and then eventually decided that after all the $ invested in the vacation why deal with shuttles and stuff to save a few $ at the end of it and i just park at the port terminals now.

Quick and easy, in and out.

Thanks for replying anyway.  Do they have enough room for everyone?  I remember I was running late boarding at Canaveral.  The parking building was full so we were directed to surface parking.  If I'm not mistaken, it was staff parking.

image.thumb.png.39ecc564f3f1db25169ecb455059c8e4.png

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9 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

Where are you planning to park?  We're from the same area but I always fly to the ports because I hate long drives.   But for my fall cruises out of Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I'm thinking of driving.

We will park at the port for both PC and Miami. Yes more expensive but convenient 

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2 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

Thanks for replying anyway.  Do they have enough room for everyone?  I remember I was running late boarding at Canaveral.  The parking building was full so we were directed to surface parking.  If I'm not mistaken, it was staff parking.

image.thumb.png.39ecc564f3f1db25169ecb455059c8e4.png

Im not 100% certain since i usually arrive early, but i beleive so. I know Ft Lauderdale has several garages and so does Miami so i would be surprised if they didnt.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/30/2021 at 1:13 PM, WannaCruise said:

We're trying to decide what to do...keep our December cruise (Anthem out of NJ) or drop it and go to an all inclusive instead in Mexico.  

You could do what i have done! Book a week in a 5 star hotel thats actually a very big yacht that doesnt move lol that way you get the feeling of being on a cruise without actually cruising 

Sunborn hotel in Gibraltar 

Screenshot_20210810-130157_Google.jpg

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Another parking option (if you are overnighting in a hotel prior to cruise): some hotels - especially near Ft. Lauderdale port - offer discounted parking on their parking lots while cruising.  There is a shuttle involved, and this may cause lost time after the cruise.

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We are taking our kids on a cruise in September, and we have been asked if we feel safe on a cruise.  To be honest, I feel more safe on a cruise ship than I do sending the kids to school.  With the health protocols that are in place, I feel like cruising is safer than a lot of activities we do on land.  

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On 7/30/2021 at 8:13 AM, WannaCruise said:

We're trying to decide what to do...keep our December cruise (Anthem out of NJ) or drop it and go to an all inclusive instead in Mexico.  Both will be nice holiday options and like many, we just need to get away. 

Cruises get a bad rap from others, but I'm almost thinking that cruises are actually safer....screening just to get on the ship, protocols once on, the fact that everyone arrives and leaves the same time.  Our stops aren't exotic and one stop is at CoCo Cay so transmission at ports isn't overly high.  Our family is fully vaccinated. 

Guess with Anthem though, we will be inside for a lot of it as it's an indoors ship in winter vs outside at a resort.  

This resort is a nice alternative (although it would be a bit of a shorter holiday)...but am also questioning if we postpone the cruise, will anything even be any different if we wait until March?  Maybe easier protocols but covid (e.g. no masks) will still be here.

Anyone else think that cruising is probably safer in the end?

There's no doubt that the cruise lines have done a lot to ensure guest safety and mitigate COVID risk.  

That said, I'm not sure a cruise line super fan message board is going to provide the most unbiased response to an inquiry like this.  Naturally almost everyone here thinks cruises are more safe than a resort.

You have some time to wait and see...it's quite possible that Delta will have burned itself out by December and be on the decline.  *fingers crossed*

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45 minutes ago, danv3 said:

There's no doubt that the cruise lines have done a lot to ensure guest safety and mitigate COVID risk.  

That said, I'm not sure a cruise line super fan message board is going to provide the most unbiased response to an inquiry like this.  Naturally almost everyone here thinks cruises are more safe than a resort.

You have some time to wait and see...it's quite possible that Delta will have burned itself out by December and be on the decline.  *fingers crossed*

Lol...yes I realize that there is probably some bias on this boards due to our love of cruising. ?

That's what we are hoping.  For now, we have both booked and will see.  We are also hoping that US land borders open and let us Canadians in (as then we could avoid flying if we go with the cruise option).  It's wait and see.  We may even pay Dec cruise off (mostly with FCC) which will buy us more time to make a decision.

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