What's something you loved about cruising in 2021?

[Matt]

If you went on a cruise in 2021, what is something you really enjoyed this year?

Was it a certain shore excursion? Limited capacity over the summer? Easier embarkation? Seeing a favorite crew member?

[KLA]

I loved the limited capacity on Odyssey - getting to experience the newest ship in the fleet and feeling at times like you had the ship to yourself was such a unique experience that I will always remember. Similarly, it let us get a great deal on a Royal Up to a Junior Suite that really elevated the experience for us. 

[Iluv4n6]

The energy and high spirits of the crew and entertainment staff.  They all seemed to take customer appreciation (and appreciation of their own jobs) to a higher level based on our experiences on two cruises this fall.  To say they were happy to be back would be an understatement...same for us!

[KristiZ]

I loved that there will never be another chance to go through the Panama Canal on a such big ship with SO FEW PEOPLE! No crowds anywhere, easy to see everything and take tons of photos. Super lucky we got the opportunity!

[tonyfsu21]

I enjoyed a nearly empty ship with more crew members then passengers. This is an experience that may not ever happen again in this industry and I’m glad we experienced the higher level of service. 

[Summer Bee Sweet]

Being served in the Windjammer. I still saw people walking in and not washing or using hand sanitizer 

[DieselsCruzzzzin]

I loved taking my step children on their very first cruise (and first time out of the country). Being able to introduce them to new cultures and have them try new things like taking a UTV ride in Aruba (which was equally scary and exciting for me as well) was amazing. Everything to them was new and exciting and it was great to experience cruising through a newbies perspective as there was no comparison to any other ship or to the overall experience pre vs. post covid; just pure enthusiasm the entire trip. 

[WAYNO]

Our cruise together, earlier in 2021 was cancelled, but my Wife was able to cruise with a high school friend in November.  Allow me to repeat what she has shared.

 

First, escaping the dismal weather of the Northwest, the sun in the Caribbean is so uplifting.

Yep, the smaller crowd on the ship was nice, but more so, the entire crew was so accommodating, friendly, and helpful.  They are trying so hard to stay in business, and remain employed.

She appreciated the enhanced hygiene practices of the crew.  Too bad so many of the passengers did not take it as seriously.

Both boarding and disembarking, the efficiency was top notch.  No time was wasted, and the process was done with very minimal time. 

Of course she enjoyed the main dining room, and was treated like a queen.  Even the buffet was great.  Having to be served was a change-up, but it was very efficient.

Our cruising life has been so severely curtailed by the covid.  It is nice to know that cruising is being resumed. 

 

[Vancity Cruiser]

Just being able to get on a ship again. Being from Canada I had some extra hurdles to overcome but the feeling of stepping on a ship again was amazing. The limited capacity was really nice as well but I think the favourite change was emuster. So amazingly simple and quick compared to the old days of shutting everything down and having thousands cluster the stairs and hallways at once.

[CrznTxn]

The staff excitement, empty ships and the feeling that we were returning to normal, at least somewhat. My wife raves about the scheduled check-in times, Muster 2.0 and facial recognition reentry. It is great to see the continual progress RCCL made to enhance the customer's experience.

[mac66]

Embarkation was kind of messed up this time but we were just happy to be cruising again. Being on a half full Oasis class ship was nice and the crew seemed genuinely glad to be there. Service was the best of any Oasis class ship we were ever on. Debarkation went very smoothly. We had gone through the Customs facial recognition two years ago but it was really fast this time.

[CruisingwithCandM]

September on Symphony let me count the ways...

- Just getting back on the ship was a hint of normalcy after 18 months

- loved the reduced crowds as it felt safe and took away any typical crowd crunch points in any typical cruise

- the fellow passengers were respectful and happy to just follow protocols to cruise. That changed a bit by November

- I enjoyed spending money and helping the economy of the port countries get going again 

- no lines on the water slides.

[JimnKathy]

We sailed on a Symphony B2B and were consistently dazzled with amazing customer service from start to finish. There were many occasions where the crew was just as excited to be on the ship as we were. 

Our favorite thing was having the opportunity to enjoy the Coco Beach Club experience for the first time. What an incredible addition to Perfect Day at Coco Cay!

[leesam82]

I only did a single sailing in 2021, but the thing i loved about sailing in 2021 has to be the limited capacity. This was especially nice because on previous sailings sometimes the hot tubs would feel a little too crowded for comfort even pre-covid. Kinda felt like a bubbly human soup (not to ruin anyone's experience).  

I have not been to cococay when it was at full capacity, but I would expect that when i went  at reduced capacity I didn't feel like the lines at thrill water park was too bad. 

[wordell1]

On AOS at 30 percent capacity, we walked out to the pool at noon on a session day and found 2 lounges right next to the pool.

[Swar]

Limited capacity and the no mask areas onboard.

[The Fox]

I only have one previous cruise in 2020 to compare with the two this year so far. The crew, especially our room steward and the waiters in the main dining room, were so gracious and really showed a personal interest in us as a group.

I also appreciated the intense cleaning that went on all around us, without it being intrusive.

It seemed to me that Royal Carribean put a lot of time into the planning of getting passengers on and off the ships with minimal exposure to other people. The requirement to be vaccinated, pre-testing, health screening and check in procedures all made me feel comfortable enough that I wasn't worried about being exposed to Covid; a very nice feeling.

[JasonOasis]

On my October Symphony cruise I loved the fact that we sailed at 50% capacity the ship felt more spacious (and an Oasis Class ship is already spacious) without feeling empty.  I've never really experienced any rude crew members on any Royal Caribbean cruise that I've taken but this past cruise the crew members (all of them) were genuinely happy to be back at work, and happy to create an unforgettable cruise vacation.   When Royal announced the suspension of self serve buffets I will admit I had my doubts they could pull off having the crew serve you.  I was shocked at how well service went in Windjammers for both breakfast and lunch (wasn't open for dinner on the October 29th cruise), and I actually enjoyed having the crew serve me instead of having every one touch all the utensils. 

[BrianB]

Stepping on to my first ship…the crew members and officers clapping and cheering, the balloons and music.
The limited capacity was great, especially on the Oasis, sometimes it seemed like I was the only one taking an elevator. 
Recognizing crew members, even with their face masks on! And them so happy to be back!
Seeing the shows again. Listening to the performers (comics, headliners) as they told of how happy they are to finally be back! 
The new muster drill! Absolutely the best thing since, well, cruising!
Going to my favorite restaurants and venues again! 
CocoCay! 
Poolside Ice Cream machine! 
Royal Chocolate Cake…ala mode! 
The Solarium…the Solarium Bar…the Pool Bar…the (insert location here) Bar!

….how about…everything!

[HBCcruiser]

We LOVED the limited capacity on the AOS this summer. Also, during our sailing vaccinated guests did not have to wear a mask in most places. The staff were so attentive and fun! Also, we loved how empty Coco Cay was. One ship in port with only 1100 paxs. A cruising dream! 

[Traveler]

I love the new monster drill and I hope that they will keep the system even after the pandemic will be behind us. I also love the fact that the ship was empty at least during the summer. It felt as if we got special service everywhere. I didn't like the fact that the WJ was close during the evening time but that's already behind us.

[Ampurp85]

Doing Oasis class (Allure) on Halloween at reduced capacity, while introducing RCG to 4 newbies, who can't wait to cruise again. I loved getting room service and enjoying my food on the balcony looking at beautiful endless sea and/or in my bed watching random videos of things that happened on my sailing. I just loved being able to cruise.

[GatorCruiser]

Buying Cubans in Aruba and curaçao. Experiencing odyssey, meeting Chris Wong, going on a booze cruise on a schooner in the south Caribbean, meeting random people with equal love of cruising

[Ken Jensen]

We loved how excited and happy the crew was to get back to work

[teddy]

Our first cruise of the restart was out of Nassau on Adventure back in September. 

We really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the crew members we interacted with.   470ish people onboard meant that there was plenty of time for the crew to spend talking with us.  
 

 

…..and we begrudgingly loved sailing in a Junior Suite.   It’s changed our booking habits.  While we’re not ready to go “all suite, all the time”’ it made us decide that all future bookings will include a balcony. 

[smokeybandit]

Limited capacity for sure.

And a special shout out to how royal Caribbean took care of us as a covid close contact to get us home instead of having to follow bahamas quarantine rules.

[San Diego Garrett]

The crew on the Navigator were so amazingly friendly and helpful.

[OutToSea]

the 2 days at COCO Cay where great 

The great fun we had with the servers in the main dining room when they had time to spend with us

Going to the pool at 2pm and finding chairs

 

[SpeedNoodles]

Always getting a seat at our favorite bar with our favorite bartender any time we wanted due to reduced capacity.  Also, the ease of being successful in our Royal Up bid.

[Tony C]

Flowrider lines with 8 or less people--for the entire cruise . It was like paying for a private lesson all week long. I actually had to get out of line to take a break because my turn was coming up to quick.

[Cruising With JT]

Finally visiting CocoCay after nearly 2 years of waiting was the best part! I was really happy and fortunate to go on 4 cruises in 2 months between August and October, and one of my favorite things about being back onboard was seeing all the smiles on the faces of crew members excited to see us back doing what we love, and vice versa. It had been a rough 15+ months for everyone and simply having the chance to go back out to sea and enjoy what we love most was truly the best part. And of course I love love loved the limited capacity, the amazing shows, the late night Sorrento's pizza and the drinks flowing nonstop. Cruising is back and I am so glad to be part of the comeback like everyone else! Here's to 2022!

[CruizIan]

After 2 cruises this year, September and November I would say it has to be the new reserving of check in times and how quickly the onboarding process is. From checking in on the app and uploading all of your necessary documents; it has not taken us more than 15/20 minutes from getting out of the car to being onboard. I Truly hope they just keep the check in times because not having to deal with the crush of people at 11 like before has been so enjoyable.

[MTNeedsAVacay]

Limited capacity and the attention to hygiene/testing/vaccine requirements - haven't felt much safer anywhere else with our 2 young kids. eMuster drill was an absolute game changer and probably the best thing to come of all of this. 

Only sailed once in 2021, but it was on the brand new Odyssey, which we got changed over to from a dirt cheap booking in a Jr Suite on the Independence, so that was also an awesome surprise that we loved! It was our first time sailing an inaugural season, and it was totally unplanned.

[Valis]

I'm planning to go on holiday with the kids. It is important to me that children will be safe, fun and interesting on a cruise. And it is also important that I myself was able to relax at the same time. Many people make the mistake of not taking the necessary things with them on their first cruise. Therefore, I would like my first cruise to be good. I believe in the meaning of various symbols that I read about on https://www.sunsigns.org/august-12-birthday-zodiac-leo-popular/ which helps me to choose the right place and time for vacation.

[Allancy]

Trying RC for the first time. We would never have tried a ship with more than 1000 pax but Jewel using a home port less than an hours drive away coupled with severely reduced capacity were worth the risk. Glad we did as it has changed our perception of larger ships particularly with how RC operates. Went on again two months later with 4 times the capacity and still enjoyed everything.

[D Alt]

Lower capacity - yes!

Easy Muster drill - oh yeah!

the most friendly and helpful crew (on Jewel)- loved it! But hopefully that is all ships and all year round not just 2021. 

[Funeegal]

We cruised on Adventure over the summer!  We LOVED the lower capacity and excitement of the crew welcoming us back to cruising.  We got a cabana in the Thrill Waterpark at Cococay and the attendant was fantastic!  His name is Henry.

When we sailed again in November on the Symphony, we had him again for our cabana.  It was amazing!!!

[steverk]

Things I liked...Let me count the ways

1. Limited capacity was wonderful
2. The staff were so excited to be back on board and back to work
3. I was on the first cruise back (on Celebrity) and we were welcomed with fire boats at the ports
4. The hand washing stations at the Windjammer
5. The double point promotion
6. No lines for anything, especially the elevators
7. Being able to find a chair at the pool on a sea day

The only thing I didn't like was the lack of people in the shows meant much less energy in the room.