To Cruise or not to Cruise….
Just a few short weeks ago my family and I went on our first post pandemic cruise. Before we left so many people thought we were a bit nuts to do this, but of everything we have done so far during our 10 week road trip, the cruise was by far the cleanest and safest destination.
Planning a cruise right now for some is a tough decision. People are afraid or worried about it being safe and others are upset about vaccinations or testing. These are very valid concerns. Choosing to vaccinate is very personal and I am not here to sway you in either direction. Our family rescheduled a canceled cruise and decided to sail on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class ship Allure of the Seas at the end of September. The 7 day cruise definitely had its hiccups, but nothing that ruined our vacation. We had a blast and cannot wait to go again.
At the time of sailing all guest 12 and over needed to be vaccinated. This was something that the Bahamas required. We all needed a negative Covid-19 test within 2 days of our departure date and on the day we sailed our 2 children ages 8 and 11 were given rapid tests before we could board. The guidelines for the test needed for everyone kept changing so to be safe we all did a PCR test through CVS 48 hours before we sailed.
The lines to check through all the paperwork were long but went quickly. Our longest wait was sitting in a semi-private area while we waited for the results from our youngest 2 children’s additional rapid tests. It took about 40 minutes.
For us all these precautions were not something we felt was an inconvenience. It made us feel like our 2 unvaccinated children were safe and protected on a ship full of Covid-19 negative passengers.
The week was amazing! (I will share more details later) We unplugged, recharged and reconnected. After a year and a half of Covid craziness, we finally found ourselves relaxing. Seriously! It’s one of the few vacations that even Mom gets a break. No cooking, cleaning, laundry, schoolwork, or crazy schedules to deal with….just time to be together, or not when we had the opportunity.
Its not often when our family finds something that everyone is excited to do again. Royal Caribbean, we are already counting down the days until we come back for our next amazing adventure.
If you are thinking of planning a cruise or have any questions I would love to help! Call, message or email. I am here to help you plan you next big adventure. 🤩
