Social distancing on a cruise: what changes would you actually enjoy?

[bbel]

Was it madness in Cabanas (or was it still Beach Blanket Buffet back then?) having to dole out everything to everybody during the breakfast/lunch rushes?

Good old Beach Blanket. I only worked on the wonder pre-dry Dock. I sailed over with her to Cadiz and then flew home as dry Dock started, and then I changed ships, and then company.
Once I was at Royal though I did Dock with her a few times and got to go on and see her all new and shiny.

 

[brentm77]

Elevators have to stay open because there will always be those who will need them. When we stayed at Four Seasons Orlando, they had designated markers on the elevator floor to indicate how to space people out, plus they had someone stationed in the main lobby to operate the elevator (push the buttons, etc.) I could imagine DCL doing that. Another thing they could do to minimize elevator crowding could be to require that all bags over a small size be handled by DCL both ways, so there aren't so many families trying to take the elevators with all of their gear at embarkation and disembarkation.

But at the end of the day, a major capacity cut will be needed to reduce crowding in elevators and elsewhere. And personally, given that the mass vaccination campaign has already started, I expect DCL to wait it out until most Americans have had the chance to be vaccinated, so the rules won't have to be so strict onboard.

What the do at the WDW hotels is have the line markers on the floor too, for waiting to get on the elevator. This would actually be an improvement to normal, since people won't cut in front of you (which seems to be a problem on DCL).

Yes, elevators need to be running and open to those who want to use them. My wife can't take flights of stairs right now, but you would never know it by looking at her.

 

[DisneYE]

All that extra trash at sea... are the gloves paper or otherwise burnable/compostable?

Just came back from whole foods and they have these...
they are a mix of plastic and paper...I just googled the brand and they are biodegradable... so these are a good option for the buffets... and they are cheap, about 1 cent a glove
cruises can have these everywhere like with hand sanitizer, not just buffets (opening doors, ordering drinks etc).. they aren't very aesthetic but who cares? just get us cruising again.

 

[squirk]

Good old Beach Blanket. I only worked on the wonder pre-dry Dock. I sailed over with her to Cadiz and then flew home as dry Dock started, and then I changed ships, and then company.
Once I was at Royal though I did Dock with her a few times and got to go on and see her all new and shiny.

And was it madness or not, having to hand everything to everybody in the buffet?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The problem is swim diapers are easy to hide if they want them hidden and then others just have them go with out a swim diaper all together. But its not just babies/toddlers that cause the pools to shut down...older kids(4-8 ish) have accidents sometimes too.

True. The first time we tried RCCL it was a short cruise in early March (big mistake) for dh's birthday. It was so full of spring breakers. Somone vomited in the main pool which had to then be drained and cleaned. Their main pool area of our ship was actually 2 separate pools, shaped like 2 half-moons. The remaining pool had beer cans floating in it. We watched a guy literally get carried back to his cabin by his friends. All the while another group of young 20-somethings relentlessly tried to figure out how to operate the hydrolic lift/seat that allows disabled people to go into a pool, as they wanted be able to dunk each other with it. Later that night there was a brawl in one of the bars we heard someone was sent to the brig. Right before we disembarked we could see someone being escorted off the ship in handcuffs.

Children aren't the only ones to disrupt a cruise experience for others.

 

[mevelandry]

True. The first time we tried RCCL it was a short cruise in early March (big mistake) for dh's birthday. It was so full of spring breakers. Somone vomited in the main pool which had to then be drained and cleaned. Their main pool area of our ship was actually 2 separate pools, shaped like 2 half-moons. The remaining pool had beer cans floating in it. We watched a guy literally get carried back to his cabin by his friends. All the while another group of young 20-somethings relentlessly tried to figure out how to operate the hydrolic lift/seat that allows disabled people to go into a pool, as they wanted be able to dunk each other with it. Later that night there was a brawl in one of the bars we heard someone was sent to the brig. Right before we disembarked we could see someone being escorted off the ship in handcuffs.

Children aren't the only ones to disrupt a cruise experience for others.

That's it. I'll never ever cruise during spring break.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

That's it. I'll never ever cruise during spring break.

We don’t have that kind of experience on DCL during spring break. It all depends on the cruise line target clientele.

 

[mevelandry]

We don’t have that kind of experience on DCL during spring break. It all depends on the cruise line target clientele.

My bad experiences with a few bad apples on DCL both happened during early April cruises...

 

[squirk]

I'm wondering how many "spring breakers" a.) can afford a Disney cruise on their own; and more to the point, b.) would actually choose a Disney cruise for their spring break vs. RCCL or CCL (or South Padre or Daytona).

What bunch of 19-y.o.'s wants to spend their spring break surrounded by little kids, parents and grandparents, on an arguably overpriced cruise that caters very little to that young-adult demographic?

Not saying it doesn't ever happen on DCL, but I wonder if it's really a thing that you should factor into when you cruise in the spring. The jacked-up pricing and overall crowd levels are probably the more germane reasons not to cruise during spring break, vs. worrying about drunk college kids puking in the pools.

 

[jane01jp]

I'm wondering how many "spring breakers" a.) can afford a Disney cruise on their own; and more to the point, b.) would actually choose a Disney cruise for their spring break vs. RCCL or CCL (or South Padre or Daytona). What bunch of 19-y.o.'s wants to spend their spring break surrounded by little kids, parents and grandparents, on an arguably overpriced cruise that caters very little to that young-adult demographic?

Not saying it doesn't ever happen on DCL, but I wonder if it's really a thing that you should factor into when you cruise in the spring. The jacked-up pricing and overall crowd levels are probably the more germane reasons not to cruise during spring break, vs. worrying about drunk college kids puking in the pools.

My kids didn't like cruising when they were in that age bracket. They would do it, but only if they had suffered an unbearably cold winter.

 

[mevelandry]

I'm wondering how many "spring breakers" a.) can afford a Disney cruise on their own; and more to the point, b.) would actually choose a Disney cruise for their spring break vs. RCCL or CCL (or South Padre or Daytona).

What bunch of 19-y.o.'s wants to spend their spring break surrounded by little kids, parents and grandparents, on an arguably overpriced cruise that caters very little to that young-adult demographic?

Not saying it doesn't ever happen on DCL, but I wonder if it's really a thing that you should factor into when you cruise in the spring. The jacked-up pricing and overall crowd levels are probably the more germane reasons not to cruise during spring break, vs. worrying about drunk college kids puking in the pools.

I’m not saying the ship was full of them, but they were definitely there... and those were short 3 nights cruises. Short cruises are a tiny little bit more affordable than a long cruise.

 

[squirk]

I’m not saying the ship was full of them, but they were definitely there... and those were short 3 nights cruises. Short cruises are a tiny little bit more affordable than a long cruise.

To each their own, but if one of my college roommates had suggested we go on a Disney cruise for Spring Break, I would have hog-tied them with their plaid flannel shirt and beat them over the head with the jewel case of one of my Pearl Jam CDs.

 

[mevelandry]

To each their own, but if one of my college roommates had suggested we go on a Disney cruise for Spring Break, I would have hog-tied them with their plaid flannel shirt and beat them over the head with the jewel case of one of my Pearl Jam CDs.

The people I’ve seen seem to have a lot of fun (Granted, most of them were young women).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm wondering how many "spring breakers" a.) can afford a Disney cruise on their own; and more to the point, b.) would actually choose a Disney cruise for their spring break vs. RCCL or CCL (or South Padre or Daytona).

What bunch of 19-y.o.'s wants to spend their spring break surrounded by little kids, parents and grandparents, on an arguably overpriced cruise that caters very little to that young-adult demographic?

Not saying it doesn't ever happen on DCL, but I wonder if it's really a thing that you should factor into when you cruise in the spring. The jacked-up pricing and overall crowd levels are probably the more germane reasons not to cruise during spring break, vs. worrying about drunk college kids puking in the pools.

Yes.
We're up to something like 21 or 22 cruises on DCL and never had a bad cruise. Bad weather sometimes yes, but Disney can only do so much.
We’ve cruised every month except June, July and December. Maybe we just keep getting lucky.

 

[jane01jp]

Yes.
We're up to something like 21 or 22 cruises on DCL and never had a bad cruise. Bad weather sometimes yes, but Disney can only do so much.
We’ve cruised every month except June, July and December. Maybe we just keep getting lucky.

I've been on 21 as well. None in January or November.

Some were more magical than others, but none were bad. Even some with the worst weather were still lots of fun.

 

[tvguy]

Yes.
We're up to something like 21 or 22 cruises on DCL and never had a bad cruise. Bad weather sometimes yes, but Disney can only do so much.
We’ve cruised every month except June, July and December. Maybe we just keep getting lucky.

Only out of control drunk passenger I've ever seen was on Disney, on a New Years's Cruise. Friends helped him back to his cabin, castmembers never needed to get involved.
Also overheard an interesting discussion by the pool between an international passenger and two Officers about the Disney smoking policy. He was asking exactly where he could smoke, he understood expections on the ship were different that in his homeland, where he pointed out, the smoking restrictions would be illegal. As he put it, in his homeland, non-smokers have to work around smokers, not smokers around on-smokers.

 

[jane01jp]

Only out of control drunk passenger I've ever seen was on Disney, on a New Years's Cruise. Friends helped him back to his cabin, castmembers never needed to get involved.

The only out of control drunk passenger I've ever seen was in a bar on the Dream. He was passed out with his head down on the bar. They were trying to wake him.

It reminded me of the old t-shirt: "I'll have what the gentleman on the floor is having."

 

[DisneYE]

The only out of control drunk passenger I've ever seen was in a bar on the Dream. He was passed out with his head down on the bar. They were trying to wake him.

It reminded me of the old t-shirt: "I'll have what the gentleman on the floor is having."

I've been on 10 DCL cruises and I've seen lots of drunks, thankfully never anyone that was unruly or disruptive.
Milder, chill drunks? lots... and witnessed many funny incidents some up close like the young couple at the adult hot tub who took their swimwear off (effectively being completely naked) late at night before closing, with me present without a care in the world...even made the point of chatting with me for a few minutes..I was so embarrassed.. them? not at all.. but they were fun times.. I kinda like chill drunks. I miss cruising

 

[jane01jp]

I've been on 10 DCL cruises and I've seen lots of drunks, thankfully never anyone that was unruly or disruptive.
Milder, chill drunks? lots... and witnessed many funny incidents some up close like the young couple at the adult hot tub who took their swimwear off (effectively being completely naked) late at night before closing, with me present without a care in the world...even made the point of chatting with me for a few minutes..I was so embarrassed.. them? not at all.. but they were fun times.. I kinda like chill drunks. I miss cruising

I saw what appeared to be a second "trophy wife" whip up her top at O'Gills. Her much older husband was steamed!

 

[otten]

I think the "buffet" will still exist but we will be served, like a cafeteria.

I remember going nuts over all the people going to the buffet without washing hands when sailing on DCL. The CM were trying but they always seemed afraid to offend guests so they wouldn't insist. This is why I love the "washy washy" police on RCCL so much. I would always bring Purrell to the buffet because the idea of touching the same utensils as others grossed me out (I was already a bit of a germophobe back then).

One this that was great about the pandemic Panama cruise was that crew were not playing around about enforcing hand washing outside Cabanas. Lots of people would try to say that they’d just washed their hands in the washroom or they’d just used a wipe. Crew were having none of it.