A Tale of Two Cruise Ships—Alaska 2021
Cruising During COVID
Celebrity Millennium versus Royal Caribbean experience by Karla Scott September and October 2021
After having sheltered in place alone for a year and a half and having worked every single day for 23 months, I finally decided to go on an Alaska cruise.
I was still sad about having to cancel (at the last minute) my 20 day, Dubai to Cape Town cruise that was scheduled for March 2 through the 22 of 2020. It was my dream cruise.
When I booked the cruise in June, “life was feeling optimistic” as more than half of the US had been vaccinated and our society seemed well on its way toward realizing normalcy. I was delighted to see all of the televised happy crowds of unmasked Americans celebrating the Fourth of July, at big events, in major cities throughout the country.
I received my third covid vaccine in August 2021, I had been masking for a year and a half, and I had only had two social engagements with a dear friend—after I was fully Vaxxed.
I chose the Celebrity Millennium for the last week of September. It was a seven day round-trip Alaska cruise from Seattle. Celebrity is my favorite cruise line, the deals were the best the last week of September, and I could visit my brother and sister-in-law ( and Luna their cool doggie) in Seattle, pre-cruise. I appreciated the fact that the itinerary would include only US ports which means we would avoid complications related to quarantines or bans because we would remain inside the US. The maritime regulation requiring US ships to make at least one stop in a foreign port was wavived to allow the cruise industry to reboot in Alaska in July-October, 2021.
Two months after booking this cruise, I explored taking a second Alaska cruise from Seattle. After traveling so far away from Miami to Seattle, why not indulge in my favorite activity twice! I have taken several back to back cruises in the past. This is where you stay on the ship for the next sailing. I learned a new term. It’s called a side to side. It is when you leave your ship and board another ship, to take another cruise from the same port.
After evaluating all the options on Norwegian Cruise lines, Princess Cruise Lines , Celebrity Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, I settled on Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas Alaska cruise. Importantly, the itinerary included two ports that were not featured on the first cruise.
Although I secured a wonderful deal on the Celebrity millennium cruise, I consider the deal on the Ovation of the seas deal to be virtually a steal. The price for an inside room was so low, I was able to upgrade to a balcony room with a very large balcony for a nominal fee.
On both the Celebrity Millennium and the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the seas, vaccines are required and all passengers were required to show a negative Covid test within 48 hours of boarding. The negative Covid test requirement can present a significant challenge for some passengers, especially those traveling long distances and crossing several times zones. I have heard a variety of stories about the impact of the Covid test requirement – – stories ranging from people canceling, to people denied boarding, to people taking the live supervised online test who lost their internet connection during the test etc.
I purchased the Binax Now Emed supervised test. The site promised it would arrive, with no shipping fees, within two business days. It did. I paid $69.
The test kit contained 2 tests. I packed it in my carry-on luggage and planned to take it the day before sailing.
From my brothers home, I followed the instructions for the Covid test carefully. The label on the package clearly instructed you to “not open until Instructed to do so by the TeleMed supervisor.” All I had to do was scan the QR code on the outside of the package and follow the directions. A technician appeared in the video chat immediately and lead me through the process. I had to insert the test stick inside my nostrils in her presence. It took 15 minutes for us to administer the test together. I had to leave the video call open while the test was processing.
Of note, I did this all from the comfort of my smart phone.
After 15 minutes, another supervisor came on the line to review the test results. I passed with a negative score. Within minutes, they had emailed the results to me. I was also able to download the Company app, NAVICA, create a profile, and access the results from there. I printed a copy of the test results, so I had three ways of showing a negative score.
In Seattle, I experienced three days of bliss enjoying time with my brother and sister-in-law, exploring wonderful sites in Seattle, and learning about their lives in “the emerald city.”
I blogged about my fabulous Seattle visit separately.
I arrived at the port at my scheduled check-in time of noon on September 24. I presented my vaccine card, passport, and negative Covid test results. Boarding was efficient, smooth, and took less than 20 minutes from cruise terminal to state room. My luggage arrived shortly after I did. This was the smoothest boarding I have ever experienced. I went straight to the ocean view café where I was greeted enthusiastically by employees asking how they could help.
Of note, the Celebrity Millennium was the first cruise ship to sail from North America from Saint Thomas in June. The staff and captain obviously had lots of valuable experience with implementation of Covid protocols in both the Caribbean and in Alaska.
This fabulous 7-day cruise was a wonderful re-entry to the Cruising life!
I rejoiced in the experience enjoying many of my favorite activities including: visiting new ports of call with spectacular scenery; enjoying diverse and wonderful entertainment throughout the day and evening; feasting on varied delectable beautifully presented food morning noon and night; sharing dinner every evening with the same lovely group of people; joining and winning multiple trivia games; learning from brilliant lecturers; savoring breathtaking sunrises and sunsets at sea; walking the deck on beautiful sea days; and meditating on my gratitude for this wonderful experience.
I even enjoyed escargots for dinner every night because it was on the every day menu (for both cruises.) As usual, I also ODd on many delectable chocolate delights!
I have taken at least a dozen cruises on Celebrity and spent more than 160 days on celebrity ships, and competed in many competitions and played many games but I never got an X. With all the contests I won, I only won pens keychains magnets certificates etc. I had given up hope for ever getting an X even though I had earned several. On this cruise, I finally got an X when my trivia team won. In fact, The activities team brought lots of exes so I won several. It was definitely one of the little highlights of my trip that I finally have an X, or two or three or four. X is the symbol of Celebrity‘s former brand Chandris. It’s the Greek letter X. The X you can win is like a medal. It’s a big metal X on a blue ribbon that you wear around your neck. I wore mine proudly!
As I look back on my two cruises, I am struck by how different the experiences were based on very different ship implementation of Covid protocols.
The Celebrity Millennium offered a supremely pleasant experience with no mask mandates and no Covid protocols that have a negative impact on the customer experience. Employees were consistently friendly, kind, helpful, warm, and you could “see the smile behind their masks.”
On celebrity, the staff and crew went above and beyond to create a pleasant onboard experience and seemed to anticipate our every need. I was called by my first name by many staff members, each day. The ratio of crew members to guests was more than 1:1. Customer satisfaction was extremely high and I never heard a single passenger complain about anything – – not even once. It was easy to make friends and I had my regular large dinner table for 7 guests at the same time every night. I joined several trivia teams, played in many game shows, attended all the lectures from the two enthusiastic and knowledgeable naturalists, saw all of the evening shows in the big theater, lounged in the covered solarium, and more—all with ease.
It was a restriction-free cruise where we almost forgot we were cruising during a pandemic. Our itinerary included stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Icy Straight Point and we sailed through the Picturesque majestic inside passage to the Dawes glacier.
I had no idea what an anomaly this wonderful rule-free experience was!
The day my cruise ended, I took a taxi to the other Seattle port to board Ovation of the Seas Cruise ship back to Alaska.
From the very beginning of that experience, I encountered disappointment. It began with the chaotic and harried boarding process that included long lines, unanswered questions, misinformed staff, and left many frustrated and confused passengers
Royal Caribbean Ovation of the seas implemented rigid aggressive Covid protocols including a strictly enforced mask mandate, social distancing, alternate seating in all venues, separate entrance and exits to many venues, wearing Vaccine bracelets, limits of four passengers per elevator, and a separate venue/activities for vaccinated and unvaccinated. It seems children are allowed on the ship and are unvaccinated so the other 99% of passengers who are adults, must endure rigorous protocols implemented by sometimes aggressive and hostile staff. Passengers were constantly being told what they could not do where they could not go where they could not sit where they needed to enter where they needed to exit when they get exit and there were often long lines or required handwashing before entering some venues and restaurants.
Because of strict social distancing protocols, guests could not join large tables with other guests, at dinner time. This means solo travelers could not dine with a large group in the assigned-dining restaurants. After having dined at home alone for a year and a half, I really valued my nightly dinner experience with my new dinner family on the Celebrity Millennium. My elegant dining experience always lasts more than two hours with a large group. My dinners lasted less than an hour when I dined solo on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
It seems that staff on the Ovation of the seas have been transformed into law-enforcement officers first while delivering excellent customer service falls lower on the priority list. It’s possible some employees have been punished for not strictly enforcing Covid protocols with passengers and the result is overly hostile passenger treatment and overkill with harsh Covid protocols.
It was difficult to meet and mingle and make friends while everyone was wearing a mask and standing or sitting at least 6 feet away from the next person.
It felt like ovation of the seas gave permission to their staff to assault customers. It’s possible that some staff members unconsciously welcomed the opportunity to put us in our place.
Even in the Loyaly Diamond lounge, I was told to put on my mask first and then he would take my specialty coffee order. This is despite the fact that masks are not required in the diamond lounge. Inside the Northstar observation cube, capacity was limited to only four passengers. As we were taking photos, the staff member alerted us we could remove our masks to be in a photo. When a husband took my photo, I instructed him to hand me his camera so I could photograph him with his wife. The staff member promptly told me I had to put my mask back on before taking their photograph, even though the camera was already in my hand, and I was ready to snap the photo. This policing behavior was intrusive, eerie and bizarre. It was definitely overkill!
One of the most awkward places on the ship was a place where we spent a lot of time – – inside the elevators. 2600 passengers were limited to only four at a time inside the elevator. I won’t even comment more on this. You can imagine the anxiety produced when there were already four people on an elevator and one more person wanted to enter.
It felt as though ovation of the seas staff had greater incentives to assault passengers over Covid protocols than to simply deliver excellent customer service.
I experienced culture shock throughout my second cruise on Royal Caribbean because of the laser-sharp focus on law-enforcement after having just experienced consistently exceptional service delivered with a smile on the celebrity millennium.
I found it especially shocking since Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are sister companies that share the same CEO, and both are subject to the same CDC guidelines.
RANT OVER!
The Ovation of the seas met my expectations of a lively mega ship packed with so many interesting and fun features, including amusement park like rides, that I understand why they say SOME ships are the destination. There are more than 20 eateries, stunning and unique artwork throughout, multiple swimming pools and hot tub’s both indoors and outdoors, and even a bumper car arena and a sky diving simulator.
I especially appreciated the Cafe 270 located in a specially designed high tech area surrounded by 270° views of the back of the ship. At night this room was transformed into a high-tech, multi screen, multi stage, entertainment area where we danced and watched spectacular shows such as Pixel Cabaret. I watched Pixel Cabaret twice. There are those who did not appreciate the show but I found it mesmerizing with its high energy, variety, vibrant colors, pulsating music, and variety of segment themes. I highly recommend the show.
I also enjoyed having breakfast
and lunch at Café 270 several days. They
served a variety of delicious wraps, sandwiches and salads. They also offered made
to order salad and a bakery. For lunch, I often had a wonderful salad niçoise.
Here and in some other venues there was seating designated for only those who are vaccinated. That meant a large section was set aside for the few families who brought unvaccinated children. I heard there were fewer than 10 children on board.
In case you were wondering, yes: I finally saw the northern lights one night on the second cruise. Other passengers alerted us that the conditions were right with such clear skies in the forecast. They were spectacular!
The Seattle airport offers a helpful experience for cruise passengers who will fly home the day the cruise ends. We checked our luggage in from our state rooms. The cruise line produced boarding passes and luggage tags for us. My luggage arrived to the Miami airport safety after having last seen it in my state room the night before disembarkation. What a wonderful convenience, especially since I did not have to manage my large suitcase during my 12-hour Seattle visit and as waited for my evening flight.
I am grateful for my two experiences back in the cruising game.
I have experienced two ends of the spectrum of Covid protocol implementation.
The day after returning home from my cruises, as I walked around my local grocery store, I felt a sense of ease and freedom as I walked around the store and was never was accosted by someone directing me to NOT do something that I would normally do. After a year and a half of masking everywhere, it was nice to experience the freedom of no masks on the first cruise. I will continue to wear my mask, likely for months to come, but it doesn’t mean I will enjoy such activities waiting in long lines to get coffee at the airport only to discover I must learn to drink coffee through a mask.🤣
After having sheltered in place alone for more than a year and a half, it was nice being in the company of other people, seeing the lovely smiles on their faces, hearing their life stories, sharing meals together, debating which ports were the best visits, engaging in fun games and being on trivia teams, and even giving and receiving hugs. I feel I have a re-joined society, IRL!!
Thank you for your attention!
