Cruising During Covid – No Germs to be Found

Before the Cruise

Alex and I both had a week off as the Omicron variant of Covid was spreading across the world. We had considered visiting Portugul, Colombia or Mexico City, but because of the ever-changing Covid rules and regulations we ultimately decided to try out cruising during covid. 

I was surprised by the amount of cruising options to pick from. We chose a seven-day Holland America cruise that started in San Diego with port stops in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and three relaxing sea days.

Similar cruises were offered out of Los Angeles on Carnival and NCL, but we prefer Holland America. Plus, the cruise terminal in San Diego is more convenient than the Los Angeles port (which is actually in San Pedro).

We also considered cruises out of Galveston and New Orleans.

Picking our Cabin

After reading about cruise passengers being stuck in inside cabins when the Covid outbreak first happened, we opted for a balcony. In the unlikely event our cruise was “extended” we would have a better view . . .  and as an added bonus, we could go outside for some fresh air.

We booked our cruise less than a week before it was scheduled to leave San Diego and Holland America picked our room for us. About three days before leaving we were assigned cabin 7027, which ended up being a fabulous room near the front of the ship with a nice-sized balcony.

Vaccine/Covid Test

Our cruise was an all-vaccinated cruise. This wasn’t an issue for us as we’re both vaccinated and boostered. If you’re going on an all-vaccinated cruise, the cruise line requires you to have all required shots two weeks before sailing. 

We were also required to provide a negative Covid test within two days of checking in. Our cruise left on Sunday and we were assigned a check-in time of 2:00 pm PST, (we live in MST), so we scheduled our Covid tests for Friday afternoon at our local city office drive-thru Covid testing center. At the time of this writing, Holland America allows either an antigen or PCR test, and the test must be medically observed. 

When we got to the drive-thru Covid testing site, I was shocked to see that the Covid test was the EXACT same test I bought in bulk to take to Romania.

We were invasively swabbed and sent on our way. While collecting our Friday afternoon pick-me-up sodas we received a text message from the testing site with our negative results. 

We both let out a sigh of relief. We were cleared for cruising, which was a huge comfort because we didn’t buy travel insurance, haha.

Arriving at the Cruise Terminal

As experienced cruisers, we opted to fly into San Diego the night before and stay near the cruise terminal. I’ve spent A LOT of time in San Diego, but I had no idea how cruise-friendly the city was. The cruise port is literally in the middle of town and there’s a convenient bus (#992) from the airport that drops you off right at the gate. 

We spent the night at a hotel across the street from the cruise terminal. I woke up on Sunday morning and flung the curtains open. I was so excited to see our huge cruise ship right there in the port! 

I would have run over and tried to board the ship at 7:00 am, but Holland America seemed very strict about the assigned check-in time, and ours wasn’t scheduled until 2:00 pm. Instead, we got up, wandered around San Diego and got some breakfast. 

As we were getting ready to check out of the hotel, I casually watched the activity outside the cruise port. At no point did I see any long lines of people queuing to get on board. Because there was no line, I wondered we could possibly check in early. I convinced Alex to walk across the street with me and ask.

The nicest lady standing outside the cruise terminal told us we were welcome to board anytime. I mentioned my assigned 2:00 check-in. She shook her head and told us to head on inside.

There were NO lines anywhere. If you’ve ever cruised, you should find the lack of lines kind of odd.

I Hate Waiting in Lines

One of my LEAST favorite parts of cruising is waiting in line so this line-free cruise terminal seemed like a fairytale wonderland to me!

Our first stop was the dude checking our Covid requirements. We handed over our Covid Vaccine Card, then our negative Covid test (he seemed more interested in the date, as opposed to the actual time our tests were taken).

Next we were sent to a check-in kiosk. There, a very friendly lady who’d been on the same cruise a couple of weeks earlier scanned our passports and the barcode we’d been sent while she excitedly told us she was taking a 10-day cruise during Christmas to Baja California. Her excitement made me want to go on the cruise with her! 

Cruising During Covid Officially Starts!

After our documents were scanned we were sent on our way, with the happiest cruise line workers guiding our path every ten feet or so. The folks guiding us toward the ship seemed almost giddy to be back to work and their attitudes were contagious. We smiled widely when we got our pre-boarding photo taken, and were more excited than nervous as we got on the elevator that took us to the boarding deck. 

We were told our room keys would be at our room, so to board the ship all we had to do was scan the barcode Holland America had sent to use. We were welcomed onboard, took the elevator up to the 7th floor, and our room keys were waiting for us at our door. 

And that was it. It was probably fifteen minutes from the time we walked up to the port to ask if we could board early, to the time we were in our room. It was a seamless, simple experience, made even better by how friendly all of our encounters were with everyone we met.

First Stop, Lunch

I was starving, so we headed upstairs to get some lunch where we encountered my FAVORITE change while cruising. 

The handwashing station. 

You insert your hands into separate parts of the sink and your hands are blasted with water, soap and hand sanitizer for twelve seconds. These fabulous machines should be EVERYWHERE. It made handwashing FUN!

The Holland America food was as delicious as ever, but you no longer serve yourself, which I think is a great change. There are menus at every station and all you have to do is tell the polite server behind the counter what you’d like. They load up your plate and hand it across the counter. This is a great change and one I hope continues on all cruise lines. 

Also, I think you’re less likely to take extra donuts and cookies if you have to ask someone for them. Haha.

On our cruise we opted to buy the soda fountain drink package for $8 a day. We had three sea days and anyone who knows me knows I have a pretty severe Coke Zero addiction. With the soda fountain drink package I could have all the soda and all the ice I wanted, which was well worth the money to me.

There were 100+ movies available on our in-room TV, so the first night we stayed in, ordered room service and watched “Coco” and “The Devil Wears Prada”. When we ventured out to refill our soda cups, there were hardly any people around. 

The ship seemed to be full of experienced cruisers who were also tip-toeing into the experience.

Ship Day

I’m not sure WHY I thought this, but I assumed life on board the ship would be dramatically different. Aside from everyone wearing masks and the super cool handwashing stations, everything else was basically the same.

The dudes cleaning our rooms offered to clean either once or twice a day. We declined to have them turn down our room at night, although I did miss the cute towel animals.

There were activities going on all day, the spa people still sold their products, the gym was used by people who don’t normally ever go to the gym, people were walking around and eating, reading and sleeping and generally having a good time. Everyone wore their mask and from what I could tell were respectful to the crew.

The employees were over-the-top nice as well. I’m not sure if they’re glad to be back to work, or if their time off was a refresher, but we felt very welcomed during our entire stay.

First Stop, Cabo

I should mention that we’ve taken this same cruise before and none of the stops were new or exotic to us. We usually spend at least a week in Puerto Vallarta every year, so this section will be less about our shore excursions and more about our Cruising During Covid experience.

There are a handful of spots (mostly in the Caribbean) where you’re currently required to take a ship-sponsored shore excursion if you want to get off the ship. This is not the case in Mexico (as of this writing).

Cabo is a tendering port. We were scheduled to arrive at 11:00 am, I think the anchor dropped at 9:30. I convinced Alex to get out of bed and even with the tendering process I’m pretty sure we were onshore by 10:30, and our tender boat was NOT full. 

Our ship can hold about 2500 passengers and it was roughly half full. We never waited in line for anything, anywhere, including getting on and off the ship.

We were offered hand sanitizer at the port and off we went into Cabo. In hindsight, we wish we’d taken a taxi to San Jose (which is the old part of Cabo). Instead, we spent the day roaming the mall, getting massages, we had some great tacos and did some shopping. Masks are “required” in Cabo, although in less crowded places hardly anyone wore one. Our temperature was taken before we went into the mall. 

We tendered back to our ship around 5:30 (again no line) and were having dinner as our ship left port.

Second Stop, Mazatlan

In Mazatlan the ship parks in an industrial area. As we left the port we were accosted by an overwhelming number of dudes offering us rides in their “Mexican Limousines”. A Mexican Limousine is basically a big, faster golf cart that can quickly whisk cruisers into the downtown area for $5.

The drivers were really persistent, saying the little amount of money we pay them for rides helps their families. A couple of the drivers chased us for a couple of blocks into town. We knew it would be hot later in the day and we really wanted to walk in the morning while it was cooler, so we politely declined . . . in both English and Spanish . . . and followed the blue line into Old Town.

Last time we were in Mazatlan there were Canadian and American ex-pats on every corner welcoming us to town and guiding us into the city. This time there were friendly police officers on every single corner, which was a little odd. 

We had a great day in Mazatlan. We took a walking tour, went to the church and the market and ended our day at the Aquarium. The Aquarium was a lot of fun and was the highlight of our day. Everyone wore masks and hand sanitizer was available everywhere.

After a long, hot walk along the Malecon, we took a Mexican Limousine back to the cruise ship. I will admit, the Mexican Limousine ride was incredibly fun. 

Third Stop, Puerto Vallarta

Part of the reason we picked this specific cruise over the Carnival and NCL option was the longer day in Puerto Vallarta, our favorite place in Mexico. We had a very long stay (8:00 am to 8:30 pm) and we spent our day doing our favorite things and eating our favorite food. We shopped at the swap meet, we ate at Pepe’s, we had amazing massages and wandered along the Malecon. At the end of the day we even went out to the Marina and wandered through the Thursday night swap meet.

We rode the bus everywhere and had a great time. 

Although all aboard was at 8:30, our ship left port at 8:23. Our crew was not wasting any time. 

During the “Ask the Captain” presentation, the Captain told the group that he liked to arrive 30 minutes early. Apparently he also likes to leave 30 minutes early. Haha.

Sea Days!!!

This cruise ended with two sea days leisurely going back to San Diego. A time to relax, unwind and drink lots of fountain Coke Zero with extra ice. We wandered around the deck, we went to two different talks about Mexican heritage and culture and basically had a fabulous time. 

Leaving the Ship

I’d read a couple of horror stories about leaving this particular ship at this particular port. We were mentally prepared for the worst.

The ship pulled into San Diego at 6:30 am. At 7:30 the crew gave an announcement declaring if you were carrying your own bags off the ship, you were welcome to leave. I sadly zipped up my overstuffed suitcase and headed down the hallway, ready to be forced to wait in long lines.

What happened next was shocking.

We left the cruise ship and it was a quick walk to the terminal.

There was no line. No health assessment. No surprise Covid test. Nothing.

We went straight to the Customs and Border Protection officer. He asked if we bought anything and I described the chicken nugget plate I bought for Alex. He scanned our passport, took our picture and sent us on our way.

That was it. 

Seven minutes after leaving our room, we were outside the cruise terminal trying to figure out where the bus stop was to get to the airport. (There were plenty of taxis and Ubers, but I have a mad-love for public transportation).

We arrived at the airport two hours early.

Cruising During Covid – My Two Cents

Cruising is back. It’s safe. It’s fun and it didn’t feel all that different from the last cruise we took in January of 2019 (right before Covid hit).

Don’t be afraid to cruise. Wear your mask, wash your hands and go with a great attitude. I’m glad we went and I can’t wait to go again.

Thanks for Stopping By

Please feel free to share your questions or comments below. If you see any typos, let me know!

I encourage you to share my tribal knowledge with someone who loves or would love to travel.

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, thanks to Alex for the awesome photos.