Page 8 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 DISCOVERING MENDOCINO

RON & MARY’S
EDITOR’S NOTE

CRUISE FEVER

nevitably, cruising is the first subject of conversa- restarted cruising without Covid outbreaks, but have
tion with our circle of friends. Most love to travel stringent testing and passenger/crew safety restric-
and are veteran cruisers. Almost all have already tions, including mask-wearing and social distancing.
Ibooked a cruise this year and next. That’s not the cruising we want to go back to. For
Cruise fever isn’t confined to our circle of friends. most cruisers, wearing a mask and sitting six feet
According to a new survey by Cruiseline.com and apart at dinner or around the pool would ruin the on-
Shipmate, lots of folks feel the same way. In fact, 93 board experience. Comradery is a prime component
percent are ready to cruise after being landlocked by of a cruise. Many of our lifelong friendships began on
the pandemic. a ship during activities where passengers get to know
The Return to Cruising Survey coincides with the each other. That interaction would difficult if not im-
nearly one-year anniversary of the suspension of possible on today’s pandemic-altered voyages.
cruising in the United States. One year ago, we were There’s hope. The combination of vaccinations and
in Oman aboard the Azamara Journey, preparing to testing is a game-changer. In the US, vaccinations
fly home after mounting Covid fears truncated our ex- have dramatically reduced transmission, hospitaliza-
otic voyage. That was our last voyage to date and the tion, and deaths. The chances of getting the virus
ship’s as well. It’s now docked with two sister ships in once vaccinated are minimal. We’re are now seeing
Glasgow, Scotland. Little did we know when we cruises coming online where both crew and passen-
walked down the Journey’s gangway that cruising gers have to be vaccinated. That, along with testing
would come to a standstill. and enhanced ship health protocols, should make pas-
As much as we want to sail again, we’ve been con- senger interaction as it once was. At least we hope so
cerned about how the onboard experience would since we just booked two cruises.
change when cruising resumed. A few cruise compa- We’re not alone. In the same survey, 72 percent re-
nies in Asia and Europe offered cruises even before ported they would cruise if everyone was vaccinated.
the rollout of vaccines that would loosen the pan- Not surprisingly, in this era of conspiracy theories and
demic’s grip on travel.. Last summer several small- misinformation,17 percent would not cruise if vacci-
ship cruise lines faced coronavirus outbreaks, nation was required. That’s alright with us. We most
stretching from Europe to Alaska and French Polyne- likely wouldn’t want sail with them, anyway.
sia. Others like MSC and Costa have successfully
Ron & Mary James

Publishers & Editors
8 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2021