Cruise lines have slowly returned to normal, or at least to near-normal, as vaccines and testing make the covid pandemic a less critical concern.
It's not that the coronavirus pandemic has ended -- it most certainly hasn't and scary new variants are always possible.
But Royal Caribbean (RCL), Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) have worked hard to bring cruising back to what it was in early 2020 before the industry's long shutdown.
In July 2020, when cruising first came back, Royal Caribbean had not fully evolved its policies. The first U.S. cruise left July 2 on Freedom of the Seas and vaccinations were suggested, not fully required, and precruise testing was not yet a thing.
In addition, social distancing was encouraged, not particularly enforced, and masks were required in some areas, but sections marked vaccinated-only were mask-free.
It was a little confusing, and as vaccines were approved for kids, the cruise line added that requirement. Mask rules changed in strictness, but masks remained an onboard requirement until February, when the cruise line made them optional for every group except one: kids using the Adventure Ocean club.
That rule has now changed, and while some parents may like the mask requirements, many have felt it prevents their children from having a normal vacation.
Royal Caribbean
What Is Royal Caribbean Adventure Ocean?
Adventure Ocean is the catch-all name for Royal Caribbean's onboard areas for kids ages 12 and under. The age breakdowns can vary a little by ship, but there are groups for kids starting at 6 months old running through 12-year-olds. These are drop-off services that sometimes come with an extra charge (it depends upon the age and the time of day.
Teenagers also have their own onboard areas, but those are come-and-go-as-you-please instead of the check-in required babysitting service Adventure Ocean offers.
Since the cruise line's pandemic return, Royal Caribbean has been operating Adventure Ocean with a number of restrictions. On many sailings, the times available were limited. Capacities have also been constrained, and reservations were required (though walk-ins were accepted if there was availability). In addition, even after masks had become optional for adults, they remained required in Adventure Ocean.
That was because while Royal Caribbean requires all passengers to provide a negative covid test taken no more than two days before sailing, kids 12 and under were not required to be vaccinated. That created the potential for vaccinated and unvaccinated kids to be at Adventure Ocean at the same time.
Now, while kids 12 and under are still not required to be vaccinated to cruise with Royal Caribbean, the Adventure Ocean mask policy has been changed to make masks optional.
What Has Royal Caribbean Done With Masks?
Royal Caribbean this week quietly changed its Adventure Ocean mask policy, reported Matt Hochberg of the Royal Caribbean Blog, which has no affiliation with the cruise line. One of his readers tipped him off to the change after she saw it on her cruise on Oasis of the Seas. The cruise line had issued the following guidelines.
"Mask wearing is optional for children participating in Adventure Ocean. However, masks are recommended for unvaccinated children 2 and up. Children under 2 do not need to wear a mask at any time."
That's a switch from recent protocols, which have required masks.
All three major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian have also stopped requiring passengers to wear masks in their cruise terminals. That change came after a federal judge shut down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's effort to extend mask-wearing rules in transportation hubs.
