Leaving on our first Cruise Since 2019 in 2 weeks...number 13 for us on Disney. Do things feel very different? Are passengers or cast members still wearing masks? Do we need to bring them; we're vaccinated. Online check in was a bit tough. We were always at port early. This time PAT 11:45 boarding group 9. Hubby wants his lunch, lol! Need to talk to dining staff for early seating and table for 2. Neither of us can eat late dinner due to medical reasons. Of course we couldn't get Palo brunch either so have to followup once on board as well. Hope we'll have time...feeling so stressed and never did before when we sailed in the past. Any helpful suggestions much appreciated.
To the OP; you may mask as you wish, of course, and it can't hurt to bring some. It really depends on your personal medical history how you should weigh potential precautions. There is no blanket answer! I also had a tough time with the online check in, so you are not alone! Our PAT and BG is even later than yours although I was checked shortly after 1 am, if that's any consolation.
One helpful suggestion to reduce stress upon embarkation I have is to make sure your phone is updated to the latest iOS (or Android equivalent), and if it does need an update, uninstall and re-install the
DCL app. A cast member told me that this is often an issue (I struggled to get my DCL app to work although it had worked seemingly perfectly at home, then had to re-install on ship which took several attempts and a ton of time). One big change to 2019 is that now EVERYTHING on board is via the App. Even the menus... but also guest services (getting into a a virtual line there!), and booking/planning anything.
I did get Covid on the ship in May, and at the time everyone on board older than 5 was vaccinated, all crew wore KN-95s all the time, and all passengers had to test negative at the port on embarkation. Interestingly, I later received an exposure notification - turns out transmission occurred during the last evening show on board!! So while sitting in the theater I think I will be masking next time. We did not mask at all in May, and the ship was at 2/3 capacity. Several people noted that towards the end of the cruise, more people seemed to have respiratory symptoms (you would hear coughing etc.), while during the first days, you'd hear no coughing. So I think that the precautions DCL had in place mostly worked initially, but then everyone mingles, returns from the different ports, and more people were getting exposed.
The next time, we are bracing for a full ship, crew and passengers no masks, and Covid, Flu, RSV, and other respiratory viruses all on board. We are preparing best as possible with what we are bringing onboard, and having everyone up to date on all vaccines.