Q&A: Cruisers and Crew Chat About The Joy of Cruising's Return
You remember joy, right? That feeling of total elation, when a smile simply won't leave your face.
It's back!
Cruising is returning in earnest, with multiple cruise lines starting up in the Caribbean, Greece and Iceland, as well as at a few homeports in the United States. The pandemic shut down most cruising worldwide in March 2020, so for many travelers, this marks the first opportunity to get onboard a ship for more than a year.
Cruise Critic was onboard Celebrity Millennium sailing the Caribbean from St. Maarten starting June 5, 2021, as the ship became the first to bring back cruising for mostly North American passengers. Being the first to return to sailing -- on a Caribbean cruise ship where every adult and crewmember was vaccinated -- was indeed special. For many guests and crewmembers we spoke with, this first cruise was long overdue.
There were goosebumps. There were tears. For days, everyone we talked to seemed to use the word "surreal" in describing how it felt to finally be cruising after such a long layoff. Smiles were big, and gratitude was plentiful.
So, what does the return of cruising mean to travelers and crew? We asked just that.
