I'm not going to say "back to normal" because I don't think that what we considered "normal" in Feb 2020 is ever completely coming back.
That's said, we were on the 4/1 sailing of the Dream (23rd
DCL cruise overall and 4th since the restart) on which many things changed back to what we were used to. According to a couple different crew members the ship sailed with 2,500 it so passengers.
Everything is back to full self-service: soda/coffee, ice cream, Cabanas, Cookies BBQ on Castaway. In Cabanas they were back to each pod having a different offering with pretty much the full range of options they previously had.
Now that the testing at Port Canaveral is antigen, results are received much quicker. We got ours in 13 minutes compared to 40 on December. The rest of the embarkation process was smooth. We arrived at our PAT of 10:15 and were in the waiting area of the terminal at 10:50. Was able to connect to the ship wifi and snag a couple additional adult beverage tastings in the app. Boarding began at 11:30. There's no longer the "welcome aboard" show in the atrium to slow down the boarding process.
The virtual muster drill continues and is probably the best improvement to come out of the pandemic. I do t see that going away.
On this sailing I'd say we had the best service overall of any of our cruises. The crew is unfailingly friendly and willing to accommodate. Our dining team and stateroom host went above and beyond to create a memorable experience! The crew indicated they'd be able to go maskless in a couple weeks.
There were definitely a ton more activities listed in the Navigator each day, and more live music in the adult areas. Still doing the Disney Ever After fireworks, perhaps Pirates will return one day. Popcorn is back at Preludes by the Walt Disney Tbeater, but not at the Buena Vista Theater. Masks are no longer required in the theaters.
The nursery wasn't open, can't speak to the operation of the kids' clubs.
Food was consistently good from the dining rooms to Cabanas to Palo. Palo brunch has not yet returned to the buffet format. Unfortunately, they have resumed the practice of seating unrelated parties together at dinner. We (travelling as a couple) were seated with another coue at dinner. Ugh.
Had one glitch with our stateroom. After lunch we went to the room, got our keys and unpacked (bags were already there). Went to get a drink and the bartender said we were in a different room. Checked with guest services and after about 10 minutes they figured out that there was a maintenance issue in the room we were originally assigned so they moved us. Unfortunately we were never notified. They gave us new keys and offered to have housekeeping move our stuff. We just moved ourselves, we didn't have that much stuff and it only took a few minutes. They did send a nice apology note and gift to the room later which seemed an appropriate response.
While the Covid protocols on our previous cruises since the restart didn't detract all that much from our enjoyment, it was great to be on the ship and have it feel more like it "used to be".
As a bonus, we got to see a SpaceX launch shortly after boarding!
View attachment 660057
