What COVID precautions are in place for tour group dinners?

We just returned from a different tour. The reality is that group dinners don't have a lot of precautions. You may well be inside. Your tour group may be in a separate room or not, but you'll pass through the restaurant for the restroom, and your waitstaff's covid precautions are unknown. You cannot count on them wearing masks. You may be at a long table or smaller tables, but obviously you are talking with others at close range. Your tour mates are vaccinated and boosted like you, but you don't know whether they wore masks on the way to the tour, on personal time during the tour, etc. Group dinners are part of the fun, so FOMO will likely keep you from getting a to go box. Encouragement: we did all this for 14 days and NO ONE on our tour tested positive.

KC thank you for your reply stating no one tested positive! It seems all I’ve read about are the positive tests! We’re doing the Family Tour in July and I’m really anxious about one of us(5) will test positive.

Thank you KC for your reply. (I'm the OP, I just changed my forum name)

You mentioned a "to go box" in your reply. I that an option at the group dinners?

I am not sure if "to go" boxes were an option, but I suspect most restaurants would find a way if you asked. My husband and I decided to go all in, and take our chances with all the activities, so we never pursued it.

Sad to say but July is a COVID lifetime from now…. No dinner precautions other than what YOU do. Just got back from a tour and while we were as careful as could be, we were all taking a risk to have the full experience of the tour. Thankfully none of us that I am aware of are or were positive but some are still traveling so no real way of knowing. We went with two booster shots and crossed our fingers and got lucky. Even when you are careful, you can’t know what others are doing. Though I do see that tests before tour is a thing again…. Good luck and be flexible and have insurance just in case.

I like eating outside anyway so if it is feasible I hope we do some group dinners outside.

On our recent tour, Paris & Heart of France, there were no specific precautions at meals. All group dinners were inside, we sat with different tour members each meal, tables were in close proximity to one another, and no one wore masks after the drinks were served. After eating, some people put their masks back on while continuing to enjoy the group camaraderie.

The meals, which were phenomenal & lots of fun, lasted a couple of hours, I’d estimate.

One group lunch was outside.

If anyone asked about to-go, I didn’t hear them.

One tour member on our recent tour absented herself from all of the group meals. If it was a group meal at a venue en route to the next destination, she sat apart from all of us as she had no where else to go. The final morning at breakfast there were no tables left and we asked if we could sit with her. We informed her that we had just self-tested negative but she still looked worried. As far as I know, none of our group has tested positive for covid.

Max & Christy,

If you are on the Best of Ireland in 14 Days tour that starts on 24 July, I will be a solo tour mate. I'm fully vaccinated with 2 boosters, all Moderna.

I'll be masked as much as is possible at group meals, as well as in other situations where we are in close proximity to each other. I hope others will as well, but I know I can only control my own behavior and not theirs.

That will also be true for the 3 nights/2 days I'll be in a different hotel in Dublin before the tour starts.

I was interested in a discussion that quotes an immunologist about how many times an N95 mask can be reused and how to protect its integrity.

I'm now testing multiple N95s to find something that works without hurting my face. I'm glad to learn about mask reuse since I will be in Ireland and Wales for a total of 5 weeks and I wasn't looking foward to packing or buying 35 masks. 😷

The title of that discussion is Another Mask Question. This is the link: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/another-mask-question

I wrote the company today about this. I probably won’t hear back for several days.

I think they should introduce "synchronized eating." This is similar to synchronized swimming as everyone does the same thing at the same time.

Here's how it works.....Everyone sits down at the table with masks on. When the food is served, everyone prepares a bite to be inserted into the mouth. When ready, the guide says "now.' Everyone quickly lowers their masks, inserts the food, and replaces their mask before chewing begins. This way the mask isn't off for more than a second at a time.

Of course, I haven't figured out what to do at breakfast where the smaller breakfast rooms can get packed and the tables aren't that far apart. You could ask the hotels to install something similar to the old Get Smart "Cone of Silence."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_of_Silence_(Get_Smart)#/media/File%3AGet_Smart-Cone-of-silence.jpg

The reality is you'll be sitting in a restaurant with other people. Most will not be masked. Tables will not be two meters apart. This will be true not only for your group meals but for your included breakfast. If you want to eat, at some point you will have to take your mask off. Most of Europe has moved past the pandemic phase of Covid and is trying to lead a normal life. If you're uncomfortable with that, then it might not be a good time to travel. Only you can decide.

Agree with Frank. If you are that worried, you might want to cancel because you will not enjoy it. There are no precautions, life is returning to normal. Do not go if you are uncomfortable with this.

KC, Frank and Tammy are absolutely right. DO NOT expect any Covid precautions on group dinners or any other meals. Masking and distancing are not feasible nor practiced by the many people you will encounter during group or other travels in Europe. We arrived in France on May 27 and see very few masks anywhere, not on trains or buses, not in restaurants, and not in museums. All of your RS tour mates will be vaccinated as are most other people you will encounter. If that is not good enough, then I encourage you to stay home as your stress level will ruin your vacation.