Greece this summer 2021 ?

[srpilo]

With the Volendam having already made it's way to Corfu Greece, and now with the Zandam  on the move too with it's destination also listed as Corfu Greece could HAL be scraping it's published Med 2021 schedule completely  and reformulating it's Med season like other cruise lines are doing with  only all Greek Islands itineraries using only their 2 smallest ships left in the fleet ?

 

Or Option #2

 

Is HAL moving their 2 "baby" ships to the Greek Islands near Turkey to sell or dispose of them like many lines did with their unwanted ships early on in the pandemic , many of which are still tied up abandoned at various Greek ports ??

 

 

[iancal]

We were hoping for a land trip in late fall.

 

 We have been watching the weekly covid stats and trends.  They do not look very promising at this juncture.

 

 I doubt very much whether we will go.  Certainly not interested in a cruise at that time.

[Vict0riann]

I was wondering if it was Option#2 also!  Looks bad, doesn't it?

[srpilo]

49 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I was wondering if it was Option#2 also!  Looks bad, doesn't it?

 Here's the thing, before the Volendam left for Corfu she spent several days at Portland UK, and now the Zaandam is currently at Southampton for several days also before heading to Corfu.. Are they unloading HAL valuables and art in the UK before selling the babies ?  Seems if it was a just reprovision stop for the journey to Greece, it wouldn't take several days for each ship

 

Probably nothing... But food for thought 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, srpilo said:

 Here's the thing, before the Volendam left for Corfu she spent several days at Portland UK, and now the Zaandam is currently at Southampton for several days also before heading to Corfu.. Are they unloading HAL valuables and art in the UK before selling the babies ?  Seems if it was a just reprovision stop for the journey to Greece, it wouldn't take several days for each ship

 

Probably nothing... But food for thought 

 

I sure hope not.  Would hate to lose the last two R ships 😢 

[KirkNC]

And a new conspiracy is born.....

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, srpilo said:

and now with the Zandam  on the move too with it's destination also listed as Corfu Greece

I have missed this 'news'.  Is there a source?

[YXU AC*SE]

Well according to this live source, Zaandam is still moored at Southampton as of 2 mins ago, with no destination loaded up on AIS, so not sure what the source is ...        Scott.    

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

I sure hope not.  Would hate to lose the last two R ships 😢 

We hope not as well.

[1ANGELCAT]

Read the new thread by @Mickb

Zaandam on the move 

Edited March 31, 2021 by 1ANGELCAT

[ncgolferette]

According to the HAL website the first cruise now scheduled for the Zaandam is December 2021.  Maybe short cruises around Greece in the works?

Edited March 31, 2021 by ncgolferette

[srpilo]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

I have missed this 'news'.  Is there a source?

 

Yeah.. The HAL official Instagram feed reported "Farewell" to Torquay UK with thanks, as the Zaandam sails to Corfu to join her sister ship Volendam during their operational pause

[VMax1700]

2 minutes ago, srpilo said:

 

Yeah.. The HAL official Instagram feed reported "Farewell" to Torquay UK with thanks, as the Zaandam sails to Corfu to join her sister ship Volendam during their operational pause

Thanks!  I don't do Instagram etc 😬

[srpilo]

1 minute ago, VMax1700 said:

Thanks!  I don't do Instagram etc 😬

 That's Ok, thats what CC is for to pass things along 🤩

[VMax1700]

I wonder why Zaandam and not Eurodam, which is also at anchor in Torbay and recently had maintenance in Brest.  Eurodam would give more space and have more cabins if they are restricting the number of Pax.  Also, Eurodam is closer in size to the Westerdam, which was scheduled for Europe in 2021, but is currently at anchor of California.

 

I agree that vaccination is the way forward for the tourist countries, Spain is trying hard to reopen in the summer also.  The next few weeks will hopefully throw some light on whether we will be on a HAL ship in Europe this summer or not.

 

Just remembered Rotterdam is due to sail in August and would be in perfect position to also sail Greece.

🤞

[HAL4NOW]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

I wonder why Zaandam and not Eurodam, which is also at anchor in Torbay and recently had maintenance in Brest.  Eurodam would give more space and have more cabins if they are restricting the number of Pax.  Also, Eurodam is closer in size to the Westerdam, which was scheduled for Europe in 2021, but is currently at anchor of California.

 

I agree that vaccination is the way forward for the tourist countries, Spain is trying hard to reopen in the summer also.  The next few weeks will hopefully throw some light on whether we will be on a HAL ship in Europe this summer or not.

 

Just remembered Rotterdam is due to sail in August and would be in perfect position to also sail Greece.

🤞

Eurodam is still scheduled for Alaska cruises out of Seattle for 2021; until they are cancelled.

[Sir PMP]

They are close to Turkey to be scrapped...😉

[srpilo]

10 hours ago, HAL4NOW said:

Eurodam is still scheduled for Alaska cruises out of Seattle for 2021; until they are cancelled.

 

With Westerdam in SoCA, and the Eurodam in the UK, before the Zaandam move I was half- expecting a HAL announcement of a swap between the Eurodam & Westerdam for the summer Europe season (if the season even happened), but now with both little sisters already in Greece I suspect if there is a summer Europe season it will more than likely only involve the two Greek little sisters.

Except for the UK, European port countries are still months away from a open tourist mentality , even putting the Rotterdam sailings at risk... Not a good sign for full open cruising this year in Europe 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited April 1, 2021 by srpilo

[VMax1700]

5 hours ago, srpilo said:

 

With Westerdam in SoCA, and the Eurodam in the UK, before the Zaandam move I was half- expecting a HAL announcement of a swap between the Eurodam & Westerdam for the summer Europe season (if the season even happened), but now with both little sisters already in Greece I suspect if there is a summer Europe season it will more than likely only involve the two Greek little sisters.

Except for the UK, European port countries are still months away from a open tourist mentality , even putting the Rotterdam sailings at risk... Not a good sign for full open cruising this year in Europe 

 

 

 

 

.

This is much the same as I had been thinking.  Taking into consideration that Greece, Malta, and Cypress will be open to vaccinated travelers from June onwards and also Turkey is planning to reopen, there will be a nice area in Eastern Med to go cruising.

(and Israel of course!!)

Edited April 1, 2021 by VMax1700

[Hlitner]

17 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

This is much the same as I had been thinking.  Taking into consideration that Greece, Malta, and Cypress will be open to vaccinated travelers from June onwards and also Turkey is planning to reopen, there will be a nice area in Eastern Med to go cruising.

(and Israel of course!!)

I think you are making a bold prediction (about Greece, Malta and Cypress opening in June).  Yes, the Greek Minister of Tourism has announced that his goal is to get Greece reopened to vaccinated travelers by late May or June.  But he is just one man and it ultimately is not his decision or within his power.   Greece will first need to deal with their EU partners and that may very well scuttle any attempt to reopen Greece.  

 

I do think that it is very likely that Turkey will reopen in July although their requirements are yet to be determined.   Just thinking out loud but that would make cruise itineraries that include Turkey and Israel a possibility although cruisers would certainly need to be vaccinated.   If Greece were to also reopen there would be some excellent itinerary options.

 

Hank

[iancal]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I think you are making a bold prediction (about Greece, Malta and Cypress opening in June).  Yes, the Greek Minister of Tourism has announced that his goal is to get Greece reopened to vaccinated travelers by late May or June.  But he is just one man and it ultimately is not his decision or within his power.   Greece will first need to deal with their EU partners and that may very well scuttle any attempt to reopen Greece.  

 

I do think that it is very likely that Turkey will reopen in July although their requirements are yet to be determined.   Just thinking out loud but that would make cruise itineraries that include Turkey and Israel a possibility although cruisers would certainly need to be vaccinated.   If Greece were to also reopen there would be some excellent itinerary options.

 

Hank

Agree completely.

 

We are adjusting our expectations.   We pay zero attention to the media, to politicians, industry folk, and travel writers/boosters.   Keep in mind that some of these comments are directed as much to voters, investors, and advertisers, as they are to potential tourists.

 

Greece, Turkey, Cyprus are very much  on our radar (along with Thailand and Vietnam).   But...what shapes our reality and our expectations are the weekly covid numbers and the weekly covid trends.  

 

The numbers speak far more loudly to us that any politician, any industry exec, or any travel writer.  Plus,,, there is no need to plow through the hyperbole.  We simply have to look up the numbers and draw our own conclusions.  

 

At this moment in April those numbers, from our perspective, are far from encouraging.

Edited April 2, 2021 by iancal

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, iancal said:

Agree completely.

 

We are adjusting our expectations.   We pay zero attention to the media, to politicians, industry folk, and travel writers/boosters.   Keep in mind that some of these comments are directed as much to voters, investors, and advertisers, as they are to potential tourists.

 

Greece, Turkey, Cyprus are very much  on our radar (along with Thailand and Vietnam).   But...what shapes our reality and our expectations are the weekly covid numbers and the weekly covid trends.  

 

The numbers speak far more loudly to us that any politician, any industry exec, or any travel writer.  Plus,,, there is no need to plow through the hyperbole.  We simply have to look up the numbers and draw our own conclusions.  

 

At this moment in April those numbers, from our perspective, are far from encouraging.

Politics have really gotten intermingled with the science.  So perhaps it is time for most of the world leaders to accept the fact that folks who are fully vaccinated are very low risk in terms of catching or spreading COVID.  Those fully vaccinated folks should be able to travel normally and kick start the travel-related economies throughout the world.  Those who are not vaccinated should not be welcomed in most places as they are still high risk to both themselves and other non vaccinated folks.  That is the basic science supported by statistics and studies.  

 

The issue with natural immunity is not nearly as clear.  Apparently natural immunity (which is what you get once you have recovered from COVID) is not long lasting and only effective against the specific variant that the person had previously contracted.  This is why the CDC recommends that even folks who have recovered from COVID need to get themselves vaccinated.

 

Hank

[VMax1700]

Maybe CCL will give some inkling of the direction they are considering at the April 7th 'Business Update'.

Carnival Corporation & plc To Provide First Quarter 2021 Business Update

MIAMI, March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) has scheduled a conference call with analysts for Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 10 a.m. (EDT); 3 p.m. (BST) to provide a business update.

A simulcast of the call will be available via the company's Web sites at www.carnivalcorp.com and www.carnivalplc.com.

 

 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnival-corporation--plc-provides-first-quarter-2021-business-update-301259993.html

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc

[iancal]

These are the latest covid stats in Greece that we looked at:  They are not promising.

 

https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/greece/

[iancal]

Covid stats in Turkey at at the end of this week.  

 

https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/turkey/

Edited April 4, 2021 by iancal