Thoughts on Mediterranean Ports open by September 2021?

[nini]

For those of you in the know, what are your observations and best guesses about Mediterranean ports being open to cruise ships by September 2021?

What we hear about in USA is mainly about British Isles, American and Canadian port status.

 

The news here is that there have been more surges and lockdowns for Italy. Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Problem is, nobody is really in the know. There is another new thread that pretty perfectly lays out the current status. September? Who knows.

[nini]

Thanks Bruce. I know this is tough, but thought I would throw it out there anyway. I have a handle on USA, Canada, and Great Britain and have heard horror stories about hard hit Italy. At least Princess has moved final payment to 60 days ahead, not 90.

[steamboats]

France and Spain may open up by May or maybe June. Nothing fixed yet. But that doesn´t mean that you can travel from the US to Europe. I doubt that any of the pre-pandemic planned cruises are a go. They will start out ship by ship...

 

MSC and Costa will sail, Celebrity is sailing out of Athens with the Apex starting in June, RCI with the Jewel of the Seas out of Cyprus by July. That´s what we know so far.

 

steamboats

[nini]

steamboats; Thank you for your response!

[Lois R]

I have a cruise booked for October out of Lisbon........I hope it is able to sail but really, nobody

knows anything at this point.

[nini]

True, best of luck for all concerned.

[bennybear]

On 4/1/2021 at 4:32 PM, nini said:

Thanks Bruce. I know this is tough, but thought I would throw it out there anyway. I have a handle on USA, Canada, and Great Britain and have heard horror stories about hard hit Italy. At least Princess has moved final payment to 60 days ahead, not 90.

Make sure and check if penalty times have changed.   When HAL did this penalties remained the same so you could be penalized if you cancelled prior to final payment.  

[nini]

4 hours ago, bennybear said:

Make sure and check if penalty times have changed.   When HAL did this penalties remained the same so you could be penalized if you cancelled prior to final payment.  

Will do.

[steamboats]

Barcelona is currently thinking about opening up in late June. But for cruises within Spain only - so Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga might be a roundtrip (plus some days at sea).

 

They are speaking about two cruise lines right now. But it wasn´t disclosed which ones.

 

steamboats

[Lois R]

Greece is supposed to be opening next month and it seems many of the cruise lines are doing sailings this summer from there. 

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Greece is supposed to be opening next month and it seems many of the cruise lines are doing sailings this summer from there. 

They are still under lockdown with restaurants and cafes closed.  So we will need to wait and see what actually happens. 

[Lois R]

31 minutes ago, bennybear said:

They are still under lockdown with restaurants and cafes closed.  So we will need to wait and see what actually happens. 

I agree but there are many cruise lines that are starting to open itineraries out of Greece and the airlines are actually booking flights to Athens as well.  

[bennybear]

19 minutes ago, Lois R said:

I agree but there are many cruise lines that are starting to open itineraries out of Greece and the airlines are actually booking flights to Athens as well.  

True, but I would be very reluctant to book until I know what it will actually be like

[steamboats]

16 hours ago, Lois R said:

Greece is supposed to be opening next month and it seems many of the cruise lines are doing sailings this summer from there. 

 

The tourism minister announced this in early March and they still keep that date. It´s still very optimistic as the numbers are pretty high in Greece.

 

Yes, the cruise lines are selling cruises out of Greece starting in June. But so far EU does not allow US citizens to come into EU and Greece can´t open up on its own.

 

steamboats

[Lois R]

7 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

The tourism minister announced this in early March and they still keep that date. It´s still very optimistic as the numbers are pretty high in Greece.

 

Yes, the cruise lines are selling cruises out of Greece starting in June. But so far EU does not allow US citizens to come into EU and Greece can´t open up on its own.

 

steamboats

Good morning, not sure what you mean that Greece cannot open up on its own. There are flights from the states directly to Athens.

 

Or are you referring to only folks from the UK?

 

 I decided to book a cruise for July out of Athens........I guess I have a bit less than 3 months to see if actually sails!

[CruiserBruce]

26 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, not sure what you mean that Greece cannot open up on its own. There are flights from the states directly to Athens.

 

Or are you referring to only folks from the UK?

 

 I decided to book a cruise for July out of Athens........I guess I have a bit less than 3 months to see if actually sails!

Don't hold your breath on flights. Most of the airlines have been using "placeholder schedules"...schedules from 2019...accepting bookings, then trimming the schedules 1-2 months out depending on Covid conditions. For example, United has a EWR-ATH flight on their schedule for July...we were booked on it for this June, until our cruise was canceled. But it hasn't actually flown for over a year now. Perhaps this will resume as Greece opens up. But flight schedules months out are not reliable right now.

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, not sure what you mean that Greece cannot open up on its own. There are flights from the states directly to Athens.

 

Or are you referring to only folks from the UK?

 

Both, UK and US, although there are flights entering the EU - and Greece is part of EU and Schengen - is regulated by EU and not just a Greek thing. When you enter Schengen area you get a Schengen visa which allows you to travel all Schengen states. Greece can´t issue just a visa for Greece. So when EU does not allow UK/US into Schengen, Greece can´t allow it on their own. They can say due to the current pandemic situation we only let you in with a negative test or when you vaccinated (that´s a health regulation). But they can´t open up the border for anyone specific.

 

steamboats

[Lois R]

2 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Both, UK and US, although there are flights entering the EU - and Greece is part of EU and Schengen - is regulated by EU and not just a Greek thing. When you enter Schengen area you get a Schengen visa which allows you to travel all Schengen states. Greece can´t issue just a visa for Greece. So when EU does not allow UK/US into Schengen, Greece can´t allow it on their own. They can say due to the current pandemic situation we only let you in with a negative test or when you vaccinated (that´s a health regulation). But they can´t open up the border for anyone specific.

 

steamboats

Well, I guess I will find out soon enough🙂........if the ships are not allowed in? 

 

I have a cruise booked for July 8th.......if we can't sail, I will have a credit on my account for a future cruise.

[Hlitner]

We have given lots of consideration to flying to Greece in late July, spending a couple of weeks cruising on the Seabourn Ovation, and then spending some post cruise weeks island hopping.  However, after a lot of consideration and rationally looking at the COVID situation in Europe we think it is too big of a gamble.  The decision-making throughout Europe is being made on a week to week basis and all the countries are quick to change their rules based on the latest data.  So planning any future trip is full of uncertainties and means committing a lot of money with too many uncertainties.   As to the scheduled cruises in Europe (including the Seabourn cruises) they are also filled with uncertainty.  Whether folks will be allowed ashore without being part of a cruise line excursion is still a question.  And if there is any kind of COVID situation on a few cruises, one can speculate that all the rules would change or cruises would either be shut down or further restricted as to ports.

 

I telephoned Seabourn and was told that they do have permission to cruise/dock in Greek ports (this assumes the Seabourn employee has the proper information).  But nothing has been said about whether they have permission to dock in Cyprus (also on their itineraries).  

 

As to which ports (if any) will be open in September, I think one would have to wait until the last few days prior to a trip to have an answer.  The one certainty with the COVID Pandemic is that decisions regarding lockdowns, ports, etc. are often made at the last minute.   This brings us to our conclusion that booking any European cruise in 2021 is a huge gamble and not worth the anxiety likely to follow the commitment of lots of money.   So, if we go to Europe this Summer or Fall it will be a last minute decision (based on the then current situation) and will be an independent land trip (this gives us a lot more control over our itinerary which can change day to day).

 

Hank

[bennybear]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have given lots of consideration to flying to Greece in late July, spending a couple of weeks cruising on the Seabourn Ovation, and then spending some post cruise weeks island hopping.  However, after a lot of consideration and rationally looking at the COVID situation in Europe we think it is too big of a gamble.  The decision-making throughout Europe is being made on a week to week basis and all the countries are quick to change their rules based on the latest data.  So planning any future trip is full of uncertainties and means committing a lot of money with too many uncertainties.   As to the scheduled cruises in Europe (including the Seabourn cruises) they are also filled with uncertainty.  Whether folks will be allowed ashore without being part of a cruise line excursion is still a question.  And if there is any kind of COVID situation on a few cruises, one can speculate that all the rules would change or cruises would either be shut down or further restricted as to ports.

 

I telephoned Seabourn and was told that they do have permission to cruise/dock in Greek ports (this assumes the Seabourn employee has the proper information).  But nothing has been said about whether they have permission to dock in Cyprus (also on their itineraries).  

 

As to which ports (if any) will be open in September, I think one would have to wait until the last few days prior to a trip to have an answer.  The one certainty with the COVID Pandemic is that decisions regarding lockdowns, ports, etc. are often made at the last minute.   This brings us to our conclusion that booking any European cruise in 2021 is a huge gamble and not worth the anxiety likely to follow the commitment of lots of money.   So, if we go to Europe this Summer or Fall it will be a last minute decision (based on the then current situation) and will be an independent land trip (this gives us a lot more control over our itinerary which can change day to day).

 

Hank

Exactly!  Just too much risk for my travel dollars.  

[cruisemom42]

17 hours ago, bennybear said:

Exactly!  Just too much risk for my travel dollars.  

 

Same. And I am starting to wonder whether even if I plan a land trip for the fall, things (restaurants, museums, etc) will be closed. And if not, whether there truly would be fewer people than usual, given the seemingly pent-up travel demand.

 

If HAL ever announced what itineraries they may be working on out of Athens, I might consider doing a cruise with them, then some time island hopping. Or maybe would just look at a smaller ship around the Greek isles such as those run by Variety Cruises.

 

 

[Host Bonjour]

Advise I continue to hear is to make sure that there is the ability to cancel and obtain refunds. The New York Times (by Ceylan Yiginsu) has been updating their list of countries and its requirements to enter, and today there was an article about using the ports in Bahamas or Bermuda instead of Florida. 

 

As is written here, some ports in Europe are/might be open, but there's much uncertainty about any future restrictions and potential requirements for foreign travelers arriving with (or without) vaccinations. Seems to be shaping up to be a very complex matrix of variables to determine where/when/how, though it doesn't necessarily mean it won't be possible to go.

 

Be prepared to do a lot more prep work to ensure there aren't any hitches before, during, and after any cruising. Or, see about doing river cruising within one's own country, which is something the articles points out is already on the rise. It's not the same, but this may lead to options that could prove to be previously unconsidered, though surprisingly delightful  experiences. You never know.

 

Immensely challenging times, we'll get there, we're surely closer to it than we were a year ago. Hang in there, everyone. It might be land trips before cruise, but if it means travel again, it's a start. This wonderful board has stayed lively and active throughout, it's been awesome to watch. Thanks everyone 🌻😍 

 

(Before long we'll be arguing about tips again, which I honestly almost wouldn't mind 😳)<---but seriously, about tips, see our pinned tips topic 😉

[cruisemom42]

It's just now being reported that the EU does plan to allow fully vaccinated US citizens to travel to EU countries this summer, assuming they are vaccinated with one of the EU-approved vaccines (all of those currently in use in the US).

 

Details to come, including what will be needed to prove vaccination status....

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/european-union-will-let-vaccinated-americans-visit-this-summer-official-2021-04-25/

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

It's just now being reported that the EU does plan to allow fully vaccinated US citizens to travel to EU countries this summer, assuming they are vaccinated with one of the EU-approved vaccines (all of those currently in use in the US).

 

Details to come, including what will be needed to prove vaccination status....

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/european-union-will-let-vaccinated-americans-visit-this-summer-official-2021-04-25/

The next question would be how many cruise lines and ships can ramp up, and to what standards. And how many airlines will be expanding their schedules how fast. Many issues to be resolved  pretty quickly. 

 

And lastly,  how much demand. How many people, while vaccinated, are ready to take the leap, particularly early in the opening.