When will river cruises restart in Europe? Here's the latest

[Coral]

56 minutes ago, KathyK13 said:

Good to see cruise lines opening up this summer, but disappointed that many aren't requiring passengers to be vaccinated.  I wouldn't want to be on a boat for a week with unvaccinated people.

 

Crystal is: 

What will be accepted as proof of vaccination? When will I need to show proof of my vaccine and my negative COVID-19 test?

All guests will be required to be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine (both doses if recommended by manufacturer) at least 14 days prior to boarding any Crystal ship. Verified documentation of vaccination and negative PCR and antigen tests will be required at the time of boarding and failure to provide this documentation will result in denial of boarding. Guests will be required to sign a form acknowledging these requirements before cruise tickets will be issued.

 

https://www.crystalcruises.com/crystal-clean-river

[Roz]

1 hour ago, KathyK13 said:

Good to see cruise lines opening up this summer, but disappointed that many aren't requiring passengers to be vaccinated.  I wouldn't want to be on a boat for a week with unvaccinated people.

 

 

It may out of the hands of the river cruise companies and be determined by the countries where the cruise starts and ends and passes through.

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, Roz said:

 

It may out of the hands of the river cruise companies and be determined by the countries where the cruise starts and ends and passes through.

I think the cruise lines can require it.

[Roz]

8 minutes ago, Coral said:

I think the cruise lines can require it.

 

I think they can too, but may be reluctant to be "the bad guys".  Much easier to say "the gov't. made us do it".

[notamermaid]

Unfortunately, TUI River Cruises have postponed the start of their operations again. Note that it is start not re-start, they had never managed the start of their sailings. Now it is 2 August, no further info on the page as to which ship is starting where: https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/travel-information/tui-river-cruises-update

 

Edit: other source says TUI Skyla 2 August, TUI Maya 15 August, TUI Isla 1 November.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by notamermaid

[Roz]

Neither ocean cruising nor river cruising are in a good place right now.  Continued postponements.  One step forward, two steps backwards. 

 

I really thought Europe would have a handle on the Covid situation by now, but apparently not.  

 

@notamermaid, what are you hearing about Christmas markets this year?

[notamermaid]

Not much yet about Christmas markets other than that the dates are all set! A couple of mention of problems as regards space, i.e. if physical distancing is a requirement than this could be tricky. But Cologne is supposed to go ahead as of now for example. Uncontrolled crowds will not be possible for a while, the Stuttgart festival in early autumn has been cancelled, but after September things will be better. How much gathering we will do from October we cannot know yet but it is looking tentatively good. We had a grip in continental Europe just after the alpha variant arrived, it set us back several weeks. Now the delta variant is here as well.

 

notamermaid

 

[TFree]

43 minutes ago, Roz said:

Neither ocean cruising nor river cruising are in a good place right now.  Continued postponements.  One step forward, two steps backwards. 

 

I really thought Europe would have a handle on the Covid situation by now, but apparently not.  

 

@notamermaid, what are you hearing about Christmas markets this year?

Hi "Roz":

 

I agree that the start-up has not happened as early as I hoped, and not as rapidly as I had hoped.  But as you know, we follow Uniworld on the river side and Celebrity on the ocean side most closely.  As of today, Uniworld is sailing in Italy, while Celebrity is sailing  in the Caribbean from St. Maarten and from Athens, and next week will add the first cruise from the US, and shortly thereafter Alaska cruises.  So the startup has been very gradual, but it is finally happening.  We are planning a land tour in northern Italy this October, and we currently have 5 cruises scheduled between December and June.  We won't take all of them, but we might take most of them.  In short, we are optimistic!

 

Tom & Judy

[TFree]

2 hours ago, TFree said:

Hi "Roz":

 

I agree that the start-up has not happened as early as I hoped, and not as rapidly as I had hoped.  But as you know, we follow Uniworld on the river side and Celebrity on the ocean side most closely.  As of today, Uniworld is sailing in Italy, while Celebrity is sailing  in the Caribbean from St. Maarten and from Athens, and next week will add the first cruise from the US, and shortly thereafter Alaska cruises.  So the startup has been very gradual, but it is finally happening.  We are planning a land tour in northern Italy this October, and we currently have 5 cruises scheduled between December and June.  We won't take all of them, but we might take most of them.  In short, we are optimistic!

 

Tom & Judy

On the other hand, maybe Roz is one step ahead of us (as usual).  I see now that Celebrity has cancelled a bunch of additional Europe sailings (on Reflection and Infinity) in the last 24 hours.  So my optimism might be tempered just a bit after seeing that.

 

Tom & Judy

[a1m1y9]

Several river cruise lines have been sailing for sometime.  For example, Amadeus has been sailing since last year.  River cruise lines might be sailing but my concern is getting there.  Unless I am missing something us US travelers just regained our ability to fly to Germany just this week.  

 

We have a Christmas Market Danube river cruise set for November and my concern wasn't will the cruise go - as it appears it will - my concern is will we be able to get into the country.  

 

Am I the only one that is trying to determine this?  We are debating canceling the cruise in November and lose the $250 deposit as I feel like I am on a rollercoaster on my travel arragements there/from.  Especially trying to determine how you navigate a flight that stops say in Canada before coming back to the US.  Canada is still shut down completely but makes air travelers just passing through to stay in a designated area. 

 

Love to hear what everyone thinks about the to/from especially if you are from the US.  

  

[gnome12]

5 minutes ago, a1m1y9 said:

Several river cruise lines have been sailing for sometime.  For example, Amadeus has been sailing since last year.  River cruise lines might be sailing but my concern is getting there.  Unless I am missing something us US travelers just regained our ability to fly to Germany just this week.  

 

We have a Christmas Market Danube river cruise set for November and my concern wasn't will the cruise go - as it appears it will - my concern is will we be able to get into the country.  

 

Am I the only one that is trying to determine this?  We are debating canceling the cruise in November and lose the $250 deposit as I feel like I am on a rollercoaster on my travel arragements there/from.  Especially trying to determine how you navigate a flight that stops say in Canada before coming back to the US.  Canada is still shut down completely but makes air travelers just passing through to stay in a designated area. 

 

Love to hear what everyone thinks about the to/from especially if you are from the US.  

  

Are you vaccinated?

[a1m1y9]

19 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Are you vaccinated?

Yes but......I am so uncertain with the ever changing climate.  RKI rules are much more stringent than the CDC too.  What to do?  What do do?  Like another poster said, we booked nearly 2 years ago to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  

 

[Daisi]

58 minutes ago, a1m1y9 said:

Yes but......I am so uncertain with the ever changing climate.  RKI rules are much more stringent than the CDC too.  What to do?  What do do?  Like another poster said, we booked nearly 2 years ago to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  

 

On July 1, from what I have heard, the EU will have their vaccine passports ready.  There is supposed to be a way to get one as a visitor, IIRC, you apply with the country you will enter.  Wait a few days before making any major decisions.  November is still a ways away, and things can change rapidly if everything goes well.

Edited June 24, 2021 by Daisi

[Bookishcruiser]

As you probably saw from my post, I am struggling with my flights to Italy in a couple weeks, but I do think it’ll work. So, I think it’ll be better in a few months. Stay the course but prepare to roll with a few punches!!

[notamermaid]

If you have time, wait a bit and watch carefully how your air travel is routed. And be prepared for changes of the route of your cruise. A note: it is possible to leave a river cruise early, not sure want an insurance would say to it, but if you want to avoid an air travel problem by you not entering a country to avoid quarantine, why not do so?

 

Things will look indeed a little different from 1 July. But that will not be the happy ending.

 

I expect the happy ending in 2023, sorry. Things are not going as planned in Europe as we still shift too many unvaccinated people about. See Great Britain and the British tourists.

Australia, applause to your strategy...

On 6/24/2021 at 11:00 PM, a1m1y9 said:

Yes but......I am so uncertain with the ever changing climate.  RKI rules are much more stringent than the CDC too.  What to do?  What do do?  Like another poster said, we booked nearly 2 years ago to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  

 

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Right, an early blow to river cruising. German companies are sailing on the Douro again, but the German authorities have declared Portugal a virus variant area, meaning a strict quarantine on return is back. Russia will be the same. Holidaymakers are being brought back by the German authorities from Portugal, at the travellers' expense, just before the regulation comes into force The rate of infections in Portugal has shot up.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-declares-portugal-russia-virus-variant-zones-restricts-travel-2021-06-25/

German authorities are calling for stricter measures as regards travel, so that the spread of the delta variant can be better controlled in the whole EU.

 

The delta variant was brought into Portugal by holidaymakers from Britain the authorities say and that in hindsight it was not a good idea to allow so much travel to help the tourism economy. No comment other than that Germany declared Britain a risk variant area weeks ago...

 

Be prepared for a bad situation in Portugal and your river cruise potentially not running.

 

notamermaid

 

[djh1959]

I still can't help but think that people should not be travelling to different countries just yet, it is simply too soon.

 

Whether you are vaccinated or not, you can still catch the virus, particularly the newer variants, and pass it on to non-vaccinated people.

 

As you probably know, things have been good in Australia, but now it is starting to flare up again, all caused by people flying in from other countries and bringing the Delta variant with them.

 

Here in Melbourne, our lockdown is over, for now.  Sydney is in a mess getting quite a few cases per day, and there are now cases in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.  WA hasn't had cases for many months, but this Delta variant appears to be a much more difficult beast to control.

 

I cannot wait to travel again, but like notamermaid stated, I fear it will be 2023.  Hopefully that is wrong, but I can't see enjoyable, relaxed travel before late 2022.  By that I mean no masks and no constant fear of lockdowns and sudden quarantine.

[TazzMom602]

14 hours ago, djh1959 said:

I still can't help but think that people should not be travelling to different countries just yet, it is simply too soon.

 

Whether you are vaccinated or not, you can still catch the virus, particularly the newer variants, and pass it on to non-vaccinated people.

 

As you probably know, things have been good in Australia, but now it is starting to flare up again, all caused by people flying in from other countries and bringing the Delta variant with them.

 

Here in Melbourne, our lockdown is over, for now.  Sydney is in a mess getting quite a few cases per day, and there are now cases in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.  WA hasn't had cases for many months, but this Delta variant appears to be a much more difficult beast to control.

 

I cannot wait to travel again, but like notamermaid stated, I fear it will be 2023.  Hopefully that is wrong, but I can't see enjoyable, relaxed travel before late 2022.  By that I mean no masks and no constant fear of lockdowns and sudden quarantine.

@djh1959, I share your concern. We postponed a Viking Danube Waltz cruise from October 2020 to October 2021. Even if the EU welcomes American travelers, what will the experience be? Will we have to wear a mask on board except when in our cabin or eating? Will we be able to get off the ship in ports and wander around? Or will we be restricted to Viking's excursions on sanitized coaches with vaccinated and tested tour guides? Will museums, churches, castles, shops, restaurants be open? I'm anxiously awaiting comments from the first Viking river cruisers next month. Part of me really wants to get out in the world again but another part of me is thinking that waiting another year makes sense, even it means allowing Viking to sit on our money for that much longer.

[Coral]

I spent the weekend planning my Spring 2022 trip (ocean cruise and river cruise with 2 days between). I kept being reminded how behind Europe is (and how things feel so normal here). Every website I went to (American Airlines, Intercontinental hotels, Crystal's, etc...) kept talking about having to test negative for COVID and having PCR tests before arriving....... I almost cancelled everything and this is next spring.

 

I am somewhat worried about testing positive after being on the ocean cruise and before getting on the river cruise. I keep reading cases of people who are vaccinated and testing positive for COVID but not having any symptoms. We have College World Series going on where I live and North Carolina State had several vaccinated players who tested positive. They had to withdraw from the tournament. They also had non-vaccinated players who got sick. 

[Canal archive]

It’s no wonder that Portugal has a problem with any virus and any variant as my brother in laws brother and his wife have been Portuguese  residents for many years, now in their 70s they still have not been vaccinated. This is a fact, at the moment I am taking all of the so called reports of anything to do with the virus with a sack of salt. CA

[notamermaid]

Which means that in Portugal some unvaccinated old meet the unvaccinated young and the unvaccinated English travellers. Spells for disaster. Some countries in the EU are annoyingly stubborn about opening up the tourism economy, i.e. as soon as possible they will take in as many people as seems reasonable to them, but it oddly never seems reasonable to me. The problem is that their specific regional economies rely on tourism, mine doesn't. On Mallorca people were beginning to starve, as they literally had no money. Mallorca was careful, nevertheless they had too many British tourists dancing on tables and cars last Summer. This year they have been careful again, but hundreds of Spanish school students returned and were positive (they probably passed the infections round while on ferry and coach).

 

And of course, the German travel associations critizised the decision to declare Portugal a virus variant area. To my great annoyance, I must say. I work in tourism but I am a careful traveller. I would never have booked a holiday in Portugal after they allowed the British in...

 

I am glad we do not have strong holiday-making ties with Russia.

 

No, we really need to be more careful and for a much longer time than we think.

 

notamermaid

 

[ljandgb]

Testing positive is a risk, even after being vaccinated.  The current science seems to suggest that a vaccinated person who encounters the virus will have some virus replication, particularly in the nose and throat area where it first enters the body, but that it will be at much lower volume than an unvaccinated person, and that it will be "put out" by their immune system much faster.  This would result in little to no symptoms and very low risk of transmissibility.

 

Much like a small fire starting, with very little fuel and an early fire suppression system versus an unchecked fire with abundant fuel.

 

I have heard of some tests going to a finer dilution than others, meaning that if you have just a bit of virus, it would not persist in the test down to the furthest limits.  There's no way of knowing which countries, and which  labs, are doing what sort of dilution.  I think that a retest several days later would be more likely to show negative, or that screening antibodies would show immunity.  For some countries that is the protocol, and if so, you are free to go.

[notamermaid]

A-ROSA have now also restarted operations on the Rhine, but have decided to temporarily suspend river cruises on the Douro as Germany has declared Portugal a virus variant area. The company hopes to continue with an itinerary later in July.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Emerald and Scenic have announced restart dates, the situation as seen through the eyes of "down under": https://cruisepassenger.com.au/scenic-returns-to-the-river-but-not-for-australian-and-new-zealand-guests/

and 

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/emerald-cruises-plans-to-operate-38-european-river-sailings-in-2021.html

 

notamermaid

 

[mapsd]

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Emerald and Scenic have announced restart dates, the situation as seen through the eyes of "down under": https://cruisepassenger.com.au/scenic-returns-to-the-river-but-not-for-australian-and-new-zealand-guests/

 

We're booked for the Rhine Sept 14, so it looks like we'll be OK.

Wondering if the first few sailings will have some bugs to work out/shake the cobwebs?

 

Disappointed that we won't be travelling with any Aussies/Kiwis though, it was part of the reason we chose Scenic.

 

Will our sold-out cruise suddenly have openings as the Aust/NZ passengers have to rebook?