New quarantine requirements in Netherlands??

[notamermaid]

About that quarantine: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/self-quarantine/mandatory-quarantine

 

As I understand it, you can get into the Netherlands if you come from Germany (high risk country) with either proof of vaccination, recovery, or a test. But you are actually entering the Netherlands on land on day nine or ten after leaving the US if you have a standard Basel to Amsterdam itinerary, right? So you would need a test on day 5 to end the quarantine. I mean, a river cruise is not even a quarantine. I am confused. Does this work? Or would it be day eleven after leaving the US?

 

notamermaid

 

[Psoque]

In my opinion, what we read in the Dutch website is not explicit enough about exactly who needs to quarantine.  In our case, we are booked on a Basel to Amsterdam cruise, and we are planning to stay in Basel for a few days before the cruise starts.  It is not exactly clear how long you have to stay in countries that are not designated “very high risk” before we are not subjected to the mandatory quarantine rules.

 

So we want to know, is staying in Switzerland, France, and Germany for a total of 11 days before entering Netherlands still make us “very high risk?”  The current language of the rules is completely unclear on this.

 

Obviously, this would be a moot point if Netherlands changes the designation for Switzerland, France, or Germany to “high risk.”

 

Of course things will get even more challenging for, say, for tourists from US, if Switzerland, France, or Germany decides to go the route similar to that taken by Netherlands.

 

I sincerely think the Dutch government needs to clarify exactly what they want people from high- and very-high- risk countries to do upon entry, and how they define “coming from high/very-high risk countries.”  It is clear to me that the website content regarding the new rules were composed in a big hurry, and it shows.

 

Either way, things are very complicated now, and it is very possible that it will be even more complicated this fall/winter.

 

We are hoping for the best, but are resigned to the possibility that we will not be visiting Europe this fall.

 

 

[BPCruiser]

I agree Psoque. Very confusing. We fly from US on the 19th to Basel with 2 pre-Cruise nights in Basel. We board in Basel for our 13 night Basel to Amsterdam itinerary with Avalon. Arriving into Amsterdam by riverboat on October 3rd and disembarking in Amsterdam on 10/4. Flying home same morning. Avalon will be doing our required Covid testing prior to disembarking to meet US requirements to fly home. However there really is no clarity from the Netherlands on how this new quarantine regulation will impact River cruises or tourist like us. I have already emailed my TA to see if she can get some clear cut statements from Avalon on Tuesday after the Labor Day Holiday ends. I’ll post what if anything I learn. Keeping my fingers crossed that  our cruise is not cancelled.🤞🏻

[mapsd]

We arrive on the 11th with 2 pre-cruise days before our Basel to Amsterdam.

The response to my inquiry was that this applies to those arriving in the Netherlands directly from the US, not entering from another EU country, so I interpret that to mean we're safe to continue.

Fingers crossed!

 

I'll make every effort to report my experience when I arrive at the end of this week.

[steamboats]

It should only apply to those coming directly from the US (or have been there within the quarantine time period). But... this might allow a Basel - Amsterdam cruise... but not the return trip from Amsterdam to Basel as those passengers fly into Amsterdam (and usually stay there at least one night).

 

So the ships might be able to go to Amsterdam with passengers. But then they have to return to the nearest German port without passengers. Those who were supposed to board in Amsterdam have to reroute their flights to Germany.

 

steamboats

[Psoque]

The rules and how it is going to be enforced will also be very interesting when a river cruise enters Netherlands from Germany, if the cruise is less than 10 days in duration.  I have no idea how this is dealt with, but I would think that there will be a mixture of passengers, some who “cleared” the 10 days, some who are yet to do so, some from “very high risk” countries and some from elsewhere.  I would think that that someone on the cruise ship has to keep track of all passengers to decide who will be allowed to take an excursion, and who will be allowed to stick around in Amsterdam (vs. immediately leaving Netherlands) at the end of the cruise.

 

The whole process should obviously go smoothly….NOT.

[notamermaid]

Found it I think:

https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/self-quarantine/exceptions-mandatory-quarantine

 

You have to fill in an official form and declare that you have not been in a country declared very high risk for 10 consecutive days prior to entering the Netherlands. Which means that on the downstream itinerary either a river cruise company sorts out those people who arrive at the border on day 9 or 10 and drop them off at Emmerich or wait at Emmerich or nearby for days or sail around the Netherlands without stopping for the purpose of landing (quite literally) or go to Belgium or cut the cruise short.

 

Remember: the Rhine is an international river and the border is not closed so in theory you can sail happily (or unhappily) on the river (not sure about the canal) all you like without stepping onto land. In practice, though, I am not sure what the authorities say about that.

 

A 13 day itinerary is fine (unless it is three days of that in Amsterdam), but you still need that form I think.

 

Tons of annoying paperwork for the river cruise operators.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by notamermaid

[Roz]

I sent an email to my travel agent to find out what she's heard.  She said the river cruise companies are trying to work something out with the govts. involved for cruise passengers.  Not exactly sure what that would entail.  Maybe arriving the day of embarkation and having the cruise line shuttle passengers from the airport to the ship?

 

Travel these days is like having a second job.  

 

Happy Labor Day to all our US CC members.

[cruisr]

13 hours ago, mapsd said:

We arrive on the 11th with 2 pre-cruise days before our Basel to Amsterdam.

The response to my inquiry was that this applies to those arriving in the Netherlands directly from the US, not entering from another EU country, so I interpret that to mean we're safe to continue.

Fingers crossed!

 

I'll make every effort to report my experience when I arrive at the end of this week.

Who did you contact that you received that reply from?  Was it a government agency?

[steamboats]

4 hours ago, Psoque said:

The rules and how it is going to be enforced will also be very interesting when a river cruise enters Netherlands from Germany, if the cruise is less than 10 days in duration. 

 

As I said before... I doubt that the cruise will end in the Netherlands as the ship would have to do the return cruise through the Netherlands without any passengers (who can only board in Germany).

 

steamboats

[Canal archive]

I wonder what will win out boat docking costs or the health of their nationals?

[PRNole47]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:29 AM, Psoque said:

I’m looking at the Netherland’s official website about this new change effective September 4, 2021.  It appears that the mandatory quarantine is applicable to even those who are properly vaccinated.

Changes regarding countries outside the EU

As of 4 September 0:01 am the United States, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia will be designated **very high-risk areas.** This means the EU entry ban will apply to these countries. People travelling from these countries will only be able enter the Netherlands if they are fully vaccinated or fall under one of the exemption categories for the EU entry ban. They are also required to quarantine for 10 days on arrival as of 4 september 9:00 am. As of 6 September, they must also show a negative test result. Proof of recovery or vaccination will no longer be sufficient.

[Psoque]

17 hours ago, steamboats said:

It should only apply to those coming directly from the US (or have been there within the quarantine time period). But... this might allow a Basel - Amsterdam cruise... but not the return trip from Amsterdam to Basel as those passengers fly into Amsterdam (and usually stay there at least one night).

 

So the ships might be able to go to Amsterdam with passengers. But then they have to return to the nearest German port without passengers. Those who were supposed to board in Amsterdam have to reroute their flights to Germany.

 

steamboats

I'm assuming that everything is still in great flux, and there will be more changes ahead, both in terms of the public health rules as well as how the cruise lines adapt to the rules.  However, the most recent (and the only) official announcement regarding the September 6 (today!) Amsterdam-to-Basel cruise on Crystal Debussy says that the ship will sail out of Amsterdam with passengers, but to comply with the new Dutch rules, it is planning to depart Amsterdam sooner than scheduled (presumably, to shorten the time in Netherlands to less than 12 hours).  The original schedule of this cruise included an overnight in Amsterdam in the beginning of the cruise.  I am not exactly sure if the ship is now going to (or already?) leaving/left Amsterdam without an overnight stay or it is leaving very early in the morning after an overnight stay.  Crystal has not made any public announcement about the September 13 Basel-to-Amsterdam itinerary. This cruise was supposed to overnight in Amsterdam at the end, which I think would now be a problem for some of the passengers onboard.

[gnome12]

12 hours ago, Roz said:

Happy Labor Day to all our US CC members.

Just to let you know that we Canadians also celebrate, although we call it Labour Day. 😀

Edited September 7, 2021 by gnome12

[Psoque]

2 minutes ago, Psoque said:

I'm assuming that everything is still in great flux, and there will be more changes ahead, both in terms of the public health rules as well as how the cruise lines adapt to the rules.  However, the most recent (and the only) official announcement regarding the September 6 (today!) Amsterdam-to-Basel cruise on Crystal Debussy says that the ship will sail out of Amsterdam with passengers, but to comply with the new Dutch rules, it is planning to depart Amsterdam sooner than scheduled (presumably, to shorten the time in Netherlands to less than 12 hours).  The original schedule of this cruise included an overnight in Amsterdam in the beginning of the cruise.  I am not exactly sure if the ship is now going to (or already?) leaving/left Amsterdam without an overnight stay or it is leaving very early in the morning after an overnight stay.  Crystal has not made any public announcement about the September 13 Basel-to-Amsterdam itinerary. This cruise was supposed to overnight in Amsterdam at the end, which I think would now be a problem for some of the passengers onboard.

I just looked up the current position of Crystal Debussy.  As of 2:40 AM, September 7, the ship is about to cross into Germany.  So it did leave in the evening of September 6, instead of waiting until 1 PM on September 7.  I have no idea what happened to some passengers who were already in Amsterdam before September 6.

[steamboats]

The new rules are in effect by Sep 6th. As pretty likely all passengers arrived Sep 5th or earlier the new rules did not apply upon their arrival. But the ship was due to leave by noon yesterday latest (to apply with the 12 hours rule as all of the passengers have stayed in the US during the last 10 days).

 

Marinetraffic shows her in Wijk as last stop yesterday at 10.48 pm (leaving time). So she must have left Amsterdam around noon.

 

steamboats

[aggie78]

On 9/4/2021 at 6:48 PM, mapsd said:

We're booked for about the exact same itinerary, except 1 week earlier, and on Scenic instead.

 

Arriving in Zurich 2 days early, then after ending in Amsterdam, we're heading to Belgium for a few days before flying home from AMS.  No word yet, but guessing we will be spending less time in the Netherlands and heading directly to the airport when its time to head home. 

@mapsd Please post what you hear from Scenic. I have a group sailing north on the Rhine October 11th. Lots of air schedules to change. Some are touring in Switzerland prior to boarding in Basel. Keep us posted. Thank you!

[Roz]

@gnome12, I didn't know that.  Thanks for informing me, and thanks for the morning chuckle re: Labour.

[Lois R]

Hi Roz, our neighbors to north add a "u" to many of the same words we use without it..............

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi Roz, our neighbors to north add a "u" to many of the same words we use without it..............

It isn't so much your neighbours (note the u) to the north; we Canadians got it from the Brits.

[mapsd]

10 hours ago, aggie78 said:

@mapsd Please post what you hear from Scenic. I have a group sailing north on the Rhine October 11th. Lots of air schedules to change. Some are touring in Switzerland prior to boarding in Basel. Keep us posted. Thank you!

Word from Scenic today is that they are scrambling to come up with an alternative ending to our Basel-Amsterdam cruise & hope to let us know later today.

Alternatives mentioned were:

1. Remain in Germany longer, sail into Amsterdam during final night, and escort all straight to Schiphol.
2. End the cruise Germany/Belgium and bus straight to Schiphol.
3. Shorten the cruise and compensate us for the days missed. 

[explorette]

We arrive in Amsterdam September 10 and will be taken directly to our Viking ship docked in Emmerich, Germany. We'll miss the Amsterdam/Kinderdijk portion and will find out how/if the rest of the itinerary has changed once on the boat. We have a 2 day post-cruise extension in Lucerne, and it appears that is still happening. I'm interested to see how many people actually show up for this cruise. Our flight had to be changed because we had a pre-cruise scheduled in Amsterdam and we just received our final flight itinerary yesterday. Tight timing to say the least.

[CRK9313]

9 minutes ago, explorette said:

We arrive in Amsterdam September 10 and will be taken directly to our Viking ship docked in Emmerich, Germany. We'll miss the Amsterdam/Kinderdijk portion and will find out how/if the rest of the itinerary has changed once on the boat. We have a 2 day post-cruise extension in Lucerne, and it appears that is still happening. I'm interested to see how many people actually show up for this cruise. Our flight had to be changed because we had a pre-cruise scheduled in Amsterdam and we just received our final flight itinerary yesterday. Tight timing to say the least.

Will they make a price adjustment? I know they all have the right to change itineraries but this is a major one. 

[explorette]

They have said they will refund the pre-cruise extension money. Not sure yet if the daily optional excursions we paid for will go forward or change. I assume they will refund any optional excursion money that doesn't happen. I'll try and provide some updates of our experience on (and off) the boat. 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, explorette said:

We arrive in Amsterdam September 10 and will be taken directly to our Viking ship docked in Emmerich, Germany. We'll miss the Amsterdam/Kinderdijk portion and will find out how/if the rest of the itinerary has changed once on the boat.

Such a pity that you will miss the Netherlands sights. I hope you have a good time in Germany, France and Switzerland. I would also be interested in what happens to the excursions from Emmerich till you are at the hopefully normal docks and on the excursions from Koblenz onwards. It would be lovely if they gave you a bit of time on the Moselle but that is probably a bit too complicated at short notice.

 

Have a great river cruise (under the circumstances).

 

notamermaid