On Board Nov. 18, 2021 Basel to Amsterdam Cruise on Crystal Debussy

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Deutzer Hafen is certainly unusual, but A-Rosa has used it in the past (saw a ship there with my own eyes last year). Viking docks at Deutz when the regular places on the left bank are full or the water is low. Inside Deutz harbour is more a winter place or repair stop place, but I do not want to read too much into it. I will say, though, that one scenario could be deep cleaning done in an appropriate maintenance harbour.

 

But currently Cologne is not really busy.

 

steamboats

[Coral]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Indeed, it is not so much surfaces. So it would not be like a legal requirement, more a health protocol that they may wish to follow. Not sure what the requirements stipulated by IG river cruise are these days or what the authorities would want a river cruise company to do in such an incident.

 

It is just one of the reasons the ship may be in Deutz for. It could also be as I implied just lack of "parking space".

 

notamermaid

 

That makes sense. Hopefully we hear more soon from @Psoque.

Edited November 23, 2021 by Coral

[NJCruiserBoy]

Low water on the river

[notamermaid]

Cologne is not that busy but the river is indeed low. The Crystal Debussy is en route to Amsterdam, now near Xanten, must have left Cologne a few hours ago. So we can reasonable assume things are okay.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by notamermaid
clarification

[steamboats]

Passengers obviously were able to go ashore in Cologne. I saw some photos on IG.

 

steamboats

[Psoque]

Yes, we made it to Cologne and had a very short visit there as scheduled.  Journey to Amsterdam also went as scheduled.  I am not sure where Deutz is, but we did not make any unscheduled stops en route to Amsterdam, as far as I know.

 

We initially docked in the Western part of the Amsterdam harbor in the morning and the ship moved to the area near the Centraal Station after 5 PM.

 

There was another mandatory testing of crew on Nov. 24 (while we were docked in Amsterdam) and passengers were also offered testing.  As far as we know, nobody tested positive.

 

There was one complication to the cruise as it relates to the current health restrictions in the Netherlands.  All dining/entertainment venues had to close at 8 PM in the Netherlands, including those onboard Crystal Debussy.  So, all public venues had to close shop onboard at 8 PM, meaning that the dining staff had to rush us through dinner (the dining room opened earlier to allow this) on the night of Nov. 24 while we were docked in Amsterdam.  Our entertainer live-broadcasted the evening show.  We were allowed to call him on the phone for requests during the show. Room service was still available after 8 PM.

 

We disembarked the morning of Nov. 25, which happened to be the Thanksgiving Day in the U. S.  We are staying in Amsterdam for 2 more days.  Our Thanksgiving dinner was moved up to 4:30 PM because of the 8 PM rule.  It was fine since it was very dark by 5 PM.

 

The news is that the Dutch government is planning to announce a new set of stricter restrictions this afternoon (Friday, Nov. 26).  I will let you know when I hear about it.

 

Amsterdam is not very crowded at all.  We were able to purchase tickets at Anne Frank House with just one day notice.  The running joke has been that people typically spend more time outside Anne Frank House and inside, lining up for tickets.  Apparently this is not happening right now.  Our taxi drivers told us that many people have cancelled their vacations in Amsterdam because of the restrictions.

 

We are scheduled to fly home from Schiphol Airport tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 27).

[steamboats]

@Psoque hope you can enjoy the rest of your stay in Amsterdam!

 

steamboats

 

[Coral]

Thanks for your last report. Safe travels your last day and hopefully an uneventful trip home!

[Psoque]

So this is our final night in Amsterdam.  We are flying home tomorrow morning.  Many of you may have heard about it already, the Netherlands government announced a new round of lock-down measures today.  Starting Sunday, all non-essential businesses will be closed, and even essential businesses will need to close by 5 PM daily.  We were fortunate that this will not affect our stay, but I feel bad for those who are planning to vacation here in December, and more so for those who are dependent on these businesses to be open.

 

I wonder how this round of restrictions will affect the final few 2021 cruises on Debussy.

Edited November 26, 2021 by Psoque
typo fixed

[Psoque]

Sorry, I have to post a correction.  It appears non-essential businesses need to close by 5 PM and essential ones can be open until 8 PM.  This includes all restaurants and bars.  So basically no nightlife in the Netherlands  But it is not exactly clear to me if businesses such as museums are going to have regular hours.  People are strongly advised to work from home, so I’m assuming that many businesses will be either closed or severely understaffed.  I think things are still in transition.  These restrictions will be in place at least until December 19, but it is my understanding that reassessment of this strategy will occur on December 14.

[Lois R]

What an experience----I hope you have a safe and UNeventful flight home.

[BQEC]

Switzerland just added travelers from the Netherlands to their list of countries who must have a negative Covid test and quarantine for 10 days. In reviewing the paper work to enter Switzerland I note that they ask where your trip began. I imagine that the test/quarantine applies to travelers who passed through the Netherlands as well. 

[5waldos]

And now with Omicron- who knows what the situation will be. We sail in late April which we thought was enough time for everything to have well and truly quieted down. Now not so sure. Things change day by day- guess we just wait for several months before even really thinking about the hurdles we will face. Currently the plan is to sail to Europe- 13 days- which makes things even more exciting- I can imagine arriving to learn that everyplace is shuttered. 

 

Psoque- hope you enjoyed your adventures. Guess it probably wasn't the lovely gentle river cruise you were expecting but hope it was fun anyway. 

[Coral]

2 hours ago, 5waldos said:

And now with Omicron- who knows what the situation will be. We sail in late April which we thought was enough time for everything to have well and truly quieted down. Now not so sure. Things change day by day- guess we just wait for several months before even really thinking about the hurdles we will face. Currently the plan is to sail to Europe- 13 days- which makes things even more exciting- I can imagine arriving to learn that everyplace is shuttered. 

 

Psoque- hope you enjoyed your adventures. Guess it probably wasn't the lovely gentle river cruise you were expecting but hope it was fun anyway. 

I had a transatlantic and then British Isles cruise with post cruise stay in Paris in April 2020. Well, you know what happened. That was my fear in March - I was watching the Louvre closing and I only had a short time to get some money back. It was stressful.

[Coral]

On 11/26/2021 at 11:06 PM, Psoque said:

Sorry, I have to post a correction.  It appears non-essential businesses need to close by 5 PM and essential ones can be open until 8 PM.  This includes all restaurants and bars.  So basically no nightlife in the Netherlands  But it is not exactly clear to me if businesses such as museums are going to have regular hours.  People are strongly advised to work from home, so I’m assuming that many businesses will be either closed or severely understaffed.  I think things are still in transition.  These restrictions will be in place at least until December 19, but it is my understanding that reassessment of this strategy will occur on December 14.

I hope you made it home safely!

[Psoque]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I hope you made it home safely!

We did make it home safely.  Thanks for asking.

 

[Coral]

Just now, Psoque said:

We did make it home safely.  Thanks for asking.

 

Thanks for the live report! You know I love Crystal 🙂