Itinerary Disruptions Are More Common
Anyone cruising right now needs to be prepared for more hiccups than usual, including disruptions to itineraries. While many sailings are taking place as planned, not all are going perfectly smooth. In some cases, cruise ships are missing ports due to COVID-19-related issues, such as a passenger testing positive for the illness while on board. Sometimes entire itineraries are having to be reworked on short notice due to unexpected changes to countrywide travel restrictions.
Of the seven cruises that Ive taken since March, two have had notable disruptions. When I was sailing on Atlas Ocean Voyages new World Navigator in August, the ship was denied entry to the port of Alexandria, Egypt, after a passenger on board tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing. The ship had to return to the Greek island of Crete, where it had been two days earlier, so that the passenger could be removed from the vessel for quarantine.
I also experienced a last-minute change of itinerary for a Crystal Cruises voyage that I took earlier this month. It originally had been scheduled as a Norway-focused sailing. But about three weeks before departure, the trip was switched to an all-Iceland cruise due to unexpected restrictions to cruising in Norway.
Ban On Cruise Vessels In Canadian Waters
Cruise vessels in all Canadian waters and pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic water are prohibited until November 1, 2021. This means:
- adventure-seeking pleasure craft are prohibited from entering Arctic waters
- passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast
- cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.
- smaller cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer people are not banned
The Government of Canada will continue to evaluate the situation and make changes as necessary to ensure the health and safety of all Canadians. Should the COVID-19 pandemic sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the ban.
What Can I Look Forward To In 2022
Next year is shaping up to be a bumper time for the cruise industry. More than 25 new ships are launching, from Silverseas newest ship, the swanky Silver Dawn to Royal Caribbeans Wonder of the Seas, the worlds largest ship.
Emerald Cruises and APT are both launching luxury yachts in Croatia, while Hurtigruten and Aqua Expeditions will offer new cruises in the Galapagos. Luxury hotel group Ritz Carlton will dip a toe in the water for the first time with the launch of its sleek new megayacht, Evrima.
Ambassador Cruise Line, the first new British line to launch since 2010, launches in April, with the Ambassador Ambience embarking on its maiden voyage to the Norwegian fjords. Meanwhile, Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line, P& O Cruises and Carnival will all be smashing the champagne over the bows of their new ships.
Time, too, to start planning for 2023 and beyond, when an extraordinary array of world cruises await. Royal Caribbeans spectacular world voyage, leaving in December, will take a whopping 274 nights to sail to 65 countries on all seven continents. Celebrity Cruises Edge will sail from Rome to Sydney, with 25 stops in 52 nights. Silverseas 131-day expedition from Ushuaia to Greenland is now waitlist only, while Oceania Cruises 180-day circumnavigation sold out in a single day. Cruise fans arent wasting any time, thats for sure.
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What’s An Atlantic Crossing Like
The Queen Mary 2 is usually due to sail from Southampton at 17:00. This is the most usual time, but please check for your sailing date. Once on board and settled into your stateroom, listen for announcements about emergency drill. This is held at 16:00 and takes about 20 minutes. You listen for the alarm bells, fetch your lifejackets from your stateroom and go to your allocated muster station where staff will brief you on emergency procedures and you’ll listen to an announcement by the captain. When it’s over, return your lifejackets to your stateroom and head up on deck for departure…
Soon after 17:00 the QM2 sails, with a band playing on her aft decks and glasses of champagne available . She is sometimes moored facing upstream, sometimes downstream, and if she’s moored facing upstream at the City or Mayflower terminals, she’ll first head further upstream before turning around, somehow managing to turn her 1,130 foot length without hitting the far bank of the river or the small boats moored there.
The Queen Mary 2 heads downstream into the Solent, heading directly towards Cowes on the Isle of Wight before making a tight turn to port in the deep water channel, passing Ryde to starboard and Portsmouth to port. The QM2 rounds the Isle of Wight using the deep water route to the east and heads out into the English Channel. By breakfast next morning, you’re well past Bishop Rock lighthouse and out in the Atlantic…
Why Cruise To Europe
Cruisers can visit multiple cities — often multiple countries — in one weeklong to two-week trip, so they can hit the highlights and only pay airfare once. Instead of logging long hours traveling in a bus, navigating train schedules in a foreign language or moving from hotel to hotel, cruise passengers can enjoy fine dining, complimentary entertainment and one comfortable home base for the entire trip as the ship sails from Spain to France to Italy.
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Main Departure Ports In The Usa And Europe
Many cruises to Europe from the United States set trips from Fort Lauderdale or Miami in Florida. Some transatlantic sailings are travelling around Iceland and Greenland, sailing from Cape Liberty, New Jersey.
Cruises from Europe to the U.S. leave from Barcelona, Spain Lisbon, Portugal Rome, Italy and Southampton, England.
Ports you should not miss when you travel from Europe to the USA by ships
A cruise between Europe and the USA doesnt just consist of days at sea.
Some of the ports of call you could visit on a cruise between Europe and the USA include:
- Florence, Italy
What Are Typical Ports Of Call When You Cruise From Europe To The Usa
A cruise between Europe and the USA doesnt just consist of days at sea. Youll also discover several international ports of call along the way, with stops in Mediterranean hot spots like Mallorca and Lisbon, cities in the United States including New York and Boston, and islands such as Bermuda and the Azores.
Some of the ports of call you could visit on a cruise between Europe and the USA include:
- Agadir, Morocco
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What To Do In Boston Before Or After Your Cruise
Spending a day or two in Boston before or after you cruise gives you the chance to explore all the famous historic and modern attractions. Sighteeing and speciality tours, such as these offered by booking service GetYourGuide, offer a convenient way to make the most of your time and ensure you don’t miss out on anything while you’re here:
Why You’ll Enjoy Cruising To Europe Aboard Holland American’s Rotterdam& veendam
Holland America is considered a 5-star, top luxury cruise line. When you experience the white-glove service and splendid amenities on the elegant Rotterdam and Veendam, you’ll understand why.
The crew makes sure that your on-board experience during the cruise from Boston to Europe is as close to perfect as possible.
In the formal and casual dining areas, you’ll enjoy an extensive list of excellent wines, gourmet cuisine, and elegant table linens, crystal, and china. Formal nights give you the chance to get dressed up casual dining options mean you don’t have to if this is not your thing!
Excellent recreational facilities, top-flight entertainment, and enrichment opportunities such as digital photography and cooking classes ensure that you’ll have plenty to do on your days at sea. Welcoming common areas give you lots of places to hang out, socialize, and relax.
Even the regular staterooms provide more space than on most other cruise ships. And suites are roomier than many Boston apartments.
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Outlook On Booking A 2021 Repositioning Cruise Deal
With cruise lines greatly relaxing their cancelation policies. It can make sense to book a good deal if you see one. Particularly if you really like a certain repositioning cruise deal you see now, its probably best to strike while you can. Otherwise you may become disappointed if prices go up or if the cruise sells out.
Repositioning cruise pricing trends can be somewhat predictable for those in the know. Yet with all the uncertainty going on in 2020 and into 2021, all bets are off. There will be many changes implemented as repositioning cruises start back up again. Some of those occurrences could affect how good of a deal may be available on a repositioning cruise.
For example, many cruise lines are currently not filling their ships to capacity, so guests can more easily keep distanced. Also, weve noticed some repositioning cruises have been cut from the 2021 calendar. Certain ships have gotten sold or scrapped, while other itineraries have been altered to accommodate shorter and closer cruises that people may be more attracted to in 2021. All of these actions will lead to reduced inventory of cabins on repositioning cruises in 2021. This could potentially lead to cruises selling out and/or higher prices.
There is pent-up demand for cruising and many cruisers are in need of using their future cruise credits they have accumulated from canceled 2020 cruises. This could further make getting a cabin on a repositioning cruise potentially more competitive.
Note About 2020 Repositioning Cruises During The Pandemic
Each repositioning cruise season, we update this article to highlight the best and cheapest last-minute repositioning cruise deals. But for 2020 the coronaviruspandemic has canceled many cruising voyages around the world. This includes repositioning cruise cancelations, of course. Unfortunately, many Fall 2020 repositioning cruises have been canceled.
Yet there are still some Fall 2020 repositioning cruises that you can book right now! Of course, you must be able to comply with any government restrictions and weigh the personal risks on your own.
Also, be familiar with the refund policies in the realistic instance that these last-minute repositioning cruises dont sail. If you do book a repositioning cruise and the cruise line cancels on you, they tend to offer generous future cruise credit , or a full cash refund. So it could prove financially beneficial to book and get canceled upon, if youre able to use the future cruise credit for a repositioning cruise in 2021. Just know the policy before you book.
But will any repositioning cruises actually sail in Fall 2020? No really knows for sure, as the situation continues to evolve. Personally, we have have much greater confidence about 2021 repositioning cruises happening. So the section below now also highlights the best repositioning cruise deals weve spotted for 2021.
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Transfer By Taxi In Southampton
Make sure you know which of the four possible terminals the QM2 is sailing from, the QEII terminal , City Cruise Terminal , Mayflower Cruise Terminal , or the new Ocean Terminal . Map of Southampton, showing all cruise terminals, Southampton Central Station & the historic Ocean Terminal.
A taxi from Southampton Central station takes 10 minutes and costs around £9 to the Mayflower or City cruise terminals, around £12 to the QEII terminal or Ocean Terminal. You’ll find plenty of taxis waiting at the station, the taxi rank is on the same side of the station where most trains from London arrive, so no bridges or subways to negotiate., level access from platform to booking hall to forecourt.
Key Tips For Taking A European River Cruise Right Now
Regardless of how you travel, be sure to take a photo of your vaccine card and carry the physical copy with you when you go out, as well as any health declaration forms. Research countries and respective contact tracing apps, and download them prior to arrival in order to expedite your entry and exit into bars, restaurants, and other venues.
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How Does The Ticketing Work
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Whether you book direct with Cunard or through an agency such as cruisenation or cruisedirect, you log in to Cunard’s voyage personaliser atusing your Cunard booking reference and personal details .
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Shortly before sailing date your voyage personaliser will show your allocated cabin number & dinner sitting, and you can download and print your e-tickets & luggage labels. Don’t worry if you don’t manage to print the e-ticket, as long as you have some proof of booking you’ll be fine for entering the terminal and once at the check-in desk they will have your booking on their system.
Westbound transatlantic guide
Here is a typical transatlantic timetable, port transfer, embarkation arrangements & journey information for a typical westbound transatlantic sailing on the QM2. Although they normally follow this same pattern, always check the sailing time & check-in times for your specific date. If you find that something has changed, please let me know. If you’re sailing eastbound, see the .
Qm2 Disembarkation In New York
A note explaining QM2 disembarkation procedures appears outside your stateroom a day or two before arrival, and each deck is allocated a disembarkation time. Disembarkation takes place between 08:00 & 11:00. The upper decks with the more expensive cabins disembark first , other decks such as 4, 5 or 6 later.
Labels for your bags appear outside your stateroom the day before arrival. You put a label on each of your bags and place them in the corridor outside your stateroom between 20:00 & midnight before arrival. Your bags will disappear and will be waiting for you in the terminal hall next morning, in an area marked with the same colour as your labels.
It’s then just a matter of going through the U.S. immigration check, a slowish process but no worse than any airport. They you walk out of the terminal.
Express disembarkation: If you want to get off sooner and are happy managing all your own bags, you can register for Express disembarkation at the purser’s desk on deck 2 the day before arrival. You are given an express disembarkation card. Express disembarkation passengers gather in the Queens Room from 06:45 onwards with all their luggage, and at around 07:00 when the gangway opens you simply walk off the ship with your bags, straight into the terminal. With a Deck 4 cabin we were allocated an 11:00 disembarkation time, which would have meant half a day in New York wasted, so I’d go for express disembarkation every time!
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What’s An Eastbound Atlantic Crossing Like
The ship normally sails from New York at 17:00. This is the usual time, but please check for your specific departure date. Once on board and settled into your stateroom, listen for announcements about emergency drill. This is held at 16:00 and takes about 20 minutes. You listen for the alarm bells, fetch your lifejackets from your stateroom and go to your allocated muster station where staff will brief you on emergency procedures and you’ll listen to an announcement by the captain. After this you’re free to go up on deck and admire the Manhattan skyline astern and the Statue of Liberty to starboard . At 17:00 she casts off, and with a band playing on her aft decks and glasses of champagne available she heads out to sea. Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty slowly disappear astern, and the QM2 heads toward and then underneath the huge Verrazano suspension bridge out into the Atlantic. There is just a few precious feet of clearance above her red funnel! An NYPD police boat follows behind , and a police helicopter buzzes overhead…
Are Americans Banned From Traveling To Europe Now
No, Americans are not banned from traveling to all of Europe.
At press time, two European countriesSweden and Bulgariahad reintroduced outright bans on U.S. travel. But the majority of European countries remain open to U.S. travelers, particularly those who are vaccinated. Some countries have introduced new regulations barring nonessential travel for unvaccinated U.S. travelers, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spainmeaning no vaccination, no leisure travel.
But Portugal has said it will continue to allow U.S. travelers to enter, regardless of vaccination status, as long as they provide a negative COVID test result upon arrival, and some countries, such as Greece, have not yet instituted changes that cut off access to U.S. travelers.
Once countries reach certain epidemiological benchmarks , they can be considered for the European Councils approved countries list, which allows for the lifting of restrictions on nonessential travel regardless of vaccination status.
Unfortunately, during the current Delta variantspurred wave, the United States has surpassed some of those benchmarks and thus has been removed from the list. For instance, one of the requirements is that cases should be stable or decreasing, but the United States has seen a steady uptick in cases in recent weeks.
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Which Cruise Ships Sail Between Europe And The Us
Several of our award-winning Celebrity Cruise ships travel between Europe and the United States. Our roster of transatlantic cruise ships includes the Celebrity Silhouette, Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Reflection, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Apex, and the Celebrity Constellation.
Can I Still Travel To Europe
If you are vaccinated, yes — you can still travel to Europe. Be warned that while the European Union can recommend what each member country can do, the actual decision still comes down to each individual country. That’s why Greece was accepting American tourists as early as the spring, and why Germany decided recently it would ban non-vaccinated Americans from traveling to the country.
And why Portugal has become the first EU country after the ban to state that discretionary travel to and from the United States is still allowed.
The only policy change under the statement is that all US visitors must now present an official vaccination card, showing that they have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before their arrival in Portugal with a vaccine recognized by the European Union. Children under 12 are exempted.
Ireland has also left its entry rules unchanged — currently, arrivals with valid proof of vaccination are not subject to travel related-testing or quarantine and must complete a Passenger Locator Form.
So while you might read headlines that scream Americans are banned from travel to Europe, that’s not quite the case. And because most European cruises were requiring proof of full vaccination anyhow, the average vaccinated person should see little day-to-day change in their scheduled cruise vacation plans.
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