British Isles Cruising July 2021

[LJJQ]

We are booked on Celebrity Reflection July 30,2021 British Isles cruise from Amsterdam! What is the chances that Amsterdam & Great Britain will open up by then to International cruisers ? If chances are slim to none will move cruise to next year!

[Ashland]

I'm also on that cruise and hoping they cancel and I am guessing slim to none they will be open.

The question is will Celebrity do the right thing and cancel before final is due ?

[LJJQ]

Ashland,

I hope that Celebrity will do the proper thing but highly doubt it! We will wait until April 15th, Tax Day, and see if anything happens! I was disappointed in the September 1, 2022 British Isles cruise since Scotland was not included.

We plan on booking the Edge Transatlantic Rome to Ft Lauderdale next year! Will spend few days in Rome before boarding the Edge!

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, LJJQ said:

Ashland,

I hope that Celebrity will do the proper thing but highly doubt it! We will wait until April 15th, Tax Day, and see if anything happens! I was disappointed in the September 1, 2022 British Isles cruise since Scotland was not included.

We plan on booking the Edge Transatlantic Rome to Ft Lauderdale next year! Will spend few days in Rome before boarding the Edge!

I'll wait until final is due to make a decision on options. Unfortunately those seem to be limited for 2022 as I'm already booked with RCI for 6 cruises. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

For what it’s worth, the current U.K. roadmap foresees accommodation (such has B&Bs, hotels) and indoor hospitality (pubs, restaurants) reopening in Step 3, which is not before 17 May, and pretty much all restrictions being lifted in Step 4, not before 21 June. 
 

This is, of course, subject to continued decline in hospitalisation and deaths, and continuing success of vaccinations. But if all goes well, we should be fully open by the time of your cruise. 
 

I can’t speak for the Netherlands, who are still at he highest level of alert and I am not aware of an equivalent roadmap being released. 

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

For what it’s worth, the current U.K. roadmap foresees accommodation (such has B&Bs, hotels) and indoor hospitality (pubs, restaurants) reopening in Step 3, which is not before 17 May, and pretty much all restrictions being lifted in Step 4, not before 21 June. 
 

This is, of course, subject to continued decline in hospitalisation and deaths, and continuing success of vaccinations. But if all goes well, we should be fully open by the time of your cruise. 
 

I can’t speak for the Netherlands, who are still at he highest level of alert and I am not aware of an equivalent roadmap being released. 

Thanks so much for your information....Since we sail from Amsterdam that is the reason we hope Celebrity will cancel.

[LJJQ]

TV News showed tonight that infection rate has risen in Europe that many countries, especially Italy, have locked down again. Also many have stopped administering AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot complications on a small number ! This gives me more reason to just go ahead and cancel our July 30th Reflection cruise. Celebrity won’t cancel the cruise until after the final payment is due & I refuse to give them it!

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, LJJQ said:

TV News showed tonight that infection rate has risen in Europe that many countries, especially Italy, have locked down again. Also many have stopped administering AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot complications on a small number ! This gives me more reason to just go ahead and cancel our July 30th Reflection cruise. Celebrity won’t cancel the cruise until after the final payment is due & I refuse to give them it!

Hoping each of our decisions work out for the best. I'll continue to wait up until final is due.

Best of luck to you.

[milolii]

 It certainly is difficult to make a call.  We are in a similar situation, but not a cruise.   We were to start our land tour in Ireland but finish in Scotland.  While vaccinations look great in the UK, (wonderful news) there are some problems in Ireland.  We cancelled the tour while we could still get a full refund. 

I was on a Zoom event last night hosted by a well known US travel host who has programs on public television.  He stated that his company is not accepting reservations for his European Tours for  2021, but  may start closer to the end of the year.  So he will not take your money.  

Our  flights can be exchanged without penalty to a credit. I Was beginning to research alternate plans for US domestic travel.  However, I spoke with a nice agent today at AA  who said to wait, as if the airline cancels, or changes the flight significantly, you can get full refund.  That was my understanding as well, but wanted to make sure.  
 

I would cancel a cruise before for final payment.  Best of luck to you both.  

 

[wowzz]

On 3/16/2021 at 11:53 PM, LJJQ said:

Also many have stopped administering AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot complications on a small number

As you probably now know,  vaccinations are now back up and running, following the knee jerk reactions from various governments.

Ironically, the member of clots developed by those having the Pfizer vaccine was greater than those from the AstraZeneca vaccine, but this did not fit in with the political agenda of France, Gernany etc! 

[John Bull]

On 3/16/2021 at 11:53 PM, LJJQ said:

TV News showed tonight that infection rate has risen in Europe that many countries, especially Italy, have locked down again. Also many have stopped administering AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot complications on a small number ! This gives me more reason to just go ahead and cancel our July 30th Reflection cruise. Celebrity won’t cancel the cruise until after the final payment is due & I refuse to give them it!

 

Hi, Larry,

 

Yes, much of mainland Europe, including the Netherlands, is experiencing another spike in infections and consequent restrictions. In the past 24 hours, the lockdown in the Netherlands has been extended to 20th April.

https://nltimes.nl/2021/03/23/dutch-lockdown-extended-april-20-curfew-relief

 

England, currently currently in lockdown (except schools), will gradually lift all restrictions - its "road-map" to normality includes provisional dates but those dates depend on infections and hospitalisations. 

Unnecessary international travel is currently banned, and permitted international travel is subject to imposition of quarantine (sometimes quarantine in hotels). This will remain until at least 17th May.

The Govt has brought forward to 7th April an announcement on restrictions - whilst mostly it's good news that's expected, there have been very strong hints in the last 24 hours that the international travel ban will be extended into July.

https://loyaltylobby.com/2021/03/23/uk-foreign-travel-ban-in-place-until-july-institutes-5000-fine/

That will of course affect a cruise ship starting from Amsterdam.

 

The above for England only, because Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales have autonomy on Covid restrictions. Whilst there's a degree of cohesion between the four, the others tend to be a little more cautious than England, and dates of changes of restrictions are often a week or so different.

The Republic of Ireland isn't part of the UK, though it does have a common travel area with the UK - normally no borders between (like its own mini-Schengen), but Covid can screw that up. I think Brexit affects only goods, not travellers, between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

So sadly you need to add in potential cancellation (or more likely itinerary changes) if some British Isles destinations have different travel restrictions.

 

I'd be inclined to cancel at the last moment before you commit big bucks, but I think you need to accept that your cruise is very unlikely to happen, and perhaps make alternative cancellable plans. 

 

Milolii - Yes, a domestic vacation for 2021 sounds a great deal simpler, safer, and more certain. And you have a huge and varied country to explore - we've visited many times including five long road-trips (two of them coast-to-coast) and there are still many states on our "to do" list. 

For ourselves we've booked (cancellable) accommodation for a meandering road-trip to Scotland.

 

The AstraZeneka pause was in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, political than medical - an attempt to divert opinion away from the EU's disastrous vaccine ordering and a side-swipe at the UK over Brexit. That pause was for about 3 days only, while the WHO and EU Medicines Board re-checked and re-iterated their confidence in AZ, and confirmed that the small number of blood-clot cases were not due to the vaccine - indeed it appears from that study that vaccination actually DECREASES the risk of blood clots.

Most (all) EU countries re-started last week, and a day or two later AZ was approved in the US.

The French are all of a dither - at the outset they declined to allow AZ to be administered to the over-55's, now they will only allow it to be administered to the over-55's.

Bulgaria has a very vaccine-averse population, made worst by the AZ shenanigans  - and while the roll-out in the rest of the EU is slow because of a shortage, Bulgaria is offering vaccination to all and any adults because their vaccination rate is the worst in Europe.

 

JB 🙂

Edited March 24, 2021 by John Bull

[gnome12]

22 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Most (all) EU countries re-started last week, and a day or two later AZ was approved in the US.

 

JB 🙂

The US has not yet approved AstraZeneca.

[John Bull]

Thanks for that, my little garden friend.

Yes, my bad 🙄 - I overlooked the paperwork following the AZ passing its efficacy and safety as reported by the BBC, so  I'll pass the blame elsewhere as usual 😋

 

The AZ passed it's Stage 111 trials a couple of days ago, with efficacy at 79% (80% for over 65's) for prevention, and 100% at preventing serious illness.  Also passed on safety, and proven no link to blood-clots (the given reason for the short vaccination pause n many European countries).

 

The UK was quick to bring forward approval following those tests in the UK, hence the first country (I think) to start nationwide vaccinations, 8th December. But apparently it' will be a month or two before approval in the US.

Only a small proportion of US vaccinations involve the AZ vaccine, so I guess if they have plenty of the others that delay won't make any odds

 

JB 🙂

[gnome12]

I had my first AstraZeneca shot a week and a half ago. Canada didn't have a lot of doses, but we never stopped using AZ.

[John Bull]

45 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I had my first AstraZeneca shot a week and a half ago. Canada didn't have a lot of doses, but we never stopped using AZ.

My first a couple of months ago.

I didn't grow two heads 😋

 

My booster due in 3 to 4 weeks time - fingers crossed the threats by the EU won't screw that up.

 

JB 🙂