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

Psoque

By Psoque,
in River Cruising

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Psoque

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Hi.  We are currently in midst of our Basel to Amsterdam Cruise on Crystal Debussy that started on Nov. 18, 2021.

 

As many of you know, the water levels on the Rhine is very low, especially in southern Germany.  Because of it, Crystal Debussy could not make it to Basel.  We got tested for the coronavirus at Pullman Hotel in Basel and boarded the Crystal bus, which took us on a scenic 3 hour drive to Speyer, Germany where we boarded the ship.  Initially, the plan was for the ship to stay there overnight, allowing us to still visit Strasbourg.  However, we ended up leaving Speyer that evening for Rudesheim, skipping Mannheim altogether.  Two additional ports (Bernkastel and Cochem) on the Mosel was added to our itinerary in place of Strasbourg and Mannheim.  For me, that was not such a bad news (though I was really looking forward to visit Strasbourg again) since I have never been on the Mosel before.

 

We arrived in Rudesheim the morning of Nov. 19, then left there in the afternoon, arriving in Koblenz around 7 PM.  We overnighted there.  Last night (Nov. 20) after we departed Koblenz for Bernkastel, and after dinner, we were were informed by the captain of the ship that we are now required to return to our cabins and stay there until further notice.  Apparently there are (were) 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 onboard.

 

We were told to order room service for breakfast and instructed to wait for additional information.

 

I will keep you posted.

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malcliz

malcliz

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45 minutes ago, Psoque said:

Hi.  We are currently in midst of our Basel to Amsterdam Cruise on Crystal Debussy that started on Nov. 18, 2021.

 

As many of you know, the water levels on the Rhine is very low, especially in southern Germany.  Because of it, Crystal Debussy could not make it to Basel.  We got tested for the coronavirus at Pullman Hotel in Basel and boarded the Crystal bus, which took us on a scenic 3 hour drive to Speyer, Germany where we boarded the ship.  Initially, the plan was for the ship to stay there overnight, allowing us to still visit Strasbourg.  However, we ended up leaving Speyer that evening for Rudesheim, skipping Mannheim altogether.  Two additional ports (Bernkastel and Cochem) on the Mosel was added to our itinerary in place of Strasbourg and Mannheim.  For me, that was not such a bad news (though I was really looking forward to visit Strasbourg again) since I have never been on the Mosel before.

 

We arrived in Rudesheim the morning of Nov. 19, then left there in the afternoon, arriving in Koblenz around 7 PM.  We overnighted there.  Last night (Nov. 20) after we departed Koblenz for Bernkastel, and after dinner, we were were informed by the captain of the ship that we are now required to return to our cabins and stay there until further notice.  Apparently there are (were) 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 onboard.

 

We were told to order room service for breakfast and instructed to wait for additional information.

 

I will keep you posted.

Oh dear so sorry to hear this. Were these 3 guests tested again yesterday when they found this out? On the Ravel there was no further testing once we were on board although we did have our temperature taken on the way into dinner every evening. Perhaps that is how they found out? The testing before boarding was so busy with 2 coach loads arriving at once with no social distancing. We love the Crystal coaches but again no rows were blocked off as they have been on recent ocean cruises we have taken. 

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Psoque Great Review Rare

Psoque

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1 hour ago, malcliz said:

Oh dear so sorry to hear this. Were these 3 guests tested again yesterday when they found this out? On the Ravel there was no further testing once we were on board although we did have our temperature taken on the way into dinner every evening. Perhaps that is how they found out? The testing before boarding was so busy with 2 coach loads arriving at once with no social distancing. We love the Crystal coaches but again no rows were blocked off as they have been on recent ocean cruises we have taken. 

We just received more information.  Three crew members were found to be positive on their routine screening tests.  We were informed that these three crew members are now in isolation.  All crew members and passengers are supposed to get tested today, and as soon as we are all cleared, the cruise activities are supposed to proceed as planned.

 

The fact that these three cases were detected on a screen is much better news than we thought last night.  Since there are presumably asymptomatic breakthrough cases, the chances of this to have spread to many of us is very low at this time.

 

However, I am very concerned for the rest of the crew, who are already at least 3 members short, and possibly could be even more short depending on what the test results show today.

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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@Psoque I am so sorry to read that. After all the preparations you made and you have posted, tests, excitement, sharing great useful info for other river cruisers, it has hit your ship double. What are the odds...

 

I suppose there is too much virus out along "my river" to feel comfortable anywhere here.

 

The detour via the Moselle is a typical procedure of Crystal. It can be great fun and the river is beautiful. I hope you can appreciate it at least to some extent under the circumstances.

 

Be careful and I hope the further tests all come up negative.

 

So you have seen Koblenz and the market. That is nice. I hope you can see more beautiful places in the next few days and that Crystal will look after you.

 

notamermaid

 

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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11 minutes ago, FlossieC said:

Sorry to hear your news. Do hope it improves.

 

We were due to be on the Debussy over Xmas/New Year but decided to postpone due to the uncertainty.

 

May I ask how many Passengers are on board please.

 

 

Did Crystal just move you to your desired date for next year?

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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41 minutes ago, RedTexGal said:

Good news!! This is why testing is still important. Find it and isolate. Hopefully the crew members have mild symptoms and recover soon. I take it that the crew is vaccinated? Looking forward to more updates and have a lovely cruise😊

All Crystal crew are vaccinated.

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Psoque Great Review Rare

Psoque

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On 11/21/2021 at 1:34 PM, FlossieC said:

Sorry to hear your news. Do hope it improves.

 

We were due to be on the Debussy over Xmas/New Year but decided to postpone due to the uncertainty.

 

May I ask how many Passengers are on board please.

 

 

It appears that the ship is (or at least was…more on that below) nearly full with 78 passengers, according to what I overheard.

 

We were also informed on a public announcement that the testing done to end the quarantine identified (an undisclosed number of) passengers and crew who were positive, and they were all disembarked to a “quarantine hotel” in Bernkastel.

 

More people are wearing masks onboard since this.

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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6 hours ago, Psoque said:

We were also informed on a public announcement that the testing done to end the quarantine identified (an undisclosed number of) passengers and crew who were positive, and they were all disembarked to a “quarantine hotel” in Bernkastel.

I am sorry to hear that. Hopefully the are all okay. I must admit that it confirms my believe that there is too much virus out there and one is too close on a river cruise ship, so that statistically one can catch it while on a holiday along the Rhine and without masks where people get too close and mix for too long, i.e. eating, drinking, passing each other. I have decided to scrap my plans for a three to five day river cruise intended to be taken before Spring.

 

I hope your river cruise continues uneventfully from this point and you have also good memories to take home.

 

notamermaid

 

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steamboats Great Review Rare

steamboats

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According to Marinetraffic the ship is already in Cologne and on it´s way to Amsterdam (arrival tomorrow). The current location in Cologne is also a bit weird as it´s shown at the entrance of Deutzer Hafen which is not a regular docking site for river cruise ships.

 

steamboats

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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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.

 

I hope Psoque remains in good health and spirits and things are calm and normal on the ship.

 

I do not have much hope for the next sailings. Will Crystal react to this incident with cancelling the next cruise? Or are they confident?

 

notamermaid

 

Edited by notamermaid
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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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2 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.

 

I hope Psoque remains in good health and spirits and things are calm and normal on the ship.

 

I do not have much hope for the next sailings. Will Crystal react to this incident with cancelling the next cruise? Or are they confident?

 

I don't think with COVID-19, surfaces are as big of a deal as with norovirus. I don't think deep cleaning is as necessary. It is more of a transmission between people and droplets in air.

 

I think today and tomorrow are crucial for all lines. I have a good friend leaving Saturday. I think all cruises should be cancelled at this point. I am guessing most lines will have a lot of cancellations due to Germany being put on High Risk level.

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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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

 

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