Cleopatra99

Scenic Opal left Amsterdam on 6 June bound for Basel. The ship is due to arrive in Rastatt on 10 June. At the moment it is around 1am in Rastatt and Opal is still in / near Manheim and has not moved for some time. I assume the high water at Maxau is preventing the ship from proceeding further. I'm not sure what this means for those on board who are due to disembark in Basel on 12 June or for those who are due to embark in Basel on the 12th. The ship is diue back in Amsterdam on 19 June so I assume it will be ok to return from it's present position even if it can't proceed any further towards Basel. At least I hope so - we are due to board on the 19th in Amsterdam (insert fingers-crossed symbol here).

.. I should also have asked, are cruises on the Rhine and Moselle running as scheduled or are there high water disruptions ? Thank you

May I ask .. are river conditions continuing to improve ?? Thank you

howdy .. I've been away for a while and am just catching up. Mid last year we were booked on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages in 7002 (Junior Suite) and three days before embarkation we received an email to advise we have been upgraded to Explorer Suite (3095). It was fantastic, we just loved it. On board we approached Guest Services to thank them. They had no idea what we were talking about .. so obviously the on-board staff aren't involved in the 'selection' of who is upgraded. We aren't anyone special and we only completed 5 Viking cruises so we don't know why we were selected - but we are very grateful that we were. We will book again shortly and will again book 7002 without any further 'upgrade' expectations - but we'll take it if it's offered !!

We don't cruise till mid June (Amsterdam - Zurich on Rhine and Moselle with Scenic) but are curious about current water levels and how soon we will get a sense of what we can expect with river levels in mid June. Thank you for any advice and information.

That is good news. We board in Amsterdam (.. to Basel) with Scenic in June and will be following your updates over coming weeks and months with great interest. Thank you for all the information you provide. Cheers C99

Ah, yes of course. Thanks for clarifying. We've been to Europe several times so we do have some experience with castles - although not Marksburg. We will probably stay with our original plan and go to Limburg and then to the fortress after we return. This is the description of the excursion; Medieval Limburg: From Koblenz, travel by coach to the charming medieval town of Limburg an der Lahn. Here you will have the chance to walk the historic cobblestone streets lined with perfectly preserved half-timbered houses. Make your way up to the Cathedral that overlooks the city as well as the Alte Lahnbrucke, the Old Bridge that straddles the Lahn river. It's not actually clear if you are accompanied by a guide - but we are fine with self-guided if that's what it is. I'm not sure which route they will take, but hopefully less than an hour each way - which we can cope with. We actually fly into Frankfurt - but are being met at the airport and being taken to Mainz which looks much nicer than central Frankfurt (no offence intended). We stay overnight in Mainz then go by train to Amsterdam (for reasons I can't explain Emirates flights to Frankfurt were much less than anything we could find for Amsterdam - and we get to spend the afternoon and evening in the lovely town of Mainz, so it's a good option for us). Kind regards

hello notamermaid and thank you for your invaluable contributions to this forum. We will be in Koblenz in June with Scenic (Amsterdam - Zurich) and the options for the day are Walking Tour of Koblenz, a visit to Marksburg Castle, or a Walking Tour of Limburg. The ship stays overnight in Koblenz so we are thinking of going to Limburg, then coming back to visit Ehrenbreitstein, then a self guided walk around Koblenz in the evening after dinner. I'm interested in your comment about Ehrenbreitstein 'after 5pm'. We would be mainly going for the cable car ride and the views. Are you able to elaborate about 'after 5pm' ? (and what do you think of Limburg ??). Thank you

Update from Australian Government this morning ... (quote) - All COVID-19 travel restrictions into Spain have been removed. Some safety measure remain in place (eg wearing of masks on public transport). Assume this applies to all non-EU citizens (eg Aussies as well as Canadians).

FYI .. 18_July_Eastern_Seaboard_Cruise_Protocols.pdf (nsw.gov.au) This would suggest ships are being monitored by the NSW Government https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/cruising-rules

Actually I misread your post - so let me try again. Politicians will always take credit for a good idea, even if it's not their idea. In this case the cruise industry in Australia was shut down completely for a long time due to COVID, zero cruise ships coming and going. When international flights began arriving again the cruise ships were still banned. So the cruise industry pleaded and begged to be allowed to start again. In response the Government replied .. show us your plan for re-starting safely. This document was obviously part of the plan (even though I did not know it existed until recently). So when the 'protocols' were finalised everyone involved (ie Federal Government, State Governments, Cruise Industry etc) wanted some of the credit. I've got no doubt the cruise industry started the conversation which lead to the development of these protocols. There is no indication the protocols have an expiry date so they will remain in place until someone initiates a change, or a complete cessation. The Government won't start that process as there is no benefit for them, so it will be up to the cruise industry to do so. But back to your original point, yes it was certainly claimed to be a joint-Government initiative even though the credit probably should have been more evenly shared with the cruise industry.

Yep .. good point. I read a newspaper article that it was an industry initiative - but I'm not sure if the cruise industry said 'here is our plan what do you think' or if Government said 'show us your plan and we'll give it some consideration' (chicken or egg). In any case, hopefully the document might give some background as to the recent on-board testing issues.

18_July_Eastern_Seaboard_Cruise_Protocols.pdf (nsw.gov.au) It's very likely some of the issues raised recently (re on-board testing etc) is linked back to these protocols. These are not Government issued rules and / or regulations, they are guidelines developed by the cruise industry. When the Australian border began to open to international flights cruise ships were still banned by Government. In response to the ban, the cruise industry went to Government to say they were prepared to go over-and-above what airlines and others were prepared to do to keep COVID under control. Hence these protocols. I'm not sure how they are monitored or what penalties apply if they are breached. Again, these are protocols established by the cruise industry and I imagine it is up to the cruise industry to go back to Government if they wish to vary them. The letter which is included in post #1910 suggests changes are linked back to 'local authorities'. This is somewhat misleading if the changes are actually linked to the protocols - rather than Government requirements. I guess in the end Viking ship, Viking rules. I'll leave it at that. Over and out.

Just to close the discussion .. I made contact with the local Viking office and told them it is my view the information being provided to US based passengers about COVID tests being required to enter Australia (or NSW) is incorrect. Their reply ... it's not up to them to tell US based Viking colleagues what information to provide to US based passengers. I give up. Good luck sorting through all these issues, but I'll step away now.

Possibly due to Bali guidelines ? Who knows. PCR Test BEFORE Arrival in Bali / Indonesia is not needed anymore. HOWEVER.... If travellers are showing symptoms or show an increased temperature at the temperature check-point upon arrival... Test is taken at the airport before you get to the immigration checkpoint (or harbour). These travellers must go directly to their accommodation after leaving the airport and wait for the test result inside the room. They can not leave the room before the PCR test received (and negative). or, travellers might have to wait for the test result at the airport If you are tested positive with no or mild symptoms you will have to isolate in a "quarantine accommodation" (Akomodasi Karantina) appointed by the government. Until the PCR tests returns negative! Or self-isolation at your own accommodation. If you have "medium to severe symptoms" you will have to be isolated and be taken to a government hospital.