Cruising from Spain to Turkey during this virus?!?!

[DougSabbag]

Yes, excellent news!!! Hopefully, this will spread quickly among more countries.

[Dogscout]

Recreational boating in Greece is still not permitted. On the 23rd they are opening up boating but it will still be very limited. I have still not heard a complete description but it appears that you may be able to go out and back from the same port, and may be able to anchor without going to shore. This seems to be equal to the internal travel bans outside of your municipal area which are currently in affect.

[ausnp84]

Great reading - thanks to all who’ve contributed.

We’re in a similar position; boat is currently stuck in Spain and we’re aiming for Greece / Turkey by winter. Looks like we might be able to get down end of May / June for a month and then down again in Oct to start sailing across the Med but all depends on vax rollout and lockdowns.

N

[John320]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but the 9th of May is crunch date in Spain
This is the date the nationwide Estado de Alarma ends and the debate at the moment is how it will be replaced if at all. The central government has said that they will not be considering extending this.
It's possible that the provinces will continue with some form of restriction individually, however the hope is that the Cierre Perimetral will end which if it does will allow us to travel along the coasts.

[Montanan]

The EU is one step closer to developing and then implementing their Green Certificate to provide documentation for enabling cross border travel with the intent enter a pilot phase in June or early July as the peak summer holiday season approaches, said EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.
EU member states agreed on the guidelines describing the main technical specifications for the implementation of the green pass system this Thursday, April 22. All EU countries are now encouraged to deploy their needed technical solutions at national level.
Reynders said green certificates will be ready before the summer but underlined that vaccination should not be a “precondition for travel”.
“The certificate is prepared to [enter] into force in the beginning of the summer, maybe June or beginning of July. So I’m hoping at such a moment of time, we will have a huge rate of vaccinated people in the European Union,”

However, broader coverage of international certificates may take much longer to coordinate and develop between countries that are third party to the EU.

[Montanan]

FYI:

Europe’s Travel Restrictions for U.S. Citizens

Why are Americans Banned from Visiting Europe?

The reason the travel ban was set in place by European authorities was to prevent further spread of coronavirus throughout the Schengen Countries.

The European Commission regularly reviews the list of third countries eligible for entry.

In general, the EU advises against non-essential travel, especially from at-risk areas.

The U.S. is among the countries most affected by the pandemic, with a high number of cases. That is the reason why the American territory is currently considered epidemiologically at risk by the European Commission.

Moreover, the EU considers the reciprocity principle when deciding on entry restrictions. President Biden extended the travel ban for passengers from Europe, the UK, and Brazil that had been revoked in January 2021 by then-President Donald Trump. The current ban affecting EU citizens plays against the lifting of the European restrictions.

In January 2021, the European authorities announced the following new measures and recommendations for travel to the EU that may affect U.S. passengers:

The introduction of a “dark red area” denomination to the EU’s weekly map of infections to highlight the most affected nations
Mandatory testing and quarantine for travelers from dark red areas
Mandatory testing before and after arrival and quarantine for third-country passengers
When Will Europe Lift Its Travel Ban on U.S. Tourists?
About 15 million U.S. tourists chose Europe as a vacation destination in 2018. Based on these numbers, it is clear to see how travel restrictions in place to protect European lives are also significantly affecting the tourism industry in the area.

In order to be removed from the list of at-risk countries, a nation must report:

Less than 25 new COVID-19 cases per 100 000 inhabitants over the last 14 days Presently, for week 15, the USA is reporting about 290 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Spain is 247. Reference link: https://covid19-country-overviews.ec...a.eu/#2_Global

A stable or decreasing trend of new infections over this period when compared to the previous 14 days

More than 300 tests per 100 000 inhabitants in the previous week.

Less than 4% positive tests among those carried out in the previous week.

Until the U.S. meets the above criteria for the lifting of the EU travel ban, non-essential travel between the United States and the Schengen Area is prohibited.

The anti-COVID travel restrictions are considered temporary measures, the EU normally welcomes American tourists. Travel restrictions should be lifted by the EU once the U.S. has the outbreak under control or is able to negotiate an exception to the European Union ban — whichever comes first.

[Montanan]

A ray of light at the end of the Covid tunnel.

A top European Union official said Sunday that Americans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be able to travel to Europe by summer, easing existing travel restrictions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told The New York Times that the union's 27 members would accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved" by the European Medicines Agency. The agency has approved the three vaccines used in the United States.

"The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines," von der Leyen said. "This will enable free movement and travel to the European Union."

She did not say when travel could resume.



Von der Leyen did note, however, that travel will be contingent on vaccination certificates showing proof of vaccination with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (E.M.A.). The E.M.A. has approved all three of the vaccines being used in the U.S.
The decision will come more than a year after most non-essential travel was banned.
Discussions between E.U. and American officials on what form the vaccination certificates will take are ongoing.
Even if the European Commission suggests a change in travel policy, individual member states will still have the right to enforce stricter guidelines, such as quarantines, even for travelers with vaccination certificates

The EU has developed the technical standards for their countries to implement to be able to issue digital Covid travel passes. I suspect they will need to ascertain how the USA might be able to issue something similar as to proof of vaccinations.

[DougSabbag]

Montanen, again you are copying and pasting. Anyone can do that.
Again, what I was asking for is first hand / on the ground / what is actually happening, experiences from people who are cruising through Southern European countries.
FYI: If you look, all the cruise lines are scheduling full, Southern European, cruises for Americans starting July 1st.
And, Greece has opened up to tourists already.
Are YOU cruising in the Med.? If not, you can't provide what I am asking for.

[Dogscout]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

Recreational boating in Greece is still not permitted. On the 23rd they are opening up boating but it will still be very limited. I have still not heard a complete description but it appears that you may be able to go out and back from the same port, and may be able to anchor without going to shore. This seems to be equal to the internal travel bans outside of your municipal area which are currently in affect.

Just an FYI. This did not happen. I have not seen a proper definition of Blue Cruising which was announced. keep checking on Gov.GR for updates.

What I have seen is that there are a few boats coming out of the yards here in Preveza and mooring at the town wall. No recreational sailing between islands is happening. Commercial fishing is happening. Moving boats for commercial purposes is happening. eg In and Out of yards.

Rumors are rampant and we are all looking toward May 14th for the next change.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by DougSabbag

FYI: If you look, all the cruise lines are scheduling full, Southern European, cruises for Americans starting July 1st.

Which cruise line has any cruises in Europe that is actually expected to go ahead? Only cruise we managed to book is a 7 night in August around the British isles with no stopping for fully vaccinated UK resident passengers only. We've been booked on other cruises this year but they have all been cancelled.

[DougSabbag]

Hello everyone:
Well.... our shipper kept changing the date when the freighter would pick us up, then suggested Genoa, Italy, as the drop off location if we wanted to get this happening sooner.
We accepted that, and we flew into Italy yesterday to be here a week ahead of our boat.

We had zero problems flying from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam then to Genoa Italy.
We did get a rapid (45 minute) PCR test at the Fort Lauderdale airport with the results texted & emailed to our phones.
We showed those test results at the ticket counter in Fort Lauderdale, in Atlanta, in Amsterdam and finally in Italy.
Nobody asked to see our vaccination cards.

We can see, via AIS, our boat approaching Casablanca, the first stop of the freighter.
So, sadly, our cruising from Palma to Turkey then to Dubrovnik has changed a lot.
We'll be leaving from Genoa, then heading east.

From what we experienced, if you have the PCR test results, you will have smooth sailing everywhere, except the UK.
Happy sailing!
Doug

[Joh.Ghurt]

Doug, that's good news and totally matching my experience. Once you're on the plane, nobody really cares too much about all these rules. Just be nice and polite. Inside Europe, you won't have any troubles.

[Barbaria]

Good news for you. We have just sailed down the Italian west coast and you have a great areas ahead of you.
Happy sailing ⛵️