Which areas are currently at risk?
Almost all major Mediterranean destinations are currently on the corresponding List of the RKI: France, Italy, Spain (including the Canary Islands, but currently NOT the Balearic Islands), Croatia (since this week completely), Greece and Turkey are considered risk areas, Slovenia and Malta even as high-risk areas.
Just to add: In Northern Europe, Denmark and parts of Finland are currently risk areas, while Sweden and the Netherlands are considered high-risk areas.
What does the respective categorisation mean?
All travellers returning from a high-risk or high-risk area must first undergo a medical examination before returning home. here register online (www.einreiseanmeldung.de).
If you are travelling from a high-risk area, you need a negative coronavirus test that is no more than 48 hours old before entering the country. Anyone coming from a high-risk area needs a negative corona test if they are travelling by plane. Entry by car is possible without this test.
As a general rule, you must go into home quarantine immediately after your arrival and can only go home after five days at the earliest.
Can I cancel or postpone my charter free of charge if the country is a risk area?
Many customers assume that their charter contract is subject to German travel law. This stipulates that in the event of a travel warning, the holiday can be cancelled immediately and the costs refunded. However, this almost never applies to charter bookings, as these are rental contracts under the respective national law. So you have to look at the terms and conditions of the contract, which was usually concluded under Corona conditions. They will then state whether a cancellation, rebooking or voucher can be issued. Only a few charter companies offer the former, the latter is now quite common.
Many companies only allow a postponement shortly before the start of the cruise (a maximum of a few weeks before), as travel warnings can also be relaxed.
A travel warning does not mean that the customer cannot travel. The charter company abroad can make the boat available, often travelling locally is not even restricted, so there are no closed harbours or regions. The charter company can therefore provide its service. If the customer does not want to travel, that is initially his problem. If the postponement/cancellation is not further regulated in the contract, the customer then has bad legal cards, in the worst case the company can withhold the money.
What is the best way to proceed if I want to cancel my charter?
If you have booked through an agency, first contact the agent. They know the details of your contract and how the fleet operator abroad handles such cases. They will try to find a solution. If you have booked directly, you will have to deal with the fleet operator.
Important: Many customers think that their contractual partner is the agency, and if there are difficulties, the agency is their legal partner in the dispute. Ultimately, however, this is almost never the case. From a strictly legal point of view, the German agency is an intermediary. Once the contract has been signed and all payments have been made, the agency has done its job. The money has reached the fleet operator abroad, and the customer has to deal with them for compensation. BUT: Of course your agency will try to help you, after all it doesn't want to lose you as a customer. However, if the fleet operator is stubborn, there is sometimes little the agency can do. After all, they no longer have your money.
It is important to seek dialogue and not to harden the fronts by making maximum demands that may not even be legally valid. The travel industry is probably suffering the most from the pandemic. Flexibility - such as being able to switch to an alternative date - is helpful.
I can postpone the trip, but not on my preferred date. What can I do?
Crews are often tied to school holidays or fixed employer holiday dates. If the cruise has to be postponed and this is not possible on the desired date, this does not automatically mean that the deposit will be refunded. YACHT has heard of several cases in which it has already been necessary to postpone to 2022.
Be flexible. Perhaps a change of area will help you find a new date, as some providers have fleets in various countries!
My first/second deposit for a cruise is imminent. The area is a risk area - should I pay it or not?
As a general rule, if you do not make the payments on time, the charter company can, strictly speaking, assume that you have not fulfilled your part of the contract and then retain the advance payments made, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. It may therefore make sense to pay the next instalment so that the contract does not lapse and your money is lost. However, if there are major problems, for example because your employer is threatening to quarantine you if you travel to a high-risk area, you should immediately seek dialogue with the agency and your base.
What happens if I test positive abroad before my return journey or fall ill abroad?
Air travellers then have the problem that no airline is currently flying them back. The consequence is that you have to go into quarantine immediately in your holiday destination. As a rule, there are certain quarantine hotels for this purpose. The costs for this are borne by the holidaymaker themselves.
If you have no symptoms, you have to go into quarantine for as long as the holiday destination prescribes. A completely different problem, however, is that you always need a negative coronavirus test to board an aircraft. The test often remains positive after an illness - whether with or without symptoms - beyond the quarantine period. It can therefore happen that you are stuck abroad for several weeks at your own expense.
Even worse: anyone who falls seriously ill then has to go to a clinic abroad. Language barriers and the significantly worse healthcare systems in some countries than in Germany (e.g. in Greece or Croatia) then pose a serious risk.
Are owners and charter crews allowed to sail freely in their area?
This varies from country to country and is subject to constant change. As many countries, similar to Germany, have switched to deciding according to local regions, it is important to find out about the situation from the provider before travelling.
France was still in a general lockdown until the beginning of May at the time of going to press; sailing there for tourist purposes with charter boats is prohibited until then. Owners can only visit their boats with a prior declaration of compelling necessity, for example in the event of a sale, burglary, accident or similar. Only owners who live within ten kilometres of the boat may actually use it. An extension of the measures until mid-May is conceivable for France.
InItaly A four-stage model from white (no impairment) to yellow, orange and red applies. All regions are currently in the orange or red zones. Tourist activity is currently not permitted there, and a five-day quarantine was required for owners entering the country until the end of April. This may well be extended. The current zoning can be found on the website www.governo.it. The popular charter destinations of Sardinia and Elba are currently in red zones.
Spain is currently doing quite well, the entire Balearic Islands and some regions of the coast are no longer risk areas. Crews and owners can move around freely there, they just have to follow the local coronavirus protection measures.
Also inCroatia the numbers have risen sharply recently, and the entire country was again classified as a risk area in mid-April. However, almost all harbours are open. Only for the marinas in Rab, Zut, Palmizana and Piskera has the ACI postponed the start of the season until further notice. Sailing is therefore possible without restrictions. In some regions, depending on the incidence, the restaurants are closed (Kvarner, Korcula, etc.), but the marina facilities are open.
WholeGreece on the other hand, was recently in lockdown, the harbours were closed and the national borders at sea were also closed. Tourism is set to resume there from 14 May.
What can I do to minimise the financial risk of a charter?
Ask a charter agency for fleet operators with the most accommodating coronavirus booking conditions possible. Almost every charter company has developed a model: free cancellation rights, cancellation insurance, postponement guarantee, very late second deposit, etc. Only information helps!
If possible, favour destinations that allow you to travel by car or, if necessary, by ferry or similar. In the event of cancellation, the payments at risk are then more manageable than if expensive flights are added.
