Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 0
Wondering if anyone is encountering any travel issues, mainly entering European/UK countries?
I saw a story recently where some lines were many hours long due to needing a new ETIAS visa thing and also have to be fingerprinted/biometrics taken. This slows things down greatly. And annoying, even if you have done everything correctly you have to stand in the same line as those who haven't (unless, of course, you have a European passport).
Any issues? Or correct my faulty statements? :)
Thanks
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 0
We'll be leaving for France in about a month. The ETIAS thing has been discussed for years now. Apparently, the rollout is now expected to be this fall:
https://etias.com/etias-requirements/etias-for-ame...That's somewhat separate from the biometrics stuff (EES), which will take the place of the passport-stamping ritual. Some ports of entry are already doing it; others not. As I understand it, this is supposed to be all in place in a week or so. We'll see. Once you're in the new system, it "should" be quick and easy to get through passport control.
Either way, it is what it is. I'd check with your carrier or cruise line for details.
No. of Recommendations: 0
For the UK you also need to obtain an ETA. It's supposed to be cheap and easy. However, I know of a couple that are scheduled to cruise soon, and while the lady got hers, her husband was denied for a non-specific reason. Hopefully for them they can sort it out.
https://apply-for-an-eta.homeoffice.gov.uk/apply/e...
No. of Recommendations: 0
Once you're in the new system, it "should" be quick and easy to get through passport control.
From what I read, being in the system doesn't make it quicker since you have to stand in the same line with all of the people who are not in the system. And the line moves very slowly due to needing to take the bio-metrics.
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 0
<<...since you have to stand in the same line with all of the people who are not in the system.>>
Perhaps in the first days of the rollout, when the vast majority of people have to get their biometrics recorded. But once it's gotten going, there's no reason why everyone has to be in the same line. At any rate, I'll have a chance to check it out in a few weeks.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Once you're in the new (EES) system, it "should" be quick and easy to get through passport control.
Is there any way to get in the system before going into the destination airport?
IP
No. of Recommendations: 1
I've seen a few articles like this one over the last month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn897e8280do
More than 100 people missed their flight to Manchester from Milan's Linate airport on Sunday while stuck in what the airline described as "unacceptable" passport control queues.
Some travellers reported vomiting and passing out as they tried to get through biometric and facial recognition checks rolled out under the new European Entry-Exit System (EES) on Friday.
Carol Boon said the experience was "just horrible", while Max Hume said he had been forced to spend Ł1,800 to get home.
European airports and airlines said there had been significant disruption to their operations, with passengers facing long delays - in some cases missing flights - since the EU digital border control system became fully operational on Friday.
The new system obliges third-country nationals - including Britons - who enter the Schengen free travel zone to register biometric information, including facial scans and fingerprints.
Further checks take place when they leave.
According to ACI Europe, which represents airports, and A4E, which speaks for European airlines, initial reports have shown passenger waiting times of two-to-three hours at border control during peak times.And to IP's question, nope. You are stuck. Hopefully they will find a way to improve things but it can be nasty at times.
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 3
Landed in Amsterdam and did the EES thing. They had lots of machines and staff on hand to assist, so there was zero wait to access a machine. It took a few tries to get acceptable fingerprints on the scanpad but ultimately succeeded.
The queue was at the actual passport control, but that was no different than usual. Took us about 40 minutes there. The nice thing about AMS is that staff check the queues periodically to pull travelers with tight connections and move them to the front.
I asked the passport control agent if we would have to redo the EES part next time. She said it’s supposed to be good for one year but that right now that’s speculation. Every airport seems to be a bit different.
Kinda like TSA in the US.
No. of Recommendations: 2
PS: There were two “routes” to take at Passport Control: one for folks who had done the EES part successfully and one for those who who had not (typically because they couldn’t get the machine to capture acceptable fingerprints).
No. of Recommendations: 10
We returned yesterday from nearly 7 weeks in France: a month in Nice, 4 nights in Aix, and 10 nights in Paris. It was wonderful.
As I noted in a previous post, we entered Europe in Amsterdam (connecting to Nice) and did the EES photo/fingerprint thing there.
Our return from Paris (CDG) was a breeze, thanks to my "elite" status with Air France partner Delta Airlines and our practice of taking carry-on bags only, regardless of trip duration. It took us a total of 20 minutes from stepping out of a taxi at Terminal 2E to clear immigration and airport security, take the tram to Hall M, and enter the Air France lounge. For most travelers, the main hang-up appeared to be the typical line at security and not so much at ticket counters or immigration.
The taxi ride was a first for us. In more than 20 trips to Paris, we've used trains, metros, and buses exclusively. But this time we decided to spend the extra 30€ and skip the schlep to Gare du Nord. Our flight was in the morning, so we didn't have to contend with the inbound traffic.
The other splurge for us was purchasing (online) the Amis du Louvre and Orsay Carte Blanche passes a few days before we left the US. The passes provide unlimited, immediate entry to their respective museums without any required reservation for a full year. The Orsay pass also provides the same privilege at the Orangerie. Total cost was 150€ for two Louvre passes and 79€ for the Orsay Duo pass. We loaded these passes onto our phones, and that's all we needed. (The websites are not the easiest to navigate but, with patience and a few false starts, I succeeded.) We used screenshots of the Louvre passes, while the Orsay passes loaded into our iPhone wallets.
For us, this was money well spent. We love visiting museums, but get tired, physically and mentally, after about two hours in them. With the passes, we visited the Louvre on three separate days (one for each wing), the Orsay twice (once for the special Renoir exhibition and once for the rest of the museum), and the Orangerie on yet another day. Zero wasted time in lines. Come and go as we wished. It was absolutely liberating.
As for Nice, a highlight for me was walking to the Prom in the morning, having a lovely 30-minute swim, and resting on the beach in the sun before heading back to our rental apartment. We also enjoyed apéro hour pretty much every afternoon around 5pm, either on the terrace of our favorite local bar (Nomad) or in a neighboring town if we were day-tripping, which we did fairly regularly.
The SudAzur Explore Pass provides unlimited rides on trains, trams, and buses throughout the region for 3, 7, or 14 days and is a good value. Trams run as often as every 4 minutes, and the trains run frequently, as well. Buses are useful for trips to mountain villages, as well as around town.
We took the train from Nice to Aix and also from Aix to Paris. The fast (TGV) trains are comfortable and quiet. Purchase your tickets well in advance to get the best prices.
As for Aix, it exudes the charm of Provence and the energy of its multiple universities. It was beginning to get crowded with tourists when we were there, and it's always full of students; but all in all we had a thoroughly enjoyable time, visiting its fine museums and eating a bit to much of its exceptional food.
No. of Recommendations: 3
...our practice of taking carry-on bags only, regardless of trip duration.
A little confused here. I recall vividly you describing how you would stage your luggage at hotels you would return to, while take smaller baggage for the side-trip(s). Sometimes return weeks later. Is the packing light new?
I've gone a bit the other way. I refuse to have lots of bags (learned that lesson!). But I'm starting to use a single medium check-in bag. People have become so obsessed with carry-on that overhead bin space can be problematic. Especially when someone sitting in row 25 decides they want to store their bag above row 18 where I'm sitting, so they can grab their bag on the way up the aisle (I presume). I actually volunteer to gate-check my bag whenever they request it. I have the few vitals in my camera bag (which I never check) that I might need in-flight. Gate check is free, which is nice, and I don't have to worry about bin space.
Last trip I didn't have any carry-on, just the medium check-in bag. This next trip I may have to because cold weather clothes are bulky, and carry-on may be needed just for extra volume. We'll see. I'm hoping not. If we both do a check-in, definitely no carry-on for me.
(Generally a medium check-in is as big as anyone needs. You'll hit the 50lb limit easily with it, so a larger bag is just a waste.)
No. of Recommendations: 2
We tend to look at the issue from different perspectives. Part of the solution lies in the weight of the luggage itself. But, before addressing that there are different criteria we use when we select what we will be carrying for a trip Or a leg of one if we are stashing larger luggage along the way).
If you are traveling by air in countries such as Turkey (or by train in Europe), it is helpful to evaluate both the checked luggage weight limits as well your ability to physically handle luggage pieces. We have a couple of 22" pieces using only a pair of wheels (not the more modern spinners) which started life as our carry-on pieces, but which both carry about 50% more stuff than today's carry-on sizes and count as free checked bags on a number of local airlines (limited to 15-20kg per bag).
There are occasions when larger bags are called for:
Carrying clothes for multiple seasons (say beach/diving and skiing on the same trip)
Carrying "special clothing" (tux/gown, riding cloths, hiking boots, waterproof pants, climbing harness, gym bag for taking on safari, etc.)
Enough different "outfits" to not appear to be wearing your "uniform" again on a long cruise
Place to safely carry stuff picked up along the way (Mona Lisa, Crown Jewels, tee shirt, magnet)
The trick is never carry anything that you don't need (leave anything which would be "nice to have" home)
The "full size 28 inch" suitcase we swear by is the Samsonite S'Cure line. It is a lightweight spinner (reasonably stuffed with clothing weighs in at exactly 50 pounds/23kg, uses clamps rather than zippers, is gasketed against water and is incredibly tough. They seem to run $300-$400 in the US, but can be significantly cheaper in Europe (we bought a couple of them in Italy for 150 Euro less VAT, but I've also seen them on-sale in Spain for about the same price). We've used ours for dozens of trips without them experiencing any damage. Hint: They are available in a rainbow of colors. The first my wife chose was yellow and she is constantly trying to wash the shmootze that collects on it in the belly of the beast. My philosophy would be to polka dot the bags with splotches of cyan and magenta paint to make them easy to identify and too ugly to steal.
Just some idle thoughts.
Jeff
No. of Recommendations: 0
We are currently in Europe, having flown in on an almost full flight. We had one checked bag and two carry ons plus two personal items. Because of the maxed out flight, we were pressured to have our carry ons made a free checked bag, which we declined. Others who checked in later were not given a choice and their intended carry ons were checked, though there was empty overhead space in our area of the plane. It is not always your choice.
IP
No. of Recommendations: 0
Part of the solution lies in the weight of the luggage itself.
Yes. These compression packing bags are useless given the weight limits. We have so much room left in our carry on bag, given the combined weight allowance of 26 lbs between the carry on and personal item. When we come home we will check the carry on and it can be 50 lbs all on it's own, (free checked bag,) allowing us to have more in our personal item if desired, such as souvenirs we are unlikely to buy. Size was not really the issue. Weight was the limiting factor.
IP
No. of Recommendations: 0
I recall vividly you describing how you would stage your luggage at hotels you would return to ...
Not me. Maybe Jeff (Ormont)?
No. of Recommendations: 0
These compression packing bags are useless given the weight limits. We have so much room left in our carry on bag, given the combined weight allowance of 26 lbs between the carry on and personal item.
OK, but if you don't have any bags to check, and thus bypass the check-in counter entirely, your carry-ons won't get weighed. I can't recall a single time our carry-ons have been weighed.
Avoiding the check-in counter may not be an option for some (low-cost) airlines, however.
No. of Recommendations: 0
I can't recall a single time our carry-ons have been weighed.
In the US, no. We did a flight from Firenze to Munich, and they weighed them. I assumed that was standard procedure for internal flights in Europe.
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Not me. Maybe Jeff (Ormont)?
Sorry for the confusion. It was Jeff.
I'm debating whether to bring a second checked bag. 1poorlady will have hers. I'll either bring my carry-on, or the mid-sized check-in. The only advantage to the latter is more room for souvenirs (it will be a longer trip, so I'm expecting the accumulation of things for us and to give away). Fortunately, won't be needing the parka. I will bring rain suits, though. Good chance of getting wet. She does want me to bring a "blazer". Not sure if what I have will pass, or if it even fits anymore.
No. of Recommendations: 0
We always go with 2 backpacks that can fit in the seats in front of us (if need be) and 2 carry on bags. Sometimes we check the carry on bags, especially on the way home since it doesn't matter if they get delayed.
For souvenirs, well I rarely buy anything except candy, magnets, etc. but you can easily put a collapsible duffel bag in your luggage outbound and then use it on the way home. Usually we are flying business class so we get free checked luggage.
We were talking to this couple that were probably 70s and they mentioned how often they have traveled. I think this was at the train station in Rothenburg, Germany on a winter day. Then we saw how much luggage the poor guy was hauling and later we both chuckled and wondered why anyone older and experienced in traveling would have that much stuff on a trip.
Leave the blazer at home.
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 0
We did a flight from Firenze to Munich, and they weighed them.
You probably flew on Lufthansa, which is notorious for that. Perhaps a few other low-cost airlines do it, too. But I wouldn't call it standard procedure. As I say, we've never had our carry-on weighed, and we fly all over Europe.
We even flew Lufthansa a few years ago, from Zurich to Florence, with no carry-on bag weigh-in.
No. of Recommendations: 0
We just got back from Europe, flying on KLM and Air France. Both weighed our carryons and checked bag. With the fuel issues now, they are looking to cash in wherever they can.
IP
No. of Recommendations: 0
How was the weather (heat) and the crowds?
Were you flying coach? Often they seem pretty lenient for business class.
Thanks
Rich
No. of Recommendations: 0
Both weighed our carryons and checked bag.
Not to beat this topic to death, but my point was/is that if you do not also have baggage to check, and can therefore go directly to the boarding area (assuming that you've checked in online and have provided your passport info online, if needed), then (with the exception of some low-cost airlines, which includes Lufthansa these days) it's very rare that the airline will have scales at the gate and weigh your carry-ons.
We fly KLM and Air France all the time, including last month. Unless we have luggage to check (which we rarely do), they have never weighed our carry-ons.
