14 September 2021

Travel Day Despite being a regular traveller, I have to be honest I was a little nervous and before setting off for the airport, I double and triple checked my paperwork against the guidance, as it turned out I was worrying about nothing and other than a 20 min queue for bag drop, I breezed through the airport all the forms were fine and accepted and I had plenty of time for shopping, breakfast and a coffee before boarding the flight. Arriving in Rome again was all straightforward, a bit of a queue for passport control and then a check of my passenger locator form and my vaccine passport and then it was off to baggage collection and out of the airport for a transfer to Civitavecchia to board the ship. After an hour transfer, I arrived at the port and it was onto the last round of form checking and covid test before boarding, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) ran a really smooth process and within 30 mins my negative test was confirmed and I was onboard. On the cruise NCL have strict Covid protocols and the cruise felt really safe onboard, all guests and crew must be fully vaccinated, masks are to be worn when moving around the ship, hand sanitisers located all over the ship, the buffet was served to you so you don’t have multiple hands touching utensils, additional cleaning was in place and you would regularly see staff cleaning touchpoints such as lift buttons, handrails, door handles etc Our cruise arrived in Spain and as arriving on the cruise we weren’t required to complete any forms, all we needed to get off was our cruise card and passport, we were also advised to have our vaccine passports handy in case these were required in any restaurants etc. Having left Spain, the day before we arrived back to Italy NCL arranged the antigen tests required to enter Italy and fortunately, the same test results could be used to enter the UK, so yay one less cotton bud up my nose! The results came through really quickly on email and were followed up by a paper copy delivered to my stateroom overnight. Also to re-enter Italy another passenger locator form was required, NCL provided details of what was required and I chose to complete this whilst in port in Majorca to use my 4g data rather than relying on the ship's wifi. Although the ship did offer 30 mins free wifi to enable you to complete the form on the ship and to access your email to get your covid test results, Return to the UK So to return home I already had in place my negative covid test result from the antigen test provided by NCL, I’d also completed my UK passenger locator form whilst I had a good 4g connection in Majorca, as the afternoon in Majorca was within 48 hours of my return to the UK. The form seems to go on and on and seemed to take around 20 mins to complete, the code from my bargain PCR test was accepted so that was a relief! On arrival to the UK we had about a 30 min wait at passport control, on presenting my passport I had my passenger locator form ready on my phone only to be told it was all linked to my passport and they could see the form on-screen, so that was it I was back in the UK and whilst a lot of hoops to jump through, everything went really smoothly. I know this blog has been quite lengthy, but it's a true reflection of what needs to be followed for travel, whilst it may seem daunting when broken down into stages it really is straight forward and going through this process shouldn’t be the reason not to travel, what really does need to be considered is the cost and to make sure you include the cost of your testing with your holiday budget. Oh actually there was just one last thing for me and that was my bargain day 2 PCR test, the company I had booked with was a drive-through with a site at Birchwood near Warrington, this was only a 10 min detour on my drive home from the airport. On arrival at the site I was greeted by a friendly staff member who gave me my test pack and clear instructions, I completed the test and linked the test pack to my order via the website on my phone, which was all fairly straightforward, so after depositing the test in the dropbox it was home time. I had my results in my inbox at 11 pm the same day and I was really impressed, considering the price.finLLY **disclaimer - Please note these travel rules were correct at the start of September 2021, rules can and have changed regularly and at short notice so if you are due to travel to Italy please check the current advice from gov.uk. Anyone who has booked with me will receive full details of travel rules and I’ll help you every step of the way to ensure you are fully informed of the latest guidance.

14 September 2021

Having supported and guided customers through the varying travel rules throughout the summer, it was FINALLY my turn to travel Internationally for a cruise on NCL Getaway from Rome. I wanted to write this blog to try and help paint a picture of what’s required for those considering overseas travel at the moment. I must admit when starting to complete yet another form to travel, I did ask myself if this was all worth it? fast forward a couple of days to when I was on the pool deck with a glass of fizz in hand and enjoying the sail away party as we left Rome, yes it was all worth it. Having only booked my travel 4 days before, I didn’t have much time to get organized, so ensuring my travel would be as smooth as possible 1st thing I needed to do was to create a checklist of everything that was required for travel to Italy. This is something I do for every single client (I do not want a panic call from the Airport that something is not 100%) Travel to Italy (This can change at any point do not accept this as current guidance) 1) Complete a passenger locator form 2) Provide a negative COVID 19 test PCR or Antigen 3) Provide proof of vaccination 4) Call Covid-19 helpline on arrival 5) Surgical masks to be worn on journeys to and from Italy 6) Passport Validity Return to UK 1) Provide a negative test before return flight 2) Pre-book a day 2 test 3) Complete UK passenger locator form 4) Provide proof of vaccination The first thing I needed to arrange was my testing, there are so many companies offering testing with several options on how to be tested, such as home test kits, drive and walk-in centres and testing at the airport, it took a while to find one I was comfortable with, the most cost-effective seemed to be home antigen testing and they started from £15, however I was nervous about delays in delivery so opted for a company that offered a test for £29 which included guaranteed delivery via DPD if ordered by 8 pm and a test certificate issued within an hour of submitting the results. I also checked Trustpilot reviews and was pleased to see they scored 4.9 from over 13000 reviews and then one final check was that they are registered on gov.uk as an official test supplier. After placing my order an email confirmation quickly followed to say that my order had been accepted, then later that evening a new email advising that my order was with DPD and I’d get an email in the morning with a 1-hour slot of the exact delivery, this all felt very reassuring that my tests would arrive the next day. The following morning as promised my email arrived instructing of a delivery time between 1634 and 1734 and my test arrived at the very start of the delivery window. The test was exactly the same as the new NHS lateral flow tests, having boxes of these in the cupboard as part of our home testing for school, it did feel a touch frustrating having to pay £29 for a single test, but they are the rules that we have to follow and we have to use a private test to travel. The test which had to be completed within 48 hours of arrival in Italy, had a QR code on and after scanning on my phone a webpage with instructions was opened and a form to complete after I had the test result, which thankfully was negative. The last part of the process was to upload a picture of the test strip next to my passport and then within an hour my results had been validated and my test certificate for travel was issued as a pdf attachment on email for me to print at home. I also needed to order my PCR test to take within 2 days of my return to the UK, this has to be ordered in advance as a code is required to enter on the passenger locator form to return to the UK, obviously this isn’t something you want to be dealing with whilst on holiday, so I had to order this before travel. The PCR test is the more expensive Covid test and from my initial search the cost was between £45 and £100 per test, I did come across a drive-through test for £20, which had me questioning if it's too good to be true, I came to the conclusion that they are on the gov.uk approved list, so as long as they issue my code to enter on the locator form if once home they don’t deliver on the test or results, this is something I can deal with once home. I don’t think I’d take the same chance on my test to get on holiday or to get on the flight home, but for the test once home I was happy to take the saving and deal with any issues once back. I already had my proof of vaccination via my NHS app which I needed on my UK cruise in August, I did choose to download and print a copy as well and I’m sorry I know this is bad for the environment, but for my own reassurance, I just wanted a pack with all my various documents ready for the airport. I was also asked to upload this pdf to my airline reservation for both the outbound and inbound flights. Surgical masks was an easy one, a quick order on amazon prime and these were delivered the next day, I took a couple for the flight and needed a good amount for the cruise anyway, as NCL required masks to be worn when moving around the ship. Passport validity, the EU have a requirement that you must have 6 months valid on your passport from the point of entry, this cannot include any extra months added from your last renewal, I have a few years left on mine so nothing to worry about here. Having sorted all that next was the passenger locator form, this can only be completed within 48 hours of your arrival in Italy so with my flight due to arrive Wednesday morning I chose to complete this Monday evening. The form was fine took about 10 mins and at the end, a pdf with a QR code was generated for me to print for the airport, without this you are unable to board the flight.

11 June 2019

I take great pride in what I am booking for my customers. I am not on a salary so all the time I spend on people’s enquiries is my own time. I work on commission from suppliers when customers book, so you are assured that I will want to find you the best holiday to suit your requirements. Chances are I am the same price as most operators and I often package the holiday myself to get the best deal. It just means I take care of it for you and you get the service I offer with it. This is my own business and I pride myself on the service I offer my customers and always being here for them. I love arranging my customers holidays and helping those who truly value the service I offer and understand the time and care I put in to finding them the right holiday. I may sometimes be more than online, but this is not a like for like holiday, it's a transaction and nothing more and I think I am worth that little more for that peace of mind, my knowledge, my care, my time and my contacts. Sometimes we all need to bet on ourselves and not undervalue our worth. Every booking I make, that customer is supporting me, my family and my dream rather than supporting an online big supplier who will never show gratitude that your booking means something to them. If you would like me to help arrange your next holiday, please contact me on 01942 470036

05 June 2019

Top ten tips for avoiding additional stress at your airport during peak travel 1. Long Haul - get to the airport a minimum of 3.5 hours before 2. Short Haul - get to the airport a minimum of 2.5 hours before 3. Check in online 24 hours prior to departure and print off your boarding passes 4. Set off from home earlier - no one can predict the traffic 5. Arrange parking for the Meet and Greet (nearest to the airport terminal) 6. Take plenty of snacks for the car journey and waiting for your flight as well as bottles of water for pre-security 7. Wear comfortable clothing. Belts, shoes and jewellery will all have to be removed at the Security Gate (not the clothes!) 8. Have toiletries (under 100ml) in a see-through sandwich bag ready for the Security Gate 9. Parents, as long as you have the kids, passports, money and credit card, nothing else matters. Children pick up on your stress, if you cope, they will! 10. Book with a Travel Counsellor, we worry about all this, so you don't have to!