Nice, France 26 April 2022
We arrived in our beloved city last night after a very long day of travel filled with the charms, terror and loathing that accompany travel these days. We have had plans to be here for more than eight months having booked a four-day stay prior to traveling to Monte Carlo to board the Crystal Symphony for a Big Band Cruise back to the USA departing on 29 April. Well, Covid did in Crystal and they went bankrupt about three months ago and thus our cruise was canceled. So I began the big fight to get our money back, a long and sordid story. We had booked our flight to Nice on TAP, Air Portugal, using a credit that we had from two years ago when another cruise had been canceled after booking the flights. We had until June of this year to use these credits or they would be gone so we therefore decided to visit Nice no matter what. I found another cruise to get us back to the USA on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth departing Southampton on 2 May, so we’ll leave Nice later this week, fly to Amsterdam, and connect to Southampton where we’ll stay until the cruise.
We all know that travel has become something of a creative challenge in the time of Covid and I thought we were prepared to traverse whatever conditions were thrown at us, but I overestimated my ability and underestimated the travel world’s decision to complicate a simple process. We can start with making reservations using airline credits. In a perfect world, you should be able to log into your account with an airline, find out what value you have in credits, pick times, dates and location for travel, and be done with it in ten minutes. Wrong!! I’ll spare you the details but suffice to say that this process took weeks, involved emails to corporate headquarters, telephone conversations with monolingual staff in Lisbon, more emails to corporate and finally the threat of having AMEX demand a total refund from TAP. Finally, we had our one-way business class reservations from Washington to Nice via Lisbon secured. (Trying to get two seats together was another convoluted journey, but I sense you are already tiring of my tale.)
For several weeks prior to departure I monitored the ever-changing requirements for transiting Portugal before entry into France - and believe me when I tell you that these requirements changed more frequently than the diapers on a six-month-old baby. As we got closer and the requirements got vaguer I called TAP for the definitive word, which was really more temporal than corporal and left me feeling more in doubt then ever. Not knowing if our CDC VAX certificate with two boosters would be accepted, we decided to purchase some Covid PCR tests which would have to be taken up to 72 hours prior to departure. $182.00 and two days later the six tests arrived! As Cindy wrote: "We took a PCR test at home the Saturday before leaving home (at Air Portugal's behest). You do it with an online proctor who can see what you're doing and it was rather comical as we tried to follow the not-very-intuitive directions. Wm went first so I had an easier time, and we both tested negative. Then it turned out that we did NOT need the PCR test when we checked into our Air Portugal flight on Sunday. Wm had checked and re-checked their website where it said yes, then the day after we flew he found an update that said not needed. Then today they reissued their guidelines and the tests ARE required again! Seems they were not required for the one day we traveled. Frustrating, but better that than the opposite and being denied boarding."
Having dealt with Covid I then turned my attention to the online Passenger Locator Form which was required to be turned in 24 hours before flying. This is a detailed form about you, where you will be staying, and for how long - in case they determine there was a Covid outbreak on the flight, they can then contact you to ruin your vacation! All well-intentioned I’m sure, but really once they contact you there is no enforcement of quarantine or testing so what is the point?
In the end, all was done and done correctly, we had two seats together and we did arrive safe and sound in Nice. Clearing immigration in Lisbon took a solid hour due to the volume of travelers on spring break but we had plenty of time before our connecting flight so it was a minor inconvenience given the world we live in at the moment.
More from Southampton before the cruise! Best wishes, Cindy and William
