December 2021 trip planning

[BadPinkTink]

is anyone else really nervous about the tests?

I know I am in a privileged position as I work from home and I am a solo traveler. I plan to live like a hermit for most of January. I am planning to go to my local Boots to get the test, and as a back up if the results don't come through in time, I can get tested at Dublin airport.

 

[Plague]

The worry is putting a bit of a dampner on things.

Yes, it's a pain. Even coming to the Canaries on my own was taxing, and I imagine the US will be worse. I've even had to spend a couple of hours today to get set up for coming back to the UK on Wednesday.
For anyone who has difficulty with online form filling and a whole family it must be a nightmare. I'm sure there must be many who will arrive with things not quite right.

HOT TIP: Get an NHS vaccination certificate now (no matter they only last a month) and check your names, etc, match your passport(s). If not I believe you need to contact your GP to get it corrected and that can take a couple of weeks - so it said on the website.
(Turned out my NHS doc didn't have my middle name, unlike my passport, so I had to take a bit of of a gamble filling out my Spanish entry form - which could only be done a day or two before travel. Being Canaria of course it mattered not a jot (scanned the QR code, said welcome and pointed to the way out - didn't even get the advertised temperature screening), but I wouldn't want to test US immigration on that nuance.)

Edit: I think I'll copy that last bit to the 'travel' thread too.

 

[scottishgirl1]

I have a friends son who was denied boarding from Heathrow to Hong Kong because his middle name was not on his NHS covid cert or test cert but was on his passport and visa. We have subsequently had our EU covid certs reissued with middle names, was no problem at all and will make sure our test certs show middle names as well

Can I just ask do people usually put middle names on flight tickets. I noticed our travel agent has our booking with Aer Lingus now but our ticket names do not have middle names shown, I asked her and she said they were not required but still paranoid!?

 

[Plague]

Can I just ask do people usually put middle names on flight tickets.

I don't think BA or VA use middle names - I don't think they even give a slot for them.

 

[mamamia2005]

I have my covid vaccines listed on my NHS app, and can get a covid pass via the app - is that the same as a covid certificate?


My flight booking and covid pass only have my first and last name, no middle name. My ( and DH and DD ) all have our middle names on the passport.
I think I will be able to add DD to my NHS app when she finally gets her vaccine. Should I go in and amend the details (if I can) to add my middle name?
Thanks for your help Plague

 

[scottishgirl1]

The covid pass is probably the NHS equivalent, I confusingly live in Ireland so we have Digital certs from EU, they are likely the same thing. My friend lives in Scotland and after the Hong Kong issue they all requested their NHS covid pass be updated with the middle name. I think there was an article in a Scottish newspaper about his situation.

I dont know of anywhere else that requires the middle name but I guess as of yet the USA is a bit of an unknown regarding documentation and I just feel happier having ESTA passport and covid paperwork matching after hearing he had to stay overnight in London and fly the next day after re testing and altering his quarantine hotel dates in Hong Kong

 

[mamamia2005]

I had a look, I can't amend the NHS app to include my middle name. Not sure if the GP surgery change it ( if they will), will that update the app?
It all such a lot of faff!

 

[scottishgirl1]

We were able to amend ours online as EU, my friends husbands GP agreed to change his apparently but her sons GP gave a different answer. Sorry I cant be more help for UK.

It could well be fine for USA but will need to wait and see what they say and no doubt someone will be able to update once travel starts again. The Hong Kong requirement was not very obvious though. I mean her son had applied for a visa and was going there for months, they had obviously done a lot of paperwork for the trip! and having travelled in EU with no issue re middle names it was unexpected

 

[Plague]

I have my covid vaccines listed on my NHS app, and can get a covid pass via the app - is that the same as a covid certificate?

Yes. It's a doc of two parts, one for each jab, with a QR code for each. Sometimes you only need the part/code for the second jab.
I carry a print out of the pdf version, which has both on an A4 in landscape.

I had a look, I can't amend the NHS app to include my middle name. Not sure if the GP surgery change it ( if they will), will that update the app?
It all such a lot of faff!

It's hard to find but in the NHS App help there is:
What to do if your name, address, date of birth or NHS number are incorrect in the NHS App
If these details are incorrect or out of date, contact your GP surgery and ask them to update your details. They will then update your NHS record. Any changes made there will appear in the NHS App.

and then on your covid pass I hope ... I'll be trying this when I get home, which means battling with receptionists which is always a joy

 

[mamamia2005]

Thanks both

Yes, Plague, that's what I found. The receptionists at our GP surgery are not the friendliest lol, but I guess it can't hurt to ask if I need to!

 

[bavarian princess]

We were able to amend ours online as EU, my friends husbands GP agreed to change his apparently but her sons GP gave a different answer. Sorry I cant be more help for UK.

I think most of our European Digital Certificates don’t include a middle name. At least mine doesn’t may I ask how you were able to change yours online? There is a support hotline and email address shown in the app but I was wondering if there is another way. Tia

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I updated MDE and I can now see Genie. I don’t think that the ‘plans’ tab is as user friendly as you can’t scroll down and see the plans for your whole trip.

 

[BadPinkTink]

After reading about the names, having your middle name on your passport but not on Covid cert, I did some checking with my own documents.

I have a print out of my last ESTA, I always keep the print out until I get a new one. On my ESTA it only has my first name and surname, not my middle name. My passport has my middle name. I travelled on this ESTA in June 2019 and as far as I can remember, I have never put my middle name on my ESTA. There has never been an issue with not having my middle name on my ESTA but having my middle name on my passport.

I don't have my middle name on my Covid cert and I'm not going to change it.

 

[Plague]

There has never been an issue with not having my middle name on my ESTA but having my middle name on my passport.

Yes, my ESTA also only has my first name.
But the ESTA has your passport number on it and it's directly linked in the US systems.
Covid passes (UK NHS at least) has only name and DoB for ID, so the connection to the passport is not direct, and foreign immigration won't have it on their system like an ESTA.

It probably won't be a problem, but as there is already one story in another thread of being denied boarding (though not to the USA) because of this, I certainly won't be taking any chances.

 

[scottishgirl1]

I think most of our European Digital Certificates don’t include a middle name. At least mine doesn’t may I ask how you were able to change yours online? There is a support hotline and email address shown in the app but I was wondering if there is another way. Tia

In Ireland there is a website or portal set up called covid certificate portal. I checked it is a specific irish government website so maybe not available for all EU

 

[scottishgirl1]

I updated MDE and I can now see Genie. I don’t think that the ‘plans’ tab is as user friendly as you can’t scroll down and see the plans for your whole trip.

I agree! I had to uninstall app and reinstall it twice to get Genie to come up but I didnt like not being able to see my plans on my home page either. I had to put plans into the search to get them to appear

 

[bavarian princess]

In Ireland there is a website or portal set up called covid certificate portal. I checked it is a specific irish government website so maybe not available for all EU

Thank you for checking

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I woke up early and decided to read the Genie+ thread. It will be interesting to see how overseas visitors use it. We have two APs and one U.K. 14 day ticket. With the APs we have to purchase G+ day by day, actually night by night, as it will become available at midnight or 3am (depending upon which reports one reads). For the 14 day ticket, I can attach G+ to the entire ticket or purchase day by day. I can’t pre purchase a few days. It seems G+ is $15.98 including tax and ILL$ approx $10 each plus tax. So I am looking at just over $100 per day or around $1500 for 14 days for 3 people.
We usually rope drop but then have a break midday and return to another park late afternoon, but I suppose to get full value from G+ it makes sense to do some rope drop until close days.
How do you see yourselves using it?

 

[bavarian princess]

We usually rope drop but then have a break midday and return to another park late afternoon, but I suppose to get full value from G+ it makes sense to do some rope drop until close days.
How do you see yourselves using it?

That’s also my touring style. For me it doesn’t make any sense to get G+ if I leave the park at noon. Regarding the list of attractions that are included…I don’t see me booking a lightning lane for figment or it’s tough to be a bug
Btw It looks like yesterday, many rides were already ‚sold out‘ early afternoon and some of the lightning lanes had a very long wait.
So far I am not convinced that this is for me

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

We have APs and I think are going to give G+ a miss in December and just see how the experience is without any form of fastness. In the future we may have a look at it for a day here and there, but I am not certain how useful it is for us when in general terms we aren't in the park at peak hours.

The exception to that is RoTR, we really want to ride that, so if we have to pay for LL, I guess we'll have too, but we plan to do standby.