Dreading upcoming holiday, so want to cancel but family will be disappointed

[Sleepescapesme]

We’ve had a holiday to New York booked for over 2 years now.
It’s repeatedly been moved forward due to covid and we are now due to go Easter weekend.
When we booked originally ‘kids’ were 18 and 16 so it was the final big trip before they flew the nest into uni etc.
They are now 21 and nearly 19 so things have changed a bit but they still seem keen to go.
All trip admin is down to me to organise- no point in asking DH to do anything except pay as he wouldn’t have a clue and I’d never relax.
I’ve had to sort estas, insurance, we have to have a supervised covid test in the 24 hour window before we leave, everything is pricey, car parking etc.
All this organisation is stressing me out and I’m not looking forward to it at all.
I keep reading how crime ridden NYC has become, the war in Ukraine has me worried me closer to home our dog is now elderly and she’s not going to be gear left with the dog sitter like she may have been 2 plus years ago.
Final payment time is looming, we’ve already dropped around 1k on deposit and NYV passes / insurance/ estas.
I want to cancel so much, I have no interest in going whatsoever but I know DH and DD especially will be really disappointed. It’s not up to me to decide to pull the rug on a family trip.
WWYD?

@Landedonfeet this is the US where you still (at least for now the March 18th review may change) need to

1. Be fully vaccinated and show proof
2. Have a supervised LFT taken in the day before and have a certificate for it you can show and upload
3. Sign an attestation to say that you have legally done the above
4. As always have an ESTA filled in

For British Airways you do this via the verifly app and you need to set up a profile for each person travelling on the app (with a picture) and then upload the rest. The test itself takes 20 minutes (because you have to wait the 15) and needs to be on video call. You also need to fill in NHS number, passport information and vaccination status before the test to ensure you are who you say you are. The testing for the US is actually fairly robust at the moment and isnt just a random LFT taken and uploaded

It is less than it was. Went to the US at Christmas and it was the coming back that was horrendous and the admin involved in coming back to the UK and the testing. February was less - but the US end airport really did check.

Plus COVID is rife and one of the things you sign off for transatlantic flights is no close contact with COVID for 14 days before (in effect member of your party)

I don’t think @Landedonfeet quite understands
different countries have different rules. And doing it for 4 people may take twice as long as for 2.
A cup of tea and 15 minutes later all is fine.

[quote Delatron]@Landedonfeet bully for you.[/quote]
🙄

It’s not about getting one up on you

It’s about the fact that now there is no requirements if vaccinated for majority of European holidays

And where there are requirements

Try not to make mountain out of molehill. Waiting for an lft result is not a “task”. Inputting passport number and few other details whilst sipping a coffee - its not an actual hardship

@Delatron

I don’t think *@Landedonfeet* quite understands different countries have different rules. And doing it for 4 people may take twice as long as for 2. A cup of tea and 15 minutes later all is fine.

I’m doing it for 3. Me and my children

What’s up stop your partner doing himself and a child and you doing one and yourself.

It doesn’t need to be the gargantuan task you seemed to think it was

To get in to US you need to sow you’re vaccinated. Thirty seconds to bring it up on phone?
And bring an lft negative
Doesn’t need to externally confirmed

And if under 17 - don’t need to be vaccinated

Be fully vaccinated and show proof
2) Have a supervised LFT taken in the day before and have a certificate for it you can show and upload
3) Sign an attestation to say that you have legally done the above
4) As always have an ESTA filled in

Where are you getting the above from?!!
I wonder if the FO has it wrong

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements

Your posts are irrelevant through @Landedonfeet

Yes it’s very easy to travel to Spain at the moment. Now if only the OP was going to Spain...

Everyone’s circumstances are different @Landedonfeet but you seem to be lacking in empathy.

No DH wasn’t here so couldn’t help. I had a call that I needed to be on so had to rush to get them all done. Plus EU forms. So for me, in that situation, it was stressful. Therefore I am empathising with the OP and others on here.

I am completely aware for some people that scenario is not stressful. OP sounds anxious and I get that.

[quote Landedonfeet]Be fully vaccinated and show proof
2) Have a supervised LFT taken in the day before and have a certificate for it you can show and upload
3) Sign an attestation to say that you have legally done the above
4) As always have an ESTA filled in

Where are you getting the above from?!!
I wonder if the FO has it wrong

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements[/quote]
Nope the foreign office says exactly that in your link. It hasnt got it wrong at all

Before boarding a flight to the USA, most passengers - regardless of vaccination status - are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 1 day before travel. All air passengers to the USA are also required to provide contact information to their airlines before boarding. You should check with your airline before you travel for more details. Full requirements for pre-travel testing can be found on the CDC website. Children under 2 years old do not need to test.

The CDC website that it references tell you EXACTLY what the US wants which is a supervised test by a medical professional no later than the day before you travel. And the medical professional needs quite a lot of information to ascertain that it is you and that the test is done correctly. The US has always had very strict rules relating to LFT

The airlines tell you that you need to do the attestation form which sets out that you have done that plus the 14 day bit

And having done the US twice since the borders open I can tell you they definitely need it done this way.

Do your supervised test with Klarity - very fast and efficient, and cheap.

On your “list”
You include “signing an attestation” - 3 seconds?
LFT and uploading…. Test takes 30 seconds, wait results, upload photo

I’m really struggling to see the massive effort here

@Landedonfeet

On your “list” You include “signing an attestation” - 3 seconds? LFT and uploading…. Test takes 30 seconds, wait results, upload photo

I’m really struggling to see the massive effort here

You dont upload a photo though of the test @Landedonfeet that isnt how it works - or you could but then you need a certificate back.

You havent been to the US I have done it twice - if you take responsibility for doing everyone and doing it correctly (as they will refuse you to fly or entry if not correct) it isnt something that takes 30 secs.

It has reduced - the PLF over Christmas and the testing to get back into the UK was immense and timeconsuming and did make the US look an awful lot easier. But they do check and it does need to be done correctly. For example the vaccination certificate is looked at as well to check the dates etc.

I dont see why you are so keen to say that it is an easy process having not done it

I have been to the US
Single parent with two children
My brother lives in SD
I honestly just sat down one evening in front of the TV and did it. It was not taxing and really not much more effort than pre covid to enter US!

If you “list” anything it can seem big

1. I opened my eyes
2. I turned over
3. I turned off my alarm
4. I swung one leg out of bed
5. I swing the other leg out of bed

Similarly

1. I took an lft
2. I waited for result
3. I signed a document

I honestly just sat down one evening in front of the TV and did it.

Yes exactly.

So why if you have done it were you questioning what I, the FO and the CDC said.

I think this has gone on a tangent now that isnt helpful for the OP. Because it is often getting the impetus to actually sit down and do it. and the night before you go away due to the time restraints.

Because you said supervised LFT
When I went it didn’t need to be supervised

And no mention on the gov website anywherere signing the attestation. I didn’t even think about signing something as a task. Neither it would seem does the gov.

I'm glad you found it easy @Landedonfeet - good for you. But many of us don't, or even if we find the actual task fairly straightforward, it's all the what ifs that cause the issues.

So for example we went to France at Feb half term. Managed to ascertain that we didn't need a supervised lft but did need a paid for one. So had to pick a provider and order the tests - yes not a time consuming task, but something extra to do. Then - being organised- I did my test as soon as the 48 hr window opened, then panicked if the flight was delayed so bought another lft and had to go and pick one up.
Then I had to print out all the covid gubbins and put it together for each traveller - again no biggie but I like to be organised.

Then on top of that the usual holiday gubbins - so car parking at the airport, car hire, apartment details etc.

I certainly found the covid stuff took a bit of extra time and effort.

@Landedonfeet

Because you said supervised LFT When I went it didn’t need to be supervised

And no mention on the gov website anywherere signing the attestation. I didn’t even think about signing something as a task. Neither it would seem does the gov.

I am surprised because as far as I was aware all testing providers in the UK say that the test has to be supervised because of the information that the testing certificate requires. In that in order for them to certify the test to CDC standards it has to be supervised by them. Klarity/Doc HQ/Qured/Breathe assured all require seeing the test being done in person or via video in order to send through the certificate.

It has been that way since the beginning although pre Omicron it was 3 days it is now 1 day. I am not sure quite how you got on the plane with an unsupervised test.

For British Airways the night before it opened and I uploaded it all. FlyReady for Delta was a much bigger pain and I did need to show hard copies to someone in a queue to get my passport stickered.

Its not impossible no. I have done it twice. But it is a task that adds time to the process of getting ready and frankly can mean that at the very last minute you cant go

And the attestation is on the cdc website - not ours.

The

It categorically does not need to be supervised

I don’t go but those you will profit from it being supervised

I go by the FO

And no mention at all. You just need to show a negative lft

Which testing provider did you use for the US that didnt need supervision. Because all the information I have says otherwise so if I am wrong it would be good to get correct information and who you used to enter the US.

www.covid19-testing.org/resources/what-you-need-to-know-before-travelling-to-the-united-states-of-america-from-the-united-kingdom?gclid=CjwKCAiAjoeRBhAJEiwAYY3nDK034v5g-O5W-HQWnZMJs4njSCISGm-W9bKywUhgBVKKWVr_eJJfMRoC5E0QAvD_BwE

Here is the CDC bit www.cdc.gov/quarantine/fr-airline-faqs.html#

The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) OR the relevant national authority where the test is administered.
The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
The telehealth provider must confirm the person’s identity, observe the specimen collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of CDC’s Order (see “What information must be included in the test result?” below).
Airlines and other aircraft operators must be able to review and confirm the person’s identity and the test result details. The passenger must also be able to present the documentation of test results to U.S. officials at the port of entry and local/state health departments, if requested.

Which yes says supervised.

For the United States - therefore New York

@Landedonfeet

I don’t go but those you will profit from it being supervised

I go by the FO

And no mention at all. You just need to show a negative lft

The Foreign Office clearly says for more information go to the CDC and the CDC as I have set out clearly sets out its requirements for the test.

So yes go by the Foreign Office and then the CDC.

I dont get why it is so important to you? I dont think anyone is going to say that the testing requirements is a huge money making scheme but you cannot use a free NHS LFT (and soon they wont be free) for travel.

Hopefully the US will follow suit on March 18th and get rid of the testing requirements that are just for show and to make money. But until then in order to enter the US a supervised LFT undertaken by an acceptable provider is needed

We went as a family to east coast US pre-Covid. I did all the arranging (well, 90%, dh did a bit of air bnb negotiations). It was a faff but it was so worth it (was post gcse for eldest). I won’t let dh book a holiday on his own since he booked wrong flights and we had no way of getting money back!!

I think you're getting pre-holiday jitters. New York is so so so so much safer than it used to be. It has a much lower crime rate than most cities in the US. It is very easy to navigate since it is on a grid system and it is extremely walkable. Honestly, I hate every holiday I am about to go on until I am on the plane. Don't listen to yourself now--you'll have so much fun exploring.

Feb 22
San Diego

This applies as per gov website

* Before boarding a flight to the USA, most passengers - regardless of vaccination status - are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 1 day before travel. *