It has been a tough couple of weeks trying to make a decision on this trip and trying to find out if Switzerland will even let US tourists into the country. On August 30, 2021, the EU Advisory Committee recommended that the United States be banned for non essential travel to the EU countries. This recommendation was non-binding, so each country was allowed to set their own restrictions. As of this morning, Switzerland, which is not a part of the EU, but had been previously following their same restrictions, has not implemented any changes to their travel restrictions for US travelers.
In anticipation of possible restrictions, we called our Travel Insurance company several days ago to inquire about the steps we would have to take if we cancelled the trip. We had purchased a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) option, but found out that we had to cancel more than 48 hours before the first day of travel. That meant we had to cancel before midnight on Sunday, September 5, 2021 since we leave on September 8.
We also verified that we would be covered against any Covid related illness under the medical insurance provision of the travel insurance policy should we catch Covid during the trip. Also, if we are delayed in returning home by having a positive Covid test prior to the return to the USA, as required by the USA, the policy would extend by 7 days.
We made the determination on Sunday that if we were allowed to go, we would, and therefore, did not invoke our CFAR option. We were only going to be out about $500 if we cancelled on our own anyway because we have only purchased a few supersaver train tickets that are non-refundable, and for one trip, the Glacier Express Train, we also needed to purchase a seat reservation since it is so popular.
There were two accommodations, both apartments, that were requiring payment prior to our departure, one in Lucerne, and the other in Zermatt. We decided to cancel these reservations to buy more time since our CFAR coverage is limited to 75% recovery. We would just need to re-book these before we departed, hoping the same accommodations would be available later on.
Since there was no change to the Swiss travel restrictions, as of this morning, we had to make a reservation for some type of accommodations in Lucerne. We needed to have an address and location of our first overnight destination in order to complete the required Entry Form for Switzerland, all part of the pre-boarding checks for United Airlines. More on that later.
Unfortunately, our original apartment in Lucerne was no longer available this close to our travel dates, so we had to find another property. Since we are there on a weekend, all of the more favorably located accommodations near the Reuss River were already reserved. There was one apartment remaining in the same location as our first reservation, but of course, we no longer were getting a room with a view of the River, only city view accommodations were left this close to our arrival. That was disappointing, maybe we should just have kept the original reservation and paid the cancellation fee.
Of course, we now have a cancellation fee for this new reservation since we are so close to our arrival date. Hopefully, we will still be able to go, but things could change up to the time of our departure flight.
There have been a few other stressful events in the past few days, but we will not bore you with those details. Needless to say, we are woefully behind in our normal trip preparations, specifically packing, and getting the final items accomplished like credit card travel notices, moving money to different banks for ATM withdrawals, and getting things at the house taken care of. We have pulled together some of our travel clothes, but have not put one item into a suitcase, and we leave tomorrow.
We filled out all of the travel documentation requirements for United Airline, which included uploading a picture of our Vaccine Cards, and a copy of our Swiss Entry Form, which we filed online through the Swiss website and were provided a PDF copy as well as a QCR Code to show at the airport. That was a little tedious, but we did get confirmation back from United that all of our documentation was approved, but it seemed to quick to be valid. We will see when we get to the airport tomorrow.
We decided that it would be a good idea for me to get a Covid PCR test just in case that became and additional requirement to be able to travel to Switzerland. Since it takes 1-2 days for the results to come out, I went to a CVS Pharmacy last Sunday, September 5. It was covered by insurance, and I have already gotten back my results on Monday, Negative. Stephanie is tested on every Monday and Thursday at work, so we expect her results from Monday’s test to come back tomorrow before our flight. This way, if the rules change, we will both have recent PCR tests to provide to the airline, if required for travel.
I still needed to get a International Drivers Permit from AAA and of course, they were closed for the Labor Day holiday yesterday. Same for the UPS store where I was planning to go to get a few color copies of our Vaccine Cards I had scanned to laminate and have with us as spares. That is just part of today’s list of things to get done, along with mowing the lawn, and of course, packing.
We still need a reservation for Zermatt, and I believe our same location is still available, at least as of yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, there are quite a number of other accommodations available, including where we stayed when we were in Zermatt in 2012.
There are still some Train and Cable Car Passes that we would have already purchased if we knew we were definitely going, but now we will wait to purchase them tomorrow before we leave in the afternoon, or during our long layover in Washington DC.
Well, it is time to get started on the To Do list for today, which is, unfortunately, much longer that it should be ……more to come.