First trip In 5 years anything new?

Douglas, first of all let me say how excited I am for you and your trip! I know starting to travel again after the loss of a loved one isn’t always easy, but you are doing it. My very best wishes for a great trip.

I think the biggest change I’ve seen since 5 years ago is the absolute domination of contactless cards as the preferred payment method almost everywhere. No need for a great deal of cash. I am sure you already have a card with no foreign transaction fees, but I will mention it anyway for the benefit of others.

The second change is the use of smart phone apps to buy and store tickets, find your way in a strange city, and communicate with others. If there are travel disruptions ( and sometimes there are) a smart phone enables you to chat with customer service which is often quite a bit faster than a phone call. Last December I had to rework flights while I had to be in transit to my new departure city after a cancellation. I bought train tickets while in the cab on the way to the station. Reworked flights via chat while on the train and reserved a hotel room, and finally fielded a call from Social Security while sitting in a train station cafe. (I had originally thought to be in my hotel room at that time). My phone has become an essential travel tool for me.

Most things haven’t really changed except you may feel like the crowds are a bit bigger.

I don't know how new this is, but if you are departing from London Heathrow, your liquids need to be in an actual quart sized zip lock type of bag, not one of the bags that are sold as 3-1-1 compliant. They are very strict at LHR.

Having your credit card loaded on Apple Pay on your phone makes it very easy to take the metro. Just scan the phone at the entrance & exit of the metro stations.

Have a great time! People are still very friendly & helpful.

Douglas, how exciting! Please know that we're all delighted to see you traveling again.

I want to piggy-back onto Jean's comment:

People are still very friendly & helpful.

This and more! We traveled to France and Italy last year, and to London and Amsterdam this February, and people could not have been more welcoming, helpful, and friendly.

Have a great time; we look forward to hearing about your trip.

The app you want to download is "Mobile Passport." Become familiar with it prior to your return to the US. It should speed you through immigration upon your return. Customs is another matter. You probably won't be stopped so nothing to do.

So funny--I was just thinking about this situation this morning. I have not taken an international flight since 2017 and I feel like there have been big changes (or what I have felt like are big changes) in what you use your phone for, customs/immigration protocol, and ID/document/ticket technology and what exactly you do when you get off the plane since then. In October will be flying to Canada--not a huge global trip but would be good to know the latest goings-on. I have Pre Check and Global Entry. I am really low tech with my phone--I just use it for texting and Googling. Compared to a lot of people I barely touch my phone. It has maybe five extra apps on it (plant ID, bird ID, fitness, meditation, and Lyft--ha ha)

Pete, Global Entry (at least at Seattle) is all facial recognition now. You don't stop at one of those little kiosks anymore. You collect your luggage, find the global entry line, and at the entrance to that line there is a place to stand where it takes your picture. You then move on down to the agent. Last time I arrived in Seattle: waiting for luggage 1 hour, passport control 2 minutes.

Since your trip is to Canada, it is most likely you will do pre-clearance in Canada and arrive as a domestic flight on your return.

Have you flown domestically recently.? One change I noticed this past year, probably because of disruptive airline passengers is the flight attendants are very touchy. If you don't bend over backwards to be super polite, with lots of apologies about something that may be bothering you (such as a child next to you that keeps invading your space with elbows and feet & the mother won't help) be prepared for a short, not friendly answer. I saw this happen to the woman across the aisle & when she asked for the F.A.'s help, the answer was to get off the plane! We hadn't taken off yet. That was the only solution offered and not in a friendly way. I will add it was American and their F.A.'s have never been known for their customer service skills.

You have possibly heard about the new normal in air travel.

The airlines just change your day or times of flight. Sometimes they notify you and other times they do not.

My flights have already changed 5 times always making it more inconvenient. Never once was it made more convenient.

And my trip is not until October.

Keep checking your flights. In fact I am going to check mine as soon as I post this.

Mobile Passport Control was a game changer when we flew home through Seattle in June. Download the app and register in advance. It’s free. While you wait for your luggage in Detroit (if you checked any), open the MPC app and answer the questions. You’ll be given a QR code good for 4 hours. Just find the MPC line and zip right through immigration. It saved us at least an hour in line in Seattle.

Check your flights regularly in case of changes that you don’t receive any notice of.

If you are checking a bag, consider getting a tracker like Apple Tag or Tile in case your bag is list. Pack an extra outfit, and any essentials, in your carryon.

I Just completed a trip under similar circumstances. Besides the things pointed out above is the need for timed entry reservations almost everywhere.

Travel4fun, I have a question re: Mobile Passport Control Specifically, "While you wait for your luggage in Detroit (if you checked any), open the MPC app and answer the questions. You’ll be given a QR code good for 4 hours. Just find the MPC line and zip right through immigration."

I have Global Entry and always re-enter the US at O'Hare. I haven't particularly observed MPC procedures there as I've never needed the system. Website does say it is available at ORD.

Here's the question: You have suggested completing the app while waiting for luggage. At ORD, baggage is picked-up after going through immigration (but before customs). This is the set-up I am used to elsewhere where ever I have landed. I am a bit confused. Does MPC help a person through initial re-entry thru immigration procedures, or only through customs (last stop or pass through on the way out the door)?

I was under the impression that MPC would short-cut the immigration lines - the longest process in entering a country. Custom lines, in my experience, are generally quick for most people. Am I wrong that MPC is used for Immigration? Is it actually only helpful for Customs?

Thanks - perhaps I mis-read or misunderstood your post. If so, please excuse me! I sometimes fly with travelers who don't have GE and would like to help them short-cut the process!!!

I have Global Entry, my last two trips I had to do no paperwork at all for customs/immigrations. Which I didn't especially care for, since it meant people could freely violate the limits on what you can bring in. Not that this is such an issue anymore in a globalized economy.

Figure out how you want to deal with your cellphone, that has become probably the #1 issue for travelers. Lots of options, like buying a package from your current carrier or getting a new SIM or e-SIM card for your current phone, or buying a burner phone and putting a local SIM in it, or using Whatsapp and only wifi, and ...

Yes there are no forms to fill out upon landing now. It has nothing to do with Global Entry. I have Global, but our adult kids do not and they have had the same thing of no paperwork when we all flew together in December.

ORDtraveler, my experience is based on arriving in Seattle from Frankfurt, and needing to make a connecting flight.

Everyone was funneled to baggage claim. From there you:

1) picked up your checked bags, if any
2) proceed to immigration

There were three options for immigration:
1) normal line with probably 300+ people
2) MPC line with 1 person
3) Clear/Global Entry line with about 10 people.

I had pre registered for MPC with our party’s info. While we waited for our luggage at the carousel, I logged in and answered the questions: did you visit any farms, are you bringing back any agricultural products, etc. I think there were 4-5 questions. Then I got the QR code. When we got our luggage, we found the MPC line and went right to the front. The agent scanned the QR code, asked us where we were traveling from, what agricultural products we were carrying (cheese from France). She asked if we were bringing in souvenirs exceeding our limit. Then she stamped our passports. So I consider this both immigration and customs.

My sister, whose final destination was Seattle, went through the same process, then immediately exited the airport.

After we our passports were stamped, we dropped off our bags and continued to our connecting flight.

Based on my experience MPC was faster than Clear/Global Entry, and it was free. I totally recommend it.

Seattle is doing things differently.

It's called Bags First.

San Diego and Orlando also have it. It's supposed to speed things up since you only deal with one person for both immigration and customs.

This site walks through the MPC process.

https://onemileatatime.com/guides/mobile-passport-control/#:~:text=Travelers%20just%20have%20to%20download,a%20separate%20immigration%20screening%20checkpoint.

Austin is pretty much the same .... which makes sense.

Douglas, I'm so happy that you are traveling again. I looked at a couple of your previous posts but couldn't figure out where you're going this time. Based on your flight info Berlin and London, right? Where else? Are you traveling with your friend and his mother or with your sister?

Anyway, these are the apps I've used last September in London, France and Venice and this June in Munich, Berlin, Vienna, mostly for transport. If they don't apply I'm sorry.

Berlin: BVG. You can buy your tram, s-bahn and u-bahn tickets. When bought using the app, no need to validate.
Munich: Munich Navigator (MVV). Same info as BVG.
Vienna: WienMobil. Same info as above.
Venice: CheBateo? for vaporetto routes
London: I loaded my contactless credit card into Apple Wallet and used Apple Wallet for the tube and bus. Your CC and Apple Wallet are not interchangeable for capping rates; use one or the other.
The only visitor's card I bought was in Salzburg. There's an app for that too.
I used websites for concert tickets and could put tickets in Notes or Apple Wallet.

Are your credit cards contactless? Change after Covid is most places take almost no cash, only contactless credit cards. I had to use the card to pay 60 euro cents for a bottle of water in France because the store didn't take cash. However, Munich wanted cash for food and things under €25. Have some cash with you in each local currency because you'll want to buy little things and may need to pay to pee.

Have a great trip! I'm sure your Dad is looking down and smiling.
Hint: take something that reminds you of your Dad so he can enjoy the journey with you. On the first road trip we went on after my brother passed, I took the sock monkey dressed in biker clothes that I had carried during the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk as remembrance of my brother.

I recently noticed that someone on the forum warned that the MPC lines may not always be open.

Thanks for all the kind words and help.
To answer a few questions and provide more info.
-I am going to too many places.
-Berlin, Boppard, Munich, Rome, Florence, Milan (one day yo see the Last Supper) Paris and London. About 3 weeks or so .way to fast but. (See next point
-I am traveling with my Buddy and his mother and my Sister in law. My buddy and his mom have never been to Europe and my SIL has only been to Paris for a couple days. (Oddly she has been to all 7 continents and 35+ counties, but put Europe off until last) So this is like a samplers pack. My Buddies mom is elderly and frankly this is her one and only “trip of a lifetime”. My buddy odds are will only do this one trip as well. My SIL views this as a way to see enough of Europe to help her decide what Cities she wants to spend more time in as she intends to start traveling to Europe now. So this is a pretty busy trip. But it was a chance to try traveling over seas again.
-I have done a bit of domestic travel in the last two years. Two trips to Florida to see family and a trip with my SIL to New Mexico (the Carlsbad Caverns are amazing and the equal to anything I have ever seen).

So I have used a bit of the more advanced system
-Boarding passes on my IPhone,
-Biometric scan for PreCheck security.
-the Funky welcome signage that Delta is playing with at DTW.

I used a fair bit of technology last time I was over seas, Smart phones for GPS and things such as Citymapper to get around.

I use contactless cards on my smart phone all the time stateside will be interesting to see how this goes over seas,

I will download the App for boarder entry back into the US as I never did get global entry. I have PreCheck and my bio stuff is on Delta and I used that but no Global. I am trying to get Nexus Card as I have a few trips into Canada I want to go on and I know folks over there but it is well over half a year and my application has not moved off waiting for review.

-I have my Cell phone figured out (will cost about $100 but I can use it pretty much as much as I want. And I will be playing tour leader on this trip. (Scary thought that)

-I have AirTags on order, but have never used them. Can they be set so that if they get to far away the alert you? I have an Apple Watch so the thumping would alert me. I was thinking I could get my buddies mom to keep one on her and if she falls too far behind.. get alerted. She is a nice lady but she tends to stop and look at things and never tell the rest of us.. It is bad in Costco it could be an issue in Europe.

-we will all have carry on sized bags and small back packs of day bags. So we are pretty good that way. But will need yo consider laundry.

-We will have a car for the Berlin to Munich part of the trip.

Anyway that is about it now.

Thanks travel4fun and others who indicated that the processing order differs form US airport to airport. What is described does make sense. I don't know how ORD handles the situation, but will look around next month when I re-enter from Asia. I'm now quite curious! I would be wonderful to have a faster process!!!!

According to the list Detroit Metro (DTW) does not have MPC yet.

Douglas, here’s a recent thread about laundry. Most of it is from a woman’s point of view but it may help. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/laundry-fd05c295-20ba-4cdc-818f-a2a516d90dc2

Your trip sounds busy but exhilarating. Have a great time!

Oh, AirTags are a lifesaver when the airline doesn’t load your luggage until the day after your flight. Can’t help with the lost mom tag idea.

According to the list Detroit Metro (DTW) does not have MPC yet.

As a metro Detroiter routinely flying in and out of DTW I can say it's still not available here. I don't know why but more MPC locations will be added "soon".

DTW is something like 15th busiest or some silky thing so you would think it would get it but… who can understand the government.

Douglas I am glad you are traveling again.i liked the idea that somebody said of taking something physical, tangible that was special to your dad. I know he will be on your mind a lot.

It sounds like you have thought of just about everything !

Frank II says get the app called Mobile Passport. I refreshed this app which I downloaded awhile ago and it displayed this message:

CBP service no longer available. So sorry! CBP no longer allows any private mobile applications for the Mobile Passport Control program.

Double check for yourself, but this doesn't appear to work anymore.

jdill7, I had to download a new app - see the links here https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory

Also check your airport you will be returning at befor you get to far. It is very random what airports have this. Mine doesn’t for example.

Jdill7...as CL noted, you tried to download a non-government app.

If you go to this website, there will be a link to download the official app from either the Google or Apple store. It's free.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-control

If you scroll down the page to question #2, and click on it, it will show you which airports have MPC.

Douglas, I know that the "wandering mom" issue may sound humorous, but it's no joke abroad. My "wandering dad" caused me several panic attacks in Rome some years ago. While I was trying to handle tickets, etc. I would turn around and he was just gone. He was never upset or stressed - it was just me. If the Apple Air Tags had existed at the time, you bet I would have hung one on his belt.
My father can't travel anymore, but now I am often the primary trip planner when I go with DH or friends. From this experience with my father, I now print out a one page list of names and addresses of our hotels in each city. This sheet also includes flight/train numbers and times, and contact numbers for other people in the traveling party. I print a copy for each group member and insist that they carry it with them each day. That way if we get separated everyone can at least find their way back to the hotel or know which flight we are on in the airport. (Yes, he also pulled his disappearing act at Fiumicino.) I strongly advise you to consider doing this for your own peace of mind.

I never thought of listing all the hotels on a sheet and making sure everyone has a copy, I did make sure everyone has all the cell numbers for everyone in the group.
And I put a sheet in my checked luggage (if I check luggage) that lists the address of where I am staying yo try and help if I get separated from my luggage.

Calling each other's US cell phone while you're in Europe can also be a bit tricky.
I'm not sure I now recall the exact method, so perhaps someone else can chime in. You might want to rehearse it with everyone when you arrive. That plus the hotel list should at least ensure that everyone can find their way back if you get separated. Before I started giving everyone the list, I found that when I made the arrangements it was very common for the others in the group to have no idea of our hotel name and location. It's so easy to get separated in crowds, even for those who don't intend to wander off. The more you help everyone to be independent, the less worry will be on your shoulders. You need to enjoy the trip too!

WhatsApp works well for Europe in lieu of texting as many cell phone plans give lots of data with less text messages.
WhatsApp also has an easy way of sending your location to someone else. Handy when you lose dad.

Thanks for the info about the Mobile Passport Control app.

Italy is a stark example of places going to contactless instead of cash.

Many of the documents that are being shared in my traveling group are in a Google Drive folder shared between participants. Thus, one document has the itinerary and another has the hotels broken down by night.

Have a blast.

I do NOT have global entry, I do have pre check.

The app you want to download is "Mobile Passport.

No problem not having global entry, you will not even notice the difference going through Detroit on Delta.

As for the Mobil Passport app, don't bother downloading, it will be worthless to you, Detroit does not participate in the program.

The Delta Terminal at Detroit is pretty efficient, they have had kiosks for all US passports entering, I imagine they still do. Since it is all Delta, the flight coming in are fairly spread out, limiting crowds. I was usually through before the bags were available, standing, waiting, with all the Global Entry people.