It’s time for a bit of a news roundup for our readers and we start with Europe. The most recent acronym to enter the traveler’s lexicon is EES, short for Entry/Exit Sytstem. What is the EES? The newly activated Entry/Exit System collects biometric data, in this case that means fingerprint scans and facial recognition photos. It also collects traditional document information, like your passport. This program is already live at incoming airports and water ports within the Schengen Zone.
Importantly, EES is a different program than ETIAS, which is a separate program that we’ve covered previously. Because these two programs are being implemented around the same time, let’s highlight some of the details and differences.
EES:
- You don’t need to do anything before traveling.
- Biometric data will be collected at entry. Children under 12 years of age will not be fingerprinted.
- It does not require paying an entry fee.
- Applies to all non-EU and non-Schengen passport holders.
ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System)
- You do need to complete a digital application form before you travel.
- Basic traveler information will be collected at application, but this program does not capture biometric data.
- There is a €20 fee due at time of application. The fee can be waived for people under 18 and over 70.
- Applies to any visa-free nationals that are traveling to these European countries.
The EES should become faster over time, but it’s quite slow right now.
These two programs have different aims. Going through the EES happens every time a traveler enters or leaves any of these countries and it is intended to track the movements of travelers through them. ETIAS is intended to raise money and control entry before travel. Additionally, the EES is active now and ETIAS is being rolled out in the last quarter of 2026.
Right now, the EES seems to be slowing down entry to Europe. Just a matter of two weeks ago, we had personal experience entering the travel zone at the Lisbon cruise terminal. Disembarkation took several hours to clear customs. That’s not great news for upcoming travels but, in the long run, European officials hope that EES will speed up the process.
For the moment, make sure that you plan for extra time to enter Europe.
Also, please note that these changes do not apply to the UK which, rather famously, is not part of Europe, I mean the EU. Indeed, The United Kingdom has it’s own travel fees coming online.
Princess Pours Program, What Is It?
The next update that might interest our readers is a major one from Princess Cruises. Just over a week ago, Princess announced that they are launching a new POURS collection, which will be arriving this summer.
As the name implies, this program is Princess looking to step up their game in the cocktail and mocktail experience. This collection isn’t another beverage package, it’s more of a marketing stunt. Princess wants to capture people’s attention by showing off nice drinks, and they’ve pulled in celebrities to help with that.
The announcement includes promotional images with Matthew and Camila McConaughey, Liev Schreiber​, Jason Momoa, Blaine Halvorson, Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi, and more besides. These stars aren’t just there for pictures, they all have their own alcohols that will now be served on Princess Cruises’ ships. From the McConaughey’s Pantalones Tequila to Kylie Minogue’s no alcohol sparkling rosé.
With the POURS program, you’ll be saying, “Alright, alright, alright…”
As I said, this isn’t a new drinks package so these new beverages will be included in Princess Plus and Premier. Which is nice to hear, since those programs got a price hike a while back.
My favorite thing about this is that as part of this revamp, Princess Cruises is markedly increasing the number of mocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks on offer. This is wonderful news for any sailor that doesn’t drink alcohol, like Nichole. These new offerings include drinks like the Hibiscus Zenberry Crush and Golden Orchard, which bring a level of sophistication without the hangover.
Given the shifting trends in alcohol consumption by the youngest generations, Princess is likely reading the room and looking to enhance their options. With Gen Z consuming far less alcohol than previous generations, increasing NA offerings will appeal to a larger portion of that market. Older generations still consume alcohol at pretty much the same rate between them, but over the years consumers of all ages have trended toward higher quality and more sophisticated drinks. The POURS program hits both of those desires and will step up Princess’ game at the bar, which is something I’m quite glad to see them do.
United Airline Changes: The Good and the Bad
United Airlines has announced several changes recently which are being met with both joy and annoyance.
First, United announced that they will begin kicking people off flights should they be listening to music or shows without headphones. In other words, if someone is broadcasting whatever they are watching to the whole cabin, you may be removed from the plane. While I haven’t personally encountered behavior like this before, it was apparently happening enough that they felt the need to create a rule for it.
Let it be known that if you fly United, you should bring some headphones. Or maybe a book. I really loved A Gentleman In Moscow, so I would pick that up.
In slightly less welcome news, United recently announced Fare Options, separating each seat type into three new forms, Base, Standard, and Flexible. These fare options will have different costs and different rules associated with them.
New fares from United means that you’ll be paying more for miles.
For example, a Base fare ticket will be charged extra if you want to choose your seat location, while a Standard and Flexible fare will let you choose the seat. Similarly, the Base fare will get one checked bag, while the others will have 2 bags. Flexible operates much more like Standard, but can get a refund, while the other two typically do not.
Finally Base Fare, even in business class, doesn’t earn miles when flying or give lounge access. This means you could pay top dollar for a Polaris seat and not get to stay at their special lounge or get a single mile for the flight if you choose the Base Fare option.
This puts United much more in line with how Delta has operated since they announced their fare options around this time last year. All of this comes on the heels of United cutting back their milage program to make it much harder to earn miles outside of the higher-cost seats.
I’ve included a chart from United so you can see some of the restrictions placed on the base fare. The chart you see is specific to Polaris, which is United’s top tier long haul flight cabin. As you can see, the base fare has plenty of restrictions on it.
I wrote an article last year that asked if airline status is worth it. These changes give me one more reason to say, no. I say, fly the best rate in the best seat you care to pay for, and whichever airline that’s with is who you fly on – diamond be damned.
