I took a cruise during the Pandemic! Part 6

 Part 6 - Getting to JFK and getting checked in!

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We finally arrived to JFK and needless to say, I was relieved to smell 'fresh' jet fuel-infused air.  I paid the fare, gave the driver a tip and entered the terminal.  As I said, the driver was a nice guy with a bad, stinky car.  I would not recommend Carmel Limo again in the future.  Finally their customer service called me back, but all they could do is apologize. They SHOULD have offered a partial refund.

Terminal 8 at JFK is the location from which American operates their international flights.  To say that check in was a hot mess is an understatement.  I understand that flight schedules are still on the thin side, and I know that people may be hesitant to return to work.  That said, to have maybe 4 agents on the floor, assisting hundreds of passengers trying to use the self-check in kiosks is a recipe for disaster.  

I've done self check before and I got a real taste of automation when I flew from DUB to LHR before the pandemic.  Whilst at Dublin airport, I had zero human interaction from the time I approached the kiosk until I got to security.  Yes, I even affixed the luggage tag myself AND placed my bag on the scale/belt to get sent down to the aircraft.  Easy peasy.

The process here would likely be similar at JFK except for the need to have a human being look at your passport, vaccination card and/or PCR test results, and your Greek Passenger Locator Form (PLF).  Again, every country will have different, and ever changing entry requirements.  Mine were fairly simple and getting the QR code for the PLF to enter Greece was simple.  Fill out the form and wait until it's sent to you via email.  Earlier in the summer, people were applying well ahead of their trips but not getting the code until they were literally in the air on the way.  I received mine about a week after applying and when I had to make a quick edit (changed hotels) the new code arrived in a couple hours.

Vax card - edited for security

Photo by Spencer Davis from Pexels

Greek PLF form (edited for security)

I'd say I waited probably 20 minutes for an agent to come view my documents and approve them in the kiosk.  Of course, the part to check bags somehow got skipped and I had to do the whole thing again.  I'd say the entire process took 45 minutes.  It should have taken maybe 15.

If you didn't use the kiosks, you got to wait in a HUGE line

JFK was almost deserted.

Once that was done, I set off for security.  American is not a partner with CLEAR (totally worth the money if you're impatient like me.  Want a free 2 month trial?  CLICK HERE!) so I had to just go to TSA Precheck.  After confirming that precheck lanes would be open when I arrived, imagine my surprise to find out that they were NOT.  Ugh.  Please. Can we update the website??  

At least they don't make you strip and take out all your crap through the regular line if you show your appropriately marked boarding pass and the line moved fairly quickly (except for the amateur travelers in front of me.  UGH!😡😒).  Finally, I was off in search of a lounge.  I walked and took the moving walkway to the higher numbered gates concourse to try and buy a lounge pass, only to learn that the Admiral's Club by gate 42(ish) was closed and that the Flagship (make that fancier!) lounge was being used for all passengers.  With most of the food and beverage outlets closed, I figured killing 3 hours or so in the lounge, in relative comfort, would be a better way to restart my trip.

Daily passes cost $50 which sounds high but when you realize that you can get light food, drinks and booze, is a decent deal.  Currently, they're only serving light 'snacks' like soup, mac & cheese, fruit, veggies and dip and the like.  They do have a nice menu of food for purchase and you can get a more substantial meal.  There's also an option to buy better quality wine, beer and spirits.  (Note, the bar and hot-food ordering area is in an adjacent room.  There's additional table seating there but it was not available.  No photos, bad lighting)/

The lounge has a good amount of seating, lots of plugs and USB ports for charging, clean restrooms, showers and nice views of the ramp.  If it were up to me, I'd add some additional places to charge your devices as there weren't any close to the tables and chairs.

Flagship Lounge at JFK T8 (temporarily Admiral's Club) 

Lots of seating

The soup was good, the 'make your own' mac and cheese was tasty (there was mac & cheese with other toppings like ham, veggies, more cheese and so on.).  I decided to order a chicken quesadilla in case the food on the plane would suck.  The quesadilla was really good and cost about $12.  Cheaper and better than what it would have been in the airport.

Chicken Quesadilla (~$12.) Very good

The free soup was yummy

Coffee, tea, lattes, etc

Some of the snacks

More light snacks

Freestyle Coke machine

I really enjoy airport lounges and I go when I can.  I'll gladly pay for a day pass; I don't fly enough to warrant a membership, and sometimes, I even get in for free if I'm in business/first on a qualifying international flight.  It's something to check out.  Not all lounges always have day passes available but when they do, I think it's a good investment as long as I have at least 2 hours to kill.  AND the lounge was right opposite my gate!  Even better.

Next up, Getting aboard the plane,  gifts for the crew, a broken IFE screen and, will my travel luck improve?