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Timeline for EES and ETIAS Implementation
New Border Entry System Launches October 2025
The EES is an automated IT system designed to replace manual passport stamping and streamline border crossings for non-EU travelers, including UK citizens. It will record biometric data—fingerprints and facial scans—for all eligible travelers upon their first entry into the EU. Children under the age of 12 will be exempt from fingerprinting.
The system aims to enhance border security and increase efficiency but will require significant adjustment at airports and land crossings. The rollout will last for six months, from 12 October 2025 until 9 April 2026, with the system becoming fully operational across all EU border points on 10 April 2026.
During the transition period, border officers will continue manual passport stamping. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has urged EU states to swiftly adopt the supporting EES app to allow pre-submission of traveler information and reduce delays at border checkpoints.
ETIAS to Follow in Late 2026 with Fee Surge
Following the EES rollout, the ETIAS system is expected to go live between October and December 2026. This electronic authorization will be required for visa-exempt travelers from non-EU countries, including the US and UK, before entering the Schengen Area.
Originally set at €7 per traveler, the ETIAS application fee is now slated to increase to €20—nearly three times the initial amount agreed upon in 2018. Travelers must complete the application online and pay the fee before their trip. Once approved, an ETIAS will be valid for multiple short stays within a three-year period.
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Southwest Airlines launched its in house vacation packager. Get-aways by Southwest. It replaces Southwest Vacations, a packager whose operations were outsourced to Apple Leisure Group. Getaways enables customers to bundle air with a hotel, car rentals and ground transportation and includes benefits such as five Rapid Rewards points earned per dollar spent on packages and two free checked bags. TRAVEL ADVISORS WON'T EARN COMMISSION ON GETAWAYS BOOKINGS AS PER THE AIRLINE. BE WARNED!
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As cruise lines have revealed 2027 deployments and itineraries over the past couple of months, trends have emerged, and Alaska, Japan and the Caribbean are a few hot spots that caught my eye.
Both National-Geographic Lindblad Expeditions and Celebrity Cruises are expanding the number of Alaska sailings they will offer in 2027. Celebrity will do so by extending both the beginning and end of the Celebrity Edge's Alaska season. National Geographic is adding more sailings on the Quest and the Venture.
Explora Journeys had already announced that 2027 would be its first summer sailing Alaska, but has now additionally revealed that it will offer land-based tours before and after its sailings to immerse guests even more deeply in the destination.
Expedition lines, meanwhile, are introducing new experiences in the Arctic and Antarctica for cruisers looking to experience even more extreme cold climate destinations.
Viking's expedition arm created a new itinerary for 2027 called "Into the Antarctic Circle," a 15-day cruise that will cross the line of latitude that establishes the Antarctic Circle.
Ponant is newly offering shorter North Pole sailings of 12 days aboard its Le Commandant Charcot, which CEO of the Americas Samuel Chamberlain said the company has been designing for 15 months.
Cruise lines are also continuing to bet on Japan as a trendy destination for U.S. travelers.
Princess Cruises will add a second ship there in 2027, which it boasted as its largest Japan deployment ever. It will have 78 sailings and 50 itineraries, the shortest being week-long cruises and the longest 28 days.
Other cruise lines betting on Japan include Celebrity, which will bring the Celebrity Millennium back to Tokyo for a second season, and National-Geographic Lindblad Expeditions, which is increasing departures.
Closer to home, the Caribbean of course continues to be a standout destination.
Windstar Cruises' winter 2026-27 Caribbean and Latin America season will be its most extensive ever, in part thanks to its new ship the Star Seeker.
Another new ship, the Orient Express Corinthian, will sail the Caribbean for the first time beginning in October 2026, marking the new brand's debut in the region.
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Some of the Caribbean nations that require US Citizens to apply for a visitor card, immigration and/or customs form in advance of travel. Most are free, some are not.
For the British Virgin Islands and all of Great Britain and it's territories, you must obtain an electronic travel authorization visa by downloading the UK ETA app to your phone and applying.
Aruba - https://edcardaruba.aw/
British Virgin Islands - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta#apply-for-an-eta
Curacao - https://dicardcuracao.com
Dominican Republic - https://eticket.migracion.gob.do/Home/
Jamaica - enterjamaica.gov.jm
Saint Lucia - https://travelslu.govt.lc/
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