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Singapore is now Open!

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  • Singapore is now Open!

    I had planned a trip LAX-CMB on SQ11/SQ468 for Apr 1st and reluctantly booked the transit hotel for my 21hr transit. Travelling F, but 21hrs is just way too long to meander around and sit at the lounge. The VTL option didn't work either given the post-arrival testing requirements don't facilitate a transit time < 24hr.

    Lo and behold... this morning I get the notification that Singapore has opened up for all flights for vaccinated travelers. Spent a bit of time researching and immediately cancelled the Transit Hotel reservation and booked a hotel in the city. The requirements appear to be the following:

    1. PDT 2 days prior to departure (PCR or Antigen)
    2. Fill out the SG Arrival Card (https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard/ within 72hrs of departure)
    3. Get the COVID insurance (cost me SGD $14 via AIG)
    4. Download the TraceApp and do the needful

    The whole list of details is available here: https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/arrivi...lly-vaccinated

    Been a year since I visited SIN. I did transit briefly in May 2021 on the same route (non-stop from LAX-SIN) and had the difficult experience of being isolated in the transit hotel for 14hrs without being able to leave the room.

    Glad to see things going back to normal. Now lets see what the flight experience is going to be like... seems no more Dom unfortunately (first world problems)!
    Last edited by allmotor_2000; 25 March 2022, 05:52 PM.

  • #2
    I'm planning to travel in December for Christmas/New Year, so I wonder what it's going to be like then, apart from more flights resuming & covid tests.

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    • #3
      Entry was very straightforward. As long as one has completed the online entry form, they certify vaccination status and you are in. The TraceApp then gets updated within the next 10 mins or so.

      The other items (insurance, PCR test result) were surprisingly not checked at any point (departure or arrival).

      Crew are not wearing eye coverings any longer and were not policing masks either. There were only two in F on either window so socially distanced the entire way.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by SQfanatic View Post
        I'm planning to travel in December for Christmas/New Year, so I wonder what it's going to be like then, apart from more flights resuming & covid tests.
        I will be in Singapore during Christmas and New Years too. The news is rapidly changing on a covid front, and it's good to know Singapore is not requiring any PCR tests.

        My layover will be long on the way back (10 hours) so looking forward to visiting Singapore again, depending on if any changes to my flights and layovers.

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        • #5
          Some experiences from my dad as he did fly to India via Singapore.

          First off, Singapore Airlines has lost its unique touch; no hot towels (for covid I understand why), no sweet or real curd like the old days. The food is not bad but to a degree average at best, which makes us think there’s not a difference between SQ & other airlines we may potentially consider in the future. Not to mention compared to before, I don’t think you can grab snacks on your own like before. I think it would involve asking an attendant perhaps? The only nice thing is Singapore Changi is a great airport. The crew were friendly and service is good

          In terms of Singapore Changi Airport, one good thing they have changed nicely is the way to get connected to Wifi. There was a time where you’d have to go to a kiosk, show your boarding pass & passport and then they give you a code of some sort to connect.

          Now like everywhere else and all other airports (don’t think any airport in India has changed), you can just connect to the Wifi just by agreeing to the Terms and conditions. That made it super easy for my dad to Whatsapp call us from Singapore today, which previously was a strain.

          I’ll keep posted on this thread on my experience in December, my layover is pretty long so I’ll also be exploring the city, too and share my experiences.

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          • #6
            As I said, I would come back to this thread and share my personal experience on how Singapore is like post-COVID. Sorry if it's a little late though.

            I share nearly the same experience as my dad from a flight perspective, but from a ground perspective, nothing's really changed since the last time stepping foot in Singapore before this trip (late 2016, early 2017). The only few things I did observe that in the 5AM or early hours of the morning that it's hard to get a Transit Hotel in Terminal 3 and unlike previous times, they gave vouchers for breakfast (Free of charge) and we ended up staying back in Terminal 2. The price of it was expensive and maybe in the future doesn't hurt to try the Crowne Plaza if the prices are similar.

            When I went to the city, before even exiting the airport, the old days of filling a customs form by paper (Indicating you are a US citizen, giving passport details, etc and your next flight would be) are over. Nowadays, it's a little straightforward as now there are iPads where you can fill up a form from there and the same thing can be filled up electronically, and even sent to your email (once you provide an email address), so you could show that but honestly, passport and boarding pass are good enough. The confusing part of this was that you had to select which type of form you had to fill up, but thankfully there were a few folks standing by to help with this and even answer questions. So nice of them on that end. Once you completed that form, you'd go to the gates and scan your passport and show your face (no mask or glasses allowed when showing on camera) and it made getting out much quicker. It was around 11:30AM on a Tuesday so no crowd even though it was just a week before Christmas.

            The Wifi in Changi is easier because now you no longer have to go to a kiosk & show your boarding pass and passport, that took more than 10 minutes, so I'm happy they improved on that part (this is something they should have done YEARS ago).

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            • #7
              For years it has been possible to get free wifi at Changi by using a code texted to your phone with no requirement to prove you hold a ticket.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by SQ228 View Post
                For years it has been possible to get free wifi at Changi by using a code texted to your phone with no requirement to prove you hold a ticket.
                Good to know. The last time i touched Singapore before this recent trip in 2022 was in December 2016 & into January 2017. My dad touched Singapore enroute to India after that trip in September 2017, then in early December 2019 (way before Christmas he came back when I was living in Minnesota), so maybe that's how it was like in 2019, I can't remember my dad ever saying that.

                But I don't remember any mechanism to have a code texted to your phone. That will happen in Indian airports only (and still does today, I don't know why) where you HAVE to HAVE an Indian number (prepaid or post-paid, doesn't matter) in order to get Wifi access. In Changi, when you connect, once you hit the terms and conditions page, it's just a click of a button (what it should have been for years) without any code or voucher code from a kiosk.

                Do you know at which year it was made easier without having to get Wifi without getting any code texted to your phone or from a kiosk?

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