I am going to make lemonade - Re: Cancellation

[cat616]

We have arrived in Hong Kong with an overnight layover before heading to Beijing tomorrow. Originally we were to head from here to Shanghai this morning and would have been having lunch by now in the buffet on Journey. Sigh.

 

After arriving here we collected our checked bag, cleared immigration with little delay and then walked though the green line at Customs. We then headed straight to the Cathay Pacific Ticketing Counter to cancel the Hong Kong to Shanghai portion of our ticket with the hopes of getting a small refund. Silly us. We were charged HK$720 to drop that portion of our tickets. It was because they "had to cancel all 3 of the remaining flights and then reissue the 2 that we still required". Hence a HK$720 for change fee. Azamara has already agreed to pay this with "up to $500 each for change and or cancelation fees". I will keep receipts and forward them to Miami after we get back home as per Azamara's instructions.

 

What is important to note for the rest of the March 3rd sailing people is that you MUST contact your airline if you are planning not to use any portion of your air tickets. The agent said if we simply had not turned up for the Hong Kong to Shanghai flight today then the rest of the ticket would have been forfeited as well!!!!!!! That would have been a rude surprise when we got to Singapore airport for our return flight to North America in April.

Edited March 3, 2014 by cat616
spelling

[cat616]

We have had quite an interesting trip with the land tour. There have been ups and there have been downs but in the end it was well worth the effort and we are both glad that we have had the opportunity to explore China over the last weeks. This was a trip we never would have done if our cruise was not cancelled.

 

The Good

 

We have been to Bejing, Xian, Guillin, Longsheng, Yangshou, Shanghai and now Hong Kong.

 

We have seen Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Jade Buddah Temple, Yu Garden and several other less known spots.

 

We have had a Tai Chi Lesson, walked up the side of a mountain on a rickety steep path, overnighted on that mountain in a lovely lodge, walked through rice terraces, watched marvelous night theatre performed on the Li River in the rain, had a local cooking lesson, passed on a bike ride on the muddy roads and on rock climbing up a cliff face, been on a raft ride on the Li River, walked in the farm lands of Yangshou and experienced the amazing mountains of the Yangshou region.

 

We have stayed in 5 very nice hotels that were not western world perfect but were very well appointed and in safe locations. The bedding in all the hotels was excellent.

 

We have eaten local food with the local people and have enjoyed the company of 4 great tour guides and 4 great drivers.

 

We have many many photos of the places and people we have seen.

 

The Not So Good

 

We have had enough Chinese Food for now. We did not like living out of suitcases nor having an easy way to do laundry. There are only rock hard beds in China. We were pestered by aggressive vendors and in some instances felt accosted by them to the point that we could not enjoy our time in their location. We have walked up the side of a mountain on a rickety steep path. (I know that is in the good too but we are somewhat overweight middle aged people, I have asthma and we were carrying our backpacks with our valuables and what we needed for overnight. It was not an easy trek.) Since March 1st we have been on 7 flights and trekked through 6 different airports.

 

The Ugly

 

We stayed in one "4 Star Hotel" that had a gorgeous view and a large room but the facilities were 2 star at best. We insisted on being moved. They refused to refund the tour company's payment so we paid for our own hotel for the next 2 nights.

 

Conclusion

 

If we had had more time for planning we would have customized the trip a bit more to our liking (hiking up a mountain and rock climbing are not on our bucket lists and are not suitable for our current fitness levels). All in all the tour went very well and we are pleased that we did it.

 

We are in Hong Kong now. Our bags are ready for the transfer to the Journey tomorrow and we are looking forward to getting aboard and our first glass of wine (or spiked lemonade) on the aft over a little lunch. We are hoping to catch up on our laundry once on board and are looking forward to warmer weather for a while.

 

Thanks again for the advice that everyone offered.

[pacheco18]

We have had quite an interesting trip with the land tour. There have been ups and there have been downs but in the end it was well worth the effort and we are both glad that we have had the opportunity to explore China over the last weeks. This was a trip we never would have done if our cruise was not cancelled.

 

The Good

 

We have been to Bejing, Xian, Guillin, Longsheng, Yangshou, Shanghai and now Hong Kong.

 

We have seen Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Jade Buddah Temple, Yu Garden and several other less known spots.

 

We have had a Tai Chi Lesson, walked up the side of a mountain on a rickety steep path, overnighted on that mountain in a lovely lodge, walked through rice terraces, watched marvelous night theatre performed on the Li River in the rain, had a local cooking lesson, passed on a bike ride on the muddy roads and on rock climbing up a cliff face, been on a raft ride on the Li River, walked in the farm lands of Yangshou and experienced the amazing mountains of the Yangshou region.

 

We have stayed in 5 very nice hotels that were not western world perfect but were very well appointed and in safe locations. The bedding in all the hotels was excellent.

 

We have eaten local food with the local people and have enjoyed the company of 4 great tour guides and 4 great drivers.

 

We have many many photos of the places and people we have seen.

 

The Not So Good

 

We have had enough Chinese Food for now. We did not like living out of suitcases nor having an easy way to do laundry. There are only rock hard beds in China. We were pestered by aggressive vendors and in some instances felt accosted by them to the point that we could not enjoy our time in their location. We have walked up the side of a mountain on a rickety steep path. (I know that is in the good too but we are somewhat overweight middle aged people, I have asthma and we were carrying our backpacks with our valuables and what we needed for overnight. It was not an easy trek.) Since March 1st we have been on 7 flights and trekked through 6 different airports.

 

The Ugly

 

We stayed in one "4 Star Hotel" that had a gorgeous view and a large room but the facilities were 2 star at best. We insisted on being moved. They refused to refund the tour company's payment so we paid for our own hotel for the next 2 nights.

 

Conclusion

 

If we had had more time for planning we would have customized the trip a bit more to our liking (hiking up a mountain and rock climbing are not on our bucket lists and are not suitable for our current fitness levels). All in all the tour went very well and we are pleased that we did it.

 

We are in Hong Kong now. Our bags are ready for the transfer to the Journey tomorrow and we are looking forward to getting aboard and our first glass of wine (or spiked lemonade) on the aft over a little lunch. We are hoping to catch up on our laundry once on board and are looking forward to warmer weather for a while.

 

Thanks again for the advice that everyone offered.

 

I greatly admire what you did -- I would have done the same. A few years ago when we missed a cruise to South America due to weather (we could not fly out of Atlanta for 4 days) we quickly revamped our plans, waited for the planes to fly again, and converted the cruise to a wonderful land trip in South America -- and like you, we had one hotel that was a loser LOL. So we moved to another hotel. We certainly were not going to cancel our vacation plans. That was never an option.

 

You've got the right attitude. Travel has its bumps in the road and you need to be flexible. Life is too short to moan and groan about stuff that goes wrong. Great job! There's a lesson in this for everyone. So glad it worked out for you.

[CintiPam]

We have had quite an interesting trip with the land tour. There have been ups and there have been downs but in the end it was well worth the effort and we are both glad that we have had the opportunity to explore China over the last weeks. This was a trip we never would have done if our cruise was not cancelled.

 

Thanks for coming back with such a complete and honest report. You indeed have made lemonade out of lemons.:)

 

Enjoy your cruise!