Toronto departures - check your hotel!!

[uktog]

In case cruisers do not pick this up on the other thread, we got our tickets for our cruise leaving in mid May,  They are NOT using the Westin Hotel as shown in all our previous confirmations.  AQSC previously confirmed to me before I booked our extra nights in the Westin we were staying there.

No notification of any change until now when we got our tickets, they are claiming building work (checked with Westin there is virtually no disruption).  We are having our pre cruise night in a Hilton in Yorkville.  So either you have move if you had made other reservations in the Westin as we had (and lose a lot of sightseeing time in the process) or move to that hotel (incurring higher costs as we had a good rate in the Westin because we booked ten months ago) and accept the location.  They are trying to say it is a better location, no it is not for us, no option to visit things lakeside without using an Uber, likewise its not possible to manage timings to make it to our dinner reservations on two of the nights.

Edited April 25, 2023 by uktog

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just when you think they can't screw up another part of the trip, they find a way!! 🤬

[uktog]

Certainly previously it had been our intention to place further bookings with AQV as we’d identified several other potential itineraries but sadly that is now highly unlikely. Still trying to work out our conundrum of move our extra two nights to the new hotel despite it being out of the way for sightseeing or stick with the original better location and lose several hours sightseeing plus hassle/cost of moving hotel. 

I think if we’d always been in the replacement hotel it might not have been so bad it’s just we’ve made dinner reservations and booked early morning tour on day 2 and 3 based on the previous location. 
 

I also feel a cruise line who can throw this spanner in the works just before you travel isn’t customer focused and trying to wash their change with spin (it’s a new hotel - yes- in a great location- no even reviews highlight it’s stretching the imagination to call it Yorkville) is not acceptable.

 

We will make our hotel decision later today we will then forget about the other option so no decision regret but AQV you need to seriously up your game for future guests 

 

[jebhoward3]

What is the name of the hotel, we have not yet gotten our cruise documents. A couple weeks ago we were told it would be "Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville. We are on the May 17th for Hotel and cruise on May 18th.

[uktog]

7 minutes ago, jebhoward3 said:

What is the name of the hotel, we have not yet gotten our cruise documents. A couple weeks ago we were told it would be "Canopy by Hilton Toronto Yorkville. We are on the May 17th for Hotel and cruise on May 18th.

That is the correct hotel. All our paperwork and separate email correspondence from booking until the point we got the documents stated The Westin which was why we booked 15-17 in there

 

See you onboard 

[3rdGenCunarder]

One of the later cruises arriving in Toronto says the "official hotel" for the after-cruise package is the Marriott. 

 

I'm supposed to be at the Sheraton in Chicago before my cruise in June. I had planned to go a day early and stay at the Sheraton, but I'm now going to be in Michigan until the day before the cruise. So just the one night in whatever hotel they're using for my voyage. I've seen the Sheraton listed as the "official hotel" for after-cruise packages in Chicago. But who knows? 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

One of the later cruises arriving in Toronto says the "official hotel" for the after-cruise package is the Marriott. 

 

I'm supposed to be at the Sheraton in Chicago before my cruise in June. I had planned to go a day early and stay at the Sheraton, but I'm now going to be in Michigan until the day before the cruise. So just the one night in whatever hotel they're using for my voyage. I've seen the Sheraton listed as the "official hotel" for after-cruise packages in Chicago. But who knows? 

We decided not to take the after cruise package in Chicago well before the current saga.  We looked at it (you are right is still says Sheraton), but decided as we wanted a day longer anyway and I could actually do us more sightseeing (including a Gangsters Tour and a Pizza Foodies tour), the Intercontinental and the same boat tour for three days for less £ than they wanted for their two day after cruise package.  Maybe we take a big hit on £ packages as they think oh they will take it they will want to stay.

[3rdGenCunarder]

9 minutes ago, uktog said:

We decided not to take the after cruise package in Chicago well before the current saga.  We looked at it (you are right is still says Sheraton), but decided as we wanted a day longer anyway and I could actually do us more sightseeing (including a Gangsters Tour and a Pizza Foodies tour), the Intercontinental and the same boat tour for three days for less £ than they wanted for their two day after cruise package.  Maybe we take a big hit on £ packages as they think oh they will take it they will want to stay.

 

Pre- and post- cruise packages often cost more than planning it independently. They're selling convenience, but with all the information on the internet, it's easy to put your own tour together and get exactly what you want.

 

I thought about a Gangster tour, but the one I saw was on a bus, and I prefer walking tours. Sadly, the garage where the Valentine's Day murder took place is gone--I looked for it on my first trip to Chicago because it was my Dad's birthday, and I had hoped to be able to tell him I saw the place. IIRC, it was a vacant lot at the time. 

 

If you have time for a museum visit, the Chicago History Museum is excellent. They have a pretty good gangster exhibit there. Also an exhibit of products made by Chicago companies.

 

I considered the pizza tour, too, but I decided on a donut tour for my foodie experience. I'm only there one day and I can't do two foodie tours on the same day! 

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 4/25/2023 at 1:37 PM, uktog said:

In case cruisers do not pick this up on the other thread, we got our tickets for our cruise leaving in mid May,  They are NOT using the Westin Hotel as shown in all our previous confirmations.  AQSC previously confirmed to me before I booked our extra nights in the Westin we were staying there.

No notification of any change until now when we got our tickets, they are claiming building work (checked with Westin there is virtually no disruption).  We are having our pre cruise night in a Hilton in Yorkville.  So either you have move if you had made other reservations in the Westin as we had (and lose a lot of sightseeing time in the process) or move to that hotel (incurring higher costs as we had a good rate in the Westin because we booked ten months ago) and accept the location.  They are trying to say it is a better location, no it is not for us, no option to visit things lakeside without using an Uber, likewise its not possible to manage timings to make it to our dinner reservations on two of the nights.

 

I think It's getting close to time for you to leave for this cruise. I hope the cruise turns out to be better than the planning. Please come back and share your experience. And have a wonderful time!!!

[uktog]

10 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I think It's getting close to time for you to leave for this cruise. I hope the cruise turns out to be better than the planning. Please come back and share your experience. And have a wonderful time!!!

Thank you so much, we hope to be in Toronto a week today doing some sightseeing.

Obviously the cruise company are finally waking up to the fact there is a cruise coming up.  Within 10 minutes last night we had two emails, the first to tell us that to enhance our experience in Toronto we would be staying in a different/better (we say worse) hotel - something we knew about via our agent 10 days ago so I feel sorry for anyone who only discovered for the first time last night. 

The second one said we told you you would get an email about your menu selection on an excursion were you are not getting one, you will do that at check in.  

Lets hope as the early cruisers on the itinerary we are the guinea pigs and later cruisers have much smoother communications

 

I am hoping to do posts from onboard, we will see!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

27 minutes ago, uktog said:

Thank you so much, we hope to be in Toronto a week today doing some sightseeing.

Obviously the cruise company are finally waking up to the fact there is a cruise coming up.  Within 10 minutes last night we had two emails, the first to tell us that to enhance our experience in Toronto we would be staying in a different/better (we say worse) hotel - something we knew about via our agent 10 days ago so I feel sorry for anyone who only discovered for the first time last night. 

The second one said we told you you would get an email about your menu selection on an excursion were you are not getting one, you will do that at check in.  

Lets hope as the early cruisers on the itinerary we are the guinea pigs and later cruisers have much smoother communications

 

I am hoping to do posts from onboard, we will see!!

 

Thanks for being a brave guinea pig!

 

I'm used to cruise lines that have an "already booked" page where you can see your booking, update information, etc. Because AQV doesn't do that, I forgot to enter personal details. They sent a reminder to my TA who forwarded it to me. Their electronic "letterhead" was still for Victory cruise line. Ummm, shouldn't they know that their own name has changed?????