Odyssey - changed itinerary Grand Pacific Voyage

[TUCHIK]

17 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

Yes, we had the same deal ing in Australia and took advantage of it.

It's always a shame when celebratory events roll around and planning is thwarted. Same for our group of travellers so we are also on the lookout for something to fill the gap. 

We generally only book directly with airlines/hotels etc it reduces the hassles with refunds and changes in not dealing with agents, third-party aggregators and insurance companies. COVID shutdowns only reinforced this for us.

 

Phillipahain - I understand your frustration and hope that mess is resolved quickly. 

Agree 100 % with booking strategy. 

Ex LAX - SYD all flights are points. Some cancellable but all changeable. The LAX-SYD flight is cancellable until November 16. Until then, we'll keep looking for a decent points deal. 480k each at the moment!!

Hotels stays are all points and are cancellable.

We have to use the points before we run out of time!!

 

Question.....last time in Sydney we stayed at the Four Seasons.  OK but nothing special. This time we booked the Marriott Circular Quay. 3 nights, on points, so free. We have many Marriott points and are (almost) guaranteed any available upgrade. Google maps shows Marriott several blocks away from the harbor. Any comments? 

 

Philip,  if Seabourn promised you bus class to Vancouver  - and presumably back from Sydney  - then you should get it.

 

Our original thoughts were to go along with the changes. We then realized that on every one of the last 35 or so days we would probably be regretting it. Some years ago we spent 2 months in NZ, a couple of years later we spent 6 weeks traveling up Australia's east coast. This definitely impacted our decision.

[phillipahain]

TUCHIK   agree 100% and it sounds like USA are getting far better treated than UK ..we have a very good TA and there was a big row with SB when the itinery was changed and SB refused to allow cancel and refund ...We have insisted we get full Business Class for whole trip  and it darn well better be BA or eqivalent def not Westjet ...its BA  Syd to London ...yes we have spent many weeks in NZ have cousins and friends there , and have done a lot of Aus ...The only reason we are still contemplating going is its last time other half can get Insurance for more than 31 days ...once 80 in the UK Travel Insurance is restricted and we cant find anything to replace this cruise timescale wise ...Covid has caused so many rollovers next year is packed 

[BasandSyb]

TUCHIK re your accom question. My husband travels regularly to Sydney on business and said the Marriott is a short, flat block to Circular Quay. It’s surrounded by buildings rather than front on to the harbour. Trip advisor may update you on recent stay experiences.

 

Our thoughts were the same about being annoyed with the changed itinerary and regretting it if we blithely went along with the flow. At those prices there are many other things we can do and enjoy more.

[TUCHIK]

BasandSyb Thanks for the hotel comments. On re-checking their website I find I can directly book a bridge or opera house view, which I had previously missed. So a Marriott Opera House view it is!

[BasandSyb]

👍 without a view you could be anywhere.

[PaulaJK]

Suggest a tour of the Opera House as well. It was very

interesting.

[TUCHIK]

On 8/11/2022 at 2:14 PM, PaulaJK said:

Suggest a tour of the Opera House as well. It was very

interesting.

Thanks Paula. Tour & Dine is on our list