franlovestravel Hi.
your Nov. 28th departure is getting closer.... how exciting.!
I have a question, since you have bought your air with Tauck ( I normally do it on my own.) tell me... , do they add an xtra charge to the cost of the fare for processing and holding the ticket? I called them to see how much was my ticket for 2022- B, Zambia & South Africa with Qatar air vs Emirates through them... First she ignored the Emirates option... them she gave me almost the same $$ that's publish
on Qatar website , but added $1,000 more for handling the ticket till tour was due, is it always like that? Business class by the way..
Then she proceeded to sale me the British Air for great $$ but had to stay 14 hours and if I wanted to add the Johann. ticket to the reservation the final cost was from $ 5K to 12K.
What the Holy ..... it's this? I think she was smoking the now legal stuff. I'm not paying 12K to place my precious & refined buttocks in a seat for 14 hours ++ ))
Please advise.
Thanks
Mil, I’ve never heard of a handling fee!
We recently booked our Botswana tour flights with Tauck, but it’s the other new tour that goes to Zimbabwe first. We are using Qatar. The problem is the small number of flights that go on from either Johannesburg or Cape Town to Zambia or Zimbabwe. There is usually only one a day….I think even before the Pandemic that was the case. If we wanted to book the entire flight itineraries with Tauck, they wanted up front payment. Something to do with the ongoing flight from South Africa. Or we could just book the short flight ourselves which was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper doing it they way, it cost us about $300 plus dollars each I think. She advised booking that flight now in case it sold out. Then the Qatar air would be booked by Tauck but we do not have to pay for it until six weeks before. The only problem is a 22 hour layover in Cape Town.
What we are concerned about and which the Tauck agent got wrong, is that if Covid testing is still required to enter Zimbabwe, there is no testing availability in Doha. At Cape Town airport, there is testing, but the results take 24 hours and you have to physically return to the testing area to get the results. The Tauck agent told us we could get testing at Doha or Cape Town. That was incorrect in our situations. So now we may find we cannot go because we can’t get the testing in the time period. So we may have to cancel and lose the money for the short flight which I understand is non returnable.
We of course have a huge layover, but not be able to leave air side because of Covid testing etc. The annoying thing for us is that because we have already been lucky enough to see Victoria Falls from both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides in the past, we really only wanted to go to Botswana again….just going there would have been far less complicated.
So right now our tour could be out of the question unless things change.
Good Morning Mil. Like British, I have found Tauck's air department to be very competitive and fair.. I love not having to pay for air until 2 months before departure. I’m going to Italy next year and the best airlines to reserve seats was Delta……until they totally changed my my itinerary. I thought Tauck did a great job canceling the Delta route and put me on British Airways. Since the seats are held at a current price, I’ll call Tauck as the trip gets closer to see if airfare has gone down (which has happened) and will secure the same seats at a lower price.
Sounds like your destination is more complicated, however like British, have not heard of an up charge for using Tauck. Keep in mind all the airlines are trying to figure out their routings and things might change in your favor by waiting to book right now. Or book now just to have flights and keep checking back with Tauck. Hold times are at a minimum now. Good luck!
Now I have a question for you. I’m considering buying a new IPhone that has the low light feature. I currently have an iPhone 8 Plus. What’s your opinion? The 8 is working just fine, however I will be using it as my only camera. You have the 12 pro, is that right?
Some travel agents are charging $500 upfront to make arrangements. It is applied to the trip cost when the trip is taken. If you cancel, the fee is not refunded. This is occurring since many clients are booking and cancelling later on. This is especially so for cruises. The cruise lines are being very lenient on cancellations for the cost of the cruse because they want your business in these uncertain times. But, the travel agent spends a lot of time making arrangements then receives nothing for their time if you cancel.
Comments
franlovestravel Hi.
))
your Nov. 28th departure is getting closer.... how exciting.!
I have a question, since you have bought your air with Tauck ( I normally do it on my own.) tell me... , do they add an xtra charge to the cost of the fare for processing and holding the ticket? I called them to see how much was my ticket for 2022- B, Zambia & South Africa with Qatar air vs Emirates through them... First she ignored the Emirates option... them she gave me almost the same $$ that's publish
on Qatar website , but added $1,000 more for handling the ticket till tour was due, is it always like that? Business class by the way..
Then she proceeded to sale me the British Air for great $$ but had to stay 14 hours and if I wanted to add the Johann. ticket to the reservation the final cost was from $ 5K to 12K.
What the Holy ..... it's this? I think she was smoking the now legal stuff. I'm not paying 12K to place my precious & refined buttocks in a seat for 14 hours ++
Please advise.
Thanks
Mil, I’ve never heard of a handling fee!
We recently booked our Botswana tour flights with Tauck, but it’s the other new tour that goes to Zimbabwe first. We are using Qatar. The problem is the small number of flights that go on from either Johannesburg or Cape Town to Zambia or Zimbabwe. There is usually only one a day….I think even before the Pandemic that was the case. If we wanted to book the entire flight itineraries with Tauck, they wanted up front payment. Something to do with the ongoing flight from South Africa. Or we could just book the short flight ourselves which was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper doing it they way, it cost us about $300 plus dollars each I think. She advised booking that flight now in case it sold out. Then the Qatar air would be booked by Tauck but we do not have to pay for it until six weeks before. The only problem is a 22 hour layover in Cape Town.
What we are concerned about and which the Tauck agent got wrong, is that if Covid testing is still required to enter Zimbabwe, there is no testing availability in Doha. At Cape Town airport, there is testing, but the results take 24 hours and you have to physically return to the testing area to get the results. The Tauck agent told us we could get testing at Doha or Cape Town. That was incorrect in our situations. So now we may find we cannot go because we can’t get the testing in the time period. So we may have to cancel and lose the money for the short flight which I understand is non returnable.
We of course have a huge layover, but not be able to leave air side because of Covid testing etc. The annoying thing for us is that because we have already been lucky enough to see Victoria Falls from both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides in the past, we really only wanted to go to Botswana again….just going there would have been far less complicated.
So right now our tour could be out of the question unless things change.
Good Morning Mil. Like British, I have found Tauck's air department to be very competitive and fair.. I love not having to pay for air until 2 months before departure. I’m going to Italy next year and the best airlines to reserve seats was Delta……until they totally changed my my itinerary. I thought Tauck did a great job canceling the Delta route and put me on British Airways. Since the seats are held at a current price, I’ll call Tauck as the trip gets closer to see if airfare has gone down (which has happened) and will secure the same seats at a lower price.
Sounds like your destination is more complicated, however like British, have not heard of an up charge for using Tauck. Keep in mind all the airlines are trying to figure out their routings and things might change in your favor by waiting to book right now. Or book now just to have flights and keep checking back with Tauck. Hold times are at a minimum now. Good luck!
Now I have a question for you. I’m considering buying a new IPhone that has the low light feature. I currently have an iPhone 8 Plus. What’s your opinion? The 8 is working just fine, however I will be using it as my only camera. You have the 12 pro, is that right?
Some travel agents are charging $500 upfront to make arrangements. It is applied to the trip cost when the trip is taken. If you cancel, the fee is not refunded. This is occurring since many clients are booking and cancelling later on. This is especially so for cruises. The cruise lines are being very lenient on cancellations for the cost of the cruse because they want your business in these uncertain times. But, the travel agent spends a lot of time making arrangements then receives nothing for their time if you cancel.