Kingdom and Dragons
My adventure started today with a plane delay that has me spending the night in Detroit. The Detroit to Seoul was so delayed I would miss the connection to Korean Air so Delta booked me in a Marriott and I will leave in the same flight tomorrow. Now I have to get the money back for the extra hotel night which was quite expensive.
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Gladys, I hope you built in a travel day and are not missing any of Singapore. I'm so eager to hear from those experiencing this tour! Safe travels and may your luggage be with you when you arrive!
Gladys, I am so sorry to hear this! Wishing you a great trip from now on!
Gladys, It will get better
and you'll have a fav. trip.
Good luck.
According to what I heard on the news about the new Airline Passenger Bill of Rights pushed by Sec. of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg and agreed to by the four major US airlines today, even before going into law, Delta also owes you meal vouchers.
If the extra night was booked through Tauck, you should receive a refund to your credit card from Tauck any day now, but you need to tell Tauck ASAP (use the emergency phone number!!) you won't be arriving on time. I believe you must notify them at least 24 hour prior to the stay. We booked a pre-tour GOT + another night in Athens through Tauck before our Treasures of the Aegean, neither of which we were able to use because of flight delays and cancellations. The refund for the one night was deposited in our AMEX account the day after we finally arrived in Athens.
You can always file an insurance claim, but it is much nicer to get a refund quickly, without any hassle.
Sure hope i'm misreading Delta Flight Status. I see today's Detroit to Seoul leaving at 8 pm, instead of original 1:05! There were earlier flights that were not nonstop & don't save much time. I'm sure Gladys will debrief soon. Always an adventure.
Thank goodness, her tour does not start until Sept 3rd!
Thinking of you Gladys!
Yes, but it is already late morning 2 Sept right now in Seoul due to the International Date Line!!
Depending whether she made her flight and what the connection time is in Seoul, she might make the Welcome Dinner. 
fyi, Delta 159 Detroit-Seoul was cancelled just before 11 p.m.
It had been resched to 0958 EDT according to FlightAware, and they still don't show it cancelled, though I suspect FA data is wrong, but the Delta website shows it cancelled due to "operational issues." The aircraft was supposed to be an A350-900 with DeltaOne suites in business class. What a bummer!!!
The news tonight talked more about the new flyers Bill of Rights and how, so far there has been no change. What is going on with those guys. Why can't they get their act in gear!
I don't know what will happen now. I hope she got out on one of the other flights. I don't know any details about her connecting flight to Singapore, but if Gladys doesn't get out on tomorrow's 1:05 PM flight (the Delta site shows business class is sold out") which arrives in Inchon at 4:30 PM on 3 Sep, there is no way she will make the Welcome Dinner. Since we haven't heard from her, maybe she got on an earlier flight. If she does make it out, I hope her bags are on the plane with her.
If she gets tomorrow's flight 159 and the best (only remaining flight on 3 Sep) Korean AL connection she will arrive in Singapore at 11:40 pm on 3 Sep
I’m hoping that since we have not heard from her, it is because she is on the plane!
Gladys, we are thinking of you!
Ah maybe she can’t log in to post anything too.
Yes, hopefully she made it out. I'm wondering why Delta didn't keep her on original late flight; better to be stuck in Asia than still in Detroit. Mental note: Look for airlines with several daily departures. SF and LA are good options to Asia. I know, nonstops are nice. Btw Singapore Airlines has a nonstop from JFK and I think had 2/day pre-covid.
Hoping Qatar air comes through for us again on Wednesday night. I’ll always be grateful to them for getting us out of Dodge on lockdown. We are only arriving the day before,thinking that including the free time given by Tauck, we should see everything we want to there. Prfering to chill out at the end of the tour at hopefully a very swanky Four Seasons.
Well you were all right, the flight on the 1st took off on time after 30 mts the pilot came on and said that there was a problem with preassure and they were trouble shooting with Atlanta after another 40 mts we were told the plane was going back to Detroit from then on it has been a comedy of errors, right at the gate when I deplaned they booked me on a flight to LA and then on Singapore Air to Singapore but I didn't look and when I tried to get a boarding pass was told I was booked for February 2023 after calling Delta they re booked me on Philippine Air to Manila and from Manila to Singapore however it was on economy one of the worse 14 and a half hours of my life, the food was awful so no food and no sleep for all that time, I was livid because Drlta said I would be on business class, anyway I made it to Singapore on the 3rd, today the day of the welcome dinner which was nothing to talk about, our TD had an information meeting before the reception where he went through all the information in the handouts word by word and. provided an overview of the entire tour. I digress, my luggage did not make it. It was taken off the plane in Detroit and it stayed there after numerous calls to Delta and filing a claim in Singapore I was told it should be here tomorrow, I surely hope so.
Alan - I called Tauck on the 31st and asked them to cancel the extra night I booked which they said they would, when I asked if they would credit me for that day I was told I had to put it through the insurance, on the better side of the news I had an email from Delta telling me they were refunding 100%of the trip which was one way as I'm going back with Qatar, at the time I booked Delta was not flying out of Bali.
Thank you for all the good wishes everyone, I lost 2 days but at least I'm here now. Tomorrow is first tour day.
British - be happy you are going with Qatar, I think that DL159 flight out of Detroit is cursed.
Raffles hotel is outstanding, the room is a suite, gorgeous sorry I missed 2 nights here.
Singapore is extremely clean the drive from the airport was lovely, lots of flowers and foliage.
So great to hear from you & so sorry to hear the details of your tribulations. Good luck with your luggage & here's to smooth "sailing" from here on out! best to you.
Super! Super!!
Let's hope your bags get there soon. If I remember Singapore has a great downtown shopping area- highrise, multi-floor, malls, etc.
It was really difficult to figure out what happened to you. FlightAware showed more detail than the Delta website, so I knew your flight had "diverted" then was finally cancelled. Of course, once you left anything resembling your original itinerary we were in the dark, but everyone was pulling for you.
On the hotel refund, I'm not sure of the timing of your call, but Tauck's / Raffles' cancellation policy and deadline might have been different (earlier?) than Tauck's / Grand Bretagne in Athens, which may be the reason we were able to get an immediate refund directly from Tauck. I'll never forget the call we got from our TD after our flight was cancelled for the second day in row, "Hi, this is Sophia, your tour director calling from Greece. The hotel said you arrived two days ago. Where are you?" "Hi, Sophia. We are at home." "What!!!!"
Having lost nearly two days of pre-stay aside, it really was a good thing you decided to go early. Unfortunately, it didn't help us, we didn't arrive until the Welcome Dinner!
Have a great trip and as time and energy allow, keep the cards and letters coming!
**gladysorlando984 ** Wonderful to hear from you....everything starts NEW TODAY....Enjoy your trip! Singapore is a wonderful place and Raffles is scrumptious
I agree with **AlanS **--there are lots of shopping options; however, I must share a funny story. I consider myself petite w/curves (size 2). When I visited Singapore in 2007, I was shopping in one of the boutiques and the saleslady told me she didn't think anything would fit me 
...hopefully that has changed. I hope you have a FABULOUS trip. I can guarantee your return home on Qatar will be great...it's unfortunate you missed the Singapore Airlines flight. That's a really nice airline--I consider them as being on par with Qatar.
Woohoo Gladys! Wishing you the best Tauck tour ever!
So so glad you made it…what a story! We all look forward to your onsite report and observations when you are up to it! May your clothes arrive soon🥰 BTW, are masks required in Singapore?
September 4 - Thank you everyone for all your good wishes, our TD is very aloof which is very disappointing, first time ever I haven't liked one he never asked today if I had any bets about luggage which I still don't have but it's supposed to here sometime between midnight and 5 am on the 5th. My 2 friends still have no news about their luggage. The hotel has been wonderful I have a butler and he provided pajamas, thaks goodness.
First day touring we went by bus for an architectural tour of Singapore with a wonderful local guide, cute and funny,Singapore started as a British colony established by Sir Stamford Raffles and the name comes from sin which is lion in Malay and pore which means City, we drove by several churches, did a but of walking to see the Victoria Memorial Hall, old Parlament building,, National Gallery and a statute of Rafflles, then we went on a cruise on the Singapor River, the city is beautiful with a mix of the old and the new, the buildings are amazing, the Marina Bay Sands 3 buildings tied by the boat on top is incredible.
After the cruise we visited a public housing building and went up to the 50th floor for beautiful views of the city and then we went to lunch to a house/museum owned by a Chinese guy named Alvin, the museum named JLN INTAN is full of items from the Peranakan culture which is created when a Chinese guy marries a Malay woman, he must have thousands of items and the food was incredible, he even play the piano and sang for us,. After returning to the hotel we walked to St Andrew's Cathedral, Anglican church which was closed for repairs the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and the 3 story shopping mall with a basement. Came back to the hotel for a welcome Singapore Sling drink. I'm a bit exhausted.
Alan I had an email from Delta and they are refunding 100% of my fare which was quite a bit as it was one way, there's a story behind that.
Pictures of Marina Bay Sans buildings, lunch, Victoria Memorial Hall, Merion, and various landscapes of the city.
Thank you for this wonderfully detailed report, very helpful Gladys. I guess we will not get the same TD as you as our tours overlap. Very disappointed to hear about him, a former group must have p…d him off, or maybe they tipped him in dollars instead of local currency. . I’m still hoping a miracle happens and we get Larry who we’ve had for two Asian tours.
I guess you found out that boat to Komodo takes six hours each way, I was surprised to learn that but my hubby had already figured out it was a long way.
My main question is will you please suggest the best shoes for the walk on Komodo island, I have Merrill closed toe light nylon type fabric one already packed….oh, I guess by the time you go, we will be in Singapore, but maybe the TD mentioned it
Continue to enjoy your tour and hope suitcases arrive soon! Will Raffles staff help at all with that seeing as they are so fancy.
A note on pajamas, Qatar usually provide them. Yes Ok Alan, I’m waiting for your pj’s joke!
When in doubt go with your stiletto heels!
Even this swimsuit model rarely wears stilettos. Funnily enough, I did just buy some lovely red high heels, but not stiletto
British - Good luck with your Qatar flights.
We're flying Qatar on our upcoming Egypt: Jewels of the Nile tour. I'll look forward to all your comments about Qatar, including if you use their lounge in Doha.
Sam, we’ve already flown Qatar several times now, which is why baring delays or other unforeseen circumstances we are looking forward to it. Even putting on pajamas on the fights, a novelty for us. The shops and lounge are wonderful. I think the only photo I have of the Doha airport is standing outside the Harrods. I’ll try to remember to take photos of the lounge…though we only have a two and a half hour layover.
Here is a link to the business class lounge with lots of photos and yes, that water feature is huge!
https://www.loungebuddy.com/DOH/qatar-airways-al-mourjan-business-class-lounge-terminal-1-ZqDyzuypw6
Thanks so much, Gladys. Love the detail. Your clothing allowance should kick in soon. I try to pack light, so often just sleep in the bathrobes lol. Virgin (at least used to) hand out very nice pjs.
Smiling Sam - We flew on Qatar air to Africa and we had time to visit the Doha lounge. It was absolutely beautiful and there is a big chandelier right in the center of the lounge. Also, they have a five star restaurant which is very good and has a varied menu. Even when you are sitting reading or relaxing they have young men with carts full of soft drinks, wine and hard liquor passing by every ten minutes. Amazing for a Muslim country. It was nicer than Emirates lounge in Dubai.
Gladys, were your photos from your tour or did you take them on your own sightseeing? I'm curious because I want to see Merlion and didn't know if it was included. Your photos are great...hoping your suitcase arrives soon!
British, Noreen - Thanks for the info on the Doha lounge. We have 3 hours in Doha and the way and 2.5 hours on the way home.