Kristina

Unfortunately, the travel agent was unable to request specific seats for me.

tomarkot

We spoke with a Singapore Airline rep before our trip, and were given to understand that the special "package price" of our trip was offered by them through a travel company to fill seats on certain flights. As described above, the travel rep is only permitted to request seat locations. 48 hrs. out, when you do your online check-in, you can change your seats from among those still available. We were able to make a change, albeit from a limited selection.

Flying in economy class on any airline is never too comfortable, but Singapore Airline does everything possible to make the flight as pleasant as possible. It's by far our favorite airline.

In view of the great prices for the trips we took, with wonderful hotels, and reliable hotel transports, we felt very satisfied.

Good luck in your travel planning.

Kristina

I got my package in the mail today from Sayang Holiday tours. I feel like I've gone back to 1985.

In the package was a fabric pouch with their logo on it. Inside the pouch were paper vouchers for everything.
The hotel voucher does not have any kind of reference number on it for me to be able to give to the Hilton to confirm my reservation.
The plane tickets, while technically e-tickets are just the itinerary on a piece of paper.
The airport bus vouchers came with the admonishment on the envelope; "please know we don't take responisble for loss ticket."
There is no separate voucher for the 1/2 day tour.

I'm sure it will all be ok, but this is not how I'm used to doing business or booking my travel in 2011. I called the Hilton 800 reservations number to see if they had my name in the system for that hotel for our dates. Thankfully, it was there and they gave me a confirmation number. I do wonder why the travel agent did not provide it.

I've also emailed Singapore Airlines Vacation to say how displeased I am about not being able to pick my seats. No reply.

I want to be clear; I'm not writing all this out to whine about it, I just wanted to make sure anyone booking a similar package understands the parameters I did not when I started. Given what I know now, I might have tried to book it all separately which would have made me more comfortable and given me more control. Then again, maybe not. Maybe the cost savings are worth it. I'm not sure I'll ever know.

tomarkot

Kristina, we booked this package to Tokyo offered by Singapore Airlines with AsiaLuxe, another of their booking agents. We dealt with a rep named Jennifer who was very easy to communicate with, and everything worked out smoothly. We're not familiar with Sayang Holiday Tours. . .but hope that all goes as smoothly for you. We did have the same issue as you bring up; namely, having to wait until 48 hrs. out to change our seats. Our trip was in March of 2010, and at that time we felt that we could not book this trip on our own for anywhere near the price.

You should have received a Locator Number for your flight with Singapore Airlines. You might want to check that they have your itinerary listed. Also, if you are missing the voucher for the 1/2 day tour, we think it would be advisable to contact the travel rep to get that taken care of before you leave for your trip.

Once arriving at the airport in Narita, getting your luggage, and clearing immigration, look for the large bright orange signs indicating the desk for the limo-buses into the city. At that desk, you exchange your voucher for a ticket, and the agent tells you exactly in which line to stand for the Hilton bus. It is all very organized. They have personnel to load your luggage onto the limo, and upon arrival at the Hilton, to take your luggage to the reception desk, and then on up to your room. We found the Hilton to be a very nice hotel, in a good location. On this Fodor forum, there are posts, especially by Hawaiian Traveler, describing the Hilton area, its close proximity to the Nishi-Shinjuku subway station, the shuttle bus provided by the Hilton, restaurants, etc. Very near the hotel we found a restaurant, the Royal Host, with tasty and reasonably-priced American-like breakfasts. The concierge desk at the Hilton was very helpful. We booked an additional day tour at the recommendation of Morita, who spoke very good English. It was titled "Dynamic Tokyo". Even though there was a slight bit of repetition from the 1/2 day tour, the guide was so informative and thorough that we felt it worked out well. The tour included, among other things, a visit to a gorgeous garden with a traditional Japanese tea, a hibachi-type lunch in the Four Seasons' Hotel outdoor gardens,(a highlight!), and a boat trip up the Sumida River to Asakusa. We felt the tour was well worth it.

Before our trip, we found that reading many of the previous posts on Fodor's really helped us with a lot of our questions. If not, there are several frequent posters who are well-seasoned travelers to Japan and are quite helpful.

Have you enjoy Tokyo!

Kristina

Tomarkot- Thanks for the detailed reply, especially for the info about the airport bus and the Hilton.

AskOksena

>>>AO- Not going to Thailand on this trip unfortunately.<<<


(Do hope you return soon to that Peninsula hotel in beloved Bangkok - perhaps next Feb. - as last month's Valentine's evening was as special as ever.)

Now, warm greetings once again, Kristina. Wherever you end up sitting on your SQ 380 flights, Enjoy! And, do try for upstairs - my personal/professional SIA loyalties aside, I believe SQ's Y-configured seating on the upper deck is just fine, particularly for those flying in pairs. And, SIA has recently introduced new 'special meal' offerings for those flying Y. It's all there, via singaporeair.com/

And - speaking of meals - upon your arrival in Japan, suspect your hotel will take fine care of you, if so inclined. Somehow, someway, Park Hyatt room service (and an in-room massage) always works for me, first evening in tender Tokyo. ('ymmv')

Sweet Singapore rides, Kristina, and warm weekend wishes to all.

robert


... SIA -- All the Way ...

Kristina

Robert-
I have to say, I'm very disappointed in SQ's customer service so far.
I emailed them, asking why I could not pick my seat just like every other customer who has bought their ticket.
They replied with something generic and never answered my question as to WHY this is their policy.
So now, I am left waiting until 48 hours before departure and will be given last choice of seats, even though I paid the same for my tickets as I would have if I'd purchased them on the airline's website.

filmwill

I don't think it's advertising so much as avid enthusiasm. To that effect should they ban the poster with the name 'AAFrequentFlyer'?

I don't see any prices and/or deals being advertised--just a general love of all things Singapore Airlines, sprinkled within the context of his hormone-fueled exploits pre-Mrs. Mackintosh.

Personally, I find his brand of je ne sais quois pretty damn funny.

rkkwan

SQ's postponing the introduction of the A380 on this route, and will also make SQ11/12 LAX-NRT-KIX-SIN so that crew can layover in Osaka and not Tokyo.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/Util...160054&msgId=2

Kristina

Interesting. I wonder if that means the launch is postponed until at least April 10. Our departure is still after that, but I would be disappointed if we we did end up going, but were not able to fly on the new A380.