Post by bgirl on Jan 28, 2011 15:44:01 GMT -5
My husband and I got married in October 2010. For those of you who read this forum, you may know that we had booked a honeymoon to Panama (see travelingwaitress.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ask&action=display&thread=21).
In actual fact, Panama was the second trip we had booked for our honeymoon, our first being a 2 week trip to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and Israel. Due to financial difficulties we had to cancel this trip and instead were going to spend a week in Panama.
We were looking forward to it so much.
Our flight was at about 9am, so being as excited as we were, we were at the airport just over 3 hours early. We checked in, went through security and found a comfy space to wait for the remaining 3 hours.
About an hour after we sat down, my husband turned to me and said "I just heard them call my name on the PA", to which I replied "no you didn't". Then sure enough they announced it again and it was followed by a mumbling message in which we could only make out the numbers "203". Ok, this meant nothing to us!
So, we immediately got up and began wandering the airport, asking all the employees we could find about how we should find out what they had said over the PA system. We tried for an hour and nobody was able to help us. In the end, the last person we spoke to (a security guard) just said to wait at the gate and if it was important they'd call us again.
So, we went back to our gate, sat down and waited... Just before boarding was supposed to start, they called my husband up to the desk. He came running back a couple minutes later... "We can't go, they won't let me on".
I march up to the desk where they look at me and say "oh don't worry miss, you can still go, it's just him that can't!"... so at this point, I break down crying. I was NOT going to go on my honeymoon alone!
They told us that his passport expires less than 3 months after our departure date and Panama will not let him into their country. Had his passport expired 8 days later, we would have been fine.
The question I had for them was... why didn't they tell us this when we checked in? Clearly they knew because they stated that they had never loaded his bags... They replied simply stating "miss, we've been calling you all morning". CORRECTION: You called us TWICE, back-to-back, and your message was unclear. If it was that important don't you think you would have called us more than that...?
They told us that if we didn't hear the message we should have gone to one of the Information phones in the Airport and they would have told us... I had no idea these things even existed... and why didn't any of the airport staff direct us to these phones?!
They presented us with the following options: 1. I go and my husband tries to get his passport extended that day, then takes a 1-way flight out to meet me a day or two later. 2. We both don't go in which case they would have to delay the flight while they unload my bags.
Well, we weren't going to risk him not being able to get a flight - we knew our airline only flew there once a week, so we'd have to dish out so much more just to get him a last minute one way flight. Not gonna happen.
The people at the desk were now pressuring us to make a decision because we were holding up the flight. So what? It's not our fault that nobody told us this before hand!!
I got on the phone with my new mother in law - we had booked through her "reliable" travel agent. I blubbered out the story to her through my tears and she said she'd fix it. Good.
We didn't get on the plane... they had to unload the entire plane in order to remove my bags... and we were even escorted to baggage claim by security in order to get our new bags.
While we were waiting we got a call from my mother in law saying that the travel agent fully admitted to not telling us about the passport law and that she would find us somewhere else to go to that same day... out of her pocket.
Due to my husbands passport expiry date, our only option for departures that day was to the Dominican Republic. So, that's where we ended up. It was fun and all, but both of us have been to the DR before so it wasn't as new and exciting as it should have been. We stayed at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana - great resort, really big with lots of different restaurants and bars. We had an alright time but I guess because both of us had been so looking forward to Panama, we got quite bored by the end of it.
I've never really been one to enjoy all-inclusive resorts anyway... I much prefer exploring cities on my own, without always staying at the same place each night... I love adventures and you just don't get the same sort of experience when staying at the same resort for a whole week!
Anyway... that is the story of how we ended up in the DR.
What I learned:
1. No matter what your travel agent tells you, always do a bit of research yourself on any sort of travel laws regarding your destination.
2. There are Information phones in Pearson Airport (and maybe others?)
3. When travelling to Panama your passport must be valid for 3 months from your departure date.
In actual fact, Panama was the second trip we had booked for our honeymoon, our first being a 2 week trip to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and Israel. Due to financial difficulties we had to cancel this trip and instead were going to spend a week in Panama.
We were looking forward to it so much.
Our flight was at about 9am, so being as excited as we were, we were at the airport just over 3 hours early. We checked in, went through security and found a comfy space to wait for the remaining 3 hours.
About an hour after we sat down, my husband turned to me and said "I just heard them call my name on the PA", to which I replied "no you didn't". Then sure enough they announced it again and it was followed by a mumbling message in which we could only make out the numbers "203". Ok, this meant nothing to us!
So, we immediately got up and began wandering the airport, asking all the employees we could find about how we should find out what they had said over the PA system. We tried for an hour and nobody was able to help us. In the end, the last person we spoke to (a security guard) just said to wait at the gate and if it was important they'd call us again.
So, we went back to our gate, sat down and waited... Just before boarding was supposed to start, they called my husband up to the desk. He came running back a couple minutes later... "We can't go, they won't let me on".
I march up to the desk where they look at me and say "oh don't worry miss, you can still go, it's just him that can't!"... so at this point, I break down crying. I was NOT going to go on my honeymoon alone!
They told us that his passport expires less than 3 months after our departure date and Panama will not let him into their country. Had his passport expired 8 days later, we would have been fine.
The question I had for them was... why didn't they tell us this when we checked in? Clearly they knew because they stated that they had never loaded his bags... They replied simply stating "miss, we've been calling you all morning". CORRECTION: You called us TWICE, back-to-back, and your message was unclear. If it was that important don't you think you would have called us more than that...?
They told us that if we didn't hear the message we should have gone to one of the Information phones in the Airport and they would have told us... I had no idea these things even existed... and why didn't any of the airport staff direct us to these phones?!
They presented us with the following options: 1. I go and my husband tries to get his passport extended that day, then takes a 1-way flight out to meet me a day or two later. 2. We both don't go in which case they would have to delay the flight while they unload my bags.
Well, we weren't going to risk him not being able to get a flight - we knew our airline only flew there once a week, so we'd have to dish out so much more just to get him a last minute one way flight. Not gonna happen.
The people at the desk were now pressuring us to make a decision because we were holding up the flight. So what? It's not our fault that nobody told us this before hand!!
I got on the phone with my new mother in law - we had booked through her "reliable" travel agent. I blubbered out the story to her through my tears and she said she'd fix it. Good.
We didn't get on the plane... they had to unload the entire plane in order to remove my bags... and we were even escorted to baggage claim by security in order to get our new bags.
While we were waiting we got a call from my mother in law saying that the travel agent fully admitted to not telling us about the passport law and that she would find us somewhere else to go to that same day... out of her pocket.
Due to my husbands passport expiry date, our only option for departures that day was to the Dominican Republic. So, that's where we ended up. It was fun and all, but both of us have been to the DR before so it wasn't as new and exciting as it should have been. We stayed at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana - great resort, really big with lots of different restaurants and bars. We had an alright time but I guess because both of us had been so looking forward to Panama, we got quite bored by the end of it.
I've never really been one to enjoy all-inclusive resorts anyway... I much prefer exploring cities on my own, without always staying at the same place each night... I love adventures and you just don't get the same sort of experience when staying at the same resort for a whole week!
Anyway... that is the story of how we ended up in the DR.
What I learned:
1. No matter what your travel agent tells you, always do a bit of research yourself on any sort of travel laws regarding your destination.
2. There are Information phones in Pearson Airport (and maybe others?)
3. When travelling to Panama your passport must be valid for 3 months from your departure date.
