Starting the year right!

Backlog - indeed they are my most guilty vice when it comes to writing. Thank goodness I don’t write for a living, or else I might have been fired already haha!

The year started with so many blessings. I have been at seven places (Outside Manila) in just two months. Imagine that! It is so surreal that I can’t explain my happiness! You know, it actually made me realize that my dream board works. Thank you, Universe! I am so eternally grateful to God for all the blessings and the challenges with it.

Let the year of beautiful attractions begin.

When I went to Boracay last year, man was I totally clueless where to begin. You see, I am absolutely a dummy when it comes to airplane flights and bookings and everything travel-related (Poor me LOL). Out of the blue, I thought of using the same agency my boss contacted during our company outing - Southwest Tours.

So how did I find their service compared to the service they provided with someone who purchased a bigger package than me?

Let us start with the initial interaction. Their website is easy to use. They have an online chat readily available on times you wanted to clarify something (Regular office hours). The hotel choice ranges from the bulsa-friendly to the feel-ko-mayaman-day (bongga di ba? Haha) located on stations 1, 2 and 3.

NOTE: If you wanted to get the lowest possible price, better book at least two months in advance. I viewed the rates a month before we were leaving and was shocked to see our hotel rate increased by 2,000 bucks. Shucks.

However, I did find their payment schedule quite confusing (which made me really annoyed). You can see in their website that upon reserving the hotel; the payment can be deposited two weeks before your travel. I even asked through chat just to double check if the payment schedule is accurate and their CSR confirmed it. In our case our flight was on October 20, by the time I booked early September I was confident that my budget will not be ruined (Hey I strongly believe that any working girl should be aware of her financial matters). Imagine my surprise when I received an email stating that I need to pay on September 12 for our reservation (It was a week after my booking).

I called Southwest to clarify the matter and they said that in order to secure the hotel room type, I need to pay on the date stated. Well, excuse me for not knowing but they should have indicated that in their email and they should have told me when via chat clarification.

The day of our travel interaction. The vehicle used were all air conditioned and is actually spacious to accommodate a number of people (in our trip from Caticlan port to our hotel, the L300 had about a family of 7 plus me and my friend). What I did not like about the transportation is their fast craft (Okay so I am being biased here because I have a very erratic sea sickness. I feel like throwing up even if the boat/ship/canoe/yacht is anchored. See I told you, I am that bad with sea travel). Riding on their fast craft is like riding in a boat - Venetian style.

On the other hand I can vouch that southwest was on the dot. They arranged pick up with leeway as not to be delayed with our travel back. During the second night, someone called to remind what time our pick up for our departure the next day.

Overall, I am willing to try again the services of Southwest (Except for the payment arrangement issue I had. Hoping that could be transparent in the future to avoid that matter). Anyways, they are legit, secured and efficient.

How about you, which travel agency do you prefer for travel?

Til next post!

Ciao,

Maddie