What I liked:
Agent was very polite all through the interactions before and during the trip.
Customizations were handled very well at the planning stage. Bhawna helped in delivery of passports to Noida location.
Drivers were all good and reliable.
What I did not like:
Visa blunder:
The visa
of my mother for Malaysia had her name printed twice. As per the guidelines as given in visa docs if last name is blank, it should be left blank but apparently the one who filled the application typed first name again in the last name section and that was not accepted as a valid visa to get into Malaysia.
Due to this silly error, we paid 200 Ringgits extra ( which ideally should be returned as the package was inclusive of visa) for application of visa on arrival and we also missed our bus which was supposed to take us to Kuala Lumpur. We waited for over 2 hours at the counter to process visa on arrival and we waited for another 2-3 hours to find another bus. There wasn't even a proper waiting room there, nor any food outlet. There was a clear lack of clarity on whether or not we will find another bus.
Hidden/surprise charges:
There were some charges, which could have been notified in advance or made part of the package itself.
> My flight from Delhi to Singapore was supposed to reach early morning Singapore time and the cab from Singapore airport dropped us to Hotel during morning hours.
Right at the start of the trip i.e. Day 1 as we reached hotel - typically it should start on a positive note - possibly a welcome card or welcome drinks etc.; however, it started with a flat face from hotel guy stating that early check-in would be extra 20 Singapore Dollars and we are supposed to pay immediately if we want to get a room.
This is something that should have been taken care of as part of the itinerary. Even the breakfast on that day was not included so despite being tired of the journey we had to first deal with the payment and then go find breakfast.
>In the itinerary for visit to PhiPhi Island, its clearly mentioned that insurance is included and soft drinks would be available free on ferry/cruise. We were charged 60 Bahts ( 30 Bahts per person) for insurance and soft drinks were available only on purchase basis. There were extra 40 Bahts paid for entry to Phi Phi Islands.
Hotel rooms:
While it was told that the hotels are very good with 3 star ratings, both the hotel rooms in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were very small and without windows. This is something that should have been transparently told clearly so that I could have requested for a change. I requested for changes when I got to know about it but that request was not acted upon. Infact the hotel reception guy at Kuala Lumpur mentioned that he did not receive any request from travel agent.
Voucher delivery delays:
The vouchers and other details were shared very late despite timely payments and timely submission of information from my side. I had to follow up and also request for e-copy of visas to be shared. The details should be shared at least one week before travel date to make sure that the customer is able to get enough time to understand details.
No local guide/SPOC throught the trip:
There was no single local point of contact who could be contacted to help out during exceptions. For each country there was a separate point of contact and those were also only for exception management and were not 'guides'. The SPOC from Delhi was the only support. This was most relevant when we were stuck at Malaysia border with limited support or help.