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Post by Rachel on Jun 14, 2016 9:37:03 GMT -5
Has anyone been on this trip recently? I have never traveled with Odysseys and would love to hear thoughts on this trip! Thanks
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Post by mkleidon on Jun 25, 2016 16:58:14 GMT -5
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Hi Rachel. I took this trip in February, 2016. It was outstanding. Cairns was extremely hot and humid. The trip to the outback was fascinating with much more to see than I expected to see. It was hot there as well...but not as bad as Cairns. Taking the train to Kuranda and holding a koala was a thrill. Sydney is one of my favorite places with tons of choices of things to do. In New Zealand the film on Sir Edmund Hillary at the Alpine Centre was excellent. My favorite places in New Zealand were Queenstown and Rotorua. In Rotorua we did a white river rafting (level 5) which was awesome and extremely thrilling. All hotels were excellent as well as the food. You can't go wrong with an Odysseys tour. Since I started with them I haven't taken any other tour group. The Australia/Nw Zealand trip was my 4th trip with Odysseys and I've never been disappointed.
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Post by Rachel on Jul 5, 2016 16:28:41 GMT -5
Hi mkleidon, Thank you so much for your reply. My husband and I went on a tour to South America January 2016 with OAT and that was fabulous. I had to cancel my reservation with OAT for New Zealand due to their awful customer service. I signed with Odyssey since they have small groups and I read good reviews. I am so happy to read that you enjoyed this trip! The itinerary seems beautiful. I am not young enough to go on a white river rafting, but I am sure I will find other things to do that I will enjoy. I am young at heart and love travelling! One more question, Was the trip leader leader helpful with recommendations on what to do and how to get to places when you had time on your own?
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Post by mkleidon on Jul 23, 2016 14:32:47 GMT -5
Hi Rachel. Sorry it took so long to reply. I was on a cruise to the British Isles. The rafting was done on our own. I am 70 years old and enjoyed it, but indeed it was challenging to hang on to the raft and we had to paddle!! The trip leaders on Odysseys are excellent and helpful. Also the staff at the hotels are also very helpful. Most places are within walking distance from your hotel. Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have.
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Post by Rachel on Jul 25, 2016 14:04:07 GMT -5
Hi mkleidon, Thank you so much for your response and offering to answer my future questions. My big dilemma now is whether to make my own flight arrangements or to book with OU. We would like to fly on Premium economy, but OU charges a small fortune for it while the airline today offers tickets a lot cheaper. Have you heard whether any travelers got burned when making air reservations on their own and then had the trip cancelled? This seems to be a very popular trip. I find it hard to believe that it will get cancelled for lack of demand. Nice to hear about the rafting. I am 70 as well, and last January my fellow passengers on OAT trip to South America convinced me to go horseback riding in Patagonia the first time in my life. I was scared, but I am happy I did it! I hope your cruise was nice. I will get there one day! It is on my list. Keep on having fun!
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donna
Odysseys Traveler
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Post by donna on Jul 25, 2016 16:26:24 GMT -5
Rachel,
I hope you don't mind if I jump in and reply. I always make our own air line reservations when traveling with OU. If you choose to purchase the travel insurance offered by OU, that insurance also covers your self-reserved flights in the case of a trip cancellation as long as you are flying in and out of the same cities as the tour. Happy travels!
Donna
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Post by Rachel on Jul 30, 2016 12:16:02 GMT -5
Donna, Thank you for this information. I have a quick question regarding your comment about the insurance. I don't know in what cities will OU flights stop on their way to the final destination. Does that matter for insurance purposes? Thank you so much for jumping in. Rachel
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donna
Odysseys Traveler
Posts: 5
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Post by donna on Jul 31, 2016 11:44:30 GMT -5
Rachel, my understanding is that the insurance will cover your self-reserved air travel as long as it corresponds to the start and end cities of your tour. In other words, if your tour begins in Amsterdam, you must fly into Amsterdam. If I am reading your question correctly, I don't think the flight itinerary matters, in terms of layovers, etc. I am sure an OU administrator could help you with this and give you peace of mind about your plans. I have found them to be very friendly and able to answer my questions when I call.
Donna
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Post by Odysseys Unlimited on Aug 1, 2016 10:39:03 GMT -5
Hi Rachel,
Regarding your question about travel insurance, we suggest that you contact the insurance company directly to confirm that their policy covers you while in transit. This is entirely subject to the policy itself, so there is no blanket answer to your question. We hope this helps; should you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Customer Service department, toll-free at
(888) 370-6765 or by email: customerservice@odysseys-unlimited.com
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Post by Rachel on Aug 1, 2016 13:12:41 GMT -5
Hi Donna, Thank you very much for your help. I will call OU or trip mate to figure out the timing and how it all works.
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Post by RAE67 on Mar 4, 2018 12:04:26 GMT -5
Has anyone been on this trip recently? I have never traveled with Odysseys and would love to hear thoughts on this trip! Thanks We have done five trips w/Odysseys including Africa & have loved each of them. Highly recommend this company. Guides have all been very good, great accommodations, meals, itineraries, etc. Also a good value compared to others. Thinking about this trip for next year. |
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Post by RAE67 on Mar 4, 2018 12:12:47 GMT -5
Hi mkleidon, Thank you so much for your response and offering to answer my future questions. My big dilemma now is whether to make my own flight arrangements or to book with OU. We would like to fly on Premium economy, but OU charges a small fortune for it while the airline today offers tickets a lot cheaper. Have you heard whether any travelers got burned when making air reservations on their own and then had the trip cancelled? This seems to be a very popular trip. I find it hard to believe that it will get cancelled for lack of demand. Nice to hear about the rafting. I am 70 as well, and last January my fellow passengers on OAT trip to South America convinced me to go horseback riding in Patagonia the first time in my life. I was scared, but I am happy I did it! I hope your cruise was nice. I will get there one day! It is on my list. Keep on having fun! I haven't taken this trip but have traveled 5 times with Odysseys. We usually do our own airfare since with theirs there a restrictions regarding going before the tour stars & staying longer. We did get there airfare to Africa due to the distance, etc. We flew Business Class due to the length of flights, etc. It was much more than we would have paid if we'd gotten out own flights. We get our flights after the final payment 95 days out. Haven't heard of them cancelling after that. |
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