AmigoArtistico
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- Jan 31, 2008
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We decided to go to Colonia, so my wife called and booked and paid for 2 tickets for the half day fare on Colonia Express (departs La Boca at 12:30, return from Colonia departs at 20:45).
We grabbed a cab and arrived an hour early, at 11:30, as requested.
At 12:30, after sitting around for an hour, they announced that due to the fog, the boat may not leave, but if it did, it wouldn't be until 14:30. Ok. We grabbed a cab and went home, and called Colonia Express at 13:30 to see if it was going out. They said yes, and we needed to come now.
We grabbed another cab, arrived around 13:45, and waited around until about 14:45, when they told us that the boat would be delayed, and they couldn't tell us for how long.
We asked about rebooking, since for us, our half day trip was now shot. They told us we could do that on the internet or by phone, so we grabbed another cab and went home.
We couldn't do anything on the internet. We waited until about 17:00 to call, figuring that they'd be busy sorting out all the rebookings. It's a good thing we called the same day.
The person my wife spoke with was very rude, unsympathetic and unaccommodating. She said that the only way to rebook the ticket was at the dock. (When my wife complained about the cost of taxis incurred because of all the misinformation her company had given us, the woman told her that we should have taken the bus.) My wife finally asked to speak to someone else in the office. He came on the phone and informed my wife that the boat did finally go out, and therefore we had lost our right to rebook, and we had lost our $720. My wife tried to point out that we had bought a half day trip to Colonia, and with the time that the boat went out, we'd lost 4 hours of our half day. Didn't matter. She said many other things. Toward the end of the conversation she said many things that I won't repeat. Didn't matter.
So, we grabbed another cab (number 5), and went back to the dock. There we again argued our case, and finally we were allowed to rebook the the trip (that we had paid for and didn't receive). I wouldn't have bothered, but now I'm going to risk opening myself up for more torture because I just don't want them to get away with it. But it will certainly be my last trip with them, and I'll tell this story to anyone and everyone who will listen.
We grabbed our sixth and last cab of the day (adding, so far, more than $150 in cab fares to our trip, without yet leaving Buenos Aires), and here I am, writing this cautionary tale.
[By the way, while we were all waiting (and waiting), various times, we spoke with at least 7 or 8 people who had normally used Buquebus and were using Colonia Express for the first time. Those returning to Colonia all relayed stories of additional bad Colonia Express experiences on their trips to Buenos Aires -- primarily hours long delays for seemingly no reason -- and of all those we spoke with, they were unanimous in that this would be their last Colonia Express experience. Amen.]
We grabbed a cab and arrived an hour early, at 11:30, as requested.
At 12:30, after sitting around for an hour, they announced that due to the fog, the boat may not leave, but if it did, it wouldn't be until 14:30. Ok. We grabbed a cab and went home, and called Colonia Express at 13:30 to see if it was going out. They said yes, and we needed to come now.
We grabbed another cab, arrived around 13:45, and waited around until about 14:45, when they told us that the boat would be delayed, and they couldn't tell us for how long.
We asked about rebooking, since for us, our half day trip was now shot. They told us we could do that on the internet or by phone, so we grabbed another cab and went home.
We couldn't do anything on the internet. We waited until about 17:00 to call, figuring that they'd be busy sorting out all the rebookings. It's a good thing we called the same day.
The person my wife spoke with was very rude, unsympathetic and unaccommodating. She said that the only way to rebook the ticket was at the dock. (When my wife complained about the cost of taxis incurred because of all the misinformation her company had given us, the woman told her that we should have taken the bus.) My wife finally asked to speak to someone else in the office. He came on the phone and informed my wife that the boat did finally go out, and therefore we had lost our right to rebook, and we had lost our $720. My wife tried to point out that we had bought a half day trip to Colonia, and with the time that the boat went out, we'd lost 4 hours of our half day. Didn't matter. She said many other things. Toward the end of the conversation she said many things that I won't repeat. Didn't matter.
So, we grabbed another cab (number 5), and went back to the dock. There we again argued our case, and finally we were allowed to rebook the the trip (that we had paid for and didn't receive). I wouldn't have bothered, but now I'm going to risk opening myself up for more torture because I just don't want them to get away with it. But it will certainly be my last trip with them, and I'll tell this story to anyone and everyone who will listen.
We grabbed our sixth and last cab of the day (adding, so far, more than $150 in cab fares to our trip, without yet leaving Buenos Aires), and here I am, writing this cautionary tale.
[By the way, while we were all waiting (and waiting), various times, we spoke with at least 7 or 8 people who had normally used Buquebus and were using Colonia Express for the first time. Those returning to Colonia all relayed stories of additional bad Colonia Express experiences on their trips to Buenos Aires -- primarily hours long delays for seemingly no reason -- and of all those we spoke with, they were unanimous in that this would be their last Colonia Express experience. Amen.]
I was tempted by Club La Nacion 2x1 with Colonia Express, but after reading the reviews, I decided to pay a bit more and use Buquebus. I believe it is actually SC the one to go with as it uses Buquebus´ships but it is cheaper. If I was you, I would post this all over their Facebook page 
