fail

new promo for Cebu Pacific! i have been wanting to go back to ilocos for quite some time now so i was really excited when i saw this promo today.

so i quickly looked for dates that i could work with (which is virtually any 3 or 4 day period. ah, the benefits of being a full-time home-school student.) and was all set on conquering ilocandia alone. i was pondering on whether or not going on a solo trip was a good idea, knowing full well how bad i am with directions. fortunately, my friend (the one who just got back from thailand) was online and was willing to go with me. :)

i was able to reserve roundtrip tickets from nov. 8-11 which would be a perfect 3 days/3nights adventure for me and my friend in ilocos for just PHP749.12. a SUPERB deal for roundtrip tickets for two persons including taxes and fees.

major SCORE!, right? well no. NOT really. what started out as a great deal turned out into a huge fail moments after. see where i encircled the part that says "until tonight, 23:59H PH Time "? well, i booked this a little after 7PM and as you will see on the next pic, i chose to pay it through BDO. and BDO branches (even the ones in the mall) are already closed by this time. MAJOR fail! argh! i was thinking that with BDO payments, it gives you 24 hours from the time you book your tickets to make a payment. unfortunately, that policy was for PAL reservations paid through their ticketing offices. damn me for getting them confused.

i just wasn't ready to give up yet. i tried to look for some other dates with promos. (i figured we could use a credit card this time) the only other feasible date was from nov16-19 which i can't work with as it arrives in manila around midnight of the 19th but i have a flight going to CDO around noon of the 19th. and mean me, i WILL NOT allow my friend to go without me. (kidding. though i will be really jealous of above-mentioned friend if that happens.)

So we tried to call CebuPac. unfortunately, there would be no way of paying the seats we booked any other way except for the payment option i chose upon booking the flights. so there. FAIL. fail, fail, fail, fail, fail... :(

oh well. these promo fares are selling like hotcakes so i don't think that we'll still be able to get promo fairs by tomorrow. still, i'll be checking for flights again as early as midnight. gah. the frustration!




**UPDATE**


a few minutes after midnight..

from a major fail to a minor yay! ayt. cebu pac, you made me hate you just a few hours ago. i don't exactly love you just yet. but i'm starting to like you a little bit more. ahhh. my love-hate relationship with cebupac. :D

so after several failed attempts to book round trip tickets for two, i decided to just book the flights to Laoag and take the bus back home to Manila. or maybe just wait for another promo to book our return flights.. (plus, this gives us the chance to squeeze in an extra day in Baguio if we take the bus home.)

and yeah. WE GOT 'EM TICKETS! :) one way ticket to Laoag for two in november. PHP357.76. sweet! :)

now i'm off to find the cheapest accomodations in Laoag and Vigan. :)

i know right. i am such a cheapskate. haha.