DUBAI

[mama squeak!]

Yup, CebPac are getting the bigger A330s for their long-haul flights. They start flying to DXB on the 7th of Oct. I bought my parents tickets for the 8th of Oct naman during their Php888 promo. I also got them 1 set meal both ways. Dinner going and breakfast coming back.

First time din nila both sa Dubai. My cousin will be sponsoring their visas and stay there. I am hoping hubby will be the one to fly them out there since he got upgraded to their A330s. Para sabit din ako hehe..... 

[little_princess]

^^ she, i'm also monitoring this thread para sa feedback if ever, super laking savings if ok coming to and from europe.

add ko lang but i may be wrong, free entrance sa atlantis if you have lunch/dinner reservations. if wala not sure if may day trip fee sila

[beach]

thanks shegie... 6 days kasi kami dun... you think how much we should budget for our trip? Mga 20K for 2 persons per day including hotel stay okay na kayo? too much? too small? hehe. naloloka na kasi kami sa budget ng wedding... super dami padagdag yung parents namin... so, over the budget na kami.

hubby does not drink. ako, konti lang din... hehe. super near ba sa metro yung four points? kasi i was thinking baka maging major expense namin yung transpo dun if we go by cab kaya was thinking of getting a hotel na very near a metro station.

[chockulit]

Hello mga sis,

Questions po:

1.  Nagre-require pa ba ng affidavit of support ang immigration authorities natin sa Pinas sa mga tourists papuntang UAE?  Balak ko kasing dalhin ang mother ko at nephew ko (15 years old), and kung kailangan siguro dapat yun ang unahin ko kasi 1 week ang processing sa embassy. 
2.  Is it possible for my nephew to travel only with his grandma or kailangan pa ng consent ng parent? 
3.  May alam ba kayong nagpa-process ng tourist visa sa Abu Dhabi na hindi nagre-require ng security deposit? 

TIA

[vain_kixie]

madali lang yung visa especially if you know someone in Dubai who can sponsor you. Parang you just have to send
a colored photocopy of your passport to that friend or relative, wait for 2 weeks then that's it. Electronic visa sila.

I am not sure about how fast the process is here if you apply directly at the UAE embassy in Manila

[shegie_285]

beach i think Php20k is fine although depende sa mga pupuntahan nyong tours, entrance fee kase ang mahal pero if you dont do tours naman everyday, if you average per day, okay na yan. I'll do it in euros ha kase I live in europe and thats how we paid. so Php20k depending on exchange rate is around EUR380.  we paid €120 per room per night for four points which is a four star hotel (i looked at booking.com just now its €100 per room per night for Feb 2014). the other hotel we stayed in was around €90 lang. mas close ito sa metro station. we went to starbucks (walking distance from both hotels) for breakfast, say €15 - feeling ko mahal starbucks even if i compare to european prices!  then lunch/dinner, we sort of splurge sa food mga €15-€20 kami per person. pero may mga mura like sa fastfood and if you are in a mall madaming options. and food namn you can always make tipid para magkasya sa budget. i totally understand you sa weddig budget! although my hubby was so strict so super konti lang inexceed namin.   four points is very close to a metro station, pero kung malapit lang pupuntahan nyo ok na taxi, flag down is 3AED which is around Php33 lang. ang pinakamahal naming taxi is siguro AED30 lang, mga pinuntahan namin gold souk, atlantis, burj al arab. minimum ng taxi is AED10. dubai mall is only AED7 from four points perodahil minimum you have to pay AED10. feeling ko nga mahal ang metro nila. kase we took the metro once from emirates mall to the hotel, tatlo kami and at the end we realised mas okay pa na nag-taxi na lang kami.   i dont know lang if the metro has a day pass na mas makakamura.

geishaslut yes, I flew with Emirates last time ad they processed my visa. i dont think its expensive otherwise i wouldnt go with them. i cant remember na the fee (if there is) but the details on how to apply are on their website. its online and mabilis din, electronic visa nga sila.

chockulit couldn't answer your other questions, but regarding your nephew, if the parents are not traveling with the child, actually i think kahit isang parent lang ang kasama, you need to get a travel clearance from DSWD.  alam ko below 18 years old ito. madali lang naman mag-apply. naka-indicate sa clearance ang destination and kung sino ang guardian or kasama mag-travel.

[shegie_285]

beach nov 2012 pala kami pumunta ha para sa mga fares na sinabi ko.

Good to know about cebupac and the bigger planes. told my mom about it today.

[little_princess]

chockulit,

1. they would require you to submit a DSWD clearance and prolly a birth certificate. to be safe, bring the marriage certificate too. and since you will be applying for a visa, need na din nila ng affidavit of support and 4 copies naman yun, just bring it in case.

2. they would ask for the DSWD clearance

3. try travel agencies, they process visas with a fee but if you fly with emirates, they can do it for you.

[beach]

thanks shegie, super helpful as always aynaku... 200K over na kami sa budget... and gusto na naman ng parents magdagdag pa ng bridesmaid and flower girl... ayoko na nga isipin.

Problem ko nalang yung VISA namin... wala palang VISA assistance ang Cebu Pacific. Or do they and I just dunno where to look? Hopefully, the hotel will take care of that. Anybody experienced getting a VISA through hotel? How much kaya ang charge? Legit ba yung southtravels.com?  Medyo scammy looking kasi... hehe. TIA.

[little_princess]

^ do you want to course it through a travel agency? i know one that does visa assitance for a fee but you don't have to book the tour with them.

isipin mo na lang that the money you will spend on your honeymoon will be well spent kasi kasama mo si hubby

[beach]

yeah, pwede rin. how much is it? and which agency? thanks.

[bagaholic_chewy]

The hotel can assist with the visa. We stayed at Crowne Plaza (the one along Sheikh Zayed Road) and they sponsored/processed our tourist visa.

For Atlantis, you can go and see the lobby and a portion of the aquarium even without reservation/booking at the hotel or restos. However, there are some days pag madami sila in-house guests that they don't allow walk-ins. I suggest book a buffet brunch or dinner at Saffron or Kaleidoscope to be sure na makakapasok kayo.. Or mag-aquaventure kayo.

For Burj Al Arab, we booked Friday brunch at their Al Muntaha restaurant. Sulit din kasi you can go around and stay in the hotel premises for as long as you want, and the buffet spread was good din - me foie gras, roast beef, caviar, etc.. But my favorite was their dessert spread, super daming choices.

At The Top in Burj Khalifa is overrated, IMO. Not worth the admission fee, tapos maliit lang ang lugar so you wouldn't really stay there ng matagal. If you really want to go up, just for experience, make sure to prebook online for only aed100/pax. kelangan lang fixed ang sched nyo ng pagpunta dun. Kasi if walk-in, you'll need to pay aed400/pax na - so not worth it.

For dinner desert safari, i highly recommend booking with Arabian Nights - we went with them twice and both were nice experience. We tried a cheaper tour company once, and bleehh, hindi sulit kahit mura lang.

If you have time, try also kahit one night lang sa Bab Al Shams resort - it's about 30mins by taxi from MOE area - not accessible by other public transpo. Maganda sya and ok ang service. If you're booked there, try also their dinner at Al Hadheerah desert restaurant. Me golf cart to/from the main Bab Al Shams compound, or you can also take a leisurely walk via a lighted pathway.

[beach]

bagaholic... how did  you get the visa? for example, pwede ba yun na i book through agoda and then coordinate with them for the processing of visa? also, how much yung binayad for the processing of visa for 2 persons?

i just checked crowne plaza.. medyo too pricey for us. over na kasi kami sa wedding budget and malamang yung honeymoon fund namin ang mawawalan talaga... i hope other cheaper hotels also offer visa assistance.

thanks for the suggestions. i really want to go to the desert safari tour... will be sure to book with arabian nights... whole day ba yung atlantis din? mahal ba masyado sa al muntaha restaurant? TIA.

[little_princess]

^^ buti you enjoyed your brunch at Burj Al Arab, when we went there feel namin na parang the choices were bitin and Sofitel was a lot better in terms of taste and variety. Not sure where we ate na but it was like the dining areas are divided in sections.

I like Atlantis a lot! Super sarap ng food and I can't forget the bread pudding kasi it was really yummy. when we went to atlantis, we were there for lunch then about 2 hours after to go around and see the sights. we took the monorail as well around the island and maganda!

Try the Holiday Inn hotels or Premier Inn, mas mura sila Not sure lang if they do visa assistance

For visa assistance, try TacTours and look for Aida. If you can't find the number, PM me na lang. Not sure with the price kasi i think iba iba for different countries.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ yeah, we enjoyed our brunch sa Burj Al Arab. I liked their dessert spread, most especially. husband naman liked the foie gras, caviar and seafood spreads. Al Muntaha yung same level ng Sky Bar nila.

^^i think husband booked directly with the hotel, and sya na din nakipag-usap through email regarding visa arrangements.. I forgot na how much yung binayad for the visa processing e.. Sorry...

Re Atlantis, whole day if mag-Aquaventure kayo. Otherwise, pwede na yung lunch/dinner + 1-2hr for photoop sa hotel. Maganda din ang sunset sa may labas/likod ng Atlantis, dun sa may breakwater. Free naman dun, so ok din tumambay if inabutan kayo ng almost-sunset. Nung kasama namin in-laws ko, we booked dinner at Saffron tapos we went there early para maabutan sunset dun sa may likod. After sunset, tsaka kami pumasok sa hotel. Yung throne tsaka portion ng aquarium, malapit sya sa Kaleidoscope na restaurant, ibang area ng Saffron. Pwede kayo daan dun before going to Saffron for dinner para after dinner sa lobby na lang kayo tumambay at magpicture-picture.

Yung sa Burj Al Arab  Al Muntaha Friday brunch, sa pagka-alala ko nasa aed595 yata yun. Check their website na lang for the most recent pricing.. Ok din if may occasion pag pupunta kayo dun and inform them beforehand. we went there for advanced bday celeb ni husband, and he got a card and a cake + plus i got a rose. La lang, aliw lang. also, try to request for a table by the window para maganda view. Kita ang Atlantis tsaka The World.

[little_princess]

^ we also dined in the same restaurant, i remember kasi we had drinks pa sa sky lounge. they have different prices per day so baka natapat kami sa day na hindi super ok. sayang naman one day we will be back!

[shegie_285]

when we dined at burj al arab my in-laws told them myself and hubby just got married, i got a rose din i guess prebook way in advance if you would like to choose the restaurant. the restaurant on top was fullybooked, we went for a sunday brunch though so baka its a tradition din sa kanila to have a sunday brunch. we had asian buffet, sarap naman.

burj al khalifa, if you wouldnt be able to book online, you can prebook at the mall. you get the discounted price too. pero pre-book at least a day or maybe more if its peak season. my MIL prebooked a day before we went up, she said the schedules were very limited na.

beach sa wedding namin strict talaga kami. buti walang masyadong hirit mama ko, or oo lang sya. pag dagdag gastos sinasabihan ko sya magbayad hehe.. or 50-50 kami.

[traveltechie]

booked tickets to Dubai via CebuPac for January 2014. I am so excited, I started reading this thread kahit almost a year away pa yung travel dates namin.

[chinkyaise]

I'm here in Dubai, I will visit this thread more often to answer questions and queries.

[purplefire]

Mga sis..ang pal ba nagpprocess din ng visa? Mahal kasi emirates compared sa pal. Or may marerecommend ba kayong agency na pwede paayos ng visa?