American European Travel Tour of Turkey-LAX to IST

The Saga of American European Travel (AET)

We received an inviting little brochure inside an envelope that came with the LA Times early in the year about a 9-day tour of Turkey for $1299 per person. Attracted by the low rate and interesting itinerary, we immediately called in and signed up for a tour departing November 12, 2013. We were definately concerned when we did not receive any confirmation after the call for several weeks. Calling back the 800 number we finally received a confirmation in the mail but with our names and address all mispelled.  An email was sent to the AE travel site and a corrected version of confirmation came through and I thought we were ready for the trip. Still uneasy about the booking, I started seaching on the internet about AE Travel which turned up very little. By the end of October the TripAdvisor forum on AE Travel was bursting with posts from people whose trips were canceled for no apparent reason. AE Travel canceled all the trips for November 1, 2, 3, 5, and some other dates two days before the trips that caused the uproar on TripAdvisor. People were very concerned if they will ever get their money back and complaints filed with BBB and other agencies, including the media in different parts of the country. Needless to say we were more than a bit concern and wondering if our trip will go on as planned.

Surprisingly, we received our e-tickets five days before our trip that was to start on November 12, possibly due to the Veteran's Day long-weekend hence the usual two days before the trip. Good thing I checked the junk mail section everyday to find the e-tickets. To ensure the authenticity of the tickets I called Turkish Airlines for seat assignment and they did find our booking numbers and seats were assigned. We were then ready for the trip and just hoping that there wouldn't be last minute cancellation. This has to be the most controversial and uncertain trip that we have ever signed up for being that no travel agent or contact person representing us with only an 800 number to forward our questions and concerns. AET is run by a business out of Germany with an office in New York. They advertise these tours with a marketing scheme with the newspapers which made it look like a joint venture with them and earned the trust from hundreds of readers around the country. Unfortunately, their pre-tour customer service is really poor and people usually only received their e-tickets two days before their trips versus the advertised time frame of 7 to 10 days before, if the trip is not cancelled.

I would only recommend AET if people have no problems waiting til the last minute to find out if their trips will go on, if their flights will be a direct flight as promised, etc. with no control whatsoever of any planning and just take it as it comes. Other than that, our trip turned out to be enjoyable and worth every penny of the cost for the days we were in Turkey. This only applies to the tour in Turkey, as I have read horror stories of their tours in Italy.

Here is my account of our trip.

Day 1--Tuesday, November 12, 2013 LAX to IST on Turkish Airlines Flight 10 Comfort Class

We had been to Turkey twice before, ones to Ephesus through Ismir, on NCL Gem in 2010. Then to the little city of Alanya in southern Turkey on NCL Jade in November 2012. We enjoyed both of these trips when we were visiting there. This land tour would take us to Istanbul, Troy, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Antalya. These seemed to be the most visited places in Turkey.

When we arrived LAX at around 2:30, the airport was pretty quiet. Check-in began at 3:00pm. I have read about the Turkish Airlines Comfort Class (premium economy) which is rumored to be eliminating and suppose to be of good value if there is an up-sell at the airport. When asked about the up-sell, we were told that for $330 per person, we could be upgraded to their Comfort Class. It was a little over our original budget of $300 but still a good investment, so we went for it. We would have the three seats in the last row of the middle section. Now we are ready for Turkey!

Security check was a breeze at that hour, not many flights were scheduled at Tom Bradley Terminal. By the way, everybody seemed to be super friendly at LAX, at least on that day. Wondering if it had anything to do with the incident a week earlier.

The new TBIT is amazingly beautiful. We were here in June for their open house and this time as passengers it gave us a very different kind of feel to it. The openness and sleek design made it a pleasant place to be versus the outdated old terminal. There are many places to relax comfortably before the flight. For the TK comfort class, we do not have access to the lounge so we spent much of our time checking out this terminal and truly enjoyed it.

Food Court

Shops

Star Alliance Lounge up on the sixth floor

South Concourse

Waiting at Gate 152

an empty gate 152

clock tower at the central atrium

flight information

amazing show at the top of the hour

looks real

a view from the balcony on level 5

central atrium with comfortable seatings

Felt sorry for the bar/restaurant on 5th level--no one seems to go up there. May get busier when the restaurant called Fish something opens up. It's very nice just relaxing up here.

Looking at North Concourse up at Level 5 balcony. EVA, BA gates this way.

Countless seating areas

counters with outlets for electronic devices

plenty of leg space in comfort class

IFE

amenity kit

menu

Canapees

Dinner

Prime Beef Burger with herb butter, ratatouille and potato gratin

bay scallop ceviche/tabbouleh/red pepper (left)

Mediterranean salad with grilled artichokes (middle)

banana crumble cake

Two hours before landing we were served a nice breakfast of mushroom omelette with grilled tomato and sauteed mushrooms and fried potatoes, fresh fruit salad, and assorted cheese.

Turkish Airlines is generally above average in services and meals in my opinion. By the way, their homemade lemonade served on board was wonderfully refreshing but they run out fast.

Day 2--Wednesday, November 13, 2013, Istanbul

Going through immigration and custom was surprisingly easy at IST. We just got our visas at the Visa Desk before Immigration for $20 each and then went through immigration with a quick stamp then got our bags and out with no custom check.

Ahmit, our guide was waiting right outside with a sign and told us to wait here at the meeting point for the rest of our group to come out. We were the first out.

As we were waiting, MOR went to get some money exchanged but the rate turned out not too good and with a commission fee here at the airport. Better wait til you see other exchange establishment with no commission charged. Actually, a better bet is the ATM machine if you can access one.

We would be on this coach for eight days. While on the bus to the hotel, Ahmit explained about the comfort package which we already planned on purchasing. This included all dinners and entrance fees, etc. for $299 per person. The mini bar on the bus was also extra, but we purchased the $5 water package which provided unlimited bottled water throughout the whole tour.

Arrival Hall at IST

Passing by a big mall on our way to the hotel.



Welcome drinks at the hotel--promegranite juice.

a popular drink in Turkey

Grand S Hotel--We were disappointed that our hotel was not the one closer to the city center. There's not much around this hotel and seemed quite far away from the old city. Our room was on the fourth floor at the end of the hallway.

Small but clean bathroom

good-size room

one of the two hotels that we stayed at with coffee/water kettle

dinner at the hotel--buffet style

After dinner we went out to explore the neighborhood. A mosque was nearby.

the alley behind our hotel

sandwich shop

bakery

Our hotel at night.

That was the end of our first day in Istabul on this tour. All of us woke up around 2am due to jet lag and then just tossing and turning for the rest of the night.