TO ALL NCLEX Exam takers

carminaRN · Feb 10, 2007

i know the timing of the philippine testing site was a bummer for you but just focus on your exam. good luck with it.

as for your question between ramada & south pacific hotels, ive read reviews in tripadvisor between the two. it helped me decide where to stay. as i've said before, i chose south pacific & didn't regret it.

hope this helps.

loryn · Feb 10, 2007

i know the timing of the philippine testing site was a bummer for you but just focus on your exam. good luck with it.
as for your question between ramada & south pacific hotels, ive read reviews in tripadvisor between the two. it helped me decide where to stay. as i've said before, i chose south pacific & didn't regret it.
hope this helps.

Did you booked directly or availed of the Cebu Pacific's Fun Tours?

I looking at a most affordable option as much as possible.

Thanks for your reply in advance!

Loryn :)

carminaRN · Feb 11, 2007

I took cebu pacific's fun tours. I found fun tours cheaper coz of the airpoart-hotel-airport transfer included in the package at that time. They said that a cab fare from the airport to HK island would cost around HK$400. Another way of reaching your hotel would be the mtr which is highly sufficient, it would be cheaper than a cab around HK$300 (i think) for the 3-day tourist pass. But I would still recommend for you to compare the rates of booking directly & availing of fun tours.

BTW, The shuttle that was included in the package that would take you to your hotel from the airport was very comfortable plus the fact that I dont have to worry about carrying my luggage. Although the ride would take around 30-45 min, its a good way to see HK.

Hope this helps.

bonsai_25 · Feb 11, 2007

hello everyone,

I only bought my ticket from cebu pacific, it was on sale at that time. But I didn't get the cheapest one but it was alright. I didn't take the cebu pacific fun tours it was too expensive for me. They charge per person not per room in hotels.

You can find hotels in hoteltravel.com, I reserved mine from there. You can see the hotel prices inclusive of taxes so it was great. Plus they charge you per room not per person. You won't be surprised with extra charges when you are there already. Plus it was safe and at first I was scared that the hotel would charge us extra 500 HK because I heard from the other nurses that we have to prepare 500 HK in case of emergency because some hotels still ask for it even if you paid full before going there. Ok I am not advertising for hoteltravel.com haha I am just happy with their service.

Our hotel was located in Kowloon side. Don't be scared to get a hotel from the kowloon side because the grand millenium plaza is very accessible if you use MTR.

I hope you get a hotel that is very near the MTR, because almost every place in hongkong is accessible to the MTR and to save yourself from walking too much hehe. The MTR is very easy to use, its in TOUCH SCREEN MODE (single ticket).

From Airport to hotel:

We didn't avail of any shuttle service, so we took a bus (citybus) (A21) from the airport to the hotel. The terminal for the citybus is just outside the airport. When you arrived, just go to the information, and tell the nice young lady where your hotel is and tell her your plan to take the bus. She will tell you what bus to take and also the bus stop near your hotel. Plus she will also write your hotel name in chinese or cantonese. Save this paper because it will be helpful in cabs and in bus terminals. I got this tip from a fellow nurse here by the way. AND, don't be surprised when you have to take a train to the arrival area of the airport. I guess HOnkong airport is so big they need trains for that.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE:

Do not convert all your dollars from the airport money changer, the conversion is only 7.2. Outside your hotel, you will find many foreign exchange or money changer. The highest is 7.68.

Food:

Mcdonalds - the nuggets taste weird.. so beware hehe. I only ordered Mcchicken sandwich. costs around 18 to 25 HK

Cafe de coral - its located inside the grand millenium plaza. Food costs around 20 to 35 HK. It is worth it.

Hope this helps too.

steve0814 · Feb 11, 2007

:pumpiron: guys, i just want to thank you all for all the info that has been shared........ it really helped.. well for me im off to manila tomorrow morning my exam is in 3 days time.. thanks for all the tips and advices.. wish me luck and pray for me.. il do my best.. im proud to be a pinoy RN.. thanks guys. pray for me.. cafe de coral... im coming! hehehe :chuckle

mrschuks · Feb 11, 2007

hello everyone,
I only bought my ticket from cebu pacific, it was on sale at that time. But I didn't get the cheapest one but it was alright. I didn't take the cebu pacific fun tours it was too expensive for me. They charge per person not per room in hotels.
You can find hotels in hoteltravel.com, I reserved mine from there. You can see the hotel prices inclusive of taxes so it was great. Plus they charge you per room not per person. You won't be surprised with extra charges when you are there already. Plus it was safe and at first I was scared that the hotel would charge us extra 500 HK because I heard from the other nurses that we have to prepare 500 HK in case of emergency because some hotels still ask for it even if you paid full before going there. Ok I am not advertising for hoteltravel.com haha I am just happy with their service.
Our hotel was located in Kowloon side. Don't be scared to get a hotel from the kowloon side because the grand millenium plaza is very accessible if you use MTR.
I hope you get a hotel that is very near the MTR, because almost every place in hongkong is accessible to the MTR and to save yourself from walking too much hehe. The MTR is very easy to use, its in TOUCH SCREEN MODE (single ticket).
From Airport to hotel:
We didn't avail of any shuttle service, so we took a bus (citybus) (A21) from the airport to the hotel. The terminal for the citybus is just outside the airport. When you arrived, just go to the information, and tell the nice young lady where your hotel is and tell her your plan to take the bus. She will tell you what bus to take and also the bus stop near your hotel. Plus she will also write your hotel name in chinese or cantonese. Save this paper because it will be helpful in cabs and in bus terminals. I got this tip from a fellow nurse here by the way. AND, don't be surprised when you have to take a train to the arrival area of the airport. I guess HOnkong airport is so big they need trains for that.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE:
Do not convert all your dollars from the airport money changer, the conversion is only 7.2. Outside your hotel, you will find many foreign exchange or money changer. The highest is 7.68.
Food:
Mcdonalds - the nuggets taste weird.. so beware hehe. I only ordered Mcchicken sandwich. costs around 18 to 25 HK
Cafe de coral - its located inside the grand millenium plaza. Food costs around 20 to 35 HK. It is worth it.
Hope this helps too.

hi...i'm so happy to have read your message. You see, I'll be taking my exam next month and I'm looking for the most practical way to book our flight and make hotel reservations. The other night, I've read someone posting about HotelTravel.com and it made me check the site. Usually, when we travel we book thru travel agents but I thought that booking it myself will be cheaper. I found and checked BP INT'L HOUSE, I thought that their location is very convenient even if it's in Kowloon side, there's an MTR nearby. I'm planning to book with HotelTravel.com, since there's a couple of you who had an experience ith it already.

Just want to ask, if it's really safe, particularly card details, and that when we get there we'll be actually booked and get what we paid for? I just don't want to have a problem when we get there and found out later on that the site is not legit.

Hope you can help me with this...I guess, AQUARIAN also books thru HotelTravel...anyone, please help just need confirmation that this is ok. Thanks so much for your help, appreciate it. :idea:

God bless...let's keep on praying for each other!

bonsai_25 · Feb 12, 2007

hello mrschuks,

Yes I do believe it is quite safe. When you check the hoteltravel.com you will see at the upper right corner their policies about payments. They will ask for your credit card information but you will not be charge yet. You will be charge 12 to 15 days before your arrival. So when you do arrive there, you don't have to pay for anything else. Some hotels will still ask for a credit card but it is just for incidental issues blah blah. That is in case you destroyed something in the hotel hehe.

Take note: don't drink any of the softdrinks and even mineral water inside your hotel room. They will charge you for that.

Oh by the way, you can also cancel your bookings in that website, they won't charge you as long as you cancel 21 days before your arrival. Make sure you check all the hotels first to pick the right one for you. We ended up with Metropark hotel, its very far from the MTR STATion but service was great. We ended there after 2 cancellations hehe. Just pick one near the MTR.

Goodluck

Aquarian · Feb 12, 2007

About four years ago, I used the Hotel.Travel domain for booking a hotel in Bangkok and two years ago in Singapore. I didn't encounter any problem either regarding on-line credit transaction security. My account there is still active up to now and so far, no unauthorized transactions surfaced (thank God!).

So, how will you rate the Metropark Causeway, Bonsai? I'm sure the rooms are small that's why I reserved a standard harbourview room (hoping they would upgrade me to the executive suites ..hehe..as what most hotel reviewers claim). I intentionally opted to choose this hotel to stay away from the touristy areas. Anyway, public transport system in HK is very efficient, esp the MTR. Which room did you reserve? And on what floor did they put you? My exam is on the last week of February.

Btw, Cathay Pacific Airways Winter Promos this March are worth looking into. There's a package w/c includes 3D/2N accomodation in Lan Kwai Fong Hotel (which is one of the nearest hotels to the test site) on a twin-sharing basis, airport-hotel-airport transfers (this can be really expensive if not included in the package), and the economy class return flights, of course. Marco Polo/Asia Miles mileage accrual will not apply to the hotel,though, just the flight.:smilecoffeecup: For more info, you can log on to www.cathaypacific.com/ph .

miss_cy · Feb 12, 2007

ramada queensroad perfect hotel for nclex takers. 'been there... service are good, places around d hotels good. also, its very close to milennium plaza by tram..theres a tram station infront of the hotel.. ($2 per person) go to the night market! after the exam! fantastic place to shop! wwooohooo! itl help u forget the tension d exam will cause you.lolz! foods great too!

mrschuks · Feb 12, 2007

hello mrschuks,
Yes I do believe it is quite safe. When you check the hoteltravel.com you will see at the upper right corner their policies about payments. They will ask for your credit card information but you will not be charge yet. You will be charge 12 to 15 days before your arrival. So when you do arrive there, you don't have to pay for anything else. Some hotels will still ask for a credit card but it is just for incidental issues blah blah. That is in case you destroyed something in the hotel hehe.
Take note: don't drink any of the softdrinks and even mineral water inside your hotel room. They will charge you for that.
Oh by the way, you can also cancel your bookings in that website, they won't charge you as long as you cancel 21 days before your arrival. Make sure you check all the hotels first to pick the right one for you. We ended up with Metropark hotel, its very far from the MTR STATion but service was great. We ended there after 2 cancellations hehe. Just pick one near the MTR.
Goodluck

thanks again for your reply bonsai_25:idea:

we might as well book with HotelTravel.com...we're actually considering BP Int'l House...i checked with travel agencies about their packages and if i book it myself we can save USD$100++...did you just use MTR-airport express to get to your hotel? and thanks for the tips, yeah won't use any of their drinks in their mini bars, we usu buy drinks from the groceries nearby:specs: btw, they don't have any hidden charges, right? whatever we paid for in the site, that's all covered? and what airlines did you booked with?

thanks again for your help...appreciate it

God bless

loryn · Feb 12, 2007

I took cebu pacific's fun tours. I found fun tours cheaper coz of the airpoart-hotel-airport transfer included in the package at that time. They said that a cab fare from the airport to HK island would cost around HK$400. Another way of reaching your hotel would be the mtr which is highly sufficient, it would be cheaper than a cab around HK$300 (i think) for the 3-day tourist pass. But I would still recommend for you to compare the rates of booking directly & availing of fun tours.
BTW, The shuttle that was included in the package that would take you to your hotel from the airport was very comfortable plus the fact that I dont have to worry about carrying my luggage. Although the ride would take around 30-45 min, its a good way to see HK.
Hope this helps.

Called Cebu Pacific for their Fun Tours reservation but the Agent told me they will need to confirm availability of those dates and will just call me. Its been a week now and still never heard from them. I'm not sure if it really takes long for a Travel Agency to make those arrangements especially Summer is fast approaching.

Also, they mentioned that their packages does not include the service charge (10%) and government tax (3 %). I have to pay the hotel separately on those charges once I arrive in HK. While waiting for my approved reservation, I then started to call a number of local travel Agencies just to compare their prices (I'll post on this subject separately once I gather all the datas) and found out that their promos already include those hotel taxes and surprising thing is, its way more cheaper. Well, I'm still taking my time to scrutinize every detail before I make my final decision.

Stay tuned everyone!

Loryn :)

loryn · Feb 12, 2007

For all of you who will be buying/claiming their Cebu Pacific tickets at their Robinson branches, make sure you come early preferably at their opening hours. I just had this terrible experience at their Galleria Office were I have to wait for 4 grueling hours just to pay for my reservation. I arrived at around 5pm and their small space was already cramped with so many customers at they were attending with ticket stub #150. The guard outside just gave me a ticket stub #269 and told me to come back around 8pm. Since I was tired from work and can't afford to reschedule another day, I just watched a movie and had a stroll inside the mall. Returned at exactly 8:15 pm and to my disappointment, they were still serving #199 . The funny thing is, most of the people I left there were (3 hrs ago) if not sleeping or starving, their faces were really mad looking and seriously frustrated.

At long last, my number was called (9:30pm) and the entire process took only 15 minutes max. Was too tired to complain and I know those Reps already enough to bear from those erring customers they have attended the whole day and I can surely empathize with them.

Well, I don't blame those customers being angry at the situation but I hope Cebu Pacific can open more branches to cater to their loyal patrons who are still growing.

Despite all of this, I can only praise Cebu Pacific's campaign on lowered airfares compared to other rival airlines.

What I suggest, just pay and visit their Main branch at the Domestic Airport which is open 24/7.

Loryn :)