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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 9, 2024 14:54:00 GMT
Well didn't make it out there in the end. Wasn't to be. The hotel have been excellent. I have been in constant contact with them and they have since waived any cancellation fees, which they had every right to charge. Would like to go back there one day! FAW have also agreed to keep Montenegro on the booking history under the circumstances and the fact we tried to "travel with the official fan partners ". I believe that's the right approach and common sense has prevailed. Over to Wonky now. They say judge a company on how well they treat you when something goes wrong. Well this will be their acid test for me and will inform my decision on whether to use them in the future or not. I hope they are quick with their resolution (full refund) and we don't find ourselves in a fight or having to go through insurance. I also think a goodwill gesture will be needed here. I was willing to overlook the Riga delays as they ultimately got us back but this was a disaster all round. We held off booking alternative flights as we thought there was hope of a plane finally taking off yesterday, only for that to fall through. Anyway, that's it from me on this subject. Hope everyone out there has a fantastic time, stay safe and get to see a Cymru win. As you know I too was on this flight (or not!!). This is only the 2nd time being with Wonky mainly due to convenience flying from Cardiff as parents came down from Yorkshire to babysit. Think it might be the last time we use them...1st time Riga got delayed due to fog, not their fault but annoying. This time it was the fact they kept us hanging on and if the bird strike was the one on the 23rd Aug we haven't been told the full truth which annoys me too. |
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Post by Annoyed on Sept 9, 2024 14:58:33 GMT
I really feel for all the Wonky group who have missed out. Very very unfortunate. Unfortunately, the together stronger mantra has disappeared into the abyss with Matt_the_Jack wanting the FAW to rescind their decision and remove the points!
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Post by MTJ1986 on Sept 10, 2024 3:21:20 GMT
I really feel for all the Wonky group who have missed out. Very very unfortunate. Unfortunately, the together stronger mantra has disappeared into the abyss with Matt_the_Jack wanting the FAW to rescind their decision and remove the points! Couldn't care less to be honest. Wales away games were more fun before, hopefully it will get back to that one day |
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Post by derynglas on Sept 10, 2024 9:31:11 GMT
Hired car to drive to Nicsic.4 of us.Got home tix off a tout,30 euro.
Uncovered,soaked to the skin.
Happy though,great trip.
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Post by fireboy0610 on Sept 10, 2024 10:00:59 GMT
Hired car to drive to Nicsic.4 of us.Got home tix off a tout,30 euro. Uncovered,soaked to the skin. Happy though,great trip. Nice one, I can beat that one, we also got tickets in the home end for €35 but 2 of us managed to get into the wales end 😀 |
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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 10, 2024 11:14:07 GMT
I really feel for all the Wonky group who have missed out. Very very unfortunate. Unfortunately, the together stronger mantra has disappeared into the abyss with Matt_the_Jack wanting the FAW to rescind their decision and remove the points! Couldn't care less to be honest. Wales away games were more fun before, hopefully it will get back to that one day More fun before Wonky came along? Really? I doubt an extra 200 people who probably would've made their own way if Wonky didn't exist makes any real difference. Also I didn't find the San Siro any fun in 2003! I think you'll find Wales doing well in Euro 2016 upped the Wales away numbers. |
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Post by Walesaway5 on Sept 10, 2024 15:23:03 GMT
Did anyone else think the FAW buses were a complete disaster
two hours to get there (when it should take one), then dropping everyone off in a completely different place - an un-lit car park in the middle of nowhere- with zero transport links or indication that it would happen.
I usually dont bother with the buses for this very reason. Absolute shit
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Post by cymroda on Sept 10, 2024 16:37:21 GMT
Did anyone else think the FAW buses were a complete disaster two hours to get there (when it should take one), then dropping everyone off in a completely different place - an un-lit car park in the middle of nowhere- with zero transport links or indication that it would happen. I usually dont bother with the buses for this very reason. Absolute shit A disgrace. A flooded, unlit car park with water up to everyone’s shins at 1am in the morning on the completely wrong side of the city with no help from police and people just told to go away and deal with it. It messed up people at the Welder pub as well who were expecting the bus to come back there and take them to Budva |
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Post by gwernybwch on Sept 10, 2024 20:01:11 GMT
Over to Wonky now. They say judge a company on how well they treat you when something goes wrong. Well this will be their acid test for me and will inform my decision on whether to use them in the future or not. I hope they are quick with their resolution (full refund) and we don't find ourselves in a fight or having to go through insurance. I also think a goodwill gesture will be needed here. I was willing to overlook the Riga delays as they ultimately got us back but this was a disaster all round. We held off booking alternative flights as we thought there was hope of a plane finally taking off yesterday, only for that to fall through. Anyway, that's it from me on this subject. Hope everyone out there has a fantastic time, stay safe and get to see a Cymru win. I do hope that that you keep us updated on how this works out. Like you said, you can judge a company by how it treat's its customers when things go wrong. I have never used Wonky previously, but have started to be attracted to their convenience. But I'm sure that if there is poor customer care that it will dissuade many potential customers including myself. PS: on the plus side, at least you didn't have a complete and utter soaked to the skin drenching. |
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Post by WalesAway2024 on Sept 10, 2024 22:07:36 GMT
I find it mad people can afford the wonky sheep prices. £600+ for an Armenia flight, how can people justify that?
I think they’re cowboys with what they charge and if it is true that they had wind of this bird strike from 23rd August then that should be the end of them as an “official” FAW travel partner. 3 weeks is plenty of time for people to make alternative arrangements if this had been relayed to them. It is a disgrace if they kept quiet about it
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Post by WalesAway2024 on Sept 10, 2024 22:16:35 GMT
No issue with fans keeping their credit but I would like to think the FAW would be understanding if someone also missed a flight from London etc, not sure if they would be from what people have said? I do feel all common sense goes out the window with this ticket collection thing.
It is a bit of a horrible atmosphere when you go in there to be honest and not the most friendly of staff (the final 3 bosses of Macsen, Lucy and the other guy) are nice but you get asked for ID twice before you get to that point and not in the nicest of ways. I didn’t hear the guy at the top of the stairs yesterday and he put his arm across to stop me walking down until I had shown my ID … despite the fact it is a public hotel area and a bar downstairs that had nothing to do with collecting tickets. Once in there a guy was explaining 3 of his mates had not been able to make it from Budva and they’ve all said happy for their other mates to have the tickets but they were point blank refused so I assume those 3 tickets went spare?
It’s just gone too far for me when tickets are going unused due to the politics around credits and who gets what. Let’s be honest anyone that made the effort to get to that stadium yesterday deserves to be there whether they’re on 1 away or 10 aways. Yet common sense of a late ticket or two going spare goes out the window it’s a worrying way for the FAW to be heading, especially if they pick and choose to allow the wonky lot to keep their credit (which I think they should tbf - I just ask for fairness on other cases as they seem to have a strict zero tolerance policy on all other people)
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Post by welshrover on Sept 11, 2024 6:19:00 GMT
No issue with fans keeping their credit but I would like to think the FAW would be understanding if someone also missed a flight from London etc, not sure if they would be from what people have said? I do feel all common sense goes out the window with this ticket collection thing. It is a bit of a horrible atmosphere when you go in there to be honest and not the most friendly of staff (the final 3 bosses of Macsen, Lucy and the other guy) are nice but you get asked for ID twice before you get to that point and not in the nicest of ways. I didn’t hear the guy at the top of the stairs yesterday and he put his arm across to stop me walking down until I had shown my ID … despite the fact it is a public hotel area and a bar downstairs that had nothing to do with collecting tickets. Once in there a guy was explaining 3 of his mates had not been able to make it from Budva and they’ve all said happy for their other mates to have the tickets but they were point blank refused so I assume those 3 tickets went spare? It’s just gone too far for me when tickets are going unused due to the politics around credits and who gets what. Let’s be honest anyone that made the effort to get to that stadium yesterday deserves to be there whether they’re on 1 away or 10 aways. Yet common sense of a late ticket or two going spare goes out the window it’s a worrying way for the FAW to be heading, especially if they pick and choose to allow the wonky lot to keep their credit (which I think they should tbf - I just ask for fairness on other cases as they seem to have a strict zero tolerance policy on all other people) I recall some years back at the hotel in Teplice (Czech Republic) The Welsh team were having their pre match meal in the hotel and the FAW had "bouncers" on the door. Said bouncers tried to stop us entering the hotel and we were actually staying at the hotel. Wouldn't let us in until we showed them our room key! |
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Post by walesaway3 on Sept 11, 2024 7:17:00 GMT
Having six or seven staff at the hotel seemed very excessive "jobs for the boys". It was 700 tickets, that's a job for a couple of people.
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Post by londonexile on Sept 11, 2024 7:34:29 GMT
Over to Wonky now. They say judge a company on how well they treat you when something goes wrong. Well this will be their acid test for me and will inform my decision on whether to use them in the future or not. I hope they are quick with their resolution (full refund) and we don't find ourselves in a fight or having to go through insurance. I also think a goodwill gesture will be needed here. I was willing to overlook the Riga delays as they ultimately got us back but this was a disaster all round. We held off booking alternative flights as we thought there was hope of a plane finally taking off yesterday, only for that to fall through. Anyway, that's it from me on this subject. Hope everyone out there has a fantastic time, stay safe and get to see a Cymru win. I do hope that that you keep us updated on how this works out. Like you said, you can judge a company by how it treat's its customers when things go wrong. I have never used Wonky previously, but have started to be attracted to their convenience. But I'm sure that if there is poor customer care that it will dissuade many potential customers including myself. PS: on the plus side, at least you didn't have a complete and utter soaked to the skin drenching. Hi, absolutely. Happy to give a further update as wonky have now since been in touch and offered a full refund. Money is back in our accounts. Flight finally pulled Sunday, money back in accounts by Tuesday. Fair play to them. That resolution was much quicker and smoother than my cynical self expected and proof that in my opinion they can be trusted going forward. Will I use them again? Yeah, probably. I always way up the cost and convenience of their flights v standard airlines. Yes their prices can be eye watering, I certainly have winced at some (Montenegro included) but I also feel that sometimes travelling to Luton / Manchester / Gatwick / Stansted for an indirect 5am flight a bit of a false economy once you have paid for trains / buses / parking and factor in travel times and so on. Anyway, putting this to bed now. See you in Iceland. Can't wait, exciting times ahead under Bellamy. P.s re the "bouncers" at the ticket collection. I agree get rid! Totally unnecessary in my opinion, first noticed them in Rotterdam after getting ordered and pushed around by some meatheads on the door was uncalled for. I thought they were local hotel security but shocked to hear their Welsh accents. If they are needed....get people in with proper people skill not nightclub bouncers looking to throw their weight around. |
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Post by Wales Away on Sept 11, 2024 9:18:05 GMT
I’ve always understood they brought door staff on because FAW staff were threatened after rightly refusing to hand over tickets without matching ID.
Fans buying just to pass on to friends without the points or to keep themselves at the top of the list when they do fancy it just isn’t fair. No system is 100% perfect but this should work well enough.
Watching us has become trendy and some of the newer fans just don’t understand the etiquette.
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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 11, 2024 9:28:09 GMT
I’ve always understood they brought door staff on because FAW staff were threatened after rightly refusing to hand over tickets without matching ID. Fans buying just to pass on to friends without the points or to keep themselves at the top of the list when they do fancy it just isn’t fair. No system is 100% perfect but this should work well enough. Watching us has become trendy and some of the newer fans just don’t understand the etiquette. For some it's basically an excuse to go somewhere for a piss up and not really about the football. I've seen men being sick in a pub in Wroclaw and it was barely midday! Don't get me wrong I like a drink but you know, get out and do some culture whilst you are in a place you wouldn't normally go to. |
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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 11, 2024 9:30:50 GMT
I do hope that that you keep us updated on how this works out. Like you said, you can judge a company by how it treat's its customers when things go wrong. I have never used Wonky previously, but have started to be attracted to their convenience. But I'm sure that if there is poor customer care that it will dissuade many potential customers including myself. PS: on the plus side, at least you didn't have a complete and utter soaked to the skin drenching. Hi, absolutely. Happy to give a further update as wonky have now since been in touch and offered a full refund. Money is back in our accounts. Flight finally pulled Sunday, money back in accounts by Tuesday. Fair play to them. That resolution was much quicker and smoother than my cynical self expected and proof that in my opinion they can be trusted going forward. Will I use them again? Yeah, probably. I always way up the cost and convenience of their flights v standard airlines. Yes their prices can be eye watering, I certainly have winced at some (Montenegro included) but I also feel that sometimes travelling to Luton / Manchester / Gatwick / Stansted for an indirect 5am flight a bit of a false economy once you have paid for trains / buses / parking and factor in travel times and so on. Anyway, putting this to bed now. See you in Iceland. Can't wait, exciting times ahead under Bellamy. P.s re the "bouncers" at the ticket collection. I agree get rid! Totally unnecessary in my opinion, first noticed them in Rotterdam after getting ordered and pushed around by some meatheads on the door was uncalled for. I thought they were local hotel security but shocked to hear their Welsh accents. If they are needed....get people in with proper people skill not nightclub bouncers looking to throw their weight around. Yes refund came back quickly. I don't think we'll use wonky again, 2nd time in just over year something has gone wrong. Possibly not their fault but this whole bird strike excuse has left a bad taste. We mainly used them like you, for the convenience of flying from Cardiff especially when time is limited. |
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Post by fireboy0610 on Sept 11, 2024 9:55:32 GMT
I’ve always understood they brought door staff on because FAW staff were threatened after rightly refusing to hand over tickets without matching ID. Fans buying just to pass on to friends without the points or to keep themselves at the top of the list when they do fancy it just isn’t fair. No system is 100% perfect but this should work well enough. Watching us has become trendy and some of the newer fans just don’t understand the etiquette. For some it's basically an excuse to go somewhere for a piss up and not really about the football. I've seen men being sick in a pub in Wroclaw and it was barely midday! Don't get me wrong I like a drink but you know, get out and do some culture whilst you are in a place you wouldn't normally go to. We have a cross section of ages going to away games, these instances you mention are few and far between. I agree with you though re culture, I go nit just for the game but to visit places I'd never likely to go to, meet, get on with locals and mostly meet and have a good time with wales mates I only normally see at home games and away trips. |
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Post by WalesAway2024 on Sept 11, 2024 10:18:27 GMT
I’ve always understood they brought door staff on because FAW staff were threatened after rightly refusing to hand over tickets without matching ID. Fans buying just to pass on to friends without the points or to keep themselves at the top of the list when they do fancy it just isn’t fair. No system is 100% perfect but this should work well enough. Watching us has become trendy and some of the newer fans just don’t understand the etiquette. For some it's basically an excuse to go somewhere for a piss up and not really about the football. I've seen men being sick in a pub in Wroclaw and it was barely midday! Don't get me wrong I like a drink but you know, get out and do some culture whilst you are in a place you wouldn't normally go to. As long as people are not offending others they are free to enjoy trips how they please  If bouncers are supposedly needed then they still don’t have to be heavy handed or rude to normal fans who go everywhere and are just there to pick up a ticket. |
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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 11, 2024 10:29:01 GMT
For some it's basically an excuse to go somewhere for a piss up and not really about the football. I've seen men being sick in a pub in Wroclaw and it was barely midday! Don't get me wrong I like a drink but you know, get out and do some culture whilst you are in a place you wouldn't normally go to. As long as people are not offending others they are free to enjoy trips how they please If bouncers are supposedly needed then they still don’t have to be heavy handed or rude to normal fans who go everywhere and are just there to pick up a ticket. True. |
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Post by Guest on Sept 11, 2024 10:50:30 GMT
I wonder whether the FAW will go down the route of what quite a few EFL clubs are now doing, in keeping 20-30% of the allocation back via a ballot for people with lower tallies rather than the top groups.
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Post by CrackityJones on Sept 11, 2024 12:40:36 GMT
Why don’t all the guests posting on this thread create an account and contribute to the board? We always welcome new
voices on the forum and it’s free 😁
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Post by WalesAway2024 on Sept 11, 2024 13:02:42 GMT
Why don’t all the guests posting on this thread create an account and contribute to the board? We always welcome new voices on the forum and it’s free 😁 I will sort one soon Has anything more come of the wonky sheep flight? I think praise for a refund is scraping the barrel a bit as they literally have no choice but to refund for a flight that didn’t go ahead. I think if they had an inkling that this was going to happen from mid August though then it is nothing short of an absolute disgrace that they’ve not let Welsh fans know in advance? I get the feeling from their communication (or lack of) around it that they didn’t want fans requesting refunds in advance but have given people zero chance of sorting an alternative out. You couldn’t pay me to travel with wonky sheep for numerous reasons, I find it amazing they are classed as an official partner of FAW with the fact they rip fans off. |
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Post by mortimero on Sept 11, 2024 13:20:55 GMT
Wonky Sheep serve a useful purpose for people who are cash rich, time poor. I once asked someone on their trip (which had cost three times mine) why they used them - and they replied "Don't have to think, see" which should absolutely be their tag line.
You outsource all the thinking and just turn up.
Can see the attraction if you can't be arsed to sort yourself out.
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Post by mortimero on Sept 11, 2024 13:24:47 GMT
Their prices are in line with other big tour operators like Gullivers etc, they aren't cheap but they aren't supposed to be.
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Post by WalesAway2024 on Sept 11, 2024 13:27:45 GMT
That’s fair enough I just don’t think the FAW should endorse them in any way when much cheaper alternatives are available.
I also think it is controversial deciding people keep their credits when no such leeway would have happened had 20 people had their RyanAir flight from Stanstead cancelled (speaking from experience)
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Post by CrackityJones on Sept 11, 2024 14:11:06 GMT
Agree. The FAW should not be endorsing them. Thing is FAW staff and the media have started travelling with them on the last few trips. That may change after they went pear shaped
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Post by Caerphillylass on Sept 11, 2024 15:16:16 GMT
Wonky Sheep serve a useful purpose for people who are cash rich, time poor. I once asked someone on their trip (which had cost three times mine) why they used them - and they replied "Don't have to think, see" which should absolutely be their tag line. You outsource all the thinking and just turn up. Can see the attraction if you can't be arsed to sort yourself out. We've used them twice, for convenience of flying from Cardiff when short of time as relying on elderly parents to babysit the kids. It's only the same as people going on TUI holidays rather than sorting it themselves for cheaper. |
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Post by Bucket Hat on Sept 11, 2024 16:49:10 GMT
That’s fair enough I just don’t think the FAW should endorse them in any way when much cheaper alternatives are available. I also think it is controversial deciding people keep their credits when no such leeway would have happened had 20 people had their RyanAir flight from Stanstead cancelled (speaking from experience) Now that I did not know! Proof the Ryanair flight was booked yet cancelled by them should be sufficient to receive a recent away credit. |
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Post by MTJ1986 on Sept 11, 2024 21:38:13 GMT
Couldn't care less to be honest. Wales away games were more fun before, hopefully it will get back to that one day More fun before Wonky came along? Really? I doubt an extra 200 people who probably would've made their own way if Wonky didn't exist makes any real difference. Also I didn't find the San Siro any fun in 2003! I think you'll find Wales doing well in Euro 2016 upped the Wales away numbers. Yes, that's what I said.... You picked one game. I am talking about Moldova 93 (heard amazing stories). Macedonia was 300 people there, great. Wales away was the best kept secret. Sadly it isn't now. I liken it to liking Taylor Swift/Oasis before they became mainstream. Still good, but probably better vibes before, but will never go back to how it was. The atmospheres were better before with smaller away fans. They just seem different now, suppose thats how these things go. But no-one should get credited the ticket points for not attending the game, unless done for everyone. |
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