Cotai Jet vs. Turbo Jet

To sail or not to sail, that is the question.

We had second thoughts about riding the ferry from HK to Macao and back because:
1. I'm pregnant & I might throw up/ experience contractions
2. The toddler might not like it
3. My mom-in-law who volunteered to chaperone us on our quest in making my daughter's 23rd monthsary (& our babymoon) memorable has a history of seasickness
4. We have a huge luggage that my husband had to manage on his own

Yet despite all these, we still pushed on with our ferry ride arguing that it's better to see the Dreamworks Parade and the Eiffel of Asia compared to HK OceanPark at this point in our lives.  I've been to OceanPark before so I don't really mind delaying my second trip to the theme park :p  We thought it might be better to visit OceanPark and the Peak when the kids are much older and when the weather is much cooler.  (August is super warm & humid ugh)

I've tried Turbo Jet before but Cotai Jet had a promo for full paying adults when you purchase tickets in advance via their new app.  The app offered a bigger discount compared to their Mastercard and senior citizen/infant promos so it was more practical to buy 4 adult tickets through the said app.

We were happy with the discounts but my mom-in-law wasn't too pleased with the boat ride :/ She really felt queasy as the ferry was relatively smaller to that of Turbo Jet so you could actually feel the rough waves as you sail.  But lucky for me and my little one, we were able to sleep for most of the trip so we didn't feel much of the seasickness. Chewy ginger candy and chocolate milk also helped distract my little one.

We landed in a neat port in Taipa (where some Macao planes also land) and easily my mom-in-law's dizziness melted away. Leji said byebye cheerfully to the blue jet and we hopped on to our free bus to Cotai Strip.

Going home though, we committed several mistakes:
1. We failed to book in advance through the Cotai Jet app.  We didn't know weekend tickets sellout faster than weekday tickets even on a ghost month. Even Turbo Jet advanced tickets were sold out on Klook (or probably their cutoff was earlier than 12 midnight :/)
2.  We weren't able to avail of the Mastercard promo.  Even if it says on their fliers that you could purchase discounted tickets via the Sheraton ticketing booth/ concierge, on the day itself they refused to honor the said promo (well I checked the flier and I noticed the disclaimer in small print that they could cancel the promo anytime:/).
3. We thought we could avail of the direct ferry route to the HK airport. Good thing hubby was able to read online that that port only had access to PAL and Cathay Pacific flights not Cebu Pacific :(
4. We assumed that there was just one Macao port and we thought we could ride there going to Tsim Sha Tsui port (to visit the HK Science Museum before heading to the airport).  We rode the wrong Cotai bus and landed on the less baby friendly Outer Macao port :/ We availed of the senior & baby discounts (15% off) on the Turbo Jet counter. We found out there were no Cotai Jets for that port. When we got to HK, it was so challenging to find the train with the luggage and a stroller in tow. The taxis wouldn't let us ride to Tsim Sha Tsui because they say they could only service mainland routes.

Turbo Jet was also stricter with the weight of the bags; we had to pay extra for carrying souvenirs in our luggage even if it was just one luggage for the four of us.  Hubby didn't have to worry about it though during the boat ride and my mom-in-law found it more pleasant that the boat was relatively bigger compared to Cotai Jet.

We wasted so much time scurrying for the elevator we didn't have time left to explore the Science Museum. Unlike in Singapore where the elevators are usually in the middle of things, in HK you have to search from end to end to be able to find the right one.

We ended up in the wrong side of Tsim Sha Tsui--HK Peninsula side where they are doing so much repairs it was quite scary to take the baby there:/ We found out that the HK Space Museum only catered to Cantonese speakers that afternoon and ended up buying food in the Food Truck Festival outside near the construction area blocking the Victoria Harbour. We used our luggage as a mini table as the person in the Space Museum concierge would only accept luggage if you avail of their actual tickets; they don't care if you buy souvenirs from their store that could actually cost more than the ticket itself.

We were too tired and frustrated we didn't have energy left to explore the Arts and Culture building nearby. But we were amused to see so much people with kids outside despite the construction and the heat in that area.  They weren't eating so we figured they might be into Pokemon Go or something.
 
After our brief meal (in fairness, the burgers were juicy and tasty) we decided to take an Uber to the airport.  We were too flustered for another train ride.

Looking back, I should have just booked a direct flight from Macao to Manila so we could have skipped the ferry going home.. that Cebu Pacific flight on a weekend wasn't worth all the trouble.  I guess it's really better to plan the itinerary ahead before booking.