This sounds like a perfectly normal situation to me. Shipping companies are primarily there to service their corporate customers who regularly make shipments of the same items from one port to another.
They are simply not accustomed to having individuals shipping one-off items, and servicing customers who are not familiar with the usual acronyms and procedures applicable to international shipping.
Yes, occasionally we may come across an individual who is interested in our individual independent travel and goes out of their way to make the process easier for us, but to my mind this is the exception rather than the rule and we should not rely on / expect it. In addition, arrival dates and port clearance times can vary enormously due to a wide range range of circumstances, so I always factor in at least +/- 2 weeks around the scheduled dates.
In any case, good to hear your bikes have arrived and I trust the rest of your journey will be without too much difficulty. I also trust that as you travel further your attitude will change to "expect the worst, and smile when it is better" as this will be key to arriving home with pleasant memories rather than a litany of tales of troublesome experiences.
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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman
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