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| A fabulous ice sculpture. |
I worked - off and on - for many years in tourism under many
guises. Hotel Rep, Tour Guide, Tour
Leader etc but the best one was Escort.
Okay for a man but..... Thank
goodness it was for American tourists and not British. (For those not in the know, in the UK a female
Escort is a euphemism for a high class prostitute - and that I definitely was
not).
The first job I did for the American tour company was to bring a group
of tourists from the States to London for a few
days, then on a transatlantic cruise back to Florida.
The problems began at Heathrow
Airport. The norm is for meeters and greeters to stand
somewhere near to where their guests will be exiting and, of course, holding a
big noticeboard. I’m sure you’ve all
seen them. In this instance, no obvious
meeter and greeter (M&G). I asked my
group to stay together while I went on a search. Information pointed out that there was a
special area for Ms&Gs - and small area away from the exit with a miniscule
sign in the ceiling. Yeah, right. I eventually found the gentleman I was
looking for - more by accident than design.
Instead of a prominent notice with the name of our agency on it, he had
a small sign with the name of HIS agency - which we didn’t know.
I took him to the group where he explained that he would now go to find
the coaches. Coaches? Apparently one for us and one for the
luggage. Don’t ask. Of course at least one lady was loud in
declaiming that she would not be separated from her luggage. Anyway, he trotted off. And we waited and waited and waited.
Eventually I led them outside to the pavement on the basis that the
coach would turn up at some point. After
about fifteen minutes I went in search of a telephone to call my ‘emergency’
number. Good job I speak Spanish - I got
through to someone in Spain. Obviously not the ‘emergency’ number.
After about half-an-hour the coach arrived. It had not been in the coach park but had
been circling the airport roads.
Apparently the driver hadn’t known she was supposed to go into the coach
park.
With great relief we piled into the coach - together with our
luggage. No, there wasn’t a second
coach. We were all so relieved at this
stage that we were able to turn the whole thing into a joke.
Would you be surprised if I told you that neither the driver not the
M&G chap knew the exactly location of the hotel. They had a vague idea - we found it after a
small circular tour.
As the worker bee I was allocated the most miniscule room I have ever
been in - honestly. As a single traveller
I’ve had quite a few of those. A loo and
wash basin, no wardrobe and barely room for my suitcase and hand baggage. Single bed, six inches, 12 inch wide table. That was the width of the room! Thank goodness I wasn’t planning to do
anything other than sleep in it but it would have been nice to hang up my
dresses.
My problems didn’t end there. On
my return to the reception area panic reigned.
One gentleman with breathing problems was missing a piece of his
equipment. All of it kept in a special
case which they had used as hand baggage.
I discovered two telephone numbers on their instructions sheet. One in England
and the other in America. Mrs. insisted on telephoning the American
number on the basis that they would know what she was talking about. It didn’t matter that, even though I
explained it to her, the US
company would probably contact the UK company. The replacement part arrived a few days later
as we were waiting to board the coach to take us to the cruise ship. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
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| Where we all had an enjoyable cruise. |
I was especially glad to get on board where for the length of the cruise
I could relax and enjoy myself. All I
had to worry about on arrival in Florida
was getting them onto their coach.
Did I enjoy myself? Of course I
did. Who wouldn’t enjoy a free
cruise? Mind you I am addicted to them,
having once worked on Royal Caribbean ships.
TIPS:
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| Midnight Buffet |
If you have any medical equipment double and triple check to make sure
you have every piece, and if it is unpacked at Security, double check that
everything is back in the case/bag. And,
if you do leave anything behind - call the telephone number for the country you
are in! The replacement part will reach
you much more quickly.
Medications: make sure you have
them and your prescription in your
hand luggage.
