Genoa to Barbados

[BrianI]

By the way the topic on cc has degenerated into personal attacks, some are really spiteful and I'm surprised it hasn't been pulled
Phil

It seems to have gone now. Not before time.
Brian

[Kenmo1]

Early hours of Sunday morning on the plane then the Azores[/u
The problem with the luggage was that because it had been loaded into containers by PO, Thompson had no idea in which container the couple's luggage was stacked whereas if it had gone through the normal loading system at Barbados airport Thompson would be able to pinpoint the correct container to search. If the luggage could not be traced, all luggage would have to be laid out on the tarmac along the side of the plane and we would all have to identify our own luggage and whatever was left would be assumed to be the couple's. The very thought was a nightmare but we realised PO had given us all luggage labels so we all hoped they were still attached to the couple's luggage and would be found easily. The rest of the announcement was that the main hold luggage would be locked on the plane overnight and anybody who had purchased duty frees on the plane should leave them on there as it would cause trouble with security and customs to bring them back on the plane. We were told to just take our hand luggage and that we would be taken by coaches to hotels which had been sorted out by the port agent who must have worked his little socks off sorting things out. The captain and his lady co-pilot walked through the plane answering peoples questions. I asked what the time difference was in the Azores and he said he thought it was the same as England as we had all changed our watches to British time when he suggested it at the start of the flight, this turned out to be incorrect. I think the time that we left the plane would have been about 6 am Sunday. We were on a coach for about 30 or 40 minutes and driven through pitch darkness which we later found out was due to a major blackout on the island but being in total ignorance at the time, all I could think was what kind of God forsaken place had we come to. We were taken to the Terceira Mar Hotel, which was a TUI Thompson hotel. It didn't look bad at all but we then had to join the inevitable queue to register at the hotel. I heard the receptionist tell the people in front of us that breakfast would be served at 7.30 am and, as my watch said 8 am British time, I double checked with reception who said the correct time in the Azores was 7 am .

[Kenmo1]

Sunday morning in the hotel on Terceira - We were allocated room 112 which seemed to be in the depths of the hotel but, because of the power cut,the passages leading to the rooms were very badly lit presumably by some sort of emergency system. Luckily, one young girl had a smart phone which could act like a torch and she gave us enough light to put the card in the door and open it. We had some light in the room but we were both so tired we couldn't see in the dim light to open the TSA numbered locks on our cases. We decided to go for breakfast at 7.30 am and it was fairly obvious that the hotel had pulled together as much as they could to make us a breakfast, including jelly and cake amongst the cheese/bread and orangey looking scrambled egg. We have to give credit to the hotel as November is their quiet season and we also felt extremely sorry for the few hotel guests who had probably decided on a nice quiet stay at the hotel only to be swamped by coach loads of PO cruisers who arrived mob handed at the breakfast buffet. After breakfast we just went back to the room and laid on top of the bed and slept for 3 hours, after which we had a bath, only to have to put our old clothes back on as we had no change of clothes. Next time we fly, if ever, our hand luggage will be almost as heavy as our hold luggage as I am going to pack something for every possible thing that can go wrong!!!! We eventually were awake enough to get into our hand luggage but I could not find Ken's heart tablets and yet I was sure I had put his medicines in one of the cases. It wasn't until we were unpacking at home that I found them squashed down in the front pocket of our new suitcase - I hadn't realised how far down the pocket went - but he survived the day without his tablets but that's another lesson learnt - know exactly where your medicines are. After some lunch, which was much better organised and quite delicious, we had a wander around the large hotel complex and gardens and local harbour area taking photos of the lovely sea view and we also sat in the warm sun relaxing, feeling like it was an extra day to our holiday. By the time we got back there was a notice pushed under the door telling us that coaches would collect us at 5.30 pm. The only things we had to pay for at the hotel was a coffee and beer mid afternoon and we also had free WiFi so we were able to contact home. At the airport we were security checked again and then taken out to the plane by coach and we were so relieved to see no luggage lined up along the tarmac so obviously they had found the couple's luggage. This was about 7 pm , the time we had expected to leave to get to Gatwick for about 10.30 pm.

[Jan Rosser]

OMG I have been following your journey and wondering whatever is going to happen next You'll need a nice quiet break to recover from all this drama - thank you for sharing it with us - what an adventure

[Kenmo1]

Homeward Bound - The Thompson Dreamliner finally took off at 9 pm and we landed at Gatwick at 23.58 GMT on Sunday 9th November. I know this because as we got off the plane we were handed a letter from Thompsons for our insurance company in case we intended to claim for anything. It said the total length of delay on arrival was 18 hours and 58 minutes. There is no way we will be making a claim as we were well looked after at the hotel and, other than having to pay £20 for a taxi from the Fishbourne Car Ferry Terminal to our house, the delay had not caused us any real problems. I can quite understand that some people will have been inconvenienced, connecting flights missed and had to pay for new ones, elderly parents in respite care and not collected on the right day, cars parked at Gatwick gone over their parking time, people who should have been at work on Monday etc.

A taxi driver collected us at Gatwick and he had turned up the early morning expected arrival time of 5 am , again Sunday night for an expected 22.30 landing and then again for a midnight collection of us. We did explain to him that circumstances had been changing all the time and often we were as much in the dark as him. He took us to the Portsmouth Car Ferry terminal where we caught the 3 am ferry to the Isle of Wight on Monday, 10th November and crossed the Solent in a terrific thunderstorm. We reached home about 4.15 am.

Will we fly cruise again? - I don't know. It was exhausting and at times quite stressful. To us Southampton to Southampton is an absolute doddle and our holiday starts and ends so conveniently. Having said that, we thoroughly enjoyed this holiday but our thoughts and best wishes are with the ill man and his wife as it could so easily have been us.

Thanks for reading this rather long, drawn out report. Maureen.

[GillD46]

My word, you did have an adventure. I absolutely applaud your philosophical attitude toward the many inconveniences - I wonder how many others would feel the same as you?

It's always a concern when a passenger is taken seriously ill on a flight. My husband was called to attend to a man on a scheduled flight back from Miami a couple of years ago. His symptoms suggested something very serious indeed, but in fact once moved from his very cramped seat, which was far too small for his VERY portly frame, he improved no end and my husband, who had been asked by the pilot if he wanted a detour to off load him, decided it was unnecessary.

Thank you very much for such an interesting, and gripping review.

[Dancing Queen]

I've really enjoyed your review Maureen and your unexpected day in the Azores all adds to the fun of it although not the reasons you were there, I hope the gentleman who was ill makes a full recovery.

We don't fly now but when we did I always had a change of underwear in my hand luggage, a lesson learnt from when we arrived in Vancouver for an overnight stay and our luggage was still at Heathrow, fortunately because of the time difference I was able to go and buy some and thankfully our luggage did arrive several hours later, I think we were 'doomed' on that particular cruise because on the way back there was a problem with the plane and we were diverted to Toronto which entailed a 24 hour stay in a hotel, a missed flight from Heathrow to Manchester, no idea if our taxi would be waiting for us when we got to Manchester, a missed day at work but it all added to the adventure

[Kenmo1]

Thanks Gill and Jo. Flying was a steep learning curve - I think you get a bit complacent sailing from Southampton. Like I said, my hand luggage in future will make a boy scout proud.

Maureen

[Ranchi]

A relative was flying to a meeting in Singapore & his cases were delayed. The airline provided him with an attaché case containing underwear toothbrush etc. to tide him over. When he arrived at the hotel he was told his cases were in a taxi coming to the hotel. On checking in to return to the UK he went to hand the case back but the staff said to just keep it. When he got home his wife asked about the new case an opened it to reveal tights panties etc....emergency clothing for a female.

[Dancing Queen]

I wonder what would happen now with all the airport security regarding cases being put on a different flight to the one you were on, the instance I quoted was well over 20 years ago we were travelling with Air Canada and our cases were put on a BA flight which was arriving later in the evening, I couldn't see that happening today !!

Was your relatives experience a recent occurrence Ranchi ??

[GillD46]

Our son's luggage was put on a different flight to him a couple of years ago. They couldn't delay the connection any longer so they boarded but their luggage didn't - and arrived on the next flight.

[Ray Scully]

An excellent daily report folks on a cruise not many will do
The only sadness is that there were 5 times more hits on Trouble a Sea Have we got our priorities right?

Ray

[Suekersh]

Loved your reports. You certainly had an adventure.

[SueandPhil]

An excellent daily report folks on a cruise not many will do
The only sadness is that there were 5 times more hits on Trouble a Sea Have we got our priorities right?

Ray

I was following that as We were on the cruise.I have to say that the stories that were circulating were mostly themes that had been heard before. Most seemed to be hearsay and could not be substantiated It certainly lost it's way and became a personal duel between two people in particular. We have sailed Ventura four times now, 2 being trans-atlantic. If we had encountered any of the misbehaviour that was reported on our previous cruises we certainly wouldn't have booked Ventura again. We would have no worries about booking Ventura in the future and found it to be an excellent mix of young and old (we place ourselves somewhere in the middle) and found it to be one of our most memorable. Regarding the slant of tattooed people who were being bracketed as trouble makers, yes there were one or two on board and one in particular was a knight in shining armour when a lady lost here wedding ring in the pool and he spotted it , jumped in, and retrieved it for her. Those on board would probably know who I am talking about

[Kenmo1]

An excellent daily report folks on a cruise not many will do
The only sadness is that there were 5 times more hits on Trouble a Sea Have we got our priorities right?

Ray

I was following that as We were on the cruise.I have to say that the stories that were circulating were mostly themes that had been heard before. Most seemed to be hearsay and could not be substantiated It certainly lost it's way and became a personal duel between two people in particular. We have sailed Ventura four times now, 2 being trans-atlantic. If we had encountered any of the misbehaviour that was reported on our previous cruises we certainly wouldn't have booked Ventura again. We would have no worries about booking Ventura in the future and found it to be an excellent mix of young and old (we place ourselves somewhere in the middle) and found it to be one of our most memorable. Regarding the slant of tattooed people who were being bracketed as trouble makers, yes there were one or two on board and one in particular was a knight in shining armour when a lady lost here wedding ring in the pool and he spotted it , jumped in, and retrieved it for her. Those on board would probably know who I am talking about

Sue and Phil - There is now a review on Critic under Ventura reviews which might interest you, The reviewer makes some valid points but we would still happily book Ventura again.

Now the brain is functioning again and I've caught up with my sleep, I see I gave Thomsons a 'p' all the way through. Also thanks to those who read the review and their kind remarks.

[SueandPhil]

Some valid points on there Maureen. Maybe we were better off in fixed dinning but we have done freedom twice before on Ventura and can only remember one bad table. There was an opinion by some that the change to two freedom dining restaurants meant that the Havana and Arena were full very early meaning the later sitting missed out on some shows. I think that when you have 3000pax on board you will find a difference of opinion occasionally, but in the main I think most get along fine. We are all on holiday after all. By the way we have booked Adonia next year on the trans-atlantic. that's going to seem a bit different
Phil