Most organisations get complaints at one time or another. Sometimes complaints can be justified and other times customers can try it on. Whatever the reason, these complaints have to be taken seriously and dealt with in a timely professional way. The holiday company Thomas Cook recently made public some of its most humorous complaints so, because they made us laugh we decided to publish them on our travel blog!

“I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”

“It’s lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time – this should be banned.”

“On my holiday to Goa in India , I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”

“We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”

A tourist at a top African game lodge overlooking a waterhole, who spotted a visibly aroused elephant, complained that the sight of this rampant beast ruined his honeymoon by making him feel “inadequate”.

A woman threatened to call police after claiming that she’d been locked in by staff. When in fact, she had mistaken the “do not disturb” sign on the back of the door as a warning to remain in the room.

“The beach was too sandy.”

“We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow but it was white.”

A guest at a Novotel in Australia complained his soup was too thick and strong. He was inadvertently slurping the gravy at the time.

“Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.”

“We bought ‘Ray-Ban’ sunglasses for five Euros (£3.50) from a street trader, only to find out they were fake.”

“No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”

“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”

“I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends’ three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller.”

“The brochure stated: ‘No hairdressers at the accommodation’. We’re trainee hairdressers – will we be OK staying here?”

“There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners.”

“We had to queue outside with no air conditioning.”

“It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.”

“I was bitten by a mosquito – no-one said they could bite.”

“My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.

Global Holidays is the travel agent for low cost  luxury holidays and excellent customer service !

DavidB Travel News customer complaints

Another reason for people to book an ATOL bonded package holiday has surfaced after it has emerged that many travel agents may have booked their customers on a separate flight and Costa Concordia cruise booking, issuing separate invoices for two bookings rather than on an ATOL protected cruise package holiday under one invoice.

Because of the tragic accident that happened just off the Tuscany coast all the forward bookings for the Costa Concordia have been cancelled. Costa Cruises will be giving a full refund plus a voucher for 30% off a future cruise but because many travel agents will have booked the cruise and separate flights those customers could be faced with not been able to get a refund on the flights part of the booking because the airlines will apply normal cancellation terms and conditions. Most airlines won’t provide a refund if a flight is cancelled.

Those passengers that have booked an ATOL protected cruise package will be able to get a full refund and this highlights the importance of asking your travel agent whether the holiday is ATOL protected. The law on what constitutes a holiday package has been the subject of debate for some time and the law is soon to be tightened which may well close many loopholes but until then many travel agents continue to sell packages that are not ATOL protected as they try to get an advantage on price over those agents that do sell ATOL protected holidays.

Just for the record, here at Global Holidays we always sell ATOL protected package holidays.

Global Holidays is the travel agent for luxury holidays and you can contact them on 0845 299 4450.

DavidB Travel News ATOL protected holidays, costa concordia cancellations, refund for costa concordia booking

Once you have been on a holiday to Goa the majority of people return year after year. This is certainly true of one of our customers who always send us a copy of their Goa holiday diary so that we can publish it on our travel blog. If you are a regular to Goa or thinking of going on holdiay to Goa for the first time the diary makes fascinating reading. The diary of a holdiay to Goa is published below. Hope you enjoy it.

This was our 12th visit.  I will give a quick report on our impressions. 

Firstly our usual hotel had really gone downhill.  Have done hotel report on this.  Our usual taxi driver never stopped moaning about the traffic, I told him he should try the M62/M621 out of Leeds every day of his life at 5:00 p.m. he would know what a traffic jam was then.  He also made a few sarcastic comments about the tips we gave him which annoyed me as we do tip him well overall as we do stay out quite late at night.  We have used him for quite a few years with no problem and we have a taxi every evening and quite often in the day too to go to other beaches in the north and south so he does make a lot of money out of us over the course of 3 weeks. 

I don’t know whether the problems was because we were going to a lot of the better restaurants and he suddenly thought we were rich and wanted a bigger share of our money.  Anyway it is to his detriment as we will have a change next year.  I did think the resort seemed a bit cleaner this year.  We actually saw the garbage collectors picking rubbish up from the surrounding area but I have to say I think most of the rubbish is left on the beach by domestic tourists, it was quite common to see them dropping litter as they walked along the beach.  

Things on the beach this year were horrendous as far as sunbeds were concerned.  We couldn’t use our normal shack as the law about 10 sunbeds to a shack is now very strictly adhered to which seems ridiculous as the shacks are losing out on business big time.  Some people hardly spend anything in the shacks so if they are stuck with this kind of customer they don’t make much money.  I can see them all charging for sunbeds in the future. 

I did think there were far less English tourists out there this year and lots more domestic tourists.  We did have a trip to Agonda for 3 days which we loved and hopefully in the future we will spend a week down there.  We didn’t find things any dearer this year as the exchange rate was so much better this year so this compensated for any price increases. 

We did hear of more serious crime this year, e.g. a fight between staff at Bobbies shack and Big Banana, first reports were that someone had been killed, then it changed to someone getting their arm chopped off with a machete, then it was just a big fight which resulted in both shacks being closed for a couple of days.  But customers ending up screaming and running off down the beach.  Also a couple of hotels were broken into with safe deposit boxes being wiped out.  Here goes but I do warn you we do a lot of sunbathing and eating…

Read more…

DavidB India diary of a Goa holiday, holiday to Goa

The events of last Friday night (Friday 13th as it happens) could well turn out to be a turning point in the cruise industry. As the Costa Concordia left the port of Rome for what should have been a routine cruise north towards Savona in northern Italy nobody onboard would have realised that events would take a dramatic turn.

Until the investigation into how the Costa Concordia, one of the worlds largest and modern cruise ships, somehow hit an under water rock and almost completely sank is concluded we can’t jump to conclusions. However, what is clear is that there needs to be answers as to how the ship ended up on its side so quickly and also why the evacuation seems to have been so chaotic. It can’t be easy to get nearly 4,000 passengers and crew off a stricken ship the size of the Costa Concordia but there are lots of questions to be answered including why many of the lifeboats could not be launched and why so many passengers had to jump off the ship and swim. If this disaster had happened in a more hostile environment with rougher seas the the loss of life would have been considerable.

As cruise ships have got bigger, have they become unstable? Have health and safety issues been ignored for the sake of financial gain? Also, of course how did the captain of the Concordia hit the rock in the first place?

Personally, I can’t see the attraction in cruising on these huge cruise ships. Thousands of people in a fairly confined space seems to me to be more like a floating upmarket holiday camp where passengers are herded around from one port of call to another as well as fed lashings of food that they don’t really need, again in a confined space with the same people they will see every day.

The cost of this weekends accident could could cost Costa Cruises many millions of pounds in compensation but the cost to the cruise industry itself could be far greater as passengers desert the giant cruise lines in favour of other types of holiday.

DavidB Travel News costa concordia, cruise accident

Today is Friday 13th and many people think that it is an unlucky day. Several flight booking companies say that they get a significant drop in bookings for this date.

What do you think ? Will you fly on Friday 13th or do you think it is ridiculous supersticion that one day could be more unlucky than another?

There is no evidence at all that there have been more air crashes on Friday 13th than any other day. Air Florida did have a fatal crash once on this date but that is the only air crash that we are aware of.

The ill-fated US space mission Apollo 13 was launched at 13:13 and the explosion that crippled its engines occurred on April 13, so maybe the number 13 is more unlucky than others or it could just be coincidence of course. There are stories of some house buyers refusing to buy a house with the number 13.

Why is it that Friday is linked to the number 13 as the unlucky day ? Many people don’t like Friday’s because it is the last day of the working week. The Romans used to execute their prisoners on a Friday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday, so maybe throughout history many people have had bad days on Fridays !

As far as flying on Friday 13th is concerned all the evidence points to the fact that it is as safe as any other day. You could say the same about driving. Maybe we shouldn’t leave our houses on Friday 13th but then again the roof could collapse!

And finally, there are 3 Friday 13th’s in 2012. They occur in January, April and July !

DavidB Travel News flying supersticion, Friday 13th

Our “Travel TV” presenter, Becky Hayes recently visited the fabulous 5 star Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real in Fuerteventura to see for herself what this luxury hotel has to offer. Taking a film crew she spent several days sampling the facilities and filming, and she came home extremely impressed.

If you are looking for a luxury 5 star hotel in a stunning location then you should seriously consider the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real. Situated on a small beach and very close to the famous sand dunes of Fuerteventura the hotel offers elegance and style for the discerning customer. Featuring 5 restaurants, several swimming pools, including a huge indoor pool and an award winning spa the hotel is perfect for a luxury holiday with fantastic food in a location that is hard to beat. The hotel looks out across the sea to the nearby island of Lobos and you can see Lanzarote in the distance.

Take a guided tour of the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real with our Travel TV presenter, Becky Hayes.

 Read more articles about the hotel. Click the link below

Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real

Watch our video of the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real

DavidB Canary Islands 5 star hotel corralejo, Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real, luxury hotel fuerteventura, luxury hotel spain

As the famous Strictly glitter ball turned for the last time this series on Saturday, fans can join the stars of the show next summer on two P&O Cruises holidays.

P&O Cruises will have top names from the highly-rated BBC programme on two Oriana cruises – a 12 night Canary Islands cruise on May 28 and a 14 night Fjords cruise on July 14. Passengers can learn how to jive, foxtrot, rumba, quickstep and more from the professionals and join acerbic judge Craig Revel-Horwood for a night in the theatre.

As some of Strictly Come Dancing’s most loved professionals show off their award-winning routines, passengers will also be able to see a collection of the exquisitely intricate costumes worn by the celebrities and stars this series.

P&O Cruises managing director, Carol Marlow said: “We are so excited to bring the magic of the Strictly ballroom to Oriana this summer. Our passengers will be able to learn with the professional dancers, watch extraordinary show dances and hear some of the secrets of this global phenomenon.”

Richard Halliwell, Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing With The Stars’ commercial brand director, said: “The Strictly brand is very well suited to an ocean cruise given the heady mixture of elegance, romance, high-class entertainment and exhilarating destinations. We’re very excited about this new adventure with P&O Cruises and I believe Craig Revel-Horwood has already packed his bags!”    

Prices for Oriana’s X206 12 night Canary Islands cruise departing May 28 start at £1,349 per person. Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are Ponta Delgada, Horta, Madeira, Gran Canaria, Lisbon and Vigo.

Prices for Oriana’s X212 14 night Fjords cruise departing July 14 start at £1,599 per person. Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call are Stavanger, Alesund, Trondheim, cruise in Trondheimsfjord, Ny Alesund, Tromso, Bergen, Eidfjord and cruise in Hardangerfjord.

Dancing with the Stars is one of BBC Worldwide’s flagship brands. Sold to over 75 countries worldwide, with 35 local versions produced, it is a global phenomenon which now holds the Guinness World Record for the Most Successful Reality TV Format of all time.

Want to book this fabulous cruise? Call Global Holidays on 0845 299 4450.

DavidB Holiday Special Offers, Noway oriana cruise, special offer p&o cruise, strictly norway cruise

Maybe it’s the recession but this December we have had several attempts to book flights with us using stolen credit cards. We have just had another one today. The caller wanted a flight to Barbados leaving in the next few days. We noticed that the caller withheld his number and even though we quoted a high fare he wanted to book it! That immediately raises suspicions as we would normally have expected a genuine caller to have a think about it especially as the fare was so expensive.

Having seen this many times before and as a security precaution we said we could book it providing he emailed us his passport details and a copy of his credit card. As soon as we asked for that he put the phone down!

It might be the season of goodwill but there are people out there who want to try and take advantage so we would urge all travel agents to be cautious.

DavidB Travel News credit card fraud, fraudulant flight bookings

Thomas Cook, Europe’s second largest tour operator, has hit hard times and it needs to ask its banks for a loan to help it through the next few months. Winter is traditionally a time when cash flow for travel companies is at its lowest. There is no doubt that the bad economic uncertainty in the UK and the rest of Europe has hit bookings hard. The media does not help this situation as certain newspapers love a bad news story. If the media reported good news stories and not just the bad ones then there may well be more confidence in the UK economy.

Whilst Thomas Cook have certainly suffered due to the poor economy, along with it has to be said with many other travel companies, their woes go back several years and are also due to other factors.

Firstly, Thomas Cook refused to believe that Easyjet and Ryanair, who offer flexible durations, would be a threat to their traditional business model. Thomas Cook offered weekly charter flights and they worked quite happily with a large number of travel agents. In addition, Thomas Cook failed to react fast enough to the growing trend of people booking direct with hotels and villa owners abroad. It’s at this point that Thomas Cook should have offered a far more flexible product and provided a travel service that customers wanted. For example, it was very difficult if not impossible to book a one way flight with a charter airline and also the airlines didn’t have flights to destinations that people wanted to go to.

Thomas Cook did eventually react to the growing threat of budget airlines by deciding that travel agents were to blame for their declining sales. Thomas Cook decided, therefore, to set up a website to sell online and set out on a strategy of cutting travel agents commission and undercutting them on price. What should have happened is that Thomas Cook should have sat down with its sales outlet partners i.e travel agents and worked out a plan to compete with budget airlines. Most budget airlines had very clever marketing in place in that they advertised one way fares to make people think that the price was low. However, once the return fare was added on together with the extras like baggage, online check-in costs, meals and credit card charges the actual price was much higher. Add into this poor customer service and it’s a crime to think that their competitors allowed it to happen!

Thomas Cook is a strong brand that has lost its direction but don’t under estimate what it can achieve. To get back on track though it needs to work closely with its massive network of travel agents, both in-house and independents and offer the customer good products. This means giving the holidaymaker a good experience with quality hotels and service, at a fair price.

Despite what many people say, the package holiday is not dead. What could be better than booking everything in one go rather than spending hours searching the web for a suitable flight and then spending even more time searching for accommodation. Add to that the ATOL financial protection customers get with a package holiday and its a powerful combination.

Package holidays need to be sold in a far more flexible way based on quality and a fair price. However, with not enough customers and too many players wanting to sell us all a holiday or flight it’s not going to be easy for Thomas Cook.

With airlines going bust on a regular basis it’s difficult to know why many customers don’t understand that a package holiday is a safer financial bet that booking a separate flight and hotel. This is another area where the message could be stronger.

It’s not too late for Thomas Cook but time is not on their side and the next 9 months will be crucial.

DavidB Travel News Thomas Cook

The Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real is one of our favourite hotels, as we have already mentioned before, and now, this luxury 5 star hotel on the island of Fuerteventura has just been given the Award of Excellence award as the best hotel in Europe, in the category of “most excellent european waterside hotel 2012″.

The award has been given for its luxury exclusivity, quality of service and its facilities. This hotel award is very prestigious because it has been awarded by non other than Condé Nast Johansens, the leading independently produced multi-media source for today’s traveler, sourcing hotels, spas and venues for leisure and business in the UK, Europe and the Americas. 

Awards for Excellence are made annually to those properties worldwide that represent the finest standards and best value for money in luxury accommodation. Coinciding with its eighth anniversary, the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real is a worthy winner of this award in our opinion. When we visited the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real in August 2011 we were very impressed and have since sent our travel video production company out to the hotel to film videos of the three Atlantis hotels on Fuerteventura.

A holiday on Fuerteventura makes a fantastic winter and summer holiday destination and if you want to stay at a luxury 5 star hotel we think that you should stay at the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real which is located near to the sand dunes on the outskirts of Corralejo on the north coast of Fuerteventura.

Make a booking at this hotel with Global Holidays and we will give you a FREE VIP airport lounge pass to make your holiday even more special. Call Global Holidays on 0845 299 4450 to enquire about our latest holiday offers.

DavidB Canary Islands Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real, luxury hotel fuerteventura