I was "trapped" in Benidorm, my (our) holiday was a Christmas present from my son, but emotionally it turned out to be the holiday from hell.
I have slated Thomson in here in the past, I'll never forgive them for taking me half-way across the country a couple of years ago, and dumping me for the best part of a day in a portacabin in Coventry airport ( when it was opened), but I cannot fault Thomson/First Choice for the treatment we received last week.

We were allowed to stay in our hotel room and on the board basis that we had paid for, and when we eventually did fly home last Friday night, everyone got a free meal on the plane.
The Thomson rep a young man named Alex was put under a tremendous amount of pressure, and to be fair he had limited information himself, but he was able to convey the information in a professional manner"¦.a genuine bright star amongst the otherwise twinkling sky of holiday reps"¦.the First Choice rep was a little madam who needs some more training in public relations and fortunately for her, she escorted a coach to Calais, otherwise I think she would have been pulled over the desk with the attitude that she has and the way she spoke to people"¦"¦and I wasn't alone in this opinion.

I didn't agree with the mass exodus that took place via coaches, in respect that some of the coaches had no toilets aboard and others had a chemical toilet, and for anyone suffering with diarrhoea (unfortunately as I was on that day) it would have been a nightmare journey to undertake, and not in the best interest of fellow passengers ( health wise).
In my OH's case, he takes ACE inhibitors for his BP, but the side effect is water retention, so he has to take a prescribed diuretic and can pee for the UK and there is no way he would have got on the coach if the air-space was still closed when the back-log had been cleared to Tuesdays flights.

For a week he was getting himself "worked up" about this dreaded coach journey, and we would have booked to stay longer at our expense, wild horses wouldn't have got him on a coach, chose how long we had to stay in Spain, we even thought about getting the bus/train down to Malaga for a change of scenery.
The coaches were heading full speed ahead for Calais, but unless you had a medical condition that you could "prove" which prevented you from travelling by coach and they were requesting that you got confirmation faxed through from your GP, if you just refused to board the coach, Thomson washed their hands of you"¦"¦
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and after the coaches had left, I heard of an elderly couple who were not as alert as a younger person, who boarded the coach because this was the only way to get home and they were told to get on it, and one of them had a stoma with a colostomy bag in situ.

I'm sure there are different tales from other travellers, but several lessons must be learnt from the ash crisis.
Always take enough medication with you to last far beyond the expected duration of your stay.
Always have some "back-up" emergency funds or means of getting some money be that by CC, overdraft, relatives or whatever.

A crisis always brings out the best and the worse in people, I personally got sick of hearing Sky news repeating itself over and over again, we were told not to go too far away from the hotel because things were changing quickly, and Sky news was on the TV in the concert room, in the reception and people had it on all day long in their bedrooms. ( which I could hear)"¦...it did my "head in" trapped within a hotel with whinging Brits.

Ok I hear you saying whinging Brits,? well yes, unfortunately some of them were, they had gone in apartments and some flight only, and Thomson gave them a room in the hotel, with a safe place to sleep, clean white sheets and a spotless bathroom and still they were screaming to be fed by Thomson because they had no money left"¦well was that Thomson's fault,?
I'm probably considered "old fashioned" because I still think travellers cheques are the safest way to take money abroad, but we've always taken a plastic card for emergencies and leave contact details with family"¦.whether I can afford to pay the CC statement when it falls through my letterbox is another issue, but I had access to funds if need be, and could sort it out when I got home.

I know one should never put out a statement with a sweeping brush, but some Brits didn't do themselves any favours by whinging, shouting and demanding, I'd best say no more on that subject because I know I will upset someone with my opinion.
So from me and my dear hubby"¦"¦WELL DONE THOMSON/FIRST CHOICE and if anyone from the company is reading this"¦"¦look after that bright star you have in the Hotel Regente in Benidorm because that boy deserves to go far, and IMO a role model of how a representative of the company should conduct themselves.

Sanji

Sanji,

Have you considered writing a personal letter to Thomson/First Choice pointing out the excellent actions of this rep?

Mark

So easy to complain about how it created problems for those abroad as well as the travel plans disrupted but I do think we should also consider the people of Iceland.

I got sent this link which shows not only some spectacular scenes of the eruption, but also how it has caused serious problems for the people of Iceland.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

fwh

Hi Mark
I have today received a lovely e-mail from First Choice asking me for my views, which I shall complete and submit in the next few days.....
I don't want to rush the reply, I want to make sure I cover all the points which I think are relevant because should ( god forbid) it ever happen again, then they can only learn from their mistakes in the past, and this is where feedback is very important, but I've been busy wading through the ironing today, in between taking a break to do my post above.

If someone/something is naff, I will say so, and I most certainly will give credit where credit is due.

Sanji

A long coach journey would have been my worst nightmare. I suffer with IBS and avoid coach journeys if at all possible. You what it is like - if there is a loo you don't need to go but if there isn't then you do!

I think I would have been tempted like Sanji to have just stayed put until flights were up and running again even if that was at my own expense. Or made my own way to the channel ports.

Good tips there too Sanji - particularly about the medication - I always do pack a few days extra - in case of delays. Some medication is not easy to get abroad.

Pippa

We were stuck for 8 days but have nothing but praise for Easyjet. Having a diy holiday did leave us feeling what have we done to ourselves as we went to Alicante airport but luckily from the amount of moaning from other people on differant airlines we were soon sorted with a hotel in the middle of Alicante and gave us a good chance to look around,three nights there ,2 nights at a bit of a remote place and 3 nights at 4 star Holiday inn just out of Alicante in a loverly resort with a great seafront and near the tram and we are now expert at using this wonderful and very cheap transport.On a lot of days we were in holiday mode,the few problems the delay created were soon sorted, ie pills & money needed and quick phone call to the uk and we were told the holiday insurance was extended.A very big thankyou to Easyjet and all the team at Alicante airport for sorting flights and for paying for the hotels and food. As a couple that do not put on the tv on holiday we found there was no escape from Sky non news loop every were we went.

Good tips there too Sanji - particularly about the medication - I always do pack a few days extra - in case of delays. Some medication is not easy to get abroad.

My hubby loaded up one of those day by day pill dispensers with 16 days supply of tablets... he was working on the principle of one extra day supply if we are delayed going out and coming back....he uses this gadget to help him remember if he's taken all the pills because he has to take some in the morning and one at night before bed.

He didn't take the packets, but luckily I do know what he's taking and the dosage, I discovered that his diuretic is not available in Spain (Bendroflumethiazide), and with the advice of the pharmacist, I got him one similar and had to break the tablet in half because it was 5 mgs and he has 2.5 mgs.

So, apart from taking more tablets, take the packets because you'd be surprised how many people don't know what they're taking each day, or they can't spell it or pronounce it, and I can include my OH in that statement if he'd been on his own, and it's not the brand name that's important, the brand might not be available, but a generic tablet containing the same substances might be.
You're never too old to learn a valuable lesson or bend someone's ear for two days asking why didn't they bring more tablets. Do I have to do everything for you ? It's like taking a baby abroad.....blah blah blah ....you get the picture.?...poor sod, bless him.!

Sanji

In my case with pills I had a extra weeks with me until I left a packet by the wash basin and the girl that did the room through them away luckerly I had a copy perscription and they were freely available it only cost money, but hopefully I will learn

I posted in other forums but I think we were really well treated by James Villas in Majorca. They could not let us keep the same villa because the people following us in there on the Saturday had rebooked their flights for the Tuesday (as it turned out they couldn't fly on the Tuesday either but no-one knew that at the time) We were given another villa in the countryside about 5 miles from where we were originally and found out later that it was a 'Best of James' villa. The garden and pool area were lovely so that helped us relax enormously!!
We turned up at the airport (after phoning Jet2) when we we due to fly (Sat) (even though we knew we wouldn't be flying that day) Jet2 arranged another flight for the following Thursday but we got a call from them at about 10.30 Tues evening telling us to be at the port in Palma at 10.00 am the next morning (Wed) to get the ferry to Barcelona and then 2 coaches to the UK. When I said we already had a flight booked for Thurs they said that the flight couldn't be guaranteed to be leaving and we needed to get the ferry on Wednesday.
The ferry journey to Barcelona was very good, we had all been allocated a berth in a 4 berth cabin, though 5 of us were in 3 separate cabins and there was pandemonium because quite a few other people had been allocated the same cabin as us (def more than 4). All 5 of us piled into one cabin and sat tight until it quietened down, so I think it all got sorted out in the end. We didn't stay in the cabins long but it was good to have somewhere to freshen up.
It was quite late when we got on our coach, there were quite a lot of coaches leaving Barcelona. It was worrying when we realised there were no toilets on the coach but the first stop was after 1 and a half hours and then every 2 hours or so, so it wasn't too bad. We found that there was a lot of camaraderie between everyone on the coach and also heard some horror stories about a couple of airlines (one in particular)
We travelled through the night and a lot of the next day to Vatry airport south east of Paris, this is where the changeover to Uk coaches was taking place. Many coaches from different destinations in Spain all arrived at Paris Vatry within about an hour of each other (whilst we were there anyway), all passengers were given food and drink. There was a board at the entrance telling you exactly where you were and what was going to happen. They made it very easy for the large numbers of people arriving and we were then transferred to a UK coach which was going to our airport and then on to other airports. It had drinks on board costing 1 euro each and a very friendly, helpful rep on our coach. We were amazed at how they had managed to organise all this so quickly!!
When we arrived at Leeds/Bradford there was no charge for the extra days car parking.
We did have to spend extra money on food, a taxi to the port and the hire car for a few extra days (at a special rate) but I think we were treated very fairly and well and would like to thank all parties involved in our holiday.
We have already written to James Villas, Jet2 and Sentinel car parking to thank them (mentioning our favourable review on this site) and had a lovely reply back from James Villas already. Two of our party needed extra medication and we were able to buy it over the counter. This does not usually happen so we wondered if they were being more lenient because of the greater numbers of tourists requiring medication to save everyone having to get a doctors prescription.

Oklahoma, that sounds horrendous, my OH's BP would have gone through the roof.
From leaving Palma port at 10am on Wednesday, how long did it take to arrive back in Leeds/Bradford.?

Sanji

An elderly couple across the road from us were in Portugal at their apartment - She is 80 and he 87 with various mobility problems. They were with their daughter and grand daughter who is getting married today. We got a message on Tuesday that they were going to make their way back by train.

When it was announced that flights were resuming I sent her a text at 10.30 pm at night. They were able to get a flight back
Thursday so were very relieved. Ken has Motor Neuron disease and I hate to think how he would have coped with the train journey. If it had not been for the wedding they could have stayed on and the bride was staring to panic.

I do think it is a good idea to give praise where it is due. Unfortunately I am sure that many will moan because they think they are entitled to more.

fwh

Hi Sanji,
We had to be at the port for 10am, the ferry left at 12.30. We actually left our villa at 8am to travel down from the Pollensa area to drop off the hire car at the airport before getting a taxi to the port.
So that was 8am Wednesday to when we arrived to our home from Leeds/Bradford (about 1 and a half hours from home) in our own car at approx 1.15am Friday (2.15 Spanish time), a total of just over 40 hours!!!
I must admit that when I was packing on the Tues night knowing that we had to leave at 8am the next morning I was very unhappy, scared and panicky and very teary but there was nothing else we could do.
The ferry over to Barcelona was a bit like a mini cruise ship with a pool and sun deck area so the 7 hours on there wasn't too bad. When we realised there was no toilet on our bus I was very worried again (as I do have a few problems similar to IBS) but in actual fact the worry and anticipation were a lot worse than the actual journey itself.
I will never go on a coach holiday though - that has put me off for ever!!