Many Thanks for your comments Big Al.I'll watch this coming hurricane season with interest and I hope that other tourists dont go through what we went through.Maybe the Tour Operators have learnt from their mistakes and trained their reps accordingly.
Here's Hoping, Regards Stevie

Or perhaps the holidaymakers will have a bit of sense. Why go somewhere that may put you in danger.

Visions of how much compensation you may get?

fwh

Sadly i find it amazing how aggressive people can be and how they love confrontation. Can you honestly say fwh with your hand on your heart that you honestly believe that any family would set out to put their childrens lives at risk just to have the chance of compensation?

Like you i would never take any risks, i wont even go to orlando in the summer due to the rain every afternoon. But i do think you were a tad harsh in the last post.

Apart from anything else, nobody got compensation for last years hurricanes. Some people had part of what they had paid for refunded, usually the unused days of their holiday after being repatriated.

Can you honestly say fwh with your hand on your heart that you honestly believe that any family would set out to put their childrens lives at risk just to have the chance of compensation?

I can say, that when I read some of the postings, that many have not given proper thought to where they are going and when. The message that all so often comes across is that it does not matter. If anything goes wrong we will get compensation.

I have every sympathy with people who through no fault of their own have a problem and wish them well in asking for compensation. That is how it should be.

To say, as I have seen posted, that they have never had a hurricane strike for 50 years, does not mean it will not happen. I do not think that blaming reps and TOs when it occurs is correct. It is human nature that in such a situation people - reps as well as holidaymakers will be frightened. When faced with such a situation and several hundred people in your care then it does take quite an effort to suppress your fears and act in a cool, calm manner.

Many years ago we went on a holiday just after a revolution. We were assurred that there was nothing to fear. When an incident did take place I admit I was scared. I would not put myself in that position again.

If you know that there is a chance of a hurricane then you have to make a decision. Are you going to risk it? If so and things go wrong then it is your fault, you made a wrong decision. It is easy to blame others.

So many of the complaints that we read are down to people not thinking.

Look to yourself is a motto that many would do well to adopt.

fwh

fwh,
I know your posts are considered and rational - the last one is a good example. The earlier one:

Visions of how much compensation you may get?

was perhaps a little too short and open to mis-interpretation.

Our family has been to the States every year for the past 19 - this year is the first we've missed in that time. We nearly always go in late June and early July. Not always, but generally to the South East and/or the Caribbean. I'm well aware of the hurricane risks and to be honest, Key West has always concerned me should we be caught there in a hurricane. However, we book d.i.y. so I'd only have a complaint against the hotelier if they stuck us in a wooden beach hut rather than a solid reinforced concrete hotel block.

But if you've booked with a Tour Operator that operator does have a responsibility for your health and safety - even when you're in the hotel. It's still the T.O.'s responsibility. As they sell the majority of their holidays during the hurricane season it's not unrealistic to assume they've checked accommodation for suitability and trained their rep's in the basics - they could even provide safety tips at the initial welcome meeting. They could also print such details in a leaflet style and provide with the tickets when sent.

Yes, the holidaymaker does have ultimate responsibility for his/her own situation but so does the T.O. and the hotel.

That said, compensation should be restricted and most claims should be dealt with by the insurance. You should not be able to claim for "days lost" just as attending Wet and Wild in Orlando and then being closed-out due to an electric storm doesn't merit a refund in most cases.

Mike

spot on fwh