Even though holidays provide us with some of our fondest memories, there can just as easily be headaches for all involved if things start to go wrong. Lost passports, missed connections, trying to communicate in a country you’re not familiar with – it’s a melting pot where situations can boil over.
Although these occurrences tend to be rare in the grand scheme, they can happen. However, whatever folly you might find yourself in, they’re likely not insurmountable. We got in touch with some of our favourite travel bloggers to hear about how they dealt with the woes they encountered whilst travelling.
Use delays to your advantage
Ah, the delay. That most familiar of travel problem and the bane of many a well-laid plan. It’s probably something we’ve all had to experience, and they’re never fun. However, our first blogger to get back to us – Ben from Cruise Fever – turned what it is an undoubted negative into a positive. He says:
“Near the end of our cruise with Viking, we ran into some rough weather that caused our debarkation port (Barcelona) to close. We ended up arriving back in port a day late which caused not just us, but many other passengers to miss our flights. Thankfully, we booked our airfare directly through Viking, so they rebooked us for the next day without us having to do a thing. This saved us a huge headache and we were ever so happy we used the cruise line for airfare. Seriously, it’s a lifesaver.”
Unbelievably, Ben encountered some further trouble: the rarely seen double delay. He continues:
“After waiting at the airport, the next day for our new flight, the flight ended up getting delayed due to weather in Amsterdam. This was going to cause us to miss our connection in Amsterdam. Our flight then ended up being cancelled and the airline put us up in a hotel and rebooked us for the next day”.
Looking to benefit from the good fortune given to him and the party he was travelling with, Ben capitalised on the situation and ended up having a superb time that lingered long in the memory.
“While everyone else that was on our flight ended up staying at the hotel, we used it to our advantage and took a cab into the city. We found a great restaurant in Barcelona and had an amazing evening. There was also a bakery that we came across that had the most incredible tiramisu. It was one of the most enjoyable nights we’ve ever had travelling. We decided to make the best of a bad situation and use it to our advantage. We ended up getting home several days after we were originally scheduled but wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
“You can’t always control what happens when you travel. Take advantage of travel inconveniences because you might experience something you wouldn’t have been able to if everything went as planned.”
Not getting enough time to yourself
If you’re a frequent globe-trotter and used to travelling with company, then the time you might get to yourself can be limited. Backpackers usually aren’t afforded the luxury of a hotel, so self-care might become a thorny issue. Jub, from Tiki Touring Kiwi, experienced this not so long ago.
He said: “Recently I was spending a month in Goa with a good friend. We’ve travelled together a bunch before, but for some reason, this time I was getting super frustrated and could feel it was affecting me by not getting any alone time”.
At times, we all need time to ourselves, especially when travelling. Jub did just that, booking himself into some accommodation on his own, getting some much-needed time away to recharge.
“I wasn’t expecting this to happen, so I went down to Gokarna, about 60km away for three days. We had already paid upfront for our accommodation in Goa, and I hated paying for accommodation in two places at once, but the break was worth it. Upon getting back to Goa, I was back to my positive self.”
Double-check where you’re flying from
When you’re packing for a holiday, you can never do too much double-checking. No matter how many times you’ve dug out your passport, located the sunscreen and reassure yourself that you’ve packed your favourite pair of shorts, there’s always something else outstanding you must be 100%, without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt, sure of. At the least, we all know the destination we’re flying from. Unfortunately, no amount of preparation could help Meg, of Mapping Megan, when she ran into a problem at the airport itself.
“Sometimes your biggest issue may not be getting to the airport on time, but getting to the RIGHT airport on time. In 2009, I travelled with mum on a two-month European adventure.
Flying from London to Rome to spend two weeks in Italy, we left ourselves plenty of time to catch the train to Heathrow Airport and arrived a good two hours before our departure. Though for some reason our flight was not listed on the departures board.”
“As it turns out, the flight wasn’t listed because it wasn’t leaving from Heathrow. We were meant to be at Gatwick, and there was no way we were going to get there in time to catch our flight.”
It seemed like this was a problem beyond rectifying, but thanks to some empathetic staff, things got sorted out.
“The good news is, we did get to Rome that evening, though as you can imagine I’ve never heard the end of this, especially since having booked accommodation in a convent with a strict curfew, if we hadn’t made it to Rome by 8 pm, we were sleeping on the street.”
“We were fortunate enough to cancel our flight without fees, and transfer onto a flight to Rome leaving Heathrow; proof as to why you’ll get further being nice to airport ground staff.”
Insure to ensure
You never know when an act of God might put you in a serious situation where you could be in serious danger. Correct preparation before you go on your adventure is key, as Emrys from Cruise Hive found out. He revealed:
“When the United States was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, I was actually out at sea on the Carnival Sensation. It was a situation where mother nature took over and it went from being a relaxing cruise vacation to something white knuckle. The only thing I could do to make my experience better was to be prepared in the first place. By taking out travel insurance all those delays and travel cancellations when the cruise finished had limited the impact financially. Also, I’m an avid cruiser so didn’t get seasick.”
So, luckily Emrys was still able to fully enjoy his cruise.
Looking to book a cruise holiday and travel the globe? Head over to Cruise 1st’s website and check out the latest deals at our dedicated cruise page, or give our friendly customer care team a call on 1300 857 345.
