October already!
Door: Linda
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Linda
03 Oktober 2014 | Frankrijk, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Oktober 3rd 2014
Sorry it has been a while…again!! But I’m getting tired and the internet really sucked at the end of last month. Turned out that we were out of data and we needed new simcards. We did get them and the engineer installed them, but I can’t say the connection has improved much.
Anway, we’re counting down!! Five more cruises to go!
We’ve had some weird things happening the last couple of cruises! One embarkation day group of 30 Canadians came to us at noon already, when the usual checkin begins at around 4pm. They actually asked if they could come and check in already and have lunch on board…NOT!! We got rid of the last group only that morning and we really need the rest of the day to get everything ready for the next group! So they had to kill a few hours before they came back to the ship!
Then on that same cruise we got a phonecall from the US for one of our guests that her father was dying. On Friday the guests go to the Landing Beaches and they were already on their way when the news came. Eventually they called the cruisedirector and asked him to help them get home. So he was on the phone all day trying to get them a ticket and everything. He succeeded and he got them a taxi in Conflans (a really small town!) at 4 in the morning to bring them to the airport in Paris. All went well…until we saw that guest at our door again around 8 am!!!
They had been at the airport, but for some reason, only one of the tickets were valid!! They had arranged flights home with United for Tuesday, which of course were cancelled, because they wanted to go earlier. But something had gone wrong with the cancellation and United wouldn’t give up the ticket to Lufthansa, the airline they were using to get home on Sunday…the best thing for them to do was come back on the ship, technically they were still our guests and the cruisedirector was the one who could help them with this.
You should’ve seen the Cruisedirector, he was livid!!! He’s French and vowed that the person who did this would end up at the guillotine!!! So he spend another day on the phone and behind the computer trying to find another way for them to get home, because her father had died in the meantime and she wanted to be there for the funeral.
Eventually he found them another ticket for Monday. So they got in a taxi again and he made them swear to call him the minute they were on their way to the plane. And they did, at around 1pm they called to say they were really on their way!!! We were very relieved!!! This was amazing, we had never heard of this before!! It took the CRD a long time to organize all this, because there was a strike again of course! That’s the favorite pastime in France!! Air France pilots were on strike, so it took him a while to get them an available seat, since all other flights were redirected. Just think of all the waste of time and money this has caused!! The new tickets, the taxi from Conflans to Paris and back…of course they’ll get some money back from the insurance, but we all know how willing they are to give us some money back….
On Friday the 19th of September my roommate Monica and I had a half day off at the same time. Which was basically the last day we could actually spend together, since she was leaving on the 23rd, so it was meant to be! We had fun, I showed her Rouen, we shopped and found some nice things and we had a wrap at McDonalds.
Then on Tuesday the 23rd, she went back to the Avalon Affinity, because there was no room for her here. Besides that our Housekeeper didn’t like her and gave her hell, so for Monica it was good that she was leaving. We did feel sad about it, finally found someone nice and now she’s gone. But we’ll stay in touch through email and postcards. Now I have a new roommate, the hairdresser. Who was first a relief for the hairdresser while she was on vacation, but they have asked her to stay till the end of the season, because the hairdresser we have, was becoming a cabinstewardess when she came back from her vacation….
Now I’m sharing my cabin with the new hairdresser. So far so good, trying to get used to someone else. She’s nice, but needs three alarms to wake up (I’m awake at the first one…) and she smokes. Not in the cabin, but when she comes back from the crewmess, it smells like she just lit up…Only four more weeks….
O yeah, another funny thing happened!!! On Monday evening the guests can go have dinner and see a show at the Moulin Rouge. I personally wouldn’t really want to see it, I think it is very expensive and the food is said to be not good. But anyway, the cruisedirectors tell the guests camera’s are not allowed inside, how much money you need to have your coat checked in and what the dresscode is….When someone tells you it is smart, most people know it means no jeans, no shorts, but a bit more formal. This Monday, the CRD should’ve told them about what shoes to wear also, because he got a call that one of the guests was wearing sandals…..it turned out to be a guy from the Canadian group and the tourleader actually told the CRD that he should’ve mentioned it!! He told her that he wouldn’t think of telling people this, it is common knowledge isn’t it??? So another guy gave him his socks, so he at least wouldn’t have bare feet….That was really funny!! The next morning we were trying to find out who it could’ve been and I think I’ve found him!! Idiot!!!hahah
There was also a pretty sad thing during that cruise…One couple bought a drinkingpackage and I’m always the one putting these drinks in a file so I see how much is consumed. And let me tell you, most people find their way to the bar, especially when they have the package!!! This time the drinking was also heavy, but the woman just couldn’t get out of bed early in the morning. So she missed most of the morning excursions and she ended up staying on board while everyone was at the beaches. We didn’t know if she was going to have lunch at all, because we couldn’t ask her. We had made some sandwiches for her, but she never asked for those. I didn’t see her until 2:30 in the afternoon, she didn’t say anything, but headed straight for the Back Lounge where the coffee and cookies are. Most of the time we joke about it and are amazed at the alcohol that is consumed, but this was rather a sad case really. Spend all that money to come to Europe, to end it drinking and not seeing anything of it. O well, that’s life I guess.
So last week was pretty okay. One weird gentleman who stood in front of the restaurant every morning, half an hour before it would open for breakfast. When asked if it wouldn’t be better to wait in the room, because he didn’t walk very well and standing couldn’t have been easy, the answer was that he was fine. Okay, suit yourself! Then on the day of the beaches, his wife told us he was staying on board, so Jayson told him lunch was at noon. At noon I called his room to let him know, but there was no answer. Then I searched the ship to try and find him, the CRD made an announcement and she had send him a note in the morning, letting him know when lunch was. But in the end we never saw him until later in the afternoon, when all he did was walk by us, without saying anything!!! Weird….
So last Tuesday we had a new group and I immediately made a new friend!! In the evening we always have to stay a little longer to help the Night auditor, the first night is always filled with questions. So I picked up the phone to answer a question. This guy said housekeeping had left him a toiletpaper roll with only a few sheets of paper on it and he would like to have some more. Now housekeeping had already explained to me that there’s an extra roll in the cubboard underneath the sink, so they don’t have to run around the ship getting everyone toiletpaper…so I tried to explain this, but for some reason he wouldn’t of couldn’t understand what I was saying…he said he was left with only a few sheets of toiletpaper and now he needed a new roll, there was no point in arguing about it…. So I called housekeeping and asked them to give this guy 3 rolls of toiletpaper…revenge can be very sweet!
But of course they only gave him one, because the next day, he called again, asking for more toiletpaper…this time I skipped the part about there being extra in the bathroom, so I called housekeeping and told the Housekeeper to give this guy 3 rolls, because he didn’t get what I tried to explain to him. Forgot to ask her if she did give him 3 rolls, but I haven’t heard from him since, so I think we’re okay. What an idiot!!!!!
So our hairdresser has been a cabinstewardess for a week…I had asked her how things were going and she told me to ask her again in about a week, if she were to answer me now, she would have to say she didn’t like it…Which kind of made me laugh, because I was surprised to hear she was doing this at all, because I clearly remember her telling me she didn’t want to do it.
So my roommate is the new hairdresser and the other day the HM and Housekeeper actually asked her, if she wouldn’t mind working as a cabinstewardess, so the old hairdresser, could be a hairdresser again till the end of the season….Xcuse me???
Yes, they told her that she had trouble with her arm and she needed to be doing something “simple” and come back next year as a Housekeeper…It would be nice for my roommate to learn something new….right.
But she told them she didn’t want to do it, because she was sure she wouldn’t like it. Of course not!! The salary is less then what she makes now and as a cabinstewardess you work more hours, so why would she do that?? We don’t know if the pain in her arm is real, but yesterday she went to the hospital and today the rumor is that she is going home next Tuesday and someone else is coming to replace her…Well, hate to say I could’ve told her she wouldn’t like it!! I wonder if she’s going to come back as Housekeeper next year, after being a cabinstewardess for only one week, being very slow and having the other cabinstewards help her, because she can’t keep up!!
Wednesday evening we were invited to a pizzaparty by the HM. She said she wanted to thank us for a job welldone, we’ve been havin pretty good ratings since the beginning of the season, that was worth a party…but I also know that we are stuck with a bunch of pizza’s that were bought for the crew at the beginning of the season, even an oven was bought..in the beginning they were popular and everyone bought a pizza, but the last couple of months, no one bought them..so what do you do when you are stuck with a bunch of pizza’s?? Right you throw a party!! Hahah I went and had a few slices and when the music became too loud, I left.! Getting too old for this…!!
Love
Linda
Sorry it has been a while…again!! But I’m getting tired and the internet really sucked at the end of last month. Turned out that we were out of data and we needed new simcards. We did get them and the engineer installed them, but I can’t say the connection has improved much.
Anway, we’re counting down!! Five more cruises to go!
We’ve had some weird things happening the last couple of cruises! One embarkation day group of 30 Canadians came to us at noon already, when the usual checkin begins at around 4pm. They actually asked if they could come and check in already and have lunch on board…NOT!! We got rid of the last group only that morning and we really need the rest of the day to get everything ready for the next group! So they had to kill a few hours before they came back to the ship!
Then on that same cruise we got a phonecall from the US for one of our guests that her father was dying. On Friday the guests go to the Landing Beaches and they were already on their way when the news came. Eventually they called the cruisedirector and asked him to help them get home. So he was on the phone all day trying to get them a ticket and everything. He succeeded and he got them a taxi in Conflans (a really small town!) at 4 in the morning to bring them to the airport in Paris. All went well…until we saw that guest at our door again around 8 am!!!
They had been at the airport, but for some reason, only one of the tickets were valid!! They had arranged flights home with United for Tuesday, which of course were cancelled, because they wanted to go earlier. But something had gone wrong with the cancellation and United wouldn’t give up the ticket to Lufthansa, the airline they were using to get home on Sunday…the best thing for them to do was come back on the ship, technically they were still our guests and the cruisedirector was the one who could help them with this.
You should’ve seen the Cruisedirector, he was livid!!! He’s French and vowed that the person who did this would end up at the guillotine!!! So he spend another day on the phone and behind the computer trying to find another way for them to get home, because her father had died in the meantime and she wanted to be there for the funeral.
Eventually he found them another ticket for Monday. So they got in a taxi again and he made them swear to call him the minute they were on their way to the plane. And they did, at around 1pm they called to say they were really on their way!!! We were very relieved!!! This was amazing, we had never heard of this before!! It took the CRD a long time to organize all this, because there was a strike again of course! That’s the favorite pastime in France!! Air France pilots were on strike, so it took him a while to get them an available seat, since all other flights were redirected. Just think of all the waste of time and money this has caused!! The new tickets, the taxi from Conflans to Paris and back…of course they’ll get some money back from the insurance, but we all know how willing they are to give us some money back….
On Friday the 19th of September my roommate Monica and I had a half day off at the same time. Which was basically the last day we could actually spend together, since she was leaving on the 23rd, so it was meant to be! We had fun, I showed her Rouen, we shopped and found some nice things and we had a wrap at McDonalds.
Then on Tuesday the 23rd, she went back to the Avalon Affinity, because there was no room for her here. Besides that our Housekeeper didn’t like her and gave her hell, so for Monica it was good that she was leaving. We did feel sad about it, finally found someone nice and now she’s gone. But we’ll stay in touch through email and postcards. Now I have a new roommate, the hairdresser. Who was first a relief for the hairdresser while she was on vacation, but they have asked her to stay till the end of the season, because the hairdresser we have, was becoming a cabinstewardess when she came back from her vacation….
Now I’m sharing my cabin with the new hairdresser. So far so good, trying to get used to someone else. She’s nice, but needs three alarms to wake up (I’m awake at the first one…) and she smokes. Not in the cabin, but when she comes back from the crewmess, it smells like she just lit up…Only four more weeks….
O yeah, another funny thing happened!!! On Monday evening the guests can go have dinner and see a show at the Moulin Rouge. I personally wouldn’t really want to see it, I think it is very expensive and the food is said to be not good. But anyway, the cruisedirectors tell the guests camera’s are not allowed inside, how much money you need to have your coat checked in and what the dresscode is….When someone tells you it is smart, most people know it means no jeans, no shorts, but a bit more formal. This Monday, the CRD should’ve told them about what shoes to wear also, because he got a call that one of the guests was wearing sandals…..it turned out to be a guy from the Canadian group and the tourleader actually told the CRD that he should’ve mentioned it!! He told her that he wouldn’t think of telling people this, it is common knowledge isn’t it??? So another guy gave him his socks, so he at least wouldn’t have bare feet….That was really funny!! The next morning we were trying to find out who it could’ve been and I think I’ve found him!! Idiot!!!hahah
There was also a pretty sad thing during that cruise…One couple bought a drinkingpackage and I’m always the one putting these drinks in a file so I see how much is consumed. And let me tell you, most people find their way to the bar, especially when they have the package!!! This time the drinking was also heavy, but the woman just couldn’t get out of bed early in the morning. So she missed most of the morning excursions and she ended up staying on board while everyone was at the beaches. We didn’t know if she was going to have lunch at all, because we couldn’t ask her. We had made some sandwiches for her, but she never asked for those. I didn’t see her until 2:30 in the afternoon, she didn’t say anything, but headed straight for the Back Lounge where the coffee and cookies are. Most of the time we joke about it and are amazed at the alcohol that is consumed, but this was rather a sad case really. Spend all that money to come to Europe, to end it drinking and not seeing anything of it. O well, that’s life I guess.
So last week was pretty okay. One weird gentleman who stood in front of the restaurant every morning, half an hour before it would open for breakfast. When asked if it wouldn’t be better to wait in the room, because he didn’t walk very well and standing couldn’t have been easy, the answer was that he was fine. Okay, suit yourself! Then on the day of the beaches, his wife told us he was staying on board, so Jayson told him lunch was at noon. At noon I called his room to let him know, but there was no answer. Then I searched the ship to try and find him, the CRD made an announcement and she had send him a note in the morning, letting him know when lunch was. But in the end we never saw him until later in the afternoon, when all he did was walk by us, without saying anything!!! Weird….
So last Tuesday we had a new group and I immediately made a new friend!! In the evening we always have to stay a little longer to help the Night auditor, the first night is always filled with questions. So I picked up the phone to answer a question. This guy said housekeeping had left him a toiletpaper roll with only a few sheets of paper on it and he would like to have some more. Now housekeeping had already explained to me that there’s an extra roll in the cubboard underneath the sink, so they don’t have to run around the ship getting everyone toiletpaper…so I tried to explain this, but for some reason he wouldn’t of couldn’t understand what I was saying…he said he was left with only a few sheets of toiletpaper and now he needed a new roll, there was no point in arguing about it…. So I called housekeeping and asked them to give this guy 3 rolls of toiletpaper…revenge can be very sweet!
But of course they only gave him one, because the next day, he called again, asking for more toiletpaper…this time I skipped the part about there being extra in the bathroom, so I called housekeeping and told the Housekeeper to give this guy 3 rolls, because he didn’t get what I tried to explain to him. Forgot to ask her if she did give him 3 rolls, but I haven’t heard from him since, so I think we’re okay. What an idiot!!!!!
So our hairdresser has been a cabinstewardess for a week…I had asked her how things were going and she told me to ask her again in about a week, if she were to answer me now, she would have to say she didn’t like it…Which kind of made me laugh, because I was surprised to hear she was doing this at all, because I clearly remember her telling me she didn’t want to do it.
So my roommate is the new hairdresser and the other day the HM and Housekeeper actually asked her, if she wouldn’t mind working as a cabinstewardess, so the old hairdresser, could be a hairdresser again till the end of the season….Xcuse me???
Yes, they told her that she had trouble with her arm and she needed to be doing something “simple” and come back next year as a Housekeeper…It would be nice for my roommate to learn something new….right.
But she told them she didn’t want to do it, because she was sure she wouldn’t like it. Of course not!! The salary is less then what she makes now and as a cabinstewardess you work more hours, so why would she do that?? We don’t know if the pain in her arm is real, but yesterday she went to the hospital and today the rumor is that she is going home next Tuesday and someone else is coming to replace her…Well, hate to say I could’ve told her she wouldn’t like it!! I wonder if she’s going to come back as Housekeeper next year, after being a cabinstewardess for only one week, being very slow and having the other cabinstewards help her, because she can’t keep up!!
Wednesday evening we were invited to a pizzaparty by the HM. She said she wanted to thank us for a job welldone, we’ve been havin pretty good ratings since the beginning of the season, that was worth a party…but I also know that we are stuck with a bunch of pizza’s that were bought for the crew at the beginning of the season, even an oven was bought..in the beginning they were popular and everyone bought a pizza, but the last couple of months, no one bought them..so what do you do when you are stuck with a bunch of pizza’s?? Right you throw a party!! Hahah I went and had a few slices and when the music became too loud, I left.! Getting too old for this…!!
Love
Linda
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