"HELP, I Need Sombody" with apologies to The Beatles

I see I have posted nothing since December. I think perhaps one of my New Year's Resolutions was to post something every other week. And then I decided perhaps I should only post when I have something to say...and so that's the way it is!

In June, 1985, I woke up slumped over my books and purse, sitting on a hard plastic seat in the airport in Tijuana. I looked around and wondered why my flight had not been called. My mother had accompanied me as far as the airport and then returned to Riverside. She and I had flown out of Tijuana before and she knew I would be fine, after all, I was 40 years old and had SOME common sense.

My routine in flying from Tijuana had been to check in, check my bags, go to the departure gate and buy a beer. There were cute little portable bars at each departure gate. There had been very little sleep the night before in anticipation of flying to Guadalajara and spending the night, then taking the bus from Guadalajara to Morelia to go back to school for the summer. The beer was good, the sun blasted through the window in front of where I was sitting, I was out like a light. When I woke up it was an hour after my flight was supposed to leave. I found someone working an AeroMexico gate and asked what had happened to my flight. It had been canceled, no reason given.

This left me by myself, stranded at the airport in Tijuana, my bags already checked in, and this was years before we all owned cell phones.

No explanation was ever given for why the flight was canceled. I met some wonderful, kind people while I waited for AeroMexico to find a flight to put us on. I arrived in Guadalajara around 3am and took a combi to my hotel, where, fortunately, I had a reservation. Since I had NO experience then as a travel agent I didn't know the chances of my bags being with me on my new flight were slim and none. As luck would have it, my bags arrived with me. I wish I knew the names of the people who were so kind to me in Tijuana. They were also trying to get to Guadalajara, they were concerned for me, and they made me feel not quite so alone.

The next time I was stranded was in Honolulu. I was on a FAM trip. We had visited the Big Island of Hawaii and we were flying Delta. There was a representative of Delta along on the trip, as well as a representative from Runaway Tours, the company who had kindly offered the FAM.

Prior to our flight departing, there was a long delay. Then, an electrician boarded the plane. He did something, got off, we taxied out. We then turned around and taxied back. The electrician got on the plane again, did something else, and got off. We taxied out and then taxied back. By now, I really, REALLY wanted off that plane. This was May, 1991. Again, some people probably had cell phones, I was not one of them. I desperately wanted to get off and purchase a ticket on some other airline, ANY other airline, back to LAX. By now I was a travel agent and I knew how expensive that would be. So, I waited to see what would happen next and prayed that we would not be forced to fly on that plane.

We were deboarded, given a meal voucher, and boarded on a later Delta flight. We were allowed one phone call and I was able to reach my husband and tell him I would be getting home very late.

I have been stranded twice more...once in Puerto Vallarta and, if you read my last blog, ALMOST stranded in Mexico City on our own vacation.

It really doesn't matter WHOSE fault it is, the airline, the person who did the ticketing, the weather...stranded is stranded and it isn't fun. The reason I mention my past experiences in being stranded is because I know how I felt at the time. Stranded, no one to call, no help from the airlines or, in one instance, the airport shuttle service...totally at the mercy of luck, wits and the kindness of strangers. I really don't want my clients to have to go through that, so
I give my cell phone number to certain clients. I'm not sure how I select which clients need my cell phone number. I guess it might be a sixth sense that there could be a problem. Obviously, my client traveling in Egypt as I write this has my cell phone. However, other clients have it as well. If you feel unsure and feel you need it, just ask, I will give it to you.

There are some rules that go with having my cell phone number. I have never written or stated those rules until now, but they are worth remembering for any emergency.

First, please, when you call, understand that you are having an emergency and I am not expecting you to call. If I have thought of you at all, it is to think that you are now on your way to a long awaited and well deserved vacation. If you are a friend from Facebook, your phone number and photo will show on my cell and I will know who's calling. If you're not a dear friend or a Facebook acquaintance, there will be NOTHING to tell me who you are. An unfamiliar number on my cell and no special ringtone. PLEASE identify yourself and make sure I'm awake enough to understand. I may be in bed (time differences), I may be getting ready for work, I may be just starting dinner. The one thing I am NOT doing is sitting around waiting for you to call.

Second, if you are stranded somewhere, make sure I know WHERE you are stranded. Yes, you probably told me. I might not catch where you are when you first tell me you are stuck, and I will PROBABLY assume you are stranded at LAX. My bad! Remember, I am NOT expecting you to call and I have no idea you have a problem, let alone what that problem is. Once you have established contact with me by calling, and you need to do that so I know you are in trouble, remember you can also text me. That means I can be on my computer looking for flights and have vital information from you as a text on my phone. I can also pass information you need on to you via text. This saves the problem of trying to understand flight numbers and confirmation numbers over the phone.

If the problem is a canceled flight, please remember you are your own best advocate. Good for you that you called me and I can get dressed an go to my office and try and find back up flights. However, as soon as you hang up with me, call the reservation number of the airline you are flying, while you are standing in line, and see if reservations can find you an alternate flight. You have a good chance that, between us, we can have the problem solved by the time you get to the front of the line.

If the problem is that the view from your room is not what you expected, please don't call in the middle of the night on my cell phone. This is something that can wait until the next day and be worked out. Things don't always go the way we want, some things are emergencies, some are not. I have given you my cell and it is to use "in case of EMERGENCY". However, I had two mothers and their teenage daughters I had booked into a hotel on Waikiki Beach. The hotel was short on rooms and had put the four of them in a room with a king size bed. NOT OK and, since one of the women called my cell during the day on a Saturday I was more than willing to help her out.

Sometimes the problem is a transfer. The transfer company did not show up as arranged, or they are insisting on taking you to a different hotel. In one instance, it really was an emergency that was happening at 4am MY time. I was in my office and working phones by 5am and the problem was resolved. In other instances, there may be nothing I can do other than tell you to take a cab and work on getting you a refund for the missing transfer when you get home.

Everyone should understand that flights get canceled. Everyone should also understand that cruise lines have a schedule to keep. Book the air through the cruise line or book it independently, if you are not at the pier when the ship sails, it will sail without you. I always advise flying in a day early when you are taking a cruise. I have yet to regret giving clients that advice. Yes, it is more expensive. If everything works the way it should, you will need a hotel. However, you will board the ship without the anxiety of wondering if you are going to miss the ship; and you will be well rested. It the worst happens, you have a day of grace to try and get to the ship before it sails. This is one of the reasons I highly recommend trip insurance. Trip insurance also covers trip delays, and may pay for getting you on to the next location of the cruise ship or tour. Trip insurance companies also have hot lines, where the phones are manned 24/7 by people who can help you schedule a flight to catch up to your ship...or straighten out the issue of lost luggage...or do a number of other things. Cruise lines DO NOT have 24 hour customer service, not for me, not for you, not for anyone.

Remember, ships do not wait, and if you miss your ship, you must go to the next port to pick it up at your own expense. Keep that in mind when booking shore excursions as well. Book your shore excursions with the ship and they will probably hold the ship in port until your group returns. Book on line with who knows who and should an accident or emergency occur while you are out on your excursion, the ship will be gone when you get back to port.

It's comforting to have someone to call in case of emergency. A voice on the phone who is advocating on your behalf is the best you can hope for. Please help me help you if you need to call me by being very specific about who you are, where you are and what the problem is. In other words, make sure I'm AWAKE! Last of all, when it is all over and the problem has been resolved, please text me that you are OK. I really would like to know you are safely on your cruise or at your resort or on your guided tour.

Returning to the subject of trip insurance, and borrowing a line from Kaiser Permanente "if you are having a medical emergency"...PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME FIRST! Please call the trip insurance company...and I hope you purchased trip insurance. You can call me afterwards and have me call your family. You can call and tell me what happened. But if you are seriously ill or hurt you should be calling the toll free number on the insurance brochure before you call anyone else. If you didn't take trip insurance there is little I can do to help, other than try and arrange a flight back home for you.

Since I'm heading for Barbados to look at hotels and island attractions at the end of June, my next blog will probably be on Barbados. My cell phone is going with me!

Until next time,
Sonia