AnnF
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
I have just come back from a week in Crete with Just You.   The hotel was very good, as was the weather most of the time (one downpour on the Monday morning).   There were 16 of us in the group plus Laura, our tour manager, and we all got on very well except for two folk – when we got to the hotel reception it turned out that one of the two men was married to one of the women, although they had separate rooms.   The husband was discourteous to Laura straight away and during the week both partners managed to be rude (and on one occasion aggressive) to others in the group.   After coming to the welcome dinner on the first evening they generally ignored everyone else for the rest of the week.   I have been on other JY holidays where there have been pairs of friends in the group but they have mixed in with the rest of us very well, and indeed often made a special effort, but this is the first time I have come across a married couple, and an unpleasant one at that.  

The moral of this story is that if you cannot at least be polite and have some contact with the rest of the group – you don’t have to spend all your time with them if you don’t want to – then I would suggest that a group holiday such as JY offers may not be for you and you would be better making your own arrangements.

If you can get on with other people, at least for the majority of the time (there are always opportunities to be on your own for a while), then look through the brochure or on the website, find a holiday which interests you and go for it.   You won’t regret it.

Ann

Chloesonic :)
(Member)
Well said Ann 🙂 xx
BGray
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Ann,

Wow!  After going on 17 JY hols over the last 8 years I have never encountered a married couple!  That aside, what a terrible pity they were so unpleasant.  I have met some truly horrible people on JY tours over the years but thankfully they have very much been in the minority and I have always found some really nice people to socialise with on every tour without exception.  Even when I have travelled with some JY friends, I always mix with everyone as well.  I hope you enjoyed Crete, I had a wonderful time there last year.

All the best,

Bob

jonah
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Ann

I am so sorry to hear that your holiday was affected by these selfish ignorant people.  You don't say it was spoilt and good on you for that but I have to ask how come JY did not pick up on this at booking time.  If these people were married surely they had the same address?

Vickie - I think this deserves some investigation and explanation as far as JY are able to within data protection as to how this was allowed to happen..

SusieB
(Member)
Well said Ann, I agree with all you say particularly with regard to discourteous behaviour to Laura who, all credit to her, dealt with it incredibly well. We really couldn't understand why a married couple who clearly were not interested in mixing with their fellow travellers were on this holiday.

Except for that though I thought it was a superb holiday and enjoyed meeting you and everyone else.

Best wishes Sue

AnnF
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'BGray' wrote:

Hi Ann,

Wow!  After going on 17 JY hols over the last 8 years I have never encountered a married couple!  That aside, what a terrible pity they were so unpleasant.  I have met some truly horrible people on JY tours over the years but thankfully they have very much been in the minority and I have always found some really nice people to socialise with on every tour without exception.  Even when I have travelled with some JY friends, I always mix with everyone as well.  I hope you enjoyed Crete, I had a wonderful time there last year.

All the best,

Bob

I think there is always one awkward person on every holiday, Bob - that's the nature of a group holiday - but, as you say, there are always others who are very pleasant.   Despite this couple's best efforts, the rest of the group had a lovely time and I think several of them will be linking up on JY holidays in the future.

Ann

AnnF
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'SusieB' wrote:

Well said Ann, I agree with all you say particularly with regard to discourteous behaviour to Laura who, all credit to her, dealt with it incredibly well. We really couldn't understand why a married couple who clearly were not interested in mixing with their fellow travellers were on this holiday.

Except for that though I thought it was a superb holiday and enjoyed meeting you and everyone else.

Best wishes Sue

It was good to meet you and Elizabeth, Sue.   Yes, it was an excellent holiday and the majority of us got on very well, with lots of camaraderie.   Maybe some of us will meet again on another JY holiday in the future. 

Best wishes,

Ann

Vickie
(Member)
Hi Jonah,

We don't encourage couples to choose a Just You holiday, as you know, our ethos is that we are for the single traveller. However, we’re aware that at times people do travel together and it’s unfortunate that on this occasion the couple did not integrate themselves with the group.

We do not knowingly book couples if we are aware that a couple wish to travel, we would refer them to the sister company Travelsphere.

Thanks,

Vickie

AnnF
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'jonah' wrote:

Hi Ann

I am so sorry to hear that your holiday was affected by these selfish ignorant people.  You don't say it was spoilt and good on you for that but I have to ask how come JY did not pick up on this at booking time.  If these people were married surely they had the same address?

Vickie - I think this deserves some investigation and explanation as far as JY are able to within data protection as to how this was allowed to happen..

Hello, Jonah.

From what I saw at Reception when the keys were being handed out, and a comment made by one of them at the first night dinner, I don't think they booked at the same time - their names certainly weren't next to each other on the list of passengers.   Also, if they booked through travel agents rather than direct with the company, Just You would only have the minimum of information because of data protection.   In retrospect it did occur to me that perhaps they thought they were booking for a completely different type of holiday, in which case they would have had a shock!

Ann

jonah
  • (Member)
(Member)
Thanks for your response Vickie although it took 2 days for my post and your reply to appear.  Later posts appearing first - I will  assume that you needed to seek advice.

However your response does not explain how a married couple managed to book on.  I am aware that people travel together but they are usually single with different names and different addresses on their passports.  Not too long ago there were posts (before your time) where large groups had managed to book together and that wasn't explained satisfactorily either.

Single people looking to travel for the first time are already nervous and incidents like these do not inspire confidence in JY that they will not be 'odd man out'.  More experienced travelers know that these instances are rare but newbies don't

Best wishes

Vickie
(Member)
Hi Jonah,

Yes, apologies for the delay, we needed to look into what has happened in this instance.

These customers do have different surnames, and there was nothing to suggest that they were married at the time of booking. Now we are aware, we've made a note in case we get any future bookings so we can recommend our sister company, Travelsphere instead of Just You.

Thanks,

Vickie

nixon
  • (Member)
(Member)
When I went on my very first JY tour in 2006,I went with my Ma In Law as she didn’t feel confident enough to go on her own, we travelled to the USA. When the keys were being handed out at the first hotel our names were called together (both having same surname) and we were given one key!, as we had been booked into a twin room together by JY... So the TM had to sort that out quickly, as no way did we want to be in the same room. It wasn’t  a problem and it was a error..

I cannot understand how a married couple got booked onto a JY tour or why they would want to be in a group of single travellers, especially with Travelsphere  being on offer for couples. How strange, and how rude of them not to mix in..

Cindy

janib
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hello Everyone,

Only once have I been on a trip with a couple and that was Heart and Soul of America. Why they did not go on the Travelsphere group who were doing the same tour at the same time ? Maybe they wanted time on their own?

Been with my sister and another pair of sisters to Flavours of Tuscany and on my first trip to Petra and the Pyramids, there were 2 sisters, one married and the other a spinster having a wonderful time.

Jan

AELB
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Ann

Sorry to hear of your experience but glad the 'blitz spirit' kicked in and you and the rest of the group had a great time in the face of adversity. As Bob says, there are usually one or two awkward members of any group but when they come as a pair that must have made it even more challenging for you all!

We actually had a mature couple on the National Parks trip last year. They weren't married but were joined at the hip at didn't eat or really mix with the rest of us. They were pleasant enough - we all actually felt a bit sorry for them paying for two rooms and only using one - we suspect that they booked JY without knowing about TS.

However, one thing that did niggle the rest of the group a bit was that our TM got into the habit of putting her clip board on a pair of seats before the rest of the group were allowed in "So that A and B can sit together". Not fair - especially on the optional Monument Valley 4x4 trip when they were reserved 'premium view' seats at the front that the photographers in the group had queued for and missed out on. 

Never mind - I'm glad you had a good time, as we all did, regardless.

All the best

Mandy

SarahS
(Member)
In Pugilia two years ago, I had the misfortune to be in a group with TEN women travelling together. Although when I complained I was told that JY had had no prior notice of this, the tour manager was already aware when she met us at Bari airport, and bookings had obviously been linked as all of the group were allocated adjacent rooms at the hotel.