Marion F
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Six of us are currently in Dubai on a stopover prior to the Amazing Australia tour.

This evening, 3 of us were booked on the dhow cruise. I booked it a week ago but my name was not on the paperwork given to us on our arrival in Dubai.

We were meant to be picked up from our hotel at 7pm. After making 2 phone calls, we were eventually picked up at 7.50pm. The driver only had one of our names on his list so was only expecting one person from our hotel.

There was only one other couple already on the minibus so it was not late, as had been suggested by our hotel, due to having been round several hotels doing pickups. We then stopped at 3 incorrect hotels looking for the remaining couple. The driver said he'd been given the wrong hotel name. We eventually found the remaining couple. We then had to speed through the Dubai traffic and only just made it on to the boat in time. We were the last people to board it.

The cruise itself with buffet and entertainment was very enjoyable. However at the end of the meal I was confronted by a young man who told me that I had not paid, and I had to give him 45 dollars. I told him that I had in fact paid and showed him my invoice which I'd had the foresight to take with me. He went off and made a phone call and came back and once again said I had to pay. I told him that I'd paid already and was not going to pay again. He then took a photo of my invoice and said he would contact the agent.

The organisation of tonight's excursion was a complete shambles. The evening was spoilt due to worries over being picked up in time, the wrong numbers of people on the paperwork, and the fact that my payment from a week ago had not been received by the cruise company. This is not what I expect from Just You and I am extremely disappointed in their poor arrangements.

All six of us are meant to be picked up from the hotel at 9am tomorrow for a tour of Dubai, but after tonight we have no confidence at all that we will be picked up on time.

Julia
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Marion,

I'm sorry to hear that you have encountered a few issues whilst in Dubai. I forwarded your comments to our Duty office who have been investigating.

I have been informed that on the transfer to Dhow excursion, unfortunately there were road blocks in place due to accidents caused by heavy rain which meant the transfer was delayed.

It would appear that your name had not been added to the paperwork as this was booked at a late stage and unfortunately there was a break-down in communication for which we apologise.

Our team has arranged for our agent to meet with the group in Dubai to explain what happened and you will be given the option to depart for the airport earlier if they wanted to and the agent will provide whatever they prefer.

The team do hope this incident does not detract from what we hope will be an amazing holiday experience.

As the Just You community is not monitored 24/7, if you do need any further assistance while you are away I would encourage you to contact our Duty Office on +44 1858 414 077 who will be able to address any concerns or issues you encounter immediately.

I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your holiday - I understand Brian Croft is looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the group in Australia.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Marion F
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Hi Julia

Many thanks for your reply. The agent has phoned those of us affected and apologised for the late pickup and the fact that confirmation of my payment (which in fact was a week before our arrival) had not reached them.

We had the city tour yesterday, and were picked up half an hour late for this. However the tour itself was extremely comprehensive and gave us an excellent overview of the city. In fact it was probably the best city tour I have ever been on. We saw the world's tallest building, the world's only 7* hotel, went by water taxi to a souk, visited a gold market, a museum, a mosque, saw the artificial Islands in the shape of a palm tree, and went round all the main old and new parts of Dubai. Altogether a very enjoyable tour.

We have been assured by the agent that we will be picked up tomorrow at the pre-arranged time of 7.45 and that this will give us ample time for our 10.45 flight.

We look forward to meeting our fellow-travellers at the airport tomorrow, and to meeting our Tour Manager Brian Croft.

Best Wishes, Marion.