17/08/2024
🌍 Reason #8427, why savvy travelers utilize a Travel Agent: at 1:39 PM yesterday, we received a call from one of our clients, who was scared and very upset. She was in a foreign city, traveling solo, and had just had her purse stolen, with all of her money, credit cards, ID, her camera, and her passport. we worked with her, reminding her that this could happen to anyone. She was really down on herself and wanted to just fly home, just one day short of boarding her 10 night cruise around Italy and the Greek Islands. To add insult to injury, this client has been through some rough times, and needed this trip really bad. She has been a client of ours for 20 years. We jumped into action, like a professional in our field should. We represent you. You don’t pay any extra, but boy do you get the benefits. Between talking to the cruise line, and preparing an action plan, we let her know she was getting on that ship. She was not alone, she had us. We were reminded of one night when we stayed up through the entire night, without any sleep, making sure some folks made a connection on an island, when their travel plans fell apart. We looked at what identification she still had, reminded her that she is on the manifest and had already been checked in through the cruise line app. She already had tickets for the train to the port city. We were able to remind her that she would just need to be patient, work her way through a couple of different layers of port officials, and then a ship’s officer would have to clear her on board the vessel. Standard procedure, when someone arrives in an emergency situation where they’ve lost their identification. She had her photocopy of her identification page from her passport, her drivers license from back home, and most powerfully, a Global Entry Pass! We continuously highly recommend this card. We knew that if we just got her on the vessel, she would have 10 days to work out the rest, and she still had her phone and her Wi-Fi package, and no doubt she would be able to eat plenty and not worry about having any cash, But we also were willing to help back her up to make sure that she was able to purchase any food or anything she needed. Like I said, she’s been with us for 20 years. Now, here is the part of the story that will give you shivers: she received a Facebook messenger communication, last night, from a young local lady. Turns out this kind person had found her passport, and then looked her up on Facebook. Another good argument for social media! The two met at a public location, one well known to tourists, and the young lady returned her passport. She then proceeded to give our client a gift, a rosary. ✝️ We did not do that, we are just travel agents. I think that came from above our pay grade. So, the identification issue was resolved. She is now on board the vessel. We just received that information. We will continue to monitor her trip, for the next week and a half, and make sure she gets back home to the states just fine. In addition, we have already been on the telephone with her travel insurance carrier, and she will be reimbursed for the loss of her property, including that really nice camera. We push hard for travel insurance these days, because stuff like this happens. . This is what we do. This is why savvy travelers utilize a professional Travel Agent. 😎
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