Travel - Your Talk
Love to go wherever a plane, train or automobile can take you? Then you're in good company.
Mona has been travel writing for long years now. We're not listing the number of years because you may realise how old she is and also because web life is long, so each year the number would have to be changed. Mona loves beautiful resorts, preferably with the Indian Ocean lapping against them, barefoot luxury, honeymoon style travel (yes, every time) and anywhere where she can eat well. Since she has to travel very often on business she also has business travel - its pain, its speed or lack of and its functional but not horrific accommodation necessary, down to a T.
The ladies at Royal Travel are one (or four) of a kind: from the Managing Director Lilly Muscat to her assistant Piera to her Africa specialist Louise, they are all obsessed with travel. They take many days off a year and jump on planes and cruise liners to go to far-flung destinations and call it 'work'. They will help you connect flights then buy them yourself (if it is worthwhile - it usually isn't), lead you to a fantastic selections of hotels no matter where you want to go and book them for you and generally make your travelling life easier and safer. No other agency in Malta organises beautiful honeymoons like they do: ask them and they'll reply, or visit their website http://www.royaltravel.com.mt
Panama, Venezuela, Cuba, most of Africa and every single part of Europe: there probably isn't a single country that Joe Schembri has not been to. Moreover Joe likes to rough it so he knows about all the camping sites, the jungles, the bungee-jumping and the white-water rafting. If you'd rather your shower were in the middle of the bush, he's the guy for you.
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When posting your query as a comment here, please put the person you want to address in the title and they will answer you. Please note that although we all have our preferences - for the Royal Travel ladies travel is a business, Joe works for an airline and Mona does tend to have an abhorrence of ugly places - we will try and keep our answers as humanly independent as possible: our main aim is that we give you great advice, for free.
Comments
Lufthansa Düsseldorf to Malta Saga.
It all started 3.30 am we left the Hotel and arrived at Düsseldorf Airport 04.15 am, The Board for the departures showed that we had a two hours delay for our flight meaning that if we go on it we arrive 5 minutes before our Frankfurt connection to Malta.
My immediate action was to look for help, but there was no one available until 05.15 am. When the service started I was third in the queue, the option available was a train voucher to Frankfurt Airport Train Station. I asked why there is such a long delay; the replay was that they were waiting for a pilot to arrive. Here we were directed to go to the Train Station ticket office of the Airport, to exchange the vouchers, guess what it opens at 7.00 am, so like many others we took a train into Düsseldorf Main Station to take a train from there. We queued at the ticket office when here we were told that we do not need to exchange vouchers, they are valid to travel with them on the train.
The train was due in three minutes so we rushed to the platform to make sure we board the train, guess what it was delayed by 30 minutes. Relived and frustrated this gave us time to hustle what I call a snack, consisting of a lovely filled bread bun, a muffin and a coffee, this was in replacement of our 5 start breakfast that we missed as we left too early from the Hotel and whatever they would have offered us on the plane.
The Journey to Frankfurt was fine arrived well in time for our connection no problem there, but on getting out of the train on the platform, believe it or not the going up escalators were out of order and the option was walk half a kilometer to find a lift, or up the apple and pears (steps), so up the apple and pears we went, lots of apple but finished without pears.
OK found our way and the new system is that you electronically get a boarding card before you load your luggage, must admit it was the first time for me so I got assistance guess what, it did not work so we had to be escorted to a boarding desk.
Here was all fine went in trough security check, as I walk through the body sensor gate one of the security turns round with a load of trays to pass on from one place to another and knocks me over, luckily no damage done, he apologized and kept following me for ten meters to make sure all was ok.
At the time I was more concerned on leaving the place rather than spend the evening someplace I did not want to.
Our flight came up OK left on time and the Purser announces a snack and a drink was going to be served, no alcohol except for beer and wine.
We got the snack a Chocolate Muffin and coffee could have had a soft drink too but was not interested, I asked if I could buy a liqueur but was not available.
It was a good trip on the whole, but could not understand why announcements were in German, Italian and the English, it was so fast well you can guess, but why German, Italian and English.
We landed fine only just fine but we landed, went to collect our luggage guess what most of the passengers got there luggage, a second and third plane arrive on the other carousels and left with their luggage a second flight was going round on the carousel that was supposed to have had our luggage on, but it did not arrive,
A long queue at the Air Malta’s Missing Baggage desk as we were told that some luggage was misplaced and we will be contacted to have it delivered or collected upon it's arrival.
With my connection in air cargo I checked with Lufthansa Cargo if they knew anything about this, but they could not tell me as Air Malta handles Air Cargo on the ground so i called Air Malta Cargo and my friend confirmed that a container with Luggage had appeared at the Cargo Center with the laggage and it was being sent back to the terminal for distribution.
As it happened we were still at the airport I called the Air Malta counter for Missing Baggage Claim and confirmed that the baggage was found so I went and took it saving going back for it the next time.
Hi Michael
If I may ask: how did you buy the tickets (direct, internet, through an agency) and which airlines were you flying and connecting with?
Mona
Hi Mona & the ladies at royal travel. I have an India related question, basically I have been offered a very tempting position there but I have never been to India. I've been told that koregaon park in Pune India is a higher market place in India and was wondering if this is true? I understand it's probably still a mish mash but I want to make sure I don't throw myself into something crazy
Hi Daniela
I am going to presume your question is serious.
The reason I am saying this is because rather than a travel-related query, this is very much about career and life choices. You seem to be on the verge of going off on a fantastic adventure but without knowing what on earth you're doing or where on earth you're going!
How have you been offered the job? Is the company offering kosher? Have you checked them out? What are you meant to be doing there? Do you have a Plan B (and C and D) just in case stuff goes wrong? Do you know somebody in the area who could protect you if you needed that?
India is a stunning place but also, in many areas, a chaotic one. Think Malta, in the torrential rain X 20,000,000 :)
Hi Mona, thank you for your advise, but all we need to buy was the connection from London - Newcastle - London, as for Malta - London - Malta is by voucher won at the Amitex last March. Air Malta has a Charter Flight direct to Newcastle but the voucher is only valid for Air Malta Flights on Scheduled Destinations. As a matter of Customer Care and curtesy, they could have oblidged, but I do not know the right people see. Thanks again and also to Margaret.
Tried to book a flight with Air Malta from Malta to Newcastle. Guess what there is no direct flight but have a connection via Brussels. I sahll not go into all the details, but when I checked Malta to Brussels again it is a two leg flight via Frankfurt or Munich, except for one day in a week of which it is the day I cannot travel on. So in the end I am still having to go a two leg flight Malta - London - Newcastle and the timeings are better.
Mike, Margaret from Royal Travel advises that you can fly direct to Newcastle with Easyjet. Have you tried that? Remember that you can buy low-cost airline tickets from agencies too [for better protection]. http://www.royaltravel.com.mt
Hi Mona
Well done on this wonderful site...
Looking to escape to Sicily for 3 nights week of the 16th August.
You always talk about how wonderful Sicily is and what great value it is as compared with Gozo, so would appreciate any tips :)
Type: Romantic
Budget: Not as much as I would like!
Must: Have a nice place to stay - no pensions pls :)
Would it be better to go up with a car or hire one there? Ferry or catamaran?
Which part of Sicily would you recommend?
Looking forward to reading your reply.
Many thanks and best regards
Marcy
Hi Marcette
My pleasure.
Try 'The Guide to Trapani' by Adrian Cardona, on planetmona. Trapani is reachable by Ryanair (!) so no bringing back of lovely foodstuffs. You may like to spend your money on accommodation along the lines of those within the Romantik group: http://www.romantikhotels.com TW and I have stayed at a few of theirs, and they have always been lovely, abundant in character, with great service and these wonderful character-full bedrooms (where the mattress is superbly good, rather than 'antique').
I had reviewed the very lovely Eremo della Giubiliana (www.eremodellagiubiliana.it/) after we spent a night in it on our way down from Europe in the car. It was stupendous: you will adore it, although, to be honest, the pool is really small. If you have a plane of your own, you may appreciate the adjacent private airfield :p If you don't, the most convenient way to get their is by Catamaran. Get the co-ordinates before you leave, if you are driving, as the GPS does not find them.
For food shopping and eating, take a look at this old link. I'll be updating it as soon as I have time to upload all the travel bits on the new site. http://tinyurl.com/358fcjc
And whatever you do...enjoy it!
Hi
Wifey and me would like to go somewhere cool, cool not as in a cool place
but a place with cool weather.
I was thinking somewhere outside of Rome, the Appennine mountains.
Travel dates Aug 16 to Aug 21.
Any suggestions anybody ?
Walter
I remember going to this beautiful, tiny - literally tiny as everything, including the houses, is in miniature - just outside of Rome called Calcata. It has gushing streams and gorgeous views. I don't know if it offers accommodation as we had just driven up for a lunch, but I imagine there would be a self-catering villa to rent as, for many Roman glitterati, this is a real hideaway.
