The Avid Cruiser visits Storforsen, one of Europe’s largest rapids and only an hour’s drive from Luleå, Sweden.
The Avid Cruiser visits Storforsen, one of Europe’s largest rapids and only an hour’s drive from Luleå, Sweden.
In Falmouth, the love of a place has manifested itself in a warm welcome for cruise ship passengers. Each ship that arrives here on the south coast of Cornwall (in the far west of the United Kingdom) is greeted by the so-called Falmouth Ambassadors. All are volunteers, ranging from 30 years old to 70 years [...]
In Falmouth, the love of a place has manifested itself in a warm welcome for cruise ship passengers. Each ship that arrives here on the south coast of Cornwall (in the far west of the United Kingdom) is greeted by the so-called Falmouth Ambassadors. All are volunteers, ranging from 30 years old to 70 years old, many retired and from a variety of backgrounds. They all have a few shared attributes that make them true ambassadors for this town on the River Fal: a love of Falmouth, an appreciation for the marine environment inherent to the region and a keen interest in meeting new people, particularly those who arrive by ship.
“The initiative has vastly improved the welcome the port provides and is seen as something that the other ports in the region can aspire to,” says Mike Reynolds, Falmouth’s port operations director.
Falmouth's Ambassadors come together in the spirit of helping. Click on the image for an expanded view of the photo and the uniform that reads, "Can I Help You?"
Some of the Ambassadors, all volunteers, say that passengers show greater appreciation in being greeted by locals who are enthusiastic about their home turf as opposed to being pestered by someone hawking taxi tours and trinkets.
Ambassadors provide a variety of services, foreign-language assistance, narrative on board the port's complimentary bus shuttles, distributing maps and other info.
The Ambassadors group was formed in 2007, an initiative undertaken by a few local cruise enthusiasts in partnership with the port. The local tourist authority kicked in some initial assistance. During the first year, there were only enough volunteers to greet a few of the ships that called on Falmouth, but word spread throughout the local community, and nowadays, with more than 50 volunteers, all ships are greeted.
The Ambassadors range from 30 years old to 70 years old and come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have gone on to get their professional guide licenses.
Reynolds says that are up to ten volunteers “on duty” when a ship calls and that there are enough of the volunteers who have language skills that there’s always someone on dock to meet and greet in German, French, Spanish and other languages. “Some have taken guiding courses and not only meet and greet but also professionally guide,” Reynolds says.
The volunteers meet passengers quayside and travel with them on the complimentary shuttle busses that the port provides, narrating along the way. Volunteers wear uniforms and have a good supply of maps and other material to inform passengers. But it is their genuine enthusiasm and their love of sharing the best of Falmouth that passengers appreciate most.
Last month, Oprah and Obama were in Copenhagen to push Chicago’s failed Olympic bid. Obama arrived and returned home on the same day; Oprah stayed in the exceptionally pricey Karen Blixen suite at D’Angleterre. Fortunately, Oprah has money to burn in what Mercer’s Cost of Living Index cites as the world’s 7th most expensive city. [...]
Last month, Oprah and Obama were in Copenhagen to push Chicago’s failed Olympic bid. Obama arrived and returned home on the same day; Oprah stayed in the exceptionally pricey Karen Blixen suite at D’Angleterre. Fortunately, Oprah has money to burn in what Mercer’s Cost of Living Index cites as the world’s 7th most expensive city. You don’t.
What then are the implications for you on Baltic cruise pre/post stays in Copenhagen or Stockholm–the two main turnaround ports in northern Europe? How can you avoid emptying your wallets in these two must-see capitals?
The Avid Cruiser visits Swedish Lappland, where reindeer and elk (called “moose” in North America) are still herded by the local Sami people (also known as Lapps).
The Avid Cruiser visits Swedish Lappland, where reindeer and elk (called “moose” in North America) are still herded by the local Sami people (also known as Lapps).
The Avid Cruiser visits Gammelstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that represents the best-preserved example of a “church village.” Villages like Gammelstad were once found throughout northern Scandinavia. The 424 wooden houses that radiate from the early 15th-century stone church, were used only on Sundays and at religious festivals to house worshippers from the surrounding [...]
The Avid Cruiser visits Gammelstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that represents the best-preserved example of a “church village.” Villages like Gammelstad were once found throughout northern Scandinavia. The 424 wooden houses that radiate from the early 15th-century stone church, were used only on Sundays and at religious festivals to house worshippers from the surrounding countryside who lived too far away from home to return on the same day. Gammelstad is fewer than 20 minutes by car or bus from where the cruise ships dock in Luleå.
Clearing security four times, as I wrote in an earlier post, when, in fact, I only entered one airport from the outside was quite enough to test any traveler. But today on Delta, there were also two mechanical issues. The first, from Amsterdam’s Schipol, caused only a delay. The second, from Atlanta, caused a delay [...]
Clearing security four times, as I wrote in an earlier post, when, in fact, I only entered one airport from the outside was quite enough to test any traveler. But today on Delta, there were also two mechanical issues. The first, from Amsterdam’s Schipol, caused only a delay. The second, from Atlanta, caused a delay and then a disembark after we were comfortably seated, and then another delay. I still don’t know what the outcome will be. It’s possible that we’ll be delayed again. As is often the case from Atlanta, I will arrive home hours late, today, at least three hours beyond what was scheduled. And I pay good money for this!
I realize that the airlines must put safety first, and I applaud them for that, but with so many delays and so many people on delayed incoming flights running through Atlanta’s airport to try to catch connections only to find that the connections too are delayed – well, clearly, something is wrong with the system – you might say one big mechanical issue in need of repair.
Posted from my Blackberry.
