RSD Travel
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Cultural Crete Extrememly disappointed 20 to 27 October 2018
We have just returned from an 8 day, 7 night Cultural break in Crete run by RSD Travel Ltd - What a disappointment. The idea of a culture based guided type break in Crete is a good concept as Crete and its people have a long and interesting history and a deep cultural tradition. I believe that this holiday should have been a tour operator’s dream to deliver, but instead it appeared that RSD were more interested in profit than in service. We have been regular visitors to the Island of Crete for the past 20 years having visited at least 12 times and this was the first time we have been disappointed. The organisation appeared to be beyond the capabilities of RSD. The holiday was twin centred staying in two 4 - 5 star hotels on a bed and breakfast basis. It included a 6-day programme of cultural visits together with 1 day of free time. The holiday information described 2 special optional offers. (1) a Gourmet Buffet evening meal package costing 139 euros per person and (2) a special optional 3 additional visit offer of 99 Euros. The holiday got off to a bad start when our flight with Aegean Airways was delayed by 2 hours and consequently we arrived at our first hotel, the Rethymnon Mare sometime after 9.30pm. Whilst en-route from the airport we were informed by the RSD representative that the Hotel was on the outskirts of Rethymnon, and that the hotel had been notified of the delay and had agreed to provide an evening meal on arrival. We were also told that due to it being near to the end of the tourist season the vast majority of local tavernas were closed or were closing, but for those guests who had not signed up to the ‘Gourmet’ Evening Buffet they could sign up to the Gourmet Buffet package that night. Based on the information we were given we, together with other guests, felt we had no option but to sign up for the meal package which cost an extra 139 euros each. We found out later that we had been misinformed as there were local tavernas which provided local Cretan cuisine within about 5 minutes walk from the hotel, although they were not visible from the hotel itself. On arrival at the second hotel we realised that there were numerous tavernas close by all providing a good menu of Cretan dishes at almost half the cost of the so called ‘Gourmet Buffet’ meal package. To describe the meal package provided as ‘Gourmet’ would I believe fall into the category of the Trade Descriptions Act. The food was at best average and unimaginative and any resemblance to Cretan cuisine was purely incidental. It was of note, that bearing in mind this package cost almost 20 Euros per person per night, it failed to supply a beverage of any type whatsoever, be it water or wine etc. without there being an additional charge incurred. The Itinerary We were proudly informed by the RSD representative that there were 12 coach loads of guests on the Crete Cultural Break who would be following a similar programme as ourselves. This proved to be a recipe for absolute chaos. As an example, our coach arrived at a monastery only to be joined by at least 8 other coach loads of guests within a short space of time. Although our local guide, Stella was extremely well informed, this influx of people rendered her delivery of information virtually impossible. Her attempt to pass on information was swamped by the other guests who had arrived along with their own guides who were also delivering information about the same location in the language of their party be it French, Danish, German etc. It was chaos. On one occasion we arrived at the Monastery of Arkadi to find that a service was taking place attended by the local populace, but it appeared not to matter to the RSD representatives,.that upwards of 250 people were descending on the Monastery whilst the service was still ongoing. (Not in the least respectful ) At another of the sites visited, in this case the museum of Elefthema, there were 4 viewing halls. The influx of visitors was such that we had to start at hall 3 then move to 1 then 4 etc. (anywhere there was a gap in which we could slot in). It spoiled the visit and rendered it almost pointless as the explanations became disjointed and disrupted by other parties. After such experiences numerous complaints were made to the RSD representative and the only solution that RSD could find was that on two of the days for guests to have an early morning call at 5.30am, to have a cold buffet type breakfast at 6am in order to be on the road by 7am. Although this did ease the congestion situation it was not what one would expect to be necessary on a cultural break holiday. RSD appeared to have no appreciation of the logistics involved with a break of this kind and organisationally, appeared to be out of their depth. Another of the ‘Cultural’ visits was to a carpet factory where we were immediately told on arrival that carpets were no longer made in Crete. It would seem this visit, as was a visit to a jewellery atelier, was in fact sale orientated, albeit with high class, show rooms. It was really annoying that a visit to Knossos (which was part of the optional extra package or could be purchased on an individual basis at 45 euros per head), was rescheduled into the middle of a planned daily schedule. This resulted in guests who had not subscribed to the additional optional extra attraction being told that there would be nothing close by and they would need to spend the next 1 ½ to 2 hours in a café or somewhere similar. It is also of note that our journey home resumed yet again an early start as it began at 3 am for a flight which was in two stages i.e. to Gatwick then onwards to Manchester. It was so disappointing as it could have been such a rewarding experience. The local guides were excellent as was our driver George. Our hotel accommodation was adequate but all in all, in our opinion the cost of the break is misleading due to all of the extras. I could go on and on about the failings of this, so called, cultural break but all I can say is that I would not recommend this holiday to anyone, and I will not be attending any other similar Cultural Break holidays run by RSD travel. This review and more has been communicated both verbally and in writing to RS