We walked out of the baggage hall in to the reception area looking for a Seabourn sign or even one with our name on it but could not see anybody. We waited around for about fifteen minutes and then Noel went looking for help and eventually found a security guard who knew nothing but suggested that perhaps in the coach park which was about a ten minute walk that way, so we decided not to bother with this as the instructions received from Seabourn clearly states transfer from Airport to the Ritz Carlton Hotel. So we decided to take a taxi to the Hotel rather than hang around anymore.
We found the taxi rank and explained where we wanted to go and yes no problem and we got in the taxi and off he went whilst incessantly talking on the phone and playing with his Sat Nav using Waze which kept on turning upside down and covered with loads of icons, no idea what he was doing after about two miles he stopped at the side of the road and asked where he was to go??? so after giving him the info from my mobile and then looking on the search function on his phone we finally decided that we both agreed where to go. I had not planned to connect to Wifi/Data to save money but now as I was so concerned where we were actually going I connected and checked the route he was taking but also phoned the Hotel for them to ask the driver if he new where he was going but the guy at the Hotel could not properly hear me. We finally arrived at the Ritz Carlton Hotel at about 0145 and the drop off was on the ground floor and reception on the first floor so the driver helped us to the reception where I asked for a receipt for the USD 80 which seemed expensive to me but the Hotel assured me it was about correct for this time of night and distance.
The receptionist was provided with our passports and searched for our reservation for about five minutes and then asked did we have a reservation number, No I explained that as we were due to be greeted at the airport and taken to this Hotel I was not bothered about getting the Hotel reservation number. Anyway he kept looking and eventually gave up and asked should we have gone to the Tel Aviv Carlton Hotel ( no connection with Ritz Carlton) but as Seabourn paperwork said RITZ CARLTON that's where we came to. Finally after about fifteen minutes after we arrived he said there was no booking for us ? so what to do. Well as all the Seabourn documents showed Ritz Carlton we had better stay there the night and let Seabourn sort it out rather than involved another Hotel and by now it was about 0215. So I said please give us the cheapest room and he said he only had two rooms left, one a standard room and the other a suite, as Hotel was virtually sold out and that the rate for the room including breakfast and taxes would be about USD 750, what I said !!! yes he said that is the basic rate. I then remembered when looking at Hotel in Tel Aviv how amazingly expensive they were which is why we had decided not to stay there for a couple of days before our cruise.
When we arrived in the room which was very nice indeed I then set about trying to contact Seabourn after searching the internet and then using Skype to call Seabourn Uk which was of course closed but they provided an emergency contact number in the USA which I phoned and had to wait about twenty five minutes for somebody to answer and hoping that I would not be cut off. I explained the situation the agent who then checked all my details and indeed she confirmed that we should have been met at the airport and that our Hotel the Ritz Carlton and don't worry Seabourn will cover your costs and I will contact the Israel agents arrange for you to be taken to Haifa later in the day. It was now about 0315 and we were getting tired but we went to bed but I found it difficult to sleep. Somehow when turning of the lights we had turned off the master power switch without realising and when we awoke at about 0745 nothing was working. So we called down to reception to find out what was wrong and the girl who answered the phone explained what to do and also there was a message for you. She said that AKOR had phoned to say a Taxi would meet us at 1400 to take us to Haifa. I said did she have the telephone number of the person that called and she said not, blood ridiculous I thought , an expensive hotel like this cannot run a proper message service.
I spent the next half an hour trying to find a company by the name of AKOR connected with cruise line management but was not able to find any company remotely like this. Anyway we went down for breakfast and I approached the reception and asked for a copy of the message an the guy said what message? the one your female colleague read over the phone to me this morning at about 0730 ish so he checked the computer and still found no message and then he went in to the side office and came back with a female staff member who said she took the message and I asker to repeat it and she said that whoever had called had given the name as AKOR and said that a Taxi would come to the Hotel around 1400 to collect us and had also mentioned to the Ritz lady that we had gone to the wrong Hotel??.
