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RichardHillard
Very Good and Frustrating in equal measure
The Blue Train的点评
点评：We travelled on The Blue Train as a ‘Bucket List’ trip to celebrate my 50th Birthday.
It is really frustrating to have to make negative remarks as large parts of the journey were an unforgettable experience, and hopefully with a few adjustments The Blue Train can continue to offer a glimpse back to the luxury years of long distance rail travel for many years to come.
I’ll start with bad points and finish with what was impressive:
The train was delayed departing Cape Town by 24 hours with consequent 24 hour late arrival in Pretoria (although in the event the train didn’t even get as far north as Johannesburg). Unfortunately, I was left out of pocket having to book an extra nights accommodation in Cape Town, and due to the late notice change of arrival time, I was also unable to claim a full refund on the night we should have spent in Pretoria. With 48 hours to go before departure we were informed of a later departure time from Cape Town, but still on the same day, and it was only with 24 hours to go before the original departure that we were told of the full 24 hour delay. At no point was any compensation (even nominal) offered for this, and my subsequent email to the company has gone unanswered which I find pretty disappointing given the circumstances.
Having departed 24 hours late, we made good progress toward Pretoria until the morning of the final day when we came to a halt in a station about 60km south of Johannesburg at around 10 o’clock in the morning. And there we remained, for hour after hour with no explanation; at first I assumed we were running early and we were just waiting to achieve our planned arrival into Pretoria, but the longer we waited the less likely this seemed. Finally, after several hours, the Train Manager informed all passengers that due to ‘Operational Reasons’ we would be going no further by train and we would be transported by shuttle bus to our final destination. It was frustrating that this information could not have been communicated earlier, and it was equally frustrating that the delay in admitting that Pretoria could not be reached by train meant that the shuttle buses were delayed in arriving to pick up the passengers. The final nail in the coffin…. My wife’s suitcase was loaded onto the wrong minibus that had a different destination to our own; by the time the mistake was noticed the other bus was a long way away, and rather than arrange for our missing bag to be forwarded to our hotel later that evening, the preferred ‘solution’ was to keep our bus (with other passengers blaming us for the delay due to our bag having been misplaced) waiting at the station for the other bus to return with my wife’s suitcase. The whole episode cost at least another hour, and it was only when I suggested that the other passengers in our bus go ahead leaving us to follow on in the ‘spare’ minibus to minimise others inconvenience that the rest of our group was able to depart. Common sense seemed to be in short supply.
The final negative was the cost. None of the above would be quite as concerning were it not for the premium price; the nightly rate as a non-SA resident was on a par with the most expensive hotel/all-inclusive resort or luxury cruise that I have ever paid for and at this price point I would expect a much better customer experience, especially after the problems that were encountered.
The positives: the majority of the staff were excellent; particular thanks to Marlene who was our regular waitress in the Dining Car; she was superb. Mr Thanbo, our Butler was also an excellent ambassador for the Blue Train.
The food was first class, as good as any restaurant and a real achievement given the Chef was preparing the meals in a small galley on a moving train. The beverages were free-flowing and the Wine List was very good.
The train itself was a glimpse back to the luxury age of rail travel. Our sleeping compartment had everything required and was transformed from a private compartment with individual arm chairs into a snug sleeping cabin with 2 separate beds whilst we ate dinner every evening. The Observation Car gave a unique view passing landscape from the back of the train. Both the Bar Car and particularly the Dining Car, were luxuriously fitted out and it felt special to dress in jacket and tie for dinner every evening (I had packed a Dinner Jacket but would have been the only man in ‘black tie’ had I opted to wear it). The only blot on an otherwise excellent on-train experience, was that the forward facing camera with associated wide screen TV that was meant to show the road ahead from the Club Car was not working, and I believe hadn’t worked for some time.
Overall, as a train enthusiast and person who had wanted to travel on the Blue Train all his adult life, it pains me to leave a negative review. There are some excellent aspects to the journey and I don’t want to put prospective travellers off, however, as a customer who paid a lot of money for the experience I was left disappointed, especially with the lack of communication before and after the problems that occurred.
It is really frustrating to have to make negative remarks as large parts of the journey were an unforgettable experience, and hopefully with a few adjustments The Blue Train can continue to offer a glimpse back to the luxury years of long distance rail travel for many years to come.
I’ll start with bad points and finish with what was impressive:
The train was delayed departing Cape Town by 24 hours with consequent 24 hour late arrival in Pretoria (although in the event the train didn’t even get as far north as Johannesburg). Unfortunately, I was left out of pocket having to book an extra nights accommodation in Cape Town, and due to the late notice change of arrival time, I was also unable to claim a full refund on the night we should have spent in Pretoria. With 48 hours to go before departure we were informed of a later departure time from Cape Town, but still on the same day, and it was only with 24 hours to go before the original departure that we were told of the full 24 hour delay. At no point was any compensation (even nominal) offered for this, and my subsequent email to the company has gone unanswered which I find pretty disappointing given the circumstances.
Having departed 24 hours late, we made good progress toward Pretoria until the morning of the final day when we came to a halt in a station about 60km south of Johannesburg at around 10 o’clock in the morning. And there we remained, for hour after hour with no explanation; at first I assumed we were running early and we were just waiting to achieve our planned arrival into Pretoria, but the longer we waited the less likely this seemed. Finally, after several hours, the Train Manager informed all passengers that due to ‘Operational Reasons’ we would be going no further by train and we would be transported by shuttle bus to our final destination. It was frustrating that this information could not have been communicated earlier, and it was equally frustrating that the delay in admitting that Pretoria could not be reached by train meant that the shuttle buses were delayed in arriving to pick up the passengers. The final nail in the coffin…. My wife’s suitcase was loaded onto the wrong minibus that had a different destination to our own; by the time the mistake was noticed the other bus was a long way away, and rather than arrange for our missing bag to be forwarded to our hotel later that evening, the preferred ‘solution’ was to keep our bus (with other passengers blaming us for the delay due to our bag having been misplaced) waiting at the station for the other bus to return with my wife’s suitcase. The whole episode cost at least another hour, and it was only when I suggested that the other passengers in our bus go ahead leaving us to follow on in the ‘spare’ minibus to minimise others inconvenience that the rest of our group was able to depart. Common sense seemed to be in short supply.
The final negative was the cost. None of the above would be quite as concerning were it not for the premium price; the nightly rate as a non-SA resident was on a par with the most expensive hotel/all-inclusive resort or luxury cruise that I have ever paid for and at this price point I would expect a much better customer experience, especially after the problems that were encountered.
The positives: the majority of the staff were excellent; particular thanks to Marlene who was our regular waitress in the Dining Car; she was superb. Mr Thanbo, our Butler was also an excellent ambassador for the Blue Train.
The food was first class, as good as any restaurant and a real achievement given the Chef was preparing the meals in a small galley on a moving train. The beverages were free-flowing and the Wine List was very good.
The train itself was a glimpse back to the luxury age of rail travel. Our sleeping compartment had everything required and was transformed from a private compartment with individual arm chairs into a snug sleeping cabin with 2 separate beds whilst we ate dinner every evening. The Observation Car gave a unique view passing landscape from the back of the train. Both the Bar Car and particularly the Dining Car, were luxuriously fitted out and it felt special to dress in jacket and tie for dinner every evening (I had packed a Dinner Jacket but would have been the only man in ‘black tie’ had I opted to wear it). The only blot on an otherwise excellent on-train experience, was that the forward facing camera with associated wide screen TV that was meant to show the road ahead from the Club Car was not working, and I believe hadn’t worked for some time.
Overall, as a train enthusiast and person who had wanted to travel on the Blue Train all his adult life, it pains me to leave a negative review. There are some excellent aspects to the journey and I don’t want to put prospective travellers off, however, as a customer who paid a lot of money for the experience I was left disappointed, especially with the lack of communication before and after the problems that occurred.
翻译：为了庆祝我的五十岁生日，我们乘坐蓝色列车完成了“人生愿望清单”上的一项旅行。
不得不说一些负面评价真的令人沮丧，因为旅程的大部分内容都令人难忘。希望经过一些改进，蓝色列车能够继续为人们带来昔日长途铁路旅行的奢华体验，并延续下去。
我先说说不足之处，最后再说说令人印象深刻的部分：
列车从开普敦出发晚点了24小时，导致抵达比勒陀利亚的时间也晚了24小时（实际上，列车甚至都没到达约翰内斯堡）。不幸的是，我不得不额外预订一晚在开普敦的住宿，而且由于到达时间变更通知得太晚，我也无法获得在比勒陀利亚那晚住宿的全额退款。出发前48小时，我们被告知从开普敦出发的时间会推迟，但仍在同一天。直到原定出发时间前24小时，我们才被告知会延误整整24小时。公司从未就此提供任何补偿（哪怕是象征性的），我之后发给公司的邮件也杳无音信，考虑到当时的情况，我对此感到非常失望。
晚点24小时后，我们一路顺利地向比勒陀利亚进发，直到最后一天早上，大约10点左右，我们在约翰内斯堡以南约60公里处的一个车站停了下来。我们就在那里等了几个小时，没有任何解释。起初我以为列车提前到达，只是在等待按计划抵达比勒陀利亚，但时间越长，这种可能性就越小。最终，几个小时后，列车长通知所有乘客，由于“运营原因”，我们将无法继续乘坐火车，而是乘坐接驳巴士前往最终目的地。令人沮丧的是，这条信息竟然没能早点传达过来；同样令人沮丧的是，他们迟迟不肯承认无法乘火车抵达比勒陀利亚，导致接驳巴士也延误了。雪上加霜的是……我妻子的行李箱被装上了一辆目的地与我们不同的小巴；等发现错误时，另一辆小巴已经开走了很远。他们没有安排把丢失的行李箱送到我们当晚入住的酒店，而是选择了让我们的巴士（其他乘客还因为我们的行李放错地方而责怪我们耽误了行程）在车站等另一辆载着我妻子行李箱的巴士回来。整个过程至少又耽误了一个小时，直到我建议我们车上的其他乘客先走，我们乘坐“备用”小巴跟上，尽量减少对其他人的不便，我们一行人才得以出发。看来，他们真是缺乏常识。
最后一点不足之处在于价格。如果不是因为价格高昂，以上所有问题或许都不会如此令人担忧；作为非南非居民，每晚的房价堪比我住过的最贵的酒店/全包度假村或豪华游轮，在这个价位上，我理应获得更好的客户体验，尤其是在经历了之前遇到的问题之后。
优点：大部分员工都非常出色；特别感谢餐车里我们常驻的服务员玛琳，她服务周到，无可挑剔。我们的管家坦博先生也是蓝色列车的优秀形象大使。
食物一流，堪比任何餐厅，考虑到厨师是在行驶的列车上狭小的厨房里准备餐食，这确实是一项了不起的成就。饮料无限畅饮，酒单也非常出色。
列车本身仿佛让人回到了铁路旅行的黄金时代。我们的卧铺车厢设施齐全，原本是一个配有独立扶手椅的私人包厢，每天晚上用餐时都会被改造成一个舒适的卧铺车厢，里面有两张独立的床。观景车厢让我们得以从列车尾部欣赏沿途独特的风景。酒吧车厢和餐车，尤其是餐车，都配备了豪华的设施，每天晚上穿着西装打着领带去用餐感觉很特别（我带了一件晚礼服，但如果我穿的话，恐怕会是唯一一个穿“黑色领结”的男士）。这次火车之旅体验堪称完美，唯一的瑕疵是，原本应该从俱乐部车厢显示前方路况的前置摄像头和配套的宽屏电视无法正常工作，而且我相信它已经坏了一段时间了。
总的来说，作为一个火车爱好者，一个毕生都渴望乘坐蓝色列车的人，我很难过要写下这篇负面评价。这段旅程有很多精彩之处，我不想吓跑潜在的旅客，但是……作为一名花了很多钱的顾客，我对这次体验感到非常失望，尤其是在问题发生前后缺乏沟通方面。
不得不说一些负面评价真的令人沮丧，因为旅程的大部分内容都令人难忘。希望经过一些改进，蓝色列车能够继续为人们带来昔日长途铁路旅行的奢华体验，并延续下去。
我先说说不足之处，最后再说说令人印象深刻的部分：
列车从开普敦出发晚点了24小时，导致抵达比勒陀利亚的时间也晚了24小时（实际上，列车甚至都没到达约翰内斯堡）。不幸的是，我不得不额外预订一晚在开普敦的住宿，而且由于到达时间变更通知得太晚，我也无法获得在比勒陀利亚那晚住宿的全额退款。出发前48小时，我们被告知从开普敦出发的时间会推迟，但仍在同一天。直到原定出发时间前24小时，我们才被告知会延误整整24小时。公司从未就此提供任何补偿（哪怕是象征性的），我之后发给公司的邮件也杳无音信，考虑到当时的情况，我对此感到非常失望。
晚点24小时后，我们一路顺利地向比勒陀利亚进发，直到最后一天早上，大约10点左右，我们在约翰内斯堡以南约60公里处的一个车站停了下来。我们就在那里等了几个小时，没有任何解释。起初我以为列车提前到达，只是在等待按计划抵达比勒陀利亚，但时间越长，这种可能性就越小。最终，几个小时后，列车长通知所有乘客，由于“运营原因”，我们将无法继续乘坐火车，而是乘坐接驳巴士前往最终目的地。令人沮丧的是，这条信息竟然没能早点传达过来；同样令人沮丧的是，他们迟迟不肯承认无法乘火车抵达比勒陀利亚，导致接驳巴士也延误了。雪上加霜的是……我妻子的行李箱被装上了一辆目的地与我们不同的小巴；等发现错误时，另一辆小巴已经开走了很远。他们没有安排把丢失的行李箱送到我们当晚入住的酒店，而是选择了让我们的巴士（其他乘客还因为我们的行李放错地方而责怪我们耽误了行程）在车站等另一辆载着我妻子行李箱的巴士回来。整个过程至少又耽误了一个小时，直到我建议我们车上的其他乘客先走，我们乘坐“备用”小巴跟上，尽量减少对其他人的不便，我们一行人才得以出发。看来，他们真是缺乏常识。
最后一点不足之处在于价格。如果不是因为价格高昂，以上所有问题或许都不会如此令人担忧；作为非南非居民，每晚的房价堪比我住过的最贵的酒店/全包度假村或豪华游轮，在这个价位上，我理应获得更好的客户体验，尤其是在经历了之前遇到的问题之后。
优点：大部分员工都非常出色；特别感谢餐车里我们常驻的服务员玛琳，她服务周到，无可挑剔。我们的管家坦博先生也是蓝色列车的优秀形象大使。
食物一流，堪比任何餐厅，考虑到厨师是在行驶的列车上狭小的厨房里准备餐食，这确实是一项了不起的成就。饮料无限畅饮，酒单也非常出色。
列车本身仿佛让人回到了铁路旅行的黄金时代。我们的卧铺车厢设施齐全，原本是一个配有独立扶手椅的私人包厢，每天晚上用餐时都会被改造成一个舒适的卧铺车厢，里面有两张独立的床。观景车厢让我们得以从列车尾部欣赏沿途独特的风景。酒吧车厢和餐车，尤其是餐车，都配备了豪华的设施，每天晚上穿着西装打着领带去用餐感觉很特别（我带了一件晚礼服，但如果我穿的话，恐怕会是唯一一个穿“黑色领结”的男士）。这次火车之旅体验堪称完美，唯一的瑕疵是，原本应该从俱乐部车厢显示前方路况的前置摄像头和配套的宽屏电视无法正常工作，而且我相信它已经坏了一段时间了。
总的来说，作为一个火车爱好者，一个毕生都渴望乘坐蓝色列车的人，我很难过要写下这篇负面评价。这段旅程有很多精彩之处，我不想吓跑潜在的旅客，但是……作为一名花了很多钱的顾客，我对这次体验感到非常失望，尤其是在问题发生前后缺乏沟通方面。
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