Cruise visitors' bus queue embarrassing
ON WALKING past the Picquet House on Friday [7 July] I noticed a very large queue of cruise liner passengers waiting for a bus to take them around the island. This was at approximately 12.45pm, and on passing again, the queue had reached towards the newspaper kiosk. Speaking to the bus driver, he informed me that they were queueing for the one o'clock and the next one would not be until 1.40pm.
The queue was so long that it would take, I presume, at least three buses to clear the backlog, so it was quite embarrassing to see all these visitors who would now have to queue for ages in the hot sun for these buses. Not very good service for the island?
On a more uplifting situation, I happened to pass along the road to St Martin's from Le Val des Terres, and what a great sight of meadow flowers now on display on these grass verges.
All the doubters who disagreed with the idea of these grasses being sown with meadow flowers must be eating their words.
It's a great sight to see and would be magnificent to see the idea spread around the top of Le Val des Terres.
R. S. MAUGER,
Valletta,
Rue des Frieteaux,
St Martin's,
GY4 6XA.
Editor's footnote: A spokesman for CT Plus responds: The newspaper advises that the correspondent is referring to Friday 7 July. This is when the cruise ship Vision of the Seas was visiting the island.
She can take 2,435 passengers.
Large cruise ships tend to disembark at seven or eight o clock in the morning, however, on this Friday she paid a later visit to Guernsey, with those on board coming to shore from 10 o'clock.
CT Plus is pleased to continue to provide many extra services this year to help with the spikes that occur when many thousands of cruise line visitors disembark on the Albert Pier.
This year has seen the inclusion of the Red Route for large cruise liner days. The initiative also sees a deployment of on-the-ground staff to help create more options for the visitors than the round-island trip they may have been told about while on board the ship.
The extra services cannot take place when buses are needed for schools. As a rule, the additional Red Route has run from nine o'clock until noon. The excursion for passengers on the Red Route lasts for two hours and 15 minutes.
The last extra service therefore leaves at noon, so that the buses can be returned and ready to take the island's children home from school.
The campaign to get visitors to see Guernsey using a variety of buses continues.
Where your correspondent saw people waiting is a large poster that gives these alternatives. The same poster to help those who wish to avoid queuing is in the tourist office and on the side of the Town Terminus kiosk. Even with alternative service routes for visitors to see some of the island, there will still be those who will queue and wait to take a bus they have their mind set on.
