Top Five Travel Horror Stories

Many of us have experience travel horror stories, but many have also had it worse.  And boy do these stories have it worse.

I selected the “winners” of the Gogo passes.  And while I wish they didn’t have these travel horror stories, at least they won something out of it!

The four winners of one Gogo pass:

Stephanie

On my way home from a vacation, my flight was very delayed and I missed my connection home. On my way to find out if I could get on the next flight I overheard a couple from my first flight talking about trying to get to the same destination. I decided to strike up the usual small talk… Where are you from, where do you work etc. The man said he worked for a company which had recently laid off a good friend of mine, so I proceeded to tell them about it and how I would never work for a company who treated their employees that way. The conversation went on as we switched terminals when I realized he hadn’t mention what he did for that company. Turns out I was talking to the president of a VERY large corporation and his wife. I turned many shades of embarrassed and kept looking for the hidden cameras to pop out. No such luck, instead he thanked me for my thoughts and we parted ways. While my friend was very tickled that I really “stuck it to the man†for him, I’ve never been so mortified. It didn’t take long for karma to catch up- I ended up with food poisoning on the next flight.

Bill C

On a recent flight to Phoenix I scored Comfort+, but a middle seat. As I approached my seat I was shocked to see the woman in the window seat had a toddler and a golden retriever. The dog took up from the wall to the far edge of my seat.

He was a service dog and I understand they have to carry him, but I’m not sure it was appropriate to take away my floor space to do it. The woman saw my look of shock and said “Just put your feet on him, he won’t mind.†You know, because he was the only one that might mind this arrangement for 4 and a half hours.

Denise L

Our family stayed in a convent in Rome. After checking in, my husband attempted to put our passports back into his money belt – which is actually a silk pocket that hooks onto his belt and hangs inside his pants. He was having trouble so he stepped into the adjacent breakfast area for privacy (it was afternoon so it was empty and the door closed behind him). He decided to take advantage of readjusting his tucked-in shirt too. While doing so, two of the nuns walked in on him while his pants were down around his knees. Needless to say, they all shrieked! Two in Italian and one in English. The nuns were good humored and kidded him during our entire stay.

David

for my first cruise I booked airfare myself months in advance. The night before the cruise I got a feeling I should call and confirm my airfare. When I called I found out all the arrangements had changed and now I would not arrive in time. I talked to the rep and she started making changes so I could make the cruise. At one point she had me leaving one airport and arriving at another at the exact same time! It was scary I actually had to tell her that would not work for me. Finally after an hour we had it straightened out. At that point I decided to separate my bags and split clothes between the checked and carry on bag. The next day I arrived at the airport , checked bags, etc.and flew to cruise port. When I arrived my checked bag was nowhere to be found. Airline said it would arrive soon and they would get it on the ship. When I got on the ship I told the cruise line about my bag and they gave me some detergent, rental tux for formal night and access to laundry to get my clothes cleaned. Checked every day but bag never showed up. After the cruise I got home and the next day my bag was delivered. I then find out I went to the Caribbean but my bag went to Rome. It had a better vacation than I did.

And the grand prize winner of the three Gogo passes:

stacy

With 20 minutes left on our first international flight last year, the adult passenger behind us vomited so hard that it went on me and the seat back in front of me. My hair and clothes were covered! The flight attendants helped as much as they could with warm wipes. Unfortunately, since our departing flight was delayed, we missed our connecting flight, which meant an unexpected 8 hour layover. With all clothes in our checked luggage, I spent 6 hours walking around Amsterdam (because I wasn’t about to let a little vomit ruin my first European trip) in my clothes as the airline didn’t offer use of their lounge.

Gotta say, as a Mom of 4, and registered nurse. That guy threw up on the right person. My husband would not have handled it so well, lol!

 

That last one.  I should have selected these BEFORE dinner!

Congrats to the winners!  I’ll be sending you an email.

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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3 comments

  1. Honestly, Bill C’s issue sounds awesome to me! I’d probably let the dog sit in my lap. Dogs are the best for flight anxiety!

  2. Thanks! My husband and I are still laughing and cringing at Stacy’s story. Oh my!

  3. I think Stacy wins! I cannot imagine walking around for more than a day in someone else’s vomit!

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