This review is part of a series about my experience of my first ever package holiday – a trip to Lapland. You can find out more about our trip here.
I received a small brochure in the post (about three weeks before departure) that laid out my itinerary and provided check-in times etc. along with a list of useful things to pack. I particularly liked ‘it can be as low as -30 degrees. We cannot emphasise the importance of packing properly, particular for young children’!
There was an email address included in the pack for any questions – I sent an email asking for confirmation that families would be seated together. This is the reply I received:
Hi MrTravelFreak,
Only 5 sleeps to go- are JTF1 and JTF2 excited?
I have just been speaking with my colleagues in the UK and they have confirmed that all families are guaranteed to be sitting together on the flights over to Lapland.
When I went over there I really struggled to know what to pack so I have included a few hints and tips that you may find useful;
- Lots of thin layers are better than a few thick layers- don’t forget your thermals they will keep you really toasty!
- Hand/ foot warmers- help to give you a warm boost if you are starting to feel chilly
- Keep some warm clothes- hats, scarfs, gloves in your hand luggage for when you land
- Your dancing shoes and something special to wear for your Gala dinner on the last night.
- When you go into the hotel it can be really warm in all your layers- they do have a cloak room available to put your suits and boots- for ease at meal times we used to roll the top half of our suits down and tie them at the waist.
- Don’t forget that the rooms will have big dryers in them so you will be able to dry out your clothes every night while you are sleeping- just don’t put your boots in because they have a tendency to melt!
- The air can feel really dry out in Lapland so you may want to take a lip balm with you. I used cocoa butter while I was out there, some of the team said that Vaseline worked as well.
If you can share a secret with JTF1 and JTF2 for me, when they get to Lapland the Destination Hosts will give them some clues that they need to look for that might help them find Santa. I find a torch can be really useful when searching for these clues! While I was there Santa told me that he loves to hear singing so whenever you have the opportunity to sing a carol make sure it’s really loud so that Santa can hear.
I hope this has helped answer a few of those questions for you and maybe others that you would not have thought about. If you have any other questions please just let me know and I will be happy to help. I find that Lapland is such a specific destination it can be difficult to know what to expect or what you may need to take with you, as I have been before I am able to share my first-hand knowledge with you and help make your experience unforgettable!
I am here for you before, during and after your stay – Just think of me as your very own personal Cosmos Concierge for Lapland You can get in touch with me by email, skype, telephone – you name it I will be there for you! We can even live chat through our Live lounge. To use Live lounge, you can go to our website www.cosmos.co.uk click the Cosmos Concierge and Live lounge image. Enter your email and select Lapland and we can chat away.
Do you have any plans for this week?
Speak to you soon,
Kirsty
Wow! When was the last time that you received a personalised and detailed response like that? Kirsty (assuming it’s not an outsourced service and that she is a real person!) went to the effort of looking up the JTF’s names and offering really useful advice based on here own experiences as well as some really exciting content for the JTFs. There was no upselling, just a truly helpful response. I was aghast but in a really great way.
I didn’t reply directly but posted a tweet thanking Kirsty for her response. A few days later I got this:
Hi MrTravelFreak
Wow only three sleeps until you are in the land of Christmas! Are JTF1 and JTF2 counting down for you?
How is the packing going, have you got everything you need?
Once you get into the terminal building you will go straight to the luggage belts (there is no passport control) where you will find the Destination Hosts waiting to greet you. Once you have collected your luggage the Destination Hosts will then direct you to the coach park where you will be able to find your bus, drop your luggage off and go and collect your snowsuits from the snow hut.
I have some contacts for you here for whilst you are in resort:
Emergency Contact: XXXXXXXX / Office number: XXXXXXXX.
I am here for you all the way too! You can either contact me through email, skype or Livelounge! To use Live lounge, Go to our website www.cosmos.co.uk click the Cosmos Concierge and Livelounge image. Enter your email and select Lapland and we can chat away!
I will email you in a few days to see how your holiday is going, In the meantime anything else I can help you with let me know!
Enjoy the countdown MrTravelFreak!
Kirsty
Again – what a great way to communicate emergency numbers to me! My expectations of Cosmos increased 10 fold after this experience – I think this is a really great idea and hope that their customers embrace it and that Cosmos continue to fund it.
You can find out more about our trip here!
