J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Ian,
Are you staying in Morillon village or Morillon 1100? And are you going there because it's prettier and quieter than Flaine - or what? Does the chalet do the transfers as well? I will be very interested to read your report, when you get back.

Transfers do worry me, when I'm going DIY. Last year the Feb half-term ski train was an hour late getting to Moutiers and the bus (which I'd booked and paid for) had gone. So, we had to get a taxi, which luckily wasn't too expensive because Moutiers is only 15 miles from Courchevel and we joined up with some people we'd met in the train. But I suppose I lost about £30 in pre-paid bus tickets.

At least the train wasn't diverted!

But suppose I'd got a plane and I was meant to land at Chambery and I'd got transfers booked and the plane was diverted to Geneva, and the buses had all gone. A taxi from there to Courchevel would have been astronomical. I would guess quite a few people end up staying in a hotel in Geneva or wherever due to late or diverted planes. I reckon you must have been pretty lucky so far, never to have been on a diverted plane :D

Ally

I think sometimes you can get a good deal with the TO's, especially if you have kids. In the past we have had several holidays where my younger daughter got her holiday totally for free - flight, half-board in a hotel, and all her ski-ing.

At the moment, for example, I notice that Thomson are offering 5 nights self-catering in Les Deux Alpes, complete with flights and transfers, from Monday 3rd Jan to Sat 10th Jan, for 2 adults and one child for £640, which works out at only £213 per person. And, as well as that, they're currently offering 2 lift passes for the price of one for Jan and March. I'm not sure I could beat that price, if I was booking it myself.

But I can definitely get a Feb half-term holiday cheaper by booking it all myself than going with the TO's, although the train/plane prices do increase massively for that week, as well as the accommodation (in France anyway, where I've been looking).

I think one of the problems of going DIY and flying out, is that if the plane is diverted to another aiport you don't have any transfers arranged. When we went to Borovets in Bulgaria, for example, the plane was diverted from Sofia to Plovdiv, but because we were with a TO they sorted it and the coach went there to pick us up.

Ally

As Gadget Girl said, 'any update on this'?

I would really like to know what the outcome was, please, :D

Ally

Thanks Eggman for letting us know,

Please pass my congrats on to your OH. Great work :D

Ally

The Ski Club of Great Britain are doing vouchers for members so that you can have one ticket for free and one half price. I think you just take the voucher to the ticket office at the Birmingham NEC.

I'm not going though, Birmingham is too far away, and I will have only just got back from my October half-term ski-ing holiday in Tignes.

It does look a pretty good show, and maybe I will go another year, if it returns to London :D

Ally

Hi Shazzo,
I'm sorry to hear about your stroke. What a shock it must have been :shock: And how awful to have to miss a ski holiday on top of everything else.

I'm glad to say I haven't had a stroke. Only broken bones etc. The National Stroke Association seems to think that it's okay to ski after a stroke, and there is a great range of adaptive gear to help those disabled by their stroke to continue ski-ing:

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SS_MAG_jf2007_mobility

I would say the usual things apply, as to ski-ing after any other sort of injury or illness. Like, checking your insurance, being more careful etc. I think if it was me I'd stick to ski-ing in company on the easier slopes.

Apparently recovery is fastest in the first 6 months but continues for about 2 years, so hopefully you will have recovered quite well by Jan 2011.

Best of luck, and I hope you have a great time :D

Ally

I did it as well.

I don't think the price bands for all-inclusive ski holidays are nearly high enough (£850 is the highest). My last ski holiday cost us a total of £1100 each not counting the cost of food in resort (we went self-catering). If we had gone in a catered chalet it would have been at least £1100 per person not counting lift passes, lessons, or ski hire. Most catered chalets in Courchevel at Feb half-term are upwards of £1500 each for a week.

The lowest price band is £350 for a catered chalet including a 5 day lift pass. I don't think I've ever seen a holiday priced that low unless it was on some special last minute offer - even in Bulgaria!

ChristinaB - I hope you get the 300 responses you need to complete your statistical analysis :D

Ally

Thanks very much IR12daveor for all that information :D

I would guess that most people stay in St Moritz itself because that's where most of the package holidays go. It's much harder trying to sort out a DIY package, with transfers etc.

And that package holiday with Club Med to St Moritz does sound very good value.

I rather fancy Verbier myself, mainly because they speak French there, and I don't know any German. Presumably they speak German in St Moritz, and all the signs etc. are in German? Or can all Swiss people speak French as well?

Ally