Transport Arrangements

[Lewis]

just wondering how these usually work both as a cadet and when qualified. Do you usually book your own flights,trains, taxis etc and claim them back from the boss? Or does the company do it for you? If you are joining or leaving the ship some where interesting would the company mind you going out a few days early/coming back a few days late?

ps I'm guessing the answers will probably be depends on the company etc so I'd like to hear what your experiences have been.

cheers

[alistairuk]

"It depends on company"

However as deck / engine, if you have to fly to join, the company will always book the flights for you - most shipping companies get substantial discounts - which is also why you will tend to fly with one group of airlines depending whom your company prefers (although having said that my present one likes KLM/Air France and OneWorld (BA etc.) carriers). - If you are flying to join ship JOIN THE FREQUENT FLYER program of the airlines / group of airline your company uses - you might as well acquire points for nothing!

If your joining locally / in the UK they might tell you to get a train etc. and they will refund the costs - although when I joined in the UK they flew me down to London and picked me up and dropped me off at the ship.

Normally when you land at your destination the ships agents will meet you after customs (sometimes before customs) and deal with the paperwork and transport you to either a hotel (and then collect you in the morning), or directly to the ship.

Most companies will not reimburse you for booking your own travel unless you have cleared it with them first. (With obvious exceptions like your flight being cancelled and you being abandoned at London a few days before christmas when the office is shut!)

I have known people who have asked the company to book flights home a few days after they leave ship so that they can have a little holiday where they have signed off (if they are eligible to be in that country - doing it in the USA can be a pain in the ass!) - most companies will oblige if its not costing them any more - although you would be responsible for getting yourself from the ship -> hotel -> airport and paying for associated expenses.

[alistairuk]

On a side note - it is worth (if you don't already) having a major credit card (that has credit available on it) for emergencies.

I so far have found myself either randomly abandoned at airports while travelling home at Christmas due to a certain airline using a light snow storm as an excuse to cancel all UK internal flights! Not in itself a big problem, except with office being closed for christmas there was no one there to rebook my flights so I had to book my own flights with a different airline and claim it back from company.

I have also, due to issues with the ship, found myself randomly at airports around the world where the company does not have agents - with having to wait a few days for a next flight (The worst / or rather "best" being making my way to Santiago in Chile, to receive a txt message from company saying "find a hotel - ship delayed - flights cancelled"; so naturally I happily checked into the Holiday Inn at the airport and spent a few days at the pool before they arranged to fly me out to Falkland islands to join there).

Don't be put off though, most of my flights have been fairly normal!

[GuinnessMan]

Credit card is a big thing and I highly reccommend it! I used to just use my debit card, but that was cloned when I was stuck in the arsehole end of China!

Also, make sure you take some of the local currency with you! About ?50 should be enough. When I was stuck in China I was lucky I took some with me as I could then get a phone card to call my company to tell them that they'd sent me to the wrong bloody airport!

[Lewis]

On a side note - it is worth (if you don't already) having a major credit card (that has credit available on it) for emergencies.

How major are we talking? Is a large credit limit achievable for your average cadet straight from school?

[alistairuk]

Your bank is usually the best bet and providing your account has never been in debt they will normally have no problem issuing you a credit card with a limited amount (as a last resort you could always ask a parent if they could get you a "second card" for purely emergency usage).

By major I meant "Visa", "MasterCard" or "American Express" - as opposed to random debit cards / unusual credit cards. Just don't get into debt - I kept mine purely for emergencies when travelling as a cadet - although now I use em all the time cause I am on a mission to get free flights to australia!

The issue with the debit cards is that it comes straight out of your bank account, so you loose the cash immediately and also if you are like most (not all) students you are likely to go into your overdraft - which when airport hotels cost around ?80 - ?160 per night, and flights can cost you various amounts (my emergency flights from London - Edinburgh ended up costing me ?400, solely cause I was purchasing them at the airport at 5am!).

As I have said - it is very rare that things go wrong - you won't be out of pocket as your training provider will reimburse you - but things do go wrong occasionally with travel arrangements - even with the big companies and its best not to find yourself somewhere with no cash and a huge bill to pay to get home!

On that note ALWAYS take with you the 24/7 travel number for your company (if they have one, if not you will be given an emergency contact number) and have the telephone numbers of the ships local agents. As quite often they forget to pick you up :-)

[Lewis]

Sorry thought when you said major you ment one with a large credit limit.

[ETwhat?]

As a student with an income you shouldnt have much problem getting a card with ?1000 on it but sometimes they can be fussy my first one had about 500 as the limit and they would only up this once i had six months useage on it, so to some degree its worth getting one sooner and find out what the requirements are to up it.

the big advantage is that if you have to buy flights you can then hold of paying the card off till the end of the month which will hopefully be the same month that the expenses come back to you anyway so it doesnt actually affect your ability to live. and then theres also the safety factor of using a credit card instead of a debit card.

I know Clyde have a 24/7 number which ideally would be able to sort most things, and generally its always the best procedure to ring them before spending your own money since as the golden rule (thats been said above) if your not authorised to spend it you wont be able to claim it.

On travel i had a very relaxing sprint through amsterdam airport last night as my first flight was delayed and i had a very short time to get from plane through security, passport control and then onto the other plane fortunately i and my bag made it

[GuinnessMan]

Oh, just a small point. The Credit Card, no matter what brand/make, may not work in certain parts of certain countries. Only Chinese issued Visa and Master Cards work in the smaller parts of China...