旅行
账户
David-Dibs-Bishop
A great experience that should have been better!
Virgin Balloon Flights的点评
点评：So first off this is an amazing experience, zipping along in an air balloon there is really nothing quite like it.
The flight itself was great although you do not get to choose who you fly with. While the majority on the flight were pleasant we had one couple who insisted on taking phone calls and video calls pretty much constantly. When it came to assisting with set up and packing down the pair sauntered off an hid and then created a rush when they said they were supposed to have checked out of their hotel about an hour before.
Although I wouldn't say it ruined it, it certainly was a shame. The rest of the people on the balloon were lovely so guess we were just a little unlucky!
We were told we were extremely lucky that this was the first flight we booked and it flew as a number of others there were on to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th attempt. We had banks of fog but on a warm day so it actually added to the experience. That said I think it was quite touch and go.
We were originally planned to fly out of the Mecure in Maidstone (which was rather convenient) however we were informed shortly before they would be using an alternative site at Headcorn. We later discovered that they are no longer allowed to fly out of the site by the Mecure and hadn't been for quite some time - Not really sure why it is then advertised as being available?
Upon arrival we were given a briefing and after a bit of waiting around as the fog needed to lift a bit we were invited to assist in getting the balloon ready. All good fun. They were fine with you taking cameras etc and also take pictures etc you can later purchase on a data key.
It's a bit of a jumble getting into the baskets which as a couple we shared one section with another couple. Be mindful that when the balloon is heating, the heat can be felt so may want a hat or to duck down as some people were doing.
The flight was good and we got to take in a number of sites. It did seem like we were very much up and then down with the majority of the flight at relatively low levels. This was fun going around and near trees etc and seeing cattle and people as we went past.
It also seemed like the pilots were desperate to avoid landing in certain fields. The initial suggestion was that they were unfriendly however it seemed more that they were areas that they would likely have to pay to land there. As such we ended up in possibly one of the most inconvenient places, in a field covered in ant hills and that they were unable to access the field for ages as there was no one available to give them access, telling us the lady who sadly had since passed away on their previous landing had always accepted a voucher.
That then led to a rather trickier than it could of been packing up of the balloon. As two of the guys involved were off trying to be able to gain access the optional assisting became a bit more obligatory, (Other than the two afore mentioned who literally hid in the basket claiming it was too bright and uneven) As the ground was so uneven some of the older passengers fell and slipped while trying to assist. Being amongst the younger ones on the flight I was able to get quite involved, that said a few of us were very sweaty once it was packed up.
After some more waiting around the vehicle came to collect the basket. We were then given a choice of drinks, unfortunately when counting out the Proseccos, myself and my wife ended up with a glass of bucks fizz instead as they had miscalculated? This was also the same for the Pic and video data keys. Rather than taking payment once the cards were filled and exchanging them, they once again attempted a show of hands, took payment and then produced the cards (I'd suggest given what is charged and the size of the cards that they may wish to invest in slightly faster cards). They managed to find themselves giving out cards to people who hadn't paid and as with the drinks being polite and waiting seemed to actually mean that we didn't initially get our card having paid and it was only that one of the guys remembered us paying as they had already given out the amount paid for. This was totally avoidable and was surprised it wasn't a lot slicker.
After this we had a hike across a couple of fields to reach the waiting minibus - this was towards the front of the farm which was quite impressive. Unfortunately there was more waiting around as part of the group missed a turning and had to be guided in. It was pretty warm by this point so you can imagine waiting on a minibus wasn't ideal!
Once back at Headcorn it was relatively straight forward to collect cars and head off, unfortunately to be let out of the gate they needed to wave a tag, the guy holding it was deep in conversation so again a few cars were stuck waiting to leave.
This could and should have been a five star experience, the let downs were the venue change (As it was never going from the original site as they are banned and have been), The oddities of the field landed in and the issues it created, the mess up of drinks and the same for the pics,
The Pilots and team were very friendly and as an experience i'd 100% recommend it and wonder if we were in part both lucky on the day and unlucky in equal measures - It was actually quite amazing with the fog and the co-pilot was asking for photos of the balloon flight in the fog so guessing it was quite unique!
The flight itself was great although you do not get to choose who you fly with. While the majority on the flight were pleasant we had one couple who insisted on taking phone calls and video calls pretty much constantly. When it came to assisting with set up and packing down the pair sauntered off an hid and then created a rush when they said they were supposed to have checked out of their hotel about an hour before.
Although I wouldn't say it ruined it, it certainly was a shame. The rest of the people on the balloon were lovely so guess we were just a little unlucky!
We were told we were extremely lucky that this was the first flight we booked and it flew as a number of others there were on to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th attempt. We had banks of fog but on a warm day so it actually added to the experience. That said I think it was quite touch and go.
We were originally planned to fly out of the Mecure in Maidstone (which was rather convenient) however we were informed shortly before they would be using an alternative site at Headcorn. We later discovered that they are no longer allowed to fly out of the site by the Mecure and hadn't been for quite some time - Not really sure why it is then advertised as being available?
Upon arrival we were given a briefing and after a bit of waiting around as the fog needed to lift a bit we were invited to assist in getting the balloon ready. All good fun. They were fine with you taking cameras etc and also take pictures etc you can later purchase on a data key.
It's a bit of a jumble getting into the baskets which as a couple we shared one section with another couple. Be mindful that when the balloon is heating, the heat can be felt so may want a hat or to duck down as some people were doing.
The flight was good and we got to take in a number of sites. It did seem like we were very much up and then down with the majority of the flight at relatively low levels. This was fun going around and near trees etc and seeing cattle and people as we went past.
It also seemed like the pilots were desperate to avoid landing in certain fields. The initial suggestion was that they were unfriendly however it seemed more that they were areas that they would likely have to pay to land there. As such we ended up in possibly one of the most inconvenient places, in a field covered in ant hills and that they were unable to access the field for ages as there was no one available to give them access, telling us the lady who sadly had since passed away on their previous landing had always accepted a voucher.
That then led to a rather trickier than it could of been packing up of the balloon. As two of the guys involved were off trying to be able to gain access the optional assisting became a bit more obligatory, (Other than the two afore mentioned who literally hid in the basket claiming it was too bright and uneven) As the ground was so uneven some of the older passengers fell and slipped while trying to assist. Being amongst the younger ones on the flight I was able to get quite involved, that said a few of us were very sweaty once it was packed up.
After some more waiting around the vehicle came to collect the basket. We were then given a choice of drinks, unfortunately when counting out the Proseccos, myself and my wife ended up with a glass of bucks fizz instead as they had miscalculated? This was also the same for the Pic and video data keys. Rather than taking payment once the cards were filled and exchanging them, they once again attempted a show of hands, took payment and then produced the cards (I'd suggest given what is charged and the size of the cards that they may wish to invest in slightly faster cards). They managed to find themselves giving out cards to people who hadn't paid and as with the drinks being polite and waiting seemed to actually mean that we didn't initially get our card having paid and it was only that one of the guys remembered us paying as they had already given out the amount paid for. This was totally avoidable and was surprised it wasn't a lot slicker.
After this we had a hike across a couple of fields to reach the waiting minibus - this was towards the front of the farm which was quite impressive. Unfortunately there was more waiting around as part of the group missed a turning and had to be guided in. It was pretty warm by this point so you can imagine waiting on a minibus wasn't ideal!
Once back at Headcorn it was relatively straight forward to collect cars and head off, unfortunately to be let out of the gate they needed to wave a tag, the guy holding it was deep in conversation so again a few cars were stuck waiting to leave.
This could and should have been a five star experience, the let downs were the venue change (As it was never going from the original site as they are banned and have been), The oddities of the field landed in and the issues it created, the mess up of drinks and the same for the pics,
The Pilots and team were very friendly and as an experience i'd 100% recommend it and wonder if we were in part both lucky on the day and unlucky in equal measures - It was actually quite amazing with the fog and the co-pilot was asking for photos of the balloon flight in the fog so guessing it was quite unique!
翻译：首先，这是一次令人惊叹的体验，乘坐气球疾驰而过，真的没有什么比这更好的了。
飞行本身很棒，尽管您无法选择与谁一起飞行。虽然航班上的大多数人都很愉快，但我们有一对夫妇坚持经常接听电话和视频通话。当需要协助布置和收拾行李时，两人悠闲地离开了一个藏身处，然后当他们说他们应该在大约一个小时前退房时，他们又匆忙起来。
虽然我不会说它毁了它，但这确实是一种耻辱。气球上的其他人都很可爱，所以我猜我们只是有点不走运！
我们被告知我们非常幸运，这是我们预订的第一趟航班，并且与其他许多航班一样进行了第二次、第三次和第四次尝试。我们遇到了大雾，但天气温暖，所以它实际上增加了体验。话虽如此，我认为这是相当一触即发的。
我们原本计划从梅德斯通的 Mecure 起飞（这相当方便），但不久前我们被告知他们将使用 Headcorn 的替代地点。后来我们发现，Mecure 不再允许它们飞出该站点，并且已经有一段时间没有飞出了该站点了 - 不太确定为什么它会被广告为可用？
抵达后，我们收到了简报，经过一段时间的等待，因为雾需要消散一点，我们被邀请协助准备气球。一切都很有趣。他们同意你带相机等，也可以拍照等，你可以稍后用数据密钥购买。
进入篮子有点混乱，作为一对夫妇，我们与另一对夫妇共享一个部分。请注意，当气球加热时，您会感觉到热量，因此可能需要戴帽子或像某些人那样蹲下来。
飞行很顺利，我们参观了很多景点。看起来我们确实先起后落，大部分航班都处于相对较低的水平。在树木等周围和附近走动，当我们经过时看到牛和人，这很有趣。
飞行员似乎也拼命避免在某些区域着陆。最初的建议是他们不友好，但似乎更多的是他们可能需要付费才能在那里降落。因此，我们最终来到了可能是最不方便的地方之一，在一片被蚂蚁山覆盖的田地里，他们很长时间都无法进入田地，因为没有人可以让他们进入，不幸的是，那位女士告诉我们，自从在上次着陆时去世以来，他们一直接受优惠券。
这导致了一个比打包气球更棘手的事情。由于其中两个人试图进入篮子，可选的协助变得更加强制性，（除了前面提到的两个人，他们实际上躲在篮子里，声称篮子太亮和不平坦），因为地面是如此一些年长的乘客在试图帮忙时摔倒并滑倒。作为航班上的年轻人之一，我能够充分参与其中，也就是说，我们中的一些人在收拾好行李后都非常出汗。
又等了一会，车子来收篮子了。然后我们可以选择饮料，不幸的是，在计算普罗塞克时，我和我的妻子最终喝了一杯美元起泡酒，因为他们计算错误了？图片和视频数据键也是如此。他们并没有在卡填满后付款并交换，而是再次尝试举手，接受付款，然后出示卡（我建议考虑到收费金额以及他们可能希望投资的卡的大小）在速度稍快的卡中）。他们设法向未付款的人发放卡片，并且饮料很有礼貌，等待似乎实际上意味着我们最初并没有收到已付款的卡片，只是其中一个人记得我们因为他们已经给出了所支付的金额而付款。这是完全可以避免的，令人惊讶的是它并没有变得更光滑。
之后我们徒步穿过几块田地到达等待的小巴——这是朝向农场前面的，这是相当令人印象深刻的。不幸的是，由于部分人错过了转弯，不得不被引导进去，所以有更多的人在等待。此时天气相当温暖，所以你可以想象等待小巴的情况并不理想！
回到黑德科恩后，取车然后出发就相对简单了，不幸的是，要让他们离开大门，他们需要挥动标签，拿着标签的人正在深入交谈，所以又有几辆车被困在等待离开。
这本来可以而且应该是五星级的体验， 令人失望的是场地的改变（因为它永远不会离开原来的场地，因为它们被禁止并且已经被禁止了），场地的奇怪现象及其产生的问题，饮料的混乱以及照片的混乱,
飞行员和团队都非常友好，作为一次体验，我百分百推荐它，想知道我们当天是幸运的，还是不幸的——大雾实际上是相当惊人的，副驾驶是索要气球在雾中飞行的照片，所以猜测它非常独特！
飞行本身很棒，尽管您无法选择与谁一起飞行。虽然航班上的大多数人都很愉快，但我们有一对夫妇坚持经常接听电话和视频通话。当需要协助布置和收拾行李时，两人悠闲地离开了一个藏身处，然后当他们说他们应该在大约一个小时前退房时，他们又匆忙起来。
虽然我不会说它毁了它，但这确实是一种耻辱。气球上的其他人都很可爱，所以我猜我们只是有点不走运！
我们被告知我们非常幸运，这是我们预订的第一趟航班，并且与其他许多航班一样进行了第二次、第三次和第四次尝试。我们遇到了大雾，但天气温暖，所以它实际上增加了体验。话虽如此，我认为这是相当一触即发的。
我们原本计划从梅德斯通的 Mecure 起飞（这相当方便），但不久前我们被告知他们将使用 Headcorn 的替代地点。后来我们发现，Mecure 不再允许它们飞出该站点，并且已经有一段时间没有飞出了该站点了 - 不太确定为什么它会被广告为可用？
抵达后，我们收到了简报，经过一段时间的等待，因为雾需要消散一点，我们被邀请协助准备气球。一切都很有趣。他们同意你带相机等，也可以拍照等，你可以稍后用数据密钥购买。
进入篮子有点混乱，作为一对夫妇，我们与另一对夫妇共享一个部分。请注意，当气球加热时，您会感觉到热量，因此可能需要戴帽子或像某些人那样蹲下来。
飞行很顺利，我们参观了很多景点。看起来我们确实先起后落，大部分航班都处于相对较低的水平。在树木等周围和附近走动，当我们经过时看到牛和人，这很有趣。
飞行员似乎也拼命避免在某些区域着陆。最初的建议是他们不友好，但似乎更多的是他们可能需要付费才能在那里降落。因此，我们最终来到了可能是最不方便的地方之一，在一片被蚂蚁山覆盖的田地里，他们很长时间都无法进入田地，因为没有人可以让他们进入，不幸的是，那位女士告诉我们，自从在上次着陆时去世以来，他们一直接受优惠券。
这导致了一个比打包气球更棘手的事情。由于其中两个人试图进入篮子，可选的协助变得更加强制性，（除了前面提到的两个人，他们实际上躲在篮子里，声称篮子太亮和不平坦），因为地面是如此一些年长的乘客在试图帮忙时摔倒并滑倒。作为航班上的年轻人之一，我能够充分参与其中，也就是说，我们中的一些人在收拾好行李后都非常出汗。
又等了一会，车子来收篮子了。然后我们可以选择饮料，不幸的是，在计算普罗塞克时，我和我的妻子最终喝了一杯美元起泡酒，因为他们计算错误了？图片和视频数据键也是如此。他们并没有在卡填满后付款并交换，而是再次尝试举手，接受付款，然后出示卡（我建议考虑到收费金额以及他们可能希望投资的卡的大小）在速度稍快的卡中）。他们设法向未付款的人发放卡片，并且饮料很有礼貌，等待似乎实际上意味着我们最初并没有收到已付款的卡片，只是其中一个人记得我们因为他们已经给出了所支付的金额而付款。这是完全可以避免的，令人惊讶的是它并没有变得更光滑。
之后我们徒步穿过几块田地到达等待的小巴——这是朝向农场前面的，这是相当令人印象深刻的。不幸的是，由于部分人错过了转弯，不得不被引导进去，所以有更多的人在等待。此时天气相当温暖，所以你可以想象等待小巴的情况并不理想！
回到黑德科恩后，取车然后出发就相对简单了，不幸的是，要让他们离开大门，他们需要挥动标签，拿着标签的人正在深入交谈，所以又有几辆车被困在等待离开。
这本来可以而且应该是五星级的体验， 令人失望的是场地的改变（因为它永远不会离开原来的场地，因为它们被禁止并且已经被禁止了），场地的奇怪现象及其产生的问题，饮料的混乱以及照片的混乱,
飞行员和团队都非常友好，作为一次体验，我百分百推荐它，想知道我们当天是幸运的，还是不幸的——大雾实际上是相当惊人的，副驾驶是索要气球在雾中飞行的照片，所以猜测它非常独特！
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