who has got family stranded by the volcanic ash?

[MrsShu]

me ! easy jet have cancelled return flight

I'm stranded in San Francisco with ds's.

Getting back to UK seems like impossible dream at moment.

One of DH's colleagues is flying to Mexico then onto Spain to try and get back from there, but our travel insurance won't cover us for that.

anyone else in same boat?

Fibonacci, if you want to rent a car and come to los angeles, happy to put you up until you get a plane out.

Thanks so much SofiaAmes, such a kind offer.
DH is working here so we have a very comfy apartment to stay in luckily. just want to get home and back to work, and dc are supposed to start school again on Tuesday.

Norfolk Lines at Dunkirk seem to have spaces - I checked again this morning.

The Navy need to ferry back thr troops who are waiting in Cyprus , having been in the war zone, and need to get back to UK for their much needed time with family.

In that case, just enjoy because you will be there for awhile. At least you are someplace nice. If only dh had a flight 12 hours later....he would have been stuck with us in la instead of in Frankfurt!!!! (although he is now in calais on a coach put on by Lufthansa waiting for the ferry)

Stuck near Marrakech with 1yo and 3yo, meant to fly home thurs am with easy jet but next flight on 24th if it goes. If that doesn't fly we've been told there is nothing else until end of May so will make 4 day journey overland. Fortunately have been moved to our 5th hotel of the trip and finally some other families to keep us sane. DD is weeping a lot of the time about home and DS not sleeping. Will have been here over 3 weeks by weekend and DH self employed, tis a bit of a disaster! I am venting btw, just need a moan. It isn't so bad, at least we aren't under armed guard on a Russian hotel corridor like some.

Well. We too are stuck here in Greece. Have no idea what will happen, DP is contemplating getting back via train/bus/ferry, whatever, if by the end of the week things continue like this...but I simply can't face doing this with 20 month old DS . What do do? Will stay put here at my mum's for the moment & wait it out... (at least we're at my mum's, much better than others who have to face being in hotels or even worse, airports... I really feel for them!!)

grr all the trains that were available yesterday (before our plane was cancelled) have now been booked.

the hotel have kindly said we can stay another night '- we are the only guests and they are cleaning up around us.

pollyanna, aren't you in italy? Look on gumtree, there are people leaving rome and looking for passengers.

My SIL and some of her mates wen tout to Spain last week for three days to celebrate a mates birthday , next flight available for all of them is 30th April !!! (easy jet)

Most of them work in schools !

Franca thanks for thinking of me! Yes, I am still in Milan but I am booked on the TGV to Paris tomorrow morning and then on to London by Eurostar. I have a feeling that it won't be as smooth as that sounds!

I've had a very nice weekend here in the end, although I'm annoyed the sun is only making an appearance today when I am working! All my Italian colleagues have been great and I have spent ALOT of time in the spa, so all is good (oh, and I found the bookshop you mentioned so the trip tomorrow does not sound quite so daunting, although I shall have to savour every word to get my money's worth!!)

Oh, Lenni that sounds awful. Don't think we have any MNetters in Marrakesh. Difficult with such little ones, isn't it, they just don't understand why they cannot go home.

Pollyanna
How nice of the hotel to let you stay.

Maria
I would stay put if I were you. 4 days overland, by that time you might get a flight out.

So, we're off tomorrow morning first thing to try and retrieve DS. Thanks to some really amazing generous offers of help from mnetters and rl family and friends.

I really want to say thanks to everyone for all the support that is being offered on this thread. Mme Lindt for getting it started and for all those who are contributing - even if it's just positive thoughts it means such a lot when you're feeling overwhelmed.

I would like to think I'd normally be one of the people offering support and I'm sorry I've not been doing that. I really hope you all get sorted and reunited soon.

I'll try to let you know how we go, but hopefully we'll have DS back by tomorrow afternoon prays

Just had a phonecall and DD's Portage Home Visitor is stuck in Tenerife...

Good luck, Madascheese. x

Thanks for replying. Have tried the travel agents in Greece, they know absolutely nothing about trains etc in Italy, certainly no chance of them booking anything for us from here (we're currently in Mykonos, thought we'd come here and wait it out here rather than in Athens, we thought airports would open fairly quickly but have already been here in Greece for 4 extra days on top of our original holiday in Crete)

We are now thinking that once we're in Rome we'll train it to Caen in France and then get the ferry to Portsmouth. Factoring in a few days waiting to get on train in Rome and waiting to get on the ferry we should be home by the weekend, 9 days after we were originally due back on the 15th.

My only real concern is whether our insurance will pay out. We only have a short version of the full policy with us and in the exclusions it doesn't mention anything about not covering us for force majeur so I am hoping we are somehow going to get something back at least.

For today, the sun's coming out so we are going to make the most of being on this gorgeous greek island.

Maria2007, just saw your post. Whereabouts in Greece are you? We're currently in Mykonos, going back to Athens on 21st on the ferry and from there are booked to fly to Rome at 1730.

Hi ExoticTraveller. We're in northern greece so nowhere near Mykonos or even Athens(lucky you for being in Mykonos at this time of year, at least enjoy that while it lasts!) We're planning to stay put tbh since we're at my mum's and it feels completely unrealistic to travel across europe with a young toddler...

My best of luck to your trip, it sounds doable!

no JM don't think the government should have dashed in to help. They should wait and assess the duration/ size of the problem/ the extent to which airlines are shouldering their responsibilities.

Help is now going to be made available when it is clear that the problem is going to be of some duration. That help is going first to the returning soldiers, who clearly are the governments responsibility.

Would find it terribly offputting if anyone tried to make political capital from it.

They are now sending Ark Royal and Ocean to the rescue. Hope it's not coming out of the defence budget.

I bet the punters moan about lack of nice loos and the catering facilites. I hope they remember these are war ships not passenger ferries.

I know they are going to try to get the troops on R&R from Afghanistan to Cyprus and then use a warship to get them home from there. That should be the first priority as Tatt says.

My brother is stranded in Johannesburg and has been since Thursday.

He's been doing mission work with his family in Malawi and is supposed to be returning to the UK to raise money and work so they can continue out there but is instead stuck in an airport with no food etc...Air France are not providing when they should be.

www.news.com.au/breaking-news/royal-navy-to-help-bring-home-stranded-britons/story-e6frfku0-12258556 84255

scary- beat me to it

what a waste of money though. Surely these boats/ships are needed elsewhere?
How many people I wonder are now going to complain that they need a boat to pick them up?

Is the navy coming to get me from Malaysia?
Actually they can come, I like a man in unform

My dh navigates a troop carrier and they don't have stabilizers on his ship like cruise ship so if it is a bit rough at sea they really roll about.

Did you read the interview with one of the school children evacuated in the middle of the night? They were on a geography trip to Iceland, and were very close to the volcano.

"Ellie Pritchard, 15, said many did not know what was happening until they were on the buses.

"There was no noise or lava or anything like that, but it was very scary because we didn't know what was happening," she said.

"We had to leave all our things behind and some of us didn't have time to get dressed and were just wearing our pyjamas.

"When we were on the coaches we were told that the valley could be flooded at any time by all the melting ice above the glacier."

She added: "I have spoken to my mum and dad and let them know I am okay. This is the best geography field trip ever."

LOL at "this is the best geography field trip ever"