A SCOTS tourist was left fuming after her boat trip to Loch Ness was ruined – by a wedding party who blasted “club anthems” over the tannoy system for the entire journey.
Alina Thompson had departed from Dochgarroch at the head of Loch Ness during her visit on Saturday and was looking forward to enjoying a peaceful boat trip trying to spot the Loch Ness monster.
However, upon boarding her £27 seat with tour company Jacobite, Alina was informed that there would be no tour commentary for their journey around the Loch.
This was because there would be a tipsy wedding party onboard – who proceeded to hijack the sound system the entire tour – leaving Alina to email asking for a refund just half an hour into the trip.
Although Alina received a full refund from Jacobite, she was left frustrated at not being able to enjoy her tour and now has no time to hunt for Nessie for a second time.
The frustrated tourist conveyed her anger in a one-star rating review to TripAdvisor on Saturday, writing: “If I could give zero [stars], I would.
“When we arrived at the boat five minutes from boarding, the host said there was a wedding party on board and there would be no tour commentary.
“We were disappointed but as this was our only opportunity to cruise Loch Ness during our visit we boarded.
“The warm downstairs area was mostly full of the loud wedding party so we sat on the top deck.
“As soon as we set off, chart hits and classics were belted out over the tannoy which ruined any remaining experience.
“Tipsy party goers were smoking on deck and the whole thing may as well have been a party boat.
“We saw several poor families with children who had booked onto this trip looking absolutely miserable.
“30 minutes in I emailed asking for a refund and Jacobite explained that as they were struggling for capacity they allowed the wedding party to pay regular ticket prices.
“I can’t understand how they therefore had the sway to stop the commentary and replace it with club anthems if they had paid like the rest of us at £27 a ticket.
“It was a complete farce and I can’t believe a brand like Jacobite completely left its other punters disappointed to pander to this bigger group.
“Luckily, I got a full refund so that’s something but it should be willingly offered to those not in the wedding party if I’m honest.
“We don’t have time to try again with another provider either – proceed with caution at low season.”
Speaking today, Freda Newton, Managing Director of Loch Ness by Jacobite said: “We are sorry that Alina Thompson did not enjoy her cruise with us and we recognise that this fell short of our commitment to providing excellent customer service at Loch Ness by Jacobite.
“We did provide a full refund to Alina.
“As it was a busy bank holiday weekend, all our cruises were full and whilst we recommend booking in advance, we do always try to accommodate customers who turn up on the day, as was the case with Alina.
“As we were struggling to offer any cruise capacity, we decided to allow people to join the vessel with the wedding party as this group had only booked as regular customers and had not chartered the vessel.
“It was explained that there was a wedding party on board.
“We are proud to welcome guests from all over the world and for all kinds of celebrations and the fact that a couple chose to celebrate their wedding with us is testament to that.
“The majority of our customers have an enjoyable and memorable experience with Loch Ness by Jacobite and we are proud to maintain an average rating of 4.5 on Tripadvisor out of over 4,200 reviews.”
Punters have previously been very harsh with their reviews on Loch Ness, with several rating their tour one out of five after failing to see the legendary Loch Ness Monster.
