Catamaran passengers deserve better customer service

I would like to share my concern and disappointment about the Virtu Ferries catamaran crossing to Pozzallo. 

My concern and surprise are that there are no security checks at all. No one scans the check-in luggage or the hand luggage. There is no body scan whatsoever. Anyone can carry a bomb onto the ferry. I think that the police and Transport Malta should investigate and remedy this. At the airport there is every sort of scan check. Is it presumed that terrorists acts can only happen on airplanes?

My family travelled to Pozzallo and back at a weekend. We had two babies of 15 months with us. We travelled club class. Since we had a pushchair and we did not travel with a car, we were told to remain in the cabin until they told us. When we were told to go down, my daughter-in-law had to go through the garage and stay there until all vehicles and trailers disembarked, in all the wonderful fumes. Their policy is not persons and babies to go out first, followed by vehicles, but the other way round. Vehicles are more important than people’s health.

On going out of the catamaran we found that all luggages had been collected, except two out of our three luggages, which were left on the quay. The missing one contained all the essential items of the babies, including medicine. We told the staff about the missing piece of luggage. We told them that in club class there were only a couple of people who did not travel with their cars and were to collect their luggage from the club class trolley. 

We suggested that they should call these few and inquire if they had mistakenly took our luggage. They said they would not do this. There is not even a lost luggage section where to lodge our claim. They never tagged our luggage.

Their only response was that we should go to the Valletta police station at midnight, without a car and having two babies, and file a report. They did not even want to inform the police themselves. Obviously we did not take their advice and called the police who came to the port and took the report. This took us about 90 minutes, with two babies in care.

I am sure that passengers deserve better customer care.

Anthony Galea

Attard