The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec)
September 5, 1991, Thursday, FINAL EDITION


Dominican 'vacation' package was cockroach-infested nightmare; Flight steward stood at front of plane, handed out insecticide and yelled 'Everybody kill cockroaches!'

BYLINE: BERNARD PERUSSE GAZETTE

My husband and I booked a Multitour vacation package and flew to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on April 7 last year. Our Dominicana Airlines flight was scheduled to leave at 11:55 a.m., but it was held back for two hours.

When we finally boarded the plane, we were disappointed to find ourselves in a dirty old 727 that didn't exactly inspire confidence.

We had no idea that things were going to get much worse on the way back.

Our scheduled return flight started with another delay - 90 minutes this time. During a 20-minute stopover in Santo Domingo, we were told to get off the plane. This was no hardship, because it was dirty and malodorous.

After waiting at the airport for two hours with no explanation for the delay, we were informed that our departure time had been postponed until 10 p.m.

Four hours later, we were bussed to a hotel to wait for the plane. Actually, "hotel" is not quite the word I'm looking for. It was more like a cockroach- and rat-infested dump, which apparently doubled as a brothel.

I'm not kidding. Prostitutes hung around the lobby and some members of our group, forced into rooms with strangers, felt obliged to leave because of the activities of their new roommates.

At 8 p.m., we gathered in the lobby to go back to the airport. That's when the Multitour rep delivered the horrible news: we wouldn't be leaving for another 24 hours!

A night in this hotel was out of the question. We eventually found a safe, sanitary and comfortable place - without a shred of assistance from Multitour. We struggled along on our own in a foreign country.

Incredibly enough, things took a turn for the worse on our flight back to Mirabel the next evening.

After a three-hour wait, we boarded the plane. Our meal was served, and we discovered that the airplane was infested with cockroaches.

We were forced to kill cockroaches that were crawling up the arms of our chairs and across our feet. At one point, the steward on the flight stood at the front of the plane, handed out insecticide and yelled "Everybody kill cockroaches!"

Our travel agent tried to get a settlement from Multitour, but the company turned him down flat.

My losses include the extra hotel and food costs in Santo Domingo, as well as other added expenses and the loss of a day's pay - plus, of course, stress and inconvenience. I calculate my total claim to be $ 1,179 - and I expect no debate over these charges.