Jun 26

Jun 26 Paris Major Limousine

We disembarked one ship in Cherbourg, France, and took the train to Paris where we spent the night before flying to Valletta the next day to embark another ship. We knew we needed a reliable transfer in Paris to get from our hotel to the airport. After some research on the Internet, I came across Paris Major Limousine. I exchanged a couple of emails with Mahdi Oustani, the Sales Director for Paris Major Limousine (PML), and arranged a transfer.

Travel in a foreign country is stressful enough without having to deal with local taxis. We have learned from experience that it is much better to hire a private car when you know you have to be somewhere, such as the airport to make a flight. As promised, our driver, Gilles, was waiting for us outside our hotel at 8:00am. We were surprised that he was driving a beautiful new top-of-the-line S-Class Mercedes.

Our luggage was loaded into the trunk and we settled into the plush leather seats. Complimentary bottled water was waiting for us to enjoy on our way to the airport.

We left the hotel and entered the frantic Paris rush-hour traffic. About two blocks from the hotel, Rickee turns to me and says, "Do you have our passports?" I began scanning my memory banks followed by digging through my backpack looking for them. Suddenly I remembered that they are back at the hotel locked in the safe in our room! When I asked Gilles if he could return to the hotel, he said "no problem" and began working his way back through the one-way streets. He told me that it might be quicker if I walked back to the hotel from the corner of the street where it was located because all the one-way streets would make the trip longer, and that he and Rickee would meet me out in front of the hotel. I exited the car and ran the two blocks back to the hotel to retrieve our passports.

By the time I obtained the documents from our safe and made my way back to the front of the hotel, Rickee and Gilles were arriving. I jumped into the backseat and we were once again on our way to the airport. Thankfully, Rickee asked about the passports when she did, or we would have probably missed our flight. Gilles did an excellent job of maneuvering the big Merc through the Paris traffic and got us to the airport in plenty of time. This is where most drivers would pull up to the front of the airport and just drop you off. But not Gilles. He parks the car, unloads our luggage on to a cart and walks us into the airport!

Once inside, Gilles even helps us find the check-in counter for our flight. That is service above and beyond anything we ever expected. After we knew where we were in the airport, Gilles said goodbye and we were on our way to Valletta.

There is no question that the next time we are traveling to Paris, we will be contacting Paris Major Limousine for our transportation needs. Of course, they offer much more than just airport transfers. And, they have a large fleet of vehicles to serve a variety of needs. Check their website for full details at 1st-limousine-services.com.

Note: A sedan transfer from Hotel InterContinental to CDG would typically cost 115€, the Mercedes S-Class transfer is 195€