Capital Hotel School recently partnered with The Blue Train, one of South Africa’s most well-known tourism icons. Second year Hospitality Management students and all-round highest performers, Catalina de Sousa and Marli Barnard were recently invited aboard the legendary Blue Train for a unique practical training experience.
Catalina who has always had a passion for the hospitality industry and one day wants to own and run her own hotel says that, “The Blue Train is without a doubt one of the most pleasant places to do your practical training! The team aboard The Blue Train were incredibly friendly and helpful and my experience was amazing!” While learning how to serve guests when the floor is unstable and moving and making beds in the most confined spaces, Catalina was also exposed to beautiful parts of South Africa and managed to explore a bit of Cape Town too.
Marli, who has a passion for working with people and event co-ordination, dreams of one day becoming a Sommelier. She was equally as excited by the practical experience she received on The Blue Train and highlights that some of her fondest moments were getting to experience the very best of South Africa with guests from all over the world and working with professional people that know the industry.
The students share some valuable tips that they learnt – for those wishing to take a trip or work aboard The Blue Train
- Pack lightly as there is not a lot of space in your room.
- If you have big suitcases, make sure to remove everything that you need for the journey and allow it to be stored in the storage carriage
- It gets quite cold during the morning so be prepared and bring extra jackets
- Wear comfortable shoes as you could easily walk more than 15,000 steps a day
- Get your camera ready and take as many pictures as you can because there is so many amazing and breath-taking views along the way
- Always make sure that you are in the observation room when the sun is about to set – it is beautiful!
