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"This year
we will be flying with to florida with Virgin Holidays for the fifth
time. We have never had a problem with them. Saying this, we were
delayed 48 hours coming back from florida the first time we went
but were treated like kings. We were put up in (the extremly nice)
Orlando Airport hotel and were given the cost of 1 day hire car
and 1 day in the parks. Not only this but because of the delay my
daughter would be flying for the most part of her sixth birthday.
Seeing as she w a s upset at this the Virgin Staff secretly arranged
for a surprise birthday cake to be given to her. She was delighted,
and it made her feel very special (and all the passengers around
us enjoyed the free cake!!!) I felt they dealt with the situation
incredibly well. I would reccomend Virgin to anyone." (6/02)
"Thought I'd
let you know of our experience. Last June booked to go through Virgin
Holidays for our honeymoon and noticed that for £30 each we could
book the executive departure lounge, now we are talking I thought
and booked it. Upon arrival at check in asked if there was a complimentary
upgrade as we were on our honeymoon and were told 'no none available
yet'. Decided to ask the gentleman who checked our passes for the
executive lounge who assured me he would look into it. Some fifteen
minutes later had our new seat assignments in Premium Economy. What
a way to travel, if you can't afford First Class I'd take this anyday
so much so we have paid for the upgrade this year!! The over-riding
factor of course being that my husband is 6ft 4in tall and needs
the extra legroom!!" (5/02) Claire
"Just back
from WDW (86 deg and all that!) and you wanted to know how our Air
2000 flight from Manchester to Sanford was. We took their Classic
Premium class which was an additional £ 139 per person return over
their premium class ticket and we are glad that we did as the leg
room in economy was pretty small, smaller even than Virgin's. Although
their Classic premium seating was not as wide as Virgin's premium
economy seats, the leg room was adequate although when we put the
seats into recline position, their was little room for manouver
and the person behind you had to use your seat back to pull themselves
up. After a while, this became very annoying. Check in was efficient
and all our baggage was labelled priority so they came off first
at both Sanford and Manchester. Food was atrocious on the way out.
Please do not have the beef and was even more atrocious on the way
in. The stewardesses were good and attentive on the way out but
pathetic and pretty un-professional on the way in. Flight left 30
minutes late and arrived 9 1/2 hours later at Sanford. Immigration,
baggage reclaim (No dual system here) and x-ray of baggage took
no time at all as we were to only International flight coming in.
Was at the Dollar check in 30 minutes after we had landed. Arrived
at Boardwalk 45 minutes later after taking the 417 and 535 into
Disney. If you want my trip report, let me know. On return, Sanford
flight security was tight. Even had to take my trouser belt off.
They did not see the funny side of my jokes regarding trousers falling
sown, etc but cannot complain as I am all for security. Flight was
delayed 1 1/4 hours due to incoming flight having to take 10 3/4
hours to arrive due to severe headwind but tailwind on return made
us only 15 minutes late. Sanford has a bar, fast food restaurant,
duty free shop, games room and that's it, so not a great place to
be if you are severely delayed. Way back was bumpy along the Eastern
Seaboard as 767's can only cruise at 30,000 feet along this route
and we were in clouds most of the time. 747's are allowed to go
a lot higher so we would have been bump free if we had gone with
Virgin. Cannot complain too much as the service was adequate for
the price (£ 300 per person) but wish that Virgin had a year round
service from Manchester as I prefer club virgin than air 2000 classic
premium. Trouble is that at the times of year that we go, (either
1st 2 weeks in December or 2nd and 3rd week of January), it would
mean a 180 miles trip to Gatwick with a 4 am start for the early
flight as Virgin stop their MCO schedule from Manchester in November
and do not restart until March. However, think that we will go from
Gatwick again next time and stay at on site Gatwick hotel and fly
from there to MCO as the service is better for a 9 hour flight.
Rating out of 5 - around 2 1/2" (1/02) Michael Rastelli
"We have been
to Orlando three years running now but this year I did it over the
net. We are an adult family (young at heart) and as we decided to
fly into Miami, as there is a better choice of direct flights andnot
so many children on the plane!!!. I managed ot get flights on Virgin
for only £211 each including tax (return) what a bargain. We are
stayed in Miami for a couple of nights at reasonable cost, then
drove up to Orlando. I booked a large house with pool and jucuzzi
in Indian creek for £375 inclusive a week. I agree with other peopl;es
comments that attration tickets are cheaper over there than over
her. Obvious really as they have to make some money these travel
agents!. By the way I rented (fully inclusive) alamo car for £447
for three weeks. A shopping tip. don't go to Florida Mall, the best
mall is Fashion Mall on the 50 in Orlando, Only twenty minutes from
Disney. This is a much less crowded and pleasant Mall, the one the
local use. Also opposite, there are some large stores that are not
in the florida Mall." Steve
"8 of my family
went to disney all-stars and a 7 day cruise on carnival. the flight
i must say was very good plenty of room and very helpful staff.
The problems arose on check in to our hotel when one member of the
party had not been booked into the hotel it was up to us to resolve
this matter the next day with the rep and received no apology. To
make matters worse we arrived at tampa port on a Sunday to find
that exactly the same had happened again however this time there
was no rep to help us and no way they were going to let our 16 year
old daughter on the ship after 3 hours and getting no were we decided
to find a hotel in Tampa for my husband and daughter, we were then
approached by staff who advised us that if we were willing to pay
the fare again then she would be allowed to board the ship. This
we did about 4 days into the cruise after the cruise line were able
to contact Virgin we had our money refunded. When we arrived home
I naturally complained to Virgin who at first could give no reason
why this had happened. following a second letter they said the error
was not theirs, they have offered £600 compensation I think this
is a pathetic gesture considering the holiday cost over £12000 for
us all and we had in effect lost 2 days. I feel Virgin are very
blasé about the distress and anxiety we suffered. Not an experience
I would recommend for anyone." (10/00)
"I found some
members of staff on the airline rude and do not cater for peoples
indiviual dietry needs they also turned round and picked an argument
this was the case on the british airways flight but on the way back
the staff were vey nice as we were upgraded and they cared for your
every need it was more comfatable and quiter and it's not in ordinary
sits you've got kids screaming and your crammed in which is awful."
"We've always
found better value in tayloring the holiday to our specific needs
than in taking a prescribed package. It is the holiday capital of
the world ansd you want to get it right. I'm about to visit again
and have chosen scheduled Virgin Atlantic flights this time as the
Airtours flights we had the last time were horrendous!"
"Been to Florida with Travel City Direct for the last four
years. Well the cheapest- people think they've got a bargain flying
with Virgin for £500 per person! TCD very well organised, we've
had the odd unavoidable delay but were looked after very well. Prefer
to book our own rooms on the Internet though as you can get them
even cheaper by buying well in advance or alternatively with walk-ins
from coupon books picked up at McDonald's etc." Frankie
"WE HAD A
23 HOUR DELAY WITH AIR 2000, WE HAD NO INFORMATION STAFF SERVICE
WAS APPAULING AT THE AIRPORT AND ON THE PLANE. WE RECEIVED VERY
LITTLE COMPENSATION (£50) FOR LOOSING A DAY IN FLORIDA TOGETHER
WITH LOSS OF THINGS LIKE HOTEL COSTS, CAR INSURANCE COSTS ETC. WE
ARE GOING WITH VIRING AT THE END OF MAY STAYING IN DISNEY, WE KNOW
WE WILL RECEIVE BETTER SERVICE."
"just booked a trip through Trailfinders(0171 937 5400) got
flights on virgin for under £200 including tax..what an absolute
bargain..best of all though as this was my first time to orlando
i was looking for some good advice on where to stay etc. got through
to an absolutely marvelous consultant called alex ,he was patient,
answered all my questions and appeared very knowledgable without
giving me the hard sell.it was defintely five star service.....i
even got a free upgrade on the car."
"Favourite tour
company? Thomas Cook Holidays (not the same as Thomas Cook Travel
Agent, but part of same group) because their service is second to
none, prices are very competitive, they use Virgin or BA flights
and with each booking you get so much information (Florida leaflets,
etc) and a black leather luggage wallet with leather luggage tags
which start your whole trip better, and are reusable too. Plenty
of people have asked if they can actually buy them even though they
are travelling with another operator!
Favourite Airline? Virgin Atlantic because their service is good,
their aircraft on this route are all modern and well-equipped, very
rarely delayed. Staff are unbelievably helpful, and there is a check
in facility at Downtown Disney - meaning you can check in for your
inbound flight as early as 08:30 on your last day, and have a full
day to do whatever!
>Have you done a DIY package, booking everything yourself,
if so, how did it work out, did you have any problems?<
Have done both ways, and would recommend for people outside the
US to price it yourself through the internet, etc and ask a travel
agent to do so. Having tried it both ways, I will tend to book through
an operator because you do not have to worry about the various different
companies involved losing your res! That said, I know some people
find it therapeutic to do it all themselves. As a travel agent myself,
I have seen a few of them go wrong, though!"
"Best airline
- Virgin without a doubt. Second would be British Airways. Third
Continental. Wouldn't use a tour operator as they have to make money
for themselves so they are not the best way to go. Try and beat
this- 5 weeks rental of house with private pool, 2 adults flights,
2 childs flights, 3 Annual passes to WDW, 3 annual passes to Universal,
Car hire 4 weeks, All for £2950.00 + Disney Cruise Line 4 day
cruise In a one bedroom suit = £1900.00 Total = £4850.00.
Also saved a fortune by eating offsite, where the food is
much better and cheaper. Most folks from the UK will pay more than
this staying in Disney's budget (Allstars - Butlins on Acid) Hotels
for 14 days. This was for our trip last Xmas. The APs mean
it will be even cheaper this time. We also own 2 homes over there
so the home rental is not appropriate to us. We did do extremely
well on flights that time. If you can get Virgin for under £300.00
then you are doing pretty well. Oh if you are buying 9 day
passes, you should be looking at annual passes instead."
"Virgin definitely
the best - the check-in at Downtown Disney is really useful. In
the past I've booked with Trailfinders and Worldwide Travel of East
Anglia - (got a good discount on Easter flights by using Barclaycard
points). For a really cheap package I think it's hard to beat Eclipse,
the direct sell travel agent - they also sell flights at discount.
Incidentally during the 11 years we've been travelling to WDW,
our return flight has had a problem resulting in overnight stays
3 times - these were BA, Britannia and another charter. Each made
it relatively hassle-free and got us checked into hotels for the
night as quickly as possible.
BA and Virgin both seem to have squeezed more seats into the plane
with each passing year, so I don't think there's much to choose
between them for leg room and comfort. The charters though, are
dreadful unless you are quite petite. It will be interesting to
see if people will pay the £199 supplement for better seats
that are being introduced by the charters this year.
I've done DIY whenever possible but sometimes (if you are tied
to school holidays for instance) a package with a good discount
can be a good buy. This Easter some friends bought a package with
Eclipse (staying at Comfort Inn, Lake Buena Vista) and paid less
than we paid for the airfares (and I know how to shop around!).
We are DVC members and were staying at OKW.
I think that buying an AP can be a good idea even if you are just
staying for 2 weeks and don't believe you'll be able to go back
within the year. It means you can take things leisurely and really
enjoy it instead of feeling that you have to pack each of your park
days with frantic activity!
Others on the RADP newsgroup seem generally enthusiastic
about eating in the parks, but for us Brits, eating in a Denny's
or a Perkins can be part of the holiday experience - plus it's cheap."
"I tend to play
around on the net and then ask a few agencies for prices. I usually
end up with a DIY holiday 'cos I quite enjoy putting it together
myself. This year we are flying to New York for a few days then
down to Orlando. We have ended up with flights on Continental because
they were the cheapest (through trailfinders). It turns out that
Trailfinders had made a mistake with our booking and underpriced
by about £200, but that's their problem and they are bearing
the costs.
In the past we've mainly flown BA and American Airlines. I haven't
found much to choose between any of the top tier airlines (Lufthansa
are probably my preferred airline, but that doesn't help much here).
A possibly useful tip... Continental codeshare with Virgin. If
you book a continental flight from Orlando to Manchester direct
it will be the Virgin flight."
"For flights I
find Virgin Atlantic the best, especially when flying Premium Economy
(I suffer from arthritis of the spine and the economy seats on any
airline for long trips are extremely uncomfortable). The best tour
company for me was Virgin Holidays, booked through Going Places.
I say was because I am now a DVC member at the BoardWalk Villas.
It was the best investment I ever made as I tend to travel alone
and the single supplements were extravagant. This means that I do
all my booking, and enjoy doing so."
"We've been twice
now. We book a fly drive and then rent a house for the length of
our stay from a company in Kissimmee. So I suppose you can say it's
a DIY holiday. The first trip was booked with First Choice on a
charter flight with Monarch. It was basically your typical charter
plane with cramped conditions, toilets blocked within an hour of
take off. Nothing to write home about.
Last year we went with Virgin Atlantic. All I can say is excellent
and well worth the few extra pounds. We booked these through Worldwide
Travel of East Anglia and got about a 15% discount on the flights.
They claim they will try to undercut any genuine quote on a Virgin
holiday. We tried them again for this years trip but they couldn't
match a quote from a company called Freedom USA whose number we
picked up from Teletext. So we booked with them for this year. The
house's are in the same area as some of those used by the major
tour companies but cost about half the price."
"Spot on. The
first time with Airtours was a real trial, especially on the way
home. We found the Virgin flights this year so much more relaxing
and comfortable. We really appreciated the luggage pick-up at Downtown
on leaving, this gave us almost a full extra day in resort."
"We've been to
Florida twice, staying at Dixie Landings & Grand Floridian.
Our next trip is on November 3rd, staying at Coronado Springs. We've
always gone with Virgin Atlantic booked through Going Places. I
did start to investigate the possibility of arranging it ourselves
instead of through a Travel Agent, but it just turned out to be
tooooo much hassle, so now always book through the Travel Agent.
Having flown with Virgin a few times now, we have joined the
Frequent Virgin Club, which means you get various upgrades etc.,
(not at Disney unfortunately) when booking holidays with Virgin.
We would always fly Virgin, as the in-flight entertainment is excellent,
and makes the flight go much quicker.
I have a question though!!! Has anyone ever asked about a complementary
upgrade to Business/First Class upon check-in. I feel tempted to
ask, but don't want to feel stupid if no-one else ever bothers."
"my dad has been
upgraded twice with Virgin. It doesn't hurt to ask. He only got
the upgrade while flying by himself when he was coming over to visit
us. I tried but they too one look at the kids and said no way. Funny
really as Hannah my youngest spent quite some time in first class
talking to couple on there honeymoon."
"We have the additional
problem of flying from a regional airport (Belfast). The only available
direct flights are charters. We have travelled with Unijet and Airtours
- both flew on an Airtours plane so there's nothing to choose between
them. Every time we were delayed by between 1-7 hours. The 7 hour
delay was in Sanford and there were 5 other flights delayed at the
same time (nightmare). In 29 days we fly with Virgin even though
this means a one hour flight to London and flying back over Northern
Ireland on the flight to Orlando. I'm a DVC member and only take
flydrives. When I booked with Virgin last year Through world-wide
travel I booked just the regular car, last week I phones for an
upgrade to discover that Virgin had reduced the prices for car hire
and I got upgrade to a I4 for £20 less despite a £20 admin
fee (Levied because the price decreased! although I'm not sure if
this was by WWT or Virgin)"
"We have visited
Central Florida for the past seven consecutive years and have booked
again for October this year (Diz freak!). We have used four different
UK tour operators and always found Sun World to be great (used them
four times). However, they are not offering the hotel that we love
this year (Hyatt Orlando) so we have had to find an alternative
op.
I have booked through Travel City Direct (a UK agent that deals
by telephone only - UK 01253 757500 Ext 201 - ask for Andy). They
have been excellent and have offered a good discounted Florida package
using Transatlantic Vacations Ltd. They operate via a charter flight
with American Transair (Tristar wide bodied) and it flies from Manchester
to Orlando International (touches down at Gander, Newfoundland for
about 45 mins). Cost for flight and hire car (Dollar) - £209
each - Hotel, room only £54 per night. This has been the most
competitive in all the years we have been going."
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