Which tour operator (UK)?

[Jessie Johnson]

Hi
We are thinking of going in oct or nov and were wondering which tour operator is best from the uk. We have travelled with Virgin before and are wondering if there is any way to get a better deal,with as good service as we have had from Virgin. Thanks for any advice.

 

[barnum42]

Virgin give you the best aircraft with more legroom than the competitors that I have flown with. If you go for a cheaper option bear this in mind. Also, do you want to deal with one company who will sort out the flight, meet you at the airport and steer to the car, which they have arranged or put you on a bus to your hotel?

For my last trip I had a choice of several packages found on www.expedia.co.uk and www.broadwaytravel.com.

In the end I went with Broadway Travel. They did a deal on a flight with MyTravel and accommodation at Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista. How we got from the airport to the hotel was left up to us. I booked a car directly with Alamo and paid all fees up front, this worked out about £80 cheaper than booking the car through the operator. If you do not want a car there are shuttle buses you can book in advance.

You can save a lot of money over Virgin (or other operators) brochure prices if you can do without tour reps onsite.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Virgin Vs BA

Choice of 2 (poss 3) in my opinion - Always fly scheduled - definitely stay away from charter flights and "package" deals.
We enjoyed Virgin - good flight, extra legroom (I'm 6'6") - meal a bit disappointing and in flight movies could have been better.
BA good all round but trip was spoilt b a 3 hr delay due to engine problems (not BAs fault - but didn't keep us very well informed)
Continental are also a pretty good bet.
Virgin come out tops when landing at Orlando Int - they have their own dedicated car rental collection point. We were first in the line for this service when we landed and were only delayed when we decided to upgrade to a 4x4 (good decision) and they couldn't find the vehicles keys !!!

 

[mkt]

you get a good 4X4?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by mkt
you get a good 4X4?

Yes - Mitsubishi (Sport I think) long wheel base similar to the Shogun, full leather interior etc etc

 

[bhg469]

no one has mention casablanca at morocco, that was a really great beer. I dont know if you guys have given it a try but it is really up there with one of my favorites.

 

[barnum42]

Originally posted by bhg469
no one has mention casablanca at morocco, that was a really great beer. I dont know if you guys have given it a try but it is really up there with one of my favorites.

Methinks you posted in the wrong thread!

I'm not a drinker, so I can't comment on your post, but the grub there is great.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

At that time of the year you will be able to get many bargains, Id shop around. On line is usually the best bet, I got a deal from the Virgin site. Normally I just book a fly drive and book my hotel on line or phone. But the price was too good to miss, so i booked and the hotel was nice enough but as a treat we just checked into POR for the last few days using one of the discount codes.

I flew Britania once and it was a good flight but the entertainment was limited. However most charter companys now fly to Sanford not Orlando, and I cant be bothered with that extra drive at the end of a long trip.

If you have young kids a package deal may be cheaper (free or cut price places) but Ive never had that opertunity.

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
Yes - Mitsubishi (Sport I think) long wheel base similar to the Shogun, full leather interior etc etc

ahh.. that's what I drive. I forgot they're renting them more often now

 

[Jessie Johnson]

Thanks for your advice I think we'll stick with virgin we have had no complaints s and I do prefer and I agree that I would prefer to fly into Orlando rather than Sanford. Now hubby is interested in the 4x4 was the upgrade expensive we normally go for a LX .

 

[504ellamae]

I've always found that the best way to save money is to book everything separately, flight, car, hotel etc.

As far as flights are concerned i try to steer clear of charter flights especially now that some of them are starting to charge extra for food......10 hours with no food.....hmmmmmmm dont think

If you get the chance fly American Airlines....they have the most room i have found for ecomony class....34" of legroom compared to 31 for BA and Virgin....but at the end of the day if you feel comfortable with what you know...go for it!!!

 

[djmatthews]

Other than charter flights I beleive only BA and Virgin fly from the UK. BA from Gatwick, Virgin from Gatwick AND Manchester. Both of these airlines go into MCO (Orlando Int), all the charter airlines do into SFB (Sanford).

I would try and fly with Virgin over BA, never had any complaints, great Ents systems, meals, crew etc. Another option is European Aviation, they are opearated by Travel City direct. Travel City are an "Independent Florida Specialist" They operate old BA 747 aircraft, and from what I gather - quite nice. We booked a fly drive with Travel City a few years ago - they were very cheap, at the time ATA were operting their flights. www.travelcitydirect.com

It may be worth getting a quote and some information from them. Their package deals seem quite cheap as well, undercutting other operators. We were out in Oralndo during Sept 11th. The Travel City staff were very helpful.

 

[minniemouseuk]

I haven't booked with them myself, but, last night I was checking out the holiday section on Teletext (this can located on the ITV1 channel - from page 200).

Travel City Direct advertise on page 298, and seem to have some excellent offers, the best I've seen. For example, they quoted just under £400 for 2 weeks at Pop Century!

If you contact them for a quote, I'd be very interested to know what it is

Also, page 222 advertises Florida for various travel companies.

Happy searching, and keep us Brits informed :lol:

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by 504ellamae
If you get the chance fly American Airlines....they have the most room i have found for ecomony class....34" of legroom compared to 31 for BA and Virgin....but at the end of the day if you feel comfortable with what you know...go for it!!!

yup.. that's who I usually fly to visit family abroad. When I go to Spain, if I find out they're codesharing an Iberia flight, I'll cancel and rebook with British Airways, KLM, or Lufthansa. I'd rather have 31" and good service than 30" and be treated like cattle. Overall, I tend to fly American Airlines if I am guaranteed I'll be on their planes and not a codesharing partner (British Airways excluded).

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by Jessie Johnson
Now hubby is interested in the 4x4 was the upgrade expensive we normally go for a LX .

It wasn't cheap :lol: When we booked (Virgin fly-drive) we upgraded to a full size - however due to luggage taken with us by 3 adults & 2 teenagers (5 suitcases and 5 pieces of hand luggage) a 4x4 was a great choice. BEWARE - there were that many available to rent last Easter.


dj - We flew Continental from Gatwick to Newark, and then changed flights for a Continental connection to Orlando Int. I wouldn't change planes again but it was the only eay for us to get the holiday dates we wanted.

 

[barnum42]

Originally posted by Pumbas Nakasak
However most charter companys now fly to Sanford not Orlando, and I cant be bothered with that extra drive at the end of a long trip.

I don't know what Orlando Airport is like now, but last time I flew in there it took AGES to get through immigration, pick up your luggage and go through customs. Then you had to surrender your luggage again and wait an age for it at another carousel.

At Sandford I have always gone through at speed, plus all the car hire companies seem to be within a stones throw of the terminal. Cars from Orlando always involved a bus journey to another location.

Has Orlando airport improved?

 

[djmatthews]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
dj - We flew Continental from Gatwick to Newark, and then changed flights for a Continental connection to Orlando Int. I wouldn't change planes again but it was the only eay for us to get the holiday dates we wanted.

There is also a huge risk of delays and the knock on effect they may have, I understand that sometimes you have to change - can be a pain though - I have done it before.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Orlando Int.

Originally posted by barnum42
Has Orlando airport improved?

Last April we arrived at immigration to find 90% of the desks open, all of which had probabley no more than 5 people waiting - it was like empty !!!!
Baggage reclaim was excellent - all the cases were off in less than 5 minutes, hit the monorail with very little delay, found our cases again and then to the Virgin dedicated car rental desk.
I reckon that the whole procedure (landing to driving away) was less than 45 minutes. BRILLIANT

 

[504ellamae]

:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:
Thanks Captain, thats made me happier. Not flown into Orlando for a while and always found it a pain with their immigration and double baggage claim.....but now.....no worries at all!!!:sohappy: :sohappy: