My report on FL Tours

[TammyC]

Well, I had hoped to add another great review on FL Tours, but we had a small snafu.

First, the good: Our pick-up went smoothly. Our driver, Marcus, was waiting for us at baggage claim. He was nice and drove well. He had a car seat as we requested and made a stop for groceries. Our little boy enjoyed the DVD player in the van.

Some information: One thing I would like to mention for those who have not used transportation service is that they basically park the car, come in to meet you, then pull to the curb. This procedure left us responsible for getting all of our luggage to the curb. I am guessing that all companies do it this way??

The not so good: I requested our return pick-up to be 30 minutes earlier than they suggested, as we have a toddler and everything takes longer. The night before departure they confirmed my requested time. But, when we got to the front door of the Swan, there was no van. At 7 minutes past our pick-up time, the bellman called FL Tours who proceeded to tell him that the van had been waiting for us for 20 minutes. The bellman said there had not been a van. Turns out.. he was at the Dolphin. The dispatcher sent him right over. I am glad I allowed the extra time. Also, the car seat provided could not be tightened very well.

Overall, things turned out o.k., but I wanted to share so that others will know to call right away if their ride is not there on time.

 

[shelleybell]

Thank you for the report. This will be the first trip we dont rent a car, so I am reading up on all the cars/shuttles to WDW. Glad things worked out.

 

[helenk]

I used Cartier Town Car and Tiffany Town car since 9/11 and both times the driver has met me at the luggage area and then carried my luggage to the car. I did not have to carry my own luggage. However, with Tiffany there was just 2 of us and when I went with Cartier there was just me, perhaps with a family they may do things differently.

 

[mrsheppo]

We used Cartier at the beginning of the month. He di meet us in the luggage area even after our flight was delayed by 40 minutes. We had a large party and our driver, Joe took my luggage and the rest of us followed him to the van and he proceeded to load all the luggage in the van by himself. He got a luggage cart when we arrived at ASMu and unloaded it onto the cart for us. Great service, would use Cartier again.

 

[tjmw2727]

Since 911 there are less spots for the limo's to use, kind of first come first serve.

In my 6+ experiences with YR, TTC and Fl Tours since 911 they all meet you at baggage and will help you with the luggage to the curb if you need it. If they weren't lucky enough to get one of the few limo spots then they leave you with your luggage at a designated spot and go for the car and pick you up at the curb. Kind of like valet if you will?

So it really seems to have no bearing on the limo company just the order of arrival whether the car is at the curb or you have to wait. If I am alone with my two girls I love the help of the driver to get my luggage and gladly wait for them for a few mintues at the curb - and tip accordingly. If my dh is along we meet the driver at the luggage carosel and then tell him we are fine with getting our own luggage. He then leaves, gets the car while dh and I wait for the luggage and we meet at the pre-arranged spot.

As for the Dolphin vs Swan - that's a shame, good thing you were allowing extra time. I am such a tense flyer that I don't plan anything the last day except getting home!! Lets all learn a lesson and confirm everything just in case!! Still - even with the logistics a town car beats mears by a mile <ymmv>.

TJ

 

[MamaQuack]

We have used Cartier 4 times this year alone. The driver meets us and then escorts us to our luggage pick up carosel. He always either loads our stuff on a cart or personally carries it outside and then runs to get the limo. We have never waited more than a few minutes for the driver to arrive and he then places all bags in the trunk. We never touch a bag. When we arrive at our resort he unloads and makes sure the bell captain knows our name. Again, this is why we feel Cartier is 31. They have us so spoiled.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I just got back from Florida last night at 10:00 pm--it was so wonderful!!!--but we had a problem with Fl *****, too. They were supposed to pick up my daughter on Christmas Eve, but three days before they emailed me to say they wouldn't be able to handle her pick-up at midnight on the 24th, so I had to scramble around trying to get someone else to pick her up. I got Tiffany towne cars, and he was there waiting even though there had been an hour delay in arrival at MCO.

We arrived at 6:30 on the 21st, and Fl ***** wasn't there for us. We waited for a 1/2 hour, no Fl *****. There was a man there from Mears Towne cars whose passenger hadn't arrived, so he drove us out to Beach Club. When we got to our room, a message from Fl ***** was on our phone, saying they got our arrival and departure times mixed up--no apology, though, just a message saying they would be happy to pick us up if we needed a ride back. No thanks--we used Mears Towne Cars again, and they were there in plenty of time. Both Mears and Tiffany handled the baggage, something that Fl ***** has never done for us, so from now on we are using either Tiffany or Mears. Tiffany is cheaper($80, I think) and Mears was a bit more($51 each way).