Travelcity direct or Virgin? Help

[sam_b]

Hi,

We are looking at booking 2 weeks at WDW in Jan 05.

We are Frequent Virgins and, having tried it for the first time this year, determined to fly PE if possible.

I have costed out 2 weeks with Virgin, PE staying at PO and incl fully insured car at £3014 for two of us.

I have never used TravelCity Direct but thought that I would get a quote from them and had the following:-
2 weeks at PO flying Sunshine First and incl fully insured car for £2346 for two of us.

The sunshine first seats are bigger and the flight times are pretty good (although it goes to Sanford, not done that for a few years).

On the surface it seems like TravelCity is the way to go....am I missing anything?
Are they reliable?

What would you do?

Any comments gratefully received.

 

[AlexE]

sam_b

Bit of lucky dip here if its down to pounds and pence then go with TCD.

Over the many years that we have been going to Florida we have flown with many of the charter flights we various degrees of niggles. So we decided to change and go Virgin and over the years going from economy to PE - then last year we decided to give TCD a go as they were recommended to me by a friend at work. Unfortunately, I will never fly with them again I would rather not fly at all. This is my personal opinion and I know that there are many customers of TCD who have been more than happy with their service.

So there you are it all goes to show its all a lucky dip on the day as to what your experience will be.

Although I fly the 'Virgin' flag and am a frequent flyer I have never flown BA but if the appropriate flight was available at the right price I would give them ago but at the moment I am sticking with what I know.

Hope I havent confused you too much but the baove is just my personal experience.

AlexE

 

[sam_b]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the reply.
I have flown BA World Traveller plus and that was fab - but I really want to fly direct from Manchester for this trip, so I have ruled BA out.

Can you tell me why your TCD experience was so awful? Were the flights delayed? Poor service? Hidden extras?

The bottom line for me is that I want a reliable, comfortable service. My DH is not a good flyer and PE helps him as he doesn't feel so 'penned in'. Thats why TCD sunshine first appealed. However, as he isn't a good flyer, I really want to try to avoid delays and hassle so if TCD carries more risk of this, I will go back to Virgin.


Many Thanks,

 

[gilld]

Personally, I would only fly to MCO, so that means scheduled flights. The convenience of DTD Virgin check-in is another plus for them. You pay your money and take your choice.

 

[AlexE]

Unfortunately my experience of TCD was very stressful at the time. Before anyone jumps at me for telling my personal story about TCD (which I am not going to tell in great length because it was June last year) and I would rather forget it. I know that there are lots of people who have had great customer service from them.

In short and because you asked the question - TCD booked us into the Hilton Clearwater Beach instead of the Clearwater Beach Hotel, did not return messages left on their answerphone and did not acknowledge that there were messages left. The hotel was so bad that we left and booked into another hotel after only 1 night after being shown 2 rooms that were unacceptable.

After many letters and emails and with the help of a employee who is a member of one of these forums was involved we had a full refund and the matter was closed.

Also as a charter operator TCD fly into Sanford as opposed to MCO - I personally had also forgotten how horrid Sanford airport is - its dirty, small and when we were there children were running round like banshees and playing football, hopefully to wear them out before the flight home. I think the airport was originally used for internal flights only and then Airtours spent a lot of money trying to improve things for the international charter flights. Give me MCO anytime - much more professional and polished.


TCD were recommended to me by a colleague who had a great time with them but unfortunately this was not the case with me.

So we went back to Virgin - and unless anyone can convince me otherwise, thats where we will stay for the time being.

In TCD favour I will say that the Sunshine First cabin is spacious, the food better and also the cabin service better than Virgin PE. But if things go wrong dont expect to be given any information, only delaying tactics and denials.

Finally, after being on my soapbox for a while, travel is a lucky dip - you pay your money and you make your choice and everything is left to chance on the day.

Sorry if this upsets anyone but the question was asked of me.

Elaine

 

[sam_b]

I appreciate your comments. This pretty much reflects everything else that I have heard about TCD.

I think that DH and I need to weigh up the pros and cons. That Sunshine first cabin is tempting, but it is a small part of the holiday.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Astrid]

We thought Sunshine First with TCD was very good and apart from a long delay (due to a security problem) didn't have any problems with them as a company.

However, I am now in the same position as you in trying to decided between Virgin and TCD for next summer and Virgin is going to win. This is primarily because they fly into MCO which I find far more convenient than Sanford (even taking into consideration the double baggage system on arrival!). I found spending 3 hours at Sanford on our way home a bit of a nightmare - there is very little to do there (even if you, as we did, pay extra to use the Guest House). Plus I found the drive long and confusing.

As gilld said it's a very personal decision and you pay your money you take your choice!!

Good luck choosing!

Astrid

 

[floridalol]

Firmly on the Virgin side - IMHO unbeatable.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Not sure how many planes TCD have but after arriving at MCO last Tuesday to see SEVEN Virgin Jumbos all on the stand waiting to take us out after Hurricane Francis - there could only be one answer for me - Virgin.

 

[jwhiting]

I would never fly to Orlando with anyone other than Virgin.

That they fly into MCO is the icing on the cake.

Good luck!!

Julian

 

[ejones999]

We travelled with Virgin in 2002 everything went well and they were especially helpful with us as my son is autistic.
A few months ago I was comparing prices etc to go again early 2005 - Virgin site - looks first class is easy to use and is secure.
TCD in comparison looks amateurish - they had a promotion on with a daily newspaper (Daily Mail?) so I tried to price up a holiday to compare with Virgin and got a lot of error messages and telling me to phone their tele sales number. I e-mailed them asking what the problem is and am still waiting for a reply!
If they could not send a simply reply to an E-mail then they can forget getting my business.
I do feel Virgin are up front with all charges (as when I am on holiday I'm a non driver) but there was all sort of bits to be added on to the basic price with TCD.
Virgin here we come 14/02/2005 to 01/03/2005 - President's week and all!!

 

[dc1964]

I have travelled half a dozen times with TCD without a problem. Sanford is a great little airport and very easy to get in and out of. 40mins down the 417 and you are in the heart of everything. The flight is a small part of the holiday. I f you can save nearly £1000 think what you could spend it on in orlando, Hotel upgrades etc.

 

[EvertonCJ]

We flew with TCD in 2003 and Virgin in 2004 and there is simply no comparison between the two. Virgin went out of their way to help us, but at TCD their customer service seems to be non existent. I agree that both airlines are fine when things are running smoothly, but Virgin seem to have contingency plans when things do go wrong. We would certainly never travel with TCD again even if it was cheaper.

 

[richtom]

we have just come back with tcd-never again

the check in was a joke -about 2 people on-people must have been waiting 2 hours

the plane was very old and was a right state -food and crisps over the floor-empty water bottles in the chair pocket

free drinks we were told-we recieved a tiny can of pepsi and 2 small cups of water or orange squash

free papers we were told-i asked for this and 40 min later i recieved this ,but it came from someone else who had read it

the bus which picked us up suddenly stopped on the hard shoulder and we were told that someone else would be picking us up as the coach had to go back to the airport,

the welcome meeting was a complete joke ,spent $40 in taxis to get there and back ,we were told there were not going to be proper meeting as there not enough people here -we were then told to come back in half hour -the so called meeting lasted 2 minutes -no free phone card {which we were told about )no drink and then told that all info on discounts to help ourselfs -1 in fact for reebok -no help what so ever-
this was supposed to be our honeymoon (lost 3 days of our holiday due to hurricane -ok its not there fault and got some compensation ,but this was spent on the train and hotel as we needed to be at gatwick earlier.

after this we had a brilliant time and the flight back was better apart from no sound on the tv screens and yes we will be back ,but not with tcd

 

[wheezie]

It's very difficult trying to help people with who to/not to fly with, which airport is best etc etc because everyone has different likes and dislikes. what suites some, doesnt suit others.

Personally, I like and prefer sanford over MCO, we find it easier to negotiate and less stressful, but thats just us. As others have said, they would only consider flying into MCO.

I think if your husband is a nervous flyer then you should stick with what you/he knows and likes.

Wheezie