Virgin Atlantic

[Miked1e]

Flying Virgin Atlantic to Orlando international for the first time this year.

Can people please share their experiences with virgin (The good and the bad).

Are they better than other airlines? If so, what makes them special?

Many thanks.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Have flown with them many times, mainly because they fly direct to MCO from Manchester, have always looked after our Autistic son, generally well 'clued up' generally on Florida and the Downtown Disney check-in is a real plus on the last day of the holiday.

However, their customer service levels have dropped over the years, having to use the 'call centre' for bookings and reservations has lead to confusion on many occasions (on our bookings anyway).

Have suffered delays, but that happens with all airlines.

They are as good as anyone in my experience, generally have modern aircraft and overall have found the cabin crew friendly and helpful.

 

[Netty]

Flying Virgin Atlantic to Orlando international for the first time this year.

Can people please share their experiences with virgin (The good and the bad).

Are they better than other airlines? If so, what makes them special?

Many thanks.

we flew with them for the first time last year, couldn't fault them. very pleasant.

 

[CHEK]

Like you Miked1e, we too are flying with Virgin this year and this is our first flight with them. Hope you have a great trip , when are you going?

 

[Chilly]

I flew with them last year and picked them again this year for a few reasons:

1 Direct Flights
2 Seat Back TVs with games etc
3 Online check in
4 DTD check in

 

[Miked1e]

Like you Miked1e, we too are flying with Virgin this year and this is our first flight with them. Hope you have a great trip , when are you going?

We are flying 20th August for 2 weeks, at POP with free dining.

First time on Disney property and first time with Virgin.

When are you out there?

 

[CHEK]

We are flying 20th August for 2 weeks, at POP with free dining.

First time on Disney property and first time with Virgin.

When are you out there?

We fly the 31st May offsite in a villa , never stayed onsite YET , have a fab time

 

[crabbie1]

We are flying 20th August for 2 weeks, at POP with free dining.

First time on Disney property and first time with Virgin.

When are you out there?

We have used them 4 times now and will be our 5th this year.Love the aircrafts wih the seat back screen ,free drinks all the way(although they don't make a habit of offering very many-but you have the option to ask and they will deliver).Have never had a dely that I can remember and thought staff to very friendly-although like johnysharp2 said I feel their customer service has really gone down the last 2 years,but if we all keep moaning at them it may well improve again .We stayed at pop miked and had a fab time there-it really has a great atmosphere-very disney themed.I was a bit disapointed with the building we were put in as it was our wedding and the hotel wasn't full(as went in november).We were put in the back of the 90's building-did offer to move us after 2 days to a preferred room but once settled didn't bother as it was nice and quiet and not that longer walk to the main area.The shop is excellent and the satff are really friendly.How many of you are going and what age are the children if any? I know you have the free dining,we had to pay,but sometimes we paid for our daughters combi meal $3.99 as they pool all the credits togeather(except the TS as I think they may have caught on to what parents were up to-save 2 of childs Ts credits and have 2 more yourself!!).Our daughter being only 4 didn't eat that much so we used to get 2 combi for us and have an extra plate as the portions are huge.Great food court at pop as well and get the mugs $12 each so you can drink for england at no extra cost-buses were great as well.
Have a great time and hope this helps

 

[tashasmum]

We have flown with virgin on 8 occasions from Manchester and have never had a delay longer than 30-40 mins. The staff have always been very helpful,even when the seat back tvs are not working they go out of their way to fix the problem(not always with success). They always seem to be coming round with different things to eat and drink, snacks,ice creams etc. Make sure that you use the check-in at DTD on your last day, that way you are able to get into a park if that is what you want to do. We like the fact that they fly into Orlando international airport as there are plenty of shops to look at and a large food court.

 

[Goofysmate]

We have flown with Virgin everytime and have enjoyed every trip, and have had know problems.
For our next trip we have been thinking about going with TCD as they seem to be a little cheaper. We will still give Virgin a go for a quote to.
But i do have doubts about using someone else as there is an old saying the its better the devil you know then the one you don't.

 

[CHEK]

We have flown with Virgin everytime and have enjoyed every trip, and have had know problems.
For our next trip we have been thinking about going with TCD as they seem to be a little cheaper. We will still give Virgin a go for a quote to.
But i do have doubts about using someone else as there is an old saying the its better the devil you know then the one you don't.

We have previously flown twice with TCD, but this year thought we'd try and see if we could do it ourselves by booking seperately, and YES this year will be the cheapest we've ever paid to go to WDW

 

[Miked1e]

Thank you everyone for your help.

Crabbie1, there is only my GF (19) and I (23) going. Thank you for your review of the hotel.

Chek, have a fab time too.

What is the food like on Virgin flights?

How does the DTD check-in work? Does it give you time to go to the park?

Also, we land at 2:35 pm at Orlando INT if everything goes ok. What time will we expect to be checking in?

Thanks again.

 

[diswix]

It works really well. We checked in there yesterday about 0900hrs, queued for about 45mins and went to Typoon lagoon until about 2pm, followed by Golden Coral for a feast. Arrived at Orlando airport at 4pm, quick and smooth return of car; then relaxed ready for our 5.50pm virgin flight.
We spoke to some folk at the check in who were going to the Disney parks; if it was raining we would have gone to Disney quest or wonderworks. Gatorland is another option.
We showered and changed at typhoon.

 

[gaz]

we have flown with virgin three times now.
we have always flown from gatwick and used twilight checkin (DW has an issue and need the bulkheads seats for mobility) the twilight checkin is a right good plus (we are flying from heathrow this year and will miss it)

we always find the staff on the plane flying out there really nice and helpfull yet on the way back they always seem moody wenches.
love the in flight entertainment, last year we got planes with games there and back, what a result the kids loved them.

food is average

last year we had major issues with checkin staff at gatwick and DTD checkin. we were lied to on atleast two occasions and i wasnt impressed. mind you after writing a complaint to virgin we were compensated as an appology to the tune of £200 so virgin redemed its self.

we use virgin as due to my work we get a decent discount

 

[irongirlof12]

no complaints about Virgin here, love the TV in back of seat, meals ok, kids pack is good

 

[wayneg]

Just got back this morning, used Virgin around 10 times now for Florida from manchester, once for Cali and once for Florida both from London.
Both flights from London were great, very modern planes.
The service from Manchester gets worse every year. No problems with times took off 30 mins late going 2 weeks ago but arrived on scedule coming back on time arrived 40 mins early but then had to be transferred from a remote stand 50 at a time by bus so that took about 40 mins.
Food was terrible again, same both ways beef and mash and chicken pasta. Had veggie dish going and could not eat it (mushroom rissoto), had chicken pasta on return, ate the 2 tiny pieces of chicken and left the rest it was digusting.
On last nights flight 2 out of the 3 seats we had could not use audio, the hole where the jack fitted was too big, just fell out. No games system. Luckily I can sleep well on flights and slept for over 6 hours so did not want the entertainment anyway.
Staff on outbound flights did what they had to do with false smiles, coming back you could tell it was a team that worked well together and enjoyed their jobs.
Overall if I did not have 75,000 flying points and get good rates with them I would use someone else, these flights cost £291 for Easter School hols and or Aug trip is £533 each. If I get better prices next year with another carrier I will not be loyal to Virgin they desparately need new planes from Manchester.

Nearly forgot, DTD check in is only worth it if the line is low, called down yesterday morning 45mins -1 hr wait, not worth it. Just check in online and go to bag drop at airport, regular line was again about 1 hour long but bag drop was 5 mins. I could not wait 1 hour to check in for a flight just got back in car and went to Epcot and used the bag drop at airport.

 

[Twilight Terror]

We are flying 20th August for 2 weeks, at POP with free dining.

First time on Disney property and first time with Virgin.

Oh! We're going the day after you - we leave on 21st Aug for 14nights @ POP, although we're going from Gatwick.

All our Disney trips have always been with VH, and we have never had any major issues. Last year we had about 1-2hr delay with take-off. We were the later flight of the day, and I think we ended up leaving before the earlier flight, but that was because all the restrictions and extra security checks were still in place from that suspected terrorist attack, so while there were delays then, it was totally understandable - I'd much rather spend a few more hours going through security and know it was safe to get on board. Other than that, we've only ever had minimal delays - 30-60mins delays. Havin said that, we've never been delayed getting on the plane, only taking off, so by the time you're on the plane, any delays kind of go unnoticed through excitement!

I suppose the only issue I have found myself was the food. The choices are not very good, and they usually have the least amount of the most popular dish! I survived the 9-hour flight out on two bread rolls, several cans of virgin coke and my sister's fruit bag! The way back was even worse, and I just thank God I bought a large box of Disney cookies at the airport before boarding, otherwise I would have had nothing on the way back! This time I'm going prepared - taking my own food on the journey out, and we have a booking at Planet Hollywood a couple of hours before our transfer/flight back so I'll be nicely stuffed!

This will be our first on-site holiday, so we're looking forward to it too! I think until we have any major issues, we shall always go with Virgin.

 

[londondude]

Having been using virgin for the last 10 yrs all i can say is that the service is not as good as it use to be......And it all depends on the crew u get.... but having saying all that im still using them so they cant be that bad lol..... I would only fly B.A or Virgin....maybe im just 2 fussy lol

 

[XAVIER]

We've been to Florida five times with Virgin Atlantic and although I agree that their standards aren't what they used to be I would still choose them above anyone else. (Although British Airways would come a close second for Flights if not holidays)
The main reason being their service to the kids (The goody bag that the kids recieve as they get on the plane keeps them happy until take-off) , the back of the seat entertainment and , of course, the free drinks!
We have never had any real problems (touch wood) and will be travelling with them again this year.
And as for Virgin Holidays, two years ago we stayed at the Royal Pacific resort at Universal which, as it was a Virgin flagship hotel, offered free breakfast for the kids if an adult was eating. We forgot all about this while we were there and only remembered when we got home (Doh!). I wrote to virgin explaining we had eaten breakfast their every day and paid for the two kids but had no receipts and they promptly sent me $169 (fourteen days worth of kids breakfasts!) Now thats customer service!

It's Virgin for me everytime!