Virgin holidays - seeking balanced views

[Type A Tim]

Hey,

Am planning my first trip to WDW for August 2010 and would like to travel with Virgin holidays - I like flying VA, I like the idea of V-Room, and I like to have my holiday booked as a package, particularly in this volatile financial climate. I have travelled twice before with VH and was impressed, all went fine however I have seen a number of scathing reviews around.

Obviously people who have had a really bad time are more likely to post than someone for whom it all goes well, so I'm keen to hear balanced views. I imagine that the bad experiences are in the minority and am keen to hear from people who have found VH to be fine. All views welcome.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[wayneg]

Welcome Tim.

I have used VH 3 times in last 16 years for trips to Florida, both package and flydrive. Not had any problems at all with them but when I book something I don't change, I book on the internet not by phone. I think majority of problems are when you start ringing up to change things or phone bookings have got wrong info etc.
A lot of their problems seem to be easily solved once you get thru to a UK based agent, their foreign customer service does not work well for them at all.

Have you looked at booking flights and hotel yourself? booked with credit cards you do get protection. This August if we had gone with a package holiday I estimated about £12,000, DIY its cost under £6,000 but its all down to buying at the right time.

 

[orangetiggs]

we used to always book with virgin holidays but this year did diy and saved loads thanks to this board

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I think we have been to Florida around 14 or 15 times now, to be honest me and my wife can never agree on exactly how many.

Have always flown with Virgin and probably the last half dozen or so have been booked direct with Virgin Holidays.

My gripes are minor one's, overall we have been well treated especially as our son has disabilities.
Incorrect invoices, conflicting or incorrect information from the call centre's and lack of feedback to queries by email are generally our experience.

We wouldn't go with anyone other than Virgin, but the customer service levels could be better.

 

[Red-Snapper]

Same as above - travelled with VH for years but these days book DIY.

VH are fine if you want to book a package - as long as you dont need to change anything i.e ring their call centre for any reason - that is when things go wrong.

I think VH got all the savings of setting up an offshore call centre but didnt bother with the training. The staff there, whilst pleasant, can only read from scripts and if your query is anything even slightly out of the ordinary they can not help you and are all pretty clueless.

 

[gemmybear83]

Have you tried travel city direct - they are now owned by Virgin - and have virgin flights as part of the package but people often seem to get cheaper prices then Virgin Holidays.

 

[jen_uk]

Have used them for every trip and overall have always been happy, I think the planes are looking old but other than that no complaints. I like the baggage allowance, VRoom and the DTD luggage drop off

 

[aaronandterri]

we have flown virgin the last 5 times, i same as jonny there good with my son who has ASD, and my complaints are all little tedious ones, (like my 55 minute phone call this week just to add someone to my booking ~nightmare) but once were on the plane the service has always been outstanding,ive booked tthrough VH and VA but only ever flights or flydrives there accomodation price is nearly always way too much of a mark up so we book that seperatly.

 

[Elise79]

I have had good experiences with Virgin Holidays. We have done DIY but this year we have gone back to a VH package (due to 6 adults 1 infant going and needing to get it all booked in one go and be easier for me to manage).

I have had no problems with them but tend to call and ask for the UK service centre of email the Frequent virgin staff if i need anything

I can understand the wanting to book a package at the moment. If you are happy then that is all that matters not what everyone else does

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I am one of the people who has given them a recent scathing review (we arrived in Florida to find VH had cancelled our hotel room ten days before we went, and the US staff were appallingly unhelpful).

However, like you I like the security of a travel agent. The V-Room was great when we were in there in May, and the flight staff were much improved and more attentive and polite this year I thought. The flights were also on time. I also got £1500 refunded from Virgin when we got home as an apology, which gives me some kind of faith in their customer service again. The luggage allowance and DTD check in are also excellent perks.

I am looking at booking DIY next year, however I would consider booking with Virgin again if there wasn't much difference in the cost, for that little bit of extra assurance.

I would happily book with them again if they would get rid of the Indian call centre (the people who cancelled our room before we arrived!)! Most barely understand what they are being asked if it is anything out of the ordinary, and either they or their computer systems are appallingly slow - 40 minutes to add the V-room to my booking was just ludicrous, and its not even a free-phone number!

I would book with them if you want to use a travel agent - they are worth a try, which is the best I can bring myself to say!!!

 

[Cyrano]

I am one of the people who has given them a recent scathing review (we arrived in Florida to find VH had cancelled our hotel room ten days before we went, and the US staff were appallingly unhelpful).

From our only experience of Virgin the US staff have not improved

 

[Pegasus928]

We have used Virgin on every trip to Florida so far and have been extremley impressed by their special assistance dept. Nothing is ever too much trouble and everything runs smoothly once we get to the airport.
We like the baggage allowance, DTD check-in and the fact that we can save a packet on park tickets as well (not sure if it applies with VA but with VH we saved about 10% by adding some park tickets to our booking)
Ultimately holidays like Florida come down to price in the end, but if VH are comparable (or even just a little bit more) we would always choose Virgin.

 

[PudseyChancer]

Have used Virgin, TCD and Thomas Cook and found Virgin to be by far the best, I didn't have problems with any of them to be honest, but the overall experience was much better with Virgin, I found their service to be significantly better. I didn't have to get in touch with their call centres, the changes I needed to make I was able to do online - it was quite straightforward.

I would definitely have considered Virgin for next years holiday had they not priced themselves out of the equation, but I've found that the DIY option offers much more value than a package.

 

[mushumadness]

Hi

I have used vh about 10 times, on average a good flight, standard food unfortunatly sometimes sub standard but hey what airline serves food we all like.

on a downside my parents travelled to las vegas with vh 2 weeks ago (and are presently in the air on their way home after a 3 hour delay) and the flight out was horrendous, bad food, bad service, bar stopped serving due to 3 stag does palying up on the plane,

so its a mixed bag, you get good and bag just depends what you drop on lol

we have booked our next two fly drives with them despite some problems.

I do believe its the best direct way to get to orlando

 

[orangetiggs]

everyone seems to be commenting on Virgin atlantic the airline and not Holidays the tour operator, they are different.

All airlines have bad days or even weeks.

The tour operator ok has its bad points being the call centre not always based in the uk and so can sometimes mess around with bookings if you are changing something.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

I have used Virgin holidays several times (2 x for california and I believe 6 x for Florida). I have had good and bad service - although I will admit that it was much better in the earlier days.

Having said that, all of my problems with them have come when I have either changed something on a booking or when I have phoned for a quote and then rung back to book it and the price has changed!!

This year I have hopefully learnt my lesson - I rang for a quote, which was a lot better than I expected so I booked it on the spot - I have also resisted the urge to change anything that I have booked as this often causes problems!! - so far so good and I got a great price from them for Hard Rock Hotel next Christmas!!

 

[mollies_mum]

I booked to go with VH last month for October 2010 after a friend recommending them. I had £1000 Tesco clubcard vouchers to use and the booking all went very smoothly and the voucher was added promptly and without any fuss.

I've been watching the VH prices for the last year or so and the advice I would give is book sooner rather than later as the nearer the dates you want get closer the steeper the prices get.

Have fun planning

 

[Ware Bears]

We've travelled to WDW with Virgin Holidays twice and have booked with them again for our next trip.

We've never had any problems (*touch wood*) but reading what others say it seems to be when you need to amend something that the problems arise.

When we priced up our upcoming holiday, VH yet again came up cheaper for us than going DIY although DH did have to phone up a couple of times to get the Flying Club 10% discount (sadly this is now discontinued) deducted.

At the time of booking we didn't think we would be able to afford the V-Room so didn't add it ~ now that we find we can, there's no way that I am amending my booking so we will just sit in the airport and rough it!

 

[Iolaire]

When we went with VH in 2007 IMHO they did very little to earn their money. They were virtually invisable state side and had a very "light touch" approach. Don't get me wrong I like light touch but I also like to know where to go for help if I need it...oh and a welcome to Florida would help They also abandoned us on our last day failing to pick us up from DTD as pre arranged. An eagle eyed Mears driver spotted us standing at the bus stop well after pick up time.

As for the UK staff they blew hot and cold, sales staff were great and sold us the dream but customer service were at best inefficient and at worst rude and insulting.

This year we've gone DIY. Booked direct with Virgin Atlantic and Disney and shaved about £900 of the VH price and got more benefits.

As they say, each to there own, but just wanted to share my experience. Have a good time whoever you decide to book with

 

[wideeyes]

I have used them twice, the customer service hasn't always been great after the booking has been made however eventually they have sorted out any issues. I have always found the UK staff great its a shame that I can't get through to them everytime.

I'm using them next year as I like there flexibility for package holidays, and I already had a deposit on hold with them.