O/T Flights/holidays to Florida

[supaseagull]

Am taking the family away to Florida hopefully this time next year and am planning to do everything myself so far as the booking up of accomodation, tickets, etc.

We're seasoned Florida travellers, but when we went 5 years ago, we flew through Virgin who were utter gash.

Therefore, I'm wondering whether anyone has any good websites I can find for good cheap flights to Orlando or Sandford from Gatwick?

I'm also looking for Villa accomodation in Orlando for 2 weeks and then a week in or around Clearwater so if anyone has any friends/families who have or know of accomodation, then it'd be great to get in touch!

Cheers

 

[middletoenail]

Am taking the family away to Florida hopefully this time next year and am planning to do everything myself so far as the booking up of accomodation, tickets, etc.

We're seasoned Florida travellers, but when we went 5 years ago, we flew through Virgin who were utter gash.

Therefore, I'm wondering whether anyone has any good websites I can find for good cheap flights to Orlando or Sandford from Gatwick?

I'm also looking for Villa accomodation in Orlando for 2 weeks and then a week in or around Clearwater so if anyone has any friends/families who have or know of accomodation, then it'd be great to get in touch!

Cheers

Like you, I am a seasoned traveller to Florida (go every year) and I have found Virgin Holidays fly drive to give best value and experience. Strange!

 

[supaseagull]

Like you, I am a seasoned traveller to Florida (go every year) and I have found Virgin Holidays fly drive to give best value and experience. Strange!

I'll be honest, the holiday itself was great, but the flight was really poor and the cabin crew were just not interested. We travelled with a friend who has MS and 4 kids. They ran out of children's meals and on the way back we had no working screens and were promised £50 worth of vouchers, but never got anything and when we complained they said that they had no record of any problems.

 

[Springal]

Virgin are all style, no substance in my opinion, however into Sandford you're looking at Monarch or Thomson, who I doubt are going to be much better. It is a shame Gatwick is essentially the retirement ground for Virgin too, where the old planes go to die!

BA might be worth a look at for Orlando, can't guarantee it will be any better, but you do get some good upgrade to WT+ offers, though with kids that may not suit.

Flight into Miami not an option ?

 

[middletoenail]

I'll be honest, the holiday itself was great, but the flight was really poor and the cabin crew were just not interested. We travelled with a friend who has MS and 4 kids. They ran out of children's meals and on the way back we had no working screens and were promised £50 worth of vouchers, but never got anything and when we complained they said that they had no record of any problems.

That sounds a bit out of characther because they model themselves on their service, I have been to Sanford before with Thompson but I wouldn't do that again, not unless they have upgraded their planes (I used them on this route 3 years ago) because the leg room was much smaller than Virgin.

I think it's only Virgin/BA which fly direct through, if thats what you are looking for?

 

[pseudonym]

Am taking the family away to Florida hopefully this time next year and am planning to do everything myself so far as the booking up of accomodation, tickets, etc.

We're seasoned Florida travellers, but when we went 5 years ago, we flew through Virgin who were utter gash.

Therefore, I'm wondering whether anyone has any good websites I can find for good cheap flights to Orlando or Sandford from Gatwick?

I'm also looking for Villa accomodation in Orlando for 2 weeks and then a week in or around Clearwater so if anyone has any friends/families who have or know of accomodation, then it'd be great to get in touch!

Cheers

I have found these to be very good

Cheap Flights | Book a Cheap Flight, Hotels and Holiday Extras at Flightline.co.uk

 

[Pat McCrotch]

off to Florida in March with Virgin. Hope they produce the good for us. can't fuffin wait!

 

[supaseagull]

I have found these to be very good

Cheap Flights | Book a Cheap Flight, Hotels and Holiday Extras at Flightline.co.uk

Cheers pal

 

[supaseagull]

off to Florida in March with Virgin. Hope they produce the good for us. can't fuffin wait!

don't blame you! bet you'll have a great time!

 

[logan89]

Hi there.

My dad (also a Brighton fan) owns a villa in Kissimmee near Orlando. Rough prices and availability are on here http://www.orlandovacationvilla4rent.com/ but i'm sure he may knock a little off for a fellow Seagull.

 

[Djmiles]

Also going to Florida via New York in October. Virgin are looking like the cheapest at the moment! Hope they aren't as bad as you're saying!

 

[supaseagull]

Hi there.

My dad (also a Brighton fan) owns a villa in Kissimmee near Orlando. Rough prices and availability are on here http://www.orlandovacationvilla4rent.com/ but i'm sure he may knock a little off for a fellow Seagull.

thanks for this - I will be in touch shortly...much appreciated!!!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

[TEMPLATE][/TEMPLATE]

I'll be honest, the holiday itself was great, but the flight was really poor and the cabin crew were just not interested. We travelled with a friend who has MS and 4 kids. They ran out of children's meals and on the way back we had no working screens and were promised £50 worth of vouchers, but never got anything and when we complained they said that they had no record of any problems.

I would suggest Virgin.

As for the problems you experienced with this airline I have a good friend who works on the customer service side of things and they are now very focussed and forward thinking in this are; they have been for a while. I cannot speak for 5 years ago but I'd be very surprised if this happened now.

I will always use them if they fly the route I want.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Oh, and stay clear of BA. A very very overrated airline.

 

[in_the_sand]

Am taking the family away to Florida hopefully this time next year and am planning to do everything myself so far as the booking up of accomodation, tickets, etc.

We're seasoned Florida travellers, but when we went 5 years ago, we flew through Virgin who were utter gash.

Therefore, I'm wondering whether anyone has any good websites I can find for good cheap flights to Orlando or Sandford from Gatwick?

I'm also looking for Villa accomodation in Orlando for 2 weeks and then a week in or around Clearwater so if anyone has any friends/families who have or know of accomodation, then it'd be great to get in touch!

Cheers

Not asking alot here are you

 

[BensGrandad]

My brother had a house in Kissimee that he let out as a holiday home but found it difficult to let because it slept 6 and for a family of 2 + 2 children it was a lot cheaper to get a package. He said that there were too many houses to rent so the price dropped drastically. He is now letting his house out on a 6 month renewable lease.

 

[Magic Sponge]

Oh, and stay clear of BA. A very very overrated airline.

I went with BA with my wife and daughter in 2008 and we had a great trip with them. We did go WT+ though and you have to speak as you find but I would def use again.

 

[supaseagull]

Not asking alot here are you

Nothing worse than idiots trying to get their post counts up eh?!?


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[Bozza]

I've done 14 or 15 trips to Orlando, mainly with Virgin due to their schedule allowing for trip durations other than factors of 7 nights - typically we want to go for longer than 14 nights (but less than 21) or less than 14 (but more than 7).

If you're travelling economy then there's not a lot in it with any airline, to be honest, and you can check as many sites as you like - the prices are very unlikely to be different between them. I used KAYAK - Cheap Flights, Hotels, Airline Tickets, Cheap Tickets, Cheap Travel Deals - Compare Hundreds of Travel Sites At Once to assess prices for any flights we're making but you'll more often than not be directed back to the airline's own site to book.

The Virgin bucket and spade routes (such as Orlando and the Caribbean) are on their old 747s which were getting very tatty inside and had the old, crappy in flight entertainment systems - I'm not sure if they've been refurbed yet or not.

Packages can prove cheaper than flight only sometimes, even if you bin the car and/or hotel and sort your own.

If you mean literally this time of year, January, then you'll have cheap prices. Even flying this coming Saturday you'd only be paying c£400 for a direct flight - if you are flying in the August Summer holidays that would be not far shy of £1000 in all likelihood.

Always check Miami (Virgin, BA, AA) or Tampa (BA) as alternatives to MCO as you might get a saving there and if you get a Continental flight it will actually be a codeshare and you'll be on a Virgin plane.

 

[supaseagull]

I went with BA with my wife and daughter in 2008 and we had a great trip with them. We did go WT+ though and you have to speak as you find but I would def use again.

I went thru ba in 2003 -they were very good aswell just like my first Virgin encounter(!!) in '91



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