I am so busy at the moment, been travelling a lot (Europe, South Africa & Canada), I simply dont hav...
I am so busy at the moment, been travelling a lot (Europe, South Africa & Canada), I simply dont have time to write any reviews just now ....... Andy
Member since:15.08.2000
Reviews:166
Members who trust:57
So having been with British Airways Holidays, Virgin Holidays and Jet life I wondered just how much I could save by doing it myself on the Internet....I mean booking a 14 night holiday in Florida with car hire flying from Manchester or Leeds/Bradford here in the UK ...
I decided on dates of travel first although fairly flexable I thought October would be a good place to start, Schools are back and no public holidays so less crownds and queuing in Florida !!
I looked at the the Hotel where we normally stay in Florida the Quality Inn International but their rates although good I thought could be bettered, so I checked out several others but came accross the Rodeway International Hotel ( we have stayed here before with Jet Life and BA ) they hade an Internet rate and an over 50 rate ( just being over 50 I looked at this)...I loved the deal so I sent an email to the manager and made a temporary booking until I could confirm the flight details..
I then set about the flight, I have been many times with Virgin Atlantic and am a member of their Holiday club and frequent flyer program, however I think they are losing their shine and don't particularly care too much for their Manchester based clients so I opted for British Airways... and decided to try Tampa rather than Orlando as BA use the New Boeing 777 rather than a an aging Jumbo Jet ( 747-200 not a -400) ...and I ahve heard a lot of great reports about the new 777 in service with BA..anyway I managed to get the dates I wanted and even got a Club Euro upgrade on their flight down from Manchester to Gatwick...
I then went for on line Insurance, having just got back from Germany and Austria and previously used Endsleigh insurance on line I went to their website for a quote and got fully Comprehensive world traveller Insurance for £45 each much cheaper than the holiday companies are quoting...
then came the car hire I opted for Dollar paid in pounds sterling on their platinum package ( no extra to pay in the USA) and also car parking at Manchester airport..all done on the web in about 30 mins and yes I reckon I have saved about £500 - 600 on the whole deal...
it is a little over a week since I booked the lot and I have everything I need for the holiday all the vouchers have arrived in the post all I am waiting for is my BA tickets which should be here soon..
If you are confident about the WWW then it is worth booking stuff on it..you can save a fortune...and have a great time doing it .....be brave and go for it !!!!
So you may be bothered about no resport rep to look after you or sell you excursions....panick ye not !!! most Hotles in Florida have a guest relations desk......think of these guys as your Resort reps...they will sell you the same excursions, help you with information, and get you organised when you want organising..who needs a pushy Resort Rep????
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Interesting view on BA, but Sir Richard does have some 747 400's
Connoisseur_Haggler 14.07.2001 01:13
Superb Advice on Independant Travel! I am not a keen package holiday person myself and very much enjoy booking my own flights and hotels to suit my convenience, this is both rewarding as its to your own taste, saves you money as you pay for what you want, and offers the ultimate flexibily and choice!! Well done, great advice..here's to many more happy independant holidays!!-CH
flashpointz 13.07.2001 23:59
You wouldn't be the same 'dalesman' who used to appear very frequently on the www.publicforum.co.uk site would you? If so - and I do think I'm right - its nice to have you on board here at Ciao. We can always use informed and good writers. Cheers
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Jul 13th, 2001
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